Before she could go too far, Marinette stopped her with a smile and a wave, “Good morning Rose! You seem really chipper today.”

The girl next to Marinette leaned closer with a smirk. “That’s because we’re entering Christmas season,” Alya stated, “One of Rose’s favorite times of year.”

“Only after Valentine’s Day,” Rose said. The three of them giggled.

“No one would dare say otherwise,” Alya said, her grin remaining. Rose beamed. Several more of their classmates, Max, Kim, Nathaniel, Sabrina, and Chloe, entered followed a few minutes later by Nino and Adrien which prompted her to say good bye to the two girls and continue her way up the stairs. She made sure to say good morning to Alix who had been in the room. They spoke for a few seconds about the Louvre display that her father and brother had helped to build before Rose finally, finally, reached her seat. Juleka was so into whatever she was working on that she didn’t even notice. Rose looked her over.

It was amazing how different the two were. The dark-haired girl was her polar opposite in many ways. Rose was softness; Juleka, strength. Pink and purple. Extreme girly-ness and unashamed punk. Tall and short. Introverted and extroverted.

That didn’t mean that the two of them weren’t similar. Both were sweet. Both were loyal. Both, especially in the last few years since Hawkmoth’s arrival, had learned to be brave.

Rose thought back to the last year and how long it had taken for the two of them to acknowledge their feelings for each other. Oh, there’d been one reason after another. Rose especially had been under the impression she was straight since she had had a crush on a prince and Juleka, before her akumatization, had been far more reserved. However, once they had acknowledged themselves and their feelings, their romance had blossomed. It came in like a gentle rain more than a lightning strike. This suited Rose just fine. After all, she was a hopeless romantic.

She sat her bag down, “Good morning Jules.”

Juleka jerked. She floundered for a second as she attempted to hide the journal in front of her, leaning over it with her arms crossed, before she blinked up in clear surprise at Rose. There was a light blush on her cheeks. “G-good morning!” Rose leaned her head to the side.

“Is everything alright? You look a bit… flustered.” She reached out a hand to stroke her cheek. This only deepened Juleka’s blush.

“I’m alright. Promise.”

Rose smiled. She slowly dropped her hand before turning to unpack her bag. “Are we still good after school to visit the Louvre?”

Juleka straightened herself, sliding the notebook out of sight and into the bag on her right, away from Rose. She nodded. Rose’s smiled widened and she let out a little squee of excitement. Madame Bustier entered then. She finished organizing her materials, ready to begin the day.

Rose sighed happily as she squeezed Juleka’s hand as they exited the Louvre. A gentle breeze brushed over them. Despite having a light jacket on, Juleka still shivered and Rose quickly removed her jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. They smiled to each other. Rose retook Juleka’s hand as they started walking.

“I had a lot of fun! That exhibit was quite stunning especially with that fake snow…,” Rose said. She went on for a few more minutes before she realized that Juleka wasn’t really responding. A quick side-eye showed her she was nodding her head every now and then.  

“…You’re going to give me all the candy in the world.” A nod.

“You think I’m a dork.” Another nod.

“Marinette is Ladybug.” Nod.

“I’m the Queen of France.” Nod.

Rose placed her free hand over her mouth. Juleka continued to nod every now and then but she was so lost in thought, she hadn’t even realized that she had stopped talking. A devious, mischievous feeling welled up in Rose’s chest and her eyes flashed with a plan. She slowed them. Juleka didn’t notice when they stopped walking. Nor did she notice when Rose moved just a smidge closer… stood on tip-toes… and blew on her neck.

Juleka screamed and scrambled backwards. A hand flew up to the spot Rose had blown on but she didn’t pay attention to her feet; she tripped over them and landed with a solid –thud- on the ground. Juleka hissed, rubbing her back. Rose gasped. She had definitely not expected that reaction. After all, Juleka was known to have nerves of steel as she had demonstrated the one time Mylène had been akumatized. She stepped forward and offered her a hand.

Rose ducked her head, “I’m sorry Jules. I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

There was a moment of confusion that flashed on Juleka’s face. Rose held her breath. Was she mad? Juleka let out a sigh-laugh and she took her hand, allowing her smaller girlfriend a chance to help her up. Once on her feet, she patted her clothes to get the dust off. Juleka smiled at her.

“That was… pretty awesome. Haven’t had a scare like that in a while.” Rose looked up at her from under her eyelashes.

“You’re not mad at me?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Rose raised her head a bit but looked Juleka up and down. She was standing relaxed which helped to lower Rose’s anxiety at her being actually mad and lying about it. However… there was an uneasy knot forming in her chest. She reached out, catching both of Juleka’s hands and pulling them down between the two of them. They stood there for a moment. Another breeze brushed across them. The lamps around them flickered on as the sun began to set, casting them in a lovely orange glow. Rose rubbed her thumbs over the backs of Juleka’s hands. She bit her lip.

“Jules? Is everything alright? You’ve been… off today.”

Juleka blinked again. She smiled softly before pulling Rose into an embrace. She stroked her hair before saying, “I promise. I’m alright Rosebud.”

“You sure,” Rose asked, leaning back a bit.

Juleka placed a gentle peck on her forehead. Rose wrinkled her nose in response. The taller girl smiled, “Promise.”

There was exactly one week, two hours, twenty-six minutes, and forty-eight seconds until Christmas.

Marinette paused as she entered the bathroom. All was quiet except for some soft sniffles coming from inside one of the stalls. Tikki appeared from her bag. The two shared a quick glance before Marinette looked for the door where the sound came from. She leaned her head to the door. Another sniff. Marinette straightened and knocked softly, “Hello? Is everything okay?”

The door squeaked a bit as it opened. Marinette’s jaw dropped. Rose’s face was a bit puffy and swollen; her eyes were deeply rimmed in red and she attempted to wipe her eyes. “Rose! Are you okay?”

She sniffed, “I… I….”

“Don’t you dare say fine,” Marinette cooed. She reached forward and pulled her into a tight embrace. Rose sniffed again.

“I… I’m so scared, “she admitted. “Juleka…. Juleka…..”

Marinette rubbed her back, “Shhhh. Let’s head somewhere more comfortable okay? I’ll listen to all your worries.”

