Some aged-up, domestic/family tooth-rotting fluff.

Enjoy the read!

The mouse fairy

Louis Agreste, 5 and a half, barely knee-high, (the little fella took all the family genes straight from the Cheng's side; petit, blue eyed, dark haired) stormed into the living room, almost as fast and elusive as Ryuko's 'wind dragon'.

"Papa! That's it! Finally!" The little boy bounced from one foot to another, unable to stand still for a second. "That's it!" he repeated, almost screaming for the whole world to hear—or at least, for all Paris.

"Hold on, petit chat!" His father closed and put down the book he was reading then removed his glasses. "Care to share what's bugging you? I thought you were already sleeping." He asked, racking a hand through his son's raven mane, smiling tenderly.

Louis' head bobbed up and down at a neck breaking speed and the corner of his lips stretched into a grin, showing all his little white teeth…minus one.

"Look at this! The little sturdy finally fell!" Adrien's eyes widened as his voice rose with excitement. He had to resist the urge to jump on the couch with Louis; it likely felt like Marinette wouldn't be happy with them ruining the blanket and the cushions she had sewed, let alone making so much noise when it was actually bedtime. Instead, he pulled Louis in a bone crushing hug, lifting his feet off the floor. "C'mon, show me your mouth, big boy."

Louis smiled awkwardly, proudly showing the hole in his teething, his little boyish giggle echoing all around the place. He then loosened his clenched fist, opening his hand, revealing to his father the small incisor he was holding.

"Why, hello there…What's all the fuss about? I can hear you both screaming from Emma's room. Besides, have you been pretending to be asleep again? You shouldn't be up at this hour, Louis." Marinette's sleepy voice calmed down the shabang, both boys turning their attention toward a half-sleeping Marinette.

Her arms were full of a chubby baby girl napping from a milk induced coma as she stepped closer. As Adrien took in the lovely display, Louis suddenly escaped his father's embrace, running straight to his mother, wobbling and almost stumbling on his feet in his hurry.

Seeing Louis tripping on his feet and almost falling was enough to awaken Marinette's maternal instinct as she bent down and caught him with an arm wide open before a disaster could happen (somehow, the little boy had also inherited his mother's clumsiness).

"Ohoh, watch out. Go easy, champion. Have you had a nightmare? What's going on?" Marinette inquired as she held out baby Emma for Adrien to take safety so she could cradle her son in her arms.

"My footh hash finally fell off," Louis stuttered in an excited voice, mouth wide open as he made funny faces to show his mother what happened a couple of minutes earlier.

"Oh…" The corner of Marinette's mouth twitched, and Adrien could tell she wanted to cry as she chewed on her bottom lip, trying to hold back the overwhelming feeling. Kneeling in front of her little kitten, she eventually cupped both his cheeks and looked at his teeth, before placing a soft kiss on his nose. "You grow up so fast," Marinette whispered, her voice thick with unshed emotions. She looked down, her hand moving and reaching Louis', her fingers just barely grazing the little white pearl lying there. "Now you can give your tooth to the little mouse," she said with a smile, only for Louis to shut his hand close and vehemently shake his head.

"I don't want to give my tooth to a mouse! I wanna keep it!" Louis scolded and ran back to his father as tears started to pool in his bluebell eyes. The little boy hid between his father's legs, Adrien soothingly stroking his hair before staring flabbergasted at his wife.

"The little mouse?" Adrien asked, his voice inquisitive as he raised one of his brows. He gently patted Louis on the back, calming the sobs of the little fella. "I thought it was the tooth fairy who came to fetch teeth?"

"This is the non-european branch, mon Chaton." Marinette stared at him helplessly. "The little mouse never came for you, right?" Her lips curled downward as she realized that she was hitting a sensitive nerve.

Adrien used both his hands to plug Louis' ears as he whispered in a low voice, "the only mouse my father had ever been concerned about was the Mouse Miraculous, you know," he sadly stated as he sighed. "And as far as I remember, maman used to say the tooth fairy would come. She came from England so I suppose that the story told was a bit different…" His voice faltered as he looked away, his hands sliding from Louis' ears. "Thus, I don't know anything about the little mouse, only the tooth fairy."

