"If I see that blonde bimbo I'll knock all her precious teeth out!" cried Alya, sitting forward on the sofa.

Nino shook his head and calmly pulling her back to his side. "Chill, Alya. Violence doesn't solve anything." Alya grumbled as she relaxed against him and he turned his attention to Marinette, "So where's the little dude?"

Marinette gestured upstairs to her attic bedroom, frowning into her empty mug, "He's playing Ultimate Mecha Strike Three. I tried putting him to bed, but he won't sleep unless I will too."

"Is he as good of a pro as his mom?" asked Alya, smiling to try and lighten the mood.

Tikki had prompted Marinette to call Alya and talk things through after the incident with Chloe. Her mother had taken over things that required leaving the house and Marinette decided to use her time to start studying for a final she had coming up.

She'd called her friend the day after and Alya had been furious, practically dragging Nino through the bakery door by his ear to get them both inside. They'd already been there an hour with Alya asking Marinette to explain the entire situation to them, including what Hugo had said.

She still hadn't had the chance to speak with him, but when she'd told him about Aunt Alya and Uncle Nino's visit he hadn't asked any questions like he usually did. He was oddly quiet and went along with everything she'd said. He'd brushed his teeth without complaining about the flavor of the toothpaste and didn't make a sound when she'd unknowingly been brushing over the same knot relentlessly in his dark hair.

It worried her.

"He's better actually." Marinette forced a grin and tried to think of something besides Chloe's monstrous words, "I knew the minute he asked to play I might be harboring a serial gamer."

"I can't say I didn't see it coming," said Nino, "He totally destroyed me last week. We played six rounds and I lost every single time."

"Aw, did you get beat by a little kid?" cooed Alya, reaching up to pinch his cheeks.

Nino's eyes lit up in amusement, but he kept his face stoic as he stared her down. "You don't get it, Babe. That kid's a machine when it comes to Ultimate Mecha Strike Three. He'd be able to take out Adrien in seconds."

Marinette's grip on the mug tightened and Nino's face paled, his head snapping to her. "No –Wait! That's not –,"

"Is he here?" asked Marinette, her voice cracking as the words passed her lips, "Do you know if he arrived yet?" Nino shrugged and moved his gaze to the floor. Alya sighed, sitting straighter and pushed away from him.

"After he phoned Nino, telling him he was coming down...Nino switched off his phone," she said.

Marinette blinked, shocked, and turned fully to see Nino digging the tip of his All Stars into her carpet. "You...switched your phone off? What? Why?"

"He abandoned us all, Marinette. He didn't make a single effort to even pick up the phone and call. Now he phones us out of the blue after seven years to tell us he's coming back? It's his fault if Nino doesn't want to talk to him."

"But maybe he had a reason." Marinette couldn't tell them about Gabriel being Hawk Moth –it was something only Ladybug and Chat Noir could know. Adrien finding out had nothing to do with either superhero, and it had even less to do with Marinette.

"What reason?" asked Alya, gritting her teeth, "He's been off our radar for years, Marinette. I bet he doesn't even know about our marriage, never mind the fact that you have a son!"

"Not so loud!" hissed Marinette, "My parents are sleeping and I don't want Hugo hearing about this." Alya's expression softened; her tone sympathetic as she murmured a quick apology and retreated back into Nino's arms.

Watching the two of them always made Marinette jealous, not because she had any romantic interest in either of them, but because they had something she didn't –they had each other. And she'd been abandoned by both Adrien and Chat Noir.

Since there hadn't been any sightings of Ladybug and Chat Noir during the past few years, the people of Paris began rejoicing, assuming Hawk Moth's powers had been taken away. Ladybug wanted to address the people of Paris once she'd discovered the villain's identity, but Chat Noir had pushed her away after that, wanting nothing to do with her.

"Has he asked about his dad?" asked Nino, resting his head on Alya's. Marinette shook his head. "You could always tell him he died doing something heroic, like helping Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir stopped fighting akumas before I fell pregnant with him," she muttered, "He'll know it was a lie and I don't ever want to lie to him."

