A.N.-IT'S HERE! I'm uploading a day early because of Frozer and Maledictator airing tomorrow. I'm super excited. Thank you so much for your support in all of this. I couldn't ask for better readers.

Epilogue

"Is it everything that you wanted?" Nathaniel whispered into Chloe's ear; the two wrapped up in their little world. She returned his beaming smile right before she claimed his lips with her own.

"It's everything and more," she murmured against his mouth when they broke for air. The crowds seated at the tables burst into applause and cheer gaining their attention.

"That's how to do it!" The DJ announced causing the couple to blush. "I need everyone to give it up to welcome the bride and groom to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife." Marinette didn't even flinch when she felt Adrien's hand grip hers softly under the table.

"They look so happy," she mused quietly. "If you would have told me they'd get together back in high school, I'd never have believed you." Both if they had grown exponentially since then, for the better. Mrs. Bustier was right; all Chloe needed was the right kind of love.

"It's proof that people can change," Adrien added. Marinette leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For seeing the good in people even when others can't." She generally had a knack for that kind of thing, but it faded with every interaction that she had with people who took advantage of her. Their eyes locked and the two exchanged smiles with one another.

"Alright, we get the picture, you two are in love. I think if you keep it up Chloe will come over and ask you to tone it down," Alya teases pulling them out of their bubble.
"How many sickly-sweet conversations did we have to endure between you and Nino?"

"How is that fair? When I have a girlfriend as wonderful as I do you want to shout it from the rooftops, right Adrien?" Nino planted a wet kiss on Alya's cheek until she pushed him off playfully.

"I thought you were supposed to be on my side," Alya huffed.

"Always am." Nino shot back a grin probably knowing full well the trouble he would be in later. "If you would excuse us, I think the dance floor is calling our name." Alya arched one of her eyebrows at him but still took his hand all the same. Marinette couldn't help but grin from ear to ear as she watched her two best friends share a dance. They couldn't be stronger, and tonight when Nino got home he would find a small box of his own. But despite the new hobbies that he would pursue, Marinette had faith that he would go above and beyond what anyone would expect. What she was sure of, Alya and Nino could face the world side by side overcoming any obstacle.

"Father?" Adrien asked when he noticed that Gabriel stood behind them.

"Adrien, a word?"

"Is something wrong?" It would be like his father to wait for the most inopportune time to deliver bad news. His mind started to punch out potential medical issues he could be facing, but one deep chuckle eased the anxiety.

"Nothing like that." His shoulders relaxed, although still perplexed at the forwardness in his voice.

"I wanted to inform you that the evidence, including your blackmail files, have been retrieved from the police station and destroyed." A gust of wind knocked through his chest. The Marlone case took longer than most to come to a verdict, but she would only see the inside of the jail cell for a long time. It turned out that the evidence collected implied criminal intent for multiple crimes besides the blackmail.

"I can't thank you enough, father."

"It was needed to happen. That dreadful woman thought she could get away with tarnishing our name. I received a particular satisfaction watching her get dragged off to her just desserts. Family protects its own."

"Did you-" Adrien stopped himself short and winced. Why wasn't there a better way to ask your father about running about in a catsuit? It would make situations such as this easier. "I mean, were you..." His voice trailed off, and his eyes hit the floor sheepishly.

"I warned you that there was a chance that I would find out what you were hiding."

"And...are you disappointed?" His eyes clenched closed bracing for the blow. The disapproving voice would hit his ears next. He served as a disappointment to his father for years; one more time wouldn't ruin him, would it? Except it would. Adrien's chest filled to the brim with pride at even the thought that he got to serve the people of Paris and protected those he cared about on a daily basis. He lived to go on missions with Ladybug; it fueled his very breath.

"Not disappointed, ironic maybe?" Gabriel mused with a smirk.

"I don't understand." What could his father possibly mean?

"I don't think you'll need your...extra hobby for much longer. You must instead focus on your legacy and what you'll leave behind for your wife and children. The older you get, the more you realize the importance of family. " Adrien's heart rate sped, although he was beyond grateful that his father learned this lesson, he still wondered why the subject was brought up in the first place. "I squandered the time I had with your mother, I thought by keeping you close I could keep you safe. In turn, I was the threat that frightened me in the first place. I hope I can do better in the future. I'm proud of you son, and your mother would be too." Other's opinions forgotten, Adrien threw respectability to the wind and wrapped his arms around his father engulfing then in a tight hug. Gabriel would probably never realize how those words would impact his life, Adrien concluded, but they had this moment. That was all that mattered.

