"Chat!" Marinette gasped, breathing heavily as she sat up disorientated in the dark. Two strong, muscular arms quickly wrapped her tight, holding her close to a warm bare chest.
"Breathe m'lady, it's all right, I'm here." Marinette closed her eyes and just concentrated on the soothing sound of Adrien's voice. It was alright, he was alright.
It had been earlier in the evening when an Akuma had interrupted them at Andre's Ice Cream with Alya and Nino. The reporter immediately ran with her phone after the villain, Nino in tow trying to keep her out of danger. Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand and darted into a nearby alley for them to transform before facing the angry akuma. It was one of the most vicious attacks the two had ever encountered, with beams that zapped the very existence out of its victims in order to fuel the akuma's rampage. Nighttime akumas often were more difficult, and the emotions seemed to have been more amplified during a full moon. She had already seen Alya and Nino hit, their eyes growing dark and lifeless. Ladybug was still figuring out her lucky charm when Chat yelled her name, diving in front of her, the life in his eyes fading before her and making her blood run cold. It was all she could do to hold herself together long enough to defeat the akuma and reset everything with the miraculous ladybugs. When Chat stood up and dusted himself off, she had practically knocked him off his feet when she jumped into his arms.
Later that night, she couldn't get the flashbacks out of her mind. Tikki tried to give her comfort, but even she knew the only thing that was going to settle her chosen down was to see Adrien. Marinette transformed, making her way to the Agreste mansion in the middle of the night. Knocking on his window in the dark, it turned out Adrien was still awake, and his smile as he opened the window and his arms settled her frantic heart. She just needed to be with him, needed to feel his heart beating next to hers, she needed to feel his love around her.
Yes, knowing who Chat was did make things harder on one level, but being able to come to him like this, to be able to love him like this, it made the nightmares easier to cope with. Adrien understood too, because he'd had similar nightmares she found out, but his soft and gentle touches soothed her scorched soul and made her feel safe. Later, when she eventually fell asleep in those same arms, the visions that had been taunting her had come back to haunt her dreams.
"I can't keep watching you die Adrien. I can't take it anymore." She could feel the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Adrien turned her around so she was facing him, the full moon streaming through his window illuminating their faces.
"I'm not trying to kill myself Bug, but it's my job to protect you. Only you can set everything right again, and I trust you to bring me back, because I know you would never give up on me." He hooked his finger under her chin, lifting her glistening eyes to meet his. "Paris needs Ladybug." He said gently, wiping a tear away with his thumb. Marinette shook her head as she grabbed his hand.
"And Ladybug needs Chat Noir. You're not expendable Adrien. What if something happens and I don't defeat the akuma? I couldn't live without you." Adrien held her close to him, kissing her head before she laid it against his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to the steady beat within. He knew there was no way either of them were going to win this argument. She hated seeing him sacrifice himself, but he would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to her.
"I'm not going anywhere Mari. I'm the man that wants to marry you, remember? But we both have a job to do. I have to take the hits so you can repair the damage. That's just the way it is." She sighed, looking up at him in the moonlight. He was right of course, and she knew that, but it still hurt watching him disappear before her eyes, to know that for those precious few minutes his life is entirely in her hands.
"Then let's just hope this doesn't go on for much longer." She said, touching his face with her hand. He bent down his head, drawing her into a lingering kiss. "I guess I better head home. You'll be coming early enough as it is for us to get the train."
Calling Tikki over, she transformed back into Ladybug. Although Adrien had watched her do that a few times now, it still made his heart race watching her transformation. Adrien walked over to the window with her, pulling her close to him by the waist for one more kiss. "I'll see you soon Bugaboo. Try to get a bit more sleep, we have a long day ahead today." She shrugged with a smile.
"I can always sleep on the train. You make a pretty good pillow if I remember." She winked at him as she swung out the window and into the night. Adrien watched her until she disappeared over the horizon. He couldn't wait to marry that girl.
