ronninoir - Tumblr blog

ronninoir · 3 years

Text

Can I Steal You For A Second Chapter 37 - Epilogue

Summary: Adrien is forced to participate in a new dating show, but becomes more excited when Ladybug says she’ll participate as her civilian self.

AKA: AU where Adrien doesn’t know Marinette, the superheroes are 22 and Gabriel is mean and ruthless but not Hawkmoth.

Read on AO3

Start from the beginning Chp 1 on AO3

Epilogue

Marinette was floating on clouds. The entire wedding had been absolutely perfect. Alya and her Maman had helped calm her down before the ceremony, Adrien had cried as she started walking down the aisle with her father, and all of the girls from the show had sat in the same section together and had cheered the loudest when they were pronounced husband and wife. Marinette had barely even noticed the cameras swarming around, recording everything for their faithful viewers.

Rumor had it that because of their popular season, The Bachelor had been renewed for a second, with a different fashion company sponsoring it and a new man being chosen. Rumor has it that Lucy’s aunt from America may be taking a note from Gabriel’s book and is trying to get a Bachelorette going for next year too, with Lucie as the star. Marinette liked the idea of Lucie being able to find love and even told her that if they needed help with anything, like a guest appearance for a date or anything, Marinette would be there to help. Lucie gave her a big hug in a way of thanks.

Marinette was the happiest she had ever been, and she could tell that Adrien was too. He never let go of her hand. At one point she told him she had to go to the bathroom and he automatically offered to come with her, before a blush spread on his face and Alya escorted her instead, laughing all along the way. They had danced their first dance, she had danced with her Papa, who had blubbered throughout the whole ceremony and dance alike, and Adrien had danced with his new mother-in-law. By the end of that dance, neither Sabine, Adrien, nor Marinette had walked away with a dry eye.

Then came the fun part. The girls had asked Marinette if it would be okay to play a small prank on Adrien and Marinette had graciously let them run free. It started with Lucie asking Adrien to dance, and offering him a beautiful red rose while she did. Then she was interrupted by Juliette, who also offered him a rose before she was interrupted by Hanna and so on and so on until Adrien had a bouquet of roses and was laughing while dancing with all of his ex-girlfriend’s in attendance.

When Adrien was on the last girl, Marinette interrupted and said, “Can I steal you for a second?” to which Adrien laughed. As they danced, Adrien whipped out the rather large bouquet of roses the other girls had given him and he asked, “Marinette, will you accept these roses?” to which she laughed and said yes, kissing him once more. Everyone cheered for the happy couple.

Towards the end, as guests started dancing more and showing off for the cameras, Marinette and Adrien were slow dancing in the corner.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Adrien whispered into Marinette’s ear.

“What do you mean? It’s our wedding, we can’t just leave it early.”

“Come on! Come for a run with me! No one will even notice!” Marinette gave him a pointed look and he amended, “We’ll only be gone for 15 minutes. One lap around Paris and we’ll sneak back in and no one will notice.”

Marinette was about to say no when Adrien gave her those puppy (kitty?) eyes and she felt a slow smile spread across her face.

“Yes!” Adrien quietly celebrated while spinning and waltzing her closer and closer to the closest exit, which conveniently was right behind the band.

As soon as the coast was clear, they both whispered their transformations and took to the skies for the first time as a married couple. They ended up on the Eiffel Tower, hidden away from onlookers for the first time that night.

“Do you think this is what our life will be like now?” Ladybug asked, glancing around to make sure no one was close by, even though they were hundreds of feet up into the air.

“What do you mean?” Chat asked, pulling her close.

Ladybug rested her head on his shoulder, “Hiding from cameras and fans and just constantly being watched? Are we ever going to be invisible again?”

“We never were truly invisible. Not really.” Ladybug shot him a look and he chuckled before explaining. “Well, first off, we are the heroes of Paris. We’ve always been under a spotlight.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Chat began gently stroking her hair and she leaned into his touch. “Okay, okay. I’ve never been invisible. And truly, neither have you.”

“Please, before I met you, I was a nobody who led a secret life. No one knew who Marinette Dupain-Cheng was and probably never would have if it hadn’t been for the show.”

“I disagree. I would like to think that even without the show, we would have ended up together. You were meant to become Mrs. Agreste and even without Gabriel/Agreste Fashions, you would have made a name for yourself in the fashion world without me.” He pulled her chin up so he could look deeper into her eyes. “That’s why no one is going to blink twice when you and I become co-CEOs of Agreste Fashion. You have the talent to prove that you are where you are meant to be. I’m the only person using my name to get a position in that company. You deserve it.” Ladybug felt her eyes begin to fill up with tears and Chat leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss.

“So, are Ladybug and Chat Noir dating, married what? Are we going to have to have a whole separate wedding ceremony for our alter egos?” Marinette asked, trying to change the subject to something much lighter.

Chat laughed, “You know, Bugaboo, I would marry you every day of the week if I could. Plus, how fun would it be to say that you’re getting meow-ied every day!” Chat burst into laughter and Ladybug couldn’t help but join in.

“That was a terrible pun.”

“I do what I can,” Chat said with a wink.

“On a more serious note, what about Hawkmoth? We may be happy and Ladybug and Chat Noir have finally found each other and what not, but Hawkmoth is still out there and we still have no idea who he is.”

Chat paused for a moment before answering, “I guess we’ll just have to figure it out as we go. As long as we’re together, there isn’t a fight we won’t lose. He’s sloppy and we’ll be able to find him and return his miraculous to where it belongs.”

“Speaking of where things belong... I’m pretty sure it’s been longer than 15 minutes and we have an entire wedding hall full of people that expected us to be in attendance the entire party.”

Chat rolled his eyes but sat up and stretched like the cat he was before standing and offering Ladybug a hand. Instead of letting go of her hand after she had stood, he used it to pull her close to him and engulf her in a hug.

“Thanks for being my partner in every aspect of my life.”

“I’ll always be there for you, Kitty. No matter what stands in our way.”

The hug lasted a couple more seconds before they broke apart. Ladybug was just about to jump and head back towards their wedding when Chat pulled her back and held out his hand.

“Together?”

She smiled and nodded, “Together.”

And together they jumped.

