Chapter Text
One week later, and Paris seemed to return to normal. Marinette sat in her room and looking over her dress, pushing some of her hair behind her ears as she made sure her embroidery machine was doing what she wanted. Marinette heard her phone ring and saw Adrien's caller ID. Marinette answered her phone and put it on speaker. "Hello?"
"Hey!" Adrien said happily.
"If you're calling about your bow tie, it's done. I'll bring it by when I come over to your house to officially get ready for tonight." Marinette answered, glancing over at her computer where Adrien's bright, neon green bow tie that was decorated with small black paw prints and a gold bell dangling from the center was sitting. "Your bow tie, mask, and clip on cat ears were the first thing I got done for the ceremony tonight."
"What about your stuff?"
"I finished my mask at the same time I finished your's, I'm finishing the embroidery on my dress now, and Alya helped me finish my flower crown yesterday."
Adrien groaned exhaustedly on the other end. "I can't believe that Rena Rouge, Carapace and Bunnyx weren't invited to this thing! I mean, you've seen the mockup Mayor Bourgeois sent us when he invited us! They're literally on the statue!"
"I know." Marinette agreed. Mayor Bourgeois was having a summer mascarade ball at the base of the Eiffel Tower, both to celebrate the world surviving another day and to unveal a new statue celebrating the new team of heroes in Paris and to honor the battle site. Unfortunately for the group of six, only Ladybug and Cat Noir were invited, and they weren't allowed plus ones since, to quote Mayor Bourgeois when he sent the emails to the accounts Marinette and Adrien had set up for emergencies, 'Ladybug and Cat Noir would naturally be coming together, so there was no point in allowing you two to bring a plus one'. "The only reason Chloé is going is because she's Mayor Bourgeois's daughter."
"We're still gonna be doing the other thing though, right? After the statue gets unveiled?"
"My parents have been incredibly busy with that all day." Marinette said, the embroidery machine stopping. Marinette carefully removed her dress from the machine, her fingers tracing the final embroidered ladybug that was on the shimmery pastel pink skirt of dress, a few embroidered daisies scattered on the skirt as well. "Okay... Looks like my dress is finally done..."
"Is it red and sparkly?"
"Sparkly... Yes. Red, no." Marinette said quickly.
"Ladybug? Not wearing red? Unheard of!" Adrien teased.
"Hey, I am allowed to design whatever I want to wear, and I really didn't want to wear red." Marinette said, Adrien laughing on the other end. "My dress has ladybugs all over it though, so it should be fine."
"What color is your dress if it isn't red?"
"You'll see when I get to your house tonight. You're gonna need to zip me into it."
"Come on... Please tell me?"
"Why? You're gonna find out soon regardless."
"... Because I got you something, and I want to make sure what I got you goes with what you're wearing."
"... Well, what did you get me?"
"I want it to be a surprise!"
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Can me give me a main color?"
"... Black... With a little bit of gold and red."
"It'll go with my dress."
"You sure?"
"Positive... Just like I'm positive I'll have some extra height since Chloé got me a giant pair of shoes."
"Giant how?"
"Platform high heels so I can compete with your height."
"Oh God..."
"Exactly. You'll see my dress in..." Marinette said, checking the time on her phone. Marinette's eyes widened as she noticed the time. "That little shit."
"What?"
"Adrien, I gotta go."
"Why?"
"Peter's plane back to America leaves in an hour, and he didn't even come over to say goodbye."
"... You're going to the airport to track him down, aren't you?"
"You know me so well. I'll see you in a little bit, okay?"
"Okay. I love you, Watermelon."
"I love you too, Fleabag." Marinette said, smiling at her phone. "Bye."
"Bye."
Marinette hung up, grabbing a pair of sandals. Tikki flew over from her spot next to Marinette's computer as Tikki judgingly asked, "Are you really going out in public like that?"
Marinette looked down at her bright pink bike shorts and gigantic black T-shirt that said Cataclysm in neon green letters. Marinette nodded once. "Yes. Yes I am. I don't care."
"Okay..."
Marinette walked over to her trap floor and poked her head downstairs, seeing her mother and father move a gigantic cardboard box into the living room. "What are you guys doing?"
"Nothing." Sabine said, Marinette growing suspicious as her father tried to block the logo on the box. "Are you going to Adrien's?"
"No. I gotta head to the airport to yell at Peter real quick, and then I'm gonna come back, gather my stuff, and then head over to Adrien's."
"Alright, just be careful, Topilina." Tom said, a smile on his face as he pointed at Marinette. "Don't text and swing."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "I can't even use my phone capabilities on my yo-yo while I'm swinging, Papa."
"Be careful, please."
"I will, promise." Marinette said, closing the trapdoor. Marinette stood up, staring at Tikki. "You ready?"
"Yup!"
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said, then quickly climbed onto the roof as soon as she was transformed.
Marinette swung as fast as she could to the airport, eventually making her way inside. When she hit the metal detectors, one of the security guards stopped her and asked, "Ladybug, what's going on?"
"I need to go talk to someone. They're leaving on the next plane to New York."
"Oh, is it one of the Avengers?"
"Yes. It's superhero business."
The security guard sighed, taking a step back. "Make it quick, Miss Bug."
"Thank you." Marinette said with a small smile, quickly running through. Marinette ducked into the bathroom and went into a stall, detransforming. When a group of women walked out, Marinette quickly joined them.
Marinette managed to find the terminal for New York, seeing Peter talking with MJ and Ned while some adults and other Avengers mingled nearby. Marinette raised her voice and yelled, "Peter Benjamin Parker, what the heck!?"
