A/N: Hi everyone! I promised I would eventually right more to this fic, and after lots of brainstorming, planning, and writing... here's chapter 2. This will be a multichapter fic with lots of twists and turns. This will be updated the first and third Monday of every month. Please let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: Could This Be Anymore Awkward?
"Hi, Marinette," Adrien greeted with a wave.
Marinette waved back, phone in hand. "H-hi, Adrien."
Hugo dropped his toys to the floor and ran to Marinette, hugging her legs tightly. "Mama!" he yelled excitedly.
Her gaze was ripped away from her former crush to rest on her son. "Hey, Hugo." She held out the bag of food to him. "Can you set this on the table?"
He nodded and quickly took the bag, loving the chance to help his mom. Once he had moved away from them, the awkwardness of the situation washed over both of the adults.
"What are you-? I mean, where's Alya?" she finally blurted out, hating that she was a mess at talking again.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Alya had to go into the office for something and she picked me up from the airport so she asked me to watch Hugo. I hope you don't mind."
"No, I mean, of course I don't mind. I just," she brushed her bangs to the side, "I didn't know you were coming back to Paris. Last I knew you were in London."
He groaned, "Alya said she would tell you. It was a kind of a quick decision and Alya and Nino offered to let me stay with them until I find my own place."
I am going to kill Alya, Marinette thought. "Well, welcome back." She shifted her feet, unsure if she should hug him or not. It had been six years since she'd seen him.
Adrien grinned at her. "Thanks," he said before moving forward and giving her a quick hug.
Marinette enjoyed the moment, feeling her heart stutter much like it always had as a teen, before pulling back.
"Mama!" came Hugo's voice, "I'm hungry. Can we eat?"
Marinette chuckled. "Sure, Sweetie. Let me set up." She stepped over to the table and began pulling out boxes of Chinese food. "There's plenty of food if you're hungry. I don't think Alya deserves any since she neglected to tell me you were coming."
Adrien laughed at that. "Thanks, Marinette. That would be great."
The three of them sat down moments later and began eating their late lunch. Marinette made sure to remind Hugo to actually chew his food since he was so excited that Mama had brought his favorite. Nevertheless, Hugo managed to finish eating before either of them were halfway done.
"Can I go play, Mama?" he had asked with green eyes wide in a pleading gaze.
Marinette tried her best not to smile as she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Were you a good boy while I was gone?"
Hugo nodded enthusiastically.
"Then okay. And maybe when we get home we can make some more cookies."
Hugo grinned and hurried back into the living room.
Marinette's focus returned to her plate for a minute as she moved around some of her food. "So, how long are you going to be in Paris?" she asked finally.
"I think it'll be for good this time. Six years traveling the world kind of makes you want to come back home. Mostly just because I missed seeing my friends." He watched her thoughtfully, trying to decide if it was appropriate to ask her about her child and her… boyfriend? Husband?
Unfortunately, his thinking caused him to miss his chance.
"What are you going to do now that you're back?" Marinette asked, watching him. "Are you going to be working with your dad or something else?"
Adrien couldn't stop the grin that overtook his face. "Technically, I will be working with my father for a little while, but not modeling."
Marinette raised an eyebrow in question. "Then what?"
"Photography. I'm going to be on the other side of the camera this time around."
"When did that happen?" Marinette asked with a laugh. It was cute seeing how excited Adrien was about this. She had forgotten how it could make her heart hammer in her chest.
"Well, initially when I left I was just supposed to be touring for a year doing photo shoots in different countries. By the time I finished, I had become really close with the photographer, and he started teaching me." He shrugged, "After that, he took me on as an apprentice and I spent another year with him, learning. Then I finished up my degree in London for photography."
"Wow! Adrien, that's amazing!" she exclaimed, watching him with admiration. "So, you're going to be photographing models? Funny how things change." She took a long drink of her tea and Adrien found his opportunity again.
"And what have you been up to? Still working in fashion, I hope," he asked. "I remember how amazing your designs were."
