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miraculouslbfangirl · 2 years

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The wedding planner

Chapter 2 - Hope

AO3 Chapter 1

Adrien stared at the doorbell button of Marinette’s apartment. It should be easy. He would press the button, she’d open the door, smile brightly at him when he’d give her the bouquet he brought. They’d have a nice conversation that could lead to them being more than friends. Or not… And that’s why he was a nervous mess.

When he was in the United States he had convinced himself that he was fine. He never lacked jobs and his roommate at university never let him run out of fun things to do. Girls were never a problem, he had hardly ever received a no as an answer, and when he had it never bothered him.

With Marinette, it was different. From the moment he saw her at the airport when he arrived, Adrien knew that the one-night stands and whatever relationships he could have back in the US would never be enough. The single kiss she planted on his cheek sent his heart racing as it hadn’t in years. Without Ladybug on his mind, he could finally admit to himself that Marinette had never been just a friend to him. That there was something about her that had always pulled him to her. If only he had known she liked him back then, maybe they could have been happy together all this time.

He shook his head, scolding himself. He was tired of living of ‘what ifs’. What if he had stayed and confronted Ladybug? What if the kwamis haven’t told her who he was? … The truth is, he didn’t regret his time with Ladybug. It was wonderful, it was everything he always dreamed of and more. But it was in the past and he should leave it there. He only wished that he could have had closure, and he had only himself to blame for leaving without talking to her. The last time Ladybug had been seen was in Shanghai, fighting alongside Lady Dragon five months after his departure from France. He doubted that he would ever get the opportunity to even see her again.

He was abruptly taken out of his thoughts by the door swinging open. “The doorman called to inform that you had arrived.” Marinette flinched. “Guess I was too eager to even wait for you to ring the bell.” Her shy smile reminded him so much of her teenage self that he felt himself relax at the familiarity.

“I… I’m glad that you’re so happy to see me.” Adrien smiled, extending her the bouquet of pink camellias as he entered the apartment. The surprise on her face made him feel self-conscious. He had bought the flowers to symbolize that he had missed her, but then he looked it up and it could also mean desire, and for Chinese people, it meant devotion and deep love. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to interpret it that way, not yet. So he decided to change the conversation to something else. “The food smells delicious.” He said sniffing the air.

“I actually hope you’re hungry,” she giggled as she arranged the flowers in a vase and put it on the side of the kitchen island. “I started making a casserole, then I wasn’t sure that you’d like it, so I made a quiche, and…” she motioned nervously to the kitchen, showing a vast array of food.

Adrien laughed, “As much as I’d love to eat all of it I don’t think it’s humanly possible.”

She chuckled, “I know you can’t eat all of it.” She moved around the small kitchen setting the plates on the island. “I just wanted you to have… options.” Marinette turned her back and started cutting the quiche. “I don’t know what you like, not really.”

Adrien watched her shoulders slump down. Was she even talking about food? Did she think she didn’t know him anymore after all this time of him being away? He carefully approached her, reaching for her right hand. He took the knife from her hand and made her turn to him.

“Thanks for the options but they weren’t necessary. The casserole seems delicious as does everything else. I doubt that you could make anything that I wouldn’t like. You know I always loved your cooking and…” He took a deep breath and continued, “I may have changed a bit, matured a bit, but I’m still me, Marinette. I still like the same things I liked before.”

She opened her mouth to argue but then closed it, taking her hand out of his and stepping out of his way. “Well, let’s see what you will choose then.” She shot him a wicked grin.

Choosing wouldn’t be easy. He meant it when he said he loved her cooking, and it had been so long since he last had it. He looked at Marinette helplessly.

“Do I have to choose?” She cocked an eyebrow. “I could eat a little bit of everything.” Adrien didn’t care that he sounded like a child, especially not when Marinette gave him a brilliant smile that, for the first time since his arrival in Paris, reached her eyes.

“Of course, Adrien. As long as you don’t get yourself sick you can eat whatever you want.” She then decided to serve herself a small amount of food, he noticed, as he served his own plate.

They talked for a while. She told him about the success of her brand and her plans for expansion. He told her about his adventures in the US, focusing on the ups. He didn’t want to mope over his past.

“I’m happy for you, Adrien.” Yet, he noticed a sad tone to her voice. “When are you going back?”

“On Wednesday. There’s a wedding to which my boss wants my insight.”

