Chapter Text
Chat didn’t even see the throwing star coming. Having fought Hawkmoth for over a decade, he thought he knew all of the villain’s tricks, but that was before, when he was fighting off the man’s lackeys. In one-on-one combat, Hawkmoth had no time to conjure up an akumatized victim. That hardly slowed him down.
As he fought against his father and tried to get close enough to the miraculous clipped at Hawkmoth’s neck, Chat quickly found out that his talent and skill in battle was hereditary.They parried, cane against pole like makeshift fencers, and Chat was finally grateful that his father forced him into fencing for so many years. With that training, along with his years as Chat Noir, he was holding his own, but he lacked strategy. It had always been his weak spot, and why he and Ladybug made such an excellent team. She made up for where he faltered, and he she. But currently, Chat didn’t have a spare moment to call for backup, and the man across from him was not suffering from any similar qualms. What Gabriel may have lacked in speed due to age, he more than made up for in cunning, as he seemed to anticipate his son’s every move.
That was the worst part: Hawkmoth could read Chat like an open book. Of the few and far-between sentimental moments he shared with his father during his childhood, Gabriel would often remark how similar he was to his mother.
“Your expression, ” he had always said. “Your expressions are so similar to hers.”
Chat always held on to those words as one of the few fond memories he held of his father, but he saw now that that shred of sentimentality might just be his undoing. Chat took one misstep, and Hawkmoth pounced. Belatedly, he realized he’d been backed against a wall, and Hawkmoth unsheathed the knife hidden in his cane with a flourish, positioning it flush against Chat’s neck.
“Your miraculous,” he stated, little emotion coloring his voice despite his apparent victory. “Son.”
Chat stared at him, trying to find some semblance of the man who was his blood. He clenched his fists fast, prepared to fight to the end, when his ears twitched to attention, picking up one of the most familiar and beautiful sounds to him. One look at Hawkmoth’s face told him the man had yet to notice the telltale metallic scrape of her yoyo or the quiet thud of her landing, and Chat forced himself to hold his father’s eyes lest he give away her location.
“Never,” he seethed back, finally responding to Hawkmoth’s demand just as he saw Ladybug’s yoyo wrap around the villain’s waist. The man’s eyes momentarily widened as Ladybug pulled him away from Chat, giving him just enough distance to break free. As Hawkmoth stumbled backward, Ladybug released him just long enough to get a better hold on him, this time lassoing him around the biceps and pinning his arms securely to his sides.
Chat shook out his shoulders as he watched his father, his longtime-foe, struggle against his partner’s unbreakable hold and pursed his lips. So this was how it ended.
“Stop fighting,” he spoke softly, watching as Hawkmoth’s eyes shot towards the knife he’d dropped at Ladybug’s arrival. Chat sighed, kicking the implement far enough away so the possibility became non-existent. Even restrained, he wouldn’t give up. Chat shouldn’t have expected anything less. “If you ever cared about me, the least you could do is not make this harder than it needs to be.”
“ If I ever cared?” The man who was his father spat vehemently. “You’ve always been an ungrateful child, Adrien.”
Momentarily distracted by the pure venom in his eyes, Chat almost missed the flick of his hand as he released the last of his throwing stars, cleverly concealed in some hidden sleeve pocket. Unencumbered, and adrenaline still rushing from their fight, Chat’s reflexes kicked in easily as he dodged the flying missile. He had begun to sigh in exasperation, ready to end this when a gasp that echoed a few meters away alerted him that his wife had been less fortunate.
His eyes instantly found Ladybug just as her yoyo dropped from her grasp. He watched motionless as her hands moved to clutch her abdomen, the torn fabric of her suit was already soaked through with blood. His next movements existed in that temporal space where time seemed to pass at double- speed, yet still in slow motion.
Hawkmoth broke free of his restraints, but not a moment elapsed to allow triumph to take over before Chat’s fist pummeled his face, knocking the man out cold with a single blow. His hand grabbed at his collar, tearing the miraculous off his shirt and rendering him helpless, all as his body continued to move past the man and towards his wife who shakily stood still too far away from him.
He reached her side just as her legs gave out, his arm cradling her to him as his free hand increased the pressure she was already exerting on her abdomen.
“Adrien,” she breathed out, horror evident in her voice.
“Shh, Mari, it’s okay,” he soothed. “We’ll get you to the hospital. You’ll be alright.”
“No, Adrien,” she insisted, one hand moving from her side to grip his collar. “The baby.”
~*~
She watched his eyes widen in shock for only a moment before her partner sprung into action. An instant later, she was in Chat’s arms and he was valuting them onto the roofs. She held on securely, gritting against the pain and dizziness as she wrapped her legs around his waist to try and free up his movement as he frantically carried her across rooftops and towards the hospital. Never in her life had they moved so fast. Whether it was time seeming to escape her as she fought to remain conscious or some miraculous burst of speed on her husband’s part, Marinette would never know. All she remembered was she blinked and suddenly they were dropping down into an alley next to the hospital. It lit up in the glow of their combined colors, and she caught a single glimpse of Tikki’s worried face before her eyelids slid shut to the sound of Adrien’s shouts for help.
