"How's it all going sweetheart, are you happy with him?"

Marinette was currently preparing lunch with her mother in her new apartment whilst her father was relaxing on the sofa playing on Chat's games console and the unreleased version of Ultimate Mecha Strike, she was still suspicious about how he managed to come by it. The only other person she knew who had it was Adrien.

Chat was due to arrive in about thirty minutes, giving Marinette and her parent's time to prepare the meal before he teleported in, and also give Marinette a chance to fill her parents in on wearing a Miraculous.

For the meal, Marinette knew it would be too risky having her parents there as themselves, after all he'd already comically had a run in with her father, it wouldn't be fair for that to happen again. Everyone knew Tom Dupain was a big teddy bear, that was unless it had something to do with his daughter.

"We haven't spent too much time together, but so far it's been fun. He takes good care of me."

"Do you take good care of him too?" Sabine said, mixing the bowl of salad together before heading to the table and placing it down.

"I could probably do more," she shrugged, turning her head away from her mother and continuing with the chicken she was currently seasoning.

"Just make sure you're giving as well as taking, my dear. He adores you, so it would be easy to fall into the routine of him being the carer."

"Boo yah!" The roar from the sofa had the both turning around, curious as to what Tom had accomplished. Marinette washed her hands off before placing the tray in the oven and heading towards her father.

She squinted at the screen displayed on the television and gasped. TOM was now perfectly positioned in the number one spot, flashing in all its identity revealing glory.

"Papa?" Her voice stuttered, her eyes widening as she continued to look at the screen.

"You all think you're good, but none of you are as good as the master himself! Beat that my little 'Nettie."

"Papa!"

"Tom Dupain is number one!" He stood up striking his pose before dancing around the room, Marinette calling after him, time and time again, but he wasn't listening, too caught up in his own success.

"Tom, you idiot!" Tom froze at his wife's hard, demanding tone, Marinette stilling too. Her mother rarely raised her voice, the woman was the epitome of calmness, a calm river tickling down the stream...but it seemed like the river had turned into water water rapids as her mother was positively seething!

"What?" he asked, turning to look at his wife and daughter.

"You've typed your own name on there. What part of secret identities did you not understand?"

Tom's victorious smile suddenly disappeared when he'd realised what he'd done. It wasn't like Marinette could just delete it, once it was there it was a permanent addition to the game, until someone could wipe it off. But this score! It was impossibly high on a new game she hadn't figured out properly yet.

"Um, maybe now's the right time to reveal identities?" Tom defended himself. "It would be so lovely to meet the man behind the mask."

"Idiot!" Sabine said again, turning on her heel and heading back to the kitchen mumbling about 'I had told him', and that 'if he would just listen sometimes.'

Marinette sighed, looking between her father and the screen. The last thing she wanted was Chat figuring out her identity over this. It would be one of the most ridiculous reveal stories ever.

"Tikki," she called, praying that maybe Tikki could do something to help. Maybe she could fly into the computer and blow it up for something. The small red kwami appeared beside them, her eyes widening as she read the screen.

"Oh, Monsieur Dupain, what did you do?"

Her father gulped before sitting down and taking the controller, his hands slightly shaking. "How long do I have?"

Marinette checked her watch. 14 minutes.

"Unless Tikki can do something, you only have 14 minutes, and believe me when I say the guy is incredibly punctual." She tapped her father on the shoulders, before looking at Tikki.

"Sorry Marinette, apart from blowing it up, there's not a lot I can do."

Sighing, Marinette began to look around the room, her 'Marinette Vision' firmly kicking in; ending on a flashing pink cherry blossom Tikki.

"How about we give him a little Ladybug luck, Sweet Treat?"

Tikki nodded enthusiastically, Marinette removing her earrings and placing them on her fathers ears.

"Papa? Just say 'spots on'."

As Tom was overpowered by Ladybug luck, Tikki channelled her energy into helping him with the game before making her way to the 'Catphone'.

M'Lady: Hey Kitty, slight issue with the food. Can you give me another thirty minutes please? ❤️

•••••

"Your wife's messaged," Plagg came zooming into the bathroom, Adrien's phone in hand.

Adrien was brushing his teeth, preparing for a day with the in-laws. He hadn't slept last night, his thoughts running wild. What if he messed this up? What if they told her to divorce him because he wasn't worth it? Even worse, what if her father turned into a Werewolf, filled Paris with vines and trapped her inside hidden away from him?

Spitting out the remaining suds, he washed and dried his face before taking the phone from Plagg. An extra thirty minutes? The wait was already killing him and now he had to wait longer.

The nervous energy ran through him as he considered what to do. He pulled out his normal phone and considered texting Nino. The guy would be too judgmental though, he'd enquire more and most likely drag Alya into the conversation with him. Nope, he wasn't doing that at all, he checked his watch, six thirty in the morning, so in Paris it was what? Eleven thirty.

Instead he pulled up his most non judgemental friend to message. He needed some support and he needed it quickly.

