This is my Secret Santa present for Minou from the APS server! You asked for fluff and romance so cheesy that it would make Plagg question his life choices, so I tried to think of the most romantic thing that could possibly happen between these two dorks. Don't let the beginning fool you...the end is **very fluffy**. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy Holidays! :D
Marinette checked the time on her phone for the thousandth time that day, cringed at the numbers on the screen, and repocketed the device. She stood on her tiptoes in an attempt to see over the throngs of people blocking her view of the register. Crossing her arms, she began tapping her foot on the hard tiled floor.
"Girl, chill." Alya rested her hand on her shoulder. "We're almost to the front. I pre-ordered the new iPhone for Nino, so once we get there, we should be done pretty quickly."
"Sorry," Marinette mumbled, taking a peek at her phone screen again.
"You can go if you need to. I really don't mind waiting by myself."
"What! No! I promised that I would wait with you. I'm fine."
Crossing her arms, Alya shot her a disbelieving look. "Uh-huh, and I'm the Queen of England. What's going on with you today?"
"What do you mean?" Marinette straightened her posture and did her best to smile.
Alya shook her head "I haven't seen you this jittery in years."
"Jittery? Me? Pshh, no!" Giving up the ruse, she slumped and groaned. "Is it really that noticeable?"
"Yes, it is. Now spill! What's going on?"
"I don't even know where to start."
"Maybe you can start with why your eyes have been glued to your phone all morning."
She shoved her phone into her pocket, feeling a rush of heat to her cheeks. "I'm just a little anxious about getting to lunch with Adrien and Nino on time."
"Since when are you concerned about being on time? I think the boys know by now that Miss High-Fashion has a tendency to be fashionably late." Alya put a hand on her arm. "What's really going on?"
"I don't even know how to put this. I...I'm worried about my relationship with Adrien." Marinette buried her face in her hands. "And I don't know what to do."
A fire ignited behind Alya's eyes. "Did he do something to you? Because if he did-"
Marinette waved her hands in front of her. "No! No, it's nothing like that! It's just that he's been a little, what's the word, distant?"
"How so?"
"Ever since we moved in together he's barely been home, and right before he left two weeks ago he canceled our plans to decorate our Christmas tree. He was gone all day, and he got home an hour before he had to leave for the airport."
"Ahh, I see."
"Yeah, and even though he got back yesterday, I haven't seen him yet. When he suggested that we all meet up for lunch today, I was kind of hoping that it meant that maybe things would go back to normal." She threw her hands into the air. "I don't know. Alya, help me!"
Alya tapped her chin. "Have you tried talking to him about it?"
"I would, but he's never around! I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Maybe we're moving too fast, and it's scaring him. Or maybe he's still overwhelmed about the whole...well, you know...reason why we don't have to transform every day and fight Akumas anymore."
"I doubt that. He loves you so much. You'd have to be blind to miss it."
"He's changed."
"Marinette, listen to me." Alya grabbed her shoulders. "If he's acting weird, it probably has nothing to do with how he feels about you. That boy has been in love with you for years. Are you forgetting that this is the same human you gave a constipation prescription to when we were fourteen? And then he filled it without questioning why you needed it. You weren't even dating yet, and he was willing to do anything to make you happy."
"But-"
"No, buts! He loves you. He's your 'kitty' and you're 'his lady'. You two are made for each other."
"I guess you're right."
"Girl, the sheer number of pictures that I have on the Ladyblog of Chat Noir looking at Ladybug while she's not looking should be proof enough." Alya leaned in and dropped her voice to a whisper. "And if that doesn't help, I have a whole folder on my phone of pictures where he's looking at you outside of the mask."
"He did once tell me that it was always going to be us against the world." Marinette shrugged. "Maybe I'm overthinking it."
Before Alya could answer, Marinette's phone went off several times in her pocket. She pulled it out, tapped on the notification, and read the text in her inbox.
Adrien: [11:16] Hey there, beautiful.
Adrien: [11:16] Something came up, I can't make lunch today.
Adrien: [11:16] Sorry
Adrien: [11:17] :(
Her heart dropped. She sighed before typing out a short response.
Marinette: [11:17] no worries
Marinette: [11:17] see you later!
"What's up?" Alya asked, "Are the boys already at the restaurant? Tell them we'll be there in like thirty minutes. There are only ten people in front of us now."
Shaking her head, she tried not to cry. "No, Adrien can't make lunch. He's just going to meet us back at the apartment later tonight."
"Hold on." Alya whipped out her phone. "Let me text Nino."
