Marinette's fingers and toes were crossed that this was going to end well. She and Adrien had gotten Emma hyped about his absence, promising movies and girl-time and sleepovers. And Emma was excited.

Just how far that excitement would go was the question. She and Adrien hoped it would go a very, very long way, but they had their doubts.

So far, day one was a success. She and Emma had spent the day just as normal. They watched a movie in their pajamas with popcorn and Emma fell asleep in front of the television.

Marinette had texted Adrien such, and he texted back a big thumbs up.

Day two started out fine. They made pancakes and played superheroes and colored and then it was suddenly six-thirty and Marinette was calling Adrien on skype for her and Emma to talk to.

"Are you and Marinette having a good time?" Adrien asked Emma.

And she happily launched into everything that they did that day.

"I'm glad to hear it," Adrien excitedly replied. "That sounds like a lot of fun."

Emma nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Emma," Marinette said. "Why don't you go grab the pictures we colored to show your dad?"

"Okay!" And just like that, she vanished from the room.

Marinette leaned conspiratorially closer to the computer screen. "Day two was a success."

"I'm so happy," Adrien said. "At least one thing's going right today. Two down, three more to go. Fingers crossed it goes smoothly."

Marinette crossed her fingers just as Emma came running back into the room. "Look, daddy."

After she showed off her pictures, Adrien praising them all the way, it was time for him to go, so they said their goodnights and good byes. "Have fun with Marinette on your adventure."

"I am."

This was good. They were doing good. Bath time went smoothly, and then they built a fort in Emma's room before they read a story. By eight-fifteen, Emma was in bed snuggling Tikki while Plagg was at her back. Marinette slipped out the door, then took a quick shower before slipping into the guest bed. After turning her phone on silent-she didn't want to risk any dings or noises waking Emma-she sent off a text to Adrien. Day two, success.

She put the phone on the nightstand, then shut off the lamp, tossing the room into darkness. Until her phone screen lit it up with a call.

Adrien.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hi. I just wanted to see how she was doing."

"Like I said, the day went really well. No signs of her being stressed out without you, yet."

"Good," he said, relieved. "That's really, really good. Best news of the day."

"How are you holding on?"

"My father was right to send me. The company I audited did lax on a few policies, which my father suspected they would if he sent me in his stead. But that only means more work for... I'd like for you to guess who."

"You."

"And we have a winner."

"I'm sorry."

"It happens," he sighed. "Unfortunately."

"Still, that's rough. I know how much you already have on your plate."

"You wouldn't happen to know anyone who would make a really good assistant, would you?"

"You considering hiring one?"

"Big time."

She paused. "Not that I can think of off the top of my head."

"Worth a shot."

Marinette grinned. "I hope for your sake everything else goes smoothly."

"Yeah. So do I. I think my toes are crossed at this point because all my fingers are crossed for Emma."

She chuckled. "Here's wishing you all my ladybug luck."

"This black cat will take all he can get," he fondly said. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Anything else going on?"

"I'd much rather hear from you."

"Nothing more than what Emma told you about."

"What do you have planned for tomorrow?"

"Surprises."

"Oh?"

"Emma will tell you all about them."

"Fair enough," he relented. "Then I guess I'll let you go. Get some sleep."

"You, too. I know those hotel mattresses cannot be as comfortable as the one in your guest room."

"Or my own," he sighed. "But it will have to do. Sleep well, Marinette."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The next morning was spent going to her parents' house for pastries. Emma had quickly grown attached to them during the holiday party, and now she had no fear running up to Marinette's Papa and tackling his leg in a hug, fully expecting a bear hug in return. She squealed in delight as he picked her up and gave her a squeeze.

"He's not going to give her back,"' Maman warned, coming up to Marinette's side.

Marinette shrugged. "Adrien said it was okay."

Her maman giggled. "Where's he at again?"

"Parading across the continent, looking at the design houses to make sure they're up to Agreste standard."

"Ahh."

"He didn't want to do it, but that's his job."

"Understandable. At least he left his daughter in good hands."

"I try."

"You do," her maman assured, watching Emma make expressive hand motions as she told a story to Papa. "I know you do, otherwise I don't think that girl would be remotely as happy as she is."

Marinette's heartstrings tugged. "She's so precious. I adore her."

Her maman patted her arm tenderly.

