The two blondes froze staring at each other. It had been almost ten years since Adrien had last set eyes on his mother. The last time he'd spent a day with her, the last time his father allowed her near the house. He dreamed about it a lot. A lot more than he'd like to admit. The screaming still rang in his ears as his father yelled that she would never see him again. That was the day Emilie Agreste had walked out the Agreste Mansion, never to see her son again.

Adrien couldn't move. He couldn't feel his legs, and he definitely couldn't speak. His mind had short circuited. It seems he'd lost all power to do anything. That was until a warmth radiated through him bringing him back to the present and feeling safer than he'd ever done in his life.

Marinette had placed her hands on his arm. He'd gone into a trance and she needed him to know someone was waiting for him to brake out of it. Someone who loved him, needed him, wanted him. She'd never forget the day after his fifteenth birthday, he had never seemed so dejected before. She'd found him hiding under the school staircase, hugging his legs, broken and crying. That was the day his personality changed, the day he he put up his harsh exterior. He turned from his sweet persona to one of charm, confidence and flirtatious qualities, that was to everyone apart from Marinette.

"Uncle Adrien, Auntie Marinette, is that present for me?" Adrien's attention was pulled from his trance and to the hyper little boy only seconds away from launching himself into Adrien's arms.

"Hey birthday boy." Marinette had luckily released her hold on Adrien before their little friend came to join the party. She ruffled his hair and gave him her biggest smile.

"Hey Princess." Junior said, cheerfully.

"Hey monkey what do you think you're doing? She's my Princess not yours." Adrien tickled the boys sides causing him to giggle chaotically.

"If you ever need to borrow a child, I'm sure he could pass as yours." Bridgette came over and engulfed Marinette in a hug before turning to Adrien.

Junior began to bounce in Adrien's arms causing both him and Marinette to laugh. The continued chaos brought Felix over too.

"Woah! What's happening here? I feel like I'm missing the party." He stated, wrapping an arm around his wife's waist.

Felix watched as Amelie went to Emilie, who was still standing watching the interactions with interest. Adrien seemed happy, Emilie thought. She'd heard stories about his past, it seemed he was following in the footsteps of his father, that was until recently.

She'd always liked Marinette. She'd heard a lot about her over the years. Even to a point of following her career. Seeing Adrien with someone so stable and beautiful filled Emilie with hope. Perhaps he wouldn't come to the darkness both herself and his father did.

Adrien placed Junior down and grabbed the present which had fell on the floor.

"I believe we have something special for you little man. You see," he knelt down so he was face to face with Junior, "Auntie Marinette managed to find Night Bird and asked for one of his superhero outfits."

"You mean?" The little boys eyes widened to three times their natural size as Marinette bent down next to Adrien.

"He knew all about you and said he wanted to make sure you had a very special gift for your birthday. Are you going to open it?" Adrien handed the wrapped parcel over to Junior before standing up and placing an arm around Marinette's waist. They both smiled at each other as Junior began to rip into the gift. As the black and blue fabric began to appear Junior began to get more and more excited.

As the squeals of the little boy erupted around the poolside, his friends ran over to join him amazed by the 'real' Night Bird costume he was holding in his hands. Adrien couldn't help the tenderness over taking him. With his arm remaining around Marinette, he leant down to her level flicking her nose with his own, before placing a soft gentle kiss of her perfect Pearl lips, he was fully immersed in this woman. He couldn't careless about anything else but him and his Princess. He'd never felt this way before.

"Marinette, come with me there's some woman who would like to speak to you about possibilities of commissions." Bridgette looped her arm in Marinette's leading her away from Adrien. Marinette gave one last helpless look to Adrien, before being dragged away to a crowd of beautiful upper-class ladies.

Laughing to himself he made his way to Felix, giving his cousin a slap on the back.

"Little man's three already, bet you can't wait for the new bundle off joy to be waking you up and puking all over you."

"Don't diss it until you've tried it cuz, and by the way you look at Marinette I doubt it'll be long."

"What?" Adrien stared at Felix. What the hell was his cousin implying.

"Come on. You're head over heels and have been since you were fourteen. I've heard of moving slow but eleven years needs to be a new record." Felix grabbed a beer and opened it smirking at his cousin.

"I haven't - what I mean is - she is - I don't know ..." Felix burst out laughing.

"Adrien Agreste, ladies and gentlemen. The man of many words." Adrien smiled at his cousin. He couldn't deny it, the more he thought of Mari the more he wanted from her. He was staring at her again, he knew he was. It was like she was a magnet.

