A/n: Originally posted 5-18-18

Just a few notes regarding some reviews. I have edited Ch 2 scenes around the Timebreaker incident, if you didn't see that. Thank you for pointing out that Ladybug was a bit OOC. LB and CN will have to be slightly different than canon in order for this story to work, but I do want their core personalities to be the same.

Secondly, Marinette is not currently pregnant. The reason Nathan mentioned that in Ch1 was the "emergency Lamaze class" excuse. Luka heard a vague pregnancy rumor in Ch2 because the proposal was being rushed, and that tends to look "suspicious" to others. (they naturally seem to think- "shotgun wedding! She must be preggo!") In my life thus far as a female I have seen this attitude time and again. People always seem to want to ask when babies are coming, or assume they are at the slightest prompt. That's why I have written that into a few instances. :)

Anyway, on with the story! ^_^

.:Chapter 3 - Proposal:.

*flash-back*

Marinette cracked an eyelid and stared at her mentor across the small room. Master Fu's face was carefully schooled into a peaceful mask, his posture perfect and statuesque. Marinette was trying to follow suit, to no avail.

"What's wrong, Ladybug?" Master Fu asked her without looking. Tikki paused from playing with Wayzz just long enough to giggle at the humans.

She paused, trying to put her finger on what exactly was bothering her. "I- I just don't understand," she said in a rush. "I've been Ladybug for twelve years, and you kept the Cat miraculous guarded this entire time. Why give it out now?" It had been bothering her since she had met the new superhero, Cat Noir - about a month ago now.

The older man sighed and opened his eyes. "Marinette. I understand your confusion. While miraculous can be wielded by anyone who wears them, there are certain people the energy resonates with. Those people will be the heroes, he or she will live and breathe them. Those individuals will also be able to wield his or her powers more effectively than others could. I hadn't felt Cat Noir for a long time, but I knew he would emerge if we were patient."

"Twelve years is a long time, Master Fu," Marinette pouted. His lips twitched at her response, clearly disagreeing. "I still don't think him helping you up off of the ground is a good enough reason to go handing him a miraculous," she continued.

"I'm starting to regret telling you that now," he sighed. "You'll just have to trust me. When he touched me, I could feel his energy. I knew he was the one."

She sighed noisily and tried to calm her mind again before an alarming thought surfaced. She figured she might as well get it out of the way before it ruined her concentration further. "Master Fu?"

"Hmm?"

"How many times did you intentionally put yourself in danger to try and find the elusive Cat?"

He didn't answer.

*/end*

Nate. We're ready., Luka's text read. Nathan blanched.

"Marinette?" the ginger asked. He was glad they were near each other and hadn't gone their separate ways in the art store. By another stroke of good luck, neither of them had grabbed anything to purchase yet, so he thought he could expedite their departure.

"Yes?" she looked at him expectantly with her beautiful sapphire orbs. His pulse sped up.

He took a quick steadying breath. "Do you trust me?"

Across the street, a crowd was gathering on the terraced stairs. The stone steps rose around the stage in a half-circle, allowing everyone a fairly decent vantage point. The back of the stage was against the Seine. This park was very scenic, and very old; the open-air theater reminded Luka of something the ancient Greeks and Romans would use. From the stage, he raised his gaze to survey the crowd nervously. What's keeping Nathaniel?

"We've done this hundreds of times, Lukie," Rose squeaked to her lead guitarist. "It'll be fine." She placed a bracing hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

He appreciated the gesture, but it was lost in the rolling tide of his emotions. "This isn't a normal concert to me, so it's hard to act like it." He turned over the ring box in his pocket. "But thanks, Rose."

Word had spread quickly that Luka was planning something special for his girlfriend. Unfortunately, that meant that the traditional media had also caught on, and a few photographers and reporters had already turned out.

The band was all set up, its members at their stations, waiting for the lady of the hour to arrive. Rose had made an announcement a few minutes ago asking for the attendees' (and begging for the media's) cooperation to keep the surprise as long as possible.

Nathaniel finally emerged from the art shop with Marinette in tow, her eyes obediently closed. He held her hand, guiding her carefully across the street to the park. A handful of minor paparazzi were gathered at the perimeters of the public space. Once the two were spotted, the photo shutters began snapping furiously. Her brow furrowed, but Marinette didn't open her eyes. Nathan grimaced and trudged on.

As the crowd noticed her presence, they parted before the pair to form a path. The only noise besides the normal rush of the river and city was the crowd's background chatter. Nathan knew she would be able to hear them talking, but she still wouldn't suspect the gravity of the situation. Even with the crowd's cooperation, it was treacherous going over the many shallow, long stone steps. He steered her carefully, bodily grabbing her around her waist when she stumbled. Her eyes opened a crack in fear, but thankfully she was staring up into the sky at that moment, head thrown back, and she forced her eyelids shut again. Because they were above the band, he didn't think she had seen anything. She squeezed the hand holding hers in thanks.

Once they were in the best spot - front and center, Nathan nodded to Luka. The best friends made eye contact. Luka's gaze flicked down to their clasped hands and back up to Nathan's face, his expression inscrutable for a moment.

It passed quickly, and Luka seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts, his smile slowly warming to a high-wattage beam as the reality hit him. They were ready.

"You can open your eyes now," Nate whispered into Marinette's ear, squeezing her hand and then letting go as her expression went from patient, to confused, to elated. Her face was broadcast to the whole audience on a makeshift projector screen behind the band. Seeing her eyes open, the fans let out a hearty cheer that swelled to a roar. Luka - amazing Luka, cool-as-a-cucumber Luka, decked out in his show outfit - had his arms crossed casually, yet his expression belied his true feelings. He was grinning from ear to ear.

