#we’ve both saved up and can splurge on nice dinners and activities

[gwendolinechristie]

first vacation of my entire adult life in 2 weeks

[thewritewolf]

Rekindle Chapter 31: Supernatural Creatures

Our heroes settle into their new routine, eyes firmly fixed on the future.

Thank you to everyone that has read Rekindle! It has been a long two months as this story careened wildly out of my control, but I am very proud of it. I hope you’ll join me on Monday as I finish off the Love Square months with a Ladynoir story, and stay with me to finish off Close to You. 

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And, as always: Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

One year later...

“How is the latest article going?” Marinette directed her question across the cafe table to her long standing best friend.

It wasn’t very often that the four of them got to meet together, but it had gotten better once Alya and Nino had moved back to Paris. The patrols were nice but that was rarely more than two of them at a time. These weekly coffee double dates weren’t always easy to attend, especially with how busy their schedules were these days. But after so much time lost, they found a way to make it work.

“Pretty good, M. Just need some editing before I turn it in. Care to lend a hand?” She passed a USB towards Marinette with a smirk. Marinette slipped it in her purse, knowing that it was sure to have more than just the standard news articles on it if she was getting it this way.

At Marinette’s side, Adrien grinned. “I take it you’re high in demand these days?”

“Lots of places are looking to hire the freelancer that did the expose on the mayor.” Alya’s grin became predatory. “After all, anyone that can uproot the rich and powerful of Paris is someone you want on your side.”

“I hear Alya isn’t the only one that’s doing good, dude.” Nino said between sips of his coffee. “A little dude told me you two have something to tell us.”

Adrien and Marinette exchanged a look. They knew letting all their kwamis mingle would end up biting them in the butt. The only question was, which of their kwamis did the tattling? Was it Tikki, the gossip, or Plagg, the mischief-maker?

“Well, if the cat’s already out of the bag…” Adrien shrugged and nodded at her.

Reaching into her purse, Marinette slipped on her engagement ring and held it out for their friends to see. They leaned forward and marveled at the relatively plain but beautiful ring. Not that Adrien hadn’t wanted to give her something much more ornate, of course, but he knew her well enough to know what she truly wanted.

Crossing her arms, Alya snorted. “It’s about time you two dorks got married. I’ve only been shipping this since we were fourteen, girl!”

“Nice, dudes!” Nino grinned and leaned forward onto the table. “So when’s the wedding and, more importantly, the honeymoon?” He waggled his arms suggestively at Adrien, prompting his wife to smack his arm.

“Leave my innocent babies alone.” She looked at them out of the corner of her eye. “But seriously, when is the wedding?”

“We’re not sure yet, honestly.” Adrien shrugged. “It’s been a lot of work just getting sales rolling and wiggling our way into the big shows. Although we’ve had it easier than most, though, since my beautiful fiancee has been preparing for this since before we’d even met.” He planted a kiss on the top of her head.

“Don’t sell yourself short, hot stuff,” Marinette said as she looked up at him. “You’ve been a godsend, and not just because you know the ins and outs of these things. You’ve kept me going even after I felt burnt out.” She leaned forward for a kiss, but Alya cleared her throat. “Oh fine. Anyway, we can’t really plan a wedding yet, not when we’re in the process of building a property for the Dupain-Cheng fashion house and hiring staff. And obviously we can’t just leave the moment we finish all that…”

“Yeah, yeah, busy busy, I get it, M.” Alya waved her hand impatiently. “You just better not elope on us or else me and Sabine are going to have to hunt you down. I didn’t endure all your mutual pining for over ten years just to get robbed at the last minute.”

Marinette giggled. “You don’t have to worry about that. Adrien has his heart set on a nice wedding, especially since I won’t let him splurge on a fancy ring.”

“Well, how else can I tell all of Paris that I love her?”

They all laughed, but as they took a few moments of companionable silence, Alya frowned. “Wait, the Dupain-Cheng fashion house? How is that going to work if you’re getting married?” She turned to Marinette. “Are you going to be keeping your last name?”

Before she could reply, Adrien nodded. “Yep! And I’ll be taking hers. Too much baggage with the Agreste name, you know?” He took a sip of his coffee. “All the more reason to get married sooner than later.�� Silence reigned again, this one more introspective as everyone briefly remembered Hawkmoth’s long reign of terror and how it still touched their lives today.

