Chapter Text
Chat ran and leaped across the rooftops of Paris until he came to a stop on his favourite perch high up on the Eiffel Tower. This was the life he had always wanted, the total freedom just to be himself. Squating on the railing and looking over the city the only thing that was missing was…
“There you are Kitty.”
Chat’s face lit up and he looked over his shoulder to see Ladybug, his beautiful, wonderful fiancée, walking over to him while throwing her yo-yo up and down in her hand. Chat then turned away with mock disdain.
“Oh no, she found me. Will I never have a moment of peace ever again.” Chat yelped when Ladybug's yo-yo suddenly wrapped around him and she turned him around. She had that flirty, mischievous look in her eyes as she leaned into his face.
“Well, that’s a shame.” Ladybug smirked, tapping her finger on his nose. “Because I did have a surprise for you waiting at home, but if you're not interested…”
“Oh, I’m interested.” Chat replied as the yo-yo untangled from around him. “Especially if the surprise happens to be chocolate coated.”
Ladybug folded her arms and leaned back on one of the poles. “You’ve been talking to Papa haven’t you!”
Chat jumped down from the railing and wrapped his arms around Ladybug's waist, pulling her closer to him. “I may have popped around earlier to say hi and he mentioned something about sending over some eclairs later.”
Ladybug huffed. “Remind me to tell Papa that he needs to be better at keeping things to himself. That said, this particular surprise isn’t the eclairs, they’re for Alya’s bachelorette party tomorrow and no, you're not invited.”
“Fair enough.” Now Chat was extra curious. “So… what’s the surprise then?”
Ladybug untangled herself from him and took a few steps back. “I’ll tell you… if you can catch me.”
With an expert flick of her wrist, Ladybug swung away in a flash leaving one black cat in her wake. “Hey!” He yelled after her, vaulting off his stick. “I’m faster than you.”
Parisians in the streets looked up and pointed as the heroes raced past, their infectious laughter bringing smiles to the faces of those looking on. Alya had made an announcement though the Ladyblog that the two heroes had married during the hiatus they had away from the city. The story was well accepted since most of the media had already speculated that was the reason for their absence anyway (and for good measure they reiterated there was definitely no cat bugs in development, not yet anyway). For now at least the city was at peace and the heroes brought comfort to the people that no matter what evil may come in the future, they would be there.
Landing on the balcony of their apartment, Ladybug squealed as Chat tackled her, the two of them rolling through the door and onto the carpet,both laughing hard. Chat pushed himself up on his arms, caging Ladybug in under him. “I caught you.” He grinned, his bangs hanging over his eyes.
“I suppose you did.” Ladybug teased, dropping her transformation. “But I’m not sure capturing me on our own balcony counts.” She said, grabbing his bell she pulled him down to her, kissing him. It didn’t take long for the two of them to start getting lost in the moment, Chat’s advanced senses tingling as Marinette buried her fingers into his hair.
“Is this my surprise?” Chat queried between kisses. “I’m definitely not complaining if it is.”
“This is just a bonus.” She smirked, giving him one more peck on the lips before pushing him off her and walking over to her bedside table. “You need to drop your transformation and put on a blind fold.”
“Princess.” Chat exclaimed, sitting up cross legged and placing his hand on his chest. “I didn’t know you were into kinky stuff.”
Marinette rolled her eyes but looked away from him bashfully. “Just stand up and put the blind fold on you silly cat.”
Chat chuckled to himself at the redness that spread across her cheeks. He loved still being able to make her blush like that. Dropping his transformation, he took the piece of cloth and tied it around his eyes. Plagg floated in front of his eyes and waved his paws around.
“How many paws am I holding up kid?” He asked.
“You only two.” Adrien retorted. “And what do you know about this?”
“Technically I have four, and Pigtails let me in on it.” Plagg replied, throwing a cheeky grin over to Tikki who was holding in a giggle.
Marinette took Adrien by the hand and began to lead him towards the door. “Now just let me guide you to where the surprise is, okay. We just have to go out this way.”
“Out?” Adrien queried. “But I thought the surprise was… ouch!”
Adrien hopped around after banging his ‘good’ knee on the doorframe as he walked through it.
“Are you alright?” Marinette asked, tugging him down the hall.
