Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

Animan

They look so happy, Marinette's family. It was amazing how their happiness could be captured in a single photo. Marinette comfortably stood in front of her parents and made a funny face at the camera. Her parents stood proudly behind her and held Marinette's shoulders lovingly. Chat missed that kind of family atmosphere around his empty house. When he was younger Chat's family was almost exactly like Marinette's in the way that they loved each other. Adrien remembers how happy he and his father used to be until his mother left, and then everything turned cold. Until I met you, Chat thought to himself, smiling at Marinette.

"She's very beautiful, isn't she?" Chat jolted out of his mind palace and found Mr. Dupain-Cheng standing next to him. Chat fumbled around and tried to act like he had not been staring at the picture for the past ten minutes. "It's alright, son. There's no need to hide it. I'd just warn you that she has someone already on her mind."

"Oh no sir, I was just looking at the picture because I was marveling at your family. They look so happy." Chat rubbed the back of his neck nervously and pointed to the photo. "I've met your daughter a few times, and it's just nice to see that she has a wonderful family to take care of her."

"Thank you." Tom thanked the superhero sincerely. "My wife and I have worked hard to keep her safe and happy. But we wouldn't be safe without you, Chat Noir. You or Ladybug. Our protection can only go so far." Mr. Dupain-Cheng looked at the photo, then back to Chat. "I know you get this a lot, but I want to thank you for protecting Paris from whatever magic those akumas are."

Now it was Chat's turn to sincerely thank Mr. Dupain-Cheng. "Thank you, sir. I'm glad our work is met with gratitude." A silence spread between the two. It was a comfortable silence, surprisingly. A silence that felt like it was between a loving father and son.

Behind the men was the living room to Tom and Sabine's home where Kim, Ladybug, and Sabine were conversing quietly about things like the new akuma to the faire that would be coming in a few weeks' time. The superhero and the father look happily on at the scene before them. Both had caring looks in their eyes.

"How about your family?" Tom turned to Chat again. Chat wasn't expecting the conversation to go that way, and he jumped around nervously before answering the question honestly.

"Well my family used to be loving…but that was before it was just my father and I." Tom noticed the formality of how Chat talked about his dad, and his heart went out to the alley cat.

"I'm so sorry. May I ask what happened?"

"I lost, uh …. Lost my mother a few years ago." Chat saw Mr. Dupain-Cheng's automatic thinking about death, but Chat reassured him that it wasn't like that. "Oh, no. My mom didn't die. She just….disappeared one day. It broke everyone's hearts, especially my father's…..The happiness, sadly, disappeared with her." Chat got quiet, and a sad, far off look took the place of his usual sparkle in his eyes. Chat, surprised, look up at Mr. Dupain-Cheng when he put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"I promise it will bet better someday, son. But know that you are welcome at any hours into my home. It is the least I can do for a superhero. My family is yours." Chat's face lit up, and he tried to say thank you, but the words wouldn't come out. Tom just nodded; he understood. "Although it's not like you need my family all too much," Tom said tenderly as the two turned away from the photo to join everyone in the living area. "It looks like you already have a family, or at least a place to call home," Tom whispered. They sat down on some stools, and Mr. Dupain-Cheng nodded to Ladybug. Chat shyly smiled down at his lap, letting a faint blush creep out from under his black mask.

Hello Readers! I hope you guys liked the new chapter. I really wanted to make Adrien feel welcome at Marinette's home after I read some fan-fictions that gave me some Adrien feels, so I wrote this. My next chapter will be about the episode Antibug. Please feel free to comment, favorite or follow if you wish. And until I write again, TTFN!