Marinette's gaze shook with exhaustion as she put more pins in the dress she was currently making. A pale white dress, meant to imitate a swan; with a long, flowing skirt that looked like it was spilling down from the waist; and small slips of fabrics, cut to look like wings, to cover the breasts. It was a very minimal dress, with just enough censorship to please conventionalists but with the simplistic philosophy of the graceful swan.  Made out of chiffon, organdie and tulle fabrics, known for their sheerness and light weight; it was also wide-spread knowledge that they were a bitch to work with. The fabrics, gorgeously transparent, was also so thin that it made sewing near impossible. To make it worse, this particular dress would be nearly transparent on the model so having to layer the fabrics to make certain  parts unvisible while still trying to maintain the transparent and flowy look of the dress...

Marinette sighed as she raised up from the crouching position she had been in to pin. Feeling her muscles ache and burn and her legs turn to pins and needles, her entire body yelling for her to go home and sleep; so she decided to work on another infuriating white dress. 

Her wedding dress. 

As a designer, she refused to be married in anything other than perfection...even if this marriage was only a prolonged publicity ploy. 

The dress she designed was a backless dress made of a thick, white fabric. Lace crawling up from where it covered her cleavage in a plunging neckline, made a unconventional halter top. The lace wrapped around her neck, with a delicate button connecting the collar. The lace dropped down from her neck in a v-shape until it found her waist; where a wide ribbon, serving as a belt, wrapping around to tie in a bow at the base of her back. From the ribbon, the rich white fabric spilled down to her feet. Carefully ebbing away from the tight cut of the bodice, causing the skirt to have the slightest bell shape. 

She was currently in the process of sewing little jewels into the lace, a small, extremely difficult, detail that she knew would make all the difference. 

The dress was beautiful. Impeccable workmanship and skill. Flawless. 

But it wasn't hers. 

Or more like, it shouldn't be hers. This dress, this wedding...Adrien....she couldn't help but feel as if this was very wrong.  Consumed with her thoughts, she didn't pay attention to the jewel she was sewing. 

"Ouch!" Marinette exclaimed as she jerked her finger back to see the droplet of blood beginning to form at the tip of her finger. 

"It's out of the ordinary for you to prick yourself, Miss Dupain-Cheng." A voice, emotionless and professionally distant answered her cry of pain. 

Marinette whirled around to see Gabriel Agreste, standing poised, with his hands behind his back. Her stomach sinking and dread welling up to sit, lodged in her throat but she forced herself to smile. 

"Good evening, Monsieur Agreste." 

"And to you, Miss Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel responded as he began to circle around her workshop. His attentive eye sweeping over her designs and works-in-progress. Although he hadn't said anything; his cold and disapproving demeanor soaked through her sweater, causing her to shiver. 

"These are very skillful works, Miss Dupain-Cheng." 

"Thank you, sir." 

"Ah, is this you wedding dress?" 

Yes, sir." 

And the following bridesmaid's dresses?" 

Yes." 

He crawled around the space once more, pausing in front of her wedding dress. His hand hesitant, almost as if he was afraid,  when he came up to touch the fabric of the skirt. 

"You know, Miss Dupain-Cheng...I really do appreciate what you're doing for us." 

Marinette made some noncommittal noises as she ducked back into working on her wedding dress, knowing Mr. Agreste wouldn't mind. 

"I know this probably isn't how you pictured you would get married. And trust me, when I say that you deserve of all you dream. You're one of my best designers after all." 

Gabriel paused again, still stiff and poised. Marinette saw indecision cross his face for the first time in her life. 

"Miss Dupain-Cheng....Marinette...I, well, er, I mean..." 

"Mr. Agreste, if there was something you would like to say, go ahead." She tried to say as gently as she could with pins in her mouth. 

Marinette watched out of the corner of her eye, as she saw one of the most iconic and influential men of fashion, slump onto her workbench. Looking like the pure image of defeat, with his face in his hands and his constructed walls crumbling. 

"I--The company is failing, as well as my health. I need to pass it on to Adrien, but if things keep going like they are, there won't be an Agreste Fashion company. Adrien...his future is in this company, your future is in this company.All the employees... I-I don't know what to do anymore." 

"With all due respect, sir,  Adriens' and my future do not depend on this company." Marinette said as she spat pins in her hands. "I choose what I make of my future. And it may be time for you to let Adrien." 