True to her word, Marinette passed out sound asleep within 10 minutes of the train leaving the station. She laid curled up with her head on Adrien's lap while he gently stroked her hair. He'd asked her if she had slept when she got home, but her answer was invasive so he took that as a no.
Chloé wasn't all that talkative at first. She did apologise for her less than stellar efforts at the pub the other night, admitting that she had the mother of all hangovers the following day and she seemed genuinely embarrassed by her behaviour. Adrien wasn't about to tell her off for it though, figuring she'd suffered enough humiliation.
"Thank you anyway for letting me tag along. It has been some time since I've seen your Aunt and cousin, but I'm sure you and Marinette would have preferred to have had this time for yourselves."
"It's alright Chlo, we'll still have time. Actually speaking of which, I've got some special plans for tonight if you don't mind hanging out with Felix for a while." Chloé raised an eyebrow at him.
"I suppose I could tolerate Felix on my own for a while." She said with a curious glint in her eye before leaning forward. "So which is it then, romantic dinner? Trip on the Thames? The London Eye?" She could see Adrien's face turning red and started to laugh. "You're such a romantic sap Adrien. You're not planning on doing something stupid like proposing are you?" Adrien looked down at Marinette who had begun to softly snore.
"Well, I kind of already did." He said, looking up at his childhood friend with a goofy grin. Chloé practically choked on air.
"What the hell Adrien? When? What did your father say? Hold up, you didn't knock her up did you?" Adrien shushed her, not wanting her waking Marinette up.
"What no! It was kind of a spare of the moment thing the other day. Honestly it wasn't planned at all, but Chlo, when she said yes it just felt so right. I've honestly never felt so happy." Chloé just smiled politely at him. Internally she thought he was slightly off his rocker proposing at his age, but it didn't entirely surprise her, it was so like Adrien to dive head first into something like that. "I'm organising something nice for tonight so I can actually give her a ring and we can make it official." He then darted his gaze away. "Father doesn't know. We're not exactly on speaking terms right now." Chloé looked at him sympathetically, leaning over and placing a hand on his that was resting on Marinette.
"Look, I don't really get the two of you being together, I'll admit it. I don't know what changed or how you two really ended up here, but I will always support you Adrikins, no matter what. That's a promise. If you want to be with Marinette, then I'll be here for that. You know if your dad throws you out of the house you ou can always move into the hotel. I know Daddy wouldn't mind. I'll even let you bring Marinette because I'm nice like that. Maybe I could give her a makeover or something and fix her up a bit for you." Adrien had to giggle at that. Like he was ever going to let Chloé ever give Marinette one of her makeovers.
"Thanks Chloe. You've always been a good friend to me." Chloé waved him off with a smile as she sat back in her seat.
Adrien's phone beeped with a text.
Amelie: Made that reservation you asked for. Added some extras too. Can't wait to see you and your young lady x
He looked down from his phone at the still sleeping Marinette. In order to get everything he wanted organised, he needed a co-conspirator, and his Aunt was delighted to be let in on his secret. At least someone in his family was happy for him.
When they arrived in London, they were greeted by a driver and escorted to an awaiting limo. Marinette shivered and pulled on her cardigan. She was glad she listened to Chloé's advice and brought it because it was indeed colder in London, and grey, so very grey. Marinette didn't think a place could look so grey. It was a relatively quick drive to the Graham De Vanily estate as the rain drizzled down the car windows. Adrien pointed out the Big Ben clock tower as they passed it.
"I know, I saw it when we came with the school, remember." He'd forgotten about that. After the whole Startrain incident where Max's mother had been akumatized, he missed out being able to come back with the others.
"Well, at least I get to see it with you properly this time." He kissed her cheek, earning himself an eye roll from Chloé.