In that moment it didn’t matter that Hawkmoth was still out there or that Lila had tried to ruin their lives, or even all of the hoops that Gabriel had made them jump through. Together, they had survived it all, and together they would thrive “Till death do us part.”

~~~

And that's the end!!!

Oh my gosh guys, this has been such an amazing journey! Thank you all so SO much for reading and supporting this story in the past year. It has been a wild ride and we have loved every part of it. My sister is thinking about possibly writing a sequel to this that would involve more Hawkmoth moments and bringing that section to a close. If you're interested... let us know! She also has some other random fic ideas floating around her head so be on the lookout if you're interested! Again, thank you all for your awesome support! YOU GUYS ROCK!

@momor3202

@legendaryneckjudgestudent

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

@adrianarfox

@verooquieremimir

@jeminiikrystal

20 notes · View notes

ronninoir · 3 years

Text

Can I Steal You For A Second Chapter 36

Summary: Adrien is forced to participate in a new dating show, but becomes more excited when Ladybug says she’ll participate as her civilian self.

AKA: AU where Adrien doesn’t know Marinette, the superheroes are 22 and Gabriel is mean and ruthless but not Hawkmoth.

Read on AO3

Start from the beginning Chp 1 on AO3

Welcome to the end everybody!!

Six Months Later

Marinette was walking home from the grocery store when her phone rang. Checking out the caller ID, she quickly answered.

“Papa! I already told you that we’ll be at your house promptly at 5:30 tonight!” Marinette sighed into the phone as her father went off, just reminding Marinette of the precautions her and Adrien needed to take as they traveled throughout the city. Marinette hummed and replied generally where needed, knowing her Papa was just going to continue on.

Marinette was fully aware of the precautions she needed to take, her whole family been dealing with crazy fans and excited viewers for almost six weeks now. Someone had made the connection between Marinette and the Dupain-Cheng Bakery soon after the first episode premiered. Business had been booming, and crazy fans would find Marinette in the street, pledging their loyalty to her and some even saying she needed to find a better person than Adrien. Marinette had been able to connect with all of the girls involved in the show through social media except Lila, who refused to acknowledge any of them. The other girls, especially the ones who made it far like Juliette, and Lucie, had been dealing with similar situations in their hometowns as well.

Thankfully, Adrien was steadily by her side, even if they couldn’t be in public together. After the first incident with people surrounding her on the street, Marinette had broken down crying in their apartment, and Adrien had built her up and talked with her about similar experiences he had been through, as well as what to do about it in the future. Marinette had been cheating slightly, travelling more as Ladybug than she had in her daily life before the show.

Hometowns were airing tonight, and with that meant even more press for the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and even more attention on Marinette. Adrien and Marinette always had dinner before the Bachelor shows started airing because her parents wanted to know everything that went down that week before they watched the edited version, and so there wouldn’t be any surprises for them.

“Papa, I promise that Adrien and I will be careful, I really have to go now, I’m almost to the apartment.” Marinette and her father said their goodbyes before she ended the phone call. The doorman, who smiled sweetly and tipped his hat at her as she neared, opened the door for her and she quickly rushed into the elevator and up to her floor.

Living with Adrien was a dream. They just fit so well into each other’s lives and it made the transition to living together easy. Adrien had just finished converting the extra bedroom into a design space/office for the two to share, and it was perfect and convenient. Adrien had been forced to work from home since the show started airing, only leaving the apartment for important business meetings that never took place at Gabriel’s offices. Too many people knew where to find Adrien on a daily basis, so Adrien’s security team thought it was too dangerous to go to that building. And Marinette was inclined to agree.

If Marinette had it bad, Adrien had it worse. There were adoring fans, begging him to consider them, angry fans, demanding to know why their favorites went home, and even the crazy ones, wanting to just be near him and breathe the same air as him, but those were no different from his model days, just older than before. Adrien never let them bother him, and he has also taken to travelling more as Chat Noir, who at the moment seemed less famous than his alter ego, and was able to get from place to place safely.

As Marinette unlocked their door, she felt herself relax. No one had found their apartment yet, but Marinette had a feeling it was just a matter of time. Thankfully, she knew that all of the locations for shooting, unless specifically chosen for brand purposes, were kept secret and edited out of the show. Which meant that no one could find the mansion, nor more importantly, the apartment she was currently in.

“Adrien?” she called as she placed her keys in the bowl by the door, the one grocery bag she had on the counter next to it, and hung her coat up on the rack. She was just slipping her shoes off as she heard footsteps approach, and a smile spread across her face.

“Welcome home, beautiful,” Adrien said as he pulled her into a hug. She relaxed into the embrace and a feeling of home settled over her. It didn’t matter where she lived, if Adrien was by her side, she would be home.

“How was your day?” Marinette asked, moving to unpack the groceries and put them away. Adrien followed her into the kitchen, not really letting go of her waist.

“Ugh it was long. Who knew rebranding would be so crazy difficult! The paperwork is horrible, as well as the physical part of rebranding.”

“It would be easier if you weren’t doing the rebranding in secret, and your father wasn’t causing so much trouble about it.”

Adrien finally let go of Marinette and plopped down on a stool that was positioned at the end of the counter. “You think he would just accept the fact that this was happening and move on. He’s not going to involve a courtroom because he knows they would side with me. But it’s not like I’m changing the brand dramatically! It’s going from ‘Gabriel’ to ‘Agreste!’ It’s still his name! It just makes more sense that when we’re running the company we aren’t running a company named after someone who retired unpeacefully.” Adrien groaned again as he ran his hand along his face. “I’m sorry, I probably sound like a broken record. We’ve had this conversation before. Tell me about your day.”

Marinette smiled and gently placed her hand on top of Adrien’s. “I will happily listen to the events of your day every day, even if that means I get to hear the same stuff. Whatever bothers you I want to hear about it every time.” Adrien smiled and flipped his hand over to give hers a squeeze. “Anyway, you asked about my day. Well, Papa called me twice today, determined to make sure I didn’t forget what time we are supposed to be at their house. I think he’s nervous about what this episode is going to do to the bakery.”

“If it’s anything like what’s happening to Gabriel’s, he should be pleased with the results.” Business had been booming since the show aired. Everyone was dying to wear whatever the beautiful girls that were fighting for Adrien’s heart were wearing.

“He figures as much, he’s just worried about the extra workload that it’s going to put on them. They’ve already hired three new employees just to brace themselves for the impact.”

“They sound very well prepared though, and that’s half the battle.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling them!” Marinette interjected exasperatedly.

There was a pause where Marinette, still thinking about her parents, had zoned out into her own world. “Is that all that happened in your day today, love?” Adrien asked sweetly, squeezing her hand gently.

She snapped out of her daze and blushed. “No! Today was good. We started working on the new designs for the spring and I’m really excited. Especially considering my name will actually be on those designs since I’ll have publicly begun working at Gabriel by then.” Marinette paused once more, racking her brain for anything else that had happened today when she nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement. “Oh my gosh! I completely forgot to tell you! I saw my wedding dress this morning before work!”

Adrien beamed and his eyes glazed over like he did every time he was proud of her. “How amazing was it?”

“Oh, Adrien, it’s everything I ever dreamed it would be! I know I designed it and everything, but I was blown away when I actually got to see it in person. Maman and Alya both cried too.”

“And you’re sure you won’t let me see even the designs for this amazing piece of art you created?” A playful tone had colored his voice and Marinette felt her heartbeat quicken.

“You know the rules. No peeking until the day of the wedding, as I’m walking down the aisle.”

“Not even if I gave you a little something in return?” Adrien purred as a smirk spread across his face. He leaned towards her, and Marinette almost forgot how to breathe. She loved this man with every fiber of her being, and yet he would do something seductive like that and she would pause, thinking, Is this real? Does he really love me as much as I love him? And he showed her all the time, through his actions and words alike, that he really did.

