"Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the night? Because if you are, I may as well go back to America."

Ladybug stormed around the room, picking up things out of a box only to slam it down somewhere else. She repeated this time and time again, knowing full well the temper tantrum she was throwing was getting on his nerves.

"M'Lady, what's the issue? What have I done? Because right at the minute I'm lost."

Lost is he? Lost?

She picked up the new cushions she'd purchased for the sofas and slammed them down, giving them a couple of extra punches for effect. Of course they were bug and cat Chibi themed, so she made sure his little cute Chibi face had a couple of extra clouts.

"Fine, I'm out of here." He grabbed Kaalki's glasses from the table and went to place them on.

"Two things;" she started, "one - we agreed that we were going to lie and say you proposed, not me. And two - you've tricked me?" she snarled, "When?"

He stopped in motion and placed the glasses back down on the counter. She watched him, her arms crossed over her chest in irritation.

"You tricked me too." he said, turning the conversation around and back onto her.

"I'm the guardian! I did what I needed to do."

"Were you the guardian at the time that you tricked me?" he asked, his perfectly pruned eyebrows raising under his mask. Why did he always think outside the bloody box?

"That's beside the point." Her arms waving around in clear indication he was going off track.

"What is the point then?"

"The point is you tricked me and you need to tell me now, how and when you did it!" She pulled out a spatula from a box and waved it in his face, before she slammed it down and carried on 'unpacking'; which now had just turned into a way of her expressing her irritation and making a hell of a lot of noise.

"I don't need to tell you anything," he laughed, crossing his arms in response.

"Fine! I'll tell you mine then you can tell me yours." she said not even giving him a chance to answer. "I tricked you by swapping my Miraculous with another...happy?"

Technically, she was still her, just in many, many tiny little forms. He didn't need to know that though. Identities and all.

"Yup I'm very happy, thank you very much." He walked over to the boxes and began pulling out her books, placing Kaalki's Miraculous back on the counter. She stood staring at him, waiting, and waiting... and waiting. "Sorry?" he said, "did you want something?"

"I told you mine."

"And I really appreciate it, thanks Bugaboo." He walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead before going back to the box he was emptying and flattening it down.

"You're kidding me right? I just told you mine and now you're leaving me in the dark?"

He started to laugh and that's when it clicked, he was tricking her. "Oh har-de-har!" she said.

Chat walked over to his wife, placing his hands on her waist as she played full defensive and crossed her arms over her chest, keeping a distance between them.

"Does Bugaboo really want to know how I tricked her, that badly?" he pouted, his voice full of teasing and her fists full on clenching ready to attack.

"I think you're making it all up. You just wanted to see if you could push me over the edge and you knew the thought of me not knowing something was going to drive me insane."

"And has it?" he asked, pulling her closer into his body, making her stumble a little.

Her arms shot up, clinging onto his biceps in hope to keep herself steady. Had they always been this big?

"Thick as tree trunks," she said, her voice in a daze and eyes turning dreamy, only to quickly stop herself and look back at him. "The trees this time of year have thick trunks, like really thick and fat. Not that your arms are fat, but they are really thick, more like 'oh wow Chat Noir must work out a lot' because he's hot - fit - he's fit so he must do a whole lot of exercise." To make her point even stronger, she pulled away from him and started to do star jumps, because obviously that would make what she said more logical.

She bit her lip, her nose tingling as a sign of embarrassment. One word. One teasing word out of his mouth and she swore she was going to go insane.

"Thanks, I think." He reached up once again, scratching the back of his neck, his eyebrows turning into a rather unattractive monobrow. "Okay, so do you promise not to freak out?"

"Me, freak out...pfft...I'm Ladybug for crying out loud. I get my freak on, not freak out."

"You do realise that doesn't make sense right?" He stepped back, heading towards their bedroom. Oh god, their bedroom. The room with their bed, that they agreed to share, because they're married.

"Um - yeah, sorry. Lack of sleep."