Marinette fought to keep a blush from overtaking her face. "Yes, I am still working in fashion I suppose."
"Have you started your own line yet? I assumed someone would've told me if you had but considering…" he gestured to Alya's apartment and Marinette laughed.
"I am fairly certain she would have told you if I had been that successful. But no," she sighed. "Still just doing commissions. I have been meeting with investors though. Trying to see if someone likes my designs enough to help me at least get something really started."
Adrien nodded, he was honestly surprised that no one had jumped at the chance to support someone with so much passion and talent. "And," he glanced down at his coffee, unsure as to why he couldn't meet her eyes while asking, "you got married?"
"What?" Marinette asked, confused. "What do you mean? I- oh." Her voice had gone quiet and Adrien looked up then. Marinette didn't look sad, so he hoped he hadn't touched on a sensitive topic.
"I forgot you probably never heard about everything from Alya or Nino." She smiled as she spoke, "Hugo is my adopted son. He is technically my cousin's son, on my father's side. His mother wasn't in a position to raise him when he was born, so I offered to do it."
Adrien's heart skipped. The idea that Marinette had done something so kind and selfless as to take in and raise someone else's child amazed him. "That is a wonderful thing you did then," he told her.
She shook her head. "No, I just didn't really see how I could do anything else. He needed a mother." She looked over to where Hugo sat playing. "I love him more than anything in the world."
Adrien was certain that he had never seen anyone look more beautiful than Marinette did in that moment. His princess was a mother and she loved it. He felt a pang in his chest at the thought that he might never have a proper family but pushed it down, burying it.
After they finished eating and had cleaned up from lunch, Marinette checked her phone. "It looks like Alya won't be back for another hour at least. I'm sorry to just leave, but I have to get home."
Adrien shook his head, "Don't worry about it. I'm glad I got to see you again."
"Yeah, you too." She zipped up Hugo's backpack and swung it over her shoulder before scooping up the sleeping preschooler. "And thanks again for looking after Hugo earlier."
"No problem. He's a really great kid." He held the door open for her as she stepped through and Marinette waved good-bye before heading to her car with her son.
The drive back to her own apartment was quiet. With Hugo asleep, Marinette was left alone with her thoughts. She couldn't believe Adrien Agreste was back in Paris. Her school crush of so many years was back in her life and, from the sound of it, available.
"Not that you have the time or energy to spend focused on a relationship right now," she muttered to herself.
Tikki peaked out of Marinette's purse. "I'm sure you could at least find the time to hang out with Adrien as friends, Marinette. It seems like he really missed you."
She shook her head, "I don't know, Tikki. What if I start getting all nervous around him again." She groaned. "Can you imagine me, at twenty-four years old, becoming a stammering blabbering mess in front of one of my oldest friends?"
Tikki couldn't help but giggle, "Are you sure you want me to answer that?"
Marinette shot her a glare. "No cookies for you tonight."
This threat just sent the kwami into another fit of giggles.
That night as Marinette helped Hugo get ready for bed, Marinette took in her son's appearance. With his hair and eyes, he could almost pass for Adrien's relative. She stopped herself from thinking the word son. No point in getting those kind of ideas in her head. She hadn't bothered dating much after she took in Hugo. She was busy and most guys her age weren't ready to have kids yet. And the ones who were, didn't want to take on a kid that wasn't theirs.
She wouldn't assume Adrien would, just because he was so kind. It wasn't like he had ever shown an interest in her to begin with. Add onto that the fact that she was a single mom struggling to make ends meet while trying to follow her dream… yeah, she wouldn't hold her breath that her dream guy would suddenly come to her rescue.
She gently tucked Hugo into bed and pulled the covers up. She sat down next to him and her hand trailed through his hair.
"Did you have a good day today, Hugo?"
Her son yawned before nodding. "Yeah, Mama. And the person was really fun."
Marinette laughed, "The person from today, do you know his name?"
He shook his head.
