Adrien's black Maybach screeched to a halt before the twins' school. The blond stepped out of his car and helped the kids out, attracting a lot of glances from the passerby. Although he didn't regularly model nowadays, he still was a celebrity heartthrob in Paris, after all...

Adrien, seemingly unaffected by the looks he received, waved the kids bye and was just about to get in his car when Blue stopped him, "Uncle, do you have a minute? "

He looked at the boy curiously, "Mmm? "

Blue hesitated for a while, before he took out another folded piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to Adrien, "I found this in my papa's study. It is addressed to you..."

Adrien looked at the paper in his hand. He opened the neat folds and could see the small scripted words on the top, 'Adrien'.

He nodded at the boy in front of him and Blue smiled, before saying, "Take good care of my mamma. " The kid hurriedly darted off and was soon lost in the crowd.

Adrien was left dumbfounded at his words. Standing there motionless for a while, he shook them off and climbed into his car. The engine roared to life.

Adrien drove to the university, his mind occupied by the piece of paper in his pocket...

--------------------------

Adrien,

I am betting that you're feeling very surprised right now, as you are reading this letter.…

I have to tell you something important, and I may not be here to do that. Therefore, this arrangement is the best I could do.

I'll keep this short. I've understood that there's not much time left for me and I want to ask something of you.

I know that you love Mari. I've known it even when you had tried to deny it.
If I die, I want you to marry her. And... I know that she'll fall in love with you with time... But you may have to take the first step for you guys.

After reading this, I request you to meet up with her and tell her what you feel.

This is the last favor I ask of you. I hope that you will fulfil it, Chat Noir.

Yours sincerely,

Luka.
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Adrien sighed softly as he reread the letter for the nth time.

He neatly folded the paper along the creases and flung it on his desk. Luka knew he was Chat Noir! And he was needed to meet her and confess?

His head was spinning from the different thought processes that ran through it simultaneously.

No, no, he thought, he wasn't ready to confess! What if she rejects him? What if she tells him that he isn't good enough for her? He is NOT ready to lose her friendship.

At the same time, he debated, it was Luka's last wish and... it would be wrong to say that he wasn't curious about what she would say.

You never know until you try, right?

Adrien took in a deep breath...

Okay then, it's decided. He would confess to her tomorrow…
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile, Ladybug swung through Paris with her yo-yo. Although Hawkmoth has surrendered, there were crimes in other parts of the city.

And she needed anything to distract her from the letter…

After patrolling for an hour, she detransformed and walked to her house, feeling a little bit relaxed after it. As she locked the door, Tikki flew out, "What happened, Marinette? You're thinking about something..."

The bluenette plopped down on a sofa and sighed, "Blue found a letter from Luka's study... It was addressed to me. It said that he knew something would happen to him and asked me to go to Adrien… I don't know, Tikki... My feelings are messed up... All these years, he has been by my side and I can't even say that I love him with certainty…"

Tikki looked at her with sympathy, "Marinette, listen to your heart. When you think about your future, who do you see with you? Who you can't live without? "

Marinette replied quickly, "Blue, Ames, Adrien, Ma-" her eyes widened in realization of what she had said.

Tikki smiled, "There. You have your answer."

Marinette blushed," I'm 27 Tikki. I can't just go up to him and say that I love him, you know. "

The kwami laughed out loud.

At tha moment, her phone chirped the first few bars of 'Peu-étre'.

She picked it up. Adrien.

Looking at Tikki, she blushed, "Speak of the devil..."

Marinette accepted the call and pressed the phone to her ear, "H-Hello?"

"Hi, Mari. Are you free tomorrow, say… evening? " His pleasant voice was heard from the other side.
"Yeah."

Adrien sounded excited, "Great! I'll pick you up at five thirty. And we can have dinner together, if it's okay with you, that is? "

"It is... "

"Okay. I'm going to hang up now. Bye."

"Mhm."

As soon as the call ended, Marinette smiled at the curious kwami, "He asked me if I was free tomorrow evening. "

"That's great! Maybe you can tell him then. "

"No, I'm not! It's embarrassing! "

"Come on, Marinette. "

Then started another legendary Tikki-Marinette debate that had been continuing since she was just 14…

The rest is history.
---------------------------------
Marinette looked at herself in the mirror.

She was wearing a red collared shirt with rolled up sleeves and deep navy blue loose pants. Her hair was tied up in an intricate braided bun, courtesy of Ames, who loved creating new hair styles on her mother.

Tikki flew over her with a red lipstick in her hand and smiled, "Here."

Although Marinette hesitated at first, she complied.

Ames ran into her room suddenly, making Tikki hurriedly hide in her small makeshift bed.

She shouted excitedly, "Mamma, you look very beautiful!"

Marinette turned around and smiled, "Thank you, baby. "

And then she added with concern laced in her voice, "Will you be fine with your brother? "

The little girl nodded, "Mhm. And I also promise not to tease him about Laura. "

Marinette picked her up and smirked, "Who is this 'Laura' we are talking about? "

Ames mentally facepalmed. Brother isn't going to let her off if he found out. She cursed herself for slipping up.

She looked at her mother whose eyes gleamed with mischief and confidently continued, "First, you have to promise me that you won't tell on me to brother. "

Marinette raised an eyebrow, 'Well, her daughter certainly knew how to negotiate.'

Marinette nodded solemnly, "I promise..."

