Chapter 19: This Heart, It Beats. Beats For Only You.

"Sorry I took so long," Marinette said softly when she reached their table.

Adrien jumped up quickly and waited for her to take her seat. "It's no problem. Is everything okay?"

She slid into her seat and they both settled back to their food. "Yeah, I just needed a couple of minutes."

There were several moments of silence as they each tried to figure out what to say next.

"I wante-"

"About bef-"

They both stopped and couldn't help but smile at the awkwardness. Marinette nodded to him. "Go ahead," she said.

"I wanted to apologize again," he paused as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "For when I wasn't listening earlier," he explained. "I got distracted and forgot to pay attention, and although it's fine if you don't want to tell me, I am assuming you hadn't been talking about bread?"

Marinette could feel her cheeks color. "Well, um, not exactly about bread."

"Well, if you don't mind telling me again, I'll make sure to listen this time."

She nodded, pulling strength from her earlier conversation with Alya and Tikki. Just from looking at Adrien, she could see that he was nervous. And they weren't wrong, he had been trying to ask out Ladybug for a long time. Just as long as she had been trying to ask him out. She drew in a breath and then started in.

"I wanted us to talk about our relationship."

The color drained from Adrien's face. "You want to talk…?"

Marinette paused, listening to her own words over again in her head. "Wait!" she exclaimed, holding up her hands. "Not- not like that. Just," she groaned. "Sorry, Kitty. I just suck at talking sometimes. Alya and Tikki just said that we should talk about things. Like how we want our relationship to work and stuff."

Adrien nodded, "Oh, right. I guess we haven't really talked about anything with that."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "We should probably talk about what we want to do in the future. That and Alya asked if we were going to have sex again-"

Adrien choked at her words and Marinette felt her face heat up. "Sorry. Oh my gosh. I just said that out loud in a fancy restaurant while on a date with Adrien Agreste."

His hand reached across the table and touched her hand. "Marinette," he said gently, and when she looked at him she saw that his face was rather red as well. "It's fine. Why don't we go somewhere a little more private after dinner and we can talk about all of that stuff?"

"That sounds perfect."

Simultaneous phone alerts interrupted their meal and they each moved to check their phone.

Marinette read her message.

Alya: How is it going?

She smiled and typed out a reply letting Alya (and Tikki) know everything was going well and that she would tell them about it later in full details. When she looked up, Adrien had just finished typing out his own message.

"Let me guess… Alya?" Adrien asked, nodding towards Marinette's phone.

She laughed. "Yeah. What about you?"

"Nino," he answered, holding up his phone. "Maybe next time we go on a date, we should just bring them with us so they don't have to message us to find out how it's going."

Marinette could tell he had meant it as a joke, but the idea was exactly what she had hoped for from the beginning of their best friends' dating. "That would actually be really fun," she said, pushing aside some of her food with her fork. "A double date."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah. Maybe we can ask them at school Monday?"

"I'd like that."

They both smiled shyly and enjoyed a quiet conversation about video games as they finished their meals.

After the check was paid, the pair made their way back out of the restaurant and toward a crepe stand near the Eiffel Tower. They purchased two chocolate and strawberry crepes and looked for a spot to talk in private. They didn't make it very far though before there was an explosion a few blocks away.

"Really?" Adrien muttered, "Right now?" He grabbed Marinette's free hand and led her behind a wall.

"Hawkmoth can't give us a break, can he?" Marinette said with a wry laugh. "I'll wait here for you. I'm sure Alya is already suiting up."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "In what universe do you think I would let you wait here? It's way too dangerous. What if the akuma makes its way over here?"

"Then I would run for cover. I've faced an akuma without my miraculous before. I can hide," she argued. "Besides, you need to go."

"First," he began, handing her his uneaten crepe. "You may have faced akuma without your miraculous before, but that was before you were pregnant. Second, you're right. I do need to go, and your house is on the way." He smirked at her frustrated expression. "Plagg, claws out!"

There was whirlwind of green light and Chat Noir was standing in front of her. "Ready, Princess?" he asked.

She couldn't help but smile at his charm. "Fine. You win. I'm ready."

He grinned and scooped her into his arms, before propelling them above the rooftops and toward her bakery. "I am sorry for having to end the date early though," he told her, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

She laughed and he felt his heart soar at the sound. "C'mon, Chat. I know what it's like. These are our lives."

He landed in front of the bakery and kissed her hand. "Will you be okay?" he asked. Another explosion sounded and several screams were heard.

She pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek before pushing him away. "I'll be fine. Go. And make sure you come back after."

He winked at her before running off toward the sounds of the akuma. He would definitely be back.

When he arrived at the side of the akuma attack, he realized he was only a block away from the park they had visited at the beginning of their date. He then saw something heading for him at lightning quick speed. The figure was small, only about two feet tall and seemed to have strings attached to its arms and legs.

It jumped at him and directed the strings at him. Chat pushed up from the ground with his baton just in time to avoid the attack and see a red and black spotted hero swing by. She landed atop the carousel and he followed.

Alya flashed him a knowing smile. "Hawkmoth won't even give you a night off to spend with your lady-love, will he?" she teased.

He rolls his eyes. "No, and I didn't even get a proper good night kiss before I left." He twirled his baton in one hand. "Guess we'll have to settle this quick. My lady is waiting up for me."

"What's this akuma do?" Alya asked, surveying the park and hearing another crash not far off.

Chat shook his head. "I'm not really sure, but I think I was almost attack by a puppet earlier."

"Like Pinocchio?" she asked.

Chat nodded, but didn't get a chance to say anything further as strings suddenly attacked the carousel. Puppets swung up the side of the attraction and he and Ladybug stood back to back in a defensive stance.

"We have to find the akuma."

She nodded. "Think you can take these guys out while I look?"

He laughed, "Of course I can. I'm Chat Noir." He then split his baton in two and began swinging at the many puppets attacking them.

Alya hooked her yo-yo to a nearby lamp post and swung away. "See you in a few, Chat!"

The last thing Adrien had expected tonight had been for him to go see a puppet show with the love of his life only for the puppeteer to be akumatized a few hours later. After Alya had broken the akumatized object and thrown her lucky charm in the air, a tired looking young man had been left sitting in the grass, surrounded by several marionettes.

The man covered his face with his hands and took several deep breaths before looking up. "I'm sorry, Ladybug, Chat Noir."

"It's not your fault," Chat offered, kneeling beside him.

Ladybug followed, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. "Do you know what caused you to be akumatized?"

He sighed, "It's stupid. I make these marionettes and put on puppet shows for a living and some guys I knew in lycée saw me at the park earlier." He picked up a puppet and held it in his hands gently. "They said that it was a dead-end hobby that would never amount to anything." He let the puppet drop onto the ground again. "And they were right."

Chat shook his head. "I would beg to differ. You see, I saw your show earlier, and it was amazing."

The man raised his head. "You really think so?"

Chat placed a hand on his shoulder. "I think you have a lot of talent. Don't give up on something that you love doing. Look at me," he gestured back to himself. "I run around Paris in this get-up at all hours."

The puppet master laughed, "Thank you, Chat Noir. Knowing you liked the show really means a lot to me."

There was a beeping from Chat's ring and Ladybug's earrings at the same moment. "We'd better get going," Chat said, getting to his feet. He helped the other man up and said a last good-bye before following Ladybug back up to the roofs.

"So, you and M went to a puppet show?" Ladybug asked.

Chat rolled his eyes, already preparing his baton for the journey back to Marinette's. "You can hear all about it when you talk to Marinette tomorrow. I have a date to finish."

Ladybug laughed. "You have a good night, Chat!" she called to him, before slinging her yo-yo in the opposite direction. He waved and then extended his baton. He only hoped the akuma battle hadn't ruined the entire rest of his date.

Marinette checked her phone again as she looked off her balcony at the Paris skyline. No sign of her fiancé yet. She hoped the akuma wouldn't keep him too long. Alya had responded to her text with a thumbs up only a moment after it had been sent, so Marinette knew her best friend had transformed and headed to help Chat.

She turned back to her balcony and wondered if it was too much. She had set up a table in the middle with two chairs. On the table sat a lit candle and a plate of baked sweets from the bakery. They hadn't gotten to enjoy their dessert and she wanted to make sure Adrien stayed long enough for them to have their talk. Her mind drifted back to what she had said at the restaurant. Oh my gosh, I talked about us having sex in a fancy restaurant. I nearly died. She covered her ears with her hands and smushed them against her head trying to drown out the memory of her mistake.

"What else do we need to talk about?" she wondered aloud. There were lots of things far more important than just their physical relationship, but she wasn't sure what to start with.

