In which fourteen-year-old Emma Agreste asks for the first time to hang out with a boy who she claims is "just a friend," Adrien has a mental breakdown, and Marinette is struggling to keep herself from exploding with laughter.

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Adrien considered himself to be a pretty darn good father—way better than the one he had for sure—but out of all the challenges fathers eventually have to face, he hadn't expected this one to come so soon.

"Can I hang out with a friend today, Maman?"

At first, Adrien hadn't been paying attention to what his daughter had asked. He was in the middle of trying to watch the game while his wife was across the room in the kitchen preparing her homemade dip for the tortilla chips that were already in a giant bowl on the living room coffee table.

"Do we know this friend?" He vaguely heard his wife ask in a parental manner. After all, like most parents, Adrien and Marinette preferred to know who their daughter hung out with when they allowed her to go out.

Emma nodded. "You've met him once. He's in my class—"

"'He?'" Marinette lifted her eyes from the task she was doing to look at her daughter and raised her brows in curiosity.

Adrien, on the other hand, whipped his head in full attention over at his daughter, who was seated on one of the bar stools at their kitchen counter. The game he had been so engrossed in was suddenly forgotten.

"I know what you're thinking," Emma began placatingly, "But I can promise you it's not like that. He and I are just friends."

Adrien immediately choked on his saliva. As he exploded into a coughing fit, it was easy to spot the gigantic smile that pulled at Marinette's lips as she leaned over the kitchen sink, bawling her eyes out as she laughed. She even slammed her fist on the marbled kitchen counter repeatedly, like she did that one time when he confessed to being Adrien as Chat Noir.

In addition to almost losing the ability to breathe, Adrien was blushing like a madman as he watched his wife's dramatic display in horror.

"What's going on?" Emma, however, was frighteningly confused and didn't know what to make of the situation she had just landed herself in. "Are you okay, Maman? Did I say something funny?"

"Oh no." Marinette wheezed, shaking her head despite her laughter having yet to cease. "I was just thinking about how ironic this all is."

Emma raised a confused brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I don't think I ever told you about how your dad said the same thing about me, did I?"

Adrien choked on his saliva again. He immediately stood from the couch and marched over towards his wife and daughter. There was no way he would let her tell their daughter such an embarrassing story.

Emma shook her head, which only prompted Marinette to continue. "When your father and I were about your age, I had the biggest crush on him. At the time, he also really liked me, but he was always too afraid to admit it, so he always said that I was just a friend to him."

"Marinette..." Adrien groaned in embarrassment, slowly sitting beside his daughter on another bar stool. "Stop telling our daughter about how much of an idiot I was."

"Still are." Marinette leaned forward to bop his nose softly. "It was so funny because even though your father considered me to be just his friend, he always wanted to do things that friends of the opposite sex wouldn't usually do, like hold my hand or want to sit next to me all the time, or always want to hug me, or always stare at me from across the classroom—"

"This is so embarrassing." Adrien groaned behind his hands.

"Or come to Alya asking her what gym I worked out at, just so he could 'accidentally' run into me there. But I'm pretty sure it was just because he wanted to see me in leggings—"

"Marinette!"

"Ohhkay, so... what you're saying is that you think I actually like this guy as more than just a friend?" Emma asked, her question forcing her parents to break out of their little stupor.

"Well..." Marinette shrugged her shoulders. "I'm only saying it's possible."

"Maman, unlike Papa, I'm being honest when I say this guy is just a friend."

"Well, does he know that?" Adrien's eyes were narrowed in slight skepticism. "'Cause what if you're more than just a friend to him? Sometimes guys don't get the hint. In fact, they're stupid. We don't really get it at all unless you're spelling it out for us."

Emma's brows crinkled in confusion. "Should I spell it out for you, Papa? Because it seems like maybe you don't believe me."

Marinette snorted behind a closed fist. Adrien sent her a glare.

"Uhh... no. I believe you. I'm just saying that you should spell it out for him."

Emma's brows only furrowed further. "Why would I need to do that if he hasn't confessed to liking me?"

"Yeah, honey," Marinette said, smirking behind a glass of water. "That doesn't make any sense. I think you're just being paranoid."

"'Paranoid?'" Adrien's eyebrows rose higher up his forehead. "I'm not—no, I'm not, I'm not being paranoid. It's a valid concern!"

