Adrien had a filled day. However, the first thing on his list wasn't exactly anything to shout out about. He was currently on his way to La Santé Prison, in Paris which held his father and Nathalie in their VIP wing. In all honesty, Adrien believed they should have just been put with everyone else. They deserved it! They were the most despicable villains in the history of Paris. They'd caused more issues in five years than any other criminal had in their lives.
Adrien signed in and placed all his items into a steel box. Taking off his coat and emptying his pockets. His phones were discarded out if his jean pockets before he was subjected to a full-body pat-down. He'd already messaged his clue to Marinette and to be honest he was counting down the hours until he would be safe in her arms at the Dupain-Cheng residence.
Clue seven: I'm about to do something I don't want to and believe me, I am so glad I am seeing you later. This person made my life hell, he also affected yours. I can never forgive him for all the hurt he bought upon us, but I will not allow him to have the better of me. Not anymore.
She'd messaged back with words of encouragement and support. It seems she understood well and to be honest, he was pretty much one hundred per cent sure she knew his civilian identity. However, he was not mentioning a thing until Christmas Eve. He had a speech, he had a plan and he had the most perfect ring.
Adrien stood in front of a thick metal door. There was a small window towards the top allowing him to see into the visitor's room, luckily with his height, the window matched his eye-line. Over the years Adrien had grown above the height of his father, at over six foot tall Adrien was domineering and the extra work he had been doing in the gym made him almost double the width of his father.
Finally, the door buzzed and Adrien was able to step in coming face to face with his father for the first time in six months.
"If it isn't the prodigal son, come to get some more money from daddy as you can't cope in the real world? I dread to think about what you've done to my company."
Adrien sat opposite his father and Nathalie and looked his once parental figure over. Gabriel looked dishevelled and half the man he used to be. He was old, frail and nowhere close to the man who used to intimidate him as a child.
"The company is flourishing now I have a new head designer."
"Looking at that smirk on your face I guess Marinette is back."
Hearing her name leave his lips caused a rage of anger to course through his veins. He needed to control it though, one thing he was good at was keeping his cool... unless it involved Marinette. Crossing his muscular arms across his chest he gazed at his father.
"I'm right. I knew it! That girl was always going to worm her way into the family fortune. Unfortunately, son, you know as much as I do, your fate is set in stone." Gabriel looked at his son like he was the cat that got the cream.
A smile pulled full length of Adrien's face at his father's idiocy, suddenly he saw Gabriel's smirk fall.
"You found a way out didn't you?"
"Thanks to Kagami, we are no longer bound by the contract."
"Is that why you've come here? To gloat!" Gabriel had raised his voice and began to rise onto his feet. Nathalie placed a hand on his arm. Adrien had forgotten she was there until she began to calm his father. She hadn't spoken and no emotion had been displayed on her face.
"I came here because it is Christmas and unfortunately you're the only family I have left. So Merry Christmas Father, Nathalie." Adrien nodded his head at two of the remaining family members he had left.
"You hate Christmas?" Nathalie whispered. Her eyebrows were raised as if questioning his true motive.
"I did." Adrien replied, "until she came back and made every day worth celebrating. I'll see you both in the New Year." Adrien stood up and turned to walk.
"Wait!"
It wasn't Nathalie's voice, it was his fathers. Adrien stilled as he turned back to his ex parental figure.
"Good luck proposing, I hope she says yes." Gabriel's voice was small and beaten. He was finally defeated and Adrien felt free. So free he felt like flying. As soon as he exited the compound of the prison he transformed and took to the sky, screaming over the rooftops. For the first time in six years, Adrien felt free to be himself.
At precisely seven o'clock that evening Chat Noir was tapping on Marinette's skylight, just like old times. He looked in to see her scurrying up the ladder and to open the door. He dropped down and scooped her straight away into a meaningful hug.
"Woah, Kitty! What's got you so excited?" She giggled as he held her close, snuggling his face into the crook of her neck.
"Everything is just, for once in my life, going right. For the God of destruction, I have finally hit a pot of good luck and I swear it's to do with you Marinette. You make me better."
He placed her down and they both made their way to the main area of her bedroom.
