Until I Heard You Sing

Chapter 12

When the night finally arrived for the charity auction, Marinette was full of nerves. The dress from Gabriel was stunning and Marinette felt beautiful in it. It was a floor length, off the shoulder gown in a deep burgundy with cherry blossom accents. It was quite fitted and hugged her perfectly. Looking at herself in the mirror, she looked much older, more grown up maybe. She wore her hair down, because she knew Adrien liked it that way but she couldn't help the knots in her stomach. While the paparazzi had been trolling them all week outside the school, and Adrien would get a kick out of throwing her back and cover her in smooches for the 'hidden' cameras, this was their first official debut as a couple. More than that though, they were there to represent the Gabriel fashion house. Marinette had fronted the media many times as Ladybug, but Marinette was an unknown to them. She didn't want to do anything to embarrass Adrien or his father, choosing to wear a shorter heeled shoe to ensure less chance of tripping. With final words of encouragement from Tikki, the little kwami slipped into her matching bag and Marinette went down to meet Adrien who was already waiting for her.

"...and I said to him, it's the yeast I could do." Tom roared with laughter at his own joke as Adrien wiped a tear from his eye. Never did Adrien think he would find someone who could pun with the best of them. No wonder Marinette was so accepting of his sense of humour, she had been brought up by the master.

Adrien turned his attention to the footsteps coming down the stairs as his girlfriend appeared. Girlfriend. He loved saying it, although the word never seemed to be enough for him. She felt so much more than just a girlfriend, but it would have to do for now. Their eyes locked as she descended the stairs and as he took the vision of her in he felt as though all speech was irrelevant. There were no words to describe her, so he took her hand in his and with a low bow placed a lingering kiss on the back of her hand. Tom and Sabine looked on with delight and a soft sigh. How could someone so young look at their daughter like she was his whole world. Some could spend a lifetime searching for it, never finding it yet here they were, and it filled her parents with joy.

Once they were in the car, Gorilla slid up the partition and Adrien pulled Marinette over to him for a proper kiss before bringing out a small velvet pouch from his pocket and giving it to her.

"Adrien, what have you gone and spent your money on this time." Marinette felt bad at how much Adrien had been spoiling her, although she knew he loved it.

"Actually it's kind of priceless, just like you."

Tikki flew up, keen to see what the present was, while Plagg pretended not to be interested. Plagg didn't like to admit it out loud, but he really did like Marinette. Since they had discovered who they were, she always kept extra cheese on hand especially for him, not to mention the cheese puffs from the bakery. He also had to admit, she gave the best head scratches.

"Oh my!" Marinette exclaimed as she pulled out her gift from the bag. It was a delicate rose gold bangle with an eternity symbol made of diamonds. She looked at him with wide eyes. He just smiled and taking the bangle from her hand, he clipped it onto her left wrist.

"It belonged to my mother." Marinette gasped, realising how important this would have been to him. "She told me once that I should give it to the girl I want to spend forever with." Marinette's eyes brimmed with tears. How is it that he keeps making her fall in love with him all over again? He held onto both of her hands, the street lights reflecting in her eyes as they drove by. "You asked me the other night about what I want. I know people will probably say we're too young to know what we want, but I'm tired of living my life the way other people dictate. I already know that we are destined to spend our lifetime together, not just as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but as Adrien and Marinette. I don't see the point in waiting months to give this to you just for the sake of other people's expectations. I know that I love you, and this is a promise for that lifetime ahead of us." He gave her a soft kiss on her smiling lips before leaning his forehead against hers. "Someday I'll give you the ring that matches it."