Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Have a nice day!"

Marinette waved at the couple as they left the shop, a wide smile stretched on her lips. Once they were gone, she let out a breath, wiping the flour from her forehead as she started to stack the albums of various designs for cakes on one of the shelves under the counter. She straightened herself up, stretching as she did so when Tikki came out from the pocket of the apron Marinette was wearing.

"Today was a rough day, huh?" The kwami commented as she sat on the counter, beside the plate of cookies both of them were munching on earlier before the couple came in. "Four couples came in here for just today for their wedding cakes," She giggled when she took a bite on one of the cookies. "They were so cute."

"Amazing isn't it? Must be the season," Marinette rested her elbows on the counter, taking one of the cookies as well. "Well, spring just started a few weeks ago so I guess that explained most of it."

Tikki hummed, finishing off the last of her snack before wiping the crumbs off her. "Have you ever thought of getting married?"

Marinette laughed, bopping the kwami's head gently. "I'm only twenty-one, Tikki, I have time to think of that later. It's bad enough that Mama kept pestering me whether or not I have a boyfriend, I don't want you to join her club too," Then, she grimaced playfully. "Imagine the horror both of you would unleash if you two ever meet."

"I'll be a great help to her," Tikki agreed, nodding her head with a wide smile on her face. "We'll find a perfect man just for you, where he'll be caring, loving, and would help you through thick and thin if anything happens to you. Also, he has to learn baking from you or not, there wouldn't be enough cookies for the whole household with me being with you. In fact," She giggled again. "Your mum and I would be so good as a team to find the ideal man that we'll probably tell your dad to join too, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

Marinette groaned, feigning distress as she buried her head in her arms. "So cruel, the embarrassment I would have to go through would kill me," Then, she peeked past her arm to have a look at the kwami. "If I marry someone, he has to understand our thing as vigilants though."

Tikki seemed to sobered up a bit about that fact, a small frown appearing on her forehead. "Yes, I suppose you're right."

Marinette planted her chin on her hand, twisting her mouth to the side as she was deep in thought. "He has to understand that this is our responsibility, that yes, it's dangerous and all but we've been doing this for as long as we could remember, so we'll be fine. He has to understand that we'll be doing our routine patrol every other night, that we'll most likely get hurt and have cuts and bruises for the next of our lives. Also, we'll probably get bone tired by the time we'll get back to our house," She sighed, thinking about it was already making her tired now. Another reason why she was so reluctant to get a boyfriend in the first place. "I don't know, it seems so hard. It's obvious we can't keep secrets from each other, that would only hurt him, whoever my future husband is."

Tikki flew in front of her face, looking at her in the eye. "That is why we have to keep looking."

Marinette blinked once, before giving Tikki a warm smile as she bopped her head again. "And we keep looking."

Tikki laughed and nuzzled into Marinette's palm. "You'll be twice as loved."

Marinette smirked before straightening herself up. "Well, we have to close up soon, it's obvious mum and dad wouldn't be home from their anniversary anytime now, and it's almost ten," She chuckled. "I heard Papa was going to make it as romantic as possible, probably the same way he did when they started dating."

"Oh, when he took her for a nice dinner in moonlight with jazz playing at the background?" Tikki swooned. "How sweet." Then, something caught her eye. She flew to the strayed album at the corner of the counter, where it looked as if it was going to fall sooner or later. "You missed this big one." And it was, in fact, huge. The width of it was almost the same height as Tikki. If Marinette were to accidentally drop it on her, the poor kwami would probably be squashed right now.

Marinette quickly made a grab for it, dragging the album nearer to her. "Whoops, thanks Tikki," When she hauled it off the counter, she almost dropped it because of its massive weight. "I almost forgot how heavy this is."

"Are you alright?"

Marinette huffed, blowing her bangs away from her eye. "It's okay, I got it."

She kneeled on the ground to shove the album among the other albums of cakes she kept, when she heard the bell tinkled at the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid we're closed for the night," She informed whoever was at the door, her voice sounding a bit strangled as she push the giant album roughly between other albums. "You can come again tomorrow at eight in the morning, we'll be open then."

