"MARRIAGE?!" Exclaimed both Tom and Sabine from the kitchen of the bakery.

Adrien laughed nervously as he wiped his hands on his apron. "Y-Yeah...B-But I understand what you're going to say and you may kill me with that bread knife now." Deep down, he had been considering what to do for Marinette for graduation, but the look on his face right now while talking to her parents was fear with a smile. He feared the rejection from Tom more than Sabine's opinion on the event. He took up an afternoon shift at the bakery to gather his thoughts before asking for Marinette's hand in marriage.

Sure, there was better ways to approach the topic, but he let it slipped, and now he's a mumbling mess standing a few feet away from a set of bread knives.

"My boy," Tom started after he washed his hands from the flour he worked with. "As much as we love both you and Marinette, are you sure you two are ready to get married?" he asked.

"Have you talked to your father about it, Adrien?" Sabine asked, hanging up her apron.

Adrien nodded and looked at them. "I have, and his reaction about marriage was about the same as yours." He sighed and brushed his hand through his hair. He took a deep breath before speaking again. "As cheesy as it sounds, I want to live a long life with Marinette. I'm happy that she went to a great college for fashion, but what's next in the future has both of our heads spinning. I want to put her thoughts at ease by going through it together. She's going to be a fantastic designer with the connections she made through school and myself. Putting the family name aside, I want to do everything I can for her so she can have that dream career. I want her to be happy."

Tom and Sabine looked at each other to consider Adrien's reply. Tom looked at Adrien with a stern look. "We'll discuss more about this if you are serious about purposing to our little girl." He said.

Sabine left Tom's side to stand in front of Adrien and picked up his hands. "We would love to see you and Marinette get married and have children, but don't rush it, okay? You two just turned 20 and almost done with college."

Adrien laughed nervously a bit. "Father said the same thing." He said.

"How about we talk about this with your father, Adrien?" she suggested.

He blinked a few times before stuttering again. "I-I don't know. He's such a busy man, a-and I-I don't want to be in the way, a-and...um..."

"It's not like we met him before." Sabine laughed a bit. "Remember the dinner party before she left home last Christmas?"

"I-I totally didn't mean to drop the salad bowl on him!!!" Adrien panicked, remembering how he dropped a whole bowl of salad on his father when he tripped on a cord. His face turned red in embarrassment by remembering it. Hearing Marinette's parents laugh caught his attention.

"I'm sure your father is fond of Marinette just as much we are fond of you, Adrien." Tom said. "Let's arrange a lunch together and talk. This is a life changing event." He smiled at him before he heard the bell from the door, meaning a customer walking in. He patted Adrien's head as he walked back to the front of the bakery.

Adrien looked down at the tiles on the floor. "Yeah...life changing." He mumbled. He felt a pat on the back and looked at Sabine.

"We love you, Adrien, it's just Marinette is our only daughter and watching her get married is another milestone that is very near. We are just looking out for you two." She said with a smile.

Adrien smiled at the thought and bowed his head. "Thank you, madam. I'm sure we can talk about the future with my father in the room."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem to him." She said before walking to the front of the bakery.

Adrien slumped into the back seat of the car during the drive back to the estate. How was he supposed to bring it up to his father about marrying Marinette after college...or going through the engagement stage of his life first? Maybe he was looking too far ahead of the scenario of life with Marinette. Sure they did things a lot differently—not seeing each other every day because of college, communication usually four times a week, no physical contact between visits. Honestly, Adrien couldn't wait for Marinette to graduate and move on from the college life. He missed seeing her, cuddling her, kissing her, and telling her the same cat puns since high school. He followed and respected her boundaries like a good gentleman should.

He also missed running around as Chat Noir and Ladybug around Paris. The races they would have from one side of town to the other, and watching the tower light up after the sun set for the day. Every once in a while, they would go see the different monuments of themselves as Paris' protectors from evil.

Almost three years of no akuma attacks. Almost three years since Marinette left her girly pink bedroom for a small dorm. Almost three years Adrien has been in the same rut—school, model work, still next to none family interaction. He would see their friends like Alya and Nino every now and again, but they have been busy with college that marriage was a distant dream than Adrien's.

He needed a game plan before next year, when she finally graduates.

