Chapter Twelve

The fight may have been over, but the scars it had left were far from healed.

Adrien often awoke in the middle of the night to Plagg poking him, and the look on his face was always one of worry. As soon as he left his room he could hear the faint cries, and he would then rush off to Emma's room. Manon, Tikki, and Ziggy would all be there, trying to comfort her, trying to reach her, but Emma would only scream.

Adrien had no idea what he was supposed to do. He knew trauma himself, but not how to mend it. So he would take Emma in his arms, holding her tightly as he laid down on the bed with her, speaking softly until her screams would come to a stop.

"I d-don't want the mean lady to come back!" She would gasp, burying her head into his chest. "I don't wanna go, Adrien, I don't want to!"

"She's gone," he would tell her every night, running his hands across her back. "She can never hurt you again."

"Where is she?" Emma whispered.

Adrien was never sure if the truth of Lila's fate was something he should tell her. She was so young he didn't know if she would understand, and so his answer was simple, that the mean lady was gone forever.

"Did… did she go to bad guy jail?" Emma asked tonight as Adrien held her, fingers digging into his shirt.

"…Yes," Adrien said after a moment. "She's in 'bad guy jail'. Forever."

"Oh…" Emma whispered. "What if… what if another bad guy comes?"

"Then you say 'spots on'," Adrien said softly. "Turn into a warrior princess, and run. Remember how fast you can run after you say the magic words?" He looked down at her, smiling softly. "Then Chat Noir will be there, and will fight the bad guy."

Emma let out a small laugh. "You're Chat Noir."

"I am indeed," Adrien said, tapping the tip of her nose, before bringing her into another hug. "And I'm always going to protect you, no matter what."

"Thank you, Daddy," Emma said as she cuddled up against him, and he blinked in surprise, not having quite yet gotten used to the title Emma saw him worthy of.

"Of course," he said softly, holding her until she could fall back to sleep.

"Why are you here?" Juleka said as she opened her apartment door, staring at Adrien in distaste.

"I… I wanted to see how you were doing," Adrien said, which resulted in a scowl from the woman. "A-about what happened with… Lila."

"It happened," Juleka said in that quiet voice of hers. "I have no intention of thinking about it more."

With that she tried to shut the door, but Adrien put a hand out, stopping it. "Five years ago I killed my father, Juleka, with my own C-cataclysm," Adrien said in a low voice. "Hawk Moth himself, the one who took so many lives that day, of ones I loved. Everyone said he deserved it, I... I don't regret my actions... but Juleka, it has haunted me everyday of my life after."

Juleka said nothing.

"I'm not here to talk about what's right or wrong, because I am far past any point of being able to say such," Adrien muttered. "I'm just saying… that if you ever need someone to talk to about it all… I'll listen, okay?"

"How generous," Juleka sneered.

He closed his eyes. "You have every reason to hate me, and I understand that–"

"You took my niece from me," she growled.

"And that's why I want you back in her life," Adrien cut her off, and this made Juleka go still. "It won't fix what I've done, but I can at least keep it from continuing." He looked up at her. "You, Rose, Acel… everyone. Emma… she needs you all in your life, she needs more than me... and you should have her in yours."

"Agreste," Juleka said, cutting him off, and she grabbed his wrist. "I hope you understand this is not the kind of thing you get to go back on. You let us finally have Emma in our lives, she will be staying in our lives."

"Of- of course–"

"And that means all of Emma's family," Juleka continued. "Which means you are going to walk into the Dupain-Cheng bakery and make sure Tom knows that he can finally see his last living family."

Adrien's mouth was dry.

"Now get out of my home, Agreste, and next time I see your face will only because Emma will be there," Juleka hissed.

"Y-yes ma'am," Adrien said, and then the door was shut in his face.

Running the bakery on his own was far from an easy feat.

Tom had to manage both the front counter and the kitchen, going back and forth in order to stay on top of everything. He had hired help in the past, but they had never stayed working there for long– having someone else in the bakery just never felt right. Doing it all on his own did slow down how quickly he could get to customers, which had resulted in more than a few complaints, but he had patrons that were loyal to his shop– and it was keeping the small place running that only mattered to him.

