Chapter Fourteen: Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day is a day of friendships, family, and romance, and Adrien and Marinette are determined to have a great day.
Friday 14th February 2020. 09.10 a.m. Adrien's room.
Adrien sat at his piano absently playing a few warm-up chords, trailing his fingers up and down the keys, playing a few notes and melodies here and there, but mostly just killing time. He looked like he was simply warming up in preparation for a long practice session when he was actually waiting very impatiently for Plagg to return.
His kwami was on a very important recon mission in the mansion and waiting here while keeping up the facade of dedicated pianist was killing Adrien.
Every second Plagg was gone, his worries grew. Was Plagg trapped? Had he been seen? Was he safe? Would someone see Plagg, follow him to Adrien's room, and realise that Adrien was Chat Noir? Could Plagg even be this far away from the miraculous? He hadn't before! Worry and stress was building up in him but he forced himself to keep performing in case someone was listening.
When Plagg finally phased back through the door Adrien jumped but quickly resumed playing. "Well?"
"We're good, I think." Plag landed on the piano in front of Adrien with a grin. "The secretary won't be leaving her post for a while, not if that giant stack of papers is anything to go by, your manager is locked in his office as usual, and there's no one else home. You're safe, kid."
Adrien breathed a sigh of relief and stopped playing. "Finally!"
It was the work of minutes to get his speakers set up on top of the piano and pull up an old recording of one of his practices of Flight of the Bumblebee. It was old enough that he was still missing a few notes, stopping and starting again, playing it in a halting manner between bouts of confidence. It should sound like he was putting in a lot of effort to learn this piece which was exactly what he wanted Nathalie to think he was doing.
Once that was running perfectly he checked his pockets to make sure he had Marinette's gifts with him. She wanted to surprise him for their piano lesson date this morning, but if the right moment presented itself he wasn't going to pass it up. He had several little gifts for her and wanted to make sure the timing was right before he gave them to her.
Everything that he needed was in his pocket and Adrien nodded decisively. "Okay, Plagg, claws out!"
Since the mansion was only a few streets away from the school it took him no time at all to reach Marinette's home but he took his time slipping onto her balcony. It was done partly out of habit. He was always incredibly careful when sneaking over to see her when it was the middle of the day. The sky was overcast but it was bright enough that anyone who happened to be looking up could see him land and go inside. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to her and make it harder for her to transform. Mostly, he hesitated because he was pleasantly surprised by what he was seeing.
She had added some thick sheets of fabric to the waterproof canopy that was a permanent fixture on her balcony and attached them to the railings so that she had walls and a roof around her window hatch that extended about half the length of her balcony. Two other sheets were hung up as doors and were currently tied open but he assumed they would be shut once he arrived to keep some of the chill away from his cold-sensitive bug. Chat couldn't help but admire her tent building skills. He really needed to ask her for tips. His own attempts on the 6th and 7th had taken a lot of time to construct and weren't even half as durable as Marinette's tent was
Chat crept closer and, when he was certainly that he wouldn't be seen, slipped over the railing of her balcony and landed in a silent crouch next to her chair and table. He had almost hit her chair and table which would have completely ruined his entrance and probably embarrassed him to no end. He was very curious as to why they were outside of the tented area, until he looked up and saw what Marinette had made.
It was a gigantic blanket fort.
There were large scatter cushions everywhere, on the floor, against the wall, even her giant cat plush cushion was here, and they were covered in what appeared to be every single blanket that Marinette had ever made. They lay thickly on the floor like a giant mattress that looked decadently comfortable and the ideal spot to lounge around.
His inner cat was yowling to rest on those soft blankets and nap the day away.
But the rest of him found the sigh of his Princess far more alluring.
She was leaning against her plush cat cushion, moved up to the balcony just for this morning he assumed, a soft pink blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm as she waited for him. She hadn't noticed him yet, too distracted by something on her phone to hear his silent landing, and so Chat took the opportunity to drink in the sight of her.
Her hair was loose about her shoulders but pulled back from her face with a length of green ribbon, the colour perfectly matching the Chat Noir inspired sundress she was wearing again. He knew she was doing it on purpose, probably payback for all the times he deliberately purred to win arguments against her, but it didn't stop him getting so flustered by the sight of her in black and green. In his colours. She was going to be the death of him and he still couldn't think of a better way to go.
