Cackles. Oh, god. The reactions to the second part made my day.
Marinette and Adrien stared at each other and then at Chloe, who was wearing an all too smug look on her face.
They weren't the only ones in shock; everyone else was murmuring and looking back at the mayor's daughter with expressions showcasing a range of emotions, from stunned to skeptical. Her former classmates had known about her devotion to Adrien during their teenage years, but to declare marriage like that…
Andre cleared his throat and took the microphone from his daughter, who stepped to the side despite her superior look.
"Yes, Mr. Gabriel Agreste and I have been discussing how absolutely joyous it would be for our children, who have known each other since childhood, if they joined in union," he explained, which translated to 'I am the mayor and am abusing that position to make my dear precious daughter happy with the man she supposedly loves'.
Andre handed the microphone back to the headmaster, who coughed awkwardly and replied with, "W-Well, congratulations to the happy couple, eh?" He put the microphone back and the others dispersed, leaving the others to chat immediately.
"I didn't know about this!" Adrien exclaimed, eyes wide. "What was my father…what was he thinking?!"
Marinette put a hand on his shoulder, smiling softly. "Hey, it'll be okay, Adrien."
The blond model looked at her and instantly felt reassured by the sincerity in her eyes; he took her hand and kissed it before he pulled her in close, kissing the top of her head.
"Right…thank you, my Lady," he murmured. "I can get through anything with you by my side, you know?"
Marinette's smile grew as she listened to his heart beat. "I feel the same way."
Nino and Alya exchanged bewildered looks.
"Um, did we miss something?" Nino asked, looking between his best friend and his childhood friend. "What…when…?"
Marinette and Adrien then realized where they were and with who, and with blushing faces, pulled away from each other. Adrien reached down and took her hand, however; he found great comfort in her just being there, but her touch always made his worries just vanish.
"Ah…we're dating," he said simply, giving Marinette a small smile before he looked back at the other two. "We…well, we just started dating a few hours ago."
"What? And you didn't call me immediately? What happened?" Alya demanded, giving her best friend a 'we are talking later and you are so going to get it' look.
Marinette smiled weakly. "Um, he came by the bakery on his way here and, well, I sort of roped him into helping me make the cakes that I forgot to make earlier. Things were said, things were revealed, and…" She hesitated, knowing her best friend was sure to react. "He kissed me."
"What?!" Alya just about shouted; her eyes were practically bulging. "God, I know everything about everyone but I couldn't have…holy hell, Marinette. I mean, I know you've been obsessively in love with Adrien since we were teenagers but this is just…wow…congratulations!"
"And you? I know you had a crush on Marinette too," said Nino, throwing his arm over Adrien's shoulders. "Oh, whatever; congrats, you two. Now's a good time as any to tell you that Alya and I have been seeing each other too."
"I think everyone knew that was coming," replied Adrien, smiling at his friend quickly before he became more serious. "Really though…what was my father thinking, doing something like this and not even telling me?"
He looked at his girlfriend. "I love you, Marinette, and I am not marrying Chloe, no matter what," he said firmly with no hesitation, as if there was nothing in the world that could change his mind.
Marinette smiled brightly and kissed his cheek. "I won't let that happen either. I mean, your father can't make you marry anyone you don't want to, right? And it's not like the mayor or Chloe can do anything to you without reason."
"I still don't want to risk it," said Adrien, frowning. "I need to talk to him and find out what is happening." He looked around. "He said he was actually going to show up for this, seeing as the mayor is here and everything."
"And you believe him?" Nino asked skeptically. "Adrien, I think you're cool and all, but your dad isn't exactly…well…"
The blond sighed. "I know, but even if he's not here, I'll still find a way to talk to him and get this settled. In fact, I should do that right now – the sooner I do, the better."
Adrien spun around and went outside the building to call his father.
Marinette bit her lip, stepping forward to follow him, and then decided he needed some privacy; but if she even got a hint of Chloe going outside too, the baker's daughter was going to fight someone. Possibly 'accidentally' hit the blonde girl in the nose.
"I…need a new drink," said the young designer, sighing as she leaned down and picked up the broken shards from her glass.
Nino crouched down and put a hand over hers.
"We got it; you go take a breather," he assured, earning a worried look in return. "Go on, and we'll go get you if anything happens."
