A/N: Come one, come all and see this marvelous miracle, a 'miraculous' marvel. Today, I Ringmaster Icarus, will navigate you through one of the most terrifying, and may I add dangerous, ships in the whole fandom?
Indeed I speak of Ladrien, the only canon ship that can strip the love out of a cubic meter of fluff in less than 30 seconds. And tonight only, I'll allow you to see it, beautiful and tamed. I guarantee you'll enjoy Ladrien just a little more, or your money back! So come one, and come all to see this fantastic spectacle.
Ep: (spluttering) Ladrien? Ic? What happened to you? You're the one that convinced me Marichat was the One True Ship… (wanders to corner, sobbing)... was it all a lie?
MR: I will never doubt you again!
Reveal: Adrien and Marinette
Day 1
Ladybug skidded on the concrete, the blond boy cradled safely in her arms.
"I'm s-so sorry. Usually Chat is here to distract the Akuma," she palliated.
A green clad villain charged after the heroine and her defenseless prince. Her dark glasses catching the afternoon sun in a way that made her look especially contemptible.
"Adrien, just say you love me back and I won't have to hurt you… as for you Ladybug, I'm going to enjoy making you suffer," Vert De Jalousie scoffed, transitioning to a snarl as she addressed Ladybug.
A green bolt launched out of her glasses, barrelling towards Ladybug. She had only a moment to gently set down Adrien before tumbling into the entrance of an alleyway.
Blood trickled down her cheek as she stood up; evidence that her maneuver had been more rushed than Adrien had realized. That realization was confirmed as Ladybug glanced left and right unable to escape her attacker.
"Looks like it's the end of the line for you, Ladyb-"
"WAIT!" Adrien bellowed, causing both girls to swirl around in surprise.
"I can't let you hurt Ladybug. I lo… If you spare Ladybug, I'll do anything you ask of me," he groveled with outstretched hands, making a point to physically get on his knees.
Even in the dark green shroud of envy, a visible blush showed on the fanatic's face. "Anything?"
Just then the crimson yoyo that Adrien had come to love flew from it's wielder's hand straight towards the akumatized glasses. The spectacles snapped on impact, releasing a violet winged insect. Ladybug made short work of the creature, purifying it with her usual ease.
As she ran to escape a beep of her earrings reminding her of her limited time. Hurriedly she turned to Adrien.
"H-Hey, thanks for distracting her. You really had my butt… I mean SAVED my butt!... um, point is, if I can ever return the favor…"
"A date?" The model squeaked.
Both faces were far beyond blushing, but in a miracle, they planned a date for the following day in jumbled 3 word sentences.
Day 2
Adrien waited silently on the freezing rooftop. It was an unusually cold November evening, and each rush of wind felt like an oversized icicle impaling him; the frigid gusts sapping the warmth from the very core of his body.
It didn't help that he was starting to sweat. And it was especially unpropitious that Ladybug was 9 minutes late.
Finally, he felt his muscles relax at the all too familiar sound of a whirring yoyo, followed by an intentional thump. What he hadn't counted on was Ladybug in a polka dotted dress over her costume.
The glistening red dress reflected cardinal light into the evening atmosphere, completely entracing Adrien.
"Y-y-you l-look great," he managed, as his cheeks warmed to the color of her dress.
"O-oh, thank you, I look good too… I mean YOU. You look good too."
Adrien smiled, a coy curl at the corner of his lips. Outwardly he was frozen, but inside his mind was buzzing.
"Not only did she come to my rooftop like I asked, but she showed up in the most beautiful dress I've ever seen," he realized.
"Y-your dress is really something. I-I think even my father would be impressed," he stuttered as he pulled out a seat at the folding table he had set up. Ladybug nervously accepted the gesture and sat down.
It would have been the perfect date except for two factors. The first was a couple who couldn't speak to each other in more than one or two coherent sentences at a time, and the other was the explosive burst of flames that reduced Adrien's picnic basket to ruble.
Ladybug cursed under her breath as she threw herself at Adrien before the second scorching flame turned his chair into a pile of molten slag. He landed on the ground of the rooftop, Ladybug hovering just above him with her unsteady breaths "clearly audible right next to his ear.