Their lips met in a rough way and Marinette felt the fire in her gut heat up in response to Adrien. She leaned in closer, parting their lips and deepening the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer than they had been a moment before. Marinette’s hands were tangling themselves in Adrien’s hair and she was just about to ask to take this to the bedroom when her phone rang.

The two jumped apart and Marinette quickly answered, trying to keep her heart rate down and her breathing steady.

“Hey Alya, what’s up?”

“We’re still invited tonight, correct? Because if I calculated correctly, I’m in this episode, which makes it automatically the best,” Alya asked, the city loud in the background of the call.

“Of course. You know that if Adrien doesn’t see Nino at least once a week, he’ll keel over and die of heartbreak.” Marinette joked. Both her and Alya laughed as Adrien let out a defensive, “Hey!” which caused the two girls to laugh even more.

“Oh well, we can’t let Sunshine’s heart break.” Alya responded, specifically using the nickname that she knew Adrien hated. Alya claimed that between Adrien’s bright blonde hair and his constant positive disposition that he was more sunshine than human. Marinette found it very appropriate, however, Adrien thought it was too high of a compliment to be applied to him, the black cat and essence of bad luck. He never argued with Alya though, just rolled his eyes and let it be, like he did right then, causing Marinette to giggle once more.

“I’ll text you as we leave my parent’s house and we’ll meet you guys here. The doorman should let you guys in the building, he’s used to seeing you two by now.”

Alya agreed, and the two girls said their goodbyes. Marinette put her phone on the counter after checking the time. “That call was very well timed, we really should be heading out. If we’re late, I think my Papa might pop his top.”

Adrien sighed as well and went to straighten his hair that Marinette had just messed up, “This having to be at places on a timely manner really is ruining my love life,” to which Marinette just laughed.

----------------------------------------------------

The week after Hometowns was aired, Adrien was summoned to a television studio to do a live question and answer episode of the show called “Women Tell All.” All of the girls are invited back, except for Lucie and Marinette, to talk about various things that happened on the show and get the opinions of everyone after having watched it all back on their TVs.

Marinette was grateful Adrien had asked her to come with him. She wanted to see Hanna and Juliette so badly it physically hurt her. The producers had demanded that no one get together or see each other in person until this show, in order to keep the tensions and relationships fresh, even if it was filmed six months before.

She was wearing a casual outfit, and felt very out of place with everyone’s fancy cocktail party dresses. But she knew that the only people who would see her are the other contestants and the backstage crew that passed her hiding spot. She watched the whole thing on a television backstage, and was able to watch Chris Harrison interview and ask the girls what the viewers wanted to know.

As the show began filming, Marinette almost felt more like an outsider rather than a participant in the show. The audience was lively and excited to hear what everyone had to say. Chris started out by interviewing Adrien, asking him about the journey, the ups, the downs, the bloopers, everything. It was exciting to see Adrien relax with Chris and play up certain things to the audience. He was a hit.

Then, Chris brought out all of the girls except for Juliette, who would have her own grand entrance, and Lucie, who wasn’t present. The conversation got heated, especially when the topic of where most of the drama stemmed from came up and all fingers pointed to Lila. Lila, who was paid by the broadcasting station to show up, was there and was the center of almost all of the discussion, as Chris (and truthfully, the viewers) were dying to know what in the world was going through that girl’s head for most of the show. Lila tried to deny all of her involvement in the drama, but a good number of girls, Hanna in the lead, stood up for Marinette, which warmed her heart. It was nice knowing that even after winning, these girls still cared enough for her to defend her on live television.

After Chris reigned in the chaos that Lila had caused, once again, among the girls, they brought out Juliette and asked her about the heartbreaking goodbye that Adrien had given her after Fantasy Suites. Juliette was awesome and Marinette yearned to give her a hug, especially when she teared up remembering how much it hurt to watch that back and have people tell her they wanted her to win. Eventually they brought Adrien back out and he talked with Juliette for the first time since that break up. Juliette handled it like a pro, and Adrien was as gentlemanly as ever.

Finally, Chris was signing off and telling everyone to tune in next week for the dramatic finale and a special live episode called “After the Final Rose,” where all the secrets will be revealed. Marinette had to pause, freaked out that in a week she would be going public about her relationship with Adrien. And on such a grand stage. She heard one of the producers say that they were viewed in every city in France, most of Italy, Germany, and England as well as scattered broadcast throughout the rest of Europe. It was an impressively scary number to consider.

Marinette was broken out of her trance by an all-too-familiar squeal.

“Marinette!”

She whipped around to see both Hanna and Juliette standing together, both looking ecstatic to see her. She let out a squeal of her own and collided with the two of them.

“Oh my gosh I’ve missed you guys so much!” Marinette squealed into Juliette’s shoulder. The girls laughed and echoed her sentiment. As they pulled away, Hanna grabbed her left hand and brought it close to her face.

“Ooooh he did a wonderful job!” Hanna announced, pulled back to show Juliette. Marinette blushed slightly.

“Damn, I would have married him for that ring alone.” Juliette said in a mock serious tone, shooting Marinette a wink, who let out a giggle.

“Just because it isn’t big and magnificent doesn’t mean that it isn’t beautiful. Plus, the two of us know better than anyone else, Marinette isn’t marrying Adrien for his money, and that here is obvious,” Hanna added with a wink.

“Hey!” Marinette protested, cradling her left hand against her chest. “I think it’s perfect.”

The two girls laughed and pulled her in for another hug. “Of course, you do, sweetie, because you’re smitten, that’s just who you are,” Juliette teased with a child-like pat on the head. Marinette giggled against them once more before they dragged her out of her hiding spot and onto the staging area, where the rest of the girls (minus Lila) were waiting. They all cheered for Marinette as she walked out and she blushed an even deeper red than before. They took turns admiring the ring, giving their congratulations and just reminding each other how amazing it is to be together once more.

“Oh, this won’t be the last time you see each other,” Marinette announced over the general chatter, after Alice sighed about how they would never see each other again. After a dramatic pause, Marinette continued, “You’re all invited to our wedding, of course!” The girls laughed and squealed and made plans to meet up at a later time to prepare for the upcoming event.

----------------------------------------------------

Nearly a week later, the day before the “After the Final Rose” special, Marinette was sitting at a coffee shop, mid-morning, sketching absentmindedly in her notebook. She was so engrossed in her work, that she didn’t even notice when someone had walked up beside her until they spoke.

“Beautiful work, as always.” Marinette startled a little, almost spilling her coffee on the design. She whipped her head to find the person she was waiting on.

“Lucie, glad you could make it,” Marinette replied as she closed her sketchbook, hoping to prevent any more almost-spills.

“Of course,” Lucie sat across from her and there was a beat of awkward silence before she spoke again. “I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For... reaching out. I was struggling a lot with what happened, and talking real with you made it better.”

“Lucie,” Marinette started, smiling sweetly and gently placing her hand on Lucie’s. “The worst part of the aftermath of the show was knowing how much pain you had to be feeling. I know you felt strongly for Adrien, as much as I did, and I couldn’t imagine what you were going through.” Marinette paused, making sure Lucie was actually listening to her. She wanted her friend to know she meant it.

“Well, I appreciate it. A lot.” Lucie gave her a small smile, and Marinette gave her hand a gentle squeeze and then reached to take another sip of her coffee.

“I would have wanted the same, so it only felt fair.” Lucie gave another sad smile and nodded. Marinette took that as a good sign. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

Lucie’s head dropped, but she let out a sigh and met Marinette’s eyes. “I am. I know it’s going to be hard, but seeing Adrien again will be nice, and it’ll be good to have everything out in the open once again.”

Marinette nodded, “I feel that. It’ll be good to not be holding in any more secrets.” Except for the other major secret I’ve been hiding almost my whole life. Marinette sighed, rubbing her face with her left hand as her eyes slipped closed. She heard a gasp and her eyes flew open. Glancing down at that hand, she realized that she had forgotten to take off her engagement ring before she left for this public outing. Her cheeks reddened and she quickly slipped it off.

