Once Upon A Happily Ever After
She never imagined that she would have to graduate high school without him; she never imagined he'd just leave Paris like that. Ever since the Bourgeois' opened their new store in New York Adrien had been making frequent trips there and eventually he moved to Manhattan to be closer to his work. It was in the middle of their junior year in high school that Adrien left her side and her heart wept. Five years ago her beloved Adrien sailed away from her kingdom and into enemy territory; Bourgeois territory.
With flour coated palms she kneaded the dough to her new garlic and herb bread, the sweat of a hard day's work formed on her brow. That raven-blue hair that normally flowed freely to her waist was now tucked tightly into a messy bun on her head. The plain t-shirt she wore was stained with red and blue icing and her jeans cuffed at the ankle unevenly. She didn't bother to wonder what exactly was smeared up her arms and on her cheek, but one could assume it was either cake icing or crusty dough from hours ago.
"Marinette!" her mother gasped. "You're a mess!"
Marinette paused her kneading to stretch and groan tiredly. "Ugh, I know!" she whined. "But how else am I going to finish all one-thousand of these specialty personal love-loafs by tomorrow? I don't have time to clean up as I go!"
Sabine could hear the exhaustion in her daughter's weary voice. For a moment the aging woman considered helping, but remembered the young girl's strong-willed argument that she, and she alone, would fulfill the dreadful request.
"At least let me wash your pans and mixing bowls as you go?" Sabine pleaded, and Marinette gave a weak smile and a small nod of her head before continuing her task.
It took all evening and most of the night before the job was done, one-thousand personal sized loaves of specialty bread. "I can't believe Andre and Audrey Bourgeois, and Emilie and Gabrielle Agreste are doing a dual-remarriage event!" she sighed heavily as she boxed up the last loaf.
"Oh honey…" Sabine sighed out knowing full well that her daughter harbored deep feelings for the Agreste boy. "Didn't you see the cake order?"
Marinette's ears burned hot, so hot that the icing nearly melted right off of her face. "N-no…. Why?" she inquired unsurely.
"There are three cakes in the order, one for Gabrielle and Emilie, another for Audrey and Andre…..and…" the mother paused hesitantly. Marinette's head turned slightly, knowingly, unwilling to believe the next line. "And for Adrien and Chloe."
Somewhere within the pits of her heart, the corners of her mind, and the abyss in her soul she already knew. From the very moment she saw the newspaper headlines read "Agreste & Bourgeois triple wedding" she knew what it meant; she just couldn't bring herself to believe it. For the first time in nearly three years she chose to refuse to believe the facts directly in front of her. Her fists gripped at her sides as er eyes fell to the floor at her dirty socks.
"I know." She muttered.
"I think it's cruel to hold your own re-marriage on the same day and location as your child's wedding, but everyone does things differently." Sabine sighed softly as she put the last bowl in the cabinet.
She looked like a zombie as she trudged ghostly out of the kitchen with a simple "shower" as her only remark. The old wooden stairs creaked as she sulked her way up two flights to her bedroom. Like a poltergeist she knocked over a picture frame and a couple other odds and ends off her dresser as she swiped her towel off the rack and headed into her bathroom. The hot water felt amazing on her sweaty skin as she washed off the oil and agony of the day. Down the drain went the suds and heartache followed by her hopes and dreams. As the water poured over her head and down her slender body a memory washed over her. She closed her bluebell eyes and let this whimsical moment in history take over her consciousness.
She felt the heft of the umbrella in her hands as his elegant smile charmed her as his gentle, yet oh so lush, verdant eyes put a spell on her. Of all of the alluring features this boy possessed, the one thing that entranced her was his honesty and valor; his desire to set things right and treat her fairly. The umbrella could be seen as an apology or some sort of gift, but she saw it was a peace treaty. 'Carry my dreams in kind, and I shall carry yours with me.' The resignation from enemy to friend with a hint of tomorrow's passion.
She didn't even remember getting out of the shower or laying down in just her towel on her bed, but she found herself staring at her ceiling and the chill of the December air wrapping itself around her like the cold hands of death; bringing her out of her utopia and back to the realm of grief. She took her towel off, wrapped it in her hair, and threw her blankets over herself in a desperate attempt to sleep for a few hours before the delivery to the wedding.