Alya nodded and helped her best friend to her feet. "Things will be fine and no matter what, I'm sure I can find some dirt on Chloe anyways."
Marinette chuckled. "Okay, okay…I'll go." She hugged them both. "Thank you."
"Anytime, now go," urged Nino, waving off his friend. He winked. "Make me the DJ at your wedding though, got it?"
Marinette blushed while Alya hit her boyfriend's arm. "A-Ah…sure, Nino."
She gave her friends another smile before she turned to step outside, immediately letting out the breath she had been holding. The cold air was refreshing and Marinette closed her eyes, just relinquishing the peace as she sat down on the steps.
It was crazy to that so much had happened in just one day; this morning, she was in complete anguish with the belief she would never be able to get over her two true loves, who would never love her back. Never pick Marinette over Ladybug.
And just a few hours ago, all her problems seemed to be solved; Adrien and Chat Noir were one in the same, and he had the same problem she did – loving two people who he couldn't choose between, only to find out Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. It was really the perfect ending for their tale.
"But of course Chloe had to go and ruin it", muttered Marinette bitterly.
Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's purse, nuzzling her little ruby head against the young designer's hand.
"Marinette, it'll be okay," assured the kwami. "You guys have each other – when you're together, you can do anything."
Marinette smiled at her companion's words, gently stroking the top of Tikki's head.
"You're right…thank you," she murmured.
Suddenly hearing footsteps approaching, Tikki dove back into her purse as Marinette hastily fastened the clasp and looked up at the person in front of her. To her surprise, it was none other than Nathanael.
"Marinette?" The redheaded young man looked surprised to see her. "I, uh, didn't think you would come."
Marinette laughed a little. "Nice to see you too, Nathanael."
The redhead flushed. "I – oh, sorry! I just…I was surprised, that's all. The last time I saw you, you were burying yourself in your designs and hissing at sunlight."
The Chinese-French girl scoffed. "I was not that bad…" She trailed off when she saw her former classmate's look. "Alright, maybe I was. But I'm a bit better now; I've been more focused on helping with my parents' bakery."
"That's good," replied Nathanael, gesturing towards the spot next to her. "May I?"
At Marinette's quick nod, the redhead settled beside her.
"So how have you been?" She asked kindly. "I haven't seen you for a while."
"Art school has kept me busy," confessed Nathanael. "But I enjoy the work, so I don't think it's a bad thing."
He paused for a moment, a bit tense, before he continued. "I started seeing someone."
Marinette smiled warmly. "That's good; someone I know?"
Nathanael shook his head. "No…no, someone from campus. It's only been a few weeks though, so…" Looking over to see she was nodding, he gave her a small smile. "What about you? Do you have anyone special in your life?"
Immediately, a smile took over the designer's face and Nathanael couldn't help but smile as well.
"I see. Did Adrien finally get his head out of the clouds and ask you out?" He remarked, making her jolt and him laugh. "Marinette, even when we dated, I knew you were not over Adrien; it was clear to everyone but him that you would never fall out of love with him."
"Nathanael, I – "
"Marinette," interrupted the artist, giving her a kind look. "I understand; I'm happy with the moments we shared, and I know you weren't with me out of pity or to use me as a rebound or anything. And I'm happy for you and him; I really am. Maybe back when we were in school, I would have been more crushed, but I'm not a schoolboy with a crush anymore. We move on."
The redhead gently patted Marinette's knee. "And sometimes we don't; I'm glad you didn't, Marinette. I would have made you happy, maybe, but Adrien puts a smile on your face that no one else can even hope to match."
Marinette wasn't sure what to say as he glanced over his shoulder, into the building.
"You were always so kind, Nathanael," she finally whispered, chuckling. "Thank you."
"Of course," he replied. "Now, why don't you tell me what Chloe did to you to make you sit out here instead of dance the night away with your dear Adrien?"
Adrien glared at his cell phone before he dialed his father's number, not even bothering to call Nathalie first or look around the ballroom any longer.
Almost immediately, Gabriel answered and it took the superhero by surprise that his father actually picked up the phone, not his assistant or voicemail.
"Father," began Adrien after he recovered. "We need to talk; what is this about me marrying Chloe? When did that happen?"
Gabriel wasted no time in replying, most likely having something else to do.
