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She let out a heart wrenching sob, shaky hands slowly rising to her ears. Blood, so much blood was running down the side of her throat. Her earlobes ripped open. She was hyperventilating, quick horribly sounding gasps making it barely into her lungs. Trying and failing to blink away her tears, she made to stand up. Only to crash back to the floor seconds later, her legs wouldn’t hold her weight.
A raw soundless scream of agony stuck in her throat, she crawled forward, almost bumping into her desk in her haste. Bile bubbling up, she swallowed it back down, her nails pressing red indents into her palm. She needed to get a grip.
Her phone! Where was her phone?! Her ears were buzzing, the shock, the emotional distress too much for her. The last half hour had felt like a stab in the heart, a lethal strike from someone she had trusted, someone she had held dear. She whimpered, finally fumbling for her bag. Furiously rubbing at her eyes, she squinted, her hands were shaking so much it took her three tries to press the right button.
Lifting the phone to her ear, she curled forward, burying her face into her knees, lightly rocking from side to side.
Peep. Peep. Peep.
PICK UP!
Please, please…in this position she could breathe even harder, uncurling herself a bit, she clutched at the pendant around her neck with a death grip. Her only anchor at this moment.
Adrien was anxiously bouncing his leg, hands balled into fists underneath the table, as he blankly stared at the wall. He had been forced to attend dinner with his father and several business partners. They had been invited into their home, his father gloating, showing off his mansion. Even while he had been not so subtly threatened by his father, no by Gabriel, that man was not his father, to be a perfect gentleman, or else.
His whole body was screaming at him to stand up and rush out of the room, his lady a siren call in the distance. Gabriel gave him a severe glance, as if aware. Adrien harshly bit down on his tongue, tasting blood, but the pain brought him temporarily back to his senses, before he really did something utterly stupid like spill the expensive wine all over his father’s five hundred euro shirt and make a run for it.
He wanted to be close to Mari, wanting to curl up with her, cuddle close to her. It was growing into a physical ache, his heart pulsing painfully with each second away from her. The only reason he was still sitting at the damn table was the fear of what sort of punishment his father would dish out for disobeying a direct order. Fearing being locked up and kept away from school and therefore from his Mari…
He had been stressed out all day, keeping their relationship a secret in public was pure torture for him. He wanted to touch her, no he caved to, needed to. He couldn´t breathe without his lady, his princess. All his instincts were constantly screaming at him to protect her, and how was he supposed to do that when he wasn´t right there next to his lady?! What if something happened and he wasn´t there?! What if his lady needed him?! Those thoughts kept running through his head constantly, every day, every second he was not with her.
And even if he was in school due to their secret he couldn´t be nearly as close as he needed to be. He was supposed to be just a friend. Just a friend couldn´t be a horrible mess when she left his sight for a second, just a friend couldn’t threaten to kill and horribly dismember anyone who even remotely came close to her, or even looked at her a second too long.
It was truly embarrassing how little self-control he had, how many times he barely suppressed his limbs from automatically twitching forward and pressing her into his side… Plagg was constantly making fun of him for that, grinning about how whipped he was for pigtails. Adrien would not even deny it, he was utterly gone for his lady. By now she was the centre of his world, the reason he got up in the morning, the reason he kept fighting. She was his everything. And if he had his way, he would not be apart from her for even a second.
Yes, he knew how messed up that was, they both knew, still neither he nor his lady could change anything about that, the constant lying, the all-consuming stress, the akuma battles, more and more terrifying by the week, taking increasingly more from them each time… The wounds growing gruesome, by now near death, was something they experienced nearly monthly, if they were lucky. They were falling apart, the only thing holding them together was each other.
The second master Fu had given them the reluctant okay, after several years of insistent arguing, they had revealed their identities. Having already become a couple as Chat Noir and Ladybug, the reveal did merely strengthen them even further, making them somewhat more stable, being able to meet anytime, well anytime he was able to escape the watch of his father.
