It was a beautiful warm summer day, and with no school anymore, Marinette thought it would be nice to surprise Adrien with a picnic in the park. Alya immediately jumped on board as co-conspirator to pack the picnic baskets and surprise the boys. Since Adrien's father was going to be in London for a few days, Nathalie basically wiped Adrien's schedule, meaning he could spend all his time with Marinette and his friends.

Marinette had managed to get herself up early so that she could bake a special batch of macarons, making sure there were plenty of Adrien's favourite passionfruit ones. Settled on the blanket under a tree, the two couples enjoyed their treats while they talked about what the future might hold for them. Nino had lined up some DJ gigs and was starting to get a bit of a name for himself. Marientte was waiting on a response for some internship applications and Adrien, well he hadn't quite decided yet, that would depend on his father.

Adrien sat with his back up against the tree, one knee bent up and with Marinette leaning back against his chest. Adrien loved this, holding Marinette in his arms, the warm sun on his back and his best friends around him. It was perfect. He noticed she was wearing the new summer dress she had been making, her hair tied up into a messy bun on her head and her face glowed with happiness. She looked so beautiful to him.

Alya excitedly told them she had been offered an internship at TVi after her impressive stint on their work placements. Her connection to Ladybug also didn't go unnoticed, as the Ladyblog was practically the only place Ladybug and Chat Noir granted interviews. "I'm up for a student achievement award too for one of my photos." She grinned. The others looked at her as she scrolled through her phone before holding up her prized picture of the heated kiss between Ladybug and Chat Noir. Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Really, they nominated that for a prize?" Alya laughed.

"Hey, I got the exclusive pics and an interview." She protested. After the picture went viral, Ladybug and Chat granted the Ladyblogger an interview to confirm their relationship, while asking for privacy. Chat of course couldn't stop grinning like a love sick kitten the entire time and the hashtag #lovelikechat started trending on social media. Even now he almost was giving himself away with the smug look on his face over that photo. There was an unexpected bonus though in that the focus on the 'new' development between Ladybug and Chat had taken the focus off Adrien and Marinette in the media. Thank goodness for small blessings.

"Besides, I always said there was something between those two, and it turned out I was right." Alya gloated. "Plus getting my second favourite picture of them was just a bonus."

"Second favourite?" Adrien queried. "What's your favourite picture then?" He assumed it must have been something of her and Nino.

"Ah." Alya replied mysteriously. "It was actually the first time I tried out that long range camera lense one afternoon here at school and I stumbled across something rather juicy." She once again scrolled through her phone before turning it around. Marinette practically choked on her drink. It was almost a mirror image of the Ladybug and Chat Noir picture, only it was Adrien holding up Marinette against the lockers at school. It was after Adrien's fencing lesson, he hadn't even changed yet, and they *thought* no one else was around for their impromptu makeout. Marinette was completely dying but Adrien's face broke into a wide grin.

"A-Alya, how...how could you?" Marinette finally spluttered out as Adrien began to laugh behind her. Of course that damn Cat would find it funny.

"Can I have a copy of that?" He asked Alya, Marinette slapping him on the arm, her face growing progressively more red. In the distance, they heard arguing and laughter before seeing Alix, Kim, Max and Ivan come into view, kicking a soccer ball and heading their way.

"Alya, delete that before someone sees it." Marinette urged in a panic. She could just picture how Kim would find new and creative ways to torture her if he saw it. Alya pouted.

"Oh all right, spoil sport. But you owe me, so I get to name your first born child." Marinette sat up and held her hands on her hip.

"Alya Césaire, you know perfectly well I've already chosen names..." Marinette slapped her hands over her mouth and started to turn a shade of red Adrien had never seen before. Marinette turned her wide eyes towards her boyfriend, who was gazing at her with a look somewhere between surprise and wonder.

"Dude." Nino chuckled, shaking his head as Alya collapsed on his shoulder in laughter.