There was a small tray table set up to one side with some food and the sight of it made his mouth water. There was a mountain of mini croissants and mini pain au chocolat there, ones that the bakery didn't stock so she must have made them herself, macarons in all colours and flavours of red and pink, a bowl full of ripe strawberries, half of them covered in chocolate, iced shortbread love hearts that she had written messages on herself and a few cat emoji faces, and two champagne flutes and a bottle of sparkling apple juice. It was a romantic feast just for them.
Chat felt overwhelmed for a moment. His princess, a cat-friendly blanket fort, and a mini feast that would give his dietician apoplexy - she sure knew how to spoil him and she did it all because she loved him.
He wanted nothing more than to detransform and shower her with his gifts but it wasn't the right time. This was her turn to surprise him, and what a wonderful surprise it was.
Chat stood up and cleared his throat, smiling softly at her when she looked up at him in delight. He bowed to her. "Happy Valentine's Day, ma princesse."
"Happy Valentine's Day, again, mon chaton."
Marinette set her phone to one side and tapped invitingly at the blanket beside her. He really didn't need to be told twice. He slipped inside the tend and untied the door-flaps, pulling them closed behind him. Her dress, while stunningly beautiful, wasn't quite right for weather like this and he couldn't let her get a chill from this amazing surprise.
Instead of sitting next to her he sprawled out on the blankets by her side and set his head on her lap, unable and completely unwilling to stop the purr that rumbled out from him. She giggled and reached out to scratch one of his ears and he gave a blissful sigh. "You are spoiling this cat Purr-incess."
"You deserve it. My kitten gets only the best." Marinette bent over to kiss his nose and then his forehead, giggling as he twisted to try and catch her mouth. She tapped a finger to his mask. "Tikki is waiting inside to spoil her cat, so why don't you go ahead and detransform?"
He murmured the phrase at once and Plagg zipped towards the window and phased through the glass before he was even fully corporeal. They both chuckled at his antics, but Adrien didn't blame Plagg for his eagerness to see Tikki, not when he was the same for Marinette. He reached up to toy with a loose strand of her hair and made her giggle at his cat-like behaviour - not that he could control it around her - before slipping his hand around to the back of her neck and pulling her towards him.
"Now it's just you and me, my Marinette."
Friday 14th February 2020. 12.40 p.m. Alix's home.
Marinette thought that she and Adrien had the best friends in the world.
Not only had they arranged this party as a way to get Adrien out of the house, and thus have a Valentine's date with her as well as some quality time with all their friends, they had come up with a list of no less than twenty-three plausible excuses as to why Adrien couldn't come to the phone in the unlikely event that Nathalie called to check up on him, and they had insisted that Adrien and Marinette show up late and leave early so they could have a private date if their own. The three other couples in their class were allowed to do the same but it was really just a way to stick a collective middle finger up at Gabriel Agreste.
They had the best friends!
So here they were, gifts in hand, showing up to the party 40 minutes late after a wonderful stroll through the tiny Four Seasons park near Alix's house. It had colourful plants in bloom all year round and was beautiful enough to appeal to the two bugs, and also cool enough that their cats could wrap them up in cuddles and purrs. Their animal characteristics were contented in this park and they all agreed they would have to come back here for another date.
Even with the cuddles and purrs it was too cold for the two bugs so they had cut their walk short and gone to Alix's house. Marinette was very glad that she had changed out of her sundress and into some jeans and a jumper. Her Chat Noir dress might have melted Adrien's brain but it just wasn't suitable for a cold sensitive bug. She did keep the green ribbon in her hair though.
Marinette had her hands full with the boxes of food they had brought with them so Adrien rang the doorbell. They didn't have long to wait until it was opened by M. Kubdel.
"Ah, Marinette, Adrien, good to see you." He stood back and held the door open for them, quickly shutting it to keep the draught out. "Everyone else is already set up in the living room - that's down the hallway, fourth door on your left - and Alix said I was to remind you about the admirer bag?"
