We are now officially in the second half of Adrienette April! Let's start this off with some domestic fluff, shall we? Vote and comment if you've enjoyed!                                                                                                                        -Colorado

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay Adrien, you've got this. Marinette's parents have tried to get you two together multiple times, they're not going to turn you away. You've got this." Adrien muttered as he paced outside of the bakery.

"What are you doing, you dork?"

Adrien turned to see Marinette standing in the doorway, a grin on her face.

"Ah, Mariberry! Hey, I didn't see you there!"

"Obviously." Marinette rolled her eyes and walked over to him. "Now, are you going to answer my question?"

"What question?"

"What were you muttering to yourself about? And don't tell me it's nothing, I know you better than that." Marinette grinned, putting her arms around his neck.

"Just how beautiful you're looking tonight." He leaned down to kiss her, but a finger to his lips stopped him.

"No kisses, until you tell me the truth, my prince."

"You're cruel." Adrien pouted, but sighed after a few moments. "I was just trying to help my nerves."

"About?"

"Seeing your parents." He muttered.

"But, you've met my parents." Marinette said, stepping back.

"Yeah, but never as your boyfriend! It's nerve-wracking, Mari, what if they don't like me?"

"Adrien Agreste." His girlfriend started to say. "My parents have wanted us to get together ever since I brought you home to practice for the gaming competition. They will be overjoyed that we are finally together."

"You sure they'll approve of me?"

"Adrien, I'm pretty sure they've started planning our wedding cake." Marinette rolled her eyes before shooting him a sweet look. "Of course they'll approve of you."

"But what if they don't?"

"Then I guess I'm just going to have to go against their wishes." Marinette smiled, intertwining their hands. "Now come on, my prince. Let's go and witness my parents embarrassing me to oblivion."

"Ooo, okay!"

"Of course, now you're excited." Marinette shook her head as she led him into the complex.

"But of course, my sapphire! I find it absolutely adorable how big of a crush you had on me." He grinned.

Marinette scoffed.

"More like obsession." She shook her head. "I can't believe some of the crap I did. I will never be able to apologize enough, Adrien."

"I'm sure you didn't do anything that bad. At least, nothing worse than me." He winked. Marinette just pursed her lips.

"We'll see."

"Hey, you know that no matter what you did, I love you, right? That's all behind us now, something to laugh about over delicious food. Don't worry about it, okay?" He picked up her hand, placing a kiss on it.

"Okay, thank you."

"Any time, my sapphire, any time. Now, let's go and see your parents."

"Just a fair warning, they can be... intense sometimes."

Adrien chuckled, a certain akumatization coming to mind.

"Don't worry, I think I'll be able to handle them."

"Okay, you ready then?" She asked as they stepped outside of the apartment entrance.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, let's do this." Marinette opened up the door. "Maman, Papa, I'm home!"

"Hello, Marinette. And hello, Adrien." Sabine glanced down at their intertwined hands. "Tom, come here! It finally happened! I won!" 

"What? They finally started dating?" Tom rushed into the room. "Adrien, my boy!" In a few quick steps, Tom was hugging the life out of Adrien.

"When did this happen?" Sabine asked, getting out the dinner plates.

"Papa, put him down! And Maman, we'll answer any questions over dinner."

"I'm guessing this is the reason why you asked to have him over?" Tom asked, relinquishing his hold on Adrien and going to help his wife.

"Yeah, it is."

"Is there anything you need help with?"

"Just make yourself at home, Adrien." Sabine gestured towards the table.

"Oh, um, okay."

Marinette shot him a smile, and slipped her hand into his yet again.

"So, when did you start dating?" Tom asked.

"He asked me out two weeks ago."

"How sweet!" Sabine cooed. "Have you thought about any date ideas yet?"

"Have I?" Adrien brightened. "There are so many places that I'd love to go with Marinette, we live in the most romantic place in the world! I would be a fool to not use that to my advantage."

"Aw, Adrien."

"You know on our first date, Sabine and I went to a baking lesson." Tom laughed.

"Really?" Marinette asked.

