Hello my lovely readers! I know it has been forever since I have posted, and thank you all for patiently waiting. This is my longest chapter yet, and I am so excited to be continuing this story. The next chapters are going to be very interesting and potentially difficult to write. I can't promise any release date seeing as how I haven't started the next chapter yet, but I hope to have it ready by the end of July.

Thank you once again HappGorl for beta reading this chapter!

Just twenty more minutes. Marinette smiled to herself, closing the oven and setting the timer. The only thing left to do within that time was to whip up the glaze - a task she had completed hundreds of times.

She had finished preparing the dough and the passion fruit curd the night before. Adrien's absence, though essential and quite important, had left her mind wandering crazily. Plagg hadn't been up for much conversation, and Marinette had needed anything, anything to keep her from thinking about her actions from earlier in the evening.

She had tried picking a movie; there was an eight year supply of content to catch up on. Surely, with that kind of selection, she could keep her mind busy.

But no.

Nomatter what she tried- romance (a really bad idea), comedy, action, and even anime- nothing kept her mind from wandering back to her idiotic, flirtatious actions.

"Why did I act like that?!" Marinette had groaned, while flipping through the options on the screen, nearly flinging the remote as she flailed her arms in the process.

But it wasn't just her own actions that had kept her from being able to focus on the TV. No. It had been that gosh darn cat with his smarmy smirking and banter. This was nothing unusual from him, really, but knowing he was Adrien, that he would one day be her… lover.

That made things different.

Different enough for her to turn into a full on seductrice as soon as she activated the black cat miraculous. Seriously! What was up with that ring?! It wasn't until she had detransformed and Plagg had dashed out of the room that she realized what she had been doing.

'Operation: Don't Tempt my Future Husband' had been a disaster, and images of Adrien's surprised face, leading into him eventually reaching, no chasing after her plagued her thoughts, completely covering up anything that was being shown on the TV screen.

No.

Watching something was not enough. She had to find something that would require her to think. To occupy so much of her mind, that there was no room for any more of these mindless images. She needed to focus - to be active...

"That's it!" she had shouted, turning off the TV. Why hadn't she thought of this before?

The solution was simple. Baking.

Make something new.

Focus all of her mind and energy on making something unique, something she could give to Adrien in the morning.

And that's what she had done, spending nearly an hour alone just thinking of the perfect recipe. By the time she had completed the homemade dough and her own, special passionfruit curd, she had been too tired to think of anything. Adrien and Tikki still hadn't come home, but she didn't care - all she wanted to do was sleep.

Marinette had only been mildly aware of Tikki tiredly returning, mumbling something about Marinette's behavior and how they would discuss it in the morning. But she had been too tired to respond, not even opening her eyes or shifting in her covers to let Tikki know she had heard her. And much to Marinette's happiness, Tikki had shown no signs of waking up any time soon this morning.

Strange. Marinette had thought not long after she had dragged herself out of bed, trying her best to make her way down the stairs without them creaking. She was hardly ever the first person awake within a house. Granted, she didn't know Adrien or Plagg's sleeping patterns, but he had always seemed like a person that would be an early riser.

Clearly she needed to shift her thinking. Because sure enough, there he had been, sprawled on the couch, mouth hanging slightly open at well past nine in the morning.

Marinette had gasped slightly, her heart palpitating at seeing his unkempt yet all too attractive appearance, immediately averting her gaze and rushing into the kitchen.

Flashes of the day before danced at the edges of her thoughts, but she had quickly gotten to work, focusing on assembling her premade ingredients, adding some more personal touches here and there as she molded her pastries. But the work had gone by quicker than she expected, and here she was, left with only the simplest of tasks before she was finished.

Marinette sighed, turning away from the oven, looking haphazardly across the kitchen. It was a beautiful morning, and Marinette paused for a moment, soaking in the room's cozy and heartwarming feeling. This kitchen wasn't huge by any means, but it had everything she could possibly need. With white, speckled granite countertops and white cabinets, it was perfect at reflecting the light pouring in through the eastward facing windows. Being open to the living room certainly helped with its overall brightness and a feeling of largeness even though the space was relatively small.

She glanced towards the leftover fruit on the counter, wondering for the millionth time if making a passionfruit Danish was the right decision.

Sure, she had long known passionfruit was one of Adrien's favorite flavors. In her younger, cringeworthy stalker years (as she called them), it had been easy for her to figure out he liked it. But she had wasted so much time making those silly passionfruit macarons, nearly killing someone else with her obsession in the process, and she hadn't made one for him since.

What if this time was just as disastrous? She lowered her head, rubbing both of her hands violently through her hair. What if passion fruit flavored items brought bad luck and something terrible happened?

A moaning sound from the living room interrupted her thoughts. Lowering her hands from her head, she tiptoed forward, glancing over the counter, and catching her breath at seeing Adrien stretching on the couch.

I'm not ready for him to wake up! She internally screamed, standing as still as possible, continuing to hold her breath.

Relaxing his arms back down, he tucked his hands beneath his chin, turning to his side, beginning to breathe deep, sleep-filled breaths. With his face now aimed directly towards Marinette, she couldn't help but to be pulled in, unable to break her gaze from his serene, restful features.

Her heart faltered as she tried to inhale, maintaining a rhythm of slow, steady breaths. She still couldn't believe it. Adrien Agreste was sleeping right in front of her. She was in his house, her house, eight years in the future.