The pair locked eyes, and for a second they seemed to forget the Akuma. Then the heroine snapped out of the trance and leapt off the building muttering something about staying put.
20 seconds later she returned, the picnic basket and chair completely restored. She excused herself for a moment, which Adrien knew was being used to feed her kwami, then returned.
As she took her seat, Adrien cleared his throat.
"Thanks for saving me… single-handedly. I guess Chat Noir has been slacking lately," he mentioned in a resigned manner.
"Oh, no worries. This was one of the easier ones anyways. Chat probably barely heard about it by the time I finished things up ov-," the spotted girl said, spearing a potato from the pot roast in front of her.
Suddenly the realization that she was speaking with Adrien Agreste dawned on her. Her voice caught in her throat.
Adrien looked equally anxious. He followed suit and claimed a potato of his own. The pair sat in harrowing silence as they ate the starchy roots.
After several bites, Adrien finally mustered his courage.
"Ladybug," he began, his eyes locked on the table,"I'm sorry I haven't been talking much. It's not that I don't want to talk to you, I'm just really nervous."
"So you aren't looking at me?" She asked.
He nodded, then realized she wasn't looking at him either. "Sorry, I nodded 'yes'."
She took a deep breath then responded with confidence. "I think I can talk too, if I don't have to deal with the pressure of looking at such a cute guy. So… what's your favorite TV show?"
"Well, I guess I like anime a lot, but most comedies and action with an actual storyline are pretty good."
The pair finished their meal slowly, then afterwards, spent 3 hours trading stories and swapping questions under the starry sky.
Eventually Ladybug's earrings began to beep, though Adrien mentioned that no dots were missing.
"I guess that's just Tikki's way of letting me know that I have a curfew," Ladybug thought.
She walked to Adrien and wrapped her arms around him.
"I really had a fun time with you Adrien," she whispered.
"Good, maybe you'll go out with me again," he returned as he intertwined his hand with hers, "normally I'd make sure you got home safe… but that seems out of the question."
Ladybug squeezed him one more time before sliding off his jacket and jumping into the darkness.
"Wait, how will I get ahold of Adrien?! I guess 'I' have his number but it'll be hard to explain how Ladybug got it," She realized aloud.
Her left hand was still closed, holding on to the warmth left by Adrien's. To her surprise she felt something crinkle in it. She opened her hand when she got home, finding a piece of paper with Adrien's number.
She held the paper to her heart.
Day 18
Adrien dodged the volley of blade-shaped icicles as he scanned the map.
"Sorry, LB, I think you're right, I did get us lost."
The akuma rumbled something about cold reality cutting into personal time, but Ladybug ignored it.
"I told you so," she grumbled as she somersaulted behind a tree, which was then covered in the icy blades.
"Oh, I found it! We're at the old park's water fountain," he cried victoriously.
A burst of spiked frozen water destroyed the structure he had been pointing at.
"We were at the park's water fountain," he grumbled.
It took only a few minutes for Ladybug to defeat the villain all by herself, then recharge and rejoin Adrien.
"What are the chances that every single one of our dates has had an akuma attack? Especially since we have been dating in secret. What is the chance of someone getting akumatized at an old abandoned park?" Ladybug mused.
The boy was caught off guard as he stared at his friend, her crimson mask peeking out of the grey hoodie she was wearing. He shook his head and looked elsewhere.
"Well," Adrien said thoughtfully," it has been 17 days since our first date and we have gone on 7 dates. Hawkmoth has akumatized 7 people, not just on the days that we have been together but the times too. I'd say that is a one in a big number chance of happening."
"Wow, you are good with math Einstei-" Ladybug stopped in her tracks.
"Did you look at me?" Adrien asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah," the heroine admitted,"I can't believe I still get tongue tied when I look at you, yet I can be completely nonreactive when you hold my hand and talk to me for hours at a time."
"Completely nonreactive?" Adrien wondered aloud as he snuck his hand into his date's.
She blushed a shade far too red to be natural. "Ok, fine maybe not totally. But I can avoid stuttering and speak in real sentences."
The couple grew relaxed as they made their way through the park, though something seemed to weigh on Adrien. Finally he spoke.