The house where Adrien's Aunt and cousin lived was everything Marininette pictured an English manor estate would be. Driving through the large iron gates, the grounds were impeccably manicured with roses gardens and lush lawns. Standing on the front stairs was a woman with platinum blonde hair that looked like a carbon copy of the pictures Marinette had seen of Adrien's mother. Although Adrien had told her his mother was a twin, it hadn't really hit her until that moment.
Stepping out of the car, Marientte held Adrien's hand tightly as servants collected their bags. She knew Adrien's father had made quite a lot of money in his business, but this felt very different. This was old money, a family dynasty that had been handed down for generations. She wouldn't have been surprised if there were titles in the family somewhere. Adrien could practically read her thoughts from her face and gave her a hand a reassuring squeeze with a smile.
"Adrien, my sweet boy, it's been far too long and what have you done to your hair." Amelie kissed Adrien on both cheeks before holding him in a tight embrace and scuffing up his wilder looking locks. "Your father must hate this." Adrien chuckled.
"You know he does." He said, Amelie nodding her head knowingly. "And this must be your Marinette?" She asked, offering the girl a kiss to both cheeks. "I must admit, I was curious about you after that perfume advertisement, but I can already see that you are every bit as precious in real life. No wonder Adrien fell head over heels for you." She chuckled. Marinette had to wonder just what her Kitty had been saying about her before they came.
"Hello Aunt Amelie." Chloé piped in, offering kisses and hugs.
"My goodness Chloé, just look at you. The picture of a Parisian socialite. Your papa must be so proud," Chloé smiled at Adrien knowing he would have given his Aunt a heads up on what had happened with her mother.
"Well, I do have an image to uphold after all." Chloé quipped with a flick of her hair. "So where is Felix? I thought he would have been here to welcome me." Adrien looked at Marinette and rolled his eyes.
"He's at the store already making sure everything is in order for the opening. I know you must all be feeling tired from your trip, but you don't have a lot of time before the opening and cocktail reception so I'll show you all to your rooms."
The trio followed Amelie up a grand staircase to the bedrooms. As they walked she asked Marinette about her bakery and designing. Adrien could see Marientte had begun to relax and Amelie seemed genuinely interested. Chloe was shown to a very elegant room in cream and lemon. Kicking her shoes off, she bid everyone adieu, stating she was going to soak a hot bath. Adrien and Marinette followed Amelie again, passing what Marinette assumed was Felix's room before arriving at a distant bedroom with two large beds in it.
"Now, your father was quite over the top on the phone and made me promise I would separate the two of you. I have no idea why, however I never specified how I was going to do that." She said with a wink, indicating the two beds. Adrien wasn't sure if he should have been embarrassed at the implication, or proud of the fact his Aunt wasn't at all interested in his father trying to boss her around. Marinette seemed oblivious to the conversation as she walked into the richly decorated room accented in pinks and whites, her inner designer itching to get her sketchbook out, but there wasn't time now. Maybe later. As Marinette went to look in the bathroom, Amelie pulled Adrien back, dropping her voice to a whisper.
"She seems like a very sweet girl Adrien. I'm so happy for you that you have found someone so young in life. My Felix on the other hand seems to be completely disinterested in most of the girls around him." Adrien knew his cheeks were turning pink, but he smiled at his Aunt's enthusiasm. He had told her his plans for tonight and she had helped to get everything organised for him. She really had been an angel about it.
"Thanks Amelie. I wish my father could have been more happy about us, I haven't even told him yet, and I'm really not sure how he'll react when I do." Amelie could see there was a lot more to that statement then Adrien was indicating, but that discussion would need to wait for later. Marinette came out of the bathroom, gushing about the marble countertops and Adrien had to giggle at how excited she was.
"Well, I'll leave you two to settle in. The car will be here in about an hour."
Once Amelie closed the door, Adrien crash tackled Marinette onto one of the beds, her laughter filling the air as he attacked her neck with kisses. "Down Kitty, we don't have a lot of time before we have to leave again."
