Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Marinette awoke with a start. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears as she tried to figure out what woke her. Taking a deep breath she noted the sounds around her; the soft sound of breathing beside her, the gentle whir of the fan, the faint sound of a random car outside the apartment.

Slowly sitting up she wondered why she was awake. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Glancing to the left she saw Adrien sleeping soundly, curled up with most of the covers. Marinette chuckled quietly at how much he looked like a cat all snuggled up.

Slightly stretching with a yawn, Marinette moved to get out of bed. If she was awake she might as well go get water. As she went to stand her stomach churned in an unnatural way. Lurching forward with a hand to her stomach she barely concealed a
Groan of pain. Marinette quickly ran to the bathroom. Skidding to a stop she barely made it at the toilet before throwing up what little dinner was left from the night before.

Marinette sat there stunned for a few seconds. Nausea clawed at her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d thrown up, let alone been sick. Normally the miraculous kept her safe from common illnesses, and food poisoning.

With slow movements she stood up and turned on the sink. Rinsing her mouth out, Marinette worriedly looked at the toilet. Bracing her arms on the counter she stood there wondering what could have brought about this unfortunate series of events.

She chuckled under her breath at the pun she made, thinking of the show she and Adrien had watched last night. Laughing softly she thought to herself that Adrien had definitely rubbed off on her. And she wasn’t sure if it was a good thing...although imagining Adrien lighting up and laughing at a pun she made would be kinda cute.

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by her stomach churning. Although this time for food. With little contemplation Marinette tiptoed out of the bathroom. Heading towards the kitchen, she cringed when a squeaky board creaked. Looking to the king sized bed she sighed in relief when her husband was still snoring away.

A little green with envy at how heavily Adrien slept, Marinette opened a cupboard in the kitchen. She bit her lip as she searched for something that sounded good.

The chocolate and sweets gave her nausea something to work with, so she quickly moved on to look at the more savory type of food. A box of salty crackers caught her eye and immediately thought of the most delicious spread for crackers in the history of spreads. Goose liver pâtés in a jar!

With a determined glint in her eye Marinette headed to the fridge to search for the most delectable spread. A few moments after rummaging around on every shelf, Marinette fought the urge to cry. She couldn’t believe they had run out of the spread and was crushed at not being able to have an early morning salty snack.

Losing the battle a few tears slid down her face. Then a few more. Before long she was on the floor trying to focus on the fact that she did have salty crackers, not that they didn’t have the spread.

Marinette was still mourning the pates when a sleepy Adrien made his way into the kitchen searching for his wayward bride. The sight of Marinette on the floor with red eyes and tears sliding down her face had Adrien frantically running to her.

“Marinette!” Adrien murmured, rubbing her tears away.

”Princess, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Quickly looking her over he determined that she was not physically hurt, just upset about something.

“Marinette?” he prodded again.

With a deep breath she looked up at Adrien, “it’s a travesty,” she whimpered, as she snuggled into him, “they’re gone. They are all gone!” she whispered to herself.

A bit confused Adrien shifted, pulling Marinette onto
his lap.

“M’lady, you need to be a bit clearer. I can’t help you if I don’t know what's wrong. Who’s gone?” he asked.

“The goose liver pâtés! They’re all gone.” she started crying again, completely missing Adriens look of disgust.

“Pâtés?” he asked incredulously! He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief…..she’s crying about pâtés. After a split second he smiled.

“Well M’lady, thankfully this is easily fixed!” he gently guided a piece of her hair behind her ear.

”Do you want me to go get some?” he asked softly.
Her slight nod against his chest prompted him to stand up and carry her to their bedroom. He carefully laid her on the bed, before he went into the walk-in-closet.

He changed into clothes, then began grabbing Marinette some lounge clothes. Heading back into the bedroom he found Marinette asleep on the bed.
Chuckling quietly he kissed her forehead.
After placing her clothes at the end of the bed he wrote a little note for her:

I’ve gone to the store m’lady! I'll be home with pâtés soon. Love you princess <3 -Adrien

Locking the door on the way out Adrien headed toward the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. He was about a block away when he saw a man wearing a red hat he knew.

“NINO!!!!” Adrien excitedly yelled with a smile and wave.

Nino after hearing Adrien looked up from the sidewalk.