Rose wiped her eyes. “You don’t have to….”

“You’re my friend,” Marinette cut her off. “I hate to see you so upset. Let me help, okay?

Rose hesitated but eventually nodded. She wiped her eyes again and allowed Marinette to wrap her arms around her shoulders, gently leading her from the bathroom. Class was in session, thankfully, so there was no one there to question why Rose looked like she’d been crying for the last few minutes. Marinette led them to the library. The librarian gave them a dirty look and started to say something but Marinette, being a strong class president, quickly explained that her friend was in need of some emotional help and they needed a quiet place to speak. The older woman looked Rose up and down. Her frown softened. She granted them permission to stay as she went back to placing books on the shelf. Rose smiled at Marinette in relief. They found a secluded corner with one of the many tables. Marinette stared at Rose while she twiddled her thumbs on the tabletop; finally, she took a sigh.

“Juleka has been distant recently,” she said softly. “I mean… I always knew she was quiet but this… this is going to a new level.”

“Start at the beginning,” Marinette encouraged. Rose nodded.

“It started about a month ago. We went to the Louvre exhibit, you know, the interactive winter one? She was… distant that day. I was actually able to scare her.”

Marinette blinked. “You managed to scare Juleka?”

Rose chuckled a bit, “I know right? Anyway, it started that day. Ever since then, she’s been… I don’t want to say ignoring me but she’s definitely not paying a lot of attention. She keeps hiding a notebook from me.” She paused, swallowing hard. “We don’t go on dates like we used to. When the bell rings, she runs out of the classroom without so much as a good bye to me.”

Marinette bit her lip. She had to admit, she’d seen that behavior; Juleka had always made it a point to walk out with Rose since the two of them started dating and now…. Well, she was pretty much the first one out of the room. Alone.

“I don’t even know where she’s going.” Rose sniffed. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes again and Marinette quickly handed her a handkerchief. Rose took it gratefully, wiping at her eyes. “She’s not talking to me. I can’t even tell you how many text messages I’ve sent that have gotten no response.” She swallowed again. “Do you… Do you think that she hates me? Is she mad about that joke? I didn’t mean to scare her that badly. I promise.”

“Rose, Rose,” Marinette soothed. She reached out to gently touch the girl’s hands. Rose had to blink. “Rose, we both know that Juleka isn’t like that. She wouldn’t hold a grudge over a little prank like that.” She paused. “You two do need to talk though. How about I help set that up?”

“You… you will?”

Marinette nodded. “Of course we will. I’m pretty sure anyone in our class would be willing to help. Except for, you know, Sabrina and Chloe.” Rose smiled.

“Thank you Marinette. You really are the greatest class president ever.” Marinette smiled.

“Are you calm enough to go back to class?” Rose nodded, standing. The two of them left with a soft thank you to the librarian who wished Rose a quick recovery in happiness as the two of them headed back.

The wheels were already turning in Marinette’s head before they were even out the door.

The bell rang. Everyone started to pack their bags but Juleka was already set to go. She picked it up, scooched behind Rose, and started quickly down the stairs. A hand lashed out and grabbed her wrist and she stopped in surprise more than anything. Marinette smiled up at her brightly. Juleka blinked.

“Uh… Hi Marinette.” She looked at her wrist. “Is everything okay?” Marinette released her.

“Sorry about that,” she chirped. “I wanted to ask you for some help before you ran out today.” Juleka shifted a bit, glancing around as the rest of the class filtered out of the room. She sighed.

“Sure. What can I help you with?” Marinette beamed.

“I’ve been noticing some strange behavior in the class lately….”

Juleka’s eyes narrowed, “O-okay….”

“And I wanted to get a couple of people’s feedback on what we should do about it.”

Now, her mouth went dry, “Like… an intervention?” Marinette nodded.

“Exactly! An intervention.” She turned to shuffle in her bag. A light swear came from Marinette and she quickly turned back to Juleka. “Oops. I accidentally left the notebook with my notes in my locker. Would you mind waiting here while I go get it?”

Juleka opened her mouth, “Marinette, wait…!” It was too late. Marinette ducked around her and was out the door before she could stop her. This left Juleka in the room. She dropped the hand she had raised to stop her and sighed.

Someone cleared their throat.

She spun. Standing behind her was Rose. Her face was a bit red and swollen, her eyes casted to the ground. Juleka swallowed hard.

“Rose….”

“Juleka….”

They both stopped. Both looked away and down to the ground. Juleka clenched her fists. She turned back but the words she had to say stopped in her throat.

Rose was crying.

She sniffed, her lip trembling as she worked up the nerve to say, “Juleka, tell me what’s going on.”

Juleka’s jaw dropped, “Nothing’s going….”

“Don’t tell me that,” Rose shouted. Juleka stopped but she didn’t, “You’ve been so distant with me lately. I’ve tried to talk to you before but all you’ve done is leave me out in the cold. It’s been a month Jules. A month. We haven’t been a date, you haven’t responded to half of my text messages, and, worst of all, you completely ignore me during the school day.” Now it was Rose who clenched her fist. “Just, please, tell me what’s going on.”

Juleka seemed to shrink a bit. “I can’t,” she replied weakly. Rose’s eyes went wide. It took a second for the words to hit her but, when they did, they hit hard. The tears didn’t stop as Rose’s jaw tightened. She walked past Juleka who raised her hand to stop her; Rose slapped it away.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped. Juleka felt numb. Rose didn’t bother to look back as she headed to the door and, without another word, left her alone.

How many days was it until Christmas? She didn’t know any more. Really, she didn’t care anymore.

Rose curled into her pillow, hugging it tight to her as the tears fell again. Her parents had been kind and understanding, trying to do their best to soothe their heartbroken daughter as best as they could, but eventually gave her the space she needed by leaving a fresh plate of cookies and warm tea on her desk.

The tea was probably cold by now.

Juleka rang the doorbell. A shorter man answered; he had blonde hair like Rose and wide blue eyes covered with glasses. She swallowed. “Good evening Mr. Lavillant. Is Rose home?”

