Adrien and Marinette walked hand in hand huddled under an umbrella. The rain was light, but the wind was cold as the cooler weather began to approach. Both wore coats and boots, Adrien also wearing his favourite blue scarf. In her hands, Marinette carried two small bunches of white roses. It had been a bit over 12 month since the fall of Gabriel Agreste, and today was about closure on that chapter of their lives.
Gabriel had refused to plead guilty on any of the charges, even the death of Nathalie, forcing everyone into a tedious and dragged out trial. Unfortunately, Gabriel had the money and connections to employ lawyers willing to represent him, regardless of his obvious guilt. At first, Gabriel allowed Adrien to be thrown under suspicion as an accomplice and he had to defend himself against any involvement. He spent his 19th birthday on the stand trying to prove his innocence against the accusations. Everywhere he went, people would look at him strangely and whisper. Could the golden child really have been involved in crimes so hideous? News of his engagement to Marientte softened some of the blow, gossip magazines lapping up the apparent whirlwind romance amid so much tragedy. Adrien kept mostly to the bakery kitchen with Marinette's father during those darker days, the baker teaching him everything he knew about his craft and which gave Adrien a distraction from the pressure he was under. Tom insisted on paying him an apprentice wage, even though at first Adrien refused. Tom remind him that his daughter's design projects didn't come cheap and that Adrien would need an income to support her once they were married. Adrien didn't argue with him, even though he was sure he was well set financially and it made Tom happy to feel like he could help in a small way. Besides, Adrien was a quick learner and showed a lot of skill as a baker.
Eventually a letter emerged, one that Nathalie had written the day of the final showdown and posted to her solicitor. In it were numerous details of Gabriel's pattern of behaviour, his deteriorating mental state, and the emotional and physical abuse Adrien had been under for years. She also indicted Gabriel for his Hawkmoth activities with accurate details of some of his worst attacks. Between her statutory declaration, his bodyguard's testimony and Ladybug's statements, Adrien was cleared of any and all involvement. Once details of Adrien's life under his father became public, opinion shifted from suspicion to sympathy, not that Adrien wanted anyone's sympathy. He would have much rather none of that information had gotten out into the open, but it was necessary to clear his name and he was grateful that the people of Paris didn't hate him because of what his father had done. His greatest fear was that it would negatively affect Marientte, who was trying to establish her own fashion brand - Marinette Designed. Commissions had been coming in a steady stream ever since she designed the merchandise shirts for Jagged Stone's last world tour and he wanted nothing more than to see her succeed at her dreams, despite what his father had tried to do.
Throughout the trial, Gabriel made other attempts to shift blame. From claiming Nathalie was the mastermind behind everything, to mind control from the miraculous and even a mental breakdown. Adrien was forced to testify against his father as Chat Noir, a task that was more difficult than he imagined it would be, having to retell to the jury how Nathalie had sacrificed herself to protect him and Ladybug from Gabriel's attack and died in his arms. He had to keep his emotions in check while on the stand, trying to separate Adrien from his hero persona, but broke down in Marientte's arms afterward. He had been trying to be strong for so long but the realisation that his mother, and the woman he had begun to look up to as a mother were both gone, and it hit him hard after the testimony. For the first time since everything had happened, he had actually been able to grieve their loss, and Marinette and her parents were there to support him the whole way. He truly didn't know how he would have ever gotten through any of this without them.
It took almost a year of investigations and testimonies, but in the end the jury was unanimous - life without parole. Even if Gabriel had been able to pull the mental health card as Hawkmoth, he was not transformed when his deliberate actions to kill Ladybug had resulted in the death of Nathalie, the eyewitness of five superheroes going against him made sure of that. Adrien sat in the courtroom as the judgement was passed, Marinette holding his hand as Gabriel was escorted from the dock after being found guilty to his new life in maximum security. The now former villain raised his eyes towards his son for the last time, but there was no love there, or even regret for his actions, only bitterness and contempt. Adrien looked away from his steely stare towards Marientte who's warm loving eyes connected with his. It would be alright, he told himself. This part of his life was over, but in her eyes and in her heart, he could see a new beginning awaited.
