A bus, looking like it was made for professional sports players, pulled up in front of the gates of the Agreste mansion. The bus itself was decorated with black, red and green–a tribute to their favorite super duo, Ladybug and Chat Noir. The door of the bus opened, revealing a 15 year-old girl with inky black locks tied in a ponytail and emerald green eyes. A sports bag, with the brand logo of Agreste hung from her shoulders. The girl climbed out the steps, and proceeded to wave at the bus with a bright smile as it drove away. She let out a satisfied sigh, and pressed the doorbell. After the little camera recognized who she was, the gates swung open, and she ran to the doors. The doors opened, and before she could fully enter the house, two blurs, a red and another a black, floated towards her, and nuzzled her cheeks.
"Emma! You're finally back! We missed you so much!" The crimson kwami, Tikki, cried.
"I hope you got something back!" Plagg, the black kwami drawled.
"Plagg! She just got back! Let her rest!" Tikki scolded.
Emma giggled. "Oh, I got something alright!" She winked. "Let's just get inside already; I'm homesick!"
Tikki and Plagg floated inside, while Emma Agreste walked towards her bedroom. She dumped her bag on her queen-sized bedroom, got some fresh clothes from her walk-in closet, and went in her giant bathroom for a quick shower. After she was done, she quickly put on her clothes and exited her bathroom, to be greeted by the sight of her smiling mother.
"Emma!" She smiled brightly. Emma couldn't help it–with three long strides, she quickly crossed the room, and gave her mother a tight hug. Marinette quickly returned her hug in a tight squeeze, giving a warm kiss to her daughter's hair. The mother-daughter duo quickly let go of each other, and proceeded to sit on the couch, with Marinette gently stroking her daughter's hair.
"How was the tournament, dear?" She asked.
"It was great, Mama!" Emma beamed. "There were so many people from so many countries! I was a bit worried, but we managed to win!"
"You did? That's awesome, dear!"
With excitement bubbling in her chest, she jumped over the couch and strode over to her bed. She pulled the zipper of her bag, and took out a 1 ½ feet long golden trophy.
"First prize!" She grinned, flashing her pearly whites, while holding the golden trophy decorated with a crystal in the shape of a football, her chest swelling with immense pride. Marinette giggled, at the all-too-familiar smile on her daughter's face, reminding her of her Chaton.
"Oh wow! That's awesome, Emma! I knew you could do it!" Tikki cooed.
"Yeah kid! Now we expect a treat from you!"
"Plagg!"
Marinette and Emma let out a hearty laugh. Emma let out a contented sigh, and placed the trophy she won in the International Junior Football Tournament at U-15 category on her trophy shelf. She was probably happier than her teammates, given the fact that she was the captain of her team.
"Uh, where's Papa?" Emma asked.
"He should be arriving any moment now." Tikki said, making Marinette frown.
"I seriously don't understand how could he just forget his kwami at home!" Marinette sighed, exasperated.
The intercom of Emma's bedroom rang. She ran towards it and pressed the button, hearing Nathalie's usual monotone voice.
"Mr. Agreste has arrived, Ms. Agreste." She drawled out. Emma let out a happy squeal, and bolted out of her room, practically running downstairs to greet her father.
…
Adrien had a very hectic day. He had to fire two of his male employees, because they were harassing their female colleagues. Then, he found out that two of the models had a fight, and had ruined their clothes, and replacements were not there in the moment, ruining the photo shoot. Paparazzi's were trying to get an interview of him, mostly to get personal information to publish in their respective Tabloids. His wife was designing a new line from their home, and he didn't like the feel of her temporary absence. And worst of all, he forgot Plagg at home.
The only thing he looked forward to at the moment was the arriving of his 15 year-old daughter, since his 19 year-old twin sons, Louis and Hugo (who had blond hair and bluebell eyes), were away attending college.
As soon as he stepped into his house, he heard an excited squeal. Before he could locate the source of the sound, he was tackled in a bone-crushing hug.
"Papa! You're back!" Emma squealed in to his chest.
Adrien recognized his daughter's voice, and returned her hug. He stroked her hair and pressed a kiss on her forehead.
