"You know, I always thought that it was just Adrien that was unfairly good looking, but Felix dude, you give him a run for his money. How are we mere mortals supposed to compete?" The two cousins laughed at Nino's dismay as they redied themselves for the Gala.

Since the girls were spending the day together, Adrien invited Nino over to hang out and have a 'bro' day with him and Felix. Despite Felix's reservations, he and Nino actually hit it off quite well. Adrien was pleased with himself. He felt he was finally starting to break down some of these barriers that Felix had. Underneath that aloof exterior was a guy who really just wanted a friend. In many ways, Adrien could see a lot of himself in Felix before he went to school and made friends.

Nino was laying across the bed, eating a plate of poffertjes Adrien had sent up for him as a snack while him and Felix got ready. Nino was planning a night out with Alya before going to watch the midnight fireworks at the Eiffel Tower.

"You've already got Alya, so what are you complaining about." Adrien teased. 'Buddy watch the syrup dripping off those. I don't want ants getting into my bed." Nino looked around the sheets.

"Dude, you can't talk. This whole bed is full of cheese crumbs everywhere. What did you guys do last night, have a cheese party or something?" Adrien and Felix shared a look before giggling. Adrien really hoped that now everything with Hawk Moth was over he could finally introduce his best friend to the cheese obsessed Plagg and tell him about his superhero life. For now though he at least had Felix and Marinette to share it with. In the meantime, maybe he should consider getting Plagg his own bed.

"Here Felix, put this yellow handkerchief in your top pocket so that you match with Chloe." Felix let Adrien fuss with his pocket, although he wasn't sure why Adrien cared so much about him matching with Chloe's dress.

"Yellow? How do you know she'll be in yellow?" Felix asked, Nino laughed.

"It's her signature colour my dude. No one has ever seen Chloe at anything where she wasn't in yellow. I'm so sorry for you man, but if your lucky you shouldn't be stuck with her all night." Adrien shot Nino a glare as Felix started to look worried.

"She's not going to ditch me through the night is she." He asked before schooling his expression and folding his arms. "I mean...not that I care but..."

"No no no. She would never do that." Adrien reassures. "Besides, when Marinette rant earlier she said she planted lots of nice things to Chloe about you today like about how brave you were and how you looked after her during that akuma attack." Adrien winked at him, seeing just the faintest tint of pink on his cheeks. Nino suddenly sat up.

"Wait a minute...you like Chloe as in like like?" Felix gaped for a moment wide eyed before folding his arms with a small huff.

"What, no, not at all, I mean...well yeah of course I like her I've known her forever, but not like her as in that kind of like her...she's... she's just a friend." Nino facepalmed.

"Aw man, I've heard that before." He groaned before looking at Adrien holding his hands together pleadingly. "Please dude, don't be like me and painfully watch this for the next three years. I don't think I could go through it again." Adrien slapped a hand on Felix's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I've got this one all under control." Felix eyed his cousin suspiciously before breaking into a soft smile. Maybe there were worse things than having a Chloe Bourgeois in your life.

There was a knock on the door as Gabriel entered into the room. "I'm not interrupting anything am I."

"Of course not Father, we're ready." Gabriel admired the two young men as they stood in their finest. Nino stood up, straightening his hat as he started making his way to the door.

"I better be off dudes, I have to pick up Alya in about an hour, have fun." He pulled Adrien into a tight hug before wrapping Felix into a bro hug too. He nodded to Mr Agreste who actually acknowledged him in a friendly way before he left.

"Adrien, I wanted to give you this." He held out a small velvet pouch. Adrien took the pouch and opening it, tipped it's contents into his hand. He recognised it straight away looking back up at his father in surprise.

"Isn't this Mother's?" He asked. Gabriel nodded.

"I gave it to her as a Christmas present, about a year before I asked her to marry me. I thought...if you wanted to...you might like to give it to Marinette." Adrien looked at the intricate design of the gold heart shaped pendant. Turning it over he saw engraved on the back 'Forever in my heart'. Adrien rushed forward and hugged his father. Words didn't have to pass between them. Adrien knew in this gesture alone that it was his father's way of apologising for his past mistakes, a hope for a better future and a promise that Marinette would be welcomed into the family, not just as a designer, but one day as an Agreste. Gabriel looked over at Felix as he held his son, his nephew giving him a nod of approval.

"I'll go ahead with Nathalie and Felix in the other car while you go and collect your Marinette." He said, a smile breaking through his worn features. After Gabriel and Felix left, Plagg came out of his hiding spot.

"You going to give that to pigtails tonight?" He asked, pointing at the necklace still in Adrien's hand.

"Yeah." He said dreamily, his mind already a million miles away. Plagg huffed and folded his arms.

"Then you better bring me some extra cheese if I have to listen to you swooning all night." Adrien glared at him, narrowing his eyes at his kwami.

"I do not swoon." Plagg cocked an eyebrow at him. Adrien shrugged half heartedly. "Alright maybe a little bit, but you and I are going to have a conversation later about putting cheese in the bed." Plagg gave Adrien a wide toothy grin.