"Oh, but I'm not here for a cake."

She almost choked on air when she heard that voice.

No.

It couldn't be.

Her breathing was starting to come out faster than before as she felt the hyperventilation coming, making her a tad difficult to breathe. She shut her eyes, breathing in and out quietly to calm her frantic heart, where it was pounding against her rib cage like a gorilla trapped in a cell.

When she opened them, she saw that her hands were shaking a bit, and she wanted to groan at herself for the way she acted. It's been years since you last saw him, get a hold of yourself. She clenched them tightly before standing up, shoving her fists into the pocket of her apron as she faced the person before her with an attempt of schooling her expression into a neutral one.

Her heart stuttered the moment she landed eyes on him.

She recognised him of course, with his messy blond hair and bright green eyes. But what caught her attention more was that he seemed taller than before, his shoulders broader, and she couldn't help but notice the way how powerful his arms looked after he rolled the sleeves of his white dress shirt to his elbows, his skin looking slightly tanner than she last saw him.

He had grown into a man, as she had grown into a woman. 

She gave him a small smile as a greeting. "Hi, Adrien."

He replied with one of his own with a wave sent at her way, seemingly becoming bashful on front of her. "Hey, Marinette. It's been a while, huh?"

She shrugged idly. "Three years is a long time," She shuffled one foot to another, her skin starting to crawl with some sort of fidgety feeling she couldn't really describe as she tried to meet his eyes. "What brings you back here to Paris? I thought you were suppose to be in New York."

It took a moment for him to answer, because he was staring so intently at her she didn't realised it until he blinked a few times, clearing his throat quietly as he looked away in embarrassment. "Ah, well, I thought I dropped by for a while, life at New York has been," He paused, trying to find a word suitable for what he was feeling. "Uneventful," He gave her a crooked smile. "And also, Plagg's been craving for some cheese bread, homemade."

"Well, it's true."

They knew about each other's identity a while back.

They had to show one another on who they were, it was under their agreement. After three years of working together, three years of helping each other's back, and also three years of taking out bad guys that were lurking all over Paris, they had a talk about it one day when they were on patrol.

Of course, the one who brought it up was Adrien -or rather Chat Noir, since she didn't know who was under that mask until later- where he had explained that it would be easier for the both of them. If they were in dire situations, where they had to somehow play power couple for an undercover -and to their luck, it did eventually happened some time after that- they would have to know who their partner was, for safety reasons of course. Ladybug wasn't convinced at once, she said she would want some time to think about. And after some indepth discussion with Tikki, she finally agreed.

Imagine her surprise when the boy she had a crush on was also her partner in crime all these years.

Too shocking, that she actually stumbled back when he revealed himself.

It was obvious he was surprised that the powerful Ladybug was the same girl as the shy and timid Marinette Dupain-Cheng in his class for the past years since he enrolled into the school. But, they got over it and had made peace with the fact that their alias had very different personalities than their person in public, for hiding reasons she supposed. And if she were to admit it to herself, they actually got closer in the end, learning about each other more to the point they became great friends, and maybe turned into something more.

Until, he had to move to the US.

His father's wishes he said, to continue his career as a successful model by expanding his sights on other countries.

"An heir," She remembered how bitter he actually sounded as he laughed into the night. "He wanted me to take over his place as a designer, to take over his business," He glanced at her, his voice turning soft as he continued. "And that meant travelling."

And also the end of Chat Noir.

The smile on her face turned a bit wider when she saw the cat-like kwami appeared from Adrien's jeans pocket, floating to Adrien's shoulder as he sat there comfortably. "The cheese at New York weren't as good as those over here, they were a bit eh for me."

"What he meant is that they aren't as stinky as the cheese over here." Adrien clarified, rolling his eyes as Plagg scoffed.

"Can't help it that I enjoy the strong ones."

"Yeah, well, beggars can't be choosers," Adrien then looked at her in a questioning way. "Where's Tikki?"

"Right here!" She announced, floating out of jars, giggling as she nuzzled Adrien's cheek. "It's been a while, Adrien. I missed you."