'Why're they ordering their catering from us if their stupid wedding is in America anyways?' Marinette thought as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She tossed and turned as she attempted to sleep, her towel twisting more and more with each turn. Finally her mind collapsed from exhaustion and she danced in the moonlight in her dreams with her Prince.
XxXxXxXxX
Her alarm went off like a foghorn and she jolted up in a cold sweat, her towel falling off and her sheets damp with the remaints of her shower. She looked at the clock to see she had less than an hour to prepare for the flight. She threw on her clothes and grabbed her suitcase that she had packed the night before and bolted for the front door. She was greeted by the sight of her father loading the van with all the loaves of bread and her mother dragging a couple suitcases into the van.
"Oh dear, I was just about to wake you." Sabine said cheerfully. "I'm glad you're up so early, I have some good news!"
Marinette barely managed to stutter a "bwuh…" out before her father chimed in.
"The wedding is happening in Tokyo instead of New York! The Agreste's paid for our flight transfers and even a hotel for us to stay at for a week as a thank you for agreeing to switch from such an extreme distance!" Tom smiled from ear to ear.
"T-t..t….Tokyo!?" Marinette nearly screamed. Her eyes popped wide open as she stared almost dumbfoundedly at her father. "But…but….why Japan? What happened to New York?"
"We're not sure sweetie," Tom said as he lugged another case of bread into the van. "but when Andre Bourgeois made the call I could hear Emilie and Audrey arguing in the back ground about firing someone. I'm assuming someone sneezed at the venue during set up and Chloe got grossed out or something." Tom cackled loudly.
Marinette's eye twitched. "But Adrien has Chinese ties, not Japanese…."
"Something about a Tsurugi or someone had close ties with Adrien and let them use their family temple for the wedding." Tom added as she slammed the van door shut with a satisfying thunk. "Well time to go, the airport ain't gonna wait for us."
'Tsurugi….why is that name familiar…' Marinette thought as she absent mindedly played with her long tresses. 'Oh no! I left my hair in my towel as I slept! My hair is gonna be a nightmare now!' she inwardly facepalmed in her mind as the van took off.
Marinette sank back into her seat awkwardly, she was smooshed between the pungent smell of bread and garlic, and her mother's bright pink suitcase. She cursed herself for spending the last week studying and practicing her English to be able to understand basic communication in New York. They had a private jet waiting for them that had the Bourgeois logo on the side. Her jaw dropped as she was treated like a princess as the staff carried her luggage into the plane for her. She clutched her purse tightly as she sat down in a comfy lounge seat.
She quickly took note of the many rock n roll pictures on the walls and framed autographs of the hundreds of rockstars everywhere. As she soaked in the glory she noticed a particular object attached to the wall, a very familiar guitar. Upon closer inspection she recognized it as Jagged Stone's first every guitar used on stage. She gasped lightly as a smile spread across her rosy lips, a look of awe in her eyes was prominent as she admired the instrument.
"I know right! I drooled too when I first saw it!" came a familiar boy's voice from behind her. Her head whipped around to see her old classmate. She stared at him in disbelief for a moment before realizing who exactly she was looking at. A young woman with purple hair walked up beside him and smiled shyly and Marinette's eyes lit up like diamonds.
"Luka! Juleka!" she cried out and ran at them. The siblings welcomed their old friend in their arms and the three of them had a long hug before she pulled away, tears just barely forming in the brims of her eyes. "I haven't seen you guys since the graduation party!"
"I know, I'm so sorry!" Juleka said sweetly. "When we made our official band we didn't have time to drop by the bakery. Nice hair by the way!"
Marinette blushed as she grabbed her kinked and curled hair over her shoulder to hide it. She cursed herself again for forgetting to dry her hair before bed, now she looked like a slow. Luckily Luka thought it was cute.
"Yeah, and once we hit it big we were practicing non-stop and travelling abroad for tours. We had always planned to come home soon for a visit." Luka said as Juleka nodded.
"It's so good to see you two, but why are you on the plane to the worst wedding in human history?" Marinette asked without a hint of hesitation. Juleka laughed hautly and Luka roared deeply with laughter.