Peter froze, slowly looking over at Marinette. "Marinette... How did you-"
"Were you seriously about to leave the country and not tell me goodbye!?" Marinette asked, extremely annoyed.
"I knew that you were going to be busy given the thing and I didn't want to bother you."
"You can always bother me!" Marinette countered, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's not like we trauma bonded or anything!"
Peter rolled his eyes, walking a little closer to Marinette. "I... I didn't want to think of this as a goodbye... Just a 'see you later'."
"I still deserve a goodbye." Marinette pouted.
Peter nodded, holding out his arms. "Hug?"
"I'm gonna miss you..." Marinette said sadly as she quickly hugged Peter.
"I'll miss you too... But remember, this is a 'see you later'. You have my Instagram and my phone number. Whenever you need help, just shoot me a text and I'll be there."
Marinette nodded. "Same here, Grumpy."
MJ got out of her seat, giving some minor explanation to the adults beside her and Ned, walking over to Marinette. "Ya know, I'm actually glad you showed up."
"Really?" Marinette asked. "Why?"
"I'm really not cut out to be a superhero... Saving the world from the multiverse was adventure enough for me. I'm more cut out to be the grounded friend." MJ said, opening her black jacket to show Marinette the Peacock Miraculous, Duusu floating underneath. "Duusu and I talked, and I really don't feel comfortable taking Duusu away from their friends here in Paris. As someone who literally had their memories of a friend taken away, I get the whole... 'Not wanting to abandon the people you care about' thing. Duusu deserves to stay here in Paris. I don't think they'd be happy back in New York with me."
"I am never living that down, am I?" Peter asked.
"No you are not."
"Are you sure about this, Duusu?" Marinette asked, glancing over at Duusu.
Duusu nodded, then looked up at MJ. "MJ and I have already said our goodbyes... I just want you to know that you've been one of the best Peacock Miraculous holders I have ever had the pleasure of knowing."
"Thank you, Duusu... For everything." MJ said, holding out her hands while Duusu sat down, Ned coming to make sure Duusu was blocked on all sides.
Ned dug into his bag, pulling out two small bags of Lego mystery mini figures and handed them to Marinette. "Can you give these to Alya and Nino for me? They helped MJ and I a lot while we were dealing with... Stuff."
Marinette nodded. "I'd be honored."
Duusu closed their eyes, then spit a dark blue blob into MJ's hand. Peter grimaced. "That is so gross, Duusu."
"What is this?" MJ asked, staring at the blue blob.
Duusu cleared away some of the blue blob, showing a blue teardrop shape that almost looked like part of the yin yang symbol. "It's a kwagatama. We may be separating, but that symbolizes how much you mean to me. We'll always be connected. Always have it on you, okay?"
MJ smiled, quickly kissing Duusu on the forehead. "I'll miss you too, Duusu."
Marinette glanced over at the pin in MJ's jacket. "May I?"
"Yeah. I'm ready."
Marinette reached into MJ's jacket and grabbed the pin. Marinette held the pin in her hands as she said, "Adrien and I will personally make sure that Duusu goes to someone who will give them nothing but care and affection."
MJ nodded. "Thanks Marinette."
"It's the least I can do for you guys helping me defend my city." Marinette said, hearing a voice over the intercom. Marinette took a step back. "That's your flight. You guys gotta go."
Ned smiled and nodded. "See ya later, Marinette."
"I'm sure we'll hear about you and your adventures later." MJ said, waving goodbye as she stuffed the kwagatama into her pocket. "We all know that you and Peter are gonna be in constant contact."
Marinette quickly hugged Peter again, Peter hugging her back. Peter took a step back, waving goodbye. "See ya around, Birdy."
Marinette waved goodbye. "Next time you want to break the universe, remember to take me with you, okay? I kind of have some experience with that topic of expertise."
Peter laughed, grabbing his bag. "You're at the top of my list, promise."
Peter turned around and walked onto the plane, Marinette taking a deep breath to stop herself from crying as he boarded the plane. Tikki asked from underneath Marinette's shirt, "Marinette, are you okay?"
Marinette nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Let's just grab our things for tonight and go back home."
Marinette snuck back into the bathroom and retransformed, then swung back home. She quickly grabbed a dress bag and stuffed her dress inside along with Adrien's bow tie, then grabbed the bag she had packed that morning that had her makeup bag, her phone, a spare change of clothes, her shoes, her headband, and her straightner inside. Once she had everything gathered, Marinette climbed back out of her room and swung to Adrien's house.
Marinette knocked on one of the windows to Adrien's room, Adrien already wearing his shiny black dress shoes, black slacks, and black button down that was tucked into his pants. Adrien quickly opened the window and Marinette jumped inside, detransformed as soon as she landed. Adrien smirked as Marinette stood back up. "Hey you..."
"Hi." Marinette said, quickly kissing Adrien on the lips.
Adrien glanced down at Marinette's shirt, a small smirk on his face. "A fan of mine?"
"Oh please. Don't act like you don't have merch of me too." Marinette said, rolling her eyes.
Nathalie poked her head into Adrien's bedroom, a relieved smile on her face. "Oh good... You got here alright."
"Everything okay?" Marinette nervously asked.
"I... I just want to talk to Adrien about something, and I wanted you to be here for emotional support."
"Seriously Nathalie, is everything okay? You look a little sick." Adrien asked, starting to grow concerned.
Nathalie nodded. "I've been putting this off for long enough. Can you two come with me? This won't take too long, I promise."
