22. Anniversary
"Happy three month, one week, and four day anniversary!"
Marinette snorted, hanging her head instead of looking up to see him. "We are not doing that, are we?"
"Yup!" Adrien said, beaming.
With a sigh, Marinette looked back up at him, an accepting smile on her face. "And why, pray tell, are we celebrating this specific anniversary?"
Adrien gave his best pout. "Because it's been almost three weeks since we've been able to have a date and I miss you." The bakery had been busy the last couple weeks, packed with longer lines than normal and more special orders. Sadly, this meant he hadn't been able to spend time with Marinette, and their attempt last week to get together ended up with them falling asleep in the middle of Fruits Basket.
Which attested to just how tired they were, because that was really hard to do in the middle of season three!
He supposed a nap date where she'd laid huddled against his chest while he snuggled her wasn't a bad thing. On the contrary, it had been one of the best naps he'd ever had. But still, it wasn't quite what he'd label as a date.
"Has it been that long?" Marinette questioned, her brow furrowed. "I feel like the days have all blended together lately."
"Yeah. Our last official date was when we went out for breakfast and then around the park before coming back and working that first chaotic night shift."
"Oh yeah," Marinette said, eyes brightening in realization. "I totally forgot about that."
"How could you forget me?" Adrien pouted.
"Easily," Marinette sassed back with a wink.
He theatrically grasped at his chest above his heart. "Ouch, ice princess. You put Elsa to shame."
She leveled a flat look at him.
"Oh? Does the princess wish I'd let it—"
"You've been banned. Good bye."
"Wait, wait," he cried, quickly catching the door before she could slam it in his face. "Come on, that was funny."
"That joke is already dead. Don't continue to beat the dead horse."
"But it's still relevant."
"No. No, it's not."
He pouted, shooting her with his best pair of puppy dog eyes he could manage.
"I don't care how cute you are."
"Ouch," he said, smile growing. "That was a cold one, princess."
"Yeah, and don't you forget it," she said with a smirk.
"I won't," he assured. "Now, may the lovely royal princess of the bakery deign me worthy of entry into her humble abode?"
"You are such a dork."
"Your dork."
"My amusing peon."
"Ouch!"
Giggling, she opened the door, letting him in.
Adrien happily walked in to the house that had become his second home. "So, for our anniversary, you want to go grab an ice cream on this nice day?"
Marinette frowned. "Actually, I'm really not up for going anywhere."
"Oh? Are you not feeling we—"
He stopped, his eye catching the plastic Marinette had wrapped around her left arm. More accurately, catching sight of what was underneath the plastic.
She grinned, looking down at what looked like a fresh tattoo. "Yeah. Guess you could say that, but supposedly, that's pretty typical."
"Yeah, it is," Adrien said, walking over to her so that he could examine the design better. "Mine hurt for days."
"You have a large cat that wraps around your entire forearm. I don't have anything that big."
It wasn't too big, but it was pretty. A few ladybugs sitting on some swirly flowers, a design that took up half of her inner forearm. The design was only about a quarter the size of his, but it felt very similar design-wise, each having an animal in a colorful, misty background that he believed was referred to as a watercolor affect. Hers was just pink compared to his green.
"It looks great," he eventually said. "And really suits you."
She grinned. "Thanks. And now, we match."
"Huh?"
"Yeah, look." With that, Marinette bounced over to his right side, same side he had his tattoo on, before sliding her left hand into his right. "See? You're the bad luck cat, and I'm the good luck ladybug. We match."
Adrien stared at their conjoined hands, his eyes slowly drifting up to where his tattoo and hers met. "You got a tattoo… to match me?"
Marinette grinned. "Maybe it's a little early for 'matching couple tattoos, but I thought 'why not?' I've always liked your cat tattoo, so I planned out what I wanted to get so that we could match. I got yesterday after work, and since it's the beginning of my 'weekend', I have time to just relax and let it heal."
Adrien stared at it, his grin widening. "It suits you."
"Thank you."
"You know what this means, though, right?"
Marinette cocked her head. "What does it mean?"
"It means…" he drew out, leaning closer to her with a grin on his face. "You're stuck with me forever, now that we have a couple tattoo."
With a grin of her own, she leaned in closer, her nose just a centimeter from his. "Not until I get a ring."
