"So Juleka! You were correct to the minute!" Alya exclaimed just after the two lovebirds emerged through the door behind the counter. "Here are your winnings!"

"Yes!" The dark haired girl exclaimed quietly as she took the euros from Alya's hand.

Marinette and Adrien both walked in to find the bakery overrun with their school friends and her parents smiling at them while jostling excitedly. Alya at the centre of the room with a notepad and pen.

"Rose you were right about them wearing matching red faces," Alya winked at Marinette as she handed over another bunch of notes to the excitedly clapping blonde. "Here are your winnings…"

Adrien whispered to a surprised Marinette, "what's going on?"

Marinette pouted indignantly at the note wielding Alya, who was now handing a pile of notes to Sabrina for guessing what Adrien's first words would be.

"It would appear that Alya was taking bets on us."

Alya laughed, "well after you ran after Marinette today the pools opened again-"

"What!" Marinette exclaimed.

"It's been pretty intense dudes." Nino chimed in with a belly laugh at their shocked expressions.

"We had to suspend them when Adrien was getting close to Kagami, an angel that girl is really." The reporter looked behind her and a kindly smiling Kagami emerged from amongst the other students. "Here you are Mrs Cheng," Alya handed Sabine ten euros.

Marinette and Adrien watched with surprise as Sabine accepted the money joyfully. "I'm sorry Kagami," the older woman said apologetically, "but I made the bet when Adrien came for that training session with Marinette, you had not been present at that point."

"What!?" Marinette questioned in shock but was ignored. Adrien was starting to find this situation rather amusing.

'How long has this been going on for?'

Kagami waved her off, her smile reaching her eyes, "please do not worry about it Mrs Cheng, I have some winnings to collect myself." She shot the couple a knowing smirk, "I bet that you would buy Marinette yellow roses with red tips Adrien, and Mrs Cheng confirmed you did, so I won." Alya handed over Kagami's winnings which the expert fencer took gladly. "You know how much I love to win," she smirked.

"Competitive huh?" Kim peered over the crowd, "how about a wager?"

Alix sighed heavily, rolling her eyes and shoving Kim with annoyance. "Not this again!"

Kagami eyed the burley jock with interest, "what did you have in mind?"

Kim looked excited while Alix face palmed.

"An endurance race!" His words gained the attention of most of the shop's occupants. "Two laps around the park, if I win," he winked cheekily, "you'll say yes to a date with me."

Mouths hung agape as a resounding "ooooooo" echoed through the bakery. Adrien's arm slid around Marinette's shoulders as the exchange continued. She snuggled into him, leaning her head on his chest while their peers watched Kagami's amused reaction.

Raising her eyebrows, she put forward her own challenge. "Make it an arm wrestle now," everyone gasped at the fact she was more than willing to challenge Kim. "And when I win," she winked at the smirking smoulder Kim was wearing, "I get to pick where we go."

A few wolf whistles sounded out as their peers began jostling the two opponents with excitement while Alya shushed those around her.

"Wait wait wait!"

Nino adjusted his glasses as he watched his girlfriend command the attention of the room.

"Before we do anything else." She turned the page of her notebook, concentration mixed with enthusiasm on her face, "Max, give me the odds for the wager."

Many laughed as Sabine and Tom approached the new couple, Sabine waving her winnings excitedly, "I'm so happy for you both!"

A large hand patted Adrien on the shoulder as their friends funnelled out of the store to find a table in the park. "I'm guessing she said yes." Tom beamed between the sheepishly blushing teenagers.

"Well," Adrien cleared his throat, "I didn't get to ask." He averted his gaze while reaching for his nape bashfully.

Marinette smiled up at him. "Did you really need to?" She chuckled at her father's amused pursed lips.

Sabine smiled happily at them, clasping her hands together over her chest and tilting her head to rest it on Tom's arm. Her husband wrapped his arm around her back pulling her against him.

"Why don't you two go and join your friends," Marinette's mother suggested, "and we'll bring out a selection of snacks for you all."

"Thank you maman," Marinette smiled.

