Adrien struggled to remember when had this all started. Marinette wasn't a big fan of anniversaries, given the fact that she managed to forget almost all of them, but Adrien really thought that the day he had met the love of his life was a day to be remembered. Just like the day they first talked, the day he asked her out, their first date, their first year together, as well as their second, their third, they day he met her parents…
Okay, he had a thing for anniversaries, so what? Mari clearly wasn't complaining with all of the gift he loved showering her in -though most of the time she protested with a "Adrien, this is too much…. maybe she was complaining.
Either way, Adrien already had the next anniversary in mind:
'Happy 8 years of dating, and happy first day of having a fiancée'.
Had he already mentioned he was going to propose to her?
Because he was.
With a ring and all.
Honest.
"Ninoo" Adrien whined lightly "I can't do it! What if she says no? What if she thinks I'm being pushy? Oh dear Lord, what if she breaks up with me?! Maybe this is a bad idea after all…"
"No!" Nino fixed his cap, and sighed. Truth be told, he was starting to get a little tired at Adrien's inconsistency in the matter. He had been forced to practice with him for the last month, and the guy still couldn't make up his mind if he actually wanted to ask her.
Wait, no. He wanted to ask her, but he didn't want to know the answer.
Unless it was positive.
Nino was sure it was going to be.
"Dude, you already have the ring!" He extended his arms towards the little box in his best friend's to prove his point "And I'm sure by this point that if you don't ask her soon, she is going to do it"
"No way! Mari wouldn't…." Who was he kidding? She definitely would. If she wanted to marry him. "I'm just… nervous, that's all. I have a feeling she is going to say yes, but…"
"Alright, come here bro" Nino patted the chair next to him, motioning for Adrien to sit. "We'll do it like this. One more time, and if you get it wrong I won't force you to ask her"
"Really?!" Adrien certainly looked more excited than he should be.
"Really" He assured, and turned around in search of his black wig -and he was growing attached to the thing!- and let it fall in his short brown hair, hiding it out of sight.
"Come on, I'm waitin'"
"Alright, uhhh" Adrien flushed, looking to the side while his right hand made it's to his neck "Mari, you know we've been together for eight years, yeah, and I… thought it would be a good idea to… I know you said you didn't know what was in store for us in the future but…" He coughed into his hand " Whatever it is, be it big or small, blessing or curse, I would love it if it was with you by my side. Would you marry me?"
"Holy Moly, that was a good one" Nino winked and Adrien sighed. He had tried to make it the less cheesy he could, but apparently even that was acceptable.
Sending her a letter from the other side of the world was probably acceptable at this point.
"Fine, I already have a date with her, anyways" Adrien looked around his room, deciding that it had been a good idea to take out his Ladybug posters long ago. Why would he want the paper if he had the real thing?
"I'll be there, you know it. Alya would want me to record this" But the girl was sick, as she had been for the past 3 months -suspicious- but Nino had appointed himself as his personal cameraman, and there was nothing to do about that -he had tried so hard to dissuade him from the idea, but… he really would need the support.
"Thanks for… all of this, dude"
"You're welcome, bro"
~oO0Oo~
The night had started just as expected. First of all, Nino and him had decided to have more than one opportunity be presented on the night to not pressure him to do it at the moment he saw her -which ended up being only two opportunities, but that was better than one-. Of course, that meant that while he had wanted to tell her during the meal, he hadn't been able to do so. He really hoped the garden he had rented would present the perfect chance, since all he had gotten in the first try was more than a weird look from her asking if there was something wrong. Of course, he lied.
"It's all fine, Princess" He smirked "Are you worried by this stray, handsome cat?"
"Of course I am" She frowned "You've been acting weirdly lately."
"It's nothing, just…." He gulped "I have something important to tell you.
"What is it?" She leaned into her hand as her she let the spoon she was eating with fall silently to the table.
"We've.. been together for eight years and…" He trailed off as he lost himself in those beautiful blue eyes. It was like staring at the sky, and he could even see some stars lost in her irises, how bright they shined as they looked at him expectantly…
...oh right, he was still talking.
"...and! I still can't believe you are with me" He grimaced at the change in his speech. "I really am grateful for what life has giving me"
"Aww, that was sweet kitty" She smiled and he groaned internally. Why?! He had been ready!
"Always for you" He replied as he looked to the side finding Nino between the masses of people in the restaurant and his supportive glance. He looked back at Mari to find her eating once again and he gave up, leaving the question towards his second opportunity.
~oO0Oo~
This was not supposed to happen.
He had researched all day and night for the past week, he had looked at every newspaper in the world, the news, asked some of the people who worked at one of those places where they managed all of those weather machines -come on! He was allowed to forget the name of the place on his proposal day, right?- and even looked through the akuma attacks and decided that there were more than enough weather akumas that had been purified and there was a 5% probability that there was going to be one in the near future.
But, as always, weather was something not even Hawkmoth could control for more than a few hours.
"Seriously?" He asked as his face turned towards the sky, glaring at the mocking black clouds that let little drops of water fall to the ground with an amazing speed.
He turned when he heard a giggle behind him, and found Marinette hiding her smile behind her hand,walking towards him.
"Don't worry kitty" she patted his shoulder as she got near his face and he blushed at the closeness. Eight years dating and she still managed to make him blush.