While the trial was taking place, Tom and Sabine insisted Adrien come and stay with them until he got a place of his own. He was grateful for the offer because he really didn't want to stay in the mansion on his own, and he wasn't sure what was going to be happening with it, even though he had to agree to being in the spare room. He and Marientte might have been engaged, but he needed to respect her parents house. Until his father was put away, he felt like his life was basically in limbo. The routine of the bakery giving him a focus and grounding of a day.
Adrien eventually learned from his solicitor that the Agreste Mansion didn't not belong to his father, but was in fact in his mother's name. The coroner pronounced Emilie's death the same day as Nathalie's upon which Adrien was told that not only did he inherit the Gabriel brand and the mansion, but Nathalie had left him her apartment. He gave the apartment to his bodyguard as a thank you gift and Tom hired the man as a delivery driver for the bakery, a role the Gorilla happily accepted, still acting as unofficial bodyguard for the family.
The Gabriel Brand stocks took a massive nose dive after Gabriel's arrest, forcing the company into liquidation. While Adrien never wanted the company for himself, it hurt him to see all the employees suddenly facing unemployment. An unexpected buyer, however, came in the shape of Audrey Bourgeois who offered more than the current market value to buy up the main Paris building for her new Style Queen Magazine French HQ. The New York and Milan stores were absorbed by rival companies, but Audrey offloaded the London stores. Felix for his part was glad to be free of the stores, having broken relations off with Lila. During a phone conversation with his cousin, Felix let slip that now that Lila was left high and dry as a Gabriel model, she was more than a little pissed off at everyone, making harassing calls and emails. Felix, however, wouldn't go into the details as he didn't want Adrien burdened with more concerns.
Once probate on the wills passed, Adrien was able to finally buy a home for himself and Marinette. They eventually found a very roomy 3 bedroom apartment with a small balcony not too far away from the bakery. True to his word, Adrien handed all the decorating over to Marinette, along with his credit card. Nino told him he was mad, but Adrien just shrugged and laughed. After all, he trusted Marinette with his life, he could certainly trust her with his money. Now that the Mansion was finally being sold, and his father was put away, things were starting to move forward.
Walking across the sodden ground, Adrien and Marinette finally came to a stop at two gravestones. On the left side was Emilie Agreste, and to her right, Nathalie Sancouer. Here, side by side, were the two women who had shaped Adrien's younger life. In a few days, his teen years would be behind him, but he was grateful for everything his mother and Nathalie had brought to his life. Marinette crouched down, placing the two bouquets on the graves. Standing back up Adrien put his arm around Marinette's shoulders kissing her softly on the side of the head. The rain had stopped, but she shivered a little in the cold. Adrien unwound the scarf from around his neck.
"I told you to wear a scarf Bug, you feel the cold much more than I do. Here." He lightly tied the scarf around her neck, gently rubbing his fingers on the soft fabric.
"I never got to thank you for this." He said. Marinette looked over at Nathalie's grave.
"She told you?" She asked quietly.
"Yeah, after I told her we were dating. She felt so bad about it. She said she had forgotten to buy my gift that year and just kind of panicked." He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Why didn't you tell me?" Marientte smiled and shrugged her shoulder.
"I just wanted you to be happy, and you were. I didn't want to spoil that and at the time, I thought maybe it meant more." Adrien wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"I should have known my father wouldn't have been that thoughtful. I should have known Nathalie would have been the one buying my gift. And I really should have known…" she put a finger to his lips.
"I'm just as much at fault for that Kitty. I never told
you how I really felt, on either side of the mask." He smiled and kissed her finger. No point going around that merry go round again.
"Are you ready to come to our new home?" Marinette looked up, a soft smile on her face.
"You won't miss the old place?" She asked. Adrien cocked his head slightly bemused.
"What the mansion? Why would I?" Marinette looked back at the two gravestones.
"You must have had some happy memories there?" Adrien gripped a little tighter on her hand.
"I have some playing the piano with my mother. That's one of the reasons why it was the only thing I wanted to keep from that place. There were times too where my father would be away or just be indifferent and Nathalie would do something to make me smile." He nuzzled his nose into her hair. "All my other memories involve you and, well, it would be a little inappropriate to talk about some of those here." Marientte's face flushed bright red and she poked him in the nose.
"Kitty, you're incorrigible." She said, taking his arm as they started to walk out of the cemetery.
