Krissy confesses to Marinette that she has fallen in love with a carpenter's boy, a commoner who has no status high enough to ever be worthy to compare to theirs. Determined to bring the two of them together, Marinette and Adrien concoct a plan to convince her stubborn aunt to allow them to court.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

If Marinette could be described in one word, it would be that she was stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Her stubbornness was just one of the many main reasons as to why she had been able to marry Adrien, who had become the love of her life over the years.

Because of her stubbornness, she had achieved true happiness, and that was a feeling she wanted all of her sisters to experience one day.

Elizabeth already had achieved said happiness thanks to Adrien's marriage license and his will to marry her in secret. Her oldest sister was living a wonderful life with her wife, tucked away in a nice little cottage on the outskirts of town.

Of course, despite Aunt's Lillian's wonderful progress in warming up to Marinette's eldest son, Charles, the woman hadn't quite accepted the fact that her eldest niece was gay. When she did eventually find out about their relationship, she made it very known just how appalled she was and how she very much disagreed with Elizabeth's marriage.

Of course, no one was fazed by the fact that it upset her. Elizabeth was perfectly fine with not associating with their aunt, and Marinette didn't blame her in the slightest. Had it not been for the fact that Aunt Lillian had opened up her heart to Charles, Marinette would have also cut the woman out of her life for good.

But Aunt Lillian accepting Charles as her great-nephew hadn't happened over night. It had taken a lot of time.

Perhaps time was all that was needed for their aunt to have a change of heart regarding same-sex marriage.

So far, it was proving that lots of time would be needed. Aunt Lillian was stubborn (not more stubborn than Marinette, but stubborn nonetheless.) She was very set in her ways and it could be hard to change or rather open her mind if she was unwilling to explore the new possibilities that came with a growing society.

Despite her acceptance with Adrien and Marinette's marriage, she often made jokes about how none of the children she had raised seemed to be following the path she had paved.

Perhaps she had hoped that Krissy and Emily would be a different story.

She would end up being disappointed, to say the least.

Marinette wanted all of her sisters to experience true happiness. Emily wasn't quite at that age yet to show interest in love... but Krissy had, and unlike Aunt's wishes for her to marry a man of nobility, who had riches beyond riches and a title to his name...

Krissy had fallen for a mere carpenter's boy and was meeting with him in secret almost every night. A man who had absolutely nothing when it came to bountiful money.

When Krissy had told Marinette about this, Marinette had been ecstatic for her sister. She wanted her sister to be happy, and if this man made her happy, who was she to tell her they shouldn't be? Of course, Marinette still had to meet this man for herself to deem him acceptable for Krissy.

It was an awkward meeting at first, but then he warmed up to her.

Marinette really liked him for Krissy. They seemed like such a good match for each other.

The problem, of course, was their dimwitted aunt who was set in her extremely old ways.

Aunt Lillian still had Krissy and Emily attending balls. With Emily still being a bit young, she simply attended for appearance purposes, but Krissy was forced to mingle and dance with men who were clearly interested in her hand.

It was only a matter of time before Krissy would be forced to accept one of their marriage proposals. Unlike Marinette, Krissy wouldn't be bold enough to rebel and insist she marry her secret lover, and Marinette knew this was certain.

So, what was to be done?

"Marinette, this is a bad idea."

She spared a glance out of the corner of her eye at her husband, arching a single brow at him.

Adrien swallowed as he searched her face for any ounce of reconsideration. He found none. "I am usually on board regarding your schemes for the greater good, but meddling in your sister's secret relationship (which she clearly wishes to remain a secret) crosses a line."

"You and I both know that if I do not meddle, Krissy will end up marrying some pigheaded sex-hound."

"True as that may be, should you not also respect your sister's wishes?"

Marinette briefly stopped what she was doing to fully face her husband. "As much as I agree with your point, I have to do something. Krissy is not like me—she will not fight for this no matter how much she wants it. She intends to follow the path my aunt has paved for her regardless of what she feels for this man. I cannot let that happen."