Without any hesitation, Adrien reached into his pocket. This was just intended to be a gift that he saw that made him think of her. One he impulsively bought one day going home from work. The tag said it was for the right hand.
But at the moment, he could think of no better place to put it than sliding it on her left ring finger right then and there.
"There you go. You're mine now."
Marinette froze, staring at the ring for a moment before chuckling awkwardly at him. "You're kidding, right?"
Adrien knew why she felt so awkward. He did to. It had taken too long to realize for his head to catch up to his actions, and when it did, he himself had froze.
What did he just do?
It wasn't like he didn't want to marry her. On the contrary, he had actually already talked with her parents, gotten a blessing from her father, her ring size from her mother, and had ordered a ring last night. He'd planned out just how he was going to propose to her. It was going to be during a perfect date with dinner and candles and a chance to let her dress up. Basically, the whole shebang.
And here he was, proposing with an inexpensive cat ring.
Actually, he realized he hadn't proposed at all. He'd just stuck the ring on her finger and called it good.
He had to fix this. He had to get his mouth to formulate words first.
"I… I mean…"
Great, his face was red, Marinette was waiting for a well-deserved answer, and he was incapable of giving it to her.
"Adrien, you are not serious." Her words came out flatly, but Adrien knew her well enough to hear the undertone of panic in them
"Um…" he fought hard for the words that came to him next. "About marrying you? Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt, I'd chase you to the ends of the earth to make you mine. About this ring being the engagement one, though, no. Most certainly not."
"You are not serious," she repeated, her voice weaker than before while her knees began to bend as though she might collapse. Tears began welling in her eyes, and Adrien was growing nervous.
"I'm sorry!" Adrien finally got out, panicked. "I had something so much better planned out, and I definitely should have thought that through—"
"I'm not talking about that, you stupid idiot!" she cried. In a flash, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung tight. "That was so unromantic and I shouldn't have expected anything less from you."
By now, Adrien could hear the tears in her voice, but considering the way she clung to him, she wasn't too mad about this poorly planned out engagement. "Yeah, it will be one for the books," he surrendered, hugging her back tightly. "But, is that a yes?"
She nodded, clinging to him tighter. "You're such an idiot."
"Yeah, I know," he said with a sigh, the tension leaving his body. "But you're okay with that, right?"
She sniffed. "Yeah," she admitted. "Unfortunately, I'm a little too okay with that."
Adrien just chuckled. "I'll take it."
23. Sunset
Marinette looked at the little black kitty ring on her finger. Under normal circumstances, it signaled that she was engaged.
In her case, it signaled she was engaged to an idiot.
"I still can't believe I did that."
Marinette chuckled at the blonde man beside her hanging his head in his hand. At the moment, they were finishing up their impromptu date of actually getting the ice cream Adrien had wanted to get last weekend before staying out the rest of the afternoon and finding a spot to grab dinner. But dinner had ended and they hadn't wanted to hog the table at the restaurant, so Adrien was escorting her home. However, as per usual, neither wanted to part, hence why they were procrastinating their parting on a bench in the park while they watched the sunset.
"Can't get more spontaneous of a proposal than that," she teased. Shockingly, she didn't mind it, though. Adrien looked like he hadn't even realized what he'd done until after he did it. The horror on his face still shone clear in her memory, bringing a grin to her lips. It really would be one for the books.
But still, he'd made it clear that he earnestly wanted to marry her, and in the end, that's all that mattered to her.
"You have to know I meant it!" he cried, looking up to her with a faint blush on his cheeks. "I just… did not think that through."
"At least you're pretty."
"Hey, I am plenty bright!"
"Really? Because I think a few bulbs need to be changed in your attic."
"Says the crazy woman who not only accepted that proposal but is still wearing the cat ring."
She sniggered. He had her there. "Well, I guess I'm a sucker for honestly."
Adrien shook his head, a bemused smile on his face. "I'm glad that part came through, at the very least."
Looking over at the man next to her, Marinette couldn't help but feel happy. Botched proposal and all, she didn't mind it one bit. They would always be a little chaotic, they'd always have their back-and-forth banter, but they'd also always have each other's backs and ultimately would always be each other's biggest support. The proposal just felt par for their course.
Plus, it would not only make for great stories but great teasing fodder, and Marinette was always down for anything that gave her the upper hand.