He laughed, petting her head. "I missed you too," He met Marinette's eyes, where they soften just the slightest bit as he gave her a smile. "Both of you."

Marinette felt the blood rushed to her cheeks, taking out her hands from the pocket of her apron and wiped them on it instead, looking at anywhere but him. "I could say the same thing," She mumbled.

There was silence that stretched between them for a while, the cloak ticking behind her seemed a bit louder than before, and she was trying very hard not show that she was tripping on her tongue at this point. It was ridiculous really, she'd thought she'd actually get over this once he left, that she'd be less clumsy than before and would have a firm grip on her words. But of course it didn't work that way, because apparently, a mess of words didn't seem to have anything to block them up from pouring out of her mouth when he appeared right in front of her, and that made her more embarrassed than before.

One day, she would end that once and for all.

"It's been a while since we last flew together haven't we, My Lady?"

She snapped her head up, her eyes widen slightly when she saw the way his glinted with satisfaction when he finally got her full attention. He gave a smirk. "I hope your wings aren't cut."

She blinked, before giving him a twisted version of a smile. Full of mirth, full of youth. "And you, kitty? Claws still sharp?"

He leaned against the counter, and she saw the way their kwamis were getting excited as well, their grins wide on their faces as they watch both their partners. "As a razor."

She couldn't help it, the smile was out full force. "What are we waiting for then?"

On that night, she actually felt free.

As they jumped from one roof to another, feeling the wind blowing onto their faces as the city around them became nothing but a blur, she felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins like the stream. Fast and fierce, it fueled her body with such energy as she felt her muscles sprang to life, Chat Noir at her heels.

He was back.

Or at least, for a while.

They rested at the park, lounging on a tree as they tried to catch their breath, hiding themselves amongst the branches and leaves so to not reveal themselves to the civilians.

"You changed your suit."

She stretched her arms forward. "Yeah, I thought it could use some sort of change."

He nodded. "Looks good," Then, he flashed her his pearly white teeth. "But then, you've always look good."

Her suit was no longer entirely red and black polka-dots. Her shoulders were now bathed with black that it reached up to the end of her fingers tips, running over her shoulder blades and above her chest. Tikki approved of it, and Marinette was satisfied at how it turned out in the end.

She rolled her eyes. "I see that you hadn't change much."

"Ah well, Chat Noir will always be Chat Noir," He took his tail between his hands. "I changed the belt for something else though, it got stuck one time so it'll be better if I did what I did to not risk myself."

She chuckled. "Got stuck in one of the railings, hmm?"

He mockingly put his hand on his heart. "You hurt me, My Lady, laughing at my misery as you sit there looking as pretty as a flower," He sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear. "How sad can my life get?"

Clasping a hand over her mouth, she tried not to laugh. She missed this, she missed their playful banter, their adventures as they flee through the night. It was one of the things she wouldn't trade in the world when she was with him, she would give anything to be with him just so they could see the world together. 

But of course, fate has its own course.

He sobered up a bit, just looking at her with those feline eyes of his. "I really did miss you, Marinette," He said quietly, and she couldn't bare to meet his eyes and instead look down to her hands, where they were wringed together. "I've been meaning to come here for those years I was there, it just happened my pit stop was here, before I have to go to Amsterdam," He paused. "I would have brought you with me if I could."

She shook her head, the corner of her lips tilting. "You know I can't come with you, people still need help here, and I can't stop you from doing what your father wants you to do. Besides," She tapped her thigh with a finger. "I still have college here, and after I'm done with this semester, I'll be moving to London to continue my degree in arts, and then," She stopped herself, meeting his eyes again. "I'll see what the future tells me from there."

He moved nearer to her, so that his could bring her closer to him, brushing his lips to her forehead. "You could always come to me for a job later."

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pursing her mouth against his shoulder as they leaned against the trunk behind him. "You sure? I mean, your father would let me in?"

He chuckled into her ear, his breath warm. "As I recall, he admired your bird hat."

She groaned. "That was years ago, I'm not sure he'll even remember me, or even like my work now."