But now there was this horrible nagging, this near painful tug in his very soul, something wasn´t right. He needed to get to his lady! Fuck! Anxiously watching the clock on the wall, he was ready to spring up any second, yet the dinner had barely started. Gabriel was throwing him murderous glares. His heart was beating hard in his chest. He needed to get to her, he scrambled in his brain for a somewhat believable excuse and came up blank.
Suddenly all bets were off, as he saw a black blur faze through the door.
Plagg!
He was frantically waving at him. Hastily standing up, the chair making a loud scraping sound behind him, Adrien couldn’t care less, he blurted out the first thing on his mind and was sprinting out of the room, not waiting for a reply.
The moment the door closed behind him, he was running up the stairs to his room, barely making the turn and banging the door in his haste. His thoughts only on the hollow feeling in his chest. Something was horribly wrong. Finally alone, Plagg screamed, frantic: “I can´t feel Tikki! Mari…someone must have taken her earrings! The connection only breaks down like that if our Miraculous is forcibly taken!” Plagg was really out of it if he called her Mari instead of pigtails.
Paling even more, Adrien didn´t question any further, having already scrambled for his phone the second he entered the room. With shaky hands, he opened the tracker app for his lady’s phone, one of the ways they both kept their paranoia and constant fear for the other at bay. She was at home, in the bakery! At least the phone was there…
Wasting not a second longer, he barked, “Claws out!” and was out of the window without a glance back, Gabriel and his wrath so far out of his orbit, they didn't even register anymore. Cold fear was running through his veins, gritting his teeth he pushed himself to run even quicker, his lady the only thought in his mind. With single-minded focus he was racing across rooftops, not caring for anything or anyone else.
Only pausing when he was almost there, adrenaline coursing through his veins, as he crouched down on a rooftop close by. All of him was rebelling, wanting to breach the rest of the distance immediately, but some distant part of his mind cautioned him, sounding awfully like his lady, he needed to act clever. What if the enemy was waiting to spring a trap? What if he dragged his lady in even more danger with his thoughtless actions?! His tail was standing on end, his ears twitching with every tiny sound. Straining to hear. Nothing. No battle, no nothing.
He creeped forward, jumping onto her rooftop, slowly advancing. Then a sob, at the same time as his civilian phone rang with his lady’s ringtone. Now, nothing was able to hold him back. He was ripping open the trap door before his brain even registered his decision. Jumping down, he lunged forward and was in front of his lady a split-second later. Everything in him was ripping apart when he saw her. She was the picture of misery, heavy sobs shaking her thin frame, collapsing on her knees, blood running down her neck, her earlobes nauseatingly empty.
“My lady…,” he croaked out, not daring to touch her yet. Not wanting to startle her, knew how decapitating their PTSD was, catching her off guard now could lead to an even more devastating panic attack. Her head ripped up, eyes filled with horror, and panic. But the second she registered his presence, she all but lunged for him, throwing herself into his open arms with a heartbreaking wail.
“My lady, princess…I´ve got you. I´m here…you're safe.” His voice was hoarse, a huge ball in his throat, shaking with her, as he slowly rocked them from side to side, pressing her tightly to his chest, one hand buried in her hair, the other having sneaked underneath her shirt, needing skin to skin contact, but not yet daring to let go of his transformation.
He let out a stuttering purr, tail winding around his love, everything in him trying to sooth his lady, even as he kept an eye on the room, guarding them, not yet certain the enemy would not spring out any second. What the fuck had happened?!
Mari was shaking like a leaf, as if he was the only thing holding her together, he squeezed her even tighter suddenly irrationally afraid she would shatter into a thousand pieces in his arms. “She…I…Tikki!,” her words were barely legitimate, the sobs ripping her apart.
“Are you in danger? Do we need to flee? Do we need to take immediate action?” It was physically hurting him, but he needed to know. Guiding her out of her hiding place under his throat, he waited for an answer, ready to spring up and take them far away.
