Chapter Five
Chat had said he would take care of everything they needed, but she hadn't realized just what that entailed.
She had brought along what he had told her they'd need, things like her birth certificate, but the rest had been in his hands. How he had been able to get a marriage license without having her name she did not know, and when she gave him a questioning look he had only smiled.
She had decided it was either the Agreste's name or the Agreste's money.
She knew the secretary was judging them, clearly having recognized Adrien, and she kept giving Marinette narrowed looks.
"I spoke with Mme. Jonas about a week ago," Adrien said evenly, putting on the same expression and tone he had when dealing with the press. It was only now she recognized it was the same look Chat often wore as well when it came to fans and the media. "She said everything would be in order."
Chat was Adrien. Adrien was Chat.
...This would take a while to get used to.
Just how many stings did Adrien pull to pull this off? If he hadn't had any of her information until now she couldn't imagine it had been easy. The fact they were going through all of this so smoothly was amazing, even with the secretary seeming determined to slow the process down.
"Everything seems to be in order, M. Agreste," the woman said coolly. "I hope you understand that there is a finality to marriage."
"I am aware," he said, and his voice slowly became icy. "And I fail to see how that is any of your concern."
Marinette struggled to hold back a smirk, and the woman said nothing.
"Name change," Adrien said suddenly. "How do we do that?"
The secretary closed her eyes. "We can start the process after the ceremony. There's a form to fill out to start, and multiple steps from there. I will get what the girl needs while–"
"Actually," Adrien said stiffly. "It will be for me."
The woman didn't seem to know how to react to this, going still with a blank expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, paused, and then without another word she rose to her feet, silently walking away to get what they needed. Adrien put his arm around Marinette's waist, pulling her close with a smile. She leaned against his shoulder, a soft sigh escaping her. She didn't know what exactly the secretary thought of her, but clearly it was something along the lines of a gold digger.
"So how many things are we doing out of order?"
Adrien grinned. "With a few euros in your pocket you'd be surprised at how many 'exceptions' there are in life."
"That's called bribing."
"I didn't bribe anyone, it's just a favor they're doing for me. Do I look like a law breaker, Bugaboo?"
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm your ridiculous."
"That doesn't even make any sense!"
He laughed, his beautiful, heartfelt laugh that made her heart stop. It was one she heard so often with Chat, but so rarely with Adrien, and her mind was still trying to connect that they were one and the same. She felt Tikki and Plagg shifting in her bag, the two wanting to be together if they had to be out of sight, but she was glad that at least some of their friends would be here today.
"You'll probably want to go ahead without me after this," Adrien said, his hand finding hers. "I'm going to be opening my trust fund– so just boring banking stuff. Not suitable for a princess' birthday."
She raised an eyebrow. "'Princess'? I haven't heard that one in ages."
"Well, I can't call you My Lady when others are around," he replied. "And I'm afraid that 'Bugaboo' has become too well known as well."
"I suppose you're right, Kitty, we can't go around calling each other those out of the mask," she said, and she tapped his nose. "So from now on you're going to be... my prince."
He gave her a pouting look. "Prince? Not your knight in leather armor?"
She smirked. "A rich pretty boy marrying young? Sounds like a prince to me."
"I still like the idea of a knight better."
"What's a princess without her prince?" She asked, going up on her tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his nose. She slowly pressed several more against his face, going down to the corner of his lips.
Adrien had a blush spreading across his cheeks as she pulled back. "I suppose I could get used to 'Prince'..."
She was reminded of when she had first gotten together with Chat, who had become flustered at the smallest displays of affection. For one that had always been so flirtatious, he seemed to crumble when the same was done to him. Smirking, she inched closer to him, enjoying how he went redder as she laced her arms around his neck.
"M. Agreste and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng?"
The two jumped apart, being reminded that they weren't alone– and that they were in public. Marinette was red as well as they turned to face the woman, someone who was fortunately different than the rude lady from before.
"Mme. Jonas," Adrien said in recognition, relaxing.
She smiled at them, and instantly Marinette liked her. "So this is the young woman you've been talking about, it's nice to meet you. We're ready to begin the ceremony, so would you two please follow me?"
Adrien grabbed her hand, squeezing it once. She felt his Miraculous against her skin, and she shivered as she realized there would be nothing between them again. No masks, no secrets, no suits, nothing. Just him and her, against the world.
"Ready?" He asked softly.
"Always."
