Chapter Text
Take my hand, I’ll teach you to dance
I’ll spin you around, won’t let you fall down
Would you let me lead? You can step on my feet
Give it a try, it’ll be alright
Adrien tore into the hospital, heart racing and breaths coming in fast. A nurse passed, clipboard in hand, and he all but tackled her.
“Please, you have to help me,” he begged. “Where are they? Where’s Felix? And Bridgette? Are they okay?”
The nurse pulled out of his grip, raising her hands in placation. “You’ll have to go to the front desk,” she told him. “They’ll have information for you.”
Adrien nodded, running a hand through his hair, and didn’t say anything as he rushed in the direction of the front desk.
The man sitting behind the counter barely glanced up. “Name?”
“Adrien.” He stared past the desk, past the man, trying to catch a glimpse of his brother or his sister-in-law through the tiny window in the emergency room door. “Adrien Agreste. I got—I got a call about my—my brother. Felix? Felix Agreste and—and Bridgette?” He paused, eyes moving to the man as he collapsed against the desk. “They’re okay, right?”
The man finally looked up from his computer. “Please take a seat, M. Agreste,” he told him. “We’ll have someone come out and let you know what’s going on in a minute.”
Adrien nodded slowly and let out a breath, turning to stare at the chairs. This was good. This was fine. He could sit here and wait a couple more minutes for someone to tell him what the hell was going on and why Felix and Bridgette were in the hospital. This was okay.
Except it wasn’t.
Adrien Agreste hadn’t exactly been normal growing up. He’d never gone to a real school, and, at the age of twenty two, he had a total of five friends. Maybe six, but he wasn’t sure if Bridgette was really his friend or not.
There was Chloe, who was the only one his age at social functions growing up. There was Nino, who he’d met when he was fifteen and going through a rebellious phase and had gotten lost in a mall. There was Ladybug, the love of his life and his girlfriend of almost five years, and with whom he was planning to share their actual identities on their anniversary in two weeks. There was Marinette, who offered him cookies and hot chocolate and a shoulder to cry on when he’d first started out as Chat Noir, and who was second only to Ladybug in really knowing him. And then there was Felix. His brother, the only family he had left after what happened with their dad, and the only one who knew Adrien as well as Ladybug and Marinette knew Chat.
So he was there, pacing and waiting, for any news, because his brother needed to be alright. He had to be alright.
“Adrien Agreste?”
He froze, turning with wide eyes. A doctor and a police officer stood near the entrance to the emergency room. His heart stopped at the sight of the doctor’s bloodied scrubs.
He opened his mouth to reply, and had to close it again, swallowing the lump in his throat. “That’s—that’s me.”
The doctor crossed the room, hands clenched in front of her. “There was an accident,” she started, and Adrien couldn’t breathe. “Felix and Bridgette were in a car accident. Felix is in surgery right now, and we’re trying everything we can, but his injuries were substantial.”
“No.” Adrien shook his head, finally sinking into a chair. “No, no, no.”
The doctor tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry, M. Agreste, but we’re doing everything we can.”
Adrien closed his eyes, trying to steady his breathing. They’d fix whatever was wrong with Felix, and everything would be okay. He looked back up, glancing between the doctor and the police officer. “What about Bridgette? And Adeline?”
“Adeline is with their friends,” the police officer said, and Adrien let out a relieved breath, pressing his fists against his forehead. That was good. Adeline was fine.
“And Bridgette?”
“I’m sorry, M. Agreste,” the officer said. “She didn’t make it.”
Adrien didn’t say anything, couldn’t say anything as he stared into nothing, his throat closing up. The doctor was saying something, as was the officer, but he couldn’t hear them over the ringing in his ears.
*********
It seemed like hours before word came about Felix, three bloodied doctors muttering placating words as Adrien screamed and punched a wall and screamed some more.
“We did everything we could.”
“His injuries were too great.”
“There was nothing more we could do.”
It seemed like hours before the anger left him, before he sunk, energy drained, into a chair, sobbing into his hands.
The officer was back, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“There’s a matter we have to discuss, M. Agreste,” she said, though Adrien didn’t look up. “Adeline. Your brother’s records have you as the godfather?”
*********
She closed the balcony door behind her with a frown and dropped her transformation.
“Where was he, Tikki?” Marinette wondered, crossing her apartment and entering the kitchen. “He’s never missed a patrol before, not without telling me first.” She piled a plate with cookies, shoving it onto the counter. “What if something happened to him?”
“I’m sure he’s alright, Marinette,” Tikki assured her chosen, flitting over to sit on top of the pile of sweets. “Something probably came up last minute in his civilian life, and he’ll text you about it later. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Marinette nodded, fishing her cellphone out of her pocket. Tikki was right. Something probably came up and he just didn’t have a chance to warn her he’d be missing patrol. Nothing bad had happened. Everything was fine.