"Adrien hired us as the musical talent for the reception, he said he needed as many friends there as possible to help ease the pain." Juleka said with a snear. "Apparently Chloe refused to allow Nino to DJ for them because he's married to Alya who is your best friend." She rolled her eyes.
"But….I'm catering the wedding…. Why would Chloe care if my best-friend's husband DJ'd at that point?" Marinette looked dumbfounded and puzzled the more she thought about it.
"That's…. A good question." Luka said equally confused. Juleka shrugged.
"Now that you mention it, isn't it a bit odd that Chloe herself asked for garlic and herb bread instead of cupcakes or cookies for the wedding?" Marinette's lips puckered as she thought out loud.
"Did she order a cake?"
"Three." Marinette said flatly. "Three pineapple coconut cakes with mango puree filling….."
The siblings looked at each other then back to Marinette with disgust. "It's like she wants the wedding to fail…" they said in unison.
As the plane took off they caught up on the latest gossip from their graduating class and who was up to what. They were all treated like royalty on the plane as their conversation evolved into a more light hearted topic. Juleka held out a small box and opened it to Marinette. Her auburn eyes illuminated the room as the pearl ring inside dazzled Marinette.
"Rose will love it!" she chirped. "I just know she'll say yes!"
Luka greatly enjoyed the way Marinette's vivid cerulean eyes would sparkle every time his sister mentioned an old classmate or shenanigan they used to play. The corners of his lips curled up at her high pitched voice whenever the engagement party with Rose came up. She was the polar opposite of Luka, but somehow still so charming to him. As they sat down together with Marinette in the middle he inadvertently scooted closer to her in his seat and placed his arm on the arm rest next to her, allowing their forearms to brush against one another every so lightly. She felt like a warm feather against his skin.
"So Mari," he cleared his throat. "I heard Alya and Nino are expecting?"
"Oh!" she squeaked loudly. Juleka covered her ears, but Luka enjoyed it. "Don't tell anyone, it's a surprise! I'm planning the baby shower! The formal invitations go out next month, we're not telling anyone before that!"
The look of absolute delight on her cheeks gave him a toothy grin, he'd forgotten how adorable she was. Her waist length wavy hair was a new feature, but otherwise she looked immaculate, like she hadn't aged since the last they'd met years ago.
"So Marinette, I have a question." Juleka started and Marinette's curiosity peaked at the sudden mood plummet from Juleka. "Since Rose and I are a same-sex couple, do you think we should adopt or get a sperm donor?"
"Oh uhm… Hmm…" Marinette pondered deeply. "That might be something you and Rose will have to figure out on your own down the road."
"That's true, but I was thinking of having Luka donate to Rose and Rose's cousin donate to me, so the kids will both be related to the both of us." Juleka said unsurely.
"Oh wow…" Marinette marveled. "That's an awesome idea!"
Luka blushed as he bit his lower lip. "I know I agreed sis, but could you not embarrass me in front of Mari?" he laughed nervously.
"Oh please, Alya would have told her sooner or later, those two are on the phone with each other for a solid four hours a day, every day! She'd have found out by tomorrow morning!" Juleka teased.
"Alya knows?" Marinette's head whipped around quickly to look back to Juleka.
"Yeah, I actually asked her if Nino was willing because I wanted the father to be someone I knew, but it was a no-go." Juleka said shyly as she looked at the pearl in her hands. "We didn't know Rose had a cousin until a few weeks ago, he apparently just got back from Sweden and reconnected with the family."
"You two are going to be so happy together!" Marinette exclaimed as she placed a hand over the opal-pearl ring and smiled.
"I wish you would hurry up and find your happily ever after too, everyone has been waiting." Juleka said with a smile warm enough to melt chocolate.
Inwardly Luka smiled as he pretended to look the other way, ravishing in the feel of Marinette's arm pressing against his as she readjusted herself in her seat. He'd forgotten just how much that blue-eyed vixen had mesmerized him in high school.
'Oh how I've missed all of my old friends…' Marinette thought as the joy radiating off of Juleka inspired her own nostalgia. It was a splendid, shining, shimmering day dream to think of everyone gathering around again, just once more.