Mr. Lavillant eyed her, his brow furrowing, “She’s not right now Juleka. Why don’t you try coming back tomorrow?” Juleka wanted to ask to wait until she got there but he shut the door quickly and she was left on the landing. She stared at the door sadly before turning to leave. Mr. Lavillant, who had seen this through the peep-hole, turned to face his daughter who had her feet pulled up underneath her on the couch. “She’s gone ma petite.”

Rose sniffed, “Thank you Papa.”

He moved around the couch, hugging her shoulders. “Are you sure this is alright? She really wants to talk to you.”

Rose nodded. “I… I can’t see her right now.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

“Do not let you or her keep hurting,” he soothed. Rose didn’t look at him as he left.

Juleka had never felt so cold in her life. She couldn’t stop the tears either; this probably had to have been the hardest she had cried in a really long time. Since Chloe’s photo-day prank last year at least. She sniffed. Reaching into the front pocket of her winter jacket, she pulled out her phone and stared at the notifications. No new text messages. God, she’d never felt so stupid before in her life. Her emotions shifted and she angrily stuffed it back into the pocket, shuffling her way along the sidewalk.  Snow was falling softly as night rose around her.  Juleka sniffed again. Why was this so hard?

A soft noise drew her attention. Juleka raised her head, eyes widening as she landed on a familiar figure. Ladybug was a hero. Everyone in Paris knew that; after everything she’d done, it wasn’t really a surprise. It was surprising to see her unhooking her yo-yo from a nearby lamp and placing it back on its signature spot at her hip before she smiled directly to her.

“Good evening,” she said, “Juleka right?” She nodded mutely. Ladybug’s smile didn’t waver. “I happened to be on patrol tonight and couldn’t help but see that you look a little down. Is everything alright?” Juleka sniffed. She was tempted to say it was but she didn’t, instead turned her head away. What excuse could she give? She couldn’t really hold someone as important as Ladybug up since she probably had a whole host of different things she could be doing. A red hand gripped her shoulder and Juleka looked back, surprised yet again to find Ladybug closer, genuinely smiling at her. “Don’t worry about anything else. My job is to help all citizens of Paris.” She squeezed. “I’ve got time and I’m told I’m a pretty good listener.”

Juleka squeezed her hands together. The package that she’d been holding caused her exposed knuckles to turn white. Ladybug leaned her head to the side, “A gift?”

“For…” Juleka answered, “For my girlfriend.” The tears came back. “I messed up Ladybug. I was so focused on getting this gift done that I lost track of what was important.” The hero’s expression softened.

“Have you told your girlfriend this?” Juleka shook her head.

“I keep trying. She won’t meet with me.” She dropped her hands. “It’s been a week. I… I finished this the same day we fought just so I could make it up to her but she’s been avoiding me.” Ladybug hummed.

“Would you like my help?”

“Wh-what?”

Ladybug reached down and pulled off her yo-yo again. She flung it; the great thing about having a magical weapon was that she didn’t have to worry about it not snagging around whatever it was she needed it to snag or even breaking. It wrapped around the nearest building top. She gave it a test tug anyway, to kill time. “I already said: my job is to help all citizens of Paris. You made a mistake and you admit to it; I know that your apology is going to be heartfelt.” She turned back, holding out her hand, giving her one last chance to make her choice. “Let’s go make sure your girlfriend hears it.”

Juleka sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. Without a second thought, she reached out and let Ladybug get a tight grip on her before they were flying over the Paris skyline.

A gentle knock on her balcony doors stirred Rose from her sleep. She sat up, bleary eyed, and rubbed her eyes until her vision corrected. She had to blink a few times. This wasn’t….

Standing on her balcony was Juleka.

Rose scrambled off of her bed, flinging the doors open, “Juleka! What are you…? How did you…?”

“I need to talk to you,” she cut in. Rose’s mouth clapped shut. This was… new. Juleka had always been the more reserved of the two of them but now, she was direct and forward. “I know you’re mad at me so I won’t ask to come in but I need to talk to you.” She took a deep breath. “I am so sorry Rose. I never meant to make you feel like I didn’t care or want to be with you. I did. I do. I want to be with you for a long time.” She paused. While Ladybug had been carrying her, she had been sure to tuck her gift in her pocket for protection, and now, she pulled it out. “This,” she continued, “This is the whole reason.”

Rose eyed the little box. Hesitantly, she reached out to take it, her eyes starting to get a bit of its sparkle back as she pulled the top open. It was a jewelry box. Inside was a long gold chain with a crudely made heart-shaped locket on the end. The initials of “J and R” were etched into the front.  She pulled it out, examining it in the low light of her room. This was….

“I made it,” Juleka said softly. “Alix and Nathaniel helped. They helped me learn how to work with metal so I could customize it.” She bit her lip. “I wanted to give you something special. I wanted it to be unique.”  Pause. “I… I was so focused that I neglected you and you didn’t deserve that, no matter what my reason was so I… understand if you just want me to leave.” She ducked her head before looking back up to the Paris skyline. “Ladybug said she would be willing to take me home so… I’ll go.”

“Juleka, stop.” Juleka blinked and looked down. Rose was smiling softly. She reached up, placing the locket around her neck before she reached out to take her hands. “We… should talk more. There’s a whole month to make up for after all.”

Juleka’s shoulders slumped and she smiled in relief.

Rose led the way back into the apartment, opening her bedroom door to let her parents know that Juleka was visiting and to have them come and look at the wonderful gift she was given.

Ladybug, meanwhile, couldn’t help the grin on her face. She straightened before swinging off into the Christmas Eve night.

Adrien let out a sigh of relief as the tension melted away, leaving him with a slight buzz of energy coursing through him. He clumsily leapt to the door and yanked it back with a bit more force than he probably should have. When he finally opened the door he found that, lo and behold, his friend was indeed standing there, arms full of bags and a big smile on his face.

"Nino? What are you doing here? How on Earth did you get in? Did anyone see you?"

Nino smiled broadly and held up a key with a Coach flower keychain hanging from it. "I'll tell you all about it in a moment, but I'm afraid that if I stay out here too much longer, someone is going to catch me."

"Sure, sure."

Adrien opened the door wider and let Nino in. The other boy immediately set everything in his arms down on the floor and let out a sigh. Adrien was quick to shut the door and as soon as it was securely locked, he turned and gave his friend his whole attention.