"That's priceless! Okay, I think that was enough payment, I'll delete it." The reporter got out in between her laughter as she deleted the picture. She then stood up, pulling Nino with her. "Hey Alix, mind if we join?" She called out, dragging Nino over to the others and leaving Marinette to wallow in her embarrassment.

The bluenette buried her face into her bemused boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm going to kill Alya one day." She muttered. Adrien chuckled as he laid his head on hers rubbing circles on her back with his hand.

"No you won't m'lady, she's like a sister to you and we couldn't replace her as Rena Rouge." Marinette had told Adrien who all the Miraculous holders were, in case it was ever needed, and he was still marveling at the fact that he had been working with all his friends all along, but it also made him feel so lucky to have such wonderful and trustworthy people around him. He tried to look down at her, but she still had her face buried. "So...do I get to know my kid's names, or are you going to make me wait?" He asked. Marinette turned her head to the side and made what Adrien thought was the most adorable eep sound. She could tell from his voice that he was being serious. She had fretted that maybe the thought that she had already named their future (possible) children might have been enough to scare him off.

"Emma, Hugo and Louis." She said quietly. Adrien slowly repeated the names before hooking his finger under her chin and tilting her head up. She looked at him with worried eyes, adorably biting her bottom lip.

"I love them." He said, kissing her on the nose. "And I love you."

"I'm sorry." She said looking away. "I know it's, um...you don't think I'm being weird do you?" Adrien tapped a finger on his chin in thought.

"No more than usual." He replied, earning him another playful slap on the arm. He laughed and scooped her up into his arms planting a kiss on her forehead. "No, I don't think you're being weird at all. You're the person I want to spend the rest of my life with Marinette, of course I've thought about that too." She looked at him surprised.

"You...have?" He nodded with a grin.

"It's only ever been you m'lady, and it's all it's ever going to be. I want to have a family with you too." He tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "And between you and me," he leaned into her ear, "I can't wait." Marinette playfully pushed his nose back.

"Well you have to have a little patience Kitty, we still have a certain bad guy that needs defeating first and I'm not sure I could imagine a pregnant Ladybug in that tight suit." Adrien nuzzled her neck placing a soft kiss.

"I could." He whispered, but before she could counter he brought her lips up to his.

"Hey you two, stop snogging over there and come join our teams." Kim yelled out. Adrien and Marinette grinned at each other before he helped her up and they ran to join the others.

"So what's the deal?" Alix asked Kim after they had assembled the teams. Alix had Nino, Marinette and Ivan while Kim had Adrien, Max and Alya.

"Losing captain has to do a nudie run around our old school grounds tonight." Kim replied, pointing his thumb behind him with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Kim you'll get arrested again and I won't let Ondine bail you out this time." Alix retorted with arms folded.

"Who says I'm gonna lose Short Stack?" Alix narrowed her eyes at him and balled her fists.

"Fine, it's your funeral." It was game on.

Adrien and Marinette were each set as goalies for their respective teams. Adrien for his quick reflexes and Marientte mostly so she wouldn't trip over her own feet running after the ball. The scores were set at 1-0 with Alix's team in the lead. Kim charged down the line with narrowed focus on Marinette's goal. His kick, however, pulled up short leaving Marientte to charge in and kick the ball back into the field of play, only it didn't quite happen that way. Ladybug might be graceful and quick on her feet, but Marinette was, well, Marinette, and wearing a dress to kick a ball probably didn't help either. Adrien had been distracted talking to Nino when he heard her yep in pain. Within a flash he was kneeling next to her as she held her ankle.

"Don't move Mari, let me look at it." He said, gently taking her foot into his hand and slowly rolling it. She flinched, but wasn't screaming out in pain.

"What did you do Kim?" Alix accused, giving him a backhanded slap across the chest.

"I didn't do anything!" He retorted.

"Guys it's fine." Marinette interceded. "It was my own fault as usual."

"Well, I don't think you broke anything Princess, just sprained it, but we better get some ice on it." Marientte went to stand up, but couldn't put her weight down. Adrien scooped her up in his arms and started carrying her towards the bakery with all their friends in tow. Marinette tucked her head into Adrien's shoulder as he walked. She didn't think she could get any more embarrassed today if she tried.