“Dude! How have you been? It’s been what? Two days since you got back in town? I’m a bit offended you haven’t set up a meeting so we can hangout!” Nino joked.

Adrien laughed self-consciously rubbing his neck.
“Yeah…..I should have called! I’ve just been getting back into routine and spending quality time with Marinette! I’ve really missed her. It was a long 3 weeks in Milan.” He shrugged before focusing back on Nino.

“So what have you been up to? How’s Alya?”

Nino sighed happily, “it’s been great! We are getting really excited about the wedding. Alya has literally turned her apartment into a Pinterest board. There are photos everywhere with wedding ideas. Not kidding she has come up with and discarded 15 different wedding themes!” He laughed as he shook his head, “but she hasn’t had more fun in forever. You know how she gets...totally focused on one thing and works at it till it’s perfect.”

Adrien could imagine Alya having a ball with the wedding, it was the same way with his and Marinette’s. She practically ran the entire thing.

“Hey, are you busy right now? If not, want to come to the bakery with me? I wanted to stop by and see Sabine real quick before I head over to the store for some goose liver pâtés” Adrien said with a chuckle seeped in disgust.

Nino just stared at him…..Pâtés? Why in the world would Adrien want pâtés?

“Uh sure,” Nino finally answered. “I was actually just on my way home but I can come with you. Why do you need pâtés?” He asked, a bit confused.

Adrien shook his head, “I found Marinette in the kitchen on the floor crying because we didn’t have any. Although I don’t ever remember having any in the first place. I’m going to go get her some. I just wanted to talk to Sabine real quick.”

“Dude, that doesn’t sound like Marinette. She might be pregnant,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Adrien nodded at Nino, “yeah it doesn’t, I was going to go talk to Sabine to see if she noticed anything off with Marinette in the past few weeks while I was gone. She hasn’t seemed 100% since I’ve gotten home, I’m worried about her.”

They had walked a bit farther when Adrien just stopped. His eyes widened and his hand came up to cover his mouth. “Pregnant?!?!!” He practically squealed.

Nino looked at him and laughed, “you’re just now realizing that I said that?”

A tear of happiness leaked from his eye, “Nino,” Adrien whispered in awe, “I’m gonna be a father!”

Nino looked at him funny, “Dude, you don’t know that for sure. Confirm with Marinette before getting too excited,” with a smirk he continued walking down the street, “besides we both know Marinette would have told you already if she knew; she sucks at keeping secrets.”

Adrien laughed at that. If only Nino knew the secret Marinette had kept since she was 13, he would never think she sucked at keeping secrets.
~
Entering the bakery Adrien and Nino walked up to where Marinette’s mother, Sabine, was manning the counter.

She looked up at them when Adrien said ‘hello maman.’

“What brings you two here so early in the morning?” She asked, quickly rounding the counter she gave both Adrien and Nino a hug.

Adrien looked out the front window at the cloud-filled-sky then back at his mother-in-law and smirked, “ah you know getting out and seeing the sun.”

Sabine’s loud laugh could be heard in the kitchen where Tom worked on pastries.

“Adrien, you bring a warmth to my heart.” Her soft loving smile was accompanied by a hug to her favorite son. She looked him in the eye to get his full attention.

“Now tell me why you're really here? Your eyes are heavy even with the jokes.”

Adrien grimaced, Sabine always knew how to read him. He shifted his weight and looked up at the ceiling looking for the words to convey his thoughts.

“Well you know how I’ve been home for a couple days…” he paused, shifting his eyes back and forth, “Marinette and I have been trying to fall back into our normal routine but it’s not working. And I don’t….”

He paused trying to find the right words:
“She’s been acting weird?” his eyes squinted with his choice of words. They weren’t quite right.

Adrien looked at his mother figure, ”maybe not weird weird, but she has been acting slightly off since I’ve gotten home. This morning she was crying since we didn’t have goose liver pâtés.”

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he brought his focus back to his mother in law. “Did you notice anything while I was gone?” He winced at a new thought. “Is she acting like this because of me?”

Sabine knowingly smiled at her son-in-law. “Dear go home. Hug Marinette and just be there for her. Remember a woman’s body goes through cycles of hormones that mess everything up. She isn’t in complete control of her emotions right now. Just go home and love on her. It will all work out in the end. And for goodness sake take her liver pâtés home.”

