And here is chapter 2. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: See Prologue.

Chapter 1: Reactions and Discussions.

Paris, October 10th, 2017, 4:35pm

The Dupain-Cheng Bakery was a hive of activity on the ground floor, with Sabine Cheng manning the register and Tom Dupain still hard at work in the kitchen. While the shop wouldn't be open for much longer, they took their work very seriously.

Upstairs, was a different story. There was scarcely any movement at all up in the bedroom of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Which was odd, as her parents had last seen her stumbling up there to work on a group school project with her oblivious crush, Adrien Agreste. Strangely though, there were a few things out of place, such as a knocked over pencil cup on Marinette's desk, and a fallen cushion from one of her chairs.

Aside from that, all was still. There was no movement, not even a mouse.

Then, a presence filled the air, along with a slight smell of ozone. Gradually, a lone glowing smoky black sphere appeared, growing larger and larger, until it almost encompassed the room. Then with a jolt, it vanished, leaving behind the forms of the two teenagers that had been there previously... a few feet above the floor.

With a shriek and a cry, the pair hit the ground (three guesses whom did which).

Groaning, Marinette sat up, rubbing her forehead. "If we ever see Malicious again, remind me to kick his arse."

"Noted, Milady." Adrien replied grumpily, equally ticked off at their former hosts parting prank.

That nickname suddenly brought the pair of them back to reality. With a little soreness, they stood up, thinking over what they had just seen, learned and done during the viewings. The entirety of the viewing had taken a few days, with Malicious being a gracious host, providing them with whatever they needed, and answering any questions they had. As well as providing advice on certain matters, to which the both of them were extremely thankful for.

What Malicious had dubbed "season one" was history to them. The reveal had left the pair stunned at first, with Adrien suddenly looking like the cat that got the cream. While Marinette had almost suffered a complete system shutdown, realising that the boy she kept turning down, since she liked another boy,... was the other boy. Now it made sense why Malicious hadn't grabbed Cat Noir! He already had!

After Stormy Weather had finished, they'd been allowed a few moments to talk it out. Both had been taken aback by the apparent love square they had unintentionally set themselves up in, and were both mentally kicking themselves for not realising something that had quite literally been sitting in front of them. The. Entire. Damn. Time!

Tikki and Plagg, emerging after that, however had both found the thing incredibly funny.

While there had been a few upsetting moments, with Timebreaker and Copycat immediately springing to mind, the pair had received a fair amount of teasing from the other, while actually learning more about their partner than ever before, gradually growing closer with every episode.

By the middle of that season, specifically during Dark Cupid, Adrien couldn't hold himself back, and promptly asked the lady of his dreams out in full Cat Noir-esqe fashion, while Plagg mimed vomiting in the background.

Although secretly Mari had been initially concerned that Adrien only liked her due to being Ladybug, that thought was soundly quashed during the Origins episodes, which Malicious had played after the Bubbler. She could imagine Tikki telling her "I told you so." Oh wait. She didn't have to, as the Kwami had told her right then, giggling.

As such, she eagerly replied in the positive, the pair finally having a toe curling kiss that they both remembered. Both felt invincible and thought that nothing could surprise them.

... And then the Collector, their most recent adventure, came up.

In that instant, Adrien's emotional high took a swan dive off a skyscraper, as he was left horrified that the villain that they had been fighting all this time, was none other than his own father. Comforting her beau, Marinette wasn't much better, having seen Gabriel Agreste as an idol due to her passion for fashion designing. Oh, she'd come to terms that he was a cold strict and controlling person, and not entirely the best parent, but this? This was something else entirely. Oh, sure they'd suspected him, and thought him innocent, but to see actual proof of it? It was another thing to see their former theory confirmed.

Plagg had a few choice words for the bastich (Adrien was a comic fan and a huge dork, so he had picked up a few bits of pop culture), while Tikki was so angry that she forgot to tell him off.

As "season two" kicked off in full, the pair were jolted by several new revelations. For starters, the arrivals of Kagami and Luka, both of whom gained the attention of their future selves. Or was that alternate selves? Deciding not to question it, they got back to viewing. Since they hadn't actually met the pair yet, they couldn't really get angry at them for taking their significant others attention. Besides, they had each other now.

Next up were the power up abilities. Both Adrien and Marinette were undoubtedly curious as to what the others did, as they really only showed two of them off.

Hawkmoth's motivation was next, sending the Agreste scion again into a choking fit of tears. That sadness however soon turned to anger, as by that point, he now knew the price of using the Miraculous to make the wish thanks to Robostus. While he wouldn't deny that he'd like to have his mother back, he wasn't about to sacrifice anyone to do it, and he knew his mother would never have condoned such methods. Marinette had been comforting, holding him as he vented.

Moving on, were the temporary holder selections. While Adrien was a little bummed that he wasn't involved in the choosing, he had to agree with Marinette that Alya and Nino were excellent candidates for miraculous'.

Chloé... while she did indeed help them, Marinette wasn't so sure of her ousting her identity, or her motives for originally using the bee miraculous. Not to mention her actions with the train just after it. However, seeing her interactions and history with her mother Audrey were a bit of a surprise and a revelation. And additionally, Chloe had found the bee miraculous by accident, so wasn't really brought in properly.

While a part of Adrien did want to defend his childhood friend, even he couldn't deny that she was not ready for the responsibility of it. Time would tell if that may change.

