Written in response to this ask on Tumblr:
"How about a chlonath response to other weddings (ie djwifi, Adrienette, even Maylene and Ivan)? I could see her getting very worked up about others getting married when she isn't. I also see him being very amused by that."
AND this suggestion from maerynn:
"clonath preparing their wedding?"
BOTH of which were responses to my "Quick, someone ask me to write a ChloNath drabble, so I have an excuse to write one!" on Tumblr this morning. I have no self control, apparently. Oh, and I chose to incorporate the "sometimes" prompt, because why not?
"This is gross." Chloe set down her empty champagne glass, scowling.
"Not everyone can afford Dom Perignon, Chlo."
"Stupid tomato." She rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about the champagne, though now that you mention it, it is subpar."
Nathanaël's lips twitched in amusement. "This is not gross, this is sweet."
"They're being nauseating again."
"They're newlyweds. This is their wedding reception. They're supposed to be nauseating."
"Why am I here?"
"Because you're not actually the raging bitch you want everyone to think you are."
"You're such a pain sometimes." She picked up her champagne glass and scowled into it. "Why is this still empty? If I have to watch Ivan and Mylene hang all over one another, I'm not going to do it sober."
Nathanaël plucked the glass from her hand and stood, snickering. "Heaven forbid."
Her eyes narrowed. "Watch it, Kurtzberg."
"Chloe, why aren't you dressed?"
"I'm not going." She walked away from the door without bothering to invite him in.
He came in anyway, closing the door behind him. "Of course you are. You've already done your hair and makeup. There's no way you'd let that go to waste."
"I'll go somewhere else." She put a perfectly manicured hand to her flawless coiffure with a sniff. "This effort would be wasted on them, anyway."
"Too bad, Chlo." He tugged her up from her couch, grinning. "Come on, get dressed. It's time to go mingle with the commoners." He put a hand to the small of her back and gently pushed her towards her room. She went, grudgingly.
"Ugh, gross. Why do you keep dragging me to these things, Kurtzberg?"
"Because I love to torture you." He leaned an arm on the doorframe, and smiled down into her beautiful, scowling face. "And because I know you secretly want to go."
She slammed the door on him, and he jerked back with a laugh.
Chloe emerged a few minutes later in a lemon yellow cocktail dress, tucking her cell phone into a small white clutch and grumbling about interfering tomatoes, and Nathanaël allowed his gaze to rake over her appreciatively.
"You look lovely, Chloe."
"I always look lovely, Kurtzberg ," she shot back, but a blush darkened her cheekbones and she couldn't look him in the eye. She huffed. "You do know that Alya and Nino are going to be even more gross than Ivan and Mylene were, don't you?"
He grinned at her, amused and not at all fooled by her bluster. "I have a whole bottle of champagne in the car, just for you. It's yours, if you can make it through the ceremony."
"Of course I can make it through the ceremony," she scoffed, snatching her wrap from the back of a chair. "And the reception, too. Keep your champagne, Kurtzberg."
He hid a grin behind his hand, and followed her out the door.
"It's not enough for him to make me be here. Oh no, he had to make me a part of the damn thing!" Chloe peeked out of the small room to the side of the vestibule, and glared at the people filling the church. "He hates me, doesn't he?"
Nathanaël's lips curled into a smile. "No, I'm pretty sure he doesn't hate you."
"Then why would he do this to me?" She threw herself into his arms on a wail. "Adrien knows I hate these things. I can't just duck out when I'm a member of the bridal party."
He shook with suppressed laughter. "I am too, don't forget. And we'll be seated together at the reception."
"It's the only reason I agreed to this nonsense, really."
"Mm-hmm." He tipped her chin up and kissed her languidly. "The fact that he's your oldest friend had nothing to do with it."
She scowled, both because he was right, and because he'd stopped kissing her to speak. "Shut up and kiss me, Kurtzberg."
He grinned against her mouth, and kissed her again, more briefly. "So is this why you dragged me in here?" He nipped at her lip, then soothed it with another kiss. "We can't get carried away. It's going to start soon, and I'd hate to muss your hair."
"Ugh, don't remind me." She pulled away and returned to the door, frowning she saw that the bridal party was gathering in the vestibule. "Shit. I think we need to get out there. This isn't going to be as long as the last one was, right?"
"No idea," he said cheerfully. "Come on, let's go get in line."
"You're lucky I love you. You and Adrien, both."
He grinned at her back, thinking much the same thing.
"Hey, Chlo?"
She glanced up at him as they meandered along the Seine, and wondered at the strange quality of his voice. She raised her brows expectantly.
"Will you let me drag you to another wedding?"
She groaned. "Another one? Who the hell is getting married this time? Alix and Kim? I thought they eloped?"
He stopped walking and caught at her hand, turning her to face him. "I was hoping it would be ours." She gaped at him as he dropped to one knee, there in the middle of the sidewalk, and produced a small polished wood box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a beautiful, yet understated ring in a bed of black velvet. A flawless yellow cushion-cut diamond sat perched in the center of a white gold ring, flanked by two, smaller, equally flawless trapezoid white diamonds. It wasn't large or flashy, but it was from him and it was perfect.
"This isn't the ring you deserve, but it's yours—along with my heart. I love you, Chloe. Will you marry me?"
She looked from the ring to his anxious face, and put a hand to his cheek. "Oh, you stupid tomato. Of course I will marry you."
"Oh, thank god!" He surged to his feet and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss, almost forgetting the box he still held in his shaking hand.
She pushed him back, and held her left hand out to him, wiggling her fingers excitedly. "Aren't you forgetting something, Kurtzberg? I want my ring!"