Author's Note: Hello! Quick note that if you're re-reading this, there has been a slightly big change/retcon going on. So if you notice something off, that's probably it! So there are no spoilers for new readers, I will go into greater detail at the end of this chapter.

oOo

Adrien restlessly paced back and forth in front of the balcony in the apartment's living room. He had attempted to sit down and relax a few times, in hopes of distracting himself with one of the many games at his disposal, but with the turmoil of thoughts on his mind, he simply couldn't concentrate on enjoying anything.

"Chill out, kid," Plagg said from where he lounged on an empty plate that, only moments ago, held a small wheel of cheese. "They looked fine when we left."

"How can I not worry, Plagg?" Adrien stopped to frown at his kwami. "That was more than three hours ago!"

"Isn't that just a normal doctor's visit?" Plagg rolled over and gave him a bored look.

"Not for a routine check-up," Adrien answered, tapping his foot impatiently.

Past the glass doors, the sun had just started to sink into the horizon, painting the sky a blend of purple and orange hues. It would have been a gorgeous spectacle to watch, but Adrien couldn't appreciate it, his thoughts constantly returning to Marinette. She had looked better when he'd left her, and at least she was resting, but there was no telling what might have happened after that.

It was times like this where he sorely missed the ease of technological communications. A quick text was all he needed to find out her status—unfortunately for him, his service provider didn't appear to cover seven years into the future.

Adrien jumped when the sound of keys jingling at the front entrance yanked him from his deep thoughts. From the hallway, he could make out the unintelligible murmur of voices, certain he knew who they possibly belonged to.

"—not afraid of needles!" Marinette's words rang out as the door opened, her gaze twisted away from Adrien.

Adrien's older self immediately followed after her, with Tikki flitting out from one of his pockets as he folded his arms. "So you just fainted for no reason?"

"You fainted?" Adrien's heart jolted in a panic, immediately worried if she should be lying down.

"No!" Marinette spun around to face him as she frantically waved her hands, alleviating a little bit of his anxiety before the next rush of words flew out of her mouth. "I mean—I did, but—It wasn't anything serious." She then turned and pointed an accusatory finger at her husband. "Stop it! You're scaring him!"

Present Adrien shut the door behind them, then lifted his hands in surrender while Marinette marched into the kitchen. "Well, it's only natural for anyone to be concerned, hearing that."

"So something happened at the hospital?" Adrien quickly interjected before they could move away from the topic. He didn't want to be kept out of the loop simply for fear of making him worry.

"It was just a routine test, that's all." Marinette's cheeks flushed a shade of pink as she poured herself a glass of water and took a few sips before adding, "But I… may have fainted when they drew blood—which is a normal thing that can happen to anyone."

"I'd be less worried if it really was a common symptom, but this is the third time it's happened this week." Present Adrien stepped after her into the kitchen. "That's hardly a normal occurrence."

"Hah!" Marinette let out a quick bark of laughter, raising a single eyebrow as she turned his way. "As if we have 'normal' lives." She motioned to Tikki where the kwami floated over her shoulder. "I'm willing to admit that the first time was unexpected, and the time after that was mostly due to the akuma. But today—well, it's been a long day." She averted her gaze and restlessly tapped her fingers against the glass of water. "It might have been a combination of nerves and fatigue. I thought I was calm, but the whole drawing blood portion was a bit… daunting."

With a smirk on his face, present Adrien leaned over her shoulder. "So you do have a needle phobia?"

Marinette smacked her glass against the counter, exhaustion coloring her tone. "I do not have a needle phobia!"

"Okay, okay!" Present Adrien's expression quickly turned apologetic as he proceeded to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her into a hug. "I'll stop—" A sharp chiming noise from his pocket cut off the rest of his words. With a disgruntled sigh, he lifted his cell phone, took one look at the screen, and jumped up with a horrified yelp. "Nathalie!"

A quick string of apologies escaped present Adrien as he bolted out of the room.

Tikki giggled behind her paws. "In all the commotion, he must have forgotten to update her."

"You are okay now, right?" Adrien leaned against the marble counter and peered over the divide, watching Marinette as she crouched and rummaged through the low cabinets.

