Wedding Dress
I don't own Miraculous.
Abbreviations:
Mademoiselle – Mlle.
Monsieur - M.
Marinette stepped out of the dressing room to stand in front of the triple mirrors at the Gabriel Bridal Boutique. In just a few short weeks would be the happiest day of Marinette's life, a day she had been dreaming of for as long as she could remember-her wedding day.
"Oh Marinette, you look gorgeous! Spin around!"
Marinette winked at Alya's reflection in the mirror and began to turn, laughing when the skirt flared out and she started to get dizzy. "Hold on girl, don't fall!" Alya said, steadying the bride as their giggles subsided. "But you do look gorgeous, Marinette; I'm so happy for you, girl."
"Thank you, Alya, I'm really happy, too," Marinette said, blushing as she turned back to the mirror.
"But seriously, being Gabriel Agreste's top designer has its perks!" Alya exclaimed. "You get to wear one of his dresses, free of charge! Though the added publicity isn't too bad, either."
Marinette nodded and glanced at the top of the mirrors where Gabriel's logo was engraved into the surface. Having landed her dream job as a designer in the Agreste House, she had proved her worth and talent and became one of Gabriel's closest designers, sharing tips and advice to push both designers to their limits; they showed Paris and the world how great their clothing was. When Marinette announced that she was engaged, Gabriel took it upon himself to give her a token of his appreciation and an early wedding gift, a pick at any one of his bridal gowns.
On her third dress, Marinette smoothed her hands over the fabric and admired the lace detailing on the bodice. Before putting on the dress, she noted its color, whisper pink, and agreed with Alya that the touch of pink would bring out her natural skin tone and it really did seem to make her glow.
Sniff.
"Oh Maman..."
"Mrs. Cheng..."
"Oh don't mind me, girls, just- it's just that seeing Marinette in a wedding dress..." Sabine dabbed a handkerchief to the corner of her eye and smiled. "My baby girl is growing up so fast."
"I feel you, Sabine, I do," Alya closed her eyes and nodded in contemplation. "It seems like just yesterday when I watched you sputter and stutter and blush in front of your crush-"
"Alya!" Marinette hissed and playfully slapped Alya's shoulder. "But I did get over it! I wouldn't be trying on wedding dresses now if I hadn't!"
Sabine smiled and said, "Now, now, you two. Marinette dear, how is this dress?"
"Honestly, I think I'm in love with this one. I couldn't have designed a better dress for myself, Maman, Alya." Marinette spun around to the mirror and looked over the dress again. Its sweet heart cut of the bodice hugged her torso and the A Line skirt hung from her hips in a way that shaped her frame beautifully. Marinette adjusted the veil on her head and said, "I think this is the one, you two."
"You can never have too much pink, huh?" Alya grinned.
"Whisper pink, Alya," Marinette said, giggling.
"The A Line looks wonderful on you, but I personally like the second one myself; the ball gown style makes you look like a princess."
A flicker of a shadow passed over Marinette's face before she gave a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Well, I-"
A knock on the suite made Marinette stop in the middle of her sentence. "Excuse me for interrupting, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng," said a bridal consultant as she walked into the room. The three women turned to face the fourth.
"Ah, yes?" Marinette asked.
"I wanted to remind you that Monsieur Agreste wants you to pick a dress that would coordinate well with the colors that the bridegroom will be wearing," the consultant said.
Marinette nodded, "Oh, yes, I know. Unfortunately, my fiancé isn't here, but he will be wearing a black tux with a spring green waistcoat. And having the groom seeing the bride in her dress before the wedding is bad luck, isn't it?"
"Not to worry, Mlle., M. Agreste has sent a model here in order to better compare the dress you have chosen with that of his outfit. Is this your dress, or do you need more time?"
Marinette looked at Sabine and Alya and nodded. "Yes, this is the dress. Is the model already dressed as the groom?"
"Yes, I will send him in shortly," the consultant said, walking back out the suite to call on the model.
"Oh, this is so exciting, girl! I knew this would be THE dress! Let me just take some pictures!" Alya said, scrambling to unlock her phone.
Marinette laughed as the shutter of Alya's camera phone sounded away, and she pulled her mother up on the dais with her. "Maman, you too!"
"Oh no, dear, I'm not dressed for the part!" Sabine exclaimed.
"Nonsense!" Marinette said, making silly poses and laughing so loudly that she didn't hear the knock from the person on the other side of the door. The door opened and, still laughing, Marinette turned to see the model enter the room. Immediately, she stopped to stare at the person. Under the light of the boutique, his golden hair still shined as if he were standing beneath the sun's rays; his eyes still sparkled green like tree leaves in spring.
