Adrien paced the downstairs frantically. He'd hoped to burn off some of the anxiety pulsing through his body, but it was just too much for him to handle.

"Calm down, will you?"

Adrien turned to glare at Plagg. The earl was leaning lazily against the wall, a little bundle cradled carefully in his arms. At this point, that little bundle was the only thing keeping Adrien from smacking Plagg. It also made Adrien bite his tongue against any sharp retort. "Not. Helping," he growled between clenched teeth.

Plagg's grin grew. "You know, I seem to remember that was the advice I was given when I was in your shoes."

"And I am regretting it by the second," Adrien grumbled.

Plagg chuckled, only to be interrupted by a little, whiny fuss. In an instant, Plagg was focused solely on calming the baby in his arms.

Adrien's attention shifted to the little bundle that Plagg coddled and cooed at. He had to admit he hadn't expected Plagg to have changed so much, but the day that little Wayzz came into the world was the end of the old Plagg. Somehow, his gruff and grumpy friend had been replaced by a very gentle and patient father.

Soon, there was no more whining, only grabby little hands reaching up to Plagg's nose. With a grin, Plagg obliged, leaning down to put the tip of his nose in the tiny hands.

Adrien could only shake his head. "How you gained the patience to tolerate being snacked and grabbed by that little one, I will never know."

Plagg chuckled as he nuzzled the little baby's tummy, garnering a happy squeal from the infant. "You'll understand soon enough," he answered. "It's like they are placed in your arms and the reality of it hits you. You'll never be the same."

Adrien grinned, but it was pained. Mostly because it reminded him of what Plagg was trying to distract him from.

Plagg seemed to realize this, too. "Have you heard from Nino and Alya recently?"

Trying to engage in any sort of distraction, Adrien nodded. He itched to pace once again but tried to keep still. "He and Alya just returned from their honeymoon."

"About time," Plagg mumbled. "How long had they been traveling?"

"They've been back for the past week, recuperating from their month and a half long travels. Nino admitted that Alya might just be more adventurous than him."

"There's no doubt about that. Alya is too fearless for her own good."

"I'm sure Nino will help hold her back."

Plagg scoffed. "If she doesn't kill him first."

That garnered a chuckle out of the duo.

"Any recent news from France?" Plagg asked, clearly working hard to continue offering a distraction.

"They're starting to show signs of recovery," Adrien answered.

"That's promising."

"Jalil is very pleased."

"I think it helped to have strong leaders organizing peace between the kingdoms," Plagg said. "France seemed to accept Jalil and Alix immediately. Then Jalil introduced Kim in some ridiculous way that I can't even remember."

"I think it was along the lines of 'the war hero that saved my life'."

"That's right. And you were referred to as 'the man who started reaching for peace'."

Amused, Adrien shook his head. It was contrived and slightly forced, but Jalil had managed to present Kim with a certain grace that didn't make his speech seem so odd. "I think what really helped was when Jalil informed the kingdom that it was Kim who struck down Hawkmoth."

"Of course, that was the strongest point. Most people knew Hawkmoth to be the madman who sent their kingdom to war over nothing, so why wouldn't France praise the man that took him out?"

That was a fair point.

"Then add to that the wedding between France's greatest hero and their princess, and moral is immediately boosted because the kingdom knows now that strong, capable people are in control. You remember what happened after your own wedding."

Adrien did, very well. Word spread rapidly that it had been Marinette who had started the peaceful negotiations. How, without her, peace might have taken longer than it had to get started. She quickly became revered throughout the kingdom, but that wasn't what had truly endeared her to the kingdom.

It was after the wedding and that miraculous two-week honeymoon that Adrien and Marinette had arranged to welcome back the troops returning from battle. Adrien had done what he'd been raised to do: greet them cordially and thank them for their service. But it had been Marinette who had been far more personal. If Adrien didn't know any better, it was as though Marinette had forgotten that she was a princess as she warmly welcomed the troops back, paying extra attention to the ones who had somehow been injured in battle. One war hero had been brought back on a stretcher, both his legs looking an awful lot like Mister Fu's. Marinette had approached him, held both the man's hands, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for your risk on the warfield."

