Happily Ever After

5 - Payback

"Dad!" an objection was heard from the balcony. "You're telling the story without us!"

"Oh, Hugo..." Marinette sighed, feeling remorse. Adrien looked stunned at his son, as if caught red-handed. Marinette quickly added: "We were talking about our first date. We didn't think it would interest you."

"A date?" Hugo repeated and winced at once. "Eugh!"

"Exactly!" Marinette laughed and hugged her son, who immediately climbed on her lap.

"I'd like to listen about the date." Emma interjected, appearing in the door. "What were you wearing, mommy?"

"Actually, mommy was on this date as Ladybug." Adrien replied, taking his daughter to his lap.

"Why?" Emma asked, and Adrien blushed. Marinette raised her eyebrows and smiled.

"Because... I invited her as a Ladybug."

"But you didn't know that she was Ladybug." Hugo reminded, frowning.

Adrien couldn't shake off the shock. For the first time in his life, he noticed that his son inherited Ladybug's look from Marinette. And for the first time in his life he regretted having such wise children.

"Well... I didn't know." He admitted.

"So, you loved Ladybug, and you didn't love mommy?" Emma whispered.

Marinette giggled:

"Try to explain that." She whispered and gave him an amused look.

For fifteen years Adrien wondered when the time of revenge would come. Apparently, now was the moment of payback.

"It's complicated..." Adrien extricated himself.

"Adults always say that when they don't want to tell the truth." Hugo commented, and Marinette almost laughed aloud.

"Help me." Adrien whispered to his wife.

"Cope with that." she teased him.

"You're cruel." he replied.

"I'm not, honey. I'm sure that you will do it perfectly."

Adrien sighed.

"Your mommy was a very shy person at school. And we rarely managed to talk to each other. Mainly as Ladybug she gave me a chance to get to know her a bit. Until..." he hesitated and looked at his wife meaningfully. It was time for a small revenge, and she knew that because she blushed immediately. "Until the accident happened."

"An accident, daddy?" Emma got scared.

"Marinette's TV blunder." Adrien corrected, and his wife blushed even more. Despite years passing by, the memory of that terrible day still caused her great embarrassment.

"Adrien..." she warned her husband, but he only grinned at her.

"It's a very important part of our story, honey."

"I'm going for Louis." Marinette got up.

"You won't shirk, honey!" Adrien called after her. "What do you say, if we take food to the living room?" he asked the children, then took a bowl of fruit salad and moved towards the sofa. The children hurried after him.