Epilogue

The early afternoon sun shone down from a clear blue sky, illuminating Paris with a bright, warm light that heralded the arrival of Spring. A cool breeze danced through the streets, collecting vibrant petals from the many flower vendors and tossing them into the air in a sweet ballet, as nature itself seemed to celebrate the end of the colder months. The trees of Place des Vosges, which had been bare only a few weeks earlier, were now bursting with young green leaves, giving the entire park a new life of its own.

Marinette grinned happily at the sight through her windows as fresh rays of light filled her old childhood bedroom, before she turned back to pinning the hem of Alya's wedding dress.

Ever since Nino's proposal to her bestie the Autumn before, Marinette had been deep into planning for their big day, spending much of her free time outside of school, work, and crime fighting to help bring their visions to life. Thankfully, her friends had decided to keep the actually bridal party head count at a minimum, so she only had to worry about making tailored clothes for the bride and groom, Alya's two sisters, Adrien, a couple of Nino's good buddies from the music industry, and herself of course.

Alya straightened up from Marinette's stereo as the sound of upbeat techno music mixed with a symphony of strings suddenly filled the room; not loud, but enough to drown out the steady sounds floating up from her parent's bakery downstairs.

"Is this one of Nino's new tracks?" Marinette asked as Alya made her way back over to the dress, grooving a little to the rhythm of the steady bass.

"Yeah, he finished this one and sent it to me just the other day," Alya nodded, gathering her hair up into a loose knot on top of her head and shrugging off her sweater to reveal a turquoise tank top underneath. "It's still exclusive from public ears, but he said he'd love to hear what you thought if I showed it to you."

"Tell him I'm honored," Marinette chuckled as she straightened up and looked around the lofty room.

It was filled to the brim with wedding magazine cut-outs, sketches, color and fabric swatches, and a number of hangers sporting the wedding party's attire. A divider screen ran through half the floor, usually separating the bridal gown and it's plans from the rest so that when Nino came around for fittings, he wouldn't be allowed to see it. At the moment, though, the dress had been pulled out from its hiding place for their afternoon's fitting.

"How's his Spring tour going? He just did Cape Town last night, right?"

"Yep!" Alya said, sitting down in Marinette's desk chair and pulling her feet up onto it. "He said it was beyond fun. Apparently they went out for drinks after the concert and ended up jamming with a few street performers for a smaller group of fans. He loved it, I think he's starting to miss his smaller gigs a little bit."

She had taken her phone out of her legging's inner pocket and held it out for Marinette to see some of Nino's latest Instagrams, featuring him and a couple members of his band surrounded by dozens of other people, all looking like they were having the time of their lives under a canopy of dazzling festival lights.

"Miss him?" Marinette asked, watching Alya pull her phone back to gaze fondly down at the screen.

"Yeah, I do," Alya sighed. "It was just sucky timing, me having to leave for Hong Kong the whole week before he had to leave, so now we haven't been together in almost a month. I'm so ready to just move in with him already!"

Marinette felt a knot in her stomach tighten, reminded forcibly of how she'd no longer be living with her best friend, and of how she'd soon be staying with her parents once again.

"It'll be so great having him back, huh?" she said hurriedly, putting a smile on her face.

"For sure!" Alya's eyes widened with earnest as she nodded enthusiastically. "Sunday can't come soon enough! And I'm so excited for him to see all these clothes you've made for us be nearly finished."

"Well, at least we won't be worried about pressing the envelope too much," Marinette said as she finished inserting one last pin into the dress's train, and stood up to remove it from the mannequin. "I still can't believe June is only a month away, friend!"

"Right?" Alya exclaimed, hopping off her chair to step into the dress as Marinette held it open for her. "It feels like this year just flew by!"

"You can say that again," agreed Marinette as thoughts of the last few hectic months flashed across her mind. "It's definitely been quite a… wild ride."

As Alya slid her arms into the sleeves, Marinette did up the pearly buttons down her lower back and let her friend step forward to see herself in the mirror.