Aside from that, the pair were often left frustrated at their future selves obliviousness, seeing several situations that could have been avoided had they both known whom the other was. That and several obvious things that should have been a signpost to the others identity. They kept coming so close but were still so far. Adrien made certain to apologise for his alternates stupid bratty behaviour during both Glaciator and Frozer, which had emerged as a result of those situations, to which Marinette had accepted, albeit with a twitching eyebrow, and an upturned nose.

Mayura was the final shock the season gave them. While Scarlet Moth was a frightening concept, a new villain was more concerning. Adrien had smacked himself for not noticing the peacock broach in the safe when he first found the book during Volpina, while Tikki yelled Plagg's ears off for not recognising it either, much to his misery. Marinette had quickly pointed out that Adrien hadn't exactly been looking for the broach, and that he shouldn't blame himself for that. They knew now, didn't they?

Season 3. Now here was where the teens were both left angry at one particular individual, Lila. But also, with other things. Adrien at his future self's inaction, and lack of consideration for future Marinette's feelings, while Marinette was furious at the lack of faith her classmates had in her, instead accepting Lila's deceptions without checking for clarification.

While Adrien could be partly be excused due his social ineptitude and not knowing that Lila was actually threatening Marinette, the fact that he ignored her emotional hurt and instead of putting his foot down after he gave Lila a warning, and she still kept going, he enabled her to do more damage. It disgusted him. Even if he had done it to get Marinette back into school.

Seeing that and her role in the Scarlet Moth incident, not to mention the memories of Volpina still fresh in his mind, he was certainly not going to be taking the moral high ground with that... that bitch again. To which Marinette was incredibly thankful and in full agreement. She wasn't sure if she actually could put up with her friends turning against her like they were being shown too.

It was during this season that both truly understood that while their secret identities had kept them safe, as the episodes also included a few cautionary tales, it once again unintentionally allowed for problems that could have easily been avoidable, playing havoc with their social lives, kept both of them from being able to fully support the other, and was slowly pushing their future selves away from each other.

Marinette was left heartbroken and terrified at her father becoming WereDad over a massive misunderstanding, one she had unintentionally instigated. Both Tikki and Adrien were quick to comfort her, assuring her that it wouldn't happen, while Plagg looked on neutrally, not sure how to act.

Meanwhile there were still a few more light-hearted episodes, such as Bakerix and Reflekdoll. Marinette was eager to reunite her family with her new boyfriend happy to help.

Adrien was later left gaping as hot damn did Mari make his skin-tight leather suit look good. Marinette soon noticed and blushed in embarrassment. That soon passed and she couldn't help but tease him over it, leaving him a stuttering mess, while she secretly checked Mister bug out.

The two other major pieces of note were again, new holders, which came as a surprise in some instances (as well as Marinette and Adrien getting frustrated and distraught over Desperada, or more specifically, alternate Adrien's time as Aspik, which luckily, he learned from), and the "Unify" technique, which while dangerous if used for too long, they both used during the season to temporarily use two miraculous at once. Both were intrigued by the possibilities it offered, and made mental notes to maybe experiment a little with it if Master Fu agreed to let them.

Neither of them were prepared for Cat Blanc. Seeing an alternate version of her partner face that sort of torment, saving her from an Akuma his father deliberately caused by trying to break them apart, only to be blindsided by his father's reveal and motive causing himself to be possessed?!

It was too much for them. Marinette's heart shattered seeing her love practically lay waste to Paris, and nearly defeat her in a fit of insanity, even kill her alternative self, despite it being unintentional. Adrien wasn't much better, having fled the room in tears seeing it. How could he have done that to them!?

It had taken the Ladybug and the Kwami's a few good hours to fully calm him down. And it was here that he had a revelation.

Unlike his counterpart whom had the information thrust in his face with little time to process it, he already knew his father's motives and identity. And as such had had time to get used to it. He would admit he had initially been conflicted on the issue, but after seeing the lengths his father would go to... no. While Gabriel was his father by blood, he had not been a parent to the young Agreste scion for quite some time. He now acted more like a control freak, seeing him as someone to further his own ends. And seeing this cemented it. His father clearly cared more about his own happiness than his only child, as he'd had no qualms beating his alternate with his cane and then akumatizing him, just to accomplish his goal. He needed to be stopped and his miraculous confiscated.

Adrien's course was set, forever bound to his Lady. Hawkmoth would never have hold over him like that again. They had hugged tearfully over it, seeing Marinette stop her unintentional reveal in order to keep them safe, at the cost of keeping them apart, not that she realised that.

By the time the "Battle of the Miraculous" rolled around however, they were at their wits end. Thankfully, both understood that this wouldn't be their future. Adrien was loyal to a fault, promising to never take Marinette for granted now or in future. This earned him a few more kisses from his new girlfriend, which slowly turned his brain to mush.

She on the other hand promised to stick by him and help him with his issues through thick and thin. The pair of them against the world.

They couldn't help but feel for Marinette's alternate self when that season ended. Master Fu gone, her friends trust dwindling, the Miracle box in her possession, and letting Adrien go to let him be happy, not realising that he wasn't certain of anything yet. Neither of them envied her. She had gotten the proverbial end of the stick there.

It was after the viewing session had finished however, that they got a bit of bad news.

Flashback

"What do you mean we can't stop him now?!" Was the combined shout of our two heroes, staring at the cloaked form of Malicious in disbelief and anger. Marinette's arms were stiff by her side, while Adrien was scowling, his arms crossed.

Malicious rubbed his ears, looking at them in slight irritation. "Look, I'm not saying you can't beat Hawkmoth, heck, I'd like nothing more than to truss him up and chuck him in a jail cell, then throw away the key. And possibly do a few other unspeakable things. Unfortunately, my hands are tied here."