"Kitten, you're back! Did you win?" He asked excitedly, to which he was rewarded with a vigorous nod.
"Yes papa, I did! But it was pure luck!"
"It's not just pure luck, Emma. It's because you worked very hard for it." said Marinette, who just came downstairs, hearing the conversation between her daughter and husband.
Adrien gave a beaming smile to his daughter and then to his wife. Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up, and found out it was Chloé.
"Hey, Chloé…uh huh…right now? But she just got…if that's the case…alright; we'll come…Bye Chloé!" He sighed and disconnected the phone. He turned to look at Marinette.
"Chloé is holding a party tonight. It's because Nathanael finally opened his animation studio. She's insisting that Emma comes as well."
"Right now?" Marinette raised an eyebrow. "But she just came home!"
"I tried telling her that, bugaboo! She doesn't listen; you know that, right?"
"Its okay, Mama." Emma said with confidence. "In fact, I think I have more energy to spare."
Marinette looked doubtful. She sighed, eventually giving in. "Alright. I better get ready, then."
"Excellent! And Emma, Chloé said you can come at whatever outfit you're wearing right now."
"What!?" She squeaked. "But I'm wearing a hoodie and jeans!"
"I don't know about that, kitten. It might be related to a surprise she's giving you." Adrien said with a wink.
…
"You're in the fanciest clothes possible, and I'm feeling underdressed." Emma huffed, as she looked at the outside view from the backseat of their car, which Adrien was driving.
Marinette chuckled. "Honey, I know you're feeling like that, but have trust in Chloé." Suddenly her phone rang. The screen showed that it was Adrien's mother.
"Hello, Emilie? Yeah, she's here. Emma, your grandma wants to talk to you." Marinette said handing over her phone to Emma. She excitedly talked to her grandmother, telling her all about the football tournament. Seeing that she was distracted, Marinette turned to talk Adrien.
"You know that one of Chloé's guests is Lorraine Francois?" She asked worryingly.
"Yeah, I've heard." Adrien said thoughtfully.
"You do know she's been accused of continuous sexual harassment?" Marinette said, biting her lip.
"Yeah, but there is no evidence. Even Lila is struggling with her case, and she's a world-class lawyer!"
The sound of 'Okay, goodnight!' indicated that Emma had finished her conversation with her grandma and hung up her phone. She was about to hand over the phone, when she saw an image that looked some sort of logo.
"Hey papa, what's this?" She indicated to the image as she handed over the phone. Adrien looked at the logo–which was two black zig-zag lines placed parallel to each other, with magenta, cyan and yellow colored circles in the middle–and chuckled.
"That's the logo of Nathanael's animation studio, sweetie."
"Yeah, but why 'Evillustrator'?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nath said the akuma brought out his inner artist." Marinette explained. "He said it was like a 'dream come true' scenario for artists."
"Uh huh." Emma nodded in agreement. Then, a rather amusing thought came to her mind. "But if it was an akuma, won't Hawkmoth sue him for copyright charges?"
This sent the kwamis and the adults into shouts of laughter. "Oh my god!" Adrien managed to breathe out between laughs. "That would be embarrassing!"
"Embarrassing, as in you two, running around the entire, trying to hide from rabid fans who were asking for autographs and selfies, when you weren't dating mom?"
This did not help for the laughter to die down in the car.
…
"Marinette! Adrien! You're here!" Chloé came running to the small family, giving each of them a tight hug. "Emma, you're looking so adorable today!" She gushed, making Emma's cheeks turn a shade of pink.
The party was extravagant. The walls were decorated with cream-colored curtains, the carpet was beautiful deep red, the chandelier was the brightest source of light, different assortment of flowers decorated the tables laid in the huge banquet hall where the party was held. The hall was situated on the top-most room of the hotel, and climbing a flight of stairs would lead to the pool area.