Marinette hugged herself. The air around her was cold, and she felt so small and alone. How could this be happening to her? Before they moved in together, everything had been fine with her relationship? What changed? Why now? What was she doing wrong?
"So, I texted Nino, and he's with Adrien. Neither of them will be joining us for lunch." Alya pulled her into a hug. "But everything is going to be okay. Trust me."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Have I ever steered you wrong?"
"No." Marinette shook her head. "At least not on purpose."
"Look, you're my best friend, and I propose that we have a girls' day before we meet up with the boys later." A smile lit up her face. "How would you feel about getting our nails done after the two of us grab a quick lunch?"
Marinette's sadness was quickly replaced with confusion. "Our nails? At a salon? Since when do we pay for manicures?"
"Since today! So, what do you say?"
She didn't want to spend another day sulking in her apartment. Perhaps a day out would do her some good.
"I guess that could be fun?" Marinette shrugged. "Just as long as we can grab some cookies for Tikki before we go. She's been asleep in my bag all morning."
"Yes!" Alya threw a celebratory fist into the air. "Works for me! Trixx needs some food, too. I'm sure he'd appreciate having something to eat while we get pampered."
"A little pampering sounds nice." Marinette looked down at her nails. "Maybe something festive? A bright red? Or sparkles?"
"Yes! That's the spirit." Alya slung her arm over her shoulder. "And maybe while we're at it, we could get our hair and make-up done, too!"
"Wow, nails, hair, and make-up? This is starting to sound like we're getting ready for a photoshoot, not a night in."
"Why should model boy have all the fun? Besides, I'm sure he'd love to see you all 'dolled-up'."
Marinette laughed and did her best to imagine the smile on Adrien's face when he finally saw her later that evening.
To her delight, Adrien did smile when she walked into their apartment, but it was quickly overshadowed by the hasty hello and peck to the cheek that he gave her before rushing off to the living room. Feeling her heart sink, she hung her coat on a hook and made her way to the couch.
The plan was to decorate their tree with Alya and Nino, but everything that could go wrong went wrong. The lights shorted out when they plugged them in, and at least twelve ornaments shattered when she attempted to hang them.
Adrien didn't say a word as he cleaned up each little mess she made. He merely smiled and grabbed another ornament for her to put onto the tree. As the night wore on, he moved further and further away and made little to no eye contact with her. He even disappeared into their bedroom several different times.
Just when she thought the universe couldn't possibly make her day any worse, Marinette managed to burn a batch of Christmas cookies that she'd put in the oven for them to enjoy when they were done decorating.
When the smoke alarm finally stopped beeping and the panic in the kitchen had subsided, Marinette reached her breaking point. How was she supposed to convince Adrien to keep living with her if she kept messing everything up?
Sure the broken ornaments were on par with her usual clumsiness, but burnt cookies? She was a baker's daughter! Burning cookies was something that just didn't happen to her anymore.
Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Marinette bolted from the kitchen, ran into the bedroom, and slammed the door behind her. After unceremoniously flopping facefirst onto the bed, she sobbed into a pillow, not caring about ruining her professionally-done make-up.
She'd tried so hard to make tonight perfect, but of course, she wasn't even capable of making it okay. Even after she'd calmed down a little, Marinette cringed at the idea of rejoining the group. She wasn't ready to see the look of disappointment on her boyfriend's face.
If he didn't before, he definitely regretted asking her to move in with him now.
A knock at the door sent her flying towards the tissue box on her nightstand. There was no way she was letting anyone see her like this. Especially not…
"Hey, Marinette?" Adrien...of course, it was Adrien. "Can I come in?"
His voice sounded so unsure, and it immediately broke down her resolve. "Sure."
She hastily wiped her hands at her face as the knob turned and the door slowly creaked open. Adrien poked his head in, locked eyes with her, rushed to her side, and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Oh, love." His hand rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Please tell me what's wrong. What can I do to make it better? Is it the cookies? Because we can just make a new batch. It's okay."
"Everything." The floodgates opened, and Marinette buried her face into his chest, sobs racking her body once again. "I messed everything up! I know that you probably regret moving in together, and I was hoping that I could change your mind tonight, but I failed."
Adrien pulled away, his eyes filled with concern. "Marinette, what are you talking about?"
"Y-you've been avoiding me, and I get that this was a big step and that you might not have been ready…"
He cut her off. "What? Marinette, no! Moving in with you was one of the best decisions I've ever made. What made you think something like that?"
