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Chapter Text

Adrien had always dreamed about having a big family. He loved imagining a house full of children, loud and happy. Of course, he’d also need a wife for this and while he was perfectly aware of who he wanted to be there with him, he no longer allowed himself to imagine this. 

Thinking just about the children was safer. But thinking about being twenty something, married and with a baby to look after was one thing. Getting to experience a part of this at 15 had never really crossed his mind.

Until one night when a portal to Bunnyx’s burrow opened in his room and his mind immediately went to an emergency that required his presence. Except that it wasn’t Bunnyx who stepped out of it. 

The blue-clad figure, holding a little bundle, didn’t immediately seem familiar. Maybe it wasn’t a friend, but a foe that was coming for him. But the gurgling sounds coming from the bundle made Adrien frown. Who in their right mind would bring a baby to a fight with their enemy?

“Who are you?” He asked, still taking a defensive position. 

“You,” the other one smiled, pulling back a hood with rabbit ears on top, to reveal a face that made Adrien blink in surprise. It definitely looked like him. An older him, with longer hair and a bit of stubble, but still him. 

“What are you doing here?” Adrien gasped. He knew enough about time travel to know that it wasn’t something to be treated lightly. 

“I need you to look after her,” his older self said, back to being serious. He pushed the bundle into Adrien’s arms, who scrambled not to drop it. The small rosy face looking up at him made him gawk. 

“I can’t.. I’ve never looked after a baby!” He exclaimed. “Why me?”

“I don't trust anyone else with my daughter,” the older man shrugged, making Adrien do a double take and stare at the baby in his arms in wonder.

“She’s mine?” He whispered.

“100%. Wait, no, 50%. Anyway, I’m really in a hurry. I’ll be back as soon as possible. You’ll have everything you’ll need here,” he added, dropping a big baby bag and something else Adrien couldn’t see clearly on the floor and turning around to disappear through the portal. 

Before Adrien could stop him, because he had like a million questions, he was gone. Leaving Adrien alone with the baby. His baby. 

“Hey there,” he said softly, when he realised that he could see himself reflected in big green eyes. The baby blew a raspberry at him and gave him a gummy smile. 

“What is this?” Plagg asked, appearing next to him. 

“My daughter,” Adrien said, feeling a strange mix of pride and joy. He had a daughter. Well, he was going to have a daughter. 

“I’m pretty sure that the old folks’ tale about storks bringing babies is not true,” he kwami snorted. “It’s especially not true about rabbits. How did this happen then?”

“The normal way, I guess,” Adrien shrugged. 

“I must have missed that,” Plagg gave him a curious glance. 

“Not now, Plagg!” He cried out with a burning face, startling the baby. He lifted her to his shoulder and she made a happy sound. It was strange, but doing this kind of felt natural. “In the future. I have a daughter in the future.”

“Any idea who the mother is?” 

“No,” Adrien said, frowning. Future him hadn’t made the mistake of revealing something like this to him. 

“So how the hell are you going to hide a whole baby?” 

Adrien looked around as if seeing his room for the first time. It wasn’t baby friendly, for sure. Not to mention that babies were noisy. And the last thing he wanted was attracting the attention of anyone else in the house.

“What am I going to do, Plagg?” he cried out. 

He had school, he had fencing, he had Chinese, he couldn’t just bring a baby to all of them! 

“You’ll have to decide soon because it’s time for patrol.”

“Oh, no!” He was right. 

“Call Ladybug.”

Could she know about this? Then again, if he was still a superhero in the future, she probably knew. A fleeting pang at the thought that he had a whole family she wasn’t a part of, made him shake his head. He didn’t have time for this. 

Leaving the baby on his bed, he quickly transformed and called her. Thankfully, she picked up.

“M’lady. I have an emergency.”

“What is it, kitty? Too tired for patrol?” She teased him.

“There is a baby in my room,” he said, staring at the very much alive creature that had rolled over and was trying to eat his bedsheets. 

“What?” She asked, probably thinking that she’d heard wrong. Or that he meant an akuma. 

“I don’t know what to do. Future me dropped a baby for me to look after!” he cried out, nervous fingers raking his hair.

“Goodness. Ok. Do you have a baby carrier?”