"Aside from feeling tired, the doctor said both the baby and I are perfectly healthy and developing fine," she replied with a smile after straightening up, holding a pot in her hands. "In fact, I'm getting hungry. I haven't eaten since lunch, and they wouldn't let me have any food at the hospital. What about you?"

As if the mention of a meal was the trigger, Adrien's stomach chose that moment to let out a low gurgle. All that worrying must have worked up an appetite. "Dinner sounds great."

Marinette grinned and turned to the stove. "Just make yourself comfortable then, I'll have it ready in a bit."

"Wait, you don't have to do all that!" Adrien jumped up and scrambled around the kitchen counter, blocking Marinette's path. "Just tell me what to do and I'll get it."

Marinette folded her arms and grumbled, "Not this again."

Adrien stared at her with a blank look. "'Again?'"

Tikki laughed from where she had landed to sit on Marinette's shoulder. "Are you surprised? They're exactly alike, just different ages."

"I shouldn't be," Marinette sighed and waved in the direction that his older self had disappeared in. "When my husband found out, he reacted the same way," she explained.

Adrien's heart jolted sharply for the second time that day at the use of the word 'husband.' He still wasn't used to hearing it when referring to himself. An adult version of himself, yes, but still... "But you shouldn't be moving around, right?" Adrien asked, concern furrowing his brow. "You fainted at the hospital…"

Marinette laughed, and her warm expression chased away a bit of his unease. "That was hours ago, and I've rested long enough that I feel fine. I can't spend all of my time laying down!" Patting a hand on top of his shoulder, she shuffled around him and set the pot on the stove. "I can still do chores. In fact, moving is good for the baby, but I promise that I'll lie down if I'm feeling unwell, okay?"

Adrien crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes as he considered this. "I guess… that's okay."

"How about this," Marinette huffed playfully as she motioned at one of the many kitchen drawers. "I'll show you where the dishes are and you can do all the 'moving around' parts."

That sounded more reassuring, so while Marinette boiled up the beginnings of a stew, Adrien lent a hand with setting the plates and silverware out on the table. The task wasn't difficult at all, and he only ran into a little bit of trouble when Marinette directed Adrien to a covered plate of cheese sitting on the counter top.

At the mention of cheese, Plagg zipped out from wherever he had been hiding and made a dive for the dish. Adrien managed to simultaneously grab the plate in one hand while catching Plagg in the other before he could swipe anything.

"Plagg, don't be rude, no one else has eaten yet," Adrien chastised his kwami while Plagg hung limply in his grasp. "Besides, what's the rush? There's not even any Camembert."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Plagg moaned while Adrien brought the plate over to the table. "Isn't there just one little morsel somewhere in this place?"

"Nope." Tikki flew over carrying a small stack of napkins. "We found out pretty quickly that Camembert was a bad trigger for Marinette's nausea. It's actually what clued us in that she was pregnant in the first place."

"Always knew that Camembert was an amazing cheese," Plagg said smugly, folding his arms. "I think we should get some in order to celebrate its incredible abilities!"

"You know we can't do that," Adrien chided.

Plagg limply hung in the air and sighed, "It was worth a shot."

Adrien noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see his older self returning from the hallway. "Getting dinner ready?" present Adrien asked, dropping his phone onto the counter. "Need any help in the kitchen?"

"I haven't chopped any lettuce for a salad." Marinette glanced over her shoulder while she stirred the soup. "Could you get that ready and gather up all the toppings?"

"Can do," present Adrien practically sang while he flitted to the fridge. "Is there any bread left?"

"Are you kidding?" Marinette let out a quick laugh. "You live with a Dupain. There's always bread."

Of course, Marinette was right. They quickly found the box from her parents' bakery—a day old but still good—stowed between the microwave and coffee maker. Adrien filled a basket with rolls and sliced baguettes while his older self gathered the salad fixings.

"I know Marinette's handling most of the cooking right now," Adrien started as he helped set the food out. "But I never thought I'd see the day when I would be preparing a meal."