Marinette nodded, setting down her things as she and Adrien started following Nathalie downstairs. Nathalie led them to what, at one point, was Gabriel's office, but now looked like a music room. The grand piano that Marinette had once remembered being in Adrien's room was now down here, along with a bookshelf of thick binders on the bookshelves. The one part of Gabriel's office that remained was the portrait of Emilie, watching over the piano with a gentle smile. Marinette glanced over at Adrien and asked, "Why are we in the new music room?"
"Beats me." Adrien said honestly. Adrien watched as Nathalie typed a few things on the painting of his mother, the floor opening up to reveal stairs. Adrien and Marinette took a shocked step back. "Nathalie..."
"I can explain when we get down there. Please... Just trust me, okay?" Nathalie said, descending down the stairs.
Marinette and Adrien silently followed behind, letting Nathalie lead them further downstairs. Eventually, after they had been walking for what felt like forever, they entered an underground garden, a bunch of flowers laying in the center of the room. Marinette walked over and studied the pile of flowers, noticing the way the flowers were growing. They were growing out to the side instead of straight up, almost like something had forced them to grow that way. Marinette took a step back and saw what looked like the faint outline of a body in the flowers. "Nathalie... Who was laying here?"
Nathalie took a deep breath. "Emilie."
Adrien's eyes widened. "I... I beg your pardon?"
"Look, I don't know the full story, and I'm not going to pretend to know the full story." Nathalie said carefully as she walked closer to the flowers. "When... Before your father got arrested, Adrien, he asked me to carry on what he had been doing. He said that if I went down here, I'd have all the answers. When I came down here, I saw your mother laying in those flowers and she had this pin on her that looked a peacock or something..."
Marinette opened her hands, showing Nathalie the Peacock Miraculous. "This?"
Nathalie nodded. "He... Gabriel wanted me to use that so I could bring Emilie back, but... But this was really creepy and stalkery and I couldn't. The first thing I did was get Emilie's body out of here and get her into her family's crypt in England. Amelie helped me with it and promised not to mention anything to you or Félix until I told you."
"So you were the one who threw away the Peacock Miraculous?" Marinette asked.
"I couldn't let that be a temptation." Nathalie said, bowing her head down. "Adrien... You were just figuring out life without your mother and your father had just gone to jail and... And you need one stable thing in your life. Emilie deserved to be at rest. I wasn't going to turn your life upside down again. I would have told you sooner, but I didn't honestly know how. You being Cat Noir has made this conversation a little easier, but not by much. I am so sorry I didn't tell you earlier and-"
Adrien interrupted Nathalie with a hug, Nathalie pausing mid sentence and hugging Adrien back. Adrien smiled and said, "I get it, Nathalie. You made the right call. It's okay."
Nathalie let out a relieved breath, tightening her grip on Adrien. Marinette glanced over and asked, "Is emotional support needed, or what?"
Adrien laughed, letting go of Nathalie. "Emotional support is always needed."
Marinette smiled, walking over to Adrien and giving him a quick hug. Nathalie nodded once, then checked the time on her watch. "You two seriously need to finish getting ready for tonight."
Adrien nodded, releasing Marinette. "You're gonna take our bags over to Wanda's apartment, right?"
Nathalie nodded. "I have it all under control."
"Excellent." Adrien said, glancing over at Marinette as they quickly walked back the way they came. "Do you want me to chill in my room while you're getting ready or-"
"Don't you still have homework for your music class that you need to do, young man?" Nathalie interrupted. Adrien nervously nodded. "I'll help Marinette get ready. You finish what you need to do, and she'll meet you downstairs."
"Fine, fine. Can I at least grab my mask, my blazer, my ears, and the thing I got for Marinette out of my room first?" Adrien asked.
"The thing, or... The thing?"
"There's more than one thing?" Marinette asked nervously.
"No... The thing I'm referring to is for right now... The thing you're referring to is for later."
Nathalie's eyes widened as she nodded. "Right, right, I'm supposed to-"
"Exactly." Adrien interrupted.
"What are you planning, Kitty?" Marinette asked suspiciously.
"All in good time, M'Lady." Adrien said, smiling at Marinette. "You trust me, right?"
"With my life."
"You'll figure it out later tonight, I promise. You just actually get ready. I'm mainly there... I just have to put on the cat ears, the mask, and my suit jacket."
"I can help you with the cat ears." Marinette said quickly.
"Get ready first."
"I will, don't worry." Marinette said as they resurfaced above ground. "Get your stuff, then focus on what you need to do for your summer class."
"I will, I will." Adrien said, he and Marinette walking upstairs to his bedroom.
Marinette dug into the bag she put her dress in and pulled out the bow tie, handing it to Adrien. "One bow tie, as promised."
Adrien smiled as he turned the bow tie over, the bell in the center jingling. "I love this so much..."
Marinette smiled, grabbing her dress bag and her actual bag. "I should probably get ready."
"Hold on... Can I keep the Peacock Miraculous on me?" Adrien asked as Marinette started walking over to his bathroom.
Marinette nodded, setting her things in the bathroom and handing Adrien the pin. "MJ relinquished her title. I promised her that Duusu would go to someone we trusted to take care of them."
Adrien nodded, turning the Miraculous over in his hands. "I think I know just the right person..."
"You do?" Marinette asked. "Who?"
"It's a family matter." Adrien said teasingly.
Marinette smiled, knowing instantly who Adrien was thinking of. "I may not know him that well, but I think Félix would do a great job taking care of them."