He turned around, spotting the baby paraphernalia older Adrien had left for him. 

“I do, actually,” he said, lifting the thing and trying to figure out how to put it on. 

“Well, then, I’ll meet you in five," she said a nd then hung up. 

“Ok, baby girl, do you want to go for a walk?” he asked nervously. He didn’t even know the name of his daughter. This was so surreal. She kicked the air and gave him another smile. 

After some fumbling around, he managed to put the baby carrier on and the baby in it. Then he left.

*

“She’s real,” Ladybug muttered, staring at the baby.

“I didn’t lie to you,” he said, feeling indignant. “This is too serious to lie about.”

“Wow. Ok.”

She shook her head, looking a little flustered.

“Are you ok?”

“I.. for a moment, this looked too familiar.”

Adrien stared at her until he realised what she meant. There hadn’t been a lot of times she could have seen him carrying a baby. But they pretended that this hadn’t happened. That it wasn’t real. It was no use bringing up those memories. 

“Do you have any ideas?” he asked, clearing his throat. 

“Fu’s old place. I brought some things there.” 

Adrien almost sagged with relief.

“Thank you, m’lady. I was so worried.”

“Tell me everything.” she said when they arrived.

“I don’t know anything. He just left her, telling me that she’s mine.” Her head shot up. “She’s my daughter,” Adrien confirmed. It felt awfully strange to be telling her that.

“And the mother?” She asked in a small voice.

“I don’t know anything about her,” he looked away. 

“No clue here,” she said and there was a smile in her voice. He found her looking at the baby. “She’s 100% a mini-you.”

“She is, yes,” Adrien smiled as well. He hadn’t noticed it immediately but she had his eyes and his hair. 

“Any idea how old she is?”

“I’m no expert in babies, trust me.”

“Give me this bag.” She started taking out clothes, diapers and jars of different colours. “She’s eating solids. So maybe six-seven months,” she mumbled to herself. “Some milk. Maybe she needs this before bed,” she handed him a bottle.

“Um. Now?”

“Have you changed her nappy?”

“No.”

This was when a noise made both of them jump. It was a very unladylike sound. It happened again and they both stared at the baby that gave them a relieved smile. 

“Did she just poop?” Adrien whispered.

“I think she did,” Ladybug giggled. 

“I can’t do this,” he gasped, holding the baby at an arm’s length.

“Come on, kitty,” she teased him. “It’s just a dirty diaper. You’re not scared of this, right?”

“I’ve never…”

“Me neither. But it shouldn’t be so hard. Let’s spread that on the floor.” She motioned for him to put the baby on the mat. He undid some buttons and found the adhesives that held the diaper in place. And then it was all out in the open. 

“Phew!” He pulled back with a grimace.

Ok, it was bad. 

“Wet wipes?”

Ladybug sounded like a surgeon as she pushed him out of the way. He handed the packet to her, while holding his nose.

“She’s your daughter, don’t look so disgusted,” she shot him a look as she started cleaning the baby but she was keeping her distance as well. 

“Sorry, I just never saw myself as a father at 15. This is insane,” he took a step closer, mentally cataloguing her motions. Wipe, remove dirty diaper, take a clean one, wrap up, put jumper back on. “You’re very good at this,” he noted, awe in his voice.

“I’ve read about babies,” she said, looking self-conscious. 

“You want… “

He couldn’t finish the question. They had never talked about this. And yet, there they were, actually taking care of a baby. Except that it wasn’t theirs. 

“I do.” 

Somehow, this reminded him again of an impossible future. If he wanted this and she wanted this, maybe it hadn’t been so crazy. 

As soon as the baby was back in his arms, she handed him the bottle. His daughter started sucking hungrily and he couldn't help smiling at her obvious enjoyment. 

“You can stay here tonight,” Ladybug said. “I have blankets and a pillow here,” she rummaged in a drawer. “Do you think you will be alright?”

“Yes, thank you. It’s much better than wondering how I’ll manage to hide her at home.”

Their eyes met before she looked away. For a moment he wished he could tell her, it would make everything so much easier. He wanted to tell her a lot of things. But this was such a bad moment for all of them. 

“I’ll bring you some breakfast in the morning.”