"Oh my goodness!" Alya's hands flew to her cheeks as she bounced up and down enthusiastically. "I just… Aah! I love it so much! It's so beautiful, Mar!"

Marinette grinned as she stepped to the mirror's side and watched Alya beam at her reflection, turning this way and that.

It really was a stunning gown. She and Alya had worked hard to come up with the best design, and Marinette was pleased to say that they had been quite successful. She liked to describe it as "Audrey Hepburn-esque" while Alya affectionately called it "Sexy AF."

The style itself was simple, but still entirely elegant; a nod to a sort of 1950's aesthetic, the ivory bodice was gently form-fitting. Three-quarter sleeves joined the boat-neck cut around her shoulders. When Alya turned, a honey-brown flash of skin revealed itself, as the dress's plunging backline added a modern flair. The dress's skirt flared out a bit, beginning around her hips, and ended just below her knees in the front. From there it flowed asymmetrically lower around the back to create a train that brushed a few inches of floor behind her, allowing for a peek-a-boo effect of the violet tulle that made up the dress's interior.

"Girl! I can't even believe that I get to wear something like this!" Alya spun in place, giggling like a child as the skirt's train flowed in a circle around her. "And you made it! It's completely perfect!"

"Well, just about," Marinette said, stepping forward to check that the sleeves were matching lengths as Alya slowed to a stop. "Thankfully I don't think there's going to be too much change before our last fitting in three weeks, right?"

She shot her friend a smirk, and Alya scoffed.

"Oh, you know I hate all that crap about becoming a skinny stick for your wedding," Alya said, rolling her eyes and waving a hand dismissively. "If I have these curves, I'll keep loving them, and I sure as hell don't plan on hiding them on one of the biggest days of my life!"

"And for that I thank you!" Marinette laughed before continuing her fitting inspection. "It certainly makes my job easier."

"Anything for you, dah-ling," Alya said in a posh voice before dissolving into another fit of giggles as she looked over the dress once again. "Thank you so, so much for doing all this. I am still in complete awe of it all. You are going to be so amazing when you start that new job."

Marinette gave Alya's shoulders a light squeeze in response before finishing her inspection, saying nothing about the job she'd just been offered at a design firm that had just set up a location in Paris. She was certainly excited about the opportunities that lay there, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't extremely nervous about it, too.

"It's been my absolute pleasure!" she said instead. "Plus, it was the perfect excuse to try my hand in the genre of wedding design, so now my portfolio will be looking better than ever."

"How close are the others' outfits?"

"Your sisters' dresses are pretty much complete, but I might make them come and try them on one more time to see if any small adjustments need to be made the week before the wedding. Adrien's is done. John and Antoine are done. Nino is about done, and I'll probably be finished up with him sometime next week; I just want to make sure of everything when he gets back."

"Sounds great. How about yours?" Alya looked over to where the bridesmaid dresses hung from the corner loft, all in varying shades of watercolor purples. They were shorter than Alya's, with off-the-shoulder necklines and cinched waists. Marinette had additionally given each one its own personal flair.

"I'm focusing on everyone else before mine, since I can always work on my own stuff faster, but that one is getting there as well," she replied just as her trapdoor opened.

Glancing over, the two girls saw Marinette's mother poke her head into the room. A fresh wave of pastry smells wafted up into the room with her.

"Oh, Alya!" Sabine exclaimed happily, her eyes widening as she sat down at the top of the stairs. "You look positively radiant, honey!"

"Thank you!" Alya said, grinning broadly as she once again spun around. "I am so pleased!"

"How're things downstairs, Mom?" Marinette asked, gathering some of her supplies up into a bin and climbing the ladder up to her bed loft.

As she put her stuff down, she saw that Tikki was napping happily on one of her pillows. Marinette shot her a smile before descending to help Alya out of her dress.

"Things are just fine; the lunch rush ended a while ago. Edmund helped out a lot with that," her mother said, referring to the young man her parents hired a few months prior, when Marinette's school duties (among other things) stacked up so much that she was having trouble finding time to work the bakery. "Oh! And um… Adrien arrived a while ago."

