"this is so hard."

Alya rolled her eyes, glaring at Nino and Adrien, who were flipping through catalogs while they waited in a jewelry store, "It's not that hard." Alya said.

"but it is!" Adrien muttered, "I mean, look at how many different kinds of cuts there are, princess cut, tiffany cut…"

"Ow!" Nino shouted, making both Adrien and Alya jump, "paper cut." He muttered, sucking his thumb.

Alya rolled his eyes, "you're making it harder than it has to be, just ask them to show us their engagement rings, and look through them, you'll know what's right when you see it."

"I guess…' Adrien sighed.

"Excuse me," an employee asked, addressing Adrien as he walked over, "how might I help you?"

"um yes…can…can I see your engagement rings?" Adrien asked.

The employee quirked an eyebrow, "aren't you…a little young to be getting an engagement ring?"

'you would think right?" Adrien asked with a laugh, scratching the back of his head.

"follow me," he said, walking deeper into the store, Adrien, Alya and Nino following.

"Now," he started, "have you thought about the kind of cut you would like the diamond as?

"uh…" Adrien looked at Alya who gave an amused chuckle, "I'm going to say princess cut." Alya said, "and silver instead of gold."

"of course Mademoiselle," the employee said, "oh, and congratulations to you both."

"what?" Adrien asked in confusion.

"What?" Alya asked.

"oh, are you two not-"

"No! no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." Alya said, shaking her head, "no."

"wow," Adrien said with a stoic face, "fifteen no's."

"Sorry Adrien, but if Marinette had heard that, we'd all be dead." Alya said, "Plus, Nino's here."

"yeah, I am." Nino said, throwing his arm around her, glaring at Adrien and the employee.

"lets just get to finding you a perfect engagement ring." He said, pulling a tray of silver, tiffany cut, engagement rings.

"oh these are gorgeous!" Alya gushed,

Adrien looked them over, 'no, I'm not too sure…"

"are you kidding bro?" nino asked, "even I'd marry you if you gave me one of these…no homo."

"right," Adrien said, "but…I'm not seeing anything that tells me 'this is the one,'

"perhaps, you may find one in this batch," the employee said, pulling another tray of rings out, this time, they were an ensemble of different hues of gold and silver, along with several different gems, Adrien started to look them over, his eyes stopping on a black ring with several emeralds set into the metal, "this one…" Adrien said.

The employee pulled it out, "black gold, 1 Ct Emerald leaf and vine engagement ring, priced at 2861 euros."

"woah…that's a lot of cheddar…" Alya said, looking at it, "but it's so cute!"

"you sure it's the right one?" Nino asked.

Adrien looked at Nino, then turned to the employee, "can I see the ring please?"

the employee handed it over, then Adrien turned to Nino, "bro, would you marry me?"

Nino, looked away, "yeah, that'd work." He said, scratching his head.

Adrien and Alya laughed, "I'll take it." Adrien said.

"are you sure kid? It is a little pricey."

"I assure you sir, I can handle it." Adrien said, pulling his wallet out and pulling the money out and handing it to the employee, "There's a sixty euro tip in there for you too."

The employee's eyes widened, "w-will you be needing it resized M-Monsieur?"

Adrien looked at Alya, who was looking at the ring size, "it'll be good." Alya said, "she's got pretty slim fingers."

The employee put the ring into a velvet box, then put the velvet box into a plastic bag, handing it off to Adrien, "have a good day Monsieur, thank you for your business!"

Adrien waved to him as the three friends walked outside.

"Man, I can't believe you're going to propose to Mari!" Nino Exclaimed, "you're going to be a dad bro!"

"yeah, I'm going to be a dad!" Adrien said with a smile.

Alya smiled at that.

"a dad…a daddy…a father…"Adrien said, slowing down, his smile falling.

Alya's smile slowly disappeared, "Adrien."

"a father…a father who has no idea how to be a father….a father who barely knows how to be a teen." Adrien sat down, holding his head in his hands, the bag falling to the ground.

"Adrien bro, calm down," nino said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I can't be a dad Nino!" Adrien exclaimed, 'I just can't! our kid is screwed if I'm her dad! I wouldn't be able to teach her right from wrong!"