Adrien couldn't remember what else she had told the man, but once she had finished, the man had grinned, squeezing her hands tightly and thanking her profusely. When she had returned to Adrien's side, she admitted that she offered him a reward of sorts, not only because he was a war hero, one praised by several troops, but because it was clear he would not be working for a while and wanted to help him.

When news got out about the princess's kind heart, Marinette went from being the princess with a mysterious background to the princess that everyone in the kingdom adored.

"The kingdom adores their princess, that is for certain," Plagg continued. "Shame they had to fall in love with her after the wedding so the kingdom couldn't enjoy it more."

That was true. At the time of the wedding, while the kingdom respected their Ladybug Princess and were clearly grateful for what she had done, they hadn't fully trusted her. It was understandable considering that her past was a bit of a mystery to the kingdom. It led to the wedding being less joyous for the kingdom than it could have been. While the celebration had definitely lifted the people's spirits, the wedding was mostly just a show to legitimate their marriage.

Not that Adrien found anything wrong with that. Not when he got the pleasure of giving personalized vows to her and seeing her in the most beautiful dress imaginable. Not that the priest publicly christening them husband and wife meant he could be affectionate with his wife in public without people deeming it inappropriate. Not when their union meant they could start a family without scandal. Something they had very much tried to accomplish throughout the honeymoon, but no one except him and Marinette needed to be aware of such intimate information.

"As long as they love her," Adrien answered, "the 'when' doesn't matter to me."

"I suppose," Plagg said with a shrug. "I had thought that the presence of King Jalil, Princess Alix, and Prince Kim at the wedding would have helped ease that, but apparently, I was wrong. It was good they were able to make it, though."

Adrien quickly agreed. "And I was glad that we all were able to make it to see Alix and Kim's wedding."

"I'm just thankful Tikki recovered from being so sick at that point," Plagg said. "Shame it was Marinette who picked up that unfortunate torch."

Adrien grimaced. It was a day before they were set to leave, and Marinette had dropped the news that she was pregnant. Adrien had nearly fallen over, and it did not help when she elaborated that she was likely about a month along. She had made it just fine to the wedding, where she was able to share with a very excited Alix the good news, but the trip back was miserable. Thankfully, by noon every day, Marinette's illness had eased, but mornings were very hard on Marinette, which made them hard on Adrien and slow for travel.

Worst yet, she hadn't recovered when they returned home. Mornings were hard for over two months before the sickness slowed, appearing sporadically throughout the rest of her pregnancy. It had worried Adrien to no end.

"Hey," Plagg called out, pulling Adrien from his mind. "She'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "I know. It's just… well…"

"I get it," Plagg assured. "I was in your shoes not all that long ago."

"And I'm glad you're here, don't get me wrong. It's just…" Adrien sighed. "She's early. She wasn't due for another three weeks yet."

Plagg's expression softened. "I get it. But lots of babies aren't born on time, this little one included. I seem to recall you and Marinette visiting before the baby was born, only for Tikki to go into labor two weeks early. Wayzz at least had the decency to let us visit first before informing everyone that he was coming."

That was true. Adrien nearly had a coronary when Marinette's water broke barely half an hour after Tikki and Plagg arrived. While she had felt like she's had pains for weeks before, they both chalked it up to the baby being active. Now, Adrien was worried that they had missed something.

A hand grabbed Adrien's shoulder. He looked up from the hole he was staring into the ground to meet Plagg's gaze.

"Adrien," Plag said, his voice steady and calming. "She'll. Be. Fine. Tikki is with her, and some of the best midwives in the kingdom are up there, as well. It won't be long before—"

"Adrien."

Adrien whipped around to see Tikki descending the stairs. His heartrate soared again, his breathing picking up with it. "What's the news?"

Slowly, Tikki grinned. "Just wanting to check on Wayzz," she said, reaching for the baby.

"Take it easy on him, Tikki," Plagg said, handing the baby over to his wife. "He's been stressed enough."

