A/N: I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy your reviews! I wrote this at work, so maybe it's not the best, but I hope you like Hugo's antics here!
6.
The next day was a nightmare for Adrien on every front. One of his meetings got rescheduled to be earlier, so he suddenly found himself scrambling to find someone to babysit Hugo. However, the family's usual nanny couldn't make it. His second choice (Nathalie) had fallen through almost immediately as well. He had called Nino, too, but even he had plans he couldn't get out of.
"Sorry, dude. I can't make it tonight. Why don't you ask Marinette?"
"I'm not sure… She didn't seem to like me very much."
"It's not like you're going to be there anyway, Adrien, and the little dude likes her."
"Would she even agree at such short notice?"
"Dude, if you're scared of asking her, say it. I can do it for you." Nino rolled his eyes. "And if you are worrying about whether she's safe or not, I told you. I've known her since preschool. She's fire. If you asked me who my girl best friend is, I would say her name even now."
Adrien leaned back on his chair and pushed hair out of his eyes. He was running out of options.
"Can I think about it?"
"Yeah, sure. Let me know before noon though, since I'll probably be in a meeting and I'm not sure I can call on her before that."
"Alright. Talk to you later."
Adrien sighed before dialing another number. He never called Nino back. It wasn't that he didn't like Marinette – she seemed like a sweet person despite the bad day. But something told him that asking for her help with this would not improve her opinion of him.
Maybe he was just being selfish. Maybe it had to do with Hugo's opinion of her. Maybe it was the fierce look in her blue eyes. He wanted her to see him in a better light. If not as Hugo's father, then at the very least as a person.
That thought didn't even register in his mind. But it was there.
Marinette was leaving early. She hung her apron on a hook intended for that and picked up her bag.
„Well, I'll be going then."
The door closed behind her and she stretched, basking in the sunlight. It was a nice day out. It was unusual for her to leave before the evening batch was finished baking, but Tikki assured her she could manage and told her to go and relax.
"Malinette!"
The cry took her by surprise. She looked around and noticed Hugo almost immediately. The boy was about to cross the road to get to the bakery, but Marinette rushed over before he could. Definitely not safe. She thought to herself.
"Hugo! What's up?" She squatted down to be eye-to-eye with the blonde angel. "Going home?"
Hugo nodded, arms reaching out for a hug.
"Me too!" Marinette embraced him gently. "Shall we walk together?"
"Yes!" Hugo agreed enthusiastically. He held out his small hand. Marinette accepted it with a small giggle. The two walked in silence, listening to the songbirds and enjoying the sun. Hugo walked slowly. If Marinette had been in a rush, it would have annoyed her. But she had all the time in the world. It was nice to walk slowly.
"Home!" Hugo pointed. His grip on Marinette's hand tightened and he started pulling her in the direction of the Agreste mansion.
"Hugo? Hold on!" The woman laughed frantically. Would his father be home? What would she even say? Bad idea, bad idea, abort, abort. Her mind was going insane with anxiety. Yet she let herself be dragged by an excited kid to the front gates.
"I'm home!" Hugo declared to the camera. The gate opened slowly. Marinette expected Hugo to let go and say goodbye, but the child didn't.
"Hugo." She finally said expectantly. Hugo didn't catch on or if he did, he was good at hiding it.
"Come on!" he pulled her and Marinette couldn't help but follow. Her heart was beating fast.
Nathalie stood at the front door, waiting for Hugo. When she noticed Marinette, she held back a smile. Was this girl an answer to all her prayers?
"Hi, I'm Marinette." The bluenette introduced herself awkwardly. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She held out her free hand for Nathalie to shake. The woman didn't take it. "Uh, Hugo here…"
"Hugo, please go inside for a bit."
Marinette gulped. Hugo let go of her hand and did as was asked of him, glaring daggers into Nathalie's back. He might be willing to go against his father but Nathalie? Nathalie was a different, more dangerous kind of evil. She wasn't as forgetting.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng, I believe we met yesterday." Nathalie acknowledged. "You're friends with one Nino Lahiffe, Hugo's godfather, aren't you?"
"I am?"
"If a friend of his were to be in trouble, would you help them?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"Answer it please."
Marinette quivered under her stern gaze.
"Uhh… Yes? It really depends on the help though. Has something happened? Is Nino in trouble?"
"Hugo needs a babysitter for tonight." Nathalie explained. "There isn't enough time to properly vet anyone new. You have an excellent recommendation from Nadja Chamack. Question is, do you accept the job?"
"The what?"
This was the last thing Marinette expected to happen. If anything, she was convinced Nathalie was going to tell her to leave the family alone and forbid her from talking to Hugo ever again.
"Babysitting. Will you look after Hugo tonight? You will be well-compensated for your time."