He pointed to an old pillow case that bore the words 'admirer bag' in Alix's distinctive handwriting but looked at it in such baffled confusion that it was obvious he had no clue what they were up to. Alix probably hadn't bothered to explain it - most parents had been a bit bewildered by the school imposing a mandatory secret admirer, as well as the non-secret ones, and they knew that most of their class had said it was an anti-akuma thing and left it at that.
Marinette decided not to enlighten Alix's father just yet. "Thank you, M. Kubdel. And thank you for hosting us."
"Its no trouble at all. Now, if you will excuse me, I have quite a bit of work to do." He waved them off and ducked into what they presumed was his office, shutting the door firmly behind him.
Adrien took the pillow case bag and slipped in the three small gifts he had been carrying. One from Marinette, one from him, and one from Chloé. He closed the sack again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her down the hallway to the living room while she focussed on not dropping six boxes of food.
Marinette hadn't been surorised to see him show up with Chloé's gift when M. Guérin had dropped him off at the bakery for their official date. Alix had extended her an invitation to the party only because they were doing the class Secret Admirer gift exchange but she had politely declined, citing some family thing as an excuse. Adrien would be dropping her gift off on his way home later.
The door was slightly ajar when they got there and Adrien carefully pushed it open. "Happy Valentine's Day everyone!"
"Adrien!"
"Dude, you made it!"
"Marinette! Yes! You're on my team!"
"Hooray!"
"Oh, let's have a look at that food!"
"Shut it!" Alix's shout was easily heard over the din of ten other voices shouting greetings. She extricated herself from the main group, huddled around Max and Nino as they played a game of UMS III, and sauntered over to them with a grin. "Hey, about time you two showed up."
"What can I say?" Adrien grinned as he bumped the fist she held out. "It was a really difficult choice, choosing between this party and my afternoon with a tutor."
She snorted. "Sassy. C'mon, food is this way."
She led them to the side of the room where a large table had been shoved under the window with a paper tablecloth on. There were already several dishes of food there, savoury on the left and sweet on the right, and they added theirs to it. Marinette had brought several baguettes from the bakery and also given Adrien his favourite quiche for him to bring, and they also had a box of cookies and a box of macarons to add to the feast.
Marinette could easily tell the food that Alya had brought - tiny little puff pastry canapes that her mother obviously helped with - and Rose - it was on a sparkly, pink platter - and Kim's was glaringly obvious too - both his savoury and sweet were shop-bought, wrapped tightly in plastic, and had a giant lactose-free sign on them - but the rest were a mystery to her. It all looked good though, she just hoped it all tasted good. Rose had offered to help Sabrina and Nathanaël make something, the two worst cooks in the class, and since nothing looked burned or damaged she assumed the lessons had gone well.
She handed one of the remaining two boxes to Adrien and as one they handed them to Alix. "Hostess gifts," Marinette grinned. "Thanks for all of this, Alix."
Alix immediately opened both boxed, and whooped in delight when she saw they were both stuffed with shortbread. "Okay, why didn't the rest of you do this?"
Kim looked confused. "Were we supposed to? Is that a thing?"
"It can be." Alya didn't bother looking up from where she was draped over her boyfriend and back-seat gaming him in his UMS III match against Max. "I think those two have way more to thank Alix for than we do though."
"So you're admitting this was my idea then, eh Césaire?"
Marinette wished she had a camera to capture the look of outrage on Alya's face. It wasn't often that someone got the better of her and it was worth immortalising.
Alix chuckled then clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Okay, everyone is here, so it's time for the house rules. You break it, you bought it. You mess it, you clean it. None of you saps are to sneak away for some one-on-one time, okay?" Everyone nodded. "Great, lets do this Secret Admirer and then get back to the party. Computer games are over there-" Alix jerked her thumb over to the large TV in the corner of the room where Max and Nino were still playing "-there's cards and board games in the sun room, which is also where we can throw our coats-" he gestured to a small archway opposite the living room door which led into a small conservatory extension onto the house, which in turn opened up onto the garden "-the library is next door to this room, though why anyone would want to read the things my dad and brother put in there I have no idea. Understand?" Everyone nodded again. "Awesome! Max, shut that game off, it's time for presents!"
Nino groaned as, with a few deft hits, Max's bot annihilated his own and he threw down his controller in defeat. Alya patted his shoulder consolingly even as they moved towards the coffee table in the middle of the room.
