Marinette staggered up the stairs to the apartment door, car keys dangling from her mouth, handbag slipping off her shoulder and a grizzly, fussing almost two year old Emma wriggling on her hip. It had already been a long day at work, and an overtired cranky toddler that she was sure her parents had fed too much sugar to at the bakery all afternoon, would make for a long evening. She didn't even want to know how Emma managed to get raspberry jam in her hair! Add to that needing to make dinner and trying to put said cranky toddler to bed and Marinette was about ready to collapse from exhaustion just thinking about it. Come to think of it, she had felt pretty exhausted all week.

Opening her bag, Tikki thankfully had already found her front door key and passed it up to her with a sympathetic smile. Thank heavens for little magical creatures! When Marinette opened the door though, she almost dropped the car keys she was still holding between her teeth. The apartment smelt devine from whatever was cooking in the slow cooker, and on the table was a vase of beautiful vibrant pink roses inter sprinkled with baby breath taking pride of place.

Noticing an envelope against the vase, Marinette placed Emma on the floor with Tikki and opened the letter.

M'lady,

I thought I would try out that recipe your mum gave me for Mongolian Beef in the slow cooker. It should be ready by the time I finish patrol with Nino. You just worry about Emma's bath, this cat has dinner all sorted.

See you soon xx

Marinette surprised herself at how teary that made her feel. Adrien always did seem to know exactly what she needed. She carefully placed the letter back in the envelope and picked Emma up, kissing her on the cheek. "Come on baby girl, let's get you cleaned up before daddy comes home." She said carrying her little one to the bathroom.

"Pag!" Emma called out as they walked into the bathroom. Tikki picked up a little black cat bath toy and handed it to Emma with a giggle.

"Well, it does look like him." Tikki said, placing the toy in Emma's hands.

"Where did that come from?" Marinette queried as Emma inspected her toy. She was sure she would have remembered Emma having a toy like that.

"I think Adrien gave it to her yesterday when he bathed her." Tikki replied. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"That must be the third new toy this week." She said, turning on the taps and pouring in some baby babble bath. "Wasn't that mouse plushie in her bed new too?"

Tikki nodded. "And don't forget the dog with the floppy ears."

Marinette poured water over Emma's head and rubbed in a little baby shampoo to clean away the jam still stuck in her hair. Sometimes she couldn't work her husband out. Oh she loved him to pieces, that was a given, but every now and again he would do something that she couldn't put a finger on, like these toys for Emma. He doted on their daughter and was such a sweet and hands on father that it made her heart melt when she watched the two of them together, but she worried he may be overindulging her.

"Teek ba." Emma said, patting the water.

"Me?" Tikki said, clearly amused. "Do you think I need a bath?"

"Ba." Emma repeated, pushing her toy cat around in the water. Tikki plopped into the bath water with her, blowing bubbles around much to Emma's delight.

Once Emma was all clean, Marinette wrapped her up in a soft pink towel and laid her on the bed. As she dried her off, Emma began to fuss. Marinette's parents had thankfully already fed Emma her dinner, but it was clear that bedtime is what she really needed. Tikki sat beside Emma and picked up the little one's hand. Slowly she started to swirl a circle around Emma's palm.

"Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear." She said before moving up her arm. "A one step, a two step and tickle her under there." She finished off by tickling Emma under her armpit. The little girl kicked her legs and squealed with delight, her tiredness temporarily forgotten.

"There is my most favourite sound in the world."

Marinette looked behind her to find Chat leaning against the doorframe with his arms behind his back.

"Kitty, how long have you been there?" Marinette asked with a chuckle.

"Just long enough for Tikki's rendition of round the garden." He replied, coming over and hugging his wife with one arm from behind as she wrangled Emma into her onesie. Chat then brought his other hand around and held a toy rooster out to Emma.

"Duck." She called out with grabby hands.

"No, not a duck, a rooster." Chat gently corrected.

"Duck." Emma repeated, taking the toy in her hands.

"Rooster." Chat tried to correct her again. Emma frowned at him.

"Duck." She said, sounding more cranky. Chat couldn't help but chuckle.

"Okay, duck then." He said, giving up.

"She had you around her little finger." Marinette observed.

"So do you." He admitted happily. Chat then unzip his pocket before dangling a necklace in front of her. It had a heart pendant hanging from it, one half rose gold and the other half diamonds.

"Adrien!" She exclaimed as Chat took her hand in his and placed the necklace in her palm. "Kitty it's beautiful, but you shouldn't have."

Chat shrugged. "Nino wanted to stop by the jewelry store to buy Alya a birthday present. This one had your name on it."