“Is that it?” Lucie asked, snapping out of her funk in a blink of an eye. Marinette nodded and handed the ring over for a closer inspection. “Damn.”

“What?” Marinette asked, slightly alarmed by her reaction.

“It really has been you this whole time.”

“What do you mean?” Marinette whispered, severely confused as Lucie passed the ring back to her and she slipped it into her pocket.

“Watching the show has opened my eyes to the way that Adrien’s relationships existed outside of the bubble I had created for myself. I was beginning to see it, but the ring... that is hard to refute.”

“I—I still don’t get it,” Marinette stuttered, her cheeks turned red with the implication that was inevitably coming.

“You two are truly sole mates, aren’t you? He’s a completely different person with you, and it’s amazing to see how much more he opened up with you than with the others. Something clicked early on with the two of you, and truthfully, none of the rest of us stood a chance.”

“Now that’s not true—”

“No, Marinette, I’m not upset. It—I actually have some closure now that I didn’t before. Adrien tried very hard to truly consider his options, but he found his person. My aunt says that some American sitcom called that ‘finding your lobster.’ I don’t really get it, but she says it with such reverence that it must be what you two did. I respect that. It’s going to make interacting with Adrien tomorrow that much easier.” Lucie nodded like that was the end of the discussion, but Marinette was still trying to process what happened.

“What—wait so you aren’t upset? What just happened here?”

Lucie gave the first genuine smile of the meeting, “I found my peace.”

There was a thoughtful silence as Marinette tried to figure out what to do next. The original reason for their meeting popped into her head and she shook her head to clear it.

“Lucie, there was actually a very good reason for me to meet you here, that didn’t involve you finding peace, although I’m glad that happened, it’s going to make this next part much easier.” Marinette stopped, scrutinizing Lucie’s face to see how she would react. When no alarming emotion appeared, Marinette continued.

“What do you know about Gabriel?”

“Adrien’s father or the company?”

“Both.”

“Not much. The company is popular here in France and other places around the world, chic, and a little pricey. The man is stoic and doesn’t talk much.”

Marinette almost snorted at that last comment but continued on. “What if I told you that your aunt and Gabriel Agreste have had recent business contact?”

Lucie’s jaw dropped, but she recovered quickly, “I would say you’re crazy. My aunt would never be considering doing business with a random French fashion line, no matter how popular. She’s firm on her designs and styles, which are very different from Gabriel’s.”

Marinette felt a sly smile creep across her face as the perfect plan clicked together in her head. “Oh, do I have a story for you.”

Hours later, after eventually having lunch with Lucie as well, Marinette ran home to talk to Adrien. As usual, he was sitting in the kitchen, doing paperwork while eating a sandwich. When she burst through the door, he almost jumped out of his seat.

“Marinette! What are you doing home? Did something happen?”

“Adrien, I figured out how to fix the company’s legal problems with your father and get him off our backs.”

Adrien blanched, “Oh this I have to hear.”

----------------------------------------------------

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Marinette asked, hesitation ringing in her voice. Adrien took a deep breath but nodded. “It’s not too late, just keep that in mind.”

Adrien pulled Marinette closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on the top of her head. “I think this is the only option we have going forward. It’ll be easier though, with Lucie on our side.”

“She deserved to know. I’m just grateful she took it so well.”

“Mr. Agreste,” a stagehand interrupted and both Adrien and Marinette looked up. “We’re on air in 60.”

“Thanks,” Adrien responded while reluctantly letting go of his fiancée. She straightened his tie and smoothed out his suit as he heard Chris Harrison address the waiting crowd.

“Well, after tonight the secret is out. You will publicly be my fiancée.”

Marinette sighed, “I can’t wait.” She grabbed his head and pulled her down to her level in order for their lips to meet. From somewhere onstage, he heard a crew member countdown from ten and he reluctantly broke off the kiss and turned to face the door he was expected to walk through after being introduced.

“I’m Chris Harrison, and welcome to After the Final Rose Live TV special. Tonight is a night none of us will soon forget. Just prior to the show, we received late-breaking news from Adrien regarding his relationship with Marinette.” The crowd ooohed but Adrien had to try not to laugh at Marinette’s eye roll.

“Yes, because so much has happened between getting engaged and still being engaged.”

Adrien let out a breathy giggle, “It’s just to build the tension.”

“And Lucie, how has her life been after a tearful goodbye almost eight weeks ago. And if that’s not enough, we have an exciting surprise for you, yes you, the viewers.” The crowd broke out in cheers for that. After a beat, Chris continued, “So, where to start tonight? How about the man himself—Adrien Agreste!”

Adrien walked on to the cheers of the crowd. He smiled and waved good naturedly and played along exactly as he was supposed to.

“Adrien,” Chris reached out his hand to shake, which Adrien took.

“Long time no see, Chris.” the crowd laughed as Adrien sat down on the love seat across from him.

“Yes, it does feel like it’s been a while. But tell me, how does it feel, now that the whole world has seen it all?”

“Oh my,” Adrien sighed, “It’s so nice. Marinette and I have been hiding and secretly being together since I proposed and it is just so nice to know that I can walk down the street holding her hand without it making the papers.”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far—” Chris joked, and Adrien couldn’t help but laugh too. Marinette’s and his lives would never be without the press.

“You’re right, that’s more of a pipe dream.”

“Speaking of that proposal, oh my it was amazing.” Adrien was slightly taken aback by the applause that followed, and blushed against his will. “What are your emotions right now, after watching that play out on the screen last night?”

“Honestly, I’ve never been more in love with Marinette than I am right now. Getting to watch the show, our entire love story, played back was such a treat and allowed me to appreciate everything that Marinette went through even more. She is so strong and I meant everything I said and more.” The crowd awed, but Adrien just beamed. He could talk about Marinette for a lifetime.

“Wow, that was beautiful, Adrien. Are you always such a poet?”

Adrien let out a hearty chuckle, “What can I say, Marinette just brings out the best in me.” Another round of awes and applause.

“That’s sweet. I hate to burst your happy bubble, but let’s talk about Lucie.” There was a sudden hush among the crowd. Adrien made sure his expression turned solemn as well. “That was one of the tougher moments of the show, to say goodbye to her.”

“Yeah it really was. After those last dates, I spent some time thinking. I had two amazing girls, who are both beautiful and full of life and both could add such amazing things to my life after the show, but my heart had already made up my mind. I hated having to say goodbye to Lucie, but it just had to be done.”

“When was the last time you had felt emotions like that?”

Adrien paused, trying to remember what he had been feeling. All he can remember is the happiness that was finally proposing to Marinette. He would be expected to be sad, so he played along with it. “The last time I had felt that kind of heartbreak was on the first anniversary of my mother passing. This was a very similar hurt, but for this one I felt like I couldn’t break down and cry. I was the one doing the heart-breaking, so I tried to stay strong for Lucie.”

“But afterwards, did it hit you? That you had just let an amazing woman get away?”

“In a way. Those first couple of days, I would have moments of just pause. I would think about how she was doing and just hoping that she could still be that amazing person that I had the opportunity to meet so long ago.”

“As I’m sure you know, Lucie is backstage right now. Do you have any idea what you’re going to say to her?”

Oh, I have a whole script, “Not really. I’m hoping the words will come when I see her again.”

“Well on that note, please welcome Lucie!” Chris stood and Adrien followed suit as the crowd cheered for Lucie. She looked stunning, as ever and she smiled when she saw Adrien, which made him smile in return. She gave Adrien a hug and then sat down next to him.

“Welcome, Lucie. How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, Chris, I’ve been better. This is a lot to take in, but I’m doing okay considering.”

“What’s it like seeing Adrien again?”

“It’s easier than I thought it was going to be. I haven’t seen Adrien since that last day. I’ve been watching the episodes, and that last one was hard to see. I’ve mostly just wondered what happened between us.”

Adrien made eye contact with Chris, who gave him a small nod, which he took as a go ahead to answer her. “I wish I had a reason for you, I really do. You are an amazing girl, and we got along so well. But in the end, I fell in love with Marinette and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and there just wasn’t anything I could do after that. I hated having to say goodbye to you, especially without a proper answer, but I’m hoping we can still be on good terms.”