Sabine grinned knowingly at Alya as Marinette looked up from arranging the dress on the mannequin once more.

"He did?" she asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow. "He told me he wouldn't be here till three! Why didn't he let me know he was here? He's welcome to come up…"

"He got a bit caught up talking to your father and I," Sabine countered gently. "And besides, I'm sure you and Alya enjoyed having a bit of girl time, right?"

"We did!" Alya said cheerily, helping Marinette wheel the mannequin out of sight behind the dividing screen once again. "We never get to hang out much anymore, with all four of us being so busy all the time."

"Ok, well I still need to get ready," Marinette grumbled, hurrying to fetch the coral summer dress she had brought with her from her and Alya's apartment. She just recently received it as a birthday present from Meesh, and was excited that the weather was finally warm enough to wear it.

Moving into her bathroom area, she stripped out of her yoga shorts and old high school t-shirt.

"I'm sure he is happy to wait a little bit longer, dear," Sabine called as Alya retrieved her belongings, patting her bag securely. "He and your father were still chatting away when I left them to check on you. I doubt they'll even have noticed how long it's been!"

"If you don't need my help, I can go buy you some time too, Mar-bear," Alya said, poking her head around the corner as Marinette slipped the dress on. "I kinda miss him anyways, it'll be nice to say hi."

"That'd be great, thank you," Marinette said with a smile before rummaging through her makeup drawer for some mascara and blush. "I won't be more than a few minutes!"

As Alya and her mother climbed out of her room, Marinette quickly ran a hand through her hair, checking her reflection in her mirror. It had been a few months since a particular Akuma battle had left her missing one of her classic Ladybug pigtails, and she'd cut her long hair into a short bob. She was pleased to see that it didn't look like a total mess after she'd been working on Alya's dress all night.

Out of habit, her fingers traced the hidden scar just beyond her hairline, remembering that fateful turn of events nearly a year and a half ago. So much had happened since then...

"Tikki!" she called softly up to her loft.

The little Kwami floated down, yawning as Marinette dusted her cheeks with a large, soft brush.

"How did the fitting go?" Tikki asked, rubbing some of the sleep out of her eyes. "Did she like the skirt alterations?"

"She loved it," Marinette said, smiling. "It's going to be such a beautiful wedding for everyone."

"Glad to hear it!"

Marinette retrieved her purse from her desk – which Tikki promptly flew into – and grabbed a straw sunhat from off her old coat stand. Pausing to consider the breezy weather outside, she snatched up a light, cream-colored cardigan as well, just in case the evening got cool.

She stopped at the trap door to look around the room, and the knot in her stomach from earlier clenched uncomfortably.

During her last few years at school, her parent's had started using corners of the space for storage, though of course they always kept her work area clear in case she needed more space outside of her class studio. But now, in just a few short weeks, she would be moving back in.

Marinette pursed her lips in frustration; now was not the time to think about that.

With an irritated huff, she hurried downstairs to find her parents, Alya, and Adrien chatting merrily in the apartment's ground level entrance hall. The door to the bakery was open, and she could see Edmund helping out a few customers. He caught her eye and gave her a wave before turning back to the people in line.

Her gaze moved to Adrien, whom she saw was wearing jeans and a light grey button-up. No matter how long she'd known him, he still managed to impress her with how he could make the simplest of outfits look designer. The sleeves were rolled to his elbows, allowing her to catch sight of his cat tattoo, along with several small, pale scars he'd gotten from the night she'd been forced to attack him.

He laughed at something Alya said before catching Marinette's eye and beaming up at her.

"Hey Mar!"

He reached his hand out for her as she covered the last few steps, and pulled her into a warm hug.

Marinette squeezed him back, and reached up on her toes to peck him on the cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me you were already here?" she asked, pulling back from him a little to make better eye contact.

Adrien's ears turned a little pink as he turned his head and reached up to sheepishly scratch the back of his neck.

Marinette raised an eyebrow; that was his tell-tale sign of hiding something.

Tom clapped him on the shoulders affectionately.