"Is the little mouse a fairy?" Louis asked, moving back from his father's legs and looking up at his parents with bright eyes, his tears already a distant memory.

Adrien sighed. "Actually, no—"

"Yes!" Marinette cut her husband off. She then kneeled back in front of Louis, taking both his little hands in hers, gently stroking the incisor lying on his palm with her thumb. "Actually, the little mouse is not any random mouse. She's a mouse fairy."

It didn't take long for Adrien to understand what his wife was doing and he immediately played along with her.

"Your maman's right. The mouse fairy is a very special mouse," said Adrien, smiling genuinely as he slowly rocked his sleeping daughter.

"What does the mouse fairy look like?" Louis asked, getting increasingly curious.

Both Adrien and Marinette looked at each other in utter confusion, taken aback by their son's curiosity. No doubt Marinette hadn't seen it coming when she had thought about her sole 'mouse fairy'. Luckily, Adrien had a very nice reference when it came to describing a very unique mouse, so he took the lead for the much awaited answer.

"Actually, she's bigger than the mice we know. She's that tall." Adrien slowly lifted one hand from the floor up to about his wife's height, careful not to awaken baby Emma in the process.

A gasp left Marinette's mouth as she stared at him, blinking a couple of times—it didn't stop Adrien though.

"She's half-human, well…" he coughed, clearing his throat. "...half-fairy," he corrected. "She's got bluebell eyes, and a cute pink and gray coat. She's very pretty too."

His wife blushed as he smiled tenderly, memories of an old time filling his mind.

"I wanna see her. I wanna see the mouse fairy," Louis excitedly exclaimed as he started to bounce on his feet.

"Uh… but you can't see her, Louis. She comes when children sleep. You have to put your tooth under your pillow and she comes to get it. If you have taken good care of your tooth, she keeps it for her collection, and gives you a coin to congratulate you," Marinette explained in a patient voice.

"That's why it's very important to brush your teeth, little buddy." His father reminded him.

Louis looked up at his parents, his gaze shining with this je ne sais quoi that Adrien recognized as a legacy straight coming from Marinette; when one of them had an idea, it showed in their eyes. The little fella then rushed to the couch, hiding his precious pearl under a cushion before lying on it.

"What do you think you're doing there, little Gremlin? It's bedtime, you're supposed to sleep now."

"I'm going to stay up here all night long, so I can see the mouse fairy walking through the door."

"Louis, the mouse doesn't—"

"Okay, Buddy." Adrien interrupted his wife, and shook his head with big, stern eyes, motioning for her to not go down that path. "Have fun," he enthused while trousling the little boy's hair. "Your maman, little sister and I, we're going to bed. Good night, Champion."

Marinette glanced sideways, a brow crooked at him. For once, he was the one making plans and she was the one following his lead without knowing what it was all about. Though she would know the drill pretty soon.

As soon as they had bid their good night kiss to their son and walked out of the living-room, Adrien pushed his wife straight into Emma's room. He delicately closed the door behind them, cautious as not to snap it close to forcefully so he wouldn't wake up their daughter. He then gently placed the newborn in her crib, still soundly so as not to wake her up (that last point was pretty important to underline when you're a father sleeping less than 3 hours a night—with many disruptions).

"What the—"

"Shh!" Adrien pointed to his success. Emma was as light a sleeper as he was, so it was a feat not to have woken her up with all the commotion tonight.

"What the hell are you doing?" Marinette murmured in a subdued tone. "We can't let Louis sleep on the couch, Adrien."

"He wants to see the mouse fairy, he will see the mouse fairy."

"Adrien, what did we already talk about?" Marinette crossed her arms, glaring at him.

"Come on, it's not a whim," Adrien stated as he took both his wife's hands between his. "Listen, I don't want him to lose his innocence as early as we were forced to because of my father. I do want him to believe. I do want him to live the best childhood ever before he gets ditched in a society that bleeds us dry all the time," he explained, his voice stern though a little bit unsteady. "I don't want him to have a life like I had. A life which looks nothing like it, and you know that." He squeezed her hands tight.

Marinette suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, dragging him in a tight hug.