When she turned back to him, she looked apologetic. "Give them a bit more time to clean up," Tikki said. "When the midwives come down, then you can go up to meet your perfectly healthy little one."

"So she's fine?" Adrien asked, his anxiousness not easing in the least. "And the baby?"

Tikki nodded. "They're both fine. That little one just didn't want to wait any longer to meet you."

Time dragged on seemingly forever. Tikki did her best to distract him, but the moment Adrien saw one of the midwives approach the top of the stairs, he took off running. He was practically sliding down the hallways as he rushed for Marinette's room. Without second thought, he threw open the door, surprising the other midwife who was finishing packing up. But Adrien didn't notice her. Instead, his attention was fully on the woman in bed, covered in blankets, cradling a little bundle to her chest.

She looked exhausted, and her hair was damp and hanging freely over her shoulders. Yet, as she turned to smile up at Adrien, she was the most beautiful sight in the world.

"Come meet your daughter, Adrien."

He had to lean on the doorframe as his knees grew weak. This was real. He had a child. A daughter. Somehow, he managed to get his legs to move, walking over to the bed and carefully sitting down cross-legged beside Marinette before he could collapse onto the floor. Gently, slowly, Marinette moved the blanket away from the baby's face

And Adrien's world stopped.

She was beautiful. Perfect. Flawless. There was nothing that could possibly hold any sort of value compared to this itty, wrinkly babe. His itty, wrinkly babe.

He had to remember to keep breathing.

"Adrien?"

He looked up to meet Marinette's gaze, only to find he couldn't focus on her with the way tears were filling his eyes. He managed to wipe them away in time to see the smile she gave him. "Do you want to hold her?"

The first answer was no. No, don't move that little darling; let her sleep and be happy and safe in Marinette's arms. But then came a second instinct that completely clashed with that first one, no matter how nervous he was. "Yes."

Ever so gently, Marinette placed the tiny baby into Adrien's arms. And that was when he realized he never wanted to let go.

He sniffed, willing his happy tears away. Though he failed, he didn't care. They rolled down his cheeks, but Marinette was able to wipe them away before they fell. With a happy sigh, she leaned against him, her head on his shoulder and hand on his arm. Adrien turned to press a long, lingering kiss to the top of her head. "She's beautiful, sweetheart. Absolutely perfect."

Marinette hummed her agreement. "Absolutely."

Adrien's grin was wide as he turned his attention back to his daughter. His. Daughter. The girl that had not even been in the world an hour yet had completely and utterly stolen his heart. Rather, what part of his heart Marinette didn't hold. He didn't realize it was even a possibility for his wife not to hold his entire heart, yet he was fairly certain that his daughter now possessed half of it. It was wonderous.

"Welcome to the world," he whispered, pressing the lightest of feather kisses on the little baby's forehead, "Emma Agreste."

A/N: Yay! and boo! The end! Thank you to everyone who has followed (1011! Squeal!), favorited (779! Again, Squeal!), and commented. This story has been a blast to write, and I hope you all enjoyed.

If you liked this story, go check out my novel Escaping the Tyrant by Alexandra Nicole, on Amazon.

If you want more of this story, go bug me on my Tumblr, TheNovelArtist. I'll pstt some other fun bits there, too. ;)

Finally, a few fun facts:

1: It is because of GhostGirl19's story Friendly Competition that I was inspired to write this.

2: This story was supposed to be far more Adrien-vs-Theo-centric.

3: Alix was supposed to be a maid, not a princess, and Jalil was never originally planned to be in this story.

4: Points 2 and 3 happened simply because I changed one name. Really. Back in Chapter 9, it was supposed to be Nooroo that answered the door, not Jalil. However, I had just written Borrowed Time which came with me creating a head-canon that made me hesitant to put Nooroo as the servant. So I put Jalil. And when he sassed Theo, I knew he couldn't just be a servant, so he became enslaved royalty.

5: I was aiming to write 75k for this story. The end result it nearly double that. oops.

Again, thanks for reading!