He heard a bell ring as he worked back in the kitchen, letting him know that someone had come in. Tom called out to let them know he'd be right there, putting a batch of macarons into the oven, setting a timer before he hurried out to the counter.

"Hello, welcome, may I take your... order..."

Bright green eyes stared up at him, and he felt every muscle tensing in his body as he saw who was standing in his bakery. Tom felt his hands curl into fist, a dizzying wave of anger from the face he had not seen in so long. The man took a step back– as he should be– and Tom took one forward, the counter perhaps being the only thing keeping him from lashing out.

"What are you doing here, M. Agreste?" Tom growled, and Adrien flinched as he spoke.

"I– I wanted to– to talk to you," Adrien stammered out.

"About what?" He snapped.

"I– I wanted to apologize–"

"Get out," Tom saw red as Adrien spoke, and the man flinched again.

"I just–"

"I said get out of my bakery!" Tom roared. "If you think you could come crawling in here, thinking that you would get forgiveness with just a few words–"

"I don't deserve forgiveness!" Adrien cried, cutting him off with his own shout. "I came here to apologize– but I don't expect anything in return! I don't deserve anything!" He was breathing heavily, and his voice fell to a mutter. "Don't throw me out, please. I'm here because of Emma– she wants to meet you."

Tom went still.

"You don't have to like me, you don't have to see me ever again," Adrien said. "But at least let me try to make things right. Even if it doesn't change what I've done– but I'm here asking you to be in her life again. I– I know I'm the one that threw you out of it, and I never should have– I was selfish, I was heartless, I was just trying to protect myself and I hurt so many other people by doing that."

"She... she wants to see me?" Tom whispered quietly.

Adrien gave a hesitant nod. "I... I never told her about... anything, until recently." Adrien whispered. "She– she didn't know she had a grandfather until now. Don't blame her, blame me, blame me for–"

"Don't worry," Tom said in a low voice. "I blame you for everything."

He flinched. "You... you will come, won't you? She wants to meet you, all of the... everyone. Who's still here. I... I won't be there, if you don't want, it can just be you and Juleka and Anarka and I can just stay away and–"

"As lovely as that sounds," Tom said in a low voice, turning away so he did not have to look at the man. "I highly doubt that Emma... would be comfortable around strangers– even if we should not be strangers." He looked over his shoulder. "As much as I don't like it, Agreste, you've been the only person in her life for years– and I highly doubt that she wouldn't want you there." His eyes narrowed. "At least, I hope she does have someone– even if that someone is you."

Adrien lowered his head, and said nothing for a moment. "...She's started to call me 'dad'."

"Started?"

Adrien flinched. "I... I never wanted to take that role from them, but she– that's what she wanted, and I–"

Tom turned back to face him, and Adrien instantly fell silent once more, withdrawing back as Tom approached the counter. "Started," he said in a low tone. "You're telling me you took her in all those years, and never once played the role of parent that you bribed and manipulated the court into giving you?"

"I–"

"I don't like you, Agreste," Tom growled. "And I will never be happy that you are the one with my little Emma– but that doesn't mean that I pray every night that she's happy, that you are giving her the life that she deserves, even if I can't be in it."

"I would give anything for Emma," Adrien said quietly. "I... I know my word probably doesn't mean anything to you– but I would die a hundred times over for her."

"Good."

Adrien shakily reached into his pocket, pulling out a small card covered with markers and doodles, clearly hand drawn by Emma. "She... she made this for you. It's an invitation to her tea party..."

The man snatched it away, looking down at the scribbly writing, before closing his eyes. "Tell her I will be there."

"Of course–"

"Now get out of my bakery before I change my mind about not sending you home with a black eye."

Adrien knew better than to test his luck, and left without another word.

Emma was absolutely ecstatic.

It wasn't every day you got to have a tea party with more guests than just Manon, Hopkins, and Rachel. But most amazingly, she was going to have very important guests at the park for her tea party. To Emma it was like her birthday had come early– she was going to get a grandpa and a grandma and two aunts and a cousin.

