10. Chapter 10

A/N: WE HAVE WI-FI AGAIN! YAY! Here's the chapter!

"Plagg's trapped again, Ladybug!" Emma cried with a grin. "We have to save him."

"What happened this time, Papillion?" Marinette asked, waiting for Emma to explain today's 'superhero adventure.' Apparently, the book Adrien had finished reading with Emma involved superheroes, and Emma had adored it. For the past two weeks, 'superheroes' was Emma's favorite game to play. Usually, it was Plagg stuck somewhere and they had to save him, but occasionally, it was some 'secret mission' for some item or other.

"He's trapped in the kitchen!" Emma said. "Let's go, Ladybug!"

With a grin, Marinette followed Emma as she scampered into the kitchen, little purple ribbons trailing behind her from her twin pigtails. According to Adrien, that had been Marinette's fault. For the past few days, Emma had requested her hair to look "just like Marinette." So, twin pigtails it was.

When they got to the kitchen, Marinette was fully expecting Plagg to be sitting on the floor somewhere, or maybe on the counter. Instead, Emma froze in the entryway, staring under the table with a frown. "Where'd he go?" she whined.

Marinette smirked. That sly cat. "Chat Noir probably hid him."

"Oh no!" Emma cried. "We have to find him!" Immediately, she started searching through all the cabinets. Marinette was glad Emma started there so she didn't see the grin Marinette couldn't keep back.

After half an hour of scouring the house, Plagg was found in the living room. Emma gave him a tight hug before retreating upstairs to her room, Marinette following behind.

"Good to have you back, Plagg," Marinette said, patting the plush cat on the head.

Emma hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry Chat Noir kidnapped you. I won't ever let it happen again."

"We won't let it happen," Marinette playfully corrected. It may have been a lie considering there was a high chance of it happening tomorrow, but that's what made it fun. And Emma wasn't ever really upset. If she was, Chat Noir was going to get a talking to.

She held up a fist for Emma to bump. "We're a team, right?"

Emma bumped her little fist against Marinette's. "Yeah."

"And you're the best teammate ever."

There was a long moment where Emma just stared at Marinette, her expression unreadable. Marinette grew worried, about to ask what was wrong when Emma launched herself up and wrapped her arms around Marinette's neck. "Best teammate in the whole, wide world."

Marinette froze, partly out of shock, partly in awe. She knew Emma and Adrien's little exchange, and this felt like she was encroaching on that. But at the same time, Marinette was honored to have this little girl call her that. Smile growing wide, she squeezed Emma in a hug, earning a squeal from the girl. "Best teammate in the whole, wide world."

They stayed like that for a while before Emma wiggled her way out of the hug. "I have to tell you my secret," she whispered. "But can't tell anyone. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Pinky promise?"

Marinette locked her pinky with Emma's. "Pinky promise."

Emma scampered over to her bed, crawling under it and pulling out a thick binder. "This is my special drawing book."

Intrigued, Marinette patted the space beside her, indicating Emma to sit down. But, as always, Emma plopped down in Marinette's lap instead.

Not that Marinette minded in the slightest.

Emma pulled the binder into her lap, and Marinette expected to see a collection of Emma's drawings.

She did not expect to see professional fashion sketches.

"Whenever I get to go to Grandfather's, he gives me these," she said, flipping the page. "He has them all over his desk, and I tell him which ones are my favorite, and he gives them to me."

Marinette had to blink a few times to process that. Gabriel created quite the reputation of being harsh and unrelenting. One could argue that it was what made him as good as he was. But, as she could see by the thickness of the binder, he clearly had a large soft spot for his granddaughter. At this rate, Emma would have a hefty collection by the time she was old enough to realize the just how much those sketches were worth.

"This is my favorite," she said, pointing at a dress with a black bodice and frilly skirt that was probably meant for some spring collection.

"That's a very pretty dress," Marinette said.

Emma nodded. "I wish I could have that dress."

They looked at every page, Marinette absorbing all the details that Emma couldn't understand: the scribbles in the margins, the colors swatches, the silhouettes and shapes of the designs themselves. It wasn't lost on Marinette just how lucky she was to see something like this. She was going to absorb all the information she could from her favorite fashion designer.

"Grandfather says this is his favorite thing to do in the whole world."

"This is your Grandfather's job," Marinette said.