~*~
Adrien had not taken his eyes off Marinette in what felt like hours. Even though the clock assured him no more than 30 minutes had passed, he had no plans to leave her side until she opened her eyes again.
It was a mild case of shock, the doctor had said. Thankfully, the “mugger” had horrible aim and while the wound was deep, it was clean and the muscle would stitch back nicely.
“No where near the baby,” she had assured him. “Don’t worry, dad.”
He didn’t respond as she and the nurse left the room, his heart constricting in his chest.
Dad .
He was going to be a father.
The joyful news warred in his bruised heart with that night’s still raw revelations and actions of his own father, but as Adrien looked at the woman in the bed before him, he felt himself start to heal. The slight anxiety that arrived with the news that he would soon be a father-- would soon be responsible for the physical and emotional , rearing and well-being of another life-- was overwhelmed with the joy that was the knowledge of who that being’s mother was.
Marinette was the balm that soothed his worries, because even though he didn’t know how to be a father, he knew how to love Marinette. And loving this baby, an extension of her--of them--already came as easy to him as breathing. He may not have had the best model on how to be a father, but he did on how to love. His mother, his wife, his friends, his in-laws… His family. With them, this baby would never for a moment wonder what it was to be loved.
As for figuring out how to parent, it would be a first for them both. Together, they would make their own way.
She just needed to wake up first.
As if on cue, Marinette’s lashes started to flutter against her cheek, and he squeezed her hand lightly in his, leaning closer to make sure his face was the first thing she saw.
“Hey, Bugaboo,” his whisper was hoarse as he reached up to brush the bangs off her brow. Marinette’s eyes blinked slowly, nose crinkling adorably as consciousness slowly returned to her. Her memories of the night weren’t far behind, and her hand immediately flew to her stomach as her eyes sought out his.
“You’re fine,” he was quick to assure her, his voice hitching on his next words. “You both are.”
He saw her sink back into the bed then, the panic draining from her body as her eyes softened.
“How long have you known?”
“You don’t remember telling me?”
“I…” she squinted, as if trying to spot the memories somewhere in the distance before shaking her head.
“You told me right after-- just before we left that plaza,” Adrien changed course, determined to focus on the good. “So about 2 hours and some change.”
She squeezed his hand still holding hers, piecing together the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.
“I was coming to tell you,” she continued. “I imagined a slightly different reveal.”
“Less dramatic?” He guessed, but she only snorted at him.
“God no! Have you met you ?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, but Adrien couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He was just so relieved to hear her laughing. To hear her happy and safe.
“Maybe a little less bloody,” she allowed when her giggles had subsided, and regarded him with a sad smile.
“Mari,” he began, forcing himself to continue even as his throat choked on the words that came next. “If anything had happened to you--to the baby--I--”
“Shh, I know, chaton,” she placed a hand against his cheek and Adrien leaned into the warmth greedily.
“How will we--with the baby--how…”
“I’ve had about as much time to process it all as you, and I just don’t know,” she answered when he’d trailed off, unable to voice the words though he knew they needed to be said. There was so much to consider. How could he have a baby and be Chat Noir? Was it even safe for Marinette to transform pregnant? What would they do when the baby came? They couldn’t leave at the drop of a hat anymore, not both of them, and they were only their strongest together…
Marinette brushed her thumb against his cheekbone, bringing him back to the present with a knowing smile.
“What I do know is how happy I am,” she continued and Adrien felt the first real smile spread across his face all night.
“We need to talk, but not now. Nothing needs to be decided today, right guys?” Marinette looked down towards their joined hands and Adrien followed her gaze to see Plagg and Tikki peeking out from beneath the thin hospital blanket.
“Nothing except what kind of cheese we’re going to celebrate with,” Plagg corrected, lifting from his hidden location with his signature smirk. Adrien felt his shoulders relax as Plagg’s words lifted the moment out of its melancholy. Tonight was for celebrations, of family, whether they be human or ancient god-like beings. And although the news meant the day they had to part loomed a bit closer, they were still together now. The people he loved most were all in one room, and they were multiplying by the second.
~*~
Tikki looked at Plagg, her partner’s face spreading into a rare soft smile as he caught her eye, but she couldn’t ignore the sadness there too. The same ache reflected in her own heart, and she knew immediately that their thoughts were the same.
It wouldn’t be long now. Hawkmoth may be defeated, but there was still an imbalance in the universe, there were still battles to be fought, and the change was inevitable.
There was a reason they never stayed too long with any one holder. That much power, for too long...it tore at a person’s very core, draining them or making them crazed. Tonight, seeing the state of Gabriel Agreste, reminded Tikki all too well of that truth. As much as she tried to ignore the thought of leaving Marinette, the time was coming.
She needed to savor every moment they had left, but the storm was still off in the distance. Now was a time to celebrate a new life. A new start.