Marinette and Alya were walking down the street the following evening while chatting and eating some of Andre's ice cream.
"You should go a little easy on Nino, Alya. He didn't know!"
"Girl, he stopped Adrien from kissing you! He will have no mercy; boyfriend or not!" the blogger girl exclaims.
The two laugh as they continue towards no destination in particular. As they near a break between two shops, they hear a few metal trash cans falling over. The best friends glance at each other before dashing to investigate. They peer around the corner to see a figure dressed in black. Alya immediately whips out her phone and begins recording.
"Chat Noir!"
The hero bolts in the other direction and Alya begins running after him.
"C'mon, Marinette! I could get an interview for the Ladyblog!" she calls over her shoulder.
The two begin chasing the boy, who keeps looking back at them and grinning. He suddenly makes a sharp turn and extends his staff to get on the roof before the girls catch up. Alya looks around the corner in confusion as she catches her breath.
"Where did he go?"
"I dunno," Marinette says as she looks up towards the sky.
Chat's head pokes out from over the rooftop and smiles at her before pointing in the direction that they came from. He disappears again as Alya stands up straight.
"I'm gonna keep looking. You in?" she asks.
"Nah, Ima finish my ice cream. Good luck, though!"
Alya smiles and waves before running out of the alley and back into the well-lit streets of Paris. Marinette waits a moment before turning and walking towards the direction that Chat pointed to. She looks around for a moment before a familiar feline drops down in front of her.
"Hello, Purrincess!"
"Hey Chat!" she greets, smiling.
"Courtesy of one Mr. Agreste!" the hero says with a bow as he presents an envelope.
Marinette hesitantly takes the letter. Chat then straightens up before giving a two-finger salute and dashing off, pole-vaulting over the nearest building. The fashionista smiles softly as she watches him slowly disappear from sight before turning around towards home. She slips the small envelope into her purse and she resumes eating her ice cream. The short walk is peaceful and she soon enters the bakery door that she is so familiar with.
"Mama? Papa? I'm home!" she calls out to her parents.
"Hey Marinette! You're home early! Where's Alya?" Tom asks, popping around the corner as he wipes flour on his apron.
"We saw Chat Noir in an alley and she chased after him to get an interview."
"Same old Alya!" the baker says with a chuckle.
Marinette excuses herself to her room and gently lowers the door behind her. She opens her purse and Tikki flies out of it.
"Come on, Marinette! Open the letter!" the kwami exclaims, fluttering around the heroine's head.
The teen pulls the letter back out and carefully opens the envelope.
"Though the sun may go down, it still shines bright on us. Meet me on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower at dusk. Adrien," she reads out loud before squealing and dancing around her room.
"That's awesome! You get to see Adrien in an hour!"
Marinette stops suddenly and falls over with a 'Waah!'
"An hour?! I need to get ready!" she says, springing back up and dashing into the bathroom.
Adrien looks out over Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower as the wind lightly blows through his hair. He has on a sky-blue button-down shirt and black dress pants and brown shoes. A candle-lit dinner sits behind him. The elevator doors open and he turns to see Marinette step out. His breath is taken away as he instinctively strides over to meet her. She's wearing a dress with the top half being plain pink and the bottom half being a translucent floral pattern along with black flats.
"I promised myself I would do this as soon as I saw you again," he says, taking her cheek in his hand.
"Wha-?" Marinette asks before being cut off by Adrien pressing his lips to hers.
They both melt into the kiss as they wrap their arms around each other; only breaking so that they can breathe.
"Be my girlfriend," he says, looking into her eyes.
Marinette smiles before lightly kissing him once more.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to say that," she whispers so that the rest of the world wouldn't hear.
Putting a hand on her arm, Adrien turns and gestures to their dinner, which consisted of baked ham, rolls, and green beans. There was also a pitcher of sparkling water next to two champagne glasses. The new couple walk over and he pulls out a chair for Marinette. She smiles before sitting down and he pushes her in slightly before walking around to the other side of the circular table.
"Adrien! Did you make this by yourself?" Marinette asks, finally looking at the table.
"I had to get a little help from Nino. He did feel bad, after all," he says with a slight blush and a chuckle.
"It looks amazing!"
"Well, dig in!" he exclaims as he pours their drinks.
As the two eat, Adrien talks about how he prepared for tonight. From cooking with Nino to getting Chat to deliver the letter. Soon, they eat in comfortable silence as they watch the final stage of the sun going down. Adrien takes the last bite of his dinner and puts his fork down. He takes a sip of sparkling water before clearing his throat, getting his new girlfriend's attention.
"I have an idea."
"What?" Marinette asks.
"I want all of Paris to know about us. What do you say to being apart of my photo-shoot tomorrow? I'm sure Vincent won't mind!" Adrien offers.
The next day, Adrien and Marinette walk into the park together while holding hands. Vincent waves them over and explains the theme of the day's photo-shoot.
"The first set is very simple. What you both have on now is fine. You will be standing a few feet in front of the fountain with Adrien on the left and Marinette on the right. Adrien: you will stand with your left arm out and coming back to have your hand rest just above your hip. Marinette: you will be standing just behind him with your right calf aligning with his left. Your right arm will be looping through his."
The two teens follow his instructions and look to him for approval.
"Like this?" Marinette asks.
"Perfect! Now: look at each other and smile with confidence!" Vincent exclaims as he grabs his camera.
The photo-shoot goes swimmingly and they reach the last shot of the day. The couple go into separate trailers to change into another outfit. Marinette puts on a red dress with black polka-dots that goes down to her mid-thigh and has black ruffles lining the bottom and red boots with one-inch heels while her hair is let down to flow freely. Adrien puts on a black button-up with the sleeves folded up to just below his elbow along with black pants and shoes while his hair is gelled back. Lastly, he puts on a neon-green tie. The two step out of their trailers at the same time and look up at each other.
"Wow," they both breath, noting that the other looks stunning.
"Come on, now! The sun is setting and we have the perfect lighting for the last shot!" Vincent says, ushering them to him.
"Where do you need us?" Adrien asks calmly, taking Marinette's hand in his.
The photographer orders Marinette to get on a 2-foot platform while Adrien bends his knees on a 1-foot one. They are both told to hold up their fists, as if they're about to fight someone.
"Now scowl at the camera! As if looks could kill!" he exclaims, grabbing his camera.
Adrien feels his legs begin to wobble and he loses his balance.
"Woah!" he yells out as he falls over.
He reaches out to grab something, which, unfortunately, is the black ruffle of Marinette's dress. A loud, ripping sound can be heard followed by a thud as the two go down.
"Ow," they both moan as Adrien holds up the ruffle to look at it in confusion.
"No, no, no! Your outfits are ruined!" Vincent exclaims, not even caring that the kids got hurt as he strides towards the teens and snatches the ruffles.
"Sorry, sir. I'm sure we can do the picture with something else!" Marinette offers as she gets off Adrien and helps him up.
"No! The photo-shoot is over! Pack everything up!" he says with a twirl of his finger as he looks to the crew.
Gorilla motions for Adrien and Marinette to get inside the car and they solemnly comply. Vincent power-walks away with his fists balled.
"That would've been the perfect photo!" he exclaims, rounding a corner.
He stops suddenly and leans against a wall, forcing himself to try to calm down. Little did he know that an akuma was about to be absorbed into the fabric that he was still holding. He looks up as Hawkmoth's symbol appears in front of his face.
"Ripper: your vision has been torn to shreds. I'm giving you the power to tear others' dreams up too. All that I ask in return are Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses!" the villain explains.
"No passion will be spared tonight!" Vincent exclaims as he stands up and is absorbed by black matter.