"Hey Ladybug… do you think Hawkmoth has been watching us?" Adrien asked nervously.
Day 26
"So Ladybug… we've been seeing each other practically every day for the last month, and when we've been too busy, we text each other all day. So will you officially be my girlfriend?"
Adrien was grinning ear to ear as he spoke, though he was staring at Ladybug's feet.
"I'll answer you if you look me in the eyes and ask again," she bargained.
"Then you have to respond while looking me in the eyes," Adrien countered.
"Um… fair point. Who needs eyes anyways," Ladybug admitted to the ground,"yes, I'll be your girlfriend."
The pair embraced, feelings of joy abounding in them. Until a bolt of lightning nearly hit them.
This time it took Ladybug less than 15 seconds to defeat the villain and resume her date.
Day 35
Hawkmoth looked in complete confusion as Ladybug ripped off his Miraculous in his own home.
"How did- how did you find me?"
Ladybug smiled victoriously. "You did this to yourself Gabriel. You literally sent an akuma after your son on every date I had with him. At first Adrien and I thought it meant you were watching this place, and that you would akumatize someone every time you saw me stop by here."
"Yes, I thought it was foolproof? How could you have figured it out?" He hissed.
"Well we started being more sneaky. Adrien would meet me in private places, fancy and discreet restaurants, empty parks, you know. But even then, you still found us," Ladybug explained.
Chat listened the whole time, nodding his head thoughtfully.
"Then Adrien mentioned the only person he told was his dad, after all, a 17 year old can't just go gallivanting across Paris without telling his parents anything. Especially if his father is a control freak," Ladybug continued.
Gabriel sneered at the words 'control freak'.
"So,"Chat added,"they came up with a plan. Adrien told you he was going to a new "theater" in town and gave you the address. He was in fact going to an abandoned parking garage. So he and Ladybug checked to make sure they had no trackers on them. They spent hours making sure they weren't being tailed, then they met at the parking garage in disguises at 7pm, just as they planned. Not 5 minutes later did an akuma attack."
"And I was the only person who could've known you two were there," Gabriel finished.
"Exactly," Ladybug nodded.
The cavernous room with a single window was silent.
"Chat Noir. I know you love Ladybug. Join me and she can be your- ugh" Gabriel gasped.
Ladybug looked in horror. "Chat why did you just kick him in the rib-"
"You think that's funny?! Hmm. Offer the girl your son loves as a prize to some other guy? As if you had the power to deliver? You disgusting b-"
Now it was Ladybug's turn to intervene. "Chat," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know that was wrong, but maybe we can let him go. He doesn't have a miraculous anymore and…"
"And you don't want your boyfriend to find out you found his dead mom in his basement AND locked his dad in prison?Ladybug, you are probably the purrfect girlfriend, but I think Adrien would agree that he needs to answer for his crimes. Besides, he's still in league with Mayura."
Chat forced down the sob in his throat, staring at Ladybug for her final decision.
Ladybug nodded silently. "Ok," came her whispered response.
A few hours later she saw Adrien at their pre-decided rendezvous.
"Adrien!" She cried running towards him,"I'm so sorry!"
Adrien pulled her into a warm hug, comforting the crying hero,"It's ok Ellie".
Ladybug couldn't help but melt into his arms at the sound of the nickname.
"What's going to happen to you?" She sniffled.
Adrien squeezed her tighter."well I'm going to spend a couple days with my aunt and cousin Felix."
Ladybug's nose wrinkled at the name.
"But if all goes well my paperwork will go through and I'll legally become an adult at 17. I won't bore you with all the legal details, but basically I will be in charge of my dad's fashion company until he gets out of prison… and based on the news it sounds like that might be a long time."
They let go to look at one another, then embraced again.
Day 42
"Hey Nino, Alya, welcome to my home," Adrien said.
The couple walked in, hand in hand.
"So this is the place," Alya commented,"I never really got a good look at it since… you know."
Adrien grinned as he closed the door. "Since my Father was a jerk? Yeah. But now I can invite whomever I want since the house is under my care for the next little while."
"The consensus is he'll get 20 years," Alya said nonchalantly.