"I love that we're on the same wavelength." Adrien said with a goofy smile on his face.
Marinette laughed, lightly pushing Adrien back. "Go. I have to get ready."
"I know, I know." Adrien said, watching as Marinette closed the door to his bathroom. Adrien grabbed his black suit jacket, his solid black mask, the black fabric cat ears Marinette had attached to a gold metal headband, and pulled a small black box out of his desk drawers.
Adrien walked back downstairs to the music room and over to the bookshelf of binders, grabbing the one with a green paw print on the spine and pulled it out. Adrien flipped to the first few pages, sat down at the grand piano, and grabbed the pencil that was sitting inside to start writing down a few notes. When he had enough, Adrien tapped the notes out on the piano to make sure it sounded right.
Adrien didn't know how long he was doing this for, playing simple notes and writing down corrections if the notes sounded wrong. After a while, Adrien heard Marinette's voice ask, "So... How do I look?"
"With your eyes." Adrien said sarcastically. He didn't even need to turn around to know Marinette was giving him her usual annoyed pout. "I'm joking."
"Well, does this look okay?" Marinette asked again. Adrien turned around and saw Marinette's pastel pink dress, the skirt decorated with small embroidered ladybugs. Adrien noticed the slit in the skirt, showing the matching pink high heels. Adrien's eyes drifted up the simple pink bodice of the dress to see Marinette wearing her usual Ladybug mask and a small headband decorated with pink flowers and small ladybugs resting on the flowers. Marinette lightly fluffed up her pin straight hair before readjusting the skirt of her dress. "Is it too much?"
"You look amazing." Adrien said, getting off the bench and walking over to Marinette. Adrien held up the cat ear headband and asked, "Can you help me with my hair after I put this on?"
"Yes." Marinette said, walking over and grabbing his bow tie. Marinette unhooked the tie and walked back over to Adrien, popping his collar and putting the bow tie on. Marinette smoothed Adrien's collar, smiling to herself. "Good... This looks good."
"Are you kidding? My favorite designer made that. Of course it looks good!" Adrien said happily, leading Marinette over to the piano. Adrien grabbed his mask and put it on as he sat down on the piano bench, Marinette's head tilting as she tried to mess with Adrien's hair to better hide the clear elastic string that was keeping the mask on.
As soon as Marinette felt satisfied with that, she grabbed the cat ears and put them on Adrien, using her fingers to push Adrien's hair out of the thin metal strands to try and hide that slightly. Marinette took a step back, then nodded. "Okay... Looks good."
Adrien smiled, Marinette's eyes drifting over to the binder that was resting on the piano. Marinette asked, "What are you working on?"
"The first assignment we got was to transform any piece of music we wanted." Adrien said, getting off of the bench to grab his blazer. He tapped the binder before he walked away. "That look familiar?"
Marinette's eyes narrowed as she focused on the sheet of music, eventually shaking her head. "Adrien, you know that I have no idea how to read mus-"
Marinette paused when she felt something cold on her neck. Marinette looked down and saw what looked like a black circle with cat ears and a tail dangling from her neck, a gold bell in the middle of the black circle. "Did you seriously get me a Cat Noir necklace?"
"Look at the tail."
Marinette lightly tugged down on the necklace to get a better look at the tail, smiling to herself when she saw a small red ladybug resting in the curve of the cat's tail. Marinette turned around and gave Adrien a quick kiss on the cheek. "I love it. Thank you."
"You're not lying?" Adrien asked for confirmation. Marinette shook her head. "Good... I saw that when I had to go with Nathalie to check up on the different Agreste stores in the city the other day, and I thought of you."
"I love it." Marinette repeated.
Adrien smiled, grabbing the binder back from Marinette and set it up on the piano before sitting back down. "This really doesn't look familiar?"
"I can't read music, Adrien. I have no idea what that is supposed to sound like."
"Maybe this will help..." Adrien said, resting his fingers on the piano. Adrien pressed down on a few keys as he started playing.
Marinette listened to the opening notes of the song, her eyes widening as Adrien started playing a familiar repeating melody. "You wrote down that melody?"
"Not me." Adrien said, pausing and pointing to a block of text in two different versions of handwriting. "Read this."
"Okay..." Marinette said, leaning over Adrien's shoulder and squinting her eyes. "'In The Rain Measures 1-22 composed by... By Emilie Agreste'. Your mother wrote this?"
"It was the last thing she was working on before she died. I didn't recognize it right away, but... This is part of why it sounded so familiar. My mother wrote it." Adrien said, tapping the sheet music again. "Read the second part."
"'Measures 23-End composed by Adrien Agreste'." Marinette read out loud, sitting down next to Adrien. "You're finishing your mother's song."
Adrien nodded. "Yeah. I'm workshopping it all now, but I have a good start. It's the definition of a work in progress. I need to finish writing this before Monday since we're supposed to come in with this already finished."
Marinette smiled at Adrien, giving him her full attention. "Play me what you have so far. We have time to kill."
Adrien nodded, staring at the music and starting to play what he had written. Marinette sat in silence as Adrien played, helping him out by flipping the music for him. She felt a little calm as Adrien played, the calm after the storm. It sounded like a gentle rain was falling over her. When Adrien got to the end of what he had written, Marinette clapped. "Yay..."
"Thank you, thank you, I am here for the rest of your life." Adrien said, jokingly bowing. Marinette laughed, Adrien resting a hand on top of Marinette's. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Marinette. Seriously. I don't know how I got so lucky to be dating you."