"See you in patrol?" Nine years ago he would have probably thought it was the very best day of his life, since his lady didn't ask for patrol frequently (like, once every two months) and she certainly didn't ask while pecking his cheek with a sweet smile. But now? Now he knew that it was not patrol she was asking for, and he smirked at her.
"Can't be without me for more than a day, my lady?" He smirked as she rolled her eyes, and hugged her so his face rested in her shoulder. "Of course. Same place as always?"
"Sure" She walked away from him with a smile, and opened the very umbrella that had started their friendship in their civilian lives. He had since stopped trying to walk her home in this type of weather. His little ladybug had a thing for humid places and more often than not enjoyed walking aimlessly when the sky darkened.
Talking about dark, he couldn't imagine how much was Nino going to flip once he knew how easily he had sent the two opportunities they had plotted all month for to hell. Well, he still had that third one.
Not that Nino knew about that.
Shit.
~oO0Oo~
"Admiring the view, my lady?"
"Chat, get out of my sight" Ladybug sighed as she rolled her eyes yet again, turning around to hide her smile from her boyfriend.
"Aw, I know you love me my lady, after all I'm impawsibly irresistible"
"Chat, stop." She knew very well how he would get once she let him off once. Give Chat an inch and he takes a mile.
"But my lady, how can you not enjoy this clawesome puns? They clearly deserve some apple-ause"
"That's just… no. Chat, stop" She sat again in the roof they had chosen for their meetings. Well, 'encounters' seemed more like it. Ever since they started dating, this very same roof had been the silent observer of countless sinful things. It was innocent no more.
Of course, she had Chat to blame that for.
"Well then, humor me, my lady" Unknown to her, Chat was formulating the fastest and sweetest way to propose to her while thanking Plagg for the who-knows-what time for the extra confidence the suit gave him. If he couldn't as her soon, he might as well buy time.
"Knock Knock"
"Oh, come on, really?" She smiled as he mock-frowned.
"You're supposed to say 'who's there?'"
"Fine, fine" She giggled slightly, turning to look at the dark sky, letting the night breeze fill her lungs with the sweet smell of… well, of her city.
"Who's there?"
"Honeydew"
"Honeydew who?"
"Honeydew you know you are the most perfect being in earth?"
"Oh Chat, that was just… way too sweet for you." She turned to the side, watching silently how Adrien let himself fall next to her, his body making a light thump while he also look at the sky with a peaceful smile -oh… if only she knew..- and motioned for him to continue.
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Juno"
"Juno who?"
"Juno I love you, right?" The night let her soft laughter float, carrying it away as it filled the almost empty streets of Paris. She nestled her head in his chest, hearing the erratic sounds of his heart behind the leather suit. "I love you too, silly kitty."
"And I'll always remember it, my lady" The night fell silent again as they enjoyed each other's presence, comfortably cuddling in the best place of all Pa-
"Oh wait, I have another!" He interrupted the moment and coughed into his hand, smiling at her hair.
"What do you call an elephant that doesn't matter?"
"I don't know" She sighed into his chest and he wished for the thousandth time they were able to feel things outside the suit.
"Irrelephant" This time her laugh was louder, and he smiled into the night once again, enjoying the adorable sound spilling from her mouth.
"Knock Knock" She started, and Adrien reveled in the fact that Mari had started a joke for once.
"Who's there?!"
"Arnie"
"Arnie who?" He asked while he gave her a weird look.
"Arnie having fun?"
He laughed into her hair, noticing that at some point she had moved a little more towards his center, probably seeking warm. Mari was a cuddler, and he wasn't about to stop her anytime soon.
To be honest, Adrien hadn't even thought about it. Not one bit. Chat had just opened his mouth, his life's mission still clear in his mind. He had been feeling pressured all morning -hell, all month- but once he made up his mind there was no stopping him.
"Knock Knock"
"Who's there?"
"Mari Mari" She groaned, expecting another of his jokes with her name. She had had enough of those. Chat smiled when she continued.
"Mari Mari who?" She steeled herself for the swift answer she was sure she was going to get, but turned to him expectantly when he stopped.
Was he ….sweating?
"Mari, marry… me?"
…
Adrien hadn't expected Nino to actually flip that bad, and he had to keep his phone on silent so he could breathe a bit and forget everything that had happened in the very same day. He still had time to tell his best friend about his failed proposals, but that was definitely going to wait until the next morning, once his poor heart -and brain- had finally assimilated the fact that she had…
She had said…
He sighed, and let his body fall into the mattress as he groaned out her name. The shock still ran through his veins, and he closed his eyes, trying to erase the image that had engraved in his brain for the rest of his life.
"Oh kitty… I'm sorry but…"
No. He wanted to sleep, even if for an hour at least. He didn't want to think about the worst proposal he had probably ever graced the world with. He wanted to wait until the morning to digest the fact that she…
Oh dear Lord, she…
She…
…
Sleep consumed his body as his body stood still, trying to process in his unconscious state that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Ladybug, the very same girl that had stolen his heart years ago, had said…
'Oh, kitty, I'm sorry but…. couldn't you have asked in a better way? A knock knock joke? I can't even…'
His heart stopped, and he look behind her, trying to hide his sadness 'Is that a n-'
'YES, you silly little cat, yes! I will to marry you!'
She had said yes.
Sorry not sorry.
