Summer.

Adrien and Marinette spent a day at the pool before going to his place for dinner. After drying off and changing, the two teens sat down in the dining room to find Gabriel bringing out their plates.

"My apologies in advance for the quality of your meals. I'm not the best cook", the man said as he rubbed his now-bald head. Marinette looked at the plate and was pleasantly surprised. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Mr. Agreste. It looks fantastic."

Grade A Filet Mignon with fresh vegetables. Adrien had never seen his father even step foot in a kitchen, much less prepare such a fantastic meal.

Everyone ate like wolves.

After the dishes were taken care of, Gabriel leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.

"I... I have to tell you two something. Promise me you'll never tell anyone else."

The kids looked at each other in confusion.

"We promise."

Gabriel bit his lip, afraid of what they would say. He decided to just get it over with.

"I was Hawkmoth."

"WHAT?!?!?", Marinette and Adrien screamed.

"I wanted the power Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous so I... so I could bring your mother back, Adrien. When I found out about my cancer, I also planned to use them to cure myself. After my last attempt, I gave up and decided to turn my life around. And that was the best choice I've ever made."

Adrien was nearly speechless. "Father... all this time... it was you."

"I can't begin to imagine what you think of me, son. I'm a poor excuse for a man, willing to harm so many just because of his own selfish desire to see his wife again. And poor Marinette, I'm sorry that you have to be involved in this. It must be a lot to handle."

"Mr. Agreste... I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize to me, my dear. I should apologize to the people of Paris for all the trouble I've caused over the past year."

Adrien looked at his girlfriend. "Should we tell him?"

"I think we should."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what?"

There was nobody else in the room, so the two teens had no problem just coming out and telling the truth.

"I'm Cat Noir."

"And I'm Ladybug."

The elder Agreste froze. "You... Adrien... your ring?"

The boy nodded.

"And Marinette's earrings?"

"Yes, sir."

"I... I should have known. Well, it doesn't matter now. I've given up on that altogether."

Marinette suddenly got a crazy idea.

*jump-cut to Fu's parlor*

"I know it sounds crazy, Master, but I feel like it's the right thing to do."

"Crazy?!? It sounds borderline insane!!", Fu shouted as he stormed around the room. "You want to give Hawkmoth your Miraculous so he can cure his cancer?! What if he decides to use it for something else?!?"

Adrien suddenly became very assertive. "With all due respect, Master, my father's not Hawkmoth anymore. He told us himself he wants nothing more than to have as much time as possible."

Gabriel was standing in the back of the room, feeling guilty. "It's alright, kids. If he doesn't trust me, then we can just go."

Fu suddenly walked up to the man and merely stared up at him for a few seconds.

Then, he burst into laughter. Adrien looked back and forth between Marinette and his father, and all three of them were confused. Fu was on the floor crying.

"I can't believe you all thought I was serious!! Hahaha!!"

"Master, I don't get what you're saying", Marinette interjected.

Fu stood up and caught his breath. "Mr. Agreste more than proved his sincerity when he returned the Moth and Peafowl Miraculous to me. I'd say he deserves a second chance."

Gabriel's eyes lit up. "Thank you, sir. How can I ever repay you?"

"No need. Marinette, Adrien, whenever you're ready."

The teenage heroes gave Gabriel their jewels and he put them on, suddenly being encompassed in two rings of light, one pink and the other green. His mouth moved as if he was speaking, but nobody could hear him. When the rings disappeared, the designer returned the Miraculous to their holders.

"How do we know if it worked?", Adrien asked.

"I guess I'll have to return to the hospital for another examination. Thank you, Fu, for giving me this chance."

"Don't mention it. Good luck."

Two weeks passed, and Gabriel came home one day with his exam results.

His cancer was gone.

Let's just say a lot of father-son hugging was done that day.

*Time jump 7 years*

Adrien walked through the doors of his father's mansion- now his -and roamed the halls. When he had gone off to college, Gabriel had moved to Greece and kept the old place sealed up, leaving it ready for Adrien to fill in his position as the head of Agreste Fashion.

Much to the surprise of everyone, the former model was happy to take the job. As long as he had a certain someone as his design partner.

Marinette had gotten her design degree and jumped at the opportunity to work for Adrien.

"Mari, I don't want you to work for me", he had told her over dinner one night, "I want to share the business with you."

