The group had been given approval to show up for the cake testing at 16h00 on November 3. Despite that, Adrien and Nino showed up almost as soon as Adrien became available that day. At work, he had worn a suit, but he had worn a Legend of Zelda t-shirt underneath so he would have something more comfortable for the rest of the day.

As soon as he was done with his meetings, he took out the contacts he'd grown to hate and put on his glasses. He changed into a pair of jeans and put a jacket over his t-shirt. He put his suit into an unmarked garment bag and grabbed two more unmarked garment bags from the clothing rack near the door to his car.

He picked up Nino, who directed him where to go after no one told him where Marinette's parents were, let alone which bakery was theirs, or where he was supposed to go that day. He parked around the corner from the bakery where he could find a spot and Nino seemed very excited to rush into the bakery.

Adrien unzipped one of the garment bags to make sure it was Nino's and handed it to him. He grabbed his own after that and followed his best friend into the bakery, watching Nino practically bounce off of the walls in his excitement. "Maman," Nino called out when he entered, "Papa, we're here."

"Nino," Sabine exclaimed, coming around the counter, "we're so happy you made it. And your best man, we're glad we could work with your schedule, Adrien. I'm Sabine, and this is Tom." Adrien didn't know how he missed the mountain of a man coming up behind Sabine. Adrien, in the back of his mind, wondered if Tom was even bigger than Gorille.

Adrien resisted his urge to gulp under the gaze of Tom and Sabine. "It's lovely to meet you both," he tried to respond coolly. He extended his hand toward Tom, intimidated that his years of handshaking wouldn't be able to impress the man standing before him, Marinette's papa. Tom took a step forward.

"We're huggers," Tom said. He put his arms out in offering and when Adrien gave the closest thing to a nod his stupefied brain could muster, Tom engulfed the new boy in his arms. It was comfortable and Adrien was pleasantly surprised. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Nino and Sabine were hugging.

A few moments of hugging later, they switched and Sabine came to hug Adrien while Tom hugged Nino. "Congratulations, son," Tom said to Nino during their hug, "we knew that you and Alya were meant to be. We might not be as good at matchmaking as André, but I still remember when you came in and got cookies at the end of your first date."

Tom sounded like he was choking up and Sabine moved to rub soothing circles on his back. Nino looked like he might cry, too and Adrien could feel the air of the room fill with love and joy for Nino and Alya. "Now, what did you boys bring with you," Sabine asked, nodding toward the garment bags.

"A surprise for Alya." The smile on Nino's face was bright as he thought about the plan. "A little bit of a surprise for Nettie, too. Do you mind if I run upstairs to get changed before the two of them get here?" Nino looked at his watch. 15h40. The next part of the surprise was scheduled to arrive at 15h45 and he really didn't want to miss it.

"Of course, dear," Sabine said, "you know the way up." Nino leaned down to place a quick, maternal kiss on Sabine's cheek and she smiled at him before he practically ran up the stairs to the Dupain-Cheng's apartment. At 15h45 exactly, there was a knock on the door to the bakery and Adrien answered, accepting the surprise from the delivery person.

Nino came back downstairs at 15h55, dressed to the nines in a tuxedo that looked like it was made to be worn by him. It kind of was, after all of the adjustments that the in-house tailor at Agreste had been doing since Nino came in for his fitting. He took the surprise from Adrien's hands and Tom shooed him into the stairway to make an entrance.

At 16h01, Marinette and Alya walked into the bakery, arms linked and leaning toward each other, giggling and gossiping. Adrien was the first person they noticed which drew attention to the fact that Nino wasn't standing alongside him. Nino had told Alya that he was getting a ride with Adrien, so Alya was confused.

"Where's my fiancé, Sunshine?" Alya asked, "did you forget to pick him up?" Adrien shook his head, rejecting her question, then stepped to the side so the girls could see Nino walking into the bakery through the stairway to the apartment, dressed in his tuxedo (with an ivory bowtie) and holding a bouquet of nine red roses for his fiancée who almost started crying.

He walked over to her and she met him in the middle of the bakery. "Nine roses," he said, "they mean eternal love." She raised up on her toes to kiss him and he barely kept from dropping the bouquet in his hand. Marinette took the flowers from him, trying not to disturb their moment, but not wanting anything to happen to them. Mme Cheng held up a vase that they could use for the rest of the evening.

