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“Are you sure I have everything I’ll need, milady?” Adrien asked fretfully.
Marinette smiled fondly. “I’m the only thing that’s leaving the house, Adrien.”
He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “True.”
Marinette’s maternity leave was over, and Adrien was officially a stay-at-home dad. His wife would return to her job as a fashion designer, while Adrien would be at home with little Emma.
He bounced his baby girl in his arms and Emma giggled, smiling up at him with those big green eyes of hers. “Who’s her daddy’s girl,” Marinette cooed, leaning over to kiss Emma on the forehead. Then she looked at Adrien. “You’ll be fine, Kitty,” she reassured him. “And if you need anything, just call me, okay?”
Adrien took a deep breath. “Okay. It’ll be fine.”
“Yes, it will,” Marinette agreed. “I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She kissed him goodbye, and then she was off. Adrien stood at the window and watched her leave, and once her car had pulled out of sight, he turned back and looked down at Emma, who was now playing with a couple loose threads at his collar. She looked up at him and beamed.
“Well,” Adrien said. “Here we are.”
Emma blinked.
“What do you say we do today?” Adrien walked into the family room and set Emma down on the soft carpet.
Emma looked around curiously. She had inherited Sabine’s quiet and thoughtful nature, and Adrien often felt like she could see into his soul.
Adrien sat down in front of her. He smiled slowly at his daughter, maintaining eye contact. After a few moments she grinned back at him, and Adrien’s smile grew. Baby smiles were the cutest.
He moved closer to her and laid her on her back. He bicycled her legs and she giggled over and over. “Now then,” Adrien said. “I’ve read lots of books and articles about babies, so theoretically, this should be a piece of cake even though Mommy’s not here.” He still felt a little nervous, but, as he’d discovered before, actually getting started with a daunting task made him feel more confident. “So, what do you say, sweetie? A walk in the park? Listening to some music and dancing? Reading a book?”
Emma just looked at him, looking curious.
“Can’t decide, huh? No problem. We have a long day ahead of us and can do all those things. So what should we do first?”
Emma cooed.
“Reading, then? Sounds good. But what to read?” Adrien looked over at the bookshelf, which was well stocked with fiction and nonfiction alike. “I’ll need to make a proper nerd out of you, of course, so… Aha!” He clapped Emma’s hands together and she giggled. “We have novel adaptations of the Star Wars original trilogy! That’s perfect. What do you say, Emma?”
She made another adorable noise and Adrien laughed. “I knew I liked you.”
He scooped her up and grabbed the novel version of A New Hope. Then he sat on the couch, settled Emma on his lap, opened the book, and started reading. He did his best to imitate the voices of the characters. Every now and then he bounced his legs and Emma smiled.
He got through a few chapters before Emma got a little fussy.
“Getting a bit bored?” Adrien put the book down and lifted her, turning her to face him. She smiled upon seeing his face again. “Aw, did you miss seeing Daddy?” he crooned. “You cute little kitten.” He kissed her cheek and then stood up, holding her securely. “You probably need something more active now,” he mused. He pulled out his phone and checked the weather. “Looks like a really nice day, and the UV index is low. Let’s go on a walk!”
In a few minutes Adrien had Emma secured in her stroller and they were off. Adrien greeted the neighbors as he saw them, and after a little while, he and Emma reached the nearby park. He found a bench and sat down, then lifted Emma out of the stroller and set her on his lap. She looked all around, taking in everything.
“See those tall trees?” Adrien said to her. “Those are called plane trees. They grow really fast when they’re young – sometimes three meters in one year!” Emma made a noise. “I know. Super cool, right? You know what’s cooler? You see how the bark has a few different colors and is flaking a bunch? That’s because plane trees can shed their bark when they get dirty from pollution.” More cooing. “You’re right, that’s why there are lots of plane trees in Paris. They’re good for shade and they can thrive despite the city’s pollution. There are lots of them in London, too.” Emma looked up at him. “Oh, London? It’s really nice. Mommy and I have been there together a few times. It’ll be fun to take you there on the Startrain.”
They stayed at the park for a little while longer, Adrien continuing to talk to Emma. A few times an old friend came by and stopped to chat. Emma seemed delighted to meet some more people.