"Sweet," Adrien grinned,"well in that case, Gabriel Brand is looking for a new social media and news intern. And believe it or not, fashion has a lot of musical components, so we're also for an assistant music and sound technician."
The couple beamed.
"No way dude!"
"Really, Adrien?"
The model/businessman/teen smiled at his friends. "Yep. Of course you'll have to apply. But since no one else knows about the openings, I doubt you'll have to fight too hard for the positions."
His friends wrapped him in a big hug.
"Ok, I love your home, and I appreciate the job, and the dinner you invited us to smells great, but I was promised the chance to meet your secret girlfriend," Alya asserted.
"Oh right. Well we still need to wait for Mari," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head,"and I'd like to let her know she has an official invitation to intern at Gabriel as well."
Alya's smile wound down. "Oh, Mari texted me. She isn't feeling well, so she won't make it."
Adrien looked a little disappointed but nodded. "Ok, in that case I'll head to the kitchen and grab her, but first I need your word you won't tell anyone about this. She's kinda famous and we don't want all the attention that comes from two celebrities dating."
Nino agreed hurriedly, but it took a few minutes before Alya finally agreed.
As Adrien walked towards the kitchen Nino turned to his girlfriend. "It's too bad Marinette's sick."
Alya just shook her head. "Nino, you know boys are dense, right? Marinette still loves Adrien. So she doesn't want to meet his girlfriend."
'Ah' Nino mouthed, taking a seat at the table. Alya took a spot across from him.
Adrien walked to the table carrying a large golden turkey, twinkling warm grease trickling down the sides of the aromatic meal.
He placed it on the table. "Oh, no sorry. Nino can you sit next to Alya so I can sit next to Ellie?"
"Ellie?!"
"Ellie?!"
Nino obediently began to scoot across the mahogany table while Alya stared at Adrien in confusion.
"Do you not want to sit across from 'Elle'?" Alya asked.
"Um, no. I mean, I would love to, but it's better if we sit next to each other. We kinda freak out when we make eye contact," Adrien admitted, somewhat embarrassed.
"Ellie, you can come out now," Adrien called.
Both Nino and Alya's jaws' nearly hit the floor as Ladybug, complete with a cute red button up shirt, strode into the dining hall, a tray of rolls in her arms. She set them down and took her seat, which Adrien courteously pulled up for her.
"L-ladybug?" Alya gasped.
Nino just stared.
"Yes? It's Alya, right? I think we've met a few years back, right?" Alya's best friend answered innocently.
The reporter resisted the urge to keel over and die in that perfect moment.
"You know me? I mean, you remember me?" She beamed, completely forgetting that Ladybug quite often counted on her as Rena Rouge.
Ladybug nodded her head. "It's hard to forget one of my biggest fans. Anyways, I'm so glad to get together with you two, you're some of Goldie Locks's best friends."
"Goldie Locks? You mean Adrien? That's sooooo adorable girl… er Ladybug. Is it alright if I call you 'girl'? Anyways, what's up with 'Ellie'? How long have you been dating? Is Chat Noir single? If so would he mind being set up? Where did you get that totally Ladybug shirt?" Alya spitfired.
The heroine tried to keep up with Alya's questions while the reporter fought the urge to remove a notepad and pen from her purse.
"Um… yes, Adrien is Goldie Locks or Goldie, occasionally string bean. I have a few other nicknames for him too. Yes. Ellie? Oh that, let's see. Well obviously he couldn't say Ladybug in public, and it always sounded so formal. So we dropped it to 'LB' which shortened to "Elle" which got cutesified to "Ellie". Um, today makes 41 days since our first date, but just a couple weeks since we decided to become official. I think he is. Um, you'd have to ask Chat… dare I ask why? And uh… I actually made this myself."
Alya looked down at her plate, her cheeks dusted pink. "Well, I've always been a huge LadyNoir fan but for some reason I always thought that Chat would be a really good match for my friend Marinette."
Blushes filled the room, except Nino, who had finally seemed to process that THE Ladybug was sitting at the same table as he was.
"Nice, dude," he whispered to Adrien, bringing the whole table to uproarious laughter.
"Nino, did you finally process who I was?" Ladybug asked through tears.
"Uh, yeah. Sorry dudette," he replied sheepishly.