The party's guests were mostly famous personalities; from celebrity chefs, actors, models, singers, you name them. Marinette and Adrien found Alya and Nino Lahiffe–her parents' best friends–the former a famous journalist, while the latter a famous music composer. They started chatting excitedly, remembering their childhood. It bored Emma, so she started walking around the hall, avoiding people while trying to get herself a glass of juice. She didn't notice where she was going, until she bumped into someone.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" The voice asked. Emma stiffened as she recognized who was speaking to her. She turned to face the boy who she bumped into, and her face turned the same shade as the boy's hair. In front of her stood Blaise Bourgeois-Kurtzburg, Chloé and Nathanael's son, and the object of her affections. She felt her face heat up as she gazed into those bright blue eyes. And the fact that he was wearing a formal suit flustered her even more.
"Oh, hi Emma! I'm glad you could make it." Blaise said with a bright smile. "It was getting a bit lonely here. No one's here around our age, so there was no on to talk to."
"See to nice too it's you–I mean, it's nice to see you too!" She stuttered. Emma silently cursed her mother's own incoherent behavior when she was her own age, and which she unfortunately inherited.
"Yeah, at least I'll have someone to talk to." He chuckled. He then handed out one of the wine glasses he was holding, which was filled with a liquid colored a deep red. "Thirsty?" he asked.
Emma took the wine glass and looked at it skeptically. She hated the smell of alcohol. She sniffed the drink, and was relieved that it did not have the stench of the wine. Blaise gave out a light chuckle as he sipped his own glass.
"It's not wine, if that's what you're thinking. It's pomegranate juice." Emma sighed a little in relief, and sipped the juice.
After that, they started to talk about everyday things; school, friends, homework, music, football. While they were talking, Emma started to observe the surroundings. Journalists interviewing celebrities, the chocolate fountain at the buffet table spewing a dark, thick chocolate, a famous comedian making a group of people laugh, a famous model just scarfing down her food, a random hand touching Adrien's butt…
Wait.
A random person touched Adrien's behind!?
Adrien as if someone touched his butt, and he knew the hand was bigger than Marinette's. He started looking over the crowd, hoping to find the person. Marinette touched his arm, and shot him a worrying look.
"Adrien, is something wrong?" She asked, her voice laced with worry. Adrien cast her a reassuring glance.
"I'm fine. Everything's okay, don't worry." He said with a small smile. It did nothing to dispel Marinette's worries.
Meanwhile, Emma was glaring at the direction of her father. Her blood was boiling with oncoming rage. She was absolutely disgusted that someone dared to touch her father in that manner. She was clutching her wine glass so tightly; she was surprised it didn't break yet.
"Emma, is something wrong?" Blaise asked with an eyebrow.
"Yes." She seethed with clenched teeth, not taking her eyes off her parents. The anger laced in her voice did not go unnoticed by Blaise.
"What's going on?"
"Some idiot's getting a little too handsy with my dad." She spat out.
"Did you see who it was?" He asked with a frown.
Emma sighed, and shook her head, dejected.
…
Emma started to feel a little claustrophobic at the party. She then decided to go to the pool area. As she was walking up the flight of stairs, the two kwamis came after her.
"Where are you going, Emma?" Tikki asked her.
"The pool. I need some fresh air." She said flatly.
"About time you noticed that. The party was making me lose my appetite." Plagg snarked. Emma raised an eyebrow. She tossed Plagg a small block camembert, which he gulped down in a heartbeat. "Well, almost."
She walked towards the pool area, and sat on one of the lounge chairs, stretched out like a cat (something she inherited from her father) and relaxed, as she settled in a comfortable position.
"Ugh! Today's really exhausting." She grumbled.
"I understand." Tikki sighed. "You just came back home, and you have been dragged into a party. In all honesty, you should have plenty of rest after that long journey."
"Yeah." Emma agreed. "And on top of that, I came wearing a hoodie and jeans! It's embarrassing!"
"Yeah, no kidding." Plagg said rolling his eyes. His cat ears suddenly perked up, catching the footsteps approaching the pool area. "Someone's coming. Hide!"
Emma frantically searched for someplace to hide, turning her head in every direction, and found a group of large barrels. She quickly ran over to the barrels and hid behind them. When she saw that the person who came to the rooftop was Adrien, she very nearly face palmed.
Adrien held a wine glass in his hand, filled with champagne, and gazed at the spectacular view of the city with its speckles of lights, and the brightly-lit Eiffel Tower. Emma was about to come out of her hiding place, when another person came to the poolside. When Emma saw who it was, a disgusted shiver went down her spine. A woman with chocolate-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and a slender figure both beautiful and fake to look at–it was none other than the famous supermodel, Lorraine Francois.
