Chapter Seven

Adrien stared up at Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, feeling intimidated by the place for the first time in a long time. Usually the bakery was like a second home for Marinette's friends, her parents nothing but friendly and always offering treats and smiles– but he also had other memories of this place. Like memories of giant thorns and vines, alongside a wolf-like akuma.

He really hoped that wouldn't be happening again.

"Scared of your in-laws?" A voice whispered in his ear, and he jumped. He could feel Plagg slithering between the collar of his shirt and his neck– safely out of sight so he could talk to Adrien– but his chosen couldn't say a word back without looking strange. "Nothing to be nervous about, it's not like the man is overprotective of his daughter... or that you swept her up the moment she turned eighteen..."

"Not helping," Adrien muttered out of the corner of his mouth, and Plagg began silently laughing. He felt a hand slip into his, and his eyes shifted to see Marinette by his side, smiling up at him.

"Don't worry," she said. "They want to meet you, they're excited."

"I think they're excited to meet your boyfriend," he said, a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth. "I'm afraid I don't fit that bill anymore."

"Come on slowpokes!" Alya called, pulling Nino past them. "We won't get any cake if we just sit out here!"

Marinette tugged him forward, a gleam in her eyes, and Adrien felt himself relaxing. She had been nervous this morning, but with the reception Alya and Nino had given to their relationship she had brightened up considerably more. He squared his shoulders as he was dragged into the bakery– because things would go wrong if that's all he focused on. Today was a new start for him, and he was going to make most of it.

"Papa, Mom, we're back!" Marinette called as they all walked into the bakery, the smell of bread and sugar washing over them. Adrien let out a content sigh, and he felt Plagg bury himself deeper into his pocket.

"There's the birthday girl," Tom said, sticking his head out of the kitchen. He was covered in flour, and had a huge grin on his face. His eyes scanned them, and immediately locked in on Adrien's hand wrapped in Marinette's. Adrien paled slightly as he made eye contact with the large man, but the grin on his face only grew. "It looks like she brought home her date as well, Sabine. Also, you owe me twenty euros."

"How many bets did people have placed on me?" Marinette asked with a huff.

"I knew you hadn't gotten over him," Tom replied with a smirk, causing his daughter to glare at him.

A few moments later Tom and Sabine were out of the kitchen, both of them beaming at Marinette and her friends, a twenty euro note not-so-subtly being passed between them. A chorus of 'hello' and 'happy birthday' were passed between them as they were led from the bakery into the main living area. Adrien took his shoes off alongside everyone else, painfully aware that her parents were watching his every move.

His clothes were fine, right? It wasn't too fancy, was it? It was what he had worn to the wedding, and it had been appropriate for the marriage, but what about now? Marinette was still wearing her dress, but it didn't matter what Marinette wore, she would look amazing in any situation. Was his hair okay? Appearances were important, especially for first impressions. Was he messing this up? What about–

"So you're the one that took Marinette out this morning, hmm?" Tom asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at him.

"Um, yes sir," Adrien replied quickly.

"Papa," Marinette said.

"And how do you feel about my daughter?"

"I love her, sir," he said this without hesitation, which seemed to surprise both Tom and Sabine. They were under the impression this was a first date, after all. "I have for a long time, and I'm glad that we have been able to make things official."

More official than you realize. He thought, but he kept a calm and happy smile on his face.

"More like making things public," Alya scoffed.

"We're not public yet," Marinette said quickly. "And we'd like to keep it that way," she took in a deep breath, and turned to face her parents. "Papa, Mom, I know you probably thought this was me and Adrien's first date, but it wasn't. We've been seeing each other for... a while now."

She shot a quick glance at Alya, telling her to stay quiet.

She took in a deep breath, her words becoming rushed. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but things were just really complicated between us and with the situations we were in we decided it would be best to keep quiet about it and it went on longer than we planned so–"

He grabbed Marinette's hand, giving it a squeeze. He wasn't sure what the expression was on her parents' faces, so he stepped in. "My father doesn't want me dating anyone. And I'm sure you know what he's like... and I didn't want to drag Marinette into the spotlight just because we're together."

Tom frowned. "And what changed that?"

"I was financially dependent on my father up until today, so I had to either do what he said or go behind his back otherwise. Now I have a bit more freedom, and I intend to go my own way," he smiled at Marinette. "Including with my relationships."

"His old man is insane, dude," Nino added. "Didn't he have a whole dating scheme set up for you?"