From there the quartet spent the evening enjoying themselves. When the night had gone on some time and Adrien had offered to show Nino his new TV, Alya finally turned to Ladybug.
"So, my friend Marinette didn't make it. And apparently you can't sit in front of Adrien without losing it. Plus, from the looks of this spotted red button up, you are an amazing designer and semestress…" the detective extraordinaire trailed off, a wide grin on her face.
"Alya, you can't tell anyone. I-"
Alya shot her friend a mischievous look. "I can't tell anyone what Ladybug? I was just naming random things that happened today, hoping to make conversation."
Marinette wrapped her friend in a superhug.
"So, you finally got Adrien, huh?" Alya whispered.
Day 45
The pair sat on Adrien's band new leather couch, Adrien sitting cross legged on it gazing at the fresh layer of pure white out of the massive glass windows, while Ladybug laid her head on his lap, lost in his emerald eyes.
"So… How are you enjoying Christmas?" Adrien asked.
The statement was rather bland but in reality Adrien was trying to figure out if his girlfriend had gotten him a present.
He had bought her a rather nice one and had the wrapped box hidden in his closet, but when Ladybug had come, he hadn't seen a present in her possession. Fearing that maybe he had misread the situation, Adrien decided to play it safe and wait for his Lady to bring up gifts.
"Oh, fine. I got a few yards of this beautiful silk from my family," Ladybug hinted.
She had accidentally left her gift at the front room when she let herself in Adrien's home. When she got to his room, he hadn't said anything about having a gift for her. Worry had filled her until she was too embarrassed to say that she had brought a gift. She didn't want Adrien thinking she was some super clingy girlfriend who bought super personal gifts right after they had started dating.
And now, the pair were locked in a battle of attrition.
"Yeah, I love getting gifts from family. I feel like giving gifts is a sign of love," Adrien responded.
"There," Adrien thought,"that should get the message across. Beat that Ellie."
"Oh, definitely. After all giving gifts is one of the five love languages," Ladybug responded.
Marinette grinned inwardly as her scheme came together in her mind. "Adrien can't be that dense. Wait, did I basically tell him that giving a gift is like saying 'I love you'? Now I definitely can't give him a gift first.
"What?" Adrien considered,"did she say that giving a present is basically a confession? Now I definitely can't give her a present first."
"Haha," Adrien acted, "yeah, I know what you mean about presents Ellie. By the way, have you noticed you can presently present a present to someone in their presence, but you can't giftly gift a gift to someone in their giftence?"
"Pshhh, Adrien is going to have to do better than that. Let's see how he handles this."
"Yeah, that is funny, Goldie. By the way who are you giving presents to this year?" The heroine asked victoriously.
Adrien grimaced, trying to think on his feet.
"Oh, well you know, the usual: friends, family, close neighbors. My real question is are you going to give presents to your hero friends like Chat Noir, Rena, and Carapace?"
Ladybug smiled at Adrien's skillful avoidance and redirection.
"Yeah. I think I am, after all, who wouldn't you give a present to?" She said in a last ditch effort.
"Crap, she's even giving presents to the heroes. Which I guess includes me, but still, I guess Adrien isn't even that important to her," he thought.
The couple maintained their positions, nearly breathless as they realized that their presents would go to waste if they didn't present them.
"Oh, speaking of gifts, I have a -"
"By the way, I got a present for-"
"Go ahead."
"Go ahead."
"I got you a gift downstairs."
"Your present is in my closet."
The pair launched themselves out of the couch, trying to contain their excitement as they met back up at the sofa.
Silently they exchanged gifts and began shredding the wrapping paper. The scraps of paper were like a battlefield, confettified wrappings strewn out all over the leather seat.
Ladybug pulled a large box out of the carnage.
"I-is this a serger for you-me?" She said, staring into Adrien's smiling eyes.
"Yeah, I have a friend who loves fashion and design. She said having a serger would really help her get her work done faster than just a sewing machine. I figured that since you seem to be a really good amateur seamstress yourself, you might like it," he beamed.
Of course he didn't realize that Marinette was Ladybug, and therefore his superhero girlfriend was also his Gabriel fashion intern friend, and that he had just purchased the gift she most wanted in the world.