She already knew her cousin and one of her aunts– she had no idea that her very own classmate had been family this whole time! But it was awesome at the same time because she already liked to play with Acel and he was nice and now they could play with each other as cousins. She had met her Aunt Juleka before as well though, and she had yelled at Adrien, but Juleka had also been one of the ones to stop the monster and the mean lady. Emma wasn't quite sure what had happened between Adrien and Juleka, but Adrien said it was always important to forgive, so she would forgive Juleka. (Which meant she got to have an aunt!)

Her family was getting bigger and bigger, and Emma couldn't wait a moment longer.

"When will they be here?" Emma asked as she, Adrien, and Manon set up a table in the park. Adrien had rented the whole place out just for today– and Emma was determined for the party to be perfect. He had bought her a blue tea set, which was big like dishes you'd find in the kitchen and not the little one in her room, and the bright pink table cloth was the prettiest thing ever.

"Noon," Manon replied, glancing at her watch. "Still a little longer to go, kiddo."

"Why can't Sugar be out at the tea party?" Emma asked Adrien as she set a place for Hopkins and Rachel, though her toys had to use the little tea set from her room and not the big one. They also had to have water in their cups and not the homemade lemonade the chef had made, which Emma didn't think was fair.

"Fairies need to stay a secret," Adrien replied, his hand going to his own pocket where his cat-fairy liked to hide, while Manon's goat-fairy hid in her purse. "Their magic is special, and they..." He paused for a moment. "They only want the ones they chose to have their magic– and Tikki chose you."

"Don't worry, Emma," Tikki said, peeking her head out of the play purse Emma had slung around her. "I'll be here the whole time, I won't be going anywhere."

"But then I can't give you a cookie," Emma said.

Tikki's eyes gleamed. "You can always sneak me a few into the bag, then that way I can eat some too."

"That's an amazing idea!" Emma squealed in excitement. "We gotta make sure we have extra cookies, Adrien– um– I mean Dad! That way Sugar can have some too."

She wondered if it would be this way with the rest of her family she was going to meet. Adrien was her dad now, yet sometimes she forgot to call him that, however. He didn't seem to mind though, and Emma hoped that everyone she would meet wouldn't mind too if she forgot to call them grandma and grandpa. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to remember, right? But what if she did forget? What if it made them sad?

"Do you think they'll like me?" Emma asked after a moment. "Stacy says that her grandparents don't get along and that her grandpa doesn't like her."

Adrien looked at her in worry. "I promise you, Emma, they'll love you, you have nothing to worry about."

"What if they don't like tea parties? Or cookies?" Emma asked, her eyes going wide. "What if I make them sad because they wanted something else instead but then I chose a tea party?"

Adrien knelt down in front of her. "Emma, you sent them cards, remember? They know they're coming to a tea party, and I promise you they were all so happy when they heard you invited them."

"Really?"

"Of course," Adrien said with a smile. "And I mean, you're having a tea party and cookies. Who wouldn't love that?"

"Cookies are the best," Emma agreed. "Even better than ice cream, but not as good as macarons."

Adrien watched her for a moment with his thinking-stare– where his eyes would be looking at her, but he was thinking of something else. Emma knew he was thinking about something else because he always said that (or he said his mind was wandering, but she didn't know how that could happen because a brain was suppose to stay in your head forever), but if she asked him what he was thinking about he never told her– but that didn't stop her from asking anyways.

"What are you thinking about, Dad?" Emma asked.

"...Your mother," Adrien said softly. "She... she would make macarons when she was little, and give them to all of her friends."

"Really?" Emma said with wide eyes.

"Yeah," Adrien said, looking away. "I'm sure... I'm sure Tikki could tell you more, though, she loved those macarons."

"Can we make some macarons to make for all of my friends?" Emma asked after a moment.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Manon looking down at her with a soft smile on her face. "I know someone who would be able to help you with that."

"Who?"

"Your grandpa," Manon said, ruffling up her hair. "You should ask him when he gets here."

She let out a long sigh. "But when will they be here?"