Marinette smiled, quickly kissing Adrien as she noticed Nathalie walk into the room. Marinette leaned back and asked, "Time to go?"
"Yup." Nathalie confirmed. "You're spending the night at Marinette's house, right Adrien?"
Adrien nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Okay... I'll go drop off your overnight stuff at Tom and Sabine's." Nathalie said, smiling. "You two enjoy tonight before you head over to Wanda's. This is your moment."
Adrien got off of the piano bench and held out a hand to Marinette. "Ready to go?"
"As I'll ever be." Marinette said, taking Adrien's hand. Marinette stood up, quickly adjusting to her height, before muttering to herself, "Why do you have to be so tall?"
Adrien laughed to himself before commenting, "Blame genetics, I guess."
Adrien and Marinette made their way back up to Adrien's room and walked over to the window. Adrien took initiative and opened up the window while Marinette transformed. As soon as she was done, she and Adrien swapped places so Marinette could keep the window open. Adrien quickly transformed, giving Marinette a thumbs up. "Bounce?"
"Bounce."
"Have fun, you two." Nathalie said as she watched Marinette and Adrien leave.
Marinette and Adrien quickly made their way to the ceremony at the Eiffel Tower, Marinette pausing for a second when she saw a red carpet leading into the party. Adrien glanced over and asked, "Are you okay?"
"It is just now occurring to me that I have never been on a red carpet before... And neither have my designs." Marinette stated, blinking a few times. "Okay... This is fine..."
"I'll be right there. Just follow my lead. Smile, talk to the interviewers, and go with the flow." Adrien said with a calm smile. "I've done this thousands of times before, remember?"
Marinette nodded. "If I get too anxious, take over."
"You got it, Bugaboo." Adrien said, the two landing on the ground in front of the red carpet.
Marinette and Adrien detransformed, Plagg and Tikki immediately flying into Adrien's suit jacket before they took a few steps onto the carpet. Photographers instantly started calling their attention. Adrien put an arm around Marinette's waist to guide her to the cameras, Marinette blushing as she posed for the pictures.
As they kept walking towards the entrance, Nadia Chamack waved Marinette over. Marinette took a deep breath as Adrien got summoned by another interviewer. Nadia smiled and said, "And here is one of the stars of the show, Paris! Ladybug, how are you feeling tonight?"
"Currently? Extremely anxious. This isn't exactly the same as addressing the media after a fight." Marinette admitted, laughing nervously. "All of this... It's a little overwhelming."
Nadia laughed. "I have to say, that is quite the dress you're wearing! I don't think I've seen anything like it!"
"Oh, thank you." Marinette said, readjusting the skirt of her dress. "Cat Noir and I recently got acquainted with this up and coming designer, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and she agreed to make our outfits on such short notice."
"I know Marinette! She babysits my daughter, Manon! She made this?"
Marinette nodded. "Yeah. My one request was that I didn't want to wear red because despite how much I like red, it is not my favorite color. I told her that I liked pink, specifically cherry blossom pink, and she rolled with it. We still wanted to make sure everyone knew that I was Ladybug though, which is why she decided to embroider all these ladybugs on the skirt."
"Well, it's absolutely gorgeous, and you look like a vision wearing it."
"Thank you so much. I'll tell Marinette you said that if she isn't watching the news already."
"How are you feeling about all the chaos that's been going on this past week or so? That battle looked terrifying from where I was sitting."
"Oh trust me, it was even scarier being there." Marinette said, glancing down at the sky. "To be frank, Nadia, I am just... So thankful for the team that Cat Noir and I created, I'm thankful for the Avengers coming here to help us, I'm thankful for the friends I've made, both new and old, and I'm thankful that everyone made it out safely."
"Especially Cat Noir, huh? I saw the way he was posing for pictures with you."
"I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for him. Cat Noir is my rock and not including my parents, he is the one I am most thankful for." Marinette said, glancing over at Adrien while he was talking with the other interviewer. Adrien smiled, quickly making a heart with his hands in Marinette's direction. Marinette did the same, a photographer quickly getting a picture of the two. Marinette smiled as Adrien mouthed 'love you' to her, Marinette doing the same.
"Looks like things are still going well between you two." Nadia commented.
"Better than ever." Marinette admitted. "We're just wishing that the rest of our team could have been here with us, but we both know that Rena Rouge, Carapace, Bunnyx, and Queen Bee are here with us in spirit."
"Well, congratulations on this accomplishment and on behalf of all of Paris, thank you for protecting us."
"Thank you for interviewing me." Marinette said with a smile, quickly moving on.
She got stopped by a few more interviewers, but once she got inside, Marinette grabbed two champagne glasses and stuck to the outside of the party. Adrien walked over to Marinette as soon as he was released, Marinette handing him a champagne glass. Adrien smiled. "Thanks Bugaboo."
Marinette smiled back, taking a sip of her glass. "How'd the interviews go?"
"It gave me deja vu from doing interviews for my father, but I'll live." Adrien admitted, taking a sip of his drink. "The bow tie was a smash hit. A lot of people liked it."
"Good, good." Marinette said, nodding her head.
"How'd your interviews go?"
"People like the dress... They mainly asked about how I was feeling, about you, about the fight here, stuff like that. I tried not to give too many details."
"Yeah... Most of my interviews were me gushing about you... There were quite a few where I kept saying that you look stunning and gorgeous and all that, so be prepared to see that pop up on your feed." Adrien admitted.
"Consider me prepared."
"Hey guys." Chloé said, walling over wearing a simple yellow floor length dress, her blonde hair twisted into a bun and the Bee Miraculous keeping it in place.