“It’s hard to be upset with someone as genuine as you, Adrien. I appreciate you sticking with your heart, and being honest with me here. That’s all I’ve ever asked of you, and I respect your decision. I’ve found my peace, and having watched the whole season back, I’m genuinely happy for you and Marinette.” The crowd applauded once more, and Adrien almost wanted to applaud himself. That had been very well said.

“Lucie, tell us how hard was it to watch all of the different moments you shared with Adrien on TV?”

Lucie laughed, “Funny that you would ask, my family actually was much more upset about the ending than I was. I treasure all of those moments where I got to see the real Adrien and even our last day, where we said goodbye, it was easier knowing that at least the girl he ended up with is amazing. She deserves my utmost respect, and I know that if the roles were reversed, she would have done the same for me.”

“Wait—wait. Back up. You said your family took the breakup harder than you?” Chris asked, shock easily read on his face.

Lucie laughed once more, “Yeah can you believe it? My parents adored Adrien and were already planning on taking him on our next family vacation and my aunt had even planned a trip for Adrien to come visit her in America. She had bought the plane ticket and everything.” Lucie laughed once more, and Adrien couldn’t help but blush.

“Wow, your family was dedicated.”

“Oh, that’s an understatement. I actually recently found out by accident that my aunt, who owns a fashion company in America, had actually been having secret business meetings with Gabriel Agreste. Apparently, when I won and Adrien and I became engaged, they were going to start a partnership and move towards merging the companies. So, as you can imagine, my breakup with Adrien threw a little snag in their plans.”

The entire studio audience broke into whispers and Chris’s jaw dropped. “Are you—are you serious? How in the world did you find that out?”

“Someone close to my aunt’s company approached me with their sympathies, and let slip about the deal going through.”

“Adrien did you know about this?”

“No, I had no idea.” He paused for a second and could feel his Father’s fury building from across the studio. “But, now that I think about it, it makes sense.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, my Father had always seemed to prefer Lucie over Marinette, or any of the girls for that matter. I never understood why. Right at the end, he encouraged me to propose to Lucie, and I just assumed it was because of her knowledge in the fashion industry. We both have been working in the business side of that world and on paper, she was the best fit for my life. I never would have thought that there was anything more.”

“Well, thank you Lucie, for joining us.” Chris said, rather abruptly.

Lucie looked slightly taken aback, but her smile returned quick enough that Adrien thought he was the only one to catch it. “Thank you for having me, this is exactly what I needed.”

Chris turned toward the camera, “You heard it here, Bachelor Nation. We’ll be right back with Adrien, and his new fiancée, Marinette!” The crowd cheered, but Adrien didn’t hear it, as Chris had leaned forward, turning away from the camera and whispered, “Adrien you are required offstage now.” Lucie and Adrien exchanged a look and as soon as time was called, they both went backstage, gathering Marinette on the way.

Gabriel was in a back room, sitting. Adrien couldn’t read his mood and approached him like he would a wild animal, slowly.

“You wanted to see me?”

“What have you done?” Gabriel hissed in response.

“Father—”

“Shut up! You got your little bitch, it wasn’t enough just to stop there? The company, I understand it was going to be yours soon enough anyway, but my credibility? My dignity? How did she find out?”

Lucie stepped forward and for what appeared to be the first time, Gabriel realized there were other people in the room. “You will not talk to Adrien right now. What you did was sick and conniving and despicable. How my aunt could have ever agreed to do business with you is beyond me. But as a mostly impartial outsider, if you don’t step down and get out of Adrien’s way, you won’t have a company to pass on. We may have done some damage, but we did the right thing. You cheated the system and you lost anyway. Just admit defeat, or we can go out and do even more. Marinette told me stories, and I know what else you’ve done. In my opinion you are getting off easy.” And with that, Lucie turned on her heel and stormed out.

Marinette stared baffled after her and, with a quick glance at Adrien, she handed him the file she had been holding and followed her out of the room.

Adrien stood before his Father, who for the first time in Adrien’s life looked disheveled, and felt nothing for this man. He was upset that he had given so much of his time and love to this statue who couldn’t even recognize when he’d been defeated. “Sign these papers. We’re changing the name. We’re changing the way things are done. And more importantly. we’re accepting Marinette with open arms. She is my Emile, and if for some ungodly reason I lose her before we’ve lived a full life, I hope I don’t ever become as loveless and as cold as you.”

Adrien left the papers on the table and followed the girls out the door.

He found them right off of the stage, where they could still hear the commercials coming through. Adrien opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Lucie.

“I am so sorry, Adrien. I don’t know what came over me. I just got so fired up for everything he had done to you and to me and to this show. I bubbled over and I hope it didn’t do too much damage.”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile. “You were perfect. I think you got through him better than I ever could. Thank you for your kind words and for being so amazing about this.” Lucie attacked him with a hug and Adrien felt his heart swell.

“I hope I can find something like you two have,” Lucie announced when they broke apart.

“You will,” Marinette said, stepping up and giving Lucie a hug as well.

A loud voice called from onstage, effectively breaking up their huddle, “Ten seconds to live!”

“Please stay in touch!” Adrien called to Lucie as he was herded onto the set. She nodded and turned once again towards Marinette as Adrien plopped down onto the love seat. This second half should be easier.

----------------------------------------------------

“Welcome back Bachelor Nation! It has been a whirlwind of a night. We’ve checked in with our Bachelor, we’ve checked in with Lucie, and we’ve checked in with France’s hottest couple, Marinette and Adrien, but what is the big surprise? Let’s find out.”

“Marinette, Adrien, all of those in the studio audience and the viewers at home all around Europe have been on pins and needles—scratch that even I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to know what this big surprise is. Will you please tell us already!”

Adrien and Marinette laughed, “Okay okay, we’ll tell you.”

“So, as you all know,” Marinette started, “Adrien and I are getting married.” Cheers from the studio audience. “And you know that Adrien and I love each other and are just ready to start living our lives together.”

“And with that being said, we want to tell you that we are indeed getting married—” Adrien paused for dramatic effect.

“In a month!” The two said together. The crowd went wild.

“And the best part is,” Marinette shouted over the glee, “everyone’s invited!” The crowd went crazy again, and it took Chris a couple of minutes to calm it all down.

“How does that work, exactly?” Chris asked, once everyone could hear again.

“Our wedding is going to be aired, live on television!” Adrien announced. He sounded as giddy as a child on Christmas.

“All of the viewers have been a part of our love story for so long, we wanted to make sure no one got left out. The ceremony will be filmed with exclusive behind the scenes features that you wouldn’t be able to see in person and the reception will be aired as well! All of the girls will be there and my best gal, Alya is going to be my witness!”

“Well what a surprise that is!” Chris said amongst the cheers that would never end. “Congratulations, you two! Everyone is invited to a Bachelor Wedding, a month from today. We’ll release more info as the time draws near. Have a great night, Bachelor Nation!” The cheers and excitement of the crowd continued, even as the credits began to roll.

“Are you really watching that again?” A voice said from behind her, causing Alya to jump.

“Ahh! Nino! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Alya screamed as she clutched her heart and collapsed deeper into the couch.

“Babe, I’ve been in the house the whole time. At least I waited until the end to judge your 73rd watching of that episode. I learned my lesson.”

Alya flinched slightly, remembering how much she had yelled at Nino the last time he interrupted her mid-episode. “I said I was sorry.” All she got in return was a non-committal hum. “Look, our Marinette found the love of her life and we got to experience it with her the whole time, and then again as we watched the episodes. It’s beautiful, I love to be reminded of their true love.”

Nino just snorted. “More like you love you being on national television.”

“Hey now! They are starting to show our season in America as well, so it’s actually international television.” Nino just rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say, babe. But if you don’t go get ready now, we’re going to miss the rehearsal dinner, and I heard a rumor there may be cameras there too.”

Nino had never seen Alya get ready so quickly.

