This is gifted to epcot97 on Tumblr for the Miraculous Secret Santa 2020! Merry Christmas!

Adrien stood suddenly from his seat, startling Nino next to him.

'Dude? You Alright?'

Adrien raised an unsteady hand, and let it fall on Nino's shoulder. '...yes. I'll be right back.'

'Adrien?' Nino called after him as Adrien pushed away through his group of friends, Kim catching him as he stumbled. 'Where are you going?'

'Is he alright?' Questioned Ivan, who had been on the other side of Nino. 'I know we're looking for a fun night out, but he's pushing his limits I think.'

'Dude's just not used to bars,' Nino said. 'He knows how to hold his drinks at events, but it's rare he gets anything that isn't champagne.'

'We're in our twenties,' Kim laughed, sloshing his cocktail slightly. 'We'll have to teach him another thing about being out in the world.'

Max let out a breath. 'There's always these undiscovered pockets in which Adrien is naïve. It is unsurprising, considering his childhood, but it's saddening when we find a new one.'

'Marinette's been so good to him with that though,' Nino pointed out, raising his beer to emphasise his point. 'Some days he'll just call and say "Marinette said to talk to you about this thing", and it'll be about male friendships or flirting or how girls work or something.'

'Dude,' Kim leant forward on the table. 'You know how girls work? Can you teach me your ways?'

Nino snorted. 'That was a mystery even I have yet to solve. I said "treat them like they're a person with their own struggles, but treat them like a friend", because that's all I've got so far.'

Ivan raised his glass to clink against the side of Nino's still-seated glass. 'Cheers to that, it's how Mylene and I have been going so strong all these years.'

Kim laughed. 'So tell us again, how did you propose?'

Ivan flushed. 'Sh-shut up, poetry is an-'

'Oh leave him alone,' Max said. 'He doesn't even have the most dramatic proposal in this group. Are you sure you're not just taking notes for Ondine?' He grinned, and Kim flushed.

'N-no, I-I know what I'm doing there,' Kim avoided eye contact however.

'Uh huh, I'm sure.' Max smiled. 'The guys here are ready for brainstorming if you need.'

There was the distinct sound of someone tapping on a microphone, and the group's eyes fell to the previously-empty stage at the end of the bar.

'Hello? Is this thing on?'

Adrien was standing on the elevated performance area, and had somehow gotten his hands on both a microphone and another cider. He settled his drink with drunken care, and with his jacket nowhere to be seen and his shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows, Nino was struck with the impression that Adrien was about to start a stand-up comedy bit.

'Who're you?' Someone called from the bar.

Adrien still faced his drink with his hands raised, as if waiting for the drink to stop wobbling, but now twisted towards the sudden audience with a blinding grin.

'It doesn't matter who I am!' He beamed. 'Because in three days, I'm getting married!'

Kim immediately replied with a hoot, and there was a replying scattering of applause from the remaining bar. 'You go, Adrien!'

'Can you believe it? It's the most amazing, wonderful, fantabulous girl I've ever met!' Adrien straightened, as much as he could, which meant he still swayed like he was on a ship. 'And I got to meet her twice!'

'Here we go,' Max grinned.

'You see, we met all the way back in lycée,' Adrien took a few ponderous steps to the side, 'when I was young and ignorant and... something about, yeah, but then I saw her! And she was strong, and wonderful! I can't believe that she liked me, even then!'

Nino had already raised his phone to record, a grin spreading wider and wider on his face.

'All through lycée! Can you imagine liking the same person for that whole time, even though you weren't together?'

'So why didn't you?' Kim called, but he knew the answer already.

'Because!' Adrien pointed dramatically at his group of friends. 'Even though we were so much in love with the other, we kept missing each other! We had no idea about the other person.' His face crumpled. 'I c-can't believe we h-had no idea,' he took a shaky breath, 'how could we n-not have kn-known,' he snatched up his drink for a stabilising drought. 'She-she was just so beautiful and caring and wonderful and i-it wasn't-, we could've had so much more, t-time-'

Nino cupped his hands around his mouth to call out. 'Then what happened?'