Ignoring Plagg's "He deserves it, the bastard.", and the chosen's frustrated faces, Malicious continued evenly, as if discussing the weather.

"Hawkmoth's defeat at your hands is a fixed point in time."

Adrien glanced at his partner, confusion written all over him. Seeing his partner equally perplexed, as well as both Kwami's lost looks, he spoke up. "And a fixed point is?"

Malicious snapped his fingers again, causing the Orange stone to glow for a second, as whiteboard with markers shimmering into existence behind him.

"Imagine this." He started, drawing a straight horizontal black line at one end of the board. "This is your past. And here," he stopped at a third of a way along the board, circling one end of the line. "Is where you are currently in time."

Glancing at them, he gestured to the board. "With me so far?"

"I think so..." Marinette replied, biting her lip, still upset at his earlier proclamation.

"I'm not." Plagg shook his head. "Fluff and Sass would be all over this."

"Plagg!" Tikki looked at him sternly. "It's relatively simple."

"Cut me some slack, Sugar cube- "

"Don't call me that, stinky sock!"

Plagg would have argued further, had Adrien not given him an irritated look. "Keep it up and no Camembert for a week."

"You wouldn't dare..."

"Cheddar sounds like a good alternative."

"You monster!" He cried indignantly, but otherwise said nothing.

Malicious was rather amused at the banter, but was running out of time. Clearing his throat, he waited for the group to simmer down, then went on, drawing several arches leading away from the initial line.

"This is the "Canon" timeline, part of which I just showed you." He said while he drew, multitasking quite well, if you asked him. Returning to the same level as the initial line, he drew a large black dot. "And here is Hawkmoth's defeat."

"Could he get to the point any time soon?" Plagg grumbled, craving some cheese right about now.

"As rude as that was, I was getting there." Malicious chastised, as the rest of them sent some annoyed glares Plagg's way. Returning to his starting point, he drew a series of inverted arches mirroring the other set above them, making the diagram resemble a sound wave. "Now this is what will become the timeline once I send you back."

Turning back from the board to his audience, he conjured a long teachers baton, from a much smaller pocket and pointed to the drawing.

"A fixed point in time is an event that must occur at a specific time and place, as a way of keeping the timelines on a relatively even axis. The exact details don't matter, so long as the event itself takes place with the necessary people around."

"What would happen if it didn't?" Adrien asked, feeling a little uneasy, his mind working through the implications. Malicious' expression turned cold very quickly.

"I'm guessing nothing good, if your tone is anything to go by." Marinette was similarly unnerved, her eyes glued to the board.

Malicious, dismissing the baton, placed his marker on the final arch he drew, nodding solemnly. "Like Newton's third Law says: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction."

From the arch that lead to the dot representing the defeat, he drew a line straight down through it.

"Picture time like a series of tightropes, with the fixed points being the connections to the poles holding it up. Should a fixed point be altered, or fail to take place, it would be like the tightrope coming loose from its tether to come crashing down. And that crash would throw the timeline off its axis, inevitably leading to the collapse of time itself. Destroying everything as you know it."

Cue the dropped jaws. Marinette was, rather ironically, bug-eyed at the revelation, whereas her partner had turned the colour of spoiled milk, the ramifications not lost to either of them.

"Now do you see why I'm insisting you stay your hand? I'm not doing this to upset you, but to keep your entire universe from falling apart at the seams!"

"Yeah..." Marinette choked out, left astounded at the possible consequences of removing Hawkmoth from play early.

"Not only that, but you two most likely aren't ready to face off against him yet. You'll both need time and training before the final battle."

Adrien, having finally recovered from his shock, asked something that had just occurred to him, having been paying attention to Malicious' earlier diagram with the linked arches.

"Are there any other fixed points in our future? You seem to suggest that on the board, and I think we'd rather avoid such a cat-astrophe. Not to mention the other disaster you initially warned us about."

While Marinette punched his arm, the wielder of the infinity gauntlet smirked at the black cat, pleased that he'd been paying attention. "Yes, there are three fixed points that take place during the events I showed you. Everything else is in a state of flux, so you won't have any issues changing other events should you desire. Luckily the disastrous event I showed you isn't a fixed point, but leads to the prevention of another, hence my attempt to change it."

"And those fixed points would be?" Tikki asked curiously, beating her holder to the punch.

"One. Scarlet Moth's first appearance. Two, the destruction of the Feast sentimonster. And three, the guardianship of the Miracle Box being passed. Other than those events, you are free to do with what I've shown you as you wish."

Marinette wasn't sure how to take the news. While she was honoured that the future Master Fu had considered her for such a position, she was only just now seeing just how big a role that would be. Additionally, the part about losing her memories when she would inevitably give the box up to another concerned her. Would she forget being Ladybug? Meeting Tikki? Would she forget Adrien's identity as Cat Noir?! Hell, would she forget Adrien completely?!

Adrien, seeing his lady's panicked expression, placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze, to help calm her down.

"Hey, bug, it's alright. What the pawblem?"

The heroine rolled her eyes at the pun. Trust the boy she loved to be an absolute dork. Still, she loved him for it. And it had certainly done the job of calming her down.

The pink stone glowed briefly, allowing their new ally insight into her concerns. "If you like, I could give the pair of you some mental safeguards, to prevent your memories from being tampered with."