"Single until I'm twenty– because apparently that's better for sales," Adrien replied, eyes flickering towards the Dupain-Cheng's, who didn't seem upset about the secret relationship. In fact, they were only looking at him in concern as he spoke. "Then I could start dating because it wouldn't look good for the brand if it looked like I couldn't find a date."

"You won't have to worry about that again," Marinette said, going up on her tiptoes and pressing a kiss against his lips. Alya grinned, snapping a photo of them, while Tom and Sabine looked at them fondly.

"Well son, welcome to the family then," Tom said with a grin, clapping him on the back. Adrien flushed slightly, wondering how to break the news of how litteral that was.

But that was for Marinette to decide when to tell them, so he simply smiled as they all made their way to the dining room where Marinette's birthday cake was waiting. They hadn't done anything simple for their daughter– a multi-tiered cake resting in the center of the table, covered with layers of frosting and intricate fondant flowers. Cake wasn't the only option on the table either– macaroons, pies, eclairs, cookies– a feast of dessert laid out in front of them.

Marinette groaned. "I told you guys not to go all out this year."

"It's your eighteenth," Sabine insisted.

He sat next to Marinette, happily loading up his plate with the sugary sweetness in front of him. He had never been starved, but still he had a diet to follow. Treats were available, but highly limited, so to dig in without a thought was something he was taking full advantage of.

"Pretty cake, Princess," Adrien said with a grin as it was sliced– revealing the inside to be colored neon green with blacks flecks, not what one would expect from the flowery decor on the outside.

"I'm sure you already know, but she's a huge Chat Noir fanatic," Sabine said. "Even called him cute a few times if I remember correctly."

"Should I be worried?" Adrien asked with a raised eyebrow, grinning.

She shrugged. "Chat Noir is hot– what else can I say?"

"Personally I think Ladybug has the looks between the two of them."

"Ladybug is so overrated," Marinette said, causing Alya to glare at her. This caused a smirk to tug on her lips. "Rena Rouge is pretty cute too though."

"Multimouse was adorable, I've always wondered why she never made a comeback."

"I think she quite obviously had her reasons."

"Enough bickering you two," Sabine said. "I believe we came here for cake and presents after all. So when we're all finished up in here we can head into the main room."

"Purrfect," Adrien said with a grin.

Marinette narrowed her eyes at him. "You better have not gotten me a second present, I told you not to."

"Too late."

"Adrien!"

He grinned, taking another bite of cake. His eyes flickered towards Tom, who gave him a thumbs up of approval. His spirits lightened at this– because maybe, just maybe– this would be able to go smoothly.

Marinette glared at Adrien as he carefully set another present on the top of the one Alya had already brought from him. Even though their identities had only been revealed this morning it was so clearly Chat in front of her– a gleam in his eyes and a smirk on his face. He was enjoying her frustration, and she couldn't even hide it because he could read her so well. It didn't matter how composed she looked, he easily spotted the twitch of her eye and the way her lips subtly pressed together, and would then give her the biggest grin.

Despite her new husband silently taunting her, Marinette was enjoying the gifts she was getting so far. Alya had gotten her a set of expensive colored pencils she had been wanting for ages, alongside several sketchbooks of various sizes– including one that would perfectly fit in her purse, and finally an assortment of colored threads. Nino had gotten her the expansion for the most recent Ultimate Mega Strike game, alongside a huge bag of her (Tikki's, actually) favorite candy.

Jagged Stone had sent her a prerelease of his newest album, which Nino and Adrien had seemed more excited about than herself. Soon Jagged's new songs were playing in the background as she continued opening her presents, currently picking up the one Adrien had gotten for her before he had known she was Ladybug.

"Let's see what my Prince got me," Marinette said as she ripped at the paper. He glowered at her, since he had chosen this out before the reveal. "I'm sure you put so much thought into it."

"I did," he said with a huff. "But that's not your real gift, for the record."

"Uh-huh," she replied, tearing open the present. She had already guessed that it was a bolt of fabric by the shape, but her eyes widened when she found a whole bolt of a glossy light pink cloth. She stared at the silk, before looking at the label, and even though the price tag had been removed she knew that it hadn't been cheap. "Adrien!"

"What?"

"How much did you spend on this?!"

"No comment," he replied.

"This is too expensive!"

He beamed. "I'm glad you like it," he picked up his second gift, which was in a bright green bag, placing it into her lap. "Here you go, Princess. Don't worry, this wasn't nearly as much– and it's your real birthday gift."