“You don’t need to.”

“You're stuck with a baby, kitty. I want to help you.”

“Thank you,” he said gratefully. He would be lost without her. 

“I’m happy that you’ll have the future you want,” she smiled, but her eyes looked sad. As if she’d had the same realisation as him - that this future would have someone else beside the two of them. The mother of his child. He just didn’t know why this made her sad.

“M’lady.. “

“See you tomorrow!” She said cheerfully, before turning around and disappearing through the window.

“It’s just you and me, kitten,” he sighed. The only answer he got was a loud burp.

Chapter Text

Marinette wasn’t sure how she got home. All she could see was Chat with the baby in his arms. His face mirrored on his daughter’s. 

It wasn’t something she’d expected to see in real life. Not this soon. Not ever, if she was honest. 

“Are you ok, Marinette?”
“Tikki, he has a baby. With someone else.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Kwami open her mouth to say something and closing it again. Yes, once upon a time Marinette might have entertained the thought that she could be the baby’s mother. After being teased about it by Chat himself. But no such joke had materialised tonight and she very well knew why. She had convinced him that this wasn’t possible. It wasn’t.

“And this makes you sad?”

“I… “

It was a strange feeling. She hadn’t felt jealous of Chat before. It was weird to imagine him with someone else. But of course it was a real possibility. The baby was proof of that.

And for some reason this made her sad. She realised that she wished that this was their baby. That she was the mysterious woman in his life. She could picture it so clearly, because she had lived through it once. But she had been too blind to see it as what she really wanted. And now it hurt.

“I can’t believe that it’s only now that I realise that I actually want a future with him. When it’s too late.”

It was as if she couldn't breathe. The pain was red hot and made her eyes burn.  

“You know why you can’t be with him right now anyway,” Tikki said quietly. 

“I know!” she gasped. 

But the truth was that this was no consolation. Knowing why it was impossible and convincing herself not to want it were two different things. And when this failed, her only option was to cry herself to sleep.

*

The morning came too soon but Marinette couldn’t sleep in. She had promised Chat breakfast and she needed to do this before school. So she grabbed a few pastries from the bakery and two cups of coffee, telling her parents that she was meeting Alya for an early walk. The weather was nice so they believed this, although they probably wondered how her best friend had convinced her to get up this early. If only they knew.

She found him sleeping with the baby next to him. The sight left her gasping for air. She was sure that she’d never felt longing so strong. She had no claim to him or this baby. And yet she wanted to.

She realised too soon that she could have found him untransformed. She hadn’t thought about this. She’d just needed to see him. Thankfully, he had taken this precaution and had clearly spent the night in the suit.

Her eyes burned again at his consideration. How could she not love him? He used to tease her about this, but the truth was that he always took such great care not to reveal himself when this was what she wanted. 

His eyes opened as if he’d sensed her presence and he smiled warmly at her. So Marinette took a deep breath and tried to act normal.

She lifted her hands to show him what she got and he carefully got up, without disturbing the baby. 

“Thank you,” he whispered when he sat down next to her in front of the window. 

“How did you sleep?” She asked as she handed him his coffee. 

“Not bad. She was tired. I think that she knows that I’m her father because she’s calm with me.”

Marinette could have told him the same thing last night. It was obvious because she could imagine that the baby missed her parents, but she had never once cried for them. 

“That’s good.”

They ate in silence for a bit, watching the birds dance on the tree outside.

“So, babies,” he said eventually and when she looked at him, he tilted his head towards the sleeping baby. “How many do you want?”

It was an innocent question. Small talk. But he knew that this wasn’t the same for them. The real number was already at the tip of her tongue. She knew now. But she bit that back, pretending to think about it.

“Three-four,” she shrugged. “I am an only child so I want a big family.” He nodded. “But of course, it would be up to you, I mean, the father,” she tried to mask her slip-up with a sip of coffee. “I can’t decide this on my own.”

Something in his eyes told her that she hadn’t managed to do it that well, but he played along. 

“I really hope that she doesn’t remain an only child,” he said, looking at his daughter. “I realise that real life doesn’t always work like dreams.” Did she imagine the fleeting glance in her direction? Probably. “But she will be happier if she has siblings, I’m sure of it.”