"You know I had things planned very differently, none of which included my bedroom." He teased with a smirk on his face.
"You mean you actually had a plan to seduce me?" She teased back, but he ignored the jibe.
"Well, you know how it goes, dinner, maybe some dancing, then a little rooftop adventure, ending with making love to you under the stars on a moonlit night." He laughed at the redness of her face as he opened the car door. "Then another night I was going to take you to our spot on top of the Eiffel Tower where I was going to propose."
"So much for well laid plans huh?" Adrien threw her a very Chat grin as he reversed the car.
"You know I leave the planning up to you m'lady." He winked at her and it still makes her melt every time he does. "Speaking of plans, how's my surprise party going?" Marinette's mouth flew open.
"Adrien Agreste, you were not supposed to know anything about that!" He started chuckling.
"You know Nino can't keep a secret to save himself." Marinette shook her head.
"Sometimes I wonder how he ever managed not to tell you about being Carapace for so long." Adrien shrugged.
"I guess he had Alya to talk to about it." He said softly. Marinette turned her head and looked out the window.
"I'm sorry Kitty. I shouldn't have waited so long to tell you who I was. We wasted so much time." Adrien reached a hand over, taking hers and gently kissing the inside of her wrist.
"It's alright Bugaboo." He said as he pulled up to their apartment. "It's not like we could have gotten married at 15 anyway, and the wait would have driven me crazy." Marinette giggled as Adrien made a dramatic sigh. "So how do you feel about a winter wedding just before Christmas?" Marientte stopped and looked at him as he unlocked the door.
"But Adrien, that would only give me about 6 weeks to get everything organised." He grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms as the door shut behind them.
"Since when have we ever taken things slow Bug? This past year and a bit might have slowed us down a bit, but there is nothing holding us back now and I don't want to wait anymore." He bent down and kissed her softly. "Besides, I know you've been working on your wedding dress in between commissions for the last few months." Marientte pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him.
"How on earth…"
"Tikki told him." Plagg interjected with a cheeky grin, the red Kwami soon following, giving her counterpart a light shove.
"Plagg." She shided before looking at Marientte. "I'm sorry Marinette, I didn't mean to. Adrien was worried about you working too hard and it just kind of slipped out" Adrien pulled Marinette back in at the waist, wrapping his arms around her.
"So what say you Little Bug? A December wedding, just before Christmas? It doesn't have to be some huge extravagant event. I'm not out to impress people. I just want our family and friends to be there" Marinette reached her hand up, pulling the tie out of Adrien's hair and letting his blonde locks hang down. It was just passing his shoulders now, and was slightly longer when he was Chat. She loved running her fingers through it. "The most important thing to me is being married to you."
"Okay Chaton, December it is. I haven't even unpacked all my sewing yet, but maybe I can put a few commissions on hold and get my dress done." Adrien flashed a mischievous Chat grin.
"Maybe you won't have to." He said kissing her softly again before trailing gentle kisses down her neck.
"What do you mean?" She asked breathlessly, although her train of thought was rapidly drifting under his light touch.
"Later." He whispered, his hand running down her back and onto her hip. "Right now there is a brand new bed in that bedroom just asking to be christened." Marinette cracked up laughing, pushing him away.
"You are a one track mind Kitty today aren't you?" Adrien held his arms around her waist, locking her in close to him, the look in his eyes letting her know that she was going to be going anywhere for the rest of the afternoon.
"When it comes to you m'lady, absolutely." She had no mind to complain when she was melting into his kisses.
A few days later, Adrien woke up earlier than usual. He was feeling excited, and not just because it was his birthday. Marinette was still sleeping, curled up into his side. Although they had only been living together in the apartment for a few days, Adrien felt that this was his new favourite thing, waking up next to Marientte. He rolled onto his side and watched her as she slept. So peaceful, so beautiful, his heart so full of love for her. Soon she began to stir, her eyes fluttering open, her lips curling up into a sleepy smile.
"Happy birthday Kitty." She said softly, cupping his cheek and bringing him down to her lips for a kiss. "I hope you like your present."
"Of course I will, I love everything you make me." He grinned. "But you're the best present of all."
"Flatterer." She teased, reaching down she pulled out a flattish rectangle black box from under the bed, complete with green ribbon. Adrien carefully I did the ribbon and opened the box.
