Chapter Two

Adrien Agreste felt a very unpleasant sensation of his bed bouncing up and down. He opened his eyes just barely and was met with big green ones. "Daddy's eyes are open," Hugo, his 6-year-old, yelled, causing Adrien to wince. Hugo's twin sister, Emma, appeared behind him. Both were smiling, which made Adrien's heart melt. He'd adopted the two siblings seven years ago. In two weeks, they would be 7 years old. How did they grow up so fast? Adrien thought to himself.

"Are you awake, Daddy?" The young girl was still in her pajamas with her blonde hair in a tangled mess.

Adrien sat up, trying to wipe the tiredness out of his eyes. "Yes, sweet child. I'm awake."

"Does that mean we can have pancakes for breakfast?" Hugo asked.

"I'd love to, but unfortunately we don't have the stuff to make pancakes." Before his son's disappointment could show, Adrien said. "But I'll buy you some on the ray to the B&B. Okay?" Hugo's face lit up as he nodded his head.

"Does that mean we're having toast again?" Emma asked with her head hanging over the edge of Adrien's bed. He felt bad for only being able to make a small variety of breakfast food.

Adrien scooped her up and then picked up Hugo. "Unfortunately, yes. After today, it'll be much better than my toast." His children giggled uncontrollably as he led them to the kitchen. The apartment they lived in was small, but it was big enough for three of them. The main living area was where the living room and kitchen were located. On the left side, there was a small hallway with three doors. One was at the end of the hallway, while the other two were facing each other on opposite sides of the hall.

The door at the end of the hall led to the only bathroom in the apartment. It was quite big for a bathroom which Adrien was glad for because that meant there was room to grow. On the left side of the hallway was Emma and Hugo's room. Their room was a mix of pink and blue with princesses and space pirates. It was an interesting combination, but both were happy with their room so Adrien let them have their way. The door opposite theirs was Adrien's. His was a simpler and grown-up design. He liked how it wasn't busy or stood out.

He placed the twins gently onto the couch. They were in the middle of having a giggling fit. Adrien felt a smile grow across his face. Even though he had been only twenty when he adopted the twins, he didn't regret a single minute of it. His childhood friend, Chloe, had been in a really bad car accident and was forced into early labor. Her husband had left her around the time he'd found out she was pregnant, leaving Chloe to take care of two kids all on her own. Adrien had offered to help her in any way he could. The crash had caused some serious brain damage, and the birthing process had been too much for her body to take on. She died, leaving Adrien as the legal guardian of the two newborn babies.

Despite having lost one of his closest friends, Adrien managed to push through. His father supported him as much as he could, and he even had a free babysitter, his cousin, Felix. Both loved the twins just as much as Adrien did. The twins loved their grandpa and "uncle" a lot (especially since they were spoiled rotten by both). This year for Christmas, the family had decided to gather in a small town tucked away in Vermont. From all of the pictures, it looked like a nice place.

The twins had stopped giggling by the time Adrien withdrew himself from his thoughts. Emma jumped up and ran into the kitchen. Adrien followed her, watching as she grabbed her stepstool and placed it in front of the counter. Hugo joined them, as Emma tried and failed to grab the bread off of the counter. Adrien chuckled to himself. "Emma, what are you doing?"

She turned to look at him with her big blue eyes. "I'm trying to help you make breakfast."

Adrien walked over to her and messed up her hair. "Why don't you and Hugo grab the stuff out of the fridge? That would be very helpful." Emma happily obliged, and the twins ran over to the fridge to start grabbing stuff to add to their toast. Adrien prayed that they wouldn't be too grumpy on the way over to the B&B that they were staying at. At least, they were excited to get the trip started.