"So, where do I fall into play here?"

Marinette simply smirked at him. "You are going to wed them in secret, of course."

"You want me to wed them... against the potential bride's wishes?" Adrien offered her a confused look. "Krissy does not wish to get married behind your aunt's back. That is precisely the reason why I have not done it yet."

Marinette waved off his confusion. "All I need to do is convince her."

"You tried that already. That is when she said she simply did not wish to get married yet."

She huffed and turned to face him again, her shoulders slouched slightly. "My sister does not seem to know what she wants. First, she tells me she is in love with this man, but she will not dare fight for that love. When the proposition to marry the so-called 'love of her life' is offered, lest it be done in secret, she declines because she does not wish to marry him behind our aunt's back. Now, her excuse is that she is not ready for marriage at all. She is confused, I tell you."

"Or, perhaps she wants to take things slow." Adrien advised gently. With a genuine smile on his lips, he added, "Maybe she really is in love with him, but it could be that her hesitance lies in the fact that she wishes to court him properly first."

"Which would be impossible." Marinette let out a defeated sigh at that. "Aunt would never allow Krissy to court a man who has no title or money behind his name."

"What if we were able to convince her?"

She shot him a bizarre look at that. Convince her aunt to have a change of opinion? Were they talking about the same stubborn woman here?

"I am being serious." He said the moment he caught onto the look she had offered him. "What if you and I were able to convince her to give him a chance? Considering we were able to convince her (in a way) regarding us, I think we may have a chance."

That possible chance was definitely on a thin line. She wanted to believe that her husband's idea could be successful, but it was certainly riding on a big what if.

But then again, since when did Marinette ever back down from a face-off with her aunt?

It wasn't guaranteed to work, but if it meant her sister would be happy and more comfortable about her relationship with both her man and her aunt, Marinette was willing to try it.

"Very well." Marinette offered her husband a thankful smile. "What did you have in mind?"

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

"You want me to do... what?" Aunt Lillian asked the room in absolute horror—or more specifically—asked her niece and son-in-law who were currently seated at her dining room table with their hands folded respectfully on top of her best placemats.

"I want you to give this carpenter's boy a real chance..." Marinette repeated as patiently as possible with one of the fakest, most widest smiles she'd ever plastered on her face in her life. "And allow him and Krissy to properly court each other."

"Absolutely not." Aunt scoffed at that, clearly against the idea. "That boy has no money to support her. He does not even have a title to his name. To the common eye, he is a nobody. I cannot possibly allow such a union to occur."

"Aunt, please, they love each other, and he is a good man." Marinette insisted.

"A good man does not make him the right man."

"And you think one of those delinquents from those balls you attend are?"

Aunt Lillian wrinkled her nose in distaste. Clearly she was not a fan of men whom she considered 'noble' being called such. "Those men have the means to ensure your sister has a bright future. What do you think would become of her if she were to marry a man with no money?"

"He makes money, Aunt. It is just not as much as you are used to in your..." Marinette spared a quick look around the mansion she had grown up in. "...lavish life."

"If I may...?" Adrien quickly butted-in politely. He didn't wait for her aunt to accept his interjection before he continued. "Your way of thinking confuses me considering Marinette and I are not living as lavishly as you are... like at all."

Which Marinette didn't mind in the slightest. They weren't rich, but they weren't poor either. They were living comfortably and were perfectly content with their simple lives.

Aunt simply shrugged at that. "At least you have a title to your name, prince."

Adrien chuckled. "I renounced my title and responsibility as a prince a long time ago."

She shot him an aghast look at that, as if she couldn't believe he would do such a (foolish) thing.

"The point is..." Marinette quickly cleared her throat before her aunt could make a comment about that. "He is capable of caring for her with the little money that he does have, and lots of money is not an essential for happiness."

