A loud voice broke through the peaceful sleep of the birthday girl, making her moan and roll onto her stomach. Hands moved to pull the blanket over her head, but something stopped her. "Oh no no no girl. I know how hard it is to get you out of bed, especially once you've pulling the blanket over yourself. Up!" The comforter was ripped away, drawing a cry of annoyance from Marinette.
"No... Five more minutes..." She whined, hand sliding around the mattress in search of any type of covering.
"I've been trying to wake you up for five minutes." Alya retorted. "Up!" Marinette obeyed, but she made it clear that she was not happen. Her signature zombie shuffle was performed on the way to the bathroom, before brushing her teeth and hair. As she moved to pull them into pigtails, hands stopped her yet again. "Nope. I'm doing your hair." Marinette didn't complain. That meant less work for her.
Alya helped her pull on the dress before sitting her down in the bathroom. A curling iron was pulled out and Marinette did her best to stay still as she dozed off. Something was shoved into her head when Alya finished with her hair. Then it was time to leave her room.
Alya helped the half-sleep girl down the stairs so she didn't fall. Nino and Adrien sat on the couch, snacking on the pastries the Dupain-Chengs had set out for them. "Alya, have you tried these?" Nino exclaimed, crumbled flying from his lips since he had just taken a bite.
"No but from what I can see you're enjoying them." She chuckled.
Sabine came out of her room, smiling at the group. "Good morning everyone. Alya, did you find everything you needed?" She asked before smiling gently at her daughter.
"Yes I did thank you."
"Oh she looks wonderful. I'm sure she will have a lovely day with you all. Oh and here." She moved to the kitchen and pulled a small bag filled with a few different pastries. "This is for Marinette when she wakes up. I know she'll be hungry."
"I'll make sure Nino doesn't eat it all." Alya chuckled receiving an annoyed grunt from her boyfriend, who couldn't respond with words since he had just shoved an entire half of a croissant into his mouth. "Alright boys. Let's get birthday girl into the car."
They nodded and followed Alya out the door. Adrien and Nino thanked Sabine before the door was shut and they were on their way. Everyone moved toward Alya's car, climbing into their designated seats before Alya got into the front. Marinette had been buckled into the back with Adrien. "Alright, Mari. You have about thirty minutes to wake up before we get there. I want you smiling and perky by the time I finish parking." She received a groan in response. "Adrien, if she doesn't wake up ten minutes from our destination I give you permission to squirt her with that spray bottle on the floor."
"Don't you dare." Marinette growled. "I worked hard on this dress. I will kill you if you ruin it."
"Hey she spoke!" Nino exclaimed.
"Here we go!" Alya pulled into traffic and drove down the road, using a GPS app on her phone as a guide.
It took about twenty minutes, but Marinette finally came to her senses. The first things she did, was check for a purse. Her eyes widened when she didn't feel one. Where was Tikki?! Her eyes moved to the front seat where Alya and Nino were singing along to the blaring music. Adrien was staring quietly it the window. Marinette felt her heartbeat quicken and her breathing stop as she looked around for the kwami. There was a sudden wiggling against the base of her skull. Her hand flew up to her hair, feeling a Tikki sized lump hiding in the curls. A sigh of relief escaped, making the girl slump against the seat, careful to not squish the recently found kwami. As her hand moved back to rest on her lap, it brushed against something else on her head. Immediately her hand went for her purse, which usually held her phone. But as she had just recently discovered, there was no purse. "Um Alya. Two things. One, where's my phone? And two, what is on my head?" She reached over to the bag in between her and Adrien, pulling out a pastry and taking a small bite as she awaited an answer.
"One, I left it at home. You will have to go through one of us for anything that might require a phone." Alya responded. "And two, it's a tiara. Don't touch it. It took my five minutes to get it perfect."
A tiara? Why in the world did she need a tiara? This question was answered a few minutes later as her eyes went wide when she realized where they were. "You didn't..." A smile spread across her lips as she stared out the window. "Oh my gosh Alya you didn't!"
Her blue eyes were glued to the overhead sign as Alya rolled to a stop, paying the parking fee before she continued. "Oh but I did." All annoyance at being dragged out of bed at eight in the morning was gone, replaced by wonder and excitement.
"Oh my gosh, I love you! I can't believe it!" Marinette squealed, practically bouncing in her seat.
As the castle began to appear above the trees, Marinette held her breath once more. She turned and grabbed Adrien's arm, the biggest smile she had ever managed spreading across her face. "I've never been to Disneyland before!"
Adrien chuckled. "I know. That's why we're taking you. Now please let go you are cutting off my circulation."
She blushed and released him, instead gripping the seat. Ever since she was young, she had loved Disney movies. She loved the songs, the beautiful colors, and the dresses. It was the thing that got her interested in fashion design. However, her parents never had enough money or time to take her, so it had become nothing but a dream.