"Hey," she said, voice earnest as she reached out to grab his hand. "Just so you know, I'll probably never let up teasing you about it."
He huffed in amusement. "I would think there was something seriously wrong with you if you did."
"But," she finished, "I am still very happy."
His smile turned soft, and Marinette thought she might as well melt right then and there. "Well, I'm glad about that," Adrien said, raising her hand to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles. "But there is definitely one thing I have to fix."
Marinette quirked a brow, confused for a second before realizing what he was referring to. "The ring?" she asked, wiggling her left ring finger. "Because I'm not gonna lie, I would like an actual one."
"Yeah? Well how about this one?" That's when Adrien slid off the park bench, getting on one knee before her and reached into his pocket. Biting her lip to withhold a girlish squeal, Marinette found that she really didn't care what the ring looked like.
But she wasn't going to lie, the stunning blue sapphire he presented her with was freaking gorgeous.
"I know diamonds are traditional," he said, tugging her left hand closer to him. "But you're not some average girl. I didn't think something like that would suit you. Marinette, I would like to apologize for not doing this right the first time, but I'm so grateful that you accepted anyway. I'm so thankful to have you in my life, so much so that I want you to stay by my side as my life-long partner. So with this ring, I'll ask you properly this time. Marinette, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
Marinette felt the tears prickling her eyes. It was such an easy question, and yet, getting the word to roll of her tongue was difficult. She nodded fervently. "Yes!"
With a grin, Adrien took off the kitty ring and replaced it with the one glittering in his hand. Once he did that, she threw her arms around his neck, clinging tightly to him just as she had the first time he proposed.
There were a few cheers and a round of applause from the people around them, but Marinette couldn't care less. For better or worse, she was going to marry this idiot.
She couldn't ask for anything better than that.
24. Balcony
Adrien stood out on his tiny balcony, looking up at the stars and purposefully ignoring his phone.
More specifically, the message his father had left him.
It's been over a year. The message said. What are you doing with your life now?
Good question.
Adrien sighed, his eyes shutting as he hung his head. Well, he was still working at Tom and Sabine's bakery, and honestly, he was pretty happy with that. He got to work with people he loved doing something that he did find enjoyable. He never really fancied himself to be the creative type, but finding himself in the kitchen while crafting desserts and making bread had brought more joy into his life than modeling ever had. On top of that, he was getting married. He thought that was a good accomplishment.
But he knew it wouldn't be good enough for his father.
He heard his phone buzz again and groaned. The last thing he did was want to answer it.
What would I even say? He thought, rubbing his forehead in a vain attempt to relieve the growing stress headache.
Unfortunately, he was too curious for his own good. And that curiosity won out over his reluctance.
He walked inside to where he'd left his phone sitting on the bed side table. Bracing himself, he tapped the screen, only for all tension to instantly drain form his body upon learning it wasn't a text from his father but rather from Marinette.
You want to go do something tomorrow?
He smiled, collapsing back onto his bed with a smile. Of course he wanted to do something tomorrow. What, he didn't know, but didn't really care, either. They always had fun together whatever they did.
He opened the text and started a reply before stopping and deciding to give her a call instead.
"Hey, hot stuff," she said. He could hear the flirty grin on her face. "Missed the sound of my voice?"
He grinned. "Yeah. Guess you could say that."
There was a pause on the other side of the line. "Something wrong?" she asked, all teasing gone from her tone.
Adrien sighed. "My father."
"What happened?"
"Oh, you know, he kicked me out and now is wanting to know what I'm doing with my life."
He heard her scoff over the phone. "Really?"
"Yeah, but I don't really want to talk about that right now," he said. "Right now, I just want to hear your voice."
"Oh? What do you want to talk about then? My thoughts on that new anime you showed me?'
He chuckled. "You could talk about the weather and I'd be cool with it."
"Well," she began in a smooth voice. "Tonight's forecast includes clear skies with no stars due to light pollution. A light breeze blows through the city tonight towards the Eiffel tower, whatever direction that is. It is an undetermined temperature, but comfortably cool enough to be outside in a short sleeve tee-shirt. How's that?"
Adrien could feel his worries ease away at the sound of her voice, her sass, spunk, and sarcasm still coming through even through her calm tone. He really loved this woman and was the luckiest guy alive to be marrying her. "It's perfect."