[Ladybug] : [You okay, kitty? Missed you on patrol <3]
Text finished, she stole a cookie from under her kwami, leaning back against the stove as she munched on it.
“So I was thinking we order a pizza and marathon some Pirates of the Caribbean?” she suggested, and Tikki grinned around the cookie stuffed in her mouth and nodded. Marinette scrolled through the contacts, looking for the name of her and Chat’s favourite pizza place. “Hawaiian’s good, right? I mean, we’ll have to get some meat lover’s in case Chat decides to show up for movie night, but you like Hawaiian?”
Tikki confirmed her pizza choices, and a half hour later they were snuggled under the couch with their box open beside them, Chat’s resting on the coffee table just in case.
“I had a Ladybug who was a pirate once,” the kwami commented, pulling a piece of pineapple off her slice of pizza as baby Elizabeth Swan talked about how exciting it would be to meet pirates. “She was the most feared pirate captain of her time. She saved so many lives.”
Marinette glanced down at Tikki, swallowing the bite she was chewing. “Then why was she feared?” she wondered.
“You’ve watched these movies.” She gestured at the screen with her tiny nubs. “They aren’t making it up about it being bad luck to have a woman in a pirate crew. Of course, when the entire crew is women and they’re freeing prisoners, saving children, and making bad men disappear, it’s a bit of a different story.”
Marinette opened her mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by a knock on the balcony door. Tikki smiled at the way her chosen’s eyes lit up, floating up from the couch with her slice of pizza.
“I told you he was fine,” she pointed out. “Have fun, Marinette.”
Marinette grinned at her, pausing the movie as the kwami flew to a hiding place, dragging the pizza that was twice her size behind her. She took a breath, steadying herself and running a hand through her hair before crossing to the doors.
“Hey, Chat!” she said brightly, swinging the door open. “I’ve got pizza and Pirates of the—” She broke off, blinking in confusion.
Never in a million years had Marinette imagined Chat Noir showing up on her balcony with a screaming baby in his arms and a pink diaper bag slung over his shoulder.
His eyes were wide and panicked, glancing between her and the baby. He held it awkwardly, clutched to his chest in a way that screamed he had no idea what he was doing.
Marinette found her voice again, carefully extracting the baby from her boyfriend’s arms. “Where—where did you get a baby?” she asked, moving back into her apartment and pressing the baby against her chest. It couldn’t have been more than a month or two old, and it was poorly wrapped in a yellow blanket. The screaming didn’t stop as Marinette rocked back and forth. “I thought you were dating Ladybug?” And this is definitely not Ladybug’s baby, she silently added.
Chat’s mouth opened and closed without saying anything, and Marinette sighed, pulling him inside and closing the door. He didn’t move, staring at the ground while his fingers played with the pink strap across his chest. Marinette, still trying to quiet the baby, was concerned. Of course, she would have been concerned no matter what considering her boyfriend had brought a baby to her house, but something was definitely wrong.
“I hope you didn’t come to me with this just because I’m a girl and I’m supposed to know how to deal with babies,” she joked, trying to pull Chat out of whatever was going on. Because she needed to know. She needed to know what was happening with him, and she needed to know why he had a baby. Because if she didn’t know really soon, she was probably going to explode. Spontaneous combustion was a serious problem.
“I only have five friends, Marinette.” Chat finally spoke, his words halting and lacking any emotion. “Or, four now, I guess. Two of them probably know even less about babies than me, and I don’t know where to find Ladybug and I left my phone at home or the hospital or something. You used to babysit. I thought maybe you might be able to help.”
The baby in her arms was still screaming, and Marinette was even more concerned. What was with the change in Chat’s number of friends? What was he doing at the hospital? And his voice? She hadn’t heard him sound so hollow since his father died.
She sucked in a breath, pieces clicking together, and hoped she was wrong. But she couldn’t discuss this now, not until she got the baby quietened down and could hear herself think.
“Give me the bag,” she instructed, and Chat’s arms moved robotically to pull the diaper bag off of him. “Good. Now, go sit on the couch. There’s pizza if you’re hungry. We’re going to talk once the baby stops crying.”
Chat nodded mutely, crossing to the couch and sinking onto it, blank stare trained on the frozen pirates on the TV. Marinette bit her lip, watching him in concern for a moment, before following him and lying the baby on the ground.
She unwrapped the blanket, methodically undoing the snaps on the purple onesie and blinking in surprise. Chat—at least, she assumed it was Chat—clearly had little experience with babies, if the duct tape holding the diaper closed was anything to go by. She didn’t mention it, though, digging through the diaper bag for supplies. In a few short minutes, the baby was clothed in a fresh diaper, though she still hadn’t stopped screaming.
