Miraculous Ladybug: Time for the Truth

Chapter 10: New Beginnings

Marinette gently took the blindfold off her eyes. She squinted against the light shining in front of her. Once her vision returned to normal, she gasped, amazed at what was before her. She was on the very top of the Eiffel Tower, standing in front of what she thought was just breathtaking. To the left of her, a maroon blanket lay on the floor with picnic baskets sitting beside it. To her right was a metal-plated stereo system sitting on top of a decorative table with a glass top. Surrounding her were hundreds of twinkling lights, strung onto the fences. Flickering paper lanterns hung from above her, attached to the iron beams of the tower. Marinette was awestruck. She's been to the top of the Eiffel Tower before. However, with everything around her, the view was ten times more extravagant than she had ever witnessed. All her senses were on a joyride, making her feel a wave of nothing but pleasant emotion. It's like the fantasies she has had of her and Adrien were coming to life. She was in seventh heaven and on the verge of tears.

"Oh my gosh! Adrien, did you...did you do all of this?" Marinette asked as she walked around, observing what she thought was a masterpiece.

"Yeah. Do you...um...do you like it?" Adrien nervously asked, hoping that Marinette was satisfied. He worked for hours on end to make sure everything was perfect. His top priority was that nothing would ruin this night with her. He wanted her to be happy. Seeing her run off crying in Varengeville-sur-Mer was something that he never wanted to witness ever again. It tore his heart in two when it happened.

"Are you kidding me? I love it! It's too beautiful for words!" Marinette replied. Adrien didn't expect a response like that. It was a little more than he had hoped.

"Wait, really?" Adrien asked her.

"Of course! Who wouldn't? I mean, a private picnic on the top of the Eiffel tower? Music? A clear starry night sky? It's absolutely wonderful! I'm just hoping you didn't spend every penny you have." Marinette said, overjoyed. "You must have worked really hard setting this up."

"Well, actually, my father paid for everything." Adrien told her. Marinette turned her head in shock. "The decorations, the food, the stereo, reserving the Eiffel Tower for us; this is all because of him." Adrien said with a smile on his face.

"Wait a minute, you're father helped you with this?" Marinette asked, making sure she heard that correctly. From what she knew about Adrien's father, he was the last person she'd expect to give a hand in something like this.

"Yeah, surprising, right? I didn't even ask. He sort of just...offered. After he heard about the whole situation at Varengeville-sur-Mer and after the whole situation with me being akumatized and all, he wanted to do everything he could to give a good start to our relationship." Adrien told her. A smile grew on Marinette's face.

"What?" Adrien chuckled. Marinette waved her hands around.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, it's just that you said we're in a relationship." Marinette said to him. Adrien smiled back, happily sighing at her.

"Well, aren't we?" Adrien asked her, playfully raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I think we are. Do you...think we are? I mean, we really never made it official." Marinette responded. Adrien laughed, finding her uncertainty a bit amusing.

"Marinette, I kissed your forehead last night. Plus, I'm taking you to this romantic spot on top of the Eiffel Tower. I wouldn't do that for just anybody." He told her.

"You have a point." Marinette laughed along with him. "So we are a couple then?" She asked, a little unsure. A lot of what was going on felt surreal to her. She just wanted to be absolutely certain. She also just wanted to hear him say yes too, just because she liked hearing it. Adrien walked over to her and pulled her into a gentle hug.