Adrien had just returned from dropping their coats and scarves in the sun room and he slipped into the large armchair, beating Kim to it by a fraction, and Marinette was immediately pulled into his lap. She giggled and cuddled up to him. Rose and Juleka were squished up together in the other armchair but neither of them minded. Ivan also had Mylène in his lap on the sofa, with Sabrina, Nathanaël, and Alix squeezed in next to them. That left Alya, Nino, Kim, and Max to sit on the floor but none of them minded. Not when they were getting presents.
Unlike with their Secret Santa, Alix didn't waste any time in handing out their gifts. Gift after gift was pulled out of the sack, the name read, and then she launched it at the recipient and left them scrambling to catch it while she moved on to the next. Paper was ripped and ribbons discarded all over the place as they eagerly tore into their presents, delighted with what they found. Without fail, everyone had a wonderful and thoughtful gift.
Everyone was cooing over their gifts and showing them off when Alya suddenly screamed and flew over the table to catch Adrien in a bear hug, almost knocking Marinette off his lap. "Alya, wha-"
"You are the greatest gift-giver ever Agreste!" she screamed.
Adrien looked panicked. "Uh, you're welcome?"
Everyone was looking at the gift in her hand in interest. Kim, as the closest, pointed it out to everyone. "But it's just a phone case? It's generic and not that expensive. How did you know it was from him?"
"I recognised his handwriting!" Alya waved his concerns away. "But that's not the awesome thing! LOOK!"
There, on the back of the case, surrounding a beautiful black and white photo of the Eiffel Tower, were the autographs of the two Superheroes.
Alix whistled. "Damn, that's impressive. Not quite as cool as my skates, but-"
"You take that back!" Alya screeched.
The two girls fell into an argument, with Nino trying to mediate and Kim undoing his efforts by goading them on, while the rest of the room just laughed and looked on fondly. Max was the only one not looking happy. He was frowning at his predictions in his notebook. "Alya's gift was from Adrien? I was sure you had Marinette."
Marinette shook her head sadly. "Not this time. Sorry Max."
"Besides," Adrien grinned and kissed her cheek. "I have other ways of showing her my admiration."
Marinette blushed and hid her face in his shoulder as most of their friends started cheering and wolf-whistling. It did manage to stop Alix and Alya arguing though. Temporarily anyway.
Friday 14th February 2020. 1.50 p.m. Alix's house.
Adrien was having a wonderful time.
It might not have been the romantic day for two he had been planning with Marinette but it was amazing in its own way. He loved spending time with his friends, especially on days like today when he had managed to get it officially added to his schedule, and he still had his wonderful girlfriend by his side.
After the gifts had been given and the argument finally stopped Nino had distracted them all by plugging his newest mix into Alix's laptop and blasting out the music. That had got most of them up dancing and moving to the beat and cheering, and Adrien would never get tired of how exhilarating it felt spinning Marinette around on the dance floor. Bliss. Especially when the music slowed into something they could slow dance to.
While the four couples had been dancing to the slow song, Max had started another game of UMS III and he had roped Adrien and Marinette into playing - on different teams. Naturally it had ended in an Adrien vs. Marinette fight to the death with everyone cheering them on, screaming their names, and had ended in the narrowest of margins with a Marinette victory.
Adrien would never admit he was distracted by the ribbon in her hair or that he was willing to throw the game just to enjoy her victory dance.
After that everyone had dispersed to do their own thing. Nathanaël parked himself in one of the armchairs and started sketching caricatures of everyone in the new sketchbook he had received from his Secret Admirer - who only Adrien knew was Chloé. Rose and Juleka had disappeared out into the garden, Ivan took up Max's UMS III challenge, Kim and Alix were playing poker, and everyone else was sat about chatting and catching up. Adrien had claimed the armchair again and pulled Marinette back into his lap content to just enjoy the conversation around him.
Or he was until he started getting hungry.
It had been a while since they'd eaten their lovely brunch on Marinette's balcony, and he'd only had a small sandwich for lunch since he was going to be eating here. Maybe he could sneak something from the food table?
"Ha! In your face Kim!" Alix screeched, throwing her cards down in victory. "Okay losers, it's time to eat!"