Adrien hastily wiped his eyes. He somehow had managed to capture his audience.

'A-and then, and then,' he straightened, and a smile bloomed on his face. 'One day, we just, we just,' somehow this did not stop the tears, but the smile grew wider and wider, his eyes focusing on the middle distance of the memory. 'We met each other.' It was like his whole body had stilled, both hands clasping the microphone with reverence. 'And we started all over.'

Kim leant over and hissed, 'I remember that. They came into college the next day like they were already married.' Nino waved him away however.

'We-we started again, and it was only after that I know the fullest, the mostest, extent of her awesomeness.' He took another large gulp of his drink. 'I can't believe she chose me!' His gaze focused back on the audience in front of him. 'She actually chose me! And we're getting married! Can you believe it?'

'Tell us how you proposed!' Ivan called out, and ignored the ribbing from Kim.

Adrien swayed slightly. 'It was at the top of the Eiffel Tower, I had a whole table set up and everything,'

'With the music playing softly in the background,' Kim predicted-

'-with the music playing softly in the background,' Adrien grinned. 'I had the whole thing planned out. I think. I know. There was going to be dessert. Good dessert. And then I would get down on one knee,' another sip, and he watched the room over the top of his glass in the moderate suspense. 'And you know what she did?'

'She got down on one knee first!' Kim called.

'Exactly! She got down on one knee first!' Adrien called back, unnecessarily into the mic, causing some of the audience to cringe slightly. 'She had made a dress specifically so she could do it! Can you believe it!?'

Nino exchanged a grin with the guys around him.

'The foresight! The planning! The effort! I could never match her!' He raised a shaky hand to his eyes. 'Th-the romantic consideration, sh-she's just s-so wonderful-'

'And then?' Called a stranger.

'I-It was just a beautiful dress, too, -a-and I said yes to her, even though I h-had just put the ring down on the table t-to get on my knee myself, a-and she looked at it after we'd kissed and she'd put the ring on my finger,' he put a steadying hand on the bench he had just put his glass on. 'A-and she said, "What's that?". I had forgotten! Can you believe! To the bestest girl in the world! I can't believe it! There's no way!' He took a breath. ' So,' he gestured with the microphone with a sweep towards the audience. 'Do you know what happened next?'

'You proposed?' Someone else called.

'Yeah! She never expected that!' Adrien exclaimed heartily. 'I grabbed the box, and said, I said, "it's my turn, my lady fiancée! Marinette D-Dupain-Cheng",' Adrien choked back a sob, '"will you marry me?" And she said, she said, "Oh Adrien, I can't believe it, of course I will!". She said that to me! She agreed! To be my wife!' He had tears streaming down his face, but his grin couldn't get any bigger if he tried. 'And now we're getting married! In three days! she agreed!'

'Of course she was going to agree, she proposed first!' Called another.

'But she agreed!' Adrien flapped at them. 'She agreed, she wants to marry me! She, the most beautiful girl in Paris! In France! The most wonderful, the most capable, we'll have a house and kids and a pet hampster and- and- in three days it all starts! I get to be married to her! I'm so excited!' In his excitement he stumbled, and Kim was already halfway towards the stage to help him down.

'You're gonna do great, buddy!'

Nino stood from his chair, and the room's attention fell to him as he tapped his glass.

'Good evening everyone, dudes and dudettes and thudes alike. Thank you all so much for coming here today, and this evening, and congratulations again to the happy couple.' He looked at the bride and groom, who tearily smiled back. 'Now, in place of my best man speech, I know someone who summed up everything I was going to say really well. Please let me play you a short video...'

Adrien looked like he wanted to crawl under the table despite the grin as the familiar first words came through.

''It doesn't matter who I am! Because in three days, I'm getting married!'