Stunned silence. The teens just stared at him, shocked and a little touched that he would offer such a thing like that. A thing that would be a great asset and defence for them, the viewings of both Oblivio and Miracle Queen springing to mind.

"Even from the cure or the Miracle Box?" Marinette whispered, fingering the strap of her purse, not daring to get her hopes up.

"You forget." Malicious pointed out, raising his gauntlet up for further emphasis. "While I'm not allowed to use the gauntlets full power except in an emergency, that power is only rivalled by using both of your miraculous' together to make the wish. And even then that only lasts so long. One miraculous or miracle box doesn't quite have the power to challenge it, if you'll forgive me for tooting my own horn."

"That's one way of throwing down the gauntlet." Adrien nodded sheepishly, as Mari's eyebrow twitched, "but I think we'll pass on a direct demonstration between them. Those safeguards would be a good thing though. As long as that's all you'll do in there." His tone became guarded at the end, not sure that he wanted someone sifting through his mind.

"Agreed." Marinette accepted quickly, not willing to risk her privacy, before turning to the Kwami's. "Is... this alright?"

"While it's not technically against the rules, I think we can bend them this once." Tikki shook her head, happy that her holder wouldn't necessarily forget about her later. "You technically aren't the guardian yet, so we cannot really stop you. While I know the magic is normally in place to protect wielders, I wouldn't want you to forget me or the things you've done as a hero when someone else takes your place as guardian." She paused, looking down sadly. "It's happened too many times." She looked away from them, as if in remembrance of her past Ladybugs.

"Ditto." Plagg also had an idea about that, but was going to wait until later to bring it up. Shaking his head, he couldn't help but feel sorry for future Wayzz, whom had looked completely crushed when Fu gave the box up. And couldn't blame him. Though the cat Kwami might have come across as an insensitive glutton, he did care about his holders. And Adrien was no exception, though he'd not admit that unless it was necessary.

"Well then," Malicious smiled at them warmly, having grown fond of the pair as they had stayed at his home. "Let's get down to it, and then we can see about getting you home. Don't worry, I have no intentions of intruding where I ought not."

He looked away a little forlornly, which the heroine of the pair noticed. Walking up to their benefactor, she promptly hugged him around the chest, shocking the hell out of him.

"Thank you." She told him graciously. "We won't forget your kindness."

Malicious just looked at her uncomprehendingly. Then he let out an amused huff. "You truly are a gem, Marinette. Never forget that."

"I've said it for months!" Tikki exclaimed, truly radiant that someone else realised how special Marinette was.

Adrien, whom briefly felt a twinge of anger at the shows of affection, quickly calmed down, seeing it as showing platonic support, before making his way over to them to join in.

"Yeah. If you'd like, we can be friends." He offered, looking at them kindly, with Marinette nodding, both having seen how lonely the man was in his isolation, during their interactions. Like them, he was chosen for a great power, but unlike them, he'd had to give everything up as a result. Neither of them could imagine the pain he felt having to leave his family and friends behind.

Malicious stared at them dumbstruck. "Y-you'd do that? Even though we've only known each other for such a short time? Even though I kidnapped you?!"

After seeing that they were both serious, Malicious promised that he wouldn't cry. Thankfully, he managed to keep that promise.

"Fu chose well." He stated simply, before letting out a chuckle. "The pair of you really are made for each other. True heroes."

Standing apart, he raised the gauntlet, utilising the mind stone to set the mental safeguards into place in the chosen's minds. Grimacing slightly, as he had to navigate his way past the magic the miraculous stones gave out, he soon finished, withdrawing from their consciousness'.

"There, done. I'd like to see anything try to break those down."

The model and the designer thanked the man, somewhat relieved that their memories would be safe from interference.

Mal's gaze turned sombre. "Well then, I think we'd better get you both back. I'm sure you have a lot to do."

"Will we ever see you again?" Adrien asked, knowing that they'd have to leave their new acquaintance soon. Malicious had really helped them out with this, being both patient and kind with them, and he was saddened that he would have to leave such a good friend and role model behind.

"If I ever get permission and free time," came the positive reply, though they both knew that it was rather unlikely. "I'll look Paris up. I've been meaning to see how good that Bakery of your parents is." He remarked, glancing at Marinette with a hopeful smile.

Raising his gauntlet up, the space and time stones glowed, allowing for a portal to appear around them.

The last thing they heard was him saying.

"Goodbye... and good luck to the both of you."

With the pair waving their own goodbyes, they disappeared, leaving Malicious alone again.

Turning away from it, he strode away back towards his house, his face looking downcast and worried. Would it work? Were they successful? The questions kept on repeating themselves over and over.

Suddenly, he stiffened, and whirled his head around, looking for something. A pleading look overcame him as a white portal opened up in front of him.

"Miss me, glove guy?" A sassy tone came as the blue white suited form of Bunnyx emerged from it, her arms crossed and with a smirk on her face. Stepping onto the grass, the entrance to her burrow faded away behind her.

Malicious looked at her stunned in awe and wonder, his lips twitching upward, ignoring her usual nickname for him. "It worked?!"

"How about I show you?" She smiled, coming closer, until she was right in front of him.

With that, she wrapped her arms around him, bringing her lips up to his own.

Never had he felt so happy again.

Thank you, you two. He thought, as he held his secret wife in his arms again. You've made my life worth living again.

End Flashback.

"That wasn't a hallucination, was it?" Marinette questioned, somewhat uncertain that it hadn't all been a dream of some sort.

"If it was, its one we both shared, Buginette." Was her partner's reply, turning his green eyes on her. At the same time, he found himself bemused. Who knew just how accurate that nickname actually was?

