Chapter One

"Thank you, Ezra," Adrien said as the limo pulled up in front of the Agreste Mansion, the vehicle slowly came to a stop. His driver said nothing, merely grunting in acknowledgement, looking at him through the rearview mirror.

Ezra, who he had fondly knew as 'the Gorilla' in his childhood, still towered over him in height and muscle as he got out of the car, holding his door open for him as he stepped out. Adrien adjusted his suit coat once, before looking up at his house with a neutral expression. He usually preferred to work from home, but today he had been dragged out to Gabriel headquarters for multiple meetings, mostly with investors. It had been long, tiring, and he still wasn't sure how he put up with such short sighted people at times.

Adrien didn't know why they acted like he was the brains of Gabriel– that was the designers' job. All he did was manage the business side of things, kept the company from collapsing in on itself, while the fashion line continually pushed out new products.

He let out a long sigh as he climbed the steps to the house– but it had been a long time since he had ever considered it home. He pushed the front doors open unceremoniously, stepping into the empty front room. A black figure zipped out from his front pocket, letting out a loud yawn as he stretched.

"Well, that was absolutely miserable," Plagg grumbled, flying in front of Adrien as he headed towards the stairs. "Could have left me here instead of in your stuffy pocket, you know, wouldn't have made a difference with anything."

"You've never complained before," Adrien said coolly, eyes staring up ahead at the blank wall, where a painting of father and son had once hung.

Plagg had enjoyed Cataclysming it.

"Because reasoning with you has gotten us places before," Plagg said sarcastically, making sure to hover right in front of Adrien's face as he climbed up the steps. His holder tried to wave him away, but he simply turned intangible in those moments, Adrien's hand phasing right through him.

"Stop that now," Adrien said sharply, an edge of a hiss in his voice, the magic of the Miraculous forcing Plagg to go still. The Black Cat let out a huff, before settling to hover above his shoulder.

"I want cheese," the kwami declared loudly.

"You know where to find it."

"Well I–" Plagg began as they walked past one of the door's to Adrien's old room, when they heard an excited gasp from within. Adrien paused, and without another word his kwami vanished into his pocket once more, a mere black blur as the door was thrown open.

"Adrien!" An excited voice squealed, a small figure sprinting out of the room, slamming into his legs. He looked down to see a head of messy black hair and a pair of large blue eyes, the young girl grinning up at him. "You're home! Ms. Manon said you wouldn't be home until I was asleep!"

"That's because you should be asleep right now," a voice said from the doorway.

"Hello Emma," Adrien said calmly, and small arms wrapped tighter around his legs as Manon took a step closer. "It's nice to see you."

The little girl beamed at these words, swinging around so she was on the other side of Adrien's legs, sticking her tongue out at her nanny. "I told you Adrien wanted to see me, Adrien isn't upset at all!"

"I am so sorry, sir," Manon apologized, hurrying forward to pry the young girl from off of him. "I just couldn't get her to go to sleep tonight no matter what I did, she kept saying she wanted to stay up until you got home."

"I see," he replied evenly, watching the child as she was scooped up into Manon's arms. She let out a laugh, leaning back so she could give Adrien another smile. "Well, I am home now, Emma, so I see no reason why you shouldn't be listening to Manon right now."

"I wanna play!" Emma replied. "Will you play with me, Adrien? We never play any games, Adrien. It would be so much fun, wouldn't it, Adrien?"

She put an emphasis to his name each time she said it, as if everyone in the room would forget if she did not declare it each time. She kept twisting in Manon's grasp, forcing her nanny to constantly adjust her grip on her so she wouldn't fall to the ground. Perhaps he should look into ordering a set of monkey bars for her room, watching as she tried to climb up onto Manon's shoulders.

"Perhaps another time," Adrien said. "You should be in bed, and I have a lot of work to do."

Emma deflated in Manon's arms as he said this, the spark in her eyes leaving as she went limp, forcing her nanny to lower her to the floor. "You always hafta work."

Adrien watched her for a moment, and with a small sigh he knelt down so he was at her level. He ruffled up her hair, catching a glimpse of a small smile as he did so, and he couldn't help but feel one tug at his own face.

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow," he said after a moment of consideration.

Emma lit up instantly, blue eyes going wide, bounding forward so she was inches from his face. He pulled back slightly, her smile growing. "You promise, Adrien?"

"I promise."

"Woo!" She let out a cheer, her cry echoing through the empty halls, and she wheeled around to face Manon. "We need to get to bed right now– if I sleep then we can wake up and have breakfast!"

"Sounds like a plan," Manon said, holding out her hand. "Come on then, let's go tuck you in."

"Okay!" Emma chirped, turning to face Adrien with a grin. "Goodnight, Adrien! I love you!"

Adrien had been pushing himself to his feet, but completely froze up as those three words left her mouth. His eyes went wide, stiffening up in shock. His head whipped towards the young girl, but she didn't seem to notice his reaction, just skipping over to Manon, slipping her hand into hers.

"What?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could even think about them, and Emma paused as she was led back into her room, looking over her shoulder innocently. Blue eyes blinked once, and she tilted her head as she gave another smile.

"I love you!" She repeated happily, and he felt his breath get caught in his throat.

For a moment he was silent, but after a moment he managed to stutter out a few words. "I- I see."

Plagg twisted in his pocket, and he could see Manon giving him an unreadable look, but Emma didn't seem to find anything strange about this reply. She just gave him another smile, and with a small tug she pulled her nanny back into her room. Manon hesitated, looking at him, before slowly closing the door. Adrien was left kneeling there on the ground, completely still.

"Wow kid, five star performance," Plagg drawled, coming out of the pocket as soon as his holder was alone.

Adrien closed his eyes. "I just– she–" he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stand. "...Let's go."

Plagg stared at him in disbelief as he continued up the steps, heading to the third floor. His kwami hovered there for a moment– before rushing after his holder with a low growl.

"That's all you say?" He asked, bolting in front of him. "Just walk away? I don't get you kid! That's not how you're supposed to handle things! Have you ever heard of something called a proper reply?"

Adrien said nothing for a moment, before sighing as he pushed open his office door. "What was I supposed to say?"

"That you love her too!" Plagg cried, paws thrown up in disbelief, and he went still as Adrien didn't say anything. "You... you do love her, don't you? You love her, right?"

Adrien looked back at Plagg, green eyes unreadable. "Emma is the most important thing in my life."

Then without another word he sank down behind his desk, pulling a laptop towards him. The kwami stared at him, as if wanting something more, but Adrien only settled down as he began to work. Fingers typing at the keyboard, earnestly doing something he hated, gaze unfocused as he worked away. Plagg's ears went back, and he slowly pulled away.

He slipped into a cupboard, grabbing a wheel of Camembert cheese before drifting towards the desk. He sat down on the edge, Adrien not even blinking as he took a bite of his favorite food. Plagg watched his holder, tail curling uncertainly.

His eyes fell to the silvery ring on Adrien's finger– his Miraculous– which he hadn't called upon for him to transform in years. Plagg didn't know why the man still wore it, why he bothered keeping him out of the Miracle Box when he barely seemed to even tolerate his presence.

Plagg knew they would be up late into the night, because that was what Adrien did every day. There were few tasks he delegated to workers below him, because work was the one thing he'd bury himself in. From up in the early hours of the morning until late at night, only eating when food was brought to him, and oftentimes it was Plagg ordering those meals for him.

But tomorrow he knew they would be down in the dining room, having breakfast with Emma– because when Adrien made a promise to that kid, he never broke it.

Plagg was glad that he was able to do one thing right.