So I recently rewatched Jab We met (great movie 10/10 would recommend. Though it may be hard to find English subs. Kareena and Shahid are really adorable in this movie) and basically this is inspired by it. Though I will definitely steer away from the storyline of the movie.

No miraculous au and they will be around 22. Adrien didn't go to public school.

For anyone who doesn't know, both Jab and Quand means when just in different languages.

Adrien felt... numb.

As usual, it was just the same routine every day. Wake up, shower, work, eat, sleep, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Ever since his mother died a few years ago, the only meaning in his life was to be his father's pawn. He modeled for him. He did his degree for him. He ate what his father wanted him to. He even ventured into the business side of his father's company when he was asked to.

But he never complained. Never said no.

He just did it.

It was because he didn't care to. Complain, that is.

His mother... his mother died from a broken heart, was what their personal doctor had told him. Not from the illness she was already suffering. But heartbreak.

Because she found his father in the middle of a passionate embrace with the woman she saw as her best friend. The woman who had been her confidante. Who had promised never to betray her trust. But the two people she loved most in the world (barring Adrien of course) had gone and done just that.

That day was the only time he had ever physically fought his father.

But they still went on. Ignored everything that had happened before the funeral and they carried on. Adrien complied to everything his father said because really? What did he have left.

And then he met Kagami.

Awesome, daring Kagami. Who, despite sharing a similar life to himself, was always determined to make herself and her opinions known. She was always so deliberate in her actions, never doing anything unnecessary. Never doing more of anything if not for herself.

They had known each other for a while and it had come to light that they were to be wed. A decision between their parents. But Adrien found that even if it was what his father had wanted, he didn't really mind.

Kagami for a while, seemed to not mind either.

But things started changing. She started becoming more standoffish. Started treating him more like a stranger than a lover.

So when he found a letter telling him that she was leaving because she couldn't marry him. Not when she loved someone else, he wasn't too surprised.

That was three months ago.

Adrien had reverted back to the time after his mother died.

Numb.

Distant.

Miserable.

And that's when he met her.

.....

Marinette had always been a joyful girl.

Why wouldn't she be?

Her parents were the sweetest bakers in the whole of Paris and she had inherited her father's joyous (and a little crazy) spirit as well as her mother's kind demeanour. She grew up better than most. Not because of money- whilst her family were quite comfortable money wise, that wasn't the reason. She grew up with a lot of love and, being the only child, she was spoilt by the adults around her.

But that didn't make her obnoxious or act more privileged than others. Because even then her parents always made sure to reprimand her when needed to and help her learn that life couldn't always go her way.

She knew that, of course she knew that. She always made sure to prepare for the smallest of details in case of emergency.

But her life until now had been pretty good.

She had just finished her fashion degree and had gotten her dream job as a junior designer of the Gabriel brand. Many of her seniors praised her for her unique creativity and she had even gotten a compliment from Gabriel Agreste himself.

He had remembered her from a Derby hat competition that she had won years ago. She had apparently left a great impression on him.

She had gotten many offers, inluding from Audrey Bourgeois herself (her and chloe had actually become friends over the years as soon as they grew up from their childish rivalry) but she took the job she most wanted with Gabriel. And she was happy with her decision.

She also had a gorgeous boyfriend- the brother of her long time friend- who was absolutely sweet to her and always put her first. His name was Luka. He was a musician, the son of the famous rockstar, Jagged Stone, and a star in his own rights.

They had been together for quite a while now, everyone had known. Everyone had been hoping that soon, they would be engaged. Though Marinette wasn't too sure if they were ready for that yet.

And that's when everything had gone wrong.

Luka had written her a letter, telling her he would be leaving for a while. Telling her not to contact him and not to look for him. That he would do so himself when he was ready.

Marinette couldn't understand. What was he going through? Was he stressed about something? About his work? About their relationship? Why couldn't he let her in? She wanted him to.

So she made the decision to look for him, despite what he had said. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to help him through whatever was going on. She wanted to... she just wanted to know if he was alright.

She would find him and everything would be alright.

That's what she thought as she entered the coach that was set to travel to the outskirts of Paris.

She bounced all the way down the vehicle, her ticket clutched in her hand and found her seat.

And that's when she met him.

.....

"Uh. Hello?" She questioned, "I think you are in my seat."

The man didn't respond, only looked out of the window despondently, his face slightly hidden by the shadows she made.

"Excuse me monsieur."

Still, he didn't say anything, didn't even look at her. So she nudged him. Maybe a bit too hard (she was stronger than sometimes even she realised). And when he finally looked at her, his electric green eyes glaring as if she had interrupted something important, she gasped.

"M.Agreste. I apologise. I'm sorry. I just- I- uh- you." (M. Just means monsieur but shortened. Mlle. Would mean mademoiselle. Just so you guys don't get confused.)

"Spit it out," he drawled in a way that made Serverus Snape sound like a saint.

She fumbled the ticket in her hand and brought it to his view, "You're in my seat, M.Agreste."

At that, he said nothing more. Just moved to the seat across from her so she could sit down.

They were facing each other but Marinette looked anywhere apart from his face, not wanting to catch his eyes which were simmered in a stew of negative emotions. She was aware that he was looking at her, however.

"I know you from somewhere, don't I?"

Startled, her eyes snapped to meet his and for a second, her breathing stopped at the genuine curiousity hidden within his features.

And he was right to be curious. He did know her. Not personally. Just, he had passed her by many times and they may even have spoken briefly on one or two occasions, Marinette could not remember. But she knew he was Adrien Agreste and he knew she was someone. Someone he had seen. Someone who was in the background of his extravagant life. Something she'd always be to him.

"I-uh-" His eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the right words and she sighed, sticking out her right hand to formally greet him, "I'm Marinette. Marinette Dupain Cheng. I work for your father."

