Adrien had a very simple morning routine. After his shower, he turned on the coffee machine (If Marinette hadn't done so before), and then he got dressed and was out the door in around 30 minutes; holding a fresh cup of coffee as he went on his day. Now, Adrien liked sleeping in, especially since there was a warm and sleepy Marinette next to him; so he had mastered the art of time management. This meant that he would always get out of bed in the last possible second, and still be in time to wherever he had to go.

Today, was an oddity, but thankfully, towards the other side of the spectre. Today he was ready to go and there were still twenty five more minutes until he actually had to leave. Adrien blamed his nerves; he was going to visit Marinette's parents right after he was done with Class, so he was a little on edge.

He was currently pouring ungodly amounts of sugar into his coffee mug when Marinette appeared into the kitchen "You're up early." she muttered, stretching as she reached for the coffee mug that Adrien instantly offered "Thanks," She kissed his cheek before leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"I miscalculated," he explained, shrugging with what he hoped was nonchalance, and Marinette nodded. "Why are you up?" He was pretty sure she didn't have early classes today. He knew because there had been plenty of days where he'd just wanted to curl back into bed with her, until she'd push him out, promising that he'd get his reward later, if he was a good kitty.

"I'm going to work on some projects I have." she said, both hands clasping the coffee mug, relishing in the warmth, "Then… class after lunch. We have to present next week…"

Adrien gave his girlfriend a weary look, he could see right through her. "Mari, that project has been done for weeks," he said, reaching for the coffee cup, ready to usher her back into bed "You should get some sleep."

She looked thoughtful for a second, and Adrien realized immediately what was going through her head. Sometimes, Marinette would say yes and head back to bed, even if she got up the moment he closed the door; but it seemed today she was not even going to try that. "You'd get up the moment I'd close the door, wouldn't you."

"Yup!"

He snorted, and looked at his watch. Time to go! "Crazy woman," he said, leaning down to kiss her quickly "I'll be back for dinner. Love you!" he added, before grabbing his book bag and heading for the door.

She raised her coffee mug at him in a mock toast, "Love you too!"

His classes were finally over and despite what Adrien had told Marinette earlier, he was not going to his study group; instead heading towards the Dupain Cheng's home.

Sabine opened the door, her grey eyes twinkling happily at him, "Adrien, dear!" she said, quickly ushering him in quickly, the door closing behind him. "Are you on your own today?" she asked

"Ah, yes". Adrien said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously "Marinette's working on some school stuff at home." The tall blond shuffled his feet, "Is Mr… Tom busy?"

"At the shop," she answered, a knowing look crossing her face, "should I go get him?" the woman asked, and at his nod, she patted his arm softly, "He'll be right up then" she said, before waving towards the seats "go sit down sweetie, you know you are not a guest in this house"

"Uh…" Adrien began, "you should probably stay too?" He hated how nervous his voice sounded, but there was not much he could do about it right now.

Sabine smiled at him, "I'm ninety percent sure I know what this is," She told him, an amused look flashing on her face at his flustered expression. "And you know what I think. Besides, I'll just close up downstairs and I'll be right up." She patted his arm and sent him towards the living room.

He nodded, walking towards one of the chairs in the living room, fidgeting nervously as he waited for Tom to arrive. His hands fidgeted with the handle on his book bag. There, inside of the bag safe inside a tiny little box; kept inside what was now a very wallet, was the reason for his visit…

"Adrien!" Tom's voice snapped him out of his daydreaming, and he stood up to greet the older man. "Nice of you to drop by!"

"Sir…" he began, before the other man gave him the usual look. Force of habit, despite all the time he'd known the man, there was a switch in his head that referred to every single male authority figure in his life as Sir. It was hard to break out of that mindset; especially when he was this nervous."Tom," Adrien said, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Honestly son, after all these years; I'd think we're past the sir" Tom said, a gentle look on his face as he sat down across the young man. "What brings you here today?"

The blond took a deep breath, attempting to ease his nerves, "I want to ask Marinette to marry me." he blurted out; he was far too nervous to beat around the bush with this particular subject.

Tom didn't look surprised at all, simply replying, "I'd think this is a question for Marinette."

Adrien chuckled nervously, "I know, but…" he began, "I can't ask her unless Iknow you two approve." It just wouldn't feel right.

Once Adrien had his final break from his father, he'd been left with virtually nothing. His trust fund was locked and out of reach until he turned twenty one and fulfilled the requirements set by her Mother's estate; so it was notan option. And with the bitter way he'd left his father's house… he was not asking Gabriel for help, and considering his father's pride, Gabriel was not going to offer any help. So they were left at a standstill.

The teenager had ended up selling a couple of belongings, and crashed on friend's couches for a while. But the truth was that he had no actual income, so despite the help and all the good intentions surrounding him… he was completely out of money after a short time; which was something that hadnever happened in his life.

