A/N: Thank you for everything! It made me so happy to read your opinions today! It definitely keeps me motivated to continue!
A note on the song in this chapter: It's an actual song by Michel Sardou, titled "La Maladie d'amour" or in English, "The Love Disease"
Here's a translation for the lyrics used:
Elle court. Elle court. La maladie d'amour. - It runs. It runs. The Love disease.
Elle chante. Elle chante. La rivière insolente. - It sings. It sings. The insolent river.
It being "love" ;) You're definitely welcome to look up the song and all the lyrics, if you want. I'll come back to this song in the later instalments.
5.
"You sure you want to do this?" Nino asked as the car pulled up at the preschool. Adrien nodded.
"The only other option is to revoke the little freedom he has. And you know I would rather not do that." He thought back to his own childhood. He had been homeschooled until middle school where he met Nino and went a little wild for a while. That was not the childhood he wanted for his only child. He wanted Hugo to believe in his freedom, even if for the time being, it was mostly illusory.
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?"
Plagg was the first to exit, eager to get this thing over with. Adrien and Nino followed. They walked across the parking lot. The blonde had spent almost all night planning for this encounter and overthinking every little detail. He could make great business decisions in a split second, but when it came to his son, Adrien was as helpless as a baby.
The bell above the front door chimed. Tikki looked up from her book to see them enter. Recognizing Adrien's blonde hair as the same as Hugo's, she closed her book with a loud snap that echoed in the room. Tikki herself jumped up and rushed towards the radio, glancing nervously at the kitchen door, praying that Marinette hadn't heard anything. She turned on the music before turning her attention to the visitors.
"You need to leave!" She declared in a hushed whisper. She put her arms on her hips as she glanced at the kitchen door again. "Like right now. Before she sees you."
"I'm sorry?"
"You're Hugo's father, aren't you?" Tikki looked at him expectantly. Adrien, taken aback by this strange redhead, could only nod in surprise. "Well, you've got to leave. Please."
"No can do," drawled Plagg lazily. "We're looking for a bluenette."
Tikki rolled her eyes at his voice and shrugged. "Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you." She smiled apologetically at Adrien who stood there, confused.
"She's having a really bad day." Tikki truly felt sorry for the lot. Marinette was passionate and it showed in everything she did. She wasn't one to get carried away by the negativity, but there were those days. The days when nothing worked out, when bad luck seemed to plague her from the moment she got out (or in this case fell out) of bed.
"Tikki, did it start already? I thought I told you to call me, when it started…" Marinette pushed the door open with her shoulder.
"Oh, it's just about to start." The double meaning didn't hit her until she saw the wicked smirk on Plagg's face. She blushed deeply.
"I wonder what he's going to sing. I browsed some pop songs yesterday, since his mother doesn't really like rock. It would explain all the secrecy too. King of rock'n'roll singing a pop song! Huh! Imagine that!"
Marinette didn't notice the extra people at first, but when she did, she almost dropped her tray with chocolate croissants in surprise. The special feature with Jagged Stone started at the same moment that her eyes found Adrien's.
"I hear today is a very special day for someone in your life, is that true?"
"Yes, that's true. Hello, mother. I know you're not a fan of my music, so today, I'll be singing for you a song that you used to sing for me. Do you remember?"
There was no answer, but the music started. Part of Marinette wanted to get lost in the song. Part of Marinette was drowning in the blonde man's green eyes. Elle court. Elle court. La maladie d'amour.
"Hello. I'm Adrien Agreste." He offered her his hand. Marinette stared at him dumbly. "I think... maybe... perhaps... you have met my son? Hugo Agreste?"
So much for the plan. Something in her eyes made him forget everything he had wanted to say. Plagg rolled his eyes, ready to intervene, when he was stopped by the redhead's glare. He glared right back at her.
"Hugo?" Marinette was confused. Elle chante. Elle chante. La rivière insolente. The name sounded unfamiliar to her and she frowned. The image of the young boy with similarly green eyes drifted into her mind.