~~~

This is the LAST CHAPTER and then the Epilogue! Hope you all enjoyed this story! We just wanted to say thanks for coming along with us!

There is an idea we have for a sequel, so let us know if you would like that to happen!!

@momor3202

@legendaryneckjudgestudent

@discoveringmiraculouswriters

@adrianarfox

@verooquieremimir

@jeminiikrystal

1 note · View note

ronninoir · 3 years

Photo

(digital art:number 12)

My odd obsession for spies is still going strong

3K notes · View notes

ronninoir · 3 years

Photo

6K notes · View notes

ronninoir · 3 years

Text

Team Miraculous PowerPoint Night!

9K notes · View notes

ronninoir · 3 years

Text

Can I Steal You For A Second Chapter 35

Summary: Adrien is forced to participate in a new dating show, but becomes more excited when Ladybug says she’ll participate as her civilian self.

AKA: AU where Adrien doesn’t know Marinette, the superheroes are 22 and Gabriel is mean and ruthless but not Hawkmoth.

Read on AO3

Start from the beginning Chp 1 on AO3

“Oh, good you’re back,” was Victoria’s friendly response as Marinette walked through the door of the mansion. Lucie was quickly summoned and Victoria tapped her handy-dandy clipboard officially. “I just wanted to sit down with you two to let you know what the next 3 days will look like.”

“Three days?” Marinette blanched. She had thought that tomorrow was the day Adrien would propose.

“I thought all we had left was the proposal!” Lucie added, clearly as shocked as Marinette.

“No,” was Victoria’s answer, not even bothering to glance up from her clipboard. “You each have one more date with Adrien before he makes his final decision. Tomorrow, Marinette will go on her date, then Lucie will go on hers. Finally, Adrien will propose once he knows who he is going to pick. That could last as long as Adrien needs, but you will be alerted the day that it is happening.” Lucie and Marinette just looked at each other and both girls looked slightly fearful that the last leg of their journey could take so long.

“Just so you two are aware,” Victoria continued, still completely unaware of anything except her clipboard. “professionals will be brought in to do your hair and make-up for the proposal, to make sure you are both looking your best for the final episode. From there, whoever Adrien chooses will reconnect with me for your next steps.” Victoria finally looked up and gave both girls a small smile. “That’s all for now. If there are any questions, ask one of the producers. Good luck, and I’ll see one of you in a couple of days.”

Victoria stood up and left the two sitting on the couch alone. Both girls watched her walk away and then awkwardly made eye contact.