After a while Emma got a bit fussy again. Adrien checked the time and groaned. Feeding time. He’d completely forgotten. And he hadn’t brought any of the milk that Marinette had already pumped. Drat.
He got Emma back in the stroller and hurried home. By the time they got there Emma seemed very put out. Adrien felt bad about her feeling hungry, but she was so cute that he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” he said, bouncing her in one arm while he prepared a bottle in the other. “I’ll do my best not to forget again.”
Adrien settled back on the couch and Emma calmed down quickly once she had her bottle. She drank greedily, and once she was done, he burped her and put the empty bottle in the sink. Emma burped a couple times and then settled into his arms, looking sleepy.
“Ah, good idea,” Adrien said, grinning. “A nap would be great.” He reclined on the couch and rested Emma on his chest. He hummed one of Marinette’s favorite lullabies and breathed deeply. Soon, Emma was asleep. Adrien grabbed his phone and, careful not to disturb the baby, took a picture and sent it to Marinette. Going well so far, he texted. Love you.
Marinette replied quickly. Aw, our little angel! Love you too!
Adrien smiled and then opened his reading app. He was enjoying himself quite a lot until Emma woke up, crying, with a dirty diaper.
The rest of the day consisted of Adrien feeding Emma at the right times, changing her diaper when necessary, reading to her, and getting some chores done around the house while keeping Emma in the baby sling. He narrated to her what he was doing. Towards the evening he fed her again, and then laid her on her back in her play gym. Emma was content to stare at the hanging toys, and occasionally batted at them with her little hands.
While she was busy doing that, Adrien started making dinner. He had just finished when Marinette came home. She greeted him with a hug and kiss, which he returned. “I missed you, bugaboo.”
“I missed you too,” she said. “And I missed our darling little one.” She walked over to Emma, who lit up at the sight of her mother. Marinette scooped her up and hugged her. “It was harder to be away from her all day than I expected,” Marinette admitted. “But I’m glad that it seemed like a good day for you.”
“It was,” Adrien said. “Once I got going there was nothing to be nervous about. Though I’m relieved that she didn’t get colicky or anything. I probably would have called you in an absolute panic.”
“I think you sell yourself short,” Marinette said with a chuckle, looking around. “You are clearly very capable of looking after her. And dinner smells delicious.”
“It should,” Adrien said, grinning. “It’s one of your dad’s recipes.”
Marinette laughed. “Perfect.”
Dinner was, indeed, delicious. Marinette told Adrien all about her day, about the funny things her coworkers said, about the absurd commissions that she’d had to sift through, and about a burst of inspiration that had led her to sketch out three new dresses.
Adrien told his wife about the different activities he’d done with Emma, sometimes citing the parenting book he’d gotten the idea from. Marinette shook her head, but she was grinning.
“I’m so glad you invested so much time into those books,” she said. “You’ve learned a ton about baby development and psychology.”
“Well, I’ve got to be a stay-at-home dad worth his salt,” Adrien said, drawing himself up with pretended haughtiness.
Marinette laughed and leaned across the table to kiss him. “You absolutely are.”
The evening wore on and they put Emma to bed, then went to their bedroom and cuddled up under the covers. They talked for a bit before Adrien noticed that Marinette had grown quiet and thoughtful.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“I just worry sometimes,” Marinette admitted, “if I’m gone working all the time, that I’ll end up not knowing anything about my own kids. What if I’m not a good mother?”
Adrien softly kissed her forehead. “I won’t deny that you’ll need to ensure you make time to spend with our kids,” he said, “but I know you’ll want to know our kids inside and out, and that makes you a good mother, especially because you’ll do your best to make that happen. Just because you don’t take them to doctor’s appointments, or make their lunch, or take them to school, that doesn’t mean you love them any less. And it doesn’t make you a bad parent. You’ll be handling other responsibilities that I won’t because I’ll be at home with our kittens. And we can adjust how our household works over time. We’re learning how to be parents just like anyone else would be.”
Marinette smiled and snuggled into him. “Thanks, Adrien.”
“You’re welcome, darling.”
“When did you get to be so wise?”
Adrien shrugged. “Parenting books.” She laughed. “You. Your parents. Personal reflection. Combination of all of that.”
Marinette kissed him. “I love you.”
“I love you too, my beautiful wife.”