"We were just enjoying some good conversation, sweetie!" he chuckled, pulling Marinette's gaze from Adrien.

From the corner of her eye she saw Alya looking exceedingly pleased about something.

"I just didn't want to rush you," Adrien added, and Marinette looked back up at him. "I finished my meeting with Zachariah early and didn't have much else to do."

"And you know how Adrien and your father can be sometimes," Sabine said, wrapping an arm around her husband as they all regarded the two of them.

Marinette felt her cheeks grow hot at their attention.

"Um… ok?"

Sighing, she threw her hands into the air and moved for the refrigerator in the back bakery to retrieve some cookies and cheese, depositing them into her purse. If they weren't going to tell her why they were all acting so weird, then it wasn't her problem to pull it out of them. She heard her parents and Alya let out another laugh, and rolled her eyes, before feeling a gentle hand on her shoulder. Turning she saw that Adrien had followed her into the room.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, a concerned crease forming between his eyebrows.

"I'm fine, just…" Marinette paused before deciding to not bother him with her concerns. "J-just… fine."

Adrien looked like he wanted to press the matter, but before he could say anything more, Marinette flashed him a bright smile and led him by the hand back out to where the others were.

"Well, we should be going I suppose," she announced. "Gotta enjoy the daylight while we have it."

"Yeah, I should be off too," Alya said as they all made their way towards the door. "Nino is going to be Skyping soon, and then I still have an article to finish that I need to get to my client tonight."

"Have a good night, you three," Tom said, holding the door open for them with a smile as they left.

"We will!" Alya said, waving goodbye as the door closed behind them. Turning to Marinette, Alya pulled her into a hug, and then quickly kissed Adrien's cheeks. "Alright, then. Have fun tonight! And send me pictures when – uh, well you know… if you take any or whatever."

She shot Adrien a rather pleased glance before heading across the street.

"Send our love to Nino," Marinette called after her friend as she made her way in the direction of the nearest subway, feeling a little nonplussed by her friend's comment, but choosing to move past it all the same. Alya could be a bit weird sometimes.

"Definitely," Alya replied over her shoulder with one last wave.

Adrien shook his head, exasperated at Alya's less-than-subtle behavior. He saw a look of slight confusion cross Marinette's face before she turned back to him and took his hand, leading them down the street.

Plagg poked his head out of Adrien's shirt collar.

"Is Tikki in your bag?" he asked.

"Hello to you, too, Plagg," Marinette said with a smile, familiar now with how to-the-point the catty Kwami could be. "Yes, she is, and I've got some treats already stored in there for you too."

Plagg quickly zoomed off of Adrien's shoulder and into the bag Marinette was holding open for him.

Adrien heard him let out a whoop of delight, before both Kwamis stuck their heads out to grin up at their charges.

"I'm glad we kept her around," Plagg called up to Adrien, who rolled his eyes.

Marinette let out a snort as she closed her bag up again.

Adrien bumped shoulders affectionately with her.

"So, M'lady, where are we off to today?" he inquired, giving her fingers a squeeze as she proceeded to turn down a block full of small shops and outdoor market vendors.

"I thought we'd stop by Izzy's and get a few things?" Marinette replied.

He grinned, pleased with how much business Marinette had been sure to give his friend ever since he'd kept the shop open after hours as a favor for her.

"How're the plans coming for your Final Project?" Adrien asked, following closely as Marinette shrugged and stepped around an older lady with her arms full of paper bags of fresh food.

"Fine for once. Charbonneau knows all about Alya's and Nino's wedding, and all the work I'm putting into that, so she's permitting me to use some of those designs in my collection. Thankfully Alya is perfectly ecstatic about having her dress be featured on a runway."

"So is the rest of it going to be wedding themed?" Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders to steer her out of the way of a boy pushing a large cart full of produce.

"Um… more or less," Marinette nodded, distracted for a brief moment with a colorful display of kites that a man was handing out on the corner. "A couple other people are doing a similar theme, but Charbonneau agreed that they were different enough that she was fine with us moving forward."

