"I saw Mummy kiss Chat Noir!"

Hugo blinked as he took in his sister's flushed face, her heavy breathing from obviously running to his room, and the wild, crazed, look that made her green eyes sparkle in the dark and sighed heavily as he sat up. It was way too late for him having to deal with this latest bout of restlessness.

"You woke me up," he said grumpily, "for a dream?"

"It wasn't a dream!" Emma snapped furiously. "I couldn't sleep and went to get some milk," and cookies undoubtedly, Emma always had a sweet tooth, "when I saw them downstairs. They were kissing! Their hands were all over one another!"

"Em, you're saying that Mum, our Mum, was kissing another man that wasn't Dad," Hugo said irritably, "of course it was a dream! Mum would never kiss anyone else. She and Dad are so in love it's gross."

"I know what I saw!" Emma fumed. "I'm not making it up! Mum is having a passionate torrid affair with Chat Noir!"

It was in this moment that Hugo finally understood why Mum said Aunt Chloe was a bad influence. There was no way Emma could have known those words from anywhere else other than Aunt Chloe's trashy romance novels that she read to them instead of Harry Potter whenever she babysat.

"Em, it's after Midnight," Hugo said tiredly, "I'm sleepy and we have school tomorrow. Go back to bed."

"But Hugh-"

"Goodnight Emma!"

And with that he rolled over and firmly kept his eyes shut. Emma tried to prod him awake but Hugo was equally stubborn and after five minutes of being ignored Emma let out a furious huff before she stalked out of Hugo's bedroom and stomped her back to her own. Hugo sighed blissfully, enjoying the peace before he slipped into a peaceful, if too short thanks to a certain twin sister, sleep.

Emma obviously didn't get enough sleep either as she looked like death warmed over at the breakfast table. She poked at her eggs sleepily as she watched their blissfully ignorant and happy father at the stove. There was a loud clattering sound as he could hear Mum finally make her way to the kitchen.

"Good morning!"

Mum's smile was so radiant and warm that Hugo couldn't help but smile back despite his tiredness and earlier grumpiness. "Morning Mum," he replied as he leaned in for a kiss on his cheek.

Emma stayed stubbornly silent as she kept her eyes down at her eggs and Dottie let out a happy gurgle from behind the hand in her mouth as she waved the other at Mum. Mum kissed Dottie's forehead before she moved over to Dad. Instantly she turned a weird chalky colour as she got close to the stove and a hand flew over her mouth for a moment.

"Good Morning, Princess," Dad said cheerfully as he turned to face her. The frying pan with two, big, bright sunny eggs (Dad decided to fry them instead of scrambling them this morning) was waved under Mum's nose and she pulled a face at the same time Dad planted a kiss on her cheek. "Eggs?" he offered brightly.

"No thanks," Mum said quickly as she moved away from the frying pan. Her eyes landed on Emma and an exasperated expression flashed across her face. "Emma!" she cried out. "Your hair!" Hugo didn't even know why Mum bothered. Emma hated brushing her hair and avoided the task whenever she could. Mum rummaged in her handbag for her hair brush. "Come here," she said, "let me-"

Emma stood up abruptly at that. Her chair made a horrible screeching noise against the kitchen floor. "I'll deal with it myself!" she snapped.

And then she suddenly stormed out of the kitchen in a great huff leaving both of their parents to blink bewilderedly at the door. Even Dottie looked stunned as she went unnaturally still and stared after Emma.

"Erm… I'll go and check on her," Hugo said awkwardly as he stood up. "You know," he added hastily," to see if she's all right." And before his parents could protest or go themselves, he rushed out to the hallway where Emma was tugging furiously at the tangles in her hair with her fingers. "What's wrong with you?!" he hissed furiously.

Emma whirled round. Her green eyes blazing angrily. "Did you see that?!" she snarled back.

"You being rude to Mum?" Hugo asked snarkily. "Yeah, I was sitting right there."

"No!" Emma stomped a foot. "Mum gagging when Dad kissed her cheek!"

"Mum gagging when Dad put the frying pan under her nose," Hugo corrected her, "she's sick of eggs. We all are. There's nothing wrong with that."

"She's sick of Dad!" Emma said despairingly. "That was why she was kissing Chat Noir last night!"

"You're being ridiculous," Hugo informed her, "Mum wouldn't-"

"Kids," Mum called out softly. The pair of them stiffened, Hugo closed his mouth tightly and Emma bit her lip in an effort to stay quiet. Mum appeared oblivious as she held up their lunch boxes. "Time for school."

