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“...alright, we’re getting closer...nearly there…and…TADA!!!!!!!”
Ladybug proudly gestured across the rooftops to a nearby building whose own roof was illuminated with rosy candlelight.
“I made us a candlelight dinner!!” she exclaimed gleefully. After a moment’s pause, she elaborated, “But don’t worry, the candles aren’t real...I didn’t leave a bunch of lit candles alone for hours, promise.”
Chat’s eyes were wide with awe (he didn’t seem concerned about the legitimacy of the candles).
“.....it’s…beautiful…” he breathed as he gazed across the skyline, still unable to fathom just how lucky he felt to love and be loved by someone as amazing as Marinette after all these years. “I know I already gave you my gift, but now I want to give you something else!”
Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled. “YOU are the only gift I need, Chaton…although the new sewing machine you got me was certainly an amazing surprise.”
She had actually already sewn a little something with the gift Adrien had given her that morning...but she wasn’t going to think about that just yet.
There would be time for it later.
Shaking her head to clear it, Marinette extended a hand out to her partner and said, “Now, shall we go?”
Adrien grinned and replied, “After you, m’lady.”
Together, they raced across the rooftops, laughing and letting out shouts of joy the whole way.
“Alright, here we are!” Marinette announced as they touched down on the luminescent rooftop. “I brought up some of our favorite foods! And there’s pastries and ice cream for dessert!!”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Adrien asked. “Let’s eat!”
“...so what do you think, Adrien? Is this the best first anniversary ever or what?”
Marinette sighed contentedly as she nuzzled into Adrien’s shoulder, mentally patting herself on the back for remembering to bring a nice, soft blanket for them to relax on.
“It definitely is…” Adrien replied softly, kissing his lady on the forehead. “It’s crazy to think we’ve already been married for a whole year.”
“A whole, wonderful year…” Marinette sang happily. “A perfectly perfect year!”
“It’s been a pretty special year, alright,” Adrien agreed. “A first year I’ll never forget…”
Out of nowhere, a shadow passed over his face, like a gray cloud materializing in a sunny blue sky just minutes before a storm.
“...but I wish I could say that for another ‘first’ of ours.”
Marinette cocked her head up at him, perplexed...and then she realized what he was referring to and let out a groan.
“Oh come ON, Adrien. Don’t tell me you’re still upset about Dark Cupid.”
“It was our first kiss!!!” Adrien protested, folding his arms over his chest in a pout, standing from the blanket, and pacing over to the iron fence surrounding the roof. “You remember it and I don’t!”
“But Aaaadrieeennnn…” Marinette warbled in an over-the-top, sing-songy tone as she stood to join him. “We were only teenagers! And we’re MARRIED now...it’s our FIRST ANNIVERSARY of being married! Isn’t that more exciting than a first kiss?”
“I’m not saying it isn’t!” Adrien replied quickly. “I just…” He sighed, unsure how to explain the feelings tumbling around in his head.
“Adrien, that wasn’t our real first kiss!” Marinette insisted. “It was like...a stage kiss! In a play! Not that it didn’t mean anything, it definitely did! But still!! That wasn’t our TRUE first kiss...you remember our true first kiss.”
Adrien couldn’t help but smile tenderly at that. “Yeah, I do…”
For a few moments, husband and wife found themselves lost in a beautiful memory.
And then the downtrodden expression returned to Adrien’s face. “...but no matter what, I’ll never remember our literal first kiss…and it’s all because of my….”
He grimaced, as if his intended words were too bitter to speak.
“....because of Hawkmoth…”
Suddenly the air was sharp, deadly, poisonous.
And Marinette realized her husband’s frustration at not remembering their first kiss wasn’t silly at all.
“...he took so much away from me...away from us....” Adrien whispered, swallowing and biting the inside of his cheek to keep a sob from escaping his throat. “I hate that he took our first kiss too....”
“Adrien…” Marinette cupped a hand around her husband’s face and stroked it gently with her thumb, finally understanding why this was bothering him so much and HATING that she even had to understand it in the first place. “I’m so sorry...I didn’t realize……”
For a moment, a flare of anger ignited in her gut.
Even the thought of Gabriel Agreste rotting away in a jail cell for the rest of his days didn’t help.
And then she took a deep breath.
Anger, however righteous it may have been, wasn’t what Adrien needed right now.
“Adrien...Hawkmoth might have taken the memory of that kiss from you, but he can’t take the meaning of it....just because you don’t remember that kiss doesn’t mean it shouldn’t mean anything to you. You know WHY I kissed you, don’t you?”