If Adrien wasn’t wearing his blindfold, she would have seen his eyes rolling as he hobbled along. “Blindfold, remember? You need to warn me about things in the way.” He could hear her and the kwamis chuckling.
“Don’t you trust me Kitty?” She asked, and he could hear the smirk on her face.
“I’m starting to have my doubts.” He grumbled as the elevator dinged and they stepped inside.
By this stage, Adrien was beyond confused as to where Marinette was taking him and he had no notion of how many floors they had traveled when the elevator came to a stop. Grabbing both his hands, Marinette walked backwards out of the lift and pulled Adrien with her. Their footsteps echoed as they walked, and Adrien figured they must have been in the carpark.
“Are we going somewhere m’lady?” He asked. Usually if the Gorilla was picking them up he did it from the main entrance not from the carpark.
“That’s up to you.” She replied cryptically. “Now wait here, I’ll be right back.”
Adrien could feel Plagg settle on his shoulder while there was a rustling sound nearby. After a moment, Marinette was back beside him. “Okay Plagg, take the blindfold off.”
As the cloth around his eyes fell, Adrien blinked once, twice, before his breath caught in his throat. Taking a few steps forward he ran his hands over the sleek black body of his fully restored Kawasaki Ninja looking every bit the way it did the day he first picked it up from the showroom.
“Marinette…” He gasped as he gazed over what had been his pride and joy. “How did…”
“It wasn’t that hard.” She said, sliding her arm around him. “You wouldn’t have thought so, considering the damage to your leg, the bike only really needed some minor repairs and cosmetic work.”
Adrien wrapped her up into a tight hug, dropping a kiss to the top of her hair. “You’re amazing m’lady, have I told you that?”
Marinette giggled into his shirt. “Maybe once or twice.” She pulled back just enough so she could look up and see him. “So what do you say Kitty? Want to take it for a spin?”
“I…um…I…well…” Adrien’s mind was still swimming as Marinette moved out of his arms to open a box that was behind the bike. From the box she lifted out a brand new black motorbike jacket with matching green trims as the bike and a sleek new black and green helmet.
He was overwhelmed that she had done this for him, and it was another reminder of how much he absolutely loved her in the excited smile on her face, but he also could feel a tingle run down his back. There was a time where in his darkest moments he had considered the fact that he might never walk again, let alone get back onto the bike. Marinette reached out the helmet to him, and he held it in his hand, the surface so shiny he could see his own reflection.
“Do you think I can?” He asked hesitantly. It wasn’t that he remembered much from the accident itself, the whole incident had become a blur, and even though he knew what happened hadn’t been his fault, there was still that niggling fear in the background of something happening again. “Maybe I’ve forgotten how.”
“I trust you” Marinette said softly, picking up her own helmet. Adrien couldn’t help the smile on his face to see her holding the helmet he had given her, complete now with floral decals attached. Marinette came up to him and raised up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. “Come on Chaton.” She whispered to him. “Let’s hear it purr.”
She looked up at him through her lashes and Adrien could feel his confidence grow. With decided determination he put on his helmet and jacket and threw his leg over. Helping Marinette onto the back, Adrien turned the key and revved the engine. The bike roared into life, the sound bouncing off the walls was music to his ears. How he had missed this. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Adrien could also hear the music of “Danger Zone” playing. It felt good, really good to be back on the bike again.
Adrien felt Marinette tighten her hold on him, waiting for him to go, and go he did. After a slightly tentative start, it didn’t take long for Adrien to find his stride again as he weaved in and out of the afternoon traffic. After passing several landmarks that held so many memories for him and his Lady, Adrien eventually brought the bike to a stop outside the Parc de Bagatelle.
“Why are we here?” Marinette asked once they had removed their helmets. “It’s the wrong time of year for roses if you were hoping to serenade me.”
“I know.” Adrien said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it. “I just wanted to spend some time here with you.”
As they strolled along the pathway, they watched a group of kids chasing each other along the bank of the lake. Despite the roses not being in bloom, the gardens were still full of new spring flowers and there was an air of hopefulness in the warm breeze.
“You know.” Adrien smiled. “When I brought you here that day, I still considered that to be our first day, even though we both said it wasn’t a date.”