The room was quiet until he broke the silence. "Hi, Marinette," said Adrien Agreste.
"...Adrien," Marinette breathed.
A palpable tension settled on everyone in the room and was only broken when the consultant walked back into the room with a camera. "Now if you would step onto the dais with Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, M. Agreste," she said, showing him towards the dais.
"Please, it's just Adrien; my father is M. Agreste," Adrien replied.
Alya and Sabine shuffled to move away from the mirrors and let the consultant move the two into position. Marinette tried her hardest to look everywhere except at Adrien. The quickening pace of her heart just emphasized the ever decreasing distance between their two bodies.
"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, please lift up your head."
"Marinette," Adrien whispered, and her breath slightly hitched when she heard him say her name. "This will be over sooner if you just bear with me a little."
Marinette nodded and finally lifted her eyes off the floor to look at the mirrors and take in the sight before her. She almost cried out at the picturesque couple before her; her expression didn't betray the turmoil she felt inside. But his eyes. Anyone would be a fool not to see the longing in his eyes. But it was far too late for either of the two to do anything about it.
The pink in her dress brought more attention to the contrasting color of her blue eyes while the spring green of his waistcoat accented his eyes; what a vision they were in pink and green.
"Turn around please, you two. I need a picture for M. Agreste." The consultant snapped a few photos from different angles before she was satisfied. "You chose beautiful wedding colors, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I believe that even without seeing you two in person, M. Agreste will agree that this dress is perfect for you. You may go change now, Adrien. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, I will also have this dress, as well as the veil, ready for you to pick up at a later date."
The two nodded and Adrien stepped off the dais first, offering a hand for Marinette to take. Marinette knew that things would be even more awkward if she refused to take his hand-this is a friendly encounter, friends do this for each other! - but she couldn't help how her hand shook as she grasped his hand and took a step down.
"You look beautiful, Marinette, and congratulations again," Adrien said, a soft smile on his face. Raising the hand he still held up to his lips, he laid a small kiss upon her knuckles, a whisper of promises left unsaid.
"Thank you...Adrien...," Marinette whispered, eyes shining with tears unshed.
"Alya, Sabine, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have prior engagements to attend to," Adrien said.
Alya nodded and gave Adrien a hug, saying, "Yeah, let's catch up soon, Adrien. All four of us."
"Please stop by the bakery soon, dear," Sabine said, sweeping Adrien into a warm hug.
"Of course." With a nod to them all and one last look at Marinette, Adrien left the room.
"Marinette?" Alya asked. She put a hand on her shoulder and turned Marinette towards her. "Are you okay, girl?"
Marinette quickly wiped away the tears from her eyes, but it was useless to hide them from her best friend and mother. "Um, yeah, I'm alright. I'm good. I just-I have to go change out of this now. Excuse me." Marinette made a quick getaway back to the dressing room, but Alya and Sabine just sighed sadly.
Alya glanced back at her phone screen, zooming in to look at the expressions on Marinette and Adrien's faces. The consultant had positioned them close together and Marinette's slightly pale face accentuated the sadness she couldn't hide in her blue eyes. Meanwhile, Adrien had kept a straight face, but leaned his head closer to Marinette's, as he always did when they posed for pictures together. Alya decided to save the photo-for nostalgia or something else, she didn't know.
Marinette closed the dressing room door with a broken sigh; she had gotten her act together for so long, not one thought of if only had slipped through, but one look into Adrien's eyes and her resolve had crumbled. Marinette took off the veil and slipped out of the wedding dress, hanging it up again to keep it from getting wrinkled. She stared at the beautiful piece, but it just seemed too blinding right then, so she closed her eyes and leaned against the door, sliding down until she sat on the floor. She had wiped away her tears in front of Alya, but she couldn't stop the ones that trickled out of her eyes now. There she sat, in front of her wedding dress, crying for what could have been, crying for things too late to fix, asking herself one thing: weren't wedding dresses supposed to be a sign of happiness? If so, then why did it break her heart all over again?
Author's Note: So I say I don't like angst and hurt and whatnot, and then I come up with this. Yeah, I hope you cried as much as I did while I was writing this and sketching a little! I'm horrible, I know DX This was planned as a oneshot, though my beta has expressed that it would be nice to see Adrien's POV. Perhaps if this gets enough attention, then I'll write a little something for Adrien. Thanks for reading this story, and I hope you have a nice day!