Or he could just wait until Alix got hungry.
Marinette giggled and kissed his cheek before climbing up. "I'll help you with the food, Alix." She offered.
"Thanks." Alix grinned at her. They started uncovering the dishes on the table but Alix suddenly stopped and looked around. "Hey, someone had better shout Rose and Juleka in or they'll miss it."
Kim was still in the sun room, growling at the cards as if they were responsible for his loss, and he obligingly stuck his head out of the door and bellowed at the girls.
Rose was practically bouncing as she walked back into the living room, Juleka's hand in hers. "Your garden is so beautiful Alix! So many colours and scents. It's wonderful!"
"Did you two have fun out there?" Alya smirked at them and waggled her eyebrows.
Rose was oblivious though, too caught up in her good mood to head the tone of Alya's voice. "Oh yes it was lovely. We're going to look at the library after we've eaten, aren't we Juli?" Juleka nodded.
"Great idea!"
Alya jumped up from the sofa and grabbed Nino's hand, yanking him up behind her and almost knocking them both over the coffee table. He gave his girlfriend a bemused look but he'd learned long ago not to say anything when she got an idea in her head. It was best to just follow along and try and calm the situation. Having a first-aid kit on hand helped too.
Alya waved to the group over her shoulder as she pulled Nino towards the door. "We'll go check the library out before we eat. Be back in ten, twenty tops?"
She shut the door behind her with a quiet but decisive thud and moments later they heard the library door shut too.
Rose stared at the door in confusion. "I didn't think Alya was into gothic literature that much?" Around the room everyone shared a look, wondering who would be the one to burst Rose's bubble, but Juleka was the one who leaned over and whispered into her girlfriends ear. Rose turned bright red. "You mean they're...? And she thought we...?" She squealed and hid her head in her hands.
Alix huffed and glared at the closed door. "I'm giving them five minutes before I go in there with a spray bottle."
She didn't need to as it turned out. Much as he loved spending time with his girlfriend, Nino was also really hungry by now. They came back in fairly shortly looking only slightly dishevelled and eagerly joined the queue to grab a paper plate and loaf it up with food.
Adrien made sure to get a very large slice of his favourite quiche and added a few other bits that looked interesting, deliberately not thinking about the calorie content or what his dietician might say if he saw the food here. Besides, Marinette had told him that Dupain-Cheng food didn't count towards his calorie count and a lot of the food here was from their bakery. He was safe.
The armchairs and sofa were full by the time he and Marinette had their food and so they took over the small two seater in the sun room. It actually worked out better for them because they could hide Marinette's bag between them and check on their kwami. They had put two wheels of cheese and several cookies in there right before they left for the party and amazingly it was only half gone. Adrien was stunned that Plagg hadn't inhaled his camembert but knew better than to say anything.
Marinette snuggled into his side and used the action to hide the fact that she was slipping some more food into her bag. "Why don't we check out the garden when we've eaten, kitten? Some fresh air would be good."
He glanced down at her bag and saw Tikki looking up at him pleadingly. Of course she was. Rose hadn't stopped talking about the flowers and both bugs were eager to see them. "A purr-fect plan, my love." It didn't take them long to finish and Adrien helped Marinette to stand and fetched their coats and scarves.
Alya's nose for gossip brought her into the sun-room at once." Leaving for your private date already?" she teased.
Adrien shook his head as he helped Marinette into her coat. He wasn't going to give Alya the satisfaction. Not this time. "Not just yet. I could do with some fresh air and Marinette wants to see the flowers." Marinette nodded eagerly as she started buttoning up her coat.
"Don't make me get the spray bottle!" Alix cautioned them as she appeared int he sun room too, picking up the deck of cards from the table and shuffling them.
"Do you really think we'd do anything like that when Marinette hates the cold so much?"
Marinette scoffed too. "Or when he's this determined I don't get a chill?" she gestured to the scarves that Adrien was handing her and he had to fight a pout.
Alya sighed. "They're right I guess. Nothing's going to happen."
While Alix teased Alya about sounding disappointed a suspicion formed in Adrien's mind. "Were you going to try and film us?" He frowned when Alya gave a sheepish nod, caught red-handed. "Not cool Alya."