Still refusing to compromise, Aunt Lillian stubbornly shook her head. Marinette would have considered this whole meeting to be entirely in vain, had it not been for her uncle entering the dining room right that second with the morning newspaper tucked underneath his arm.

His eyes widened when he realized they had company. "Adrien, Marinette... I was not aware you two would be visiting today." He spared his wife a brief once over (though they didn't make eye contact), as if he could somehow sense the tension. "What brings you two here?"

Surprisingly, Aunt Lillian remained completely silent on the matter. Marinette was the one to answer her uncle. "We were simply discussing a... courting matter."

Even more surprisingly, her uncle was interested in said matter. "What courting matter?"

"It involves Krissy." Marinette informed her uncle nonchalantly. "She wishes to court a man who is... not a noble."

Her uncle hummed at that, seemingly unperturbed. He pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. "And what is this man's profession?"

"Carpentry."

"I see." Her uncle radiated no visible emotions as his eyes slowly surveyed each and every one of them for a brief moment. Finally, he made eye contact with his wife. "So... let me guess, you are against this union just as you seem to be with everything."

Aunt Lillian's eyes widened in absolute shock. "You, out of all people—a business man at that, should understand my reluctance."

"Enlighten me then, because I do not."

"You cannot possibly agree that carpentry is a worthy profession to support our niece, do you?"

"On the contrary, it is the only commoner profession I highly respect." Her uncle folded his newspaper neatly on top of Aunt's finest placemats. The woman silently grimaced at the sight. "Considering the demand for it is so high, he will never be out of work. I would say, in that case, he would have plenty to support her, in the minimalist of circumstances, of course."

Marinette couldn't help but smirk at that. Leave it to her uncle to stuff her aunt's foot into her mouth.

"So, they can court each other then?" Marinette asked hopefully.

Her uncle simply shrugged and waggled his newspaper open, unintentionally hiding behind it. "I do not see why not."

"Wonderful." Marinette leaned back in her seat and purposely shot a smirk at her aunt. "I am glad we were able to resolve this matter."

"Nothing has been resolved." Aunt stubbornly retorted. "I do not agree to this union at all—"

"You never agree to anything, Lillian." Her husband dryly cut her off. He was still hidden behind his newspaper when all eyes in the room shifted over towards him. "If I had that same mentality, I would have never agreed to marry you."

The room quickly fell into a brief awkward silence. Lillian was left completely speechless.

"Damn." Adrien whispered underneath his breath as he turned to look at his wife with wide, surprised eyes. Marinette equally matched that look.

Their shocked states, along with the silence, allowed her uncle to continue. "Now, the next time I hear about this, I hope to hear that their courtship is doing well."

"Right..." Marinette snapped out of her shocked stupor and quickly stood to her feet. "Perhaps I should deliver the good news to Krissy then—"

"What news?" It was then when Krissy 'coincidentally' entered the dining room. She was looking at them all quizzically, her confusion clearly noticeable. She had a book tucked behind her arms and pressed up against her chest with a checkered blanket slung over her forearm. Apparently, she had just come in from spending the early morning reading outside.

Marinette and Adrien both offered her a sheepish smile, but Adrien was the one to timidly answer her. "We have all convinced your... lovely aunt here to allow you to court the man of your choosing."

Convinced was a... polite word choice. Forced was more accurate.

Marinette's timid smile stretched even further as she added, "Congratulations."

She was tempted to simply burst out in excitement... but Adrien had been right about one thing. Meddling into Krissy's personal business (especially her 'love' business) might not have been the best course of action, and there was a slight chance that her sister might be upset because of it.

But Marinette should've known better. Almost instantly, a wide grin had pulled at Krissy's lips, revealing just how grateful and ecstatic she was by these news.

It was pure happiness, and that was all Marinette had ever wanted.

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Well... that was the last one!

I hope you guys enjoyed these little bonus chapters. It was nice to dive back into this universe and write about these guys again.