"Well, it looks like your aunts are here," Manon said, looking up at the street, where a taxi was pulling to a stop. She watched as two women got out of the car, one of them holding a boy in their arms. The passenger side door up front opened as well, an older woman coming around to join them. Emma stared at the four of them, before slowly backing up against Manon, feeling rooted to the spot.

"You okay, Emma?" Manon asked softly.

"...There's a lot of them," Emma whispered.

"Why don't you go and show Acel where he can sit," Adrien suggested, standing next to them. "Or maybe he'd like to go play on the playground. Do you do that at school?"

"Sometimes he'll be the knight when me and Harper are playing warrior princesses at recess," Emma said.

"Well, go see if he wants to play warrior princess then," Manon said, giving a small nudge. Emma moved forward, eyes scanning the three women, before focusing on the only true familiar face, and she hurried up to Acel.

"Hello there, Emma," Rose said brightly as she approached, and Emma felt herself stiffening up again. She knew this had to be Rose because that was the name of her aunt and she already knew what Juleka looked like, and the other woman looked the oldest so she had to be her grandmother. "Look how big you've gotten– last time I saw you... well, you were just barely learning how to walk!"

Emma frowned, because she couldn't remember not ever walking, or ever seeing Rose before. She regarded her new Aunt Rose, who had blonde hair just like Adrien, and blue eyes like her. She had a big smile just like Manon, and was holding Acel's hand. Emma hesitated, but decided that she did seem like she belonged in her family, so she offered a small smile.

"Hi Aunt Rose," Emma said. "It's nice to meet you– do you like cookies?"

"Cookies?" Acel asked, eyes locking on Emma.

"Huh-huh, I have some cookies for the tea party, my chef baked them just for today, I got to mix the dough," she sat up slightly. "M. Pierre said that I stirred it very well, which means the cookies are going to be delicious."

"What kind of cookies?" Acel asked.

"Now Acel, be polite," Juleka said, smiling softly. "I'm sure there will be some you like."

"Well, we ain't going to get no younger just standing here," the older woman said, before giving Emma a grin. "The name's Anarka, but you can call me Mémé if you like, lass."

"You're my grandmother," Emma said.

"Aye," Anarka replied, a gleam in her eye. "I remember the day ye were born– such a little thing." Ankara then held out a gift bag, and Emma's eyes widened in excitement. "Here, this for you."

"But it isn't even my birthday!"

Anarka winked. "I say it's never too early for a present. 'Sides, there's some photos of ye parents in there. I figured you'd like to see some of them, ones that you can keep for yerself."

Emma was already ripping out the tissue paper, searching for the present within. She pulled out the leather-bound book with some effort, the large scrapbook being a bit heavy for the six year old. She set it down on the grass, pulling it open and looking at the photos within. She recognized the images of Marinette and Luka right off, Adrien having shown her a picture of them– but one photo couldn't compare to the dozens now in front of her.

"Who's that?" Emma asked, pointing to the small baby in one of the photos.

"That's you when you were a baby," Juleka said softly.

"Oh," Emma said, blinking. "Why don't I have any hair?"

Emma thought it was a fair question– but it made all the women laugh. Emma crinkled her nose, looking at Acel. He seemed slightly bored, pulling against his mother's hand. "Can we have some cookies yet?"

"Sure– you can sit by me!" Emma said, picking up her new scrapbook. She hauled it with one arm, the other grabbing Acel's hand as she dragged him off towards the picnic table. She let him sit next to Rachel the tiger, and she put her new book next to him so no one would take her seat.

She then snagged two cookies from the plate, giving one to Acel, before dragging him off towards the playground.

Emma didn't pay too much attention to the adults. The woman mingled among themselves at the table, while Adrien and Manon stood a ways off, watching as she and Acel played warrior princess. Except Acel didn't want his knight to be rescued by the warrior princess like when she and Harper played, so instead the princess and the knight fought off the ninja pirates, the playground being their ship.

It wasn't long before a delivery van parked alongside the park. At first Emma didn't think anything of it, because there were a lot of cars driving by and many that would park, but when Manon called Emma over from her game she knew that this must be her grandpa. She hurried over to Manon and Adrien, watching the man who was getting out of the van, making his way over.

