Chapter Text
Marinette awoke with a start. She blinked trying to make sense of her surroundings, the light brighter than she expected. Where am I? She took a slow breath and realized her head was up against someone’s chest. She ran one hand along it, reaching up to a shoulder. It felt familiar, but she still wasn’t sure. She looked at her hand. No red gloves, no black spots. She leaned her head back to get a better view. Golden blond hair, no cat ears. There was a contented sigh. Adrien. There was no akuma attack, no danger. It had been a few years since the last akuma and she rarely saw Cat Noir anymore. They met up for rare patrols, but mostly they would just end up sitting and talking atop the Paris skyline. There was a trace of sadness about the loss of her partner. Nothing bad had happened to him, but he didn’t fawn over her like he used to. She shouldn’t be jealous. Not when she had everything she had ever wanted, but she lost part of herself when Chat had told her that he had found someone. She was happy for him. She was happy for herself. She wouldn’t trade Adrien for anything in the world, but she still wondered what would have happened if she had changed targets. She still had no idea who was under the mask and the thought was starting to become a small obsession.
She started to get up when a hand on her back pulled her back down into his chest. “Just five more minutes.”
“Adrien.” She looked over at the clock. “Alya is going to be here in an hour. In fact, she will probably be early. She takes her Maid of Honor duties very seriously.”
He let out a sigh as she climbed off the couch and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she looked into the mirror, she just grinned. Three months until the wedding. There was still a lot of work to do. Marrying a model and son of a fashion icon meant this would not be a small affair. She had always wanted to make her own dress, but knowing the different brands that would be represented at the wedding made it feel like her own fashion show and she would be the featured model. She bit her lip as she reflected on how many actual, professional models would be there. She had always thought she would be the one to design her husband’s tuxedo, but her future father-in-law had insisted that his son wore something from the Gabriel line. Marinette knew it only made sense. She had gone to one of the fittings and had to admit, the custom tuxedo with hat and tails did look really good. A flash of insecurity came over her. How could she even hope to compare to a fleet of accomplished designers. Adrien was a model and would make anything he wore look good. The press would know who designed what. This could be a launching point or the end of her potential career before it even started. Even the bridesmaids’ dresses were her design, even though it would be the Gabriel team that did the actual work. The two that she would be physically making were her own and Manon’s. Luckily, Manon had matured a lot the last few years and could be trusted to fill the flower girl role without running off like she would when Marinette was in lycée and still a regular babysitter.
She came back out into Adrien’s living room and saw that he hadn’t moved from the couch. She smiled at his exhausted form. He was taking a full load at the university and still doing his modeling. She knew how torn he was. He wanted to make his father happy and was focusing on business and marketing with an eye to someday taking over his father’s fashion empire. But Marinette knew he really wanted nothing to do with modeling or the fashion industry. He would be perfectly happy to be a physics (eye roll) and math teacher. Adrien’s father wasn’t exactly a cuddly person and would cut off the conversation whenever Adrien tried to bring up what he wanted for himself. Even when they were discussing wedding plans, it almost felt like cutthroat business negotiations. She felt some guilt for that. Gabriel had offered her an internship and she had refused. It had felt like a scene from a movie and she was in the audience screaming for the Marinette on the stage to accept. She watched in horror as she heard herself explain why she would be taking the internship offered by one of his biggest competitors instead. She was worried it would appear that any advancement on her part would be because of her relationship with Adrien and not because of her own merits. Gabriel was obviously not used to being turned down and she was scared she had irrevocably destroyed any future friendly interaction with her soon-to-be father-in-law. However, he simply said he understood her reasoning and perhaps at some time in the future they would be able to discuss employment options again. If she tried intervening on Adrien’s behalf, she would definitely be seen as trying to pull him away from his father. Even if Adrien grew a spine (he really was brave with everything except when it came to his father or akumas) and stood up for himself, she knew Gabriel would think she was the one behind it. The power over his son was scary and Marinette was starting to understand why Adrien would choose to follow his father’s plans rather than his own dreams and happiness.
She walked over and gave her fiancé a kiss on the forehead. “Okay, I’m getting up.” He gave her a sleepy smile and went to the kitchen for a drink. He had barely stepped out of the room when the doorbell rang. Marinette walked over and opened the door.
