A.n.-So I posted a day early just in case I don't have access to the wifi at the hotel. I would hate to withhold a chapter from you all. Like 11 hours ish till my bday. Hopefully, I'll have a one-shot for you all tomorrow morning-ish. Fanfic recommendations are as follows: In Sickness and In Health by kali_asleep and We're a Mess by ladynoirsdaughter. Thanks to my betas who work hard and put up with me. Won't keep you from the chapter any longer.

It was hopeless trying to get around on her crutches she decided. She knew Alya was only trying to help by forcing her to use them till her ankle was one hundred percent, but this was getting ridiculous. She felt helpless trying to reach anything off the top shelf in the apartment. Marinette would go without the crutches if she thought she could get away with it, but her friends were watching her like a hawk. The first time she had tried, Alya was quick to remind her that she was no good as Ladybug with her ankle in her current state. With such an important meeting with Chat Noir tomorrow, she resigned herself to the aid.

"If you stare at it long enough I'm sure the bowl will reappear on the counter." Marinette jumped at the voice. An amused Adrien was leaning against the counter sipping his coffee.

Marinette heard her stomach grumble reminding everyone in the kitchen including herself, that it was time to eat. She hobbled over to the pantry and attempt to stand on her toes to reach a box of cereal on the top shelf.

"Mari, don't do that. I'll make you something." She ignored him, the tips of her fingers brushed the edge of the box. She heard the clink of his coffee cup being set on the counter. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"I got this," her pride slipped in. She wasn't helpless; she was Ladybug for crying out loud.

"Let me help you," he pleaded. It was impossible not to notice the increase of heat all over her body the second his hand rested on the small of her back. She watched him reach out over her for a second before batting him away.

"I can handle—" she turned her head and realized how close he actually was. Their faces were separated by a few inches and her excuse dried up in her throat. Flashbacks of her party looked through her mind the memory of his lips on hers. Marinette was sure she would have stumbled back if it wasn't his frame securing her in place. She couldn't do this, space was what she needed.

"On second thought," she squeaked out, "Can you make me some eggs?" He releases a chuckle that vibrated through her.

"As you wish." Marinette pushed down a whimper when his body retreated to the stove. A silence suffocated the room as Marinette's mind swirled. She could still feel the residual heat from his hand pumping into her lower back. The sensation alone made her lightheaded. Had he not felt it too? Besides his signature smile that he usually wore, he seemed unaffected; which was infuriating in itself.

Say something. Her mind urged. Anything.

"Why haven't you given Amelie an answer yet?" She flinched as she caught his lips dip into a frown. Maybe anything but that. "Yo-you don't have to tell me. I just know you haven't because Amelie—never mind I shouldn't have asked." It was so easy to backpedal. It wasn't her business. He had seemed so sure a week ago.

"Marinette, you can always ask me anything." His assurance didn't calm her nerves. Adrien released a sigh, eyes glued to the eggs cooking in the pan. "I guess I'm just waiting for the right time."

The right time? Her heart sped up within her chest, what did that even mean?

"Has...has your answer changed?" She shouldn't be privy to this kind of information. With either answer, it would twist her feelings into knots, it was a lose-lose scenario.

"There's only one girl that owns my heart. In fact, she's been holding on to it for a while now." Marinette felt her breath hitch as all the air escaped from her lungs. He meant her, Adrien Agreste had the option of any girl in Paris and yet he wanted her.

"Adrien! Oh, Marinette you're in here too." Amelie's voice cast out whatever moment that was marinating between the two. "I have to go in to work for the next couple hours. Marinette you had better stay off that foot, it's bad enough that you injured it. I should be back soon." The moment had been broken thanks to her roommate, she thanked Adrien for the eggs and retreated quickly to her room.

A knock captured Adrien's attention, and he paused his game. He wasn't expecting anyone. Amelie was still at work and Marinette was at the store (which she insisted that she go alone) buying materials for them to make cookies later that afternoon. Whoever was at the door grew impatient and knocked again before he could open it. When he answered, he was surprised at Amelie's mother standing in the doorway.

"Mrs. Malone, hello, uh-Amelie isn't here if you're looking for her. She's at-"

"I know exactly where she is. I came here to talk to you."

"Oh," what could she possibly have to say to him? "Come in then...can I fetch you something to drink, water?" When he didn't receive a reply, a knot began to form in his stomach and sweat started to gather on his palms. "You said you wanted to talk to me?" Adrien wished that one of the girls would come home soon to defuse some of the awkward tension.