Nothing about this seemed real. Could this really be her life? Or was she stuck in some sort of dream. Maybe the akuma had put her into some sort of fantasy world instead of actually being sent in the future.

If that were the case, then none of this was actually happening. Maybe Chat Noir wasn't even really Adrien. And if all that was true then what happened the day before, it would have all just been in her imagination!

Stop being stupid! Marinette slapped at her cheeks, trying to force herself to focus. This was real. It was too far fetched to be something that she could have conjured on her own. No. All of this was happening, and she just needed to own up to her mistakes and finish making breakfast!

She relaxed her shoulders, walking back over to the island in the center of the kitchen, grabbing the bag of confectionary sugar and a measuring cup. Meticulously measuring one half of a cup, Marinette dumped the sugar into an empty bowl she had already set out on the counter.

Since all of this was real - she tapped her chin, walking over to the refrigerator and grabbing the gallon of milk - then soon, and very soon she would be revealing herself to her Adrien. A shiver ran down her spine. What would she say? How would she even approach him?

Marinette carefully poured two tablespoons worth of milk into the bowl, thinking about what she had been doing before she ended up in the future.

She and Chat had just arrived at the scene of the Akuma.

Adrien said that she will return on the same day, but did that mean she would magically reappear in that exact moment, or would she arrive after the battle was over?

She reached for the vanilla, adding half a teaspoon, imagining herself trying to defeat an Akuma alongside an oblivious, younger Adrien. Would she be able to do it? Or would she immediately spill her secret, rushing at him, unable to keep her hands, her lips to herself?

Because no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, the more time she spent here, the more and more she just wanted to kiss Adrien.

Shuttering at that dangerous thought, she picked up an unused passionfruit and a fine grater, zesting just the right amount into the soon-to-be mixture.

Marinette sighed, realizing that trying to predict the future was futile as she grabbed a spoon from the drawer, beginning to mix the glaze. And even though Adrien could just give her all the answers, she knew, without a doubt, there was no point in asking - he wouldn't.

"Mmmm," Marinette froze, hearing the said man's voice suddenly behind her. "How did you know to make my favorite breakfast?"

"What?!" She squeaked, hastily turning to face him, her glaze covered spoon only coming inches from bopping him in the nose.

Gently pushing the utensil down, out of his face, Adrien softly smiled. "Well, good morning to you, too, Mare Bear."

Marinette's throat tightened, her breaths now hot and staggered, acutely aware of his fingers resting atop of hers against the spoon.

"Not that I wouldn't mind a taste," he added, "but please try not wack me in the face."

"I didn't," she snarkily rebutted, pulling her hand from his grasp and placing the spoon into the bowl.

Right. Act like Ladybug. Don't be affected by him.

"And if you don't want to get creamed in the face," she placed her hand on her hip, pointing her other index finger directly towards Adrien, "then don't sneak up on someone working in the kitchen!"

"Besides," she added, "what do you mean this is your favorite breakfast? This is my first time making this. And how do you even know what I'm baking?"

"Really?" Adrien raised his brow. "Well, it's certainly not the first time I've had it. I'd recognize the smell of your passion fruit Danishes anytime."

Marinette pouted, it really was hard to try out new recipes on someone from the future, especially when that person was her husband. Well, she supposed, it must be a success since Adrien was saying it was his favorite breakfast.

"But this is actually the first time you ever made it?" Adrien smiled, scratching the back of his head. "This whole time travel thing is so weird. No wonder you were so confident that I would love it."

"Right," Marinette responded, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms, resigning herself not to think too much about it. Adrien was right. This whole time travel business really was bizarre. "So how did things go with Jeffery last night?"

Adrien sighed, moving to lean against the counter alongside Marinette, his hands resting awkwardly on the countertop behind him. "It went." He crossed his feet.

"Honestly, it was really hard hearing about his situation. Apparently his dad is an alcoholic and caused his family to fall into loads of debt."

Adrien raised one hand brushing his fingers through his hair along one entire side of his head. "I know Chat Noir promised that Adrien would help him, but I really don't know what the correct solution is."

Marinette unfurled her arms, standing up straight and turning towards him. "Adrien, I'm-"

"Don't worry about it," he raised his hand, smiling that fake smile she had seen on Chat Noir a million times. Man, she really had been oblivious to his emotions. Clearly, the smile wasn't reaching his eyes. How many times had she ignored his pain, his sadness just because she didn't want to see it - to actually look at him close enough to figure out something was wrong?

"I'll figure it out," he continued as Marinette tried not to cry, thinking of all those missed moments of providing him comfort. "Besides, let's not talk about this right now, I really need to go get dressed so that I can properly enjoy this royal treatment."

"Of course," she coughed, assessing his unkempt garments, putting her regrets aside and following Adrien's lead of lightening the conversation. "You look like a stray. Only house cats deserve my homemade breakfast."

"Oh?" Adrien smirked, raising his brow again as he pushed off the counter, stopping only inches from Marinette, causing her to back in order to keep her balance. "Are you dissing my bed hair, m'Lady? I thought you loved it."

Heart pounding wildly, Marinette's ears burned as she simply stood, eyes fluttering as she tried not to be attracted to his all-too-seductive visage.