He was about to grab her hand but he pulled it back abruptly, as if her mere presence was enough to burn it. And he glared at her. Again. If you don't stop that I'll poke your eyes out. In return, her eyes narrowed, challenging him.

"Did my father send you here to follow me?"

There was a pause in the air as the coach driver asked everyone to put their seat belts on, causing both to do as told.

And then Marinette giggled. Not too loudly but it made him look at her like she was an fish from outer space. The look only caused her to giggle more and she was sure that a few had turned to look at her like she was mad.

"What- no. Why would he? Why?"

"You said you work for him."

"Yes. As a junior designer. I have been for almost a year now. Why would he send a designer to spy on you when he probably has people trained to do so?"

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

He took a moment to think about how stupid he had just sounded and he searched his mind for something to say, "So you're MDC. I've heard Father and a lot of other senior staff talk about you. They think your talented. Which, and I've seen your work- I mean I've had to model them- you really are. I think, soon you could surpass my father."

She blushed at the compliment and Adrien absentmindedly noted how the flush of colour made her pale face immediately burst to life, "Thank you M.Agreste."

"Adrien," he brought his hand out, this time without any hesitance.

"What?"

"Please. Call me Adrien. M.Agreste is my father."

"Okay Adrien," her small hand fit nicely in his own large one, "But only if you call me Marinette."

For the first time in a while, a small smile graced his features as he felt a shimmer of appreciation and warmth spread through him. It surprised him. How easy it was for her to make him smile when they had only just met.

But something told him that maybe he didn't really mind.

.....

"So... why are you here?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. They had been on the road for an hour now and she hadn't spoken to him at all. Only randomly muttering to herself whilst sketching in an ornate book of pink with black flowery designs.

Not that he could blame her, as he didn't even try to speak. His mind was blank and his eyes stared emotionlessly out the window next to him, taking in sights he had never really seen but not acknowledging them at all. Occasionally he would glance at her and maybe once or twice he would feel her curious stare piercing through his skull. But neither of them said anything more after their initial talk.

But the silence wasn't really awkward. It was more peaceful, in fact.

So when she asked the question, he didn't feel panicked like he would have if she was someone else. He felt almost obliged to answer her.

"I- uh. I just wanted to get away from work for a bit. All of my vacation days have added up to quite a while so I thought, why not?"

"I took a lot of days off too. Though probably not as much as you but I did get a reward of extra vacation days for winning the last staff contest."

"The sweet treat one? You were the one who made those passion fruit macaroons?"

"Yeah. My parents are bakers. I learnt from the best. But I don't understand. You could go anywhere you want so why the outskirts of Paris?"

Again, he didn't speak. He just looked at her glumly like she had asked him a horrible question.

Since he wouldn't talk, she did, "I'm here to look for my boyfriend actually. Luka. He's been missing for a bit and I know he said he didn't want to be found but his father is worried. And I am too. And I got a lead saying he was around here and I don't even know why I'm telling you all of this. I'll just shut up right... now. Yeah. Now."

The look on her face was something out of a cartoon. Her lips were pursed into a pout and her eyes widened almost comically. Adrien didn't understand how some people could be so full of expression. Even Kagami, despite her rebellious nature, had a natural stoic nature and sometimes it was even harder for her to really smile. All around him there were people who were so focused on their jobs and/or pleasing him or his father that he never got more than a nervous or reluctant smile out of them. But the more he thought about it, the more he remembered of the small glimpses of the past where he had spoken to Marinette or simply been in her presence. She was always like this, no matter who was around her.

The only person he could remember that was so full of life, just like the girl on front of him, was his mother.

But now she was gone.

"I just wanted a break," and he didn't say more. He didn't need to. Just by the look in her eyes and the kind smile she gave him, he knew she understood.

.....

"What do you mean you have to cancel?"

"I'm afraid the water pipe in your room has burst."

Marinette sighed, "Okay. I understand. Is there any other room available?"

"I'm sorry. All of our rooms are occupied. We will give you a full refund and we apologise for any inconvenience."

"Thank you."

Marinette hung up the phone and looked at it dejectedly.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, when he could see her face contorting with discomfort. She bit her lip, trying not to cry.

"It's fine- I- the hotel cancelled on me. I just have to find someplace else to stay."

"Do you want to stay with me?"

"What?"

.....

In the end, Marinette found herself dragging her luggage to a house, even bigger than the bakery.

It was honestly really beautiful. Like a large cottage out of a fairytale. A place secluded from reality where you could let all your worries be set free.

She could see why he had chosen to come to this place.

"This cottage was my mother's. She loved to come here to get away from everything and sometimes she would bring me here too."

She looked at him and could a sad but content smile on his face, "What about your father?"

His face turned into a scowl and Marinette mentally slapped herself for mentioning him, "My father never knew of this place. Because part of the reason she came here usually was to get away from him."

"Oh," she replied, a little dumbly.

"This place was our little secret, and when she died, it became just mine."

"You never told anyone of this place? Then why bring me?"

"Yeah, I wonder," he murmured, and even though she heard him, she didn't say anything, "No. I've never shown this place to anyone. But my best friend, Nino, knows of this place and I think he tells his girlfriend everything so she probably knows too."

Nino was truly the only thing in his life right now that he cared for. He was the only person in his life that his father didn't have a say in. Because even if his father wanted to, he couldn't seperate the person who was loyal to Adrien from him. It was Nino that had suggested he get away. And Nino, as usual, always seemed to be right.

"Nino!" She exclaimed, "Nino Lahiffe?"

He looked at her in shock, "You know him?"

"Of course I do. I've known him since we were babies. He's one of my best friends. His girlfriend is my best friend. I was the one who got them together in the first place. I may have accidentallylocked them in a cage together, but it worked!"