"Okay, so we were all pretty bummed when Marinette's mom found out that your dad didn't want you to come over. We actually almost called it all off, but Alya said that wouldn't be fair to the rest of the class so we went ahead and set up the party. A little before it was supposed to start, though, Chloe showed up.

"We were all pretty pensive about having her there, what with her history with Marinette and everything, but she was actually pretty chill. And, come to find out, she only came there to give us this." He held up the key to illustrate his point. "She told us about how your father had left you all alone for New Year's and we thought it'd be a great idea to bring some of the party to you!"

He smiled widely as he opened the bags to reveal treats and party favors galore. Adrien felt something in his chest tighten at the sight of it all. Nino continued to speak as he unpacked everything and placed it on his coffee table.

"Everyone wanted to come over and surprise you, but I was the only one who could sneak off without getting into too much trouble. Marinette's hosting the party so her parents would definitely notice if she left, Chloe apparently promised her dad that she'd spend the night ringing in the new year with him, and Alya has something with her little sisters in the morning so she has to get home early. They're all sorry that they couldn’t come over but with how much of a stealth mission it was to get in here…" He laughed. "I'm pretty sure we would have gotten caught."

Adrien rushed forward and gave Nino a big hug. He nearly dropped the noisemakers in his hands, but he readily returned the embrace and patted his friend's back. Adrien felt his eyes water and did his best to swallow them, lest he ruin the moment.

"Thanks, Nino. This— This means a lot to me. "

"Of course, my dude. " Nino squeezed him gently. "I couldn't let you ring in the new year all by yourself."

They stayed like that for a few moments longer than was probably necessary, but Adrien didn't really want to let him go, as silly as that might sound. He was sad when they finally pulled apart, but he couldn't help the goofy smile that spread across his face as Nino handed him a noisemaker.

"I don't know if we should actually use these, but I grabbed them anyways."

"Technically speaking it's supposed to just be me and the Gorilla in the house and he usually goes to bed early so… We could probably make a bit of noise without making him too suspicious."

"Good," Nino laughed. "I might have biffed it on the stairs up here. I was so sure that I was going to get caught…"

"I think that I heard that, actually. Gave me a bit of a heart attack, actually."

"Sorry about that." Nino scratched at the back of his neck, sheepish. "I guess I should have warned you about it. But I didn't know for sure if I was going to make it. And, if I got caught, I didn't want you to get in trouble, too."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you made it okay."

He turned to look at everything that Nino had brought with him. Besides the snacks, sweets, and party favors he spied a few movies and games. Tucked a bit behind the surprises, though, was a duffel bag and pillow. Adrien raised an eyebrow at them and watched as Nino kicked them out of sight behind his couch and laughed, nervously.

"Since the party was going to be pretty late, Marinette said that anyone could stay the night if they didn't want to  go home so late. My parents wanted to go to a party tonight, too, so they were cool with the plan of me staying. The plan to surprise you was kind of last minute, though, so I just brought all of my stuff with me. I…  I don't know if you're okay with me staying or not, but…"

"Of course!" Adrien smiled. "It might be hard to sneak you out tomorrow morning, but we'll figure it out."

"Great!" Nino reached down and fanned the movies and games that he had brought with him. "Now what do you want to do first?"

###

It took quite a while for either of them to become tired enough to call it a night.

They decided to watch a movie first and enjoy the treats that Nino had brought with him. It was a pretty typical movie, but neither had seen it yet so they were easily immersed in it. So much so that they didn't realize how close to midnight it was until the credits were rolling.

At that point, Nino outfitted each of them in novelty glasses and top hats and turned on a live stream of the event going on at the Champs-Elysées. Nadja Chamack and Jagged Stone were hosting the event this year and seemed to be having a good time. They watched in rapt attention. And, as the countdown ended, they blew on their noisemakers and cheered in the new year.

There was a beat of silence after they finished making so much noise. Adrien wasn't sure if it was his paranoia, or what, but he almost swore that they were going to get caught. But, thankfully, he never heard the loud footfalls of The Gorilla walking down the hallway. Once he was sure that there was no one out there, he went so far as to poke his head out, he found himself dissolving into a fit of giggles with Nino over the whole affair.

Shortly afterwards they went about setting up the new game that Nino had received as a Christmas gift from his parents.  Adrien recognized it immediately as one that he already owned, but had never had the time to play. It was a pretty mindless game, all things considered, but it lent itself to more conversation.

Which, more than anything else, Adrien thrived on.

"You know," he said after a while. "This is going to be my first sleepover."

Nino paused the game and turned to Adrien.

"You've never had a sleepover before?"

Adrien shrugged. "I went to parties with my mom and dad, but since dad never really wanted me to do much outside of my activities it just… never happened. I remember a few of the guys at fencing or basketball have asked over the years, but dad's always been worried about my safety or whatever so…"

"Did you still ask if you could go?"

Adrien sighed and put his controller to the side. Leaning his chin on his hands, he continued. "I just always told them that I was busy and didn't even bother asking. I mean, what's the point in asking if all you ever get is no, right?"

"I guess…" Nino trailed off. He stared at the screen for a moment before something dawned on him and he whipped around to face Adrien. "Wait. Was he always this controlling? Even when your mom was around?"

"Yeah. At least with mom around she was able to convince him to let me out a bit more. But, I mean, he always had last say on everything…"

"That's brutal."

"Yeah…"

They lapsed into silence for some time,  just staring at the paused screen. Adrien wanted to fix the awkwardness that always fell between them whenever his dad came up in conversation, but he didn't know how. He was always touched by how much his friend cared about him, but his dad was still his dad. And, while he certainly didn't like how controlling he was… he still loved him. Which was somewhat frustrating for Nino since his righteous anger always burned brighter than his own ever could.

"Hey, Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you want to do after lycee?"

Adrien frowned. If he was being honest he hadn't thought too much about that. His father had all of these plans set up for him to choose between, but none of them really appealed to him. Especially due to the fact that most of them involved studying abroad, and he couldn't imagine being able to do that while still being Chat Noir.

