When Plagg was satisfied with the cheese stash he kept in Adrien's bag, the little Kwami turned around ready to whiz over to his charge and head to school, but was met with the sight of his kid sitting at the edge of his bed and looking at something in his hands.

Plagg sighed and floated over. "Are you looking at that damned ring again?"

Adrien flinched but didn't move, "I'm really doing this Plagg." His voice was hoarse and it was as if someone had stolen his breath away. That someone was probably Marinette.

Plagg simply rolled his eyes at Adrien's dramatics, "I thought we were over this yesterday."

"I thought so too. I'm scared Plagg."

"I told you the promise ring's a bit much."

Adrien shook his head, "Not that. Just the- the whole idea of it. Of this. We've been going out for a month Plagg. What if- what if this is too fast for her? What if I'm rushing things? Should I wait? What if- "

"Oh please." The pure snark in the Kwami's tone had Adrien looking up in time to Plagg coming to hover in front of him, his green eyes full of a strictness he'd never seen before, "That girl is head over heels in love with you, even I can see it and I'm usually napping in your pocket! If anything, you're not doing this soon enough. You've already been on four dates with her, what more do you want?"

"I- "

"Oh nuh-uh." Plagg shook his head and crossed his arms, "Let the Kwami speak. As cheesy as this sounds, both of you deserve to be happy, kid, and both of you have already danced around each other for long enough."

Adrien sighed and looked back down at the ring he held in his hand. It wasn't anything extravagant, nor was the tiny heart shaped gem real. If it had been, Adrien knew with certainty that Marinette would never accept it. For one reason or another, she hated being spoilt, as fun as it was for Adrien. Too many times he had been unwillingly paid back and right now, he really couldn't have her saying no.

"Maybe I am worrying about this too much."

Plagg threw his tiny hands up in exasperation, "Finally!" The tiny god whizzed into the shelter of his breast pocket and nudged him softly, "Come on kid, you'll end up being late for school."

Adrien stood up and grabbed his satchel, "May lady luck be by my side."

Plagg snorted. If only Adrien knew...

Adrien was already seated when Marinette walked into the classroom. This was one of those rare days when Marinette was on time. That being said, Adrien hadn't expected her to arrive this early, he thought he'd have more time to prepare but clearly, that wasn't so.

"H-hey Marinette." God, when was the last time he stuttered around her? He thought it had ended after their third date.

She gave him her sweetest smile, the effects of which were clear in the way his heart beat extra loud in response. "Good morning Adrien."

'WHY DOES SHE HAVE TO BE SO PRETTY?!'

Adrien shrunk on himself a little and mumbled, "Good morning Marinette." To his relief, she hadn't heard him, but Nino had. The DJ was busy stifling his laughter into a fisted hand and Alya was shooting him weird looks.

Adrien didn't dare turn around to start conversation, lest he be blinded by that angelic smile again, but then Nino and Plagg nudged him at the same time and he sighed. He had to get this over with at some point.

"Hey Marinette?"

She continued rummaging through her bag and gave him a non-committal hum. The fact that she hadn't met his eyes yet gave him some form of relief, because he couldn't trust himself to word properly if he had those beautiful bluebell eyes on him.

"Will you- will you come to the-the stairs near the Eiffel Tower with me? At-at lunch today?"

She finally looked up and there was something- something bright in her eyes that had Adrien's heart stutter to a stop.

'Is it hot in here or is it just me?'

"I'd love to Adrien! What about- "

This time Alya intervened, "We'll come along later, m'kay? Nino and I have something we need to do before that."

"Okay."

Adrien made a sound similar to being choked, but he was saved from any embarrassment when the teacher walked into the room.

God, this was going to be hard.

When lunch came around, Alya and Nino helped Adrien and Marinette escape without anyone bothering them, for which Adrien was eternally grateful. Any interruption now would end up in him losing his nerve completely and who knows when he'll be able to muster up the courage to propose again?

Still, it was far too quickly that he found himself seated on the steps near the Eiffel Tower. The tower seemed as beautiful as ever, but not as beautiful as it had been when they had gone on their first date there.

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

Adrien turned to look at Marinette and he was immediately captivated by her bluebell eyes. She looked worried and he could understand why; he'd been acting weird around her the whole day today but could you really blame him?

"Marinette there's- there's something that I- umm..."

"Adrien?"

His hand had wandered into his pocket, where he could feel the cool metal of the ring. His fingers traced the heart shaped jewel on it.

"You- You really are something special Marinette."

That caught her off guard. Her eyes widened in surprise and her cheeks started to flush red. She managed to squeak out, "Thank you?"

Adrien let out a shuddering breath, "W-we've gone out on what, three dates now?"

"Four." She mumbled. He knew that, hadn't forgotten. Still:

"I really really enjoy spending time with you Mari. You really are an amazing girl."