Suddenly his mind clicked in recognition and he pointed at her, "So you're Mari? Nino talks about you all the time. I think he even tried to set us up once but we were both busy and never made it to that date."

"Oh my god. I remember that. Nino said it was so typical that the both of us would rather work than go on a date."

"He was so mad at me," he chuckled, "He wouldn't talk to me for a week. I never knew he could get so worked up over something like that."

Marinette laughed too, "You know. It was Nino and Alya who told me to go after Luka. Alya was the one who tracked him to somewhere around here."

"Our lives are more connected than we realised, huh."

She couldn't help the small blush that creeped up her face when he smiled at her with affection she never thought she would see. And from Adrien Agreste of all people! She quickly cleared her throat and looked around, realising they were still at the front steps of the cottage.

"We should- we should probably bed-no sorry- head in."

His smile dropped as if he realised where he was and what he was doing was wrong even though it wasn't. She wouldn't admit it but it stung a little.

"Uh. Yeah. Come in."

He unlocked the door with a pass code (later he would tell her it was his mother's birthday) and let her come in.

As Marinette stepped into the surprisingly cosy home, she was trying to figure out what had just happened and why everything Adrien did made her feel things she had never really felt with Luka.

Because Luka may have made her heart flutter at times but she had never stammered on front of him like a girl with a school crush would. And even when Luka had left with not much of an explanation, her heart never stung as painfully as it had for just a small, silly thing with Adrien.

What is going on with me?

........

The first few days she spent with Adrien were splendid.

After they got over the initial awkwardness and Adrien seemed to become more comfortable with her, they actually had a lot of fun with each other.

She thought there wouldn't be much to do when they were in the middle of nowhere but the house had a lot more to do than she had expected.

On the first day, they had just settled in. Adrien had shown her around the house and helped her move her luggage to the guest room. They made small talk throughout the day but until dinner, they mostly kept to themselves. To thank him for letting her stay, Marinette had made dinner that day which left them both full and equally content.

The second day, she woke up late, as usual. She made her way down the stairs after freshening up and she met Adrien in the kitchen where he was making a light lunch- in her case brunch. They talked a bit more that day. Just got to know each other better. Adrien found himself more and more attracted to the way the girl's face was always so bright and lively. And he couldn't help but realise that out of everyone he had ever met, talking was easiest when it was with her.

That day, she had convinced him to take a dip in the lake near the house. He was reluctant at first, but she was insistent that they have some fun. And about an hour after they had eaten, he had gotten into his black swimming trunks and followed Marinette, who was wearing a cute red with black spotted one piece, out towards the lake.

He probably shouldn't have been looking but Marinette truly looked amazing in a swim- maybe a swim in the lake would be good for me.

The next few days passed by in a blur. But both Marinette and Adrien secretly wished time would slow. Yet, they also denied to themselves that they wished to spend more time together. Marinette had Luka and he would respect that. Meanwhile, in the last few days she had come to know that he was heartbroken over a girl. Kagami, her name was. So instead of dealing with her new feelings towards him, she pushed them down and made it her mission to help him get over her.

She had persuaded him to delete any and all pictures of her that he kept if he was going to continue to look at them like they were his doom. And when she had found him staring at a polaroid of her, his face scrunched up in despair, she told him a story of her maman. Who was duped by the guy her parents had set her up with to marry and she had genuinely liked. She had been so upset that she had moved away to France where she had met Marinette's Papa.

"He told Maman one day, "If you want to heal from the heartache, don't try to go back to what caused it in the first place." Maman told me that it was then when she realised that dwelling on the past will not change the future. It is realising the present that will help you make your own, better future."

He had made the decision to throw the picture out.

When the first week ended, Marinette and Adrien found themselves in the film room his mother had made. It reminded Marinette of an old cinema as, even though most of the equipment was rather new, Adrien had kept many old pieces of equipment that would be used to watch the movie they were going to watch that day.

"Solitude. My maman wrote this film and she starred as the main lead. It's one of the first movies she ever starred in. I have all of her movies here but this one is my favourite. Maman used to say that this was her most passionate piece. The movie she gave her all."

"Chloe's mother produced it, didn't she?"

He looked at her, his mouth slightly ajar and his eyes wide, "You know Chloe?"

She shyly rubbed the back of her neck and nervously chuckled, "Yeah. Me and Chloe go way back. She used to bully me when we were younger."

"Oh. I'm sorry," he seemed taken aback at her admission and Marinette almost giggled at the unsurity in his face.

"It's not your fault. Besides we're friends now. You know how she decided to go to therapy? I was the one who suggested it to her. Turns out, she had a huge crush on me when we were younger but she didn't know how to act on it. Especially with her father being the mayor and her not wanting to 'ruin' his reputation."

"Makes sense. She's in a pretty committed relationship with Sabrina now."

"I know," she beamed, "They're so adorable!"

"It seems," he looked at her and smiled widely, "Our lives really are more intertwined than we initially thought."

After that conversation, they had settled down in the comfy seats that had been in the same spot since Adrien could remember. Adrien sat in his usual seat and he let Marinette sit in the seat that was his mother's. And as they got the film started, Adrien couldn't help but think that Marinette looked like she belonged there.

........

"Have you gotten to finding that Luka guy yet?"

She looked at him pointedly but didn't say much more about the obvious distaste when he said the name, "Actually. I was hoping to go down to the market a bit away from here. I heard he was around there somewhere. I'm going to see if I can find him whilst I also get some groceries for us."

"Do you want me to come with?"

"No. I'll be fine on my own."

But when she came back, she wasn't fine. He could tell.

When she came back, the Marinette he knew to be happy and enjoyable in the last couple of days, had completely morphed into something of a shell.