Despite a literal ring of bad luck on his finger, Adrien knew he was the luckiest man alive.
He was never sure how he had managed to actually woo Ladybug– the day she had told him that she felt the same he had thought for sure that he was dreaming, and when they had shared their first kiss (that he could remember) he thought that he had died because there was no way this wasn't heaven. How the most brave, gorgeous, and awesome girl could look at him like he was her whole world he could barely understand.
But now that he knew that the girl under that mask was Marinette... he was just starting to realize how out of his league this woman was. Throw amazing, talented, beautiful, caring, and selfless onto that list. He had literally thought that it was impossible for him to love his Lady even more, but realizing that she had been by his side out of the mask this entire time, and knowing just how wonderful she was without it had sparked something within him.
(Ladybug had always insisted that she was simple and plain out of the mask. He hadn't believed her– and he was proud to see that he had been right.)
He was barely even paying any attention to a word the officiant said– how could he when there was an angel in front of him? Marinette smiled up at him, and he took in every aspect of her face. Sure, he had seen Marinette plenty of times without the mask– but this was Ladybug too. His Lady, his girlfriend, the love of his life, his other half, the most amazing person he knew, his soon to be wife–
He could almost hear Plagg telling him to shut up, even though the thoughts were all in his head. He grinned despite himself, and she smiled fondly in reply. His heart fluttered at the action, and he felt like he was thirteen again– her very presence hitting him.
Adrien loved this girl.
His eyes flickered down to her dress, silky and pink, and clearly it had been something she had made herself. He knew how dedicated Marinette was to her craft, and this was no exception, even the tiniest details in the embroidery was visible. Adrien may have not had the artistic elements when it came to designing, but he had been around it his entire life that he recognized top quality when he saw it.
He personally thought that pink was more fitting on her than white– it closely resembled the red she always wore as Ladybug, and pink was just Marinette's color. Not that he didn't want to see her in white– one day he hoped for a special day that they could share. In a church or maybe a lush garden, and instead of witnesses that had been selected for them they could be surrounded by friends and family.
He wondered if Father would be there that day.
As if sensing his thoughts Marinette frowned slightly, before squeezing hands reassuringly. He smiled, before looking away for the first time. They were in a fairly small room, but this was where they would be united as husband and wife. His gaze swiftly returned to Marinette, still not listening to the words of the officiant.
His entire world was in front of him, after all.
When it came time to kiss Marinette he swept her up in his arms, hands buried in her hair. Neither pulled away, holding the other close.
She was his family now.
Her wedding was nothing like she imagined.
When she was a teenager she had always imagined herself in a long white dress of her own design, perhaps married by the mayor themself. She would be surrounded by her family and friends, Alya right next to her to keep her calm, her mother smiling proudly, and her father crying tears of joy. After the civil ceremony they would go to the same chapel her parents had been married in, and she'd have a bouquet of red marigolds and white cosmos in hand, and a sparkling ring on her finger.
One thing that did remain the same from her childhood fantasies was that she was marrying Adrien Agreste.
She looked down at the promise ring on her hand, her first time wearing it when she wasn't alone. Gold and red stared up at her, telling her that it was finally done. That this was official.
Adrien had gotten himself a ring as well, a simple silver band with five small emeralds embedded across it. She knew that they were probably meant to represent the green paw pads of his active Miraculous, but it was so subtle that unless they knew who he was, no one would make the connection.
"Hey, you okay?"
Adrien's soft voice broke her train of thought, and she looked up into her husband's eyes. She smiled, playing with her ring, which felt foreign on her hand. His own hand wrapped around hers, stopping her fiddling, and a soft smile danced across her face.
"I want to stay with you," she said softly as they exited the building. Adrien was currently wearing a hat he had brought, not a full proof disguise, but with it tilted down slightly it did make him less recognizable as the model that adorned posters and billboards across the city. The streets were deafening compared to the quietness they had been in moments ago, yet the only thing that seemed to exist was each other.
"I highly doubt you want to spend your birthday at a bank, dear wife of mine," he was grinning, looking down at the booklet and papers in his hands. Forms, records, and most importantly their marriage certificate.
It was still morning, but now what Marinette would consider a reasonable time to wake up. It was strange, actually, it feeling more like it was the afternoon seeing that they had been up for a while now. They rounded a street corner, and he turned to face her, bringing her knuckles up to his lips with a tender kiss.
"As long as I'm with you I won't care," she replied, and he chuckled.