During an end-of-the-summer slumber party before Première began, with all the girls in the class, she had been playing Truth or Dare. Of course she had chosen Truth after watching Juleka drink a raw egg and Alix call a restaurant asking if they had any chicken butt. Her question from Rose was "What is one thing you have always dreamed of doing?" It was a boring question according to Alya, because she assumed, like the others did, Marinette's answer would be something involving fashion.
"Well, I've never been to Disneyland and I've always wanted to ever since I was a kid because I've always loved Disney. My parents just never had the funds or the time to take away from the bakery so I settled on watching the movies instead." The blunette mused, lounging on the couch with her head hanging off the edge. When her gaze moved back to the others, they were all staring at her with wide but sympathetic eyes. "What?"
"Mari! That was so cute!" Alya moved over and hugged her friend. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you go to Disneyland before we both graduate."
Now here they were, walking toward the shuttles that would take them to the park. Marinette had grabbed onto Adrien's arm again, bouncing up and down, much like the five-year-old girl with the family beside them. "What are we going to do first? Rides or visiting characters? Is it busy? Is the food good?" The questions continued to flow from the girl until finally Alya put her hand against her mouth.
"Look girl. It's your birthday and I love you but you have to stop talking." She practically begged.
"Sorry." Marinette said and lowered her head, releasing Adrien's arm. The tram arrived and they boarded. The castle was starting to get closer making Marinette bite her lip to hold her excitement. "Wait..." She frowned when a thought struck her. "How am I going to pay for anything?"
"You're not." The blonde boy next to her smiled. "I'm paying for everything today."
"I-What?! No no I can't let you do that!" She shook her head. "I have some money saved up at home I can-" A single finger against her lips stopped her words.
"No. I'm paying for everything." He said, pulling his hand back only after she nodded in agreement.
The park wasn't very busy since it was the middle of September. Most people had started school or were too busy with their work to have enough free time to drive to Disneyland. At the gates, their fingers were scanned along with their tickets before they were ushered inside. Marinette, of course, ran onto Main Street, stopping just after the gates. Those bluebell eyes opened as wide as they could go, reflecting the light of the sun making it look as if they were sparkling. This brought a smile to Adrien's face, which he quickly hid with a hand by faking a cough.
"Alright. First things first. You have to earn your ears girl!" Alya pulled her toward the gift shop.
Different types of ear hats covered all the walls in one of the rooms and there were still more on turnstiles scattered around the floor. Marinette took her time at each wall, carefully examining each set of ears. She wanted to choose the right ones. Alya went with a pair of purple sequined ears with Ursula tentacles wrapping around them while Nino picked the large Goofy hat with long ears coming off the side. Adrien was just wandering around the room, glancing over at Marinette every now and again. Finally the girl picked black ears with a red bow for Minnie but they were covered in sequins. Adrien walked over a few minutes later with regular Mickey ears.
"Hey look we match." He smiled, standing next to Marinette as she looked in the mirror. Marinette nodded before going back to trying to fit the headband comfortably around the tiara. Luckily the crown wasn't too big so it only took a few tries before getting it right. The hats were paid for and Alya strolled over with her hands behind her back.
"One last thing before we head out." She pulled two buttons out and fastened one above each boob. "There you are!"
The one on the left was yellow with the main characters surrounded by confetti. In blue lettering under them it read "1st visit!" On the right was blue with a large birthday cake sitting on top of a cream banner. The purple words across the top read "Happy Birthday" and on the banner written in sharpie was Marinette's name.
"Alright. So today we are just gonna hit the Disneyland park because there's way too much stuff to try and do in both parks in one day. We aren't even gonna hit everything today." Alya explained as she pulled Marinette down Main Street. The girl in tow was half listening as she marveled at the buildings around them. But soon her eyes landed on Sleeping Beauty's castle. A sharp gasp escaped her and then it was Alya's turn to be dragged along.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh!" She stopped in front of the stage, hands curled into fists as she stared up at the pink building. As her mouth hung open, her legs wiggled back and forth. "We all have to take a picture with it!" She turned toward her friends. "Please?" Of course they all agreed. Alya held out her phone for a selfie when a worker walked over and offered to take it. They all smiled and Nino gave Alya bunny ears with his fingers but they ended up hidden by her ears.
"Okay Mari." Alya put her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Who are your favorite Disney characters?"
"Rapunzel, Peter Pan, aaaannnddd..." She tapped her chin as she thought. "Belle!"
"Perfect. Nino you got that?" The boy gave a thumbs up. "So what's the first thing on our list, boyfriend?"
"That would be Space Mountain in Tomorrowland. Then we do the Star Tours before moving to Fantasyland."