Emma looked up at her in wonder. "Really?"

Marinette nodded. "He gets to make clothes and sell them. And people really like what he makes."

"I want to make clothes!" Emma said, a smile splitting her face. "I want to make all the pretty dresses Grandfather makes so that I can have them in real life."

Marinette chuckled.

"He lets me play with the pretty fabric," she continued. "Some of it's really soft. That's my favorite."

As they continued looking through the binder, an idea began forming in Marinette's mind. When they got to the end, Emma shut the binder and placed it carefully back under the bed.

"I have to hide it under my bed," she said. "Grandfather made me promise to keep it a secret."

"That's a good idea," Marinette agreed. "That's something very special."

Emma nodded. "Mrs. Marinette. I'm hungry."

"Well, let's go make some lunch, then."

"Okay."

The duo marched down to the kitchen and began pulling out food for lunch. Emma always helped, occasionally in making her own lunch but usually it was only to make her father's.

"Can we go to the park after lunch?" Emma asked. "I want to show you the playground."

Marinette stole a look outside. There wasn't a cloud in the sky nor were the trees quivering with any sort of wind. "I have a better idea," she said. "Why don't we ask your dad if we could go on a picnic?"

Emma positively lit up. "I'll go ask him now!" With that, she bolted from the room.

Marinette chuckled. She honestly hoped Adrien would agree to it. She would like to squeeze in one last picnic before the fall weather rolled in, making it too chilly to eat outside.

By the time Marinette finished the lunches, Emma came bounding back into the kitchen with Adrien in tow.

"May I invite myself along?" he asked Marinette. "Or is this a girls' thing?"

"Well," Marinette said slowly, a smile creeping across her lips, "I suppose. But only because you might veto our trip if I told you no."

Adrien grinned. "I'll get a blanket."

Fifteen minutes later, the trio was set up under a tree in the park, sandwiches and chips spread out across the blanket. Emma spent time telling her dad about how the evil Chat Noir stole Plagg again for the millionth time. Emma might have missed it, but Marinette could clearly see the mischievousness sparkle in his green eyes.

Eventually, Emma got distracted by the kids playing tag in the park. Having finished her sandwich, she asked to be excused. Adrien sent her off with a "go have fun."

"I have to admit, Chat Noir," Marinette said after Emma had run off into the fray. "You had a very good hiding spot for Plagg this time around."

He looked back up at her, waggling his eyebrows while he smirked smugly up at her. "I do try. Though it helps when my partner in crime keeps our enemy distracted long enough for me to do so."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marinette said all-too-innocently through a wide smile.

Adrien chuckled.

"Actually," Marinette began, "on a more or less unrelated topic, Emma showed me her 'picture book' as she called it? The one with all the fashion drawings."

Adrien's eyes widened. "She showed you?"

Marinette nodded.

"Wow," Adrien said, leaning back on his elbows. "You should be honored. Emma keeps that thing secret from the world. I suspect Father convinced her to do so, and probably for the better. She's only told me and Alya."

"Trust me, I know that was an honor," Marinette assured, her heart warming at the realization of just how much trust Emma had in her. "Besides the fact that Emma holds that so dear, I love fashion, so getting to see that was pretty spectacular."

Adrien's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Ever since I was little," Marinette admitted. "I make all my own clothes now."

He glanced her over, not remotely in a leering way; Marinette could tell his eyes were solely on her outfit. "Impressive."

"Thank you," she said, glancing away. "It's my biggest hobby. That being said, I love sewing in general, not just clothes. My friend has an annual quilt donation event for her charity helping kids in hospitals. I make one to donate every year, and I was wondering this year if Emma would like to come with me to the fabric shop as an adventure of sorts to help me pick out the colors. She mentioned she likes playing with fabric—"

"She would love it," Adrien interrupted with a smile. "I've never taken her to any craft store, but she loves playing with Father's fabric scraps. She actually has a small collection of those in a shoe box in her closet."

Marinette giggled. "I was thinking maybe tomorrow? Going to the large fabric shop in the mall area."

"I know the one you're talking about," he said. "That would be fine. Just tell me when you two are heading out, and I'll help you put her car seat in your car."

"Okay. Sounds good."

A comfortable pause slipped between them. Marinette caught sight of Emma running from the kid who was it and ducking under the slide just in time to avoid being tagged.