She eyed him as she ripped out the tissue paper, not sure of what she was going to find inside. Knowing how impulsive her kitty was, she half expected to find it full of jewelry or something else that would be way over the top– but she found herself quickly relaxing when a mass of black and green stared back at her. She first pulled out a Chat Noir themed water bottle (not a cheap one, of course), followed by a package of hero-themed bandanas. There was a Chat Noir drawstring backpack, a hoodie, three posters, a t-shirt, and an adorable black cat plush.

"I'm naming him Chaton," Marinette declared, immediately clutching the toy cat to her chest.

"As if Marinette needed more Chat Noir merchandise," Alya chuckled as Marinette happily slipped on the hoodie, which was a size too big, meaning she could happily burrow into it.

"Have you seen your Ladybug collection?" Nino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Says the one with everything Rena Rouge."

It was the first time they could truly do their tradition on one of their actual birthdays– and Marinette was already planning what Ladybug things she would get for him on his next birthday. Everything here was going up into her Chat Noir shrine as soon as she went upstairs– which she still needed to show Chat.

"I want a picture," Tom said, holding up his phone. "Get over there by her, Adrien."

Adrien slipped into the seat next to Marinette, throwing his arm around her and pulling her in close. Both of them grinned up at the camera, 'Chaton' nestled between them.

"Perfect!" Tom declared.

"Purr-fect, you mean," Adrien corrected, and there was a gleam in the baker's eyes.

"You are absolutely correct, what a terri-purr mistake on my part, absolutely claw-ful."

"We meow-st fix this right away, not waste any paw-portunity."

"Nope," Marinette said. "Don't you dare start this up you two."

"Did you mean doughn't you dare?" Adrien said, Chat's smirk climbing up onto his face as he leaned in close to her. "I think you just knead to embrace the wonderful world of puns."

Tom was grinning. "He's definitely a keeper, Mari. Don't you let him slip out of your claws."

"Queen Bee is my new favorite hero," she declared, finger pressed against Adrien's nose as she playfully pushed him away.

"That would bee claw-ful. Paw-lease don't do this to me, honey."

Marinette simply glared at him, struggling against a smile. Adrien immediately took notice of this though, flashing her a grin, and she turned away defiantly. Alya was snapping pictures of the two of them, while Nino was just shaking his head at all the puns. Tom was looking out at the two of them proudly, while Sabine frowned slightly.

"What's that on your finger, dear?" She asked, nodding towards the golden ring.

Marinette did her best not to stiffen up, merely smiling as she held it up, showing off the ruby on it. "It's a promise ring Adrien got me a few months ago."

Sabine took her hand, looking over it fondly. "It's absolutely beautiful," she looked up at her with a frown though. "But a few months ago? How long have you two exactly been dating?"

Marinette wasn't able to hide her uncertainty as easily this time. She glanced towards Adrien, whose playful demeanor had softened. He didn't say anything, because what she decided to tell her parents was her choice. She swallowed, looking back towards her mother with a smile.

"Just over three years now," she said as smoothly as possible, but that didn't stop her mom from tensing and Tom from frowning.

"Years?" He echoed.

"We didn't want to keep it hidden from you– or anyone for that matter," Adrien said quickly. "But with how my father is we didn't want to risk him catching word of anything. If no one knew it was better, and we're sorry it was a secret for so long."

"I see," Sabine simply said, and Marinette wasn't sure of what to make of it. She didn't sound upset, but clearly she wasn't happy about having been left in the dark either. She studied Adrien for a moment, who looked away guiltily. She squeezed his hand– their excuse was just an excuse, this wasn't his fault.

"How is your pops even going to react to all this?" Nino asked with a frown.

Adrien let out a laugh, edged with bitterness. "I'm prepared for the worst. He had my life planned out, and he doesn't like anything that disrupts his plans."

"Surely he won't hold this against you?" Tom asked. "Even if he is upset it couldn't be forever– especially if he sees you're happy."

"He holds grudges," Nino snorted. "Forever."

"Gabriel doesn't care about his happiness," Alya added, while Marinette felt a twist in her stomach. Something just didn't feel right, and it was crawling under her skin.

"Father will have plenty to say to me, that's for sure," Adrien said, fidgeting with his Ladybug charm. "It won't be pretty when I tell him, but I'm sure I will be fine. I know a few brands that would probably be more than willing to pick me up as a model."

"He wouldn't fire you just for dating, would he?" Sabine asked, looking worried.

A wry smile tugged at his lips. "I... I'm hoping it won't come to that, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a possibility. I would like to keep working for him, at least until I can find another job I enjoy more. First things first though, which is actually talking to him."

"I'll be there with you," Marinette said.

His eyes widened. "Oh no you won't."

"I am not having you go alone!"