His friends encouraged him to get in touch with a people in the fashion industry; and in the end, he had managed to get signed back into an agency. He hadn't ever worked for one before; since he only modelled for Gabriel's label, he'd never needed an agent.

It took a couple of months between his signing and his first booking, meaning that he still didn't have any income, which in turn meant that he couldn't support himself. It was then when Tom and Sabine had simply set up a guestroom in a small empty room in their home, and told him he was free to stay for as long as he needed to.

Granted, the room came with a very awkward parental talk aboutboundaries, and rooftop curfews, but he couldn't find it in him to care, he'd just been so grateful at the gesture. And meanwhile, as a way to help, Adrien had begun helping in the bakery, mostly with sales, which made both Tom and Sabine joke about the sudden increase in female teenaged customers.

After a little under a year, with both of them half settled into adulthood, they'd taken the step to move in together into their shoe box of an apartment. Still, Adrien and Marinette would drop by the bakery at least once a week, either for dinner or just to visit, and Adrien was grateful for the chance to interact as a normal family. .

"I don't think Marinette needs my blessing" Tom said, if there was something the older man knew, was just how fiercely independent his daughter was.

"I know. But… I wanted to" he rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his face heat up. They had been more family to him than his father had in years. Despite the fact that he knew that he didn't need their approval or blessing; it was just something that he wanted. Tom and Sabine had been more family to him during these years he'd been with Marinette, than his father had since he could remember, they were more present too.

"Son, If I didn't think you were worthy to be with my daughter, you'd already know" Tom said, the man had actually helped the couple move in together. "But I will make you a couple of questions"

The older man shifted in his seat, the expression on his face serious and thoughtful. It was easy to be intimidated by Tom, his large frame wasenough; so if Tom tried even in the slightest bit to be scary… he could very well succeed. Hell, when Adrien met Marinette's parents, Tom had put on his best dad-glare, and he'd been terrified. That lasted all of ten seconds before Sabine and Marinette told Tom to leave him alone, it was not funny.

"Do you love my daughter?" his voice was unusually serious, even if his eyes betrayed his gentle demeanor.

"Yes"

"Do you want to make her happy?"

"Of course" Adrien replied. This wasn't even up for discussion.

"Are you going to stick with her even when she goes a little bit kooky?" Tom asked, a playful look on his face.

Adrien chuckled, the memory of the previous night loud and clear in his mind. "Yes"

"Are you sure? Cheng women can be a bit of a handful." he said "I personally think that's why they're not very tall. To compensate."

"Tom!" Sabine's voice came from the kitchen, "I heard that!"

"I know dear!" Tom said, flashing an amused smile at Adrien, "That's what you get for eavesdropping!" the baker turned back towards Adrien, his smile turning gentler as he spoke "Son, You're already part of the family, might as well make it official. I'm sure there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know about my girl."

"Thank you Tom"

He waved off Adrien's thanks, "Now, you already have a ring?" he asked, and Adrien scrambled to get the small box from his bag.

The box itself was new, a slim one that would be easier to hide when he was home, but the ring itself, it was old. "It was my mother's" he said. Adrien hadn't asked much from his father, but this was something he really wanted Marinette to have. It had been in his family for a fair amount of generations, having belonged to his grandmother before and so on.

"She's going to love it." Tom said, before looking towards the other room, "Sabine?" he called out, "come here, Adrien has news!"

"Yes dear?" the woman said, carrying a tray with coffee, setting it on the table, before sitting on the sofa's arm rest. "What news?" she asked, a knowing smile on her face.

A nervous Adrien simply showed the open box to Sabine, waiting for the older woman's verdict.

"Adrien, it looks amazing." She told him, smiling warmly at him. "Dear, you know we absolutely love you and we could not be happier. Now, to the important questions; when are you going to ask her?"

Feeling like a huge weight had been dropped off of his shoulders, Adrien smiled and went on with his plans.

The Eiffel tower. It was, after all, one of the most romantic places in theworld. So he had thoroughly researched it on his laptop; and after deciding on a plan…. he had suggested a date night. He was going to propose overlooking the Parisian night.

Every single review he'd read said it was one of the spots to propose in Paris; and all the reviews and enthusiastic comments had to be at least a little right.

The weather was getting chillier by the day, which meant the duo had to bundle up for their trip; especially since nightfall was right around the corner. Good. Adrien wanted the most romantic backdrop for tonight. Marinette was snuggled up to his side, wearing a dark green coat that she'd made for one of her classes. As was he, currently bundled up in one of her latest creations, one of the perks of dating a very talented seamstress.

"You know," Marinette began, "I've lived my whole life in Paris, and I can count in one hand the amount of times I've visited the tower."

"Well" he began "We've been here before…" They had, while on patrol, but they didn't really go to the tourist floors, instead finding different nooks and places where they could relax while keeping the city safe. Their favorite spot was high in the tower, cozy and safe enough for them to cuddle in and enjoy the view without being seen or bothered by other people.