"Adrien, you're nothing like your father. Louis and Emma are very lucky to have you. You're an amazing papa." Marinette pulled back, one of her hands moving to cup his face, her thumb fondly stroking his cheek. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was such a big deal for you but… you know he will be disappointed in the morning because he didn't see the mouse fairy, right? Because, there's no mouse fairy…"

"That's where you're wrong, Love. Did you listen to the description I made earlier? Petite, blue eyes, pink and gray coat, pretty…" He gave his wife a knowing look, a cocky grin stretching the corner of his lips.

"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, right?"

Adrien's grin only widened before fading away against his wife's forehead, melting into a soft kiss. He then pulled back and winked at her. "I'm 100% sure I'm thinking what you think I'm thinking about, dearest Multimouse."

"Sometimes you exhaust me more than the kids, you know that?" Marinette sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I love you too." Adrien grinned before gently cradling both Marinette's cheeks and kissing her pouting lips.

"I can't believe all the kwamis are with you on that one…even Tikki." Marinette mumbled as she glared at said little ladybug. "I look like a mouse that has eaten way too much cheese."

"Who dared to eat all my cheese?!"

The Kwami of destruction was ready to give the culprit a hell of a time.

"Marinette," Xuppu yelped, straight followed by the same charge coming from Barkk.

"I think she just wanted to say that she gained weight since the last time she wore the Mouse Miraculous. She hasn't eaten your cheese, Plagg."

"Thank you, Wayzz. It's surely not a compliment but I do appreciate your help," Marinette sighed. She shifted a little, using both her hands to hide her belly, still a bit prominent.

"I think this is a cute post-baby bump," Daizzi marveled.

"I agree, and it's nice to lay on," Tikki added with a fond smile.

"Okay, Buddies. Enough of this." Adrien cringe-smiled as he glared at the kwamis. "You're perfect, Mousinette. They're not good with words but that's what they're trying to say." Adrien's hands took hold of Marinette's hips, pulling her flush against his as he hugged her. "You gave life five weeks ago to our little bundle of joy. Your body has changed and it's a constant reminder of the surreal work you did during these nine months and of which you can be proud of," he told her, his voice reassuring. He laid a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose and nuzzled it softly. "Now let's our big boy be as happy as I'm right now."

Marinette sniffed, the noise actually not far from a mouse's squeak. "You're really good with words, aren't you?"

"It's only because I say the truth, Love."

"Thank you,." Marinette whispered, her voice thick with contained emotion.

"No. Thank you." Adrien smiled softly. "Thank you for agreeing to put on the suit."

"It'd been a long time." Marinette bounced on her feet and spun around. "I had forgotten how light and comfortable this suit felt."

"And cute." Adrien patted the two space-buns adorning her hair. "You look beautiful. I always had a thing for my Mousinette."

"Before or after you realized you had a thing for Marinette?"

Oh, she dared to tease him now. Sneaky mouse.

"I was young, blind, and a complete fool," Adrien stated matter-of-factly.

"It goes hand-in-hand with my old self then."

"We were meant to be.," Adrien chuckled heartily. He grabbed one of his wife's hands and brought it to his mouth, his lips grazing her knuckles. "The suits were just there so we could grow up first."

"And now we're married with two beautiful children."

"And ready to make Louis's wish come true, isn't that great?"

"It is," Marinette murmured. "Let's go now." She climbed onto the window sill, ready to jump into the quiet night.

Adrien watched her as she vaulted outside before hiding behind Emma's door room, cracking it slightly open so he could see and hear what would unfurl in the living room.

And it didn't take long for Multimouse to appear behind said living room's bay window, and for Louis to get up from the couch in a hurry.

Thirty minutes had passed between the time they had left their son alone and the time Multimouse appeared, and the little fella had not fallen asleep. When Louis had an idea in his head, it was difficult impossible to take it away. This kind of reminded Adrien of someone… He wasn't lying when he was telling everyone that Louis had inherited everything from Marinette; from his physique, to the smallest of his character traits.

Now it was time for the fun to begin.

The little fella let the mouse fairy in, excitement visible in the way his body was bouncing with anticipation.

"Maman and papa told me to never let strangers in, but I can see that you're the mouse fairy."

Multimouse ruffled a gloved-hand through Louis's dark hair. "Indeed, good insight petit chat."

"That's how my papa likes to call me."