The day blurred for Hugo as they went through the usual routine. It was Mum's turn to take them to school and Hugo could barely remember her goodbyes before they trudged into the school. Lessons went by quickly as Hugo had to force his attention on the subject, his mind kept wandering to his twin's hurt, tearful, expression. He had been so sure that she had been dreaming before but Emma has never let her nightmares bother her like this. Then again, it wasn't exactly a normal nightmare….

They ended up drawing again in the afternoon and Hugo barely glanced at the blank paper as Emma scribbled furiously. Usually she drew something nice, like their family, or kittens and puppies, or rainbows but this time she went for something much darker as gleefully added a few more arrows into what Hugo could only assume was Chat Noir.

"…that is very unusual of you Emma," their teacher said diplomatically, "very…violent," she added uneasily, "was Chat Noir in an Akuma battle?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Emma replied darkly, "he's getting his just deserts," and then she smiled as sweetly as possible up at their teacher, "can I have another red pencil? I need more blood."

Hugo groaned quietly to himself.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

There was a spring in his step when Adrien left work early that afternoon.

It wasn't that he hated work but the fact remained he never enjoyed the meetings, the paperwork, and the schedule. He did it for two very important reasons; none of which involved him actually wanting or enjoying it.

The first, and most important of them all, was that it made Marinette happy. She had protested a million times before that she could happily design clothes for her own small business if it meant that Adrien was actually doing what he wanted to do. But all Adrien wanted to do was make Marinette's dreams come true and to see her smile, so he endured all the boring bits of running a fashion label, the paperwork, the meetings, the boring schedule, all so Marinette could make her ideas come to life.

The second reason was his father.

It was the same reason why he still lived in the Agreste Mansion, Adrien felt he had to uphold his father's legacy. That he had to see his father's empire still thriving. His father had poured his sweat, tears (if he ever shed any), and blood into this business and Adrien felt it as his duty to make sure it carried on.

But mostly he did it for Marinette.

Despite that fact though he could never help but feel gleeful when it was his turn to pick up the children. There was just something enjoyable about leaving work at quarter to three while everyone else was stuck doing the paperwork.

And the fact he had a whole evening with his children made it all the better.

He got to the school long before the final bell rang and grinned when he spotted Emma and Hugo walking out together. Emma saw him first and immediately lit up with Marinette's smile as she dashed forwards towards him. "Daddy!" she cried out gleefully.

Adrien caught her into a tight embrace as she barrelled right into him. "Hey Little Lady!" he replied enthusiastically. He was relieved to see that her earlier stroppiness had melted away and his little girl was back to her usual bright self. "How was school?"

"Boring."

Adrien chuckled at that before he turned to Hugo. The blonde boy wasn't as affectionate as his sister (not at school at least, it wouldn't be cool) but he still stepped in close to Adrien's side. "And you, Little Man?" Adrien asked as he squeezed Hugo's shoulder. "Did you find school boring?"

"It was okay," Hugo shrugged. "It was school."

Adrien struggled to suppress his amusement as he started to usher the children out of the school grounds and towards the car. They only got a few steps when the children's teacher suddenly appeared and tapped his shoulder.

"Mr Agreste?" she said politely. "May I have a word with you?"

Adrien blinked, puzzled for a moment, and then he smiled back with equal politeness. "Of course," he replied. He motioned for the children to wait for him as he stepped away with their teacher. The young woman shifted nervously as they stood in awkward silence. "What is the problem?" Adrien prompted.

"Emma…." Adrien stiffened. He had hoped Emma's bad mood vanished at school before it got noticed. His little girl was an angel….but only if she wanted to be, and when she was cranky, she certainly didn't want to be an angel. "Emma has not been herself today," the teacher said diplomatically, "Is everything all right at home?"

"Things are perfectly fine," Adrien reassured the concerned woman. "Has Emma been acting out?" he asked worriedly.

"No, no," the teacher said hastily," perhaps I'm just worried over nothing. Sorry, Mr Agreste," she apologised, "I'm just being over-cautious. Emma is a wonderfully bright girl, as is her brother, they are both wonderful children."

Adrien reassured the teacher that it was all right and thanked her for her concern. He then ushered his children into the car and headed towards his in laws where his youngest was waiting to be picked up. He carried on determinedly with the usual routine with a happy smile.

