Epilogue- 6 years later
Marinette was hurrying down a long corridor, bolt of beautiful green shimmering fabric clutched in her hands. She was on her way to her workshop, having had a surge of inspiration suddenly in the middle of a board meeting. It had taken every ounce of self control to not get up and run as soon as the meeting adjourned. She took a moment to admire the beautiful shade- exactly the same as her husband's beautiful emerald eyes, before unlocking the door and letting herself into the room.
She plopped herself down in a swiveling chair after relinquishing the fabric to an uncluttered space on the counter running the length of the small room, turning face the section of counter space dedicated to sketching. Her eyes roved over her wedding photo- her husband grinning happily as he rested his forehead on hers, taken just months after their great battle for the Miraculous- before she grabbed her notepad and a pencil from the jar as she began to transfer her ideas to paper. So engrossed in her work was she, that she almost missed a soft knock on the door.
"Come in," she called, looking over her work carefully, analyzing her sketch, before looking up. Her face lit up in a smile as she caught sight of a familiar mane of blond hair and sparkling emerald eyes poking in through the doorway.
"Hey Bugaboo, mind if we come visit?"
"We?" She looked around to see she had two more visitors. A little girl, sporting her father's golden blonde hair and Chat-like smirk launched herself into her mother's arms, a little raven-hair boy following behind his sister at a more sedate pace, holding a paper sack clutched in his small fist. The twins would be five the following spring. Marinette smiled as she set the girl down and took her son into her arms.
"Hugo, what have you got there?" She said, holding out a hand.
"Cookies!" The little girl squealed before her brother could open his mouth, barely containing her excitement. Marinette grinned as she took a couple chocolate chip cookies out of the bag. They were a little funny looking, but Tikki zoomed out of Marinette's purse to snatch one when the children weren't looking. Mari looked to Adrien for an explanation.
"We were helping Papa Dupain at the bakery this morning," he told her with a grin. "The twins insisted on making their batch of cookies 'all by themselves'. They had a blast! After that, we had a fencing lesson- Emma finally bested Hugo in a bout-"
"She distracted me!" Hugo protested.
"Hey, it's not my fault that the thought of Papa's chocolate croissants distracts you," Emma retorted as their parents chuckled.
Adrien continued. "The twins practiced their piano lesson, and then Alya and Nino's little guy stopped by to play." Alya and Nino had gotten married the year after Adrien and Marinette. Their son, Armand, was a year younger than the twins. They remained some of Adrien and Marinette's closest friends, often setting their children up to play together.
"Wow, sounds like you had a busy morning," Marinette smiled as Adrien crept over to kiss her on the cheek, trying to sneak a look over her shoulder to see what she'd been working on, but she swatted him away.
"Not yet! " She hissed. He gave her a fake pout. "It's for Emma's Christmas present," she whispered in his ear. He nodded his understanding before changing the subject before the children could ask questions.
"How was your meeting this morning?" He inquired.
She sighed. "Fine. Your maman has been having trouble coming up with models for the formal shoot. Nobody has been what they're looking for."
He smirked at her. "Of course not. They're not the real deal," he said, pulling her into his arms and giving her a firm kiss on the lips. She smirked back, thinking of the photo shoot in question. The formalwear shoot had been Miraculous-inspired, particularly featuring those of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien's mother had become the lead model coordinator, and as such, it was up to her to find the perfect models for the outfits. Though it was ironic that the most convincing people to model the pieces would be Agreste Fashion's top designer and executive, and the ex-model Agreste himself, though of course, nobody knew that.
"Maybe we could…" she said thoughtfully, beginning to look excited. Adrien looked askance at her. "Ask your mother if she could keep the twins overnight," she requested, "and meet me in our usual spot at 20:00. Ok?"
Adrien grinned and nodded. He thought he knew what she had in mind.
It was dark out already as Adrien walked quickly through their flat as he turned out the lights, flipped Plagg a snack, and checked that Trixx and Wayzz were secured in the kwami realm (it had been their turn to come out and play that afternoon), twisting his ring around his finger absentmindedly. Then he suited up in his usual uniform as he hopped up on the rooftop to meet his Lady. He bounded towards the Eiffel Tower, skidding to a stop on the platform halfway up as he realized that she wasn't here yet. All at once, she landed a perfect aerial flip so close that she was practically on top of him, grinning at his surprise.
"Hey Kitty! You ready?" She asked, practically vibrating with excitement. "Just hop up there," she pointed to the upper deck of the Tower. "I'll be along in a minute." She turned away, then looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, and…maybe dress up a little?" She requested with a wink. He raised an eyebrow at her, but did as he was told.
He landed on the upper balcony of the Eiffel Tower, brow furrowed in concentration as his gloves were wished away, his customary leather suit being exchanged for a leather-like suit jacket and pants, shiny black shoes, and a green button-up shirt and skinny black tie with a tiny bell attached to the middle. His mask stayed in place.
As Ladybug still had yet to reappear, he remembered that night all those years ago, meeting Hawkmoth- his father- in that very spot. He shivered. The next few times they'd returned here since that time, it had taken all his control to not dissolve in panic. But, time healed all wounds, he supposed. He hadn't had any panic attacks since about a year or so after his battle for the Miraculous with Ladybug. Marinette proved to be a great support to him.