"I don't know. I kind of want to go to University, but all of the places that my dad wants me to go to aren't in Paris. He hasn't told me that he wants me to take over his company, but I'm pretty sure that from all of the tracks he has planned out that that's what he wants me to do."

"Okay, but once you're an adult he can’t make you do what you don't want to do."

"Right, but…"

"Look, Adrien." Nino set his controller down and scooted a bit closer to him. "I know you care about your dad, but you can't let him decide your whole life for you. I've seen how unhappy it makes you to do what he wants over what you want. And that's… that's just not fair to you."

Adrien dragged his hand down his face and groaned.

"I get what you're saying Nino, but, he's made it expressly clear that his 'plans' are the only plans that he's going to fund. If I decide to do something else, then I'm pretty sure he's going to kick me to the curb. I'm not sure how much of a choice I really have."

"You always have a choice. And, if he doesn't want to help you achieve your dreams, then I will."

"Nino, I appreciate what you're saying, but I couldn't possibly ask you to—"

"We —you, me, Alya, and Marinette— will all get jobs and rent a house." Nino's voice was thick and the quiet tone made Adrien's throat constrict. "We… We might have to save up a bit before we can start doing what we want to do. University, trade school, whatever it is. But, if we all work together then—"

Adrien felt a shock go through him as Nino reached out and took his hand.

"Then, we can make it you know? I mean it'll probably be hard for a while, but working a little hard to get where you want to be is a lot better than being stuck where you don't want to be forever right?"

Adrien didn't know quite what to say. Sure, he'd thought about going to University and doing something else… But any time those thoughts had crossed his mind, they had felt so impossible.

But, the way that Nino talked about all of this made him realize that maybe, just maybe, a future all his own was within his grasp.

"H-hey," Nino said. "I'm sorry I. I didn't mean to make you upset."

Upset?

Adrien reached up with his unoccupied hand and found that there were tears streaming down his face. He couldn't say that he was entirely upset by what Nino had said, though. So, why?

"I'm not?" He wiped at his eyes in confusion. "Sorry, I just. That kind of thing didn't really… um."

He cleared his throat. It felt like something was stuck there, making it hard to say anything. And, if he was being honest, the small squeeze that Nino gave his hand didn't help all that much either.

But, the open and patient look that his friend was giving him made it a little easier.

"I guess, the idea of being able to do what I want to do with my life is just, kind of overwhelming?"

"In a good way or a bad way?"

Adrien laughed, wetly. "I can't tell. Probably good, though. I mean, your idea sounds a lot more appealing than being shipped off to the best business school China can offer."

"Yikes." Nino winced. "He really wants you to do that?"

"It's either that, Harvard, or Oxford."

"Maybe it's just me. But, it's kind of weird that he's so controlling, but he's willing to let you go study abroad."

"I… I think that he's planning to branch out. I've heard him mention it a few times, but he's never said where specifically the new office is going to be."

Nino grit his teeth. "So, he's pretending to give you freedom, but what he's actually doing is planning to trap you in whatever city you choose to attend university. That's pretty low."

"Sadly, I wouldn't exactly put it past him."

Adrien’s hand fell from Nino’s as an uneasy silence fell over them. Neither really knew what to say so they didn't really try. They let it hang over them like a heavy cloud of uncertainty as they attempted to clear the level. It didn't take too much work, but it certainly didn't feel as much of an accomplishment as the previous three did.

Shortly after the two of them decided to call it a night. Shutting off the console, Adrien watched as Nino started to clear off the couch. He cocked his head to the side in confusion.

"You don't have to worry about cleaning up right now. We can do that in the morning."

Nino paused, noisemakers in hand. "I'm just picking up what's on the couch. I don't know about you, but I don’t think that these would be all that comfortable to sleep on."

"Are you planning to sleep on the couch?"

"Well, yeah. I mean I can sleep on the floor, but it doesn't exactly sound that appealing."

"But, my bed is big enough for two people."

Nino nearly tripped over the coffee table as he turned to face Adrien more fully. Out of habit, Adrien shot forward to steady his friend. Thankfully, Nino didn't face plant into the treats, but Adrien was pretty sure from experience that his legs were going to bruise a bit.

"Sorry. It's just, I know from experience that my bed is a lot more comfortable. And, since this is a sleepover I just assumed…"

"It's not really that kind of sleepover though," Nino laughed, his tone a bit higher than usual.

"What do you mean by 'that kind of sleepover'?"

"Well, you see…" Nino cleared his throat. "Best friends don't usually, uh, share beds."

"But, Chloe's told me about how she and Sabrina have shared a bed during sleepovers and they're best friends."

"That's… different."

"How is it different?" Something clenched inside of Adrien and he took a step back, hurt. "Is it because I'm—"

"No! Of course not! That has absolutely nothing to do with any of this." Nino groaned as he pulled at his hat in frustration. "It's different because… because…"

Nino looked everywhere but at him.

Adrien was so confused. If it wasn't because of his bisexuality, then what on earth could make his best friend uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with him platonically?

"Look, Nino, it's okay if you don't want to share a bed. I wouldn't want to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable. If you want I can go get an extra blanket and—"

"It's different because Chloe doesn't have a crush on Sabrina!"

Adrien froze.

"I'm sorry that you're finding out this way. This… This isn't how I wanted you to find out." He pulled his hat off his head and started fidgeting with the brim. "But, I can't just pretend that sharing a bed with you wouldn't mean something completely different for me than it would for you. It felt like I was being dishonest with you."

Adrien stood there, dumbstruck.

As long as he and Nino had been friends, he had no clue about his feelings. He didn’t even know that his best friend had feelings for guys in general. Part of him felt ashamed of the fact that he'd never even asked about the type of people that Nino was attracted to instead of assuming based on the two crushes that he'd seen firsthand.

All the other parts, though?

Were absolutely ecstatic.

"It's… okay," Adrien started out slowly, unsure as to how to say what was going through his mind. "I'm sorry that I assumed—"

"It's okay," Nino laughed. "It's actually a pretty recent revelation."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Poor Alya. I called her up in the middle of the night freaking out because I didn't know what to do."

"Oh, yikes. How did you survive that?"

"A coffee on her desk first thing the next morning."

