"Mum…."

Marinette stiffened at the sweetly drawled out tone of her eldest daughter's voice. She knew that tone. It was the 'Mum can I have….?' tone. The 'pretty please Mum!' tone. The one that is always accompanied with the biggest kitty eyes ever known to man and really tested Marinette's ability to say the word no.

"Mum….." Emma repeated. "….could I please have my allowance early?"

Marinette looked up from her sketchbook to be greet (as she knew she would) by the biggest kitty eyes. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "What exactly happened to your last allowance?"

"I spent it," Emma admitted sheepishly, "last Saturday when I went out with my friends."

"Uhuh," Marinette hummed, "and why can't you wait until next week for your next allowance?"

"Well, you see," Emma flushed as she suddenly ducked her head to look at her feet. She fidgeted like mad, her hands twisting the bottom of her shirt. "It's Luc's birthday and I wanted to get him a present!" she blurted out.

Ah.

Luc.

Emma's gigantic, fluffy, obsessive, crush and Hugo's best friend. He was a nice boy with a big, broad, smile and warm deep brown eyes and Marinette is constantly reminded of how she used to be when she was that age whenever Emma tries to talk to the poor boy.

Oh the stammering blushing tripping memories!

"Well then," Marinette said firmly, "you shouldn't have spent all of your money last Saturday."

"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!" Emma whined. "I can't not get Luc a present! How would it look? It would look like I don't care!"

"Emma," Marinette said determined to not cave (but oh her baby's big green eyes were so wide and sweet! Damnit Adrien! This was his fault. He had to give their daughter his beautiful eyes, didn't he?). "If Luc's birthday was really that important to you then you would have budgeted for it and saved your money so you can get him a present."

"Urgh!" Emma shrieked as she stomped her foot. "Don't turn this into a lecture about money this is more important than money this is love!" Marinette rolled her eyes at that. She had been determined to teach her children the value of saving money and living within their means just as her parents had taught her (and to prevent her children from becoming spoiled brats like Chloe had been) but, of course, her children never saw it that way. She was the bad guy stepping in the way of love and everything else. "If you won't give me my allowance early could you at least let me dip into my savings?"

"Definitely not," Marinette said firmly, "that is for your future. Not for your current crush."

"Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!" Emma wailed as her cheeks turned bright red at that. "It's not a crush! I just….erm….ah….you know," she mumbled helplessly, "it's more than that."

"I'm sure it is," Marinette said gently as she pulled her daughter into a tight hug, "but you're still not dipping into your savings. That's for when you're in college."

"Oh come on, Mum!" Emma moaned. "Please! Pretty please! I just can't get him nothing."

"You don't have to, Kitten," Marinette rubbed Emma's back reassuringly, "you could make him something instead."

Emma suddenly forcibly pushed herself out of Marinette's arms as she gave her usual mortified teenager expression for whenever she or (mostly) Adrien said something particularly stupid or embarrassing. "I can't do that!" she cried out horrified. "You've seen my arts and crafts, I'm rubbish. He'll think I hate him or something!"

"You're not rubbish," Marinette said immediately, "you're just….erm….ah…..a post-modern artist!" she yelped. "Yes," she nodded firmly, "you're a post-modern artist."

Emma just gave Marinette a flat look.

"Your father simply loved that little pot you made him," Marinette offered helplessly trying to boost her daughter's confidence, "he keeps it on his desk at work. And we all loved your drawings, well apart from the violent ones, and treasure them. I have your first one from school pinned to my inspiration board. And I'm sure Hugo thinks the world of his friendship bracelet you made him. "

"Every assistant Dad has ever had thinks that bloody little pot is a poo emoji paperweight!" Emma yelled. "My drawings all look like giant blobby people with sausage fingers so I would be insulting Luc if I tried to draw him and you know very well Hugo kept that tangled mess because it makes him laugh like a lunatic every time he looks at it!"

"It's not the appearance or the cost of a gift that matters," Marinette said primly, "it's the thought and care that is put into it. That is the true value of a gift."

"Uhuh," Emma said disbelievingly.

"It is!" Marinette insisted. "Do you know what is the most precious gift your father has ever given me?"

"Urgh," Emma groaned disgustedly, "I know, I know, me and my brothers and sister are the most precious gifts you and Dad can ever have. I've heard it all before."

"Well, yes, you and your brothers and sister are the most precious gifts," Marinette said quickly, "but that wasn't the one I was actually referring to. Do you know what is the most precious gift your father has ever given me apart from you and your siblings?"

"Himself?" Emma wrinkled her nose.

"Well okay," Marinette smiled sheepishly while she felt her cheeks heat up as many, many, many memories of Adrien 'gifting' himself to her suddenly flooded her mind, "apart from that."

