"Order three fifteen, one Pan Bagnat, ready to go."

The dark-haired woman gave a quick nod as she picked up the sandwich from the open kitchen window of the fairly large restaurant.

Or as she liked to call it, the eye of the diner.
There was something enticing about catching a glimpse of the chefs working their magic behind the kitchen doors.

"Bon Appetite." She grinned at the regular seated at table four as she placed his breakfast on the steel table before turning towards the bar.

"You are aware of the reason we hired waitresses, right?"

Marinette rolled her eyes and spared a glance at the ombré-haired woman putting together a drink behind the counter. Alya Césaire, her long-time best friend and business partner, was the woman in question.

"One of the perks of running a business is bonding with the customers." She argued as Alya topped up the drink with cranberry juice and a splash of grenadine.

"Yes indeed, but seriously, we shouldn't be handing out pay checks if we're the ones getting all the work done. " Alya stressed as she garnished the edge of the highball glass with an orange wedge and a tropical umbrella.

"Sex on the beach for Damien." She smiled as she served the glass on a coaster.

Her grayish gold eyes landed on two of her employees chatting their eardrums off at the far end of the diner. "Hey, you two. Back to work! "

"See." Her eyes seemed to say it all, and Marinette heaved a sigh in defeat.

The best friends had discovered their affinity for making bellies happy after they worked at Tom and Sabine's boulangerie patisserie during their summer breaks before leaving high school.

Of course, their individual dreams were still valid, and they felt blissful baking up goodies and serving them to the customers who had grown to love them. Sabine was convinced they'd try to take over the bakery, while Tom and Marlena Césaire were just happy to see their daughters follow their families' traditions.

The best friends then decided to broaden their skills in the culinary arts. Marinette took courses in the art of building recipes and mixing techniques, while Alya ventured into the business side of running an enterprise and mixology.

When Tom passed away, Marinette knew she'd wanted to put her skills to good use, thus establishing the most sought-after diner in the area years later, with her best friend by her side.

"Alright, alright." She groaned, earning an exasperated sigh from her business partner.

"What's up?" Marinette perked a brow as she took in the sudden look on Alya's face. The dark-haired woman plopped on one of the bar stools, chugging down a bottle of water as she watched as her brown-skinned friend typed away on her phone.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. Something came up at the last minute." Alya rambled as she threw her phone, notepad, and other necessities into her handbag.

"I'm so sorry, Mari. Look after the place for us, will ya?" The young woman bit her lip at her best friend, who was now moving behind the counter.

"It's no problem, babe. Go be where you have to." Marinette gave her a warm smile as she helped her friend out of the black apron tied around her waist.

"Thank you, and no babysitting for the staff." The brunette warned, earning an eye roll from the dark-haired woman.

"Just get out." Marinette gave a toothy grin as Alya placed a kiss on her cheek before exiting the now bustling restaurant.

"Why's she in a hurry?"

The dark-haired woman looked over the counter to see a girl of about six years of age resting on a bar stool, licking sugar off what used to be a powdered doughnut.

"Honestly, I have no idea."

Marinette was about to wipe down Alya's work station with a sanitary rag when she furrowed her brows and looked back at the girl licking her fingers.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping Maman back at the bakery?"

The little girl tilted her bluebell irises to her sister's identical ones, her dark bangs covering the left side of her face.

"I got bored, plus, being here means more treats from Hannah." She flashed a wide grin—which was missing two teeth—as her little hand dipped into the brown paper bag, fishing out a jelly-filled doughnut.

Hannah's fingers lightly scratched the back of her neck as she felt a burning gaze at the back of her head from where she was currently taking the order of a customer.

"Hey!" A pout found its way to Maryann's lips as her older sister grabbed her half-eaten doughnut before stuffing it in her mouth.

"Home you go now, missy."

━━━━━━━━━━━━

I'm sorry Adrien, but Chloe can no longer bear children. Her uterus has been severely weakened, hence the reason for the miscarriages. It's advised that you stop trying, or it might be fatal for her.

"Mr. Agreste?"

Adrien's eyes lazily looked up from where they'd been absentmindedly staring at to the dark-haired woman standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something? "

"Samuel has sent a notice that he's ready and waiting for you, sir." His secretary, Georgia, said as her warm brown irises trailed over his slouched form over the desk in his office.

"Right. I'll be there in a minute. "

A small sigh fell from his lips as his eyes lingered on the frame which held the photo of his wife— who seemed to be laughing, dressed in a yellow sundress and dark sunglasses while sitting on the sandy beach.

It had been two weeks since the incident, and things were back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get given the circumstances.

Adrien was worried that Chloé was slowly slipping away, and it hurt that he didn't know what to do to help. She had buried herself back into the affairs of the city a day after the incident, and he feared for her mental health and well being. She behaved as if nothing had happened, and she was back to her usual self—her normal, emotionless self.

Due to their traumatic experience, he had tried to convince her to get through therapy, but she brushed it off, saying, "It isn't necessary, I am Chloe after all." How could she not be herself when her city needed her as its mayor? She wouldn't show weakness, as it was not a trait to be found in the well-respected Bourgeois family. Hence the reason why she bottled it up and went about her day like the woman she was meant to be.