She had dropped her fork. "R-really?"

Adrien smiled and clasped her hand. "Really."

That discussion had happened months ago, and now Adrien was moving his adult belongings into his childhood home.

Hopefully, he thought, It won't be just me for too much longer.

After the movers had gotten everything inside, the young man made sure he was carrying one item in particular before running out the door.

Marinette had been staying with her parents in the weeks since graduation, having almost daily meetings with Adrien to discuss how they would handle the company. Even with all of the business talk, she was still waiting for him to ask a certain question.

And the anticipation was killing her.

"You think today will be the day, Tikki?"

"Marinette, you worry too much", the Kwami groaned, "Adrien loves you. He's probably just waiting for the right time."

Luckily, the right time was sooner than she thought. Adrien ran into the building and saw Tom and Sabine covered in flour. He had to hold his breath to keep from laughing.

"Hello, Adrien. Marinette's upstairs", the woman said with a smile as she dusted off her husband.

"Thank you, Mrs. Cheng."

(Okay, real talk for a sec. Anyone know why Marinette's last name is hyphenated as 'Dupain-Cheng', but her parents last names are different? Is there a deeper part of this story?!? Monsieur Astruc, this must be explained!!!)

Adrien hopped up the stairs and took the ladder up to Marinette's trap door. He lightly knocked and said "Special delivery." The door swung up and the blonde found himself staring into two beautiful bluebell eyes.

"Nice of you to pop in."

"M'lady, you know I couldn't stay away too long."

He climbed inside and they sat on Marinette's bed.

"So I got moved in today."

"Yeah?", Marinette asked as she held his hand, "Just like you remember it?"

Adrien sighed obnoxiously. "A little big when it's just me... but I figured I could do something about that."

He pulled a small box out of his pocket and dropped to one knee, revealing an emerald on a gold band.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my love... will you make me the happiest cat on Earth and be my wife?"

Tears flooded into Marinette's eyes. All of her dreams were coming true. She was a soon-to-be professional fashion designer, a superhero, and was being proposed to by Adrien Agreste. All of her pent-up emotions were finally released in one word.

"Yes."

Adrien slid the ring onto her finger and stood up to kiss her. Both young adults were too wrapped up in each other to see their Kwamis watching from Marinette's desk.

"Ew. I hate all this mush!! It's gross", Plagg snarked.

Tikki whacked him in the face with her tail. "Two-week-old camembert is gross!! Love is beautiful!!"

"Hey!! Cheese is best when it's extremely ripe!! Trust me, sugarcube, love is not for me."

*Flashback*

While Adrien and Marinette were still in college, the Kwamis met up one day and made their way to Fu's parlor. The old man frowned when he saw them.

"Tikki? Plagg? What's wrong? Has something happened?"

"No, Master. Nothing is wrong. Everything is fantastic!!", Tikki responded, "But we were worried about something."

"What is it, Little Bug?"

Plagg answered, "Since Hawkmoth isn't a threat anymore, will you take us away from Adrien and Marinette?"

"We love them, Master. We don't want to leave them."

Fu smiled. "I had a feeling it would be the two of you. The Guardians always spoke of two Kwamis that would become attached to a particular dynasty of holders. It appears Adrien and Marinette are the start of that dynasty."

"What do you mean, Master?"

"My little Bug and Cat, I hereby assign you both a permanent bond to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and all of their descendants. May your powers be used for good for all time."

*Flash forward*

Tikki and Plagg's permanent bond to their holders practically ensured that the two humans would get married at some point. Now, here they were.

Marinette walked down the aisle, a bouquet of roses in-hand.

Adrien was sweating bullets until his best man- Nino, obviously -handed him a handkerchief.

"I got your back, man."

"Thanks."

Alya was the maid of honor, and she was crying.

"You go, girl", she whispered as her best friend stepped up to the altar.

Vows were said, rings were slipped on, and a bride was kissed.

The crowd clapped and whistled for the happy new couple, Gabriel standing next to Marinette's parents.

"Hopefully your daughter can make an honest man out of my son", he whispered to them.

"She doesn't need to. You made him a great man yourself, Gabriel", Tom replied.

The designer watched as his son carried his new wife out the doors of Notre Dame to their waiting car, smiling the whole time.

"I suppose you're right."

THE END