"You!" She was instantly pointing a finger at his chest. "Y-you ridiculous, irresponsible, looking good parent! What were you thinking? Were you even thinking at all?" She was tempted to hit him on the head to drive in the point, even if he was taller than her, but she refrained. Tikki stifled a laugh. She had honestly expected worse. But Marinette's cheeks were tinted pink and she looked more flustered than angry to Tikki's trained eye.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding?" Adrien tried. He looked helplessly at his friends. Plagg pretended not to notice and Nino was just staring at the woman as if she was the brightest star in the sky.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is that you?" he spoke loud enough to break the woman's concentration on Adrien. She looked at him, blinked and…
"Nino!" She squealed, throwing her arms around him. Nino hugged her right back.
"Marinette, my girl! You haven't changed at all! It's been what… ten years?"
"It's been twenty." Marinette wiped a tear. "If you don't count the Christmas dinners."
Adrien watched the two interact. He hadn't seen Nino smile so widely a long time.
"Adrien, this is Marinette. We went to the same preschool together," Nino introduced them formally, "Marinette, this is Adrien. We met at the collège. And that grumpy dude is Plagg, his family lawyer."
"I'm Tikki," the redhead introduced herself, seeing as Marinette was too busy being emotional. "Marinette and I met in high school. Now, would you like to take a seat? It looks like you're going to be here a while. Might as well get a snack and some tea, no?" She ushered the group to a table. Marinette plopped down in the chair.
"Marinette was my girl-next-door. Her parents owned a bakery and I pretty much lived there during holidays," Nino explained, as Tikki served them a croissant each and a cup of tea. Marinette was the only one to get coffee instead of tea, as an act of grace, because Tikki had figured how exhausted she actually was. "I thought that place closed down."
"It didn't."
"Anyway, I'm so glad that Hugo's bluenette is you, Marinette. Takes a load off of Adrien's shoulders for sure."
Marinette sneaked a look at the blonde. He looked as troubled as she felt.
"Hugo is… a sweet boy," Marinette admitted calmly "but he shouldn't be going home alone. It's not safe for a kid his age."
"That's your opinion," Plagg commented, devouring his croissant.
"That's the legal opinion."
"That can be argued with. Is Hugo really going home alone? Is there any kind of supervision involved?"
"I understand your concerns, Miss Marinette, but this is my kid." Adrien finally spoke up. "My decisions. I'm trying my best here."
"Maybe you should try harder." The words were out of Marinette's mouth before the thought even registered in her head.
Tikki almost dropped the kettle she was holding.
"Now, excuse me, I have work to do." Marinette stood up, cheeks flaming with her embarrassment. She didn't look at Hugo's father. As soon as she was out of sight, she buried her face in her hands. She could feel the heat on her cheeks. She groaned, thinking about the impression she had made.
"I'm really sorry." She could hear Tikki apologize for her. "She's just having a really bad day."
Later that day, the pastry shop received another visitor. Marinette had taken a nap by then and was in slightly higher spirits. Only slightly, because she still remembered vividly her childhood friend Nino and his companions and the horrible, awful (or so she had convinced herself) impression she had left on the father of the boy who was slowly filling up a space in her heart.
Nathalie was a lot less conspicuous during her visit. Dressed all business-like, she entered the shop and immediately stood out in the colorful room like a store thumb.
"May I help you?" Tikki asked most politely. Nathalie adjusted her glasses.
"What would you recommend for children?"
"Well, we have a wide selection for kid-friendly sweets over here," Tikki guided her towards a large shelf, "but I can't tell you much about it." That was a lie, since this person felt too intense for her tastes. "I can call our baker over here though and she can answer all your questions."
"That would be great. Thank you."
Tikki called Marinette from the kitchen and showed her to Nathalie. Marinette smiled, hiding her hands behind her back.
"Tikki said you're looking for children's sweets. These cookies are our best-seller," she showed a design that Nathalie recognized immediately. The paw print was same as on the cookies Hugo had devoured. "They have a reduced sugar content. Not that there's nothing wrong with having sweeter things every once in a while, but you know children. These are designed for a more ordinary consumption."
Nathalie asked about a couple of more products but in the end bought the paw-print ones that Hugo had already tried and approved of. After all, there was nothing wrong with treating one to some sweets every once in a while.
The fact that Marinette had packed a chocolate croissant on the house for her had absolutely nothing to do with that. At least, that's what Nathalie tried to tell herself.