She opened her phone, her first instinct was to call Alya but her friend was currently in the middle of super hero-ing. She sighed, clicking on her web icon. I guess the internet is the next best thing. She allowed her fingers to flit across her keyboard and searched "Things to discuss before getting married" figuring that was the easiest way to describe her dilemma.

A relieving number of articles popped up once the page had loaded and she clicked onto the first one.

"7 Things You Must Discuss Before Getting Married," she read the title aloud in a low whisper. She scrolled down the page, seeing a few topics she had assumed would be there: find out if they want kids – Well, it's a little late for that. She smiled to herself at the irony – Where you want to live, Will you both work, Last Name, Se-

"Hi, Princess."

Chat's sudden arrival caused her to cry out and throw her phone. He jumped forward and caught it in one hand before turning to make sure she was okay.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you hadn't heard me arrive." He held out her phone to her. "I hope I didn't scare you too bad."

She smiled at him and shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I was just distracted." She took her phone from him and set it down on the table. "If you wanted to detransform, I left some cheesecake inside for Plagg."

"That sounds purrfect," he replied. "Claws in." With a flash of green light, Adrien had appeared and the cat kwami made a hasty exit to get to his promised cheesecake.

"You spoil us," Adrien said, helping her into her chair at the table. "I thought we already had dessert."

"You mean, I had dessert. You handed me yours and had to rush off to save Paris." Marinette tried her best to hide any sadness over the fact that she hadn't been right beside him doing the same. "Speaking of, how was the akuma battle?"

Adrien took one bite of a pastry from his seat across from her and swallowed before answering. "The battle was fine. Alya showed up quick, which I assume is thanks to you," he winked at her. "The akuma, well," he set down the pastry on his plate. "You remember the puppet show we went to see?"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Really? The guy running the show? But it seemed like it was going so well."

"Yeah, I was surprised to, but I guess after we left, some of his 'friends' stopped by and told him how pointless it was." Adrien glared at the table and Marinette could tell how angry he was about this. "You'd think people would be more careful. We've had to fight akumas for over three years now, it shouldn't still happen so easily."

Marinette reached across the table and rested her hand on his. "Hawkmoth will always search for people to manipulate. Honestly, I think it's gotten a lot better than it was in the beginning."

"Yeah," he gave her a smile, "You're right. It's just hard seeing someone so broken. At least he seemed to cheer up afterwards, once I told him how much I enjoyed his show."

She grinned in response. "You always do good with making people feel better after being akumatized. That's one of the things I love about you." Her voice squeaked at the end, but she was proud of herself for saying it. She did love how kind Adrien was towards the akuma victims. It made it easier for her to handle the press and sometimes get away to detransform.

She noticed how pink his face had turned at her words and couldn't suppress her giggle. "How did Alya do with the battle?"

"As good as you'd expect from Rena Rouge."

"So, she was brilliant?"

He laughed, "Yes, and just a warning, but I promised that you'd give her the full scoop about our date when you see her tomorrow. So, hopefully you'll have all good things to say?"

Marinette tapped her chin in thought. "Well, I guess we'll have to see how the rest of our evening goes."

They settled into a comfortable silence, but once Marinette remembered the conversation they still needed to have, that calm went away.

"We still need to talk…" she said softly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere.

He nodded. "Yes, I suppose we do. Where would you like to start?" She could hear that he sounded hoarse and wasn't sure if it was from jumping through Paris's night air or from nerves.

She tapped her phone and it came back to life. "I was, um, searching online. And I frowned… found an article with topics to discuss before getting married." She glanced up at him through her bangs, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't look scared so she continued.

"The first thing I guess would be," she scrolled looking for the safest topic to start with, "Uh, careers?" She met his gaze with a gentle smile. "You know what I want to do."

He chuckled, "Fashion design," he answered with a nod.

"But I don't know what you want to do. I actually don't think I've ever heard you mention something you wanted as a career."

Adrien swallowed hard and stared down at the plate. He turned a macaron over in his hand before looking back up at her. "I- I haven't ever really thought about it. My father has planned so much of my life that I've never stopped to think of what I would do when he didn't control it anymore."

Marinette could feel her stomach drop. The idea that he hasn't even considered something he would want to do was horrifying. She cleared her throat. "Well, would you want to go into working for your father's company? Like on the business side of things?"

Adrien grimaced. "I think I'd like to get as far away from that company as I can honestly."

"Hmm…" Marinette wracked her brain for ideas. There had to be something Adrien would enjoy doing. "Where do you see yourself in five years?" She asked suddenly. "What do you think would make you happiest?"