"But Adrien, why are you buying me gifts?" Her eyes then suddenly opened in panic. "Have I forgotten something important?"

"Do I need a reason to pamper the Queen of my life?" He said amused, nuzzling his face into her neck and leaving a kiss there.

"Oh, I'm a Queen now am I? I thought I was your Princess?" Marinette said with a playful poke to his nose. Chat let go of her and moved to pick up Emma from the bed.

"I think you might have a rival for that title, my love." He said, kissing Emma on the nose. The little girl reached out and grabbed his bell making it jingle. "But you'll always be the he Princess of my heart." He said dramatically with a hand to his chest.

"You're so corny, you know that don't you?" She joked, tidying up Emma's bath things.

"You love me." He shot back cheekily as she threw the towel into the wash basket.

"That I do." She replied, stopping to give him a soft kiss. "Do you want me to put Emma to bed?"

Chat shook his head. "You go have a shower and get yourself comfy, I've got this."

Marinette was far too tired herself to argue, leaving Chat to put Emma to bed. It didn't sound like a bad idea she had to admit.

Washing the day away from her hair, Marinette opted for her favourite pink track pants, but she reconsidered the sweater, opting for a bed shirt instead. Usually once a chill is in the air Marinette would normally be reaching for a pullover, preferably one of Adrien's, but she'd been feeling quite warm lately which was a little odd for her. Picking up the necklace, she put it on and made her way back to Emma's room.

Carefully opening the door, she found Chat in the rocking chair with Emma snoozing soundly in his arms, the soft glow of the night light illuminating them. Chat stood up and placed his daughter in her bed, leaving Tikki to keep her company.

"That dinner should be ready now." He said softly as he closed the door and dropped his transformation. Plagg took a chunk of cheese from him and went to join Tikki in Emma's room. "Oh Nino said too that Alya will drop by on Saturday to pick up that dress you mended for her… what is it?" He asked with a nervous chuckle at the way she was looking up at him.

"I love you." She said, raising up to her toes and kissing him.

"I love you more." He replied, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her closer. He ran his finger down over the heart pendant, a small smile on his face that she was wearing it. "And you know I love to spoil you."

"And Emma too evidently." She chuckled. "I know you love to spoil her, but don't you think she has enough toys?"

Adrien shrugged before wrapping his arms around her back and pulling her closer still. "You know I'll always spoil my kittens." He said, kissing her on the forehead. "And my Queen." He added before kissing her softly on the lips. "How about we have dinner and call it an early night." He said with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. How could she resist such an invitation?