"Oh m'lady, this is amazing." He gushed as he held up the carefully crafted jacket.
"It was supposed to have been for your birthday last year but, well you know… but at least it gave me more time to work on the details."
Adrien looked over the hooded jacket. It was black with vibrant green detailing, small cat paw prints representing Chat Noir embroidered into the lapels. The top of the hood also had cat ears sewn on. Marinette then brought his attention to the left breast pocket. Concealed inside the pocket was embroidered a small Ladybug. He smiled over at her before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.
"Right above my heart, exactly where you belong."
Marientte made Adrien his favourite crepes for breakfast, the two kwamis wishing Adrien a happy birthday too. The blonde watched his lady busied herself in the kitchen, still in her pyjamas, those same fluffy pink slippers and her hair hanging down. She placed his plate in front of him, blushing slightly at the adoring look on his face. "What?" She giggled. He grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her.
"Just admiring your beauty." He cooed.
"I look like a mess." She laughed, burying her face into his shoulder.
"My beautiful mess." He replied, kissing her on the forehead. "And after breakfast I have a surprise for you." Marinette lifted her head and looked at him confused.
"But Adrien, it's your birthday. You're the one who was supposed to be getting the surprise."
"I'll still be surprised, purromise." He said, raising a hand in the air. "But since it's my birthday then I get to do what I want, and I want to give my soon to be wife an early wedding present." Marinette couldn't begin to imagine what he was up to, but knowing him she had a feeling it was expensive.
After getting dressed, Adrien bundled Marinette and the kwamis into the car. They didn't drive far before he pulled over. Taking his blue scarf out of his bag, he wrapped it around her eyes. "Now no peeking until I tell you too okay?" Marinette agreed and not long later the car stopped once again. "Just wait here. I'll be back." Adrien said getting out of the car.
"Is he still there?" Marientte asked Tikki.
"He is talking to somebody. Oh Marinette you are not going to believe this when you see it." Tikki gushed.
"You can see the surprise?" Marinette queried.
"Trust me Marinette, you can't miss it. Here comes Adrien." Tikki quickly hid back into Marientte's bag.
Adrien opened her car door and took her hand. "There is a curb here, so just be careful." Marinette tried to feel her way, but still managed to trip forward on the edge, Adrien catching her and holding her hands.
"Can't I just look now?" She moaned and Adrien had to suppress a giggle.
"What don't you trust me?" He teased in a singsong voice.
"I don't know. Depends on the surprise I guess." She grinned under the scarf. "Can I look now?"
"Okay, now you can." He helped her lower the scarf and watched her reaction.
"Oh my." She said, the shock evident in her wide eyes as she raised a hand to her mouth. "Adrien...I can't… did you seriously buy me this?" Her eyes started watering with tears.
"It's all yours m'lady." He said with all the joy that was in his heart. "Do you like it?"
Marinette looked over the storefront, the sign reading 'Marinette Designed - Coming Soon'. The logo she had created on her sketchbook hung pride of place above the door. In the windows, mannequins were wearing some of the dresses she hadn't yet gotten to unpack. Marientte could no longer hold back the tears, covering her face as they flowed down. Adrien, who had been standing beside her, brought his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her head.
"Don't cry Marientte. If you don't like it that's alright, we can find something else." He heard a choked laugh as she turned around in his arms to face her.
"You silly Kitty." She smiled through the tears. "I love it. It's everything I ever dreamed of, but I thought I would never get to have." She laid her head against his chest as he stroked her hair.
"Didn't I tell you I would find a way to fix things?" He said, feeling very proud of himself. "You can also work from here as there is a studio at the back. You won't have to keep covering the floors in all your materials for me to trip over." She scoffed in mock offence. "Come on, there's one more surprise inside."
Taking her hand, Adrien led Marinette through the store to the studio out the back. Marientte probably would have fallen down if Adrien hadn't been holding onto her. Inside the studio was everything she could need to make her designs - sewing machines, fabrics, threads and so much more. "How did you know what to get? I mean I know you'd been around this most of your life but…"
"He had a little help from some friends." A voice behind her said in a distinctive Russian accent. Marinette whirled around.