Her lips wobbled, tears running down her face, but she managed a firm shake of the head, followed by a hitched “no.” Satisfied with that, Adrien started his reassurances again, simply holding her as long as she needed, even as he was vibrating with the need to know, to do something, with the fierce barely controllable urge to hunt down who hurt his love and cataclysm limp after limp.
It took almost half an hour, but then Marinette seemed to be somewhat coherent again. Tears still ran down her face, but she had stopped shaking, stopped clinging to him so desperately, merely limply lying in his hold. Adrien gently rearranged them, standing up with her in his arms, holding her to his chest like a koala, to get the first aid kit. The thought of letting go of her, even if he simply sprinted across the room to get the disinfectant and wipes was unbearable.
Carefully sitting them down on her bed with her in his lap, he leant back against fluffy pillows. Soothingly carding through her messy hair, having long escaped the pigtails, he tenderly urged her to sit up a bit. She did so, even as her breath hitched, and her limp hands clawed at his suit, holding tightly onto him, as if he could possibly want them to separate.
“Let me clean your wounds,” he whispered.
Just now noticing he was still Cat Noir, he released the transformation with an absentminded “Claws off,” having Plagg puff into existence and immediately rain down a barrage of questions.
Adrien was about to scold Plagg to wait and give his lady a moment, when Mari took a steadying breath and pushed out, as if gurgling acid: “She took them, the earrings…ripped them out of my ears. I didn't…How could I have…,” she muffled a heavy sob with her hand, curling forward again into his chest. The last words felt like glass shards shredding her throat even further. “My…my…mother…,” another horrible keening sound made it past her lips as she once more broke into inconsolable sobs.
Adrien and Plagg could only stare blankly for a moment, even as Adrien’s arms instinctively tightened around his lady, and his purr stuttered to live again. Her mother?! Fuck! Fuck no, they both knew she could be harsh, could sometimes snap and say things which had left Mari in tears often enough, but this…this felt like a step outside of reality, something so incomprehensible, not even on the spectrum.
“Pigtails…,” Plagg let out a quiet whimper, eyes dropping even further, as he flew closer, snuggling against her cheek. “You can have some of my camembert,” he whispered, big eyes filled with tears of his own. Marinette’s lips twitched into a horrible, twisted version of a smile, as she murmured something which was supposed to sound like a thanks.
Finally, after another ten minutes, Adrien managed to wipe the by now dried blood off her and disinfected her ears, fixing the still sluggishly bleeding holes, which were supposed to be her earlobes with little ladybug band-aids. Then they went into planning mode. Both knew how messed up it was, but Marinette shoved all her trauma, her tears, everything down and turned to cold hard logic. Needing her planning mode right now, there was time to break down more later. For now, they needed to get Tikki back, her earrings back, and then…she was obviously no longer welcome here…
The bakery had long stopped feeling safe, for years Chat Noirs arms had been the only place she could truly relax and breathe in, but now…now her own home wasn't even…she pushed down another sob, ruthlessly quashing any further flashbacks.
“I have the memory potion, Master Fu gave me for absolute emergencies,” she whispered, not believing she was really voicing the thought, but fearing there was no other way. Not with the way her…moth…no Sabine had been acting, lately and especially today.
Threatening her with exposing her identity if she even for one more second thought she could ever amount to anything, she could never be more than a huge disappointment, Ladybug had obviously stroked her delusions…
And when Marinette had stood there, stock-still, heart breaking, Sabine had stepped forward, slapping her, and then ripping the Miraculous out of her ears with a twisted grin. Storming off right after.
“The side-effects…,” he felt like he had to voice it… “Yes…” Master Fu had warned them, the potion was highly effective, yes, but also came with a lot of risks. There was no guarantee the potion only erased the affected memory, it could rip out years, or even a whole person…should they try to erase Ladybug, Marinette could be erased from her memories as well. The other option was to speculate, when Sabine had found out about her true identity, and only erase the time from that moment on…but…it could have been years since then.