Nino opened the bakery door for them, letting Adrien through with Marinette. Sabine immediately ran over to assess the situation. "I think it's just a sprain, but can we get some ice?" Adrien asked.

"Of course dear. Take her to her room and I'll be straight up." She replied, patting his arm reassuringly. One of the things Adrien had noticed about Sabine was that she was always very calm, no matter the situation. Last week a fire had broken out on one of the stoves and without so much as a flinch, Sabine had jumped into action, smothering the flames with the lid and defused the situation. Tom couldn't stop praising his wife for her actions. Adrien thought they really were an adorable couple. Was it any wonder that his lady was so darn cute? As Adrien helped Marinette up to her room he could hear Sabine reassuring their friends and inviting them to come and check on her tomorrow while offering them a treat each.

Laying Marinette on her chaise, he placed some pillows under her foot to raise the limb and a few behind Marinette's back to make her comfortable. Sabine entered with the ice pack, which Adrien carefully laid in the offending ankle.

"Oh Marinette, you had to pick right now to do this to yourself, didn't you?" Sabine sighed as she passed her daughter some pain killers and a glass of water. Adrien looked at her questionally. "Tom and I have a special order in the morning. Marinette was supposed to help in the kitchen early and then man the front counter, but she won't be able to stand for that long." Marinette looked at her mother apologetically. "Never mind sweet, we'll manage."

"I can do it." Adrien offered. "I'll be happy to come and help."

"That could work." Sabine wondered out loud. "Do you think Nathalie would mind if you stayed the night? It would be easier than you trying to get here so early in the morning."

"I'll ring her, but I'm sure it will be fine." He replied. Nathalie was being so kind lately, he was sure she would agree, especially while his father was still away.

"Well, I'll go make some tea then, you just rest now, Marinette. I think you're in safe hands here." She patted her daughter on the shoulder before smiling sweetly at Adrien as she headed back down.

Adrien tried to call Nathalie, but she wasn't answering. He then sent a text in which she replied instantly with a yes and she would talk to him later when he came to get his things. Sitting down on the floor next to the chaise, Adrien held Marinette's hand while she complained about how clumsy she is. Tikki and Plagg both popped out to see how she was and Tikki could see Marinette fretting.

"Don't worry Marinette, the Miraculous will help you heal faster and it will help when you're transformed to support the ankle."

"I don't know Tikki." Adrien said. "I remember when we fought Ripost I had hurt my ankle and it didn't feel that much better when I transformed."

"That's because you have Plagg." Tikki said flatly. "He's not as good at healing as I am."

"Hey." Plagg complained with a mouthful of cheese.

"Well, let's just hope there's no akumas for the next few days." Marinette sighed. "But I don't know how I'm going to wear high heels at the opening next week." The Kwamis hid as Sabine brought in a small pot of tea and two cups on a tray. She left Adrien to pour the tea.

"Then don't, wear flats." He suggested, handing her a cup. Marinette went to rebut, but he continued. "Before you say it, I really don't care what my father thinks. I've already decided this is the last thing I'm going to be doing for the Gabriel brand. I'm going to tender my resignation from the company. I know that leaving will hurt the company initially, and I hate that innocent people might suffer for that, but I can't live in this cage anymore. I'm taking a stand m'lady, and I'm not going to let my father bully me around anymore." He said with his head held high. "I want to maybe move out and get my own place, be my own person. I want to be someone you can be proud of." Marinette reached her hand over to gently touch his face.

"I've always been proud of you Chaton." She said sleepily, the painkillers making her eyes heavy. Adrien brushed her hair from her face, taking her cup and sitting it on the table.

"Sleep now Bugaboo." He whispered. "We can talk later. I'll be back soon." He stood up, kissing her on the forehead before heading downstairs.