"Thank you Mrs Cheng, Mr Dupain." Adrien added.

"Son," Tom ruffled the young man's hair affectionately, "it's Tom and Sabine, okay?"

"Yes," Adrien nodded while Marinette beamed at her approving parents. "Thank you Tom, thank you Sabine."

"You're very welcome Adrien!" Sabine chirped happily, "now go join your friends and we'll be out shortly. It seems our customers are waiting."

She turned to see some slightly disgruntled but amused people waiting in line to place their orders and made her way to the desk. Tom turned with a knowing fatherly gaze and exited to the kitchen.

"Let's go Minou," Marinette whispered lovingly up to him, "I don't want to miss Kim getting his derrière handed to him by Kagami."

"After you M'Lady."

Walking out hand in hand, the two secret heroes made their way to join their friends in the park. They would not struggle to find them, as the amount of noise they were making in excitement and encouragement made it easy to pinpoint where they had congregated.

The match had not yet started, but the playful trash talk was in full swing as they arrived just in time to place their bets. Marinette put a five euro wager on Kagami winning, while Adrien placed his bet on Kagami choosing the Grévin museum as their destination. While Ivan got the competitive pair into position to start, Alya pulled Marinette away from the crowd slightly before speaking quietly. Laughing at Adrien's pout at having his new girlfriend taken from his side in the process.

"Finally putting yourself out there then?" She smugly eyed Marinette's blushing form.

Marinette nodded gently as her gaze rested on her new boyfriend. "I love him Alya, it's always been him, and he loves me." Her beaming face told Alya all she needed to know.

"Girl, I think it's always been you for him too." Alya hugged her best friend, "I'm so happy we can officially double date now!"

"Maybe even triple date!" Marinette giggled as she gestured to the competing pair. Kim's brow perspiring as Kagami smiled effortlessly while keeping his hand from slamming hers into the tabletop. "I think their competitiveness will be entertaining to say the least.

Alya smiled back at Kagami, watching her fondly, "y'know Mari," she started, "you've got a great friend in her."

"I know." Marinette sighed with relief after all the stress of the day melted away, "how is Kagami here anyway?"

"I called her," Alya nudged Marinette, "I think it would be great to get to know her."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed, meeting Adrien's gaze as she spoke. Alya laughed heartily, causing Marinette to snap her attention back to her fully. "What?"

"I can see you're dying to get back to him."

A bashful Marinette guiltily blushed at being caught, while pushing a tendril of hair behind her ear.

"Go Mari," Alya encouraged, as a celebratory cheer sounded out, announcing Kagami as the winner. "Go and enjoy your man." The reporter stepped back into the crowd to observe the antics of their friends as Kim gladly accepted defeat.

"Hey Purrincess," Adrien kissed Marinette's forehead when she snuggled into his side, "fancy going for a moonlight stroll tonight? I hear the view from the Eiffel Tower is almost as beautiful as you!"

"Flatterer," she playfully tapped his chest with the back of her hand as they canoodled while watching their enthusiastic classmates. Kagami did pick the Grévin Museum as their location, as it could pass as an educational outing to her mother. Adrien smirked as Alya reluctantly handed him his winnings, muttering about "inside information" as she did so.

The reporter would not be too disgruntled for long however, as pictures from that night's patrol would surface of Ladybug and Chat Noir sharing a loving kiss. The reporter not hesitating in uploading them to her page that evening.

The Ladyblogger's excitement would be heard from several blocks away, as would Hawkmoth's peril. The scheming villain now seeing that the heroes had finally made their connection whole, making beating them that much harder in his quest for their Miraculous'.

And here it is, the end of Declaration Day. A little fun to finish it off.

I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you for all the reviews, follows and faves ^.^ they really have spurred me on in finishing this fanfic.

If you enjoyed how it ended, or if you didn't, please let me know! Another one finished and I currently have another twelve to finish... why do I do this to myself? (".)

Hope you're all staying safe and keeping busy during these weird times.

Take it easy =)

Lady Rhi X