"True" she conceded, "But we can't really go to that spot as civilians," she added, her blue eyes flashing up to see if she could find their spot from where they were currently standing. "I can't really see it from here though…"

Adrien looked at her, her head craned up to try and find the spot where they snuck at sometimes during their patrolling. She'd wrapped her arms around his waist, for warmth, she'd said; which was probably not true, since he knew just how good her coat was, but he couldn't find it in him to care.

"You're so cute." he said, looking down at her with a goofy smile on his face. She grinned up at him and he felt his chest burst with happiness. He lovedthis woman, so much that he knew that he was making the right decision. "You know I love you, right?"

She laughed, her eyes twinkling as she looked up at him "I love you too, silly kitty" she said, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.

This was it, he realized. It was all he needed. "I…" he began, but before he could go on…

"YES. YES I WILL MARRY YOU!" Both their attentions were drawn to the couple standing a few feet away from them. The people surrounding them, friends and tourist alike clapped for the newly engaged couple, and they couldn't help and joined in.

Well, that moment was ruined. Adrien figured, the box still tucked safely into his wallet. Today was clearly not the day.

-.-.-.

Adrien was feeling a little bit discouraged after the Eiffel incident, even if Marinette was still none the wiser. But he knew that he needed to wait for the best moment… this was important. That didn't mean that Adrien didn't carry the ring wherever he went; because he did. The ring was far too important for him not to have him near him at all times.

Today, they had a small get together in his apartment; read, Alya and Nino had dropped by, carrying gifts of wine, beer and snacks. As usual, the friends entered their apartment as if they lived there; and began getting things ready.

Nino had gone back into the living room, carrying some chips and talking animatedly with Marinette about his latest trip to Barcelona. Meanwhile, Adrien was getting the glasses from inside their cabinets, helping Alya get whatever they'd need.

"Adrien, where's the… never mind, there it is" she picked up the bottle opener; "You'll get the rest of the glasses?" she asked, as she tried to pick up the two wine bottles with one hand, and two glasses with the other one.

He reached for the bottles, wordlessly taking them away before she attempted the walk to their living room. He would much rather not having to find out whether wine stains were truly that hard to remove from rugs. His phone beeped loudly in his pocket and Adrien held up a finger at Alya, "Hold on," he said, as he reached into his back pocket to get out his cellphone, his wallet tumbling out with a small thud, revealing the small box.

He reached down as fast as humanly possible before turning his gaze towards Alya, just knowing that she'd seen the whole thing. Widened green eyes met shocked brown and Alya's reaction was immediate. "Oh my G…!"the rest of the sentence was muffled, as Adrien covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her as far away from the living room, where Marinette was. Adrien could hear her chattering animatedly with Nino, which meant that she'd probably hadn't heard anything just yet. But considering how small their apartment was… the living room was really not that far away from where he was right now.

"SHHHH" he hissed. "She doesn't know yet" Which he expected wasobvious, since the ring was still inside the box, and not on her finger.

"When?"

"I am trying!" Adrien said; "but we keep getting interrupted"

Alya rolled her eyes "This is why you tell the best friend!" she explained, motioning around her face, "I am useful! I can create moments!" she hissed back at him, before glancing around, checking if Marinette was anywhere near them. "Can I see it?"

"No!" Adrien said, nervous eyes glancing towards the general direction of the living room as he shoved the ring back into his pocket. He needed to be more careful, really. "You'll have to wait until it happens!" Adrien just knewthat with his luck, Marinette would enter the room just as he opened the box to show Alya.

"Well… boo." Alya said, but didn't press any further. "Well, at least know that she has no idea." she told him, "She would definitely mention if she'd seen that box." she added, her voice lowered into a whisper.

Well, he figured that much was right. If Marinette even had an inkling of what his plans were, Alya would have been informed. So that was a relief.

"What are you planning?" Alya asked, brown eyes glinting in excitement. "Is it big?"

"We're going to Le Ciel De Paris on Friday night."

Alya nodded, an appreciative look on her face, "Fancy!"

He shrugged, bashfulness evident on his face. He was still nervous about the whole thing, but hopefully, the venue was right this time. "People keep saying it's really good, and she mentioned wanting to go…" he told her, before wagging a finger in Alya's direction. "Not a word! Not even to Nino."

"Of course not" she said, patting his arm, as she picked up the glasses, ready to head back to the living room "I'll make sure she stays as clueless as ever. But you have to promise that she'll call me the second it happens!"

He wondered how he was going to make her call her parents and Alya at the same time, but this was not the time to discuss that. "I will, I will!"

Le Ciel De Paris was an absolutely stunning place. Tall windows let them look to the outside Parisian night, the lit Eifel tower proudly standing in the middle. The lighting was carefully crafted to give the crowded restaurant an intimate look, and it helped each table to feel like it was the only table in the whole restaurant.

