A Father's Promise

Adrien Agreste's eyes slowly opened as he heard the tell-tale sounds of his son's crying.

His wife, Marinette, wearily opened her eyes as well, sapphire meeting with emerald green. She groaned and shifted, ready to get out of bed and tend to their son, but Adrien stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Go back to sleep, I'll take care of him." He smiled warmly despite his groggy state.

"Don't worry, Kitty," she mumbled, yawning. "I got him, you go back to sleep. You have a company to run."

The blond grinned at her teasingly before leaning over to place a tender kiss on her cheek. "I wouldn't have a company if it weren't for your amazing designs. Seriously, go back to sleep, I'll take care of him."

Marinette, too tired to argue, nodded sleepily and smiled. "If you're sure. Good night, Adrien."

"Good night, Princess."

Adrien removed the covers and rose out of bed, clad in a white shirt and boxers. He walked down the hall to the nursery, where their son lay crying up a storm, and opened the door.

His son's heightened screams were enough to wipe any further fatigue from his body. He promptly walked over to the crib and took out his son, the baby's crying only slightly calming down at the familiar feel of his father's arms.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Adrien cooed, frowning. He dipped his head towards the baby's bottom and took an experimental sniff, thanking the heavens the crying wasn't caused by a dirty diaper. He loved his son unconditionally, but he didn't think he'd ever like changing diapers.

"You must be hungry, then," he decided. "Let's go to the kitchen and I'll get you some milk, hm?"

Louis was still sobbing, though the volume had increasingly gone down as his father continued to talk. His tiny hand reached out, seeking something to hold.

Without missing a beat, Adrien smiled and gave him his index finger to squeeze. The little guy loved squeezing fingers, nobody knew why. To show off his strength?

Adrien quietly chuckled as he left the nursery and silently made his way down the hall and to the kitchen. If that's true, then that's definitely his son.

The blond placed Louis in his high chair, letting him watch as he got out the formula and bottle.

...

Later on, Adrien found himself back in the nursery, sitting in a rocking chair with Louis bundled up in his arms.

The blond smiled fondly as he looked into his son's sky blue eyes. Louis returned the look in infant wonder as he greedily sucked the contents of the baby bottle that Adrien held, having long since ceased crying.

Adrien slowly rocked back and forth, knowing Louis loved the motion.

He shook his head, a quiet chuckle escaping past his lips. "I still can't believe I'm a father."

Louis's barely-there eyebrows lowered, as if to say: well, you better believe it, because I'm right here!

His father chuckled again and resumed the rocking motion as Louis continued to drink.

"It's just," he whispered, the corners of his mouth tugging down into a frown. He sighed. "You want the truth?"

Louis only continued to stare up at him, miraculously not giving his father an answer.

"I didn't exactly have the best father figure in my life..." he trailed off, thinking of how his father had been distant with him for years, and how they stopped all contact when Adrien discovered he was Hawk Moth, his greatest enemy. Gabriel now resided in a jail cell, instead of the mansion he had once owned. When Adrien was old enough, he took over the company and took full ownership of the house.

It wasn't long after that Marinette moved in and they began their lives together.

Adrien glanced down once more at the baby perfectly content in his arms. One side of his mouth quirked up into a half-grin.

"I'm scared I won't be enough for you. I want you to have the family that I didn't have. I want you to feel unconditionally loved, I don't want you to doubt your worth. I'm scared of letting you down, I'm scared..." He frowned. "I'm scared you'll end up like me."

Louis's head tilted, sensing his father's unease. He started to squirm, stopping his guzzling of the milk and started making frightened whimpers.

Seeing this, Adrien quickly began to shush him, whispering comforting words to his son. He pressed a kiss to the baby's soft forehead, inhaling the baby powder smell which caused him to faintly smile.

When Louis quieted down, Adrien situated him back into his comfortable position in his arms, and resumed rocking back and forth in the chair. Louis began to drink from the bottle again, seemingly forgetting his previous discomfort.

Adrien fully took him in. Thin, blond hair that was softer than any fabric in the world. Blue eyes that resembled the ocean and were just as deep. Pink, chubby cheeks and a button nose. Tiny ears and small, full lips. Fingers that were smaller than his pinky.

Louis Agreste was said to be the cutest baby in Paris, and Adrien and Marinette fully agreed.

"I promise you, Louis, you won't have a distant father like I did. I'll always be there for you." He gave a wry grin. "Even when it's Career Day, I'll leave the office and come to your school to speak. You won't be trapped, you'll be free to do as you please...well, within reason, of course." He lightly chuckled.

Louis's mouth separated from the bottle to mirror the expression, only his contained a lot less teeth and a lot more gums. Adrien smiled and pressed another loving kiss to his son's forehead, and added another one to his nose. Louis giggled happily at the affection and raised his arms to his father's face.

Adrien was more than happy to comply, flashing his son a wide, dopey smile as his baby's hands took hold of his cheeks.

"I'll be the best father in the world, I'll be everything mine wasn't. I love you so much, Louis. You won't ever have to think twice about it, I promise."

Louis continued smiling, making soft noises only a baby would be able to understand.

Adrien's eyes flickered down to abandoned bottle on his son's chest. He picked it up and raised it to the boy's lips, silently asking him whether or not he was finished.

Louis removed his hands from the blond's face as he took the bottle and drank some more, then stopped.

Adrien waited a second before pulling it away, only when he began to do so, Louis made a noise of annoyance and grabbed at the bottle oncemore.

When he finished again, his father raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Are you done now?"

Louis made no move to take another gulp.

So, as a result, Adrien began to pull the bottle away again, only to have it grabbed by Louis.

As the baby downed the rest of the contents, Adrien could only snicker. Of course his son would inherit the same trickster attitude he had. Maybe one day they could exchange puns with each other.

There were only droplets left when Louis was finished. His mouth opened in a silent yawn and his eyes drooped.

"Looks like someone's tired," Adrien crooned. He took the bottle away and set in on the floor to be picked up when he left. He stood, carrying Louis back to his crib and gently setting him down.

Smiling, he reached inside to grab the small teddy bear Marinette had sewed and placed it in his son's waiting arms. Louis yawned one last time, blinked, then got to work on resuming his dreams.

"Good night, Louis," Adrien whispered lovingly. Casting one final smile to the sleeping baby, he walked over to the discarded bottle and picked it up. He walked over to the dim lamp and shut it off, encasing the room in darkness.

A/N: Well, here we go. Just a short, simple oneshot. Hope you liked it :)