"Urgh!" Emma groaned. "I dunno. The sapphire earrings he got you for your anniversary this year?"

"No."

"Your engagement ring?"

"No."

"The emeralds from that one Christmas?"

"No."

"The diamond chandelier earrings to celebrate your first Fashion Week?"

"No."

"The rubies?"

"Which ones?"

"Any of them!"

"No," Marinette smiled, she has certainly been showed in jewels more than once in her lifetime, "and to save you some time it doesn't have a precious gemstone on it or made from metal."

"The bolts of that fancy silk?"

"No," Marinette smile took a very fond shade, "not that I didn't treasure it though."

"The cashmere?"

"No"

"The vel-"

"It's not any type of material either," Marinette said firmly, "otherwise we'll be here all afternoon."

"Is it when he got Jagged Stone to personally sing you Happy Birthday?"

Marinette flushed in embarrassment at that particular memory as much as she was a huge fan of Jagged Stone she hadn't been a particular fan of him gyrating his hips in her face (and neither was Adrien) and the really grand romantic gestures like that really embarrassed her in general.

"It's none of your father's over the top gestures either!"

"…..the family business?" Emma suggested warily.

"No!" Marinette barked. "I mean," She coughed, "no, not that," She stood up and offered a hand (which her fourteen year old daughter blatantly ignored), "come on I'll show you what was the most precious gift your father had given me"

Marinette herded her eldest daughter back to her bedroom (where Tiki and Plagg were curled up comfortably against one another on one of their pillows fast asleep) and opened up one of her older jewellery boxes. The lucky charm bracelet was kept in a special compartment so it wouldn't get tangled in other chains or have a stray earring hooked into it. Marinette honestly wouldn't know what she would do if it ever got damaged. It meant so much to her.

She held it out for Emma to examine.

Her daughter's green eyes widened in disbelieve as she stared at the homemade bracelet. "That?!" she cried out. "That's the most precious gift Dad has ever given you?!"

"Yes," Marinette smiled as she stroked the knobbly beads, "it's the first birthday present your father had ever given me."

"But…but…but it's so ugly!" Emma exclaimed. "What did he do, make it himself?!"

"Yes," Marinette replied cheerfully, "which only made it all the more precious to me. Your father poured his heart and soul to make this for me. He put great thought and care into it and that's why it's so precious to me. That," she stressed, "is the true value of a gift."

Emma reached out to touch the bracelet. She still didn't seem all that impress with the actual bracelet but her face softened slightly as she turned her eyes to meet Marinette's. "And you kept this all this time?" she asked. Marinette smiled as she nodded. "Even though Dad has brought you loads of other gifts, you still kept this one and treasure it the most?"

"Yep," Marinette nodded.

"Okay," Emma said in awe, "….I'll make Luc something. Can you help?"

"Of course," Marinette hugged her daughter, "anything you need, Kitten."

The next day Marinette had managed to embarrass her daughter when she gave her a supportive (but goofy) thumbs up as she dropped her children off to school. Her day continued to be a pleasant and uneventful one with both Adrien and Marinette able to go home at the same time to collectively pick up the children.

"Hey," Adrien grinned, "it's been a while since I've seen that eyesore." He nodded at the lucky charm bracelet he had made her all those years ago. Showing it to Emma had made Marinette nostalgic and it had been one of the first things she put on this morning. "Feeling nostalgic, Princess?" he asked knowingly.

"I was teaching Emma the true value of a gift by showing her the most precious gift you gave me," Marinette explained to him, "it felt right to show it off to the rest of the world after I waxed poetry about it."

Adrien's smile took a sweeter note. "Yeah?" he murmured huskily as he reached out and stroked the bracelet, his fingertips brushed against her kin lingering, "this is your most precious gift from?"

"Yeah," Marinette smiled back.

Adrien gently lifted her wrist up so he could press a soft kiss over her pulse. The gentle touch of his lips caused her pulse to flutter which he obviously felt because she could feel his lips curve into an insufferable smirk.

Before anything could be said or done though, the car door was suddenly wrenched open and Emma flung her arms round Marinette's neck. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she chanted shrilly in Marinette's ear. "It worked! Luc loved it! He even kissed me!"

"On the cheek," Hugo rolled his eyes before Adrien and Marinette could suffer severe heart attacks at that little fact, "and I don't see what the big deal is. Your weaving hasn't improved since my bracelet."

"It's not the appearance that matters!" Emma said snottily. "It's the thought and care you put into it. That's the true value of a gift."

"Whatever," Hugo rolled his eyes.

Marinette, however, smiled proudly at her daughter.

She was so glad that Emma had finally learnt the lesson of the true value of a gift.