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Adrien slumped into the classroom, exhaustion radiating off of him. As soon as he reached the desk he and Nino shared, he laid his head down on his arms. “You okay, man?” Nino inquired as he reached his seat. “Didn’t get much sleep last night.” He and Ladybug had been up til early morning dealing with an akuma. “What happened to Adrien?”, Alya asked as she and Marinette arrived. “Didn’t sleep well, apparently.”, Nino answered his girlfriend. “Mari too. Luckily, we brought coffee!” “Hey, don’t you mean I brought the coffee?” Marinette complained. She looked tired, but a lot more energized than Adrien, the human doormat. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Hey, Nino, wake up Adrien so he can have some of whatever rocket fuel Mari brought.” “Mmmph?”, Adrien mumbled. Nino was shaking him awake (thankfully they had arrived early to class so the teacher wasn’t present.) and he was weary and frazzled. “What’s going on?” “I uhhh b-brought coffee. From my favorite cafe. Do you want some? You HAVE to have some. I INSIST. You look really tired. Did you get any sleep at all? You DO look really good, though. Did I say you look good?!? Have some coffee!!!!” Marinette rambled as she all but shoved the cup at him. “You… brought me coffee?” Adrien was still trying to wake up, and that was all he’d managed to process from Marinette’s stammered babbling. “Well, all of us, but yeah. That’s pretty much the gist.” Alya confirmed, twisting in her seat to look at him. Adrien stared at her, gaping, before he snatched the coffee and took a long sip. Immediately, he gained the ‘I’m wired on caffeine and incredibly grateful’ look as Alya had termed it. Putting it down with significantly more energy than he’d had moments ago, his eyes locked onto Marinette. “Marry me.” Marinette.exe has shut down. “... Marinette?” “Meep.” “I think you broke her.”
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“So, milady, what do you want out of life? And, yeah, you don’t have to reveal any hints about your secret ID, but I was wondering, what ARE your plans?” Ladybug and Chat had taken to sitting on the edges of random buildings and talking on quiet nights with no akumas or crime. About anything and everything, as long as it wasn’t private. Ladybug tilted her head as she stared at her partner, contemplating her answer. “I want to be successful, to achieve my dreams. I know I may never be famous, but in my perfect future, I see me, recognized for my work, and maybe married to the guy I have a crush on.”“Moi, my lady?” Chat wore a teasing expression on his face, and Ladybug laughed.“No, Chat. He’s this guy I know, and he is the kindest, sweetest boy you could imagine, but I can’t speak to him without stammering.”“And here my plans involve you and I, happily married and with a horde of little kittens and baby bugs running around.”“Did you just… propose?!?“Well, why not, milady? I think we’d make a cute couple.”“Now, Chat.” Ladybug glanced at Chat with a mock stern expression. “Paw-lease, you may be meow-nificent and a claw-some partner, but I have a feline that says you’re not meant for me… Race you to the eiffel tower!” With that, she jumped up and dashed towards the landmark.Chat jumped up and raced after her, yelling “You can’t just turn down a date with me AND crack FOUR cat puns in the same sentence and then run away!!!”.“Watch me!”And the two chased each other all across paris.
