Marinette was somewhere between freaking out and uncontrollable sobbing. She had no idea what she'd done and replaying their time together over the past couple of weeks did nothing at all for giving her a clearer answer.

Chat Noir had been different. He'd be irritated, short tempered and distant, avoiding her everyday since Christmas Day, even to the point of screening her calls — that was a week ago.

It wasn't as though something like this had never happened before, goodness, everyone knew their relationship was explosive. If not in the 'loved up' PDA way, then in the 'you better run before I skin you alive' way. But this time it felt different — and Marinette was panicking.

She thought back time and time again to what had happened which was different, but nothing came to the front of her mind.

They'd stayed together Christmas Eve — the same as the past three years — they'd woken up together, exchanged gifts with each other before heading off to spend the day with the rest of their families. They'd met once more that evening at the apartment they rented out; snuggling up and completing their Christmas in the best possible way — together.

But when she woke up the next morning, he was gone. Chat Noir had just left without a goodbye and one thing Chat never did was leave without a goodbye. It usually held the routine of cheek kisses, hugs, declarations of love and the classic 'see you later Alligator'.

She'd called him time and time again; yet, the most she got in reply was 'I'm fine, just had a load of things come up. I'll message you when I'm free.' Though they were usually followed by a very bland text message and a photoshopped picture of Plagg eating cheese.

Marinette's nerves were on edge, she was quite sure he was about to break up with her and that the sudden lack of anything from him was a cause for concern. He was never as quiet as this, if anything he constantly pushed himself into her life as many ways as he could.

Cat memes.

Amazon links to Chat Noir merchandise.

Photos of different things that reminded him of her.

Everything was wonderful, so wonderful that she wanted them to finally reveal, to finally come face to face and start their happily ever after.

She loved him.

She loved him so, so much.

Her days were spent dreaming about her life with Chat Noir — cinema trips, ice cream dates, tropical island breaks, marriage, four children — all with the man behind the mask.

New Years was a big occasion for the both of them, they helped with the countdown at the Eiffel Tower before heading to their rooftop and watching the show — hot chocolates in hand bodies snuggled together as they watched Paris enter the new year.

It was magic.

She looked in the mirror, checking out her outfit before grabbing her phone and typing out a quick text to the other blond in her life.

Marinette

Are you still okay to meet?

Adrien

Definitely. At the café?

Or do you want me to come to you?

Marinette

Café, if that's okay?

My apartment is a bit of a mess at the moment.

She looked around her room; pictures of herself and Chat Noir scattered on the bed, the floor, her desk. Used tissues from where she'd talked herself into a worse case scenario, and his jumper placed over her pillow — the smell the only thing comforting her enough to sleep.

Keeping her phone in her hand she headed out of her room and into the open plan kitchen. She'd agreed to meet Adrien after he'd been away for a couple of days and apparently he needed her advice on something very important. Their friendship was one of her favourites, they'd settled into the most wonderful relationship where they could tell each other everything. Yes, there was still a slight tug of her heart to gravitate his way, but it was firmly attached to elastic now, firing her body and soul straight back to her partner.

She adored Adrien, but she adored her partner more.

Adrien

I thought you were cleaning it two days ago.

Marinette

I got distracted 😆

Adrien

Tell your boyfriend he's killing your impeccable hygiene.

Marinette

Cheek! I am hygienic.

I've been having a clear out.

Adrien

Fine, I'll believe you 😉

20 minutes?

Marinette

See you soon.

She locked her phone, placing it in her side bag before heading to get her coat. Maybe Adrien could shed a little light on the male mind... though, the marshmallow that he is, he'd probably tell her to dump the guy and find someone better. She froze at that moment... What if Adrien did tell her to dump Chat? All of a sudden she wasn't sure asking his advice would be the best idea.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Marinette walked into the café and looked for Adrien, pushing onto her tiptoes to peer over the heads of Parisian tourists. The break between Christmas and New Years always sent crowds flocking to the capital in every shape and form, even their usual quiet café had been taken over, much to her dismay.

It also meant there was a chance the two would be snapped together again, another report hitting the headlines about Paris' are they/aren't they couple. Seriously, they needed to leave them alone, both being in committed and wonderful relationships... Well, as long as Chat didn't dump her later, that was. They didn't need the added pressure of TikTok stories and Instagram polls about whether Adrinette was actually a thing.