"Don't call me that, chaton." She muttered out of habit, before shaking her head. "Well, not while I'm Marinette anyway."

"Fair point." Adrien stated, his eyes narrowed in thought. "So, what now?"

"Now," Tikki piped up, exiting her holders purse. "We make plans."

"Do we have to do it now?" Plagg grimaced from inside Adrien's pocket, rubbing his eyes. "Couldn't we sleep on it?"

The other three occupants stared at him with deadpan expressions.

"No."

The pair moved back to Marinette's desk, and promptly sat down. After Marinette picked her pencil cup back up, she pulled out her sketchbook and a pen.

"Alright, so the first question is, how many Akuma's and Sentimonsters do we face, and how do we prevent them?" She tapped her chin with her pencil in thought.

"Probably more than what we saw in the series." Adrien pointed out. "Mr. Ramier apparently gets akumatized a lot, If I remember Timetagger correctly."

"Indeed." Tikki nodded. "Malicious most likely showed us the Akuma's that were important to your development, in order to help bring you closer as miraculous wielders and partners."

"True, but there's one thing you're overlooking." Plagg tiredly pointed out while eating, having gotten some of his Camembert from Adrien's bag.

"What's that?" Marinette blinked, staring confusedly at the gluttonous creature.

"Ironically, the butterfly effect." He replied condescendingly, swallowing the cheese piece in one gulp.

Tikki blinked, wide eyed, looking at her other half in surprise. "How do you know that term?"

"That's probably my doing." Adrien answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he explained. "When I finish my homework or before patrol, I often watch a movie or some tv before we leave. Plagg loves the Terminator franchise."

Tikki turned her head back to the black Kwami, exasperated. "Of course he would." She muttered, shaking her head.

"What? It's cool!" Plagg defended, loving the fighting/action scenes that the series showed.

"Tell that to Salvation and T3." Marinette scoffed, looking irritated at the reminder. "Genisys was better, but not by much."

"And now we're off topic." Tikki sighed, face palming.

"That we are." Adrien agreed, frowning at the implications, not liking them in the slightest. "If we change too much, we run the risk of being unable to predict some events, as my Father may change strategies."

Now there was a thought he never imagined he'd have.

Marinette's eyes softened as she saw his turmoil, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Are you going to be ok at the mansion?"

"I kind of have to be, don't I?" He shrugged, his gaze hardening as he looked out the window briefly. "I've managed to fool him this long, now I just need to take more precautions than before. I'll also be sure to sleep with one eye open."

Marinette frowned, not entirely sure of his answer, but got back to the Akuma issue.

"So what?" She looked incredulous. "We have to let some of the Akuma's happen? Cause I don't know if I can do that."

"I don't either." Adrien pointed out, rubbing his forehead, returning to the matter at hand. "There are definitely a few that we should stop, and some that definitely won't happen already."

"True, but-"

"Pigtails." Plagg cut in, hovering in front of them, his green eyes stern. "Much as you probably don't want to hear this, there are two lessons every hero needs to learn."

"Plagg-" Tikki moved next to him, raising an arm to calm him, but Plagg turned his slitted gaze on her.

"Don't Tikki. We both know they need to understand this." Forgoing his usual nickname for the Kwami of creation, the Kwami of destruction turned to the pair, a rarely serious expression plastered over his face.

"Fact of the matter is, you'll often find yourself in a position where you have to make tough decisions for the betterment of those you protect. Additionally, you need to get that for all your power, you can't save everyone. Thinking otherwise is not only foolhardy, but stupid."

Those words cut them deep. Not only because they came from arguably the most irresponsible of the group, but because of how much they rang true.

While Hawkmoth himself had yet to drop any bodies, they had yet to find a battle where the miraculous cure needed to resurrect someone. And quite frankly, neither of them wanted to see if it could do just that.

Also, Marinette reflected, Adrien did have a point. The recordings they'd seen were a good prediction of future events, but if they started changing things, that timeline may begin to lose accuracy. Still, she was having trouble accepting it. Leaning her face into her palm, she blew a stray hair out of her face, puzzling over the conundrum.

"How about this?" Tikki started, trying to reach a compromise. "How about we list which Akuma's we absolutely must prevent, maybe discuss some strategies, do some work on your school project, and then go see Master Fu tomorrow about this?"

The pair jolted, having completely forgotten the initial reason they were there, after all the madness that had happened. Adrien looked down at the desktop, spotting his project handout where he'd left it.

Staring at it for a second, he switched his gaze back to his new girlfriend.

"I'm cool with that. How about you, Princess?"

Blushing a tad, as the nickname now meant much more than it had previously, Marinette mulled it over.

Sighing, she gave a small nod. "I don't think we have any better ideas right now."

Flipping open her sketchbook to a blank page, the budding designer turned heroine took up her pencil, passing another to Adrien in case he had his own ideas. After that, she moved the book over so that it was placed between them.

With that, she wrote a heading on it.

Akuma Prevention List

"So," she started, tapping her implement on her cheek. "Where do we start?"

"Right off the bat, there's an obvious one." Adrien winced, shaking his head from the bad emotions that had bubbled up during that recent 'episode'.

With that, he reached over and jotted down one name. A name Marinette herself shivered at.

Cat Blanc.

She didn't need to voice her agreement there. That Akuma was better left as something non-existent. Seeing the one person who'd been by her side through everything, added on to him being the love of her life, become an akuma? No. Not on her watch! That Akuma had proven to be the ultimate cautionary tale; a worst-case scenario. What could happen if they weren't careful with their identities. No one else could know of them.