“She’s still very small, though. Give your wife some more time to recover,” she teased him. “Two more years, at least.”

“But of course, I didn’t mean that they would have to be born a year apart!” He nudged her playfully. “All the time that you, um, she wants.”

Their eyes remained locked this time as they realised that they had gotten caught up in that impossible dream again. But now it hurt even more because they knew that they wanted it and this didn’t change anything. 

Then they heard a curious sound and turned as one to see the baby stare at a sun spot on the wall. And just like that they were back in reality, with all its urgent demands.

“What are you going to do?” Marinette asked while he rummaged in the baby bag. She knew that she had to leave for school and she wasn’t the only one. But he had a baby to take care of.

“I’ll call in sick,” he shrugged.  

“You’ll be fine?” She wished she could help with more. But she was already acting suspicious. 

“I have to. I really hope that this won’t take more than a day though,” he sighed. But when he looked at the baby, he smiled. He didn’t mind her presence, this was obvious. He just wished it was in different circumstances. 

“I’ll come by later with more food,” she said. “But you don’t need to stay transformed all the time,” she added. “I won’t be here until late afternoon. You can give Plagg a break.”

“Great,” he grinned at her. “Thank you, m’lady, for everything.”

“It’s the least I can do,” she smiled before closing the door behind her. 

*

School was a nightmare. She couldn’t focus. She really regretted not calling in sick and spending the day with Chat and the baby. Although she knew that this would be like courting disaster. She was already in too deep.

Adrien was off sick and she actually envied him the break. For the first time, she wasn’t obsessing over what he was doing and it was a bit strange. 

“He never gets sick,” Nino noted and it was only then that she realised that he was right. She would know if he’d missed school before. “Must be something serious. He’s not picking up his phone either.”

“Maybe he’s sleeping. If he has a fever,” Alya suggested.

Marinette stood there as if struck by lightning. Or maybe he was looking after a baby and couldn’t talk. 

What were the chances that Adrien, who never took time off school unless his father asked for it, would happen to be sick when Chat had his daughter from the future over and he needed to pretend to be sick?

The baby’s face filled her mind. The eyes, the hair. She could just as well be Adrien’s daughter. She had been so blind not to see this before.

Goodness. Just when she’d thought that it was bad enough that she was falling for Chat, now this. 

She had thought that the pain of accepting that nothing would ever happen with Adrien had been bad enough before. Now it was so much worse. She had lost them both. Because they were the same person. 

Because misery loves company, just after school was over and she could wallow in self-pity all she wanted, this was when an akuma hit. Marinette cursed on her way to the place where it had been spotted. She was not in the mood for this. When her yo-yo rang, she picked it up with a groan. 

“Kitty, please tell me that you’re not on your way.”

She knew just how impulsive he could be. He could imagine him strapping on the baby carrier and heading her way before thinking twice about it. 

“No. She needs me,” he said, making her sigh in relief. “But you need me as well.”

He sounded so sorry that her heart melted. But she was very happy that he had taken the responsible decision. Fights were no place for a baby. 

“I’ll handle this.”

She had to. Maybe if she channelled her frustration and confusion, it would work. The akuma hadn’t chosen a good day to goad her. 

“Careful.”

She was trying to find out more about the mysterious villain and find their weak spot when she heard a voice and whirled around. It was just Plagg. She had to stifle her disappointment. Chat needed to be with his daughter. She shouldn’t want him there.

“What are you doing here?”

“Did you think that he’d leave you alone to deal with this? He might deny it but he’s still a smitten kitten.”

Marinette felt her face heat up just as pain tore through her again. She shouldn’t want this either. 

“At least he didn’t rush here with the baby.”

“He’s trying to do better.” It was clear that even the Kwami was proud of him. For a good reason. 

“Let’s go.”

They managed to beat the akuma without Plagg destroying the world, so it was a win. To his credit, he wasn’t surprised when she followed him back to the place where Chat was staying. He could have guessed that it wouldn’t be hard for her to put two and two together. 

Adrien, on the other hand, was very surprised to see her arrive when he clearly wasn’t transformed.