Marinette placed the still wrapped flowers into the water-filled vase, then placed it one table over from where the four of them would be sitting for the croquembouche tasting. After a few minutes of being locked in an embrace, Alya and Nino pulled away from each other and Alya stepped away from him. She went over to admire the roses while Marinette stepped up to scrutinize his tux.

"Looks good," Marinette told him. Adrien let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "The bowtie is officially the wrong color, but that's going to be my problem more than yours." She walked around him, looking at the suit from every angle. "I approve of this style for your groomsmen, but I'm going to make yours to better go with Alya's dress. Deal?"

"You don't even want to see Adrien's," Nino half-joked. "It's right upstairs." Marinette giggled and shook her head at him. Dieu, she wanted to see Adrien in a tux as soon as possible, but they were in the bakery for a reason and Marinette wasn't going to make the tasting last longer than it needed to.

The tasting had already become the tasting and dinner and Marinette was almost certain none of them would be allowed to leave until 21h00 at the earliest. Marinette shooed Nino up the stairs to get dressed because she wasn't about to let Nino 'Ballcap' Lahiffe risk spilling custard onto a seemingly €2.500,00 tuxedo that they weren't even going to use.

It took Nino almost no time to put on his normal clothing and Adrien was worried that he'd just miscellaneously tossed the clothes onto the hanger. They had practiced proper hanging when they were getting fitted, so he figured Nino was more responsible than that, but he didn't want to seem like he was careless with Nino in front of Marinette.

Alya and Nino sat in the center of the four chairs and their best friends sat on their other sides. Each of them had a small plate of half of 12 croquembouche balls in front of them. Tom began to explain that there were three flavors of choux and 4 flavors of custard. The row closest to him was vanilla choux, the middle was chocolate, and the row closest to them was coconut.

From the side closest to Marinette, each of those halves was filled with vanilla custard, followed by a chocolate custard, a raspberry and lemon puree, and surprisingly, a passionfruit puree. Apparently, Nino had suggested it and Alya didn't question it since she already had a pretty good idea of what they should get in their tower.

The group ate the vanilla choux/custard combination first and none of them had a very interesting reaction. It was delicious, as expected, but it wasn't the one. They ate the next vanilla choux and Alya seemed more excited about that one. They picked up the next one and Alya was surprised that she didn't like the combination of raspberry and lemon as much as she thought that she would.

Nino seemed to have the same reaction. They both had high hopes, and it was delicious, but the puree was so rich that neither of them thought they would want to have more than just half of one at a time. Passionfruit was the last vanilla choux to try and neither of them was sold on it.

Adrien, on the other hand, was practically dying of happiness as the flavor of passionfruit danced across his tongue. His reaction was visible to everyone in the bakery and Nino joked, "seems like Adrien knows what he wants for his wedding someday." He tossed his arm around his best friend's shoulder before they continued to the chocolate row.

Alya and Nino seemed to be in agreement that while the raspberry lemon was delicious, it wasn't what they wanted for the wedding. Passionfruit didn't seem to be what they wanted either, so they only had the vanilla and chocolate custard-filled versions of the chocolate choux pastries.

Alya noticed that Marinette had enjoyed the passionfruit puree, so she gave her leftover passionfruit pastries to Marinette while Nino gave his to Adrien. Both the maid of honor and best man seemed excited about this change while the will-be bride and groom tried the coconut flavored choux.

After trying each combination, Alya and Nino came to the unanimous decision that they should stick with a simpler palette, vanilla choux with chocolate custard filling. Adrien was holding himself back from ordering a full croquembouche tower filled with the passionfruit puree just so that he could have them all to himself.

After they finished the tasting and Tom and Sabine helped Alya and Nino figure out how big they wanted the tower to be, all six of them went upstairs for dinner. Sabine had left a crockpot cooking for the full day, knowing that she wouldn't have as much time to cook that day with the inclusion of the four young adults.

Tom had brought up a baguette to have with their dinner. "While we let the flavor tests settle, how about we have Adrien try on his tux so Marinette can make sure that she likes it enough for the groomsmen," Nino suggested. Adrien looked down to his stomach and considered. He usually didn't have this much sugar, but it should still be fine for him to put on the tux.