Marinette smiled. "Hey."
"How do you still look tiny, even when wearing the tallest shoes known to man?" Chloé asked, noticing Marinette's shoes.
"It's a gift, I guess." Marinette said, shrugging.
"You two are still heading over to Wanda's after this, right?"
Adrien nodded. "As soon as that statue is unveiled and the media gets a few pictures, we're bouncing."
Chloé nodded. "Can you tell her Happy Birthday for me? I'd bounce too, but alas, the work of the Mayor's daughter is never done."
Marinette nodded. "Of course."
"You look really pretty tonight, Ladybug." Chloé said as someone walked close by.
"Thank you." Marinette said, bowing her head.
"And I like the bow tie, Cat Noir."
"Thanks." Adrien said, readjusting his bow tie.
Chloé lowered her voice and said, "I'll talk to you two later."
Marinette nodded, discreetly waving goodbye as Chloé walked away. Marinette took another sip of her champagne as Adrien asked, "How did you get the champagne, anyway?"
"What is the bartender gonna do, say no to a superhero?" Marinette asked sarcastically. Adrien looked unamused, but then Marinette elaborated, "When Mayor Bourgeois emailed us the invites, he asked if we were at least sixteen. I lied and said that we were so it would be harder for people to figure out our true identities. Mayor Bourgeois gave that information to the bartender and we're allowed to get free drinks. I know I needed one to calm my nerves, so I also grabbed you one."
"Appreciated." Adrien said, finishing off his glass of champagne. "After you finish your drink, we should mingle with some of the people here... Maybe do some dancing."
"You just want to dance with me, don't you?"
"Obviously." Adrien said with a smirk.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "You win."
"You are acting as though I didn't win the jackpot by getting you as my girlfriend." Adrien said, watching as Marinette finished her drink. Adrien took her glass and smiled at Marinette. "I'll be right back."
Adrien gave the glasses back to the bartender and walked back over to Marinette, the two doing a few loops around the small party. After maybe an hour or two, Mayor Bourgeois called the party to attention. He said a few words about Marinette and Adrien, and then eventually he called them up to the small stage in front of the covered statue. Marinette walked up, taking Mayor Bourgeois's place on the stage while Adrien stood by her side. "Hello Citizens of Paris. Cat Noir and I are extremely honored to be serving our city the way we are."
Adrien nodded. "And we are extremely honored to have this statue erected due to our service, though we aren't heroes for the recognition. We're heroes because we have the ability to stop the bad things from happening, and if we don't use our power, that's just as bad as working with the bad things."
"I will be the first out of the two of us to admit that I didn't want to do this in the very beginning." Marinette admitted. "I was scared and anxious, much like I currently am being at this party being thrown in our honor, but I've also learned that you can't let your fears control every single action you do. I may not have wanted to be Ladybug in the beginning, but being here and saving Paris and making sure my city is safe has made it all worth it."
"While the rest of our team couldn't be here tonight, Ladybug and I promise that we will always be here to protect this city and all who live here. We wouldn't want this any other way." Adrien added. "This is our city, and our whole team will do whatever we can to make sure Paris still stands at the end of the day!"
Marinette nodded. "While we don't need all this glitz and glamor to remind us that we're Paris's line of defense, thank you for trusting us enough to defend the city and to do what we can to make saving the city easier."
"You guys are the reason we do this, so thank you and be rest assured that Ladybug and I won't be going anywhere. Myself, Ladybug, and the rest of our team will be here to protect our own for years to come." Adrien concluded.
Mayor Bourgeois took over, smiling at the crowd. "And now... As Paris's official thank you, here is a statue to celebrate our saviors."
The white cover fell off of the statue, Marinette smiling when she saw herself and her friends immortalized in bronze. Nino, Adrien, and Alix were standing at the bottom, ready to fight, while Chloé, Marinette, and Alya made up the top layer. Marinette seemed to have a foot on top of Adrien's shoulder, her yo-yo extended like she was about to swing to something. Chloé was holding onto the string connecting her top and Alya looked like she was about to play her flute. Nino looked like he was about to throw his shield, Alix had her umbrella extended, and Adrien was holding his staff in both hands while it looked like he was running. On the bottom of the pedestal the statue was erected on were the words, Battle of Paris. On this site in 2025, Team Miraculous fought with the Avengers to protect Paris from the Multiverse. Ladybug, Cat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Bunnyx, and Queen Bee. Adrien leaned down to Marinette and whispered, "Talk about about a legacy to leave, huh Princess?"
Marinette smiled even wider, beaming with pride. "Yeah... It is. No pressure for the future generation."
"Oh come on. That was easy." Adrien said sarcastically.
"Yeah right." Marinette said, rolling her eyes.
Marinette and Adrien looked over at Mayor Bourgeois as he shook Adrien's hand. "Thank you both for everything you do."
"We're happy to do it." Adrien said happily.
"We don't mean to ditch after the statue unveiling, but Cat Noir and I are kinda double booked tonight." Marinette said quickly. "We have a birthday party for a dear friend we need to get to."
Mayor Bourgeois nodded. "Of course. Thank you both for coming."
"Like we were going to miss this." Adrien said with a smirk. Adrien took Marinette's hand as he jokingly saluted Mayor Bourgeois. "Cat and Bug out."
Marinette and Adrien quickly ran off to the side before transforming and jumping to start going. It took a few minutes, but they eventually landed on Wanda's roof. Marinette glanced over at Adrien and asked, "Ready to go in?"