"I'll cut to the chase. If you're anything like your father, you appreciate the efficiency of business. I know that you're planning on turning down my daughter's proposal."

"With all due respect Mrs. Malone, even if it's true that is between Amelie and me. There's nothing that you could say that would change my answer."

"I wouldn't be sure of that. You see, from your first... indiscretion, I could tell that your loyalty was elsewhere. For the protection of our family legacy, I decided to do some digging of my own." She replied smugly, and Adrien's eyes widened. She hired someone to spy on him? "I know that Marinette is the reason that you are planning on breaking up with my daughter." Adrien's skin lit up with goosebumps, how could she possibly know that?

"She has nothing to do with this," he lied. Even though Marinette was a large part of that, after re-examining his relationship with Emilie, they weren't as good of a fit as he thought.

"I beg to differ." In one fluid motion, Mrs. Malone reached into her purse grabbed a folder spilling with photos, the more eye-catching ones were of them lip-locked at Marinette's birthday party.

"Leave Marinette out of this," he snapped.

"Ooh, he does have claws. First rule of negotiation," she leaned forward menacingly, and immediately Adrien felt the hair on his arms stand. There was no way she knew, he had been careful. "Leave your emotions at the door, all they do is expose your weakness." Even if she only suspected his alter ego, was he sure he wanted to take that risk?

"What do you want?"

"I want you to go pick up the ring that's on hold at Piaget, surprise her at work with flowers in hand and tell her that she is the only girl for you and then accept her proposal. From there you two will get married under my management and shortly after the wedding, suggest to the board that the companies merge. Amelie, of course, can step in and run the company on a day to day operations standpoint."

"So it's about the company?" He knew that the industry was cutthroat, but this plan seemed a little over the top.

"It's always been about expanding. Your father built an empire, and just like Rome, it's time for it to fall."

"And if I refuse?" The thought of basically handing over his father's legacy only to watch it get torn down made him nauseous.

"Then I'll pull some of my connections and your little friend will be blacklisted by tonight. She'll never work in this industry again." She couldn't do that could she? It wouldn't take much, just a couple rumors. Adrien wasn't sure of how much influence his father would have to correct any of this, especially if he was looking to retire soon. "I'm sure the board would be willing to sacrifice her for the sake of their company, don't you?" As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. He didn't have the stock in the company to overturn their decision. If they found out if was Marinette that was causing problems for the company they would have no choice but to let her go, no matter how talented she was. "And if you decide to double cross me, I'll release everything that they found." Mrs. Marlone either had an excellent poker face or her investigator had hit the jackpot.

"How could you do this to Amelie?" It was his last option, for now, she had to care for her daughter deep down.

"I'm doing this for her. It's up to you whether you tell her that you are twisting the knife in her back with her best friend. It would be good for her, she's grown soft lately, but if she breaks up with you because of it, I'll revert back to my original promise."

"But—" He didn't get a chance to argue.

"Cheer up Adrien, it's only business as I'm sure you understand. Our rivalry has been at war for years, and now the best person has won. There isn't any shame in it, you can still screw your whore and she gets to have the career she always wanted. Nobody needs to know." Adrien's blood boiled at the label that she had slapped on Marinette, how dare she.

"You need to leave." He forced back a growl. If Hawkmoth was looking for a victim, he was one minute away from being a willing volunteer if it meant he could have revenge.

"I'll give you time to consider my offer," Mrs. Malone stood from her seat undaunted. Something told him that she had dealt with situations like this before. "Failure to accept Amelie's proposal by the end of the day and I'll consider your answer a no and take appropriate actions." He could do nothing but watch her walk away wearing the smug smirk that screamed that she had won.

There had to be a way out of this. His pent-up anger over-flowed and his fist went flying…straight into the wall. To his surprise, it went straight through. Great, now he needed a way to explain why there was a freshly placed hole in the living room wall.

"He said yes!" Amelie burst through the door causing Marinette to look up from the kitchen. She was in the middle of baking her chocolate chip cookies trying to distract herself, but fate wasn't on her side.

"Who said yes?" Her brows furrowed as she put the cookies in the oven. It was probably a new investor that had been trying to get for a while.