"I'm hungry," Emma said, grabbing Marinette's attention.

"Well," her maman said. "We do live in a bakery. What do you want?"

With that, Marinette pulled breakfast for both her and Emma, then she took it upstairs to the kitchen table. After breakfast was completed, Marinette asked Emma if she wanted to go exploring. Marinette already knew the answer, but she had to make it seem exciting.

So Marinette took Emma up to her room, showing off the pink color on the wall.

"It's just like mine!" Emma exclaimed.

"I told you so."

The duo spent the entire day up there, exploring, going through Marinette's things, and finding Marinette's old sketch books.

Old enough to have Adrien's teenaged modeling pictures.

Marinette inwardly cringed. Emma recognized her dad immediately, so there was no escaping it. Thankfully, they were able to move on quickly afterwards.

They ate dinner with Marinette's parents, which Emma was happy about. Emma and Tom talked back and forth the entire time, Sabine chiming in here and there. Marinette was happy to stay in the background and simply watch the exchange.

Once dinner was over, Marinette helped clean up the dishes until an alert in her pocket reminded her that she and Emma were expecting a call.

"We can finish up," her maman assured. "Go answer."

"Thanks, maman." Marinette turned to look at Emma. "Your dad is calling. Ready to tell him about our day?"

"Yeah!"

Marinette led Emma back up to her room, pulled her into her lap, and answered the video call.

"Hi, daddy!"

"Hey, where are you guys?" Adrien asked.

"We're exploring my house," Marinette answered.

Emma nodded.

"Yeah?" Adrien asked, clearly intrigued. "Is it cool?"

Emma launched into her story of everything they did that day.

"And Marinette has pictures of you from when you were little."

There was a pause on the other end where Adrien was staring at the computer screen with bewilderment while Marinette turned what she fully believed to be the deepest shade of red she'd turned in a long time.

"Really?"

Emma nodded then turned to Marinette. "I want to show him."

Marinette forced a smile and allowed Emma to grab the picture from her old sketchbook. "See?" Emma said, holding the picture up to the computer. "It's you."

Adrien stared for a while before breaking into a smile. "Yup. That was my old job. I used to dress up for pictures."

As the conversation progressed, Marinette gradually returned to her normal color just in time to bid Adrien good-bye and get back home.

"Are you coming home now, daddy?"

And in a snap, Marinette's heart sank through the floor.

Adrien's undoubtably did, too. "I'm going to be on an adventure a couple more days, sweetheart."

Emma's expression fell.

"But I'll be home soon," he assured. "And Marinette is there, right?"

Emma nodded.

"So you two are going to have more fun together before I come back. Okay?"

She frowned. "Okay," she said, her voice soft with disappointment.

"I love you."

"I love you."

"Best daughter in the whole wide world."

"Best daddy in the whole wide world."

"I'll be home soon, okay."

"Okay."

"I promise. But for now, I'm going to say good night and I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good night, Emma."

"Good night, daddy."

With that, Marinette clicked out of the computer. "Ready to go home? We'll set up a pillow fort and read a story?"

Emma simply nodded.

She wasn't quite as enthusiastic as normal, but the fort still got built and Emma seemed happy about being in the fort. When she crawled in Marinette's lap, she snuggled closer than normal, her head half buried in Marinette's shirt.

Two chapters in, and Emma was yawning. Thankfully, she put up no fuss when Marinette put her to bed.

"Night night, Emma."

"Night night, mommy."

Marinette's heart froze for a second before it ramped back up to superspeed. Her mind ran a million miles an hour, trying to process that her favorite little girl in the world just called her 'mommy'.

And she loved it.

She bent down, pressed a kiss to Emma's temple, and whispered, "sleep well, sweetheart," before slipping from the room.

She took her time in the hot shower, thinking over Emma's words and trying to process them as well as face the guilt that came over not being able to regret just how pleased it made her.

Marinette got out of the shower, drying off before tossing on her pajamas and checking her phone. One message from Adrien. She gave him a call.

"Hey."

"Emma called me 'mommy'."

The silence between them was a surprised one.

"What?" Adrien asked, his unsteady voice proving it was about the only thing he could say.

"Emma called me mommy, tonight," Marinette repeated.

Another silence. One where neither knew what to say.