Adrien: Hey Marinette, are you free to talk?

He moved into his bedroom, tossing his phone onto the bed, looking at what to wear today. Even though he was in his super suit he wanted to make sure he felt good, opting for a shirt and jeans combo.

His phone buzzed against his rumpled, lonely sheets. God he wished he was living with his wife. Maybe he couldn't remember that first night together, but he was quite sure it was the best sleep he'd ever had in his life...maybe because he was with her...maybe because of other things.

"Marinette, hey. How are you?"

"I'm good, though I am curious as to why you're up so early? Aren't you meant to sleep in for half the day preseason?"

He laughed, suddenly feeling a lot lighter for his chosen call. "I've got a meeting this morning and I'm kind of stressed out. Any possibility of some Marinette words of wisdom?"

"Are you sure you called the right person? Wouldn't Luka have been a better choice?"

Luka. Why hadn't he thought of Luka? Because you have Marinette on your mind. He couldn't deny his little 'mind man' (his own little 'Inside Out' Joy) was once again considering that Marinette was his Lady. Would this thought ever leave him?

"Naa, too much working out to do this time in the morning, I need straight answers not metaphors."

"Well then, Mr Agreste, all I can say is be your wonderful self and if they don't love you then that's their problem."

"I just hope I'm good enough."

"Oh, Adrien, of course you are. We wouldn't all be making the effort to stay friends with you if you weren't worth it."

"Thanks Marinette," he chuckled. "I suppose the worst that can happen is they don't love me as much as you all do."

"Exactly, and if it all goes wrong FaceTime me later and you can vent to me."

Random shouting sounded in the background of the phone followed by an ear piercing beeping sound.

"Adrien, sorry to cut this short but I'm burning our lunch. My Maman's trying to fan down the oven at the moment. Damn it! He's going to kill me if I set the place on fire."

"Run, go! I'll talk to you later" he laughed secretly hoping he could find out who 'he' was.

"Thanks Adrien, and good luck. Remember, be yourself. You're amazing!"

The phone call ended and he looked at the clothes he'd chosen, this wasn't himself. Moving back to the closet he swapped them for more normal attire. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself. Marinette was right. He could do this.

•••••

It turned out Ladybug's Maman (Naga), who was wearing the Miraculous of the dragon, was the nicest being on the planet. She was kind and supportive and just the perfect mother in law. She was so wonderful, so wonderful in fact that Chat had begun to wonder how Ladybug had such a foul temper...

Then he met her papa (Oxen). As he sat opposite a house of a man, he couldn't help but wonder whether Ladybug's father was actually the size of his front door, or if the Miraculous of the Ox had beefed him out a little more than his usual size. Either way, the guy was huge - as was Chat Noir's fear. He'd take Weredad any day over his wife's papa.

"So, Chat Noir, if that is your real name -"

"Papa you know it's not," Ladybug interrupted her father, only for the big guy to continue baring his eyes right into Chat's soul. He could feel the sweat underneath his suit, an oddly new feeling as in his 8 years of owning his Miraculous, this had never happened, even when he found out his father was a supervillain.

Chat Noir laughed nervously, oh Christ, this was just painful now and they'd only just sat down for their evening meal.

"Thanks for that sweetie, but I've got it." Tom turned his attention from Ladybug back onto Chat Noir. "As I was saying Chat Noir, what's the reason for the bell? Did you know that in the old idiom putting a bell on a cat means to perform a dangerous or a risky task, and obviously your power is to destroy, so I'm asking you now...who keeps you controlled? And can you control yourself? Are you going to destroy my daughter? Is being married to you a risk?"

Chat Noir's eyes blew wide as he looked over to his wife, her own facial expressions mirroring his, his mouth moving up and down as he tried to think what to say. He could feel his lip trembling as he considered an answer, his whole body tensing at the exchange and his throat constricting with fear. Who would have thought his cute design idea of a bell would cause so many issues? It was a bell, cat's wore bells, oh help!

He opened his mouth to speak. "It's - um - I just liked the -"

"Papa, stop!" His Lady's voice was hard, striking her father with a 'don't you dare say more' attitude.

"Sweetheart, this is Chat Noir, you've seen him flirt around with any woman in Paris! He probably breaks girls' hearts everyday, do you really think he's going to stay loyal?"

His heart began to break, is this the way people saw him? Yes, he was a gentleman in every sense of the word, greeting ladies the way they should be with respect, but he'd only ever flirted with Ladybug; that also included the time he was with Kagami.

He looked at his mother in law, wondering if she felt the same way, that she thought he was a good for nothing son in law who showed their daughter little respect by flirting around? God, he loved Ladybug, he thought they'd understand this, but her papa just couldn't stop hitting him with hard inaccurate blows.

"How dare you!" Ladybug hissed, "how dare you say that to him! You know he's been my backbone for over 8 years, he's risked his life for me and died for me time and time again. I know he loves me, and only me. He's a gentleman, Papa, and I hope if we have little boys someday they grow up just like their father because I have never met a more loyal or loving man in my life."