"Well, I'm afraid I still have to refuse your offer, Princess," he said, smirking slightly. "Seeing as Alya has made plans to celebrate your special day, and we all know that disrupting said plans won't end well."
She sighed dramatically, leaning up against him. "Very true, I would prefer it if you were my husband for more than one day."
"Don't worry, I'll meet up with all of you soon," he said. "Well, hopefully, if it goes quickly. Fortunately Father has actually had me learn about business and banking so I won't be going in blind."
She crinkled her nose. "Sounds like fun."
"I promise you it's just as boring as it sounds," he grinned, before giving her a bow that was all Chat, sweeping his hat off of his head and holding it against his chest. "Au revoir for now, my princess."
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Of course not," he said, placing his hat back on his head as he sat up, wrapping an arm around her waist. "A kiss for a pretty lady?"
She chuckled, giving him said kiss. "I meant your cheesy friend."
"Wanna keep him out of my hair for a few hours?"
"Ha ha," she said, watching as Plagg phased through her purse and into his jacket pocket, taking the opportunity while they were so close. He appeared up near the collar of Adrien's shirt, sticking his tongue out at his holder, before vanishing into the folds of his clothes. "You'd miss him, and you know it."
"Not as much I'd miss you."
She pressed a finger to his nose, pushing him away. "Now you're the cheesy one. Weren't you the one insisting that you go alone?"
"Doesn't mean I won't miss you."
"Goodbye Agreste," she said, turning to leave.
"Dupain-Cheng, actually."
She put a hand on her hip, turning to give him a smirk. "Not until you fill out the paperwork. And whatever else you have to do."
She could practically sense Plagg rolling his eyes as they continued their goodbyes, each only managing to make it a couple more feet apart until one of them found something more to say. It wasn't until people were walking between them that they gave their final ones, a quick and simple 'bye' compared to their previous ones, and they finally turned away from each other.
Marinette couldn't help but glance over her shoulder one last time, and she saw a sparkling pair of green eyes wink at her, and then he was swept away into the crowds. A smile lingered on her lips, reality still having yet to settle in for her.
She was married.
Marinette dug a hand into her purse, pulling out her phone. She held it up to her ear, pressing down the street. "Okay then, where should we go? We have a while until we need to meet up with Alya, and I don't want to go home and get ambushed by my parents.
Tikki had slinked into her long hair, hidden as she leaned against her neck. "A park would be nice– or maybe a chocolate shop!"
She chuckled. "Of course you're thinking about sweets. Didn't I leave some in my purse for you?"
"I ate them during the ceremony," Tikki replied.
This was the way they often talked in public– Marinette pretending to be on her phone, while she hid in her hair. Of course they couldn't talk freely about superheroes and Miraculouses, but it was a lot more liberating than trying to explain why she was whispering to a purse or pocket. No one gave her a second glance, and she was free to talk to her kwami.
"Of course you did, and then Plagg smelled my purse up with his cheese?"
"Actually," Tikki said with a giggle. "He was crying. He always cries when our holders get married."
"Let me guess, you weren't supposed to tell me that?" Marinette asked with a smile.
"I only promised not to tell Adrien," she replied in a sing-song tone. "And if I recall correctly, you didn't make any promise that you wouldn't tell Adrien, so..."
"And here I thought you were the innocent and sweet one."
They made their way to a park, lingering closer to the flowers and bushes so Tikki could explore while Marinette rested. She closed her eyes as she sat in the sun, head angled up towards the sky. Despite how much anxiety she had originally had about today... it had turned out nice so far. It was easy to relax, and as she traced the ring on her finger she felt no daunting fear or stress– only love.
It didn't take long for her phone to start vibrating– Alya sending her at least a half dozen texts in a row:
[Hey girl, we're downstairs in the bakery– let's go!]
[what do your parents mean by you're on a date?]
[why didn't you tell me this?]
[I thought that we were besties– and you didn't tell me you had a date?!]
[I'm probably interrupting, aren't I? Sorry. I'm still mad that you didn't tell me though.]
[It doesn't matter if you're on a date or not right now we had plans! We have tickets to a movie we can't return so you better finish up!]
[unless it's going well.]
[you better tell me everything.]
Marinette had to hold back a laugh as she texted Alya back, telling her that this morning had gone well, and what park she was currently at. As soon as they had decided on a place to meet Tikki flew back into her purse as she stood up, going in search of her friend.
Enjoy the fluff while it lasts.