"Welcome home, Adrien." Natalie greeted the blonde when he walked into the foyer of the mansion. "How was work at the bakery today?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Slow here and there." He replied. "Um...Is father home today? I need to talk to him and it's really important."

Natalie scrolled through the schedule on her tablet and nodded. "He's been home for a couple hours now. Shall I walk you to his office?"

"No thank you. I know the way. Thank you." He said as he walked towards the stairs.

Adrien was usually cautious every time he goes to his father's office. Usually, he could hear him explaining projects on the phone or him typing away on the computer. Sometimes he was looking at fabric bolts that clients were asking about. This caused long hours of not seeing each other, both really busy with work in the world of fashion. Adrien thought about if Marinette were to take an internship with his father's company, Adrien could see her more often. But this made him think that she would be as busy as he already was.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he pushed open the cracked door and poked his head inside the large room. Just as he thought, Gabriel was on the phone with a client.

Gabriel noticed Adrien from the corner of his eye and put up his hand to give him a couple more minutes on the call.

Adrien nodded at the body language and sat down in the chair across the desk, letting his shoulder bag slide off and onto the floor. After five minutes, Gabriel's attention was on Adrien like he wanted.

"What is it, son? Did work go well?" he asked.

"Yes, Father, it did." Adrien smiled shyly as he balled his fists on his knees. "Is there a way you can take a day off from work soon?" he asked, making eye contact.

"Soon?" Gabriel asked as he sat down in his chair, moving his keyboard and placing his folded hands there. "You know being a designer and head of a company is difficult to take a day off."

"I know, Father...but, something is a little more important than our careers right now." Adrien reassured nervously.

Gabriel raised a brow. "What is it, Adrien?" he asked.

What it seems like letting go of a breath he's been holding, he finally put it simply. "I want to marry Marinette." He said. He looked at his father, who has a shocked expression on his face. Was it the shock that his only son is an adult and ready for this life event?

"I talked to them while working at the bakery earlier, but Marinette's parents wanted to be sure you knew first before they could give me her hand in marriage. In fact, they want to schedule a lunch time soon so the four of us could talk before Marinette graduates college and comes home." Adrien explained.

Gabriel went silent for a moment, as if he was still translating his son's words in his head. What came to his mind was that his son was an adult but not ready for commitment such as marriage. Sure he controlled most of Adrien's everyday life as an over protective father, but could he let go of his son again?

"I understand." Gabriel said finally, resting his chin on his hands. "I understand that you are in love and have been in this relationship for a long time. I understand that you want to take it a step further...but are you ready? You still have a semester of college while she has next year to graduate."

"I know, but this is for later when I am ready to purpose." He said. "I know you aren't the type of person to talk about this, but maybe her parents are right. I should have brought this up to you before I talked to them. I'm sorry, Father." Adrien apologized.

"It's okay...I just want you to be prepared since you are great at not telling me anything until last minute." Gabriel said. "But if you are serious about getting married, I do have a couple ideas to talk about with you. Maybe it would be best if we talk together during a luncheon."

Gabriel pressed a button on his phone to gain Natalie's attention. "Yes, Mr. Agreste?" said the woman.

"When do I have the next free day, Natalie?" he asked his assistant.

After a pause, Natalie replied, "The day after tomorrow is when you're free with no clients and meetings. Adrien has two three hour long homework sessions with lunch in between."

Since when did Father care about my schedule, Adrien thought.

"Cancel the second homework session on Adrien's schedule." Gabriel spoke. "Make an important luncheon with my son and Miss Marinette's parents two hours long at the famous restaurant. My treat and I'll make the reservation for that time."

"Yes Mr. Agreste. I'll change Adrien's schedule right away and wait for your confirmation about the luncheon." Natalie replied after a couple seconds. The connection was cut after the conversation.

Gabriel looked at Adrien with a small smile. "And you think I never have any time for you anymore." He chuckled lightly.

Adrien blinked a couple times before tilting his head in confusion. "Huh?" He haven't seen his father like this in a while. Their relationship has been better over the years, but there were still moments when Adrien thinks that his father didn't care anymore.

If Gabriel didn't care, would Adrien be concern about the plan that's in his father's eyes?