Staring into his Lady's eyes, Adrien couldn't help the broad smile that had been plastered across his face since he had woken up that morning. He had been alone in his bed. The first time in almost two years that Marinette hadn't been there when he woke up; the feel of the bed had been so strange without Marinette on the other side, he had woken up far more quickly than normal. Even before Angola, they had learned that they both slept so much better with the other one there for comfort. But according to Alya, it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the wedding day. Adrien had tried to argue that they were already married, so it didn't apply, but Alya hadn't budged. Even on the day of their actual wedding in Angola, they had spent the night in their shared tent. Still, Alya had insisted. So yesterday afternoon, after finalizing the security arrangements for today, Marinette had gone over to the bakery to spend the rest of the day with her parents and Adrien's mother, along with Alya, Chloe, Sabrina, and Bri. After dinner, the girls had gone to Alya and Nino's apartment for the night. Instead of his wife, Adrien had spent yesterday with Nino and Felix – waking up, he had glanced over to find the two of them sprawled on and next to the couch. Then the morning rush had begun; everything needed to be done just right before they could leave for the wedding. After breakfast, his mother had gone over to the bakery to help Marinette, and it had been shortly after that when half the other people staying with them at the Mansion had left for the church and Champ de Mars.

Because of course Ladybug and Cat Noir couldn't just get married. No; the Heroes of Paris had to have security in place for the event. Half the guests at the wedding were heroes – Heroes of Paris, Heroes of Europe, United Heroez, even their friends in the other Orders of Guardians. On the way into the cathedral, Adrien had spotted the outlines of three of the Australian Intervention Team members, crouching on rooftops overlooking the cathedral plaza; several American Miraculous Heroes had set up at the Champ de Mars. Adrien had told Marinette that he hoped the security would be unnecessary – Lila was rotting in jail; she couldn't touch them now – but Olympia and Julia had been unanimous. Better safe than sorry with Ladybug and Cat Noir's (civilian) wedding.

Even if it did increase the stress level and complexity for the event.

And yet, gazing into Marinette's eyes, standing in front of the altar in Notre Dame, the cathedral around them filled with their family and friends, he had to admit: it had all been worth it. Marinette positively glowed in the wedding dress that she had spent the last two years designing. The gemstones worked into the bodice of her wedding dress caught the light from the altar candles, from the stained-glass windows, from the electrical lights, refracting the light into a prismatic spray of colors and reflecting it in all directions. The effect when she had first walked through the cathedral doors on Tom's arm had been absolutely breathtaking – Adrien hadn't had eyes for anything else in the room but Marinette, and hadn't realized how close she was until Tom was placing her hand in his, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. The dress hugged her curves in all the right places, the sweetheart neckline drawing the eye to Marinette's smooth, soft skin. Holding her hands, staring deep into her eyes, he could trace the subtle pattern she had worked into the lace covering her decolletage: a ladybug and cat, encircling each other in a complicated yin-yang. With the heels she had selected, she was almost at his height, only a centimeter shorter than him. Adrien swallowed, looking into her shining eyes, taking in the tears of joy still threatening to fall.

This moment… it was everything Adrien had hoped for, all those years ago when he had first laid his eyes on Ladybug, felt the fire in her soul, and decided that he was going to marry this beautiful, brave, but all-too-human woman.