"Sounds perfect."

~~~~~

Saturday afternoon Marinette opened the oven and took out a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, the warm chocolatey smell filling the apartment. She moved across on the counter the macarons and jam drops she had already made earlier, spreading her newest bakes on a cooling rack. Tikki sat on the counter and picked up one of the already cooled macarons.

"So good." She mumbled as crumbs fell around her. "You've certainly been on a baking spree today, Marinette."

Marinette wiped her hands down her apron looking at all her efforts. "I guess I just felt in a baking mood." She chuckled, looking through the cupboard for some containers. "Thankfully Emma was having her long nap after lunch."

As she piled the jam drops into the container there was a knock on the door. Opening it, her face lit up into a bright smile.

"Alya, you're right on time. I just got a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven."

"I can smell that." Her best friend chuckled, taking a seat at the counter. Trixx flew out of Alya's bag and inspected the delicious treats along with Tikki.

"We'll look at you Miss Domestic Goddess." Alya teased, picking up a still warm cookie. "Adrien certainly hit the jackpot marrying a baker's daughter eh? I gather Emma must be asleep?"

Marinette nodded as she cleaned up some of Tikki's crumbs from the countertop. "One thing you soon learn is to try and get things done when the baby is asleep. I just had a burst of energy this afternoon and decided to do some baking. I haven't had a lot of time for it while trying to catch up with work since I returned part time. Oh, and I have that hem fixed on your dress too. I got it finished yesterday while Adrien took Emma to the park."

Alya hummed in appreciation, both for her friend helping with the dress and for the delicious cookie. "Speaking of Adrien, where is he? I thought it was Kim's afternoon for patrol."

Marinette picked out a container from the cupboard and started piling the cookies inside it. "It is, but he has food poisoning from a dodgy kebab he ate while out clubbing last night. At least that's what Alix said when she rang earlier. Poor Ondine is having to deal with him and his belly aching."

Alya shook her head. "Sounds more like a dare gone wrong if you ask me. Will that boy ever grow up?"

They both laughed as Marinette went over to the other side of the room and brought over the dress, passing it to Alya. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver. I'm not sure where Nino is taking me for my birthday tomorrow night, but he really wanted me to wear this and I nearly died when I saw the hem had fallen"

"It's not a problem, really. Now that Emma is getting a bit bigger, I find I can manage things a little better now. Less chaotic. Plus Hawk Moth being so quiet the last two years makes things much less complicated too."

"So no more little Agrestes on the horizon for you two?"

"Not yet at least." Marinette laughed. "Emma still seems so little, so I don't think we will for another year or two. I did tell Adrien's father that I would be coming back on board full time at Gabriel when Emma turned two, which is only a few weeks away."

Alya nodded, reaching over for one of the macarons before Tikki and Trixx ate them all. "How is Adrien's old man?"

"Oh same old same old." She said, her face then softened. "He's mellowed somewhat since we first got married. He really does dote on Emma, it's quite cute really, and Adrien loves the fact his father has taken an interest in his granddaughter."

Marinette picked up the container of cookies to put them away. As she was moving around the kitchen counter, she promptly stumbled over a toy on the floor.

"Ooops, I guess someone forgot to pack up." Alya mused.

Putting the container back on the counter, Marinette started to gather up some of the fluffy toys. "Well I can't blame Emma entirely for all this, Adrien was playing on the floor with her earlier." She looked at one of the toys she had picked up, a fluffy white mouse with bright blue eyes.

Now Marinette might have had a reputation for being absent minded, but she was pretty sure she hadn't seen this toy before.

"Something wrong?" Alya asked at her furrowed brow deep in thought.

Marinette cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. "No, not exactly." She said regarding the toy in her hands. "I just think maybe Adrien might be going a bit overboard. I mean Emma's birthday isn't for a few more weeks and yet he's suddenly buying all these toys for her. Almost every day in the last week I've found new ones on her bed, in the bathroom, here in the lounge… Don't get me wrong, I love the way she's his whole world, but it's just a little weird isn't it?"

Alya chuckled and shook her head. "Since when is Adrien not a little weird. No offence, but I gave up trying to work out your husband a long time ago, and I mean that in the best way because whatever he does always has the best of intentions. I guess it's just another way he expresses his affection, showering you and Emma in gifts. He really is such a cat at times."

Maybe Marinette was a little more tired than she thought from her baking spree, but she really wasn't following. "What do you mean?"

Alya shrugged. "Adrien was always a little more affected by his Miraculous than anyone else. He's a proud Papa cat, and he wants to bring back presents to his kitten to show that, like a cat."

Marinette put her hand on her hip. "Alya Césaire, are you seriously saying that we take on the traits of our Miraculous?"

Alya shrugged. "I'm sure I'm not the only one that noticed, and you and Adrien have had yours on a permanent basis a lot longer than the rest of us have. You feel the cold more now than you used to don't you?"

"Usually yeah, although I've been quite warm this week." Normally in the cooler weather Adrien would point out her feet felt like ice blocks in bed or on the couch, but he hadn't said anything about it. Maybe Alya was wrong. Although it could have been because Adrien had been even more cuddly than usual which kept her fairly warm. Perhaps she better keep to herself about Adrien's purring when he was asleep and not transformed… wait a minute??

"I've noticed I have an increased sense of hearing." Alya continued, oblivious to Marinette's running thoughts. "and Nino loves sitting out in the sun. Even Zoé said the other day that she noticed cravings for honey on toast and Kim eats loads of bananas. I wonder if that made him feel sick?"

Marinette blinked at her for a moment. Maybe they had all been taking on traits from their Miraculous, but what on Earth did that have to do with Adrien bringing a constant stream of toys home over the last week?

Marinette didn't have a chance to think more about it as she heard the thud of a toy being thrown. Heading into the bedroom, she found Emma with all her toys on the floor.

"Is somebody wanting to join the world again?" She smiled, picking Emma up and hugging her to her chest.

"Hello there Emma." Alya said from the doorway with her arms outstretched. "Who's your favourite Auntie?"

Marinette passed Emma over for a cuddle and she almost immediately tried to grab hold of Trixx who had come over to join them.

"Tick" Emma tried to say, pointing to the fox Kwami.

"That's right, Trixx." Alya said. She then looked up at Marinette. "How do you manage the baby with the kwamis? It must be like having three toddlers in the house at times."

"Oh they're fine really. Emma thinks they are just pets I think. Tikki is a real little mother hen and fusses over her all the time, Plagg on the other hand…"

"Does he cause trouble?" Alya asked, handing Emma back.

"Oh no." Marinette laughed. "But he learned quickly that if he doesn't move fast enough he soon becomes Emma's favourite chew toy, not to mention he found out the hard way that falling asleep in the cot when she was smaller wasn't a good idea if he wanted to stay clean and dry, although lately he's been a lot more clingy with her. He's even been following me around the apartment which isn't usually like him. I can't help thinking I'm missing something."

Alya could see Tikki chuckling to herself quietly and she gave Trixx an understanding nod with a small smirk. "Wasn't there another time where Adrien has done something like this? The gifts I mean?"

Marinette thought for a moment. Adrien had always been spontaneous with gifts, like the heart pendant she was wearing, or a bunch of "just because" flowers she would find on her desk at work, little things really. There was another time though…

"You mean when I found out I was expecting Emma? That was just a coincidence though. I'd just launched my first collection and Adrien had been pampering me all week. Finding out I was pregnant was a huge surprise because we weren't technically trying at the time. I didn't even realise I was late because I was so busy."

"But Adrien knew, didn't he?" Alya reminded her. It had been odd that Adrien had been the one to figure out she was pregnant before she did, but Marinette always suspected Tikki had something to do with that, and he was so happy about it she never gave it a second thought. "Well, are you late now?"

Marinette blinked at her blankly again. "I… I don't know. My cycles have been a bit erratic since Emma was born so I haven't been keeping track."

Alya folded her arms and popped out her hip. "Marinette, don't you think it's more than a coincidence he's doing the same sort of thing again?"

"But…" She went to rebut, but Alya suddenly got a call on her phone.

"Hey babe… No problem, I'll be there in five… love you." She hung up and looked back at her best friend. "Sorry girl, got to run. I think if you have any leftover pregnancy tests in your drawer you should use one. Let me know how you go."

Marinette went out and sat on the couch, still holding Emma in her arms as Alya grabbed her dress and went out the front door. She couldn't be pregnant right? Her and Adrien weren't planning on having another baby yet and if it isn't planned then it isn't happening right? She looked down at Emma who was playing with the buttons on her shirt. Yeah, she said that then too she remembered.

"Do you want me to get you a test from the bathroom?" Tikki asked, reading her chosen's thoughts.

"What? No… well not yet anyway. I'll do one in the morning. It's usually best to do one in the morning anyway isn't it? I mean if it's going to be negative, which I'm sure it will be negative because, you know… then I want to be sure right?" She said with a nervous chuckle. Tikki just raised an eyebrow at her. Her chosen was once again in complete denial, but the little Kwami knew better than to reason with her when she was on a spiral. She agreed with Plagg on this one though, let her figure it out for herself.

