︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

"𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚕𝚎
𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎"

𝚛.𝚑. 𝚂𝚒𝚗, 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎., 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 & 𝚊 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚒 𝚙𝚐. 𝟷𝟸𝟾

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Marianne was nine months old when she put figured out that Mrs. Agrest was a frequent visitor at their Boulangerie Patisserie, even before her or Adrien had even been born. Both mothers had already been good acquaintances when they both found out; usually Sabine taking a break and sitting with her while Tom manned the front.

She didn't know Mrs. Agreste's first name, as all Sabine and Tom would call her, is just that. While they seemed close, if not friends, Mrs. Agrest was always insisting with, "Sabine, please call me by my name, we've known each other long enough!" But Sabine would just smile at her and shake her head, never really explaining why she wouldn't. Marianne had a small inkling as to why as she had studied Korean back in her previous life.

(There hadn't been too much else she could do, either way.)

In most Asian countries, formalities are incredibly important. Not only that, but there was always some way to address someone older than you respectfully. So, she concluded that Sabine was just treating Mrs. Agreste just as she would any person older than her despite the friendship they were building, especially since it wasn't just out of obligation.

Mrs. Agreste had earned Sabine's trust.

Slap!

Marianne was startled out of her thoughts at the smack to her cheek and refocused on the other child that sat in front of her. She had forgotten that she was set to...play with Adrien when they had their little chats. Adrien was always so excited to see her and she would just-

Stare.

Then ignore him while he entertains himself.

She supposes that that isn't going to work anymore, so what was she to do now? Submit to his whims and play with him? She glared at him when she remembered he had just slapped her, what a little rude little-

She huffs and rolls over to get on her hands and knees, crawling away from him. This was something she had quickly learned to do as soon as she had gained enough strength. She was able to stand at this point, but walking still came with a few tumbles.

Curse these jell-o legs.

"Oh! You didn't tell me Marinette learned how to crawl!" Mrs. Agreste gasped in delight behind them just as Adrien was beginning to whine and whimper when she started getting farther away from him. He bounced in place a bit, waving his arms in a typical beginning sign of a tantrum.

"I apologize, it had completely slipped my mind," Sabine laughed, "she just up and did it one day, seemed frustrated about something. She's been much happier since she's started, though."

"I'm sure she has. Not stuck in one place anymore, huh?" Marianned stopped in her tracks and turned to look back at Mrs. Agreste. Something in her voice sounded distant, and meeting her gaze she noticed that while she was looking into her eyes, they didn't seem to be really seeing her. The smile she wore- it was a smile, sure, but it wasn't happy.

Adrien suddenly bursts into tears making them all jump, Marianne toppling down as her arms give way. She grumbled as she pushed herself back up, holding herself back from rolling her eyes before crawling back towards him. Once reaching him, she sat up right and patted his leg to get his attention. Unfortunately, he was too far gone into his wailing, tears never ending and red in the face.

"'Ien!" she tried, patting and shaking his leg as her annoyance grew at his crying. It was hard to get syllables of his name, she was still practicing- especially since her baby teeth were finally growing in. All things considered, she did great for her first try at his name.

There was a clatter at the table.

"Oh my God...did sh-she just-" Mrs. Agreste's jaw dropped, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"She said his name..." Sabine cooed, hands clasped and watching them in adoration. Marinette paid no attention to them as Adrien began to calm his crying, still sniffling and hiccuping. "She just finished a round of teething, she didn't cry but she's been very grouchy. She hasn't spoken yet- I'm so surprised..."

"Adrien's finished his second round of teething," the blonde murmured, "he's exclaimed syllables, but actual words-"

"'Nette!" Adrien raised his arms, smiling brightly at Marinette. The enunciation on the t's were a bit off, but that was to be expected. Marinette eyed him for a moment, because- well, yeah, he did a good job. Her lips curved into a small smile.

'Maybe this wasn't too bad,' she thought.

"I'm going to pine for them until the day they get married," Mrs. Agreste said so seriously that it had Sabine letting out a surprised laugh. "Oh, I can't wait to see the look on Gabriel's face when I tell him..."

Marinette paused, frowning as she heard that name again. Mrs. Agrest had mentioned Gabriel before, and she had put together that Gabriel is the name of Adrien's father. She had never seen the man, seeing as Mrs. Agreste always came alone with her son.

Well, and the big Gorilla man that waited in the car.

The name Gabriel Agreste was ringing bells in the back of her mind, but it was fuzzy and she couldn't recall exactly what.

"Marinette, let's go put you down for a nap, okay?" Sabine called as she walked over with Mrs. Agreste who was already picking Adrien up.

"We'll head out, we've been here much longer than we intended," she told Sabine who shook her head and smiled softly at the blonde.

"It's fine, no need to worry. You and your family will always be welcome here."

It was clear how sincere she was about that statement, weight were placed in those words and with a quick glance at Mrs. Agreste, she knew the woman took it to heart. Mrs. Agreste smiled, her eyes glistening as she whispered a small thank you to Sabine.

Mari-Marinette's eyes fluttered closed, the exhaustion from the day settling in her tiny body, and drifted to sleep not long after.

(She would always uphold her mother's words, the Agreste family would always be welcome in their home.)

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

Edited: September 16, 2023