A/N: Thank you so much for the warm feedback! It made my day! ️

2.

It was only when Hugo was finally dry and allowed to go back to his room that he took the cookie out of his pocket. He had told Miss Nathalie everything about the encounter, leaving out only the most important part. The cat cookie. The lucky charm. He knew Miss Nathalie wouldn't allow him to eat it, if she knew.

So he didn't tell her. He put on his best face, told her about the lady with the ladybug umbrella who was very sweet and very kind. Nathalie thought it was one of his teachers. Hugo didn't bother to correct her.

He stuffed the entire cookie in his mouth. It was crunchy and oh so sweet. He had never had anything as wonderful before. There were sweets in the house of Agreste, but they were usually chocolates and fruit. Once a year, he was allowed to eat cake. But this cookie? It tasted better than any of that.

He made up his mind to have some more. He crawled under his huge bed and got out his Box. All the important things were in it, including his savings. He counted the coins carefully. He knew some numbers already – daddy had taught him. And suddenly he knew that his money wasn't enough.

Hugo frowned. Despaired. And had an idea. He hid his box, patted his pants to clean away dust and marched out of his room like the little lord he was.

"Miss Nathalie?" he asked innocently, hands clasped together behind his back. The aged woman looked up from her tablet. "When is daddy coming back?"

"Tomorrow evening, dear," answered Nathalie kindly. "Is there anything you would like?"

"No. Thanks." Hugo receded back to the hallway without turning around. He closed the door and ran back to his room before admiring the piece of plastic he had taken. He couldn't believe in his success! His eyes shone with excitement. All the cookies he could eat! A wide smile spread over his face.

He put the plastic card into his school bag, before helping himself to a movie. His collection was possibly the biggest in the city. Movies, video games, toys – he had it all. But playing by himself wasn't so fun anymore. He had some friends in preschool, but they weren't allowed to visit and he wasn't allowed to visit them either.

"Hugo, dinner is ready." Nathalie carried a tray into his room. On it were some of his favorite foods. "Do you want me to stay here with you?"

"I'm okay." Another short answer. Nathalie gave him a curt nod. Even though she thought Hugo was too serious for a four-year old, there was nothing she could do. It was her most secret hope that Adrien would find a girl, fall in love and give Hugo a mother. But with Adrien's busy life as a supermodel and a CEO, she feared it would only ever be just that – a wish.

The next day, Hugo couldn't wait for school to be over. During art time, he drew a picture of the pretty ladybug lady. On the picture, she stood next to him, holding the umbrella above their heads. He drew a wide smile on her face and an even wider one on his own. Personally, he considered it a masterpiece, possibly his finest work ever. His teacher praised him too. He couldn't wait to show it to his father!

As soon as the day was officially declared over and mothers started pouring in, Hugo left with the mass after saying goodbye to his teacher. If Miss Rose was surprised, he didn't notice it. Hugo knew he was supposed to go straight home. But this time, just this once, he decided to do something else instead. He walked over to the bakery as confidently as he could, burning with excitement and the thrill of doing something he wasn't allowed to. At the door, he hesitated for a moment, but he had made up his mind. He wanted more cookies.

"Well, hello there!"

He was greeted by a stranger. Hugo's heart skipped a beat, anxiety returning. This woman with vibrant red hair was not his kind ladybug lady.

"Hello." He muttered, cheeks turning pink. This woman was intimidating.

"I'm Tikki! Can I help you with something?" Tikki studied the child with obvious curiosity. He spoke quietly. Tikki could only make out a handful of words, but it was enough to understand the kid.

"Okay. Cover your ears, sweetie." She said and immediately, Hugo did what he was told to. "Marinette!" Tikki yelled as loudly as she could. Hugo winced.

"Yeah?" Marinette popped her head in from the back room. "What's the matter?" Her eyes then found Hugo and she smiled kindly. Hugo's erratic heart started to slow down at the sight of a familiar person.

"Ah! From yesterday!" Marinette recognized him immediately. "How are you? Did you make it home alright?