"The boy doesn't know what he wants, he has no idea what the world is really like!" 

"Yes, that's true, but that's because he has never been allowed to." Marinette managed to squeak out in a mildly dignified manner. She took a deep breath as she could literally feel Gabriel's head jerk up. She watched in surprise as Gabriel slumped again. 

"You may be right, but its too late now. I've tried to manage his life, so it didn't end up like mine.  The world is harsh, emotions are just a false diversion in the cold reality. I wanted to try to protect him after I realized...." 

"Tried to protect him, or tried to protect you, sir?" 

Gabriel didn't answer. His head still buried in his hands. 

"I don't know." 

With a simple phrase, Marinette had her answer. She nodded grimly, though unseen to the fashion head. 

"I did not agree to the marriage for the company. I didn't agree to save it, or even to save you, Mr. Agreste. I agreed because I know that this could hurt people I care about. I'm guessing you haven't told Adrien the extent the Monteau's are willing to go?" Her question was met with silence. "You haven't told him about how black this rivalry is?" Another silence gave her an answer. " I know that the Monteau's are not afraid of bribery, black mailing, threats and sabatoge. I know that the Monteau's put everyone in danger. As well as Adrien. This wedding, as fake and petty as it is, will ultimately protect those people right?" She asked, her voice hardening. 

"That is the idea, yes." Gabriel responded, straightening up. 

"Then I will marry whoever I have to, to keep them safe. I no longer tolerate anyone pushing me around, and if you want to protect Adrien as much as you say you do, I would advise you to do the same, Mr. Agreste." 

Gabriel looked up at her, something unreadable in his eyes. 

"Maybe this marriage is something arranged by fate, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I think you and Adrien could both benefit from learning from each other." 

Gabriel stood and turned towards the door; donning his frigid and indifferent personality once more. 

"I expect the full, completed designs of your winter line on my desk and exhibits of your progress so  by Monday." 

"Yes, sir." She replied cheerily. Marinette was relieved to hear Gabriel back to his old, uncaring self. 

"Oh, and Marinette?" Gabriel called back over his shoulder as he left her workspace. 

She made a muffled sound as she had pins in her mouth again. 

"Your wedding dress is lovely." 

Adrien collapsed on his bed in exhaustion. Letters, numbers and wedding colors seemed to swim in front of his eyes. But keeping his eyes open was a much better option than closing them because the alternative....left him thinking of Marinette. 

Marinette and her gentle acceptance. 

Marinette and her calm composure. 

Marinette and her understanding mannerism. 

Fuck.

It infuriated him. Why wasn't she more upset about all of this? Why was she just playing the game by the rules? When she never has before? Why did she no longer have the courage to challenge things that weren't right? 

You only want her to stand up and do what you can't. His subconscious whispered. But you don't know her, and maybe you never have.

He made a pitiful noise as his thoughts turned miserable.The wedding was tomorrow, and he was no where near ready. 

Consumed with his thoughts, he drug himself out of his bed and began to clean his en suite apartment. If he still had to live with his dad, he at least wanted some place to call his own.  Restlessly cleaning and just making a bigger mess than before, Adrien threw himself back onto his bed, only to repeat what he knew would become a vicious cycle. With his thoughts ripping his mind and sanity apart and his body confused with the desire to move and the desire to stay still; he felt himself being pulled apart into pieces. Pieces he didn't (and never has) have any control over. 

Picking up his phone to scroll through social media, trying shamelessly to distract himself but only found that the ever occurring emails popping up to be just as stressful. Adrien sighed and closed out of his social media, and opened up his contacts instead. He scrolled down to the M's until he found Marinette. Staring at her name and number, he wondered (for the upteenth time) what his future held. What their future held.

 Him and Marinette. Marinette and him. 

He sighed again, contenting himself to click out and going back to surfing social media restlessly, when his thumb accidentally hit the call button. 

Adrien didn't realize he could still squeal like a teenaged girl, but as his (bad) luck would have it, he learned quite a few things that night. 

He danced around his room in a full frenzied panic, trying to push the end button, and praying that she didn't pick up. 

"Hello?" 

Shit. 

He  dropped the phone.

He stared at the phone for a minute, frozen in both fear and the pure ridiculousness of the situation. 

"Hello? Adrien?" 

You have to answer. You called her after all. Just pick up the phone and say hello. 

His hands shook as he reached down to pick up the phone and hold it to his ear. 