Marinette headed off an argument before it could even begin. Thank god for his wonderful girlfriend. "Alya if you follow us I'll tell everyone what happened when you asked me to help the twins make madeleines." Alya paled but then nodded and crossed her heart and all of a sudden Adrien really wanted to hear that story. Alix too by the looks of her. Marinette wouldn't betray her confidence like that though. "Thanks, Als. I really do want to see the flowers anyway, Rose says they've got a beautiful winter cherry tree, and the viburnum is gorgeous."
Alya accepted her defeat in this instance and nodded. She sat down across from Alix and joined in the poker game that was just starting. Adrien knew better than to linger and hurried Marinette out into the garden.
It was beautiful.
Much like the Four Seasons park they had just walked through, the Kubdel garden had plants that would provide year-round colour. It was vibrant and soothing and calming all at once. It was also a fairly large garden, wrapping all the way around the house and extending quite a way, with a garden bench under the boughs of a winter-flowering cherry tree right at the bottom.
That was Adrien's ultimate destination in the garden. A nice secluded place where they could let Plagg and Tikki get a bit of fresh air and have some time together away from nosy friends with cameras. A small bit of peace in the middle of a hectic day. They could take their time getting there though. Marinette was delighted with the professionally maintained garden, and he was happy just to hold her and bask in her enthusiasm. Plus the longer it took them to get to the back of the garden the less likely they were to have an audience. Most of their friends would get bored of spying within the first five minutes when it looked like they really were out here for the flowers.
They were both glad of the chance to sit down by the time they made it to the bench. It was the perfect time too, as the late afternoon sun was making a good effort to peek through the cloud cover and bathe the bench and tree in a beautifully warm patch of sunlight. The cat in him was eager to curl up and nap in the light. He sat down and opened his arms invitingly. Marinette leant against him with a happy sigh, content to sit in the warm winter sun and enjoy the flowers, and he was content to hold her there in this tiny oasis of calm while it lasted. Marinette was happy and he was happy. It was perfect.
She twisted to look up at him with an impish smile. "So is this where I get my surprise then, mon amour?"
Adrien blinked. He actually hadn't even thought about it, not here in Alix's garden, but then he realised he couldn't ask for a more perfect moment than this. Marinette looked stunning, sat under the pale pink flowers, a hint of a blush on her cheeks from the chill, looking radiant in the soft winter sunbeams.
If this wasn't the right moment then it wouldn't happen today.
"Yes, I think now might be the right time, mon coeur."
He shifted just enough to reach into his jeans pocket and pull out a small but padded envelope and press in into her hands with a gentle kiss to her temple. She turned it over and saw the little love heart he had doodled on the front and he knew the second she felt there was something inside the envelope. Marinette looked at it in surprise but also an eager anticipation and Adrien willed his heart to stop racing and his palms to stop sweating.
She carefully ripped it open and unfolded the letter inside. Her pleased gasp helped ease some of the tension inside him. "You wrote me another poem? Oh, Adrien."
She leaned up and kissed him sweetly, making his heart race again, before settling back under his arm to read the poem. He slipped his hand back into his pocket and grabbed the jewellery box, just waiting for the right time.
It wasn't the most original poem he had ever written. In fact he'd pulled together lots of her favourite sayings and song lyrics and added a good deal of his own charm to it, but it said what he wanted it to say. It told her how wonderful she was, how much he loved her, how he cherished their partnership and their relationship more than anything. It was full of his hope and dreams for the future, it was full of his fears and the fact that she gave him the courage to face them, and his joy that she was always by his side.
He could hear her cooing over the words as she read along and he tightened his grip on the box. Any second now she would finish reading the poem on the first page, and flip to the second and see them…
Marinette gasped. "Adrien…"
There, on the second page, were two small love heart sweets carefully stuck there with icing. Both of them were a beautiful pale pastel pink and had vivid red writing on them.
Be mine.
Marry me?
He pulled the black satin box out of his pocket then, flipped it open, and handed it to her. Marinette's fingers were trembling as she took the tiny box and examined the beautiful charm inside.