Marinette leaned into his arm. “Well, maybe since I was your substitute girlfriend at the time we could call it a substitute date.”
Adrien snorted. “There was nothing substitute about it really. I just said that because of the promise you and I had made not to date anyone until Hawk Moth was defeated. But making a promise on one side of the mask was a lot harder to keep on the other side, especially when it was still you I was falling in love again with.”
They stopped on a bench and sat down by the lake. “I guess I made things more difficult than they needed to be keeping secrets from you.”
“Yes and no. I understand though.” He said reassuringly, kissing the top of her forehead. “Anyway, it’s all behind us now and we can finally take that next step forward.”
They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, watching the passing parade of people walk by. “Have you… did you get around to calling your mother?” Marinette eventually asked.
“Yeah I rang her earlier today. They have everything moved into their new place and they have left Nathalie in charge of selling the mansion and whatever is left in it.”
“How is she?”
“She’s great. Still getting used to things but she’s just happy to be part of the world again. She’s kind of keen to know when we are going to set the date.” His eyes lit up in that mischievous way and Marinette couldn’t help but match.
“Well, maybe we should go to the mayor’s office and see what dates are available.” She replied. Then she bit her bottom lip in thought. “I um… I liked your original idea that you had.” Adrien looked at her confused until she continued. “About eloping.”
Adrien sat back a little to study her face. “You know I was half joking when I said that right? I mean, if you want a big wedding I’m here for it. I just want to get married, the how doesn’t matter to me.”
She had to smile at that. “I know, but I’ve already been knee deep helping Alya organise hers and this would be simpler than the media circus that tends to surround us, especially if your father comes.”
Adrien’s face dropped a little and he looked away out over the lake. “I did talk to him on the phone too, when I rang Mama. There’s a lot of baggage to unpack between us, but I want to try, for Mama’s sake. I don’t want her to know too much of what happened between us and if we look like our relationship is strained she’ll wonder why.” He then looked back at Marinette and held her hands in his. “I don’t want you to compromise on what you want for my sake though. I’m used to tabloids and I’m used to my father, it won’t bother me…”
Marinette placed both her hands on either side of his face and gazed up into his eyes. “When I say I do to you, I don't want to see a fake smile on your face because you're trying to be brave. I want to see the real you, because that’s the man I’m marrying.”
Adrien could feel himself all warm inside as she smiled at him. Wrapping her up in a tight hug, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, her flowing hair swirling around them. “How was I ever so lucky that someone as amazing as you fell in love with a stray like me.”
~~~~~
It was a beautiful spring day at the end of April when Adrien and Marinette arrived at Alya and Nino’s wedding. A beautiful archway of flowers was set up for the ceremony in the gardens of the Bourgeois hotel.
Marientte went to find Alya who was finalising her preparations with her sister Nora who was her bridesmaid. Marientte didn’t mind admitting that Nora’s bridesmaid dress had been quite a challenge, but she managed to scrub up as quite elegant, despite the muscles, and Ella and Etta were adorable as flower girls.
“Girl, you outdid yourself with this dress, I feel like a Queen.” Alya gushed, taking another twirl in front of the mirror.
“You have an amazing figure.” Marinette smiled. “It was my pleasure to dress you.”
Alya grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I can’t believe I’m really doing this.” She admitted. “I don’t know why we invited so many people. My dad must be crazy footing this enormous bill!”
“He loves you Alya, I’m sure he’s as pleased as punch, and I know how much he likes Nino.”
Alya’s finger brushed past the gold band on Marinette’s finger and she held the hand up in front of her best friend’s face. “I still can’t believe you and Adrien pulled a swifty on all of us and eloped. You know you and Adrien could have joined us and we could have had a double ceremony.”
“That’s sweet of you Alya, but we would have never intruded on your day like that.” Marinette replied.
“I know. But still, how on Earth did you manage to get married so fast? I thought you needed at least a few weeks' notice.”
“Normally yes.” Marinette replied, a slight blush on her cheeks. “We actually went to the mayor’s office just to pick an available date when Chloé came in. She pointed out to her father that he didn’t have any availability for months.”
Alya raised an eyebrow. “How would Chloé know that? Is she working for him now?”