"Makes sense."

Adrien stood there for a moment, considering his best friend in front of him. Nino's friendship had to be one of the best things to have ever happened to him. And, more than anything, he never wanted to lose that.

But maybe…

Just maybe….

"Nino, you're my best friend. And your friendship means the world to me." Adrien paused as he watched Nino visibly deflate. He could guess what was going through his head, but he continued nonetheless. "And, if we're being honest, since I assumed that you would never be interested in me romantically, I tried to ignore that crush and move on."

"I understand." Nino replaced his cap and brought it down to shield his eyes. "If you want I can g—"

"The key word there is tried, Nino."

His head shot up.

"Look, I really don't want to ruin our friendship, but I also really like you, too. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, I don't want friendship and romance to be mutually exclusive. And, that I want us to be friends no matter what form that might take."

"I'm ok with that," Nino said as a small smile spread across his face. "does that make us...."

Nino yawned, and Adrien couldn't resist chuckling over how cute that made him look.

"It can make us whatever we want 'us' to be." He reached over and patted his arm. "But, we should probably get some sleep first."

"Right." He glanced over to Adrien's bed.

"Please don't feel pressured to sleep in my bed." Adrien scratched at the back of his neck. "Sleep wherever you want. I won't mind I swear. I just want you to feel comfortable."

"I'm okay with it if you're okay with it…"

A few butterflies came to life in Adrien's stomach at his words.

"Okay." He laughed airily. "I'll, uh… go get changed."

"Me too."

Adrien rushed off to his bathroom. He was pretty sure that Plagg was about to tease the hell out of him for all of this, but he couldn't find himself caring all that much. Almost every year the first day was one of the lowest parts for him. Feeling bleak and nearly impossible to get through.

But this year was shaping to be one of the best that he could ever imagine. There were so many possibilities and new adventures laid out before him…

Marinette woke up on the day of the wedding feeling equal parts excited and nervous. After all, she still had so much to do- any last-minute alterations to the wedding dress, making sure the cake from her parents’ bakery was perfect, organizing the wedding party, and, of course, calming down the groom. Plus any other problems that may pop up, she thought, rolling out of bed and eyeing the fluffy white wedding gown draped over the couch in the tiny apartment she shared with Alya. Who would’ve thought that organizing a wedding would be so stressful?

Alya called out groggily from the other bedroom, sounding as though she had just woken up. “Are you heading over to the chapel already? The wedding’s not for hours yet!”

“I know,” Marinette replied, picking up the wedding dress and eyeing a loose thread on the side with disdain. “There’s just still so much to do. But don’t worry, I won’t be going to the chapel yet- I still have to stop by the groom’s, and my office to pick up the veil, and the bakery to grab the cake.”

Alya appeared in the doorway, pushing the messy brown-and-orange hair from her face. “Seriously? Marinette, you’re carrying this entire wedding on your back!”

Marinette smiled at her. “That’s kind of my job, Alya.”

A third voice, unexpected but not unfamiliar, echoed through the small living room. “If I didn’t know you were once Ladybug, dude, I wouldn’t believe you could do all of that.” Nino showed up behind Alya, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and softly kissing the top of her head. “But you are, so I know it’s possible.”

Marinette nodded to her teammate. “Thanks, Nino.” Though Hawkmoth had been defeated years ago, and though her team of five superheroes had consequently revealed their identities to each other shortly thereafter, she still thought of the five of them- Chloe, Nino, Alya, Adrien, and herself- as a team. After all, they did get together for brunch once a month. She rolled her eyes at Nino. “Did you sleep over again?”

Alya moved to grab the wedding gown’s velvety green garment bag off of the table, and together the three of them managed to wrangle the dress into its bag. When that was done, Marinette hooked the garment bag over her shoulder like a Santa sack and grabbed her own purse off of the hooks by the front door. “Thank you both,” she called over her shoulder as she left the apartment.

The first stop on her to-do list was her office at Agreste Industries. After Hawkmoth’s- or, should she say, Gabriel Agreste’s- capture and arrest, his son Adrien had taken over as sole proprietor of the fashion design company. He’d then hired her as some of his “new talent” the previous year as soon as they graduated lycée, and she’d quickly risen to one of his top designers after the past fall’s Paris Fashion Week. There were rumors that she’d risen through the ranks so quickly because of the fact that she had been dating Adrien since Hawkmoth’s defeat in their second-to-last year of lycée, but no, it was because the fashion critics of the world loved her. Everyone wanted to be wearing a “Nette” original, like the wedding dress she was loading into a Paris taxi at this very moment.

“Where to, mademoiselle?” the taxi driver asked in a gruff voice.

“Agreste Industries,” Marinette said hurriedly, slipping into the taxi and buckling her seat belt. “And hurry, please.”

It was a Saturday, but the office was far from empty- as it was the chilly days of early February, fall and winter fashion week was only a few weeks away. The place was bustling with assistants running errands, designers making adjustments, and models holding still for their measurements being taken by bustling seamstresses. Marinette knew many of them, and she waved cheerfully to them as she headed for the elevator that would take her up to her fourth-floor office.

“Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng!” A harried-looking intern with flaming red curls caught up to her in the elevator. “Why are you here? Isn’t the wedding in-” The assistant checked her watch- “less than four hours?”

Marinette smiled down at the girl, who was only a few years younger than her and probably still in lycée. “I’m just here to pick up my veil, Violette,” she assured the girl. “A bride can’t walk without her veil.”

Ten minutes later and carrying the short, fluffy veil in her arms, she loaded herself back into the taxi and gave them the address of her next destination. It was time to check on the cake. Of course, her parents would bring the actual cake to the reception, but she just wanted to make sure it was perfect… and maybe get a sample.

Tom and Sabine welcomed her with open arms into the patisserie, enveloping her in a huge bear hug. Sabine looked her up and down. “Marinette, honey, is that what you’re wearing to the wedding?”

Marinette looked down at her cream-colored pantsuit. “Absolutely not,” she said with a laugh. “You know that I’ll be wearing something a bit fancier.”

“A Marinette original, no doubt,” Tom said proudly, throwing a beefy arm around her shoulders. “And will the rest of the wedding party be wearing your designs, too?”