There was formula in the bag, and a bottle, though it hadn’t been made. It’d take a few minutes for Marinette to Google exactly how that worked, so she lifted the baby once more and turned to Chat.
“Take off your suit.”
His gaze moved to her from the television. “What?”
“Take off your suit,” she repeated, bouncing in place. “The top part, I mean. Get it down to your waist.”
Chat stared at her a moment longer, but tugged on his bell and pulled his arms out of the suit. Marinette was on him in seconds, tucking the baby against his chest.
“Bring your hands up,” she told him, and he complied, hesitantly cupping the baby. “Good. Now, I’m going to let go, okay?” He nodded and she moved her hands away. She plucked the yellow blanket back off the ground, guiding his hands so she could tuck it around the baby, looping it around his back and tying it lightly over his shoulder.
“It’s called kangarooing,” she explained, gently moving his shoulders so he could relax against the couch. “I read an article about it once. Something about your heartbeat being calming to the baby, and the skin to skin contact helping with bonding.” Chat nodded again, eyes trained on the baby and one hand tracing patterns against her back. Marinette bit her lip, studying him for a moment. “When’s the last time she ate?”
Chat didn’t look at her, but something flashed quickly through his eyes. “A couple hours ago, I think,” he said. “The babysitters said they fed her.”
Marinette nodded, straightening up. “She might be hungry again. I’m going to go figure out how to make up a bottle. Just sit tight, okay?” After deciding that another nod was all she was going to get, she picked up her phone and the bottle and the formula and retreated into the kitchen.
What was going on? She flicked through Google, trying to figure out how often babies ate and how to turn formula into something to actually feed a baby, though her thoughts were more focused on Chat. The sooner they calmed the baby down, the sooner she’d get answers.
Was the baby why he’d missed patrol? Where did the baby even come from? Who was the fifth friend that didn’t count anymore? Who left Chat in charge of a baby when he so clearly had no idea what he was doing? How did he manage to carry a baby across rooftops from wherever he was to her house?
Come to think of it, rooftop travel could quite possibly be what upset the baby.
She shook her head and, having found the information she needed, set about preparing the formula.
Chat hadn’t moved when she returned to the living room, the baby on his chest now fast asleep. The only difference was that he was staring down at his baton in his hand, a picture of Ladybug blinking on the screen. Marinette placed the unneeded bottle on the coffee table, moving the pizza over so she could sit beside him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the baby’s peaceful face scrunch up in sleep, before Marinette turned her gaze to Chat.
“Where did you get a baby?”
“I can’t reach her.” Chat’s voice was barely a whisper, and he hadn’t seemed to even register that Marinette had spoken. His eyes snapped up to her, full of anguish and desperation. “Why isn’t she picking up?”
Marinette fiddled with the edge of her shirt. “Maybe she’s busy,” she suggested. “Maybe—”
“She needs to pick up.” His voice broke, and his claws tightened around his baton. “I need her. I need to talk to her. I can’t do this. Where is she? Where’s Ladybug? I don’t know where to find her, Mari, and she’s not picking up and I need her. I need her.” He continued to mumble, his voice rising in hysteria as his eyes returned to the screen, calling again. The call didn’t go through, and he threw the baton across the room, smashing a vase in the process. “Why isn’t she answering?”
Marinette’s heart broke watching her boyfriend, and she lay a hand on his shoulder. His eyes flicked back to her, pleading as though she could magically make Ladybug answer the call. And she could, but it wasn’t like he actually knew that.
She took a deep breath. Screw it. He was going to find out in two weeks anyway, and she was scared for her partner. He needed this.
“She’s not answering because she’s right her,” she said softly. The pleading in his eyes turned to confusion. “It’s me. I’m Ladybug. I’m right here.”
Chat stared at her for a long moment, before wrapping his arm around her. He pulled her into his side with a sob, still coherent enough to be mindful of the baby as he buried his face in her neck.
“I’m here,” Marinette whispered again, running her fingers through his hair. “I’m here, kitty. I’m not going anywhere.”
She wasn’t sure how long it took for him to get control over his tears, but she held him all the while, whispering comforting words into his ear. Eventually, he pulled back enough to look at her, but didn’t remove his arm from around her. Marinette knew his eyes would be red and puffy behind the mask, but, at the moment, his flushed face was the only indication that something was off.
“You’re—you’re really Ladybug?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “You’re my Lady?”
Marinette nodded. “I’m your Lady, Chat,” she confirmed. She cupped his cheek, brushing away a few stray tears with her thumb. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong? Where did you get a baby?”
Chat’s lip trembled, and his gaze fell once again to the sleeping girl. He didn’t say anything for a long moment, and Marinette rubbed patterns into his shoulder as she waited.