Looking at her partner, whom was looking a tad shaken, she reached over to squeeze his hand. "It won't happen, kitty. I won't let you go down that path."

"I know you won't." He responded reassuringly, returning the gesture, before scowling a fraction. "Doesn't mean I can get what we saw out of my head."

Wrapping her arm around him, she pulled him closer, causing him to turn a little red. Wouldn't Alya be shocked at her daring?

Plagg zoomed forward onto his chosen's chest, coming to give him the closest to a hug as he could. He wasn't going to let this kitten fall to the darkness! If Gabriel tried something, he'd...!

"Let's not get caught on what ifs." Marinette admonished, immediately thinking of other ways to cheer him up, as her partner reached up to pat his Kwami, earning a few purrs.

"That's right. Do that, and you set yourself up for failure." Tikki supported, encouragingly. "Don't beat yourself up over it, Adrien."

"If you do, who'll get me my cheese?!"

Cue Tikki trying to choke out her other half in a way that'd make Homer Simpson proud.

Giving a weak smile, the lovable dork hugged his lady back, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks guys."

The tense moment over, they thought back over the Akuma's they'd seen.

"Weredad." Marinette stated simply, writing his name with a slight fury.

"No arguments here. I don't think that situation is even possible now." Adrien scratched his head for a second. "It only occurred due to a misunderstanding between us, so here's hoping I can keep Cat Noir in your family's good books."

"I don't think that'll be a purroblem, mou Minou." Marinette ruffled his hair, earning a 'Hey!' from him as he swatted it away. Snickering, both at his reaction and her turning his puns against him, she blinked as a thought occurred to her.

"Speaking of us, how should we interact for the time being? As much as I'd like to go on that date you promised," she looked at him uncertainly, her heart falling a little. "I'm not sure your father thinks very highly of me right now, since I only just took the fall for stealing the grimoire from you. Not to mention what we saw later..."

"That's... not wrong." Adrien conceded, his eye twitching in slight irritation. "Alya and Nino probably wouldn't buy your sudden change in behaviour towards me. Not to mention the rest of the class."

"Yup." Marinette's head hit her desk with a small groan. "This is so confusing."

"Time travel or just knowledge of the future?"

"Both!"

"Not so." Tikki shook her head, trying to find a solution. "You just need to make it look gradual to them. Well, your behaviour that is."

Adrien thought for a moment as Marinette lifted her head up.

"So,... we slowly make it look like Marinette gets more confident around me, and that I start to notice her."

"As long as you don't take too long." Plagg grumbled, having recovered from Tikki's earlier rage. "All the lovey-dovey stuff makes me lose my appetite."

"And after that, we need to make sure father and Natalie won't interfere with our relationship when it does inevitably come out." Adrien gave a slight growl there. His father would akumatize Marinette over his dead body!

"Only problem is how?" The pair sat in silence, thinking it over.

"Let's table that can of worms until we talk to Master Fu." Tikki suggested, earning some uncertain looks from the heroes.

"Well, what about Ladybug and Cat Noir?" Marinette looked back at her partner. "It's no secret that you have a crush on me."

"You're just figuring that out now, my lady?" Adrien held his heart in a mocking fashion, leaning down to kiss her. Only to receive a cushion to the head.

"Be serious, kitty." She giggled, before giving a quick peck, because damn that pout should be illegal!

"Ok, ok." He chuckled, blushing. "But, you're right, it won't just disappear. Well, from how I see it, either one of four things could happen."

"And they are?"

"Option one." Adrien began. "Would be Ladybug starting to accept Cats advances. Not only would this please the countless shippers out there, but I could set up a few dates with you while we prepare our civilian selves for that transition."

"But that also carries risks." Marinette replied, recalling the later events of 'season 3'.

"Hawkmoth could try to take advantage of that bond, much earlier than we'd be prepared for. Though we could try doing some of those dates, so long as we make sure no one sees us."

"No more than he tried to ruin our propurr relationship in that timeline?" Adrien pointed out, but looked incredibly chuffed at the thought of taking his lady out on a date.

"There's that." She growled internally, seeing Gabriel deliberately try to break them up just to cause an Akuma. Seeing that, had been what started to seal the deal in Adrien's heart against him, after all.

"Indeed." Tikki agreed. "While beneficial in the short term, not so much in the long run. In time we could do so, but not now."

"Too cheesy anyway." Plagg commented snidely.

"Option two, would be Ladybug finding a way to let Cat down gently, and for him to back off in understanding. Trying to make it look like their relationship will be professional only." Adrien rested his chin in his hands.

"Too be honest, I don't think we'd be able to keep the act up on that one long enough."

"You don't say?" Plagg muttered sarcastically. "One of you would get hit, (here he looked directly at Adrien, whom tried and failed to look innocent) and the other'd go to pieces over it."

"So that's out too." Marinette honestly didn't think that would have worked either. Knowing whom Cat Noir was behind the mask had changed things between them, some for the better, but her worry about him taking hits for her would most certainly go through the roof.

"Option three." He looked at her. "We don't change their public behaviour for the time being."

"That makes some sense." Marinette muttered, rubbing her cheek with her pencil, as their dynamic was pretty well-known all-over Paris. "I could try to be little less harsh with my rebuttals."

"And I'll try to keep the flirting to the beginning and end of the fights, so it won't be as distracting."

"And the puns?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"They stay." He replied quickly. "To get rid of them would be a purrsonal mistake."