"Well, he liked them then, I'm sure he'll even love them now," He snorted softly, running his fingers through one of her pigtails. "What I'm not sure is whether he's capable of feeling that kind of an intense of an emotion, but he would still have some sort of approval I guess."

She hummed, tilting her head slightly to deliberately brush her lips against his cheek as she raised her head to look at him in the eye, and saw how wide they were after she did her little stunt. "If you say so."

She could feel herself being nervous, but didn't stop herself when she kissed between his brows, before trailing them down to his nose. "I missed you," She continued quietly, her hands raising up to his shoulders from his back as he straightened himself up, one of his hands now cradling her neck.

He didn't say anything as he kissed her cheek, before trailing to the corner of her lips. "You have no idea," He murmured. "No idea at all."

She turned her head, so that her lips was just above his, a breath away, almost touching, almost feeling. "Adrien-"

He didn't let her finish when he was the one who leaned forward, kissing her as if he waited for this all his life.

She sighed in bliss, her legs wrapped around his waist as she untangled her arms from his back, and instead rested them on his shoulders as she angled her head, giving him full access.

Indeed, she loved him so. 

His arm was around her, pulling her closer to him that no space existed between them, with nothing but their clothes to separate them. His other hand was on her cheek, the back of his fingers running down her jaw.

She made a strangled noise when he started to tease her with small butterfly kisses on her mouth, soft and moist that it was driving her absolutely drunk with the fact that Adrien Agreste -dear, dear Adrien- was in her arms.

But then, she didn't realise he was saying something under his breath as he kissed her, until she had to pull herself together to hear what he said.

"I'm sorry," He mumbled after each kiss. He then pressed them firmly against hers, his hand now fully spread on the base of her head that her hair was starting to fall from its ribbons. "Forgive me."

Marinette suddenly felt something was wrong.

She clasped one hand on his cheek, leaning back slightly so to look at him in the eye, but he couldn't meet her gaze as he had his head drooped slightly.

"Adrien," She whispered, tilting his chin up with her fingers. There was turmoil whirling in his eyes that made her heart clench with worry. "What's wrong?"

He took a breath, taking her hand in his, his larger fingers wrapped around hers.

"I'm getting married."

Her breath was caught in her throat, her eyes staring into his with utter shock as she could particularly feel her heart sinking to her stomach. "What?"

"Marinette-" There was a flash of panic in his eyes as he tried to held onto her hand, but she was already moving away from him, wrapping her arms around herself as she suddenly felt cold, despite the embrace he had given her just a moment ago. "Marinette please, I wanted to tell you-"

"You could have told me before we actually kissed," She muttered, refusing to meet his eyes. "You could have told me when we were in the shop, not after this, not after," She swallowed, taking a staggering breath. "Not after this," Then, she chuckled bitterly. "Let me guess, your father wanted you to marry someone of high class, to continue his line of work, and to have an heir of your own."

He didn't dare touch her then, but only look at her with pain in his eyes. "Yes," He replied softly, and she felt the stone dropped deeper. "But I tried everything I could to convince him to cancel it off, but he wouldn't listen to me, the damned man insisted I get married fast, and I tried everything I could to stop him," He clenched and unclenched his jaw. "Please, you have to believe me. I love you, god dammit, I love you."

Those were the words she had wanted him to say to her for ages, but now, after so many years, they actually left a hollow feeling in her chest.

She didn't want to look at him anymore, it only hurt more than anything she had felt in her life. But she had to know. "Who's the lucky girl?"

He was silent for a while, before letting out a sigh.

"Chloe."

Hot tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and she quickly stood up, ignoring the look of surprise etched on his face. "I wished you both the best of luck," She managed to breathe out. She was exhausted, and she wanted to be home fast. Then, she smiled wryly at the irony of her words, and she didn't care if there were tears pooling at the edges of her eyes. Let him know, let him know of what she felt for him for years that had passed. "From both Ladybug and I."

He reached out to her. "Marinette-"

She jumped down from the tree, running as fast as she could away from him, taking out her yo-yo to swing among the buildings, the wind blasting onto her face. She knew he couldn't scream her name without revealing her, he cared for her, loved her, too much to do so.

She took that opportunity of getting him off her tail.