~~~~~

Marinette didn't say anything to Adrien that night about her conversation with Alya. Sure enough though, there was another toy for Emma, this time a little plush ladybug. By this stage she was convinced he was trying to find the whole Miracle Box in plushies. He had also given her a bracelet to match the necklace from the other night.

That night Marinette couldn't seem to sleep at all. She couldn't get comfortable and now she felt hot all over. She could perhaps blame her overly cuddly husband, and he was usually her personal hot water bottle, but tonight even his purring couldn't get her to sleep. She would blame Alya instead for putting ideas in her head.

Her mind kept running over their conversation. What was it Alya said? That Adrien was acting like a cat? Wriggling a little out of Adrien's hold, Marinette reached for her phone and started Googling cat behaviour, or more specifically the cat art of gift giving.

After being sidetracked by several hilarious cat videos she hadn't intended to watch - this was supposed to be research after all - Marinette did learn a few new things about cats and gift giving. In Adrien's case, it was clearly a sign of affection, which was endearing, and also a show of pride for his family which made her heart flutter. That must have been the reason for his sudden burst of gift giving. Marientte had not long returned to work part time for Adrien's father and he wanted to pamper her and Emma. Of course he would be feeling proud. She let out a contented sigh.

Turning her head slightly she looked at his sleeping face in the glow of her phone's light. Honestly there were times she had to pinch herself that this beautiful man was married to her. She couldn't really be mad at him for all the gifts, after all he did say that he loved to spoil his kittens… Marinette suddenly sat up with a start. Kittens… he said kittens - as in plural. Just when she had convinced herself it was possible, the doubt crept back in. Back to Google…

Another spate of searches, and a few more videos for research purposes, Marinette's search yielded that cats often had an innate ability to sense when someone was pregnant. There were many antidote stories of how people's cats had become more affectionate towards them. Hold up… what's this… a pregnant cat is referred to as a Queen?