"What? You're not even going to bother to deny it?" He wiggled his eyebrows, leaning his face down even closer. "Cat got your tongue or-"

Catching a whiff of Adrien's morning breath, Marinette shook her head, snapping into action. "Get out of here you mangy cat!" She moved her palms to his chest, shoving him backwards. "Brush your teeth and take a quick shower. Like I said, I will not feed strays."

Adrien quickly caught his balance, his expression shocked but amused. "Yes ma'am." He lowered his head, scooting his feet towards the living room. "I guess even an alleycat like me is willing to freshen up in order to sink my teeth into your famous Danish."

"Just get going," Marinette gestured towards the door, looking at the timer on the oven. "You only have about twelve minutes."

"Pff," he raised his head, rolling his eyes as he began walking backwards in order to still face Marinette. "That's not even a challenge."

"Great." Marinette smiled.

Geez, why did she find his actions so adorable?

"Then you'll have no problem waking up Plagg and Tikki on your way. I made them their own, special Danishes."

"No prob." He saluted, managing to catch his heel on the threshold, causing him to stagger slightly backwards.

Marinette batted her lashes in utter astonishment.

"I meant to do that!" He bowed in his final rebalancing step. "Just wanted to make my exit dramatic."

She raised her hand to her mouth, trying to stop the laughter from coming out as Adrien straightened back up, offering her the most genuine, Chatlike grin she had ever seen on him.

Seriously, how had she ever deemed this dweeb of a boy as perfect?

His smile softened, making that strange, nearly suffocating tingling sensation return once again throughout her entire body.

No.

She shouldn't think of it like that. Just because he wasn't what her stupid, one-tracked mind had imagined, didn't mean that this man in front of her wasn't perfection.

Sure, he had awful puns and stinkier morning breath than she could have ever imagined, but even with those flaws (were they even flaws?), Adrien was her future husband. A man who was sweet, silly, a bit clumsy at times, and terrible at baking.

Yes.

This Adrien was real. He was filled with pain, a past, but beautiful happiness. This was how a relationship, a husband was supposed to be.

This, no he, was perfect.

He wasn't like some sort of man-made diamond like his father had wanted him to be - like Marinette had originally expected. While essentially flawless and full of beauty, being exceptionally worthless. No, Adrien was the real thing. Stunning and exquisite, but when looked at close enough, covered in the all-too-important inclusions and blemishes that makes the stone a true diamond.

Marinette grinned, thinking how fitting it was that men proposed with diamonds - a physical representation of the man, himself being given to his woman.

Yes. Adrien was Marinette's diamond.

"See you in a few minutes," he waved, intensifying the tingling, no, burning sensation racing through Marinette as he turned on his heels and headed towards the stairs.

She took in a breath, trying to calm her nerves. "Yup," she barely managed to squeak out as he disappeared up the stairs.

Marinette inhaled again, letting out a long, audible breath. She didn't know how much longer she could handle this. She'd been with him for what? Two minutes? And she was already falling to pieces.

How on earth was she going to get through breakfast?

Breakfast.

Right.

Focus Marinette!

One thing at a time. First she needed to finish that glaze.

Turning back towards the counter, Marinette glanced towards the timer.

Eleven minutes.

Only one minute had passed since she had told Adrien to hurry. At this rate of time passing, she wouldn't be surprised if he could complete an entire marathon before that stupid timer went off.

She shook her head, walking back towards the counter, picking up the bowl to finish whipping the glaze.

As she finished stirring, the electric, uncomfortable tingle once again jolted through her insides.

She was one step closer to seeing Adrien.

"Stop it. Stop it!" She stomped her foot, placing the bowl on the counter and ruffling her hair again with both of her hands. Focus!

"Stop what?" Tikki's familiar voice chirruped behind her.

"Mmm! Camembert Danish…" Plagg dreamily sung, floating into Marinette's vision on his way towards the oven.

Marinette glanced back at Tikki, shaking her head, signaling that she would not answer that question. Hurriedly turning her attention back to Plagg, she clutched his tail, stopping him from dream-flying right into the oven. "Hold your horses," she sweetly spoke. "You have to wait until it's finished."

Dragging the dazed cat loftily through the air, Marinette snickered to herself.

Geez these cats are so impatient!

"Would you like some help setting the table?" Tikki asked as Marinette plopped Plagg onto the tabletop, motioning for him to stay put by pointing her first two fingers towards her eyes and then flipping her hand and pointing her index finger towards him.

Marinette swiftly turned towards Tikki, smiling. "That would be great!"

After detailing Tikki on the layout of the kitchen and instructing her on what to set, Marinette placed her focus on tidying up her mess - a task not nearly as daunting as one might think, because she had always been conscientious of keeping things clean throughout her entire baking process.

"How was your evening with Plagg?" Tikki giggled, placing two small plates on the table, clearly for herself and the aforementioned cat who still sat, hypnotically staring towards the oven.

Marinette wiped the counter with a rag, tilting her head as she responded, "Surprisingly quiet. After flying out of the room like he was told, he pretty much kept his distance, and when he was around, he didn't really say much."

"Hmm," Tikki hummed, flying towards the cabinet to grab some glasses. "He was probably embarrassed." She flitted to the table, setting the glasses down carefully. "And moping."

Images of Plagg's somewhat saddened face from the night before flashed through her mind.

"I guess," Marinette shrugged, returning the rag to the sink. "I get why he may have felt uncomfortable, but why would he have been sulking?"

She headed to the refrigerator, opening it and pulling out a bundle of grapes.