"Hello there, Monsieur Agreste." She greeted him with a sultry smirk. "Why are you out here all alone? The party's down there." The words rolled off her tongue like honey. Emma realized her intentions of being here were not at all appropriate.
"Good evening, Mme. Francois." Adrien greeted her. "I was feeling a little claustrophobic, so I came here for some fresh air." There was a hint of wariness in his voice, but Lorraine ignored it.
"Fresh air, huh?" She smirked. "Or were you having an uncomfortable presence down there?" Adrien's eyebrows shot up, and he gulped painfully
Emma was practically gritting her teeth. In an attempt to calm down, she took in deep breaths. She whipped out her phone–positioning it so that it stands on its own–and started recording the conversation. She had a gut feeling that she needed to record this.
"This woman is annoying." Plagg whisper yelled. "She really has no boundaries."
"I don't have a good feeling about this." Tikki said, her voice laced with worry.
Lorrain sauntered towards him. "Hm? You wouldn't mind if I keep you company?" Her eyes were darkened with lust. She licked her lips hungrily.
"Actually, I would appreciate if you keep your distance from me." He spat out. The woman was unnerved.
"Ah, so you didn't like my delicate touches on your beautiful behind?" She said in the sweetest tone possible. Adrien's face shot up in shock, while Emma was bristling with incoming fury, and was struggling to keep her anger in check.
"That-that was you!?" He almost yelled. Lorraine nodded her head without a trace of shame.
She walked towards him in a flirtatious manner, while he started to back away. Unfortunately for him, his feet struck the support of the lounge chairs, cornering him. She smirked victoriously, and pounced on him. She pinned him downed on the chairs, essentially keeping him immobile. He tried to struggle out of her grasp, but her hold was too tight. It certainly was no help that he was tipsy after all those drinks. Her hands moved to his chest. She unbuttoned his shirt a little, exposing his chest. She looked hungrily at him, and bent down in an attempt to capture his lips.
Emma saw red. Abandoning the kwamis and her phone, she ran towards them at the highest speed possible. Before the woman could kiss her father, she grabbed the woman by her waist, and they both fell into the pool.
As the kwamis heard a loud splash, Plagg turned to Tikki. "Sweets, go down to the hall and tell Marinette that Emma fell into the pool." Tikki nodded, and flew away. Plagg kept a watch on Emma's phone, so that it won't get discovered in the chaos that would follow.
…
Adrien felt helpless. He was totally dominated by this woman.
She had just admitted to touching him inappropriately. And now she was about to take advantage of him.
God, why did he drink that much alcohol? If he hadn't, then maybe he would have enough energy to throw her off of him. He had started to hate the fact that he was tipsy at the moment.
He couldn't even transform in front of her. Sure, Chat Noir would intimidate her, but he had to keep his identity a secret. Or he would never hear the end of it.
He noticed that his shirt had been unbuttoned a little, and his chest was exposed. He saw how hungrily she looked at his lips. She dipped her head down in an attempt to join her lips with his. He braced himself for those undesirable lips to claim his.
It never happened.
He felt her being ripped off of him and heard a loud splash. He looked at the pool at where Lorraine and his savior had jumped in. Due to the splash, the water had foamed so much it was impossible to point out who was in the pool. When the foam cleared up, his heart nearly stopped; in the pool, along with Lorraine was…his daughter. His daughter had saved him from being sexually assaulted.
Lorraine head broke the water surface, gasping for breath, but then she was again pulled down into the water by Emma.
He heard a clattering of footsteps, and pretty soon, people had crowded around the pool. He felt someone grab his hand.
"What happened!?" Marinette asked him, almost about to burst into tears. Adrien just shook his head.
"I'm going in." Blaise announced, taking his jacket off. However, Nathanael stopped him.
"No son, don't do it." He said, holding him back.
Finally, Emma let go of Lorraine when she had started to lose consciousness. She then broke out from the water surface with a loud gasp. She felt hands grab hers as she was hauled out of the pool. As she was sat on the ground, she started coughing out water.