"What should we do about it?" Marinette asked. "I... I don't want her to get used to her calling me that."

"I'm okay with it."

Another silence.

"But... I'm not her mom."

"Nathalie wasn't her grandmother."

"That's different."

"How?"

"I'm not family."

"You could be."

Marinette's heart skipped a beat.

Adrien cleared his throat. "Like Alya."

She worked her jaw, hoping words would come out at some point. "But... Auntie Alya is different than being her mom, Adrien."

There was a tense sigh from over the phone. "Well," he said. "I... I guess I'll let you decide what you're comfortable with Emma calling you."

Mommy. Marinette thought. She can call me mommy. "We'll see if she's back to 'Marinette' in the morning. She was tired so... I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it."

"Okay," Adrien agreed on a sigh. "That's... a good idea."

Another pause.

"So," Adrien said. "I... um, just wanted to give you a call to check in on how Emma was doing after we got off the skype call."

Marinette took a breath to refocus herself. "She's just missing you," she answered. "At this rate, I'm worried that the next two days are just going to be a bundle of fun."

"Um..." there was a pause. "Call Alya. Maybe try to pump Emma up that way."

"Worth a shot," Marinette said. "I'll do that tomorrow. Maybe I should have waited for the bakery trip until later."

"Oh well, nothing you can do about that now. Maybe try taking her to the zoo? She'll enjoy that."

"Worth a shot. Anything to keep her mind off you."

"Sorry for making your job so difficult."

"You can't help it," Marinette assured. "You have a job to do."

"Guess you're right."

"How's things going, by the way?" she asked. "Was today better than yesterday?"

"Much," Adrien said. "Thankfully. And I found out something interesting."

"Really? What is it?"

"That my nanny apparently has my modeling photos when I was a teen."

Marinette's gut sank to the floor while her face flamed. She could hear that smile on his face, and she knew he wasn't going to let her get away with it. "I can explain," she rambled off.

"Please do."

"You know I like fashion," she said scrambling to get her story together. "And your dad was a big inspiration to me. So the totographs were because I loved you-R father's fashion!"

"Hmm? Really?"

"Yup!"

"So... that's why you have a picture of just my face?"

Oh, she could hear the smugness in his tone, and her heart was running faster than a racehorse, pumping heat from the pit of her stomach to her face. She was sure she was red as a ladybug. "GottaGoBye!"

She hung up on him, tossing the phone onto the dresser and faceplanting onto the pillow. She let loose a groan as 'almost admitting to her boss that she had a crush on him' found it's way to the top of her 'most embarrassing moments of her life' list.

Alya was a huge help in perking up Emma. Big time. They spent the day together, went out to lunch, and just hung out like girls do. Sadly, Alya had to leave at three, meaning Marinette and Emma were left to their own devices. So they went to the park and played a bit before heading home for dinner.

And when Adrien called, Marinette realized with a large grin that they only had one more day to go.

The conversation started out really well...until it ended in tears. Marinette held Emma tight, soothing her while she cried about how much she wanted her daddy.

"One more day, Emma," Adrien said over the computer. "I only have one more day, and then I get to come home to you."

Of course, it didn't help. So Marinette suggested an early bedtime. She got Emma bathed and in her pajamas before settling her down for the night.

Once she shut the door to Emma's room, Marinette let go a heavy sigh. How was she going to get through one more day?

She hoped spending a decent amount of time in the magical portal known as the shower would bring some ideas to mind. Sadly, no such luck. After she finished, she stepped out of the bathroom into the hallway.

Only to see Emma sitting cross-legged in front of Adrien's bedroom door, Plagg in her hands as she cried for her dad.

With her heart officially in shambles, Marinette went up to Emma, sitting beside her. "Emma, let's go to bed."

"Daddy," she cried, tears running down her face. "I w-w-want d-daddy."

Marinette pulled the girl into her lap. "Daddy will be home soon. Don't worry."

But Emma just cried into Marinette's shoulder, her squealy sobs wracking through her little body.

Marinette stared up at Adrien's door. Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. "Come on, Emma. Let's go to bed."

It took a moment for Emma to calm enough so that Marinette could lead her into Adrien's room. It felt slightly invasive, but he'd surely understand.

Emma leapt onto his bed, crawling around before settling into a ball on one of his pillows and crying into the back of Plagg's head.