"It seems silly doesn't it?" Tikki flitted to the utensil drawer, picking out what she needed. "But if there is one thing I know about Plagg, it's that he is extremely possessive."

Marinette returned to the sink, turning on the water to rinse the grapes as she pondered that statement, thinking back to a plethora of Chat Noir's, no Adrien's actions. Hadn't the akuma, Copycat, been caused because of his jealousy between Chat and Ladybug's relationship. She always had wondered what exactly Chat must have said to him to make him flip out like that. Marinette had always suspected that Chat may have bended the truth a bit in order to make that man think they were in an actual relationship. Had Chat really felt threatened enough that he would have to do something like that?

But now, she had to wonder if those actions had been influenced not only by Adrien's feelings, but by Plagg's nature as well.

"I know what you're thinking," Tikki's small voice danced across the room as she gently placed the silverware in their proper position on the table. "Yes. All black cats have that somewhat safeguarding attribute. When they are transformed, this covetous characteristic becomes magnified with Plagg's influence."

Marinette blew a stray hair from her face, breaking the grapevine in half as she headed towards the tiny, round table.

"But it's nothing you should be worried about," Tikki continued, placing the final fork and glazing up, looking into Marinette's eyes. "While they may be a little reluctant to share the one they love with anyone else, they are inordinately loyal and will stop at nothing to protect the ones in which they have grown attached."

Tikki grinned, glancing back towards the black Kwami who was still entranced by the delicious smell. "Besides, I find it kind of cute when Plagg pouts."

Marinette gently plated the grapes, enjoying the heat from the sun shining through the floor to ceiling windows right next to the table.

She paused, looking out into the rose garden, her eyes becoming transfixed on three bees weaving back and forth from flower to flower in some seemingly choreographed motion. "My question, however," Marinette folded her arms, following the bees' dance, "is do you think Plagg was jealous over you or Adrien?"

"Yes!" Tikki giggled, flitting away, towards the refrigerator, returning a few moments later with the milk jug. "Should I go ahead and fill the glasses, or pour this into a pitcher?"

The bees flew out of sight, causing Marinette to break her connection with the outside. She turned back towards Tikki. "I think a pitcher is a good idea. Let me go find a nice one."

She returned to the island, opening one of the drawers she hadn't peeked into as of yet, her mind not able to move on from what Tikki had said. All black cats have that same, sheltering personality. If that was the case, then was there something about herself that made her like all other Ladybugs? Some kind of trait that made her similar to Tikki?

She peeked through the drawer, finding nothing but oversized water bottles, and deciding to move on to the next one. As she opened the new drawer, she tried to think about how she and Tikki were alike, but nothing came to mind. Tikki was an early riser, always knew exactly what to say, and completed everything with confidence. None of those attribute's could describe Marinette's clumsy personality. So what was it?

"Tikki, can I ask you a question?" Marinette started, locating a beautiful floral, ceramic pitcher inside the drawer she had just opened.

"Sure," the kwami responded from behind Marinette's shoulder. "Oh how pretty!"

Tikki lifted the pitcher from the drawer, carrying it over to the table.

Marinette stared after her. "Is there some kind of characteristic that you and I share, like Plagg and Adrien?"

Tikki sat the pitcher down, flying back towards Marinette, landing on the hand that Marinette had reflexively reached out for her. "Of course there is! Adrien and Plagg don't just share that one thing. That is just one attribute out of the many! Why do you think it was so weird when Plagg's personality influenced you as you were the black cat? It just didn't fit. With Adrien, Plagg's idiosyncrasies enhance his own. They are traits that are already there, so they are much more natural."

"So…" Marinette tried to to butt in.

"So!" Tikki went on. "It's the same for you and me. There's nothing about who you are as Ladybug that appears just because of the suit. I just help accentuate what is already there!"

"And what exactly is that?" Marinette tilted her head.

Beep, beep, beep!

"My Camembert is ready!" Plagg rushed into Marinette's face, nearly giving her a heart attack. "Get it out! Get it out, now!"

"Please?" Tikki motioned at him and then towards Marinette.

"That's okay," Marinette responded, walking towards the oven and turning the timer off. "He's just excited. I know someone else who can be a bit eager at times."

She opened the door, waves of rolling heat leaving a trail of moisture on her face and stuck within her eyebrows. Grabbing a potholder from a nearby drawer, Marinette hurriedly retrieved the tray, setting it atop the stove.

"My Camembert!" Plagg dashed towards the pastries. But Marinette was faster, catching him by the tail just as she did earlier and dragging him back to the table.

"Keep your paws off for just a few more minutes," she smiled, picturing Adrien acting the same way if he were down here. "I need to add the glaze and let it cool down a little so it doesn't burn your mouth."

"Fine," he crossed his arms, frowning.

"Good." She returned to the island, grabbing the bowl with the glaze, scooping out some with the spoon, holding it over a single pastry, slowly letting it drip into a beautifully striped pattern.

"This is always my favorite part!" Tikki sung, setting herself on Marinette's shoulder. "Can I help?"

"Sure," Marinette grinned towards the Kwami. "I can't wait to see what designs you come up with this time."

Working as a team, the duo completed their task surprisingly quickly. Partly because neither of them talked - their intricate designs monopolizing all of their focus.