He looked at her as he held a painting of himself with Ladybug in his arms.
Silent tears flooded his eyes as he hugged her.
Eventually Ladybug returned her head to his legs, not even noticing the mistletoe Adrien had left above them before.
Adrien too forgot about the garnish as he ran his hands through her hair.
Today's results: both heroes won because they got wonderful gifts.
Day 97
Adrien ran up the trail, gasping as he caught up to Ladybug.
"Ellie, we should-"
A zing cut him off, as The crimson clad heroine snagged a tree and pulled herself towards it.
Adrien sprinted towards her, cutting through the marked trail, letting out a yelp as his leg got caught in a thorny bush.
Ladybug flicked her wrist, and a moment later was by his side. Carefully she helped pull off the bladed brambles that had embedded themselves into his leg.
"Surprise, surprise. The brainless model got himself hurt," Ladybug inveighed as she leered at his ensnared leg.
"Hey, Ellie, what did I do this time?" Adrien groaned as another prickly thorn was ripped out of his leg.
"Maybe that my idiot boyfriend just about got himself killed this morning?" She glared, careful not to look at his eyes, lest she be turned into a blathering idiot.
"What?! That?" He asked.
"Yeah, 'that'! You know,I barely manage to let Chat throw himself in the line of fire, and that's because he has a super suit to take most of the hit. But you…" she said, as seething rage transformed into a sobbing request.
Adrien looked shocked as he yanked at another bramble.
"Please, Goldie, please promise you'll never do that again!" She pleaded.
"But… but Chat's been slacking lately. And it doesn't matter what Mayura throws at us. As long as you survive you can always 'Miraculous Ladybug' things back," Adrien pointed out, trying to sound more rational rather than defiant.
Ladybug shook her head."I don't ever want to watch you die, even if I can 'undo' it. Promise me you won't ever use yourself as a human shield again. Promise me, Adrien!" She demanded, tears slipping down her face.
The blond looked up at her, ignoring the spikes still stuck in his calf. "Y-you don't g-get it," he began as tears of his own formed,"I have to watch tho-those amoks beat the crap out of you all the time as M-mayura sends them at you nonstop! And I-I can-can't bear it. I can't keep watching the g-g-g-girl I l-love get hurt."
She looked back at him. "You-you are loves me? You loving me? You love me?"
Adrien nodded.
"I- I love y-you too," she stuttered as she stared into his eyes.
Day 154
"You piece of garbage!" She yelled across the spacious room.
Adrien stared at her triumphantly, as he leaned back on his couch, looking above him at the massive library within his room. "You're just mad that I finally won!" He smirked.
"It doesn't count if you tickle-ambush me in the middle of the game!" The spotted heroine growled while throwing a pillow at Adrien's overly smug face.
It hit him with a hollow thump, tousling his perfectly arranged locks. Adrien responded without so much as a flinch.
"Really?! I looked in the official Ultimate Mecha Strike 5 instruction manual, and I could not find one instance of tickling the loser." His emerald eyes glistened with childlike ecstacy.
"I only lost BECAUSE you tickled me, you smug… smug toasted marshmallow!"
"Toasted marshmallow?" Adrien repeated with a frown.
"Yeah. Very hot, super sweet, but full of hot air."
"Ouch, I'm wounded," he groaned while smiling at the pun, clutching his heart as he histrionically tumbled to the ground, eyes affixed to the ceiling, and tongue limply hanging from the side of his mouth.
Ladybug walked towards the would-be corpse, examining it. She kicked Adrien's foot, then placed her hand on his chest, gently running it down to his navel. The cadaver, stiffened, but otherwise remained inanimate. As a final attempt to get a reaction she began to lower herself towards his face.
"Oh, could it be? My favorite treat? It is!" She squealed in ferocity, suddenly descending downward and carefully clamping his lifeless tongue between her lips.
The carcass started in surprise, then lisped a response.
"Wuh zhu hik awe yuu drawing?"
(What the heck are you doing?)
"Mmm mm-mm mm mm-mm mm," she explained, or rather didn't.
"Wuh?"
His girlfriend, now fully straddling him, released his trapped tongue. She remained a few inches from his face, her warm breath caressing his cheeks with every exhale.