Chloé, Alya and Marinette–who had pulled her out of the pool–started to rub her back, as he spat out more water.
Chloé turned around and shouted at the top of her lungs. "JEAN! GET TWO LARGE TOWELS, RIGHT NOW! AND THEY MUST BE WARM!" The butler bowed and hurried to get the towels. Chloé turned her attention back to Emma. "Oh, you poor thing! Are you okay? I should've never invited that good-for-nothing…"
"GOOD-FOR-NOTHING!?" Lorraine shouted at Chloé. "I was here, minding my own business, when that brat pushed me into the damn pool!" She claimed as she pointed at Emma.
"The girl who you have so derogatorily referred to as a 'brat' happens to be my daughter." Adrien said as he glared at the woman. His voice was so calm, it was terrifying.
"You weren't minding your own business; you were trying to take advantage of dad." She spat out, trembling with cold. Everyone gasped at this heavy claim.
"How dare you!?" She gasped with outrage. "I'd never make a move on a married man! That's disgusting!"
"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow. Chloé gave her a towel, which she wrapped around herself tightly. She walked over to the barrels, and picked up her phone. She cringed at how much time her phone had been recording. She played the video, clearly showing what had happened.
She gave the phone to Marinette, who watched the video with disgust. People crowded around her to get a glimpse of the video.
"I've had suspicions about Mme. Lorraine Francois, but now they've been confirmed." A woman spoke out from the crowd. The crowd parted a little to show the owner of the voice the way to the video. The woman had long, chestnut hair tied into a bun; her olive-green eyes scrutinized every move in the video. She had a tan skin, and was wearing a brown business suit. This woman was clearly the famous lawyer, Lila Rossi.
"I knew for a fact that Lorraine was up to no good, but unfortunately, I lacked evidence. This is the proof I needed to convict her." She adjusted her glasses as she faced Emma. "Thank you very much. Would you please send me the video right now?"
Emma nodded and sent her the video. Lila watched with satisfaction as the evidence she needed was finally in her hands. She thanked Emma, and called over the police to take away the culprit.
Chloé pulled Marinette and Emma by hand, and began dragging them to her room. As soon as the women were inside the room, Chloé went over to her closet and pulled out some boxes.
"Here you go." She said as she handed Emma the boxes. "I was getting impatient anyway."
She opened the biggest box, to reveal a sea-green colored dress. It was a halter-neck dress; with the skirt flowing out till it reached her knees. There were silver floral detailing on the skirt and the top of the dress.
"Mari." Chloé said. "Would you be a darling and dress up Emma? I want my future daughter-in-law to be the most beautiful girl at the party." With a wink, she went out of the room. Her words had made Emma blush from ear to ear.
"Is it just me," Tikki said as she floated out into the view. "Or Chloé has been acting a lot like Sabine lately?" There was amusement in her voice.
"Hm. I think you're right." She said with an amused expression. "Looks like Maman has been rubbing off on her." She giggled.
Emma went into the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. When she was in the room again, Marinette helped her get into the dress. She styled up her hair, and helped her put on the white pumps.
Despite the pool incident, everything was going as normal as it was before. Except, Adrien kept Emma close to himself, as people came to talk about what happened by the pool side.
...
After the party, when the Agrestes were in the car, the kwamis came out in the open. When Adrien turned around to talk to Emma, he realized that she had fallen asleep. He gave her a fond smile, and started to drive his car.
"You know, whatever happened up there is extremely embarrassing." Marinette scolded.
"Yeah, I realized I should stay away from alcohol for some time." Adrien said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.
Marinette cast a glance over shoulder at a passed out Emma. "If Emma was not there, it would've been extremely disastrous."
"Yeah." He agreed. "Although, if Fu chooses her to be a miraculous holder, I won't be surprised."
"Hmm. I guess you're right."
A/N: Soooo...I watched "Gorizilla". Too much Adriennette!XD And Adrien's Mom's name being Emilie Agreste is a boon to us writers. I think Lila will grow up to be a laywer, so that she will be a pursuer of truth rather than live her image as a liar. And i'll probably start my !Pirate AU by next week...Hope you had a good reading. Peace out!