"Mayor Bourgeois mentioned your romantic relationship with his daughter, and how it was likely to lead to marriage. When Miss Bourgeois flashed a tactfully expensive ring in my face, I believed her. I am disappointed you did not feel it necessary to tell me of your intention to marry, Adrien," the designer said coolly.
Adrien felt his temper flare.
If he had looked away from his work for a mere five minutes, Gabriel Agreste would realize how impossible it would be for his son to tell him anything.
"I did not feel it necessary," began Adrien, attempting to reel in his anger, "because I am certainly not in a relationship with Chloe. I never have been, and I never will be. I am seeing someone, but it is certainly not her. I am disappointed you did not feel it necessary to come and talk to me instead of believing the word of some politician holding you by the neck of your tie. I am not marrying Chloe, and that is all. I apologize for interrupting your extremely busy schedule, father."
Adrien ended the call before he said something else he would regret later, not even bothering to wait for a response.
The model took a few seconds to compose himself. Half of him was pleased he had finally stood up to his father after all these years; the other half – the more reasonable half – dreaded the confrontation that would result from this.
Plagg poked his head out of his jacket pocket.
"Hey, kid, it'll be alright," murmured the unlucky kwami. "You've gone through a lot worse than some old prude; you turned out fine, and you will turn out fine from this. Just know you're not alone, okay? You've got me and that Nino kid and of course, you've got Marinette."
Adrien smiled slightly, gently stroking the kwami's head.
"Thanks, Plagg," he said softly. "Speaking of Marinette though, I should go and find her…"
"Too late."
Adrien jumped slightly as he felt a pair of arms wrap around him from behind, only relaxing when he realized it was Marinette's familiar form pressing against him. He reached down and clasped her small hands in his as they pressed against his abdomen.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," she replied, just as airily.
The two of them stood in silence for a few moments, simply basking in each other's presence before Adrien spoke.
"I'm not marrying Chloe," he said, quietly but firmly. "It's not an arranged thing; it's not even official. Chloe is just…being Chloe. She told our fathers that we were a thing, and…things got carried away."
Marinette sighed as she released him, taking his hand instead as she stood beside him.
"They always do when she's involved," she remarked. "I'm glad though. I don't think I could stand losing you to her, not after all this time."
Adrien smiled and turned to her, leaning down and kissing her, softly and lovingly.
"Hey, I will always be with you, my Lady," he murmured. "No matter what."
Marinette smiled against his lips. "Same goes for me, chaton. Now, I did not spend weeks making this dress just to stand outside and avoid Chloe Bourgeois. Let's go inside and dance, out of the cold."
"If you were cold, you should have said so; I know of ways I could keep you warm, Princess," said Adrien suggestively, waggling her eyebrows and making her laugh.
"Later…if you're lucky," quipped Marinette, leaning up and kissing his jaw. She laughed once more when his cheeks turned red.
"We both know luck tends to fall in your favor," murmured the blond as he led her back into the ballroom.
"Then I suppose I'm going to get lucky tonight," remarked Marinette, giving him a smirk that was utterly Chat Noir.
It caused him to shudder with delight; boy, did he love this woman.
Before Adrien could reply – or pull her into the corner and properly ravish her like he so wanted to – their best friends approached them, ending their flirty banner.
"Dude, Adrien, you totally missed it!" Nino exclaimed. "Everything was going good, ya know, and then Chloe suddenly starts flipping shit! Something happened and I guess you're not getting married? I don't know; all we know is that her dad was speaking to her and she threw a tantrum when he was done. She started ranting about how it wasn't fair, you two were meant to be together…"
Adrien groaned slightly at that.
"…and then she kinda just stopped, which was creepy. Next thing we know, she's ranting about how you came here with Marinette and how she stole you from her and then, uh, she started calling Mari here some pretty nasty stuff…"
Nino trailed off as he noticed his best friend immediately glaring in the direction of the blonde girl, only to end up gaping at the black eye the mayor's daughter was sporting.
"But…before Chloe could go over and stake Marinette, Alya here," Nino pulled his girlfriend to him with a proud grin on his face, "went over and just punched Chloe straight in the face! No words, no time to think that decision over – my lady here just went and decked her! It was great!"
"Alya!" Marinette exclaimed, eyes wide.
The journalist shrugged. "She insulted you, Mari; I wasn't gonna just stand around and let her get away with harassing you anymore, especially not when you finally got your happy ending."