Marinette saw the annoyance on Nathalie's face and decided quickly.
"Yeah, alright."
Nathalie's shoulders slumped as relief washed over her. She fixed her posture momentarily, guiding Marinette in.
"You're doing us a big favor, Miss Dupain-Cheng. The house will be empty after six, except for you and Hugo. Here are the keys." Marinette managed to open her palm just in time to catch the bundle of keys. "You're welcome to help yourself to anything in the kitchen, if you want. Normally, he goes to bed at 21. It is not so strict today, as his father has a day off tomorrow and thus, Hugo will not be going to preschool. Good luck."
A hint of a smile grazed her lips, when she made her exit, leaving a clueless Marinette standing alone in the giant foyer. She had no idea where to look for Hugo.
"Malinette!" The child's excited voice echoed in the room.
"Looks like it will be the two of us, kid," she said once Hugo put his hand in hers. She felt jittery, but also a little curious. This was possibly the biggest house she'd ever been in, excluding all museums and castles she had visited.
Hugo took her to his room. The TV was turned on and the boy took a seat in front of it. Marinette frowned and pulled him to the sofa with him.
"It's not good for your eyes to be so close to the screen," she explained. Hugo looked at her face, pleased that she didn't let him get away with this mischief. "Let's watch from here, okay?"
"Malinette!" Hugo pointed at the screen. There was a character that resembled Marinette a little bit with blue hair tied up to pigtails and pink jeans.
"It's me!" She exclaimed in surprise. She had never seen this anime before, but she was quick to pick up on the theme. "The magical magi girl!"
Hugo didn't expect to be tickled. Laughter erupted in his chest. It felt foreign to laugh so hard, but it filled him with warm lightness. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, but that was okay – Marinette was tearing up too.
"You're fun, Marinette," he finally said.
"He speaks! In full sentences!" Marinette pretended to be shocked. Hugo laughed.
"I like you."
"I like you, too, Hugo. You're a sweetheart."
"I wish dad was more like you, but he isn't."
Marinette faced him and bopped him on the nose. "Well, your father is your father. And I'm your friend and babysitter. It's not quite the same thing."
"How?"
"Well, err… You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family!"
"Why not? Why can't you choose your family?"
"Uh… How about some dinner? What would you like?"
"Pizza."
"I'm not going to order a pizza. Come on, show me the kitchen. Let's see what you have."
Marinette stood up and after contemplating for a moment, Hugo did it too. He guided her through the maze of corridors, holding onto her hand. Once there, Marinette checked the kitchen cabinets and the fridge.
"Okay, Hugo, which do you like better, green or red?"
"Green."
"Salad it is." Marinette smirked at the look of betrayal that appeared on Hugo's face. "I'll cook the chicken and you'll wash the vegetables, okay?"
Hugo had never helped anyone in the kitchen before. So even though the idea of a salad didn't really appeal to him, he was eager to help. Marinette gathered the ingredients, filled a giant bowl with water and set it on the table. Hugo climbed on top of a chair to have better access to it and Marinette pulled up his sleeves, repeating the action with her own jacket too.
"Dad would let me get pizza." He commented briefly.
"Well, your dad is not here right now." Marinette flashed him a smile. "Besides, this is more fun, don't you think?"
The dinner was done fast. Even though he had played a small part in making it, Hugo was very proud. He tugged Marinette by her shirt.
"Can we leave some for dad too?"
"Sure. I'll clean up here and then bring the food to your room, alright?" Marinette smiled at the child. Hugo nodded, deciding to wait instead of rushing to his room. The woman cleaned up, set some salad aside for Adrien and grabbed plates and forks for herself and Hugo.
They ate while watching cartoons on TV. Briefly, Marinette wondered when she would be relieved of her babysitting duty. It hadn't occurred for her to ask, but the later it got, the more she thought about it.
Adrien got home a little after midnight. It was very quiet in the house, but in the distance he could hear the opening song of an anime that seemed to be on TV all the time. He went by the kitchen, ready to settle for a small snack before checking on Hugo and tucking in. He was surprised to find the salad, ready to be consumed. Whoever Nathalie had managed to find at the last minute was an angel. He was singing the babysitter praises in his mind as he ate.
He dragged himself to Hugo's room where he expected to find his son asleep in front of a TV. He was almost right.
There, on the sofa, slept the woman he had met the day before. She was cradling Hugo in her arms.
Adrien was greatly tempted to sit down next to them and fall asleep right then and there, but he didn't. He turned off the TV and watched the two, wondering if it would be a good idea to remove Hugo – sleeping on the couch was already bad enough.
"Well, I'll be damned."
He brought over a blanket from Hugo's bed and covered the two. Sighing, he went to his own bedroom. It lacked the inviting warmth of the sofa.