"We're ready for you, Sir."

Adrien snapped out of his train of thoughts as his gaze settled on his studio director, Samuel, who was now waiting for his instructions on the shoot planned for the day.

"Yes, are the kids ready?" Adrien asked as his eyes roamed over the studio to ensure nothing was out of place.

"They'll be in shortly." At that moment, a woman walked in with three little boys, no older than five years of age, into the middle of the set.

Receiving a nod from his boss, Samuel retreated to help the children into position.

"I never believed I'd get to see your face so soon after what, four years?"

Adrien turned to find an ombré-haired woman in her late twenties peering at him in amusement over her dark, horn-rimmed frame.

"And I never thought I'd be this glad to see you." He laughed as he held out his arms for a warm embrace, which she gladly took.

"I see my boy's been taking care of you." He smirked as he took her in. "You look stunning."

Alya simply rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly, "So do you."

"Can I stay here?"

"No, I get to stay here."

"Mom said I get to stay in the middle, not you!"

"Georgia, can you please handle that?" Adrien groaned and rubbed his temple to alleviate the growing headache, emitting a small chuckle from Alya's lips.

"I wonder how Rose handles them, even with her never ending duties as Queen." Alya giggled and shook her head in disbelief as she watched his secretary call the triplet boys to order.

"They're such a handful." Adrien moaned in despair as he warmed his hands in his pant pockets. "Well, she doesn't make it look like a one way ticket, and I'm sure his majesty and their nannies have everything under control." He stifled a laugh as he watched one of the triplets pout at Georgia in response to what seemed to be her reprimanding him.

"If it isn't Mrs. Agreste?"

Adrien averted his gaze to see Chloé walking into his studio with her phone right beside her ear.

"It's good to see you too, Césaire, and it's still Chloé Bourgeois."

"Right." Alya let a small smile grace her lips, and they shared a brief hug.

Chloé turned her attention to her husband, who seemed to look at her with worry after she placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"You okay?"

"Of course." She replied in a monotone voice, which made his heart ache. "You worry too much, babe. Lighten up."

"I just care about you, darling." Adrien sighed as she placed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"Be a dearie and liven him up for me, will ya?" Chloé said as she turned to face Alya, who only smiled and gave a small nod in return.

"Ma'am, we'll be late for the appointment with the investors if we don't leave now." Chloe's ginger haired secretary, Hazel, called out as she swiped her perfectly right-manicured finger on the iPad resting in her left hand.

"That's my cue. Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. See you at home, babe. "

Adrien sighed as he felt a comforting squeeze on his shoulder while he watched Chloé walking away with Hazel in tow.

"Everything okay?"

I honestly wish it were.

"Yeah, I—I mean," He cleared his throat. "We're just going through a rough patch, is all." He shrugged his shoulders and Alya simply nodded.

"Alright then, let's not keep their highnesses waiting any longer, shall we?"

Adrien grinned as he watched the triplet boys sit upright, a result of the unblinking stare plastered on Georgia's face.

"She's good." Alya commented with a nod.

"The very best." Adrien agreed with a small smile as he picked up a camera.

I guess it's time for a trip to Couffaine.

"Alright boys, say Achu."

━━━━━━━━━━

Adrien's thumb roamed over the visible bump of his wife, who held his hand as they both smiled for the camera.

"Do we still feel regret?"

Adrien sighed as he looked at the photograph. "N—not really, I just...."

"Take your time."

He breathed out before meeting the gaze of his former lycée classmate, her copper irises assuring him it was a safe space.

"I'm just mad that it feels like there's not much I can do for her. I know how much she's wanted the babies, only to lose them each time we've been close to having them in our arms. But with each loss, she's only drifted further and further away from us and herself. It's like I don't know her anymore."

"Have we tried talking to her about it?"

"I-I mean, I've tried, but she'd always use work as an excuse." He sighed as he remembered the last time he'd tried to get her to open up.

"I may not know or even come to understand how both of you are currently feeling, but I know it's not easy on you two. It must be painful to wake up each day, thinking of what could've been or what those beautiful souls could've meant to you—what they mean to you. I want you to understand that being here isn't you going behind her back in an attempt to 'get your mind off things'—"

"But—"

"There's only one person that can help Chloé, and that person is you, Adrien. But you can't be of help if you are in a compromised emotional state. I know that you being here shows you're committed to helping your family go through these trying times—I'm not implying she isn't making an attempt. We understand if she doesn't want to admit to being scared and vulnerable, but you can remind her—as her partner and friend—that it's okay to feel this way sometimes. It doesn't make anyone less of a person."

Adrien suppressed a shudder as tears threatened to fall from the corner of his eyes.

"You'll both get through this, I know you will." Juleka offered with a warm smile. "Just take your time."

At that, he let his walls down, shaking violently as he let himself become vulnerable in the safety of a non-judgmental zone.

━━━━━━━━━━━━

Fun fact, Prince Ali is the crowned prince of the Achu Kingdom :)