Arriving at the mansion, no one seemed to be around so Adrien went straight to his room and started packing a bag. A short time later, Nathalie came and knocked on the door. "Adrien, can I have a word with you?" Adrien put his things down and invited Nathalie to sit on the lounge with him, noticing lots of papers in her hand. "Adrien, can I ask if you have thought of moving out of here, maybe getting a place of your own?" She sounded nervous, like she wasn't sure this was the right thing to be asking, but her face visibly relaxed when she saw his smile.

"Actually, I was just telling Marinette that today. It's something I definitely want to do. I also don't..." He stopped, a little unsure what to say and rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't want to work for the company anymore." Nathalie nodded as she listened, she then held out the papers to Adrien.

"Then you should look at this. I came across them in your fathers outgoing box on his email. I don't know if anything can be done about this now, but your father has been sabotaging Marinette's internship applications to other companies." Adrien took the papers and looked through them. They were copies of emails that his father had sent to various fashion houses, with a strong recommendation that Marinette not be given an internship. Adrien could feel the anger and disbelief well up in him. This was everything Marinette had worked towards and hid father was destroying it out of spite. Nathalie reached over and placed a hand on Adrien's knee.

"Adrien, your father...there's things you don't know about him and for your safety and Marinette's I think you need to get away from him. Your bodyguard and I are planning to resign too as soon as you are free from here." Adrien looked up at her through tears.

"I don't want you to lose your jobs over me." He said quietly, but Nathalie shook her head.

"We're not. This is something we both want to do yourselves, but we are here for you and Marinette, always." Adrien leaned over and wrapped his arms around Nathalie in a tight hug. "For the moment we will keep this knowledge to ourselves, but you should probably tell Marinette. She has a right to know." Adrien sat back looking at the emails. He gathered from the urgent tone in Nathalie's voice that she wasn't meant to know about this either. "I understand Nathalie." He folded the pages up and put them in his bag.

"Good." Nathalie nodded. "Now, since you are eighteen you have full access to your trust fund, that will help get a deposit on a place. There are also other funds that you will be entitled to in due course, but we can discuss those later." Adrien's head was swimming. What other funds? Not to mention that absolute urgency in Nathalie's manner, like his life was depending on this. "I have a small apartment I have just purchased. When you return from London, if you want to stay there for a while you can while I sort things out and then we can..." Adrien placed a hand on Nathalie's.

"Nathalie what's wrong? What's father doing that has you so scared?" Nathalie's eyes widened.

"Your father...he's...he's..." She closed her eyes. She couldn't tell him, not yet. "I think maybe he's losing his mind." Adrien looked away. That would explain his erratic behaviour. "I think he might be becoming deranged, dangerous even." Adrien looked back at her, her eyes held her fears, even if she was trying not to show them. She smiled softly. "Leave it to me Adrien, you go now to Marinette's and enjoy your time at the bakery." Adrien kissed her on the cheek before gathering up his bag and leaving.

When Adrien returned to the bakery, it was late in the afternoon. Tom and Sabine had started cleaning up the shop ready to close soon. Adrien offered to help, but instead they sent him upstairs to wake Marinette. Sabine said she would want to shower before dinner. Upon entering back into Marinette's room, Plagg darted out to sit with Tikki. Marinette was softly snoring on the chaise, her left foot still on the pillows, her right hanging down. Adrien knelt next to her on the floor and gently rubbed her hand. "M'lady, time to wake up." He said softly. Marinette stirred, eventually opening her eyes and smiling at him.

"You're back already Kitty?" She asked. He smiled and shook his head.

"You've been asleep for ages Princess. It's late. Would you like me to help you to the shower?" Marinette nodded, directing him to her pajamas drawer before letting Adrien help her up. She still couldn't put much weight on her foot so she leaned on him, knowing he would never let her fall. She looked up at him and could see a slight frown between his eyes.

"Is everything alright Adrien? You look worried about something." He kissed her hand as she hobbled along.

"Don't worry m'lady, it's just something Nathalie told me. We can talk about it later." He said, trying to give her a reassuring smile. She didn't press him, but she knew when something was bothering him.

Marinette held onto the shower frame while Adrien turned the water on and got the temperature just right. He was about to leave when she called him back.