XxXxXxXxX
Gloomy was an understatement, downright abysmal and dreary were better words to describe the Tsurugi temple during the wedding prep. The wedding wasn't until the next morning, but all of the décor and cooking was being done today. An immaculate bride tried on her dress in one room of the temple while a morose groom sat with his head down and his legs apart in the foyer. His smart phone in his hand dimly illuminated his sullen facial expression as he stared soullessly at the picture on the screen.
A young man with blond hair with his arms lovingly wrapped around a younger blond boy.
The corners of his lips turned upwards as he swiped the picture to the right.
A black kitten stuffing its face with cheese while lying on a pile of cheese wedges.
Again his smile grew minuscule as he swiped the picture again.
An attractive young lady with lime cat-eyes and flowing blonde hair.
His smile fell as he scowled at the picture. 'Mother, why?' he thought grimly as he stared at her jolly expression. 'Why did you and father do it?'
Just as he swiped right again a loud knocking on the foyer door alarmed him and brought him back to reality. Wordlessly he stood and opened the door a mere crack, before him stood Andre Bourgeois, the father of Lucifer herself.
"Adrien my boy, Chloe is requesting yet another venue change…We can't afford to waste more time moving again! Can you convince her to stay here?" the trembling man asked meekly.
"What now? She decided she didn't like soy sauce or tempura?" Adrien asked almost snarky. The adolescent blond resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Andre sighed exasperatedly before clutching his chest. "It's about the Tsurugi girl…."
Adrien's eyes widened in sudden understanding of the situation; Chloe was jealous. "I understand Mr. Bourgeois, I'll get her to calm down." He said with what seemed to be a sense of duty, like an officer going to arrest an evil-doer.
Adrien moved passed the man and sulked down the hallway and out of sight. As he rounded the corner he lifted his phone up again and stopped dead in his tracks, the picture on his phone pulling him back into his wonderland once more. He kept but one selfie of himself as Cat Noir and Ladybug. Their arms on each other shoulders with their fingers in the V-pose. His lower lip trembled and curled up as if to cry; fate was a merciless monarch.
'My lady….' His mind wandered from their days as heroes. 'How I long for just one more chance to fight an akuma by your side. Just once more….'
He put his phone away and continued to trudge down the winding temple hallways to Chloe's bridal quarters. He didn't despise Chloe, but he didn't love her like a wife, much less a soulmate. He sneared as he drew nearer to the gates of hell itself, very little was keeping him from turning tail and running for the hills of China. He actually pondered it, considered the consequences versus the benefits as he stopped just before the prison doors and froze his heart over. Inside he could hear the spawn of Satan screeching about 'Kagami' and 'caterers'. As he stood frozen to the floor his phone vibrated in his pocket, he took it out and gasped very lightly.
[Nino: Our flight was cancelled, I don't think we'll make it in time. Someone tipped off the airlines that we were fugitives on the run….. Now we're on the no-fly list until they do a background check, which could take weeks…..]
His frozen heart thawed; thawed to flames.
"Chloe!" Adrien roared as he slammed the door open to see her with her dress down halfway, her shoulders were bare and her arms covered her bosoms. Sabrina was kneeled before her with a sewing needle and thread.
"Oh there you are!" she scoffed out. "I can't believe your stupid mother picked out the catering from-"
"Shut up!" he screeched madly followed by ragged pants of breath. Sabrina fell backwards in shock and Chloe's mouth dropped open and inhaled sharply. The look of both fear and bewilderment plastered on her face told him that he needed to lower his tone. He took a deep breath and attempted to settle his nerves before acting wildly. Chloe's gentle hand reached out to touch him as her left hand bunched the dress up to her chest. Her long golden hair fell down upon her shoulders and her wild blue eyes downcast when he looked into them with frustration. A grimaced face told her that she was in trouble, big trouble.
"I-" Adrien began but was cut off abruptly.
"This isn't what I wanted…" Chloe said as she turned her head to the side and chocked back a sob. She sniffed back another sob before whimpering. "It's not fair…"
He was silent for what felt like a whole minute while Chloe shuddered. "What did you want?" he asked sullenly.
"Tell me the truth." She began as she turned back to face him sternly. Sabrina backing all the way into the corner. "Did you pick Japan because you wanted to be near Kagami? Is that why you chose this shrine? Is that why you-"
"Because you love sushi." He said simply. She blinked back a tear and retracted her hand back to her chest.