“Ladybug? What…”

“I already suspected,” she said, trying to cover up the fact that it was still different to see him there as a final confirmation that she was right. 

“Really?”

“I already knew that you needed to be with the baby and call in sick. Well, Adrien wasn’t at school… the first time it happens, right?” She said, feeling a little self-conscious as she admitted that. 

“How do you know this?” His eyes narrowed.

“Do you really need to ask?” Plagg chimed in, sounding unimpressed. Marinette frowned at him.

“Plagg?” 

“Come on. Tell her. Tell her how you asked me “Plagg, what if Ladybug is Marinette?” 

“No way!” she gasped, her eyes instantly back on Adrien. He had been one step ahead of her. No wonder.

“He did. See how little point there was in hiding.”

“It really is you?” Adrien asked, taking a step closer. Goodness, the look on his face was really the last straw. He looked so happy. It might take him more time to remember why this was no reason to rejoice. 

“Yes,” she whispered. 

She wanted nothing more than to run into his arms and just forget about everything else. To pretend that they could have this. But of course she couldn’t. 

A cry made them jump, the bubble bursting again. Adrien rushed to the makeshift bed and the baby quietened down instantly. 

“Still no news from the future?” Marinette asked, trying to quiet down her wildly beating heart. And to convince herself not to break down right this second. 

“No.”

“You need to go home. How did you pull this off?”

“I can be convincing,” he gave her a small smile. 

“Still. Go take a shower, make an appearance, and get back here.”

It was clear that he could see that this was the reasonable thing to do. And he had only one chance. 

“What are you going to do?” He asked as he handed her the baby. 

“I’ll feed her,” she smiled, putting on a brave face. And try not to cry. Who was she fooling? She was going to cry. But at least the baby couldn’t judge her. 

“Be careful. It’s not as easy as it looks,” Adrien said over his shoulder. Another shared smile, another moment of pretending that this was another life. And then it was over.

Before she could collapse under the weight of all the emotions that had accumulated over the day, Marinette realised something with a start.

The baby didn’t seem to mind that a stranger had replaced her father. In fact, she was smiling at her and waving her arms happily and then even hugged Marinette. As if she knew her. What was it he’d said? It was as if she knew that he was her father. 

She held the baby, a strange certainty settling over her. This was no longer her trying to convince herself of something that wasn’t real. It was much stronger than that. 

What if there was more than that? What if they had been wrong? What if this was Marinette’s daughter after all?

Chapter Text

Adrien was confused. He now had not only his daughter to think about. Having breakfast with Ladybug had been quite the experience. It had brought back some feelings. Then she’d shown up and revealed herself and somehow it had gotten better. But it was all so complicated that he didn’t know what to think. 

She had dismissed their shared dream as manipulation. She didn’t want a future with him. Then why was she suddenly acting as if this was no longer the case?

Also, did things change now that he knew that it was indeed Marinette? How much had changed for her? In fact, did it matter, since they were still in danger? So much to think about. And he didn’t have the headspace for this.

At least one part of his worries seemed likely to be resolved soon, when he stepped out of the bathroom to find his future self waiting for him. 

“Adrien, where is she? Where is Emma?” He looked frantic, as if he was worried that this silly teenager had somehow misplaced his own daughter. But Adrien couldn’t take offence for this. Emma. His daughter was called Emma. 

“You don’t know?” He huffed. “She is staying with my partner. Who discovered my identity because of this. You should remember,” he looked at him pointedly. 

“Oh, right.” 

There was a hint of sympathy in the older man’s eyes that told Adrien more than he could guess. It wasn’t going to be an easy ride. 

“Yeah,” he sighed. “It’s done. So is the emergency over?

“Yes. I’m here to take her back.” 

Adrien felt inexplicably sad. Of course the baby had to go. She had to be there with her adult parents, not him. And yet, he was now attached to her. 

“Where is her mum anyway? Wasn’t she worried that her baby disappeared all of a sudden?” Adrien asked, looking curiously at the other one. There was no hint of unease because he’d hidden something this big from his wife. As if she knew. Hm.

“She had other things to take care of,” he shrugged. “She knows that Emma is fine.” 

This would have to work for now.

“Let’s go.”

