A Masked Mistake

Blinding Lights [10: City Lights]

Marinette settled herself in the café nursing a mint tea as she waited for Alya's arrival. She'd had a blissful week with Chat, both booking the time off work and just hanging around the apartment and doing their usual patrols around Paris. It had been wonderful, and domesticated and they were closer than ever. After Halloween their relationship had progressed significantly; and here they were one month later, heading out of the honeymoon phase and into real life, and it was better than she ever could have imagined.

She now, more than ever, wanted them to reveal their identities. She wanted to be with him like a normal couple, sharing not only their superhero lives but also their civilian ones. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him. He was caring and attentive and she was almost one hundred percent sure he was cancelling things in his civilian life to be there with her whenever he could. Day and night he was wonderful, their extra curricular activities just a bonus to the deep bond they shared. But she wanted to know him; the man behind the mask.

She'd asked him again, but without Hawkmoth's final judgement he refused, so wigs and suits were for the time being. He'd waited for her so it was only fair she did the same. But one thing was for sure, and that was that there was no way she was getting a divorce. This was it! He was 'it' for her, so much so that her heart no longer jumped when she read Adrien's name on her phone, but full on bungeed off a cliff at any signal of Chat Noir. She was deeply and utterly in love.

"Now there's a smile I like to see," Alya walked towards Marinette and took the seat opposite her friend, the grin only adding to the magnitude of her own.

"Good morning, Alya."

"Good morning, friend who looks like she's spent the week in bed. What's with the sunglasses? We're indoors and it's November."

Marinette rolled her eyes (not that Alya could see) before grabbing her phone, switching to selfie mode on the camera and checking her hair. So her face was glowing a little, who wouldn't have a glow if they were married to someone like Chat Noir?

"I'm only teasing Marinette," laughed Alya, "but I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before."

"I don't think I've ever been this happy before." She smiled, her thoughts running off to her happily ever after. Who would have thought at 21 years old she'd be living out her own fairytale ending?

"Girls." A newcomer's voice turned their attention, both Alya and Marinette looking towards the doorway and the voice of Luka Couffaine.

"Hey Luc," they both called out, signalling for their friend to come and join them. Marinette went to lift her hand up to wave, only then realising something was on her left hand which shouldn't have been there. Quickly, placing her left hand under the table she attempted to pull the ring off, panic coming with every additional step Luka took.

Her face remained smiling at him, however her hushed voice was purely to Alya. "It won't come off," she whispered, trying to talk in the style of a ventriloquist.

"What won't?" Alya whispered back through the side of her mouth.

"My ring!" she sternly whispered back.

Alya reached under the table to grab Marinette's hand, grabbing a hold of her ring in one hand and her finger in the other, battling to try and get it off her finger.

"Luka, how are you?" Luka bent down offering Marinette and Alya kisses on the cheek, Alya still trying to get the ring off her finger. It was like a bad slapstick comedy, any minute now they'd go into a full sketch of 'pull my finger'.

"Good thanks, how about yourselves?" He slid into the seat to the right of Marinette, Alya moving herself to the left.

"Sorry," she began to explain, "the sun was in my eyes."