"I actually looked into hiring a personal chef in the beginning, since I didn't know my way around a kitchen before we started living together." Present Adrien let out a soft snort of laughter and inclined his head in the direction of Tikki and Plagg. The pair of kwami hovered over the cheese plate, having a sort of whisper-argument that Adrien couldn't catch the words to. "But I decided against it. It's more enjoyable when our kwami don't have to hide so much. Besides, Marinette showed me the ropes."

Setting the bowl of salad on the table, present Adrien frowned as he glanced back into the kitchen. The smell of searing chicken wafting their way from a new pan while a finished pot of sweet potato soup simmered on the stove beside Marinette. "I might need to look into that again though."

As Adrien arranged the silverware, he paused, remembering something that Marinette had said earlier. "Can I ask a question?"

Present Adrien hummed in thought, but he quickly shrugged. "You can, but I may or may not answer, depending on what it is."

Adrien's eyes flicked back to Marinette, humming a soft tune in front of the stove. "What about your last name?"

There was a brief beat of silence as his older self seemed to consider his response before grinning. "I took hers."

The fork that Adrien had been holding clattered to the table, but he quickly recovered and snatched it up.

"Everything alright?" Adrien glanced back to see Marinette turned his way, a concerned frown on her face.

"Sorry, just surprised," Adrien chuckled. "Nothing bad."

"I obviously won't go into details," Present Adrien continued in a low voice. "But the Agreste name isn't as great as it's cracked up to be. Besides…" A mischievous looking smirk spread over his expression, and Adrien curiously watched as his older self waltzed into the kitchen to slide up behind Marinette. "Dupain-Cheng has a beautiful ring to it, wouldn't you say?"

Marinette must have returned to focusing on the food, because she let out a surprised shriek when present Adrien leaned over to lay a chaste kiss against her neck.

"Adrien!" She lightly slapped him away, her face and ears turning red. "Don't do that when I'm handling hot pans!"

By that point, the light scent of herbal seasonings and cooked meat permeated the apartment, so Adrien and his older self insisted on carrying the dishes while Marinette sat down at the table. With food in front of them, dinner quickly turned into an affair that Adrien had never thought would be something he could enjoy.

At the mansion, meals were often boring and lonely. On the rare occasion that his father might join him, there was hardly ever any conversation to be had between them. The silence was so deafening, and the atmosphere tense. Even if he followed proper etiquette to a T, it was always uncomfortable. With such a large space between them, it was as if his father sat miles away from him.

The table this time, however? It wasn't even half the length, but still had plenty of room to accommodate guests. Present Adrien took his seat at the head, while Marinette sat to his right and Adrien at his left. Along with their own places, they had even set up a few smaller dishes nearby for Tikki and Plagg to join them, something that Adrien wished he could do back home for how right it felt.

They made sure to stay away from future revealing topics, but what conversation they had was warm, only adding to the cheery atmosphere. There was even a brief moment of chaos that had him devolving into a fit of laughter when Marinette nearly stabbed his older self with her fork. Whether or not it was because of her hormones, Adrien would keep in mind to never try to steal a bite of Marinette's dessert.

Despite the bit of turmoil, it gave him a pleasant feeling that had been all but lost to him. Sure, he'd had fun meals with his friends before, but not like this. Not in a place that felt like…

A home.

With dinner eventually finished, and the dishes cleaned and put away, they migrated into the living room. Present Adrien had gathered up a collection of movies and shows that they could watch together to give them something to pass the time before bed.

"Just pick whatever you want," Marinette responded with a yawn when he asked if she had a preference. "I'm probably going to fall asleep any minute."

So Adrien chose a movie that he had seen probably a hundred times, but that didn't matter because it was one that he immensely enjoyed. Not even ten minutes into the film, he curiously turned his gaze to the other end of the couch where his older self and Marinette sat. She was already nestled against his shoulder with her eyelids closed. Probably to give them some space, Tikki had settled along the back, while Plagg claimed the center, having an entire cushion all to himself. He couldn't help but smile to himself at the scene before him.

"Is the pregnancy making her tired?" Adrien asked softly, picking up the remote to lower the volume on the TV.