However, Adrien was getting a bit nervous. Sure, it was very fancy; and yes, the food was great. Which they had confirmed with their entrees and now their main course. But it just didn't feel right. Even if he was sure that no one was really looking at them, he felt like he was on display on the small table by the windows.

Thankfully, their evening was going very well. The food was absolutely delicious and the attention was top notch. Marinette was absolutely having a great time, and it was really fun to treat themselves like that. Even if they weren't as strapped for cash as they were when they just moved in together; and even if they could afford some evenings like this, Adrien and Marinette rarely splurged like this.

He thought it was worth it though.

"In a scale from one to ten," She began, her expression serious and thoughtful. "How bad would it look that we took a selfie to send to Alya?" by the end of her question the smile on her face was bright and playful, and even if he had been embarrassed by the question; which he definitely wasn't, he would have agreed anyway.

He snorted, and reached for her phone, which she handed over quickly. Adrien was usually in charge of selfie duty… His arms were longer. "Scoot closer," he instructed, and she did, even if their shuffling around was louder than they expected it to be; and she leaned her head on his shoulder, her fingers touching his jaw lightly as they both beamed at the camera.

A couple of clicks later, they both returned to their places and Marinette was looking at the photos, a soft smile on her lips as she observed the screen, her finger swiping between the pictures. They were both very similar and she loved them both. Her head was leaning on his shoulder, her pretty tea rose colored dress contrasting nicely with her hair and her eyes. Adrien's smile was bright and the black dress shirt he wore only accentuated the green in his eyes. The only difference between the pictures was the in one of them he was clearly kissing her temple. Behind them, the window showed the gorgeous backdrop behind them. It was a really good picture. Both of them were.

"I'm printing this one." She told him, proudly putting the phone back in her purse, and soon they were able to hear the faint sounds of candy crush's theme as Tikki entertained herself inside Marinette's purse. She opened it quickly and helped the kwami lower the volume before turning her attention back to Adrien. "This is a really good table." she told him, "How did you get it in such short notice?"

Well, technically it wasn't that short notice, but she didn't know that. "Pull the model card."

"Ah." Marinette snorted, and lifted her wine glass to him in a mock cheer. "Well, it was a great play." She put her glass down, clearly remembering something. "Oh, did Nino tell you?" she began, clearly excited about what she'd just remembered. "when he came over earlier this week…." She stopped, once she noticed something was amiss. "What?" she mouthed, looking as Adrien glanced over her shoulder.

Adrien saw them before they actually approached. He heard them first too, but it was a skill honed after years and years of dealing with fangirls. Two girls, probably sisters and definitely not older than eighteen years old were looking at them in the least subtle way possible. They were clearly trying to talk themselves into approaching them.

"That's him!" They stage whispered to each other, and Marinette nodded, having clearly heard them and understanding why the look on his face had changed so much.

"What do we do?" Marinette whispered, doing a far better job at being subtle than the two girls, and Adrien gave a small shrug.

"Is that his girlfriend?" The not so hushed whispers were clearly debating whether or not approaching them was the right thing to do.

Adrien was doing the best he could to keep a normal expression on his face, and Marinette patted his hand lightly. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and to be honest, all they could hope was that theybehaved. It was the only way they would get back to their dinner.

They finally approached them, standing nervously by their table. They were both obviously nervous, but there was clearly one that had pushed the other for this meeting, the other one was clearly glad to be there, but just going along. That was the one who spoke. "Hi… are you The Adrien Agreste?" her voice lowered into a hushed whisper as she waited for his confirmation.

Adrien flashed them a charming smile, which was the usual when they were approached. "Hey," he said, "nice to meet you both."

Two teenaged girls shook in excitement, before holding up a phone. "Can we take a picture with you?"

Adrien looked towards Marinette, who simply held out her hand towards the girl. "I'll take it the picture," she told them, and the girl passed her the phone with a grateful smile. "Are you ready?" The girls squished next to Adrien, one on each side of him and held on to his arms as Marinette snapped a few pictures, before handing back the phone.

"You're so lucky oh my God!" the one who was clearly more excited, gushed to Marinette, as she looked at the picture on her phone's screen.

"Thank you so much," the other one said to both, before tugging on herprobably-sister's arm and tugging her away. "Have a great evening!"

The couple watched the girls leave, a flutter of giggles and hushed whispers. Adrien turned to Marinette, "I'm sorry," Adrien said, he always felt so awkward about being approached by people when they were out.

"They were nice," Marinette laughed, they had encountered a couple of mean fangirls during their time together; the glares did nothing to her by now. "They were cute about it!"

"They'd be all over you, if they knew better," Adrien pointed out; even if Hawkmoth had been defeated, they still patrolled the city; crime levels had dropped considerably now that they could devote their time to just watching out for regular crime, and not magic created incidents.

