"Tragedy was avoided today on the Seine, when a mysterious new hero came to the rescue of a six-year-old boy who had fallen into the river," The news broadcast was announcing as Marinette and Louis walked through the front door of Tom and Sabine's home. The grandparents looked up from the news and greeted them with Tom asking, "Did you have a good walk?"

Marinette nodded and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. "Sure did, Dad." She greeted her mother similarly. "It was nice to see some of the old Parisian sights again."

The video clip of the child's rescue continued to play in the background. "In a brief report from our very own Alya Lahiffe, it was revealed in an exclusive interview that this enigmatic hero is actually visiting from Asia." A still image of Zhuangzi in action was displayed in the forefront. "While butterfly motifs have been something of a taboo in Paris, we wish Zhuangzi the best of luck and thank him for his service!"

Louis's attention was immediately pulled towards the television, a delighted look overcoming his face. "How exciting!" Sabine commented with a giggle. "I like his name." The boy shared a knowing glance with his mother and tried not to smile too hard. If anyone got the symbolism behind his chosen hero name, it would have been his Chinese-born grandmother.

"I find it nostalgic, personally," Tom noted, giving his wife a one-armed hug around the shoulders and looked at Marinette. "Remember back when you were a teenager? I remember sitting in this very spot, watching two kids in a costume defeating Paris's first supervillain."

Marinette nodded. It was indeed nostalgic. "Those were an interesting five years, no doubt about it," she admitted with her own personal smile of remembrance gracing her face. She had her own reasons for cherishing those years, after all.

"Oh!" Sabine said suddenly, standing up and reaching into her pocket. "Adrien stopped by earlier. You missed him, but he left this for you." She handed the younger woman a folded piece of paper. Opening it, Marinette noted that it was the same note she had left earlier, only with an added note at the bottom.

Just my luck I'd miss you! I never did have the best of luck, after all.

Let's try again sometime soon! I look forward to hearing from you,

-Adrien

She noted the phone number right under the name, a bubble of excitement in her chest. She also noted that the winking face he drew on the note had cat ears. She silently stared at the note, processing all sorts of conflicting emotions for several moments, while Louis came over and read the note over his shoulder.

Sabine and Tom shared a familiar look, and Sabine smiled at her daughter, giving her a verbal nudge. "He's still such a nice man. He has a daughter around the same age as the twins, did you know?"

"O,oh really?" Marinette replied. "I-I had no idea!" she lied terribly.

Louis wondered for a moment how it was, exactly, that his mother had never been caught as Ladybug. She must have honestly been really lucky. He shrugged it off and gave his mom a wily smirk. "He did seem pretty cool, Mama. Can he be my dad, too?"

He relished his grandfather's uproarious laughter, his grandmother's gentle smile and quiet chuckle, and the beat red color that plastered across his mother's face. Anything to help out his mother and her unconvincing denial, he smirked to himself. Besides, if Grandma Sabine saw Adrien as his potential dad, maybe she'd stop trying to set him up with his sister. Two birds, one stone.

Emma drew circles on the counter with her forefinger while she watched her father make grilled cheese sandwiches. She wasn't pouting, or at least she wouldn't have admitted to it. Today had been a bit of a bust, overall. She'd been looking forward to hanging out with her family as a whole, even if it was just the museum. She still got to see the Louvre, and she had gotten some amazing pictures with her father, but it just wasn't the same. She wasn't going to admit that she was missing Louis, either. This was the first, and therefore longest, time that she'd ever been away from him for an extended period of time. It didn't help that her twin senses were tingling.

(Louis denied wholeheartedly that Emma's "twin-senses" were a real thing, but Emma knew better.)

Emma missed her mother. These last few days had been a dream, but it didn't change the fact. It was a shame she and Louis couldn't trade off every now and then, but that was currently out of the question. It was going to be okay though, she reminded herself. If all went to plan, they'd all be living together as one big family soon enough.

"Extra cheese?" her Bà asked, cutting into her thoughts.

She looked up. It seemed that her father had picked up on her slight melancholy, and the smile he gave her, loving with a hint of concern, made her feel a bit like a brat for sulking when she should instead be enjoying this time. A small impish smile slowly spread across her face. "I can't brie-lieve you'd even ask that. I'll only accept the cheesiest!" Adrien's face lit up at her challenge and the game was on.

He put together the prescribed amount of cheesiness and winked at his daughter. "Okay, but only because I'm so fondue you," he said over the sizzle of butter meeting pan.

Emma made a show of rolling her eyes, but the smile on her face undermined the action. "That was so cheesy, Bà. Quite muenster-ous, in fact."

"Says the one up to no gouda," Adrien pointed at her with the spatula, admonishing her playfully.

The girl shrugged, smile fading a bit as she pursed her lips and wracked her brain for more cheese puns. When her brain came up blank, she pulled out something else instead, refusing to be beaten. "…Hey, Ba, how do you share a grilled cheese with a bear?"