"You deserve it, Kitty, you've been through so much. I am in awe of how you always smile. It's a lovely smile too." She nudged him with her shoulder and he laughed out.
"So what're the plans for tonight M'Lady?" He asked, bouncing around like a new kitten. He was wandering around and exploring her room noticing if much had changed, and surprisingly it had. There were so many pictures of the two of them in both forms. Civilian and hero.
"Well, my parents are cooking dinner, then I thought we could snuggle and watch a Christmas movie. You know, like the olden days?"
"The olden days, eh? I didn't realise we were sixty?" They both began to laugh as she moved closer to him again. Slowly wrapping her arms around his torso and resting her head against his chest. He felt whole. This is where he was meant to be. She was his world. She was his everything. They were made for each other.
"Maybe when we are sixty we'll still be doing this?" She looked up at him and he couldn't help losing himself in her beautiful bluebell eyes.
"That's the plan Lovebug."
"You're obsessed with giving me nicknames, I never know what's going to come out your mouth next."
"I like keeping you on your toes. It'll stop you running after other men."
"Oh yeah, like who?"
Their faces were only inches away, he was quite sure this was going to be one heated kiss. That was until ...
"Marinette, Chat Noir dinner's ready." Sabine's voice echoed through Marinette's trapped door stealing the moment away from the heroes.
"That's annoying." Marinette sighed, as she moved away to begin the trek down her staircase and into the main part of her parent's apartment.
Before she could get too far, Chat grabbed Marinette's arm and pulled her back into his body.
"I'm not quite ready to leave the room yet." She was staring up at him, confused to what he was doing.
"W-w-what do you ..." Her speech was stopped in its tracks by Chat's lips firmly placed on hers. It was quick and chaste, but it would keep them going through their meal. As he pulled away he noticed her eyes were closed and a smile spread across her face. She hummed in appreciation and opened her eyes.
"You'll pay for that later, Chaton," Marinette said, turning and walking down her stairs.
"Oh, I hope so," he responded, following her lead.
The evening was eventful as always with Marinette's parents, and Chat must admit he slipped into his Adrien form with them. If they didn't know it was him by now there was nothing left to hide. He was letting it all out. He was letting it all out for her.
Chat and Marinette cleared the dishes and placed them into the dishwasher as her parents made their way back to the bakery. With it being so close to Christmas, the stock needed to be out on the shelves in the dozens. They also had orders coming to them left, right and centre. One of the biggest Christmas issues when you're the best bakery in Paris.
Working their way upstairs, they began to argue over film choices.
"Nope got to be Die Hard. Last year I remember a certain someone being made to watch 'The Holiday' only for his companion to fall asleep and start drooling over him. Plagg was not impressed."
Marinette started to laugh. She recalled them arguing for over an hour before deciding, of course, Marinette won much to Chat's disgruntlement.
"Plagg loves 'The Holiday'! Where do you think he came up with the whole Meet-Cute idea! He got it from that movie." Chat Noir looked at Marinette and wondered if she was right. He never complained if it was on television as Adrien was working. The kwami liked it! He couldn't wait to tease him.
"How about Elf? That's fun."
"Elf? Yeah, ok, I'll go with that. I believe I have it on iTunes." Marinette grabbed her laptop and edged Chat up to her bed. "You set it up, I'll go and get us a couple of hot cocoa's. Then before we watch I need to talk to you about something."
Chat Noir nodded as he opened her laptop noticing a group picture on there. It was from her eighteenth birthday party on 'The Liberty', they were all there and Adrien remembered how much fun it was. Until Kagami got akumatised again that is. The reason this time? Because he had kissed Marinette on the cheek. He sighed out a heated breath. He prayed to the holy entities that whoever Kagami was with now didn't even look at another girl. Their life wouldn't be worth it.
He also remembered that was the night Marinette and Luka kissed for the first time. He'd walked in on it and felt like his heart had been ripped out. It was then he realised Marinette was more than a friend. He wanted her and he needed her. Luckily for him, the lukanette ship sunk in a matter of months.
He loaded up the film and leant back onto her bed. She was right, hers was nowhere near the comfort of his. Perhaps once they're engaged she could move in with him, or would it be too much with working together? There was so much he needed to consider.