“Hi there, dudes. Best man coming through.”
“Hi, Nino.” She stood on her tip toes as she gave him a hug, trying to see around him. “Uh, is Alya with you?”
“Yeah, she’s just grabbing some binders full of place settings, fork designs, and who knows what else.”
Marinette smiled. “I’ll go help her.”
“Yeah, I would’ve helped her carry it up, but she gets a little crazy with all this planning stuff. I’d be scared she would kill me on the spot if I dropped a sample or something.”
She giggled in response. “Well, luckily, we are not at that point in our relationship where I have to be afraid if I slip up with her.” Nino smiled back at her. Marinette looked back over her shoulder as she headed down to the parking space. “So, what about you two? Are you getting closer to tying the knot?”
Nino suddenly turned red in the face and tried to avoid making eye contact. “Yeah, no, I think that would be nice, but it’s complicated right now.”
Marinette hurried the rest of the way down the stairs and came up behind Alya as she had her arms full of binders and was trying to close her car door. “Hi, Alya. I’ll get the door. Do you want me to take some of those?”
“Are you kidding, girl? If one of these gets dropped, I’ll never be able to get the pages back in order. Just open the front door when we get up there.”
“Wow, Nino wasn’t kidding when he said you were protective about all of your supplies.” She gave a quick laugh.
They stepped inside and Alya went right over to the coffee table and started putting the binders and a few boxes in some sort of order. Adrien and Nino were sitting on the couch chatting already, sodas in hand. Marinette laughed internally at how relaxed the boys could be and how stressed she and Alya were, and Alya wasn’t even the one getting married.
“Thank you again, both of you. We really couldn’t do this without your support.”
Alya gave a wide grin. Even with the obvious stress she was under, Marinette could see that Alya was loving every bit of this. “Marinette, you know this is no problem at all. I want to be here for you. Besides, I know when the time comes, you’ll be a perfect maid of honor for me.” Her eyes flickered over to where Nino was sitting and her smile faltered for a fraction of a second. Marinette would have to have a talk with her best friend when the boys were not around. There was clearly something going on that Alya would need to talk about.
“Well, where should we begin?” Adrien asked.
“Please, you just need to sit there and be pretty. I’ve got this.” Alya turned toward Marinette. “Let’s start with the floral arrangements.”
“Alya, really? Adrien and I are doing this together. If he can sit here and not fall asleep, then I want him involved in every part of the planning.” In the back of her mind, she really did fear he would fall asleep somewhere between the invitations and the dessert options.
“Oh, Marinette. It really is cute to see you two together. Just think, only ninety days left before you two aren’t allowed to sleep with anyone else.”
A mouthful of cola sprayed out of Adrien’s mouth as he started choking and turning red. Nino let out a single laugh, rolled his eyes, and said, “Do you see what I have to put up with?”
Alya grinned at him. “It’s because you love me.”
“Alya,” a warning glare flashed across Marinette’s eyes. “I really think Adrien and I have already passed that point. If we weren’t ready for that, we wouldn’t be engaged right now.”
“I know, I know. Miss Goody Two Shoes and Mister Pillar of Innocence.”
Nino spoke up. “I really don’t think we should be making fun of their level of commitment.”
Alya put a hand to her chest, feigning innocence. “Me? I am not making fun of them. Still, this is the type of thing they should be talking about before their wedding day, so there are no misunderstandings later. So, do you two have your lists done?”
Adrien furrowed his brow as Marinette whispered at full volume, “There are no lists.”
“Wait. What kind of list are you talking about?” Adrien had a confused look on his face.
“Dude, she’s talking about a freebie list. You both write a list of celebrities you want to sleep with and the other can’t get mad at you if you do.”
“Yeah, Adrien.” Alya was clearly loving teasing them about this. “Is there someone you wouldn’t mind a one-night stand with?”
“No, there’s not. He’s in love with me and would never look elsewhere.” Marinette’s hands were on her hips and she was considering whether her less than honorable maid of honor needed to be replaced right there and then. Adrien’s face went bright red and his eyes went wide with fear. He quickly looked down at the ground. Marinette suddenly felt a surge of panic. Was there someone? Why did he look so guilty all of a sudden? Why was her best friend trying to ruin everything when she knew Marinette had spent years pining after Adrien in the first place?