Still, the fact remained, Ladybug was the main hero out of the duo. She was so much more famous than Chat, which he didn't really mind; because Chat Noir still was a refuge from his normal life. And while his every day was so much better than before, it was a fun way to hide from the public persona that Adrien Agreste was.

"Pfft." She laughed, "I'm fine with the anonymity."

Considering how long it took him to find out her civilian identity, he knew it was the truth. But the fact remained. With the little interruption they just had, he had decided against going through with the plan for tonight. Which was a little bit of a shame, considering just how beautiful the scenery looked from the window besides them. The restaurant was really too public, too exposed, and the idea of having people live tweet his proposal was enough to make him shudder.

It would have to be another day.

Since Adrien had started seeing Marinette during their school years, he started tagging along to their family celebrations. Marinette's parents had immediately welcomed him, which meant that he started joining in many, many traditions. Which brought them to where they were today. The Village de Noel at the Champs Élysées.

It was a yearly tradition; where they looked at the market and different trinkets they sold. They usually played on the games, took a few pictures to add to the growing amount that currently hang in both their homes, and basically had a fun family filled day.

Marinette had a tradition with her dad; where they'd go on their own for a while, to buy presents for Sabine, and of of course, Adrien too. The first time that it happened; Adrien could see how nervous Marinette was about leaving him with her mom, but Adrien, not one to willingly inconvenience anyone had simply said it was okay.

He had been so nervous, but did his best not to show it. But Sabine was a wise woman, and had simply bought them some hot beverages and led him to a bench, explaining how it was a tradition that started when Marinette was barely old enough to speak. Tom would take her to a stand, and she'd pick a little something for them to give her mother on Christmas day. They just kept that up for years, even when Marinette could go on her own.

It was kind of cute, really. And such a foreign concept too, given what his family life had been. But moments like this, made the transition into living with the Dupain-Chengs, even if it wasn't for that long, so much easier. Both Tom and Sabine had welcome him with open arms, and he loved them both equally.

But Sabine's calm brand of mothering had helped him though rough patches, when he hadn't wanted to bother Marinette. Because even if he'd known that it was the right choice, and he knew that Marinette had his back a hundred percent and more, there were things that he didn't want to bother her about inmediately.

Because even if he had moved out of his family home, even if he knew that he was doing so much better, and that thing were going to be okay, he still missed his father. It was all he'd known for so long.

There had been days when he waited till the whole family was asleep to pace around the house, his mind reeling with the fact that he still missed his father; and thinking about how maybe Gabriel would finally say something, and that things would fix themselves. It didn't happen, which made him even more miserable.

But it was then, with Adrien could only call Sabine's Mom Sense; he'd hear Sabine get up from bed and head over to the kitchen. The older woman would simply put the kettle on and made some chamomile tea, which they ended up drinking in silence. She never asked, and never pushed, but by the third time it had happened, he had finally broken down and told her everything that was troubling him. How he missed his father, how he knew that it was messed up, because Gabriel had not been a parent to him in years, and how he was terrified about everything that the future held.

Tom had been a father to him, the burly man had been everything that he's seen fathers could be in movies. Tom had even tried to teach him how to make some patisseries, which then led them all to the conviction that he was better off helping as a cashier.

Tom had even taught both to drive; both Adrien and Marinette taking turns in an empty parking lot. Turns out that Marinette's quick Ladybug reflexesdid carry on her civilian self, and Tom had not been expecting to be exposed to that amount of adrenaline in one afternoon. They just had the one lesson.

Adrien would never stop teasing her about it.

But his bond with Sabine was closer. Maybe it had been the fact that he'd been so starved for family love, that when he started seeing Marinette, he'd not only completely fallen in love with the girl, but her family as well. And Sabine's brand of mothering had been just what he'd needed to help him get in gear and back on feet.

"Anything on your mind?" she asked him.

Adrien sighed, he knew this question had been coming. "I haven't asked her yet."

"I thought so," Sabine said, "I would hope that you would have both called use if it had happened." She patted his arm, a small smile on her face as she looked at the dejected expression on his face. "Why not?"

He exhaled loudly, looking ahead as people walked by them, "It just doesn't feel… great?" He paused, trying to find a way to express what he meant, "I've thought of ways and I've planned them, but they don't feel right. And when they do, something happens and everything is ruined." Like other people proposing loudly first.

He wasn't able to decipher just what the look on Sabine's face meant; as the older woman nodded and sipped her hot chocolate. "What have you tried?"

"We went to the Eiffel tower…" he began, recounting, "And last week we went to Le Ciel De Paris" He covered his face with his hands and added, "There was another time, but I forgot the ring at home."

"Ahh." Her voice was understanding, if not slightly amused, and Adrien didn't get it. Sabine patted his arm affectionately, "Alright, I'm going to give you a little bit of advice," Her face took on a small wistful look, as she clearly went down memory lane. "I actually remember the exact moment I realized I wanted to marry Tom."