"Are you free Wednesday night?"

Marinette froze at the sudden question.

"For game night?"

It took a long moment recall that she had, in fact, decided to go through with that. She had been so close to tears that night, yet she told herself that getting out of the house and playing video games with a friend would good for her. Alya had already had a long, long discussion with her regarding Adrien and how she thought they'd get along very well as friends. Just friends.

"Marinette," Alya had told her. "Let it be known to the world that I have no intention of setting you two up on a romantic date any time in the foreseeable future. Okay? Can you please realize that I'm just trying to set you up with a friend to get you out of that bakery more?"

So, in order to make Alya proud, she had worked up the courage to suggest she and Adrien go through with game night. Because that's all it was. A game night. It wasn't a date. No worries.

No. Worries.

"Yeah," Marinette eventually managed. "Wednesday works for me."

"Great," Adrien said, excited smile growing on his face. "Five-thirty? I can drop Emma off at my father's for the evening."

Marinette gave a nod. "Do you want me to bring anything?"

"Dinner?" he asked.

She giggled awkwardly. "Anything in particular?"

Adrien shook his head. "I'm good with nearly anything. It could be Chinese take-out and I'd be happy."

A shy sort of grin crept across her face. "Is that what you want?"

"… Well," he drawled out. "Now that you say it…"

She giggled again, immediately growing conscious of her awkwardness. Get ahold of yourself! "So, I'll just bring a handful of different things and call it good?"

"That sounds awesome."

"Okay. I'll come around five-thirty, then?"

"Perfect. I have my old console sitting somewhere, so I'll have to find that."

"I can bring mine over if you can't find it easily."

"If I can't find it tonight, I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Okay," she said. "Sounds good."

"Good," Adrien grinned. "I look forward to it."

…

On Tuesday, Marinette was very excited. She came prepared with a handful of quilt patterns to present to Emma, wanting her opinion on which was her favorite. Then, there was the whole surprise of actually going to the fabric store and picking out the colors. Marinette herself could spend hours in the aisles, pulling out every fabric bolt and examining it and thinking of ten different designs to go with each one. Today, she'd have to tell herself to remain focused.

After they had gone through the routine of finding Plagg from the place Chat Noir hid him and retreating to Emma's ro—err… the home base, Marinette pulled out all the pages she brought. "I have a very important question," she said, laying them out on the carpet. "I have to make a blanket for someone very special, but I don't know which one to pick. Which one do you like the best?"

Emma's serious face was one of the cutest expressions ever. She took her time as she looked over the blankets before pointing to a green and pink one. "This one!"

"That one?" Marinette asked, looking at the pattern she chose.

"Yeah," Emma said, picking up the paper and continuing to look at it. "It's pretty."

The adoration in Emma's tone was utterly precious. "Then I'll make that one. But…" Marinette spoke, smiling mischievously. "I'm going to have to go get all the fabric I need for it. Do you want to go on an adventure with me to find everything?"

Emma positively lit up, her blue eyes dazzling and smile splitting her face in two. "An adventure?"

Marinette nodded slowly. "Yup. You see. This is a quilt, meaning it's a lot of little pieces of fabric all sewn together to make something pretty. But I need to go get the fabric to sew together. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go!"

Emma was already down the stairs, yelling for Marinette to hurry up by the time Marinette picked up the other quilt patterns from the floor. After she asked Adrien for the car seat, he helped her install it in her car and then buckled in Emma for Marinette to watch.

"Have fun," he told her once she was all strapped in.

"I will."

He kissed her forehead, then shut the car door.

"We should be back by lunchtime," Marinette said. "It's a Tuesday, so hopefully it won't be too busy."

"Sounds good," Adrien said. "See you two then. Hope you have a good time!"

"I'm sure we will," Marinette said. With a wave, she got into the front seat, listening to Emma squeal with excitement as she turned over the engine.

"Ready for an adventure?" she asked Emma.

"Yeah!"

"Then onwards we go!"

The fabric shop was not that far, so the drive was short. Marinette found a parking spot easily in the empty lot, which hopefully meant short lines and empty aisles. She helped Emma from the car seat, then shut and locked the door behind her as Emma slipped her small hand into hers.