She continued searching for her ex-model friend, finally finding him in the back with his usual 'avoid the paparazzi' outfit firmly in place. A hat to hide his golden hair, and his thick framed black glasses. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but the look suited him; so much that she thought he actually looked better this way.

Strolling over to the table, she noticed there were already two mugs placed upon it. Her own — a modest hot chocolate with no extras — and Adrien's – high cholesterol in a cup. He really could pack the food and sweet treats away, yet nothing seemed to make a dent in his physique. She wondered how many hours he spent at the gym to look this way. He was like Hercules.

"Hey!" Adrien sprung from his seat when he saw her, moving forward and wrapping her in his arms.

"Wow!" she giggled, "someone's happy to see me."

"I'm just very grateful you could come, I've been needing to talk to someone for weeks."

Marinette laughed and looked at her quite insane friend. She moved to the table, Adrien running around her to pull the chair out, taking her jacket from her to place on the back before pushing her back into the table.

"I'm quite sure you've been in contact with all of your friends Adrien, aren't you being a little dramatic?"

"It's not like that." Adrien moved back to his own seat, messing around in his pockets as he did so.

"I desperately need someone's opinion about something and I don't really want to bring this up with any of the guys, they'll ask too many questions. That's why I've come to you, Marinette. I know you understand."

She eyed him suspiciously as he moved his hands from one pocket to the next, before returning to the first. She watched as her usually suave and grounded friend transformed into a quivering mess before her. Finally, after one last check, he found what he wanted thrusting in forward between them with a rather loud, "Ta daaaaaa!"

People on the tables next to them looked curiously at the display before them, Marinette taking her hands to meet Adrien's and pushing the box back towards him. "That's awfully sudden Adrien, we're not even dating."

He laughed nervously, one hand coming up to his neck in a nervous display of fear. He placed the box down on the table and slowly pushed it over towards Marinette, trying to keep the box away from watchful eyes. She took the small cube off the table and opened it up, one hand flying to her mouth as the other began to tremble.

"Adrien," she breathed out dreamily. The ring sitting in a cushion of love was nothing less than divine.

The stone was pink and the white gold band was immaculately polished; the whole ring glistening under the cheap fluorescent lighting of the café.

"Is this what you've been doing all week?"

He nodded in response. "Yeah," he sighed. "The specific diamond was only available in Italy so I had the ring made there but wanted to go and pick it up myself. I didn't want to risk it getting lost in transit."

She looked once more at the Tiffany cut setting of the ring before closing the lid and sneaking it back to him. Adrien's girlfriend was about to have the best New Year, whereas she might be having the worst.

"When are you proposing?"

"Tonight," he said with a smile. "In our special spot."

Her lips began to tremble as she watched Adrien once again placed the box back, securely, into his pocket.

"Are you okay?" She hadn't realised she'd been staring at the wall until Adrien's gentle hand moved to caress her own.

She shook her head and grabbed a tissue from the table, dabbing under her eyes and blowing her nose unladylike.

"Hey, Mari, come here." Adrien stood and moved around to sit next to her, looping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her body closer to his. His smell and feel was comforting and she melted willingly into him.

"This is going to be the talk of the town if we're not careful."

"City," Adrien corrected, causing a small chuckle to leave Marinette's lips. "And let them talk. I'm not letting my best friend be upset about something. Not if I can try to help."

She sniffed, using the tissues once more to blot down her cheeks and rub off some of the ruined makeup. "I don't think you can, and I don't want to spoil your happy day. Your girlfriend is so lucky to have you."

"Marinette?" he whined, catching onto the fact she was trying to distract him and push her own problems away once again.

"It's okay, seriously." She moved from him and attempted to smile, his eyes showing exactly how fake he thought her smile was.

"Talk to me," he said. "Please!"

She sighed. Adrien has been the only one out of the group understanding about the secret boyfriend, the others sitting in one of two camps: 'fake boyfriend' and 'embarrassed of introducing them to her boyfriend' (bar Alya), only Adrien was in a 'there must be a reason' camp.

He seemed to understand the nature of her relationship in ways no one else could, the similarities of the relationships they'd ended up in being quite coincidental — within reason. She was quite sure Adrien wasn't dating a hero as the majority were in long standing relationships. However, now she came to think about it, there were some things that really were too similar. For example, the night Marinette made bolognese for Chat Noir, she'd sent him home with the leftovers. The next day Adrien appeared with the exact same food.

She considered the possibilities and only one came out clear. Adrien was meeting up with Chat Noir, so maybe he was the best person to ask about this.