Alya’s smile got even bigger. “There is someone! Spill, pretty boy. Who is it?”
It seemed almost as though the word was drawn out of his mouth against his will. It was barely a whisper, but every one of them heard it. “Ladybug.”
Marinette’s head started spinning.
Alya squealed in delight. “Ladybug? Ladybug would be your dream affair?”
Adrien looked like someone had just killed his puppy.
Nino stood up. “Alya, you can’t do this to people. Just because some people show their love by being loyal, doesn’t mean you need to try to mess it up.”
“That’s not what I’m doing at all. I just think that if people are mature enough to have these conversations before anything happens, then they can work through things better."
"I can work through things just fine." The normally laid-back Nino was suddenly getting more animated.
"Really? Because I thought you said you had forgiven me?”
“Well, I had. But when you go around bragging about it, it makes me suspect the apology wasn’t sincere in the first place.”
“I told you I could invite her over, if you wanted to try to get even or something.”
Marinette felt like she had discovered the cause of the awkwardness between Alya and Nino. “Okay, you two. Clearly, there are some interesting conversations for you two to have, alone, but please, Adrien and I are very happy with each other and don’t need a list.”
None of this seemed to have phased Alya who looked to be enjoying all of this. “Uh, Marinette? It seems you are pretending not to have heard your fiancé’s confession. He’s putting Ladybug on his list. Now it’s your turn. Who do you get?”
“Arrrgh! Nobody. And nobody is on Adrien’s list either. There are no lists.”
Adrien finally looked up. “No, there’s no list for me. I didn’t mean to say it. It’s just, well, I used to have this big crush on Ladybug when we were still in school. Maybe there was a time when I would have run away with her if she asked, but Mari is right. We are happily in love with each other and there will never be anyone else.”
“No take backs, Adrien.”
“Alya, why are you not listening to anybody? This isn’t hypothetical. It’s not like this is some harmless celebrity crush. Adrien is a gorgeous model. There are billboards of him all over town. Women throw themselves at him. He’s got thousands of followers on his Instagram account.”
“Hundreds of thousands,” Adrien chimed in.
Marinette glared at him. “Not helping, Adrien.”
Alya turned back to Marinette. “Are you telling me that you feel threatened by Ladybug? She’s just going to climb in the window and seduce him?”
“Threatened? No, not threatened. But Adrien wouldn’t, he couldn’t do that to me.”
“You, ‘Marinette’, are jealous of ‘Ladybug’? That home-wrecking, yo-yo slinging slut.”
“Fine, Alya. You win. I’m a jealous, obsessed, insecure control-freak who is scared of my husband running off with someone.”
Alya’s eyes narrowed as she looked right at Marinette, a smirk starting to form. “So, would you rather Chloe Bourgeois? Or maybe one of those lingerie models he is paid to pose with? Oh, I know. How about Lila Rossi?”
“Okay, Alya.” Adrien stood up with his nose scrunched up and a look of disgust on his face. “I’m not putting any of those on my list. And Ladybug is not, not…what you called her.”
“It’s settled then. Adrien gets Ladybug. Okay, Marinette. Who do you want?”
Marinette looked at Alya then back at Adrien and then back to Alya. It didn’t seem like Alya was going to drop this anytime soon. “Fine. I pick Ladybug, too.” She folded her arms, daring Alya to disagree.
“No, you can’t have her. That’s cheating.” She looked toward where the boys were sitting. “Besides, I think the idea of you and Ladybug together is going to make your boyfriend’s head explode.”
Marinette turned back and looked at Adrien. His face and ears were as red as Ladybug’s mask. His mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. Marinette pursed her lips. “Tell me, Alya. Why is that cheating? Why can’t I pick her?”
Alya rolled her eyes. “Because…” She looked around the room. “Because, Adrien picked her first. You can have Cat Noir.”
“What!?” Marinette and Adrien yelled at the same time.
It was Marinette’s turn to turn red. “No! I don’t have a list! I don’t want a list!”