"Well that's good!" Adrien prompted, a bit confused by her indifferent tone. "Hey… Is there anything else going on?"

"What do you mean?" she replied off-handedly.

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"I mean you seem like there's something on you mind that's bothering you."

Marinette shrugged dismissively.

"I'm fine. It's no big deal, really."

Adrien opened his mouth to protest further, but Marinette cut him off.

"We're here! I hope Izzy got that new shipment in that he was going on about, it sounded like there'd be some really cool imports to sort through."

She opened the door to the shop, and a tinkling bell sounded.

Stepping inside this particular place was always enjoyable for Adrien, though he was sure it was nothing compared to the waves of enthusiasm that usually seemed to roll off of Marinette; it was a three storied shop, with each and every wall and surface lined with shelves upon shelves of every type of fabric imaginable. Long strings of exotic looking beads hung all around from the ceiling and the windows, refracting the light into a rainbow of colors. Spools of ribbons hung from the ends of each shelf, fluttering gently as people passed by. Buttons of all sizes and styles sat in drawers and glass displays.

The place was rather full of customers perusing the selections and standing in lines, either for help or to purchase. An old, greying terrier hobbled out from behind the counter to say hello, and Marinette bent down to rub his ears affectionately.

"Hey Jacque, what a good boy."

"Hello!" a cheerful voice called to them, and Adrien looked around to see Izzy waving at them from behind the counter. A tall man with dark skin and hair pulled into a ponytail, Izzy motioned for one of the other workers to take over for him, and he quickly joined them near the door.

"Izzy!" Marinette smiled as he pulled her into a one armed hug, while reaching out to shake Adrien's hand.

"I was wondering when I'd see you both. Final projects coming up, eh?" Izzy grinned at Marinette as she nodded stepped back again next to Adrien. "Is the wedding attire everything you envisioned?"

"Just had a fitting with the bride-to-be today, and everything looks like it's coming together nicely," Marinette replied.

"Oh, more than nicely!" Adrien added. "Iz, you should see this collection. Mar-bear has really created some masterpieces."

Marinette's cheeks went pink, and she nudged him in his side, but looked pleased all the same.

"Glad to hear it!" Izzy said, and then, clapping his hands together, "I expect you're here to see the new shipment that came in?"

"Absolutely." Marinette nodded.

They were led into a smaller back room where Izzy's team had apparently been in the process of organizing the new materials and distributing them throughout the store.

Adrien was pleased to see Marinette brighten up a little as she examined everything, though she still didn't seem quite full of her usual exuberance.

"You sure you're alright?" he murmured to her as she piled up their shopping baskets with this and that.

"Mm-hmm," she shrugged, climbing up to check out a roll of satin on a higher shelf.

Adrien sighed.

They left the store a while later, both ladened down with numerous bags. Marinette had gotten a bit carried away with all the new materials she'd found, and bought probably more than she would ever need for her final project.

Adrien didn't mind though, happy to help her carry her haul.

He was still bothered by how oddly she was behaving, however, and though he didn't want to pressure her to talk, he still wanted to know what was going on.

"Want some gelato?" he asked as they passed by a vendor serving out a myriad of frozen treats.

Marinette turned back to him, and then looked at the cart in consideration.

"It looks like they have your favorite," he persuaded with a grin.

Finally, she smiled and nodded.

As she stepped in line to order for both of them, Adrien caught sight of another cart selling fresh flowers. Scooping up a small bouquet of poppies, he paid and hurried back over to where Marinette was receiving their treats. He handed the ice cream vendor some money just as Marinette turned to hand him a cone of coconut and chocolate gelato.

At the sight of the flowers, she smiled up at him. She stood on her tiptoes to give him a light kiss in gratitude before continuing on, holding the poppies close and licking at her own peach sorbet cone as the shopping bags swung from her elbow.

As he followed along behind her, a slight feeling of disappointment filled his chest. He wished there was something he could do to help. But knowing Marinette for so long, he knew that she could be stubborn when it came to certain things. He figured that she'd talk to him about it if she needed to, and he sighed in resignation at the thought of waiting for that time.