"I...um...I can't undo the zipper and hold on at the same time." She said sheepishly, a bright red blush taking over her face.

"Oh, um, alright. I...ah...I won't look." He said. Suddenly his hands felt very shaky as he carefully undid the zip, closing his eyes before she let the dress drop.

"Adrien, can you stay, please. I think I'll need help when I get out." He could hear her get under the water. Oh my, it is hot in here? It definitely was hot, too much hot water, that's what it is. He turned around so his back was to her.

"Yep." He half squeaked out before clearing his throat. "Yes, I'll wait... I'll for you forever." He heard her giggle from the shower.

"I wouldn't keep you waiting that long my Kitty." She was flirting with him, he knew from the tone, and it was doing things to him that he was finding increasingly harder to control. He took a few deep breaths, but the bathroom was filled with the smell of her body wash which was not helping at all. She didn't stay under long, the taps turned off and the shower door opened.

"My towel is over there, the pink one." She said. He grabbed it, closing his eyes as he held it around her. He then carefully helped her into her clothes, closing his eyes when needed and letting her lean up against him to steady herself. Once she was dressed he helped her back to her chaise, propping her foot on the pillows. She sighed happily as she combed her hair.

"You can go have yours Adrien, I'll be fine for now." She said happily. He made his shower very cold.

One of the things Adrien loved most about visiting Marinette, aside from spending lots of time with her, was the feeling of being part of a family. Putting Marinette's foot on a low stool, the four of them sat around the small kitchen table enjoying a real home cooked meal. Adrien couldn't even remember the last time he had eaten a meal with his father. It would have to be a year or more ago. Tom and Sabine were always so happy and genuinely interested in what Adrien would have to say, never dismissive or condescending about his opinions. Marinette started talking about a new design idea she had, and Adrien could feel knots in his stomach. He knew she must have been wondering why she hadn't heard back from anyone, but he didn't want to tell her in front of her parents.

After dinner, Sabine set Adrien up with a makeshift bed on Marinette's floor next to her chaise. It was agreed over dinner that Marinette would be better off sleeping on the chaise rather than trying to get up to her loft bed, and Adrien could help her if needed. Adrien felt honoured that her parents trusted him so much to spend the night in her room, although with her foot now securely wrapped, he was hardly going to do anything that could cause pain to his lady. Those thoughts would just have to wait.

"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind now Kitty?" She asked gently. She could tell it was something serious from the look on his face. Adrien got up and grabbed the emails out from his bag. Sitting down on the chaise beside her, he took a deep breath before handing her the papers.

"Nathalie found these. This is the reason you haven't heard back from any of the internship applications." His heart learched at the tears that started forming in her eyes as she read the emails. "Oh God Marinette I am so sorry..." His own tears catching his throat. Marinette dropped the papers down and grabbed Adrien's hand in both of hers.

"Adrien, this is not your fault." She said firmly, but gently. " I love you Adrien. You. Not your name, not your connections, not your money. You. This is not your fault." She repeated, because she felt he needed to hear it.

"But Marinette, I've ruined your life. Being with me has closed all doors to you in the industry." Marinette sat herself up, cupping his face with her hand so he would look at her. She could see he was still blaming himself.

"Adrien, the only thing that could ruin my life, is you not being in it." He took her hand from his face, kissing it before leaning over and kissing her lips.

"You and me against the world, right Kitty?" She said, his face finally showing that sunshine smile she fell in love with.

"Always." He said. "Against my father at least."

"It's nothing a little Cataclysm wouldn't fix." Plagg interjected from across the room. Adrien threw his head back and rolled his eyes.

"Plagg, I appreciate the offer, but we talked about this." Adrien reminded the kwami. Tikki and Plagg both came over to sit on Marinette's lap.

"I know kid, but I have a bad feeling. Bad luck often follows my kittens and I think Nathalie is right, you should move out ASAP." Marinette looked back at Adrien as she scratched Plagg behind the ears, it seemed to have been calming the cat kwami down.