C'mon, Agreste, you can do this. Its just a little phone call. Sure for the past year or so, you've only taken business calls. And sure, you haven't acutally had a personal phone call in years since Nino hasn' gotten any service at his job sites. But you got this, Agreste....WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU KIDDING? YOU CAN'T DO THIS! HANG UP! TEXT HER IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! EMERGENCY PROCEDURES PEOPLE! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT THIS IS NO--

"Hello, Marinette." 

"Hello, Adrien." He could hear amusement as well as confusion lacing her voice through the phone. 

"I'm sure you're wondering why I am calling you so late." His voice professional, as if he was talking to a client or a business. 

That's right, Adrien you can do this. 

"Well, I must say, it has crossed my mind." The amused lilt in her voice told Adrien that he hadn't completely screwed things up. Yet. 

There was a pause, Marinette obviously waiting for him to continue. 

"Um..." 

Oh yes, Adrien Agreste, was the picture of eloquence. 

"Adrien...are you nervous? About tomorrow?" He could hear the hesitancy in her voice, her uncertainty. He had made things terribly awkward between them, so now he had to try and fix it. After all, they were getting married. 

He pushed out the breath he was holding. Laying back down on his bed, he tried to craft together all of what he wanted to say. 

"Yes."  Ah yes, brilliant. 

The line was quiet again. Just as he was about to elaborate, her voice filled the line. 

"You know, if you really hate the idea of marrying me, we don't have too. I'm sure we can figure something else out if you really don't want to marry me. I don't w--" 

"Marinette," He interjected quietly, " Its not necessarily that I don't want to marry you. Its just...I'm just really done having my life controlled. An arranged marriage... I always thought that, maybe, my father would allow me to pick who I marry. I never thought he would go so far as to micromanage who I marry as well." 

At the silence of Marinette, Adrien's eyes widened as he realized how offensive that came across as. He immediately backpedaled; 

"Er...n-not that I me-meant, that, that you aren't a w-wonderful girl to m-marry. And you-ou' re gor-gorgeous, Marinette! And amaz-zing, b-b-but I only meant--" He was cut off by her laughter. Bewildered by her reaction, Adrien could only manage to make stuttering noises into the phone. In between bouts of laughter, he could make out; 

"I never would have thought," guffaws of laughter, "that the famous model...Adrien Agreste..." more fits of warm laughing, "would be stuttering... over a phone call with me." 

Adrien pouted as she continued to laugh, seeming unable to stop now that she had started. 

"Hey! Its not that funny!" 

"Yes, it is!" She managed through her giggles.

"Nuh uh." If every asked, he would never admit to pouting and arguing. 

"Oh god, Adrien Agreste, did not just nuh uh me like he was eight." 

He tried as hard as he could to keep pouting, but her uncontrollable laughter was infectious, and soon he was chortling along with her. As they climbed down from their giggling high, Marinette was the first one to attempt to get back on topic. 

"Honestly, quit giggling Adrien, I'm trying to be serious. I mean it now....you said you would stop!" They dissolved into a fit of hysterics once more before finally managing to control themselves. 

"Honestly, I'm a little nervous about the wedding as well. You're not the only one who pictured this day a little differently." 

That statement caused his heart to squeeze, her voice had underlying traces of irony that he knew from experience, disguised a much uglier emotion. 

"Why did you agree to the wedding, Marinette?" He asked, all traces of hilarity gone. 

"...I..I already told you, remember? Its to protect people I care about." 

"Marinette, both you and I, know that's not a good enough reason to marry someone. And I know that to even consider this stupid ploy, you would have to have really good reasons." 

"I really do want to protect the people I care about, just not really from a petty fight between fashion companies. This is something so much bigger...Adrien, you've been sheltered you entire life. These...incidents...with the Moneau's is no different. I'm not really supposed to be telling you this but..." Adrien could hear her sigh through the phone. "Adrien, if this was something as simple as a company trying to recruit designers, you know you're father wouldn't be going though this much trouble. You're smart, it'd be near impossible if you didn't at least think something else was going on right?" 

"Well, I've had some theories." He muttered. 

"Yeah, well, as much as I hate to say it, you're theories may be more correct than anyone would like. These Moneau's...sure, they started trying to recruit people but after so many people said no...well, let's just say no one expected how severe the backlash was. Threats, black mail...one of our designers was even kidnapped and held captive for a few hours.Of course, the incident was hushed up in the police department. The Moneau's aren't below bribes after all...Everyone's terrified, Adrien. No one is really sure how far the Moneau's will go...I have friends here, I'm scared for them...I don't know what could happen to them. And there's also the issue of you..." 