"You're lying."
"I am not, why would I lie about that?" he asked with pursed lips. His hand gripped his phone by his side harshly.
"Why didn't you order Japanese catering if you truly remembered that I love sushi? Why take me all the way to Japan, to this specific shrine?" she sat down on her loveseat and crossed her legs defiantly.
"I thought you'd be happy after the nightmare in New York, so I started looking at places here and remembered that Kagami's family is prestigious and has a large shrine and she offered it for free. That's the only reason I picked the Tsurugi shrine." He explained with lifeless eyes.
"Did Kagami once confess her love to you? Didn't you two go on a date in high school once? Ice skating was it?" she pouted. He remained silent. "Also why did your mother order the catering from the Dupain-Cheng bakery? Did you not dance with Marinette in high school too? Did you not also take her on a date? You don't seriously plan onwearing that derby hat she made to our wedding, do you?" she asked progressively getting more and more enraged. He still held his tongue, unable to deny the truths, but admitting anything would only upset her further. She rose form her seat and advanced at him and stood mere inches from him; the ocean met the forest in a heated war.
"Tell me why you keep inviting your girlfriends to our wedding?" she said with contempt. He refused to answer and with a loud slap her palm met his cheek.
He grabbed her wrist tightly and leaned in to her ear. "I have never had a girlfriend before, ever."
"Don't you love me though?" she quivered, the desperation in her voice having no effect on him.
"Only like a sister, never as a wife." The lack of emotion in his voice broke her spirit.
The defeat in Chloe's eyes was only visible from Sabrina's point of view as Adrien immediately released her and turned back on his heel and left the room with a slammed door. Not a single noise could be heard from outside that room as Adrien left swiftly. In one swooping run he bolted for the shrine entrance and made his way to the cross walk. The Tsurugi shrine was expansive and lengthy, if Chloe had called for his father to come retrieve him, it would be too late. Adrien hailed a cab and went straight to the airport.
He sat at the airport gateway, unable to choose a destination. The tears of frustration pooling in his eyes as he stared at the text from Nino. His hear pounded and flopped around, the guilt of leaving a heart broken woman at the altar bore down upon his chest like a thundering wrath; the only thing worse than this feeling was that of imaging his future married to Chloe Bourgeois. He opened his picture gallery again and kept swiping until he found something that caught his eye; a class photo from the senior year of high school. He'd missed graduation in Paris to pass a high school exam in America, something he deeply regretted. He took a moment to look at each classmate's face and think of a fond memory of them, he skipped over Chloe and Sabrina and went to Alya and Nino. He cracked a grin at remembering the camping field trip where Alya discovered that Nino snored like an ox.
Then his eyes landed on her; Marinette.
Some mystical force kept his eyes on her as he sought out a happy memory of her only to be faced with many instances. It was too hard to choose. The homecoming dance, the Romeo and Juliet play, the many akuma attacks in which she helped him herd the class to safety….there were too many good moments of her in his mind. Then the perfect memory hit him, the umbrella in the rain.
A sense of calm and peace overtook him, the fires of destruction he'd felt for Chloe were giving way to a tepid and slow ember. Wave after wave of nostalgia engulfed him as he recalled the four of them at the beach for his birthday. Nino knocked the cake into the sand and Alya rolled in it, she had to wash off in the ocean. Marinette brought everyone back to her bakery for a new cake and they spent the night in her room playing video games all night. When an akuma attacked in the middle of the night Marinette helped keep Nino and Alya safe while he and Ladybug vanquished the villain.
'I want that back.' He thought blissfully. A hopeful smile spread across his cheeks like icing on one of Marinette's cakes. 'I want to go home.'
XxXxXxXxX
Marinette's plane landed and she was being escorted by the Agreste-Bourgeois servants through the terminal when she spotted a familiar hat on a blond man's head. He stood out greatly among everyone else at the terminal, he was fair skinned in a sea of Japanese folk. She pardoned herself from her family's chaperone and made her way to the man in a black suit and derby hat. As she neared him she could make out his facial features, he was most certainly handsome enough to be who she thought he was. She slowed her pace until she reached him and stood before him, he had his head hung and his phone in his hand staring at it intently.
"Uhm, excuse me…" she mumbled with a small voice as she twirled her messy hair in her fingers nervously. "Adrien?"