"her?" Alya askd, putting a hand on Adriens knee, "why do you say it's a her?"

"that's just what I picture when I think of our child." Adrien muttered, "a little baby girl with Marinette's raven hair and cute little button nose, and my green eyes."

Alya smiled, "Adrien, I'm going to tell you this now, you're going to be a great dad." She said, "you know how I know?"

"how?" he asked, looking at her with scared eyes.

"because instead of saying, "that child,' or 'her child' you called her, 'our child.' As in yours and Mari's."

"just because I think of this child as ours, doesn't mean that I'm going to be a good father." He mumbled.

"yes it does," Alya insisted. "because you're subconsciously telling yourself that you're ready, you and Mari, you guys will be a team, you both will take care of this child, and you both will learn how to be parents, you're also not alone, me and Nino will be there, not to mention Mari's parents."

He took a deep breath, "I'm scared…" he whispered after a little while.

"dude, anyone would be in your position." Nino said, "and that's alright, you got us, ya know?"

Adrien nodded slightly.

"good, now, lets get you home."

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"Alya, you're not making any sense, we're just trying to get to know each other, why would I have to dress up?"

Alya crossed her arms, she was sitting across from Marinette in her room, attempting to convince her that she needed to get a good outfit together for her 'date' on Friday, "girl, it's Adrien, and he already told you what's going through his mind, he likes you girl!"

"how do I know he's not just saying that because I'm knocked up?" Marinette asked, 'not like he showed any interest in me before."

"that's because he's a dense idiot." Alya said, "I mean, come on, you literally threw yourself naked at him, and he still didn't get it, it took a conversation with Nino for him to figure it out, Nino!"

Marinette giggled, "I…guess you're right…but still."

"listen, I know this all is confusing for you, but I promise, you won't regret dressing up."

Marinette sighed, "okay…but what could I wear? I know it may not look it, but my clothes don't fit as well as they used to."

"really?" Alya asked, "you're not showing yet…right?"

"I'm not noticeably showing…I just…I'm feeling really pudgy now…and my jeans are getting snug."

Alya started to laugh, making Marinette blush, "it's not funny!" she pouted.

"I know, I know," Alya laughed. "it's just…I got a mental picture of you all preggers and…I giggled…'

Marinette rolled her eyes, "I'm not to that point yet." She said, putting a hand on her stomach, "I'm still at least another couple of weeks away from having everyone questioning why I suddenly started gaining weight." She groaned, "Chloe is going to have a field day."

"she's going to die if she comments on it," Alya said, "and she's probably going to die when she finds out that Adrien is the father."

"that or she's going to try and kill me."

"again, she tries, I end her." Alya stood up, "welp, I gotta get home girl, but if you need help putting together an outfit, call me, and I can get the girls together, alright?"

Marinette smiled and nodded, "I'll see you tomorrow Alya." She said, watching as Alya climbed down the stairs, Tikki flew out of her hiding spot, floating over and landing on her stomach, hugging it.

"I can't wait to play with the baby!" Tikki exclaimed, "she's going to be so cute!"

"she? You know she's a she!?" Marinette asked frantically.

"well, I'm guessing right now, but wouldn't she be sooo cute!"

Marinette let out a sigh of relief, "yeah, she would be." She mused, "all dressed up in clothes that I've made for her, playing with Adrien…" she sighed, "playing with Adrien whenever he comes to visit."

"marinette, you still don't think that boy won't try and be with you after all of this?" Tikki asked, "he practically confessed to you!"

"but what if he gets scared? What if he decides I'm not worth standing beside when things get tough…I know he's not that kind of guy, but I just can't help but get scared over that…" Marinette looked at Tikki, "and what happens when you're no longer around? I mean…I can't be Ladybug with things like this."

"oh Marinette, you won't lose your miraculous for getting pregnant!" Tikki scolded lightly, "I'll just have to take over during that time."

"w-what?" Marinette asked in confusion.

"During times of particular stress, such as pregnancy, I can take over for limited amounts of time," tikki said, still sitting on Marinette's stomach, "mostly to purify any Akuma's that come along, it only lasts for maybe thirty minutes, and I won't be able to do much of anything for hours afterwards, but it's good enough."

"you mean you have a form other then this?" Marinette asked.

