"Marinette, are you okay?"

She snapped her head up and found Alya staring at her worriedly, her hands frozen in mid-air. "Yeah," she replied. Marinette straightened on the couch and cleared her throat, "As good as can be."

Alya frowned. "So what are you gonna do that you've been thrown out? Nino and I are more than welcome to have you here, but we didn't plan on having to baby proof the house for another couple of years." She offered Marinette a sympathetic smile.

"No, I could never ask that of you," she replied, "My parents are aware of the situation and they're over the moon to have him stay with them. Manon will have to cycle a few extra blocks, but she says she wouldn't mind the exercise." She shook her head. "That girl isn't half the little devil she used to be."

Alya laughed. "Well at least your parents will get to see more of the little guy. And maybe he can even help at the bakery."

"I wish," huffed Marinette, "Hugo's got a good heart, but he's gotten all of my awful genes. One day he knocked over a tray of macaroons and we had to replace the entire batch in less than an hour, then he covered a cake on order in the wrong color icing, spilled flour all over the flours," she counted the mistakes on her fingers.

"I'm sure you're exaggerating."

"Believe me, I'm not."

Alya shifted nervously in her seat. "So has he asked about...about the dad thing?"

"Yeah," she sighed.

Alya pursed her lips and brought her mug to her chest. Her glasses fogged a little from the steam, but she ignored it completely. "I know it's not my place, but Marinette, don't you think it's about time you got him a father?"

Marinette's eyes widened. "What?"

"Well, Hugo's a growing boy, and even though he's got your dad it's important for him to have a male role model in his life. Nino's more than willing to compensate, but we can't be around all the time and," Alya sighed, "You can't keep doing this on your own."

"I've been doing fine on my own," snapped Marinette.

"No you haven't," replied Alya, "I know this isn't any of my business, but you're my best friend and I care for what's best for you."

"So you expect me to get hitched with the next guy that walks around the corner?" scoffed Marinette.

Alya leaned back in her sofa and blew on the hot chocolate in her mug. "Well, Adrien did come back to Paris."

"No!" Marinette stood up from the sofa and waved her hands in front of her, "Absolutely not! I'm not a little girl anymore Alya and those dumb fantasies are going to stay exactly what they are. I barely spoke two words to him without stuttering, I couldn't have a proper conversations with the boy."

"Well he's not a boy anymore and you're not a little girl anymore. He's come back and while I'm still not completely happy about him disappearing, this could be a game changer for you and the little guy."

Marinette wanted to argue further, to tell Alya she was completely wrong, but even she couldn't deny the quickening of her pulse or the heat rushing to the surface of her skin. It was such a stupid dream, to think a boy as perfect as Adrien would settle for a clumsy baker's daughter.

But it wasn't just about their past together. Her involvement with Chat hadn't only complicated things because of Hugo. Seeing him last night, hearing him say the words she'd wanted to hear for so long had brought along with them a fresh set of pain that made her relive everything all over again.

He hadn't been there when she'd gone through telling her parents she was pregnant, through dropping out of high school and pretending to be home-schooled. He hadn't been the one to read through thousands of baby books, break their bank of baby items and give up their dreams to make room for something she knew she wasn't ready for.

Chat let her down. And she didn't want to go through the same thing with Adrien.

She didn't think she could survive it.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do Alya," said Marinette, "But loving Adrien was just an illusion. Maybe it would've worked, once upon a time, but I'm not going to spend my days pretending life didn't happen the way it did. He's back now. And that –that's amazing, but I won't ask him to care for a child that isn't his."

Alya pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "Marinette, you haven't even tried. What if he doesn't mind? He's had a horrible family experience and maybe having a stable family will be a good thing for him."

Marinette scoffed. "You're calling my life stable? A teenage pregnancy and an eviction notice because a mother slapped the Mayor's daughter. It's a miracle Chloe didn't have them take my son away from me."

"Chloe wouldn't –,"

"You know she would." And Marinette still wanted to kill her for it. Hugo had taken the news pretty well, but he only saw it as an extended family trip. One where he'd have all sorts of pastries for lunch instead of bland, vegetables that always tasted like water.

Marinette shook her head. "Adrien's young and handsome. He's spent so much time wanting to be his own person, exploring places he hasn't been. I can't tie him down to a family he doesn't belong to. He deserves so much more than a mess of a wife like me."