Marinette smiled, nestling comfortably into his embrace. “No, but they are all wearing Agreste originals. A few of my designer friends chipped in with the bridesmaid dresses and tuxes for the groomsmen, Rose did the flowers, and Luka and Nino are providing music.”

“Are you here to pick up the cake?” Sabine asked, frowning. “I thought Tom was supposed to be taking it to the venue.”

“If he still can, that would be wonderful,” Marinette said, glancing toward the back of the bakery, where a huge four-tier white cake with intricate beaded frosting sat on top of the counter. “I’m just here to make sure it didn’t disappoint… which it doesn’t. Maman, Papa, this is beautiful.”

Tom led Marinette and Sabine to the back of the bakery, where the cake was displayed in all its glory. With the names of the soon-to-be newlyweds frosted on the front and a beautifully detailed cake topper depicting their two smiling faces, it was clear that Marinette’s parents had put hours of work into the confection. Marinette turned to her mother. “Is it-”

“Half chocolate and half vanilla with a vanilla buttercream,” Sabine confirmed. “Just like you said.”

“Then it’s perfect,” Marinette assured them. “Papa, you’ll bring it to the reception at three?”

“Of course,” Tom agreed. “We enjoyed making it. Maybe someday-”

Sabine elbowed her husband in the side. “We’ll see you there, Marinette. Make us proud.”

“Always,” Marinette said before ducking out the door.

The final stop before the chapel was the most important of all- the groom’s house. Marinette generously tipped the taxi driver before toting the dress and veil out of the cab and into the apartment building in which the groom lived. A short trip up the elevator later, she was knocking on Apartment #414, and a familiar blond man opened the door.

“Hi, Bugaboo,” said Adrien, swooping in with a kiss to her cheek and relieving her of the veil and dress bag. “They’re waiting for you. Something about pre-wedding jitters and needing the gown? I’ll get this to our bride right away.”

He swept away into the depths of the apartment with the wedding gown and veil, leaving Marinette to walk into the living room, where she found the groom and two of his groomsmen on the couch… playing video games. She cleared her throat. “Big day, huh?”

Ivan looked up from the game, then leapt to his feet and crushed Marinette in a hug. Beside him, Max paused the game and Nathaniel put down his controller.

“Marinette!” the groom said, holding Marinette at arm’s length. “Did you bring the gown and veil for Mylène?”

Max pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. “The doorbell rang approximately forty-four seconds ago,” he said in his nasally voice. “Thirty-one seconds ago, Adrien answered the door and then went back into the bedroom carrying two bags he had not been carrying before, and nineteen seconds ago, Marinette entered the room. Reason concludes that Marinette did, indeed, bring Mylène’s wedding garments.”

Ivan hugged Marinette again. “I can’t thank you enough for making it all from scratch. You have no idea how much that meant to her, to have her old lycée friend making her dress.”

“Ivan, we graduated from lycée just over a year ago,” Nathaniel pointed out. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Ivan finally let Marinette go. “Did you check on the cake, too?”

“It’s perfect,” she promised. “Exactly what you two asked for, and absolutely gorgeous. Mylène’s going to love it, and so will you.”

“Marinette’s parents never disappoint,” agreed Nathaniel. “Remember when they always used to make macarons for the first day of school every year in collège?”

Max harrumphed. “How could we forget?”

Ivan’s smile was the widest Marinette had ever seen it. “We couldn’t have picked a more perfect wedding planner, Marinette. Thank you so much for agreeing to help us out.”

Marinette waved him off. “No problem! It was fun. Now, I hear somebody’s suffering from some wedding-day jitters.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a bag of chocolate chip cookies. “I think I have the perfect solution.”

Three and a half hours later, she was standing in the bride’s room of the chapel with Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Alix, all huddling around Mylène in her beautiful Nette wedding dress. Marinette had truly done Mylène’s wishes justice- the dress was sleeveless with a flared mermaid skirt, in layers of white tulle and lace, and the veil matched, hiding some of her multicolored hair. Juleka had done the bride’s makeup in pale shades of pink to compliment her tan complexion, and Rose had brought a crown of white flowers for her hair as well as little blue bundles for the hair of the five bridesmaids. Each of them had dressed in a flowy short dress of sapphire blue thanks to Marinette’s connections, complete with matching flats (or, in Rose’s case, heels- they’d tried to force maid of honor Alix into heels too, but that was a lost cause). The groomsmen- Adrien, Max, Kim, Nino, and best man Nathaniel- all had matching blue flowers, courtesy of Rose as well.

Mylène smiled up at her bridesmaids. “I can’t believe it’s finally here,” she said, tears welling up in her big golden-brown eyes. “I’ve been waiting for this day for so long.”

Alya elbowed her gently. “And you’ve got about three minutes until the first of us is supposed to start walking, so let’s go, future Madame Bruel.”

Mylène sniffled and giggled as Marinette helped her to her feet and guided her out of the ready room, handing her off to a proud-looking Fred in the chapel lobby. Juleka and Kim would walk the aisle first, then Alya and Nino, Marinette and Adrien, Rose and Max, and finally the maid of honor and best man before Fred would escort his daughter to her groom. They had organized it by height order, but it had ended up working out perfectly for the two couples in the wedding party, because they’d been assigned to walk together.

Marinette found her place by Adrien, looking sharp and handsome in a dark blue tuxedo with his blond hair artfully pinned back. Like they had practiced two nights before at the rehearsal dinner, she stood to his left and took his offered arm, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t you look handsome,” she whispered to her kitty.

“You look beautiful,” he whispered back. “Also, I think Agreste Industries needs to release an entirely Nette wedding line. Mylène’s dress is stunning and would sell, I just know it. You’re amazing.”

Suddenly Marinette was fifteen again, blushing like a schoolgirl after Adrien Agreste told her she was amazing. She tried her best to calm the hot red flush of her cheeks. “You’re going to make me look like a tomato when we walk the aisle,” she hissed playfully.

Adrien kept a very straight face. “You know, I happen to love tomatoes.”