When they arrived, Marinette’s eyes were on older Adrien. But not because this was the first time she was seeing him and she was intrigued. She looked ready for a battle.

“Is she mine?” She asked, her voice trembling, her arms protectively around Adrien’s daughter in her arms. 

Adrien gasped in spite of himself. Even with the change he’d observed in Ladybug, he hadn’t really allowed himself to believe that she had changed her mind. Why would she think that she was the mother of his daughter then? Did she actually want it? Was it possible?
But his future self didn’t deny it. He just sighed. And just like that, it made perfect sense. Of course Ladybug had been busy in the future if there had been a situation that demanded that their daughter was taken into the past. And she had trusted her partner to make the right call. Not to mention that she had known where the baby was anyway. She had been there herself.

“You’re not supposed to know this.” It was a futile attempt to avoid the answer. 

“You already know that we do, right?” Marinette said, a hint of a smile on her lips. She looked small but also determined to know the truth.

“How did you know?” Adrien asked, moving to stand beside her to show her that he was on her side. They were in this together after all. 

“She knows me,” she said, staring at baby Emma with a hint of reverence that Adrien was sure was in his eyes as well. “When I held her, she was calm. And then she started sniffing me and pulling at my clothes, as if she wanted to nurse,” she blushed. “The baby knows.” 

Of course the baby would know her mother, Adrien smiled. And if he hadn’t been too scared to even consider this possibility, he would have realised it as well. There couldn’t be anyone else but her. 

“She does,” older Adrien smiled at them. 

“What happened?” Marinette asked him, a hint of trepidation in her voice. “Was it Monarch?”

The thought made Adrien shiver. No way. So many years into the future, they should have found peace. Except that they were in this situation, so this couldn’t be entirely true.
“Monarch is long in the past,” his other self shook his head. “We wouldn’t have a baby if there was still danger.”

Adrien sighed in relief. Yes, this was what he’d thought as well.

“And yet, here she is.” Marinette observed with a teasing note.

“It was a villain from the past. Time travel might be convenient sometimes but also a nightmare. We didn’t expect it. I panicked and the only place I could think of was my old room.” He made a face that confused Adrien. Wasn’t his home a safe place? “I’m sorry. We took care of them. And we will be more careful from now on,” he vowed.

“Do I know?” she asked.

“Of course. We don’t have secrets from each other in the future.” 

Well, that was good to know. 

It was only then that Marinette finally returned the baby to her father. Well, her real father, not his younger version. 

“Thank you for taking care of her,” he said, real gratitude in his eyes. “I know that it wasn’t easy.” 

Adrien handed him the baby carrier and the baby bag as he tried to hide his disappointment that this adventure was coming to an end. It hadn’t been easy but it had still been great.

“Take care.”

“Stay strong. You’ll get there eventually,” his older self said with an encouraging smile. Emma, more than happy to be back with the father she knew so well, still gave Adrien a look as if she didn’t want to go. His heart.

“Bye, Emma,” he waved at her. And just like that, she was gone. “I had her for less than 24 hours and I already miss her. This is…” he shook his head with a laugh, in a poor attempt not to start crying. 

To his surprise, Marinette hugged him and held him so tight that he forgot about the tears.

“We have a daughter,” she muttered into his shirt. She was trembling. She had been putting on a brave face and now that it was all over, she was losing it. 

“M’lady.”

He didn’t know what to tell her. Where did one start? This was so overwhelming.

“How can we know this? How… “

“It’s not even the strangest thing that has happened to us.”

There it was. When in doubt, make a joke.

“Kitty.”

It was a faint grumble, but it was there, making him smile at the top of her head. 

“But to be honest, I’m confused as well,” he said eventually, when she relaxed into him. “How could this happen?”

To her credit, Marinette gave him an unimpressed look even while blushing to the tips of her ears. 

“I didn’t mean this how,” he scoffed. He wasn’t Plagg. “But how did we get there? I thought that you… well.”

“I didn’t lie to you,” she said quickly, as if he had accused her of that. “I didn’t know myself. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that I’m in love with you,” she finished in a low voice, looking away. 

“You are?” He gaped at her. Even knowing that somehow they ended up together in the future hadn’t prepared him for this. He couldn’t believe that it was real. She nodded with a shy smile.