But the words niggled at his mind the whole journey home even when he had been momentarily distracted by the baked goods Marinette's parents insisted both he and the children consume before they went home ("just don't tell Mummy," Adrien winked at his children as he helped himself to a second éclair.). It worried him. Emma's attitude this morning and the fact her teacher noticed something off about her, worried him deeply. Could something be wrong? Was she unwell? Was she being bullied? Had something happened and he had just not noticed?

Was he such a terrible father that he hadn't noticed something had happened to his own children?

Adrien watched Emma carefully when they got home as he helped both her and Hugo through their homework. She was a little paler than normal and there were big shadows under her eyes but then again Emma never slept properly to begin with. She was too restless. And yet there was something a little sadder about her. There was a little less brightness in his precious little girl than there was before.

When it turned six and Adrien made a move to heat up the dinner Marinette left in the fridge (he would be hurt that she didn't trust him to cook for their children but seeing as every time he tried to do something more than eggs something tended to set fire, it was probably for the best that she didn't), Marinette suddenly stumbled into the house exhausted and taking him by surprise.

"Marinette?!" Adrien exclaimed as he wrapped his arms round her. She leaned into his touch and snuggled deeply as he held all the more tightly. "What are you doing home?" he murmured against her hair. "Aren't you supposed to be working late tonight?"

Working late was their code for Night Patrol. One of them would work till about eight in the evening before they transformed and did a quick patrol. They took in turns with the help of their other team members, Volpina and Queen Bee.

It had surprised them, more ways than one, when the two of them shown up after two years of fighting Hawk Moth by themselves. But then Volpina and Queen Bee turned out to be worth their weight in gold with their never-ending support and friendship.

After all they were Alya and Chloe.

Between the four of them they had every night covered but this week, and for the rest of the month, Chloe was away for business as she tried to establish another new sister hotel in her franchise which left Alya, Adrien, and Marinette cover the night patrols. Tonight was supposed to be Marinette's turn for patrol.

Marinette pulled away and gave him a tired smile. "Alya was restless," Marinette lied. She avoided his eyes like she always did when she lied and bit her lip. "She wanted to get some air and stretch her legs."

Adrien would have pressed for the truth but Hugo chose that moment to wander in and ask about dinner. Marinette happily took over and they enjoyed a meal that was most certainly not burnt like it would have been if Adrien had cooked it. They had a nice, quiet, evening together getting the children bathed and ready for bed. They curled up together, Marinette tucked under one of Adrien's arms and Emma under the other, with Hugo settled against Marinette's side, Dottie long tucked into bed, as Marinette read to the children.

When it was finally time for actual bed, Adrien took over tucking in duties and after he got Hugo settled (which was never difficult), he took advantage of his time alone to find out what was bothering Emma.

Adrien smiled warmly down at his daughter as he knelt beside her. "Hey Little Lady," he murmured.

Emma smiled back weakly. "Hi Dad," she mumbled.

"So…your teacher said you've not been yourself today," Adrien said tactfully, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly. Emma shook her head rapidly and he sighed slightly. He didn't want to press her but at the same time he didn't want her to bottle up whatever it is that was bothering her. He had learned the hard way that you shouldn't repress your negative feelings. "You know that you can tell me anything," he encouraged her.

Emma's lip wobbled at that. "No I can't!" she wailed. She then pulled away and rolled over so that her back was towards him as she burrowed deeply into her covers. Adrien sat there, his eyes wide in shock, as he had one arm up helplessly.

"Emma-"

"Just go away!" Emma shouted. "I can't tell you! I just can't!"

Adrien protested but Emma kept shrugging him off and there was only so much prodding he could do before he drove her away completely. So with a heavy heart, he gave up. "Okay, Little Lady," he murmured, "good night. I love you."

Emma mumbled something in reply but it was muffled by her pillow. Reluctantly, Adrien left her room and began to make his way to his own bedroom. "Don't worry about it, kid," Plagg said as he poked his head out from Adrien's suit jacket pocket. "Kids act out all the time. She'll be her usual self by tomorrow. You'll see."

"Emma used to be able to tell me everything," Adrien said, "She's never kept secrets before. Never."

"Pfft!" Plagg snorted. "She does. Trust me, she does. Who else do you think it was that ate Tiki's cookies?"

"Fine!" Adrien huffed. "Emma keeps secrets about her own bad behaviour but she doesn't keep secrets about what's upsetting her. She's shutting me out. She's never done that before." Adrien halted to a stop as a horrible thought popped into his head. "Plagg…" he said hesitatingly. "Do you think she hates me? That she resents me not being around as often as I can? Ouch!" Adrien yelped. "Why the hell did you bite me?!"