"yes, technically I can turn into a human form at anytime, but it's drastically different from a human, and people would be able to tell I'm not actually human, not to mention the time constraints like i mentioned before, it also takes a lot of energy from you, not enough to harm your baby, but enough to where it'll make you feel as tired as me."

Marinette nodded slowly, "but…if there's an Akuma attack, and you can only change for thirty minutes, then who's going to help Chat Noir?"

"I'm sure Master Fu will awaken another set of Miraculous' so that Chat doesn't get overwhelmed, but you will still continue to be ladybug."

Marinette sighed in relief.

"Speaking of Chat Noir." Tikki started.

"oh no…"

"I think it's time for you two to finally reveal yourselves!"

"b-b-b-but you said w-we couldn't know each others identities!" Marinette stuttered, "you said it'd be too dangerous."

"well, he needs to know about your situation, and I'm sure he'll connect the dots If you just tell him in person that you're pregnant."

"I…i…what if he's disappointed with who I am?"

"oh Marinette, do you really think that Chat would do that? The boys been in love with you for years!"

"exactly!" Marinette exclaimed, "he's been making me out to be this unstoppable, confident hero, when really I'm just…clumsy, awkward Marinette."

"I'm sure he'll like you for who you are." Tikki said, "besides, it isn't up for debate, I'm contacting Plagg tonight, and we'll set up a meeting between you two."

"I…okay…"

Tikki smiled and flew up into the air, "let me contact Plagg!" she squealed with schoolgirl excitement.

Marinette gave a Cheshire grin, "and what is Plagg to you Tikki?" marinette asked slyly.

"he's my..ah…" Tikki thought about it, "well…he's like my soulmate."

'aw, that's so sweet."

"you say that now," Tikki said wrinkling her nose like she just smelled something back, "Just wait until you see all the camembert he eats."

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Adrien walked into the Agreste Mansion, looking at Gorilla weirdly as he saw the gigantic man carefully knitting with a pair of needles that looked miniscule in his giant hand. 'ah…Ian, what are you making?" Adrien asked curiously.

"Surprise." He said, quickly hiding his work behind him, "what is in hand?" he asked, looking at the bag Adrien carried, he had been curious about it when he came to pick Adrien up, and was glad that he could use it as a change of conversation.

"ah…don't tell Natalie or my dad yet." Adrien said quietly to him, he nodded.

"Secrets are safe with me," he said.

Adrien smiled and pulled a small velvet box out, he opened it and Ian's eyes widened.

"you…propose, to the girl?"

"not yet," Adrien said, scratching the back of his head as he put the box up, "I'm planning on doing it this Friday."

Ian nodded, "with ring like that, she will say yes." He said, "when will you tell others?"

"tonight," he said with confidence, "father wants to have a dinner with me, and I'll just show him the ring and tell him that I'm goin through with it whether he likes it or not."

"Hmm…little kitten has grown heart of lion." Ian said, pulling out the knitting needles again, "hope Mr. Agreste doesn't skin you when he finds out."

Adrien blanched at that, "i-I'm sure he won't…see you later Ian, good luck with…whatever it is you're making."

Ian waved him off, smiling to himself.

"Sheesh, that guy's gotten weird since he found out," Plagg said, flying out of Adriens pocket as soon as they got to his room.

"I think he's happy about the thought of a little baby running around." Adrien said, plopping onto his bed, "he seems like the kind of guy that loves kids."

"yeah, yeah, so let me see the ring!" Plagg said, phasing through the bag and flying back out carrying the velvet box.

"hey! Plagg!"

"I just want to see it," Plagg said, landing on the coffee table and flipping open the box, "Whoa! You even chose my colors! Niiiice."

"it just made sense to me to get it." Adrien said, closing the velvet box and pocketing it, "I'm sure she'd love it."

"oh she will, I promise kid, after all, what girl doesn't like jewelry." Plagg said, flying into the air, "boy, it's been forever since one of my kittens had one of their own, I'm starting to feel giddy."

'really?"

"yeah," plagg said, landing on a table that held Camembert, "usually the miraculous wasn't needed after so long, I never got a chance to see any of them settle down, but now-" he stopped as the whisker on top of his head went riggid, "no way…" he whispered, he shot into the air once more, swirling and spinning and doing loop-de-loops, "No way, no way, no way!" he exclaimed giddily, "she contacted me! she contacted me!"