"Adrien, silly. It was so romantic, he stopped by my office with roses and one of the rings I had picked out at the jewelers. He told me that he would love to marry me, that I was the only girl for him." Her words sucked all the air from her lungs. It was difficult to believe such a story but then she thrusted her hand in front of Marinette's face showing off the princess cut rose gold ring; it was nail in the coffin of her denial. Her face paled and the pit of her stomach dropped.

"That's so—I'm happy for you both." The sweet words tangled with bitterness in her mouth. Adrien was always meant to move on and yet she found herself disappointed. With the strong declarations he made even that morning she thought he would try harder. Unless she misread their moment, maybe he had been talking about Amelie. Her heart cracked, she had been so sure.

"But that's not the real reason I wanted to talk to you." Amelie quipped as a smile formed.

"It isn't?"

"Marinette, you have been with me from the start of this relationship. You supported me when I had my doubts that Adrien and I would even work. By far you are the kindest person I know and I'm so lucky to call you my best friend. Will you be my maid of honor?"

"Amelie..."

"My mom has most of the details covered, you just have to show up being the awesome person you already are. We'll take care of the rest." She paused briefly. "I don't know if I could do this without you." Amelie's voice tapered off and silence took its place.

"Of course you could." Marinette offered her warmest smile she could muster. She couldn't believe she was doing this. "And if it makes you happy, I'll be your maid of honor." She replied knowing full well that she would get an earful from Alya later.

"Really?" Amelie's face lit up and she flung her arms around her pulling her into a tight hug. The action caused the pain to dull until they heard the door close.

"Hello?" Goosebumps formed all down her arm.

"Fiancée!" Amelie squealed. "We're in the kitchen. Guess who has the most amazing maid of honor?" The second his eyes locked with hers, Marinette realized one thing. She couldn't do this, she couldn't look him in the eye and tell him that she was happy for him. He would instantly know it was a lie. What she needed was space until she could pull off a better poker face.

"Well I'll leave you two alone, I forgot about something that Gabriel wanted me to do."

"What about the cookies?" Her roommate asked. The cookies could burn for all she cared, they weren't important.

"You two can enjoy them." Her statement spurred images of the two feeding each other willing her to move her feet faster.

The sanctity of her room wasn't enough. Knowing her roommates, they would come in and check on her.

"Marinette?" Her Kwami popped out of her hiding spot and rushed to her side.

"I just need some air Why don't we do a quick lap around the city?" Tikki eyed her worriedly but vanished into her earrings when she called for spots on.

The second she dashed through the window air jolted into her lungs once more despite the dull sting from her ankle. It had been a while since she went out as Ladybug without a purpose, but she felt free. She couldn't talk to Chat Noir about her feelings; it wouldn't be productive. Once she revealed herself to her partner tomorrow night, it would be the last of the secrets between them. Any lingering feelings for Adrien would fade. It was clear who he wanted anyway. Who was she to stand in the way?

"Ice cream, for me?" Alya reached out and took it from her boyfriend's hand. Andre's creations always had the tendency to hit the spot to fight the increasing heat of summer. The two carved out time for another date among their busy schedules with school picking back up again.

"Actually, I was hoping we could share it, it is the sweetheart special after all." Alya took a giant bite and grinned.

"What's the fun in that?" She teased.

"I hope you get a brain freeze," he retorted.

"I'm just kidding, of course I'll share." Before he could respond she grabbed the collar of his shirt and her eager lips found his. The flavors of the ice cream were plastered on her lips, and Nino couldn't think of a better way to experience them...until her tongue coaxed its way through. His world was spinning when she finally pulled away, it was amazing that she could make him feel like that every time regardless of the intensity of their affection.

"I definitely don't mind sharing," he eyed his girlfriend lovingly.

"Well good, because this ice cream is mine."

"Speaking of sharing, I have done some thinking." Nino didn't know why he was so nervous, they were at each other's places all the time. It would only make sense to take the next step forward, wouldn't it? He had tried and failed to drop hints all summer and when it was time to request room and board for the fall he had declined. Regardless of her answer, he would be living in an apartment that was equal distance from their schools, there was a large part of him that wanted her there with him. "I didn't apply for a dorm."

"Did you forget the deadline, I'm sure they can find someplace for you." He flinched. Nino loved his girlfriend but sometimes she could be oblivious.