He smiled at her in that forlorn way that almost made her melt. Yes, being married to this man was going to be fine, as long as he revealed whatever this was. She wasn't sure the reason of 'he didn't tell me how he tricked me' was a decent enough reason for a divorce.

Turning his back to her and exiting the room, she decided to go back to the boxes, this time pulling out the mugs off her parents; 'Mr and Mrs' matching mugs. Oh, now there was a conversation she needed to have with her husband, she'd forgotten to mention his new in-laws were desperate to meet him.

The day she returned home from Vegas, she might have not so subtly screamed for a good thirty minutes straight in her room, resulting in a very flustered Tom Dupain running up the staircase with a rolling pin in his hands. Apparently if there was someone there to kidnap his daughter the rolling pin was going to be his first line of defence, Sabine being the second as she came up behind him; rollers in hair and frying pan in hand.

Finally calming Marinette down, they realised that:

Marinette was most certainly not being kidnapped.

She was sporting a new piece of jewellery on her finger that almost blinded them as the sunlight glistening in her room danced off it.

Sabine was then the next to scream, Tom to cry and Marinette to beg for forgiveness, finally ending in the revelation that Marinette was Ladybug and had married her crime fighting partner; who she didn't even know the name of.

Of course, her father may have reacted rather abruptly, wielding his rolling pin once more and using the words 'that damn cat better have a good explanation for this'. However, once Marinette and Sabine sat him down and explained the whole situation, Tom was a little more willing to accept his daughter's relationship. His first thoughts of skinning the cat turned into tears of happiness when he realised that Ladybug was actually the girl Chat Noir loved, and Ladybug was actually his daughter. Definitely a proud papa moment.

After a long conversation, where Tom had been removed for safety measures, Marinette sat and discussed the whole situation with her Maman; after all her folks had been married for over 25 years, they must have had some kind of magic when it came to relationships.

Though her mother wasn't exactly happy with the whole drunken-Vegas-marriage fiasco, she couldn't have been happier that Marinette had finally made a commitment. After Adrien had left she knew her parents were worried about her, that she seemed to have given up on love altogether; they'd even gone as far as trying to get her to give things another try with Luka, which to Marinette's surprise did not go well. Luka's words being something along the lines of 'I'm not getting involved with that complicated ensemble', she was still yet to figure out what he meant.

Her mother told her to weigh up the pros and cons of being married to Chat Noir, and much to her amazement there were only three negatives:

He was ridiculously taller than her and made her feel like a borrower.

He was too kind and caring, she worried she'd ruin him.

He lived in America and they would have quite a large time difference.

Even his puns made the pro list; the constant fun and laughter he would bring to the household.

Laughing to herself as her mind ran back to the list, she placed the 'Mr and Mrs' mugs alongside the 'Mister Bug' and 'Lady Noire' ones gifted from Alya and continued her search for any others.

Her packing had been as erratic as her mind; mugs ending up with cushions which in turn were scattered amongst her saucepans and ending up with a cheese grater. She had no idea what she was thinking when she started to pack, and to add to that she had no idea where she was going to put everything.

The kitchen was simple. Chat Noir had nothing in there so her items fit effortlessly. But there was only a little room in his wardrobes and drawers, and she still had boxes upon boxes of clothing and accessories, plus all the supplies for her business. She had been working as a freelance designer for the past year and it was going well. Clients would hire her to design and create gowns and wedding dresses, accessories and daily outfits, and thanks to the continuous run of orders, she was really starting to get her name out there.

"Good evening, Ladybug. I'm Cat Walker."

Gasping, she turned around and came face to face with someone she thought she'd never see again. It had been over seven years after all.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"You take care of everybody equally, Ladybug. Now I want to take care of you."

She stood, mouth agape as her partner, now with a green ponytail, stood like one of the Queen's guards out on display in front of Buckingham Palace.

"No," was all she could squeeze out, her eyes bulging out of her head as she examined him from top to toe.

After all these years wondering who her mysterious yet 'perfect' partner was, it happened to be her everyday partner. It was fair to say, after the Multimouse fiasco, they were even and she most certainly had not seen this coming.

