A Recorded Life - Miraculous Ladybug

2.4 - After Work

Words: 1246
Chapter Summary: A few years after Hawkmoth's defeat, Adrien is officially CEO of Agreste Fashion, and Marinette his head designer. Maybe it's time to change up what Agreste Fashion is all about!
Author's Note: i love domestic adrienette. Also, I was working on my marketing class homework before I wrote this...so yeah it talks a bit about marketing (but it works! bc adrien is a business major!!) Anyways I love adrien and mari

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A few years later, after the group graduates.

Marinette sat at her desk, trying to finish a mockup on her laptop, her eyes heavy and her head drooping. Every few seconds, she would force her head back up to look at the screen and open her eyes wide, but that didn't stop her from being exhausted. But Marinette was determined to get this checked off her to-do list before she went home; that way, when she came back tomorrow, she wouldn't have to worry about it.

She got into the habit of drawing her ideas on paper and then transferring them to the computer, meaning there were always some touch-ups that needed to be done. Tikki sat on her desk near the corner, also close to being asleep as she continued to watch Marinette grow more and more tired.

"What are you doing?" She heard Adrien's deep voice enter her office.

"Finishing some last-minute fixes," Marinette said, not looking back at him.

"It's almost midnight," Adrien said. "You promised you would be done two hours ago," He sighed. Most people worked regular, eight hour days, but the CEO of the company and his head designer were a bit different, often working much later because they love what they do.

Marinette sighed, but didn't look away from the computer. "Lost track of time. Besides, you can't get mad at me; you're still here, too."

"Mari," Adrien put his hand on her shoulder. "I was at home waiting for you as you told me to, then came back because you weren't home yet," Adrien reminded her. "The computer will be here in the morning. Let's go home and get some sleep?" Adrien pleaded.

Marinette hit save on her computer when she heard how desperate Adrien was to get her to listen. She turned in her chair and stood up. "Fine, but only because you asked so nicely," She said and put her arms around Adrien's neck to give him a little peck before turning back to grab Tikki and her bag.

They each got into their separate cars and drove to their apartment building. Though they weren't superheroes anymore, they still wore their Miraculous jewelry and helped out when they were needed. Every so often, there's a hostage situation that they're called in for, or a mass robbery, but it was once in a blue moon. Truthfully, they liked having the company of the tiny gods, and it was a great way to keep the two most powerful Miraculous safe.

Marinette and Adrien parked next to each other and walked the staircase to their apartment. Originally, they were going to live in a townhouse that was a bit of a fixer-upper, but they waited too long. They were just about to move into the mansion, which neither of them really wanted to do, when they found a decent sized, third-floor apartment. Really, Adrien could afford more, but he didn't want more. He just wanted to be with Marinette, and that's all that mattered. Of course, Tom and Sabine would be happy to have them, but they didn't want to get in Marinette's parent's way any longer.

"I barely saw you today; how was work?" Marinette asked as they walked.

"Actually pretty normal. Still answering lots of emails and working on the rebrand," Adrien told her. "Carly says I have to do more media work about hyping up this rebrand. But I don't really get it; we've been without my dad's name for years now. Why is it so important now?" Adrien sighed. He had been arguing with his assistant for days about this, still not understanding why it mattered so much.

Marinette shrugged. "Well, I think Carly is right," She said, and Adrien jokingly gasped like she was a traitor. "Sure, you've been Agreste ever since we locked your dad up. But now that you've fully taken over as CEO, it's time to really brand it to you. It's already clear you've made some changes, and Agreste Fashion is not what it used to be," Marinette tried to explain as she waited for him to unlock the door. "You let me and tons of other designers work their way up and change so much about Agreste. Now we cater to a younger audience, and that's already different than what your father ran. A whole new target market, which I think you, Mr. Business Degreee, would understand."

Adrien shook his head as he took his coat off and set his bag down on the floor. "I get that, our market has changed. But it's been changing for years. It's not like we're changing the name of Agreste Fashion and turning it into something entirely different."

She stared at him as she listened to Adrien talk, giving him a look like he was dumb. "What?" Adrien asked.

"Do you hear yourself?" Marinette giggled. "Why not do that? Now is the perfect time to do exactly that!" She said. "You took over as full-time CEO only a few months ago, and now everything is settling into place. The name Gabriel was wiped away the moment your father was exposed as Hawkmoth, and it's been Agreste Fashion ever since. I think people see that and are still reminded of the dark times as Hawkmoth. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to change it and let people get a new sense of what Agreste is all about. A new CEO, a new target market, new designers, why not get a new name?" Marinette tried to convince him.

By now, Plagg and Tikki were sitting at their designated spots in the living room, listening to the conversation. They weren't arguing, not at all, just tossing around ideas and trying to make sense of both sides. 

Adrien knew Marinette was right. Ever since Gabriel became just Agreste Fashion, there was still that stigma around it, even if Gabriel was in jail. Though, he had never even thought about it like that. "You have a good point," Adrien admitted.

"I know," Marinette smirked and moved to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. "Think about it, Gabriel was run by Paris's supervillain. Now, it's run by Paris's superhero," Marinette said. "Find something that shows that, instead of the darkness and weird butterfly undertones, make it something light and hopeful," She said.

"Well, I guess I'll just call it Marinette's!" Adrien said, moving his hands like he was picturing a marquee.

"No," She shot it down quickly. "Though I appreciate the thought, no."

Adrien nodded, knowing she wouldn't approve. "It was worth a try. But that means we have to find something that is marketable and also different from my father, because if we change the name, we have to rebrand everything. The website, business cards, tags on clothes, it has to work, you know?" Adrien said. Really, they could save this discussion until tomorrow. Both of them were tired and had a busy few days coming up. But neither of them would admit it, it was something important to both of them, and they would probably talk about it until they went to sleep.

Adrien started walking towards their bedroom, and Marinette followed. He took off his button-down with a tank-top underneath as he began to getting ready for bed. "Hmm," Marinette said from her side of the room. "You want something light, hopeful, different from your father, marketable, and what people will like?" Marinette asked, repeating his descriptors from earlier.

"Yes, I think those are my only needs for this rebrand." He nodded and looked over at her.

"Adrien," Marinette turned to him. "Name it after your mother."