Plagg had warned him that flashes of bad luck might strike even after they'd said their goodbyes and he'd gone to a new miraculous holder. Adrien could remember everything about that day; from becoming a father to saying goodbye to his pocket-size partner in crime. It hadn't been easy (well, getting rid of the last wheel of cheese had been), but the agreement to stop being superheros to become full-time parents was a hard one, but a choice that he and Marinette had agreed was worth it. But those words stuck with Adrien.

"The bad luck is still gonna strike here and there, kid," he'd said. And it had. Usually it wasn't anything too bad. Once a tree branch in a storm broke their window, and another time he'd hit a deer with a rental car while touring in America, but being as wealthy as he was, it wasn't a big deal.

Getting robbed two times in one month was a big deal.

"What if Emma had been home by herself?" Marinette had worried. "She could have been hurt, or- or kidnapped, or held for ransom, or..."

"I know," Adrien sighed, kneeling to pick up what used to be their security system. It had been quite thoroughly demolished using...

"A fork, a magnet, and a lighter?" He exclaimed, almost laughing. "Seriously? That's all it took?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Next time, I'm picking the security system. We need to Ladybug proof this house."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "You don't think this is—"

Marinette waved him off though, "No— well... I don't think so. There's not enough... finesse. I was just thinking the thought process was similar, that's all. I don't think Tikki would be so easily misused."

"No one thought Nooroo would either, but my father did a number on him," Adrien reminded her. She sighed, and raked a hand through her hair, letting the short bob slip between her fingers.

"Yeah, maybe. I guess it could have been a freudian slip, but... I don't know. Let's wait for more clues before we jump to conclusions."

He nodded and swept up the rest of the pieces into a pile. "What did they take this time?"

"Just that hideously gaudy ashtray your father sent us."

"Good."

They both giggled.

She held the dust pan for him and he swept the pieces onto it. "They did seem to be looking for something though," she said. "They left a really big mess, and only took one thing. It doesn't add up."

"No," he agreed, dumping the pan in the garbage bag. "It doesn't. Do you think they were looking for... special jewels?"

She sighed again. "Only if they actually have Tikki and the Ladybug Miraculous. And if they did, wouldn't Master Fu or Nino tell us?"

"Master Fu wouldn't tell us if he thought we wanted to stay out of it," Adrien pointed out. "Like we agreed on fifteen years ago. He could have forbidden Nino from telling us. Could be why he's been avoiding me."

Marinette pouted. "But that would mean Alya's in on it too. She said he's just been busy with DJ gigs."

Adrien shrugged. "Maybe he is," he said. "Like you said, this is all just speculation. Ladybug and Chat Noir speculation, not Adrien and Marinette speculation. It might be that we're just unfortunate, wealthy targets of a thief who likes incredibly ugly ashtrays."

"But what if it isn't?" Marinette said. "Crime rates like these haven't been seen in decades. Even when we fought Hawkmoth, petty theft wasn't this bad. It could be connected. A Ladybug thief would do exactly that. Become a sort of inspiration and leader to the bad guys like she was to heros when we were the Miraculous wielders. What if the world wasn't ready for us to retire? What if this is—"

"Marinette!" She cut of abruptly and stared at him. He was giving her a half-worried smile that usually meant, 'You're overthinking again.' Marinette held his gaze for a moment, then deflated, like the air from a tense balloon.

"You're right," she said. "I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess I'm just feeling... itchy because of all the crime picking up around Paris and Master Fu and Nino haven't said anything about recruiting new Miraculous holders."

Adrien smiled sympathetically, held out his arms for a hug, and held her when she fell into him. "I know," he said, mumbling into her silky hair. "I want to do something too, but they know what they're doing, and we promised that she comes first."

He could feel his wife sigh dramatically. "Yeah," she agreed. "Emma first." she drew back to look him in the face. "But how much longer before the crime becomes a danger to her specifically? Look at what happened?" She gestured again to the pile of "security."

Adrien looked down at it. "We could... hire a bodyguard." The moment the words came out of his mouth, he felt like he'd punched himself in the face. "Oh, jeez, no. Pretend I didn't say that. No bodyguards. I'd rather quit my job and guard her myself than that."

"Okay," she agreed. "No bodyguards. What else can we do? Guard dog?"

Adrien bristled with old instincts. "No dogs."

She grinned and muttered something that sounded like, "Old habits die hard."

They heard the front door to their home swing open and slam shut.

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" A voice called. There was a pause then, "Why is this window broken?"

They both groaned.

"We'll talk more later," Marinette proposed.

When Adrien woke to the sound of rattling and breaking glass coming from downstairs, he was sure that the thief was back, and he was determined to catch the perpetrator. Looking at Marinette, who was still fast asleep, he considered waking his partner for old times sake, but she might beat him with a pillow for something as simple as taking down a common house crook.

Bringing the baton he kept on his nightstand, he crept silently down the stairs, towards the kitchen— the source of the noise.

"—now I have this big mess to clean up!" came a harsh whisper. "And I have to come up with a story as to why one of our fancy dishes just magically disappeared in the middle of the night."

"Well maybe you guys shouldn't stash your china above the fridge," drawled an uncaring voice— a rather familiar uncaring voice.

"Maybe if you weren't such a pig—"

A gasp.

"You take that back! We cats are much more refined than the common swine."

The whisperer, a girl, snorted. "Most cats are."

Adrien blinked and nearly choked. There was only one talking, cheese-eating, piggish cat he knew about.

He turned the corner into the kitchen and there, illuminated by the light of the refrigerator, was his only daughter, Emma, and his old companion, Plagg.

They both stared at him, the former wide-eyed and gobsmacked with horror, the other far too casual.

"Oh, hey kid," he said to Adrien. "Nice bedhead."

Wow, so, that happened. Just decided to sit down and write and my very first Miraculous short story just sort of... happened. ^-^' Okay then. 

I might continue this in a second part, as I have vague ideas of where I might like this to go, but if I do, it might take a little while to post. I guess that depends on you, the readers. Should I continue? What happens to Emma? Why is she an only child? Is she the only active Miraculous user? Who robbed their house? Is Tikki being misused? I'd loved to hear your theories!

-TygerSong