Later, when she hid herself on top of the museum, with the moon being her only company, she thought she heard the scream of a broken man echoed through the night.

Only then she cried her heart out.

Chapter Text

She was invited.

Of course she was invited, she was one of the few people he was actually close with, it would seem rude if he didn't invite her to his special event.

Even if, she wasn't the one he was getting married to.

He invited her parents too, out of sheer politeness if she guessed correctly, knowing Adrien. He had met her parents and had pleasant conversations with them before when he visited the bakery a long time ago, and they actually liked him, said he was a nice boy and he should come again sometime, just to talk to them.

Imagine her horror back then.

She was sitting at her desk in her room, her elbows propped on the desk as the morning sun shone onto her face, highlighting the bags under her eyes and the tired lines around them, running across her skin softly. She supported her head from falling flat on the surface by clasping her hand onto her forehead, staring down at the crisp white card laying on her desk.

Marinette couldn't stop staring at it. A simple white card with golden flowers swirling at the corners, simple yet beautiful. The envelope was set aside neatly under it, and she had been careful when she teared the edge with a mail opener, her hands shaking from emotions that thundered inside her, never ending since last night.

(She cried herself to sleep, the pain in her chest becoming hollower every second as exhaustion took hold on her, leaving her an empty shell.)

She traced his name with a finger, cursive and gold, just like him.

Just like him.

Golden locks she always loved passing through her fingers like water as she giggled against his mouth, his body warm and inviting as she felt the way his arms wrapped around her with care and possessiveness he always gave out whenever he was with her, the hum that rumbled in his throat vibrated under her fingers made her skin tingled with exhilaration.

His eyes were flecked with gold and emerald, looking into her soul as she traced the way his face was structured. From his pronounced cheek bones to his sharp jaw and soft lips, he was golden inside and out, spreading in his veins with such wonder as if he could rival the gods at their element.

(The love that left unsaid hung between them breathed down their necks like vulcans ravished for food, and yet, both of them refused to give in, and instead make themselves content in the pit they've dug themselves to rot.)

He had always been beautiful in her eyes, and she will never forget that.

Marinette leaned back onto her chair, feeling a wave of grief passing over her as she ran her fingers through her hair, pushing her bangs back as she forced out a breath to calm herself. She couldn't cry anymore, it was as if she used her tears to the limit, and she was okay with that really, her eyes was swollen from excessive amounts of them.

Tikki was observing her with worry from where she sat on the desk. "You don't have to go," The kwami told her softly. "I know it hurts you more than anything."

Marinette shook her head, glancing down to her. "He invited me, I can't just leave him," She paused, letting go of her hair as she sank onto the desk, her chin on her arm. "Anyway, Mama and Papa are going, they would ask questions that I wouldn't want to answer later on if I don't go."

Tikki sat beside her, her tiny body pressed against Marinette's arm. "You're too selfless," She whispered. "Sometimes I worry about you for giving your heart out too freely."

Marinette gave her a sad smile. "I was taught to love, and it got stuck into a habit."

"To love everyone?"

She shook her head. "To love what you have in front of your eyes."

Adrien adjusted his bow tie in front of the full length mirror, his body stiff with internal turmoil as his fingers worked swiftly to twist the bow tie to take its shape. He smoothed down the last crinkles of the black fabric, positioning it in a way that it would be perfect, one of the things that his father had drilled into his head ever since his mother passed away.

It's been half a year since he last saw her, half a year since he last talked to her.

He tugged the bow tie a little sharper before he let his hands down, observing his reflection.

Thank god he was alone, because he looked like absolute trash.

Drained, that was the first thing he saw in the mirror of himself as he saw the way his eyes reflected back at him. There was no life, absolute no sort of emotion that was even considered closed to joy since he was, in fact, getting himself involved with a woman he had no interest in whatsoever. His life was being gambled with men trying to groom their business, and he was the chip his father tossed to the centre of the table.

He felt disgusted, what kind of a man uses his own son to his advantage? Telling him to do something as big as getting married to someone he didn't want to? Just so he could be successful?

He lost someone he truly love all because of that.