“Do you want to know what the funny thing is? I was already in love with you. Before that. Without knowing it.”

He frowned. How was this possible? And then it dawned on him. The other guy. He was the other guy.

“It was me?”

“Yes.”

“God,” he snorted. This was unbelievable. “And here I was, thinking about trying my luck with Marinette.”

“What?” It was her turn to stare dumbfounded at him.

“Come on. Didn’t you notice the way I was acting around you?” He chuckled. 

“We are the worst,” she groaned. “So, this is it, I guess. Two people in love make a baby. It’s not such a mystery,” she giggled. 

“M’lady,’ he shot her a look but he felt his own lips twitch. Yeah, it was no mystery. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” 

This time neither of them looked away. Their eyes remained locked until the mirth in them disappeared.

“So, what now?” Adrien asked tentatively. He had sobered up pretty quickly. While a lot had changed, it wasn’t enough.

“It’s still dangerous,” Marinette said, as if it wasn’t obvious.

“I know.”

“But in the future, once this is over…”

“I can wait. Months. Years. It doesn’t matter,” he promised. In fact, he could wait for her his whole life if he had to. As long as he knew that they would be together in the end.

“Oh, kitty.”

The tears in her eyes were a surprise. 

“Please, don’t cry,” he said softly. 

“I wish it was simpler.” He did as well.

“We can double our efforts. Try to find Monarch. So we can be done with this sooner,” he said, trying to be optimistic. 

“Do you think that we can do it?”

“Yes. We dealt with dirty diapers. We got pureed food all over ourselves. We took care of a baby without knowing what we were doing. We can do it,” he shrugged, as if it was nothing. 

She smiled but then her eyes widened, as if she’d remembered something.

“Emma. You called her Emma.”

“That’s her name. Why?” 

“It was one of the names I had chosen for our children. You know, before,” she said, looking a bit embarrassed. “Before I even dreamed of this other future with you. Which was actually still the same, but I didn’t know it.”

“It’s a great name,” he nodded approvingly. 

“Your mother.. “

“You thought of that?”

“I did.”

He loved her so much, it was unreal. Again, it felt so easy to be swept up in dreams of a brighter future where they could have it all. But this time, instead of feeling discouraged that this was still just a dream, he felt more confident.

“I’m not giving up. Not now. We have a daughter,” he whispered. 

“We will. Hopefully. In the future,” she smiled.

She was blushing and Adrien had never wanted to kiss her this bad.

“I love you.”

He needed to say it and for the first time, he didn’t have to stop himself. 

“Adrien… " There was a gentle warning in her voice. He understood. He didn’t want to make this harder for both of them. But he needed this now. 

“Please. Don’t make me pretend now. I will be patient, I promise. But just for tonight, let me enjoy this,” he pleaded.

She didn’t reply and for a moment he was worried that she might get mad at him. But then she surprised him by dragging him down to her level and kissing him. 

This kiss was everything. It healed all the past hurt, it patched up his fractured heart, it gave him hope and made the future seem within reach.

“I love you too,” she said eventually, when separating from her didn’t feel as painful. 

“One day we will have it all.” 

He looked into her eyes and meant every single word. He didn’t care what it would cost him. He would make sure that it happened. 

“You promise?” Marinette - his lady, his future wife - smiled. Now she looked as if a whole new world had opened up in front of her as well. 

“I do.”

Chapter Text

They say that many people know what their lives would be like early on, in terms of having figured out their desires and dreams. However, Marinette was sure that very few of them, if any, had the certainty she’d always felt because they hadn’t had the luxury of meeting their own firstborn when they were 15, years before she actually came into the world. Not to mention having the most amazing partner with whom to walk the long road towards that moment. 

It was that certainty that had given her strength and had helped her push through the despair more than once. The fact that she knew that one day this would happen had made even the darkest moment more bearable. For her and for Adrien.

And when it finally happened, it turned out that they had been right all along - the way Emma was conceived was no mystery at all. They had been lucky and it had been the most wonderful and natural thing in the world. Seeing the two lines on the pregnancy test had still been an amazing surprise, but it had been one they had expected.