"I could do with your opinion about something. My boyfriend has become quite distant and I don't know why? He's gone from being there all the time to not even messaging me back for two days this week. We're meant to be meeting for New Years, but I'm worried he's going to break up with me. I love him so much, I just don't know how I'll cope if he does, and on New Year's Eve of all nights. He's always had abysmal timing." Marinette suddenly felt the weight in her chest lighten, glad that she finally had someone to confide in. Someone who, hopefully, could give her a little clarity.

He pulled her into him again, holding her tightly in his embrace as a hand ran up and down her back. "I don't think he'd do that. He sounds like he's crazily in love with you from what you've told me."

"I thought he was," Marinette replied, her face nuzzling into Adrien's chest. It didn't even phase her that she might be leaving trails of makeup all over his cardigan. One she was quite sure was an expensive cashmere.

"Marinette, people can't change that quickly. Has anything else been off with him recently? It might be that his phone is broken, or he's very busy? Has he gone away anywhere?"

"He never said if he has, and I thought he told me everything."

She looked up into Adrien's eyes and noticed something going on behind the emerald stare.

"I know this could be completely wrong and I swear I'll make it up to you if I put something into your mind that it's not, but..." Adrien stretched one hand behind his neck, and looked at her with slight embarrassment. "Please don't judge me too much for this. But I've been ignoring my girlfriend the past couple of days too. Not because I wanted to, but first there was the travelling and next, I don't want to give her the opportunity to break up with me."

Marinette's eyebrows pulled down. "Why would she do that?"

Adrien sighed, letting out a puff of air as his lips vibrated in effect. "She's really close friends with a guy she was in love with, and even though she always tells me and shows me how much she loves me; I'm worried he's finally figured out how awesome she is and is trying to steal her from me. I know they meet up often and get along well and it scares me."

"Oh, Adrien," Marinette reached over and placed a hand on his. Her heart was hurting for her friend. "Don't forget you do that too with me."

He nodded before continuing. "Also, I'm worried I'll propose over the phone."

Marinette laughed, once more drying her eyes and looking towards her friend. "Hopefully it'll work out for both of us, and by the end of tomorrow we'll be engaged." lol

Adrien smiled in response. "That would be awesome. Now, the real reason I wanted to see you was nothing to do with this heartfelt moment."

"Damn and I thought you'd invited me here to make me cry."

Once again the deep conversation moved itself out of darkness as Adrien made Marinette cry in a completely different way — by practising his marriage proposal.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

After what felt like the longest week of Adrien's life, it was finally time. Time to put on his big boy pants and go and see his girlfriend; his girlfriend who he hoped wouldn't kick his ass and send him sailing off the rooftop for being so distant over the past week.

Speaking with Marinette earlier that day had helped solidify in his mind what a doofus he had been by distancing himself from Ladybug for the past week – well, actually just three days. The first and fifth were used for travelling and during the other three he was too terrified to contact her in case he blurted it out and ended up proposing over text, and that was just not his style.

If he was writing his memoirs he was sure this chapter would be named 'the day Adrien Agreste became a man'. Well, hopefully!

Before making his way to their meet point, he made a detour to the local florist, catching them seconds before closing time. There was no way being awol for the past few days was something she would let him off with scott free; instead, he purchased a colourful array of flowers to soften the blow and, hopefully, it would mean that when he whipped out the ring she would say yes and not yeet the object halfway across Paris.

He was known for his vast displays in front of the crowds when it came to his girlfriend so he was almost certain this wouldn't be seen as more than an act of pure love, not an apology and hopeful avoidance of death by yo-yo.

Purchasing the flowers was followed by a quick, yet stable dash over to the Eiffel Tower, the base for where the fireworks were ignited.

As he sailed over the roaring crowds, he couldn't help but feel lucky to have been blessed with a Miraculous. There weren't many perks but this, flying through the sky, was most certainly one of the greatest benefits. This and the gorgeous woman standing nervously checking her yo-yo. Damn it, he was late.

He could hear the crowds chanting his name as he moved closer, the lady in red looking up with a shocked, wide eyed expression on her face. Maybe part of her expected him to not to arrive? He couldn't exactly blame her for that considering the last time they spoke he'd responded to her 'I miss you' with a simple 'back at ya!' What was he? Five?

The crowd cheers increased as Jagged Stone drew attention to Chat Noir's arrival in the middle of his set.