"Wow, you look purrr-fect!" A melodic voice sounded behind him. He turned to find his Lady standing behind him and his jaw dropped. Even after all this time, he still never failed to be awed by her. Her blue eyes sparkled behind her customary mask, and her usual super suit was exchanged for a flowing red-and-black spotted dress that had a high collared neckline and no sleeves. On her feet were a pair of strappy black sandals. A black shawl completed her look. He shook himself out of his daze.
"Look in the mirror, Bugaboo! I can't help but reflect your awesomeness," he teased lightly. She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "So, what's the plan for tonight, Milady?" He asked, offering her his arm.
"Well," she began, then let go of him to stand behind him, covering his eyes.
"Ladybug, what-?"
"Just trust me," her voice came from behind him as she used her elbows to push him forward slightly. They turned and walked a few steps before they stopped. "Keep your eyes shut," she ordered as she moved away.
"Yes, Milady," he answered obediently. He could see a faint light through his closed eyelids.
"Ok, you can look now," she said finally. He opened his eyes to see a dinner picnic, highly reminiscent of the one he had organized for Ladybug as a teen- the one she'd never come to. There were candles and roses, and a bottle of sparkling juice. Interesting choice, he thought, but then brushed it off as he turned back to his wife.
"This- this is incredible, Ladybug," he said softly, taking her hand and pulling her into his side in a hug. "But…"
She seemed to have anticipated his question because a memory overtook his mind momentarily.
Marinette was sitting alone in a park, feeling upset. The hood of her sweatshirt was pulled up over her head and as low over her face as was possible. She had had plans with her friends that night, but someone had invited Chloe along. Chloe had spent the entire evening making snide comments at Marinette, pushing and pushing until Marinette had finally run away from the group when no one was looking. Now she was sitting in the park, crying. Suddenly, a black-clad boy wearing cat ears and black domino mask dropped out of a tree to the ground in front of her.
"Are you….are you alright?" He asked her as he carefully approached her.
She nodded, then, catching sight of his raised eyebrow, reluctantly shook her head.
He took a seat on the bench next to her in silence. All at once, he took her hand. She looked up at him, searching his face.
"Come with me," he said quietly, helping her to her feet. Then he scooped her up in his arms, carrying her to a nearby rooftop."Close your eyes," he instructed before setting her down, and she did as he'd asked. She recognized a faint glow through her closed eyelids before his voice called, "Ok, you can open them now."
She looked around and took in the beauty of the glowing candles, the flowers, and the dinner set out on a picnic blanket overlooking the night lights of Paris, before looking at the boy in front of her.
"This is lovely," she said. She noticed that he looked sad. "Chat Noir?" His emerald cat eyes met her blue ones. "Are- are you alright?"
He sighed. "I- I wanted to give all this to Ladybug, but…" he sighed again. "She never showed up." He was silent as he looked out over the railing, not noticing Marinette's wince. "She didn't ever really promise that she was coming…but I really, really wanted her to." There was a pause, but he didn't meet her eyes. "I thought, at least, if I couldn't let Ladybug have it…I could put it to good use to cheer up a beautiful girl."
They sat in silence for a moment, before Marinette had the courage to answer.
"I bet she'd have appreciated it. I certainly do." She looked up at him, putting a small hand on his arm. "Thank you, Chat Noir. You've helped more than you know."
He gave her a faint smile. "All in a day's work, Princess." Then he smirked a signature Chat smirk, though Marinette noticed that it didn't reach his eyes. "Come on. Those cookies aren't going to eat themselves."
Chat's eyes widened. "That was you?!" He said in shock. He was starting to think that they would never know everything about each other, if he was still finding out things like this about his Lady after all these years. He was consistently amazed. She nodded shyly.
"I'm sorry about that day," she said quietly. "I didn't realize how much it meant to you until you took Marinette up on that rooftop." She wrapped her arms around his waist and he rested his cheek in her hair, kissing the top of her head, before she pulled away grabbing his hand. "Come on, those cookies aren't going to eat themselves!" She echoed his past self cheekily, and he laughed as she guided them both toward the blanket.
They laughed and talked for a while, until finally, Chat's curiosity got the better of him.
"Say, Ladybug, not that this stuff isn't fabulous," he held up his champagne flute filled with sparkling juice, "but…I mean, we're French, Milady. Wine is basically a must for any meal, but most especially a fancy dinner. What's the deal?"
Ladybug's face turned as bright red as her dress. She opened her mouth and closed it again, then repeated the gesture twice more before finding her voice. She sighed.
"I wasn't going to tell you yet, I wanted it to be a surprise," she said, looking vaguely unhappy. "But…" She reached into her bag and pulled out a paper, handing it to Chat, who took it with interest. He scanned the paper, which held a number of confusing medical terms, with a furrowed brow, before his eyes went wide in surprise.
"No…" he breathed. He looked up at her. "Is this…is this for real?"
When she nodded, a huge Cheshire Cat grin spread slowly across his face. He scooped up his wife, spinning her around as he laughed. He ducked his head, his lips meeting hers as he put a gentle hand on her still-flat stomach.
"Well, Milady, looks like we're finally going to have one more little kitten running around before you know it," he said happily. He didn't know what else the future would bring, but he was alright with that. If he had his Lady by his side, they'd be able to do anything. They were partners. And he'd never be alone again.