"Why? You worried Pigtails might see it?" Adrien's face went bright red.

"Plagg!"

*******
"Adrien dear, come in. Alya is upstairs helping Marinette get ready but she should be down soon." Sabine offered Adrien a seat as her and Tom finished cleaning up the bakery to close for the night. He fiddled with his ring as he waited. He wasn't sure why he felt so nervous and then it dawned on him that this was really the first date he had taken Marinette on. He mentally scolded himself for not doing something sooner, but then again it had been a busy week.

He was still in thought when he heard footsteps on the stairs. Turning his eyes up he could have sworn his heart stopped when he saw her. Even though he had seen her in the dress before at the photo shoot there was something different about her tonight. Maybe it was the way the night lights highlighted her hair, or the way her hair hung soft on her shoulders. No it wasn't any of those, as breathtaking as they were, it was the look of love in her eyes as they met his that had him captivated.

He stood up and walked over to her. In the corner of his eye he could see Alya filming and Tom and Sabine watching them excitedly, but as he looked into her blue eyes, the rest of the world fell away. "You look beautiful Marinette." He breathed out as he rubbed his thumb across her cheek. She smiled at him, her eyes shining and he almost felt like his knees would give way.

"You look pretty handsome there yourself." She smiled, tapping him on the nose. He leaned down, his hand still cradling her face, and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. The spell was broken though, by an overexcited Alya.

"You guys have to promise me when you get married your first kiss has to be like that."

"Alya!" Marinette's face turned bright red, but Adrien just turned his face to Alya and gave her a cheeky wink before offering Marinette her coat.

"Shall we go Princess?"

Once the partition went up in the car, the two Kwamis came out and Adrien turned to Marinette. "I'm so sorry this has turned into our first date. I really wanted to take you somewhere more special and personal for a first date." Marinette took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together.

"I'd be happy anywhere with you Kitty, whether it's a big event like this, a quiet table at a cafe, or on my balcony in the moonlight." She whispered that last bit sending a warm, fuzzy feeling all through his chest. Oh Lordy does this girl have any idea what she does to him? "Actually." She rested her head on his shoulder, speaking so softly it was almost inaudible, but he heard every word. "I think maybe those are my favourite moments, when it's just you and me and the stars." She reached up and placed a delicate kiss on his cheek. Yes, she knew exactly what she was doing to him, and he loved every second of it.

"Oh, Please, do I have to listen to this all night?" Plagg complained before Tikki chastised him.

"Plagg, let's not forget you were just as keen for them to get together as I was." Plagg just scoffed.

"That was for self preservation reasons Sugarcube. It was driving me mad listening to him talk about Ladybug and Marinette like he was in love with two different people." Adrien looked slightly embarrassed but Marinette just giggled. Thankfully their arrival at the hotel meant no more ribbing out of Plagg, at least for a while.

Once inside, Adrien helped Marinette remove her coat and there was an audible gasp from those standing around them and they began talking in hushed whispers. Taking her arm, Adrien could feel her slightly tremble. He patted her hand as it gripped slightly tighter to his sleeve. "Don't be nervous m'lady, you look like a vision and those investors over there are completely taken with you."

Marinette smiled nervously. "Do you think it means they like the dress?" Adrien looked at her with eyes that could melt her. "It's not just the dress Marinette. They're looking at you." He kissed her on the forehead before guiding her into the ballroom.

How different the room looked after the nightmare that was Samurai in the place. The room was decorated in silver and blue, which happened to compliment her dress perfectly. No sooner had they entered then Chloe came rushing over, followed by Felix. "Adrikins." She called as she flung her arms around him. No surprises that she was indeed in her signature yellow, but the dress was extremely elegant, hugging her figure beautifully. She then gave Marinette a hug before the bluenette stood back to admire her once rival.

"Chloe, your dress is beautiful." She gushed, Chloe doing a small twirl to show it off.

"Yes, it's one of Mother's she made for me. Isn't it divine? Mind you it's not a Gabriel original." She winked at Marinette who smiled shyly in return.

"Where is Father?" Adrien asked scanning the room.

"Over there." Felix pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, a mysterious grin on his face. Adrien looked through the crowd and spotted his father looking intently at someone and holding their hand. As the crowd parted his mouth flew open.

"Is that...Nathalie?" The others all stood and gaped. No one had ever seen Nathalie in a dress before, let alone with her hair down and looking so beautiful.

"Wow, your Dad looks completely taken with her." Marinette ventured to say. She wasn't sure how Adrien would feel about his father moving on, although she knew he cared about Nathalie a lot. Her concerns became more raised when she saw tears in his eyes. "Adrien, are you alright?" She asked, touching his face gently. Chloe and Felix also looked on with concern before a smile spread across Adrien's face.

"Everything's wonderful Marinette, your wonderful." He said, picking her up and spinning her around making her squeal. He didn't care if it wasn't 'appropriate' behaviour in a formal setting, he was happy and he wanted the world to know it.