"Only if you want to, Adrien," Marinette assured, "we could always wait until after dinner, or if you'd rather come back another day that would be fine, too." He looked at the garment bag that he had carried up the stairs and considered the pros and cons of just trying it on today. He wanted to impress Marinette with his fashion senses, so he smiled.

"Where should I change?"

"How comfortable would you be going up and down some stairs in a tux?" Adrien offered a thumbs up in response to Marinette's question, so she picked up the suit and brought it over to the trapdoor to her childhood bedroom. She opened the trapdoor and led Adrien up. Thankfully, she still had a clothing rack up there, so she hung it there before she left.

She closed the trapdoor behind her and when Adrien was sure she wasn't planning to immediately come back, he put on the tuxedo that they had brought for himself. He brought a few different bow ties to wear with the tux and when he saw the pink walls of what looked to be Marinette's old room, he knew which one to choose for the evening.

He tied the bowtie, then checked the mirror to make sure he didn't look too stiff, which was a lot to ask when he was wearing a tuxedo. He messed up his hair a little bit more for good measure, then went down the stairs, practically bouncing as he approached where the girls, Nino, and Marinette's parents were all seated.

When he arrived downstairs, he was wearing a perfectly fitted tuxedo with a fuschia bow tie. He arrived at the base of the staircase and immediately saw that Marinette was staring at him. It was like he had seen her staring at Nino earlier, but it was a little bit softer. She was clearly considering something, but she seemed happier than she did examining Nino's tux earlier.

She reached up to touch his bowtie and he gulped at the proximity. She felt the fabric beneath the tips of her fingers with a gentle smile on her face. Adrien couldn't help but to smile in response. It wasn't the smile he would usually have on his face when he was modeling and Nino noticed that. He couldn't help but to be happy for his friend.

Marinette didn't think through her actions as she moved around examining the tuxedo. She looked at the lines on his tuxedo, admiring how they accentuated the shape of his shoulders and waist. She ran her fingers across his shoulders absentmindedly, making sure that everything was sitting correctly.

She unbuttoned his jacket, not thinking through her actions and he, as a model, just allowed it to happen. She looked at the white collared shirt and cumberbund that he was wearing underneath. The cumberbund was the same color as the bowtie and she was surprised by the color he'd chosen.

She realized how much she was touching him and suddenly stopped with a soft pink blush on her cheeks. "It looks good," Marinette said, impressed at his selections, "like Nino, your bowtie is the wrong color, but I should be able to get you one in a matching color next time you come back. How did you manage to come up with tuxedos that look this good in like two weeks?"

"I know a guy," Adrien responded coyly. She cocked an eyebrow but decided it might be better not to ask about it.

"Do you think your guy could get us 10 m of sea glass colored chiffon and 2 meters in the same color of silk? Plus, we'll need what, Marinette, like 3 meters of ivory taffeta for my dress?" Marinette immediately went rigid at the idea of Adrien going out and buying 15 meters of fabric for the wedding.

"It'll be fine," Marinette told him, "Alya and I can go to the fabric store later to get everything that we'll need for the dresses and the fabric for Nino's tux, as well. I haven't even decided on a fabric for that yet."

"Do you have a specific fabric sample number?" he asked. "I'm sure my guy can find silk to match the color, but if you know the sample for the chiffon, that would make it much easier for them to figure out exactly what color you're looking for. I'd hate to have them send the wrong fabric and set you back however long it takes."

Adrien purposely ignored Alya's look that clearly conveyed the information that 'however long it takes would be by the end of the week at most if the fabric was being ordered by the CEO of Agreste. "Of course she does," Alya said excitedly. She picked up the sketchbook Marinette hadn't even noticed she'd taken and took a picture of the sample numbers in the margin.

"Alya," Marinette gasped, "you aren't allowed to just take my sketchbook. Plus, what if you give him some of the old numbers that we decided against." Marinette dashed toward Alya to try to retrieve her sketchbook, but Alya held it up, out of Marinette's reach.

"Not going to happen, sweetie," Alya reminded her, "you're too meticulous about your designs to let that happen. Each time that we decided against a color, you crossed it out in your black marker until we landed on a color for the chiffon and a color for the taffeta. Now, do you want to go to the store and just look at wool tomorrow, or do you want to trust Adrien's guy?"