"What is this?" Marinette tried to shout over the crowd. A particularly enthusiastic concertgoer was whooping loudly a few feet away. Marinette's gaze was riveted to her one and only lover, her eyes glazed with tears. "I didn't know the band was playing…"

"Well hey there, Marinette," Luka smiled into his microphone from his place: stage-right of the lead singer. His amplified voice bounced around the space, and he kept his gaze locked on her. "So nice of you to finally join us." The crowd went wild again. After waiting a few moments for the noise to die partially, he continued.

"You might be wondering what the hell is going on," he mused. She nodded from her spot. "So why don't we start with our first song of this set. We've never played it before, but we like to call it -" he paused dramatically, "-Marinette."

Marinette began to cry in earnest as Luka took the lead vocals for this song. He had only sang lead on a few songs from previous albums, so it was extra-special to hear his heartfelt croon. His singing was quite good, even compared to his star-studded coworkers in the music industry. Marinette had always thought Luka's was one of the most beautiful voices she had ever heard. She could almost hear the audience collectively sigh.

During the first verse, she had reached for Nathan's hand and squeezed it, raising their limbs and swaying with the rest of the crowd to the rise and fall of the melody. The song was about commitment, and how easily it flowed for the singer's love. It was about determination to make the relationship work, no matter what.

Starting in the second verse, Rose provided an evocative harmony. The two's voices were as smooth as butter, and the overtones gave Marinette goosebumps.

After the second chorus, Luka dropped his guitar, letting it hang on its strap, and took his mic off of the stand. He moved to the center of the stage, watching Marinette closely. The bassist, drums, and harmony dropped out, leaving just the keyboard and Luka.

Marinette's pulse sped up and her palms started to sweat. She let go of Nathan's hand and fixated on the man directly in front of her. Luka sang of the simplest pleasures, shared thousands of times. Of vacations and sick days and everything in-between. The mundane Wednesdays that were made special because of who they were with. He was singing of a lifelong commitment. The crowd held its breath.

And then, as if she were dreaming, the last line of the bridge dropped from Luka's lips like stones into a clear, deep well.

"Marry me?"

Marinette gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Time seemed to slow down.

"Marinette," Luka spoke now, still gipping his mic with both hands. The keyboardist played softly in the background, stretching out the chords of the bridge indefinitely. "You know I'm no good with talking sometimes, but I think I can music pretty well." The audience laughed. A few single cheers and boisterous laughs broke out from scattered extra-enthusiastic people.

His eyes briefly flitted to some of them and then glanced back at his love. "I once told you, a long time ago, that music is often simpler than words. I first got the idea to write this song two years ago, when you shared a major secret with me. I started composing it about a year ago, but the bridge was different. It never felt right until now. I finally figured out how to ask you to become my wife. The song is real, Mari. It's about you and I, and our life together we have made, and will make, if you so choose."

Pulling the ring box out of his pocket, he bent to put one knee on the ground. "Marry me?"

...Meanwhile, Cat Noir's alter-ego was lost in the fantasy of his sexy and mysterious partner. Plagg had fled to give the boy some privacy. "Ladybug…" Adrien breathed, a feverish temperature creeping from his chest up to his cheeks.

He could only lay there after it was over, the strongest euphoria he had ever felt gripping his body in paralysis. As his pulse settled back to normal and the warmth faded, he was an odd mixture of drained and sad. He was crashing hard after such a high.

A single tear made its way out of his right eye as he gazed down at the still of Ladybug on his phone. It was the realization that she wasn't his, and they likely wouldn't be meeting in this way other than in his imagination, anytime soon. His hands gripped the covers until his fingers hurt; desire and impotency battled in his abdomen as sobs wracked his frame.

"Y-yes! Yes, I will marry you!" Marinette shouted to be heard. Her heart was beating like a hare's caught in a trap, and for once she didn't mind the camera broadcasting her face, even if it was splotchy and red from the emotion.

Luka was elated. His face was pure ecstacy, and at his next exhale, his frame sagged forward slightly, as if the weight of his expectations was sloughing off of him. The camera cut to him and when he looked up again, she thought his eyes were shinier than normal.

"Marinette," he struggled to speak around the lump in his throat. He cleared it and tried again. "My love, my queen." He climbed up one of the stone steps into the audience, gingerly taking her hand and fitting the ring over her finger. She clung to him, lost in him, the background a dull roar.

They were broken from their embrace several moments later by Rose clearing her throat. Apparently the keyboardist had tried two times already to get Luka to move on with the song. The chords from the bridge finally progressed, and Luka sang the last chorus from next to his fiancé, his fingers cutting off the circulation in hers. His vocals were shaky, but the crowd gave him a pass.

Reluctantly, he let her go to join his bandmates again and finish the concert - but only after the band had played a song - another romantic ballad, of course - without him. Luka and Marinette, pressed close together, cherished every second of that song. They swayed slowly together, an island in the ocean around them.

A/n: I was trying realllyy hard to stay within the T guidelines, when I realized that M is still acceptable for this site, just not MA. (I don't like writing sex scenes anyway, so... no MA is just fine with me) So, this story will not be explicit, but will definitely allude to sex/sexual acts - unfortunately, quite frequently, it's part of the drama of this story, but I still think there's a way to do it tastefully. Thanks for your patience while I figure out the rating thing and I hope it didn't put anyone off. Thanks for reading! :)