Flipping into the air and landing beside the old rocker, Chat Noir stood to his full height and saluted the crowd, singing out the last few notes with his favourite artist. Applause broke out, allowing Chat to finally walk over to his Lady and present her the bouquet.

Pulling her into a tight hug, he whispered into her ear the two weakest words in history.

"I'm sorry."

Ladybug pulled back to look at him. Her eyes seemed more glossy than usual, almost like tears were building.

Oh no! He'd made her cry. This was not good.

After a short while she blinked, her eye line moving from him and out into the night sky. Taking her focus onto the crowd as a pain shot through his heart. He hoped, for the love of the diamond in his pocket, these next few minutes would go to plan.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

They sat on their normal rooftop, his Lady sitting on the opposite ledge holding the flowers close to her chest, a position he wanted to be in himself. He allowed her space, positioning himself behind her on the rooftop.

He couldn't help but watch her as the fireworks decorated the blank canvas of the night sky, welcoming all of Paris into the new year. The bright sparkles in the night sky sending signals of hope and joy to those chanting 'Happy New Year' below them.

Fumbling around in his pocket, he reached for the little red box holding the ring. The single stoned platinum band reflected the lights with many different shades of its own. A ring he'd spent the better part of a year finding and designing himself.

He remembered Marinette's overwhelmed reaction earlier and could only pray Ladybug's would be as in awe. He wanted this to be a moment they always remembered, one they always cherished and if he could moisten his mouth to allow him to speak, he was sure it would be.

He'd written over sixteen different speeches, each being practised in the mirror as he prepared for this moment, slight changes which would be triggered by the mood she was in, the face she pulled, or whether she got tearful. It all just had to be right, every variant accounted for so nothing caught him by surprise. If it was going wrong he could quickly divert the subject and, thanks to Marinette's reaction, if she cried he had tissues ready in his opposite pocket. He was ready.

"Chat, have you ever seen something so beautiful?"

Her voice was husky from lack of speaking over the past hour, yet he could still hear the amazement in her voice. Ladybug loved fireworks, yet their glitter and glamour held nothing to her. She was the brightest light in his darkest hour, she was the beacon that led him home. She was everything .

He couldn't take his eyes away. Her red coated body, the look of awe on her face and the way she was still hugging his flowers was everything.

"Everyday, M'Lady, everyday." His voice was suddenly filled with emotions of love and longing as he tried to hold his overwhelmed tears at bay, and as soon as she turned towards him he knew he had found the most perfect moment.

It was now or never.

Amazing artwork by Verabraun_arts

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Ladybug turned around to face her partner, his voice causing her curiosity to spike. She held the flowers tightly against her, praying that these were flowers of love not an early apology for what he was about to do. Just seeing him again increased her desire and longing to be with him; she couldn't live without him.

Noticing the worried look in his face, she began to panic. Oh, no! Was he about to break up with her? He looked pale and slightly sick.

"Kitty?" she questioned, shuffling herself forward a little. Her nose began to prickle as the sensation moved up to her eyes. She wouldn't cry. She couldn't!

The nervous fumbling of her partner didn't go unnoticed as he stumbled onto his feet and kept his hands behind his back. Was he trying to make sure he didn't touch her? Was that something he needed to do to make sure he didn't grovel at her feet? She stood too, looking at him and strangling the life out of the flowers. Any tighter and they wouldn't last the next couple of minutes. He prepared himself to speak and she prepared herself to listen.

"I never used to believe the quote 'The best things in life are free'. It was knocked into me at a young age that you needed fortunes to live and survive, and that money and power were everything. My father preached that to me, trying to make me believe that his way was the only way, that if I wanted to live I needed to conform to his standards, to live life his way. But I knew it was false. I knew that love didn't have a price tag. That was until a small box was left on my table one day." He took a deep breath and she could see in his eyes he was struggling.

Her nose began to increase the prickling sensation, a pressure building behind her eyes, threatening to unveil her emotions to the world. "Kitty, you don't need to –"

"Yes," he cut in. "I do. I really do. That day Master Fu left the Miraculous on my desk, it changed the way I understood that statement — it made me believe it. The best things are free. Freedom. Freedom to live their life as they wish, to have the chance to experience what the world can offer them, and also to meet people who would shape and mould their character. The Miraculous did that for me – Plagg did that for me. Some of the people I met stepped up and raised above themselves. They became friends and allies, they helped us form something great, something special; but then there were also some people who fell short, who I thought were friends but were actually enemies. Changing my perception not only of them, but of my whole childhood too."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She studied him... there was something oddly familiar about the words he was saying.