All throughout dinner, the six of them chatted and laughed. Adrien hadn't seen his father or Nathalie look so comfortable and contented. Even Chloe and Felix fell into easy conversation, Chloe listening with interest to Felix talk about his Karate competitions and entertaining her with slight of hand tricks. Adrien held onto Marinette's hand, gently squeezing it every now and then so she would turn to him and smile. Her smile lit up his life and he would never tire of seeing it. Felix took Chloe up to dance, soon followed by Gabriel and Nathalie. Adrien picked up Marinette's hand, gently pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist. "Come with me out onto the terrace, I want to show you something."

The terrace was mostly inclosed, but there was still colder than indoors. Adrien saw Marinette shiver and slipped off his coat, placing it on her shoulders. "But Adrien, you'll catch a cold again." Adrien shrugged.

"I'm a cat remember, I don't feel the cold. Besides, maybe I just want you to look after me again." Marinette shook her head with a smile.

"You know if you want some more of my mother's chicken soup, you can just ask for it, it's not worth getting another fever over." Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

"I don't think your mother's soup will cure this fever." He said, losing himself in her eyes. "And I don't think I ever want to recover." He kissed her on the nose before he let go of her a little so he could dig into his pocket, pulling out the velvet pouch.

"I want you to have this." He said giving it to her. She let go of him to take the gift in her hands. Opening it, she pulled out the pendent, tears in her eyes as the read the inscription.

"Adrien, it's beautiful." She said. He took the chain from her hands and clasped it around her neck before bringing his arms around her.

"My father gave it to my mother, a year before he asked her to marry him." He heard her catch her breath at his words. He turned her around to face him, running his fingers through her hair. "I love you m'lady, I've loved you since that first day you crashed into me as Ladybug and again as I got closer to you as Marinette. You will always be forever in my heart and I want you to wear this pendent as a promise of that." He brought his other hand up to cradle her face between them, a soft glistening still in her eyes. "Promise me you will."

"Always Chaton." She whispered. "Because it was always you in my heart too, both sides of you."

Inside the ballroom they could hear the crowd beginning the countdown to the New Year. A new year, a new bringing and new love. It was all that Adrien could have ever wished for. As the fireworks began to explode from the Eiffel Tower he brought her lips to his, his own fireworks exploding in her heart. In her kiss he felt her promise to him, that she would always be here by his side, today as his girlfriend, and one day soon as his wife.

"I definitely need more cheese for this." Came a low grumble from Adrien's jacket. Marinette looked down to see Plagg popping his head out with his ears pinned down.

"Shush it Plagg, or I'll come up there." Tikki threatened with a squeak from Marinette's bag. The two teens laughed at their kwamis antics. Adrien pressed his forehead to Marinette's, holding her close to him, her warmth filling his heart.

The next morning it was time for Felix to head back to London. Gabriel opened the invitation to him to return again soon, and next time to bring his mother with him. He even said he would hold a grand Agreste dinner party like he and Emilie once used to do. Adrien was looking forward to being able to introduce his Aunt to Marinette.

Taking the car to the train station, they collected Marinette on the way to say goodbye too. Tom and Sabine had a box of cupcakes as promised for Felix to take home with him and welcomed him to the bakery anytime. Felix was somewhat overwhelmed by their kindness. As they arrived at the station, they were met by Chloe, who looked a little more bashful than usual.

"Did we miss something at the gala last night?" Adrien asked Felix as they checked in his bags. Felix turned slightly to where Chloe was talking with Marinette.

"Well you know how it is, New Year's Eve, midnight countdown and...you know?" Felix's face started going red.

"You kissed Chloe? Oh wow Felix that's awesome." Felix tried to brush it off.

"Well, I'm still going to be in London and she's still here in Paris, but who knows. Maybe someday." Adrien wrapped his arms tight around his cousin.

"I'm going to miss you Felix. Promise to come back soon." Felix smiled and nodded. He then hugged Marinette, telling her to again thank her parents again for the cupcakes.

"Look after this dork will you." Felix said, ruffing Adrien's hair. Marinette slipped an arm around Adrien, touching with her fingers the pendent around her neck.

"Always." She said, looking up at him. The two stood aside to allow Felix a more private goodbye to Chloe. Felix being Felix gave her a farewell kiss on the cheek, but the soft blushes in both their faces have them away.

After a final wave farewell, Felix took his seat on the train. Taking out his phone, he messaged his mother that he was on the way home with a surprise for her. Taking the twin ring out of his pocket, he looked at it thinking back over everything that had happened over the last week. He came with the intent of getting the ring, but in the process repaired his relationships, made new friends and even became a hero, even if it was only borrowed.

He contemplated for a moment what would have happened if he had kept those Miraculous jewels. Not that he was too much into the idea of akumatizing people, but he did get a kick out of being Chat Noir. It was probably for the best he didn't keep them, besides, if he was ever so inclined he knew exactly where to find them.

This brings to an end the Christmas and New Year stories. Thank you to all of you who have read, commented and liked this story. I hope to see you all back again for the next story.