"That's," she paused trying to decide what Hugo should call Adrien. "That's M. Adrien. And I'm glad you had fun with him."
"Yeah. He was really cool. He told me he liked my Ladybug backpack."
Her hand froze for a moment as panic coursed through her. Surely, if Hugo had said something to reveal her, Adrien would've said something, right? "Oh, yeah?"
Hugo nodded, "He said Ladybug is his favorite superhero too."
Marinette's fear was replaced with elation. "Really?" She waited for a response but only heard silence. She looked down and saw that Hugo's eyes had closed and his breathing slowed. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Good night, sweetheart. Love you."
When Marinette reached her living room, she dropped onto the couch and flipped on the tv, scrolling through Netflix for something interesting. Before she could decide, she heard her phone ding and swiped open the screen. There was a message from Alya in response to Marinette's earlier message.
Marinette: Tell me when I can call you. I need answers. _
Alya: Go ahead, girl. I'm ready.
Marinette rolled her eyes and clicked to video call her best friend. The phone rang twice before the image came on the screen. Alya appeared, seated at her dining table with a laptop present. She waved, "Hey, girl. What's up?"
Marinette didn't miss the mischievous glint in Alya's eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Nothing much. Just put Hugo to bed." She answered with fake calmness. "What about you? How was your day?"
"Pretty good. I had to run into the office because they are moving up deadlines, thus the reason I'm working on this right now." She gestured to the laptop. "How was your day?" Alya smirked at her and Marinette bit back a groan.
"You are horrible you know that," she started.
Alya laughed, "Marinette."
"No, you listen. You totally didn't tell me he was coming back, on purpose."
"Sorry, girl. I didn't plan on forcing him to babysit his first day back. I had planned to be here for the happy reunion."
"I am actually surprised you didn't plan the whole work thing just as one of your many schemes. It's been six years! Why do you think anything would happen now, that didn't back then?" Marinette ranted.
Alya held up a hand, "Mari-"
"And you just totally sprung him on me! What if I had started stuttering again? That would make for a great first impression after all this time."
Alya's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I really did have the best intentions. You were supposed to get back and I'd be here to act as a buffer. I didn't mean to do that to you."
Marinette sighed, "No, it's okay. I know you wouldn't purposely put me in that situation." She waved her hands to show she wasn't mad, "Just promise, next time my crush from lycee is gonna suddenly be somewhere with me, try and give me some warning?"
Alya couldn't help but laugh, "Sure, girl. I promise."
Marinette yawned then. "I'd better go. Long day tomorrow."
"Good night, M. I'll pick up Hugo at ten tomorrow. Want me to drop him off when you get back too?"
"That would be great, Alya. You're the best. Good night!"
Marinette smiled down at her blank phone. She hadn't really been mad at Alya, just a little hurt that her friend hadn't considered her feelings. She stretched and stood to head into her room. "You coming, Tikki?" Marinette called to her kwami who was finishing off a freshly baked cookie on the kitchen counter.
Tikki nodded, "Yep! I'm tired too!" she zipped across the room to Marinette's side. "I'm glad you worked things out with Alya."
"Me too. Hopefully, this means no more surprises."
Alya closed her phone and pushed back her chair to get a refill on her cup of coffee. But as she turned to step into the kitchen, she saw Adrien standing frozen in the hallway. When green eyes met hazel, he jumped back to life.
"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to overhear anything. I was just coming for something to snack on." He held up the empty bowl of what had previously been popcorn. "I'm really sorry."
Alya rubbed her forehead. "Damn it. Not your fault. I didn't anticipate a private conversation happening." She stepped over and poured coffee into her cup. "So how much did you hear?"
Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck. "Everything after you promised Marinette to warn her next time she has to see me."
Alya sighed, "You can't ever tell her you overheard us."
"Done." He set the bowl on the counter and reached into a cabinet for another bag of popcorn. "But, just one thing," he glanced back at her, eyes wide with uncertainty. "Did Marinette really used to have a crush on me?"