There had been many things about being pregnant that could have sent Marinette into a spiral of anxiety, but they didn’t. She knew that she could do that, that she had the strength and tenacity to deal with every challenge along the way. So she was practically sailing through it.

Unlike Adrien, who had always been the optimistic one, but was suddenly gripped by despair. It was only now that Marinette could clearly see that his biggest, most terrifying nightmare was the possibility that he could lose her. In spite of her own calmness, she knew that it was a very real risk. Adding their still unborn daughter into the mix made it even more scary. 

When the big day finally came, with Emma deciding that this would be the moment when she would be born, not caring about the late hour or the inclement weather, Marinette did feel a trickle of fear. There was no way around it, it wasn’t easy. Her certainty helped, but it wasn’t enough.

What helped more was Adrien’s presence by her side. While he still gripped her hand as if he was afraid to let go even for a second, he did what he always did best - he gave her the encouragement and comfort she needed the most. He was there through every excruciating wave of pain and every push, and when they finally heard that first precious cry, his relief for both her and their daughter was palpable, taking away some of her exhaustion. 

Here they were, hours later, and Marinette knew that the wonder written on his face as he gently rocked the sleeping baby mirrored what she felt inside. She could also see the way he didn’t want to let go of her.

“You’re still afraid that someone would appear from thin air to snatch her away, aren’t you?” She said gently. 

“I can’t help it,” he said with an embarrassed smile. 

“She’s ours to keep, I promise,” she smiled tiredly. 

“I still can’t believe that this is real,” he whispered, his eyes leaving the baby just for a second to meet hers. She wasn’t jealous of their daughter who suddenly held his attention 100%. She understood. She had had the privilege to carry their baby inside of her for months. It had been something only she could share with their daughter. So now it was his turn. 

“It’s very much real,” Marinette rearranged herself in the bed, trying not to wince. “I wonder if it would feel like that with our other children,” she mused out loud.

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t met them before. We haven’t held them years in advance, knowing that one day they would really be ours,” she explained.

Adrien shook his head slowly.

“Even if I hadn’t been lucky enough to meet Emma all those years ago, I’m sure that I would have still loved her with the strongest, most unconditional love there is. Just because this is what we’ve always wanted and hoped for. I know that I would feel the same way about every child we are blessed with because they would still be the fruit of our love,” he finished with a soft smile.

Marinette felt her chest tighten and had to blink back unexpected tears.

“Stop it. Hormones are already wreaking havoc in my head without you being so incredibly sweet,” she sniffed.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, arranging Emma in his arm so he could take her hand in his. 

“I’m actually surprised to hear you talk about more babies after what you’ve just been through,” he said, his eyes full of admiration. 

“Oh, they say that you forget,” Marinette tried to wave this off. “Also, I don’t really plan to get back on the horse right this second. Ask me again in... hm.”

“At least two years?” he asked, eyes twinkling as he freed his hand to arrange the blanket around Emma. 

“You remember well,” she giggled. “I loved being pregnant and in fact I already miss it a little. So I would love to do it again,” she admitted. 

“So would I, but it’s always up to you,” Adrien reminded her. “You really are my hero, you know. Every time I think that it’s not humanly possible to love you more, you remind me and sometimes still surprise me with how amazing you are and I fall for you all over again.”

“Shh, what did I say about being sweet?” She warned him, brushing a stray tear from the corner of her eye. 

“I love you, m’lady,” he whispered vehemently, the baby in his arms all but forgotten for a second, which was a miracle in itself. So she took advantage of the moment to use up some of her recovered strength to sit up and kiss him. 

It was pure bliss until they heard a soft cry and broke apart in an instant. Emma’s face was all scrunched up, but when Adrien rocked her a little, she settled down again. 

“I love you too, kitty,” Marinette smiled. “Hold onto that thought because this time we have the real deal. We have to go through every sleepless night, every midnight feeding, every colic-induced bout of crying, not to mention the endless diapers and spit-up,” she said, feeling her own heart fill with apprehension with every thing she listed. It wasn’t going to be easy.

“We will deal with this the same way we have with every single thing - together,” Adrien said, looking far calmer than her. And the thing was that she believed him. They had been through thick and thin and were still going strong. They could do this. And then again and again, if they were lucky enough.