Sabine quietly watched her son-in-law as he nodded. She wondered when Marinette would say something about the baby to Adrien. She had noticed last week a shift in her daughter that pointed to a special blessing. The pâtés confirmed everything since that was one of her major cravings when pregnant with Marinette.

Adrien smiled softly at his honorary mom. “Thank you Maman, I'm going to head home. I can’t tell you how much this meant to me. I hope you and Tom have a good rest of your day.”

“You too, dear you too.”

Chapter Text

A quick stop at the store for pâtés and a small bouquet of roses later and Adrien was walking into his home.

“Marinette? I’m home!”

Adrien looked around the kitchen and dining room as he walked into their apartment. He noticed that the kitchen had been cleaned when he dropped off the grocery bag. Placing his coat on the couch, he slowly made his way to their bedroom. He paused at the door knocking softly.

“M’lady? Can I come in?” After no response Adrien slowly opened the door and found his wife laying on the ground.

Rushing in, Adrien frantically called her name, “Marinette?! Sweetheart, can you hear me?”

Adrien carefully lifted her head and felt for bumps. Then slowly worked his way down to her neck to check for injuries. Finding only a small knot on the side of her head Adrien focused on waking Marinette up.

As he caressed her face calling her name again he heard a small squeak.

“Adrien! What happened? Is she ok?” Tikki quickly flew to her holder's head.

“I don’t know, I found her lying on the floor? Where were you and Plagg?” Adrien picked his lady up and set her on the bed.

“Oh Adrien, we were napping in our little house in the closet. I didn’t hear her fall or I would have immediately sent Plagg to find you!” Tikki followed Marinette as she was moved.

“Adri-adrien? What hap-happened?” Marinette whispered.

“OH THANK KWAMI.” Adrien ran a hand over Marinettes arm. “How does your head feel?”

“Like it got stepped on by a giant akuma.” Her hand came up to touch her forehead.

“Wow, did I pass out?” Marinette grimaced as she touched the bump on the side of her head.

“Yeah I think so, I found you on the floor. Are you feeling ok? I’m worried, Mari.” Adrien sat back in his heels by the bed.

With a deep breath and a tiny shake of his head to clear the fear from his head, Adrien stood up. “I’m going to go grab some ice for your head, don’t move.”

Marinette laughed softly, “wouldn’t dream of it.”

Laying back she tried to remember what happened.
She had been cleaning the house. The kitchen was spotless if she did say so herself. The laundry had needed to be put away and she had definitely gotten all the clothes put into the closet. When she walked out into the bedroom she had started to straighten the bedcovers.

Marinette frowned at the lack of memory of what came next. Wincing at the slight headache forming she focused on remembering what came next. Huffing with annoyance she looked up as Adrien reentered the room.

“I found the ice pack,” Adrien said, holding up a blue gel pack.

Tikki flew up to the bed as Adrien handed Marinette the ice pack.

“Marinette I’m so sorry I didn’t come out and check on you! I was napping with Plagg. You could have been helped so much quicker if I’d checked in on you.” Tikki wilted down onto the Marinette's lap. She sniffled trying to hold back tears. She didn’t want to let her holder down.

“Oh, Tikki! You couldn’t have known. Besides just a small bump on the head it's no big deal,” Marinette ended with a smile at her Kwami.

Tikki shook her head, “But you haven't been feeling good recently. And I think I know why.”

Marinette tilted her head in question before looking over at Adrien. Who looked just as confused as she felt.

“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, as he sat down on the bed by Marinette.

“I think we need Plagg for this conversation.” Tikki said before flying off to get him.

“What do you think she means,” Adrien turned to his wife in question.

Marinette sighed deeply, putting the ice pack down.
“I honestly have no clue. But I think it's serious if she’s grabbing Plagg.”

“AHH, TIKKI!” Plagg screamed in the other room.
The faint murmur of Tikki’s voice was heard over the couple's laughter.

Moments later the two kwami’s flew into the bedroom.

“Tikki, what do you think is going on?” Marinette asked.

Tikki looked at Plagg then faced the two holders with a painful looking grimace before speaking. “We should have told you two about this back when you started a more physical relationship.”

Adrien blinked in surprise. That was not what he expected to hear. He glanced over at Marinette who had jerked back in shock.

