28.Adrien Dupain-Cheng

It wasn't exactly how they wanted to spend a Wednesday. But Marinette loved her parents and Adrien loved his in-laws, so of course they'd help run the bakery while Tom and Sabine were out delivering a wedding cake.

Adrien had been given a crash course in how to run the cash register and picked it up surprisingly quickly. Even when he stumbled through something, he still managed to get through all transactions in good time, and his natural charm won over several regular customers who asked where Tom and Sabine were.

It also helped when he mentioned he was their son-in-law.

Between the two of them, Marinette and Adrien successfully held down the fort while Tom and Sabine were out.

"Thank you so much," Sabine said once she and Tom returned.

"We're not doing it for free," Adrien said, smile already showing he was teasing. "I want any leftover croissants for tomorrow morning, and a family dinner tonight."

"Oh, I suppose I could manage that," Sabine said with a dramatic sigh.

Adriene reached over to hug her. "Love you."

Sabine quickly returned the hug, patting his back. "We love you, too."

Two days later, when Marinette and Adrien returned to the shop because they had run out of croissants, they were greeted by a laughing Tom.

"We've had an interesting last couple of days," Tom said, with a grin. "Do you know how many regulars were asking for Adrien Dupain-Cheng?"

It came as a surprise, but soon enough "Adrien Dupain-Cheng" became their favorite name for Adrien.

29.Bien Joue

Adrien watched as Marinette dried dishes in silence, her gaze unfocused and distant. It was hard to miss, considering she nearly dropped one of the dishes he handed her on the ground.

"Hey," Adrien said, having already emptied the sink and was now drying off his hands. "What's going on?"

"Sorry," she said. "I… I guess I was just lost in thought."

"Want me to help you find your way through them?"

She sighed. "Not… really," she began. "Mostly because… I'm trying to figure out how to start."

"Point blank," Adrien said. "Something's on your mind. Just tell me."

She bit her lip, her gaze not breaking from his. "Do you think we're ready for kids?"

The words shocked him, knocking the air out of him for a moment.

"I mean," she continued. "We're twenty-five, solid in our careers, financially stable. And we did just move out of our apartment last year to a house that's our own and—"

"Marinette," Adrien interrupted, instantly stopping her rant. His smile was growing, and excitement bubbled up in him. "I think kids sound like a great idea."

Slowly, Marinette's expression shifted from worried to excited. Then, in a flash, she wrapped her arms up around him.

Adrien held her tight, the prospect of being a dad slowly sinking in. His smile grew as he held her tighter. They going to try for a baby.

Adrien soon came to realize that baby-making was a little different than just love-making.

Baby-making was a mission.

It started out with love-making, but there was always that lingering thought in his mind that he was trying to create something with her. To knock her up, get her in the family way, whatever you wanted to call it. And so, despite picking up their game, of nights ending tangled up… anywhere in the house and once in the car, of mornings beginning wrapped up in the sheets, their mission was not accomplished, their failures marked with a week of bloody cotton in the trash and a particularly moody Marinette.

It was a quiet morning, one after a romantic dinner and a night crazy enough to knock the covers off the bed. He was awake but refusing to move unless he wanted to wake up the woman snuggled against his chest. And he didn't particularly want to. He was relishing the feeling of just being with his wife, of not being tangled up with her, but just…being quietly together.

"What are you thinking about?"

Adrien looked down at Marinette, whose eyes still looked a little glazed from sleep as she looked up at him. He smiled. "Us," he admitted, running his hand up and down her back.

She hummed. "What about us?"

"Just… us. About quiet mornings with you. I… I guess before we were anxiously trying for a baby."

Marinette's eyes lowered in thought. "Are you having second thoughts?"

He shook his head. "No," he said. "That's not it at all. It's kinda the opposite. We've spent the last three and a half months trying for a baby. Like, trying."

Marinette grinned at that.

"But… I guess I missed just quiet mornings like this with you. Where we were together without using every opportunity to make a baby. I want a baby, but I miss us actually being us."