"I said 'I'm having a tasty snack," she said in a tone that was both matter-of-fact and seductively temptuous.
As she licked her lips, Adrien gave in and pulled her close for a passionate kiss. When they separated, both teens were panting, ear to ear grins spread across their faces.
Ladybug walked to the coffee table next to them and picked up both controllers, throwing one to Adrien. "That was your reward for 'winning'. I'll let you imagine the prize could be if you actually win."
Her malevolent smile completely entranced the young model.
"Hey, Darling?" He said.
"Yes Hot Stuff?" She responded equally affectionately.
"Promise me you'll never change?"
"I promise, mon chérie."
When Ladybug left to go have dinner, Adrien looked at the paper she had delicately folded in the video game's case. The running tally for Ultimate Mecha Strike 5, with each victory marked under the name of the matches' champion.
"She hasn't come over that often, has she?!" Plagg, who had previously hidden away in a pile of camembert, asked.
"No, unfortunately not. A lot of these are from our online matches," Adrien responded.
On the scratch paper scorecard there were 486 tallies by her name, and a single line on his side of the paper.
Day 159
"Give it back!" Adrien cried, jumping at the tree Ladybug was perched in. Her legs dangled from the limb she was on as she looked through the album on his phone.
Ladybug shook her head. "No, Adrien. It's weird. I'm deleting them all."
An expression of horror spread across his face. "You can't! I love those pictures."
"And that's the problem. You have over 1100 photos of me on your phone, and that's just the file of pictures you found online and from the Ladyblog. I would be thrilled if you just had a ton of selfies of us, but this goes from good boyfriend to completely obsessive," she insisted.
Adrien sighed. "Didn't you admit that you had a whole wall of photos of me once?"
"That's besides the point," Ladybug murmured,"besides, they're mostly fashion designs anyways."
Adrien stood his ground. "If I recall you told me you adored my modeling and 'have a whole wall dedicated just to you'?"
Ladybug snorted. "Hahaha, it is kinda funny if you think about it that way. Tell you what, chose 1 nonpersonal photo and you can keep it. I'll do the same."
Adrien decided to keep his kiss with Ladybug during the whole "Oblivio debacle". Not that he would tell her though.
Day 164
"Please for the love of Kwamis, tell me you're joking!" Ladybug screamed.
"I believe Chat Noir would say 'Unfur-tunately I'm not kitten you'," Adrien giggled.
"Please, I was counting on you, Goldie Locks!" She pleaded.
"You were fine with some of my other puns. On our fifth date you lost it when said 'I bagel your pardon?' To that stingy baker, you almost lost it."
"I was caught off guard. Anyways, whatever you say, I forbid cat puns, got it?" She begged.
"Meow you're being unreasonable."
Day 204
"Are you sure you're ok, Ellie?" Adrien asked. They walked through the moonlit park at an unusually brisk pace, something Ladybug only did when she was upset.
"I told you I'm completely fine. Why wouldn't I be? After all, Kagami is 'just a friend'," Ladybug grumbled.
"Exactly!" Adrien responded in a cheery manner,"I'm glad you get it now."
To his confusion, his girlfriend picked up her pace rather than slowing it down. Normally he wouldn't have minded speed walking through the park, but yesterday had been an intense 2 hour fight with a particularly resilient amok, and he was still recovering from some nasty bruises.
"Wait," he said,grabbing her by the wrist. She twisted her heels, coming face to face with him. He was doubly shocked to see a fire in her eyes and tears on her face. She turned her head, burying it in his shoulder.
"Don't you see it Adrien? Kagami loves you! She's ok being 'just friends' because she's a ruthless hyena, waiting for things to go wrong before she steals you away from me!"
Adrien pulled Ladybug close, her red hoodie pressing against his matching green one.
"Ellie, I love you. If you really won't feel any better until I tell her we aren't friends anymore, I'll do it," he soothed.
"It's not that you can't see her," Ladybug sniffled,"I just don't want the two of you to be alone together."
Adrien nodded then grinned. "And does this apply for Chloe too?"
"Oh no," the heroine giggled,"I know how much she annoys you. She's welcome to stay the night at your place. "
The pair laughed, falling into the dimly lit grassy meadow and gazing up at the stars.
