Waking up with a sigh of relief, I rolled onto my side as the new day's sun seeped in through the crack of my pink curtains. Tikki was still soundly asleep on the pillow next to my head. Or she was until there was a subtle knocking at my bedroom door. "Miss Dupain-Cheng?" An unfamiliar older male voice called out. "Just a minute!" Leaping out of bed, the now-awake Tikki went into hiding as I threw on my floor-length housecoat. The door opened to reveal this man in overalls on the other side. He was holding a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers in both his arms.

"For you, mademoiselle," he motioned them toward me. "Uh….." I just stared at the flowers for a moment, very confused. My eyes slowly widened in remembrance. "I'll have the gardener bring a fresh bouquet of flowers up to your room every morning." That's right! Adrien did say that! Huh, I thought he'd forgotten with all the chaos going on. Kinda sweet he actually remembered….. "Please, come in," opening the door wider for him, I stepped aside so the gardener could come into my room and set the bouquet into a vase which was resting on the mantel. He filled it with water in the bathroom, put the flowers in, set it on the table in front of the fireplace, and gave me a bow. He was gone as fast as he came here. Tikki flew out once she was sure we were alone, coming over to me as I plucked one of the pink roses up. This smile blossomed across my face as I took in its beautiful aroma. "Ahhhhhhh, lovely." "That was sure nice of Adrien," my kwami noted. I nodded in full agreement. "Yes.

As far as forced marriages go, I could have done a lot worse."

Just like before, Adrien himself arrived at my doorway minutes later. He wanted to walk to the breakfast table with me. My parents were already in the dining room by the time we got there. Mr. Agreste was nowhere to be seen- thank god. While Adrien and I didn't bring up the previous night's events at all, my parents were more than eager to heap praise on Adrien's family. I actually think they liked them! Heh, leave it to them to see the crumbs of goodness in anyone and everyone….. I didn't inherent those rose-coloured glasses from either of them unfortunately.

Mom was also super interested to hear about the flowers which were delivered to my room this morning, which she discovered by overhearing me thanking Adrien for them. She went on and on about how lucky I am and how Daddy didn't do that for her when they were engaged. Adrien had a good humour about everything. He laughed and patted the back of my hand with his palm. "I'm so glad you liked them, Marinette. I'll bring you a bouquet myself each morning….. once we're married." "Awe!" Mom squealed, bringing both hands up to her cheeks in a swooning fashion. I was not swooning but smiled at my fiancé all the same. He is kind indeed. Very kind….

Getting to school, or even just going outside, I quickly learned, would be a production. The mansion was swamped by reporters and news broadcasters surrounding the entire exterior fence. Adrien and I had to duck down to the floor of the car as his bodyguard drove us through the crowds. The whole time I kept my eyes shut tight and biting my lip until it almost bled. Please, PLEASE don't let this be my life now. I don't want to be afraid to go out on my own. That's one thing I love about my civilian identity; everyone knows who Ladybug is, but no one knows who Marinette is. I really, really didn't want to lose my ability to disappear in a crowd- very effective if I had to transform on the fly.

"You can come up now," Adrien's bodyguard knocked on the glass separating the front from the back. Adrien popped his head up first to check from side to side. Then he grinned softly down at me, extending out his hand. "It's ok. It's all clear." Taking his hand, I reluctantly sat back up in my seat, fastening my seatbelt; Adrien followed suit. Then passed a moment of silence where we both just breathed.

Adrien's head spun to face the side of mine. "I'm so sorry, Marinette." "It's not your fault. I know this isn't fun for you either." "I don't just mean about the paparazzi; I mean for last night as well. Things… didn't go exactly according to plan, and my family isn't…. the easiest to deal with," he cringed. My back arched. "Oh no! No! Your family is…. is…. uh… um," I struggled to compliment his relatives. What does that say about future family reunions? I'm marrying into a dynasty with a bunch of cold weirdos who think that I'm the "uncultured" one! Being a housewife indeed. Ridiculous! But I wanted to be supportive for Adrien; he didn't get to choose his family either.

Clearly.

Grinning over his way, my expression grew gentler. "It's ok, Adrien; we have lots more time to get to know each other's families. I just hope the reporters don't show up at Versailles," that'll get me dragged into the grad director's office faster than you can say "Spots On". My fiancé let out a frustrated sigh and shook his head a little. "I'll do everything in my power to keep them away from your workshop. You're entitled to your privacy." "Heh, evidently we're the only ones who seem to think so. I don't know how you put up with it all these years." "It hasn't been easy, but my dad pulls a lot of strings," he smiled, I didn't. Of course Mr. Agreste would have his goons go scare off the media. I doubt he'd do so for my sake, but perhaps if his son asked on my behalf. I wasn't holding my breath though.

Adrien looked forward again, sighing and resting his head on the seat cushion. "Thank goodness Father hasn't planned anymore family dinners for a while….." "Yeah. After last night, I think we could all use a break," particularly me. His eyes shifted back onto me from their corners. "Is there anything I can do for you, Marinette? Anything at all?" "I don't think so. We've just got to do our best to keep our engagement on the downlow." "I couldn't agree with you more. The world doesn't need to know; we know, and that's enough." "Adrien?" I gazed at him puzzled, but he met this with another kind smile. His eyes lowered onto mine. "It's not a secret or anything; we don't need to hide out until the wedding. But I want you to feel safe and comfortable leaving the house." "Heh, I don't know when I'll feel that way," my eyes lowered. Adrien's hand stretched across the car seat. His fingers caressed mine; it was only for a moment but it was a tender motion on his part. Our fingers touched and he smiled- that same smile I'd seen so many times before, and only when he's looking at me….. "Then we'll leave together.

We'll leave together from now on."