She shuddered. “Let's just…erase the last two years,” she gulped. “That was when she slowly started to change more and more…” Her voice was blank, utterly without emotion. Adrien pulled her head closer, pressing them forehead to forehead, gently nuzzling her nose. “No matter what, I will always be by your side. Together!” Her lip wobbled, she bit down harshly on it, before nodding robotically. They were quiet for a long moment, simply holding each other.
“Let's talk about something happier!” Adrien took a deep steadying breath, almost vibrating with the words.
“Let’s build our own home!” He said giddy, as if knowing exactly where her thoughts had gone.
“Let's finally get married. Let's get out of here, we are both eighteen, let´s completely break away from our family. I managed to steal my bank-papers back from Gabriel, I have access to my trust fund as long as I am twenty-five or married.” He barely halted between the words, everything bubbling up and over. Suddenly he needed her to know. He needed the hope back in her gorgeous orbs.
Even though the situation was horrible, Adrien´s eyes twinkled at the thought of marrying his lady, of building their own little home.
A tiny smile stole its way on her face, despite everything. Warmth filled her chest at the mere thought. A true home… She had not dared believe this day to ever come, too much death and destruction…too much pain and fear, but now…suddenly Adrien had turned one of the worst days of her life into something tinged with the soft light of hope, hope for a future filled with love and happiness.
Adrien began to lightly hum, before quietly singing, the utter dork.
Uhh-uhh-uhh, ohh-yeah, hmmm
A hundred and five is the number that comes to my head
When I think of all the years I wanna be with you
Wake up every morning with you in my bed
That's precisely what I plan to do
And you know one of these days, when I get my money right
Buy you everything and show you all the finer things in life
Will forever be enough, so there ain't no need to rush
But one day, I won't be able to ask you loud enough
I'll say, will you marry me?
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, will you marry me?
Marinette couldn't help the watery chuckle, their foreheads touching, even as Adrien kept on humming and singing, gently moving them from side to side. Capturing her hand in his, rubbing small circles on her ring finger.
This time her tears were not only of despair, no so much love was fuelling them as well. She couldn't fathom how Adrien always knew exactly what she needed most at the moment. And making their marriage proposal something she could look back to and not be completely filled with pain, meant everything.
He was pulling her out of her hole, soothing over her cracked heart, even if only a tiny bit, he was pulling her onto dry land, rescuing her from drowning. As if there could ever be another answer, then yes. Slowly, her voice raw, barely a sound making it past her tight throat, she started to whisper along.
I'll say, will you marry me?
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, will you marry me?
And if I lost everything
In my heart, it means nothing
'Cause I have you, girl, I have you
To get right down on bended knee
Nothing else would ever be better, better
The day when I
I'll say, will you marry me?
I swear that I will mean it
I'll say, will you marry me?
They spoke the last verse together. Before Marinette placed a tender kiss to his mouth and whispered: “Yes, always, in every life, in every time, forever.”
Even as he grinned brightly, Adrien´s eyes were overflowing with tears as well. Their tears mixed, neither cared, as they kept raining kisses all over each other’s faces. They would always have each other, no one, no villain and certainly no parent would ever be able to break them apart.
They allowed themselves the night. Allowed themselves to rest one more night, allowed themselves one more night in the blissful illusion of a childhood long past.
Curled up together in Marinette’s bed they slept. Mari was far too exhausted to stay awake, the day had simply been too much for her for even the most tumultuous thoughts to keep her awake. Chat held vigil for a long hour, his mind running in circles, planning worst case scenarios.
