Just a heads up: the next update might come a little bit slower than usual. I had a really stupid accident in the shower (slipped while holding my 2 yo son and cut my hand on the door mechanism) which makes typing a bit tedious. So I might write a little less than usual for the next few days. Sorry about that!

Marinette fought it with all her might, focusing on Adrien's soothing voice and warm proximity to try and calm herself down despite the raging storm of emotions fighting inside her, but soon enough all the telltale signs of an upcoming anxiety crisis were creeping on her, effectively suffocating her. Suddenly, she felt as if the walls were quickly closing up on her while her blood ran ice cold in her veins. Her breathing became painfully laborious, and she promptly found her vision fading to black as well as her hearing wavering to a mere blur of white noises altogether.

She faintly had consciousness of him pressing his lips briefly against her forehead and muttering something rapidly, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what he actually said. The familiar warmth pulled away from her before she could even reply something, leaving her all wrapped up in her plaguing memories, feeling cold and lonely.

And then he was gone.

When the door closed behind him, Marinette felt her world had just shattered into a million pieces.

Left on her own, Marinette curled up on herself on the floor, four years old memories crawling back on her.

She could see herself again, four years prior at barely even eighteen, standing on the abortion clinic's porch on her own, struggling with her shameful secret. Going through that door had been the hardest thing she ever had to do. Part of her wanted nothing more than run and hide forever. She had known from the start, from the second the second pink line had appeared on the pregnancy test that she couldn't keep the baby. It would have been unfair both to her and to the child, knowing that it would always be a living reminder of the nightmare Nathanael had put her through. It was the rational thing to do, the only thing that made sense.

But knowing she had done the right thing didn't make it hurt less.

This time, things would be different. Another abortion was out of the question, without the shadow of any hesitation. Even if Adrien had walked out on her, this child had been conceived out of love, and would only be a reminder of the two months of pure bliss she had been lucky enough to get by his side. Raising his child, with or without him, was the only thing she was sure she wanted.

The only certainty in her wavering mind.

Adrien rummaged in the safe with hasty movements, thankful his father was nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to explain his actions, not yet. First, he had to get back to Marinette as soon as possible.

Well, as soon as he could get his hands on the goddamn ring.

He knew it had to be there, somewhere in his father's safe. Gabriel had kept it for that very purpose, though Adrien really hoped he wouldn't notice its absence right away. He wanted to tell him himself once things were settled down. Of course, he knew that his father would approve, he had made that clear quite publicly. Still, he was wishing for a more official announcement than "Hey Adrien, where did your mother's ring go?"

He needed time, time to reassure his upset girlfriend, to make her understand once and for all that he wasn't going anywhere without her. He had seen the sheer terror in her bluebell eyes upon arriving at her apartment, had seen the way she had seemingly braced herself for a negative reaction from him. It had become clear quite quickly that words weren't going to be enough to convince her, that nothing he could say would make her understand that things were okay despite the not-so-surprising turn of events.

Only actions would reassure her.

And he knew exactly what he had to do, if only he could find the ring.

Another round of scouring the lower shelf of the safe proved to be lucky, as Adrien finally spotted the familiar little black box. He reached for it and opened it carefully to confirm the content was indeed what he was desperately searching for. Sure enough, there it was, as beautiful as he remembered it to be. It was a simple white golden band, divided in two strands at the front, looped together into the eternity symbol. One of those strands was embedded with white diamonds. Simple, easy to wear and beautiful. It was his mother's wedding ring, and it would now be Marinette's, should she accept what he intended to be his undeniable proof of his feelings for her.

Tucking it safely into his pocket, he sprinted down the mansion's hall, almost colliding with Natalie that was coming in.
"Ad-"
"Hi Natalie, bye Natalie!" he heard himself shout back as he raced down the front stairs. Never in his life, except maybe the day he had hopped from his shower to Marinette's apartment, had he jumped in his car so fast, fastening his seatbelt with giddy fingers. As soon as he reached Marinette's building, he shot out of the car and hurried up the stairs, almost breaking his neck twice in the process.