Marinette nodded. “I think she wants his job actually, but for now she’s pretty much her father’s secretary. Anyway, we said we were fine waiting but she insisted that there was a cancellation for that afternoon and that her father could waive the waiting period for special consideration.”
“Special consideration? For what?”
“Celebrity.” Marinette chuckled.
“Seriously? That’s a thing?”
“Apparently.” Marinette shrugged. “Chloé argued that the media would ruin our day and that this was the best way to keep everything quiet until we were ready to announce things ourselves. So we scrambled back to the Gabriel building, Nathalie hunted down some outfits from the vintage bridal collection, we pulled Félix and Kagami out of the office and into the outfits and got married that afternoon.”
Alya shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I guess the benefit of getting married in a hurry is that you didn’t have time to get nervous about the big day, or more precisely the crowd.”
“Come on Alya, you front tv cameras for a living, how bad can this be? You know everyone out there, most of them are your family.”
Alya leaned towards her ear and whispered. “That’s the problem.” The two girls giggled as a knock came to the door and Alya’s mum popped her head in.
“Sweetheart, your father is ready and waiting for you.”
“Well off to the slaughter.” Alya declared, picking up the train of her dress. “Wish me luck.”
Marinette grabbed Alya and gave her a hug. “I’ll see you at the reception Mrs Lahiffe.”
Alya’s face broke her to a broad smile. “See you there, Mrs Agreste.”
Outside, Adrien went and found Nino and his brother Chris who was looking decidedly uncomfortable in his suit. “Ready for your big day bro?” Adrien asked, embracing his best friend.
“Dude, Alya and I should have taken a leaf out of your book and eloped too. It would have been better than wearing this penguin outfit.” Nino groaned, scratching the top of his head and missing his cap. “So are you going to have a honeymoon?”
“Actually we’re leaving tomorrow for St Tropez. A nice lazy week on the beach. I think she deserves it after all the hard work she has been putting in lately.”
“Same bro, although we’re going to Nice. Still, it will be good to get away, just the two of us.” Nino winked and elbowed Adrien playfully. “So how’s the company going? Are you and Félix selling it?”
”We thought about it, but in the end we decided to keep it going. I mean, we went to so much trouble to save it and Marinette deserved a chance as a designer with her own ideas and not my father’s. Kagami is also giving financial backing from Tsurugi incorporated and Ricardo even let our models off contract from Illusions so they could come back.”
“So, your friends now?” Nino asked sceptically. Adrien scoffed.
“Hardly. The man’s still a sleazebag in my book, and I don't ever want him anywhere near Marinette.” He bristled. “But, I can be civil and he is a business associate. It’s better to be friendly rivals rather than bitter ones.”
“Dude, so mature.” Nino laughed, patting Adrien on the back and Adrien joined in.
“Yeah, well. I learned that from the better half.” He smiled.
“What about modeling? Are you going to go back to it?
“Only for Marinette when she needs me to. The Olympic committee contacted me and offered me a place as a trainer with the Olympic team, and if I want to I can stay on as a fencing instructor through the Academy.”
“That’s awesome dude.” Nino beamed and Adrien had to agree.
“I mean, I’m always available for whatever Marinette needs, but Félix and Kagami can run the company and Marinette is the artistic brains. This is for me though, my chance to be my own person and not be in my father’s shadow anymore.”
“Yo Nino.” Chris said, still fiddling with the tie around his neck. “They look about ready to start.”
~~~~~
The ceremony was beautiful, and there was hardly a dry eye in the house as Alya and Nino exchanged their vows. Marinette was sure that even Nora had a tear in her eye. Once the ceremony was concluded, everyone moved to the reception in the ballroom of the hotel. Alya had the room decked out in cream with bunches of orange hibiscus and honeysuckle framed in a beautiful leafy display. A subtle hint at their superhero selves.
After the speeches and the bridal dance, Adrien and Marinette found themselves separated for a while, socialising with their high school friends and thanking many of them for their help in the Miraculous face off. The use of non typical models in the show had been considered a game changer and increased demand on the new product lines they were developing for the summer collection.
While Adrien spent time with Alix, Kim, Ondine and Max, Marinette found her parents who were sitting with Alya’s Mum and Dad.