Even as he had wrapped himself around her as tightly as possible, he was still fearing the boogie man leaping from the shadows and ripping her right from his embrace. He could not stop staring at her bandaged ears, so much rage bubbling in his stomach, mixed with overflowing sorrow. This was it. This was the line in the sand, and it had been crossed, without any regard for them. They had been children, had been so innocent once, and now…
Eighteen was but a number, being eighteen wasn´t supposed to be an escape possibility…wasn´t supposed to mean rescue from the wolves. Their families weren´t supposed to be ripping them apart daily. Why?! Why did this happen? Why couldn’t they have been safe at least at home?
Silent tears were running down his face. He was devastated. He absentmindedly nuzzled his nose in his lady’s hair, breathing in her scent, trying to calm his shaking. Maybe he had still held some hope for family, maybe he had still been clinging to some desperate believe that parents actually stood up for their children, protected them, held them dear…maybe he had clung to Marinette´s mother as an substitute, wanting her to be loving, because then, yes maybe then there was still hope for his own father. If good parents existed, if at least one of them was blessed with them, then…maybe…
Fuck, it was all twisted up. He didn´t know anymore. The only thing certain was that all his bonds, his ties with his fath… with Gabriel, he had once anxiously struggled in keeping alive, had been thoroughly cut with the actions of Marinette´s mother. He held no regret anymore, not for the actions he had taken in the past, and certainly not for the actions he would take tomorrow.
Adrien lifted his head a little, not coming out of his hiding place in Mari´s hair, but enough to be able to check on Plagg. He lay curled into himself, snug between both their chests. He was cuddled close to Marinette, hiding his face, listening to her heartbeat in substitute for Tikki´s reassuring presence. Frowning even in his sleep, he was sleeping fitfully. Another stab of pain had Adrien forcefully regulate his breathing.
He shuddered, pressing his eyes closed. He needed to get at least a few hours of sleep.
They had decided to stand up and get things going at five. They were planning to corner Sabine, when Tom was already downstairs in the bakery and Sabine was alone. Marinette knew the routine her parents had, Sabine would always finish making the bed, and clean a bit before she joined her husband downstairs, which gave them enough time to corner her and take the Miraculous back.
Somehow he must have fallen into a fitful sleep because he was jolted awake, when Marinette´s phone alarm rang. For once even Mari didn´t need more than two rings, before her eyes opened, red and still swollen, but awake.
One blissful second her face was blank with slight confusion, before everything came tumbling back to her… Adrien watched the pain overtake her features, watched her face screw up, watched her bury closer to him for one steadying second, before she breathed in and raised the walls up high. When she moved, standing up she was all Ladybug about to enter a battle and defeat a particular horrendous foe.
They had debated, but in the end, Marinette had decided to go confront her mo…Sabine together with her partner, she would not sit back and leave him alone with this. Would not lay this all on his shoulders, no she would be there with him, right at his side as they forced the potion down her throat, erasing years. One last tear ran down her face, as she gripped the small yellow bottle tightly in her hand, before she crushed the remaining doubt and lifted her head.
Five minutes later, dressed and ready, Adrien called out “Claws out” and Marinette led him down to her parents’ bedroom.
Chat´s ears twitched, satisfied he nodded. Tom was already downstairs; Sabine was alone in the living room.
“Mom", Mari stepped out of the doorway, her voice almost breaking with just this one syllable. Sabine startled, whirling around, hand clutched to her chest.
“Marinette!” Chat stayed back, still hidden by the doorframe.
“Give me back the earrings.” It was a demand, her voice cold and finally steady. Mari´s hands clenched into fists, nails biting into the flesh as she fought them from shaking.
Sabine only shook her head, as if disappointed. Clicking her tongue, before going back to straightening the blankets on the couch, turning her back. Completely shutting her out. “This is not a negotiation, give me back the earrings and maybe I will only take one year instead of two.”
“Wha…what?”, now that had captured her attention. Sabine stumbled back one step, face suddenly ashen as she finally fully faced her daughter, eyeing the door downstairs. Escape. But before she could take even one more step, Chat was suddenly right next to her, easily blocking the way out. “I believe my lady made herself clear!”