She had come back with groceries. She had placed them on the counter and greeted him as usual, though her mind had been somewhere else. She had stayed in her room until it was dinner and she barely spoke when they ate. She didn't join him when he went outside to look at the clear sky, making the excuse that she was tired and wanted to sleep.

He didn't question her but maybe he should have.

Because the next day, the only remnants of Marinette Dupain-Cheng that he found were that of a letter:

Adrien.

I found Luka.

Thank you for being there for me and helping me when you didn't have to.

I am grateful for how kind you were to me. And I will miss the fun we had together.

You have made these last few weeks amazing for me.

I'll always remember when we met (properly, of course.)

Goodbye Adrien.

Sincerely, Marinette.

3 months later

(If you don't know, in the movie, Aditya let's Geet go to her boyfriend because he wants her to be happy. I'm still slightly following the storyline of the movie.)

It had been 3 months since he had seen Marinette. But he couldn't stop thinking about her. Every second of his life was bombarded with thoughts of her. How she looked, how she made him feel, how talented and wonderful she was. She had brought him out of the shell he had been stuck in. She had made him feel things that he had never felt with Kagami. It was so much more than that.

He thought he loved Kagami and, maybe, he did. He loved her and cared about her like a friend would. Maybe once, those feelings were more romantic, but he had come to accept that she didn't love him. And meeting Marinette had made him realise that he actually did not love Kagami in the way he once thought he did. Perhaps, that is why it was so easy for his heart to move on.

With Marinette though, it was different. Just knowing her and spending time with her for a few weeks, he knew in his heart that she was the one. He felt like he had known her for his whole life with the way it was so easy to just talk to her. And even though he hadn't seen her in a while, just the thought of her was enough for his heart to beat like crazy.

He wanted more, but he knew she had Luka. She didn't need him.

And whilst that stung, he was happy knowing she was happy.

When she had said goodbye, he didn't think that would be the end really.

But when he came back to his reality, he had found that Marinette had resigned from her position as a junior designer. He had asked around and, even though he received incredulous looks and several lifted eyebrows of him looking for someone he had barely interacted with before, no one knew where she was.

And then he went to the two people he probably should have gone to in the first place.

Alya and Nino.

He was at their apartment, as they had asked him to join them for dinner. Alya was the daughter of a chef and knew some pretty good recipes, so he never refused when they invited him.

They spoke about a lot of stuff. Normal things and funny stories that happened in their respective workplaces.

They talked about how his father had surprisingly not said anything about him running off to who knows where (obviously they know) because ever since he had come back and thrown himself into projects, it seemed the productivity of the company as a whole had increased.

This turned the conversation to his own mental health and why it was getting better, they were grateful that he had become less depressed since the Kagami incident.

Then Adrien almost kicked himself for not asking sooner.

"Hey guys," he put his fork down, "How's Marinette doing with Luka? She resigned from the office so I haven't seen her or spoken to her at all. Is she okay?"

He watched as both Nino and Alya seemed to pale, as they exchanged sad looks with each other and Alya dropped their cutlery onto their plates as well.

"I thought you knew Adrien."

"Knew what?"

"Marinette," she looked at her boyfriend who nodded for her to continue, "She just vanished."

"What?!" He stood up quickly, his hands banging on the table as he looked at them with a mix of fear and fury.

"Dude, sit down. She hasn't vanished," Nino gave his girlfriend a pointed look, "Like. We know she's alive and well. She speaks to her parents all the time so they're not worried she got kidnapped or anything. It's just..."

"Just what, Nino?" Adrien was becoming more infuriated by the second and although he sat down upon Nino's request, he was rearing to get out of the house and look for Marinette immediately.

"It's just. She hasn't actually told her parents where she is. Or us for that matter."

"Why, Nino," he sucked his breath in for a second and released, "I don't understand."

"When you last saw her," Alya spoke up, "How did she look?"

She looked dejected, downtrodden, lonely, depressed. Just like I had been.

He looked at them, his mouth open due to his realisation that the last time he had seen her, she hadn't looked happy at all. He was a fool.

"What," he paused to wet his dry lips, "What the hell happened to her?"

They looked at each other again and he could see Alya's eyes beginning to water, but she resisted, "I guess... it was partly our fault for the way you guys ended up."

Before he could question what she meant, Nino cut in, "Did Kagami ever get around to telling you who she was seeing behind your back?"

"What does that even have anything to do with Marinette?"

"Because," Alya croaked out and Nino wrapped an arm around her, looking equally as regretful, "Because it was- it still is- Luka who Kagami ran off with."

.....

Adrien had went straight to bed after he came back to the mansion, ignoring any of the questions Nathalie had tried to ask about his day. But instead of sleeping, his mind was full of thoughts of what Alya and Nino had told him.

Unlike what he probably would have done in his teenage years, he stayed with his best friends and asked them more about what they meant. Yes, he was angry at them for not telling him sooner, but the more they spoke, the more he couldn't blame them because they were in an impossible situation.

They had found out that Luka and Kagami were seeing each other behind Marinette and his own back. But the two had begged the other couple not to tell and Alya and Nino could see that the two loved each other very much. It had made them feel conflicted.

So when Luka and Kagami had run, they had come up with a plan to get Marinette and Adrien together somehow. But Marinette was so determined to find Luka that they didn't know if it were possible.

They had been the ones to persuade the two to go on a trip. They had pointed Marinette into Adrien's direction, had made sure they got on the same bus and had schemed to find a way to get them in the same hotel room or house together.

And it worked.

But the day before Marinette left, she had a chance encounter with the two people they never actually expected to be there- because Alya and Nino had made sure that neither Adrien or Marinette would bump into them.