Yes, they had gotten married back in Angola – ironically, the wedding party here included almost everyone from the first wedding! But that time, it had been in front of all the refugees from the city of Paris. That time, it had been Ladybug and Cat Noir getting married. That time, it had been as much for the benefit of their people as for themselves. And even with everything Chloe and Alya had done to make it special, it had still felt just a little bit… impersonal. Like the images of Ladybug and Cat Noir that had been built up in the minds of the citizens of Paris were coming together, rather than the man and woman under the masks. But now, without any masks or miraculous suits in the way, when it was them and their friends and families, when Marinette was wearing the wedding dress that she had begun designing years ago, suddenly the wedding ceremony felt so much more intimate and personal. This was their wedding, not Paris' wedding. They weren't doing this to inspire and give hope to a camp full of refugees who had just lost their home. They weren't doing this because there was the possibility of death in the fight against the Tarasque. They were doing this because they wanted to. They were doing this because they wanted to share their life together with the people closest to them. And this time, out of the corner of his eye he could see Mom and Sabine and Tom and Tante Amelie and Gorilla, all sitting together in the front pew of the church, Mom and Sabine sharing a tissue box while Tom alternated between a wide grin and bawling his eyes out as next to him Gorilla smiled wider than Adrien had ever seen before. And in the rafters far above them, every few seconds Adrien thought he caught a glimpse of a flash of color from the dozens of Kwamis flitting around the cathedral's ceiling.

Father Boutin cleared his throat, looking past Adrien and Marinette. "If anyone has any reason that these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Adrien quirked the corner of his mouth in amusement, as Marinette flashed her eyes at him in response. Behind her and one step lower, Alya covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh. A quiet snort, just barely loud enough for Adrien to hear, came from Nino, standing just behind him. The question seemed like it had to be there, but still. It was a little late for someone to object to their wedding, after all!

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." Father Boutin smiled broadly at them and held his hands out in invitation. "And now, you may kiss the bride."

Grinning excitedly, Adrien pulled Marinette into his arms, wrapping his arms around her waist as hers came up to clasp around his neck. This was what he had been waiting all day for, ever since she had kissed him goodbye yesterday. Her eyes crinkled with joy, her lips parting in a broad smile as he found them with his own lips. A sudden cacophony of noise erupted around them, cheers and applause ringing throughout the cathedral from their friends and family members. Nino's shrill whistle almost drowned out all other sounds. Alya and Chloe both wiped tears from their eyes. But Adrien had no eyes for any of them. All that mattered was Marinette – the feel of her dress against his hands, the scent of her perfume and shampoo, the taste of her lip gloss, the joyful tears running down her cheeks, the way she melted into his embrace, familiar and yet excitingly new every time. If he could, he would stay here forever, basking in the happiness and joy of this moment. Swinging her around, he dipped her lower.

Finally, far too soon for his liking, they broke the kiss and he set her back upright, and Adrien took her hand to turn them both to face their guests, watching all their friends and family applaud. He caught his mother's eye in the front row, the bright beaming smile on her face and tear stains down her cheeks. When they had begun planning this wedding last year, they had had no idea whether his mother would be able to come. She had still been in cryostasis, without any idea how to wake her and no real hope that she even could wake – not before the wedding, at least. But here she was: awake and whole, standing with everyone else to watch them. And she positively adored Marinette – so much more than Adrien had ever even dared to dream. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien caught a glimpse of Felix, smiling, though barely restraining his laughter. Marinette squeezed his hand, and Adrien squeezed back, refocusing his attention on her.

"I now present, M. and Mme Adrien Agreste!"

Adrien held their joined hands up higher, his face split by a broad grin, a lightness in his heart. Sure, they were already married already, but now the whole world knew that they were married. That Marinette was his and he was hers.

Finally, as the opening notes of the recessional began, Adrien led Marinette down the aisle and out into the narthex, followed by Alya and Nino and then by Chloe and Felix. As they passed, Adrien held out a fist to Nino and Felix. Nino bumped his fist, grinning widely; Felix punched him playfully in the shoulder.

"And now you've really gone and done it, cuz," Felix joked, raising an eyebrow at Adrien. "Guess your days of staying up late with the guys are over now…"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Adrien shot back, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Nino agreed, giving Adrien a look. "My guy's days of staying up late with the guys never really started!"

"Hey," Adrien protested, pulling Marinette into a tight embrace. "I can't help that I'd rather spend time with my stunningly-beautiful wife!"