"New policy," Plagg announced, "every time something incredibly stupid comes out of your mouth I'm going to bite you. What do you mean she resents you not being around as often as you can?! You're the most hands on parent I have ever had for a Chat Noir. You're there for everything, every illness, every school play, every evening when you don't have patrol, just everything. Trust me Adrien," Plagg met his eyes dead on with a serious, solemn, look, "you are a far better father than your father ever was. Your children adore you. You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled, "yeah," he said a little more confidently and loudly, "you're right."

"Of course I am," Plagg preened. "Now where is my camembert? I need to wash out the taste of your cologne out of my mouth."

Adrien rolled his eyes.

But he gave Plagg a giant piece of camembert regardless. By the time he finally got to his bedroom, Marinette was already sprawled out on their bed fast asleep. Tiki was curled up on her pillow beside her. Adrien smiled fondly as he readied for bed and then he too climbed in beside his wife and pulled her close.

Marinette had skipped night patrol this evening.

Marinette was usually the very definition of professionalism and therefore she would never skip night patrol unless she was either dead or Tiki was refusing to transform her. And since she was obviously not dead, that meant Tiki was refusing to transform her.

This fact coupled with the fact that Marinette was paler than usual, more tired and sluggish than she usually was, her blatant nausea in the mornings, and the fact her breasts were fuller and bigger again, all lead to one conclusion…

…Adrien wondered when Marinette was going to tell him that she was pregnant again.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Emma almost believed that she had imagined the whole thing like Hugo had suggested. It had been two whole days since she had seen Mum kiss Chat Noir and everything was the same as it was before. The usual routine was kept, Mum and Dad still gazed at one another lovingly, and there was nothing to suggest that anything was wrong whatsoever.

And then Emma overheard Mum on the phone.

She knows it's wrong. Her Mum told her off plenty of times before about eavesdropping but she had just been walking past when she heard her Mum cry out; "I can't tell him just yet!" and immediately she halted to a stop and found herself leaning against the door to the living room.

"I want to tell him," Mum said sadly, "but too soon." There is a beat of silence, Emma peered through the crack of the door and she could see her mother pacing up and down the room with a stressed look on her face. "I'm not being silly!" Mum protested. "All right, all right," Mum said hastily, "I'll tell Adrien," she promised. "Soon," she said forcefully, "Now I've got to go," Mum said. She turned to the door and Emma quickly ducked out of sight and pressed herself against the wall before her mother could catch her. "Yeah, bye," Mum said happily, "love you too."

Emma's heart stopped for a second.

She had heard enough phone conversations like that in Aunt Chloe's soap operas to know what it meant. Mum had been talking to Chat Noir. Mum had been talking about telling Dad about Chat Noir. Talking about leaving Dad for Chat Noir.

Which meant there was no doubt about it anymore.

Her mother was having an affair with Chat Noir.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

It was almost Midnight and Hugo was not asleep.

This was the second time this week and his irritation was beginning to rise.

"This is ridiculous!" Hugo hissed as he and Emma crouched down by the bannister. Somehow, some way, his twin had convinced him to have a stake out. Dad was working late again and Emma was certain that meant Chat Noir was going to come visit. "It's late, it's cold, and we're going to be in so much trouble if Mum catches us. Let's just go back to bed and forget all about this."

"No way!" Emma cried out. "We're going to stay here until Chat Noir shows up and then you're going to see that I'm right and that I'm not making this up."

Hugo sighed as he slumped down so he could lay on his stomach. It had been a couple hours since they had snuck out and he was so very tired. He wants to so very much go to bed but Emma was determined and if he did this, and nothing happened, then maybe, just maybe, they could let the whole thing drop and go back to their normal lives.

"Why don't you believe me?" Emma murmured sadly. "Why don't you believe that I'm not lying?"

"Because," Hugo whispered, "I don't want it to be true."

"I don't want it to be true either!" Emma whispered back hardly. "But I did see it, and I saw Mum gagging when Dad kissed her, and I heard her on the phone. She's having an affair! She's kissing Chat Noir!"

Hugo wanted to argue this.

He wanted to tell Emma that she was wrong, that what she had seen was a dream, and that she had misunderstood Mum. That there's no way Mum could ever leave Dad for some superhero because she loved Dad more than anything else in the world. He wanted to tell her to stop this nonsense for once and for all so they could both go back to bed.

But he couldn't.

Because right there and then, at that very moment, a blonde man walked past downstairs. A blonde man that couldn't possibly be their father because Dad would never wear black leather…

Chat Noir had just entered the house.