“It’s okay, Marinette.” Lucie smiled, reaching over and giving Marinette’s hand a slight squeeze. “You have a date to prepare for tomorrow. I want to hear all about it tomorrow night!” Lucie smiled so genuinely at Marinette that she couldn’t help but reach over and give her a hug.

“Thank you for being such a great friend,” Marinette said into Lucie’s shoulder.

“The same to you.” After a beat, the girls broke apart, shared one more smile, before Marinette dashed up the stairs to pick out what she was going to wear for her last date with Adrien.

----------------------------------------------------

Marinette woke up the next morning and was ready in record timing. Dressed in dark jeans, a maroon long sleeve sweater, and black booties, she dashed downstairs and waited in the Date Card room for a knock on the door. She was jittery and nervous and excited and ready for this whole thing to be over. Once again, she was incredibly grateful that she was on this inside of this charade and wasn’t stressing about whether she was going to be picked or not. She couldn’t even imagine what Lucie was going through right now. And how she could possibly stay this calm.

Lucie’s calming presence was welcomed as Marinette waited for the car to come and take her to her date location. They chatted about the most random things, but Lucie never once looked nervous or worried or upset by the fact that Marinette was going on this date. She hoped beyond hope that once all of this was over, the two of them could remain on good terms.

Finally, there was a knock at the door and Marinette jumped up to get it, saying a quick, “Tell you all about it later!” to Lucie as she dashed towards the noise. As she was walking towards the black SUV, she noticed that the clouds were gathering and looked like rain was coming. She hoped that whatever Adrien had planned for her wouldn’t be messed up if it did rain. She wanted to have the best, last TV date possible.

The ride was short and Marinette was aware that they were headed towards the heart of Paris. They stopped in front of the Louvre, and there, leaning on a long, black umbrella and looking like a character from a movie, was Adrien. He was dressed in khakis and a white T-shirt, with a light jean jacket resting open over the shirt.

She was so excited to see him that she ran and he grabbed her up in a hug. “Fancy meeting you here,” Adrien teased with a sly smile. Marinette threw her head back in a laugh, too excited to be there with him to be annoyed by the bad joke. “Glad to see you’re in a good mood today,” Adrien announced as he led her to a nearby bench.

“What makes you say that?” Marinette scoffed, shooting him a wink.

“Truthfully? You laughed at my joke.”

Marinette laughed again, “I’m always in a good mood when I’m with you.” They were sitting now, and it didn’t take much for Adrien to lean forward for a chaste kiss.

“Anyway,” Adrien said with a little bit of a voice break that made Marinette giggle, “I’m excited to do something slightly normal with you today.”

“And what is that?”

Adrien gave her a broad smile before responding, “Shopping.”

And shop they did. Marinette and Adrien wandered to about 6 different stores, dodging in and out of the rain as it had started steadily coming down while they were in the first store. They spent their time picking out clothes for the other to try on, looking through fun decorations and antiques for their “future home,” and even stopped at a grocer’s.

“May I ask why we are going grocery shopping?” Marinette asked as Adrien pulled her into their next stop.

“Because,” was Adrien’s response.

Marinette rolled her eyes and followed him through the front door. He pulled out a shopping list from his jacket pocket and Marinette quickly scanned what they were looking for. The list was short, and Marinette’s focus and determination to make quick work of their shopping kicked in and she started directing Adrien, who grabbed a basket and followed her lead.

“Bacon, onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, and chicken livers.” Marinette read off the list, checking to make sure each of those was in the basket as she said them. “Odd combination, but I trust you.” to which Adrien beamed.

After Adrien paid for their groceries, and an awkward moment where the cashier recognized Adrien from a magazine and got very excited, the two passed the groceries off to the awaiting producer.

“But I thought we were going to do something with those?” Marinette asked as she once again got pulled along the street by Adrien.

“In due time, my dear. We have one more stop to make before we get there.” The best part about the rain was that it gave her the perfect excuse to cuddle close to Adrien as they walked so she could remain underneath his umbrella.

After a couple of minutes, they stopped at a park that Marinette knew all too well. Many memories flooded her as she looked out at the carousel. Marinette smiled, remembering one of the very first fights they had with Stormy Weather that led to Manon and Alya being trapped in that same carousel. Adrien walked up and nodded to the attendant, who let the two of them on. “Pick your loyal steed, milady,” Adrien said as he put his umbrella on the bench right behind them.

“Where is everyone else?” Marinette asked as she climbed on a white and pink horse that she was fairly certain had used to be a unicorn.

“We have the whole place to ourselves,” Adrien replied, climbing onto the jet-black horse beside hers.

She felt like a little kid again, riding around. After the first rotation, a producer followed the carousel around and told them that they needed shots of them kissing around the horses and on the bench and kind of just everywhere. Adrien, always the gentlemen, helped Marinette down from her horse. She turned towards him to ask him where they wanted to start, but Adrien grabbed her waist with his left arm and lifted their joined right hands together and started waltzing her around the carousel. They danced in a circle, weaving their way through the horses and benches, Marinette laughing the whole way.

“How do you know how to do this?” Marinette asked as he spun her around the bench that was holding his umbrella. They had made it around the entire circle without Marinette falling. He must have been some sort of wizard dancer.

“My Father made sure I knew exactly how to properly dance at certain functions. Can’t have the heir to the Agreste company making a fool of himself on the dance floor.” Adrien answered, his tone only slightly bitter.

They had stopped dancing, and Marinette took that time to lean in and kiss Adrien, knowing that the producers must have been dying for that to happen. Adrien tilted his head to deepen the kiss and Marinette melted into him. When they finally broke for air, Marinette whispered, “Remind me to thank your father for those dance lessons.”

Adrien let out a genuine laugh, and then guided the two of them onto the umbrella-bench. There, they kissed some more as the carousel made another rotation.

Or two.

Eventually, the carousel came to a stop and the two of them broke apart once more. Adrien helped Marinette off the platform and they began walking hand in hand towards the park exit.

“Are you ready for the last part of our date today?” Adrien asked, a twinkle in his eye once more. Marinette’s heart sank when she realized it was getting kind of late, meaning their time together was almost over.

“What did you have in mind?” She answered, trying to keep any of the disappointment she felt for the end of their day taint her voice.

Instead of answering her, they just kept walking. Marinette enjoyed the silence and took in the beautiful sunset as they walked to their secret destination. If she blocked out the noise of the producers walking with all of their equipment behind her, she could see her future. Just Adrien and her, living their lives in the beautiful city of Paris.

They stopped at an upscale apartment building, and Marinette looked over at Adrien, even more confused. Adrien smiled at her and winked. He said hello to the doorman, who welcomed them in as if this was completely normal. They sneakily got an elevator all to themselves, and before Adrien hit a button, he turned to her with a smile.

“I’ve been keeping a secret from you.”

Marinette just rolled her eyes, “Clearly.”

