One shots

With Love, Mum!

Had it been difficult to adjust to the new situation? Yes!

Had he done his best to manage everything anyway? Yes!

Had he failed epically and begged his son on his knees, to help him get his daughter to sleep? Also yes!

But after a couple of days, they worked out some routine and on their sixth night together, eventually Nadine fell asleep on her father's chest, while he kept rocking her, instead of crying for hours before finally passing out from the exhaustion.

Gabriel very carefully lied down on his bed and kept her in place, watching the tiny baby sleep peacefully, while he thought about Nathalie and how very much he had hurt her those six months ago.

Why hadn't she told him about the pregnancy? Maybe he would have made different choices then. But would she have been pregnant at all, if he had changed the past, so the broken miraculous wouldn't have hurt Emilie and her?

Emilie! He still needed to do something about her. He needed to make a decision. And he needed to tell Adrien the truth.

And so he did. It was a very complicated conversation, but at least his son forgave him. Then he demanded from him, to give all the miraculous back to ladybug, so that she could figure out, how to save Nathalie.

He was hesitant about that.

"What if Ladybug won't find a cure either? What if Nathalie comes back and needs one of them to heal and it's not here anymore? What if Ladybug tells the police and I am put in jail, who's gonna take care of Nadine then?", he repeatedly wondered.

Adrien sighed, then called out:

"Claws out!"

Gabriel stared at his son wide eyed, not able to speak at all.

"Do you trust me now, father? Would you really think, if I told Ladybug, why you were doing all of this, she would call the cops on you?"

His father let his head hang low and inhaled deeply. Then he gestured the black cat like superhero to follow him. After opening the safe in his office, he stepped aside and said:

"There, take them all and bring them to the guardian. But please, tell her, that in case Nathalie can't find a cure, she must let me use the bunny miraculous just this once, so I can save her life!"

Adrien's smile was happy and sad at once.

"What is it?", his father questioned, as he noticed that.

"It's nothing. It's just, it was very right from you, to eventually choose Nathalie, but it also means, that I will never see mum again!"

He narrowed his eyes, fixing them on the floor, when Gabriel closed the gap between them and hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. But even if I hadn't intervened the flow of things, if I hadn't tried to change our fate, your mother would have died. It's Nathalie, who deserved better, who should have never even been brought into that situation!", he explained and his son agreed.

"I know, father. And I told you, you made the right decision. It still hurts though!"

Gabriel looked at his son and laid one hand on each of his shoulders.

"I really am sorry for not telling you earlier, Adrien. I should have spoken the truth from the very beginning! I don't ....."

His words were interrupted from a sudden, loud crying and both men looked at each other and smiled.

"I'll go and get her!", the young man said, when Gabriel stopped him.

"Didn't you forget something?"

"What?", then he looked down and noticed, "oh yeah, transform into my regular self! Claws in!"

And all of a sudden he was the young model instead of the hero again.

He entered his father's bedroom and rushed to the little cot, that had been placed right next to the double bed. Though most of the time Gabriel kept her with on the half, Nathalie used to sleep on before she left.

Nadine was crying desperately, her little face reddened and her tiny fists clenched. Adrien could smell the reason for her reaction, before he even picked her up. As he did, he grimaced.

"Holy crap", he hissed, then grinned, "literally! What did father feed you, to make it smell like that?"

Despite feeling disgusted, he placed her on the bed and started to undress her.

Gabriel entered slowly, scrunching his nose at the smell.

"It's about time, we'll get her some things, don't you think? I know, that would also mean, revealing her to the public, but I don't want to keep her and us locked up in here for any longer!"

Adrien paused and stared at him.

"Who are you and what have you done to my father?", he mused before he focused back on the diaper of his little half sister.

The designer inhaled deeply, then admitted:

"I have made loads of mistakes. I am trying to change, Adrien. For you and for her. And for the woman, I love, though it took me some time to admit to that!"

The boy smiled and placed the used diaper in his hand, asking:

"Could you take that outside, so we can get rid of the smell? Thank you. Oh and dad? There is a letter for you on Nathalie's desk. It looks like..."

He didn't listen, as he dropped the full diaper and rushed towards his office. Adrien sighed and lifted the baby to his shoulder.

"It looks as if we have to get rid of this ourselves, right?"

On his way down and outside, he carefully glimpsed through the ajar door into Gabriel's office, seeing him sitting on the edge of the glass pane, reading through the short letter in his hands. He noticed his son and daughter standing there and gestured him to come closer.

"Give her to me, please. This one is for her. I was asked, to read it to her!"

"Oh, sure!", Adrien gulped and handed the newborn to his father.

Nadine,

my beautiful, little child. I feel as if I was dying every day, just by being apart from you. But I have to do this, so we can eventually be together.

I hope, your daddy is giving you all the love, you deserve and that I would have given to you every second of my life.

But I am dying, my little princess, and if I can't find a cure, I won't be with you very soon. That's why I left you in the care of the two people, I love the most and who will love you just as much. I know, you won't remember me, but I will always remember you and hope to see you again in another life.

With love, mum!

Tears were running down both Agreste men's cheeks, as he finished. He had had trouble to choke out those last words and was now desperately clinging on to his child, sobbing into the soft fabric of her shirt, Adrien trying to comfort him by rubbing his back.

"It's okay dad! I will talk to Ladybug and we will find a way to cure Nathalie and bring her back as soon as possible, so neither her nor Nadine will miss out on any more time with each other than necessary!"