The moment his eyes had landed on the charm in the jewellery shop on his day out with the boys, Adrien knew it was the perfect way to propose. He hadn't hesitated to buy it. The charm was shaped like a tiny silver engagement ring and bore a single pink princess-cut gem where the diamond usually sat. It was the perfect ring for his princess.
"Adrien, I…"
Marinette's voice faded away as she stared at the ring and Adrien began to fidget. Was it a yes? Was it a maybe? Was it a no? He'd gone over this in his head so many times, thinking up responses to every possible yes and every possible no that she could give him, but it hadn't even occurred to him what to do if she just didn't answer.
What was he supposed to do?
He began to talk before he ever realised he had opened his mouth. "I know it might look a little sudden - our two month anniversary isn't until next week - and that's part of the reason it's just a charm and not a real ring. It's…"
Adrien forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. Babbling anything that popped into his head was not how he had imagined this proposal going. Marinette was looking up at him now, not the ring charm, and he took strength from the fact that he saw no rejection in her beautiful blue eyes.
"I'm not proposing yet, mon coeur. But this-" he reached out and tapped the ring charm where it sat in the box "-this is my promise to you that I will. I'm pretty sure that you feel the same as me, that you're as certain as I am. You're the only one for me, Marinette." Adrien was delighted to see his favourite pink blush appear and the tiny smile that graced her lips. "We might have been officially dating for less than two months, but we've been partners for over two years. We're Ladybug and Chat Noir, we're Marinette and Adrien, we're you and me, us, complete at last. We're a perfect balance."
He carefully pried her left hand off the tiny black satin box and lifted it to his lips for a kiss. It was easy, oh so easy, to imagine a real ring on this hand in the not too distant future. A beautiful jewel that would be fit to grace his Princess's fair hand.
He smiled down at her, hoping she could see all the love he held for her in his gaze. "Call me crazy for proposing to propose when our relationship is so new, call me selfish for wanting to see you wearing my ring even if it's just a tiny charm, or, you know, blame the territorial cat in me who goes gaga when I see you in my colours…"
Marinette gave a tiny giggle then. A cute but wet sound and his heart filled to bursting with love when he realised she was on the verge of crying happy tears. He loved this amazing girl. One tear escaped her eye and he cupped her face to brush it away with his thumb, adoring the way she relaxed into his palm.
"So what do you say, my Marinette? Be mine. Marry me?"
Adrien should have expected her answer.
He really should have.
But it caught him completely by surprise when Marinettte grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and pulled him into the most intense kiss of his life. He groaned, purred, and melted into her, threading his fingers through her hair and holding her closer. They broke apart, panting hard and blushing brightly, and he pulled her to him again. She nuzzled into his neck against his racing pulse and he pressed a tender kiss to her temple. "That is my favourite response to a question."
Marinette just laughed at him and snuggled further into his embrace. "Yes."
"Yes?" Adrien frowned, confused.
"Yes."
It took far too long for his kiss-addled brain to come back online and realise just what she was saying. He pulled back and stared down at her in hope and excitement. "Yes?"
She nodded, blushing. "Yes."
"Yes!" Adrien threw a fist into the air in triumph, not caring at all that Marinette was laughing at him, that their two kwami were cheering and screaming in Marinette's bag, that people could probably hear them and were wondering what was going on. None of that mattered when this wonderful, amazing, miraculous girl said yes to him. "Okay, I take it back, that is now my new favourite response."
Marinette wiped at her eyes and smiled up at him. "You're the only one I can see myself with, kitten. Now and forever. My perfect partner in everything." She leaned up to give him a kiss but drew back and booped his nose when he tried to chase her. The ring box suddenly appeared in front of his face. "But you'd better make sure that the next time you give me a ring box it has an actual ring in because this is the third time you have done this to me, Adrien. I don't care if you are the love of my life I will string you up from the tower if there is a fourth, got it?"
God, she was so hot when she was angry. "Got it."
Marinette pushed the ring box into his hands and reached for the clasp on her necklace. Adrien took the charm out, snapping the box shut and slipping it back into his pocket, and held it out on his palm. She gently slipped it onto the chain of her cat-bug necklace and settled it against the cat - but unlike the bright red heart this one rested behind the cat, where few people could see it, but where she would always feel it He took the clasp of the necklace from her hands and slipped it around her neck, fastening it securely, and then kissing the skin right above the chain.
