At Gabriel's office

'Nathalie,' Gabriel began, looking up from his checking of the photoshoot proofs of the new spring line, the subject of the photographs prompting his thoughts.

'Yes, sir?'

'How is Adrien going with that intern you recommended, do you have any updates? I quite liked her at dinner the other week.'

'Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien are going well together.' She pulled out her iPad to refer to a spreadsheet. 'Here,' she gestured at a series of graphs. 'Favourable mentions of Adrien and his new sweetheart have increased by 126% in magazines, 321% on Instagram and 154% on YouTube. It especially skyrocketed after Marinette's guest appearance in Adrien's Vogue interview where it was revealed she was the designer of the very popular new spring line dress. She has made a good impact on his reputation and on the business. You were right to hire her.'

Gabriel nodded, pleased with the information. 'And how is he doing…emotionally?'

At this, a smile broke out onto Nathalie's usually stern face. 'As you've seen for yourself, he's been happier lately. His latest monthly medical check-up reports perfect physical health and a marked improvement in mental health as well.'

'Good,' said Gabriel. He turned back to his work.

'Gabriel?'

'Yes, Natahlie,' he responded without looking up.

'Forgive me if this is out of line, but as a suggestion you know you could always ask Adrien himself how he is doing. You don't have to rely on google news alerts or twitter trends to see how he's doing.'

Gabriel's figure stilled in response. 'Don't be preposterous,' he said, after a pause. 'That's what I have you for.'

He went back to his work and as Nathalie left him, she couldn't help a small sigh escaping from her mouth. What would any of these Agreste men do without her, honestly?

At the movie theatre

'I have waited years for this moment!' announced Alya.

'I agree, this Austen adaptation is my favourite one yet!' agreed Marinette stretching her arms out behind her as they left the movie theatre together.

'No,' Alya rolled her eyes. 'For all four of us to be able to go on a double date.'

Alya grinned as she saw Adrien catch Marinette's hand and hold it in his own after she finished stretching.

'But you're right Marinette, that was a very good movie.' Alya conceded. 'Even Nino liked it.'

Nino perked up at his name being mentioned. 'Dude, the servants were so good! Silent. But present. It said a lot about social class. What did you think of it, bro?'

Adrien paused, 'It was a great movie. I liked her name.'

Marinette laughed quietly to herself, pulling Adrien's gaze towards her.

'What?' he asked.

She shook her head, 'Nothing. I like the name too.' He looked at her quizzically and she couldn't repress another smile.

'Anyway,' continued Alya, turning around on the elevator to face back up to Marinette and Adrien. She formed her fingers into L-shapes and turned them to make a picture frame. Closing one eye, she put it over Adrien and Marinette. 'I was talking about you two. You guys owe us for life for setting you up.'

'Was it setting up if it wasn't on purpose?' asked Marinette cheekily. 'Pretty sure Adrien coming over to help you move was exactly that: to help you move. And I'd already met him before. At the pet store.' They stepped off the elevator and into the foyer.

'I can have more than one motive!' insisted Alya. 'Nino, back me up.'

'That wasn't even the first time she tried to set you two up. Remember the Halloween party?'

Adrien grimaced and his hand lifted to rub uncomfortably at the back of his neck. 'Yes, we remember the Halloween party.'

Marinette squeezed his hand in response. 'It was at the Halloween party that I became a cat person.'

He looked up at her and smiled softly.

'All's well that ends well,' declared Alya. 'Now let's go grab dinner! I'm starving!'

'Amen to that,' muttered Nino.

Marinette and Adrien chorused together in laughter. And in two neat pairs, they exited the theatre.

At the Dupain-Cheng Bakery

'Don't be shy about handling the dough. You've gotta grab the side furthest away from you and fold it in half towards you. Then with the heels of your palm, you push the dough out on top of itself, using your body weight to do the work. Like so.'

Adrien watched the tutorial from Tom Dupain intently, mirroring his movements with his own lump of risen dough on the wooden board in front of him. Tom peered over at Adrien's work.

'Yes, that's exactly right!'

With more enthusiasm now, Adrien continued kneading. Then he lifted his hands up in the air, spread apart his fingers and watched with concern as the dough acted like webbing between his fingers. 'Is it supposed to be so sticky?'

'Oh no, here.' Tom sprinkled flour onto Adrien's pile of dough. 'Use as needed.' Adrien went to grab a handful more but Tom stopped him gently. 'Not too much! You don't want to throw off the balance between the yeast and the flour.'

Adrien nodded seriously and went back to it. They worked in silence for a bit as Adrien diligently kneaded the dough.

'I can see from how you take instruction that you must have been a very diligent student, Adrien.'

'I try,' he responded humbly. 'Anything for Marinette,' he added, seriously.