Chloe scoffed, rolling her eyes. "As if you weren't bad enough before getting married, now you're going to be absolutely insufferable…"

Marinette leaned into Adrien's side, sighing in contentment. "I think it's perfect."

Chloe arched an eyebrow. "Saccharine."

Alya stifled a laugh. "You didn't have to be in the wedding party, you know…" Straightening up, she jerked her head toward the church door as the guests started filing out.

Giving Marinette the spot right next to the door, Adrien grinned, slipping his hand around his wife's waist. The first ones out were their parents, along with Gorilla and Tante Amelie. Both his mother and Sabine threw their arms around Marinette in an enormous hug, as Tom pulled Adrien into a hug of his own. Gorilla, his cheeks wet, placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder before wiping his eye with one finger. As they passed them, Bri gave Felix a quick hug on reaching him, only for Felix to grab her hand and pull her into the receiving line on the other side of him from Chloe. Bri shared a look with Chloe and shrugged, sighing in resignation. A dozen of Marinette's relatives followed, along with Mme Legrand and a few of the other Agreste employees that had been with the company for as long as Adrien had been in charge. Then, it was as though the floodgates had been opened. Adrien plastered a smile on his face, nodding and shaking hands with each of their guests in turn – Kim and Ondine, Ivan and Mylène, Mayor and Audrey Bourgeois… The Mayor paused a moment longer when he reached Chloe, sniffling a bit and giving her a dignified half-hug before leaving. Chloe cleared her throat and rolled her eyes, though Adrien caught a quick motion from her as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

A little after the Bourgeois, a man Adrien didn't recognize paused to shake his hand. "This was a wonderful ceremony," he told Adrien. "Congratulations."

Adrien smiled, curious. "Thank you…?"

"Henri," he answered, nodding down the line. "Chloe invited me; she said she needed a 'plus-one' for her 'brother's' wedding."

Adrien nodded in understanding, looking a little more closely at Henri. Only a couple years older than him, there was something… familiar. "It's nice to meet you," he replied as Henri moved down the receiving line toward Alya and Nino. "Chloe's one of my oldest and dearest friends."

Before Henri could say anything else, he had already been replaced in front of Adrien. "Congratulations, um, boss," Francisco told Adrien, smiling in excitement. "I'm… grateful for the invitation. Especially after everything you and Marinette have done for us, it's… such an honor to be here."

"Marinette was so appreciative of Marina taking the time to show her around when she was out to visit," Adrien responded, grinning in return. "Of course we wanted you both here to celebrate with us!"

Francisco hummed. "Marina has always wanted to see Paris; this seemed like a perfect moment for it."

"Absolutely," Adrien replied, watching Marinette speak animatedly with Marina out of the corner of his eye. Marinette reached out and quickly ran a hand along Marina's sleeve, humming. Adrien sighed fondly. "If Marina would like to travel more, you know she's welcome to take 'business' trips with you any time she wishes." He stifled a laugh. "We're paying for your room; the price is the same, regardless of how many people are in it!"

He nodded, though a shadow seemed to pass over his face. "I've asked her about it, but with the baby on the way…" He shrugged. "Maybe when the baby's a little older. And has actually been born."

"Well, whenever it works out, feel free to bring your family along."

Finally, Marina and Marinette paused their conversation, and Julia threw one arm around Marinette in a tight hug, holding baby Vida on her hip. Sidling down the line, Marina smiled as Adrien. "Congratulations… M. Agreste," Marina told him, her eyes drifting over to Francisco talking to Alya and Nino. Marina swallowed. "And thank you. For everything you've done for us. You have no idea how much it has meant, knowing that you and Marinette care about us." One of her hands drifted down to rest on her enormous baby bump.

"Of course," Adrien assured her easily. "I'm happy I can help you both. Whatever I can do."

"It's just amazing… to see what you two have together." The corner of Marina's mouth twinged, but she quickly moved on to shake Alya's hand.

Glancing toward Marinette, Adrien let out a contented sigh. It was amazing just how much they had.