Adrien pinched between his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger as he turned away from the mirror, feeling the pressure bubbling inside him again, and his feet started pacing around the room of their own record as he tried to calm himself down.

There was a knock on the door that made him pause, straightening himself up as he cleared his throat. "Come in." When he saw Nino poking his head in, Adrien blinked once, before continuing on his aggressive walk on the carpeted floor, his hands going through his hair that he messed it all up again after he repaired it the forth time earlier.

Nino came in and closed the door quietly behind him, his suit looking sharp as he watched the way his best friend was tearing himself apart. "Hey man," He called out quietly, as if advancing an animal in a cage, afraid that the blonde man would break so soon before his own wedding. "Need any help?"

"Yeah," Adrien laughed bitterly as he continued moving. "Kill me now and make it look as if it was an accident, or say you found me dead because I killed myself, say I couldn't handle everything that's going on right now because I don't care."

Nino sighed, walking towards his distressed friend. "I wish it was that easy, Adrien, but it's your father we're talking about here, and the whole of Paris is gonna know about your wedding with Chloe, she's particularly the mayor's daughter. Look," He grabbed hold of Adrien's shoulder and made him stay put. "It's not the end of the world, you can still go through this. How about you just divorce her after a year of brandy life and end it? Then, you'll be free."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "You just said that this wasn't supposed to easy and immediately after that you said that I get a divorce just like that? With the mayor's daughter? Where the tabloids would go berserk over the fact that Adrien Agreste dared to ask for a divorce from the mayor's daughter because for the fact he rather get married with another woman?"

Nino winced. "Okay, I realised my mistake."

Adrien ran his fingers through his hair again, almost gripping them in frustration. "Je suis niqué."

They didn't say anything in the quiet room, and when Adrien finally let go of his hair, he sighed, meeting his friend's stare. "Are the guests here?" He muttered, the energy sapping out fast, his shoulders sagging slightly from the invisible weight that seemed to be balancing on his shoulders.

Nino nodded, patting his friend's shoulder once before steering the man to the mirror. "Everyone's almost here, just gotta wait for the bride to walk down the aisle," He trailed off, as if he didn't know whether he should continue as he watched Adrien fix his hair. He went on anyway. "And then you'll be having a photo shoot session in front of Notre Dame, before all of us would be going to the hotel the mayor booked where the reception would be held. And then it'll be over."

It almost sounded as simple as Nino explained, but he knew better. All through that time he would be keeping up a facade, easily slipping into an easy smile and polite talks that was reserved for the eyes of everyone who didn't know how his soul looked like. The tilt of his lips would easily fool the cameras that captured it even if his insides were churning with displeasure, his cold manner would be mistaken for mysterious behaviour that women would gush about, writing lies upon lies in magazines about how Adrien Agreste would indeed be your ideal man.

It was easyly like acting, and he should win an Oscar for being so good at it.

Adrien stared into his reflection again, straightening himself up as he tried to gather his wits. "Alright," He said finally. "Let's get this over with."

As they walked down the hallway, Nino nudged him slightly to whisper to him. "Is she coming?"

Adrien's steps faltered for a while, before he continued his walk quickly, ignoring the way his heart clenched with pain.

"I don't know."

She shouldn't be surprised at how grand this wedding was going to be.

And yet, amongst the dulled pain she had inside her, she couldn't help but feel the slight amazement that ignited inside her chest when she saw the decorations inside the church, with red and pink roses decorated the across the aisle beautifully, it's petals bloomed to its limit. The sun was shining brightly from the windows, enlightening the whole space like a warm halo.

She saw that most people had taken their seats, and she saw that Gabriel Agreste sat at the front among other people of high authority, talking quietly and giving out a nod here and then. He wore his normal attire of tailored suits and polished shoes, his hair sleek back without so much a stray. Marinette noticed that he didn't seem particularly overjoyed like most fathers would when they sent off their sons to get married, then again, she never saw him in an excellent mood ever.

She quickly took a seat with her parents somewhere around the back, sitting at the far edge near the wall as she saw more people walked in with their glamorous dresses and expensive looking suits.