Carrying the tray to the table, Marinette carefully dished the Danishes onto their respective plates as Tikki poured the milk into the pitcher and returned the jug to the fridge. Marinette deposited the empty tray into the dishwasher- along with the bowl and spoons used for the glaze- grabbing one leftover passion fruit, cutting it in half and adding the two pieces to her and Adrien's plates.

Finally finished, she stepped back, taking in a deep breath, proud of her simple, yet adorable presentation. The small, round, maple table sat perfectly in the corner of the kitchen, placed directly in the center of four, large floor to ceiling windows. The mid-morning sun shown like a spotlight on the table, yet was somehow positioned to where it wouldn't be shining in their eyes. Two large plates were placed opposite of each other while Plagg's was right by the window, and Tikki's sat opposite of his. Each Danish had its own design- one with stripes, another with flowers, and two more with ladybug and cat designs. There were many more Danishes placed in a basket in the middle of the table - all with their own flair and inspiration. Marinette couldn't blame Plagg for feeling anxious; apart from the Camembert, the kitchen was filled with a rich, nearly heavenly scent of freshly baked pastries.

"This looks amazing."

The, now familiar, electric tingle surged through Marinette's body at hearing the unexpected voice suddenly behind her.

Crap!

She stood, frozen- not even willing to turn in his direction.

Had she really forgotten Adrien was going to come back down?

He peeped around her, leaning and balancing on one foot as he waved. "Are you going to invite me to sit down?"

Marinette blinked, remembering, quite against her will, the longing, almost lustful look on his face as he had reached out, trying to catch her the night before.

Her heart faltered as the much needed oxygen seemingly refused to enter her lungs.

No!

She had to calm herself down. She had to push that out of her mind- to picture Adrien just as she had before. Things had been going so well. Things had been so normal. She couldn't mess everything up now.

"Yes." She nodded, swallowing way too loudly, finding his wet, freshly washed hair way too adorable. "Let's sit."

She gestured towards Adrien's chair as she walked towards her own.

But he didn't go in the direction she had pointed, instead cutting in front of her to pull out her chair, the aroma of the shampoo she had used the day before hitting her in his wake, causing her to reflexively inhale, raising her shoulders in delight. The sudden urge to play with his hair, scratching his head to his heart's content was almost overwhelming.

"My Lady," he grinned, motioning for her to sit down.

She hastily obliged, sliding into her seat, slightly alarmed when he pushed her closer to the table. "Thanks," her voice cracked as he headed over to his chair.

"There's no need to thank me," he purred. "You're the one who cooked these fantastic looking Danishes."

"Which apparently you are already well acquainted with the taste of."

Adrien shrugged his shoulders, picking up the pitcher and pouring himself a glass of milk. "Doesn't change the fact that I love them."

"Can we stop talking about how good the food is going to taste and just eat now?" Plagg whined, holding his Camembert Danish a mere inch from his mouth.

"Yes, you can go ahead and eat it," Marinette said, nodding. "Tikki, yours has chocolate chips inside." She smiled, reaching for the specially made Danish and placing it on Tikki's plate. "There's a few extra if you want more after you finish that one."

"Thank you Marinette!" Tikki scooped the pastry from the plate, hastily taking her first bite.

"Well, they're excited," Marinette giggled as she watched Plagg dive for his second Danish.

"Mhm," Adrien agreed.

Marinette turned towards him just in time to see him shovel in his final bite, pastry flakes littering the edges of his mouth, as he bounced up and down, quietly moaning in delight as he chewed.

So cute!

Her smile widened, watching him perform his happy dance, mentally telling herself to add the fact that Adrien was a super huge foodie to her "Things-she-somehow-didn't-notice-about-Adrien" list (a list that she literally just named but was already extremely full).

Adrien finally swallowed his bite, washing the final crumbs down with a big gulp of his milk. Wiping the wetness from his lip with his arm, he stared towards Marinette. "What? Why do you keep smiling at me like that?"

Marinette shook her head, turning her focus to the platter in the middle of the table, realizing how strange it was that she had just been watching him eat his food. "Oh, no reason." She grabbed a pastry, lifting it towards her mouth. "I was just impurressed with how clawsomely fast you garbled down that Danish. You looked like you were pawsitively enjoying it."

She took a bite, the delicate mix of sweet, savory, and sour flavors exploding in her mouth. Only having tasted each ingredient separately, Marinette was not prepared for the absolutely perfectly cohesive result. It was as if these flavors were made to be together. As if they had been placed on the earth simply to one day be brought together in this one euphoric dish. No wonder these were Adrien's favorite and had elicited such a happy response from him.

"Did you just use three cat puns in a row?"

Marinette tore her focus from the delectable morsel in her hand, glancing back towards Adrien who sat with his arms crossed and his right brow raised.

She swallowed her bite. "You heard me. Why do you need to ask?"

"I'm just so shocked!" He gasped, raising his hand to his forehead, pretending to feel faint. "What happened to that last pun of yours being a once time phenomenon?"

"I changed my mind." She took another bite of her Danish and then set it back down on her plate.

"Oh, really?" He lowered his hand, waggling his eyebrow. "And why did you do that? I thought you would at least wait until you returned to your own time."

Marinette chewed, the new flavors dancing on top of her tongue as she tried to figure out why those ridiculous puns had even come from her mouth. Weren't they stupid? Hadn't she always thought they were a waste of time?

So why had she said them? Honestly, she hadn't even thought of them ahead of time. They just sort of came out.