The sight awaiting him when he pushed Marinette's door open truly broke his heart. Curled up in a fetal position on the floor, in the exact same spot he had left her, his lover was sobbing quietly, eyes tight shut. He kneeled down beside her and, wrapping his arms around her with an infinite tenderness, he softly kissed her forehead as her eyes shot back open:
"Mari…"
"You came back." she hiccupped through her sobs, pressing herself against his chest, and Adrien understood, stunned beyond words, that she honestly had thought he was gone for good.
"I literally told you I was just running an errand, why in the word did you assume I weren't coming back?"
She looked away, but not before the young man caught her sheepish expression:
"I… I didn't hear what you said before leaving. Sorry."
The blond sighed, hugging her tighter. Thankfully, he had been gone for a short time, barely more than fifteen minutes, so Marinette hadn't suffered uselessly too long. It still bothered him to great lengths that she had assumed so easily that she mattered that little to him. That he could abandon her like that, without even looking back a single second.

Adrien took a deep breath and tore himself away from her, taking both of her hands into his and helping her up. He stood there for a second, facing her, his eyes finding hers as he gathered his thoughts:
"I… We have been chasing each other around for the past seven years, Mari. Now that I finally have you, I ain't letting you go anywhere without me. I wanna go through your ups and your downs with you. I want you to be by my side through mine. I wanna walk you down the aisle in the dress you dreamt of and I want to raise our children hand in hand with you. I have been planning on it ever since my lips first tasted yours. I just didn't think it'd happen right away, but I don't mind the slightest. I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with you Mari, and love and cherish you every morning I'm lucky enough to wake up next to you. I know everything's happening at a really fast pace, but apparently, this is how we were meant to be."
Pulling his mother's ring from his pocket, he kneeled down before her, still holding her hand:
"Will you marry me, princess?"

She gasped, clasping her free hand to her lips.
"Adrien, I…"
"Don't you dare give me the "I'm worthless" speech again. I love you Marinette, I love you with every cell of my body. This baby doesn't lessen my feelings for you in any way, quite the opposite actually. You're handing me a chance on a silver platter to build a family of my own with the woman I'm in deeply love with, I would be a madman to let it pass."
A single tear trailed down her porcelain skin as he watched nervously her expression shift to entirely something else. Her pink lips stretched into a shy smile, her eyes shining with love and… adoration? Her answer was barely above a whisper, but he drank it all:
"Yes, Adrien. I'll marry you mon chaton."

And suddenly Adrien was soaring. His heart felt incredibly light and he was ready to take on the world. Trembling with emotion, he slid the ring on her finger before jumping to his feet and taking her into his arms, nuzzling his nose in her hair.
"I can't wait to start anew with you, Marinette. You've just made me the happiest man alive."
Grinning, the blackette wiped her eyes with the back of her hand:
"I love you, Adrien. And I won't ever be able to thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You've been nothing but patient toward me."
Capturing her lips in a deep kiss, Adrien pulled her even closer to him, breathing in her warmth, her scent. When they broke apart, both breathless, he rested his forehead on hers, reveling in their moment:
"I'd do it over and over again in a heartbeat, princess. You're worth it, even if you refuse to see it. Now, I have a lifetime to show you just how much I love you."

They remained like that for a while, wrapped in each other's embrace.

Eventually, Adrien's hand left the small of her back, trailing toward her abdomen to come and rest on her stomach over the fabric of her shirt. Smiling widely, he whispered:
"Should we start looking for a house? Or would you prefer another apartment?"
Visibly taken aback by that question, the young woman stared at him for a second:
"What? Why?"
"Well, seeing as we both live in a one-bedroom apartment, neither of us has enough room for a nursery. Which we're going to need."
Marinette giggled softly, a sound he could never grow tired of hearing.
"Shouldn't we settle on a date for the wedding first?"
Adrien pouted, effectively throwing his lovely girlfriend into another fit of giggling.
"Alright then, how much time do you need to make your dream dress happen?"
"I've been perfecting the design for a while now, and the pattern's almost ready. I'd says there's about a week worth of work left."
"Then it's settled."
Looking at him quizzically, Marinette stammered:
"I-I'm sorry? What's settled?"
"The date, he answered while grinning like the lovesick fool he was. You need a week to make your dress, so we'll marry in a week. I absolutely refuse to spend a second more than necessary not being your husband."
"Adrien, that's crazy. There's no way we can make this happen in a week. There's still the fashion show in a few days and-"
"Like I said, fast paced is how we were meant to be princess. We're more than ready for the fashion show and you know it. Focus on your dress, I'll handle the rest."
Placing a soft peck on her lips, he drew back looking at her with sheer adoration, obviously elated about the upcoming changes in both their lives.

Still grinning from ear to ear, he flashed her a mischievous glance:
"So, future Mme Agreste, now that's settled, can we speak about where you and I are going to care for our upcoming little bundle of joy?"

And there it was again.

The giggle he loved so much.