Alya snapped her fingers, "Why don't you say he's working somewhere in America?"

Marinette sighed, "And what would his reason be for not messaging us, for not phoning to check on his son all these years?"

"Bad reception?" mumbled Alya, but Marinette could tell by the defeated look in Alya's eyes that she didn't need to point out the flaw in that one.

Marinette shook her head, "I don't feel comfortable talking about this with him upstairs. It's too easy for him to hear something this close." Nino and Alya respectfully agreed and Nino changed the topic to Kim's achievements in the getting a spot to compete in the Olympics that year.

Alya immediately perked up, thinking aloud about ways to promote him and get more people to cheer him on when he started swimming for France. She'd listed a couple, but Nino shot them all down telling her how his wife, Ondine was handling everything already.

Marinette wanted to join in, to pitch some ideas of her own, but Chloe's words had affected her more deeply than she cared to admit.

That night with Chat Noir was brought out of comfort. They'd both grown close after all the years fighting alongside one another and in fear of death they sought reassurance with one another. She even considered her feelings for Chat Noir and thought she was falling in love with him, but that clearly wasn't the case on his side.

Maybe she was a slut. Maybe she did screw up everything for Hugo by not thinking things through...

Marinette stood up from the sofa, gathering the mugs in her hands and smiled reassuringly at Alya and Nino when they looked up at her. "I'm just gonna wash these and get a refill on mine. Do you guys want anything else?"

They shook their heads and Marinette made her way towards the kitchen. Setting the mugs on the sink, she looked down to see Tikki peering up at her from behind the bread bin and smiled sadly at the kwami.

"You don't need to watch over me so much," said Marinette, "I'm a mother now."

"Then you should understand why we kwamis are so protective. We may not have children of our own, but we grow very attached to our holders. We hate seeing them in pain."

"Do you think Chat Noir's in pain?" asked Marinette, "Do you think he misses Ladybug?"

"I think so," replied Tikki. "Do you think Ladybug misses him too?"

Marinette laughed, something broken and pained. "I spent most of our time together ignoring his advances. I give in once and he abandons me. I thought he was my partner, someone I could trust...but then again, maybe I'm the worst one. I claimed to be saving myself for Adrien and in a moment of weakness I threw that all away for a mangy alley cat."

"You don't know if he was the one you were meant to end up with," said Tikki, flying up to Marinette's face, "Your soulmate could still be out there."

"Be realistic, Tikki. I'm twenty-two with a six-year-old son. What man my age would want a kid that isn't theirs?" Tikki gave Marinette a defeated look and as the words left Marinette's mouth, she could only bury her feelings deep inside her.

The doorbell of the bakery chimed from beneath her and Marinette sighed, running her hand over her face. "Who could that be?" She wrapped her gown tighter around herself and made her way downstairs.

She was growing increasingly frustrated, the chime playing on an endless, predictable and annoying loop as the person kept ringing the doorbell.

"I'm coming," she said, searching beside the cash register for the bakery keys. The doorbell rang again and Marinette cursed as she dropped the keys. Bending down to pick them up, she couldn't help herself. "I said I'm coming!"

She filled with the keys and wedged it in the lock. Yanking the door open, she nearly tore it off its hinges. "The bakery's closed! Come back to –," The keys in her hands fell to the floor and thick silence stretched over them.

He looked nothing like she remembered him.

Instead of the sweet little boy, a man stood before her. He'd grown considerably taller, at least a foot taller than she had, and the changes in his body were prominent. His shoulders had broadened, making way for more muscle and short stubble decorated his chin all the way to his hairline, blending into his side burns.

His hand was placed firmly beside the doorbell, and his body inches from hers. She could barely stand let alone breathe, "A –A –Adrien?"

Adrien gave her a soft smile, his green eyes lighting up in the same way they had all those years ago. "It's nice to see you again, Marinette."

Hey everyone I know I haven't t be updating this story often, so I've been thinking of changing my schedule a bit. New chapters will be avaliable every Friday, but I might add another on Tuesdays if my week hasn't been so busy.

Please don't forget to vote or comment if you liked this chapter and don't forget to stay miraculous!!