"Plagg! Calm down!" Adrien shouted, catching the Kwami a second before he could slam into the wall, "Plagg, what's going on!"

"Tikki!" Plagg cried, flying out of Adriens hand, holding his head between his hands.

"Tikki? Who's Tikki?"

"Shut up kid, not talking to you." Plagg said, "No, not you Tikki, I'm talking to you."

Adrien looked confused as the Kwami floated around in the air, seemingly pacing back in forth.

"mhmm…she wants to? Really? but you said…really?! well what's wrong with her…okay, okay, stop yelling, okay…I'll let the kid know…what? NO WAY! Wayzz is going to freak! I know, I know! Who do you think he'll get paired up with this time?...nah, last time those two got together, they almost destroyed Rome…okay…alright, I'll let him know, see you soon…and Tikki!" Plagg paused in his pacing, "I…i…I miss you…okay, I'll see you soon!" Plagg turned around and zoomed right into the bed, "Yes!" he whooped, "oh yes, yes, yes!"

"Plagg!" Adrien shouted, making the Kwami stop his celebrations, "What's. going. On!?"

Tikki decided that it's time for you and Ladybug to meet!" Plagg shouted, flying right into Adriens face, "you're finally going to get to meet ladybug kid!"

"I-I am?" Adrien asked in awe.

"Yes! Tikki decided that the meeting will take place Friday night, top of the Eiffel tower." Plagg spun into the air once more, "and I'll get to see her then! I'll get to see Tikki!"

"you sound real excited about that," Adrien said in amusement.

"of course I am!" Plagg exclaimed, looking down at his human counter-part, "she's my morning and evening stars! The Yin to my Yang! My everything!" he flew right back into Adriens face, "I've been apart from her for over six hundred years! And I'll get to see her again!"

Adrien laughed, "I'm happy for you plagg." He said, falling back onto his bed, "and I get to see Milady…out of the mask…"

"yeah," Plagg said, sitting on Adriens knee, "what are you gonna tell her about Marinette?"

Adrien's smile disappeared, "I'll tell her the truth." He said, "i can't be with her, because I have Marinette now."

'and you're sure you're not just gonna propose to Marinette because she's carrying your love child?"

'I'm sure Plagg," Adrien said, sitting back up, "Marinette is truly amazing…it just…took me a while to figure it out."

"but you're still in love with Ladybug, am I right?"

Adrien sighed, "She was my first crush," he said, "not something I'll ever forget, but something that won't hold me back."

"aw, my little kitten has grown up!" Plagg said, pinching his cheek.

"Ah! Stop it Plagg!"

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Gabriel stared at his son while they ate dinner, "are you alright Adrien?"

"huh? Oh, yes father, I'm fine." Adrien said with a smile, "I um…I figured somethings out today…concerning Marinette.'

Gabriel suddenly turned cold, "if you think I will let you leave that girl all on her lonesome-"

"-n-no! nothing like that father!" Adrien said quickly, pulling the velvet box out of his pocket, he stood up and quickly walked over to his father, putting the box infront of him.

Gabriel picked it up and looked inside, "hmm…it's a nice ring." Gabriel said, looking at his son, "you're going to propose to her?"

"yes father…this Friday, I'm going to take her to a nice restaurant, and I'm proposing."

Gabriel nodded slowly, "and if she says no?"

"then I'll still stand beside her." Adrien said firmly.

Gabriel went back to eating. Adrien shifted slightly, before going back to sit down at his plate.

"good luck son," Gabriel said softly, making Adrien look up.

"what was that father?"

"I said goodnight son," he said, standing up and walking out of the room.

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Lila sat at a café just outside of the school, watching as Marinette and Alya talked.

"Stalking someone?" a voice asked, making her jump.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed, glaring at Nathanael as he sat at the table acoss from her, "don't scare me like that."

"Sorry," he said in amusement as he pulled his sketch pad out, "So, why are you spying on Marinette?"

"I'm not spying." She snapped, leaning her elbow against the table and resting her head on her hand, "I just…doesn't she look a little different to you?"