"Oh yes, but then he took me to an outdoor viewing and it was very romantic." Sabine gave her husband a look, starting to put food down on the dinner. 

"They both sound pretty great." Adrien chuckled. "As much as I want to sweep Marinette off her feet with some grand gesture, what's most important is making memories."

"Aw, Adrien." He was rewarded with Marinette's blush. "That's really sweet."

"It's only the truth."

"So, Adrien, you're a model, correct?" Tom asked, a grin widening.

"Papa, no." Marinette groaned.

Adrien grinned. He had been preparing for tonight for a while now. He already knew the type of things Tom would ask him.

"Yes, I am."

"And is the salary enough to support you and," Tom's eyes flickered over to Marinette. "Others?"

"Papa!"

"It's okay, Mari, I don't mind." Adrien reassured her. "Yes, it is. I also have a trust fund that I'll access when I turn eighteen."

"Uh-huh, and where do you see yourself in five years?"

"Hmm, probably going to university. I'd most likely be going into business to please my father."

"And if you don't go into business?" Sabine asked, sitting down next to Tom.

"Well, then maybe physics? I haven't thought a whole lot about it if I'm being honest."

"That's okay." Tom's eyes only brightened. "What do you think about baking? Would you like to learn? I could see it now! The Dupain-Cheng & Agreste Bakery!"

"Tom!" Sabine scolded. "Don't get too ahead of yourself, they only started dating two weeks ago." She shook her head.

"Thanks, Maman."

"I don't mind, really. Planning out a future with everyone here well," He looked down sheepishly, not sure if he was overstepping. "It makes me happy."

Marinette reached over and squeezed his hand. 

"So, you aren't planning on breaking my daughter's heart? You know the last boy she brought home..."

"Papa! We don't need to talk about that!"

"Don't worry M. Dupain, I have no intention of breaking Marinette's heart. Why would I when she's the most amazing girl I've ever met?"

Marinette brought her hand up to her face, trying her hardest to hide her blush. Fortunately, it wasn't working, so Adrien was able to see the adorable sight of his flustered Marinette.

"Well, I certainly approve! I can already see the wedding now! In fact, I have some cake designs that you two might be interested in, if you'd like to look at them?"

"Why don't we let them go on a date before finalizing the details of their wedding." Sabine commented, starting to place food on her plate. 

"I suppose so. Remember, Adrien: happy wife, happy life!" He winked. "Now let's dig into the delicious food! Thanks for cooking, sweetheart."

"Of course, honey."

Marinette shot Adrien an 'I-told-you-so' look as they started to eat. She was right, of course. He didn't need to be nervous here. The bakery had always felt like home to him, even before he had gained feelings for Marinette.

"So Adrien, how'd you ask out Marinette?" Sabine asked.

"Well, it was rather simple, actually. I wasn't sure if she would accept me so-." 

Adrien was cut off by a loud guffaw from Tom.

"So I suppose she hasn't told you when her crush on you developed?" Sabine asked, leaning her chin on her hand.

"I haven't told you either!" Marinette practically shrieked.

"Oh sweetheart, you weren't sly about it at all. I have secret mother's intuition after all. I knew that after Marinette's second day of school that she was in love with someone. It wasn't until a week later that I realized it was with you, Adrien. I'm guessing it has something to do with the umbrella that Marinette begged me not to throw away, despite it being broken."

"You... you've liked me for that long?" Adrien felt a grin come over his face as his heart sped up.

"Maybe." She muttered.

"Wait, is that why you were always stuttering around me?" He jolted.

"Maybe."

"So it was you who wrote that poem! I thought the handwriting looked similar!"

"Yeah, that was me." She gave him a sheepish grin.

"That was the sweetest Valentine I've ever received, thank you." He picked her hand up and kissed it. Although, he wanted to kiss her instead, but he was still too shy to do so in front of her parents.

"N-no problem, Adrien."

"Aw." Her parents cooed in tandem.

"So! This food is absolutely delicious, Mme. Cheng." Adrien quickly changed subjects.

"Thank you, Adrien, but please call me Sabine. Mme. Cheng makes me feel old." 