Present Adrien barely nodded his head in answer, taking great pains not to disturb his sleeping wife. "The first trimester is said to be the worst," he whispered. "Marinette hasn't had it easy, but this isn't unexpected."

Adrien watched as his future self waited a moment before giving Marinette's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Love, do you want to get up and bathe?"

"Not tonight," Marinette mumbled softly, not even opening her eyes. "Have fun."

"Alright," present Adrien chuckled. "I'll be back in a bit then." He shifted carefully to stand, and once he was gone, Marinette quickly readjusted her position on the sofa. Stretching her arms above her head, a soft pop emitted from her back before she plopped against the cushions and laid out along their length. There was still plenty of room left, even though her new arrangement monopolized an entire side.

After a moment of quiet, with her eyelids shut, Adrien assumed that she had simply fallen back asleep until he heard her quiet voice. "Was the guest bed comfortable last night?"

Adrien turned his gaze to see her watching him, her head nestled in the crook of her elbow and a gentle smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh!" He nodded. "Yes, it was fine. No problems."

"Are you sure?" She tilted her head. "I know you might not want to trouble us if there were any issues, so don't be afraid to say anything. We just finished furnishing the guest room, so you're the first to properly use it."

"It's alright, really," Adrien reassured her before glancing around the apartment. If the guest room was so recently finished, then that meant they hadn't lived here long, right? Out of curiosity he asked, "Are you still newly-weds?"

"I guess we still qualify. It hasn't been a year yet," Marinette chuckled and sat up on the couch, stretching her arms above her head again. As she flopped her hands back down, she tapped her fingers against the cushion before eventually turning to him with a curious look. "Would you like to see one of the locked rooms?"

Adrien's heart jumped, almost feeling like it might climb out of his chest in surprise. "R-really?"

"Now that you know about the baby, I think it should be obvious what it is." Marinette gave him a wink. "The others are just storage where Adrien hid some of my stuff, but they're still off limits, because I'd rather you not see that mess."

As she stood up and moved away from the couch, Adrien scrambled to his feet to follow after her, vaguely aware of the two kwami as they flitted along behind him. Where the carpet ended in the living room, the floor turned into elegant hardwood at the hallway, which veered off to the left, leading to an open study with a few closed doorways in between.

Marinette stopped at the first room closest to them, one situated immediately to the right of the door where Adrien had guessed led to the master bedroom. He could hear the muted sound of running water while she fiddled with the lock for a moment before turning the handle and stepping inside. His chest tightening as he shuffled after her, Adrien was fully aware of what it could be, but he still didn't really know what to expect.

The room was dark. The only light source came from a window on the far wall, where the glowing lights of Paris peeked around a pair of lacy curtains. As he stepped forward cautiously, the fresh scent of paint immediately hit him, and he could feel the open space expand around him. Even without seeing it, it was obvious that the room was undergoing some renovations.

Marinette flipped a switch on the wall, and a hanging lamp lit the area in a gentle glow, revealing the room in its entirety. As he guessed, there was hardly any furniture covering the bare floors and empty walls. Though there wasn't much to it, what he saw quickly took his breath away.

Stretched over the floor on one side was a plastic tarp, where cans of different colored paints and trays lined the bottom of what looked like an incomplete mural. Some of the colors created a patchwork of the scenery, where blotches covered the faded outlines of a large pencil sketch. Unfinished as it was, Adrien could still make out the glow of lights floating in what would become a sea of deep purples and blues, already imagining the lighter tones of Paris at night and its iconic tower as it spilled out before him.

"Remember Nathaniel?" Marinette asked, stepping up to the wall. Though she lifted her hand as if to touch it, she stayed well away from the tarp strewn out beneath it. "He offered to paint this. This will be the Eiffel Tower, since you can't see the real one from this window. And we thought about stringing up some fairy lights for a night light." She turned around to face him with a smile. "Not the real-deal, but still a fun idea, right?"

"It's…" Adrien felt his throat tighten as his eyes moved over the rest of the room, a sudden wave of emotion hitting him like a punch to his gut. A rocking chair had been positioned in the corner where it sat over by the window. And closer to the door, near the hanging lamp, an empty box lay discarded on the floor where wooden railings and the headboard of a newly bought crib awaited assembly.

