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Adrien blinked dumbly at the pre-dawn, hazy light slipping through the blinds. Something had woke him, he was sure of it because he was too suddenly awake and slightly startled for it to have happened naturally.
What was it? It was far too early and his brain was far too sluggish to figure this out…
Marinette was asleep beside him. His wife was in a calm, deep sleep so it wasn’t likely that she’d been the one to wake him. She was curled into a snug ball on her side of the bed, so it wasn’t like he’d gotten smacked by one of her wayward, starfish limbs again…boy, was she pretty when she drooled in her sleep. It was such a calming sight, he could just fall…right…back…to…sleep…
Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be doing something? Yes, right! Figuring out what woke him up!
A brief check of his phone confirmed he hadn’t missed a call or text. Which was good, since good news rarely arrived before dawn did. So…
If it wasn’t Marinette that woke him and it wasn’t his phone…then what…
Oh! Right! He had kids!
Come to think of it, some rustling sounds were coming from one of the baby monitors. Tired as he was, Adrien still knew it wasn’t likely to be his baby daughter, Emma, waking up. No, when his Little Lady woke up she liked to exercise her little lungs until they appeased her with a bottle–a resemblance to Plagg that he absolutely refused to acknowledge no matter how smugly proud Plagg was of his newest “kitten.” Hugo wasn’t likely to be awake yet, either. He was just like his mother–absolutely energized by the night and hated the mornings. They usually had to coax him out of bed and make sure he didn’t fall asleep while brushing his teeth. Adrien could only wait on pins and needles until Hugo was old enough to get why he called him his “Little Waterbender.” For now, his toddler was just really confused.
Nope, the most likely culprit was his oldest and fellow “Sunshiner,” Louis. While they were similar in many ways, sharing blond hair and a social energy in the mornings that made Marinette grumble, this was early for even him. Adrien turned on the video on the monitor, which was trained mostly on Hugo’s crib but included the corner of Louis’ bed, and just caught the bottom of Louis’ footed pajamas as he seemed to be pushing something towards the window.
Huh. That was weird. Not a single explanation popped into Adrien’s sleep-addled mind as to what his son could be doing. At least he didn’t seem to be feeling sick or anything…but yeah, Adrien should probably go check on him.
It wasn’t until Adrien pulled himself out of his nice, warm bed and was shoving his feet into his Bugs’ Bunny slippers (a wedding present from Alix) that realization hit him. Adrien smirked, suddenly more awake and feeling a thrill of excitement.
It was Easter morning.
Several explanations of why his son would already be awake entered his head and they all included the Easter Bunny and sugary sweets. It was enough to make Adrien giddy! He loved seeing the excitement his kids experienced each holiday–even Emma got in on the excitement! She was, after all, born on Valentine’s Day. Clearly, she had her Dad’s enthusiasm and wanted to share in the holiday as their own personal valentine!
As Adrien made his stealthy way to his sons’ room, he reminded himself that he should probably encourage Louis to hold off on hunting for his Easter Basket at least until Marinette and Hugo were awake. Marinette would want to see their reactions and Hugo would feel left out if Louis hunted without him. But maybe… they could sneak a jellybean or two while they waited. No one needed to know that , right?
Gently easing the door open, Adrien peaked in first to check on his boys. Hugo was sound asleep, one leg poking through the bars on his crib, while Louis had managed to push the rocking chair’s footstool beneath the window. Before Adrien could stop him, Louis yanked the curtains back and stood atop the stool so he could stare out the window.
“Hey, bud…” Adrien whispered, coming into the room and shooting an anxious glance at Hugo.
He needn’t have bothered, Hugo was blissfully oblivious to the world.
“Happy Easter,” Adrien hugged him as he perched on the stool beside his son. “What are you doing up? Trying to catch the Easter Bunny?”
Louis shook his head and smiled up at his Dad, teeth a little crooked in a way Gabriel would have been appalled by but Adrien found endearing.
“I set my alarm so I could see the sunrise.” Louis whispered. “Don’t worry, I slept on it aaaaallllllll night so that it would only wake me up and not Hugo!”
Adrien muffled a snort into his hand. They both knew it was hard to wake up Hugo, but Heaven help anyone who woke Hugo up a moment before it was necessary. He was kinda impressed that Louis was able to sleep all night on a Cat Noir baton alarm clock, especially since he’d tried the same thing before and he kept rolling over onto the button that would blare, “Cataclysm!” over and over for as long as the button was pressed.