"Okay, Sabine."

"So, when did you finally realize you had feelings for Marinette?" Tom asked.

Adrien gulped. There it was, the a million dollar question.

"Well, if I'm being entirely honest, I'm not exactly sure. There wasn't this moment where I fell in love with her. It was a bunch of little things all adding up until one day, I realized I was in love with her and had been for a while."

"When was that?" Sabine asked.

"New York." Adrien said automatically. No matter what he had told Kagami, no matter what he had told Plagg, no matter he had told himself, he knew that New York was when he realized his feelings.

Before, he had been denying his feelings to others because he wasn't aware of them. After he was, it became a denial to everyone including himself. No longer something that he believed in, but something he tried to ignore.

"When my father made me leave, I realized how much I wanted to stay with Marinette and spend time with her."

"I'm glad you two have finally stopped running around in circles." Sabine shook her head. "It was clear to me that you two loved each other, I'm glad you finally figured it out."

Adrien glanced at Marinette, only to find that she was giving him the same sweet look.

"Us too." She said quietly.

"It's good to know she didn't spend all that time drooling over your modeling posters for nothing!" Tom laughed.

"Papa! Could we not talk about this?"

"No, no, tell me all about how Marinette was" he cleared his throat, "drooling over my posters."

"I'm sure you saw the hearts."

"You mean the upside-down spades?" Adrien grinned. God, it was so obvious looking back on it.

"I'm pretty sure it's just as embarrassing for you, you're the one who believed it after all." Marinette muttered.

"And I'm pretty sure it's more embarrassing that you made it a habit to kiss them goodnight."

"MAMAN!"

"Really? You did?" Adrien said giddily.

"I don't do that anymore, I swear! I got a lot better about my crush."

"So does that mean you don't want to kiss me goodnight? Why Mari, I'm wounded." Adrien pouted.

"I-." Marinette glanced over at her parents. "You know that's not true." She grumbled. 

"I know. I just like teasing you."

"If you like that, just wait until you hear about the gift chest." Tom sent his daughter a wink.

"No! We're not talking about that." Marinette hissed. "I sent all of them to charity, anyway, so it doesn't even matter."

"What gift chest?"

"Well, you know that chest that now holds fabric materials?"

"No, Papa, please."

"Yeah?"

"That used to be filled with gifts for you. Birthday, Christmas, Names Day, you name it, she got it!" Tom laughed.

"Really?" Adrien whispered.

"See, told you that my obsession was terrible." Marinette said quietly, looking down at her hands.

"No, no, you've got it all wrong!" Adrien grabbed her hands. "I'm honored, Marinette."

"What?" 

"The fact that you care enough about me to make that many gifts for me, well, it warms my heart."

"Really?"

"Really, really. At home, nobody really did that for me. Even on Christmas and my birthday's my parents were always so busy..." He trailed off. "The point is, it means a lot to me that you would care so much."

"Oh Adrien, of course I do. I still do, if not more so. I just have it under control now."

"Still, I find your pre-control days absolutely adorable." Adrien took the opportunity to kitten kiss her nose before pulling back.

"I think you're a biased party." 

"Maybe, but I think you may be biased, too. Just in the other direction."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree, then."

"Fine by me."

Adrien turned his attention back towards his food.

"So Adrien, how do you feel about hamsters?" Tom started up again.

"I love the things. I always wanted to have one."

"Well, that's fantastic! Marinette has always wanted a hamster, named 'Nightmares' if I'm remembering correctly?"

Marinette flinched ever so slightly, and Adrien tried hard not to laugh. God, Tom would have a hayday if he ever found out he was Chat Noir. Or he would murder him while he slept. 

"Yeah, that's right."

"Unique name." Adrien mused. "But I like it. I would love to have a hamster named Nightmares with you one day."

"Oh, you two really are a match made in Heaven!" Sabine cooed. "I'm so happy that you two have finally told us. I of course noticed the shift in Marinette's mood, and it's obvious that you two mean a lot to each other."

"We do. I know I said this earlier, but I fully intend on never letting her go."

"The feeling is mutual."