"I know." He mumbled between kisses. Lifting himself up slightly he brushed her hair out of her face. "But I can't help it that you're so kissable." Marinette giggled and bopped him on the nose.
"As kissable as I may be, I still need to get ready. If this is going to be your last official engagement for the Gabriel brand, then I want you looking your best for it...What?" She asked at his goofy grin.
"You said engagement." He said as he kissed her again.
"You dork." She laughed, holding his face in both of her hands. "What am I going to do with you Chaton?"
"How about feeding me." Plagg interrupted. Tikki poked him in the side, causing the cat to pin his ears down. Adrien dropped his head into Marinette's neck with a groan.
"Couldn't we have left him at home?" He complained. Marinette patted his hair.
"You know you'd miss me." Plagg teased. "Are you going to let Kalkki out to play pigtails?"
"Absolutely not." Marinette said resolutely. "You pair are far too mischievous together. I only brought the miraculous just in case we have to teleport to Paris in a hurry, I'm not about to let the two of you run riot over London." Plagg huffed but wasn't going to argue with the Guardian, accepting some cheese as a peace offering and promising Tikki he would behave.
Despite Adrien's best efforts of distraction, Marinette managed to get him and herself ready in time to meet Chloé in the car and travel to the opening. Chloé as always wore a dress in her signature yellow. Marinette wore a Gabriel design dress that Nathalie had selected for her. She wasn't wrapped in the style of the dress, but the lavender was a nice shade and the strappy jewelled sandals were really pretty .
The new Gabriel store was opening on the luxury Bond St strip in the company of Tiffany Co, Ralph Lauren and Cartier. It was a prime location which was part of the reason Gabriel wanted Adrien at the opening. Ever since her conversation with Nathalie, Marientte had begun to resent even more the fact that Gabriel had been using his son like this to sell the brand. In the back of her mind, she had been worrying how Gabriel would react to Adrien leaving, but she was trying not to think about it for now.
Entering the store, a tall young man with striking similarities to Adrien came over to greet them.
"Adrien, good to see you again." He extended his hand out to shake Adrien's before embracing him.
"It's been a long time Felix." Adrien smiled turning to Marinette and introducing her. Felix took her hand, surprising her by kissing the back of it.
"Enchanted." He said, though his voice was quite formal, his smile seemed genuine. Marinette found him quite perplexing and hard to read. While he looked a lot like Adrien, he wasn't as muscular, and his eyes didn't have the same warmth, but she was reserving judgement until she knew him better.
Behind her, Marinette heard Chloé clear her throat loudly. "Of course, I would never forget my favourite honorary cousin." Felix said, kissing Chloé on the cheek.
"That's because I'm unforgettable Felix. How are you been anyway, you haven't been to Paris in well over a year." Felix shrugged.
"I got swamped in this whole thing." He said pointing around the store. "But now that it's over I'm hoping things will settle down a bit. Why, did you miss me blondie?" He teased. Chloe folded her arms.
"You wish." She scoffed.
"Felix honey, they are about ready to start…oh, I didn't expect to see you three here." Lila slinked over, putting an arm around Felix's waist and smiling that sickenly fake smile at them. With Lila being out of the county, everyone back in Paris had kind of forgotten about her.
"Well, obviously Adrien would be at the opening of his father's store dear." Felix said dryly. "Tell them we will be out in a moment."
Marinette eyed Lila with suspicion. She looked every inch the model, with her hair and makeup carefully styled and her outfit impeccable. Marinette was sure the Italian girl was in some kind of relationship with Felix that wasn't strictly professional. The body language spoke volumes to that. What was more hilarious though was the absolute jealousy that seemed to have been oozing out of Chloé. A fact that didn't seem lost on Lila.
"Don't be too long then. I'll see you all later, oh and you must catch me up on all the gossip back in Paris." Lila said, patting Chloé on the shoulder. The blonde pulled back like she'd just been burned. As Lila walked away smirking, the socialite turned and glared at Felix.