She leaned forward, picking up the pitcher and pouring herself a glass of milk. This was the second time she had unwittingly uttered one of those dastardly phrases. And this time she had said three of them! Why was she suddenly being so lame?

Marinette lifted her glass, washing down what was left of her pastry with the satisfyingly cold milk.

She set her cup down, finally responding, "I don't honestly know."

"Hmm," Adrien lifted his hand to his chin, holding his thumb on one side and his index finger on the other. "Meowbe since you have finally fallen for the cat, my sense of humor has taken root as well."

"As if!" She crossed her arms, trying to stop the heat from rising to her cheeks, knowing that Adrien was probably right. Whatever the case, she needed to end this conversation and she needed to end it now!

Of course! She knew the perfect topic to create a change of discussion. No matter how grim, it was certainly something they needed to talk about.

"By the way, who do you think this new Monarch person is anyway?" Marinette asked, the bright sunlight suddenly fading, seemingly sensing the abrupt mood change.

Adrien sighed, casually accepting the brisk change of topic. "I'm not sure. I haven't really had time to think about it."

"Yea," Marinette agreed. "Do you think she really knew Hawkmoth's identity?"

"It makes sense. How else would she know where to find it after he just tossed it out?"

"About that," Marinette poked at her partially eaten pastry. "Do you think he actually did that? Why now? It just doesn't match up with his previous behavior."

"I know." Adrien grabbed another Danish from the platter. "I have so many questions. How did she know who he was? Did she secretly figure it out, or did he tell her? And if he really did just throw his miraculous away, what would cause him to do that all of the sudden? After all of these years, did he finally get what he wanted?"

"I doubt that," Tikki pointedly stated, finally joining in on the conversation. "Usually the things people want from the cat and ladybug miraculous are not so easily acquired."

A wave of silence washed over the group, and Marinette took that opportunity, shoving the last bite of her Danish into her mouth. Tikki was right. There was no way Hawkmoth's dream had been fulfilled. He had been too determined - too desperate for it to just end like this. Something else must have happened. Did he have a family? Did something happen with them?

"Regardless the cause," Marinette began, swallowing her mouthful and taking a long sip of milk before continuing. "I don't think we will ever know what happened. Not unless Hawkmoth miraculously just decides to waltz on in here and tell us himself."

"Yea, right." Adrien tapped his chin with his index finger. "Since that's never going to happen, I think we should just put our focus on finding Monarch."

"Do you think that's the right choice?" Marinette eyed the platter, catching a glimpse of a comatose Plagg sleeping on his plate. "I mean this just feels so empty, so sudden, and wrong." She looked back at Adrien, now leaning back in his chair somehow with his latest pastry already finished and munching on the raw passion fruit. "Is it really okay to move on without some kind of closure? Are we really just going to let him get away with everything he did? We didn't win, Adrien. What about justice?"

Adrien sighed, his shoulders relaxing as he shifted his focus to the table. "There's not much of a choice right now." He raised his eyes, looking into hers with a newfound seriousness. Straightening his posture, he lowered his arms, placing the now finished fruit back on his plate and resting his elbows on the table. "We still don't even know if this isn't all just a rouse - a distraction to get us off of his trail. But either way, it's something you should stop worrying about. This is a problem that my wife and I will handle."

The electric wave rushed through her body once again, spreading from her core and swiftly escaping through ligaments, leaving a tingling, almost numb throbbing sensation in her feet and her fingers. What with all the breakfast making, the freaking out about Adrien (which hadn't turned out to be nearly as bad as she had expected), and all the talk of Monarch and Hawkmoth, she had totally forgotten that today was the day she was going to meet her future self.

"It's going to be okay," Adrien reached his arm across the table, placing his hand atop of the one she had resting on the surface, squeezing it in cute, sweet reassurance. "We will figure it out. All you have to focus on is trying to stop Hawkmoth in your own time. Don't back down just because you know we haven't caught him yet. I promise I won't give up. You and I will eventually find him!"

Marinette couldn't help but smile. She hadn't doubted him one bit. In fact, it was quite adorable that he had accidentally interpreted her odd reaction as her being nervous about the villains. "You're right. Thanks, Adrien." She shrugged, realizing everyone at the table had long since finished eating besides her. Popping the few grapes from her plate into her mouth, she stood, gathering her own dishes and taking them to the sink.

"You don't have to clean up," Adrien said, suddenly coming up behind her and placing his own dishes in the sink. "You're the baker. It's my job to clean up after you did all the baking."

"Is that right?" Marinette elbowed him in the side. "I think I could get used to that kind of arrangement."

"Oh you will," he bumped her side with his entire body. "And you will take full advantage of it everytime."

"Of course!" Marinette laughed, shoving into him even harder, causing him to have to take a step in the other direction to keep his balance. "Why wouldn't I?"

Adrien jerked his head towards her, fire in his eyes. He stepped closer, then as if changing his mind, headed to the table instead. Marinette let out a deep breath, relieved for the sudden space between them. What was she thinking, always egging him on like this? Where did this sudden flirtatious side even come from? Was this really how she was going to always act around him in the future? Maybe the way she acted with Chat Noir's miraculous wasn't so different from her true nature after all. Maybe it actually pulled something from inside her that she had never noticed, or had the opportunity to bring from within herself. Honestly, when she truly thought about it, this behavior started way before she wore that ring. No, to say her conduct was Plagg's fault wasn't right at all.