God, he could kiss this woman. It was one thing standing up to your arch nemesis, but to stand up to your own family...well..his respect for her just shot up out the ceiling.

They continued to eat in silence, no one daring to say anything after Ladybug's emotional outburst, until it became too much. For years he sat in silence by himself as he ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, but now these people were family, this was his family and he wasn't going to let another be torn apart because of him.

"Someone asked me once about two ways to store water." Everyone looked up at him, his voice being the first thing heard in about three minutes. He gulped down the anxiety before hitting them with the punchline. "I was like, 'well, damn!'"

Chat gulped again, hoping that being this self might be more Oxen's level of conversation. His main aim was to break the silence. The wait for someone to reply was painful and he thought he was going to cry, god, this was going so badly.

A fisted hand slammed down on the table, Chat jumping a little in his seat before Oxen let out a loud bellowing laugh, followed by Ladybug and Naga, Chat finally adding his own enjoyment to the joke.

Oh thank goodness! The tightening in his stomach finally easing. Oxen liked puns, this he could work with.

•••••

An hour later and the atmosphere was electric. The big guy was opening up and Ladybug's maman demanded that he call her that too, after all, they were family now. He was buzzing from love and care, and also the half bottle of wine he'd drank. He'd really missed French wine; drinks in the States just weren't the same.

"So I understand you work in America?" Naga asked, looking over to Chat as they relaxed on the sofas, happy that Ladybug was curled up beside him. They'd always been close, but this just seemed that step closer to each other. Quite domestic really.

"Well, I haven't spoken to LB about this quite yet, but I - um -" he stretched a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it in nervousness as he looked between his in-laws and his wife. "I've - um - I've handed in my resignation. I'll be back in Paris in February." He felt his Lady stiffen next to him.

When he handed in his resignation a few days ago, his manager negotiated with his team to only sign him for half a season, meaning as soon as February hit, he had a couple of games and then could go. His fathers retrial was around that time and he was quite sure his team didn't want the publicity of a global villain's son playing on their team. So with a substantial pay cut (not that it mattered) he was free to leave.

"You're moving back? Here? Paris? Forever?" She stuttered.

"I want this to work, and it can only happen if I'm here, I don't want to be a part time husband."

"Excuse us a second," Ladybug stood, pulling her partner by the tail and into the kitchen. "I don't want to sound negative, but are you sure you want to give up your life to come back here? I mean, you left in such a dramatic way after we beat Monarch, I wasn't sure you'd ever be ready to return."

He sighed and reached to rub the back of his neck again, looking at her from under his eyelashes. "I want to give this the best chance possible, M'Lady. I believe we can make this work. I know I've been anti Paris for years, but now I have something to be here for. I have a home and a family."

"And if it doesn't work out?" He watched her wrap her arms around her chest, blocking him out from her real thoughts. She was scared, it was so obvious she was scared.

"We'll deal with it then. I know you're apprehensive about this, and you have every right to be, but I'm here for the long run."

Without another word she launched forward and held onto him tight. "Thank you kitty," she whispered, "thank you for always putting up with me, you're right, I am high maintenance."

"You're perfect, Bug, you always have been and always will be."

•••••

Chat Noir took Oxen's hand in his, giving it a shake before the in-laws left the house.

"You're not as bad as I expected, son, and I'm sorry about what I said about your bell."

Chat laughed, happy with the way the overall afternoon had turned out. "It's fine, and I just want to let you know I am devoted to your daughter one hundred percent. I love her more than anything, and I will protect her with my life."

"I know," he said, smacking a hand to Chat Noir's shoulder, "and thank you for looking after her. We couldn't have wished for a better son in law."

The admission made his heart soar, almost as much as finding out he'd won the girl. Ladybug came over, pressing a delicate kiss to her fathers cheek before repeating the action with her mother, and bidding them good night.

"Have you got to go home straight away?" she asked Chat Noir, closing the door behind her parents.

"Unfortunately yes, however, if you're free next Sunday I would like to take you out on a date?"

"And I would like to agree to that date." she smiled, his heart glowing with love he was struggling to hold in. "Will I see you at all this week?"

He noticed how she was screwing up her hands, obviously nervous for his reaction. He was yet to decide if she wanted him to stay or go.

"No, sorry, I'm pretty much solidly booked up. It would be after midnight here by the time I could see you."

She looked away, pursuing her lips to the side before looking down and back up to him. Her Ladybug thinking face in full effect. "You could always come and spend the night. Just remember your wig and sunglasses to sleep with."

He broke into a smile, stepping forward and kissing her softly on the cheek. "I'll do my best."

Once again, merging with Kaalki, he opened a portal back to his apartment, giving her one last wave as it closed.

Making his way to where he'd left his phone he pulled up Marinette's name.

Adrien: It worked. Thank you so much for your support, it means a lot to have you there for me.

Closing down his phone, he sighed. He had good friends, a good wife and, now, a great new family.