Tom beamed down at his future son-in-law. How long had they been dating now? Had it been a year yet? Two? Adrien had jumped into their lives at Marinette's first, formal introduction and they now ate dinner together every Sunday night. Now it felt like he had always been a part of the family. And unlike Marinette, Tom was able to beat Adrien at mecha strike 3 in their weekly gaming sessions every now and again. Tom had always liked him. Even when he was in a cat costume. He prided himself on being a good judge of character, kind of like how he could tell before the batch went into the oven whether it was going to be a good one or not. And Adrien was a good one. The breadmaking adventure was Adrien's idea. He wanted to learn how to make bread the Dupain-Cheng way for Marinette.

How long did young people these days feel they needed to date before they put a ring on it? From the moment he first lay eyes on Sabine he knew that she was going to be the one. He felt like courtship and engagement were only preamble to when their real lives would start together. And he would be lying if he didn't admit that the idea of little grandchildren, little Marinette's and little Adrien's running through the home again would bring him so much joy.

Adrien and Tom worked together side by side, kneading dough together in companionable silence. After a while, Adrien interrupted Tom's train of thought.

'What's that song you're singing?'

Tom didn't realise he had been singing. He laughed and explained, 'Ah, it's just a little tune my father used to sing to me. It's kind of tradition to hum it while we knead bread. It's from Carmen.'

Adrien's eyes lit up. 'That's why it sounded so familiar!'

'Are you a fan of opera?'

'I'm a fan of classical music.' He gestured with his fingers, twinkling them in the air, 'I play the piano.'

'We tried to get Marinette into lessons once when she was a kid. Unfortunately her creativity doesn't seem to run that way.'

'She never told me,' said Adrien, smiling to himself.

Tom brought out two bread pan trays and placed his dough into one of them, gesturing for Adrien to do the same. He then placed both trays into the oven.

'And now we wait!' declared Tom. 'Care to join me for some MS-III, son?'

Smiling at the endearment, which somehow fell so naturally from the lips of Tom and Sabine and was such a stark difference to his own father, Adrien followed Tom into the living room. 'I would like to join you. But first I wanted to talk to you.'

'Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you said please. I'm not Marinette, you know I don't fall for the goo-goo eyes.'

Adrien laughed in response. 'I want to talk to you about Marinette actually.'

'Is something wrong?' Tom's eyes widened with alarm.

'No, no! Not at all!' Adrien hastily raised his hands and gestured no as he waved them.

Tom listened to what Adrien had to say, and when Adrien was done, it was with surprise that he wiped actual tears from his eyes. With one oversized arm he engulfed Adrien in a hug. Reaching over behind him, Adrien passed Tom a tissue which he blew into noisily. 'We are so very blessed to have you as part of our family, Adrien. I couldn't ask for anything more for my daughter. I love you, son.' He engulfed Adrien into a hug again, this time of the bone-crushing bear hug variety. Even as Adrien laughed, a tear slid down his cheek as well. Love. Son. Family. Those weren't words he'd heard in a long time within the walls of his own cold home. Closing his eyes, he hugged Tom back.

When Tom calmed down, he wiped at his eyes and turned on the video console. 'I will definitely still not be going easy on you!'

This time when they played mecha-strike III, Tom totally wiped the floor with Adrien. Adrien's character was no more than a dirty cloth on the carpet by the time the oven beeped, noting that their bread was ready. The smell of fresh bread permeated the air and Adrien breathed it in deeply. He wouldn't trade a thing for the world.

At the pet store

'And what do we have here this fine Saturday morning? Marinette, it's been a while since I saw you last! And Tikki! You've brought her I see! She looks beautiful.'

'Hi Mr Fu!' called out Marinette as she made her way to the hamster section. 'It's long overdue. Tikki says hi -' she added as Mr Fu bent down to pat the nuzzling hamster. 'Adrien and I are having a hamster date later today. I need a-' she stopped talking to put Tikki's cage down and gesture with her hands a box shape - 'barrier, or container or something, or like a fence?' she paused, struggling to articulate it. 'We want Tikki and Plagg to be able to run around but in an enclosed area in the park.'

'I know exactly what you need.'

'You do?!'

'Here!' Mr Fu gestured to a wire play pen. 'We normally use this for rabbits, but it should work great for hamsters too.'

'Perfect! This will make Adrien so happy!' Marinette gushed.

'Oh, do you still see Adrien around?' he asked, a sly smile creeping onto his face as he looked at her knowingly.

This went above Marinette's head who turned away from the playpen to nod brightly. 'He's my boyfriend! We first met here actually.'

'Is that so?' Mr Fu asked, his smile now a full-blown grin.

'Yes, kind of. Our first proper meeting was here. Brought together by our mutual love of hamsters.'

'Tikki and Plagg, of course. And also by the Miraculous Pet Store!' Mr Fu gestured towards the sign of the shop. 'Full of miraculous surprises.'