Marinette took the other side, crawling under the covers and pulling them up around Emma. She sided up next to her, snuggling the crying girl against her and rubbing her back soothingly until the tears subsided and she finally fell asleep.

He'd begged Nathalie for a red-eye flight. It was only half a day, but he'd be home and there for Emma to wake up to. He couldn't stand the way her tears shook him last night. Thankfully, Nathalie pulled through.

Hence why he was getting on a very late fight that was projected to get him home just after midnight.

"A-choo!"

"Bless you," Adrien said to the man sitting beside him.

"Thanks," he said, digging into his bag for a tissue.

Adrien was anxious to be home. To get off this flight surrounded by people, take a hot shower, and crash in his own bed, only to be there for Emma when she woke. That was his plan.

He did catch a few minutes of shut eye on the plane, though it was difficult when Mr. Sick beside him was snoring like a chainsaw. Soon enough, Adrien was back in France. Then he was back in Paris. Then, finally, just after midnight, he was back home.

Oh, he was so happy.

He dropped his bags on the floor, a signal to Marinette and Emma for when they woke, then started up the stairs. However, before he did anything, he went to peek in on Emma.

Only to find her bed empty.

His brow furrowed. He walked over to the guest room. The door was open, and while he hated peeking in on Marinette, he wanted to know where his daughter was.

Except that bed was empty, too.

Now he was worried. Had they stayed somewhere else? No, Marinette would have texted him. Right?

He got to his door, opening it, and immediately freezing upon the sight. Emma was curled into a ball under the covers, Marinette's arm over her protectively, holding Emma close to her chest. She shifted, holding Emma tighter, and that's when Adrien realized he should shut the door, keep out the light, and let them sleep.

Well, so much for his shower and his own bed.

He peeked in the other bathroom, finding Marinette's things on the counter as well as in the shower, but Emma's bar of soap and shampoo were in there, too. It would do, and he desperately wanted to rinse off the airplane. So, grabbing his pajamas from his bag, he showered off, already feeling better, before collapsing on the bed in the guest room and promptly falling asleep.

Marinette woke before Emma, which was shocking. She slipped out of bed and quietly shut the door behind her, allowing Emma to sleep. She was probably still tired from her crying fit again last night. They'd managed to make it though the day with minimal tears, only to break down when they got home.

At least Adrien was coming home today.

She made it halfway down the stairs before she paused. Because that looked an awful lot like luggage in the hallway. She looked back upstairs, only to notice that her bedroom door was shut.

And that's when she realized Adrien was home.

She grinned. He was home.

When he got in last night, she didn't know. Nor did she care. All she cared about was that he was home and Emma would be happy to see him again. Since she didn't want to start breakfast, yet, she decided that she could get her sketchbook...

Which was in the guest room. Where Adrien was.

Along with her clothes.

And basically, sleeping in her bed.

She tried not to dwell on that.

Instead, she pulled a couple pieces of blank paper and a pencil from Emma's room, then started the coffee she really needed.

After downing cup number one and filling out a couple really terrible pages, she heard a door open. She was sure it was Emma, so she rounded the corner with a grin, ready to greet her good morning.

Only to see Adrien at the top of the stairs.

Her smile only grew. "Good morning."

His bedhead was one of the greatest things she'd ever seen: wild and fluffy. Oh, so fluffy. She really wanted to run her hands through it.

... She needed more coffee.

"Hi," he greeted with a yawn. "Forgot to turn off my alarm."

She chuckled. "What time did you get in last night?"

"Morning," he said, descending the stairs. "Early, morning."

"Oh."

He nodded. "But I'm here and that's all I really care about."

"I'm glad you're home," she said. Then realized how that sounded and quickly tacked on, "For Emma's sake."

Was it her, or did he look disappointed. No, he was just tired. He had to be tired. And so did she.

She needed more coffee.

"Coffee?" she offered.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

She shooed him to sit down at the table before pouring a mug of coffee for him.

"Cream or sugar?"

"No, just black."

She quirked a brow as she handed off a mug. "How do you drink that stuff?"

He took it with a thankful grin. "It's most potent when not dressed up."

She shrugged then proceeded to pour cream and sugar in hers.

"So..." he started. "Any particular reason that, um... You were in my bed last night?"