"How good is your guy," Marinette asked, sincerely. She looked between her book, Adrien, and Nino with the most serious expression that any of them had seen on her in a long time. Adrien's smile brightened.

"My guy's the best," he told her, motioning to the tuxedo that his 'guy' had styled him in so that he would be prepared for that day. She nodded in agreement but was still hesitant to take the word of a half stranger regarding the abilities of a full stranger.

"Fine," she relented, "if your guy could also get 4 meters of wool, I would appreciate it. Alya and Nino are going to be paying for this, right? I don't want them to try to put you out just because you have convenient connections for them." Alya handed Marinette her sketchbook back and Marinette opened to the page with the sketches of the bridesmaids' dresses.

"Even if they weren't, it would be fine," he told her honestly. "Trust me. Nothing is going to go wrong. If you just send me the sample names, I can even get you an estimate of when to expect them by the end of dinner." She grabbed her phone out hesitantly and texted him
'BG-C190501 - 10 m + 2 m matching silk
FWD-T092215 - 3 m
4 m *black* wool to match FWD'

Adrien immediately copied the message and included it in a message to the warehouse. 'How long would it take to get these fabrics for Nino's wedding?' He placed his phone on the counter and Tom mentioned that dinner would be served soon. Adrien took that as his queue to get changed back into the clothes he showed up in.

After a few minutes more, Adrien came back downstairs, holding the garment bag and saw that the table was set for 6. He had always heard that the host and hostess were to sit at the heads of the table, but he was surprised when Tom and Sabine were sitting next to each other on one of the longer sides instead.

Alya and Nino were sitting next to each other on the other long side of the table and Marinette was going to sit down at one of the table heads, leaving the other open for him to sit. He followed the implied instructions and took his seat, nervous that he was overstepping despite being practically corralled into taking this seat.

After they finished eating, Marinette took Alya and Nino upstairs independently so that she could take their official measurements. Adrien stayed down in the living room talking to Nino while Marinette had taken Alya for the measurements.

"Yeah," Adrien said to Nino. "I'm going to be playing that charity game of football (soccer) in the spring. The Amoks versus Akumas game to raise money for the homeless shelter or for the mental health program. I'm really excited about it, the people in charge even asked me if I would be willing to be a co-captain of one of the teams."

"That's awesome, mec. Are you going to be playing for the Amoks?" Nino asked. Neither of them heard Marinette come downstairs just in time to hear Adrien's answer to Nino's question.

"Nah, I'm playing for the other team," Adrien said relaxedly. Marinette froze up for a moment, extremely embarrassed and wanting to be anywhere except there. She got herself so wrapped up in her head that she couldn't consciously register what was said after, just Adrien saying he 'played for the other team.'

Adrien seemed more like the type to read or do individual activities, especially after Alya mentioned that he used to fence when he was younger. It was unlikely that he'd been talking about sports. She winced at the new knowledge that this boy she could see herself developing feelings for was gay. If he weren't, he would have mentioned he played for both teams or something along that line, right?

"Nino, are you ready to get measured?" she asked, walking into the room. Nino nodded and followed Marinette upstairs. As they arrived in her room, Alya left through the trapdoor and went to talk to Adrien, maybe Tom and Sabine if they were still awake. Adrien was sitting on the couch, looking at the text he'd just gotten from the warehouse supervisor, confirming that they would have the fabrics ready by November 10.

When Nino came back downstairs, the four of them got ready to leave. Marinette was going home for the night and Alya and Nino were headed home. Adrien offered everyone a ride and the three accepted the offer. Nino and Alya's place was on the way to Marinette's so Adrien dropped them off first, leaving some time with just him and Marinette.

Marinette seemed extremely comfortable with the fact that it was just the two of them and he took that as a good sign that she already liked him that much. She directed him the rest of the way to her apartment and he chuckled when he pulled up outside. "What's so funny?" she asked, trying to decide if she should feel insulted by his chuckle or not.

"I just signed for a place in the building across the street," he told her, "Looks like we're going to be neighbors, come December 1." He had a smile on his face when he looked at her. 'You're going to have to get used to seeing me around more regularly."

"I don't think I'll mind," she said with a faint smile on her face. She kissed his cheek before she got out of the car, "Thank you for the ride. I'll see you soon, Adrien." He waved to her as she walked away, but he couldn't get himself to call out after her, too stupefied by the feeling of her lips on his cheek.