"You're moving out now?" She asked. Adrien nodded.

"Nathalie said she would help me, after we come back from London. Her and the Gorilla are going to leave too." Marinette looked down at Plagg as she continued to pet him. He had closed his eyes and began to purr.

"Has it been that bad?" She asked quietly. Adrien looked at her with sad eyes.

"I think it's been worse than I even realised." He admitted. "Nathalie is around my father more than I am and if she's concerned then I trust that." His face then lit up in a smile again.

"On the bright side, I'll have my own place. Will you help me decorate it? You can buy whatever you want to put in it. Treat it like it's your own." He said excitedly. He hoped one day that she would be calling it hers.

"I'd love to." She smiled back. "Do you want to watch a movie?" He couldn't think of anything more perfect.

Not long after 4AM, Sabine crept into Marinette's room with a soft night light. Marinette had rolled over slightly, her hand hanging down holding Adrien's, who was laying on his back. Sabine stood and watched them for a moment, how content they were just to be with each other. Adrien soon began to stir, losing his grip on Marinette's hand. Sabine took that as her opportunity to wake him up to come down to the bakery.

Tom had been teaching Adrien to frost cupcakes, so he left him too that while he assembled the chocolate eclairs. The baker looked up now and again to check on the teen, noting a frown that would occasionally spread across his features. Sabine went out the back to get some more cake boxes and Tom took the opportunity to talk to him.

"Son, can I talk to you, man to man." Adrien looked up with a worried look. "What are your plans for the future, job wise I mean?" Adrien sighed.

"I don't really know to be honest." He replied. "I'm planning on leaving my father's company and house after we return from London. I will look straight away for a job, even if it's modeling for another company. Marientte deserves the world, and I want to make sure she has it." Tom felt a sense of pride listening to the young man speak. Marinette had told them about what had happened to Adrien the night they were away and it made them all feel a need to protect him and make sure he always felt welcome in their home.

"Can I ask you what your intentions are with my daughter?" Tom saw a faint blush rise in Adrien's cheeks, his eyes shining with love.

"When the time's right, I want to ask her to marry me. I couldn't picture my life with anybody else." He looked back at the baker, and could have sworn he saw a glint of a tear in the man's eye.

"I felt the same way when I first saw Sabine." He said, his lips forming a fond smile at the memory. He placed a hand in Adrien's shoulder. "When that time comes, you have my blessing." Adrien didn't know what to say, so he hugged him. Tom laughed, bringing his arms around the boy.

"Thank you." Adrien said quietly, overwhelmed.

"You know I always wanted a son, but there were complications when Marinette was born, so Sabine couldn't have any more. But I'll happily settle for grandsons." Adrien's face started turning pink again as Sabine entered back into the kitchen.

"Everything alright?" She asked, looking between the two men.

"Everything is wonderful my love." Tom declared, kissing his wife on the cheek as he left the room.

Later, Marinette made her way downstairs, managing much better on her foot. Sabine was amazed at how quickly it was healing, but Adrien knew it was with Tikki's help. She sat up on a stool behind the cash register, her ankle still bandaged, and helped direct Adrien with what to do. Most of their regular customers were already used to the well known face helping around the bakery, but occasionally fans would ask for autographs or selfies which he would politely decline. He knew that invariably photos of him working at the bakery would end up on social media, and no doubt his father would see them, but he didn't care anymore. This was going to be his life now, and that thought made him feel happier than he had ever been.

Tom and Sabine watch the two of them as they worked in easy tandem. She would keep him on track and he would check she was alright. She would keep the customers happy, he would make her laugh. Tom put an arm around his wife, kissing her on the head. "I think the bakery will be in safe hands." He said, Sabine nodding in agreement.

A/N Hi everyone! I just want to shout out a huge thank you to everyone who has commented and is following this story. It really means the world as a writer. I'm sorry some of the chapters are getting out a bit late. I currently have all four kids at home from school, which doesn't give me as much writing time, but we are going to forge ahead. I promise, I never abandon a story and I will always be back to update 💜