"Well, I barely saw you before you left, and you keep making excuses to not hang out or be in the apartment. Please don't hide how you feel from me." She sniffled. "It'll hurt, but I'll be okay."
"Marinette…" He grabbed her shoulders and shook his head. "I love living with you."
"Please." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I just need to hear the truth."
"But I am telling you the truth. I don't regret any part of our relationship. If anything, you're the reason I've made it through all of this insanity the past few years. I'm so sorry that I ever made you feel like I didn't want to live with you anymore." He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. "I actually feel quite the opposite."
The feeling of hopelessness began to ebb away under his unwavering gaze. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Then why do you keep disappearing all the time? We've barely seen each other in weeks."
"Oh, uhhh, right." He cleared his throat. "There's a really good reason for that."
He pushed himself off of the bed and made his way over to the dresser. After fumbling around one of the drawers, he pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box topped with a sparkling golden bow.
"I had this custom made for you, and there was a problem with my order. I was trying to take care of the issue the day I left. That's why I canceled all of our plans." He held out the box for her to take.
Marinette took the box and examined it.
He sat back down on the bed and clasped his hands in his lap. "I was going to give it to you while we were decorating the tree, but I got kind of nervous."
"Is that why you kept avoiding me tonight?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"Why? I love everything you give me."
"This is just...really special, and I wanted the moment to be purr-fect."
She giggled. "A cat pun...really? I thought we were having a serious moment, Chaton."
"Well, it made you smile, didn't it?" He reached up and brushed a stray hair away from her face. "I want to look back and say that you were smiling when I gave this to you."
"This must really be some gift."
"It is."
"What is it?"
"How about you open it and find out."
She turned the box a few times until she found the tape holding it together. She carefully removed the outer wrapping and pulled out a small, plain cardboard box with a lid. Marinette took off the lid to reveal an elegant black velvet box with a small silver clasp. It fit in the palm of her hand, and the more she stared at it, the more things began to make sense.
"Adrien, is this…" The words died on her lips when she looked up to find her boyfriend on one knee.
He took the box out of her hands, opened it, and turned it around, putting its contents on display. In all her years of dreaming about this moment, the ring he'd chosen was more beautiful than anything she'd ever imagined. She was left breathless as she watched the ring's three stones sparkle under the glow of the ceiling lamp.
Knowing what was coming, her heart pounded against her chest. Her head was swimming amongst the clouds, and the colors around her suddenly seemed brighter and more vibrant. Her nightmare had turned into a dream–a beautiful, wonderful, and surreal dream.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are the light and love of my life." The happiness radiating off of him was palpable. "When you dropped into my life, you filled a void I didn't even know was there. You stayed by my side through every bump and struggle with nothing less than unwavering encouragement and love. Without even trying, you helped me grow into the person I am today. You accept me for all that I am, and I can't even begin to thank you for that. I love you more than anything, and I want to build a life with you. I want to grow old with you, get a hamster, have children...I want it all."
"Adrien…" Her hands were covering her mouth.
He took a deep breath. "Will you marry me?"
Marinette launched herself off of the bed and tackled Adrien to the ground in a crushing hug. "YES! YES! OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING! YES!"
Now it was his turn to cry. "Wait, really?"
"I have been dreaming about marrying you for thirteen years!"
"But...that's when we met."
"And when I fell in love with you."
"Oh, yeah…"
"My amazing, Chaton...Adrien, I love you so much." She held his face in her hands. "I would love nothing more than to marry you."
Before she had time to react, his lips were on hers. She slid off the bed, sunk to the floor, and erased the remaining space between them. Her hands were in his hair, desperate to feel him even closer. All too soon, they pulled away, gasping for air.
He leaned his forehead against hers. "I love you, my lady. You've made me the happiest cat in the world."
She leaned in and kissed him again. This time, it was a chaste peck on his lips that she knew left him wanting more.
"Marinette, no," he whined, "come back."
"I will," she said with a teasing lilt, "as soon as you finish what you started."
"What?"
"Or do I have to put the ring on myself?"
"Of course not. Your hand, my lady?" He picked the box up off of the ground, plucked the ring out of the cushion, and slipped it onto her finger.
And just like that, all was right with the world. She always knew that she and Adrien were a forever kind of thing, but before today, it always felt abstract. Now, it was more than a daydream. It was their future, and it was real.
They kissed again and again until their lips were chapped and their cheeks hurt from smiling. Sooner than they would have liked, they decided to rejoin their friends; however, before she shut out the light and walked out of the room, she stopped to admire the ring once more.
It was a perfect fit...just like them.