He paused, thinking in silence for several moments. "I guess, us having our own space." He blushed but continued talking, "Being there to raise our child. Taking care of our family." He laughed, but it was a half-empty sound. "It's too bad I can't just do that. That would be the perfect job."

Marinette felt warmth flow through her. How was he so precious? He wanted such beautiful things for them.

"Why don't you do that then?"

Adrien raised his eyebrows. "Do what?"

"Be a stay at home dad." She watched as his jaw dropped open slightly. "I mean, if you want to you could. You could take care of the house and do the shopping, look after the kids…"

She let her voice drift off waiting for a response as Adrien took in her suggestion. She worried that she'd misunderstood everything until a huge smile broke out onto Adrien's face.

"I think I'd love that. I mean, I know we have to finish school first, but that sounds really great!"

Marinette beamed at him. There they were, already solving problems together.

"All right, so what's next?" He asked, his enthusiasm leaking into his voice.

She looked back at the article on her phone. "Where do we want to live?"

"Well, I'm figuring you'll want to stay in Paris since your parents would be nearby, right?" He asked.

Marinette nodded, "That would be ideal. Especially with our miraculous."

"We could get an apartment nearby, unless you'd prefer a house. I'm sure we could always have one built," he said quickly.

She reached and took hold of his hand. "Chaton," she chided softly, "I would be happy with wherever we live. And an apartment in the city would be nice."

He smirked at her, giving her hand a small squeeze. "Maybe I'll find us an apartment that looks out on the Eiffel Tower."

She rolled her eyes, "Adrien that would be way too expensive."

"Nothing is too expensive for my lady-love and our family," he said, his voice full of emotion.

Marinette fought the urge to swoon. This was really happening. She was sitting on her balcony in the cool night air, discussing her future with Adrien. Their future. She felt a soft pressure against the palm of her hand and looked up in time to see his lips pressed against her skin. Her face heated and she resisted pulling her hand away.

"I love you."

He beamed at her. "I love you too, Marinette. So very much."

After the two had finished their second dessert, they had moved down into Marinette's room and cuddled up on her chaise. She had put a movie on the computer and turned down the volume so they could enjoy each other's company. Adrien's hand glided through her hair and she nuzzled back against his chest.

"Mari," he murmured.

"Hmm?" She glanced up trying to look at him from where she was lounging against him.

"Do you think we should continue being Ladybug and Chat Noir? Like after the baby comes?" His voice was quiet. Quiet enough that she'd had to strain to hear his questions clearly. She turned in her seat so she could face him properly.

"I," she paused, "I guess I hadn't really thought about it."

They both sat in silence for several long moments. Marinette felt her pulse quicken. Could she really give up being Ladybug completely? She had assumed this was a temporary thing and she would go back to it after having the baby, but would that make her a bad mother to abandon her child like that? And what about during akuma attacks?

Her eyes drifted upward and met Adrien's eyes. They were clouded with thoughts and questions that she sensed mirrored her own.

She set her face in determination and gave a sharp nod. "I would like to keep being Ladybug. I'm not ready to give up this responsibility I took on and I'd like to keep at it until Hawkmoth is defeated." She waited a moment to see if he would protest. Instead, she felt strong arms wrap her in a hug.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he whispered into her hair. "I feel the exact same way. I can't see not being Chat Noir. I want to defeat Hawkmoth with you by my side." He pulled back and brushed her bangs away from her face. "I'll do my best to make as much progress as I can while you're out of commission and I won't give up until Paris is safe from him."

Marinette grinned at him, feeling tears prick her eyes. "And while you handle finding Hawkmoth, I'll work on planning a wedding?" she asked.

Adrien's eyes lit up at the word wedding. "That's right! We have a wedding coming up, don't we?"

Marinette suppressed a giggle. "Any ideas of what you want for our wedding, kitty?"

Adrien looked thoughtful, "Well, as long as you're there, our friends are in it, and there is delicious food, I think I'll be fine. What about you?"

She shrugged, trying not to look overeager. "Well, I might have a few ideas written down…"

"Bugaboo, have you been planning our wedding?" He teased.

She tried to fight back her blush. "Doesn't every girl?" She tugged at the sleeve of her sweater. "There's actually only one thing that I'd really like aside from having our friends there."

He quirked an eyebrow waiting for her to continue.

"I've always dreamed of designing my wedding dress."

"I think that would be perfect!" Adrien agreed excitedly. "Do you think your parents would make the cake?"