His eyes flickered from his phone to her legs then back to his phone. "So I've been spotted by a fan all the way out in even Japan, eh?" he said lowly, but not with a harsh tone.
"It's me, do you recognize me?" she asked sheepishly with a deep blush.
Her voice echoed in his head a few times before his eyes widened and his head slowly lifted up to allow their eyes to meet. His eyes were met with the soft sight of Marinette in her natural allure, her cheeks were rosen, her hair was windswept, and her eyes were gentle. She was perfectly preserved in time like her photos, no sign of aging except for the length of her hair. He stood up slowly, putting his phone in his jacket pocket and putting his hands up to her cheeks absent mindedly. She could have sworn a tear was forming in his eyes as he pulled her into a tight hug and held on like his life depended on it. He made a few sobbing and sniffling noises before Marinette's mind processed what was happening. She returned the hug gently and allowed him to bury his face into her shoulder and weep quietly. She didn't know what was happening, only that the man she hadn't seen in years, the man who still held her heart, was sniveling into her messy hair.
Most women smelled like perfume, flowers, or soap. Never Marinette. She only smelled like cake and happy memories. He took a deep breath and allowed the scent to envelop him into a sense of peace, like incense. She smelled approximately like a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon and sugar.
"Adrien, I don't know what's going on, but why are you at the airport?" she asked directly into his ear.
"I…" he swallowed hard as he pulled himself away from her but kept his hands on her upper arms. Her hands laid flat on his chest as he bluebell eyes looked into his emeralds curiously. "I'm calling off the wedding, I'm going to China to see someone."
She couldn't lie and say she was upset, but she was definitely worried about his reasoning.
"What happened? Did Chloe do something mean again?" she asked with almost a pout.
"She called the airport and told them that Nino and Alya were fleeing France as criminals so that they couldn't be at the wedding. She probably didn't want them in the wedding photos." He sneered and crossed his arms.
"That's horrible! Isn't that illegal?" Marinette gasped and put her hands over her mouth
"It doesn't matter now, there is no wedding for them to attend anyways." He sighed out and looked into her gentle eyes. A wild idea hit him and he barely had time to mull it over before the words left his mouth against his will. "Will you run away to China with me?"
She let out a pant of surprise, her eyes filled with wonder and she almost uttered an answer before he caught himself.
"I'm sorry," he put his hands on his head and looked to the floor. "That was dumb of me!"
Her mouth opened to give an answer, any answer, but no words came out.
"Please just forget I asked." He said as he saw Luka and Juleka approaching from behind her.
"Hey man!" Luka said excitedly, startling Marinette slightly. "So excited to perform at your reception tomorrow man!"
Marinette considered breaking the news, but decided it was better to let Adrien tell them himself. Adrien's eyes widened as he saw the siblings with their guitar and keyboard in cases and Marinette's parents pushing giant covered carts of baked goods. All of them had poured their efforts into preparing for this wedding, even his own parents dolled out more money than their mortgage to hire the staff and designers. A wave of guilt wrapped itself around his heart as he saw how excited Juleka and Luka were.
His phoen rang and he excused himself around the corner to answer it.
"Adrien you fool, I already told you that this marriage is not about love or happy feelings. It's about the family business and your future success!" Gabriel said sternly, Adrien could hear him stomp his foot loudly.
"You're right, it's not about love." Adrien said lowly.
"Will you finally acknowledge your place in this world and do as you're told?"
"It's about oppression and owning me, isn't it?" Adrien said darkly, ignoring his father's question.
"What?" Gabriel's voice cracked slightly. "You dare-"
Adrien hung up the phone and returned to his old friends where he took up the posture of a calm and collected man. He held his head high and offered to personally escort them to the venue. Marinette's parents took a cargo van to the temple while Adrien rented a normal car and put Marinette in the passenger seat and the siblings in the back. He drove slowly to the shrine and pulled into a back area that was sectioned off from the main shrine.
"This is where I'm staying during the ceremony, you two are staying in a hotel downtown, but you can put your equipment and instruments in that room there." He pointed and the musicians parted ways, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone.
Luka glanced back curiously to see a concerned look on Marinette's face as she stared at Adrien before entering the appointed room to unload his things.