Ames, feeling assured, said, " Laura Vincent transferred to our school yesterday. She is in our class and she is very very pretty. Although, Laura isn't very talkative, you know? Today, we had a math pop test. You know me, mom, I hate Math while bro always aces it. However, today, Mme. Gilbert gave a really tough question and even he couldn't answer it. No one except her got it correct. So, in lunch, Blue sat with her and asked her to show him how its done. Then, they got talking and I swear I saw him blushing. So, I asked him in the car that does he like her? He said that she's just a friend. On hearing that, Handsome Adri suddenly got a strange coughing fit. However, long story short, I won't tease Blue today. "

Marinette could barely keep herself from laughing out loud when she saw her daughter's comical expression while narrating what happened to Adrien on hearing Blue's 'she's just a friend' excuse.

She put Ames down and strapped a watch to her wrist.

A shout was heard from downstairs, "Mom! Uncle is here! Ames, get the door! My hand is covered with chocolate."

The little girl scurried off and not a few minutes had passed when her squeal was heard, "Handsome Adri! "

Marinette smiled to herself and picked up her purse, with Tikki comfortably sleeping in it...

Adrien was standing at the door and his eyes brightened up when he saw her, "Let's go. "

Marinette repeated to the twins, "Don't go out. I have food in the fridge. Blue, heat it up on the microwave, hmm? "

They nodded and she smiled as she walked out of the house.

Evenings in Paris are beautiful. The street lights starts to glow one by one, although it isn't dark yet. The cáfes and bistros illuminate the pavements and the neon signs are certainly eye-catching. The rain damp streets of October makes the city look like a beautiful painting today…

The two of them engage in small talk as they walk along the streets. Adrien feels nervous, heart pounding in his throat.

Marinette asked, noticing his discomfort, "Hey, you okay?"

He nods and forces himself to talk about a funny incident that happened in the university…

Meanwhile, Marinette's having the same thoughts. Tikki had convinced her that she should confess to him... They've come a long way together. She shouldn't miss out on what could happen just because she's afraid.

Marinette had decided that she'll tell him what she feels...

Today is the day...

Adrien leads her onto the bridge.

Andre's there with his ice cream shop.
Marinette looks at him with amazement, "Did you know that he'll be there? "

Adrien was pleasantly surprised as well. He shook his head. On seeing the two of them, Andre smiled, "Marinette! Adrien! " His voice had a thick French accent.

Marinette smiled giddily and walked over to him; Adrien at her heels.

"How are you, Andrê? "

"Just fine. Do you want an ice-cream?"

Marinette nodded.

Andre took a cone and scooped some ice-cream in it, "Mango that matches his yellow hair and mint for his emerald eyes, you complete each other like day and night; a true love without a disguise. "

Marinette looked visibly flustered and Adrien smirked in his mind. Does his lady have a bit of crush on someone?

But he didn't say anything to her.

Marinette looked at him, "You want one? "

Adrien grinned, "Okay. "

Andre smiled before taking another cone, "Strawberry for the blush on her cheeks, and blueberry for her dark hair, your true love is right in front of you, don't you look anywhere."

It was Adrien's turn for blushing like a red tomato. Still, he managed a smirk and looked at Marinette,"What did I say Bugaboo? Still not confessing your undying love for me? "

Marinette's heart dangerously raced.

He was only joking but it meant something different for her as she was going to confess to him today. She glared at him, "It's a metaphor, stupid. It means that they're very close to you, not literally standing in front of you. "

Adrien ignored her and continued laughing.

Marinette paid the man, despite the repeated protests of Adrien and felt quite smug after giving him an appropriate response to his teases.

Andre smiled, "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. "

The Parisian man walked away, pushing the roller, humming a tune.

Marinette put her hands on the railing and looked at the beautiful pastel coloured sky. Streaks of red, orange and violet decorated the monochrome yellow. The sky reflected on Seine. The river flowed below them, silently, as it had been for ages, witnessing everything. A masterpiece of nature...

Adrien finished his ice-cream and leaned back against the railing, his eyes closed and breathed in the fresh air. He looked at her. A few loose strands of hair escaped from her bun and blew in the wind. Her midnight eyes glazed with the sunlight.

Adrien whispered, afraid to break the silence, "Mari? "

She glanced at him, smiling, "Yeah? "

He gathered all his courage and said, "I... I love you. "

It was a simple statement. A proclamation... Just three syllables, that almost made her cry.

How long had she wanted to hear this from him?

She discovered, a simple 'I love you' can change someone's whole world.

Marinette plastered a calm expression on her face when inside, her heart was beating loud.

He continued, "Will you please be my girlfriend? "

Marinette could no longer restrain her feelings. All those innocent school years and the deep love for him resurfaced in her heart again.
Amidst the happiness, a certain concern poked her mind.

She said with a strained voice,"Adrien, I cannot promise you that I can wholeheartedly love you... not right at this moment…"

Adrien let out a giant sigh of relief that he himself didn't know he was holding in. He hurriedly replied, "That's okay. As long as you're with me... or not with me... It's fine... Are you saying 'yes'? "

His nervous demeanor made her laugh, "Yes. I'll be your girlfriend."

Andre looked at them from a distance and smiled, 'True love. '
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A/N- This is the second last chapter (probably, I might make the next chapter into two parts. IDK). I'm very excited! The last chapter is going to be totally different from what I intended to make. Thanks to @shreeja679, my Sis who I have an exciting love/hate relationship with. 😂
Stay pawsome!! 🐾