"How do you feel about an early dinner?" he finally inquired, as they reached the edge of the long market. "What do you think of trying out that one old Mediterranean place across the river? We can take our time, and then drop this stuff off at your studio and maybe go for a nice sunset patrol?"

"I'd like that," she said, nodding in agreement.

They walked along in silence, listening to the general chatter of people as they did their shopping and enjoyed the refreshing warm weather. Snatches of music could be heard coming from different restaurants as they neared la Seine.

Adrien took the lead as they began to cross a pedestrian bridge, staying closer to the railing to avoid a group of bicyclists.

"I'm sorry I'm being so weird today," he heard Marinette say, and looking over his shoulder he paused, watching as she sighed and came to a stop. "It's really not fair of me to keep it all in when you're trying so hard to cheer me up."

Adrien turned around to face her fully as she placed her shopping bags on the ground, and laid the poppies on top of them. Leaning onto the railing of the bridge, she looked out over the water glistening in the bright Spring sunlight. She slowly licked away the last of her ice cream.

He waited patiently for her to speak, and when she did, it was in a resigned tone.

"It's silly really, and kind of selfish of me…" Marinette took a bite of the waffle cone, then continued. "There's just been so much going on lately, you know? So many things are changing… I mean I'm about to graduate and start working in that design firm. Meesh is leaving to go home to Mexico. Alya and Nino are getting married… it's just all becoming so new, you know?"

Adrien nodded in understanding, putting his own bags down and leaning back against the railing as he watched people and motorbikes pass them across the bridge. He finished off the rest of his own cone as she continued.

"And talking with Alya today, it just sort of… hit me. Alya really is moving out soon. And I'm really excited for her and Nino, don't get me wrong! It's just… she's my best friend, and I've gotten used to living with her. And now all that is changing."

"I know what you mean. It's going to be weird not living with Nino when he moves out, too."

Marinette nodded earnestly before continuing.

"And on top of it all, my lease is going to end in just a few weeks. And I won't be able to afford to find a place on my own… And while I'm so grateful that my parents are letting me stay with them after that, it's just… I don't know…"

"It's hard to go back to living with your family now that you've been independent all these years," Adrien offered, and Marinette shrugged in agreement.

He couldn't help but grin to himself at the direction Marinette was heading. He had already made up his mind weeks ago about asking her to move in with him, but had never gotten the chance to really talk to her about it; she'd been so wrapped up in school and helping Alya and Nino with their wedding plans. But he'd decided to ask her about it that afternoon.

Tom and Sabine had guessed as much at his intentions when he stopped by their bakery earlier, and Adrien was pleased by how excited they were for them if Marinette said yes. And when they had mentioned it to Alya, she'd been positively ecstatic.

Before Marinette began talking to him about it on the bridge, Adrien hadn't been sure of what she'd think. Her parent's home was much larger and nicer, after all, and she did have more room to work on her projects in her old loft… but the more Marinette went on, the more he realized that maybe it wasn't what she wanted at all, and hope flooded through him.

"And moving is just stressful in general, but trying to do it when everything else seems so up in the air is just… gyah!" she exclaimed, reaching up to rub at her temples. "I don't even know how the next few months are going to go, if I'm going to fit in at my new job and all."

"You'll do so great, Marinette!" Adrien countered. "Don't sell yourself so short. It's going to be different and take some adjusting for sure, but– "

"And I want to be successful at it, but what if things don't work out?" Marinette plowed on, a slightly hysterical look coming over her face. "What if I can't get back out there on my own? I mean I guess I could work on trying to find a new apartment with new roommates, but even that in itself is such a project! And what if that doesn't work out and I just end up spiraling and–"

Adrien sighed and shook his head; she always did have a tendency to ramble a bit when she got worried. As he looked over at her, rays of soft light reflected onto her, and he thought it gave her a stunning, glittering quality.

When she turned to him, her blue eyes sparkled dazzlingly and his breath came up short.