Then the usher at the door was waving for Juleka and Kim to begin their walk, and the entire wedding party hushed as the doors opened and soft organ music spilled into the lobby from the church organist. Marinette spotted, just past Nino and Alya, the entire congregation turn to look at them. Her best friend and her boyfriend’s best friend stepped off in front of them, arm in arm, and Marinette counted to ten before tugging Adrien into a slow glide down the middle aisle.

Many of their old schoolmates and friends had turned out for the wedding- Chloe and Sabrina in the fourth row, Aurore and Mireille holding hands in the second row, Jean in the back, Marc in the second row proudly watching his fiancé Nathaniel walk the aisle with Alix. Marinette spotted Kim’s girlfriend Ondine in the third row, making lovestruck sheep’s eyes at her boyfriend in his tuxedo; even Lila had made an appearance, clad in a light brown dress and slouching in the very back row. Most of Ivan’s old bandmates from Kitty Section, which had disbanded almost three years prior, were in the wedding party, but Luka sat in the fourth row as he and his new band had been hired to play at the reception later.

After walking the length of the aisle, Marinette and Adrien split at the front and went to stand in their places to wait out the ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony, with the church wreathed in flowers, and Marinette found herself smiling throughout. The vows almost made her cry, with Ivan reciting a poem he’d written for Mylène way back in collège, and Mylene becoming overwhelmed with emotion when it was her turn, nearly unable to get out how much she loved Ivan. When the minister pronounced them husband and wife, and Ivan picked up his new bride to kiss her deeply, Marinette turned to Rose only to find her crying. It truly was a beautiful wedding.

The reception lived up to its prior ceremony, too. The cake was the star of the show, and everyone had at least a piece if not more- Marinette spotted Adrien finishing off a few of their friends’ unattended slices, claiming he could just work it off later with a run. Mylène and Ivan barely noticed the reception as they were too busy gazing lovestruck into each other’s eyes and hogging the dance floor every time Luka’s band started playing a slow song. As wedding planner, Marinette found herself running around almost the whole time, making sure that the vegetarian at table three had the pasta with pesto instead of meat sauce, ensuring that the croquembouche on the dessert table weren’t solely being devoured by sugar-hungry children and were instead available for all guests, and checking on everybody to make sure they were having a good time. It was only when Alix and Nathaniel stood and tapped on champagne glasses with their spoons, asking everyone to quiet down for their maid of honor and best man speeches, that Marinette managed to grab a slice of cake and sit down at one of the back tables to rest.

Alix was halfway through her highly embarrassing speech about Mylène, and Marinette was nearly finished with her dessert, when a blond flash swooped in out of nowhere and stole the last bite off of her fork.

Marinette turned and frowned up at her kitty. “I was so looking forward to that, too.”

“You can have another slice later,” Adrien assured her, grasping her hand and quietly pulling her up out of her seat. “I saw that Alya hadn’t eaten all of hers yet, and anyway, I wanted to steal a moment alone with you. Can we go outside?”

It turned out that “going outside” did not mean stepping out the front door onto the sidewalk, as Marinette had expected, but instead sneaking up a stairway that Adrien had found. Marinette followed her boyfriend up the stairs and out onto the roof, where the wind whipped her carefully coiled hair out of its bun and loose around her face. Adrien had cleared off a small part of the ledge at the edge of the rooftop, and he led Marinette to it, sitting with her with their legs dangling over the side. It was nearly five-thirty and the sun was setting, just an orange blip on the golden horizon at that point, washing over their windy and cold scene with pale gold light. Marinette shivered, and Adrien wrapped a protective arm around her to block out the cold from her prickly skin.

“Reminds me of patrols, back when we were in school,” her boyfriend murmured, breath hot against her cold ear. “When we would meet early enough to watch the sun set before we left to make sure our city was safe.”

“Our city,” Marinette sighed happily.

“Our city,” Adrien agreed, shrugging out of his suit jacket and draping it around her shoulders. “Do you remember when you considered going to London last year for your design degree? I was supportive, of course, but I would have been devastated if you’d left.”

Marinette nuzzled her face into his warm neck. “I know, chaton. But I stayed, and I’ve been all the better for it.”

“Agreste Industries has been all the better for it,” he corrected. “The best decision I ever made was offering you a job right out of lycée.” Adrien paused. “Well, second-best. Right after asking you on a date the moment I found out your identity.”

Marinette shivered from the cold once again. “I’m so glad you did, k-kitty,” she chattered.

Adrien looked down at her, concerned, and then sighed. “You know, I had this huge speech planned, but I didn’t really think about it being in the middle of February… oh, you know what, I’ll just do it.”

He reached into the pocket of the jacket around Marinette’s shoulders and withdrew a tiny black velvet box. Turning to face her, ever so slightly, he opened it.

Inside was a golden ring, its jewel really two jewels in a yin and yang symbol- one black, one red, perfectly intertwined. It shone in the golden rays of the dying sun, so beautiful that Marinette could hardly process what it meant for a moment.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Adrien Agreste said, looking her straight in the eyes. “You are the light of my life, the sun to my moon, the Ladybug to my Chat Noir- literally. All of the best decisions of my life involve loving you, and I’d like to make one more. Will you marry me?”

Marinette didn’t even speak. She just kissed him, and all of her stress about her friends’ wedding, the cold from the biting wind, and her worries about whatever else simply melted away.

Adrien was the one to break off the kiss first. “Let’s go inside, Bugaboo.”

Marinette practically leapt to her feet. “Yes! Inside. Warmth,” she cooed, following her boyfriend- no, fiancé- back down the staircase. When they had climbed down all of the stairs, Adrien turned to her and slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, sealing the deal with yet another kiss. Marinette would never grow tired of kissing him as long as she lived.

Inside, the toasts were finished and Luka’s band was playing one last slow dance to end out the night. All of the couples had flooded the dance floor- Alya and Nino, Juleka and Rose, Kim and Ondine, Aurore and Mireille, Marc and Nathaniel, and of course the newlyweds among them. Adrien turned to Marinette, green eyes sparkling with a mischievous smile she recognized as his Chat Noir grin. “May I have this dance, future Madame Agreste?” he asked, extending his hand.

Marinette smiled, shedding his suit jacket on a nearby chair and slipping her hand into his. “You may, mon chaton.”