"I know." Multimouse smiled tenderly. "I also have been told that you lost your first tooth tonight? Is that true?"

"Yesh," Louis stuttered, mouth wide open to show the tiny hole in his teething.

"I hope that you have taken good care of it?"

Louis nodded and ran to the couch, picking up the little white pearl that he hid under one of the cushions before running back to the mouse fairy.

"It's all white because maman always forces me to brush my teeth."

"Well, your maman is right. It's important to brush your teeth to keep them healthy. Don't you like to brush your teeth, buddy?" Multimouse inquired.

Louis moved one hand, rubbing at the nape of his neck. It seemed that he may have inherited something from his father after all. He then beckoned his guest to come closer and stoop to his height, which Multimouse did forthwith, thus allowing the little boy to rise on tiptoe to whisper something in her ear. Well, it was the closest that Louis could get to a whisper, though anyone else could also hear him as clear as day. Even from where he was hidden, Adrien heard his son's words—he even had to muffle a cackle.

"Don't tell maman, but I don't like the strawberry toothpaste she buys for me. It tastes like rotten candy."

"Rotten candy," Multimouse repeated, blinking in dumbfoundment before quickly recovering from her confusion.

Geez! Adrien wanted to laugh so badly. Though, he didn't want to jeopardize their mission, nor to end up waking up Emma, so he bit on his bottom lip instead.

"And what would you like it to taste instead? Perhaps I can sneak into the bathroom and change it sometimes." Multimouse suggested.

"Passion fruit," Louis marveled.

This child was suddenly much more Adrien'ish' than he had thought.

"Passion fruit." Again Multimouse seemed taken aback. Anyway, she smiled down at the little fella and nodded. "Fine. Since it's the first tooth you lost and it's really neat, and also because I would like you to keep brushing your teeth thoroughly, I'll give you a coin and I'll make sure that your toothpaste is changed in return, what do you say?"

Louis's head bobbed up and down frantically as he handed his tooth for her to take.

"Thank you, buddy. It was nice to meet you." Multimouse smiled and booped his nose. "It's time for me to go now, I have other teeth to collect." She turned her back, ready to leave by the window when their son prevented her from doing so.

"Wait!"

She turned around, cringe-smiling as she raised an inquisitive brow, and Adrien knew his wife was worried Louis might have found out about their little trick.

"Can I ask you something? Please~" He did those irresistible kitten eyes Adrien had taught him how to do. Well, done, champion! And of course, Multimouse couldn't say no.

He couldn't have been more proud of his son.

"You're supposed to be a fairy, but you don't have a magic wand or wings on your back?"

Her eyes widened and Adrien suddenly felt very sorry for the position his wife found herself in. He was sure Louis would never let her get away without a proper answer.

"Well…" She knelt down in front of their son and took his hands between hers. "You do forget that I'm a mouse in the first place. What makes me a fairy is that I have a magical power."

Louis looked at her with sparkling, big eyes, and Multimouse couldn't help but swallow back a big sniff as tears threatened to pour out of her bluebell eyes. It sure looked like his wife's hormones were still messing with her which didn't prevent to be as smart as usual.

"Do you want me to show you my magical power, Louis?" Multimouse asked.

The little boy bounced on his feet, nodding as he made tiny mouse-like noises.

"Shh," Multimouse brought a finger flat against his lips, muffling their son's excitement. "You have to promise me you won't tell everyone, okay?"

"I promise. Little cat's honor!" Louis raised a paw hand in pledge.

Multimouse glared in his husband's direction before shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Fine then, petit chat… Multitude."

Multimouse used her power, instantly making ten small, perfect copies of herself that Louis looked with sheer amazement.

"Wow, you're a true mouse fairy," Louis murmured, his voice filled with awe.

"Good night, Louis," the ten little mouse fairies whispered as they waved at him and eventually jumped out by the window.

One thing was for sure, there were stars in their son's eyes tonight and that was priceless.

A second thing was sure, Multimouse was most likely his celebrity crush, but do not ever tell it to Marinette, nor Ladybug.

And last thing, but not the least, his wife was truly the best maman in the world.

Comments are always very welcomed by the author.

Thank you for stopping by and reading this story.

Miraculous kisses!