Adrien dragged a hand down his face, tiredly trying to make out what he could do. When he had married his wife, Marinette, six years ago, he hadn't expected to be left alone with four children. Neither of them had expected this to happen, actually. His wife's body had been taken away before he could react, and now he held newborn Astoria as Hugo, Louis, and Emma clung to his khakis. None of them had expected this. When the doctor had told Adrien to go get his children, he hadn't known what to expect. When they had gotten back, he wasn't prepared for the doctor to tell them that they had to say goodbye. Neither was Adrien prepared for the doctor to pull him aside and tell him that one of the twins, Aster, wasn't going to make it. The shock that had taken over his body had left him almost paralyzed. Only Emma's cries had pulled him out of his catatonic state.

When Alya had shown up, tears streaming in mascara smearing lines down her face, with Nino right behind her, it really hit him. He was now responsible for four children, one of them not even a day old, and the woman who held his heart wasn't there. The panic that had taken over his heart in such a rush couldn't be dislodged. His world seemed to stand still, the moment freezing as the full force of what had happened hit him. Alya's gentle attempts to pry Astoria from his arms want unnoticed as he hugged his infant daughter close. This couldn't be the end of everything that they had worked towards; this couldn't be the end of a partnership that had spanned their teens and early twenties. They were supposed to grow old together, they were supposed to whether the formidable teen years of their children's together, they were supposed to work, fret, and argue together for…for...for forever. Forever wasn't short, it wasn't defined. It wasn't…it wasn't supposed to be ended by death. Adrien's grief filled eyes met Alya's, and he started to cry.

Four years later

Adrien groaned as his ten year old son poked his side.

"Dad"

"Sleep, Hugo, is a blessing"

"Dad"

"Hugo"

"DAD!" Adrien groaned; he hated waking up to this. It wasn't that he didn't love his children, but when Hugo was sent into get him, usually that meant that something was wrong. He finally opened a bleary eye and looked at his son,

"Yeah?"

"Astoria's crying again. I've tried everything." Adrien's eyes flew opened. His youngest was the one he worried about the most. She was the one who he had had the most trouble taking care of, as he had struggled with grief, doubt, and depression with the passing of his wife. Alya had been the best help he could have asked for, taking the older three for extended periods of time and helping with Astoria when Adrien hadn't known what to do with the infant. As time had passed, the family of five had transitioned, with Hugo and his twin brother Louis stepping up whenever they could. Emma, Adrien's now eight year old daughter had become self sufficient early on. The older three tried to help their father with their baby sister, but in the end, Adrien had often had to interfere.

"Give me five minutes to get dressed and out of bed, and I'll be down." Adrien hadn't realized how much of a sucker he was for his children until Nino had pointed it out recently. Whenever they called to him, begging for help, he always answered, rushing home to care for them. He had given up, two years ago, and had claimed one of the unused rooms as an office. His children, although frustrated that they had to respect "dad's work space" thrived under more direct care from their father, and less babysitting from Alya and Chloe. Not to say that Adrien wasn't grateful for his friends' help, but he had found that the two women were incredibly accomplished in the art of hovering. Since he had taken over the business side of his father fashion house, Adrien's work load wasn't predictable, and always changed depending on what season it was. Recently, Adrien had been blessed with a quiet lull between seasons.

As he buttoned his grey shirt, tried to navigate the death-trap that the stairs were, and tried to get a grasp of the situation five minutes later, Adrien once again longed for his wife. In instances like these, she would have been much better suited to handling the children. Hugo was standing in the kitchen, trying to entice his baby sister into calming down with her favorite foods. In the living room, Louis and Emma were trying to work on the homework that they had been assigned. Adrien had a sneaking suspicion that this was one of the weekends that would lead to a call from the twins' teacher at the private school the older three went to. The call, he supposed, would pertain to potential cheating. Adrien, however, know that his sons weren't…cheating…they just helped each other on busy weekends.

"Hugo. I'll get Astoria, got work on your homework."

"Dad, it's-"

"Go. You need to spend some time with your other siblings."

"Yes sir." Adrien sighed as he watched his son slump away, before turning back to his four year old daughter. There was no argument that she was a daddy's girl in every sense of the word. As he picked her up, she quieted down, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Daddy."

"Hey princess. I've got you." Her blond hair was loose, tumbling down her back, and her deep blue eyes, so much like her mothers, were tired. "Next time, instead of waking up Hugo, come get me, ok?" Her eyes widened guilty,

"But-but-but DADDY! Hugo said to let you sleep!" Adrien made a mental note to thank his son for his extra sleep, before turning back to his youngest.

"It IS good to listen to your brothers-BOTH of them- but every now and then; I DO enjoy spending time with my little Princess." Astoria giggled happily, as Adrien slowly settled her in her chair. "Now, why don't you finish this tantalizing breakfast that your brother made for you"

In the other room, Adrien found his other children working together. Louis was working with Emma on her math homework, while Hugo copied his brother's mostly correct work. The stab of guilt that Adrien felt as he watched his children wasn't new; quickly, he sent Hugo and Louis to the kitchen to work on their homework together. His daughter looked at him in confusion. He could already see the cogs working behind her green eyes as she tried to determine what she had done to get herself in trouble. It was another slap in the face for Adrien as he recognized what she was thinking. He promised himself, again, that he would devote more time to his middle child, before sitting down next to her on the floor and tackling her 2nd grade math work.

The next day

Adrien walked into the front office of his children's school and smiled nervously. He had just dropped Astoria off with her Godmother, Chloe, and had decided to take Emma out for lunch. When his Daughter came into the office, he couldn't help but laugh at the joy in her eyes that came from receiving special attention from her father. When they got out to his car, Emma looked around, and asked quietly, "Daddy, am I in trouble?" Adrien looked at the eight year old in shock.

"Emma, what gives you that idea?"

"Well, usually, the only time Hugo and Louis get pulled out of school is when they're in trouble." Adrien blinked.

"Oh kitten," Emma giggled at the special nickname he used for her, "I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to spend time with you…and I know how much you like that café down the street." Emma perked up at the mention of her favorite café. Adrien had refused to take the twins or Astoria there, and saved it as a treat for himself and Emma. Recently, they hadn't been able to go because of his schedule, so he had made the decision that it was time for a dad and daughter date.