Nino’s eyes widened and he scrambled to pick up his things. “Shoot, that reminds me. I’ve got training with old man Fu today.”

“Has he finally taught you any secret Guardian techniques yet? Anything you might be willing to pass off to a friend?” Adrien blinked innocently at him, laying on the charm thick.

“This isn’t one of your cheesy animes, dude. It’s mostly just recipes and taking care of old books.” Marinette heard him whisper in Adrien’s ear as he passed, “But if I find anything like that, you’re first on my list.”

“Thanks, man.” Adrien fist bumped his old friend and Nino left them alone.

Alya sighed. “I guess I’d better get back to research then. Paris certainly hasn’t gotten any less weird since I’ve gotten back.” They all stood and made their way out of the cafe.

Adrien dropped his voice to a whisper as they walked down the street. “Have you found any pattern to it, yet?”

“Centerfold, everything I’ve found I just passed to Marinette.” She shrugged. “With all that magic out there, stuff that’s been gone for centuries is coming back. It hasn’t been anything big yet, but… well, maybe all those legends weren’t just legends, you know? Just keep your eyes peeled and I’ll do my best to keep everyone updated.”

They said their goodbyes as Alya got on the bus, leaving just Adrien and Marinette alone. They walked in silence for a while. The crowds thinned around them as they found their way to less populated areas, eventually finding an abandoned alley. There, Adrien bowed deeply to her as he transformed into Chat Noir. He rose with a cocky grin on his face and stepped close to her as he pressed her against the wall. With one finger, he lifted her chin so she was looking up at him.

“What’s a sweet girl like you doing in a place like this?” She snorted and rolled her eyes at his ridiculousness, but there was a smirk on her face nonetheless. “What do you say I take you home with me, princess?” He kissed at her neck and it took all her will to continue pretending it was having no effect on her.

“Hm… I don’t know… Will there be delicious home cooked food there?”

He chuckled against her. “Give it an hour and there will be. The tastiest Italian pastas you’ve ever had.”

“Sold!” She surprised him by jumping onto him, causing him to scramble to catch her. “Take me away, you alley cat!”

He laughed. “As my lady commands!”

Chat Noir carried her in his arms and she basked in the cool evening air. Even after all this time, it was something that she had never grown tired of.

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

Once they were inside, Adrien dropped his transformation and gently set Marinette on the couch with a kiss. He cupped her face with a smile as he pulled back.

“Stay there while I make dinner.”

“Fine, but only because I’m curious about what Alya has found out.” Marinette pulled her laptop out from underneath the living room table, along with the USB from her purse.

Familiar complaints prompted him to shove some of the cheese that he was working with towards his hungry kwami. It was rare that a week went by without finding another shard, but they were handling it well. Four active heroes helped, especially since the need for secrecy among them was over. With Alya’s investigative skills and Marinette’s rapidly improving aura sensing skills, it was almost child’s play to track down the shards before things got out of hand. Add in Nino helping Master Fu with research between recording albums, and they were working like a well oiled machine.

Thoughts of strategy and duty fell by the wayside as he turned his attention back to the moment. The kitchen was larger than what Adrien had gotten used to working with. Sure, the one in his old house and the manor had probably been even bigger, but it was only at Marinette’s old apartment that he had truly hit his stride, cooking every day for his lovely lady. Sometimes it was a chore, but there was nothing more rewarding than seeing how Marinette’s eyes light up as he set a full plate down in front of her. He’d make dinner every day for the rest of their lives if it meant he got to see that look on her face.

Their living space was bigger than what they’d moved out of, but with how well the business was doing it was something they could reasonably afford. And that was with money going towards the fashion house - which Marinette still refused to let him use his savings on. He’d just have to make due with being the best model and spokesman for her fledgling brand that he possibly could be. Seeing her dreams come true was the least he could do for her, after everything she had done for him.

The house was nice, spacious enough for their purposes. But who knows? If things kept going the way they were going, maybe they’d need to upgrade again before too long.

Adrien stood in the kitchen and watched the back of her head as she poured over Alya’s hard earned research. A smile came to his face as he remembered all that they had gone through to get here - all the time spent apart, all the pain and sorrow, the twists and turns. It had all been worth it in the end, just to get to this moment. He felt like a fire had been rekindled inside both of them, driving them forward towards a bright future.

Here and now, they were happy.