"M. Thomas?" Emma cried, recognition running through her when she saw the man's face. "You're my grandpa?!"

The man smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you again, Emma."

"You… you know him?" Adrien asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Yeah!" Emma said in excitement. "Manon took me to a bakery and he taught me how to make bread and he gave me macarons." She beamed up at Adrien. "Manon said I couldn't tell you about it, but I didn't know he was my grandpa!"

Adrien looked at Manon, who gave a hesitant smile. "Chloe said it was okay?"

"…Chloe was right," Adrien said softly, but Emma didn't pause to listen, hurrying up to Tom, throwing her arms around him.

He returned the embrace, squeezing her tightly.

"Did you know you were my grandpa?" Emma asked, looking up at him.

"…I did," he said slowly after a moment.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Emma asked. "I didn't know I had a grandpa or a grandma then."

"There… there were a lot of reasons, Emma," Tom said softly. "None of them I liked, but… but it's over now." He held out a box to her. "I brought some macarons for your tea party, if that's okay."

"That's perfect!" Emma exclaimed. "Come on, let's put them on the table then you can meet my grandma and my aunts. I don't know too much about them because I just met them but they're nice and they like cookies so I think they'll like your macarons too because they're really yummy." Suddenly her voice turned into a shout. "Hey! Acel! Come get some macarons, they're yummier than cookies!"

They all made their way over to the picnic table, where Emma guided everyone to their seats, making sure that Acel was sitting right next to her. The seat on the other side remained open as she had Manon sit down next to Tom, and the young girl looked out in search of Adrien– and found him standing aways off under a tree, watching.

"Adrien!" Emma called. "It's time for cookies and lemonade!"

"You can start without me," Adrien replied, giving a tight smile that wasn't as big as his happy smile.

"But I saved you the seat next to me!" Emma said, pointing to said seat, which she hadn't let anyone else sit in besides several people asking. "You're going to get the teacup just like mine, see?"

Adrien stood there for a moment longer, before at last making his way over. Emma beamed, before climbing up into her seat, waiting for her dad to sit next to her. Adrien gingerly sat down, eyes flickering across the table, though no one said anything. She recognized the unsure look in his eyes though, so she threw her arms around him because that would always make him smile.

And so her tea party could officially begin.

Adrien tried his best to stay out of the way of the reunion– but Emma refused to let that happen.

Everytime he drifted away from the Couffaines and Tom, even when her attention was elsewhere, she would immediately notice. Either she would call out his name until he came back over, or would scurry over to his side instead, grabbing his hand to bring him back.

"Do you want to go home?" Emma asked the fifth time this happened, wrapping her fingers between his. "I know a lot of people make you nervous, so we can go home if you want."

"It's– it's not that," Adrien said, even though he would much rather be safely in the mansion. "I just... I just don't want to get in the way."

Emma's brow furrowed in confusion. "In the way of what? This is my tea party, and you're supposed to be there."

"This is a tea party with your family," Adrien said– and Emma only grinned up at him knowingly.

"Yeah, and you're my daddy," she let out a slight giggle as she said this, before giving him a tug. "Come on, please, there's only a few macarons left and I want to eat them before Acel does!"

So he let Emma drag him back to the picnic table, and this time he did not try to leave again.

"You play the guitar?" Emma asked Juleka with wide eyes, who gave a nod. "I wanna play the guitar too, now. Or maybe one of those little guitars, have you ever seen them, they're just my size!"

"...A ukulele?" Juleka asked after a moment.

"A mini guitar," Emma agreed with a nod.

Adrien wasn't surprised by how quickly Emma had warmed up to the small group, she had always been outgoing and had little fear of strangers. And with the attention on her, all wanting to see how she had grown, she was more than happy to have the spotlight– telling them all an in depth story about her toys and the fight of the warrior princess against the queen of cats– a favorite game of hers.

"Do you think we can have another tea party together?" Emma asked Rose, tugging on her sleeve.

"I would love that," Rose said with a smile.

"Maybe it could be at our house," Juleka suggested.

"Yeah!" Emma said in excitement. "Could I bring Harper? She's my very best friend!"