Marinette was suddenly engulfed in another pair of arms belonging to the bride. She returned the affection without a second thought.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're here," Chloe exclaimed tightening the hug. The one thing that Marinette hasn't expected out of everything that happened was how close they had gotten. Chloe had opened up to her over the past couple of months revealing some heavy stuff that Marinette walked her through involving her mother.
"The pleasure is all ours," she couldn't help but let her eyes flicker to her boyfriend, even for a second. "The wedding was gorgeous, and you two are so cute together." The mayor had gone all out for this wedding for his baby girl, every decoration matched perfectly, and the guests waited on practically hand and foot.

"What can I say? I saw what I wanted, and I took a risk, and it paid off." She pauses for a brief moment before she continued. "Don't you think it's your turn to take a chance on him?"

"I'm sorry?" Maybe she misheard or allowed herself to drift among her thoughts, but it sounded like Chloe implied that she should be the one to propose to Adrien.

"How much longer are you going to make the boy wait before he proposes?"

"Nothing is stopping him, Chloe," Marinette replied." Adrien will propose at the right time."

"You haven't seen the way that he's gazed at that ring of his day after day." That was news to her, although she couldn't say she was shocked by the revelation. Adrien wanted to propose at the wedding; the desire must have increased by the day. "You're still in love him, aren't you?"

"Of course, I am, Cho." Marinette allowed her gaze to wander over to Gabriel talking to his son. "Can we drop it?"

"Calm down; I was just trying to help." Marinette's eyes sunk to the ground, Chloe was right. It didn't take a genius to see how fond of them Chloe had become. Adrien had been there through rough patches of their childhood years. Great that, Marinette couldn't thank her enough. It affected who Adrien was, and groomed him into the gentleman she knew today.

"You're right, I'm sorry," she replied as her hands began to preoccupy themselves. "The pressure for us to take the next step has been building, and I can't help but wonder if it doesn't live up to the hype. After all this waiting, I don't want Adrien to be disappointed."

"That boy could not be disappointed in you if you tried," Chloe reassured. "And I know it will be worth it."

"How?" Marinette didn't get how her friend could be so sure about what her future held, especially when so much of it constantly moved.

"Because of how much you two love each other, and that you two slowed down and went about this the healthy way. Trust me; whenever you're ready to move forward, he'll be right there with you." As touching as Chloe's answer was, Marinette only hoped that she was right.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Nino's eyes darted from Adrien to the box in his hands to his girlfriend who currently preoccupied the dance floor. "I know it's not much, but-"

"Alya cares about her life with you, not the ring on her finger. She'll love it." Adrien was over the moon for his friends, after all the time they had been together, it took them long enough. He'd bet that Alya would say yes even if Nino serenaded her with his cat screeching voice. "When are you going to drop the question?" Nino prompted into an elaborate scheme he concocted. Adrien tried to pay attention the best he could, but his eyes wandered back to his lady who was dancing beside Alya.

She danced like no one watched, and her movements hypnotized him without effort. Adrien couldn't even think back to a time where he experienced this much joy and love in his life. There were made for each other. She balanced out his rashness and helped him to slow down and savor moments. He couldn't be more thankful that Nino practically dragged him to the club that night. If he hadn't, who knows where he would have ended up. The one thing he couldn't understand is how he got her to love him of all people the way his luck was. Marinette could have suitors lined up out the door on her talent alone not to mention her never fading beauty. And of all the people in Paris, and she loves me. His lips flopped to one of his normal dopey grins when he thought of her.

"Dude." Adrien snapped out of his trance to see his best friend's intently stare.

"What?" Adrien replies sheepishly knowing that he was caught red-handed with not listening. Could Nino blame him? After all, he knew more than anyone how deep his feelings ran for Marinette.

"How long are you going to keep her waiting before you propose? You've been in love with her for ages."

"As long as it takes until she's ready. I refuse to mess this up."

"What if she's ready now?"