Alya placed her mug on the table and grabbed Marinette's hands. "Listen here girl, you're not a mess of a wife. You're a kick-ass mother, a brilliant baker and one day you'll be an even greater fashion designer. The best in the world!"

"I gave up on that dream a long time ago –,"

"That doesn't mean it has to be that way. There are millions of opportunities for you to study further when Hugo's settled. All you need to do is scrounge up a bit of cash and save it until –,"

Marinette shrugged. "I'm a mother now, Alya. My child comes first."

A look of understanding flitted across Alya's face and the dark skinned girl shook her head. "A kick-ass mom," she muttered, "Always knew it."

And that, at least, made her feel a bit better.

With the shop finally closed, Marinette made her way up to her bedroom and shut the door beneath her. Hugo was tucked neatly into his little bed, his messy, dark hair sticking in every direction and his large green eyes shut tightly.

He seemed so innocent and it was an innocence Marinette wanted to protect. She hated it when people like Chloe tried to break him, called him names and mocked him for not having a father. Maybe Alya's idea had something to it.

Maybe Hugo did need a stable father figure.

Marinette kissed the crown of his head and made her way up to her balcony. Tikki flew out after her. During the past six years Tikki had become a sort of guardian angel to Hugo –a way for Marinette to keep an eye on her son when he was alone in case anything bad happened.

"Did you think about what Alya said?" asked Tikki, "She made a surprisingly good point."

Marinette sighed, hanging her arm over the railing. "And what point is that?"

Tikki rubbed her hands together and sat down on the railing, her big blue eyes taking the scenery. "Well, humans are known to be very social creatures." She turned her head to Marinette and the girl regarded her kindly. "Marinette, maybe you should consider seeing Adrien as a possible father figure to Hugo if you're not..."

"How can I open my heart to someone new after everything I've been through? It...it still hurts to think about it sometimes and after seeing him last night...Tikki I don't know what to do or even how to feel."

Marinette leaned more on the railing. "I don't even know how I managed the past seven years. Sometimes I go throughout the day with a plan sketched on paper and somehow it always gets left behind. I feel like I'm doing everything all wrong –like I'm a horrible parent."

Tikki flew up and sat down on Marinette's hunched shoulder. "Marinette, you're not a horrible parent. You're doing your best and that's all anyone can ask for."

"What if my best's not good enough Tikki, what if Hugo grows up into some deranged psychopath because I failed? I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to him because of me?"

Tikki shook her head. "Some things never change."

"Is that supposed to mean something?" asked Marinette, solemn, "because I could use some of that kwami wisdom right about now."

"Hugo only wants the best for you, Marinette. He wants you to be happy. He can see something's worrying you and even though you try to hide it, he's a sharp boy and it won't take long for him to piece everything together."

She wiped her hands over her face. "I know. I know he's brilliant and I'm so blessed that he is. I'm just worried I won't be able to provide for him. Things –things are difficult and with Chloe making things worse I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to go about this."

"Maybe you should speak to Chat and tell him –,"

"No!" Marinette's body when rigid, her knuckles white around the railing. "Not yet. I can't –I can't bring Hugo into that world. I don't even know who his father is beneath the mask, what if he's a murderer? Some kid of terrible person and telling him about Hugo will –,"

"I knew you were dramatic, but do you even hear yourself?"

Marinette sighed. "I don't even know if he'll stick around. I –I lost him once and I don't even know if he's still around here. What if he meets Hugo and doesn't want him? How will I explain to my child that his own father doesn't love him?"

She shook her head. "No, it's easier this way. It happened years ago and I already decided what I'd do. Chat had his chance to come back into our lives, to be a part of Hugo's and he wasn't there. I can't just sit back and wait until he decides he's ready. Not when I didn't have that luxury."

"Marinette –,"

"Hugo is brilliant, beautiful and filled with so much potential. He deserves the world and I'm going to give it to him, one way or the other. He's the only one that matters to me and until I know he's ready, he'll never know he has a father in Paris."

Tikki went silent, tucked into Marinette's hair. Finally she whispered. "I hope you're not making a mistake."

The kwami flew away from Marinette and phased through the trapdoor back inside the warm room, but Marinette couldn't find the strength to move. All her life she'd played everything by ear. Things hadn't changed and she was still on her own. She could do this for him. She knew she could.

"Me neither, Tikki...Me neither."

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Marinette is actually considering have Adrien as the father, imagine the irony XD Anyway please don't forget to vote or comment if you liked it and the next update will be on Friday. See you then!