Chat´s voice was a dark rumble, the rage flashing in his green eyes, making them glow poisonous. Marinette took another decisive step into the room, marching closer, her heart beating out of her chest, even as her face was a blank mask. Only her stormy eyes gave her away, as she once more bit out: “The earrings, now!”
“Mar…Marinette…” Sabine stood stock-still, suddenly frozen.
“Did you really not think I would fight back? Did you think I would just take your abuse; let you take them and give up?! Have you lived under a rock the last few years?!” Marinette’s voice was incredulous, a slightly hysterical laugh echoing, she thrust her hand forward, palm held open, waiting. Chat took another threatening step closer. His looming presence a nightmare come alive, all in dark, eyes deadly poison, his sharp teeth glinting in the light of the lamp. It was still before sunrise; nobody would come to the rescue.
Sabine shook, shaking her head in denial. “But…but…”
“This is your doing. Are you this stupid?! You must have known exactly what you would invite into your house the second you hurt my lady!” His voice was a dark near silent growl, sending ice-cold shivers down her spine. One more menacing step, a slight baring of teeth, and Sabine was holding onto the couch because her legs were about to give out on her.
“You…you can´t!!! You can´t! You are heroes!!!”, she screeched, gesturing frantically.
“Oh, how sweet. She really thought we wouldn’t retaliate, she really is this delusional…” Chat barked out a laugh, sending Sabine careening to the floor, legs jelly. He bent over, glaring down at her with derision. “…to think anyone would be so stupid to think I wouldn´t do absolutely anything to keep my lady safe. Absolutely everything, you hear me”, he crouched down next to her, Sabine threw her legs close, face frozen in panic, shrinking back frightened out of her mind.
“There is nothing off the list. And any sane person would have known this.” Straightening up in one smooth motion, Chat turned towards his lady, now speaking to her. “We must have really sheltered the citizens of Paris…if they had truly witnessed all of our battles, every last bloody one”, a side glance to the flailing woman, “and this would not have happened.”
Smirking, Chat pushed with one last sentence, dripping with darkness: “You all are so lucky the Miraculous Cure sets absolutely everything back the way it was before the Akumisation, otherwise my bodycount would be so much higher…” Sabine´s breath hitched, terrified she curled up even further into the couch behind her, tears running down her face.
Marinette, having watched silently, finally spoke up again. “Where are the earrings? Now!” Sabine twitched, banging her head against the couch table, having completely forgotten her for a moment, too much of her focus on the monster in black leather.
When Sabine still didn´t move to comply, frozen, Chat once more made to crouch down, that set her into motion. That sent her scrambling, pitching herself forward, to shove her hand into her jeans pocket. “He…here.” Her hand was shaking awfully as she held the small earrings out like an offering to a wrathful god. Eyes lowered, biting her lip to muffle a sob, Sabine seemed broken. Chat immediately snatched the earrings up.
Marinette´s heart was being ripped into tiny pieces seeing her mother like this, but then she steeled herself. Maybe they could have gotten the earrings without terrorizing her this much, but somehow this felt like a vicious revenge, something Chat needed even more than her.
She knew more than anyone how much Chat’s need to protect her was all-consuming, how harsh and hot his rage burned, when anyone even so much as twitched in her direction. If terrorizing her…Sabine…a bit before they erased her memories was something Chat needed to feel in control,…she would do anything for her partner, as Chat said. And maybe a dark horribly twisted part of her was relishing in seeing her tormentor down on her knees. It didn´t help the pain eating at her, didn´t make it hurt any less, but…fuck she was no angel okay, she was allowed to take out the pain from the last few years on someone, and if the someone was guilty…
But enough now. When Chat seemed like he was about to spew more venom, Marinette gently squeezed his arm, halting him, before accepting the earrings, when Chat carefully laid them into her open palm.