"Don't tell me you're dating that thing are you?" Chloé gasped in horror. Felix rolled his eyes at her.
"Good God no Chloé, what kind of idiot do you take me for?" Chloé was about to say something when he held his hand up.
"Don't answer that." He huffed. "I could read Lila like a book the moment she got here. The first thing she said to me when she arrived was that she was Adrien's ex girlfriend and that Gabriel had to send her away because she had broken his heart by dumping him. I mean seriously, as if my own Uncle wouldn't have said something to me if that was the case." Marientte and Adrien shared a knowing glance. Clearly Lila was never going to change, but at least her focus seemed to have been elsewhere now.
"I'm glad you didn't believe her." Marientte said. Felix started to laugh.
"No, I knew Lila was full of it. She is however quite good at socialising which is not something I particularly enjoy myself, but it is unfortunately a hazard of the job."
"I doubt Lila would be very good at anything, except as a bull crap artist. Clearly your expectations are far too low. You need someone better equipped for socialising who actually knows what they are doing." Chloé said while examining her nails before giving him a deadpanned look.
"You offering to take the job on Chlo?" Felix asked with a smirk.
"I didn't think you were that kind of player Felix." Chloé teased, playing with Felix's tie.
"I'm not generally." He replied. "I just humour her a little to keep her quiet, plus she has her uses at times, but she's not the kind of girl you take home to meet your mother if you know what I mean." Felix gave Adrien a wink causing the blonde to look at his cousin slightly mortified at what he thought he might have been implying. Somehow, Adrien wasn't sure he wanted to know the details.
After cutting the ribbon on the new store and posing for photos, there was a small reception of champagne and canapes in store for the board members and key shareholders. Soon after meeting and greeting a few investors, Adrien and Felix disappeared for a while leaving Marinette and Chloé to have to pretend pleasantries with Lila. It ended up being less painful than Marinette thought it would be, although the rate Chloé was drinking champagne was becoming a worry. Lila over inflated her importance at the company of course since really she was nothing more than glorified eye candy in the place.
It was obvious though that Lila's wings had been clipped somewhat, and she was trying to be on her best behaviour, especially where Marinette was concerned. Lila had to fight the urge to point out Marinette's flat shoes, or her understated hairstyle and she had all but avoided Adrien. Although Marinette was sure it was fake, Lila was at least acting pleasant which was bearable. Whatever had gone down with Gabriel after the photoshoot, it became clear to Marinette that Lila had no intention of ever returning to Paris, or interfering with her and Adrien. Nevertheless, Marientte was equally relieved when the boys eventually came back, although neither of them would divulge what they had been up to.
Lila draped herself off Felix again, straightening his tie and just generally fussing over him. Felix eventually shrugged her off, looking slightly irritated, before giving her a slap on the backside and sending her off to socialise with some of the investors. He then started focusing all his attention onto Chloé, who seemed to have actually been flirting back. Maybe it was the champagne. Marientte and Adrien took a backseat watching the aspiring model and the socialite vie for dibs on the heir apparent of what seemed like a substantial fortune.
"Is this how girls were acting over me?" Adrien asked as he sipped his champagne. Marinette nodded her head.
"You have no idea Kitty." She laughed, some of her own idiocy from the past coming to mind. Adrien put an arm around her, kissing her on the head.
"Well I'm glad it's done with now, because as of tonight, I am officially off the market permanently, because this cat's heart has been stolen by my lady forever." He then looked back towards his cousin, who looked quite uncomfortable between the two women trying to gain his attention. "I do wish Felix luck though dealing with those two firecrackers."
While Adrien had asked Chloé to keep Felix company while he took Marinette out, he was mildly surprised to see that Felix had actually made a restaurant reservation at a very high end restaurant. Considering he didn't know Chloé was even coming until two days ago, Felix had clearly pulled rank on his family name to treat the daughter of the Mayor of Paris. It wasn't as though Felix and Chloe weren't friends, she'd know him as long as she'd known Adrien, but still, this was a lot to do for an old childhood friend.