"Guys and girls can be friends, Papa," Emma said with a frown.

"That's true." Marinette agreed with a smile that he couldn't quite decipher... but if he had to guess, it looked mischievous. When his wife turned her eyes to him, her smile widened. "Just look at me and Marc."

Adrien's narrowed his eyes at her, seemingly deadpanned. "Marc is gay."

"Semantics." Marinette waved a hand at that. "The point is that it's possible. Besides, how do you know this kid isn't gay? You just assumed he was straight."

"He's not gay." Emma was quick to confirm.

Adrien waved his hand at their daughter, his expression reading silently, 'See?'

"At least she's being honest," Marinette replied, arms folded across her chest, but she still smiled. "Heaven knows we weren't when we started dating."

Adrien sighed a bit defeatedly. Perhaps he was being a bit too paranoid and even a tad overprotective. It was just that he had once been that age and knew all of the complicated factors that came with friendships, crushes, and even love while going through the hormonal stage that his daughter was currently going through at that age. He knew all about the dangers and heartache that came with it. Perhaps he didn't want anyone hurting his daughter like he had done to Kagami all those years ago.

But Marinette made a valid point. They had once been fourteen themselves, and they each learned a lot as they explored all the different factors life brought them at that age. It didn't seem right to hold his daughter back simply due to his worry.

However, he could use caution while allowing her to explore.

"How about this..." Adrien leaned his forearms against the counter as he met his daughter's gaze. "Instead of having me chaperone (which neither of us wants), you two can hang out if it's in a group setting. Invite some of your other friends as well."

"Okay." Emma smiled at him, her dimples showing. It seemed she didn't mind his suggestion at all. With that, she stood to her feet and pulled her phone out of her back pocket, already texting a few friends whom she had in mind.

Then, she leaned over to give him a hug. Adrien was briefly surprised by the gesture but didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around his daughter to return the embrace.

Then, she pulled away, smiling still. "Thanks, Papa."

He watched with a smile of his own as she excitedly bounded towards her room. A moment later, he felt a hand on his shoulder and realized Marinette had come around the counter to stand beside him.

His wife gently squeezed her shoulder. "I'm proud of you for coming up with that solution despite the little meltdown you had."

Adrien turned to meet her eyes with a pout. "I wasn't having a meltdown. She's just... growing up so fast. I feel like just the other day she was five asking me to play dress up with her."

Marinette leaned down to press a light kiss to his temple. Adrien's eyes fluttered close at the sensation of her lips against his skin. A moment later, her forehead fell onto his shoulder, and that's when he realized that he wasn't the only one wistfully wishing their daughter was a little girl again.

"I also don't know if I'm ready to see her dating anyone yet," Adrien admitted into the silence between them.

Marinette chuckled softly at that. "Even if she does have a crush on this boy, that doesn't mean they're going to date. I mean, look how many guys had a crush on me in high school."

Adrien could picture all of them now, lined up to present Marinette with some lousy gift that they thought would win them their affection. "That's what I'm worried about. Where do you think Emma gets all her beauty from?"

His wife laughed softly into the crook of his neck, and Adrien found himself chuckling as well. They remained in each other's embrace as the silence prolonged, enjoying each other's company and touch. A few times, Marinette's lips wandered to his to peck his lips, and then they would wander across his face in flutters, kissing every inch of his skin that she could reach.

He sighed contently, and his arms tightened around her.

Then, her lips reached his ear, and she whispered, "You're missing the game."

"Forget the game." Adrien instantly whispered as his lips found hers once again, diving in for another kiss. "I'd rather spend my time with my 'not just a friend.'"

The laughter that followed instantly broke their kiss, and Marinette buried her blushing face into the crook of his neck. Adrien didn't mind that their kiss had been broken. In fact, he joined her in her laughter as he pulled her closer. Just seeing his wife smile like that and knowing that he was the cause of it was all that mattered to him.

That, and ensuring that Emma's status as 'just a friend' stayed that way until she was eighteen.

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It's a little shorter than I imagined, but I liked how it came out. I honestly wrote this because I needed to work on something that didn't feel like a chore to prevent myself from spiraling into a hiatus. It worked, so yay!

See you in the next one-shot! (Be sure to check out my bio or the 'Welcome to My Profile' book underneath 'update schedule' for when the next scheduled update will be.)

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