"As much as I love this bow tie, I am ready to get out of this suit." Adrien said, taking a deep breath. "I've never really liked suits..."
"You look really handsome in your suit though." Marinette said as she and Adrien detransformed, readjusting Adrien's bow tie. "But I get what you mean. My feet are starting to kill me."
"Do you need me to carry you downstairs?" Adrien teased as he opened the door to go downstairs.
"I'll survive." Marinette said, smirking as she walked past Adrien and down the stairs.
Marinette and Adrien got to Wanda's apartment and knocked on the door. Wanda opened it up, her eyes wide, as Marinette and Adrien started singing, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Wanda, happy birthday to you!"
"You two... What the heck!? I thought you two were still at the statue ceremony!" Wanda said, hugging Marinette and Adrien before allowing them to walk inside.
"You didn't think we'd miss your birthday, did you? Why do you think Nathalie dropped our things off here?" Marinette asked once Wanda released her from the hug, walking further into the apartment and starting to take off her shoes.
"Girl, you better not be taking off your shoes right now. I need to see the fit in person." Alya said, getting off of the couch and walking over to Marinette.
Marinette sighed, doing a quick spin. Nino looked over and smiled. "You both did great with the media!"
"Thanks. We wish you guys could have gone too." Adrien said as he walked further inside the apartment.
Alya glanced over at Vision and asked, "Vision, isn't Marinette the prettiest thing you've ever seen!?"
Vision glanced up from making dinner, tilting his head slightly. "While I do think you look very pretty in that outfit, Marinette, I would not say that you are the prettiest thing I have ever seen."
Wanda's face started turning bright red as Stephen commented, walking back into the living room from the bathroom, "We get it, you two are in love. Stop being lovesick puppies."
Adrien jumped slightly, then noticed that America was sitting beside Nino on the couch. Adrien asked, "How have you survived this long?"
America simply shrugged. "I don't know... They haven't tried to kill each other all night. It's kinda freaky."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Kinda weird." Wanda said exhaustedly as she closed the front door.
Marinette laughed, glancing over at Alya. "Can I go get changed now? These heels are killing me."
Alya took a quick picture of Marinette and Adrien, then nodded. "Go get changed. Do you need me to unzip you?"
"I can do it." Tikki said happily, sitting down on Marinette's head. "It's zipping up that's the problem."
Marinette smiled, walking over to the side table where her bag was, and grabbed a small pink wrapped present. Marinette tossed it to Wanda. "Happy birthday!"
"You didn't have to get me anything, Marinette!" Wanda said, catching the present.
"Then it's a good thing I didn't get you anything. I made you something." Marinette said with a proud smile. "I made it in between making my dress and making Adrien's bow tie."
Wanda unwrapped the present, smiling when she saw two fingerless gloves made with red and black yarn. Wanda looked in Marinette's direction as she asked, "You made this?"
"I've been knitting and crocheting since I was six. I know that it's the middle of summer, but I figured they would make a good present. I would have added actual fingers to them, but I didn't know if you needed your fingers exposed to use your powers."
Wanda smiled. "I love them, Marinette. Thank you."
"Honestly, it's a high honor to get a knitted present from Marinette." Nino commented. "The stuff she makes is really high quality."
Adrien nodded. "Yeah. She made me a scarf last year for my birthday... I could have sworn that it was from the store until she showed me the yarn she made it with."
"Woah..." Wanda said, setting the gloves off to the side. "Seems like you could make some serious money out of this..."
Marinette shrugged. "That's more a hobby than anything. I might make it a career when I become an established designer, but for right now I just do that for the people I love."
"Well, these are probably the nicest things I've ever owned. Thank you." Wanda said with a small smile.
"My parents brought by the cake, right?" Marinette asked as she took out her clothes to get changed.
"Yes they did." Vision said quickly as Marinette walked to the bathroom, Wanda looking between the two in confusion.
"We have a cake?" Wanda asked. "I have an actual birthday cake?"
"Of course you do!" America said quickly. "What good is a birthday without a cake?"
"One of your children is the child of a baker." Adrien said bluntly, patting Wanda on her shoulder. "Expect baked goods more often, especially since you are technically working for Nathalie as her official assistant and Marinette brings by baked goods every week."
Wanda nodded. "Right... I forgot that Nathalie agreed to hire me... I have an actual job..."
"And you're okay staying here in France away from everyone else?" Stephen asked carefully.
"I'll be fine... As long as you keep in touch so that we can manage your Darkhold shit." Wanda said, glancing over at Alya and Nino as they put on some music. Marinette walked back out of the bathroom wearing a Cat Noir t-shirt, much to Adrien's delight, and walked over to Alya and Nino. Wanda looked over at Vision and smiled. "I'm not exactly alone anymore."
"Being alone is for losers. Getting out in the world and being around people is pretty cool." Adrien said, putting an arm around Wanda. "By the way, Chloé says happy birthday and that she's sorry she can't make it."
"Alix said the same when I saw her earlier too." Alya added. "Marc and Layla still have yet to go back to England and her father insisted on having dinner with them as a family. Otherwise she'd be here too."
"That's okay." Wanda said, patting Adrien's arm. "Go get changed, kiddo."
Adrien nodded, then smiled at Marinette. "Looks like you and I are going to be twinning, M'Lady."
"If you brought that one horrible T-shirt that has a blown up picture of my face on it, you're dead." Marinette said bluntly.
Adrien feigned innocence. "Me? Bring a shirt you despise? Never!"