But all of their efforts went down the drain when Marinette had seen Luka and Kagami happily in each other's company, holding hands and sharing sweet kisses as she had gone to get groceries.

And when Marinette came back home and found out that they knew, they was a huge fight between the three of them.

Without much warning, Marinette had left.

"Please Adrien. If you find her, tell her we're so, so sorry. We just wanted the two of you to be happy. And we just want our friend back. Marinette deserves so much more and Luka was not giving her that no matter how much he tried. She needs someone like you and you need her too. Tell her we miss her, please. And we love her so much."

"I will," he replied, before leaving the two for the night.

And he understood why they did what they did. They felt like they had to. So even if he was angry, the anger had become less and less as they explained the situation.

All he wanted now was to find her.

So he thought about who else could probably know about where she was, when he remembered one other person that may have a chance of knowing where she was.

In fact, it was pretty likely.

He needed to make a call.

.......

Adrien stepped out of the plane, and took a deep breath in, waiting for his bodyguard- who had come ahead of him- to pull the car up and take him to the hotel.

It had been a week since the dinner with Alya and Nino and it had only really took him a day to find Marinette. But with his intense schedule, he had to wait a couple of days before heading to her.

The call he had made was to his childhood best friend, Chloe. Who, immediately after picking up the call had told him exactly what he wanted. How she knew what he wanted to ask about? He'll never know. But he made sure that he bought Chloe the limited edition rouge lipstick she had been dying to get her hands on, which had only been released in Paris and wouldn't be in New York for another month, as a thank you for being so helpful.

Marinette was staying at the new Bourgeois hotel in New York, which was where he was headed. Because she was working for Chloe's mother, in return, she was allowed to stay at the hotel for free. Chloe said she needed the luxury after what she had been through.

So he was going there, under the guise that he was going to see his best friend who had been in New York for a year, to bring Marinette back home.

For the car ride, he didn't speak much to his bodyguard (who really only grunted in responses anyways hence, his nickname, Gorilla) . Most of his mind was occupied at what he was going to say and what he was going to do when he got to Marinette. Would she be fine seeing him? Would she tell him to go away? How was she faring in the last three months. From what he had heard from Chloe, it wasn't well.

When the car stopped, he had to sit for a few more seconds and take a deep breath. His palms had sweat on them and his legs were shaking anxiously.

He stepped out of the car and was greeted by the familiar face of the blonde he thought of as a sister, her ginger haired girlfriend standing next to her.

"Adrikins! I missed you!"

"Same here Chlo," he replied as he engulfed her into a hug and let her cling to him for a few seconds until Sabrina cleared her throat. He unraveled himself from the other blonde and gave Sabrina a small hug as well, "It's good to see you 'Bri."

The woman returned the hug and when they parted she was smiling wistfully, "I wish it was under better circumstances, but I'm glad you're doing much better Adrien."

"I hope I can make her feel better."

"I know you will."

He looked back at Chloe, who now had Sabrina's hand tangled with her own, "Does she know I'm here?"

"No. I told her I'm going to greet a long time friend of mine but she's so out of it lately. She hasn't made the connection."

"Can you take me to her?" He asked rather tentatively.

Chloe seemed to smirk a bit at that, "Of course lover boy. It would be a pleasure."

.......

A knock on her room door dragged Marinette out of the work coma she had put herself in again.

She looked up with a few pins in her mouth and grumbled, taking them out, "Chloe. I'm working right now. Come back later or go bother someone else if you're so bored."

Instead of the person going away, however, she heard a click in the door, indicating that the door was being opened.

From where she was, she couldn't actually see the door, as to get to it, there was a narrow passageway in between the large room- which was more like an apartment- and the door.

So when she heard the door shut behind the person, and she groaned in frustration, she didn't expect a male voice to speak, "Wow Marinette. You almost sound like me before I met you on the bus three months ago."

The pins in her hand almost dropped as her jaw dropped when the person she least expected to be there, came into view.

"A-A-Adrien?"

He smiled brightly and waved at the girl, obviously happy to see her, "Hi, Marinette."

"Wha- what are you doing here? How did you even know I was- no wait- lemme guess. Chloe told you."

"She did. And the reason I am here. Well... I think that we need to talk."

(Shout out to my friend- you know who you are- who read until this point and has been waiting for me to finish writing this oneshot so she can read the rest. Here you go luv. As promised, I won't torture you and make this oneshot into two separate parts so you don't have to wait longer.)

"About what Adrien? There's nothing for us to talk about," she sighed and turned her back away from him trying not to let her eyes water, "Look. Adrien. It's nice to see you and all but I really don't know why you are here. I'm a bit busy right now so why don't we catch up later."

"No."

She whirled around quickly and glared at him, and it almost did make him back off, "What do you mean, no?"

He stepped forward to her and in the light she could see how he looked much better than the last she saw of him. His face was less sunken and his eyes seemed less gloomy, as if he had finally found meaning in his life again.

She wondered how it happened because she was in desperate need of something to distract her from the feelings of betrayal she felt from the three people she had trusted the most. Because even after three months, it still hurt.

"Because. You're hurting. And I want to help."

By this point, her hands had been emptied of whatever objects she had been working with, and she dropped to the ground helplessly. His words immediately made her drop any facade of her being fine and she grabbed her face in her hands as tears began to leak out.

"Why?" She sobbed, "Why would you want to help me? You barely know me. I was just someone you worked with. Someone in your background. Now I'm not even that."

She felt two strong arms surround her entire body, "Marinette. Maybe for a while you were just someone I worked with. But I told you, our lives are more intertwined than you realise. More than I realise. I want to get to know you. I want to be there for you. Like you were for me."

Her head had found its way to the crook between his neck and his shoulder, and she found comfort in the way he caressed her hair, not at all caring that her mascara would most likely ruin his expensive shirt.

