4.
"Promise me, Hugo, that you will come straight home today."
"I promise."
Adrien had canceled all his morning meetings in order to send his child off. Hugo was happy that he did. He hugged his father tightly before clumsily climbing the stairs, his fingers still crossed. Miss Rose had told her that if you crossed your fingers when making a promise, it didn't count. So technically, Hugo wasn't lying.
He didn't go straight home. The dark clouds and the oncoming rain should have been reason enough for him to do what his father wanted, but his heart was set on seeing Malinette again. He marched straight over to the bakery, armed with two new drawings and an origami heart one of his friends had helped him make.
"Hey, buddy!" Tikki greeted him with a smile. "Why don't you take a seat over there? Marinette is out right now, but she'll be back soon, I'm sure."
Hugo nodded, his expression betraying the disappointment he felt. But he walked over to the table Tikki had pointed at and climbed the chair as if nothing was wrong. It was a little difficult, but he managed. Somehow. The redhead approached him with curiosity.
"Do you like drawing?" she asked softly.
"Yes."
"Here. You can use these." Tikki placed a sketchbook and a set of coloring pens in front of him at the table. "Marinette likes drawing too."
Hugo didn't need to be asked. He took a pencil in his small hand and got to drawing. After attending to the rest of the customers in the small shop, Tikki sat down next to him. She peered curiously over his shoulders.
"Is this Marinette?" she pointed to a blue-haired human on the picture. Hugo nodded shyly.
"And this is you, right?" Tikki's finger moved on to the smallest human. The boy confirmed it with another nod.
"And who's this then?" The woman had a decent guess in mind when she turned her attention on the picture to what seemed to be another adult.
"Papa."
Before Tikki could comment on it or ask about his mother, the door flew open and an energetic girl dashed it.
"Sorry I'm late, Tikki! I started doing my homework and I got so carried away I didn't even notice it was time to come back. And then the rain! I swear, someone has it out for me, because look!" She made a twirl, making drops of water land everywhere. "Soaked! Through and through!"
She looked expectantly around, expecting a reaction from her friend, when her eyes landed on the small boy.
"Hugo? What are you doing here?" She glanced at the clock on the wall. The preschool had technically closed half an hour ago, but Marinette knew the teachers sometimes stayed a bit late, when parents couldn't pick their children up at the regular time.
The chair creaked. Hugo slid off it and rushed towards the bluenette, arms wide open for a hug. Marinette's eyes widened as the hands clasped around her legs. The umbrella that she'd be holding onto dropped.
"Tikki! Help me!" She mouthed helplessly at her friend. Tikki bit her lip to avoid laughing.
"Come on, Hugo, let Marinette dry herself off first. Otherwise both of you are going to catch a cold and what will your father say then?" Tikki teased the boy. "He might even forbid you from ever visiting again!"
Hugo's eyes widened in terror at the prospect. He let go in an instant. The woman he'd been hugging sighed in relief.
"You know what, let's put on some music!" Marinette rambled on, striding awkwardly across the small room. She turned on the radio. It was an ancient thing, used mainly for decoration. But it worked well. "Music makes everything better. And it will help pass the time until the rain lets up."
She fiddled the knobs, adjusting the frequency until she finally landed on a channel that was playing music. Marinette recognized the song as "L'oiseau et l'enfant" and she hummed along while making her exit.
As soon as she was back, she checked the rain. Deeming it still too wet to send a kid outside (even if he had an umbrella!), Marinette walked over to the counter. She poured a glass of milk for their small guest and took it over to the table with a plate full of colorful macaroons. These weren't made for sale – they were from a practice batch, when she was trying out one of the new ovens.
"Marinette, can I speak with you for a moment?" Tikki asked, as Hugo helped himself to the treats.
"Sure. What's up?"
Tikki pointed towards the counter and Marinette, catching on, busied herself making coffee. Tikki went over too, keeping an eye on Hugo.
"You know how you're my best friend and all that, right?" Tikki started.
"Yeah?"
"So, please don't take this the wrong way, honey, but… Maybe Hugo shouldn't be coming here more often." Tikki's voice was just a whisper, but even so, Marinette's eyes flashed to the child to make sure he didn't hear it.
"Why?" She asked as neutrally as possible. "He's not really a bother."
"I think he doesn't have a mother… and he's beginning to see you as one!"
"Nah, I don't think it's possible."
Tikki threw the picture Hugo had drawn in her face.
"Look!" she hissed, pointing at the blue-haired stick figure. "This is you!"
"So?" Marinette shrugged. "That doesn't mean anything."
"This is his father. And this is him. It's a family picture!"
"Tikki, I'm sure it's alright." Marinette placed her hands on the redhead's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. "Besides, when it comes down to it, it's not really our problem either. He has his parents."
"That's true, but…"
"There is no but, Tikki. We're just watching out for him. And if his parents ever show up, I'm going to give them a serious talking-to. You know that." She smiled, looking over at Hugo who wiped his hands clean on his pants. "The usual shebang."
"You always say that!"
"And I'm always right!" Marinette bopped Tikki gently on the nose before turning around and leaving the flabbergasted redhead to her own devices.
"Hey, Hugo!" she approached the kid after peeking out the window. "It's time to go home."
Hugo nodded, agreeing. Marinette helped him with his small backpack and made sure he wouldn't forget his umbrella. Hugo gave him a quick hug, earning a chuckle from the woman, and left. He didn't think he would be in trouble.
When Hugo finally got home, Adrien had almost lost his wits.
"Wait it out," had Plagg advised him, "and go check out the bakery tomorrow. Heck, I'll even come with you."
Nino had agreed. "What matters is that your kid is safe at home now. I don't even know why you just didn't pick him up yourself, if you're so concerned. Or ask Nathalie."
The woman had just stated calmly: "There's a bug in his backpack. You didn't really think we'd really allow him to go completely supervised, did you?"
The way Nathalie saw it was to let Adrien do the parenting, but take measures to protect the child regardless of what the man decided. Especially when his decisions were questionable, possibly illegal. Protect the child. Protect the father. Protect the family, the empire.
"But if you're really concerned, you should go to that bakery yourself." Even she had agreed that it wouldn't do any harm to check it out. And although she never voiced it out loud in Adrien's presence, there was a small voice in her mind that whispered: And maybe this girl is what you need in your life. She had saved Hugo's drawing from the trash bin where Adrien had stuffed it in anger. Nathalie had unfolded it and placed it in a folder in case it would prove useful in the future.
And boy, she hoped it would.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It made my morning!
Also, I'm sorry! Adrien and Marinette didn't meet in this one, but I'll promise you that in the next part, they will and it will be miraculous! I really wanted to include it here, but it didn't go very well with this theme. I'll try to update tomorrow!