That Night

Chapter 20

Sorry for the delay in posting! (Finals prep has been crazy for me this semester.) I'll try to get back to a better schedule soon. Thank you for your patience and never-ending support of my story!

A couple hours later Adrien and Marinette were working together to set the table. Dinner was ready in the oven; they were just waiting a couple more minutes for Marinette's parents to finish closing the shop for the day.

Marinette leaned against the kitchen counter and nervously brought her hand up to her mouth. Adrien walked over to stand by her and gently placed his arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be ok," he spoke softly into her ear.

"I know," she muttered softly, obviously not believing her own words.

She turned into Adrien and hugged him. He willingly lifted his arms to embrace her. She buried her face in his shirt and just breathed in his presence and the smell of his expensive cologne. If she could have Adrien and his healing hugs forever, she knew that she would be perfectly content and never need anything else.

She looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back, but then she saw her parents out of the corner of her eye. She quickly stepped away before they looked up.

Her and Adrien assumed that Marinette's parents had just walked in and hadn't seen them in such an affectionate embrace. What the couple didn't know was that they had been there for several minutes and had simply stood there watching the two teens who were obviously perfect for each other. The pair grinned as they could see just how much this young couple loved each other. From the way that they held each other and the way that Adrien protectively rested a hand on her pregnant belly they were sure that he was the father of her baby.

When Marinette had seen them, they quickly looked down as if they had just entered the room and were distracted. As Marinette turned around to usher her parents to the table, Sabine and Tom looked at each other smiled.

The foursome sat together at the dinner table. Tom and Sabine quickly took their seats, leaving Adrien and Marinette to sit squished together on one side of the tabletop extended from the counter. Again, her parents shared a grin.

The meal began and there was small talk. Marinette's parents asked Adrien about his modeling, he told them that he was hoping to take on less jobs and have a more open schedule; they smiled. They asked about his father, he told them that Gabriel had been very busy the past weeks and would hopefully be more attentive after he was home more. After this answer the young couple shared a nervous look and the older couple could tell that they hadn't yet told Adrien's father that there was a baby on the way.

Adrien also asked several obligatory questions to Marinette's parents. All this was happening with Marinette saying very little, but intently listening. It wasn't too long until Adrien paused and looked at Marinette. "You ready?" he mouthed to her.

She nodded in response.

He tilted his head at her a little, indicating that she should begin.

"Mama, Papa," She took a moment to look at them both individually. "I have something that I need to tell you." She took a breath. "Something that I probably should have told you a while ago." She sighed and looked down, ashamed.

"I need to tell you who the father of my baby is." She looked up at her parents to see their reaction. She was surprised to see them simply waiting patiently for her to continue

Marinette grasped Adrien's hand, squeezed, and took a final deep breath before she continued. "It's Adrien," she rushed out. "Adrien is the father of my baby." She spoke slower this time.

The young couple were stunned to see Sabine and Tom break into matching wide grins. Marinette looked back and forth between her mother and father, confused. They didn't even look surprised.

After several moments of the teenagers staring at them in consternation Tom and Sabine decided to explain themselves. Sabine smiled gently at her daughter and her daughter's significant other. "We're actually not surprised because we've always felt that you two belong together. We've been rooting for you guys to finally realize your feelings and get together. Although we don't necessarily support a certain decision that you have made in the past..." she gestured to Marinette's stomach. "We still support both of you one hundred percent and are ecstatic that you got together and are happy now."

Marinette and Adrien just stared at them for many seconds and then they suddenly burst into laughter. "Oh my gosh." Adrien paused to get his laughter in control. "We've actually been getting that a lot recently." He looked at Marinette affectionately and began to speak to her. "And although I regret that I never saw you in that way until recently, I am so glad that we are together now and that we have this little one," he rested a hand gently on her stomach, "that has brought us together." He leaned over and softly kissed Marinette's temple.

He smiled when he heard her parents 'oooh' over them but chose to not bring attention to it. Throughout the rest of the night they continued talking. They spoke of the young couple's new relationship, they spoke of the future and the baby, and they were able to connect and bond as a family. All they needed now was to have Gabriel also be supportive of the situation. Adrien sighed as he realized that that was unlikely to happen.

Once dinner was over and they were done talking Adrien headed to the door. Before he left, he leaned over and gave Marinette a gentle kiss, but his mind was elsewhere. Marinette looked at him with worry, but she knew that he had things that he had to think through on his own. She would talk to him tomorrow at school and they could figure things out then.

- - -

When Marinette rushed to the school, risking being late as usual, she saw her sweet boyfriend leaning against the staircase, waiting for her. "Hi," she said shyly, blushing despite their newfound familiarity with each other.

They grasped hands and walked into the school and their homeroom class. "Is everything ok?" Marinette asked. When Adrien looked at her with question she elaborated. "I could tell there was something on your mind last night." She looked at him seriously. "You seem to be doing better right now, but I wanted to make sure that you're doing fine." She grinned timidly at her showing a protectiveness for her boyfriend.

He grinned at her lovingly. "Thank you for noticing." He leaned towards her and quickly kissed her forehead then looked back down at her. "I'm doing fine now. I'll tell you all about it later, but right now we need to get to class so that you are not late again."

He gave her a theatrical look and was rewarded with her melodic laugh. He quickly hugged her before he grabbed her hand and rushed her to their class.