Suddenly, she felt self aware of the fact that what she wore something as simple as a baby pink dress she made a week or so before the event. But unknown to her, people had admired her work from afar as the dress flowed to her knees, the diamond studs accumulated from her stomach before they spread across the satin of her skirt, and some climbed across her chest. To top it all off, she wore white heels and brought a clutch with her, with her hair tied into a bun at the top of her head.

Her breath was stuck at her throat when she saw him walking out of a door with Nino at his heels. He stood at the altar, adjusting the cufflings at his sleeves as Nino was trying to crack a joke for his ears only. He shot Nino a wry smile as his best man adjusted his bow tie, straightening his suit to get rid of possible crinkles.

She took a small breath to calm herself down when suddenly she felt a hand on hers.

"Are you okay?" Her mother, sweet loving mother, asked quietly as she met her gaze. "You seem," Her mother paused, observing her daughter's face like a hawk, and she hoped there was nothing to show as she carefully hid her turmoil behind a mask. "Uncomfortable."

Marinette gave her a smile. "It's nothing," She replied with an assured squeeze of her mother's hand. "It's just that, there's so many people of authority here, it's making me jittery."

Her father snorted softly when he overheard the conversation. "They're people like us, you've got nothing to worry about."

Her mother nodded. "That's right."

Marinette shook her head slightly in wonder at her parents' reactions, before looking up to the altar, where Adrien was staring straight at her unbashfully.

She was here.

She actually came.

He was letting Nino do some last touch ups for his bow tie when he spotted her father first. Her father was a large man, so it was quite easy to see him among the crowd, with his petite wife beside him.

And then, she was there.

His heart lurched in his chest when he saw her. Her head was bowed slightly as she talked to her mother, a soft look on her face as she replied something that was only meant for them. She was absolutely stunning, making butterflies flutter inside him everytime he saw her. It was an immediate reaction, he couldn't stop himself if he wanted to.

And then she looked up, where she met his stare with a surprised look on her face, as if she couldn't believe that he was staring at her without shame when he was right in front of so many people. He almost laughed at the thought.

My Lady, you should known me by now.

He realised with a start that he couldn't call her that anymore, never again in their lives.

She looked away from him first, and he noticed the pained look on her face she tried to hide, and his heart reached out to her once more.

"Hey,"

It took him a while to tore his gaze away from her. Some sort of understanding flashed across Nino's face when he followed his line of sight, before giving Adrien a pitiful smile and a pat on the shoulder. "It's time."

They stood at their places, holding their breaths.

And then, it started.

He couldn't pay attention to the flower girl when she first came in. His eyes flickered to Marinette once in a while, where she was pointedly avoiding his gaze as she watched the flower girl threw petals to the floor. He was becoming fidgety again, his skin crawling with some sort of need to just go to her and take them away from here.

"Adrien," Nino hissed at the corner of his mouth. "Hold still."

Once the ring bearer and the brides maids were up, the music started, causing everyone to stand up.

He felt the dread sinking in his gut.

Chloe came into the church with her father at her hand, and he was starting to panic because no, this wasn't supposed to happen, this wasn't the woman he was supposed to see walking down the aisle towards him. She wasn't supposed to sit among other people to watch him getting married to someone else other than her.

He felt a pinch on the back of his arm. "Goddammit man," Nino breathed out. "People will notice."

He tried to at least calm himself, making everyone believe he was nervous from excitement rather than the fact that he very much wanted out.

Before Chloe was passed to him, he saw at the corner of her eye that Marinette had gotten up, her phone in hand as she answered it on her way out of the church, closing the door quietly behind her that it hardly made a sound.

"Take care of her," The mayor told him with a gruff as Chloe took his arm, where she flashed him a smirk as they faced the priest.

Adrien tried to listen to what the priest was saying, but found it difficult when all he could think of was Marinette, with her dark hair he used to run his fingers with and her soft lips he once tasted. It was very hard to see what was in front of him when he just saw the love of his life came to his own wedding instead of being beside him at the moment.

"Do you, Adrien Agreste, take Chloe Bourgeois, as your wedded wife?"