The room was barely furnished, but what he saw created a complete enough picture for his mind to fully understand. It finally hit him that this… This was his future.

"It's great," Adrien finally managed to choke out.

"Adrien?"

Marinette's gentle voice was like a breath of air sweeping away a smothering fog. He hadn't even realized she'd moved closer until his vision focused on her kneeling in front of him, her brow furrowed with concern. Even Tikki and Plagg, who both exchanged a worried look, hovered close behind her.

"I…" His voice came out faint, almost strangled sounding, and he had to swallow past the lump in his throat. His eyes stung with tears that he hadn't noticed before. "I'm going to be a father someday."

Marinette breathed out a quiet laugh that turned into a sniffle, and she quickly wiped at her eyes. "I've already been through this, but you're still making me cry." She then leaned forward to catch him in a hug, and he didn't hesitate to return her embrace, wrapping his arms over her shoulders and burying his face against her neck.

The tears that blurred his vision finally spilled freely, and though his body shook from soft sobs, he felt nothing but warmth from this woman that would one day become his wife. There was no remorse for his lost love—only an intense desire for a future that would one day become his.

It felt like an eternity passed between them before Adrien finally pulled away, wiping at his nose and eyes like a child.

"Better?" Marinette asked with a gentle grin, her own eyes red from tears.

"You're going to be an amazing mother," Adrien choked out with a quiet chuckle.

"And you're going to make me cry again," she laughed softly, pressing their foreheads together, her cheeks flushing pink in the gentle light.

"Tissue?" a soft voice squeaked, and Adrien straightened up to find Tikki smiling at him, carrying a tissue in her paws.

"If it isn't prying too much," Adrien started after he thanked Tikki and dried his eyes. "How did we… or you… How did it happen?" He crumpled the damp tissue in his hands. "I didn't think Marinette… my Marinette—I mean… She doesn't like me that way. Not that—she's not… You know what, nevermind," he mumbled softly, averting his gaze.

Marinette leaned back and let out a lengthy groan. "I can't even begin to explain anything..."

"And you don't have to, really. I know that." Adrien quickly shook his head. He shouldn't have expected an answer, but he couldn't help his own thoughts as they wandered back, recalling the events that led to Marinette's father getting akumatized. "I can kind of see how it happened if she fell in love with Chat Noir… But with me?" His voice almost sounded disappointed to his own ears. "She always tells me something different."

Marinette sighed and covered her face. "Would you settle for the explanation that girls are complicated?" she asked, peeking from behind her hands. "Especially when it came to my crazy, teenage brain."

A soft, sudden laugh escaped Adrien at that, which quickly faded into the quiet when Marinette got to her feet. "You really don't have to explain anything," Adrien reassured her, watching carefully as she shuffled over the floor and flopped onto the rocking chair to lean against it.

"Like it matters anymore!" Plagg let out a sharp bark of laughter, floating onto his back and hovering about a foot from Adrien's face. "You're on a roll, kid. With everything you've learned, you know more about the future than what you don't."

"Plagg!" Tikki sharply exclaimed. Flitting up next to him and crossing her arms. She leveled him with a stern glare, one that his kwami nonchalantly ignored. "That's exactly the reason we shouldn't say anything else! Too much has already been revealed!"

Marinette tilted her head, seemingly curious as she leaned on her arm. "No… I think Plagg's right," Marinette mused softly, and Adrien blinked at her in surprise while she continued. "He already knows about our marriage and the baby. Knowing the in-between wouldn't change that."

"So…" Adrien hesitated, taking a cautious step toward her, as if he might spook her and she'd change her mind. His pulse began to race with anticipation. "You'll tell me how we—you two...?"

Marinette stifled a giggle beneath her hand and gently shook her head. His shoulders drooped as his excitement was doused like water over a flame.