“I acquired this apartment about six months before the show started. I wanted to have a place of my own where I could escape my Father and just try to figure out how to be an adult that lives on their own. If you’re willing, I’d love for you to move in with me after we’re engaged. Just until the wedding, and then we can find a house of our own that we can pick out together.”

Marinette felt her jaw drop, and had no idea what to say. Adrien smiled sweetly and pressed the button for the 12th floor.

Before Marinette could find any words, Adrien continued talking. “I’m going to give you the grand tour before the cameras make it upstairs, but just let me know what you honestly think about the space, you know, once the cameras leave. I want to make sure you’re comfortable with it before we go forward with anything.”

The elevator dinged and Marinette couldn’t help but smile, as Adrien led her down the hallway. He really was the most perfect person.

Adrien slipped out some keys from his ever-handy pockets and unlocked number 1214. “Welcome to my home.” Adrien whispered as he pushed the door open.

Marinette once again felt her jaw drop. It was an open-concept living room, with the kitchen directly to her right and the dining room to her left. The living room had a comfortable looking couch and very large TV mounted onto the wall over the fireplace. To her left were three doors, which Adrien labeled as the bedroom, a bathroom, and a storage closet. “There’s another bathroom attached to the master, and a spare bedroom to the right.” Adrien announced as he put his keys in a bowl on the counter and walked towards the oven. “I was thinking we could share the spare bedroom as a sort of joint office space, where you could design and sew and I can work on all of the paperwork.”

Before anything else could be said, a producer walked right into the apartment, with no hesitation and turned towards Adrien. “You should have waited for us.”

Adrien shot him a smile, “I promise you didn’t miss much.”

The producer sighed, “Groceries are either in the fridge or in the first cabinet. Please don’t start cooking until all of the cameras and sound equipment is set up.”

Marinette moved into the kitchen with Adrien as he found the groceries and started laying them out onto the counter. “So that’s your big date idea?” She asked, reaching for the bag of mushrooms and bumping Adrien’s arm along the way. “Cooking dinner together? Or did you just want to show off your fancy apartment?”

Adrien spun towards her, “You don’t like it?” The look of pure worry on his face was adorable.

Marinette let out a light laugh, “Adrien, it’s perfect.”

She watched him visibly relax and then pull her into a hug.

“Hey!” Someone yelled, and the two of them turned, without letting go, to look at who had shouted. One of the producers was staring daggers at the two of them, “Save all of the lovey-dovey stuff for the cameras! We need the footage!” Marinette and Adrien just laughed.

----------------------------------------------------

After they were finished eating and cleaning, the two had curled up on the couch, with the electric fire blazing. They had made coq au vin, and while it was finishing up in the oven, Marinette raided Adrien’s pantry (which needed a lot of help) and found just enough ingredients for the two to have some chocolate chip cookies as dessert.

“Those were the best cookies I’ve ever tasted,” Adrien said, after finishing off his fourth.

“My parents swear by the fact that homemade is always better.”

“Well no wonder they are so successful. If all of their baked goods taste like either the bread we made or these cookies, they have to be the best bakery in Paris, if not all of France!”

Marinette laughed, “I think you may be a little biased.”

“So what if I am?” Adrien shrugged. He was lazily drawing shapes on the back of Marinette’s hand, and she was so comfortable that she felt like she could have fallen asleep right then and there.

“Can you imagine, life after the show?” Marinette asked.

“I have a feeling it would be just like this.” Adrien whispered before planting a kiss in her hair.

“I’m serious though. By the end of this week, we could be engaged.”

“That sounds weird doesn’t it?”

Marinette just nodded, a smile spreading across her face.

“Why are you smiling?”

Marinette busted out laughing as she turned to look at him, “What do you mean ‘why am I smiling?’”

Adrien cheeks turned a little pink as he clarified, “What are you thinking about?”

Marinette sighed, “How I can finally see the end.” She paused, but Adrien waited for her to continue. “I feel like this whole time it’s been, ‘I just have to make it to next week,’ or ‘I’ll get more time with Adrien if I can make it to hometowns, or fantasy suite,’ or whatever the next milestone on the show was. For the first time since we started, I can finally see the end. I can see the two of us cooking dinner like we did tonight, or shopping, or working, basically just living our everyday lives, together.”

Adrien leaned in, but still didn’t say anything, so Marinette filled the silence. “You have shown me a new love, something I’ve never felt before. I feel like I’ve lived my 22 years just for us to find each other in this moment. And I know, somewhere in my brain, that there’s another girl still here and that you could totally not pick me,” Marinette sat up out of Adrien’s arms, the words she was saying building unnecessary worry and fear in her. But they needed to be said for the charade. “But, Adrien, please know that I love you. And if you pick me, I will continue to love you until death do us part. But even if you don’t pick me, know that I’ll support your decision.”

She started to feel a little choked up, and hoped the camera could tell. Adrien heard it too as she watched his eyes widen and he straightened up on the couch as well. “I trust your judgement, and if for some crazy reason, I’m not the one, I’ll respect you even more for having to do the hard thing here.”

Instead of answering, Adrien leaned in and kissed her, hard. When they broke apart, she was out of breath. Adrien took both of her hands in his and looked her dead in the eye. “I need you to know that when I’m with you, I’m with nobody else. With you, our relationship is so easy. I sometimes forget that we are even being recorded, because everything is just so natural and perfect. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and I need you to know that my feelings for you are very strong.”

With that the two of them relaxed back into their earlier position, and Marinette couldn’t help but smile.

“That’s all we need for today.” A producer cut in, making both Adrien and Marinette jump. “We’ll give you two a couple of minutes before we take Marinette back to the mansion.” The two stayed silent as the people around them packed up their stuff and left.

When the last one was out the door, Adrien turned towards Marinette, “Do you really like the apartment?”

“Adrien,” she cupped his cheek with her hand, “It’s perfect. I’m honestly so touched that you’ve thought so far ahead to our future, and I adore everything about it.” She paused, soaking in his smile and reciprocating with one of her own. “Although, you could use a woman's touch in your decorating style, it’s very bland,” to which Adrien just laughed.

“Once all of your stuff is moved in, the place is yours to do with as you please.” They shared one more chaste kiss before there was a knock at the door.

“I think that’s my cue,” Marinette whispered as she began to get up from the couch.

“Do you have to go?” Adrien asked in a whiney voice that made Marinette smile.

“I’ll see you soon, I promise. But if I don’t leave now, some people are going to get suspicious.”

“Who cares what they think?” Adrien asked as he stood up from the couch.

“Hate to point this out, but you kind of do, Mr. Star-of-the-Show.”

He sighed in defeat, “You’re right.” He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “But, the next time I see you, I’ll be getting down on one knee, and you’ll be walking away with a new piece of jewelry.”

Marinette melted at the idea and felt a light blush dust her cheeks as her heartbeat accelerated. “I can’t wait.”