There was something special about holding this little girl's hand as they marched through the parking lot. Something exciting as Marinette guided her into her favorite store for an adventure together. Had someone told Marinette three months ago that Chloe's daughter would have taken up such a big chunk of her heart, she would have laughed. Now, she was wondering how could Chloe's daughter have taken up so much of her heart so fast.

A couple older ladies walked out of the store, and Marinette couldn't help but notice their gaze aimed at her and Emma, smiles slowly growing on their faces in quiet approval. For a moment, Marinette felt proud.

She had to remind herself she was Emma's nanny, not her mother.

When they got into the store, Emma's eyes devoured what they could, looking around the store in awe and excitement. Marinette had to tighten her grip on Emma so she wouldn't wander off, all while attempting to grab a cart and push it single-handedly.

"All the fabric we need is this way," Marinette said, slowly pulling Emma towards the left side of the store. Emma bounded after her like a bunny rabbit.

They got to the cotton section, and Emma stared at the wall of fabric. It was color coordinated, morphing from the neutrals to a pink, then proceeding to finish off the entirety of the rainbow down the length of the long wall.

"So," Marinette said, pulling the pattern from her bag and showing it to Emma. "Our list says we need a white fabric, two pink fabrics, and two green fabrics. And we have allllll these to choose from," Marinette said, pointing down the wall of fabric bolts and suddenly realizing this might be a bit overwhelming for a four-year-old. "We're on a treasure hunt for them."

Those seemed to be the magic words because Emma didn't hesitate at all when she pointed to a bolt of white fabric. "Here's the white."

Emma pulled the first bolt she spotted on the bottom, which was a plain white fabric, but Marinette pulled a bolt out from the shelves that she couldn't reach. She showed Emma how fabrics have patterns or pictures on them, just like how the fabric she was holding had light gray leaves printed on it. Emma stared at it, running her hand over the fabric before looking at the bottom shelf with new interest. The second bolt she pulled out happened to be printed with little bunnies, and Emma immediately said she liked it.

Marinette put it in the cart then told Emma that they needed to find the pinks next. Emma scampered off to the pinks before Marinette could even grab the cart.

"Since we need two pinks," Marinette said once she caught up to Emma, "how about you pick one and I pick one. Is that fair?"

Emma nodded then started looking at all the fabrics she could reach on the bottom shelf.

While Marinette was looking for a fabric she liked, she kept a close eye on Emma. She was looking for the patterns this time, pulling out every bolt of fabric and unraveling it on the floor like Marinette had done with the white leaf fabric.

"Be sure to put it back, Emma," Marinette instructed, wrapping up the fabric and replacing it. "Okay?"

"Okay."

Thankfully, most fabrics made their way back onto the shelf. Marinette had to help with a few that Emma couldn't quite get.

"I like this one," Emma eventually said, showing her the pink and white polka-dotted fabric.

"That's a nice one," Marinette agreed, putting it into the cart beside the pink she had liked. "Now, we need two greens."

Once again, Emma ran ahead, digging through the greens before Marinette could catch up. Marinette found her pattern quickly, but Emma was being twice as picky because, as she said several times, green was her favorite color. She pulled out every bolt she could reach from the bottom, but by the time she hit the last one, she didn't like anything.

Before she could pout for long, Marinette hoisted her up into the cart, helping her see all the fabrics on the second row. With a bit of Marinette's help, they found a green fabric covered in little white cat heads. Emma was positively ecstatic.

Then came the part Marinette knew Emma would find boring: waiting in the fabric cutting line. From the cart basket, Emma could easily reach the ticket taker, allowing her to grab a little paper tab with a number.

"What are the two numbers, Emma?"

Emma stared at the paper. "Four. And seven."

Forty-seven. Marinette glanced up at the screen above the cutting station and sighed in relief when she saw they were only three numbers away. Thankfully, the line moved quickly. When they got to the counter, Emma helped Marinette take all the bolts from the cart. Marinette told the worker the lengths of fabric to cut, and Emma watched with awe as the lady unraveled long lengths of fabric and measured them out.

"Your daughter is adorable," the lady remarked as she was printing out the fabric ticket. "She has your eyes."

Marinette felt her heart skip a beat. True, Chloe had the same eye color as Marinette did, but never once did she think they had the same eyes. "Oh, um, I'm actually just her nanny."

The woman's smile fell. "Oh, I'm sorry. You two just looked all matching with your pigtails and blue eyes."