"Sasha!" She called out, running over to give the older man a hug. Following him was two of the seamstresses Marientte had worked with while on her work experience placement at Gabriel.
"When Adrien rang me and told me what he was planning, I was so thrilled." Sasha said, letting go of his embrace to allow Adrien to put his arm back around his fiancé. "Your designs were so fresh, so youthful and exciting I just had to be part of it. Together we are going to make a mark on Paris fashion." Marinette reached out her hand to take Sasha's.
"Thank you." She said, overwhelmed.
"You're most welcome Miss Marientte. Now you just give us your current projects and we will get onto them right away so you can focus on your special day." Sasha winked at Adrien who nodded back in return. Now Marinette realised why he wasn't worried about her getting the dress finished in time. "Well, don't let us hold you up, I believe there is a party tonight, yes."
"Oh you must come Sasha, all of you." Marinette said.
"It would be our pleasure."
That night everyone arrived at the Bourgeois Hotel. Since it was supposed to be a surprise party, Marientte and Adrien were to be late. She explained to him that he was meant to think they were going to the restaurant for dinner, everything else was to be a surprise. Adrien chuckled as they arrived at the hotel. "It's alright, I'm sure I'll still be surprised."
Surprised was an understatement. Chloé had organised one of the function rooms for the night with an impressive food spread and Marinette had handed decorating duties over to Alya, Mylene and Rose. Nino set up his DJ booth and was rocking the tunes with other former classmates also coming in attendance. Adrien was overwhelmed to see so many familiar faces, many of which he hadn't seen in well over a year. One of the biggest surprises though was that Kagami was back in Paris. She gave Marinette a tight hug before also hugging Adrien.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here to support you in your difficult time." She said. "Marientte kept me updated, but I wish I could have been here."
"I know, thanks anyway. I'm sorry about your grandmother's passing." She nodded.
"It was her time. She lived a long life." She said. Straight and to the point as always. "My mother has stayed in Japan, but I have decided that I want to live back here in Paris. After all, this is more my home now and also where my friends are." She smiled at Marinette.
"Are you still fencing?" Adrien asked.
"Yes, I plan to compete for France in the National championship. I could use a worthy opponent to practice with if you have time. Marientte could come too of course." Adrien and Marinette shared a grin.
"I'd love to get back into fencing. I have to admit I kind of miss it."
"I'll let you know my schedule. Anyway, I might catch up with a few other people here I haven't seen for a while. I will look forward to being at your wedding." She smiled.
"I'm so glad you're back so you can be there." Marientte smiled, hugging her friend. "We must have a lunch date before then, though." Kagami nodded with a warm genuine smile, before heading over to talk to Rose and Juleka. Seeing Juleka brought thoughts of another forgotten friend to mind.
"Is Luka going to come to the wedding?" Adrien asked. Marinette shrugged her shoulders.
"I told Juleka to let him know. He's still in America but she said he usually comes home for Christmas. I don't know if he would want to come though. I saw him singing 'Second Chance' on the tv the other day and I'm not sure he's ready to, you know..." She looked down at the engagement ring on her finger, knowing how much the news must have been hard on Luka. Adrien understood exactly. He hooked him finger under her chin, bringing her eyes up to look at him.
"I get it Bug, I wouldn't be able to get over you either." She reached up and touched his face.
"Well, you won't ever have to. In a few weeks you're going to be stuck with me for life." Adrien brought his arms around her waist.
"You're already stuck with me m'lady, because this cat isn't going anywhere." He leaned down and kissed her lips. It was only meant to be a quick peck, but Adrien always did find Marientte's lips addictive, diving back in and deepening the kiss, gently swaying to the music Nino was playing.
"Get a room." Alix called out, Marientte's cheeks burning bright red and Adrien laughed. She looked up at him and his face practically was glowing. He was happy, truly happy.
"Hey Agreste, come blow these candles out so we can get some cake." Kim waved as Odine scolded him for being rude. Adrien held a hand up in acknowledgement, lacing his other hand within Marientte's as they made their way over to the beautiful chocolate cake her parents had made. Everyone sang happy birthday as Adrien blew out the 20 candles, his only wish, to see that adorable smile on Marientte's face every day of his life.
A/N - A few people thought this was the last chapter, but there is still a bit more to go. Thank you for hanging in there and supporting my story :)