While the girls got ready, Felix invited Adrien for a round of billiards. The table was set up in its own room with an accompanying bar table. Felix had already poured himself a stiff drink, but Adrien declined.
"I would have thought a man proposing marriage would have been a little more nervous." Felix remarked as he applied chalk to his cue.
"I told you, I already did. I just wanted to treat her to an evening she would remember when I give her the ring. I just hope she likes it." Felix patted Adrien's shoulder.
"I'm sure she will. It's not as big as I would have chosen, but you know your girl better than I do. I'm not exactly the settling down type, not yet anyway." Felix lent over breaking the balls, twelve and fourteen both finding the pockets. "You're on smalls."
"What about Lila then?" Adrien asked pocketing five in the corner.
"What about her?" Felix countered with an aloof tone, his aim missing the pocket.
"Well you seemed to have been more than just friendly with her." Adrien looked up at his cousin after pocketing three off a rebound.
"Lucky shot." Felix rechalked his cue before trying to aim again. "Lila and I have an understanding with each other. She gives me female companionship when I need it, and I introduce her to the famous and influential. There's no strings attached which suits me fine." This time he managed eleven in the side pocket.
"It's a bit of an empty existence though isn't it? I mean, how can you keep emotions out if it like that? When I'm with Marientte, every moment is special to me, just being able to be with her is special. I couldn't imagine making love to a woman I wasn't in love with." Felix leaned against his cue stick.
"That's because Marinette is in love with you. That's different. Lila isn't in love with me, I know that. She's in love with money and power. As soon as someone else comes along with a better offer, she'll be gone. By then I'll have to settle down so that there will be heirs to hand this place down too. It's your turn."
Adrien's shot went wide, knocking fifteen right in front of a pocket, giving Felix a shot he took easily. "So what about Chloé then? Why the fancy dinner and all the flirting at the reception?" Felix stopped in thought for a moment, taking a drink before he looked up at his cousin.
"Chloe's...different. I've known her forever and we belong in the same social circles." Adrien pocketed six and one before walking around the table for the chalk.
"So you are considering long term plans then?" Felix misfired the ball, causing it to bounce wildly around the table before sinking the black eight ball.
"You win Agreste." He said with a half smile. "Your right though. Lila isn't the sort of girl one marries, but Chloé? I have to admit watching you buy that ring today made me realise a few things about myself. It doesn't hurt to set a bit of groundwork for the future now does it?"
Felix took Adrien's cue, setting them back up in the stand and finishing his drink. Adrien didn't say any more about it. It's his cousin's life and he wasn't about to interfere. He was just happy that it wasn't his life. Although his mother's disappearance still hurt in many ways, Felix changed a lot after his father died. He went from rebellious in his early teens, to cold and distant in his late teens. He cared about his mother, very much so, but he kept an invisible barrier with everyone else. Adrien wondered if Chloé would really be the one to melt that hard exterior, but he figured only time would tell.
"Let's move it Felix. That reservation is for 7:30 and I don't want to miss it." Chloé's voice echoed through the room. She wore a soft lemon coloured dress, with matching gold accessories, her hair in an up style. Felix straightened up on seeing her, bestowing a fairly formal kiss on her hand before offering his arm.
"Don't worry blondie, they won't give away my reservation." He threw a wink Adrien's way before leading Chloé out.
Adrien followed them to the main doors, waving them off just as Marinette ran down the stairs. "I'm not late am I?" She asked, looking flustered. Adrien took her hands admiring her dress. It was the same soft pink dress that had gotten splashed that day which led to having dinner in his office and confessing their feelings.
"No, you're right on time, m'lady." He said, kissing her softly before taking her arm and leading her out to the waiting car.