She had her eyes closed and her breathing was heavy. Adrien had a feeling that she already knew where he was going with this.

"What's your point Adrien?"

"Marinette." Her eyes were on him again. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Her hand flew up to her mouth in time to muffle a choked sob. He had pulled out the promise ring and was holding it out to her, and while she couldn't take her eyes of the ring, he couldn't take his eyes off of her.

Finally: "Yes yes yes, a hundred times yes!"

He chuckled and she jerked forward until he had his arms wrapped around her and she was giggling uncontrollably into the crook of his neck. He laughed along with her and held her tightly. She was his, finally his! Nothing could compare to the joy that made his heart stutter, to the beauty that stole his breath away. She was so amazing and sweet, and he had the privilege of calling her his girlfriend.

When they finally pulled away just enough to look at each other he leant forward and kissed her forehead, "God, I like you so much Mari."

"I like you too Adrien."

He let her pull herself out of his grasp and extended a hand to her, "May I?"

She giggled and accepted his gesture, "You may."

He was grinning uncontrollably as he slid the ring onto her finger. It was a snug fit and that fact alone would have been enough to make Adrien cry with relief. Proposing was so fucking hard, how did Marinette do it when she first confessed to him?

"Adrien?"

He looked up at her and his breath caught in his throat. The pure joy in the way she looked at him, her gorgeous smile, everything about her was so... ineffable. Completely and utterly ineffable.

He was too captivated to notice exactly when they had sidled closer to each other, or when she had slowly snaked her arms around his neck, or when he had encircled both his arms around her waist. In that moment all he knew was that her face was centimetres away from his, that his gaze kept flickering between her eyes and lips, and that to kiss her now would mean... everything.

She cupped a hand on his cheek and he leaned into the touch, his eyes already fluttering close. Almost there...

They heard their voices before they saw them. Someone loudly proclaiming about how excited she was to have lunch with her friends and two amused chuckles that followed after. Adrien sighed and he let his forehead rest against Marinette's for a split second before he was pulling back and so was she, but not before he had softly kissed her forehead and whispered, "Next time."

They could finally see their friends approach them with Lila in the lead, who waved excitedly. Adrien giggled at Marinette's sour expression and waved back as his girlfriend quietly huffed beside him.

As Alya, Nino and Lila joined them on the steps, Nino shot Adrien a questioning look and in response, Adrien shifted closer to Marinette so he could wrap an arm around her waist and shot the DJ a cheeky grin. Lila, who had clearly planned on sitting next to Adrien and probably latching on to his arm (like the parasite she was) faltered at his gesture. She looked between him and Marinette and her smile turned slightly bitter, subtly enough so that anyone not particularly looking wouldn't notice. She awkwardly stopped just a step or two below the new couple and sat down.

Alya caught the whole interaction and her eyes widened as she shot a look at Marinette. Marinette could only blush and snuggle deeper into Adrien's side in response. Clearly, that was not enough to satisfy Alya's insatiable thirst for these kinds of things. "Did something happen while we weren't here?"

Marinette simply pressed herself harder against Adrien as she kept her gaze firmly down on the concrete steps and Adrien tightened his grip around her in response. While Marinette was dying in embarrassment though, Adrien was soaking in all the attention with a welcome grin. "You could say that, right Marinette?"

Marinette might have mumbled something in response but Adrien couldn't tell.

He looked straight at Alya and his grin turned into a smirk, "I asked her out." Then, almost like an afterthought, "She said yes."

Alya let out a huge whoop and fist pumped into the air and Nino chuckled as he clasped Adrien's back, "I'm proud of you man."

"My OTP is cannon!"

Lila, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during this whole time gave them all an uneasy smile, "I'm really happy for you Adrien. And for you as well Marinette." The way she said her name, Adrien sent a warning glance at Lila. Lila's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh my GOD, the class is going to flip!"

-

Once the school day had ended and Lila was finally in the safety of her room, she let out an enraged scream, "WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!"

She threw her bag against the wall in frustration and stalked over to her bed, pulling at her bangs the whole way, "That good for nothing clumsy nobody! How dare she! HOW DARE SHE! Adrien belongs to me; how dare she try to steal him away! Why I- UGH."

Lila stared up at her ceiling from her position on her bed, her mind moving at a mile per minute. She couldn't understand what Adrien saw in that girl Marinette, but one thing Lila was sure of, it wouldn't be enough to keep Adrien away from her. Adrien was Lila's, he belonged to her the minute she had set her sights on him and some goody two shoes wouldn't be enough to change that. All she needed to was-

Wait.

Lila smiled. Her biggest advantage over Adrien was his father. His father, who- well he probably hadn't approved of his relationship with Marinette, had he?

Lila giggled in delight. Adrien- oh poor sweet Adrien- would soon see what his father had to say about this.

-

Ugh. Sometimes... I really hate Lila's guts. Even if I'm the one who made her like this.