She gave a happy sigh then turned to him and kissed him. "Let's get out of here, mon chaton."
"Where to?"
"We need to celebrate our engagement!" Marinette hadn't stopped smiling since she had said yes but somehow it seemed brighter right now. "Let's go out to the park or take to the rooftops for a run or let's have a picnic on the tower... I don't know, let's just do something to celebrate."
That was the best idea he had heard all day. "Why don't we have a run and then find somewhere that does takeaway and go back to your balcony? We can eat and finish that bottle of juice and talk about our future."
"I love that idea. I can't wait to be your wife."
Adrien thought his heart would burst. How he loved her! "Let's have a spring wedding. Perfect for bugs and cats, and you look so beautiful in spring colours."
"You're reading my mind, kitten. That's the wedding of my dreams."
"I might have been thinking about this for a long time," he admitted with a chuckle and a blush.
"Me too." Marinette bit her lip in embarrassment. "Now let's go and get that food and then I can tell you all about Emma, Louis, and Hugo."
Adrien frowned, wondering just who she meant? He didn't know anyone by those names, save for Hugo who was the name of the little boy at the children's hospital who… his brain crashed then when he realised what she meant. Why she had looked at him and Hugo that day in the hospital with such dreamy eyes.
"Kids?" The words came out as barely a whisper. "Our children?" She nodded and he could feel his own eyes fill with tears, imagining the future she had dreamed for them and wanting it so badly that he ached. He pulled her to him in a hug and held her tightly. "That is a conversation I very much want to have with you, my Marinette."
"Then let's go kitten."
Author's notes: And thus Be Mine, Valentine comes to an end. Thank you to all of my wonderful readers for sticking with this, your reviews and favourites have been one of the highlights of my day. I am very pleased to say that there will be a sequel or several coming along at some point. I have had so many ideas for cute and fluffy scenes that I will be coming back to this to write more in this story. Besides, I have to write his actual proposal don't I? It probably won't be any time soon and more than likely not another daily writing challenge. I know the lovesquare months are coming up but I've done three in the past few months - Just Another Day In Paris, All I Want For Christmas, and of course Be Mine, Valentine - and it takes a lot to stick with it. I'll stick with a less demanding posting schedule for the future sequels in this series.
Plus, my free time isn't going to be easy to predict for the next few months. The sproglet has his half term holiday next week, and the week after is half term for my nieces and nephews, so February is going to disappear in a haze of family activities to stave off kiddy boredom. Please send suggestions. I've got my driving test on Monday (wish me luck) which will make the school run easier and hopefully the sproglet will move to longer days after half term instead of the morning's he's doing now to ease his nursery transition. March is full of family birthdays and April has Easter and (hopefully) a family holiday. So I won't sign up for the upcoming lovesquare months.
I will be active over on my Tumblr so feel free to follow me over there. I will of course be talking about my sproglet a lot, but also any upcoming fanfics I have brewing in my mind, giving a few sneak peeks, and talking about the episodes of Miraculous Ladybug that I watch (that will be March at the earliest because I'm not daft enough to try and watch it during half term with one crazy sproglet and four mad nieces and nephews hanging around). My ask box is always open so you can send me a message or a suggestion for scenes you'd like to see, and I've got two open ask lists if you want to ask me a question over there.
And finally a very Happy Valentine's Day to all of you from me. I hope you all like this extra fluffy chapter as my gift to you. I spent my Valentine's Day with the four great loves of my life - my hubby and my sproglet, and several cups of tea and a slice of chocolate cake. My perfect Valentine's!
Replies to reviews:
SirDudeman28 - aww thank you. I just had to include The Princess Bride. It's too good a film not to. Thanks for sticking with this story.
yellow 14 - of course Plagg would find the loophole, nothing could stop him from having his cheese. Hmm, good question about the akuma. I didn't think of it's impact on singles. That could be interesting. I'll keep this idea in mind for possible future use. I hope you enjoyed the final chapter and had a lovely Valentine's Day of your own (and I hope the weather where you are was better that it was for me).
bunnywabbit29 - hello, I'm really glad you liked all the cute moments I squeezed in, especially the Secret Admirer