"Really?" Adrien asked, a gentle smile on his face. Tom and Sabine were quite possibly what he considered as relationship goals, meaning that he would take their advice very seriously.

"Yes. Even if it was so long ago…" She laughed, "It wasn't a big moment, you know. But it's those moments that matter the most. We were at my parents' house, and he was learning how to cook… I don't remember what it was, but he was failing spectacularly." She chuckled, the memory vivid in her head, "but he was trying so hard, that it was just endearing. He was trying to win my parents over, but that was the moment I realized that I was going to marry him. Even if he hadn't even asked."

Adrien grinned, knowing how that felt. His aha moment was somewhat similar, even if he'd been absolutely enamored of Ladybug for years. It was all the Marinette things that made him sure that he wanted to spend his life with her. "How did he propose?" Adrien asked, since he felt like he really needed pointers in that matter.

Sabine laughed, "We didn't have a lot of money back then," she began, her eyes glancing down at her wedding band, "He had just started working, but we wanted to get married, and my parents weren't as cool as we are. They wouldn't have let me move in with him."

"You two are very cool," Adrien agreed, a small smile on his face.

"He walked me home, and before I went inside, he said that he wanted to talk to me, and just asked. We didn't have a ring, so he tied a little piece of golden string on my finger. I still have that in my jewelry box." Sabine gave Adrien a small look, watching as the boy digested what she'd told him. "My point is, I know that you want to make it special dear, and it should be. You'll remember how it was for the rest of your lives." The woman laughed, squeezing his arm comfortingly. "But especial doesn't necessarily meanfanfare. It doesn't have to mean a picture perfect backdrop, or something out of a movie. It has to be special for you."

Adrien nodded, beginning to get the older woman's point. "I just want her to give her something great."

"My boy, you're starting a life together, this is not supposed to be your peak in life." Sabine laughed, clearly amused at the look on his face. "My daughter will make a beautiful bride; whether it's in a Cathedral or a friend's backyard."

A soft smile appeared on his face at her words. But there was a reason Adrien wanted it to be special, "I just know that her life could have been easier if she didn't move out with me; or if she didn't help me as much as she did… she might even be halfway into a designing career…" Actually, that was still relevant today, if his relationship with his father wasn't still such a current issue, Marinette would have been settled into an internship that might have just fast tracked her into fame. She was just that talented.

"The heart wants what it wants, and it's usually right." She told him; before a small smile appeared on her face.

Her grey eyes turned thoughtful, and Adrien was about to ask, when Sabine cleared her throat, "You know," She began, "We knew right away that you would be the one." Adrien perked up at once at her words; "It wasn't puppy love, and we could see it in the way you looked at each other. Tom and I were scared that you'd elope or something once you two turned eighteen."

Adrien could somewhat understand that reaction. Their relationship had a complexity that not many had. After all, how many people had startedfighting alongside their soulmate in their early teens?

"It's always been her for me." he said. Even before he knew her name, it was her.

"We know." Sabine drank from her hot chocolate, a nonchalant expression on her face. "Also. I want to point out that I did know that you snuck into her room." She paused for effect, allowing Adrien to choke on his chocolate drink, green eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Wha?" he stuttered, once he wasn't dying, wiping any chocolate on his face with the back of his hand. "What? I… uh…" He had no way of defending himself against Sabine's blunt honesty.

"Frankly, I don't know just how you did it, and I don't think I want to know. Especially if it meant any sort of window climbing…"

Adrien blinked at her, battling between denying any wrong doing, (which would be a lie). Or simply apologizing and hoper for mercy. He also pondered whether to offer her the knowlodge that there was not any window climbing, but there was another more pressing question in his mind. "How am I still alive then?"

"Alya vouched for you. That's the only reason you're alive." Sabine said, and it was just so reminiscent of the playful tone Marinette had sometimes, that he felt like he'd just been offered a small flash forward into his future.

"She did?"

Sabine nodded, and Adrien made a mental note to get their friend another present this Christmas.

Christmas was over and done with, and now they were back to their routine; classes and work. Adrien was reading his book, or so he planned, since he completely dozed off during the first chapter.

Adrien woke up with a startle, when he heard the front door close, and the book he had been reading falling fell from his grasp to the floor. Shit. He'd fallen asleep while reading again.

"I'm home!" her cheery voice called out from the outside their bedroom. He heard the clatter her shoes made on the ground as she kicked them off, and the shuffle of clothing and paper bags as she clearly got more comfortable.

"Mari?" he asked, still feeling somewhat drowsy from the unexpected nap.

"I should hope so!" She laughed, her voice sounding closer as she neared the bedroom. "Hey handsome!" She grinned as she leaned on the doorframe, her cheeks rosy from the outside chill, before crawling on the bed; "Oh." she said, brushing his messy hair from his eyes. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head, leaning into her touch. "I dozed off reading," he explained, "I'm good."

