Chapter Text
“Are you sure you really want me to—?”
“Of course. I want my mother to meet my girlfriend.”
Marinette bit her lip and held the bouquet she bought a little bit closer. She’d spent plenty of time at Emilie Agreste’s bedside, of course, but she’d been asleep, and Marinette had been focused on how to wake her up. Now that the magical coma had been lifted, Adrien was eager to speak to his mother again, and he wanted Marinette right there with him.
“What if she doesn’t like me? What if I’m too awkward? What if she doesn’t like the flowers? What if—”
“Deep breath, Marinette.” Adrien kissed her free hand, smiling warmly. “She’s going to love you. You could never be too awkward, you’re adorable. And she loves flowers. You’re going to be just fine.”
Marinette drew in a big, calming breath, then let it out in a rush. She was working on the spiraling thing, but sometimes it still caught up with her. Luckily, she had Adrien there to help bring her back.
She loved to see him like this, always smiling, standing tall and confident since he’d settled back at home. They could be out with their relationship, and she could tell he loved being able to hold her hand and kiss her in public. He laughed out loud with her father during their Saturday dinners, and it was so infectious that it even made his stick-in-the-mud cousin giggle. He’d been fitting in well at the art club, too, trying all kinds of projects and even roping Marinette into trying some new things. The two of them plus Alix had been heavily involved in painting a mural for the school, and it was shaping up to be lots of fun.
He was really good at calligraphy, too, and even seemed to find it relaxing. Marinette wasn’t the only one who brought a gift today—she’d managed to talk him into showing off his skills to his mother, and then she got to watch him carefully paint his mother’s name in beautiful emerald ink.
“Okay. I think I’m ready. You?” She looked to Adrien’s wobbly smile, and she knew he was nervous, too—after all, it had been so long since he got to hear his mother’s voice, or be held in her arms.
“With you, Milady,” he said. “I’m ready for anything.”
They stepped into the room. Emilie sat there, staring out her window, her shining golden hair draped elegantly over one shoulder. Marinette was struck speechless by her for a moment, not knowing how someone who’d just woken up from a coma could look so poised and gorgeous.
Tentatively, Adrien’s voice finally broke the silence. “Mother? It’s Adrien.”
Emilie turned to them both with a glowing smile, like she’d waited decades just to see them both. She held out her arms and beckoned them closer, saying, “Adrien, come, come, let me hold you, my darling boy.”
He melted eagerly into her embrace, and Marinette could see tears forming in his eyes. She felt herself tearing up, too, seeing him so happy. She almost jumped, though, when Emilie pulled from the embrace to turn her knowing, kind gaze to her.
“And who is this, Adrien?”
Marinette stuttered and stumbled a bit, offering the flowers she’d brought in an awkward motion, though Emilie didn’t seem to mind. “M-Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien’s mom—I mean! Mrs. Agreste!”
The woman laughed good-naturedly. “Emilie is fine, darling.”
“Mother, Marinette is my girlfriend,” Adrien said, beaming like the sun itself. “She’s incredibly special to me, so I wanted you to meet her.”
It was Emilie’s turn to be speechless, and Marinette felt like a deer caught in the headlights as those green eyes that were so like Adrien’s took her in. She wondered if she was being judged, if Emilie was deciding whether to approve of her, when the woman opened up her arms and beckoned Marinette into an embrace next.
“Thank you for taking care of my son, Marinette.”
The tears returned to Marinette’s eyes all over again. She returned the hug, her lip trembling with emotion.
“What else could I do?” she whispered, a breathless laugh in her voice. “He’s been taking care of me, too.”
The rest of the visit was a wonderful, warm affair. Adrien gave Emilie his gift, and then they sat down to share stories—some of the good, some of the bad, but all of it together. Adrien held Marinette’s hand the entire time, his thumb brushing against the back of her knuckles.
They were safe and sound, and they were together. Marinette couldn’t have asked for a happier ending.