Marinette laughed, "I'm pretty sure they've already designed it. They'd probably be offended if we didn't ask them."

He took hold of her hand, pulling her back close to him. "I can't believe in just a short amount of time, I'll be married to my lady." He had just started to relax back against the chaise when he sat up suddenly again. "Are you planning to take my last name? Or do you want to keep yours?" he asked. "We could hyphenate but then it'll get kind of long, 'Agreste-Dupain-Cheng'."

Marinette shrugged. "I'm not sure. I used to think I should just takes on yours, but at the same time…"

"Having your own last name could make it easier when it comes to your designing." Adrien finished for her. He nodded, "What if I just took your last name then?"

Her eyes widened. "You would want to do that?"

His ears and neck tinged pink. "I wouldn't mind. Adrien Dupain-Cheng has a nice ring to it, and I don't have any plans to use my last name for anything, so there's no issue there."

Marinette had to hold back a squeal. She had never really considered this option with their last names as a possibility but now that she'd heard the name come off his lips… she loved it.

"I think that could work then," she said quietly. "Do you think your dad will have an issue with it?"

Adrien shrugged and relaxed into the chaise again. "Probably, but it's what I want."

They had just settled back into their spots comfortably, when a ding sounded from Marinette's phone. "Sorry," she muttered, getting up to retrieve it. "It's probably just Alya telling me what time she'll be by tomorrow to hear everything."

She opened her phone and blushed the moment she read the text.

Alya: Girl, what did you guys decide? Please don't tell me you chickened out of bringing it up.

Marinette typed out a hurried response with more force than intended.

Me: Leave me alone. You're making this more awkward. ;P

"Everything okay?" Adrien asked, making her jump.

"Yeah, what? No, I mean, everything is great! Excellent. Amazing?" She groaned out loud at her stumbling mess of a sentence.

"What happened?"

Marinette dropped back to sit next to him, eyes staying firmly on the ground. "Alya wanted to make sure we talked about, um, you know…"

"Oh?" Adrien muttered, then, "Oh!" He rubbed at the back of his neck. Did the room feel warmer all of a sudden? "I guess she's right. We do need to talk about those things."

Marinette was fairly certain her blush was permanent by now. Yep, she would never be back to her normal pigment again.

"Do you want to have sex again?"

Adrien's question startled her with its abruptness. How could he say something like that so easily.

"No. I mean, not yet. Of course, I want to." She covered her face with her hands. "I'm going to stop talking before I humiliate myself even more," she muttered through her hands.

Adrien cleared his throat. "I want to too. I mean, not that it's the only thing I've been thinking about, but I have thought about it. I just," he sighed, "I don't want to rush into it again. I'm okay with us taking things slower."

Marinette peaked out from behind her fingers. "Slow?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, until we get more comfortable around each other. Since things are still really new for us. What do you think?"

Her hands slid down, uncovering most of her face now and resting just under her chin. "I think that sounds purrfect." She gave him a small smile to accompany her pun.

Adrien let out a laugh and ran a hand over her hair. "I really want to kiss you right now."

She scooted closer, allowing him easier access. "Go right ahead."

And he did. And they did, for several more minutes, after which they cuddled together on her chaise, wrapped in a cozy blanket as they watched the rest of the movie play before them. Adrien had both arms secured around Marinette's middle, holding her hands. He placed gentle kisses along her hair and neck. Then his kisses moved to her ear.

"Mari," he whispered.

"Yes, Adrien?"

"How do you feel about having pets?"

She smiled, "Well, I wouldn't mind a pet. Maybe, a dog?"

He tensed behind her and she pictured his cat ears laying flat in irritation. "What about a cat instead?" He pressed another kiss to her neck, this one longer causing her to let out a small noise of delight.

"I don't know if I could handle more than one cat," she murmured. She laced her fingers through his and squeezed his hand gently to show her affection. "Besides, you'd probably get jealous."

He hummed against her skin. "You're probably right. What about a hamster then?"

She laughed, "I think a hamster would be great. And I have the perfect name…"

A/N: hello again! Thank you for sticking around and reading chapter 19. I really hope you enjoyed it! I can't believe how long this story has gotten. It's crazy to me, especially because this is my longest single fic. Well, I have a lot more planned, even if it takes a bit to get it up here. Let me know what you thought, and you can follow me on Tumblr to ask questions or see updates on my writing process. ( otakuprincess15) love you guys!

-marauderluverz