Anarka sat up slightly. "You know, you and your friend are welcome at my house anytime, I think you'd like it." Her eyes gleamed. "It's a boat, after all."

"You live on a boat?" Emma said with wide eyes.

"Sure do, lass."

"Whoa," Emma whispered. "That's awesome." Her gaze flickered over to Tom. "And you live in the bakery, right M. Thomas? I mean Grandpa."

"Right above the bakery, yes."

"So that means you get to have treats everyday?"

"As long as I'm baking them, yes," Tom said with a smile.

"Will you teach me how to make macarons?" Emma asked, leaning forward. "Then I can make them and share them with my friends– that's what Adrien says my mom used to do!"

"Yes, she did," Tom said softly, a far off look in his eyes.

"You knew my mom?" Emma asked, blinking.

"I was her father," Tom said, hand reaching out for Emma, hesitating– but then Emma grabbed it. "You... you look so much like her. When Marinette was this age... oh, she would be so proud of you."

"Daddy told me a story about my mom and papa," Emma said. "He said that they loved me very very much."

"They did indeed."

"They fought a bad guy to protect me, and now they're up in heaven," Emma continued, nodding her head.

Tom frowned. "...Yes. A lot of people are in heaven because of... of the bad guy."

Emma's head turned back towards Adrien. "Is he in bad guy jail like the mean lady, Adrien?"

"Mean lady?" Tom asked with a frown, and Adrien felt his throat go tight.

Juleka was the one that spoke up, bringing Emma's focus towards her. "Yes. They are both gone, Emma."

"Are all the bad guys gone?"

"If there are any more, well, there are heroes to protect us," Rose said as a silence settled around the table, and she smiled at Emma. "Isn't it cool that there's heroes here in our city?"

Emma smiled at Rose, her eyes flashing towards Adrien knowingly. "Hehe– they are the coolest."

Adrien was grateful for the conversation to move on from there. One day... one day she would be ready to be told more. As for the rest of them... well... Adrien looked at Tom, whose eyes were solely on Emma, his gaze filled with a softness that could not be described. Adrien knew that he should know the truth about his daughter and son-in-law's fate, even if now was not the moment. Right now was one of reunions, of new beginnings. A moment of happiness that should not be shattered.

"Manon," Anarka said. "Lass, do ye think you'd be willing to take a picture of us all? If Emma is up for a little family photo, that is."

"I love photos!" Emma squealed. "Can all of us be in it?"

"Of course," Anarka said, pushing herself to her feet. "You heard her, old man, you get over here too."

"Gladly," Tom said, standing up alongside everyone else.

Adrien stood by Manon as she took Rose's phone to take a picture with. The small group made their way over to stand under a tree, the rest of the park behind them to act as a backdrop. Tom and Anarka stood on one side; Rose, Juleka, and Acel on the other, Anarka trying to guide Emma to the middle, but the girl twisted to look back, blue eyes locking on Adrien.

"Come on, Daddy," Emma called.

Adrien shook his head. "I–"

Emma crossed her arms. "But this is a family photo, you hafta be in it too!"

"I... I..." Adrien's eyes were wide, and he looked up at the others. They were watching him as well, and he didn't know how to read their expressions. His heart pounded in his chest, because he knew that they would not want him in the photo. They wouldn't want him near them, nor near this memory.

"Adrien," Emma said, eyes pleading.

"You heard her," Tom said in a low voice, breaking the silence, and Adrien looked at the man in surprise. "This... this is a family photo."

"But I..."

"You are her family," Tom said quietly. "Whether we like that or not."

"Go on," Manon said softly, and in his pocket he felt Plagg pressing up against him.

Adrien slowly made his way forward, heading towards the small group, eyes on him. He didn't focus on them, however, his gaze was just on Emma. Her eyes were lit up, her smile growing as he came closer. She put out her arms, reaching for him, and he lifted her up, holding her against his chest. She gave him a tight hug in return, before turning in his arms to face the camera, smiling at Manon.

"You gotta say cheese," Emma told everyone, as if this were important knowledge they wouldn't know.

So with Emma held closely in his arms, Adrien turned towards the phone Manon was holding, offering a small smile as everyone spoke together: "Cheese!"