"Where's my room?" she asked nervously. "I thought my parents said we were also staying in a nearby hotel?"
"Sorry, I just wanted those two out of the way. Follow me to my room." He instructed and she obeyed quietly.
As she shut the door behind her she noticed that the bedroom was a standard Japanese style room with nothing but a cot on the floor and a dresser, clearly something neither of them were used to. He leaned against the wall next to the door and groaned deeply in agony, as if drowning in a sea of woe. She knew he was suffering, but the deep throaty groan turned her on a bit. She hadn't seen this man in person in over four years, yet he still held her in the palm of his hand. As she was lost in the thought of his masculine mewl he looked at her pensively; who was Marinette these days? Was she still kind and gentle?
"I'm sorry for asking you such a ridiculous question earlier…" he sighed out softly.
"Oh uhm…" she paused, unable to find the right words. She fiddled with the hem of her messy hair before pulling it over her shoulder and twirling it around her finger.
Adrien basked in the way her downcast eyes looked to the floor with her sweet smile and gentle blush across her cheeks. He didn't remember her looking so mystical back in high school. He wanted to ask her so many questions about their old classmates that he'd lost contact with. He leaned back against the wall next to her and pressed his back into it and let out another deep groan of exhaustion. She found this both attractive and alarming, what was he up to that was so tiring the day before his wedding? Shouldn't his servants be taking care of all of the hard parts? She burned with a desire to know what he was thinking and why he asked such a bizarre question at the airport. She wanted to believe so many different things, yet she found herself too engrossed in the moment to actually speak. She wanted to observe as he popped his neck and stretched his arms and listen to the deep grunts coming from his chest and out his nose. He finally stopped and sunk down to the floor slowly with an ominous and weary weight upon his shoulders.
"Wh-why did you ask me to run away to China with you?" she finally asked.
"I didn't want to run away alone, and there you were…just there right when I needed you." He said listlessly.
"But why are you running away, don't you want to marry Chloe?"
He shook his head violently.
"Then what's going on?" she asked with curiosity and morbid interest. "Why are you waiting until a day before the wedding to say anything to anyone?"
"Ugh…" he snorted out annoyedly. "My mom is making a movie with Chloe's mom and so my dad is forcing me to be in it with Chloe as their kids. He thinks if Chloe and I are really married then it'll be more romantic and bring in a bigger audience. Chloe also conned her dad into talking my dad into a pre-arranged marriage by offering fulkl-access to restricted areas for photo shoots and movie filming spots. The list goes on." He took a deep breath and placed his forehead in his palms, clearly distressed. "I knew from the very beginning that it would make my parents so happy to have Chloe and I wed, but…" he paused and shivered as he drew his knees up to his chest and folded his arms overtop his knees and put his head down.
"But what about your happiness?" Marinette asked with a sigh of sorrow as she knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
The warmth of her hand caused him to glance up at her from the nook of his arm and remembered exactly how she used to be able to cheer him up.
"Where have you been the last four years?" he asked as he smiled up at her.
"In Paris, where I belong." She whispered softly.
He didn't know if she meant that as a rejection to going to China with him or an invitation to go home to Paris with her. Either way it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear.
"I specifically requested that your bakery be the one to cater the wedding because I wanted as many friends there as possible. I knew that Nino being my best-man meant that Alya would be there, and if I asked Luka and Juleka to do the reception music then Rose would come. I tried little ways to get everyone back together so I would be as little alone as possible, but Chloe stomped on all of that!" he hissed as he grit his teeth. "I asked Kagami for help, so she brought me to her shrine for the ceremony. I asked Nathaniel and Marc to help write my vows so they could have an excuse in Chloe's eyes to be invited….I… I tried…"
As the dam bust in Adrien so did the heart in Marinette's chest. She wrapped her arms around him as he let the tears of years of anguish flow freely. "I t-tried to find a way…to…to invite Mylene and…and…the others…" he said between sobs as Marinette cradled him and cried with him.
"I'm here." She whispered gingerly. "I made it. See?"
He looked up at her again to see tears streaking her rosy cheeks, tears she shed for him. He was a bit awestruck at her, she was always so gentle and understanding, the complete opposite of Chloe.
"Thank you." Was all he could whisper in return.