"What?" Adrien's emerald eyes jumped to his best friend before wandering to Marinette. She would have said something if she had changed her mind, right? A pink tint formed when Marinette met his lingering gaze and flashed a heart melting smile. "How do you know?"

"Alya caught her glancing through a bridal magazine. Marinette claimed it was for a Gabriel project, but Alya swears up and down that she blushed." Nothing could convince Adrien to tear his eyes away from his girlfriend with Nino's words circling in his head.

"Don't look now, but Adrien can barely keep his mouth off the floor when he's staring at you," Alya teased as she spun Marinette around to the beat of the music.
"It wouldn't be the first time," she shot back cheekily, a grin prominent on her features.

"You know you never gave me any details besides the fact that Chat and Ladybug were dating. Which I already knew. The readers want to know."

"What Adrien and I do behind closed doors is none of their business." Her tone oozed confidence as much as she could, but her cheeks told another story. They only lasted a couple of months before caving, and if one thing could be said about Adrien, he went out of his way to bring her satisfaction. "Can we talk about something else, please?" Marinette coughed trying to stop the thought process playing on repeat in her mind.

"I saw Amelie the other day," Alya admitted shyly, bringing Marinette's dancing to a halt. The subject of her ex-friend had been something of a taboo subject among her friends. Whether they thought that she would be offended or hurt at her name, Marinette didn't know. She still felt semi-responsible for her part of the events that unfolded, although the one thing that didn't linger was regret. She hadn't gone about it in the right way, but life without Adrien in it would be miserable.

"Really? How did she- I mean did she look..." her voice faded out as she lost her courage. She shouldn't care how Amelie was, after the fall out that happened, but she did.

"We didn't talk. Otherwise, I would have told Amelie off for what she did to you. She looked exhausted from across the store. I almost felt horrible when the government seized everything from them, but when I saw her, everything that she did to you came flooding back." It didn't take much for the news to report that the Marlone fashion empire had crumbled with the arrest of Mrs. Marlone and couldn't make a comeback. The closure rocked the fashion empire harder than Marinette could imagine. Thankfully her job with Gabriel had never been stronger; the fall line had finished ahead of schedule.

"Well I'm glad you didn't, Amelie had enough to deal with before dealing with the wrath of Alya." She added trying to lighten the mood.

"You're right about that," Alya retorted a smirk growing. "She's just lucky that the wedding didn't see the light of day. Otherwise, I might have intervened."

"You wouldn't," Marinette's eyes narrowed.

"You resolved not to step in, but I never promised such a thing. Amelie would never have seen it coming." There was no question with Alya's abilities; if she wanted to cause chaos at the Marlone-Agreste wedding, she would have gotten away with it.

"What did you have planned?"

"You have your secrets; I have mine." Alya's sing-song voice floated in the space between them.

"That's not fair," Marinette exclaimed, "tell me!"

"What's that? I hear Nino calling me." Before anyone could stop her, Alya zipped into the crowd on the dance floor. If Marinette had the right vantage point, she would have easily been able to spot her. But after a couple of minutes of searching with the lights and the sound blasting between her ears she quickly made her way to a table and sat down. That would have to be a conversation to have at a later point in time.

"May I have a moment of your time?" Mr. Agreste's voice caused Marinette to jump. This wasn't the first time he had snuck up on her, and Marinette thanked the heavens that she didn't cause a bigger commotion.

"Of course, Mr. Agres- Gabriel." She corrected herself before following him to a less crowded corner.

"I saw your prototypes for the fall line, and I must say I'm impressed."

"Thank you, sir," Marinette quickly felt herself becoming tongue-tied. After working with Mr. Agreste for almost a year, it opened doors she never imagined. Despite his old age, he was still a fierce businessman who knew what he wanted.

"I talked with the board and because of your quality work, I recommended that you be promoted to a manager position."

"Mr. Agreste, I couldn't-" she wasn't aware at how much her work influenced the company.

"I wanted to inform you that this transition was earned on merit, not your relationship with my son. Although, if you continue to excel and when you officially seal everything with Adrien, we will continue this conversation within the context of transitioning further up within the company."

"I don't know what to say," Marinette replied her body too stunned to say much else.

"That's not the only reason I need to speak to you," Gabriel continued.

"It's not?" Her head tilted slightly to the right as her gaze narrowed in concentration. She couldn't imagine her mind could take any more news.