Marinette slapped her hand over the gasp that started to fly out of her mouth. But how could Adrien have known? Even with the apparent cat tendencies could he really have simply sensed she was pregnant without even her knowing? It's her body after all, could she really be that oblivious. Yes, yes she could. The evidence of that was sleeping in the next room, but still.

Her eyes then landed on the two kwamis sleeping peacefully on their pillow bed. Of course! They would have known! And it explained a lot of Plagg's sudden clingy behaviour recently. It still begged the question though, could she really be? There was only one way to know for sure.

Marinette looked over to the clock beside her bed. It was almost 5am. She knew there was another pregnancy test in the bathroom because she bought a two pack when she tested for Emma, but only needed one. She wondered whether she should wake Adrien up, but then she reasoned if it was negative he didn't need to know about her existential crisis.

Sliding quietly out of the bed, she tiptoed her way into their en-suite. To her surprise, the test box was sitting on the counter top, like someone had preempted her thoughts. She eyed the box like it would bite her if she got too close to it. Eventually she picked it up, looking at it with trepidation.

"I wondered how long it would take you to figure it out."

She lifted her head to find her husband at the bathroom door with both kwamis floating nearby. "Tikki figured you would get up at some point and do the test, so I thought I'd get it ready for you so you wouldn't be frantically searching for it."

She looked down at the box and could feel tears coming to her eyes. "I'm not ready." She said, her hand holding the box shaking slightly. Adrien moved over to her and placed his hand over hers, kissing her gently on the forehead.

"I know we weren't planning number two just yet, but it's fine you know." He assured her gently.

"But I told your father I would come back full time." Marinette protested weakly. "There were plans and…"

Adrien cut her off with a kiss. "M'lady, my father is not going to be worried at all. He adores Emma and he's going to adore this baby too. So will Nathalie. You know she made all those changes at work to accommodate Emma being there. Besides, Gabriel Incorporated managed just fine while you were on leave and they will again." He cupped her face with both his hands, her loose hair framing around her face. "Will you be alright though?"

Marinette looked up into his emerald eyes. There was a playfulness there, his happiness at them expanding their little family clearly evident, but there was concern there too, concern for her - because he would always worry about her. He gently ran his thumb across her cheek, catching a teardrop as it fell. She let out a shaking breath, but she smiled at him.

"I'm alright Kitty." She said, leaning into his touch. "I just got caught off guard it seems, though you all worked it out." She looked puzzled over to where the two kwamis were near the door.

"That would have been Plagg." Tikki said, pointing at her counterpart. "I told him not to say anything, but he had already blurted it out to Adrien."

"It's not my fault I figured it out first this time." Plagg protested. "After last time I could smell the difference, plus she's so much warmer than usual."

"That's the one that tipped me off, even before Plagg told me." Adrien admitted. "Your feet weren't as cold as usual."

"Well I guess I was the last to know." Marinette lamented. "I was so convinced that I could plan it all out so perfectly this time."

Adrien pulled her into a tight hug. "I know after Emma surprised us you wanted to be more organised for the next time, but remember what your mum said last time - babies come when they want to, and this one wanted to be with us so much that they weren't going to wait for us to be ready and I can't wait to meet our little Louis or Hugo."

Marinette squeezed him tighter before suddenly pulling back. "Wait… what if it's another girl?"

Adrien let out a laugh. "Louise then or maybe Hermoine?"

Marinette gave him a flat look. "I am not naming our baby after a Harry Potter character."

Adrien was trying hard not to laugh at her cute pout. "But I thought you liked Harry Potter Bugaboo."

"I do, but not that much." She replied, but a smile was starting to crack along her lips and they both started laughing. Marinette then took the test out of the packaging, her hand still shaking a little. "I don't know why I'm still so nervous." She admitted.

"Hey." Adrien said, kissing the back of her hand. "Marinette we've got this, together as always. We created life, and I marvel at that miracle every day when I see Emma. The day she was born, holding her in my arms for the first time, it was like falling in love all over again, with her and with you. I can't wait to feel that way again."

Marinette could feel tears rising to her eyes again, but it was no longer out of fear, but out of love. "Well, I guess I better make this official then." She declared, waving the stick around. "Now if you don't mind Kitty, a girl needs some privacy to pee on a stick."

Adrien gave her another soft kiss before calling the kwamis to follow him out. "Since it's practically morning, do you want to go for a walk and get an early breakfast to celebrate? I know the cafe down the road makes your favourite crepes."

Marinette couldn't help but smile at his clear excitement. "I'd love to."

After he closed the door Marinette looked at herself in the mirror before looking down at her tummy. She placed her hand over her abdomen, rubbing it gently. "You might have taken me by surprise, but I can't wait to meet you kitten." She whispered.

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