Reaching for the 'I love Vegas' tea towel next to her (a wedding gift from the Chapel O'Love), she held the ends and spun it around, creating a long, thin material whip.

"Nu-huh, M'Lady!"

"I think so, Kitty Cat!"

She flicked the end of the towel aiming for his thigh, only for him to quickly jump out the way and flip backwards, ending near the balcony doors.

"How dare you!" he said in mock horror, placing a hand against his chest.

"Come closer and I'll show you exactly how much I dare." Edging her way towards him slowly, his eyes kept their position on her tightly, his tail flicking with playful excitement.

"You're armed! I'm not coming anywhere near you."

"Is the little kitty cat afraid of a -" she flicked out the towel, content with the sound it made, "little towel? What would all Paris think, ay, Chat Noir scared of cotton?" She whipped the tea towel out towards him again, the backlash of the material making a satisfying 'thwip' sound, one not dissimilar to the extension of her yo-yo.

"What will people say if I appear with bruises down my leg?"

"Who said I was aiming for your leg?"

"Where else would you aim?"

She continued walking towards him, his hands out in defense ready to deflect her next attack. He moved towards the centre of the room making his way to the sofa and grabbing a cushion.

"Why would I go for the thigh, when your tush is such a wonderful target?" She cackled like a witch as she ran towards him, twisting the towel once again. As she got within reach she sent it out flying towards him, Cat Walker jumping out the way just in time. "Now, Cat Walker, be the perfectpartner you are and stay... still!" She flicked the towel out again, this time Cat Walker deflecting it with his cushion.

"Ten points for butt, five for thigh..." she announced, going in for another hit.

"Don't you dare think about anywhere else," he uttered, placing his hands as though there was about to be a penalty shot taken against him.

She flicked the towel out at him again, her eyes dancing in excitement.

"You're playing dirty, M'Lady!" He swung the cushion at her with quite a force, only for her own reactions to send her jumping out of the way.

"I'm not your Lady, Tom Cat. I'm Mrs Noir, not Mrs Walker."

Cat Walker moved closer, sashaying his hips like he was on the catwalk, his eyes dancing in amusement.

"Come on Bug, your husband never has to know."

He was close, far too close, and she was having fun, far too much fun, so there was only one option. She flung the towel out smacking him in the back of the thighs, her aim slightly off from hitting him in the assets.

"Five points to me! Come on, Monsieur, you're going to have play cat-ch up at this rate."

His shocked response came as the cushion smacked her around the side of the head, causing her to stumble slightly to the side.

"Using puns against the King punster himself, you have no idea who you're messing with."

"Oh, now it means war!" She flung the tea towel straight at him, catching him once more just as he swung the cushion and hit her on the arm.

Laughter ensued as the two heroes chased each other around the room, Cat Walker taking up his defensive post and suddenly being equipped with two cushions; his Chibi face and hers.

"Bring it on Bug, but you know as well as I do, you can't concentrate when I'm just so purrfect."

"The puns don't match that face, Walker."

They began an intense battle, cushions being smacked and thrown around the room, tea towels 'thwacking' against heavy duty super suits and laughter vibrating around the rafters.

Finally launching at him, she found herself in her partner's arms, the shining of his beautiful cat eyes having a rather interesting effect on her body; her heart rate increasing and if she could check her smartwatch she was quite sure she'd be in fat burn territory.

She felt a thickness in her throat, one she needed to swallow down and out the way. If he had two persona's which sent her spiralling into orbit, how would she cope with his true civilian form too? The one she would join hands with to walk down the street, to introduce to her friends and family, to love and to hold.

Her hands came to rest on his biceps, the action unsolicited in her moment of weakness. A push up and down of his biceps feeling every section of his suit and muscle. This character wasn't an act, she understood that now, this was just another part of her partner's personality. Had she never truly known him?

He felt warm standing so close to her, his body stable and hard in all the right places. His thick muscles and strong legs, his arms which she knew (even in her civilian form) could carry her all over Paris without breaking a sweat. His soft hair, and rumbling purrs; his oh so wonderful scent, the one she's found herself searching for on the clothes housed at their apartment. Him, him, all him...