“You can have Cat Noir on your list if you want. I don’t mind.” Adrien’s voice was calmer as he sat back down on the couch, his eyes avoiding his fiancée. The three other jaws in the room dropped.
“Are you crazy?” Marinette stood over him.
“Well, I was just thinking: What if my wife came home and told me she had a one-on-one with Cat Noir? I mean, I would be kind of impressed.”
“You are sick. And you…” Marinette turned to face Alya. “You are supposed to be here to help me, not ruin my marriage before it even happens.”
“What? That’s not what I am doing. I am only trying to encourage honest, open conversation. Don’t you think honesty is important in a marriage, Marinette?”
Nino came up behind Alya and put his hands on her shoulders. “You know what? I think it’s time for us to leave.”
“Leave? We can’t leave. We just got here. Don’t you know how much planning we have to do?”
“The planning can recommence when you can listen to others and what they want.” He turned to Marinette and Adrien. “I apologize for Alya’s behavior. Apparently, she has some repressed feelings that she is projecting onto others.” Nino grabbed her hand and tried to lead her to the door.
Alya pulled her hand away and glared at Nino. “I am not projecting and you aren’t allowed to apologize for me.”
Marinette didn’t want to sound mad. Alya had been her best friend since she joined her class at Francoise Dupont Middle School. It’s just that she could get a little excited when an idea popped into her head. She really was the one that helped her and Adrien to finally get together. But, that doesn’t excuse trying to convince her soon to be husband that a fling should be encouraged (even if said fling would actually be with herself, as Ladybug). “Alya, I agree with Nino. I don’t think now is a good time for planning. I think you can come back next week when everyone is a little calmer.”
“No, no, no. I’m sorry, okay? I’m actually helping. It’s good to talk about these things…”
Whatever she was going to say next was interrupted by Nino picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. “We will see you guys later.”
“Wait! What about my binders?”
“Don’t worry. They will still be here, if we get invited back.”
Alya looked right at Marinette. “Tell him.” She was cut-off again as Nino shifted her weight on his shoulder. Alya started laughing as she beat her fists lightly on Nino’s back. “Help! Help! It’s the Bubbler. He’s got me. I’m being repressed. Ladybug! Save me!”
As they headed out the door, Marinette could hear a frustrated Nino. “Hey, no role playing in public, remember?”
The door closed and the room was filled with awkward silence. Adrien remained on the couch, trying not to make eye-contact and trying to suppress a laugh. Marinette took a seat on the recliner, looking down at her hands. She glanced over at him, wondering who would speak first. Although she didn’t agree with her tactics, Alya was right about one thing. It was time for her to let Adrien know the truth. He needed to know why she had always disappeared when there was an akuma attack. It was time for him to know that she was Ladybug. This was the conversation she had been dreading. She had already decided that it needed to happen. The weight of her secret was always on her mind. Even before he had proposed, Marinette had wanted to let him know, but whenever she tried, she became tongue-tied. It was not unlike her years of trying to confess her love for him when they were younger. The thought of getting married without letting him know seemed so dishonest. What if he found out one day, what would he do? Would he be mad? Would he leave? No, now was the time. That way, if it was going to be a deal-breaker, it gave him a chance to back out before the invitations went out.
“Adrien.”
“Marinette, I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to say that about Ladybug. I would never hurt you. I don’t have feelings for her.”
“Adrien, it’s okay and I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to sound so mad or jealous. I trust you. I just didn’t want you to know how insecure I am.”
He finally looked up and looked directly into her eyes. “I guess I should have told you about my crush on Ladybug. It’s just that she was so amazing, saving us all the time.”
“I’m sure you weren’t the only one that liked Ladybug back then. Besides, I had a pretty intense crush on someone from middle school myself.”
“Really? You never told me about that. Who was it?”
“It’s really embarrassing. You see, about six years ago, there was this boy that started coming to my school. He was good looking, very kind, and I was a bumbling, stuttering mess whenever he was around.”
A grin showed up on Adrien’s face. “Wow, he must have been really good looking.”
“You have no idea. He was literally a model.”
“Were you in love with him?”
“I thought so, but now, I think I was just infatuated. I like to think I was different from all of his obsessed fans, but maybe I was just like the other thousands or hundreds of thousands crazies that read the magazines talking about his favorite color or food, but never realized he was a real person with feelings.”