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“So, what are you working on?” Chat asked, leaning on the stairwell and startling Marinette, who hadn’t heard him come in.“OH! Ah, nothing much, just some stuff I’ve been meaning to work on. What brings you here? Is there a problem?”“Nah. Just checking in on my favorite princess.”“Really.” Marinette couldn’t keep the skepticism off her face. “Out of all paris’s citizens, you keep visiting me.” “What can I say, princess? Cats work in mysterious ways.”“Isn’t the saying ‘life works in mysterious ways’?”“Cats, life, what’s the difference?”“Moving on… do you want to look at what I’m working on?”“Sure!” Chat looked enthusiastic, though slightly nervous.They looked at the content of Marinette’s sketchbook, and Chat was impressed. “These are really good.”Marinette smiled, and fiddled with her sketchbook. “It’s always been my dream to be a designer, and I’ve been thinking about applying.”Chat, for some reason, looked smug. “I’m sure you’ll get in.”“You really think so? I-” Marinette was interrupted by a rumble coming from Chat’s stomach. “Are you hungry? Do you want me to get something from the bakery?”“No, I couldn’t possibly.” Chat claimed, but Marinette could see he was hungry, and that was more than enough reason for her to insist. “I’ll be right back with something from the bakery. And don’t you dare move!”True to her word, Marinette was back quickly with a few rolls, and the speed with which Chat ate them made her glad to have demanded he do so. When he finished his first roll, he stared at her with gratitude practically radiating off of him. “That was delicious and will you marry me? As a part of the family I could have twenty four seven access to this wonderful food!” Marinette stared at him a moment in shock, and then started laughing. “You and me? Ha!”“Well, I think it’s a great idea!” He said, pouting huffily before going back to his rolls. He tried to pay for them when he finished, but Marinette shook her head stubbornly. “You save paris and Ladybug every day, the least I can do is feed you.”“Well, if you’re certain..” Chat said, putting away his money. A few moments later, they both heard the chiming of the bells.“Oh, no! I’ve kept you here all evening. I’m so sorry for taking so much of your time!”“Oh,” Chat said, pausing on the stairwell, “Spending time with a pretty girl is never a waste.” He winked, and jumped to the next building, leavinging a flabbergasted Marinette behind.‘Well, he visited me again. And, hey, if Chat can spend time with a civilian in costume, maybe Ladybug should too…’
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Adrien groaned as he collapsed into his chair, combing his hair away from his face with his fingers. He was exhausted, as he had just gotten back from defeating an akuma. Normally, it was fine, but today, the akuma had been after him. Fangirl was normally a sweet girl he’d signed autographs for a few times, but apparently she’d been harassed by Chloe and gotten akumatised. Her abilities involved mind control, so they’d had to fight a mass of minions, and to make matters worse, she’d originally been after him! This had made his job doubly hard.Adrien sighed. At least he was back now, and no one was likely to bother him for a few hours.He surfed the internet for a half hour, reading a few articles on the ladyblog. He loved reading this kind of thing, and it was always interesting to see how people viewed you, when they weren’t aware they were talking about you. Finishing the article he had been reading, he pulled up one about Ladybug. Adrien, shy and oblivious as he was, knew he had it bad. He possessed a gigantic crush, and had never bothered to hide it, but his lady never seemed to return his advances as Chat Noir. No girl seemed to, really. Not even Marinette, who he’d visited last week. She was a kind girl. Not Ladybug, but she had a similar fire, a defender’s spirit.His musings were soon interrupted by, of all things, knocking on the window. He went to look, and was surprised to find Ladybug on the other side. After opening it and letting her in, he asked “So, Ladybug, is there a problem? Another akuma?”“No.” She responded, looking concerned. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You’ve been on the scene for a lot of akumas, and I’m pretty sure Chloe is the only person who’s been targeted more.”“I’m okay. And even if I hadn’t been, your lucky charm fixes everything.” She nodded, still looking ill at ease. “Well, is there anything else? Do you… want to play video games with me or something? Or, um, we could do something else.”She surprised him by laughing. “Video games are fine. Do you have Mecha Strike 3?”“Of course!”Ten minutes later, Adrien was finding himself thoroughly losing. “Ugh! How are you so good at this?”She smiled. “I like video games.” She said, executing one final move and winning the game.“No!” Adrien cried, a hand to his chest. “I think that when you killed my character, you sent me into cardiac agreste!”She snorted. “I think you’ll be okay.”Adrien gaped at her. “You like Mecha Strike 3, save paris, and in your spare time enjoy spending time with me? You are perfect and I want to marry you someday.”Ladybug stared at him, completely flabbergasted. “I’m… not entirely sure how to respond to that.”“Ah…” Adrien scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I just… really like you, Ladybug.”“I like you too, but superheroes aren’t allowed to reveal their identities. And I don’t think it would be fair to start a relationship with someone when they can never know who you are.”Ladybug left soon after, and afterward, Adrien wondered why she sounded as though she was trying to convince herself.