"How?" the tall blond indulged while he flipped the sandwiches.

"Caerphilly."

Adrien blinked for a few moments, giving his daughter a sideways look of confusion before he finally got the joke. Once it dawned on him, he couldn't help bursting into free laughter. Emma honestly didn't think it was quite that funny, but it made her happy just the same. Eventually, Adrien caught his breath again, waving a spatula-free hand. "Enough, enough, I Camembert it anymore. Your wit is too sharp for me."

Oh, that one was really good. Her Bà sure was the master punster, but she had one last card to play for the evening. "I am quite cultured," the young blond replied airily with a smirk.

Adrien smiled warmly, putting the plated sandwich in front of her before patting her on the head. "Plagg would have liked you," he stated with fond certainty.

Emma took a bite of her grilled cheese, savoring the rich, gooey texture of the cheese and the delightful crunch of the toasted bread. Her diet back home had mainly been Chinese cuisine with French elements and the glory that was the grilled cheese did not feature often. Great Uncle was the best chef ever, but her father's grilled cheeses were to die for, she decided. She made an appreciative sound as she chewed then swallowed. "Plagg?"

"My kwami," he clarified, sitting on the stool next to her with his own sandwich. "Kwami of the black cat miraculous. The biggest cheese-loving grouch in existence, but also the best thing that ever happened to teenage me."

Emma took another bite of her sandwich and thought about that for a moment. She'd known her father had been a superhero, but she hadn't really thought about what that meant. He'd had his own Duusu, and for much longer than she'd had hers. Duusu was already a good friend, and she didn't want to think about what it must have been like, to bond for several years and then be suddenly separated. It must have been very hard. Painful, even.

She was thankful that Duusu was napping, otherwise, they might both be crying at the sudden sad thought. She loved her mother, but guardian or not, it wasn't fair. She chewed slowly and swallowed deliberately. Mama wasn't cruel. Why would she do that to her partner? It didn't add up. At all. Louis was the thinker, but Emma was the doer. Perhaps she'd bring it up to him later. In the meantime, "Maybe you'll get to see him again soon?" The smile she gave her dad was bright and laced with only the smallest hint of mischief.

Her father, on the other hand, graced her with a model smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes, and she didn't like that. "Maybe someday," he answered. He didn't think he would. Either that, or he was trying not to get his hopes up. It bristled.

For a few moments, quiet reigned while they ate silently. The morose atmosphere cast a pall over the two, each dwelling on their own thoughts. Adrien cleared his throat, breaking through it. "So. What about you? How do you feel about being Juno?"

Emma blinked at the sudden question. She hadn't really thought about it, honestly. "I like Duusu. He's a good friend, and without him, I wouldn't have been able to make it here." Not a lie, but also didn't really answer the question.

Adrien considered his daughter for a moment before answering. "Yeah, I can see that." He cocked his head to the side, visibly thinking about something. When he spoke again, it was with nostalgia. "I was homeschooled when I was your age, all the way up until I was fourteen. That was the same year I received Plagg." He gave Emma a real smile this time. "The circumstances were different, but becoming Chat Noir let me do something that I couldn't normally do on my own. It gave me freedom."

"Would you want to be a superhero again?" the blond girl asked earnestly.

He answered with a non-committal shrug. "I wouldn't mind it, especially if I was needed. I'd love to see Plagg again. But I honestly don't need to be a hero anymore, not like I did as a teenager. How about you? Do you want to be a superhero, Emma?"

She shrugged in return. "I dunno. I guess I could be, but I don't really see myself as a hero. I mean, the only thing I've used my miraculous for was myself, and that isn't very heroic. I love Duusu, but I think I just want to be a kid first, you know?" When she faced her father again, she was met with an expression that she could not read. He looked surprised, was her best guess. "Um… is that alright?" she asked, suddenly unsure of herself. Was he disappointed in her?

The tall man suddenly pulled her into a tight hug, nuzzling her hair. "Absolutely! Stay a kid for as long as you like, Princess. In fact, never grow up!"

E: Hey, did Mama bring the M.B. with her?

L: Yeah, why?

E: No reason. Just curious.

AN: Sorry this addition was so short! To be honest, I probably should have had these two scenes in the last chapter, but better late than never! Just a bit of fluff for those of you waiting for me to get on with the story. XD

I think I have the main story beats hammered down now, so writing should be a bit easier when I get the time to do so. My schedule is pretty slammed for the next five weeks, but I'll try to post at least once a week. Wish me luck!

Thank you so much for the likes, follows, and faves!

Shoutout to Agiani and Kapel85. Thanks for the comments!

To Dark: I hope you kept reading! I don't think Marinette could ever be angry at Adrien. Overridden with a guilty conscience, yes. Catastrophising to the point of detriment, yes. But never angry. Thanks for the comment, regardless!