“How come you didn’t tell him? I mean, surely, he would have been interested in you.”
“I couldn’t. Every time I tried, I practically fainted. Besides, he told me he was in love with someone else. But it is just as well. How often do middle school relationships last? I’m glad you and I found each other when we did.”
“This is so embarrassing. If I didn’t have that silly adolescent dream about Ladybug, we could have gotten together sooner. And I’m sure that relationship would still be going strong.”
This was the perfect opening for her to tell him the truth. He had just told her that he used to have a crush on Ladybug.
“Marinette, I know Alya means well, even if she is a little, uh, unconventional.”
“Yeah, I’m not really mad at her, and I’m glad that we are not list people.”
“I know, but what did she mean when she told you to tell me something?”
As her mind fumbled with the words to say, the familiar panic was stopping her from talking.
“Is it something about Cat Noir?”
Cat Noir? Oh yeah, him. That was probably something she needed to tell Adrien about as well. That was easier than telling him about Ladybug.
“Well, I guess there may be a little history with Chat.”
“Chat? You call him Chat?”
Marinette sighed. “I mean, nothing list worthy, but there was a time when Chat was paying me a lot of attention.”
“Wait. Are you saying you were secretly dating Cat Noir?”
“I don’t think dating is the right word. You can’t really go to a restaurant or to a carnival with a superhero. It’s just, he started showing up on my balcony after akuma battles and we would talk. Soon he was coming by, even when there hadn’t been an akuma. He just needed to talk. I guess he couldn’t share everything with Ladybug and he said he didn’t have the kind of friends on the civilian side that he could really just talk to about everything.”
“So, were you two…?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Well, okay, technically, we may have kissed, once or twice.” She winced at this admission. She glanced over to see Adrien’s reaction and saw a small smirk on his face. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad. He seemed to be pretty comfortable with this. It made sense that he was so confident even when she was talking about potential rivals. After all, he had won.
“So, when did you two break it off?”
Marinette’s mouth opened. Then closed. That was a good question. “First of all, we were never on, so there was nothing to break off. Anyway, he just started coming around less and less, and then finally, I didn’t see him anymore. I guess he met someone and moved on. Maybe that stray cat has finally found a home.”
“Hmmm. But when did he stop coming around? I mean, if you put him on your list, I think it makes a difference whether it was last week or whether it was a few years ago. What would happen if he showed up on your balcony next week? Or next year?”
“Oh, you want to talk about lists again? What would you do if Ladybug showed up at your door?”
“First of all, I had always thought she would show up at the window. Second of all, you have nothing to worry about. I am completely and totally yours. Besides, Ladybug has made it clear that she would never be interested in someone like me.”
She frowned at that thought. She couldn’t remember any time that she, as Ladybug, had ever indicated that she didn’t want to be around Adrien. She moved over to the couch next to him and he put his arms around her. She felt so secure with his arms around her, but was still troubled by the Ladybug admission. She knew it shouldn’t bother her so much when he was saying that he used to be in love with her, but was now in love with her, instead. Still, what if it had been Chloe? or some other girl? Adrien didn’t know she was Ladybug, so even if he dreamt of her other self, isn’t that the same as cheating? It really was confusing. Of course, there was the issue of him practically suggesting she have an affair with Cat Noir. Who does that?
“How could you be okay with me and Cat Noir?”
“Well, I guess part of it is the whole superheroes being separate from us regular people, so it could never happen. To me, it just doesn’t seem as real as if you had said Luka or someone like that.”
“Luka? Why would I say Luka?” The surprise was evident on her face.
“Marinette. You used to date him. And he still likes you. That’s more real and scary to me than some costumed goofball in tight leather.”
She sat there for a minute, thinking. Okay, so maybe Adrien wasn’t perfectly secure. “You know, you don’t have anything to worry about, either.” She stood up but when she was no longer in his arms, some of her doubts drifted back into her mind. “I think I’m going to go home now.”
“Home? So early? Are you mad at me?”
“Not mad. I just… have to go work on my wedding dress.”
“Can I walk you home?”
“No, I think I would like to be alone for a little bit. A nice walk might help me clear my head a little bit.”