"I don't understand," she murmured into his neck after a few moments where she just let her tears flow out.

He shifted a bit away from her, causing her to move her head away from him so she could look at him and let him speak, "Before we met on the bus... I was going through a lot. There was the stress my father put on me and his pushing for me to accept Nathalie when it was still hard for me to look at her without remembering what they did to Maman. I was being bombarded with work. Kagami had left me," he winced slightly when he realised that she may be a sensitive topic for her.

"Carry on Adrien, it's fine."

"But it's not Marinette," his voice rose, but not harshly. Instead, it was rather gentle as he followed his words by bringing a hand to cup her cheek and look at her intently, "I should have asked you to tell me what was wrong. I could see that you were distracted the day before you left but I didn't push it. I should have. Because if I had, you wouldn't be sitting here, breaking down in my arms at what could never have been."

He heard a sharp intake of breath from her and panicked when he thought that she may have felt offended by his words. But then she took another deep breath and closed her eyes, leaning into his hand a bit, "You're right. But it's also my fault for not telling you. I should have told you. You deserved to know."

He shook his head quickly, "You were hurt Marinette. You didn't know how to handle the situation. It happens to the best of us. And yes, I was hurt about what Kagami did. But the difference between our situations was that I knew that she had fallen in love with someone else. I had time to process that before I would need to face it. You didn't have that luxury before it was thrown right into your face like a cricket ball."

She sprung forward and another round of tears began, "It's just- I can't believe that he didn't tell me from the beginning. That Alya and Nino helped them. I would have understood."

"Nino and Alya are very sorry that it happened this way, but I think you need to hear them out, okay. You need to hear their side as well."

"I know I do. I know. I know. I'm just... I'm so tired of everything. Of having to be the girl that would forgive and forget. Of people not trusting me as much as I trusted them. It hurts. So much. Too much. I don't know what to do anymore. How do I? How can I go on when the people I care about lied to me?"

"Do you remember what you told me?" He could feel her head shake sideways a bit, "You told me something your Papa told your maman. What did he say?"

"He said," she lifted her head and sniffled a bit, "He said. If you want to heal from heartache then don't try to go back to what caused it. But I've done that. I left Paris. I left everything behind."

"Marinette. Losten to me, and listen to me carefully," he looked right into her eyes, his own sincere with comfort and worry, "Not going back to it doesn't necessarily mean running away. It can mean forgiving, yes. But it doesn't have to mean forgetting like people expect you to. It can mean moving forwards in a direction where what happened will never happen again. I spoke to your mother."

She looked at him in surprise, "You did?" She whispered.

He nodded, "And do you know what she said? That she never forgot the guy she would have married. Because it was an experience that allowed her to learn how valuable she is to herself and to others. That it allowed her to make better decisions for her future in order for something like that to never happen again."

"But how do I do that? I'm a mess. I can't think straight. I don't even know if I want to forgive."

"And that's your choice. Maybe forgiving seems like the better option but is it the best option for you right now? What do you want, Marinette?"

"I- I want. I want-" you.

......

They spoke for much longer than they realised. But by the end of it, Marinette had come to a conclusion thanks to Adrien's help.

Somehow, in between the talks, Adrien had managed to wrangle them into the sheets, where he could comfort her to maximum capacity. So now, they were in a position that made her blush. They were a tangle of limbs and Adrien took full advantage of the height difference between them. His arms were placed, one around her neck and the other around her waist. Her legs had also found themselves in between his own but she didn't complain.

Neither did he.

"You know," he whispered sleepily. The jet lag was getting to him, "Those weeks I spent alone with you. They were the best weeks of my life. Spending time with you has become the highlight of my life."

She too felt exhausted so all he heard from her was a small, "Me too," Before the both of them drifted off to sleep.

........

"I'm sorry Marinette. I really am. I wish I had done things differently. You didn't deserve any of this."

Marinette looked at Luka, whose face looked like a kicked puppy, and frowned at him, "I thought you trusted me Luka."

"I did- I still do!"

"Then why?" Her voice raised, "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I didn't want to hurt you."

"But you did," she brought her hand to her chest and clutched her top almost painfully, "you hurt me by not telling me. You hurt me because instead of telling me that you didn't feel happy with me, you just vanished without telling me and made me worried about you. Turns out you had gone off to elope with someone else. You lied to me! You made Alya and Nino lie to me because they found themselves in a situationthat should bever have been impossible. But what you did made it like that."

"Mari-"

"Luka shut up. And listen to me. I love you. I really do. I care for you a lot. Which is why I would have understood if you had told me from the start."

"Where are you even getting at?"

"I said I love you. But Luka, I'm not in love with you, just like you aren't in love with me. Which is why I would have been happy that you would want to be with Kagami and not me. But the problem isn't that. It's the fact that you didn't trust me enough to sit me down and just talk about our feelings. All of this," she gestured between themselves, "could have been solved sooner if you just communicated with me."

"Are you mad that I married someone else?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper, "I know everyone wanted us to. But it just got too much and Kagami- she understood. She understood me more than anyone else did. More than even you."

"And I understand that. She is to you what I could never be for you because even though our relationship was sweet and all, I don't think we ever fully gave ourselves to each other. So no, I'm not mad that you married her. I just wish that you had spoken to me and that Kagami had spoken to Adrien. We both would have hurt much less."

"Will you ever forgive us?"

She smiled at him and opened her arms, inviting him for a friendly hug, "Of course Luka. It took a while but I do understand why you did what you did. And sometimes... sometimes we can't help doing what we did even when there is a better option. I just want you to be happy with her."

He came forward and hugged her for a few seconds, before stepping away and resting his hands on her shoulders, "I hope you find your happiness too."