With trembling hands she pierced them through her BH strap, her ears too damaged for now. It took a bit of wiggling, her shaky hands not helping, but then they were secured. Immediately after Tikki materialized back into existence, sobbing relieved when she saw Mari and Chat, barrelling right into her chest, holding tight as her little body shook with tears.
“Tikki”, she gently rubbed her back, holding her up to nuzzle the tiny god against her cheek. They made eye contact for a moment, before Tikki nodded, seemingly knowing there was time for a proper reunion later. “Spots on”, she whispered.
“Let´s get this over and done with.” Ladybug focused on the potion in her hand, making sure to activate it with a bit of the creation magic she held as Ladybug, before handing the bottle over to Chat, who did the same but with the chaos reigning his. The potion started to glow faintly, now the finishing touches, “Erase the last two years of her life”, Ladybug had to suppress a sob, but she nodded the go ahead and Chat crouched down once more.
Sabine curled up even further, eyes ripped wide open, panicking, she frantically shook her head, pleading. “No…no…please…”, she whimpered, tears running down her face, Chat didn´t wait any longer, knowing this was by now akin to torture for his lady. “Take it, or I will make you!” Forcing her lips open, Chat shoved the bottle in, holding her mouth and nose closed, to make sure she had no other choice but to swallow.
Marinette had to look away, tears running down her face. The potion took immediate effect, knocking Sabine out. Chat carefully lifted her up, laying her down on the couch. The next time she would open her eyes, the last two years would be gone from her mind forever. Nobody and nothing was able to get them back, not with the amount of magic they had just used.
Marinette shook, sobbing, face hidden behind her hands. Chat was immediately by her side, pulling her into his embrace. They stood there, gently swaying for a few minutes, before Chat tenderly lifted her into his arms and carried her back to her room, no use lingering. Tom would come looking for her sooner or later, better go when there was still time.
They transformed in her bedroom. Tikki and Plagg falling into each other's arms, Plagg sobbing loudly, while Adrien held his princess close, rubbing her back up and down.
He didn't regret his actions, not in the least. No matter how kind Miss Dupain-Cheng had been to him in the past, hurting his lady was an offense he could never forgive. His dark side would take over, he was the protector after all, he was the chaos to her creation.
After another half-hour of cuddling, they started to pack. They would marry as soon as possible, head straight to the bank, first rent a cheap hotel room and then an apartment, never return to their childhood homes.
Sleeping here one more night was out of the question and the second Garbiel got wind of their marriage he would be out on the streets and disowned anyway, so no use lingering. For now they would simply pack the essentials, and come back for the rest later.
Marinette was sure her parents would freak out, especially with the added memory loss Sabine would soon have to deal with, but this didn’t change her decision. She needed to do what was best for her, and having a space of their own, a space for just Adrien and her, a safe haven was more than overdue. Her heart fluttered at the mere thought. A huge weight about to lift at the mere thought. Finally they would be able to be together all day, all night, constantly, they would be able to cuddle up at night, and sleep in each other's arm. Always knowing where the other was, it was heaven. The amount of sleep alone this would help them gain was innumerable.
Now standing on her balcony, the street slowly filling with sleep deprived people, Marinette and Adrien were looking towards a brighter future. He gently pulled her close by the waist, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before nuzzling her nose with his.
“Ready to get married?” She smiled, it was shaky, but there.
“Ready to be a kept man?”, she whispered in return, squeezing his hand.
“It's everything I dreamt of for years. My lady, will you do me the honour of marrying this stray cat?” Stepping even a tiny bit closer to his chest, she pressed a whisper of a kiss to his lips.
“Always.”
Grinning mischievously, Adrien easily turned her around, twirling with her in a circle only to dip her down, holding her by the waist. He captured her lips in a proper kiss, opening her lips with his, dipping his tongue in. Channelling all his immeasurable devotion, and adoration he left her panting, even as Marinette gave back just as good, drowning him in love.
They would be together for the rest of their lives, soon officially a married couple, nothing and nobody would be able to split them apart.
Forever.