Her head tilted, the underside of his jaw and neck in her sight. She watched as his throat moved, his own head tilting down a fraction to meet hers; her eyes closing in anticipation of his soft lips meeting hers, would it be different this time, had he shown her this side of him a month ago which led them to their convoluted marriage? She saw his tongue shyly brush along his lips, his eyes closing as he moved closer and closer, until...

"Achoo!"

He turned his head away, currently in the midst of a sneeze attack. It seemed the cushions had started to break apart; small white feathers dancing through the air like snowflakes falling from the sky. It looked heavenly, and Ladybug was sure she was going to hate cleaning this up in the morning.

"Achoo!"

She moved back, the spell between them well and truly broken.

"Oh my goodness, Chat! I didn't realise they were real feathers." She placed the towel down on the side from where she had it still grasped tightly in one hand, and made her way towards her husband.

"Achoo!"

"Chat? Do you need anything? An antihistamine or, I don't know, an epi-pen?"

"Achoo! That's a bit dramatic don't you think. Achoo! But I think our...a-a-a-a," his face creased, Ladybug grimacing as the sneeze continued to build. He held up one finger indicating for her to wait a moment, his face morphing with the intensity of keeping the sneeze in.

He took some deep breaths, his eyes tightly closed and Ladybug had to control herself not to burst out laughing; she was quite sure this whole saga wouldn't be making her laugh as much if it was Chat Noir doing it, after all she'd seen Chat sneeze many times; but seeing Cat Walker, Mr Prim and Proper, morph himself into a child's attempt at a Play-Doh face...well, that was something else.

"I think," he finally continued, "I'll need to stay at my apartment this evening. Achoo! I'll call some cleaners tomorrow to get this sorted."

"It's okay, Kitty, I can do it."

Walking towards the counter and Kaalki's glasses, Cat Walker continued to sneeze, every now and then lifting up a leg with the force of his body's reaction. He placed them on, calling his double transformation to become 'Étalon Noir' and opening a portal; sneezes still blasting out of his nose.

"Oh, Chaton, before you go? Are you still free Sunday?"

"Yeah, why?"

She smiled at him and tilted her head to the side. "Because you're going to be meeting my parents."

•••••

'Étalon Noir' closed off the portal and called off his transformations, Adrien remaining in the middle of the room unable to comprehend everything that had just happened.

Walking over to his way too expensive sofa, in his way too expensive (and lonely) apartment, he dropped down and grabbed his phone, double checking his itinerary for the remainder of the week, and of course checking he was free on Sunday. She'd almost kissed him, she had almost kissed him. It didn't matter how many times he said it, it still rang like sweet music in his ears.

She had almost kissed him!

"You okay Kid?" Plagg flew to Adrien, Kaalki on his tail.

Adrien looked up at them, his eyebrows creased. So much was running through his head he wasn't quite sure where to start.

1. They'd had the interview with Alya, it seemed to go well, even with Luka's rather vocal outbursts. That was something he'd challenge his friend about another day.

2. Ladybug had almost kissed him!

3. She swapped her Miraculous for another. Now that was curious, of course his mind began to shout to him about Multimouse, but he just couldn't begin to think how that would have worked. She just couldn't be Marinette.

4. Ladybug seemed to have had some sort of thing for when he was Cat Walker - interesting to know.

5. He was meeting the in-laws. He'd only ever met one girl's parents, the flashbacks horrifying as he remembered Tom's face when he found out Chat Noir didn't love his daughter. He couldn't afford for that to happen again.

He checked through the calendar and noticed how he had training on Saturday ready for the start of the next season, but Sunday was clear. Tapping around on his phone, he blocked out the day, making sure his manager knew he was unavailable, before pulling up his email and impulsively typing a message.

If he was going to make this work with Ladybug he needed to be available, and that started with him handing in his resignation.

Soon, Adrien Agreste was finally going to return to Paris.