“And I can see why. You are amazing at that.” She got up to put the plates away. When he tried to follow her she made a dismissive gesture, “Just go sit on the couch. Do you want dessert?”

He just grunted and shook his head, too full to even ask what were the options.

Marinette’s apartment was smaller than he had expected, maybe that was what made it so cozy. He turned his head, draping his arm over the back of the couch to look at her moving around in the kitchen. She was classically dressed with a pair of navy blue loose pants and a white wrapped top with minuscule light blue flowers and her hair was tied in a loose braid. She was beautiful and the sight of her doing such domestic things gave him feelings that he didn’t want to address just now.

“What do you plan on doing with all of this?” Adrien asked to avoid his own thoughts.

“My neighbors will love them, don’t worry,” Marinette answered with her head inside the fridge.

“You know, I like your place. It’s just like you.”

“Like me?” She raised her head to look at him.

“Yeah, small in size, but feels like home.” He expected her to get indignant because of his joke about her height, but she looked confused.

“Home? I feel like home?”

Oh, darn. He wasn’t supposed to say that, even if it was nothing but the truth. “Well, I mean. You’re always so nice and easy to be around. You make everyone feel comfortable. You know… home.” Not that he knew what that was like in his life.

“Ah, thank you.” She put something in the fridge and closed the door, sighing, “I never actually felt at home here.”

“Why not? Everywhere I look I can see you.”

“I think that’s the problem.” Marinette sat on the couch beside him but stared ahead of her, chewing on her bottom lip. He looked at her profile. How could she not feel at home in such a nice place? “When I rented this place I intended on living here for a short period of time… a few months. I wanted a bigger place once I got married, a place where we could raise the kids we dreamt of.”

Adrien had no idea what she was talking about. No one had told him that Marinette had even a boyfriend, let alone a fiance. He had told them about his girlfriend. Marinette herself said she was happy for him. He had sent her a picture of them together and Marinette even joked that Samantha wasn’t his type. Why didn’t she tell him about her own boyfriend? He felt left aside. He hid his disappointment to keep listening.

“There are boxes of things I brought from my parents’ house in my room that are still waiting to be unpacked once I move. This place just reminds me of what I don’t have.” She brought her feet to rest on the couch and braced her legs.

A silent tear running down her cheeks broke Adrien’s heart. He had to put aside the hurt of not being told about her boyfriend, and most importantly, he had to forget, for now, the future he wanted with her. What she needed now was a friend, and that’s what she’d have. He shifted to face her and put a hand on her arm.

“Have you told him how you feel?” Were they still together? Adrien wondered.

“I’m a coward, you know,” Marinette whispered gazing at the floor.

“No, you’re not. You are…”

“I am,” she cut him off as she got up and started to pace. “I know what I have to do and could’ve done it already… But I … I still hoped that you’d come back to me.” She finished, finally looking at him.

“Marinette, if he can’t see…” Adrien stopped when her words registered to him. Did she say what he thought she said?

He watched her walk to her workstation then go back and stop in front of him with a black velvet box in her hand. She opened it and Adrien felt transported to four years prior when he proposed to Ladybug. The set of rings that rested on the box on Marinette’s hand was identical to the ones he had back then.

“I know that you don’t love Ladybug anymore and that you will never see me as more than a friend.” His eyes snapped to her face when she continued but her eyes were trained on the box, “It’s past the time I face that you’ve moved on…” Adrien’s heart was erratic, a lump forming in his throat. He gulped but it was useless, he couldn't say a thing. “I just want you to know that I’ll always love you, all of you. I want you to keep this.” She gave a small smile through her tears as she pushed the box into his hands and practically ran to her room. She stopped at the door and glanced back at him, “But if you ever want to propose again I’ll be here. And my answer will be no different from the one I gave you four years ago.”

Adrien could only stare at the closed door until his legs gave out and he was forced to sit on the couch, hearing her faint sobs. His hands shaking as he looked at the opened box.

The promise rings. A promise he didn’t keep.

He had questions, lots of them. However he already had some answers, and the knowledge that she still loved him, still wanted him. A smile crept up his face as the hope of a bright future settled inside of him.

They could work this out, as long as they talked. Something they should have done before he left. He owed her the chance to explain her side, he owed her the truth about himself.

#miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #adrien agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #ladybug #future au

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