“Good choice, Bud.”
Louis nodded his head and immediately went back to his window-side vigil.
“So why’d you want to see the sunrise so badly?” Adrien asked, getting comfortable on the stool and setting Louis in his lap.
“I read in one of Grandpa’s funnies books that the sun dances when it rises on Easter.” Louis said reverently.
“It dances?” Adrien asked in surprise.
“Yeah.” Louis cast an annoyed look over his shoulder to his brother. “I’d’ve told Hugo, but you know ! Maybe next year, if the book was right.”
Adrien chuckled at his early rising sun’s disdain, but asked, “Why did it say the sun dances on Easter morning?”
“Daaaaaaaad!” Louis said, as though it were obvious. “The sun dances when it rises on Easter ‘cause it’s happy that Jesus rose, too!”
Warmth blossomed into Adrien’s chest and he held his son closer. “Yeah?”
“Uh huh.” Louis said seriously.
Adrien wasn’t even sure they could see the sunrise over the cityscape of Paris, but he didn’t want to burst his son’s bubble. Apparently, his son did a lot more research than Adrien had anticipated, because just a few moments later the rosy glow of dawn became more pronounced and they could just barely see the sun as it came over the horizon.
“Wow.” Adrien whispered.
It was rare that Adrien witnessed a sunrise. Early riser though he was, living with night owls and generally being awake at all hours while taking care of a two-month-old did not lend itself to leisurely watching the day dawn. It was truly a sight to behold, with all the fresh, vibrant colors and the dew still glistening, making his beloved city sparkle.
But there was no sun dancing a jig. Not even a little shimmy. Though, really, Adrien taught his kids not to stare into the sun, so…who could tell?
Apparently, Louis could and he was disappointed. He leaned against his dad with a little pout.
Adrien rubbed Louis’ arm and tried to soften the disappointment. “Not what you were hoping?”
Louis didn’t answer, just shook his head.
“You know,” Adrien said, “I think saying that the sun dances is supposed to be a metaphor. You know, something that is compared to another thing? Or is supposed to represent something? What do you think it’s supposed to mean?”
“Well…” Louis hesitantly said. “It said it was because the sun was happy because of Jesus.”
Adrien nodded and encouraged him to continue, “And why would people say that the sun was happy?”
“Because the people are happy?” Louis said. “But they didn’t have to say the sun danced if it didn’t!”
Adrien snorted, finding no argument for his son’s logic. “Maybe the people who first said that were so happy Jesus rose from the grave and broke the chains of death and sin that it filled them up with soooo much joy that dancing was the only way to let it out! And they were so happy it wasn’t enough to say that they wanted to dance, it felt like the whole world–the whole galaxy, the universe!--was celebrating with them, so they said the sun danced, too.”
A tiny smile tugged on Louis’ lips as he nodded into Adrien’s shoulder.
“Is that a smile?” Adrien teased. “I think that’s a smile…”
“Daaad!” Louis giggled.
Adrien blew a raspberry into his son’s hair. “Are you happy for Jesus?”
Louis nodded with a grin.
“Well,” Adrien said conspiratorially. “‘The sun might not be bright enough to bust out some dance moves…but we sure can, if…”
“If what?” Louis asked.
“If you’re happy enough.” Adrien shrugged, tone teasing. “I don’t know, you seem pretty disappointed. Besides, maybe it’s too early…you probably need to go back to sleep, eat a nutritious breakfast of broccoli before you have enough energy to be that happy…”
Louis scrambled out of Adrien’s lap and started hopping around and throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m happy, I’m happy!”
Adrien chuckled, tensing slightly when Hugo shifted but stayed asleep.
“Are you happy, Dad? Or do you need broccoli?” Louis whispered impishly.
Well, that was obviously a challenge. Adrien leapt to his feet and started thrashing around in the most ridiculous dance moves he could think of, all the while sticking his tongue out at his son, like a mature adult.
Louis laughed and stuck his tongue out, too.
“Shh…” Adrien reminded. “Don’t want to wake everyone up.”
Louis shook his head and then they both giggled again.
***
In their bedroom, snug under the covers, Marinette watched as her boys shimmied in and out of the video monitor’s view. They were trying to be quiet, so–of course–Marinette heard everything. Their joy was infectious and was one of the few things Marinette decided she didn’t mind waking up at the crack of dawn for.
“Happy Easter, Kittens.”
Matthew 28:5-10
New International Version
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”