"I believe that I can entrust this in your care and you'll see that it gets in the right hands," Gabriel held out a wrapped box pristine in every way, he probably had Nathalie decorate it. Marinette wouldn't expect anything less from the man who single-handedly ran one of the biggest product lines in France.

"Sir, I don't understand." Her birthday didn't come around for another couple months. No reason came to her mind why Gabriel would go out of his way to get her something.

"Consider it an...early wedding gift." Marinette went to correct him, but then hesitation won out. The way that he smirked suggested that he knew something that she didn't. Was Adrien planning on proposing? "Make my boy happy Ms. Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel curtly nodded and excused himself quickly for reasons Marinette didn't understand until she lifted the lid. The second her vision landed on the butterfly miraculous all the air got sucked out of her lungs. Mr. Agreste had been-

Marinette didn't have time to fully process what all of this meant, or how it would affect Adrien that his father had been the one to torture them for the past several years. The time to tell him would certainly not be at Chloe and Nathan's wedding.

"Dance with me Milady," Marinette's lips ticked up into a smile at Adrien's suggestion. She turned to see him holding out a hand to guide her to the dance floor. She didn't hesitate a moment before accepting the offer. Before he whisked her away to the dance floor, he slowly brought his lips to the back of her hand in typical Chat Noir fashion. But ever since they revealed their identities, it had become so much more. With every kiss it screamed his true feelings, he loved her wholly and completely. And she loved the man before her with every fiber of her being. Adrien had been so patient with her over the last ten months, and never once pushed the relationship faster than it needed to go. There was no doubt that she wanted to be with him and allow the years to pass as they grew old together. Now that they had worked on various aspects of their relationship, they were in a much healthier place to make it long term.

With a few steps, they were on the among the others on the dance floor his arm snuck around her waist as hers circled his neck. Marinette couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment when she rested her head on his chest. Comfort warmed every inch of her body listening to the sound of the heart beating softly in his chest.
"You look so beautiful," Adrien murmured into her hair. "I almost wished we were alone." The small circles his thumb traces on her hips almost made her suggest that the find a quiet place to be alone.

"You don't clean up so bad yourself."

"Some would say it's my model good looks, but to tell you the truth. I wanted to impress this amazingly beautiful woman."

"Oh really? Is it working?" Marinette lifted her head off his chest, and the two shared a moment staring in each other's eyes.

"I don't know, is it?" He replied with a cheeky grin.

"I'll let you know."

"Come with me." Before she could protest, he already started to weave through the other couples dancing. It wasn't until they stopped on a random balcony that overlooked miles of gardens did Marinette's mind caught up with her.

"Adrien, what-" he gently placed a finger to her lips while flashing one of his smiles.

"Marinette, I couldn't be happier with our time together. We've taken it slow up to this point, but I don't want to deny the enviable. I only want to be with you as long as I live." He rustled out the box that she knew all too well. "Before you answer, if you're still not ready, I'll wait some more, as long as it takes, but I don't want a day to go by without you knowing exactly how I feel. I want you to be my wife." The lid of the box tilted open once more with Adrien's mother's ring inside. "Marinette, run away with me." She gripped the sides of his face and hungrily attaches her lips to his. The rest of the world faded away. The lack of oxygen in her lungs was the only reason that she pulled away.

"Adrien, I will marry you, but- " she bit her lip lightly. "I don't want to run away to do it. I can't imagine such a special day without Alya, Nino, my parents? It wouldn't feel right without them."

Adrien moved to place another tender kiss against her forehead, but not before softly uttering "Whatever you want, My Lady." The more he thought about her logic, the more he realized that she was right. As romantic as eloping would be, they had too many roots settled into the community. He wanted to give her the life she always wanted because she was his.

"Won't Chloe be mad that you stole her thunder on her wedding day?" Marinette teased as he slipped the ring to its rightful place on her hand.

"Are you kidding me?" He shot back playfully. "She threatened if I didn't, she would do it for me." As they lean in to share another kiss, they relaxed into each other's embrace. For just one moment, everything was right with the world, and she couldn't be happier.

A.n.- There you got it! So there is one more chapter, and it's super important. Next chapter is a ton of previews of ALL my WIP and I need you to vote. (I'll be updating that tomorrow or Saturday). Of course, let me know what you think! Love you all!