"That's not it. I got my own apartment, not too far from the school...both our schools actually…"
Out of the corner of her eye, Alya caught a red blur jumping from rooftops and a sly smile appeared. Ladybug must be doing her rounds. But as she followed her friend an uneasiness formed, something was wrong. She wasn't waving at anyone when she passed by and there was no smile on her face. As much as she didn't want to cut short her date with her boyfriend, this was one of the scenarios where her friend had to come first. Alya knew that she would talk to her, she was Marinette's best friend after all. The soon they figured out the root, the faster things would get back on track.

"Alya?" A hand placed on her shoulder jerked her focus back to Nino. If he had been talking in the last minute, she hadn't heard a thing she said.

"She needs me."

"Who needs you, Ladybug?" Nino pushed.

"I'm sorry I have to go. Raincheck?" She didn't wait for a response before she bolted in the direction that Ladybug went. Once she could find an alley to transform in, she knew she could easily catch up.

She saw her chance and took it and in seconds she was jumping rooftops trying to match pace with the red-clad hero.

"Ladybug!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, but the red blur didn't slow down. Alya pushed herself faster. Her body grew rigid when she witnessed her friend drop to her knees too tired to continue on.

"Marinette," she whispered over the sounds of quiet sobs. She didn't care if it was Chat or Adrien who made her best friend hurt this much, she would come at them head-on. Neither said anything as Alya wrapped her arms tightly around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked her friend after a couple minutes as crying filled silence.

"It won't do any good," was the answer she received.

"It's Chat, isn't it? I'll skin him alive and make a handsome throw rug." She suggested trying to earn at least a smile.

"Adrien is marrying Amelie."

"What?" Alya's breath caught in her throat. "But I thought..." her words diminished as her brain finished the sentence. No wonder she was hurting. Alya knew that no matter how much her best friend loved Chat Noir there would always a spot for Adrien as her first love.

"We both did."

"I could skin Adrien too, he wouldn't make nearly as good of a throw rug.—"

"Can you just stay and talk for awhile?" There were hints of a smile which gave Alya hope. She wrapped an arm around her.

"Anything for you."

"Amelie, I thought we agreed to stay home and watch a movie tonight. Can't this work thing wait?" He was excited the Amelie had a passion for the family business, but after yesterday he had no desire to see anyone from her family especially her mother.

There had to be a loophole, some way around the obligatory hell he had been pushed into. Not that he didn't care about Amelie but having to keep the charade up was in itself exhausting. The press had caught wind of the engagement and hounded him on his way home.

Then there were the stares that Marinette gave him when she thought he wasn't looking. Ones overflowing with confusion and a pinch of hurt. As much as he'd like to believe it was because Marinette still harbored feelings, he was more inclined to believe it was because he betrayed her trust. All summer long he had told her that she was it, that he would wait for her. But when the opportunity presented itself he caved.

Except he didn't.

Adrien could think of things he'd much rather do than be tied to people like Amelie's mother such as enjoy dinner with Hawkmoth himself. Every fiber of his being wanted to pull her aside, and make her listen. But he couldn't.

Because if she knew the truth there was no way she would allow him to make that kind of sacrifice for her. Marinette would rather have him happy and deal with the consequences before she thought about herself first. So instead, he chose the option that hurt her less...until he found a loophole. He needed to bide his time.

"Amelie, where are we?" The scenery wasn't familiar, there was no indication that they were anywhere near her work.

"I might have told a tiny lie," mischief engulfed her smile and her eyes twinkled. Adrien might have thought that look was cute at one point, but he was beginning to hate surprises.

"Amelie, what did you do?"

"Just go inside and all your questions will be answered." He eyed her skeptically before returning his gaze at the building in front of them.

The second he walked through the door a series of congratulations were shouted in his direction. He stumbled back a couple steps in surprise. There must have been at least 100 people inside some that he knew others he didn't. His face paled when it read the banner:

Congratulations Adrien and Amelie!

"I knew you would like the surprise." Amelie wrapped her arms around him possessively. "Isn't this great? My mom pulled out all the stops. Just wait until you taste the cake, it's to die for."Adrien wasn't very religious, but in that second, he prayed that if there was an all-powerful being, he would fall dead right there.

A.n.- So...now you know the reason behind Adrien marrying Amelie. That happened. And more shall come. Leave me a comment with what you think, rant, cry, it's ok. I feel like we should need a support group to survive the feel loss for the story. lol. A birthday one-shot should be posted tomorrow ( unless there's no wifi or the plot bunnies take over again.) Thank you, for your overwhelming support! Love you!