They stared at each other a while, Adrien watching as Marinette processed his words. "I guess you're right," she said. "We really have been caught up in sex to make a baby."

He nodded. "I love you. And I love sex with you, but I don't want to miss the point of being married to you."

Marinette smiled up at him, then shifted, her hand coming behind his head and pulling her close to meet her lips. He submitted to her touch, happily letting her pull him over her. He cradled her in one arm, using the other to prop himself up so as not to squish her.

She was also the first to pull away. "I love you, too," she said. "And even though sex with you is fantastic, I understand what you mean. Lately it… has it felt different to you? Us together?"

"A little bit," he admitted. "But we both want a baby, so that was always my driving force behind it."

Marinette nodded. "Adrien, will you humor me?"

"What with, princess?"

She blushed. "If you were…" she paused. "How do you want to spend this morning? If we were just to spend a morning together, what would you do?"

He smiled. "Well," he began. "I'd probably start off the morning with a couple more kisses from you."

She grinned. "Okay." She leaned up, stealing a kiss from him. He happily sank into the kiss, relishing the way her hands carded through his hair and across his shoulders.

"And then," he said, pulling away, "I'll probably lay a couple other kisses on you."

"Oh yeah?"

He hummed his agreement before pressing his lips to her neck. She gasped in surprise, but quickly hummed in pleasure.

He went lower still, to her collar bone, down her sternum, top of her stomach…

And then blew a raspberry right above her bellybutton.

She squealed, quickly curling up to escape him. "Adrien Agreste!"

He was laughing. His face was pressed into the mattress and he was laughing. He didn't see her grab the pillow until it was too late. It collided with his head, stunning him only for a second before he reached for his own pillow. "If that's how you want to play."

"You started it," Marinette said, smacking him again.

Now both of them were laughing as they exchanged blows with the pillow, Marinette barraging him with attacks that pushed him off the bed to the floor.

He was quick to find a way to drag her down with him, ending in them being tangled up in a non-sexual embrace.

Eventually, they got their act together and got ready for the day.

"I have errands to run," she said. "Best of luck at the meeting."

"Okay," Adrien said, walking up to her to exchange a kiss.

Except she just tapped his lips with her finger before walking right past him.

"No kiss?" he asked, only slightly put out.

"Nope. Not after what you pulled this morning, kitty," she called back, swinging the door open. "Bye."

The door shut behind her, and Adrien couldn't help but grin. He guessed he deserved that one.

The door opened again, and Adrien looked back to see Marinette peeking through the door with a large grin on her face. "I love you."

His heart warmed. "I love you, too, princess. Have a good day."

"You, too." And with that, she headed out again.

Adrien was sure he was smiling like an idiot, but he really couldn't care. He was the luckiest man alive to be married to that woman.

Fast forward two months, Marinette showed him the little box she'd bought from the store. "Do you want to find out now?" she asked with a grin, "Or after we put the other things away?"

Adrien looked at his wife holding a little purple box with the words "pregnancy test" written on it. He smiled. "Get going," he said, playfully smacking her rear to shoo her toward the bathroom. "Mostly because I can't tell if your just excited or doing the potty dance."

"Both," she said. "I've had to go since I left the store."

"Go!" he said, chuckling as he watched her scurry away.

He loved that woman.

He put away half of the items before hearing the bathroom door opening. He abandoned the rest of the bags on the floor to head toward the bathroom, where Marinette was standing with a smile.

His heart was soring with hope. "Positive?"

A smile split her face as she nodded.

In a few large steps, he swooped her into his arms and swung her around while she squealed.

"Mission accomplished!" he shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

She giggled as she set him back down on her feet. He then stuck out his fist. "Pound it!"

She stared at his extended fist before looking back up at him. "You're such a dork. I fear for our children."

"Hey! Our children are going to be ten kinds of paw -some."

"And that's why I'm worried."

Adrien chuckled. "Come on, don't leave me hanging."

She shook her head, but her smile never faded as she returned the fist bump. "Pound it."