She thought back to the nights she spent cuddled up to Adrien in New York before they came back. And how they had spent a lot of time together since coming back to Paris. How they hadn't just become good friends, but business partners. Adrien had left Gabriel for good and was helping Marinette to start her own brand. They were naming it A&M and whilst Marinette would be in charge of the creative side of the company, Adrien would be in charge of the business. But this time, he wasn't being forced into it, it was something he really wanted to do.

"Anything I do with you makes me happy."

And even though they hadn't explicitly started anything romantic, she couldn't deny her feelings for him when they had grown so much closer, when her heart wouldn't stop beating so fast around him.

"I think," her smile become brighter, "I already have."

.......

Meanwhile, Adrien was having a similar conversation with Kagami, who had finally decided to come see him once she had heard that he was back from New York.

He invited her in to his apartment, something he decided to buy after coming back from his mother's cottage almost 8 months ago. His father had, at first, been outraged that he didn't want to live in the mansion. But Nathalie had persuaded him that Adrien could make his own decisions and thought that it was about time he wanted to move out. His relationship with Nathalie and his father had actually gotten better because of it. (Though, since he had left Gabriel and made his plans with Marinette known, his father had barely spoken to him. So maybe he was back to square one on that regard.)

Marinette was actually the first person he had invited to the apartment after they came back from New York. She had helped him change it from the bare and minimal furniture that had already been there to something that felt more like home.

"Do you want anything?" He asked Kagami, as she settled on the red sofa with black accents that Marinette had helped him pick out.

"Can I have a glass of water please?"

He nodded and quickly fulfilled the request, before making sure to check on the cats he and Marinette had gotten- Tikki and Plagg. Tikki was a sweet little ginger cat with black spots that made her look like a ladybug (according to Marinette). Whilst Plagg was very much the black cat that Adrien had always wanted, yet he was so much more. He and Marinette loved the both of them very much and more often than not, she came around just to play with the kitties (he would never admit that he felt jealous when she did). Since Marinette still lived her parents at their bakery, she couldn't keep them at her house if she didn't want cat hair to be in her parents baked treats.

Once he was certain the two cats were content, he settled down on the other end of the sofa, keeping a small distance between himself and the girl next to him.

The girl in question looked more ashamed and contrite than he had ever seen her.

"Adrien. I am so, so sorry," she whispered.

"Oh you're sorry. For what exactly?" he almost spat back, his tone sharp, causing her to flinch.

She nodded but still didn't look at him, "I'm sorry for not telling you. For just running off without much of an explanation. I hurt you."

"Yes," he said sternly, "You hurt me. And you hurt Marinette too."

"And I'm sorry that I did."

All of a sudden, his voice and his face seemed to soften as he decided to cut the scary act, "But you were also hurt, so I'm sorry too."

Her face whipped up in surprise and finally, she met his eye, "What?"

"I'm glad, Kagami. That he makes you happy. More than I ever did. Because you need that. You deserve it. I kept you from that and I was ignorant to the fact that maybe you weren't as happy to be with me as I was with you. I was being selfish."

"I think," a small chuckle erupted from her, "I was the selfish on in this situation."

He brought his hands out and gestured for her to place her own in them. After hesitating for a few seconds, she did.

"You can be selfish if it's to be happy Kagami. I just wish that instead of running off, you would have told me. You would have let me understand. It may have hurt, yes. But it wouldn't have hurt as much as having to wonder why I wasn't enough for you. Why I couldn't be better. Why you couldn't trust me. Why you felt the need to lie to me."

She sighed and frowned guiltily, "I do trust you Adrien. I really do. I just..I-"

His grip around her hand tightened a bit, not aggressively, but more to communicate that he was there for her, "It's just that, when you love someone, you would do things you wouldn't expect. Sometimes that can be something stupid or infuriating to others, but to you, it's what feels like the right thing. You don't need to explain yourself Kagami. Because maybe I was mad at you once upon a time, but I'd rather you be truly happy with someone you know you're in love with than you constantly pondering whether or not you made the right decision in staying with me for the rest of your life."

The girl sobbed and threw her arms around the blond's neck, "I'm so sorry. Oh my god l, Adrien. I'm sorry for everything."

"I forgive you Kagami," he returned the hug and ran a calming hand up and down her back whilst speaking, "And hey. Luka is definitely something if you have finally started showing more emotions. You know, I don't think I've ever seen you actually cry."

She pulled back and huffed in a very un-kagami-like way, "If you speak again, I'm going to hit you."

"And there's the Kagami I know and love!" He laughed as he tried to dodge the incoming hit to his shoulder, "And just so you know, I do love you, if you ever doubted."

"Adrien- I-"

He lifted a finger to her lops, motioning her to be quiet, "But I think you need to know, I'm not in love with you. I don't want you to think that I'll be an obstacle to you and Luka so I'm going to tell you now. I genuinely care for you Kagami, but as a friend only. Maybe, long ago, it was more than that, but like you my feelings have changed. Which is why I'm happy that you are happy."

"Thank you Adrien," she paused, her face thoughtful for a second, "And I hope you can find your happiness too."

After she said that, a vibration on the table distracted them from their conversation. Adrien picked his phone, which had a cover of a black cat (Marinette had gifted it to him and had her own ladybug one she had said looked like Tikki), and looked at the message he recieved.

M'ladynette🐞

I'm coming up with Luka. He knew Kagami would be here so he dropped me off so he could pick her up

Adrien🐈‍⬛

👍

We've finished talking anyways so that's fine

"I think," he turned his attention back to Kagami to answer her last remark and his smile became almost blinding, "I already have."

......

"So."

"So."

"So."

"Ugh, Nette. You're killing me! Just ask me what's on your mind already."