"It's fine," Marinette quickly assured. "It's a safe assumption most of the time."

After taking the fabric with a thank you and handing it to Emma for safe-keeping, Marinette pushed the cart away towards the center of the store where the thread was. It was much easier to deal with Emma in the cart rather than hold her hand and try to push the cart around. When they got the rack holding the spools of thread, Emma dropped the stack of fabric in order to look at them.

"I like the green."

With a chuckle, Marinette picked the color Emma indicated and handed it to her for safe-keeping before walking to the check-out.

"Do I get to help you?"

"What?"

"I want to help make the blanket."

Marinette paused, trying to think how she could make it work. She supposed it would be a fun thing to do with her, putting the fabric together and such. But considering how time-consuming the process was, she wondered just how much 'help' Emma would really be willing to offer. "Okay," she said. "We'll start tomorrow, then. I'll bring over all the things we need to make the blanket."

Emma grew excited at the prospect.

"The first thing we have to do is cut up all the fabric into different pieces," Marinette said. "Then we have to match the different pieces together."

"I can help!"

Marinette smiled. It seemed like the adventure had only just begun.

…

As Marinette stood at the door, she couldn't help but think that she'd been less nervous when showing Emma how a rotary cutter worked that morning. While she wouldn't dare let Emma touch it, she did show Emma how to measure the pieces and then hold the ruler firmly in place. She thought of Emma's completely mystified expression as she cut each piece and how after they had cut the entire yardage of fabric—Marinette was still blown away that Emma's attention span lasted that long—Emma deemed the tool magical.

She took a breath, trying to remind herself that she wasn't on a date. That there was no need to fix her hair. That the casual clothes she was wearing were fine. That she was spending the evening with a friend. It was okay. Nothing she couldn't handle. Because it wasn't a date. It. Was not. A date.

That didn't stop her from fluffing her hair one last time just before she heard the door unlock. When it opened, Adrien greeted her with a grin.

"I brought food." Awkwardly, Marinette held up the bag, covering her certainly flushed face from his line of sight.

Adrien chuckled, taking the bag from her and brushing her fingers in the process. She yanked her fingers behind her back as though his had burned her, but he didn't seem to notice. "Thanks. Come in. I have the console set up in the living room."

"And you have Ultimate Mecha Strike Three, correct?"

"I do," he said exasperatedly, shutting the door behind him. "I promise. Though, if you really are as good as you said, you could beat me at Four."

She snorted. "And if you're as good as you said you were, you could beat me at Three."

"We'll just have to see."

Adrien put the food down on the living room table. "Could you grab some drinks and napkins from the kitchen?"

Marinette nodded, turning to grab a couple glasses of water and a handful of napkins while Adrien set up the game. With the main menu theme playing in the background, Adrien began digging into the boxes she brought.

"You thought of everything," Adrien commented, lining up the five take-out boxes on the table. He set the two sides on one side, the three main dishes on the other, then ripped the bag of egg rolls in half to form a makeshift plate to set in the middle.

"I just covered the basics and hoped I got what you liked," she said, setting the glasses down on a couple coasters.

After taking a pair of chopsticks and snapping them apart, Adrien grabbed the box of broccoli beef. "My favorite," he commented.

"Noted."

A pause slipped between them as they made a dent into the food, the video game music rolling over and over and over in the background. Marinette ate slowly, her stomach churning with nervousness even though she'd lost track of how many times she'd told herself she didn't have to be. Absently, she reached for her ring, tugging on its chain comfortingly. It was okay. This was okay. It was two friends hanging out. It wasn't a date.

"You ready to start?" Adrien asked, stabbing his chopsticks into the chow mein and reaching for the controllers.

Marinette eyed the other box that Adrien practically hadn't let out of his sight. It was half empty, and Marinette wanted at least a little.

Was it weird to eat from the same box? That thought suddenly popped into her mind and stuck firmly. That was kinda date-y, wasn't it?

Adrien seemed to notice her gaze, but clearly he didn't read her thoughts or he wouldn't have shot that coy smile her way. "Tell you what," he said, picking up the box. "I win, I get the rest of the chow mein. You win, you can have it."

She should just say that it was fine. That he could have it. After all, he seemed to have marked it pretty well with his chopsticks. But… she had a soft spot for noodles.