Before she could pull her hand away, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her in against his chest, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her head. "Bien Joue," he whispered again, his heart practically soaring as she snuggled up against him.

"Bien Joue, kitty," she whispered back. "Bien Joue."

30.Us Against the World

It was her tenth anniversary. It was a lot to take in; ten years of being married to Adrien Agreste: the most wonderful, incredible, supportive, dorky man in the world.

She was the luckiest woman alive.

They had planned for this evening. There would be a fancy dinner, a walk home together, and then private time alone. They needed it being busy with the eighteen-month-old getting into everything—especially if the kitchen is involved—and a curious four-year-old who never stopped asking questions.

For now, they were at home, spending a quiet time together until her Maman and Papa could come over to watch the kids. Adrien held a little girl, her blonde hair an exact match for her father's. Considering her habit of liking anything with a kitty on it, Marinette had the distinct feeling she'd pick up on his cat pun habit as well. Emilie was a daddy's girl, but considering that Adrien was about the best dad in the world, that wasn't surprising in the slightest.

Marinette was playing with Hugo as he played in his little fake kitchen that had once been Emilie's. Anything with food, and Hugo had to get his hands on it. Papa thought for certain he was going to take over the family business, and honestly, Marinette thought that might very well happen.

"Mama, mama!"

Emilie came scampering over to her, Adrien watching fondly. "Come have a tea party with us!"

"How about this?" Adrien said, standing up and walking over to them. "You and mama have a special tea party together, and I play with Hugo."

"Come on, Mama."

"All right," Marinette said, shooting a grin at her husband as he quickly got involved in Hugo's cooking adventures. "I'm coming."

Marinette let Emilie lead her over to where the tea party was set up on the floor. Honestly, this was one of Marinette's favorite things; enjoying time with her kids and her husband. Ten years of marriage, and this was what she got out of it.

Not a bad life, if she said so herself.

Halfway through the tea party, the doorbell rang. "I got it," Adrien told her.

"Mimi and Papi?" Emilie asked excitedly.

Marinette nodded.

With a squeal, Emilie scampered over to the door. "Mimi! Papi!"

Giggling, Marinette picked herself up off the floor and headed over to her parents. "Thanks for showing up on short notice," she told them, giving her mother a hug. It had been disappointing but understandable when the babysitter had called and been forced to cancel because of an accident she'd been involved with. It wasn't anything serious, thankfully, but it certainly threw a wrench in their plans.

"Oh, like we could say no," her mother said with a wide grin. "We love our grandkids. We're almost offended that you didn't ask us to babysit them in the first place."

"Well, we would have, but you were busy and we didn't want you to cancel your plans—"

"They actually canceled on us," her father said, taking her in her arms. "So we were free to spend time with our grandkids without any guilt."

Marinette giggled. "Still, thank you."

"Anytime, sweetheart."

"Well," Adrien said, clapping his hands together. "We trust you with the kids, so Marinette, let's make a break for it while we can."

Laughing all the while, Adrien pulled her towards the garage while her Maman and Papa were shooing the two of them out of the house. "Have fun!"

Marinette only giggled.

The two of them were soon driving to only-Adrien-knew-where, rain already coming down hard.

"Ten years," Adrien said, breaking the silence. "You have been my wife for ten years."

"Can you believe it, kitty?" she asked.

"No," he said, picking her hand up off his knee and kissing it. "If feels like we were in high school yesterday and I was giving you an umbrella hoping you'd forgive me."

Marinette smiled fondly at the memory. "We've faced so much," she commented.

"Yeah, but I couldn't imagine having anyone else by my side. Since then, it's been me and you against the world, and I just can't fathom it any other way. How'd I luck out so much?"

"I find myself asking the same question."

Lightning lit up the sky, and a rumble of thunder shook the car.

"Are we going to make it to dinner?" Adrien asked, his eyes locked on hers as they paused at a stop light.

She smirked. "Your choice."

"My choice?" he asked, flipping on his blinker and driving towards somewhere clearly different than his previous intended destination. "My choice is you. Hands down. Every time."