For years to come, Adrien would swear that he had absolutely meant to say "Move in with me?" Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen getting to his head as the sight of her took his breath away. Perhaps it was some residual brain freeze from the gelato. But regardless of the cause, as his ridiculous luck would have it, his mouth chose that particular moment to not obey him, and instead the words that left him were…

"Marry me?"

" – and I'm still trying to make time for Finals on top of it all, and you know how stressful that gets, so… wait, what?"

"What?"

"What did you just say?"

"I, uh…"

Adrien's brain seemed to be working in overdrive to catch up with his mouth as the realization of his words hit him.

"I-I didn't say!" he spluttered, feeling a rushing heat rise up his neck and spread across his cheeks.

"No y-you just said – " Marinette straightened off the railing, staring at him with her eyes wide in shock.

"No I didn't!"

"Adrien… did you just –"

"I-I mean, uh… move in with me?!" Adrien cried, now trying desperately to back-pedal and get the conversation on its original track.

Marinette stood frozen, still staring up at him.

Tikki had popped open the clasp to her purse to stick her head out and look up at him in surprise as well.

Plagg followed, smirking up at him.

"Looks like the cat's really out of the bag this time!" he snickered before dissolving into a fit of laughter.

Tikki smacked him, trying to shush him to no avail.

Adrien sighed dejectedly. Turning away from Marinette's gaze, he leaned over the bridge's railing, reaching up to cover his face in embarrassment.

"Shit," he muttered into his hands. "I'm so, so sorry I didn't mean to... I just… This was not how I meant to ask that at all. I mean of course I've been wanting to ask you, but I wanted to wait until after Nino and Alya's wedding so that we didn't steal any of their thunder or whatever. I was going to ask you to move in with me and then wait for the other question till later this summer or something! I was going to do something really big and special for you –"

"Yes."

" – and then it would've been so much better planned, and I already talked to your parents and Alya about it, but – "

"Yes."

" – now though it's all messed up and I should never have said that, without discussing it a little more first, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to be insensitive or anything, I just – "

"Adrien…"

" – and it would be great, you could use Nino's old room as a studio or work space or something if you wanted, but I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot or anyth– "

"Adrien!"

He felt Marinette's hand on his shoulder and suddenly found himself being turned forcibly to look down at her.

She reached up to put her hands on either side of his face, pulling him closer.

"Adrien I'm saying yes!" Marinette exclaimed, her face breaking into a broad grin.

He stared down at her for a long moment, trying to understand what she'd just said.

"You… Y-you are…?"

"Yes!" she cried, gazing up at him with such a look of adoration and amusement that his heart clenched.

"You mean it? Y-you want to –"

"To move in with you? Yes. To marry you? Absolutely yes!"

Marinette shook her head and laughed as she watched him process this.

"You mean it?!" Adrien said, the realization of what she was saying finally washing over him.

When Marinette nodded, he whooped, filled with enough ecstatic joy to burst. Flinging his arms around her in a crushing hug, he pulled her into the air and spun her around and around as other people crossing the bridge looked over and smiled at them.

"YES!" Adrien yelled, setting Marinette down to see her laughing, her eyes bright with tears of delight. Looking up to see all the people peering their way, he leaned back a little bit to shout, "SHE SAID YES!" earning a round of cheers and applause from those nearest to them.

Adrien looked down as Marinette covered her one hand over her mouth, blushing harder than he'd seen her do in a long time, mirth still rolling out of her uncontrollably as she nodded her thanks to the people clapping for them.

Their Kwamis were still looking up at the pair of them from Marinette's side, wide smiles on both of their faces.

"You're such a dork!" Marinette muttered, turning back to wrap her arms up around Adrien's neck, beaming.

"I'm your dork," he laughed, leaning his forehead down to hers till their noses brushed. "The dork you just said you're going to marry!"

"Yes I did." Marinette closed the last bit of distance, pressing her soft lips to his. He could feel her smiling, warm tears now forming trails down both of their cheeks. Pulling back a little bit, he cupped her cheek, wiping his thumb lightly under her eyes as she let out another watery laugh.

"I love you, mon Chaton."

"I love you too, M'Lady."

Fin