"Okay Emma, it's time for bed now," Manon said, scooping up Emma.

"Do I hafta?" Emma asked, crossing her arms. "Can't we stay up a little longer?"

"We had a fun day today, didn't we?" Tikki said, flying in front of Emma. "A big tea party, and we got to meet so many new people… maybe if we go to bed we'll have enough energy to make tomorrow just as fun!"

Emma considered this. "Or we can stay up and make today even more fun."

"Sorry kiddo," Manon said, tapping Emma on the nose, and she pouted. "Come on now, pajama time."

"Aww…"

"Hey, Manon?" Adrien said softly, and the girls looked towards him. "Is it okay if I put Emma to bed tonight?"

"Of course," Manon said with a smile.

"Adrien!" Emma squealed, twisting about so Manon had to set her down, bolting towards Adrien. "Can I stay up late tonight? Pretty please?"

"Not tonight," Adrien said softly, ruffling her hair. "But if you go get your pajamas on and brush your teeth, I'll read you a story."

Emma's eyes were wide in awe. "You'll read me a story? Really?"

"Only if you go get ready for bed," he replied.

"Goodnight Manon!" Emma cried. "Bye bye Ziggy, 'night Sox! Come on, Sugar, we gotta get ready for bed!"

With that Emma bolted from the room, Tikki flying after her. Adrien smiled softly as he watched her go, Plagg curling up on his shoulder, a small purr rumbling from his throat. He scratched the kwami behind his ears, who stretched out on his shoulder in response, rubbing up against his finger.

"Want to put her to bed every night?" Manon offered with a chuckle. "I can never get her to go that quickly."

"Maybe I should," Adrien said softly, before heading out of the room himself and into the foyer. He looked about, the black and white motif still the same as when he was a child. He ran a hand along the banister as he made his way up the stairs, wondering if things like this should change as well.

Perhaps this house could feel more like a home.

He looked up at the blank wall at the top of the stairs, where a painting of him and his father had once hung– one that had been personally destroyed by Plagg once they had learned the truth of that man. Adrien put his hand on the empty wall, quiet for a moment, but he could feel his kwami's gaze on him.

"Why don't you just put up something else?" Plagg asked, yawning. "Anything's better than that blank wall."

"Maybe," Adrien said quietly. There... there was a lot he could do. So much change was possible, but thinking about it all at once... it was overwhelming. So many things, but that was not where his focus needed to be, because he knew right now that the most he could manage was one step at a time.

He opened one of the doors to Emma's room, and found the girl slipping on a nightgown. She grinned at Adrien as she pulled it over her head, Tikki hovering right behind her. "Hi Adrien."

"Did you brush your teeth?" He asked softly.

"Yep!" Emma declared, though Adrien glanced at Tikki for confirmation, who gave a nod. "Now we're going to ready a story, right?"

"Why don't you go pick out a book?" Adrien offered, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Emma rocked on her heels. "What if I don't wanna story from a book?"

"What kind of story do you want?"

"I want a story about Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Emma said, racing forward and jumping onto her bed. She quickly rolled under the covers, holding onto her stuffed kangaroo as she poked her head back out, grinning. "Tell me a story about you and my mama, Adrien– please?"

He could feel the kwami's gazes, watching him with worry, and he took a deep breath. "If that's what you'd like."

"Yes, yes– thank you Adrien! I mean, thank you, Daddy!" She squealed.

He turned, brushing some of her hair back from her face. "You can call me whatever you want, Emma."

"I do want to call you daddy though," Emma said, crossing her arms. "I just sometimes forget– but that's okay. Because then when I remember I remember that you're my daddy and that makes it the best day ever all over again."

"...Never change, Emma, never change," Adrien said softly.

Emma frowned. "So I can't turn seven on my birthday?"

He laughed. "Don't worry, growing up is allowed," he leaned in close, smiling. "It's an important thing to do, getting bigger and stronger."

"I'm going to be a warrior princess when I grow up," Emma said.

"You'll be the best warrior princess of all," Adrien said, and he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you too, Daddy."

The next chapter will be the epilogue.