She pursed her lips in deliberation.

And decided she could pulverize him.

"Done."

Three games later, Marinette was doing a victory dance while waving her box of chow mein in the air.

"How are you so good at this?" Adrien whined good-naturedly.

"I learned everything I know from a master."

"No kidding."

She giggled then took another bite of chow mein. Mostly for show, but to be fair, it was really good. No wonder Adrien was hoarding it.

"I bet I could beat you in Four."

"You're just a sore loser," she teased, plopping back down on the couch with a grin.

"Well, you and your little victory dance are hardly graceful winners—"

"That," she accused, playfully sticking her chopsticks at him, "is the talk of a sore loser."

"And that," he returned, pointing his own chopsticks back at her, "is bloated pride."

They held a stare-down for a long moment before Marinette caved.

"If I win against you in your precious Ultimate Mecha Strike Four, I get the rest of your broccoli beef."

"Done."

By the end of the night, Adrien was still pouting that he lost his box of broccoli beef on top of the chow mein.

He made up for it by eating more than his fair share of egg rolls.

Eventually, the boxes were nearly empty and the duo was more than full. But those little fortune cookies, no matter how tacky and cheesy and utterly American, were just too much fun to resist.

"Tell you what," Marinette said, holding out the two cookies. "Since I pulverized you tonight, I'll let you pick the one you want."

"How incredibly humble of you," Adrien mocked. He picked a cookie and began peeling open the wrapper.

Marinette opened her own, snapping the hard cookie in two and pulling out the fortune.

An unexpected surprise is coming your way.

Generic as ever, but always fun to see.

"What's yours say?" she asked.

Adrien continued to stare at it but folded it up with a smile. "No."

"No?"

"Haven't you ever heard that if you want a wish to come true, you can't tell anyone?"

Marinette quirked a brow. "Yours is a wish?" she asked doubtfully.

"That I'd like to come true," he said, popping half of the cookie in his mouth.

Marinette hummed. "Then I'm not telling you mine," she teased. Not that hers was anything special.

He shrugged. "Okay."

Before Marinette could reply, Adrien's phone buzzed. He tapped the screen to turn off the alarm. "Wow, it's late."

She checked her own phone, only to realize she'd been here nearly an hour and a half. "I should let you go pick up Emma."

"Thank you," Adrien said, standing. "I had a great time this evening. Even if you did hand me my rear end on a silver platter."

Marinette giggled, standing from the couch and stacking the empty containers together. "It was fun. I haven't done something like this in a while."

"Maybe," Adrien began, taking half a step forward while he rubbed the back of his neck, "we could do this again? See if I can find a video game I could beat you at?"

She paused, squeezing the bag with all the trash from the table tightly in her hands. Nervousness sank in, but… it wasn't nearly as bad as before. She hadn't lied; she'd enjoyed the night. There was nothing wrong with it. They were just two friends hanging out together.

"Okay," she said, habitually reaching up to play with her ring. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Adrien grinned, taking the trash bag from her. "Great. Maybe in a week or two? On Wednesday again?"

"We can do next week."

"Next week, Wednesday," Adrien repeated, grin growing and eyes sparking because of it. "I'll get food next time."

"Surprise me," Marinette said.

Before he could respond, his phone rang again. He glanced at it. "My father."

"I should go," Marinette said, starting towards the door and giving Adrien a second to answer his phone.

It took all of two seconds to say that he would be on his way to pick up Emma. He hung up just in time to open the door for Marinette. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said with a smile.

She returned it. "See you tomorrow."

She marched out to her car. As always, she could feel his gaze on her, watching her from the doorway and never shutting the door until her car was started and driving off into the night.

When she got home, she turned off the engine and grabbed her phone. She was about to send off the usual 'home safe and sound' message but quickly erased it when a new idea came to mind.

Tell me when you and Emma make it home. ;)

She felt rather proud of herself as she made her way up to her bedroom. By the time she settled down on her bed, already dressed in her pjs and ready to turn off the lights, her phone buzzed.

She couldn't reach it fast enough.

Safe and sound. Emma says goodnight.

Her grin was wide, and her heart swelled with affection. However, as she sent off a goodnight text for Emma, she couldn't squash the errant thought that wandered into her mind. Instead, she turned off the lights and did her best not to think on it too much.

Only Emma?