"The funny thing is life can push you to your limits, but if you look hard enough you can find hope in the eyes of someone you love, someone you know can help you grow into the person you dreamed you'd always be, you fall so deeply in love with them you can't imagine a day without them. Then the if you're lucky, the luckiest person in the world –"

Pulling the ring from behind his back, he held it in one palm and bent down onto one knee, his eyes never leaving hers.

"The person you love decides that they love you back."

As her eyes hit the glittering of the most perfect diamond she'd ever seen, the slow realisation hit her about how similar it was to the one Adrien had practised proposing to her with earlier — speech and all.

Actually, come to think of it, it was the exact same ring and pretty much the same speech. A sudden heat took over her cheeks as she kept her eyes firmly placed upon the glittering gem which she'd already said yes to once today.

The ring which was the invitation to a new life; a life she'd wanted with her partner since she was 16; a life she wanted from before then if the ring was a clue to who her partner really was.

"Is that?" she whispered, one of her gloved hands coming to her mouth, the other stretching out for the box, a shake and a tremble moving down her arm and into her hand.

"I love you more than anything. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I love you Bugaboo, will you marry me?"

"That — that depends on who's asking?" Her voice was quiet, barely heard over the whizz and bang of the fireworks.

After two rather deep breaths, she finally lifted her head. The quantum masking which had blocked them for all these years finally dropped and allowed her to see everything, it was now or never.

"Chat Noir, or Adrien Agreste?"

Ladybug could tell she had caught him off guide, the shake of his hand and tremble in his lips a clear indication he wasn't prepared for this.

"Adrien Agreste? Who? The model? Come on, Bug, you know I'm cooler than him."

Abruptly, Chat Noir clambered onto his feet, his hand reaching for the nape of his neck as his mouth stretched and drew back exposing the bright whites of his teeth.

She shook her head as she smiled back, his mouth turning into an 'o' and his shoulders dropping to a slouch.

"You know? How?"

All his confidence seemed to have evaporated from him, making her want to run and take him in her arms, but they were doing this now, they needed to. It was time the masks fell and they finally met face to face – for the second time that day.

How had she not known it was Adrien? How could she have got 10 years just thinking the similarities between them were coincidental? She was such an idiot!

A panicked look still clouded his face and she realised she'd left him in a rather uncomfortable and unknown position. She stepped forward and took the ring from the box, holding it in front of herself. It really was the most perfect ring, and once again, her eyes filled with tears. He knew her so well.

"Because I've already said yes to you once today." She kept her eyes on the ring as she called off her transformation, the dress she'd spent ages on left hugging her body as Chat Noir stood before her with the widest grin.

"I knew it!" He wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up and spinning around. "It just had to be you, there were too many coincidences."

She giggled as he lowered her down onto the rooftop once more.

"Does it change anything?" she asked.

"Only that it makes me feel more of an idiot than I felt before."

As the fireworks exploded, Chat Noir didn't give her a chance to escape as he moved in and captured her lips with his own. How had she gone through her whole life only kissing one man? Her first and, once the ring was firmly placed on her finger, she was quite sure he would be her last.

Marinette threaded her fingers through his hair, cupping the ring in the palm of one hand, combing the stands and rubbing behind his ears. She felt the purr emit from his chest more than she heard the sound, Chat Noir suddenly realising he was still transformed.

"Ooopss..." muttering his detransformation phrase, Adrien Agreste dressed in a perfectly tailored three piece suit stood before her. The smile on his face overpower any Gabriel outfit available on the shelves. He looked so ridiculously handsome.

She moved her hands back, ready to place the ring on her finger only for Adrien to snatch it back and rest himself back onto one knee.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, for the third time today. Please will you do me the honours of allowing me to become your husband? Will you marry me?"

Marinette stretched down and grabbed the lapels of his suit, hoisting him back up onto his feet and smashing her lips against his.

"Yes," she said, moving to place her forehead against his, her hands still clutching his suit jacket. "Yes, I will marry you."

Adrien slid the ring onto her finger, the crescendo of happy cheers from down below unable to touch the crescendo of love taking place on the rooftop above them. As the fireworks exploded in the grand finale, so did the love between Paris' two favourite heroes. The tabloids for once getting the love story right.

They had found each other, and, as luck would have it, they loved each other back.