Adrien quickly changed into more casual clothes, including a baggy shirt that had a blown up picture of Marinette as Ladybug on it that was so blurry one could barely tell it was even Ladybug. Marinette looked annoyed the second she saw the shirt, but eventually got over it as she helped Vision get the birthday cake out of the fridge.
Everyone managed to wind down to continue celebrating Wanda's birthday, and when everything started to wrap up, Marinette and Adrien left to go back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery after telling Wanda and Vision goodbye. The two walked along the crowded streets, Marinette smiling as she saw people laughing with friends and enjoying each other's company. Adrien noticed Marinette's smile and squeezed her hand tightly. "The city is safe because of you."
"Because of us." Marinette corrected. "We're a team, remember?"
"I know, I know." Adrien agreed, the two pausing at a crosswalk. Around them, Adrien noticed little kids bobbing and weaving through the crowd. "I like seeing Paris this busy... This full of activity. It's nice."
"Yeah... Yeah, it is. I don't anticipate any more problems for a while besides the rare bank robbery... At least for a little while. It wouldn't be our lives if everything was going hunky dory all the time."
Adrien laughed. "We deserve rest though... Last week was really stressful."
"... Do you wanna start on the list Kagami and I made?" Marinette suggested with a smile.
Adrien rolled his eyes. "Next week? When all of this calms down? You two put a lot of shows on that list."
"... A movie on the list?"
"Are there any movies on the list?"
"I know there are any movies on the list?"
"Yes! I literally put one of my favorite childhood movies on there because Kagami had never seen it!"
"Oh? I'm intrigued."
"Mirror Mirror. It's a Snow White retelling." Marinette said, then paused in thought. "Ya know... My taste in men suddenly makes a lot of sense considering the fact that I watched Mirror Mirror a lot growing up."
"... Should I be scared?" Adrien asked nervously.
"... A lot is going to make sense... You unironically act so much like Prince Alcott... And Snow and Prince Alcott do flirt while fighting..." Marinette commented to herself. "Wow... I manifested my own love life... Who knew?"
"Yeah... I'm concerned..."
Marinette rolled her eyes. "You'll like it... Probably."
Marinette and Adrien walked into the apartment a few minutes later, and as Marinette unlocked the front door, she announced, "Mom, Dad, I'm ho-"
Marinette paused as she saw a small black kitten run out of her bedroom through the small crack of her open trap door wearing a green collar decorated with pink fish. Sabine opened up the trap door properly and smiled at Marinette and Adrien. "How was the ceremony?"
"It was... Fine..." Marinette said, looking down at the kitten as it rolled onto it's back at Marinette's feet. "Since when do we have a cat that is not my boyfriend...?"
"Surprise!" Adrien said with a wide smile.
Marinette stared at Adrien in shock. "What did you do?"
"Okay, hear me out," Adrien said calmly, sitting down on the ground beside the kitten. "You know that when you have your really bad nightmares like you have been having this past week that I am more than willing to stay up with you until you go back to bed, right?"
"Yeah..."
"And I know that me being there physically helps better than being there over the phone, but you and I are both aware that I can't always come over here late at night to make sure you're okay. Obviously I will come here at the drop of a hat no matter what if your nightmare was so bad that you're literally crying, but-"
"You coming every night is not a feasible option. I know. We've talked about that. I was going to bring that up to Dr. Banner during our next Zoom therapy session so he could help me come up with some self soothing stuff."
"Well..." Adrien said, picking up the kitten and holding it on his lap. "Topilino here was my idea."
Marinette sat down across from Adrien, setting down her bags. "Topilino?"
"I've been calling him Topi and Mickey." Tom admitted as he and Sabine walked downstairs.
"I figured that Topilino could work as a substitute... Ya know... An emotional support cat when your actual emotional support cat can't be there, if you will." Adrien said gently, moving Topilino onto Marinette's lap. "I know that getting a cat wasn't part of your grand plan for the next ten years, but I figured that having an extra black cat around couldn't hurt anything. I made sure that he's solid black and that he has green eyes... The closest you can get to Cat Noir when Cat Noir can't physically be there."
Marinette smiled softly, starting to pet Topilino in between his ears. "Adrien... You can't just give me a cat... I don't know the first thing about owning a cat."
"Well, I didn't just get you a cat." Adrien said quickly. "I also got you one of the best litter boxes known to man so you don't actually have to get your hands dirty cleaning it out, a food bowl, a water bowl, I'm gonna be supplying the food for Topilino-"
"You really didn't have to-" Marinette interrupted.
"This is my idea, I'm gonna help you take care of the cat." Adrien interrupted back. "I just... Thought that it might help a little bit."
"We were setting Topilino's litter box up in your room." Sabine added. "It's one of those... Robo Kitty things... Topilino seems to be taking to it well."
"And Adrien did talk this through with us before adopting the kitten from a local shelter." Tom said, Adrien nodding. "Your mother and I are okay with you having a cat... An actual cat."
Marinette looked down at Topilino, the small kitten purring loudly in Marinette's arms. Marinette smiled as she quietly said, "He's purring already..."
"You have that affect on black cats, what can I say?" Adrien said jokingly.
Marinette leaned over and kissed Adrien on the cheek. "Thanks Kitty... For everything."
"But of course! I'd do anything for you. I mean... I literally followed you through the multiverse, more or less." Adrien said, standing up and holding a hand out to Marinette. "You mentioned wanting to watch Mirror Mirror?"
Marinette nodded, holding Topilino in one hand and grabbing Adrien's hand with the other. "Yeah... We deserve to finally relax."