"To be honest, it's way too convoluted to go into the whole story," she answered instead, and like a yo-yo reeling back and forth, Adrien's disappointment ebbed away at the sound of her words. A kind smile pulled at her lips, and her eyes were distant as her gaze appeared to look past him. Warmth reflected there like the soft amber glow of the hanging lamp, as if she was staring fondly at her memories of the past. "So in the simplest way possible… There was always something between us," Marinette quietly explained. "Throw in our secret identities and trouble with the Miraculous, and somehow we eventually… figured things out." She gave a tiny shrug before leaning back in the chair and rocking gently.

"Always…?" Adrien breathed in a hushed tone.

Marinette nodded, her serene expression focused back on him as her mind appeared to return to the present. "Always," she repeated, the sincerity in her gaze feeling as if it was projected onto him.

That sparked a sense of familiarity somewhere inside of him. The idea of a small kindness. A gift here and there, supporting words… And a desire to have her by his side.

A serene hush enveloped him, and with it was a feeling of realization… Of understanding. It was the relief of seeing her safe in the hospital… Of that joyful moment they had all been laughing together at the dinner table... Or catching that quiet peace as she napped on the couch just that evening.

Wasn't this… wasn't this how he'd always felt with Marinette? Maybe her feelings weren't the same as he knew them, but had his ever really changed?

There was always something between us.

"So…" Adrien started slowly, carefully stepping around the two kwami and strolling across the floor until he stood directly in front of Marinette. With his hands clasped behind his back, he leaned forward, invading her space a bit while a playful grin grew on his face. "You two were playing cat and mouse?"

Marinette's expression was a blank look of confusion before her eyes widened and she devolved into a fit of giggling. "Oh, ha hah, no—yes! That is… sort of," she managed to get out between her laughter. "Although I don't technically have Mullo right now."

"Why is that, anyway?" Adrien straightened up and turned his attention to Tikki, who moved to hover near his shoulder. "Did Ladybug take the mouse miraculous back because of the baby?"

"The plan was to keep both of them safe." Tikki crossed her arms and vigorously nodded.

"Well, I guess I can understand why she did that." Adrien rubbed his chin, his expression pulling into a serious frown. "But with Hawk Moth after you, I think it would be safer if you could transform, because as far as your identity goes, I already know it," he explained. "You wouldn't have to fight, but at least as Multimouse, you could escape or protect yourself."

Marinette blinked at him, as if the idea might not have occurred to her—which he found a little hard to believe. Aside from her temporary leave, she was a superhero full-time now. How could she forget about her own miraculous? "That… does sound like a good idea," she murmured. The surprise of his suggestion was quickly wiped away with a mischievous grin. "Guess I'll have to see what Ladybug thinks."

"Really?" Adrien could hear the excitement he felt escape into his voice. It had seemed like forever since he'd last seen Marinette as Multimouse, thanks to the one and only time she'd ever shown up.

Marinette nodded. "I'm sure she'll agree, since we didn't expect the enemy to target me outside of the costume. And I think that my husband will feel the same way."

"So, uh, when will you do that?" Adrien tried not to sound too eager at the prospect of meeting Lady Noire again. "Won't you need me to go with you for a meeting?"

"I'll handle everything, don't worry." Marinette rocked back in the chair. "As for the meeting, you'll just have to wait. We still need to keep a few secrets between us."

oOo

Too hot.

Marinette's consciousness rolled out of the confusing fog of her dreams, the smell of her husband's soap dominating her senses. She blinked the sleep from her eyes to find Adrien's peaceful face only inches from hers, his features obscured by the shadows of night. Despite how late it probably was—or how early in the morning it might have been—a soft glow from the lights beyond their shaded windows outlined his blond hair like a gentle halo. She managed to suppress a soft giggle, the spectacle reminding her of a particular ad from their teenage years. Even now, he still looked like an angel while he slept.

Moving as quietly as she could, Marinette pulled her hand away from his chest to try and untangle his fingers from her hair, only to feel him tighten his grip. It took everything in her to not growl from the frustration.

While it had been cute to discover that her husband was very much a cuddler in his sleep, at a time when she felt uncomfortably warm, it wasn't so welcome. And with the added discomfort in her bladder, there was no way she could feasibly get back to bed without taking care of business. Sleep was a precious commodity, and she currently couldn't afford to lose any.