She scooted away from the sink, leaning against the counter next to it, wondering how bad she would get as the years went on.

"What's she like?" Marinette abruptly asked, unable to stem her curiosity.

Adrien grabbed the pitcher and the platter from the center of the table, facing her as he walked back to the sink. "What's who like?" He scrunched his brows.

Marinette crossed one of her arms, tightly squeezing her other elbow, batting her eyes, nervously looking anywhere besides right at Adrien. "Oh you know," she nervously chuckled. "Your wife."

Marinette cringed, glancing towards Adrien as his eyebrows softened, upturning, rather, into his signature, single arched brow as he stopped only inches from where she stood. That sounded much more stupid than she had anticipated.

"Well, she's just like you." He winked, gently placing the dishes into the sink. "Just a little older, a little wiser, "he crossed his arms and legs, leaning his hip against the counter in front of the sink, directly facing Marinette, "and a little bit more mischievous."

Light burst in through the windows, giving Marinette a much needed excuse to look away from Adrien as feverish heat raced through her body, painting her cheeks and burning her ears. That was exactly what she had been afraid to hear.

She stared outside, wishing she could see the newly illuminated roses. But it was as if a veil had coated her vision, showing her nothing but the wild fantasies of a teenager imagining her supposed frolicsome future. For some reason, a red black-spotted piece of silky lingerie that she had seen in the "other Marinette's" closet was the prime culprit in most of these provocative visions.

She shook her head, trying to think of anything, anything that could be a distraction. Another image flashed in her mind of the Marinette she had seen in the wedding pictures, but rather than being shy and possibly even a little coy like she had always imagined being on her wedding night, she was quite seductive - forceful even as she began to rip off…

Stop it! She mentally screamed at herself. There was no way she would ever act like that! It wasn't as if she was some sort of crazy, different person in the future. She had to give her older self a bit more credit.

Marinette fluttered her eyes as the outside world came back into focus. At some point during her freak-out session, Adrien had resumed his job of cleaning. The table was completely clear now, and Tikki had somehow managed to get Plagg to wake up at least long enough for both of them to leave the kitchen. She must have been dazed much longer than she had expected.

As if only now regaining all of her senses, the familiar sound of dishes being loaded into the dishwasher suddenly became coherent. She pushed off the counter, clasping her arms behind her back, stretching her shoulders as she turned to face Adrien.

Strange. She thought, taking a step forward. He's also being very quiet.

Maybe he had become just as lost in thought as she had been. Marinette smiled, wishing she knew what he was thinking. Was he nervous to see his wife again? To see the two of them together in the same house?

Another tingling wave of nervousness swept from her head to her toes.

Yep. This was definitely a situation to be anxious about.

"When is she coming?" Marinette barely managed to squeak, causing Adrien to quickly straighten from his hunched position over the lower rack of the dishwasher, whipping his entire body in her direction, startled, as if he had forgotten she was still in the room with him.

His cheeks clearly reddenned as he lifted his hand, scratching the back of his neck in typical, uncomfortable Adrien fashion.

"Um… it's not a long flight. I'm supposed to pick her up from the airport at ten." He glanced through the kitchen, into the living room where the analogue clock was hanging. "Oh crap." He took a large step forward, easily closing the gap between them. "I've got to go."

Adrien swiftly bent his head towards her, tilting it slightly, causing her breath to hitch as she stood, unable to back away, knowing, without a doubt he was about to give her a habitual husband and wife goodbye kiss.

She stiffened, readying herself for the inevitable when Adrien abruptly paused, his lips a mere inch from hers, his warm, exhilarating breath tickling her skin. Her heart faltered as time itself seemed to stop, allowing her to absorb everything within this moment. Adrien's intoxicating smell that somehow infiltrated her nose even though she wasn't breathing. The warmth of his lips, reaching out to hers besides the fact that they weren't even touching. One more inch. One more inch and she would be kissing Adrien. All it would take was one small movement - one extemporaneous decision.

Suddenly, Adrien lifted his head, cupping his hands on the lower sides of her face and pulling her forward, kissing her on her forehead. But as quickly as the kiss began, it ended, leaving Marinette feeling a strange mixture of comfort and emptiness as Adrien pulled away from her.

He smiled, dropping his hands. "I'll be back soon." He turned, walking away from her.

Finally remembering to breathe, Marinette tried to regain some sort of rhythm as Adrien stepped passed the threshold, just a step into the living room, reaching for the keys hanging on a rack of hooks next to the door leading to the garage. Just before he was about to turn the knob, he froze, turning his attention back towards Marinette.

"There's something I forgot to tell you."

Her heart sank, a lump forming in the back of her throat at the cryptic tone in his voice. Whatever he was about to say, she had the feeling she would rather not know it.

"I'm sure there's lots of things you haven't told me," she boldly responded, forcing a smile on her face. "Don't worry about it. You can tell me later." Or not at all. She mentally added, not quite sure why she was so adverse to hearing about this little bit of information.

Adrien hummed, twisting the handle and opening the door. "Well, just try not to act too surprised when you see yourself." He smirked, saluting once again as he walked through the door, nonchalantly closing it behind him.

Before Marinette could even react, Plagg zipped through the living room, screaming something about Adrien leaving without him before he vanished through the door.

She blinked slowly, trying to process the absolute ridiculous she had just witnessed. Adrien and Plagg's partnership was nothing like hers and Tikki's. Heck! Pretty much everything about Adrien was different than she had expected.