"well of course she' different." He said, starting to sketch, "it's obvious."

"What's obvious?" she asked, looking at him.

He peaked at her from his sketch pad, "you don't know?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"obviously not." She said in annoyance, "what? Does everyone know?"

"well…no…but to an artist, it is." He said, glancing at her again as he started drawing.

Lila sat in silence, glaring at Nathanael, "aren't you going to tell me?" she asked with as much patience as she could muster.

"maybe." Nathanael said, "on one condition."

"and what condition is that?" she asked.

"don't move," he said, "look back across the street like you were."

"are…are you drawing me!?"

"yep," he said nonchalantly, still drawing.

"I…why?"

"you're a good muse," he said, 'you're passion, you're facial expressions, it's just something that I've taken to drawing lately."

Lila quirked a little smile, then looked across the street, "like this?" she asked.

"yeah, just like that, with that same cool, calculating stare and…huh…"

"what?" she asked, darting her eyes to look at the artist.

"well…*cough*…you just um…you look nice when you smile." He said quietly, his cheeks turning red.

Lila's smile widened, a softness creeping into her stare, "thank you." she said, looking back across the street.

"anytime." Nathanael mumbled, hiding a smile behind his sketch pad. After twenty minutes, he looked up once more, "finished," he said, turning the sketch around.

"wow, you are really good." Lila said, looking at the charcoal drawing, it was almost as if someone had taken a picture of her and printed it out, the only way she knew for a fact that he drew it was that she had seen him draw it.

"it was a little rushed," he said, "I don't feel like I captured your personality in it…I need actual paint…" he shook his head, "anyways, want to know why Marinette seems different?"

"what? Oh! Right, yeah."

Nathanael smiled, "you have to promise not to tell anyone." He said.

"I won't." Lila said.

Nathanael raised an eyebrow.

"I won't!" she objected. "cross my heart!"

Nathanael looked around, then sighed, "Marinette is pregnant." He whispered.

"WHAT!" She shouted, making Nathanael jumped up.

Nathanael shushed her, "calm down.' He said fiercely.

Lila took a deep breath, "okay…okay…" she looked at him ,"how do you know?"

"take a look at her, she's lethargic, always tired, she used to have the energy to run around all day with Alya and Nino, and now she just heads straight home, she also doesn't wear the clothes she used to, no skinny jeans and and blouse's, instead she's wearing very comfortable, elastic waist band sweats, and baggy t-shirts."

'their not that baggy." Lila said, looking at Marinette's shirt.

"it's subtle, a slightly flowy shirt that someone wouldn't really take a second glance at, but considering she wears them almost every day…"

"you're starting to sound like a stalker." Lila said, rolling her eyes.

"I am not a stalker." He said, pulling his sketch pad out, "I sketch and draw almost everyone in our class,the only one I've shied away from drawing has been Chloe, and that's because she rips my art up when she sees it." He handed the sketchbook to her and she started flipping through the pages.

"These are really good!" lila said in surprise, looking at a sketch of Rose and Juleka.

"these are just quick sketches, in between notes." He said nonchalantly, turning the pages until he gets to the ones he drew of marinette, "now, I always make sure that I get as much accuracy as I can when drawing, look at the difference between Marinette four months ago," he showed her the painting, "and Marinette yesterday." He turned a couple of pages.

"hmm…" Lila mumbled, looking at the two paintings, "she's gotten…pudgier."

Nathanael nodded, "she's also got a quick temper now, just the other day she bit Kims head off for chewing his gum too loud."

"wow…so…who's the father?"

"that I don't know," Nathanael said, "but if I had money, I'd put it on Adrien."

"Adrien? Marinette can't even talk to him without getting nervous and tongue tied."

"that's changed lately, hasn't it?"

Lila narrowed her eyes, "you're like some kind of detective, you know that?"

Nathanael shrugged, "just pointing things out." he said, looking back to Marinette. "think she'll tell the class soon?"

"Don't know." Lila mumbled, her eyes had a faraway look in them, "but it's none of their business."

Nathanael nodded, then stood up, "bout time to go to class." He said, "wouldn't want to be late, right?"

She smiled and stood up, "right," she said, "after you, Monsieur artiste."