"Hey, loverboy." Tikki appeared on Chat's lap.
"Hey cutie pie, how are you?" She smiled up at him and he blushed. "What?" He laughed out loud.
"Nothing, it's just nice to see you blush for once. Not just Ladybug." She flew up into his hands and he placed a delicate kiss on her head.
"May I ask you a question?"
"Of course, Adrien," Tikki smiled, loving the fact she was able to say his name.
"Has she worked it out?"
"I'm not telling you that."
"Awwww please Tikki? I need to know, does she love me? All of me?" Tikki flew up and placed a delicate stub on his cheek.
"You hold every ounce of her heart, as Chat and as Adrien. If she had to choose between the two of you she'd chose neither because she couldn't." Chat Noir felt his face vibrate with insane heat. It was happening, she loved every bit of him, he loved every bit of her. He just needed to make it through three nights of sleep and then he could propose. He was going to put his heart on the line and he hoped she loved him enough to accept.
"I hope you two aren't talking about me?" Marinette's voice broke the two apart. Both flustering for something to say so she wouldn't know.
"No, no, of course not!" "Pfft, it's not always about you, Marinette." The two looked at each other before Tikki flew away to her cookie stash.
Moving forward Chat grabbed the mugs off Marinette, allowing her to safely make her way up the ladder. Once she'd arrived on the bed, she took her own off him and they snuggled together on the bed.
"I'm so glad we bumped into each other." He started looking at her beautiful features. No one should be allowed to be this beautiful.
"And me!" She replied, blowing a little on her mug. He could tell she was tense so shuffled a little more towards her.
"Tell me then Bugaboo, what's on your mind?" He mirrored her actions with his own then attempted to take a sip. Completely the wrong idea. The hot cocoa hit his lip and stung. He hissed in the pain as she giggled.
"Here, let me kiss it better." She leant forward and placed her lips onto his. He would never get enough of her kisses. The scheming side of him was now in consideration of doing it again. Would she kiss him again if he did? Actually no, she'd slap him. She was still Ladybug after all.
"Anyway, if you've stopped injuring yourself there's something playing on my mind."
"I'm all ears M'Lady."
Marinette sighed out before taking his mug out of his hands and placing both down on her bedside table. She turned back and took his hands in her own. She was always amazed how warm his costume was, especially due to the leather effect the transformation took on.
"I need you to just sit and listen, no interrupting. Understand? I know it's hard for you to shut up sometimes."
"Cat's honour." He stated holding up his fingers like a Boy Scout. She raised an eyebrow at him before beginning to speak.
"I'm worried about us being together, it's not that I don't love you, its because I love you too much,"
"But -"
"No talking Chat, please. This is hard enough for me to say."
He nodded his head and felt his heart rate accelerate. He prayed she wasn't about to break up with him. No that can't be right, Tikki said she loved him, she just said she loved him. She continued to talk.
"I know you put the ball in my court but now I'm hitting it back. I know who you are cat and I love you in both your forms. To me you are perfect even with your puns, and pranks, and immaturity."
"Hey! Is the reason I can't speak so you can verbally assault me?" She looked at him worried and he began to laugh. She slapped him on the arm and continued her story.
"As Guardian you know what would happen if I have to give up the Miracle Box. I would forget everything which means I would also forget you," she placed a finger to his lips, knowing he was about to speak again, "I know you're going to say we'd get through it, and that you'd never stop trying but I want you to think about it. After this evening though. At the moment I want to enjoy us being us. Two normal," She looked him up and down, "well, one normal and one superhero on a date, drinking hot beverages and watching cheesy Christmas films, cuddled up under a blanket." She handed him back his drink and snuggled into his side.
"So I cant declare my love for you tomorrow?" Her head was resting on his chest and he never wanted to move.
"It wouldn't be your smartest move, Minou. Once we've been on the parade float tomorrow I want us to separate until the gala. I have been invited today in my civilian form so that will make it easier to do this. I won't need to worry about my face being seen."
Chat nodded, he understood where she was coming from. This was going to be a tough couple of days but if anyone could get through it, they could.