Miraculous Ladybug; The Next Generation

••I forgive you••

The next morning Emma awoke in the best mood she had been in years. Eyeing the miraculous box that stayed present on the other side of the room, she stood from her bed and moved towards it. Realizing she had to find a better place to store the box, she moved fast to find a place for it. Tikkis instructions were clear, not even her mom and dad could know about her miraculous. She toyed at the new necklace around her neck and finally decided to place the miraculous box in an old shoe box in her closet. She knew nobody would find it there. It was Saturday now, and with her fathers incident she hadn't been very vocal to her school friends or even in school at all. Before Emma headed down stairs for breakfast, she decided it was best to catch up with those she had accidentally left in the dark the past two days. She began by texting her best friend Kat, followed by Kats boyfriend Josh. Emma and Josh had been best friends for years until she decided to set Kat up with him. She often finds herself regretting her choice. Plikki peered over Emma's shoulder at the messages she sent. The way her thumbs moved across the screen so effortlessly intrigued Plikki. She sat wondering what it was like to have posable thumbs. Emma continued chatting back and forth with her friends and even considered reaching out to her crush Tyler, but soon came to the conclusion that if he wanted to talk to her, her would have probably reached out a while ago. With that thought she turned her phone off and told Plikki to stay in the closet while she went downstairs. She could hear her parents mumbling off about something in the kitchen, but only bits and pieces.
"She's only.....Aidrien" she heard part of her moms sentence.
"I'm sure she's....theres was only....Mari please come on." Aidriens words were long and even more choppy than Marinette's from the distance Emma was. As she approached the kitchen, the voices only got louder.
"No Aidrien you don't understand....risk....us!" The kitchen door still muffled Marinettes sentences but it was now clear to Emma they were arguing about her new discovery. She put her head to the door and began to listen, hoping a full sentence would be heard.
"Mari she was always going to find out. How many times do I have to say that?" Her fathers voice was visible through the door. Emma kept listening, she wanted to know more.
"I know that she was bound to find out at some point, but it shouldn't be in this way. Not with Hawkmoth still running lose. Did you ever think about how this could affect us if she says anything? Not to mention Alya and Nino on top of that. " Marinette sounded upset, like she had gone through so much time completing something that had just fallen to shambles right in front of her. Emma never thought of it like that. She had been so angry with her parents the night before but she never even began to consider why they had done what they did.
"I know Mari...I know." Aidrien let out a breathless sigh. He knew Mari was right, but he tried to look at the positives. Emma decided she would know let her presence be known. She didn't want to hear them fight over her eavesdropping last night, even though she had already begun her antics again. She worked at the door handle, swinging it open with ease. Her parents looked worried and drained. She felt bad for all the stresses she had caused them and began apologizing as soon as her eyes met Marinette's,
"Mom...Dad.. I am so sorry about last night. I slept on it and I realize you didn't tell me or the boys to keep us safe. Thank you for always keeping us safe."
Marinette looked at Emma and embraced her. Aidrien did the same.
"Everything we do is for you guys, never forget that, Okay?" Adrien pulled back from the hug to make sure Emma understood what he was saying. He wanted to look her in the eyes, let her know that it was all okay and that he meant what he said. Emma nodded and hugged her family one last time before grabbing a helping of bacon and eggs off the stove. Marinette still looked uneasy, almost as if she had known something was off about Emma. She appeared different, something about her normal appearance had changed but she could not put her finger on what. Emma continued to eat her eggs in peace. The clock had read half past eleven which meant she had missed Luis and Hugo before they went off to their play date with Miles and Remi. Miles and Luis were both 13 and got along oddly well considering how different their personalities are. Remi was only a year older than Hugo, but it felt like a lifetime to then. Remi was 6 and already in the first grade. It made Hugo feel left out because he was only just graduating Pre-K, but it was Maris idea to have him be older for when he's in high-school. She's sure he will thank her later.
  As soon as Emma finished her eggs, her parents were already back to their normal selves. From what she could tell Marinette still had that sparkle in her eyes and Aidrien still looked at her with nothing but love. Emma was glad that her messing up hadn't caused too much damage between them. Emma took care of her dishes and her household chores and resumed her normal Saturday routine. Hoping her friends would be available, she reached out to them for their usual Saturday hangout. Plikki emerged from the closet and gave Emma a look.
"Am I going to have to sit in a closet for an hour again today?" Plikki sounded furious, her high pitched voice seemed to even get an octave lower. Emma giggled at Plikkis uncalled for aggression,
"No silly, you can come with me wherever I go, just make sure you stay in my coat. Do not make a sound."
"You got it boss!" Plikki chirped, giggling along with Emma. Both Kat and Josh were available so she quickly began to get ready for the day. She pulled her hair up into an effortless ponytail, which left some hairs not included from the tight grasp of her hair tie. She threw some mascara on her lashes and smiled at herself in the mirror. Her sage green eyes looked back at her and she let out a huff.
"Plikki do I look stupid?" She asked.
"Oh of course not Emma! You look great." Plikki smiled and began going over to emma's side. Emma opened up her blue jean jacket and Plikki found herself sitting in the inside pocket. The two began heading out of Emma's room, flying down the stairs with pace.
"MOM! DAD! IM GOING TO KATS!" Emma yelled out with no hesitation. Her parents yelled back an Ok and Emma was officially on the move. Her first day with a big responsibility riding along with her.