How frustrating that her body was reacting in this way. Marinette had always thought the whole 'frequent bathroom trips' wouldn't be an issue until much later in her pregnancy, when the baby got bigger—but noooo. It had to be one of the early symptoms, waking her up in the middle of the night when she was already exhausted and disoriented from her hormones being out of whack.

At least in this moment it worked in her favor, because she had another thing to take care of in such late hours of the night.

She tried to shift slowly, but as she removed Adrien's other arm from around her waist, she heard his breathing pattern change, and his eyelids fluttered open in the darkness.

"Everything alright?" Adrien asked groggily, his voice heavy from sleep.

"Perfectly fine," Marinette assured him, sitting up and pushing aside the covers as she scooted away from him on the bed. "I'm just going to the bathroom."

"M'kay…" Adrien sleepily responded, his eyelids falling shut again. Marinette couldn't help her soft giggle when his breath immediately returned to the steady rhythm of sleep.

Her trip to the bathroom was a quick one, but as she stepped back into the bedroom, she tip-toed quietly to the hallway door and gently opened it to avoid waking up Adrien—either of them. Even if the guest room was on the other end of the hall, she didn't want the past version of her husband knowing what she was doing.

"Grabbing a late night snack?"

Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice behind her, still too groggy to register that it was only Plagg. She'd slapped her hands over her mouth to avoid screaming, managing to stifle it into a strangled squeal despite her surprise.

"Plagg!" she hissed with a whisper, eyes shooting to the closed door down the hall that led to the guest room. "You shouldn't be out here!"

"Relax," Plagg drolled. "The kid's sound asleep right now."

"Wait, did you look!?" Marinette angrily demanded. "You know what will happen if he sees two of you, right?"

"I can just tell him I'm visiting if he catches me. It's not like he could put it together that you're actually Ladybug," Plagg groaned, trailing after her as Marinette continued down the hall and eventually stopped near the middle. "Oh, you weren't getting a snack?" Plagg whined, sounding disappointed.

"Not quite," Marinette responded as she wrapped her fingers around the door handle. Her thumb felt out the small panel hidden beneath the knob, and she held it there for a moment until it emitted a gentle beep. From inside the door itself, there was a muted whirring noise, followed by a quiet click.

With the lock disengaged, she pushed open the heavy door, made of something much sturdier than the wood paneling that it was disguised as. When she entered the room beyond, Marinette squinted her eyes against the sudden light as she flipped a switch on the wall.

Locking the door behind her, Marinette stepped past shelves of decorative plants, books and other knick-knacks, making her way toward the center of the room where a wooden pedestal stood. She lifted her hand to press a small panel along the bottom, and a row of several tiny lights flashed to life, illuminating the red and black surface of the miracle box where it shimmered in the soft glow.

Plagg hovered over her shoulder and eyed it curiously with a frown. "What gives? All of the miraculous are active right now, aren't they?"

"Not all of them," Marinette said as she tapped one of the dark panels. Amidst the black, the symbol for the mouse flashed quickly before the door opened, and with a gentle flare of magic, Mullo popped into existence, hovering before her.

"Hello, guardian!" Mullo squeaked cheerily. "Is Mylène already back from vacation?"

"Sorry, Mullo, she's still on holiday," Marinette answered with a smile. "Instead, I need your help with something while she's gone."

"Hold on!" Plagg cried, zipping up in front of her face. "You're not actually trading me out for the mouse, are you?"

"Plagg, you know I wouldn't do that." Marinette reached out and picked up the mouse necklace from inside the box, it's form camouflaging the moment her fingers touched it. "If Félix tries anything again, I can turn into Multimouse, since Adrien thinks that's who I am." She lifted the miraculous to her neck and closed the clasp. "This way, he won't be able to figure out the truth. It's the safest option."

"Safe!?" Plagg yelped. "Do I have to remind you how reckless it is to use multiple miraculous?"

"I'm not going to fuse them," Marinette huffed impatiently, tapping the small medallion. "I'm just taking this so that Adrien—both versions of him— will stop worrying so much. This way, I can transform and escape on my own, and they'll know that I'm not in any danger."