"How about we worry about this later, it's your birthday," he said swiftly– because he knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer. "We should be focusing on celebrating, not my father."

She scowled at him as he tried to change the topic, because there was no way she was going to let him face Gabriel on his own. She knew what the man was like, and what Chat had gone through, and if he honestly thought that she was going to sit back and let him go on his own, then he had another thing coming.

Chat's father.

Marinette found herself freezing up as the thought passed through her mind, the realization striking her with horrible clarity. The words around her died down into an unintelligible garble as she took in a sharp breath, mind bridging the pieces she had yet to link together.

Gabriel was Adrien's father. Adrien was Chat.

Gabriel was Chat's father.

"Oh kwamis," she whispered shakily under her breath, hand rising to cover her mouth. Adrien's worried gaze found hers, his arm tightly around her, and she felt sick.

The memories had always been raw in her mind, watching her Chaton break down before a patrol, telling her how everything he always did was never enough for his father. Off handed comments about things that he had thought were natural, but had only set off alarms in her head. Her begging him to tell him who he was just so she could do something– and Chat's refusal. The horrible moments when he showed up on patrol with a bruise across his face, and how he would proudly tell her how he hid it with makeup, his friends not even noticing a thing.

Friends she had so bitterly thought of, wondering how they hadn't noticed, wondering why they wouldn't do something– anything.

She was that friend. She was the one who hadn't noticed. She was the one that had blindly stood by to Adrien's abuse.

She hadn't done anything.

"Marinette?" She barely took in his words, blinking as he grabbed her shoulders. "Mari? Mari!"

"Your father," she whispered, realizing there were tears falling down her face. "He's– he's been– this entire time–"

Green eyes softened, and his voice became gentle. "Mari, it's okay."

"No it isn't!" She shouted, shoulders hunching. "He's– he's– I haven't done anything!"

"You didn't know."

She found herself wrapped in his embrace, struggling for air as she tried to control her tears. The guilt was heavy, bearing down on her, but there was spark forming within her as well– the rage burning and bitter.

"I'm going to kill him," she growled.

"No, you're not," Adrien said.

"You don't think I would? Because I wouldn't hesitate."

"I know you could, and I know you would, which is exactly why I'm telling you no."

Nino raised his hand. "If we're going after Gabriel count me in."

"Why is this even a discussion?" Adrien asked, holding her closer.

"Mari," Alya stepped forward, looking between the two of them in worry.

"It's okay," Adrien said, still holding her.

"It's not okay," Marinette hissed.

"I'm fine now," he took a step back, looking at her with such a fondness that she felt some of her anger retreat at sight. "He has no say in my life now– we've made sure of that."

Oh, she would make sure of it, especially if that man reared his hideous head again.

Tom was frowning. "Adrien, what kind of reaction should we be expecting from your father?"

His arms tightened around her. "You don't need to worry, sir, I'll be fine."

"...If you need a place to stay away from your house," Tom said after a moment. "We do have a guest bedroom you can stay in."

Adrien smiled. "Thank you, sir."

Sabine looked even more worried. "Adrien... you said earlier that you were financially dependent on him, didn't you? Will you have enough to support yourself now if he does... react poorly?"

"I've been saving up my paychecks ever since I turned eighteen," Adrien replied. "Everything from before then was put into my trust fund, which I have access to now. It's more than enough, but hopefully I can get a job and keep that as savings," he smiled. "Thank you for the concern though, Mme Cheng."

She smiled. "Sabine is just fine, dear."

Everyone seemed to relax slightly at this, but Nino found himself frowning. "You got access to your trust fund?"

"That's what held me up today."

"How, dude? You told me you had to get married before you could access it!" Nino exclaimed, and immediately she and Adrien tensed. Silence fell across the room for a moment, everyone taking in these words, when Nino's eyes widened. "Wait... n-no way. Dude, don't tell me you– that you actually–"

Adrien swiftly grabbed Marinette's hand, both of their eyes darting away as everyone's gazes slipped towards them. Her parents' stare was definitely the heaviest, which she could feel even without making eye contact. She felt Tikki pressing up against her through her purse, silently encouraging her as she often did, though her stomach just churned.

This wasn't how they planned on telling everyone.

Sabine was the one to break the silence. "Marinette, last night, when you said..."

She closed her eyes, swallowing. She had no reason to be afraid, she had faced much worse than this. Akumas that had rampaged across her city, threats that had been made on her life, she had seen things she'd rather not remember– announcing something so important to her should be nothing.

"When I said I was eloping, I wasn't joking," she replied, looking up to meet her parents' gazes. "Adrien and I were married this morning."