“Her name’s Adeline,” he finally said, not looking up. “After my mother, Adele. She’s my niece. Her dad, Felix, is—was—my brother.”
Marinette drew in a sharp breath, tightening her hold around Chat’s shoulders as the change in tense. She remembered a few months back, when Chat told her that his brother was having a baby, that he’d get to be godfather. She remembered how excited he was.
“What happened?”
Chat’s eyes closed, and she watched his throat bob as he swallowed heavily. “There was a car accident.” It was a broken whisper, and Marinette stopped breathing again, her eyes widening. “Felix and Bridgette, they’re—they didn’t—” He broke off, glassy eyes opening and returning to Marinette’s.
“I’m her godfather, Mari,” he whispered, lip trembling. “I didn’t think it would mean anything. I was—I was supposed to be the—the cool uncle who buys her presents and lets her eat candy before—before dinner and stay up late. I didn’t think—I didn’t think I’d have to—”
A sob cut him off that time, one he tried to muffle as the tears started anew, streaming down his face. Marinette pulled him into her again, pressing his face into her chest and stroking his back. Sobs wracked his body, and her own tears leaked into his hair, her heart breaking again for him. She didn’t whisper this time. She didn’t know what to say to make him stop hurting. Thinking back to when his father died, just being there would be enough for him.
It was a long while before his sobs subsided. He loosened his hold on her, and she pressed a kiss against his forehead before he pulled back.
“I don’t know what to do,” he whimpered, eyes back on his niece as he traced patterns against her back. “I don’t know anything about babies. I’m going to screw this up, and Adeline’s going to hate me.”
“She won’t hate you,” Marinette insisted, tracing his cheekbone with her thumb in what she hoped was a soothing pattern. “I’ll help, if you want.”
His gaze was hopeful as his eyes flicked up to hers. “You will?” he breathed, and Marinette nodded.
“Of course, kitty,” she told him, offering a shaky smile. “I love you. It’s going to take a lot more than a baby for me to break up with you. I mean, I don’t really know anything about babies either, but we can figure this out together.”
Chat stared at her again, before pulling her head into his chest. “Thank you,” he whispered into her hair. “Mari, my Lady, thank you. Thank you so much. I love you.”
She squeezed him back, and pressed a kiss against his collarbone. “I love you, too, Chat.”
“Adrien,” he murmured, and Marinette pulled back, gazing up at him. “That’s my name. Adrien Agreste. I’d drop my transformation, but there’s kind of a baby strapped to me.” He let out a humourless chuckle, and Marinette forced a smile for his sake. “You met me a couple times as Ladybug, years ago when we first started out, but never as Marinette.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Adrien.” She pressed a brief kiss to his cheek before pulling away, unwrapping her arms from around him. “I’m going to find something to use as a bed for Adeline for tonight. We should try to get some sleep, too.” Chat—Adrien—nodded, and Marinette retreated into her room.
She pushed away the thoughts about how she was now going to be raising a baby with Chat for the moment. She could deal with that later, after they got the whole baby situation figured out, and after they dealt with whatever they had to concerning Chat’s cousin. None of that mattered right now. What currently mattered was finding a bed for Adeline.
Her eyes caught on the pink basket she used for storing her socks, and it only took a few minutes to line it with fabric and a blanket and turn it into a makeshift cradle.
It wasn’t long before she was burying herself under the covers with a now detransformed Chat Noir, whose eyes were an even lovelier shade of green when they looked human. They’d redressed Adeline and tucked her in bed, and Marinette made Adrien eat a slice of pizza since he couldn’t remember when he’d eaten last.
Now they were cuddled up together. It wasn’t the first time she’d spent the night with him, though the others felt far less intimate in comparison. Before now, it had been late nights when they fell asleep on rooftops or secretly rented hotel rooms as Ladybug and Chat Noir, boyfriend and girlfriend, Power Couple of Paris. Or they’d been Marinette and Chat Noir, accidentally falling asleep in the living room during movie marathons or Chat sleeping on the couch because a storm had grown too big for him to get home.
But now they were Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Chat Noir, her and him, curled up together in her bed. They were their whole selves, no more secrets. They knew each other entirely, and they chose each other. All of each other.
Marinette had never expected Chat Noir to show up at her balcony with a baby and a pink diaper bag, but he did, and she was going to make the most of it. Because her boyfriend was asleep in her bed, and his name was Adrien Agreste, and he had a baby now. A baby named Adeline who was asleep in her sock basket and who she was going to help raise.
She was going to make the most of it because she loved him, Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste, her kitty, her boyfriend, him, and now he came with a baby. A baby that she was going to love just as much as she loved him. They were going to do this together, and they were going to be as good at raising a baby as they were at fighting supervillains.
She pressed her face into his chest, holding him tightly as silent tears dripped into her hair, and drifted off to sleep.