Plagg folded his arms and frowned, his gaze narrowing. "I still don't like it. Just wearing two miraculous at once might hurt more than help."

"It's only you and Mullo," Marinette sighed and pointed at him. "Need I remind you that I wore more than this at one time when I was a kid? Two miraculous at once will be a cake walk!

"Yeah, but you weren't pregnant back then," Plagg grumbled, still frowning but looking a little more relaxed. "I may not have any experience with that, but it still doesn't feel right. Are you really that determined to keep the kid from finding out? He's already learned about everything else, what's the big deal if he realizes that you're Ladybug now?"

"Because I won't let Chat Blanc happen again," Marinette answered sternly. "I trust Adrien, but I don't trust this messy time travel business. Alix has her hands full just keeping us safe, and even if Adrien manages to keep things under wrap in his own time period, we could have already changed his future, and maybe ours if things don't go well." She gently laid her hands over her stomach. "I don't want any of us to lose this…"

Plagg stayed silent for a moment, his green eyes glowing at her in the soft light before he finally let out a sigh. "Fine."

"Thank you, Plagg," she chuckled softly, catching him in her cupped hands to pull him closer and give him a quick kiss against his forehead.

"Feh!" He swatted her away and frantically rubbed at his fur. "Not like you need my permission, guardian," he said in a playful tone before sticking his tongue out at her.

Marinette chuckled, moving to flip the switches off and lock up the room before exiting, and eventually make her way quietly back down the hall.

There were no lights on in the darkness of her home, but she could easily find her way by the faint glow reaching all the way from the study where the huge windows blocked out nothing of the view beyond their balcony. This kind of disturbance didn't really matter in rooms where they didn't sleep, and for their bedroom, they kept the glass tinted at night to keep out any glare.

So while bathed in the shadows, Marinette didn't notice anything off until the hallway appeared to tilt in her vision, and a sudden feeling of dizziness washed over her. She flung her arms out in an attempt to steady herself right as her legs buckled beneath her, and Marinette stumbled into the wall.

"See! I wasn't wrong!" Plagg zipped out in front of her, hovering next to a worried Mullo.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Mullo asked, his wide eyes practically glowing from reflecting what little light there was.

"I just…" Marinette knelt against the floor, pressing a hand to her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut. Counting slowly and taking easy, deep breaths, the lightheaded sensation eventually subsided, and when she opened her eyes, she found both kwami floating in front of her, concern contorting their features. "I'm fine. I just need to rest."

She crouched there in the hallway for a minute more, listening to Plagg as he flitted restlessly above her, muttering something that she couldn't make out. Using the wall for support, she eventually managed to stand and shuffled down the hall at a careful pace when the dizzy feeling didn't return.

Meticulously cautious, Marinette finally made it into her bedroom and slipped beneath the covers. She tried to make as little movement as she could while snuggling up next to her husband, but as she settled in, his arm immediately curled around her waist to pull her closer.

"You okay?" Adrien mumbled sleepily into her hair, not even opening his eyes. "You were gone a while."

Marinette sighed, tucking her head beneath his chin. "All good. I just had to take care of some pregnancy things."

"Mmm," Adrien grunted and said nothing more, already back asleep within a heartbeat. Despite how hot she'd felt earlier, she snuggled up against his chest and didn't have any trouble following him back into sleep.

oOo

Author's Note: So I did a bit of retconning. :D I've always had a slight issue with the part where Adrien is thinking about his feelings for Marinette, and honestly had no idea what I truly intended to do with that section. I just knew I wanted a moment of realization and feel good warm stuff, which is sort of accomplished? But at the same time it failed and has always been a little blemish in the back of my mind. Then as I edited my notes closer to the end, I realized I kind of messed up something I had in mind for a future chapter. SO, since it wasn't clear at all anyways, I have made it WAY MORE abundantly clear what I was going for with Adrien's feelings and realization. Originally it was sort of-kind of implied that he realizes Marinette's always had feelings for him? But it was not written very well and not clear. NOW it is him realizing that he's always loved her in a way.