“Such a beautiful wedding.” Sabine beamed. “I thought Alya looked gorgeous in that dress you designed.”
“Thanks Mama.” Marinette smiled. She knew Alya would look stunning in anything, but still it’s nice to hear the affirmation.
“It was very lovely of Alya to invite us.” Tom said, wrapping an arm over his wife’s shoulders. “I got to make her a lovely three tiered cake that I had planned for another wedding, but apparently someone couldn’t wait. Oh well, doesn’t it look wonderful though my dear?”
“Indeed.” Sabine added. “You did a beautiful job honey and we even get to celebrate at this lovely reception with family and friends…” She gave Marinette a raised eyebrow and Marinette wasn’t quite sure how to take any of this.
“Are you two being sarcastic?” She pointed at the two of them and their serious faces, but soon the facade broke and Tom and Sabine started to laugh.
“We’re only teasing sweetheart.” Tom chuckled. “You know we only want to see you and Adrien happy.”
“That’s right. I have to admit, it did take us by surprise though.” Sabine nodded. “It’s not like you to be so impulsive. Adrien must be rubbing off on you a bit.”
Marinette let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding. The last thing she would have ever wanted would have been to upset her parents in any way, but sometimes they can take pranks a step too far at times. “Thank you, both of you, for all your support. It means so much to us. I tried to micromanage things for so long, I guess I forgot that sometimes you have to let go and trust other people. And you know what, it’s so freeing sometimes to not have to live up to an expectation for once. Don’t worry though, we plan to have a party with everyone to celebrate and we will need a cake for that one.” She smiled to her father and Tom raised his hands in the air.
“I’ll make you a five tiered cake with a different flavour for every tier.”
Sabine and Marinette both laughed. “Three tiers will be fine Papa, really.”
“Three tiers of what?” Adrien asked, joining them and kissing Marinette on the cheek.
“Papa wants to make us a wedding cake.”
“Oooh, can the top layer be chocolate?” Adrien grinned and Marinette gave him a playful shove.
“Did you get to catch up with everyone?”
“Sure did. Félix is being his usual antisocial self though. Either that or he just wants to keep Kagami all to himself.” Adrien pointed with his thumb over his shoulder to where Félix and Kagami were seated on a cosy settee away from everyone else, wrapped up in their own conversation, a shiny new diamond ring on Kagami’s finger entwined with his.
“Oh how sweet.” Sabine cooed. “Adrien you really should invite your cousin over for dinner one night. It’s really been too long since we have seen Kagami and we need to congratulate them properly.”
“I will, I’m sure they would love to.” He then took Marinette by the hand. “Is it alright if I steal my wife for a bit?”
Leaving his in-laws, Adrien led Marinette out to the edge of the dance floor where several guests were dancing. Marinette watched Adrien give a thumbs up to Nino. In return Nino nodded and walked over to where his younger brother was in the DJ booth, albeit slightly indignant at the L plate Nino had stuck to the front of it.
“What’s that all about?” Marinette asked and Adrien gave her a little smirk.
“It helps sometimes that the groom is related to the DJ.” He said, leading her out onto the dance floor. “Besides, you owe me a New Years wish, remember?”
Marinette looked at him confused until the music started and she could feel a tear prick in her eyes as she heard the music start. It was their song, as Adrien had dubbed it the night she had danced with him at Alya and Nino’s engagement dinner. As Adrien pulled her closer to him, she remembered on New Year’s night after she had finally revealed herself to him as Ladybug that he wished that he could dance with her again to their song. At that time they were still uncertain what the future would hold for them, but now they knew that no matter what they would face whatever challenges that may come together.
As they swayed to the music Marinette gripped his shirt a little tighter and a tear slipped from her eye. Adrien hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his. “Hey now, none of that.” He said, running his thumb across her cheek. “This isn’t our first dance, and it won’t be our last. We're going to be dancing like this when we’re old and grey. I promise you that.”
“I know.” She smiled through the tears. “And I don’t have any right to be like this at someone else’s wedding.”
Adrien chuckled. “Don’t worry, they were happy co-conspirators.” He held her closer to his chest and kissed her forehead. “I love you.” He whispered as the other couple danced around them.
“I love you too Kitty, so much.” Marinette replied as they danced long into the night.