"She really is amazing, Adrien." Felix whispered into his cousins ear.

"Hey! No thinking about my girl that way. But I do have to agree ... she is amazing." Adrien grabbed a beer from the table and looked back over to where the group of women were fawning over his girlfriend. He had to admit there was something special about saying girlfriend, almost as special as when she said boyfriend.

Marinette was being questioned left, right and centre about the dress she was wearing at the moment. Woman wanted to have copies but in their favourite colours and where wanting her website details especially when they found out she was exhibiting at Paris Fashion Week. Some women, though, they just wanted to know how she managed to pin down Adrien Agreste. She looked over and found his gaze baring into her. She smiled at him causing him to wink back. She felt her heart flip, he really did mess with her well being.

Seeing Marinette giving him such undivided attention made his heart flip, even in a crowd she found him out. He never thought he'd understand what people meant when they said about falling head over heels in love, but he was quite certain Marinette was having some sort of in body effect on him. Perhaps all this time Nino had been right, Marinette was made for him.

"She seems like she's good for you." The voice broke his smile. His eyes were still on Marinette and her face was a mirror to his emotions.

"She is, no thanks to you and father." Adrien turned his head to face his mother.

"Adrien, we need to talk."

"I don't think that would be the best idea. You see, mother, there's nothing I need or want to say to you." Adrien looked back to the opposite side of the pool where Marinette was still looking over to him. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she wanted to know if he needed saving. She would always be there to save him, even if he turned into a jackass again. All she needed was her sharp tongue and gone off food.

"Please Adrien, there's somethings you need to know." Amelia had worked her way to her sisters side. Unlike Emilie, Amelia had been a continuous presence in Adrien's life. He respected her and loved her more than his own mother. He looked at his Auntie and trusted her, but their was no way in hell he was doing it alone.

"Mari, comes with us." Emilie nodded at Adrien's request knowing he was too stubborn to change his mind and she needed to talk to him. It had all gone on too long.

Adrien watched as she headed into the pool house before walking over to Marinette.

"Sorry ladies but I need to steal my Princess for a moment or two." The women around them began to swoon as Adrien swooped his lady away, but not without a dramatic kiss on her lips. As they walked towards the pool house many ooo's and awww's could be heard.

"They were all asking how I tamed you." Marinette said as she moved closer into his side.

"And what did you tell them?" Adrien looked back at her with a smirk taking over his face.

"That you're obsessed with my smokin' hot body and I won't have sex with you." Adrien stopped and looked at her.

"What?" She questioned.

"Did you - did you actually say that?" He stretched his right hand up to the back of his neck and rubbed it in nervousness. Marinette hadn't seen that action since they started this thing a month ago. Was she making him nervous? A thrill ran through her body.

"Yes, and by the way, they're all willing to volunteer to help you 'destress'" Marinette used her fingers to quote the word, before she started laughing. Adrien looked startled. He couldn't understand how someone so sweet could act like that? He couldn't move, he was completely shocked at what she just said. She turned back to look at him and burst out laughing.

"I'm only joking. I just said I was the luckiest girl in the world to be with my high school crush." She walked up to him and slide her hands over his shoulders locking them behind his neck.

"Don't look at me like that. We're at a child's birthday party and that is not a family friendly look."

"Just shut up Agreste and kiss me. Then tell me where you're dragging me off too." He'd completely forgot he was taking her to speak to his mother, that he was about to do another thing he never thought he would. It was quite comical how much his life was changing. How much she was changing him.

If you asked Adrien Agreste at the beginning of the year what he this year held for him, he would have said nothing that had actually happened so far apart from his return home. When he came back to Paris in June he never thought he'd be clean, sober and with a girlfriend, who was his best friend in lycée.

He also wouldn't believe he was about to speak to his long lost mother. To be honest that didn't just go for this year, that went for any year. Adrien pressed a soft kiss on Marinette's lips and he grasped onto her waist. He thought about everything he'd done since she came back into his life, and how much was yet to come. It was astounding how he'd pulled himself together, perhaps he was a lot stronger than he'd thought.

"My mother wants to speak to me, but I need you there with me." Marinette's breath caught in her throat. He'd used the word need ... not want ... need. Nodding at him, she slipped her hand back into his and together they walked towards a room where, unbeknownst to both the lovers, their lives were about to change.