Of course they would. She thought, rolling her eyes.

"I've changed my mind. Kagami can have you." She responded mock seriously, receiving a pair of sad kitten eyes that made her heart melt.

The pair were interrupted by a knock at the door. Startled, Marinette flipped her book shut with a snap, as the door opened to allow the kindly form of Sabine Cheng to look in.

"How's the project going? Tom and I were wondering if you'd like some snacks."

"We're taking a small break for a moment." Adrien replied, the excuse coming easily, nodding eagerly at the kindly woman. He would never say no to Dupain-Cheng cooking! "Mari was just showing me some of her designs."

"Oh?" Sabine raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile appearing as she looked at her daughter. "And what did you think?"

"That she is talented and amazing! Her ideas are beautiful, just like her." He grinned, loving the way his partner was slowly turning into a tomato with how red she got.

Sabine chuckled at her daughters flustered face. "Well, as the model, I'm sure you know what you mean."

"Nothing but the truth." Adrien replied honestly. "They're so awesome! I wish I could be as talented in that area."

Marinette looked like she was about to say something, but swivelled back to the desk to hide her embarrassment.

Beaming with amusement, Sabine left with mentions of pain au chocolate. His mouth watering at the thought, Adrien turned back to his partner, whom was glaring at him red faced.

"You and my parents get along far too well." She grumbled, reopening her book.

"Considering the hold on my heart you have; I think I need all the advantages I can get." Came his flippant reply, before something occurred to his partner.

"What was Option Four, out of curiosity?"

"I thought I was the cat between us?" Was the cheeky response.

"You know what I mean, silly kitty!"

"Option four was Cat Noir or Ladybug going after the other in civilian form."

Marinette paused writing mid-stroke, before looking at him in wide-eyed disbelief. "Are you nuts?!"

"No, though admittedly it is a rather foolish option." Adrien conceded, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"No kidding! Should the paparazzi find out, our civilian side would be in danger." She shook her head at him. Smart though he could be, he could also be rather dim sometimes, especially in social situations. Fixing that was a work in progress. Still, his reaction was a little cute.

"Perhaps we should get back to the Akuma's?" He suggested, thinking their course was decided.

"Let's." Both Kwami's spoke together, which was a little creepy when the pair thought about it.

Marinette then locked her eyes on Plagg.

"Kwami Buster." She growled, staring at the cat god with the evil eye. And quite frankly, Adrien didn't blame her.

Plagg made to protest, but Adrien cut him off, with a glare that bordered no arguments. "Definitely. I'll be making sure he doesn't sneak off anymore."

"And I'll help." Tikki added, not at all pleased with how Plagg's stomach led to not only Rogercop, but practically announced the existence of Kwami's to Paris. Seeing everyone against him, Plagg retreated to Adrien's pocket, looking a little indignant, but not really having anything to say in his defence.

"Befana?" Was Adrien's next suggestion.

"Yes, I'd rather not have to fight her."

"That reminds me, I'll have to get you something to go with that charm, to at least give you some form of surprise... and get you a Christmas present before then." He rubbed his chin, recalling Santa Claws occurring next.

While Adrien was pondering potential gifts for his secret girlfriend, Marinette thought for a second, before writing a second list next to her first.

Akuma/sentimonster non preventable. Even writing it left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth.

Immediately putting Feast into the new list, remembering Mal's warnings, she added Sandboy quickly after. It wasn't like the pair could stop nightmares from occurring after all. However, she knocked over her pencil cup with her elbow as she did so, spilling them all over Adrien's lap.

Snapped out of his birthday/Christmas gift planning, he hurriedly moved to pick them up, waving off her stammered apologies.

Putting them back, he soon noticed her second list.

"How about Gorizilla?"

Marinette twirled her pencil around her finger. "Maybe. It'll depend if Gabriel gets suspicious of you or not. But if we do, we'll definitely be changing events around it! I'm not letting you throw yourself off a building!" She added, shuddering at the last bit.

"And I think we may want to avoid the media attention, especially of you in your pyjamas..." Adrien blushed at the thought. "That would be a social cat-astrophe!"

Swatting her boyfriend with a backhand for the pun, a slightly flustered Marinette wrote the name down with a question mark next to it.

"I think Glaciator should go on the prevention list. I don't see how either of us would stand the other up that time." She commented, explaining her rationale to a nodding cat.

She turned back to Adrien only to notice him suddenly looking contemplative, and a tad disturbed at the same time.

"What's wrong?"

"Something just occurred to me, based on Malicious' wording of things."

"Shocker." Plagg piped up, earning a glare.

"Parmesan, I swear!"

"... I'll be good."

Marinette giggled at Plagg, whom looked like he just bitten into a lemon.

"What is it, Adrien?" Tikki asked, hovering between them, looking slightly curious at his expression.

"Timetagger. Malicious said that Hawkmoth's defeat was a fixed point. He never told us if someone else getting the butterfly miraculous is a part of that, or if the Hawkmoth he meant is the future one, not Gabriel."

His statement brought the rest of them up short. That... was an interesting point to say the least. Malicious had certainly implied that the fixed point referred to Gabriel, but he'd never outright said it.

"We cannot be certain of that." Tikki pointed out. "We can only work with what we know."

"True, but that episode did hint as to whom the future Hawkmoth would be." Marinette replied, scowling as a spark of fury ignited in her chest.

Seeing her anger, Adrien stood up, and moved behind her, rubbing her back. "Easy, Princess, she hasn't done it yet. Nor will she, if we have anything to say about it."