“As holders of the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous there are certain things that happen to you.’” Tikki began to explain. “Some holders gain the ability to jump really far, not transformed. Some have a tendency to like certain flowers or food. Maybe they like the sun more than before. Or having a secure place to sleep. Through the millennia that we’ve had holders we’ve seen so many ways that these changes are displayed. But there is one part of these ‘tendencies’ I guess you could call them or ‘abilities’ that always appears in our holders. When it comes to multiplication of your species, the ladybug and cat miraculous have very specific expressions of it.”

“Yeah,” started Plagg. “From what we can figure out, it shows up in every single one of our holders and is entirely dependent on the strength of your bond with us. We have determined that it presents itself in 4 different ways.” Plagg sat down on the bed. “Sugar cube, you remember this part better.”

Tikki looked at Marinette. “The first way that is pretty common is that our bonds with the holders are at the same level but not very strong, our gift of creation and destruction cancel each other out and they can’t create new life. The second and third ways are very similar and most common. One of our bonds with the holders is stronger than the other bond. And this can be either the ladybug bond being stronger, or the cat bond being stronger. And because there isn't a balance between creation and destruction, life can’t be formed.”

Marinette had covered her mouth in disbelief. She had always dreamed of having kids. A big family. And now because of her miraculous she would never be able to.

Glancing at his wife Adrien’s jaw clenched tightly. He was burning inside. He and Marinette had talked about their dreams of a family. Not having kids with Marinette, he couldn’t imagine his future without kids. He grabbed Marinette's free hand as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“What way do we present as?” Adrien gritted out.

With a worried look to Plagg Tikki answered, “That’s the thing, you're presenting as the fourth way. The bond between me and Marinette, and Plagg and you are so strong. But they are at the same level of strength. And because creation and destruction are in balance at a high enough power you both have an unprecedented ability to have kids.” Tikki started to cry. “The problem isn’t that you can’t have kids but that you can. All of our holders that have been able to have kids have never survived because they don’t give birth to just one or two kids.”

Marinette reached out to hold Tikki as she started sobbing.

“What Tikki is trying to say,” Plagg stated, “is that both the ladybug and cat miraculous give the ability to have a larger amount of offspring almost comparable to how many real ladybugs and cats do. We have never seen a holder who presented the fourth way carry less than seven kits at once.”

Marinette jumped as Adrien fell right off the bed.
“Ow,” Adrien cried. Rubbing his shoulder he sat up beside the bed.

“Seven,” he murmured, shocked as if trying to wrap his head around it.

“Seven,” Marinette calmly concurred, looking down at her husband.

“Seven,” Adrien said questioningly, his eyes getting wider looking up at his wife.

“Seven,” Marinette replied nervously with a worried jiggle of her head.

“Seven,” Adrien stated, with a more forceful and worried voice.

“Seven,” Marinette squeaked back.

“Seven,” Adrien wheezed, rubbing his head completely frazzled.

“Eight!” Marinette exclaimed aghast.

“Eight!” Adrien screeched in disbelief.

“Tikki, what is happening.” Plagg frowned at his holder and his wife. “They finally broke.” He continued.

Tikki wiped the tears off her face and looked at the two miraculous holders who had started nervously laughing.

“Maybe we need to give them some time. That was a lot of information that is life changing.”

Adrien reached up and reverently cupped Marinette's belly. “Wow,”

“I know,” Marinette whispered back, “it explains so much.”

Looking at each other they both said at the same time, “the pâtés.”

Giggling at each other, Marinette paused and turned to Tikki.

“What year was it when your last holder presented as the fourth way?”

Frowning in thought Tikki hovered over the bed. “I think it was around the war that had trenches and the gas issues.”

Marinette hummed thoughtfully, “so it’s probably been close to 100 years since it’s last happened”

“What are you thinking my lady?”

“Well medicine and even birth care has changed so much in the last 80 years let alone the last 10. I don’t think we will have the same ending as other holders have had.” Pausing in thought Marinette reached down to grasp Adriens hand on her stomach. “We need to go to the OBGYN as soon as possible.”

Adrien grinned, nervous but hopeful for the first time during this conversation. “Of course. I’ll give the Dr’s office a call and get an appointment set up.”

Slowly standing up he cupped Marinette’s face. Smiling softly he leaned in and softly kissed her lips. “I love you Buginette.”

Marinette smiled contentedly, “I love you too Mon Chaton.”