They shared a look, one that made butterflies stir in his stomach and his heart pound. He truly was in love.

"Hamsters are a good first pet, although they aren't ideal when you live in a bakery."

"Are any pets ideal when you live in a bakery?"

"Not really, but we did have a goldfish a few years back."

"They were the lowest maintenance." Marinette shrugged. "Although they die rather quickly." 

"It's a good thing you two will finally get your hamster once you move out." Tom laughed.

"Y-yeah." Adrien tried not to divulge too long in fantasies about him and Marinette living together, maybe even being husband and wife.

Oh God, just that title made his face heat up. Even if they had been in love with each other for the longest time, it was far too soon to think about marriage. They hadn't even been on a date yet for Heaven's sake!

"What other pets would you like to get?"

"Well, probably a cat." He smiled. Although he already had Plagg, he wanted a cat he could share with Marinette before Hawkmoth was defeated.

"I'm definitely a cat person." Marinette nodded. "Although, they can be pretty needy sometimes." She chuckled. 

Adrien tried not to be offended.

"And would you like to stay in Paris, Adrien?" Sabine asked.

"I think I would have to."

"Maybe, but say you didn't. Say you could live anywhere you want, where would you go?" Sabine mused.

"I'm not sure. I haven't thought about it a whole lot. I would probably still want to stay here. All of my friends are here and I can't really see myself going to school or living anywhere else. Although, living in Shanghai would be fun."

"Maybe then Marinette could finally learn some Mandarian." Sabine gave her daughter a look.

"You know, Adrien did say that he would teach me, once!"

"Give me a date and time and I'll be there, Mariberry."

"And maybe we can even turn it into a date?" She asked hopefully.

"Sounds great." 

This was really real, wasn't it? He was really dating Marinette. He knew that he had been dating her of course, but it hadn't really felt real. Not until now. He was probably still in disbelief. After trying for so long with Ladybug, after failing pathetically with Kagami, he had finally found someone who he was happy with and who loved him. He had wanted this for so long, it was hard to imagine this actually happening to him.

Yet it was. He was eating with Marinette's parents, with his girlfriend's parents. This wasn't some dream that his mind had concocted, it was real. Even if he thought it was impossible, it was real.

His grin widened even more, something he didn't think could happen.

The rest of the dinner passed with simple chatter and banter. Of course, Marinette still was embarrassed and of course, Adrien was still questioned, but he really didn't mind. As the conversation died down and it was time for him to go, a warm feeling had grown in his chest.

"Thanks again for having me over tonight." He said as he shook Tom's hand.

"Of course, Adrien. This was great, we'll have to do it again sometime."

"Yeah, definitely. Your cooking was delicious, Sabine." He said as the shorter woman gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Adrien. I hope to see you again soon."

"I'm sure you will, or you'll at least hear about me from Marinette."

"I'll go and walk him out, okay?"

"Thanks again for having me!" Adrien waved as Marinette led him out of the apartment. "That went well." He said in a quieter voice.

"Didn't I tell you that you didn't have to worry?"

"You were right, as always." 

"Although, I still can't believe some of the things they told you!" Marinette put her hands on her cheeks.

"I loved all of them, don't worry." He leaned down. "Just as much as I love you."

"Oh?"

"You know, I never did get that kiss from earlier."

"Hmm, I guess we're going to have to fix that, huh?" Marinette whispered, her eyelids fluttering shut.

"Yeah, we probably should."

Finally, Adrien was able to kiss her. It was a feeling that he still wasn't used to, but it was still the best thing he had experienced.

They broke apart with a small giggle.

"Come on, my dork. Let's go before your driver reports you missing to the police."

"Yes mam!" He saluted her and as always, followed her outside of the bakery.

With one last quick kiss he and Marinette parted for the night, but he was already counting down the minutes until he could see her once again. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I absolutely love all the sweet moments with the Dupain-Cheng's + Adrien in fanfics, so I decided to write one myself! I hope you liked it! Also, I will not be posting tomorrow because I'm going camping. To make up for this, there will be a double update on Sunday. Thanks for understanding!                                                                                                                                                                       -Colorado