His eyes were still hollow and sad. “I was under a spell, trying to attack you…” he mumbled.
“And the only reason you were so GOOD at attacking me was because you cared so much about me in real life, Adrien.” Marinette stroked his cheek and smiled knowingly. “I kissed you to SAVE you...and it only worked because you were my true love. Even back then, before I knew Chat Noir and Adrien were the same person, I loved both parts of you...even if I didn’t quite realize it yet. If I hadn’t truly loved you, that kiss might not have worked…
“And, for the record, it WAS a pretty nice kiss.” She smirked and tweaked his nose playfully.
Adrien’s ears perked up a bit at that, and he chuckled slightly, in spite of himself. “Oh really?” he asked with a wry grin.
Marinette nodded, and then she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “It WAS a long time ago, though...you might have to remind me what it could have felt like.”
Adrien grinned and gently took her face in his hands, caressing her cheek and pressing his forehead against her own. “I think that can be arranged,” he whispered before leaning in and capturing her lips with his own.
A kiss couldn’t fix everything, of course. But it was a start.
“...thanks for cheering me up, m’lady…”
Marinette and Adrien were snuggled up on the blanket once more, gazing up at the stars as they enjoyed one another’s company.
“Anytime, kitty,” Marinette replied, ruffling his hair.
Something fluttered in Marinette’s gut, and she started slightly.
In all the emotional commotion, she’d briefly forgotten about her final intended gift to Adrien.
And though they’d been married for a year, she suddenly felt just as nervous around him as she had as a teenager.
“You know, Adrien…” she voiced, leaning her head into the crook of his neck to hide her flustered expression, “I know you don’t remember our literal first kiss…but, if it makes you feel any better, there are going to be PLENTY of more amazing firsts in our future…”
Marinette hesitated.
What if Adrien wasn’t ready for this?
What if SHE wasn’t ready for this?
…maybe she needed to test the waters first.
“....like, say when we have our first kid.” Marinette posed this scenario nonchalantly, trying to hide the way her hands had begun to shake.
Almost instantly, any lingering pain or frustration vanished from Adrien’s demeanor. Suddenly, he was illuminated with hope, practically vibrating with it. “You’re so right...that will be an AMAZING first!” he replied excitedly.
Marinette’s heart swelled within her chest at his impassioned reaction, and she scolded herself for doubting her husband (and herself) for a minute.
They were SO ready for this.
“Yeah…finding out you’re going to be a dad for the first time...that will be pretty neat, huh?” she added on.
“That will be wonderful…” Adrien said wistfully. “Someday…”
Marinette bit her tongue to hold back a giggle.
Even after all these years, Adrien was still the oblivious boy she’d first fallen for.
“Holding our child for the first time will be pretty special too,” she continued knowingly. “And hearing them say their first word.”
“Yeah…” Adrien chuckled and mused, “The way you talk about it makes it sound like we already HAVE a kid…”
He gazed out over the horizon for a few seconds, longing evident in his gaze….and then he paused. His posture shifted, and he slowly turned to gaze at his wife again.
“.....we…we don’t already have a kid….do we?”
Marinette now clutched a small wrapped package in her hands, and she was practically glowing. Adrien accepted the gift with tentative hands, eyes growing wider and wider by the second. He slowly undid the wrapping, caught a glimpse of what was inside…and his jaw dropped.
Nestled within the folds of the wrapping paper was a black blanket accented with green and red.
A baby blanket.
“....surprise!” Marinette whispered as Adrien lifted the gift up reverently. He turned to her, eyes shining.
“...is this the secret project you were working on this morning?” he asked, voice shaky.
Marinette nodded.
“....we’re going to be parents? You’re going to be a mom?? I’m going to be a fa…a dad???”
“You are!” Marinette replied warmly, glancing down at her stomach and then up at him again with a beaming smile.
Adrien engulfed her in a hug, sobbing and laughing and kissing her cheeks and sobbing some more. Then he recoiled away.
“Wait, is this okay? Am I allowed to hug you still??”
Marinette let out a hearty laugh (and wiped away a few tears of her own) before hugging him again. “I’m FINE, Chaton…I’m not that far along yet, but I appreciate your concern.”
Adrien smiled as he snuggled into her arms.
“....I love you so much, Marinette……”
He leaned out of her arms and gingerly laid a hand on her stomach. “...and I love you too…” he whispered softly.
Marinette placed a hand on top of Adrien’s and smiled. “They love you too….” she whispered before leaning up to kiss his cheek.
“...and so do I.”
“....you were right, Marinette…this is definitely a more amazing first than our first kiss.”
“...I told you so.”