He could feel the stares that were aimed to him, the looks of criticism as they waited for him to answer. Of course, they were expecting him to agree to this, to say yes, and if he didn't, well, something bad would clearly happen later on.

He could feel Chloe squeezing his arm impatiently when he was quiet for too long. "Say it," She hissed, shooting him a glare. "Get this over with."

Licking his lips, he glanced at Nino, to which his best man answered with a raise of eyebrows.

He took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry."

At once, everyone muttered out their concerns as he unlatch Chloe's fingers from his arm, where she was gaping at him in disbelief. Nino looked as if he was holding in his laughter, and Adrien faced the priest in front of him, who was observing him through his spectacles, his beady eyes darted around his face. "I'm sorry I've wasted your breath and time," Adrien muttered. "This is a mistake," He turned around, and saw the outrage the mayor had on his face while his father was silently seething at his sudden decision. "All of this."

He quickly walked down the aisle, ignoring the screech Chloe made as well as the looks and words of disapproval behind him as he loosen his bow tie, shoving it into his pocket before breaking into a run, pushing the heavy doors open.

He searched for her, his panic rocketed momentarily, afraid she already left. But then, he spotted her standing against a lamp post, her back to him as she stared ahead, an arm wrapped around her stomach.

His body was suddenly filled with energy, the excitement bubbling inside him as he saw her just there. Now was their chance, their chance to be together and like hell was he going to make it pass his fingers like smoke ever again. But he had to be fast, soon enough people would come out, and he didn't want them to interrogate him just yet. Then, he glanced down to the white ring he always wore.

"Need help, buddy?"

Adrien grinned when the kwami appeared beside him. "Where have you been?"

Plagg shrugged. "Eating the cheese you brought for me and then sleeping," He gave a toothy grin when Adrien chuckled. "Let's do this."

Adrien hid behind one of the pillars to transform. Once he did, he ran towards her, his face felt like splitting into two as the biggest smile was stretched across his face. He slowed down until he reached behind her, tapping her shoulder to get her attention.

The frown on her face immediately turned into shock when she saw him standing there. "Adrien? What-"

"No time to explain, let's go," He wrapped his arm around her, using his katana to propel them to one of the buildings. Once they landed, she transformed herself, before they ran together towards Notre Dame, laughing their hearts out as they left everyone in the church.

He wanted to howl into the sky, the way adrenaline coursed through his veins made him feel more powerful as they soared through the air, his hair flying as he landed on each roof with ease, catching up with her as she used her yo-yo to get from one building to another. They climbed up the Notre Dame, taking hold of gargoyles and pillars alike as they hauled themselves up to the tallest level of the building, smiling and laughing and screaming all the way to let all of Paris know they have reunited.

Once they reached their destination, where their feet landed on the cold stone of one of the greatest buildings in France, their transformation worn off. Plagg and Tikki sat near the huge pillars, watching their partners face each other.  

Adrien's chest was raising up and down frantically as he tried to catch his breath, staring at Marinette with such joy as she too let her eyes wonder all over him to not let her eyes deceive her, before she shook her head at his absurdity. "What were you thinking?" She laughed breathlessly in disbelief. The absurdity of the whole thing was just phenomenal. "To just bail your own wedding like that?"

He shrugged, walking towards her slowly. "Well, mostly how everything was just so wrong and I had to fix that particular negativity that's causing me some distress."

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms across her chest. "By running away?"

He smirked, stopping just in front of her, and yet not touching her exactly. "It worked now, didn't it?"

He saw the way how her eyes took everything in. "Your father will be angry."

He shook his head, cupping her cheeks as he rested his forehead onto hers, their eyes closing simultaneously. "I can handle him."

"Your reputation is ruined." She whispered, resting her hands on his shoulders.

He chuckled, nudging her nose with his. "I don't care."

She bit her lip, looking at him through her eyelashes. "You sure?"

"Positive," He murmured, brushing his lips to hers, getting slightly impatient at her persistence.

Her breath hitched, her hands now gripping his shoulders as his hands slid down her arms, and then holding onto her waist. "Alright then."

Grinning, he pressed his lips onto hers.