The spoon clattered against the counter as heat flooded her cheeks. "Um..." she struggled, not daring to look him in the eye lest she remember that, yes, she was sleeping in his bed and she enjoyed it because the sheets were warm and soft and smelled like him. "Emma... she, uh, that second to last night, she just... it was rough."

"Really?"

At the tightness in his voice, she turned to see he was wearing a grimace. "Yeah, she... she was outside your door crying for you, so I hoped that maybe it would calm her if, you know, we slept in your bed. And it did, thankfully."

He nodded. "Good. I mean, not good but... good she got sleep."

"I was willing to do anything at that point."

An awkward silence slipped between them.

"So how did everything go?" she asked. "With the fashion houses, that is."

"Fine," he answered. "Long. Not fun."

"Anything other than the one troublesome house?"

"No, thankfully."

"Did you get any time for sightseeing?"

He shook his head. "I was either walking through our fashion houses or doing piles upon piles of paperwork."

She frowned as she took a seat beside him. "I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "What are you gonna do? That's just part of the new year."

"Still," she said, reaching out to place a hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry. I had hoped that things would go smoothly for you or you might even get a chance to relax a bit. I know how busy you've been lately. Would have been nice for you to have a few moments to yourself."

"I would much rather have just gotten as much done as I can so I can spend time with my daughter."

"It would have been okay to have a bit of time to yourself. You were out of the country. You could have enjoyed a little sightseeing."

"Well, that's a little hard when I was far too worried about the sight of Emma crying."

She squeezed his arm. "Yeah. It was rough and long for her."

"Hence why I wanted to get stuff done," he said, taking another sip of coffee. "Because I know she would like to have her dad back."

Marinette stared at him for a while, just long enough for him to notice and stare back at her. "You're a good dad. Emma's very lucky." She patted his arm. "But don't worry about taking care of yourself a little bit, either. Don't work yourself into the ground in the process."

He held her gaze a while before reaching over to place a hand on top of hers. It made her realize that she had her hand on his arm, a very intimate gesture. She should remove her hand; his hand was only a light presence, allowing her to do such an action. But she didn't want to.

The pitter-patter of little feet descending the staircase called their attention.

Marinette retracted her hand quickly just as Emma came into view. Marinette grinned at the sight of Emma in her pajamas, Tikki in her grasp. "Look who's home."

Adrien stood from his seat, and Emma lit up like the morning sky. "DADDY!"

Tikki was immediately forgotten as she ran to Adrien's open arms. He scooped her up and swung her around. "I'm so happy to see you," he said, squeezing her tight.

Marinette watched the reunion with a wide grin.

Tears were involved, but that was mostly because Emma absolutely refused to let her daddy go lest he disappeared again.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere for a long time. I promise."

Emma sniffed. "Pinky promise?" she asked, her voice warbling with tears.

"Pinky promise."

It wouldn't be for a while for Emma's cries to stop, now only the occasional sniffle escaping her.

"Emma," Marinette said. "Why don't you tell your dad about our adventures while I make breakfast? Does that sound good."

Emma nodded, then started in on telling her dad about their adventure in the zoo yesterday.

Marinette dug through the cabinets before deciding on sweet crepes for the occasion. Emma, and Adrien, watched with fascination as she easily flipped the crepes by tossing them in the air.

Adrien cleaned up the dishes once breakfast was over. "Thank you so much for everything," he said. "I've got this."

"I'll help. It's no trouble."

And that's what she said throughout the whole day as she helped do laundry and generally clean the house.

"Marinette," Adrien said, stopping her before she made it to the laundry closet. "I'm serious. Thank you for everything, but I've got this."

"It's a load of laundry."

"You said that three loads ago."

"It's no trouble."

"But you don't have to. I can handle this."

"But I'm here and don't have anything to do today."

"Yes, but you've been here for five days straight and I need to pull my weight." He reached for the laundry.

But she pulled it away. "You said you came home for Emma, so go play with her." She smacked his rear to emphasize her point.

And that's when it hit her.

He wasn't her husband.

She stared at him a while, her mind blank. His expression mirrored her own: wide-eyed and stunned. Slowly, bright red sprawled across his cheeks as he looked away.

And her face... her face was on fire. "Um... I'll... put this in then I think I'm going to head out."

"Okay."

"Okay."

She'd never done a load of laundry so fast.