"Oh. Okay." She told him, before leaning back. "Did you have dinner?" she asked him, and grinned brightly at him when he shook his head. "Well, then guess what I ran into when I was getting back home…" her voice trailed off.

"No…" he said, carefully examining her face to see if he was guessing correctly. He sat up straighter on the bed, waiting for Marinette to finally spit it out.

"It was a little truck…" she trailed off, laughing loudly at Adrien's reaction. Le Camion qui fume was a new little food truck that specialized in burgers. Now, foodtrucks were still a bit of novelty in the city. But they both loved it.The main issue was that since it changed locations daily, they didn't really keep up with where it was every day; therefore, they didn't buy from it often.

However, Adrien was a big fan of their menu, especially the Californie and the Bleu burgers. Sure, Plagg made fun of him whenever he got the Bleu, since the smell from the cheese was rather strong. But Adrien refused to agree that it had anything to do with the prolonged exposure to different cheese smells he had during his adolescence.

Marinette hopped off of the bed, walking backwards towards the door, "So… dinner?" she quickly turned and skipped toward the kitchen.

"Hell yes," He scrambled off the bed and followed after her.

The paper bags were resting on the counter, crumpled from her holding them, but still steaming hot. Marinette was already working on pulling up plates to put their food on.

Plagg floated over, recognizing the bags immediately. "Which one does heget?" the little kwami asked, just as Adrien opened the bag; not waiting for Marinette to hand him his plate before he took the first bite.

Plagg, however did not approve. "Ugh. You got the wrong one."

"Check my purse, Plagg" Marinette laughed, "there's something for you there." There was a blur of black as Plagg dove into her purse, and Adrien rolled his eyes at the delighted purr that came from Plagg.

"This is why I like her better!" The kwami called out, emerging from the depths of her purse with a small block of cheese and a grin, before heading towards Tikki, who was already holding one of the food trucks cookies Marinette had bought for dinner.

The couple moved to the couch, each carrying a plate with their burger and a drink. Adrien took a bite of his burger and he could have moaned. "You're the best."

She laughed, taking a sip out of her drink, "That's because I feed you Gourmet burgers." she answered, motioning at him with her bottle of beer. "How was your day?"

"It doesn't hurt…" he told her, and took a drink, "Well, I was supposed to do a lot of reading and then… I think I just passed out." He was going to have to make up for that little nap later, but at least it was Friday. He'd have the weekend to do so.

"Aww," She gave him an affectionate look, not wanting to pet his head while she was still eating; "you really need to sleep more, and your schedule has been crazy lately."

"Are you saying I look tired!" he asked, his voice filled with mock outrage.

"Yes. Yes I am." she deadpanned.

He laughed and put his plate aside, having already finished his meal. Adrien reclined against the back of the couch, his feet up on the table, feeling pretty content. "How was your day?"

She wrinkled her nose and Adrien knew that the special take out was clearly not just for his benefit. "It was…long." She sat crossed legged on the sofa, so that she could face him properly and still balance the plate on her legs. "I had that management class presentation today…"

"What happened?"

Marinette took a sip of her beer, tapping her chin with the bottle's neck for a moment. "Say," she began, "in a scale from one to ten, just how bad would it be for Ladybug to go and scare Cecile straight."

"Around eleven." Adrien answered and chuckled "What did she do now?"Marinette's issues with her classmate were not a new discussion.

"Exist." Marinette wrinkled her nose, as she mainly played with the remaining food on her plate. "I don't know if I'm just tired, or she was being worse than usual, but…" she exhaled loudly, and Adrien took her plate, placing it over his on the bedside table. Marinette snuggled up to him, resting her legs over his lap. "She was being terrible during my presentation today. She was trying to throw me off, and ugh…"

Adrien cringed, remembering how nervous she was about that particular project. "I'm sorry." He said, wrapping his arm over her shoulders, his fingers running small circles on her arm. "But how did that go?"

She seemed the cheer up considerably about that. "Despite everything, it went pretty well… We'll get the results next week," she told him, and stretched her legs, toes wiggling under her socks. "I'm really glad to be done with it though." She wrinkled her nose, "Numbers and me are just not the best mix."

Adrien snorted, "I remember."

She swatted at his chest, "Stop!" she laughed, "I'm just better at the designing part… I didn't sign up for the other part of the business." Her arm slid across his middle, and her eyes closed, being absolutely comfortable and content.

"Tired?" he asked her, brushing her hair from her face and running his fingers through her hair.

"A little." She replied, eyes closed as a small smile tugged on the corner of her lips, "I'm just really glad to be home."

"We should go to bed," he told her. Adrien was sure that if he kept petting her, she was going to fall asleep within ten minutes.