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Ladybug and Chat Noir gazed at each other, locked in the moment. “Are you sure?” Chat asked, legs dangling off the building’s edge. They were sitting side by side, feeling the tension of the moment.Ladybug took a deep breath, let it out, and responded, “Yes. Our purpose is… fulfilled. We’ll still be Ladybug and Chat Noir, but with Hawkmoth… neutralized, there’s no more need for secrecy.”Chat winced momentarily at the reminder. There was a price for going against a kwami's wishes. Once the miraculous was removed, the freed kwami worked powerful magic and erased the person’s memories, leaving them a blank slate. Objectively, it was a good solution. The villain gone, the danger passed, rehabilitation likely… the emotional, illogical side, was that Adrien, already scarred by his father’s frost, had to see him as both an enemy and a confused victim. ‘Enough.’ Adrien reminded himself. ‘Father has no place here. This is about Ladybug and me.’He searched his mind, mental state, thoughts, and came to an epiphany. “We can tell each other our identities, now, and it’ll be safe. Before, I was too eager and you were scared, but… now, we can. I want to tell you, but, then, I’ve always wanted that. There’s no going back from this, so, are you sure?”“Yes. Er, how do we do this?”“How about we detransform with our eyes closed? Here, on this roof, so no one can see us? And we give ourselves five seconds to prepare, and then open our eyes?”“ … Alright.”They both stood, facing each other, a few feet apart. And then, summoning their courage, they closed their eyes and let go. Tossed aside their disguises, their secrets, their hidden lives, leaving themselves unconcealed with only the truth to see. And on the count of five, their eyes opened.They both gasped transfixed. And then, a torrent of words, too many to be understood, began pouring out of them.“Adrien?!?”“Marinette?!?”“What-”“How-”“Why-”“How did I not notice-”“It was so obvious-”“It isn’t possible-”“ENOUGH! Marinette, stop hyperventilating. Adrien, lower your voice. Both of you, calm down. Plagg and I will give you some space, and the two of you are going to talk it out.” Tikki’s voice, normally cheery and sweet, was loud and made them both get ahold of themselves. The two of them sat down in their prior positions, alternating between glancing at the view and each other.“So… Marinette, huh?” Adrien asked. “Er, yeah. Hope you’re not disappointed.”Adrien stared at her in shock. “The two girls I had crushes on turn out to be the same person, who is kindest, bravest, and smartest girl in paris.” He laughed a little, angling his body to face her. “To be honest, I’m a little tempted to marry you, you're so perfect.”Marinette squeaked with surprise, but secretly she was grateful. She’d been building herself up to this, but all her careful planning had been blown away by the revelation that it was Adrien who was sitting across from her. The boy who’d been her friend as Marinette and Ladybug, and who she had befriended both ways in turn. She’d been reeling. Her crush, friends, partner, they were all the same person, and she wasn’t sure what to do with that. The teasing, though, that was familiar ground.“Charmed, I’m sure, minou. But I think we’re a little young, don’t you?”“Ah, my lady.,” Adrien’s smile looked relieved, but with a familiar spark of mischief. “You wound me! But I, your faithful knight, shall wait for you to one day return my affections.”“Don’t hold your breath, you silly cat.”And their laughter was like music spilling out over the parisian skyline.
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Adrien was nervous. Very, very, nervous. This could be the biggest day of his life, and he’d prepared EVERYTHING. This was the night he proposed. Asked Marinette to marry him, no joke or barriers or inhibitions. This was the night he got on one knee and presented Marinette with the ring he had hidden in his pocket. She was his universe, and he wanted to show her that. They were strolling along the river seine, and all was as romantic as he could have hoped.“Marinette? I, ah, got you something. A flower.” Adrien stopped walking and handed a red tulip to Marinette. “Adrien, it’s beautiful! I should-”“Here, let me.” Adrien tucked the flower behind Marinette’s ear, and then guided her to a bench by the river. He took her hand, and gazed into her eyes as he began.“I have asked you to marry me many times. The first was over coffee. The second was hope about our future. The fourth was a joke. The fifth time meant in admiration. Now, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I ask you one final time. No more jokes. No more stray words, no more confusion, no more banter and avoidance.”“I love you. You are my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. You are the world, and I will never love anyone the way I love you.”Marinette gazed at him, eyes shining, as he pulled the ring box out and opened it on one knee.“Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”Adrien waited with baited breath. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she gasped, hand still clasped in his, “Yes!” Adrien slid the silver ring, set with a round blue goldstone onto her finger, and then kissed her. When he pulled back, Marinette whispered, “I love you, Adrien.”“I love you too.” Gazing at his newly gained fiance, Adrien was elated. After all, a red tulip meant a declaration of love, and goldstone meant achieving goals. Marrying Marinette, the love of his life, would be the start of the best stage of his life, and he couldn’t wait to get started.