'It's true,' Marinette laughed, easily agreeing with him. 'What a coincidence it must have been. For Adrien and I to both be in the market for hamsters, and for our hamsters to both be scheduled to be picked up on the same day, at the same time.'

'Quite the serendipitous encounter.'

'This place will always be part of our love story.' Marinette sighed happily. Then her phone buzzed, snapping out of her daydream. 'Oh no, I'm running late. I've got to go Mr Fu! I'll visit more often! I'll take the playpen. Thank you so much!' she brought it over to the counter.

He waved a hand. 'No, please. It's on the house.'

Marinette shook her head resolutely. 'What? No, I can't accept -'

'Please,' said Mr Fu. 'I insist.'

He started pushing her to the door and Marinette in shock accidentally let him.

'Take it as an early present from me. Say hello to Adrien for me!'

'It's not my birth-' she began, but he had already gone back into the store. She looked back at her phone, noting that Adrien was calling her. She would have to go back sometime and leave a hidden present of cash on his till or something, or pay extra for hamster food. Mr Fu was too kind. Much too kind.

Awkwardly holding the wire playpen, she maneuvered Tikki's cage and her handbag around to pick up her phone. 'Kitty?'

'Hey bugaboo,' she smiled at the ridiculous nickname. What had begun as outright groan-inducing had slowly become a begrudging kind of acceptance. He'd worn her down, melted her heart and now this nonsense word held so much meaning. Like a secret identity between them or something. 'Are you done at the pet store yet? I've just parked around the corner.'

'Oh, I see you!' she waved at him and then briskly crossed the road to unload things into the boot of his car.

'How are you today, beautiful?' Adrien kissed her on the cheek as she settled into the passenger seat with Tikki (and Plagg) in a box on her lap.

She giggled. 'Excited. Can't believe we're finally going to do our long awaited hamster date!'

They drove together, amiably chatting about their day. Adrien had done a photoshoot in the morning for his father, and Marinette had spent the morning putting together a job application for a senior designer position at Gabriel's. The opportunity had arisen and though she was only young, with quite a few successes tucked under her belt, a working knowledge of Gabriel's brand and style (and the sometimes prickly people who worked there), she thought she had a good chance.

Adrien parked the car, thankful once again that his father now let him drive himself around without his bodyguard, in fact his bodyguard had kind of become part of the household staff who only shifted back into his bodyguard duties when Adrien was attending formal events. He was free to use personal time without supervision, so long as he screened his activities and notified Nathalie of his whereabouts, of course. Some things would probably never change. Marinette held the hamsters and he picked up the playpen she had found at the pet store with one arm and the picnic basket his cook had helped prepare with the other. Included in the basket was the loaf of Dupain-Cheng style bread he had made the other day with Tom. He was honestly still largely a disaster in the kitchen unsupervised, but he was intent on improving.

'Oh, please remind me, Adrien! We have to go back sometime and pay Mr Fu for this playpen. He tried to give it to me as a gift but that's totally unnecessary, right?'

'Right,' echoed Adrien, his eyebrow furrowed a little. What was Mr Fu up to?

They crossed the cute footbridge of Parc Monceau to find a spot in the shade to lay out their picnic. Adrien unboxed the playpen and set it up while Marinette took out the picnic food. When she got to the bread she sniffed it appreciatively.

'Did you get this from the bakery?' she asked, mouth quirked into a smile.

'Yes. And no. I made it at the bakery.'

'No way!'

'Why do you have such little faith in me?'

'Because the last time you brought something you cooked you learnt the hard way that baking soda and baking powder are not the same thing.'

He laughed fondly at the memory. 'You'll have to see for yourself whether I've improved.'

'Tikki and Plagg will help judge!'

Marinette broke off two tiny pieces of bread and lay them on the grass besides Tikki and Plagg. Both jumped onto the bread immediately, nibbling it with their delicate little teeth. Marinette popped another piece into her mouth and nodded.

'I stand corrected. This is… amazing!' Marinette threw both hands into the air with a flourish and Adrien laughed.

He plonked himself down beside her on the grass and she curled up to him, his familiar scent as pleasant as the flowers beside them in the park. Adrien put a hand through her hair, running his fingers along the loose strands. She had not tied her hair up today. Without her trademark pigtails, her hair fluttered softly in the gentle breeze.

'I love you, Marinette,' said Adrien.

She smiled up at him. 'I love you too, Adrien.' Telling him that she loved him was as easy as breathing.

'I knead you in my life!' Adrien gestured at the bread he made.

Marinette rolled her eyes, but didn't move from her comfortable position.

'Because I loaf you very much,' he continued.

She should've seen that one coming, she really should've.

'In fact,' Adrien said and she could tell by his tone that he was on a roll now, had probably looked up these jokes and memorized them for this very moment, 'I would like to propose that we grow mould together.'