"In a bit," Marinette mumbled, fully snuggled against his chest. "Let's stay here for a little more. This is nice."

Adrien looked at Marinette, who had her eyes closed as she cuddled against him, a small content smile on her face. And just like that, this became his 'Aha!' Moment. This was what Sabine meant, there was no grand gesture needed, no real need to spend tons of money on a fancy restaurant. There was no website with 'best proposal in Paris' that held the answer to everything he wanted her to know. He patted his pocket, feeling the slim box on his pocket.

Good. He would have hated to break the moment right now.

"Mari," he said, reaching for the wallet on his bedside table, and pulling the slim box out, opening it as best as he could with his one free hand.

She didn't even notice, her eyes still closed as her fingers still traced invisible patterns on his chest. "Hmm?"

"Marry me?"

Her eyes flew open, "…What?" she squeaked, pushing off on his chest to sit upright again. Her blue eyes turned from his face, as if gauging the seriousness of his words and then to the box he was holding in his hand.

Adrien moved the box out of the way when she pushed off of him; not wanting her to accidentally slap the ring out of his hands. He would have laughed at how flustered she looked, if it wasn't for the fact that he wasextremely nervous. "Marry me." he repeated, propping the box open, letting the ring pop into view.

Her lips parted, and she exhaled slowly, her eyes falling on the ring. "It's beautiful…" she breathed. Marinette leaned closer, looking at the beautiful ring.

"Uh… Princess?" he asked, chuckling nervously, one hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously, as he still held up the ring for her to look at. "I kind of need an answer here…"

That startled her back into reality, and she pounced him, kissing him soundly before crawling on his lap. "Yes." she told him, and laughed at the relieved look on his face. "Really? Like there was any other way this could go."

He grinned, a subtle blush tinging his cheeks, laughing as she grabbed his face and kissed him again. "Hold on!" he told her, reaching for her hand to place the ring on her finger. "There."

Marinette was sitting on her lap, looking at the ring on her finger with a stunned look on her face. She just knew how big of a deal this was. It was obviously an antique, and she was sure she'd seen the ring on one of his old pictures, "It was your mom's ring, wasn't it?" she breathed and he nodded. "Thank you."

"She would have loved you."

Marinette leaned her forehead against his for a second, placing her hands on the sides of his face, smiling as she felt his arm slide around her waist. "I love you. So much." she said, her eyes bright and her smile teary and emotional. "You have no idea."

"I think I might." he said, his smile mirroring hers, feeling a strange rush at the feel of the ring against his cheek. "I love you too, Princess. Very much."

Their moment didn't last very long. "IT WAS ABOUT TIME!" Plagg's voice was loud and amused, as the two kwamis floated over to the couple. Marinette slid off Adrien's lap, snuggling up against his side.

An elated looking Tikki reached them first, landing on Adrien's shoulder, "Congratulations!" she cheered, patting the side of the blond's face softly before floating over to Marinette, immediately joining Marinette in admiring the ring, evidently delighted, even if not even remotely surprised by the news. Marinette pictured that Tikki knew already, spending so much time with Plagg like they did.

Plagg, usually the grumpy one, and completely uninterested on anything but whether they got him some cheesy snack, still looked happy for the couple, even if he tried to mask it with sass. "You," he told Adrien, "Did great. Andyou," he turned to Marinette, "could have done better."

Marinette snorted, and scratched behind Plagg's ear, used to the kwami's teasing. "Be nice!"

"Fine." Plagg said, hitting with his tiny paw the offered fist that Adrien held up to him. "I'm happy she's marrying you. I'm also glad you didn't go with your clichés."

Marinette's back straightened up, "Is this," she held up her hand, the diamond ring glimmering as it caught the light, "Is this why you kept wanting to go to the Eiffel tower so much when we patrolled?"

Busted. "… Yes"

"That's not all!" Plagg offered, an amused grin taking over his tiny face, and Adrien swatted him away as he got up from the couch, "Hey!" Plagg whined, maneuvering around Adrien to address Marinette. "I am being censored!There is no freedom of speech in this house!"

Adrien was too happy to even be the slightest bit annoyed at Plagg's teasing, but even then, he was used to it. "And I was going to get you some camembert tomorrow." he teased, as he reached for Marinette's hand, easily tugging her back on her feet.

Plagg mimed zipping his lips, and Adrien laughed. "Now," he began, addressing both Tikki and Plagg, "If you two will excuse us," He leaned over, picking Marinette up, making her squeal; she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his hips, and joined him in grinning down at their kwamis. "I am taking my fiancée to bed. Good night!"

"Oh, Gross." Plagg said, flying towards the remote control to turn on the TV.

Adrien laughed and turned away, leaving the Kwamis alone in the living room, as he carried a giggling Marinette towards their bedroom, the door slamming as he kicked it shut.

And no, they did not call anyone until late the following day.