Letting the spark extinguish, she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as she relaxed into the massage. Exactly why had she been so shy around him again?

"Although,..." she looked up at him. "There might be another possibility for the future Hawkmoth."

"Whom?"

"Felix. As much as it pains me to say." Adrien grimaced, remembering what his cousin would do to him, hurting Rose, Alya and Juleka in the process. All because he was upset at a family heirloom not being returned.

Marinette stiffened at the reminder. "That was a creepy showing. Seeing someone near identical to you doing what he did." She shivered.

"It might just be me looking too much into it, but I can't help but wonder..." Adrien sighed, breaking off. True, he hadn't seen Felix in a long time, and known he could be a jerk at times, but he'd never expected this from him. As he thought it over, another thing occurred to him.

"That's another thing, our friends."

Marinette popped her left eye open a bit. "What about them?"

"Should we make it so that at least some if not all of them don't get taken in by Lila's tall tales?"

Marinette didn't even think to decide her answer. "Hell yes."

"So, how would we do that?"

Marinette stood up, wrapping her arms around him. "Let's talk about that later. She won't even be back until several months from now. Right now, I think we need to work on the project."

"Alright," Adrien reluctantly accepted, sitting back down. "But we will talk about that later."

"Oh, definitely."

And with that, the pair got back to work, puzzling over their future presentation. While the future was unknown, the pair would face it together. The lucky duo were now truly united as one. And Hawkmoth would never know what hit him.

But first...

*buzz, buzz*

Marinette blinked as her phone went off, indicating a text message arriving.

Pulling it out of her purse, she glanced at the sender. Alya.

Of course it is... she rolled her eyes. The reporter probably wanted deets on how the project with Adrien was going. And was probably going to prompt that she ask him out.

Then she took a glimpse at the message itself.

At the same time, Adrien got a notification on his phone.

Both quickly stood bolt upright, looking each other in the eye. "AKUMA!" They cried out together.

"Well, M'lady, I think it's time we once again teach my father that we can fight our own battles." Adrien commented amusedly.

Shaking her head at her dork of a cat, Marinette decided to get on with it.

"Ready, Kitty?"

"With you? Always." Adrien grinned, earning a slightly red face from his partner. They stared at each other for a moment, losing each other in their eyes.

"Ahem!" Until Tikki decided to get them back on track with a clearing of her throat.

"Come on, let's get a move on." Plagg grumbled, just wanting the lovey dovey stuff over with. Even if it meant work, which was saying something.

"Right. Tikki,-"

"Plagg,-"

"SPOTS ON/CLAWS OUT!"

End of Chapter 1.

AN: well, the heroes are back and have begun making plans. Next chapter will involve them meeting, as well as Plagg voicing his idea that he came up with.

Now some of you may be wondering why Adrien seems to be taking this so well as he is. It helps that he's had a few days at the Infinity Mansion to process it completely, and had some emotional support from Marinette, Plagg, Tikki and Malicious. Unlike in canon, where he was completely blindsided by the knowledge during Cat Blanc. Additionally, he now knows for certain the consequences of the wish. From what I can tell from the dub, Marinette mentions during their scuffle that there would be a price to pay. It might be that Cat Noir of that timeline wasn't aware of the balancing out effect.

True, during Gorizilla, Gabriel does show that he cares about Adrien, a lot of that care seemed to go right out the window when he found out about his identity as Cat Noir. Instead of worrying that he may have hurt his son, he just thought that the miraculous would soon be in his possession. He then proceeded to beat his child with his cane and try to manipulate his emotions. If that isn't child abuse, I don't know what is.

However, we are going to see some fears and insecurities flare up again when Adrien has to return to the mansion, as he now knows that he's been right under his enemies nose the entire time. Naturally, Adrien is going to have to try hard not to appear on edge in his own home.

Now, also about Cat Blanc. The creators claim that it was why a relationship between the heroes was impossible while Hawkmoth was still around. I DISAGREE! I see Cat Blanc as a worse case scenario, not an absolute, as I'm sure a fair few of you fans out there agree. The problem is how to approach said relationship, and to ensure Gabriel doesn't interfere. Exactly how they'll do that, is a mystery for another day.

Additionally, some may be wondering why I set the story right after the Collector. The answer was due to the love square still going strong at that point, and that neither Kagami nor Luka had entered the game. While both characters were attracted to them, they still focused on their original crushes first, moving on only when it seems said crush wasn't reciprocated. Now that they know it is from both parties, it'll save a lot of hassle. Not to say that there won't be some rocky moments, because there will be.

Finally, this fic will be addressing a few of the characters flaws, such as Adrien's social naivety/ineptitude and for him to understand how to stand up for himself and others. I got quite angry over some of his actions during season 3, but realised that it wasn't really his fault, and more to do with how he was raised. After that, while disappointed, I pitied him more. While Marinette will learn that it's ok say no to certain people, and save herself a huge amount of stress in the process due to not piling so much on her plate. There will be some other flaws addressed, but those are the major ones.

I hope this explanation satisfies you all.

As said previously, kindly drop a review, but NO FLAMES! I am not forcing anyone to read this, and I am willing to accept constructive criticism, as it will only serve to make the fic better. But if you have nothing but insults, I kindly ask that you just look elsewhere, instead of hurling verbal abuse at me. There are fics that I dislike, but I will respect the direction those authors wish to take, it just means that I won't read them any further. All I ask is that you readers extend me the same courtesy and respect I show others.

Thank you.

Well then, until next time:

MH OUT!