She didn't respond. That was usually the best way to let him get out all of the punniness inside of him.

He nudged her gently and she looked up at him. 'I proposed,' he repeated, 'that we grow mould together Marinette, what do you say?'

She opened her mouth to reply, something sassy on the tip of her tongue when her breath was taken away in shock by the piece of jewelry dangling from Adrien's fingertips. A significant piece of jewelry. With symbolic meaning. Clasped between his thumb and his pointer finger was a beautiful ring. With a silver band and a teardrop gemstone in the centre that sparkled in the Parisian sunlight. In a distant part of her mind, she noticed that the gemstone was set deeply into the ring, the bezel setting if she remembered correctly. This ring wouldn't snag on clothing that she spent all day buried in. He had thought of that. He had thought of that when he chose the ring.

Gingerly, Adrien placed his finger under her chin and shut her mouth. 'My sweet bugaboo, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?'

A couple of other things ran through Marinette's mind. Shock, first and foremost. Not that she hadn't been planning on marrying Adrien since to be honest soon after she met him, but that it was happening. Here and now. In her beloved city. With her beloved pets. She looked at his earnest green eyes, his beautiful lips curved into a tentative smile. She knew that she loved every single bit of this man. And she couldn't wait to begin the rest of their lives together. She managed one word, 'Yes!' and grinning, he guided her mouth with his hand still under her chin to his own and they kissed.

Half an hour later, after Adrien had determined that he had thoroughly kissed his fiance enough, for now, Alya and Nino, Mr Fu, Nathalie and Gabriel and Tom Dupain received a text from Adrien. In it, Adrien and Marinette beamed happily and Marinette held the back of her left hand up to the camera, showcasing the engagement ring now sitting on her fourth finger. Adrien had captioned it with the message: "We're getting meowied!"

When the same picture appeared a few days later on his Instagram, hundreds of thousands of likes flooded in, along with thousands of comments. But none of them meant as much to him as the one from marinettedesigned which said: "I love you furry much, meow and always" with a cat heart-eyes emoji.

A thousand love heart emojis couldn't express the love he had for his fiancé, but Instagram capped him out at 220. Oh well, it would have to do.

Eighteen months later

'Honestly Alya, if Gabriel complains one more time about not seeing us after he reschedules our monthly get-togethers I am going to give up completely and dare I say it, pop by without an appointment!'

A gush of worry echoed on the phone but Marinette giggled in response.

'I know. The horror.'

Rain splashed onto her white anorak as she pressed her phone against her shoulder while she dug into her bag, looking for the black umbrella Adrien had given to her so long ago. She put it up overhead and was offered brief respite from the rain.

'I have news.'

Marinette shook her head at Alya's wild guesses. Nope, Adrien hadn't heard back about the physics job yet, though she was quietly optimistic about him finally getting the chance to leave Gabriel to pursue something he was actually interested in. Nope, she hadn't finished designing a little christening outfit for little Sylvie, Alya and Nino's daughter who had only turned one month old. But she assured Alya that it would be done on time.

'Our family is expanding! Tikki is expecting! I'm at the pet store right now. We're gonna need a bigger cage for our beautiful hamster family.'

She smiled as Alya offered her congratulations to Tikki with a pointed note that sentences that began with "our family is expanding" did not usually refer to pets. Marinette reached the entrance to the pet store, shut the umbrella and shook it at the step before she stepped inside.

'Too hasty by far, my bestie,' she declared. 'Because I'm pregnant too. And now I'm here at the pet store, bye~' She ended the phone call with a sing-song voice, grinning as she hung up on her flabbergasted friend.

As she made her way to the hamster section, she realised Adrien was already there, surveying the allotment of hamster equipment. As comfortably dressed as ever, she noted, in a bright red hoodie with black polkadots nonetheless, an indulgent smile crept onto her lips as she admired her husband from afar. She sidled up to him and asked, 'Excuse me, sir. Are you from Amsterdam?.'

He spun around and grinned at her, drawing her in and hugging her from behind. He placed a gentle hand on her stomach, which was barely bloated, containing a fetus as big as a plum at the moment.

She continued the joke, a whisper in his ear as he held her close, 'Cos if you are, then hamster, damn!'

Beaming, her eyes fluttered to a close as she recognised the glint of mischief in his eyes and prepared herself to be thoroughly kissed.

Author's Note: THAT WAS SO HARD. This has been my longest story yet and it was so hard to finish. Props to all who write multi-chaps. You are champs. I am impressed. Please accept my humble little novella sized offering in the multi-chap universe. This story and a 41 page research paper for work made me realise writing long things is hard. Particularly for me. And I didn't know that about myself until now because I'd never had to produce anything more than 6,000 words by myself before! Oh well, something to keep working on. If you liked it, let me know :D I will get better with feedback, I promise haha