Hugo nodded.

"That's great! Did you like the cookie?"

Hugo nodded again. Then, remembering his manners, he added meekly: "Yes."

He looked around the small room. There was a lot of bread. Could anyone eat so much bread? Did ladybug lady (no – Marinette, he corrected himself) like bread so much?

"Cookie?" he asked, unable to notice them.

"Do you like cookies?" Marinette took off her apron and walked over to the little boy. "They're over here." As with any customer, big or small, she showed him to the small variety of sweets. "Which do you like best?"

Hugo pointed to the ones with a cat design. Marinette nodded approvingly.

"They're my favorite too!"

"Uh, Marinette, can I talk to you for a moment?" Tikki called to Marinette. The bluenette walked over, wondering what this could be about.

"What if he has allergies?" Tikki whispered in her ear, not wanting to cause a scene in front of the child. "What if his parents are really strict? What if…"

"Don't worry. The preschool orders from us all the time." Marinette whispered back. "I've got the entire list of allergies and dislikes of the entire school. Those cookies are pretty standard for them. And as for parents…" A dark look crossed her face. "I would like a word with them anyway! What kind of parents let their child wander around like this?"

"These." Hugo heaved two packets of cookies on the counter. Tikki's eyes widened, but she rang them up anyway, praying that they wouldn't get in trouble for this. She half-expected the child to pull out a piggy bank and break it to pay for the sweets. The silver credit card took her by surprise. In a way it calmed her. People generally didn't leave their credit cards laying around, so if the child had it, then the parents were probably okay with him going crazy in a pastry shop.

"By the way, sweetie, what's your name?" Marinette asked, as she packed the cookies into a bag that would be easy to carry.

"Hugo Ag… Agl…" He struggled with his last name, frowning, when he couldn't pronounce it properly.

"What a beautiful name! Well, Hugo, nice to meet you! I'm Marinette!" She held out her hand. Hugo took it happily.

"Malinette," the boy repeated shyly. He liked the name. "Thank you, Malinette."

Tikki looked at the two endearingly. Marinette sent the boy to the door and waved him goodbye.

"Be careful, sweetie. This one looks like a heartbreaker!" The redhead couldn't help but tease her friend. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"He's just a lonely kid." But in her heart, she knew Tikki was right. The seeds of affection were already sown.

Adrien's phone pinged. The screen lit up with a notification announcing that one of his credit cards had recently been used to… pay 12 euros in a bakery? Adrien rubbed his eyes. The message didn't change. And to make matters worse, he realized it was the card intended for emergencies. Like if the mansion was invaded by crazy fans.

"Excuse me. I have to make a call." He stood up from his desk. His companion (Plagg, their lawyer) didn't even look up, yawning.

Nathalie picked up almost immediately.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Hugo got home half an hour ago."

"Oh… That's a relief." It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even if his heart kept pounding heavily in his chest. "It's just… I was notified about the emergency card being used at a bakery in Paris, so I wasn't sure…"

"Hold on. Let me check on him."

Nathalie adjusted the phone on her shoulder and walked across the hallway. She knocked on Hugo's door, announcing her presence, and then opened the door. She almost laughed at the sight.

"I'll call you back in a moment," she told Adrien before ending the call. She opened the camera and snapped a photo just as Hugo noticed her presence. He rushed to hide his stash, but he was not fast enough.

"Where did you get these, Hugo?"

"School," lied the boy, looking guilty. Nathalie didn't believe him for a second. Instead of reprimanding the child, however, she ruffled his hair and opened Messenger on her phone.

When Adrien's phone pinged again, he opened it in a hurry, worried about what he might find. A chuckle escaped him as he saw the picture. Hugo was sprawled out on his bed, the contents of a cookie bag (or two? Three?) around him. The look on his face was pure bliss. Nathalie's message read: We've got the culprit ;)

It had been a long time since Adrien's face was graced with a genuine smile. But this time he just couldn't help it. He grinned so widely his cheeks hurt.