And just what exactly did he mean by that final statement?!

Ugh!

Maybe she should have just let him explain himself. Now she would be worrying about and trying to figure out what he could mean the entire time he was gone!

What?

Had she somehow dramatically changed in appearance? According to all of the pictures in the house, she really did not look all that different.

Marinette grumbled in frustration, closing the dishwasher that Adrien had neglected when he rushed out of the house and hit the start button.

"Are you okay?" Tikki's voice rung from the other side of the kitchen.

Marinette exhaled loudly. "What do you think, Tikki? I'm about to meet myself! Me! I'm about to meet the "me" from eight years in the future! You know, the version of myself who is married and done all sorts of married things?" She stomped passed Tikki, her hands flailing exasperatedly as she headed towards the stairs. "Sure, I'm all unicorns and rainbows. 'Okay' is my middle name. I mean - why on earth would I be thinking about Adrien's final cryptic warning?! I'm just dandy!"

"Good," Tikki sarcastically responded, following Marinette up the stairs. "I'm glad to know you're not freaking out or anything."

"Nope." Marinette dryly retorted, skipping the final step to the top of the landing.

"Where are you going anway?" Tikki asked, still hot on Marinette's trail.

Marinette opened the door to the master bedroom, heading straight for the walk-in closet. "I need to find something cute to wear." And to distract myself.

"What's wrong with what you are wearing?" Tikki asked, flitting in front of Marinette, her paw on her chin as she looked Marinette up and down.

In truth, there was nothing wrong with the pink leggings, and oversized, cream sweater Marinette was currently wearing, but she couldn't let Tikki know that. Besides, she had been baking in this outfit all morning.

"I really would just like to freshen up a bit." She falsely smiled, beginning to rummage through the nicer looking clothing hanging at the front of the closet. She had been avoiding that section before, opting to rather go for the comfier looking clothing in the back and in the drawers instead. "Besides, one should always strive to make a good first impression."

"On yourself?" Tikki squeaked, positioning herself on Marinette's shoulder. "Don't you think you are overthinking things?"

Marinette scooted the hangers, carefully analyzing each article of clothing.

"Probably..." Marinette slowly responded, drawing out the ending of the word. "Tikki, do these clothes look strange to you?"

Tikki leaned forward. "I'm not sure. I wasn't really paying attention. What's wrong with them?"

Marinette quietly responded, "I don't know. It's just," she shuffled through the clothing even quicker, "all of the shirts and dresses are pretty flowy, and every single pair of pants are stretchy. I would think that my nice clothing would have much more variety."

Tikki yawned, clearly not having fully recuperated from the prior evening's late return. "Who knows? Fashion standards are always changing."

"True." Marinette had to admit Tikki had a point. "But this doesn't seem like a fashion trend. This seems more like…"

She paused, trying to string together her sporadic thoughts.

Loose fitting clothing. No real variety. Not a single pair of pants with a zipper or a button.

This just didn't make sense. None of this seemed like a style choice that would be found in her closet.

Not unless-

"Well, just try not to act too surprised when you see yourself."

Adrien's final words exploded in her mind.

"No," she nearly whispered.

"Oh, no." Marinette clutched a floral, flowy sundress in hand.

"Tikki," she said without emotion, staring blankly at the clothing in front of her, "you don't think I could be…"

DING, DONG! The doorbell blasted.

As if being woken from a trance, Marinette dropped the fabric from between her fingers, plucking Tikki from her shoulders and holding her in the palm of her hands.

"Tikki, I need you to go see who it is." Marinette's heart began racing. "I can't answer the door looking like this!" Her voice was now frantic. "Especially if I'm still supposed to be on a plane returning from Milan, and especially if I'm supposed to be - to be…"

"It's going to be okay," Tikki softly spoke, flying towards Marinette's cheek and rubbing her face against it. "I'll sneak down and see who it is. Try to calm down and focus on finding something from another part of the closet and getting dressed. I'll let you know if it's someone I think we can let in."

Marinette nodded her head, suddenly finding it hard to catch her breath, as Tikki fluttered away from the closet. Honestly, Marinette wasn't sure why she was reacting like this. It wasn't as if she had to reveal herself. All she had to do was to stay upstairs. Whoever it was would leave soon enough as long as no one was home. Why was she freaking out?

But it was as if the weight of the world pressed upon her shoulders within that single sound. An ominous feeling pulsed throughout her body as if this single moment, this single instance were enough to turn her entire existence upside down.

It was irrational and completely stupid to be suddenly envoloped in this newfound suffocation - this creeping fear. Yet Marinette was useless to stop it as her chest continued to tighten and the lack of oxygen began to make her feel lightheaded.

Whoever was at the door couldn't just be some simple, innocent salesman. No. Whoever it was - this person must be important.

Marinette somehow gained control of her numbing limbs just long enough for her to carry herself to her chaise so she could sit down. She tried to calm her erratic breathing, to take in a few, satisfying deep breaths, but it was as if she simply couldn't - the more she tried, the more the room began to spin.

"Marinette," she was somewhat aware of Tikki's voice coming closer to her. "You need to stay up here." Marinette leaned back against the pillow, closing her eyes.

"It's - it's Gabriel Agreste."

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please don't forget to leave a comment! I hope to be back soon with all the drama the next chapters will entail. This is going to be a fun ride as this story comes to a close.