"Ellie, I'd rather die than let Chloe sleep over."
Day 366
"Happy anniversary," Adrien smiled.
The pair were seated next to each other on the rooftop of some fancy restaurant, the name of which Ladybug couldn't recall at the moment. Not that she cared to; right now she was just thrilled Adrien had pulled some strings and found a staff that were discreet enough that she wasn't forced to wear an elaborate disguise. It was at times like those that she wished she could tell Adrien her identity.
For now though, she was content to share a quiche and strawberry cheesecake with Adrien.
"Hey, Hottie, I thought fancy restaurants had small portions?" She asked as she stared at the slice of cheesecake. It had to be at least half of an entire cheesecake.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, they do, but when you hear Ladybug and Adrien Agreste would like to have dinner at your establishment, and Adrien's willing to rent out the WHOLE roof… well let's just say with what I'm paying I'm surprised they didn't send a violinist to serenade u-"
As if on queue, a stringed quartet began a romantic melody.
"Oh, there it is," Adrien grinned,"I wondered when they'd get here."
Ladybug smiled. She and Adrien had had a lot of ups and downs in their relationship, and in the process, she had learned that in some ways, he was ten times the man she thought he was, and at the same time, she had finally learned he wasn't perfect.
But at the same time, he was purrfect for her. A guy who encouraged her to grow, and grow alongside her. Together they had overcome anxiety, fears of abandonment, jealousy, infatuation, and childishness. In the end they had truly fallen in love.
Marinette only wished she could find a way to tell Adrien who she really was.
"Hey, Ellie, you ok? You look a little upset," Adrien consoled, looking at her hands.
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just lost in thought," she mumbled, reaching for his hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Day 409
Adrien sat on his couch, now several months old, and filled with memories and the faint scent of camembert. Next to him was Ladybug, his Lady, nestled under his arm, singing along to the TV.
Adrien was happy to let her go through his entire sing-along collection of Disney movies, but he knew at some point he would have to summon his courage.
"Hey, uh… Ladybug. Can I talk to you?" He asked as 'Breaking Free' hit it's final chord.
"Yeah," Ellie responded, hitting the pause button on the remote,"what's up?"
Adrien looked at her, his voice shaky before he could even speak.
"If I asked you to do something, would you trust me 100%?" He uttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Ladybug's face went beet red. "Well, uh, I didn't think we were quite ready for that stage of our relationship, but if you asked, I would trust you," she breathed, not daring to look at him.
Adrien nodded. "It sounds like you already know what I'm asking. I guess… are you ready?"
She looked at him nervously. "You mean right here?"
"Yeah, I can't think of a better time to tell me your identity," Adrien said thoughtfully.
"Wait, you just want to know my identity?" Ellie gasped, a sigh of relief visible.
Adrien figitted on the leather cushion. "Yeah, what did you think I meant?"
"Nothing. But maybe it would be better if I showed you who I was. Tikki, spots off."
Instantly Adrien was grinning ear to ear, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Yes! Yes! How am I so lucky?" He whispered to himself. Marinette could feel her heart soar as Adrien confidently showed his joy.
"You're really happy it's me?" She asked.
"You have no idea Elli-Mari- how about I just call you my wife?" He asked, sliding from his seat to his knee in one fluid motion. In his hands he held a shimmering white gold ring, a brilliant red ruby in the center.
He looked into her eyes, tears gleaming with joy.
"Milady Marinette Ladybug Ellie Bugaboo Dupain-Cheng, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?"
Marinette looked back into his eyes, her mind locked on a couple of the names. "Milady? Bugaboo?"
"Yeah, I guess I should explain. Plagg claws out!" He declared.
"Oh, Chat! I can't believe you actually won my heart. Yo pun loving kitty, of course I'll marry you," she said, pulling him into a kiss.
As they pulled apart, Adrien looked at his fianceè, who had slipped the ring onto her finger. "Ellie, er Marinette- I'm going to make that mistake a lot. I'm so happy I get to spend my life with you."
"Oh my beautiful ray of sunshine. I'm so happy too. Oh and Adrien, you can call me anything you want, as long as you call me yours."