Marinette sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" She muttered, going over and hugging her best friend. "Thanks, Alya, but try to stay out of trouble, okay?"
"No promises," murmured Alya, kissing her friend's cheek. "Now stop smothering me, woman, and go dance with your prince charming!"
The baker's daughter laughed and pulled away, immediately reaching for Adrien's hand as she did.
"You heard the lady; shall we, Princess?" Adrien murmured, smiling as he kissed the back of her hand.
Marinette smiled warmly and did a mock-curtsey. "We shall." She laughed as he swept her onto the dance floor, leaving behind their best friends, who smiled like proud parents at the two of them.
A slow song began to play as they reached the center, and Adrien smiled as he pulled his lovely girlfriend close to him, one hand resting on her waist.
"Is it weird," began Marinette. "that even though we only started dating today, I feel as if I've been with you for years?"
Adrien gave her an adoring look. "Not at all, Marinette; technically, we have been together for years…we only just started seeing the romantic aspects of our relationship, that's all. I mean, I know you crinkle your nose when you see something you don't like, and that you prefer hot chocolate over coffee in the morning even though it only makes you sleepier. I know that you don't like wearing yellow because it makes you look like a bumblebee; I know that you're ticklish on your hips and on your thighs. I know you use lavender shampoo on Saturdays only."
Adrien leaned down, pressing their foreheads together.
"I know you, Marinette."
The designer flushed slightly, unable to stop the smile that formed on her face.
"And you, Adrien…I know you too," she murmured before she laughed, causing him to pull away slightly. "Did you know that when we were teenagers, I used to have this massive crush on you? So massive I had your schedule memorized?"
Adrien snorted. "What, you had a pullout schedule in your bedroom and would use a pointer to decide when to come and stalk me?" His chuckles ceased when his girlfriend stiffened. "No, really?" A smirk formed on his lips. "You really thought I was the cat's meow, huh?"
"Shut up," whined Marinette, now even redder than before. "Like you didn't stalk the Ladyblog to see if you could find me in a crowd."
Adrien laughed. "Got me there; oh, man – we were pretty screwed, weren't we? There was no way we would have reacted as well as we did back in school."
"Fifteen-year-old me would have flipped out and gone in denial for at least twenty-four hours if she found all this out," remarked Marinette. "She…she didn't treat Adrien Agreste like a regular human being, and she didn't appreciate her partner as much as she should have."
"Fifteen-year-old me didn't see Ladybug as a regular human either," murmured Adrien, sighing. "And he definitely didn't pay attention to how similar his Lady and his Princess were alike."
"But that's all in the past," said Marinette, smiling as she leaned up and kissed him. "It took a long time, but we finally got our happy ending."
"Indeed we did," replied Adrien softly. "I'm glad, Marinette, that Ladybug turned out to be you."
"And I'm glad you turned out to be Chat Noir," murmured Marinette. "It saved me a lot of heartbreak in the end."
Adrien smiled lovingly at her as he stopped dancing and cupped her face in his hands, leaning down. "I love you, Marinette."
She gave him an adoring look, her big blue eyes filled with nothing but love as they met his bright green ones.
"And I love you, Adrien," she whispered before he captured her lips with his, completely forgetting about everything and everyone around them.
To them, the only person who mattered at the moment was the other.
Inside Marinette's purse, Plagg sighed as he nuzzled against Tikki.
"Why do they always have to be idiots?" He murmured.
His eternal companion – his soul mate, one could argue – echoed his sigh as she petted his belly, much to his pleasure.
"Because it is how Ladybug and Chat Noir work," explained Tikki simply. "Not all of them end up as happy as Marinette and Adrien will though."
Plagg closed his eyes, purring slightly at his lover's touch.
"This could have ended tragically, ma cherie; to have them be in love with each other and then to fall for both sides of the mask? Talk about a stroke of luck!"
Plagg paused and slowly, one eye peeked up at her.
"Wait…Tikki, did you do something again? I thought we would stop meddling!"
Tikki giggled and began to pet behind his ears, shutting him up immediately.
"I don't know what you mean, minou. Like you said, it was just a stroke of luck."
And done!
I hope you all liked it; thank you all for waiting this long for the final installment of A Stroke of Luck, and for your comments.
Do I have more stories coming? Yes. Do I know when they are coming out? No.
Happy Valentine's Day!