"How was your talk with Kagami?" She asked, her eyebrows raised and her arms folded across her chest.

"Good. We cleared quite a bit up. How was your talk with Luka?"

"Same as you. I forgave him."

"I did too."

They just looked at each other for a few seconds, neither saying anything. Just staring at each other like they were about to fight to the death.

The thought made Marinette start giggling and soon, he joined in with her laughter, dissolving any of the tension that may have been between them at that moment.

"You know," he said after he managed to stop his laughter, "recently I was trying to think of the other times we met. Before the bus."

"Oh really?" She asked, her voice teasing as she moved closer to him and flicked the bottom of his chin.

"Yes really," he teased back, looking down at her with a similar teasing look on his own face, "And, well. I actually remember our first meeting."

"And how did our first meeting go?" Her voice became more of a whisper as she felt her breath hitch at the closeness between their bodies.

"You bumped into me with the bowler hat that I had to put on for a fashion show and I sneezed on you because I was allergic to the real feather you put on there," she couldn't help the small giggle that left her throat, "And we both began to apologise so much to each other that it caused you to trip and to fall onto me. We were both so flustered that we just stayed there for a bit until you got pulled off of me."

Marinette herself was becoming more red, whether it was due to the embarrassment of remembering that particular incident after locking the memory away for years, or due to the fact that Adrien and her had been leaning in to each other so much that their faces and their bodies were only a breadth apart.

"Adrien," she whispered as her hand shakingly moved up his chest and she clutched the fabric by his neck tightly.

"Marinette," he whispered back, as one of his hands were brought up to stroke her face tenderly, making her shiver at his touch, "I have fallen so deeply and desperately in love with you and I don't think I'll ever stop."

"Adrien. I feel the same. I too am in lo-oh!" She gasped.

But he didn't let her say the rest. She didn't have to. Because the way she looked at him, he just knew. He could just tell that she felt what he did.

Intense, yet at the same time, tranquil.

Which is why, instead of letting her finish her sentence, he pulled her into him by the waist and kissed her urgently. All of his previous restraint left his body as his lips melted into hers and she returned the favour with equal fervour. And so they kissed and they took a few needy breaths before kissing again. All of the longing touches and their pining looks in the last couple of months were put into their kisses as they grasped onto each other tightly, not wanting to let go. So they touched and they held onto each other, savouring the feeling of finally finding the one person that brought the best out of them, and they felt exhilarated.

They felt free.

They felt happy.

Like it was meant to be.

Bonus:

"So kids. Remember, you would have never been here if it weren't for your mother and I meeting on that bus."

"Shouldn't we be thanking Aunty Alya and Uncle Nino for being the ones who made sure you were on the same bus?" A teenage girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, Emma, asked with her eyes fluttering innocently at her father.

"Actually, we should probably thank Uncle Luka and Aunt 'Gami for running away with each other," her brother, Louis drawled, as he pretended to look at his nails in a bored manner.

"No. We should actually thank the bus. I wonder how it's doing now. If it's still running and whether or not it has brought any other couples together," his twin brother, Hugo, chimed in as they smirked at each other knowing that they were riling their father up.

Whilst Adrien tried to protest, Marinette shook her head at her children and her husband, though a smile played on her face as she thought of the story her husband had been telling to their children once again.

She didn't notice when her husband sighed in defeat as the children got into an argument of who should be thanked for their existence. She didn't even notice that he had sneaked up behind her until he wrapped his arms around her waist from the back and rested his chin on her shoulder, kissing the side of her jaw lovingly.

"And what are you thinking about, m'lady?"

"That maybe Hugo is right and we should be thanking the bus. Maybe even the seats we sat on."

"Hmm. I think they're all wrong."

"You do, do you?" Even without having a full view of her face, he knew her eyebrow was raised.

"I think that we should thank ourselves. Thank the fact that when we met, it was at a time when we both needed each other the most. I for one, am eternally grateful that I had the chance to meet and fall in love with you."

She giggled and turned around so they were pressed against each other tightly.

"I'm thankful that it was you I fell in love with, too."

They smiled at each other and leant in, both of their eyes fluttering to a close as the now familiar feeling of desire appeared inside of them. They felt each other's breath as they came in closer and they-

"If you guys are going to kiss," Marinette and Adrien leapt apart in shock as they both looked towards their daughter who had interrupted them, "Can you please not do it in the middle of the doorway. I don't want to be trapped between the twins arguing and you acting like a pair of hormonal teenagers for any amount of time."

They watched as Emma walked through the gap that had been created between them and she made her way towards the kitchen, presumably to get a snack.

Marinette looked at her husband and as soon as their eyes met, the two of them burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Why don't you go rope Emma into helping you make dinner whilst I go deal with our lovely sons, huh babe?"

He stepped on front of her again and leaned down to peck her lips before standing up straight, "I'll go do just that my love."

And as the two went their seperate ways to deal with their own tasks, they couldn't help but smile at the life they had made together, all because of a chance meeting on a bus to the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as the outskirts of Paris.

And we are now done.

How was it?

It took me quite a while to come up with this story but I'm really satisfied with how it turned out.

For your information, Alya and Nino had nothing to do with the hotel Marinette was supposed to go to having any problems. No. And Chloe definitely didn't have anything to do with it either. Absolutely not!

Anyways, after A&M became a well established brand, Gabriel offered a sort of merging of both companies and stepped down as owner. So Gabriel became rebranded with all its stores and shows etc. being turned into A&M stores and shows etc. And Gabriel and Adrien eventually forgave each other because neither wanted to lose each other.

Marinette and Adrien sometimes go to his mother's cottage to spend time away from everyone, and sometimes they bring the kids along, but mostly it's just them.

Please tell me what your thoughts were on this.

Bug out lovelies 😘.