"What do you mean "the issue of me?" Adrien interrupted. The nauseating feeling sitting in his stomach increasing. 

"Well..., Mr. Agreste plans on retiring soon right? And the company will go to you... and me, sort of." 

"Yeah, that's the plan." 

"Well, you're already in a lot of danger being the heir and all. And I am a fairly good designer-"

"You're the best Marinette, say it how it is." Adrien interrupted again, growing incredibly frustrated. Why was everyone always dancing around this subject?

"Anyways, together we make a powerful and dangerous combination. The heir to the Agreste company, who is a model with financial and technical expertise, who also knows the company inside and out; paired with a designer praised for her uniqueness and ability to create new trends...it could call for a huge comeback of the Agreste Fashion Company. A comeback could manage to cause the Agreste Line to dominate Paris' fashion again...it's insane really. The Moneau's are scared, and people who are scared can act recklessly. " 

"Then why the fuck are we provoking them?"  Adrien wondered out loud. 

"Our union would make sure that the Agreste Company wouldn't fail--"She started, her tone slow, prepared for him to interrupt again. 

"Ah I forgot, its all about the company." He muttered darkly. 

"Well if the company fails, so do a lot of jobs, so it does make sense." Marinette rationalized.

Adrien made a noncommittal noise before he perked up, a realization had just struck him. 

"But this plan, of making the company stable...couldn't that just be done with us being partners?" 

"Well yes," She said, her tone carrying the hints of irony he heard before, "But then I wouldn't be carry the Agreste name, and the company absolutely can not be sullied with a common name like Dupain-Cheng." Her voice growing cold and distant in her best imitation of Gabriel Agreste.

 Adrien snorted. He had to admit, it was pretty good; 

"Well that's insulting." 

Marinette sniggered before her tone turned serious again; 

"There is one good reason for us to get married instead or just partnering; if we get married, we become the main targets and the Moneau's sights will be focused primarily on us. If we fall, so does the Agreste Company. For us to be married, it protects everyone else." 

Adrien went silent for a few minutes, trying to process everything Marinette just told him. 

"Why couldn't they just tell me all of that before?" He whispered into his hand. 

"They wanted to try and protect you as long as they could." Marinette whispered back. 

"I'm 25 years old! I don't need to be protected anymore!" He protested, voice pushed near to its breaking point with years worth of neglect and hurt. 

"I know, Adrien." Again, her quiet, understanding tone was back. Didn't this girl ever get angry?

He sighed. He knew he shouldn't be taking out his father's bad parenting on her. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve any of this. 

"You don't deserve this, Marinette. You don't deserve to be forced to become a target. You should have you dream and someone who cares so much about you that he never wants to let go." 

"Maybe so, but so do you, Adrien." There was no hesitance in her voice now. Adrien could almost feel her powerful gaze riveting him from within. 

"But that's not going to happen, is it?" He whispered, afraid of the answer he already knew. But, as what often occurred with Marinette, she surprised him. 

"Maybe it will," Her voice soft, hopeful, " Maybe life will somehow work out." 

"You're very optimistic, you know that?" He said as he groaned into his hands. He was rewarded with a warm laugh again. 

"Both a gift and a curse, I am told." 

"By who? You're mom or Alya?" He teased.

"Both." He could almost picture the grin on her face. They shared another laugh, the once awkward silence now comfortable. He looked at the clock and sighed. It seems sighing was the only reasonable reaction he could conjure up concerning his life. 

"Well, its getting late, Marinette. I'll see you tomorrow at the altar?" 

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, my wedding dress is quite exquisite and was a bitch to make, so there is no way I'm backing out now." He could hear the light tease on her voice, but could also hear the unwavering resolve in it too. 

" Hey, Adrien?" The hesitancy from the start of the conversation creeping back into her voice. 

"Hmm?" Adrien was starting to finally feel sleepy. His hmm more of a defense mechanism than an actual answer. 

"I'm still going to keep my promise." 

Although she couldn't see, she managed to put the biggest, goofiest smile on his face. 

"Me too." 

Author's Note: So I imagined all the fluff for this story in my head, but actually writing it down made me realize that I had to actually have a plot to make it all make sense. *sigh*