"Sounds great, let's go!" Marinette grabbed her friends and tried to run toward the rides, but Adrien and Alya weren't moving fast enough for her liking.
As the day went on, they hit all the big rides like Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and "It's A Small World" (which creeped everyone out except Marinette who bobbed her head along with the music the entire time). After that they ate at Walt's American Restaurant before it was time to visit her favorite characters.
"What are they like? Will they be okay even though I'm older?" The blunette pushed herself up onto her toes to try and see Peter Pan at the beginning of the line.
"Yes it'll be fine don't worry." Adrien put his hand on her shoulder. "They'll love you no matter what age you are." Her blue eyes turned toward him before she nodded, though she still fidgeted with her fingers the entire time they were in line. When it was their turn, Marinette pushed Alya and Nino forward to meet with the boy first. Jokes were thrown back and forth before a picture was taken. Now it was the next person's turn.
Marinette stepped forward and gave Peter a small wave. "H-Hi."
His head snapped around to look at her. "Oh you must be a lost girl!"
"A lost girl?" Her gaze moved to Alya, who gave her a thumbs up.
"Of course I mean look at your dress." Marinette turned back toward the boy who was now bent over at the waist, holding a handful of her dress. "It's made from ivy and flowers." He straightened, chest puffing out as he pointed to himself with his thumb. "My clothes are made from leaves. So that makes you a lost girl. How did you escape Neverland when Tinkerbell is here with me? Hmm?" Now he was inches from her face.
A smile slowly spread across her lips. "I-I um have a hidden stash of pixie dust that Tinkerbell gave me." Was that right? Was she supposed to play along?
Peter huffed, arms crossing. "I'll have to have a talk with her about that... I'm the only one who is supposed to have pixie dust!" His eyes moved to her buttons. "And it's your birthday! You better not get to old. Then you can't come back."
"I promise I won't." The photographer ushered them together before snapping a picture. Alya held up her phone and took one as well. Marinette waved to Peter before running over to the others. "Oh my gosh that was so much fun!" Her head turned to watch Peter and Adrien, who seemed to be having a deep conversation before taking a picture and rejoining the group. "Who are we gonna visit next?!"
Her question was soon answered as they got in line to meet Belle. Marinette was still a bit nervous since Belle was a princess rather than a wild boy. This line was longer than before since Belle was one of the most popular princesses, especially since she was one of the few Disney characters from France. But eventually it was their turn and Marinette walked forward, eyes wide as she approached the smiling brunette.
"Well hello, princess." Belle curtsied slightly.
"Princess?" She tore her eyes away from the yellow ball gown to stare at her face. The detail was so specific and intricate. The lighter yellow swirls that covered the bodice of the dress were only visible if you were close to her. They faded into the skirt which was composed of multiple layers and pleats, with yellow fabric roses placed at the point of each pleat.
"Well you are wearing a tiara aren't you?" Belle giggled and touched the top of her own head to indicate what are was talking about.
"Oh! Oh right! Yeah my friends made me wear it because it's my birthday." A soft pink coloration appeared on her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck. "A-And it's my first time visiting Disneyland."
"Oh well congratulations! What a magical place to be on your birthday." A gloved hand pointed off to the side where her friends stood. "Is that blonde one over there your prince?"
The blush darkened and she quickly shook her head. "No, no, no, no. We're just friends."
Belle raised an eyebrow at her but didn't question it. "Would you like to take a picture?"
"Yeah, I-I mean yes please!" She moved closer, gaze returning to the dress. "Your dress is absolutely amazing. I um.. It's one of the reasons I wanted to become a fashion designer. Watching your movie and seeing your dress in it I mean."
"Oh well thank you! Madame de La Grande Bouche helped me pick it out when the Beast and I had our first special dinner together." Her eyes moved toward Adrien. "I really love how it twirls. I bet your dress twirls as well. Did you make it yourself?"
"Yeah! It's one of my favorites. I just finished it last week." Somehow this stranger in a costume was making her so comfortable that she was just sharing personal information.
"Well it is absolutely beautiful. I am partial to roses myself. Perhaps I will be able to buy one someday from your fashion line."
"Y-Yeah!" Was that the character or the actress talking?
"Well why don't we take a picture so you will be able to move onto the rest of your birthday events?" An eager nod from Marinette and they stood beside each other, smiling before bidding each other farewell with another curtsy.
"Alright one more meet and greet then we have to go and get a good spot for the parade." Alya announced, dragging her back to where they had just been in line.
"Are we going to see Belle again?"
"Nope!" They slipped into a different line before walking all the way to the beginning. Marinette glanced over at the long line of people still waiting for the French princess. There were only ten or fifteen people in this line. It moved slow for how short it was, but as soon as they were ushered into the private room with the rest of the line, Marinette realized why.
"Rapunzel!" She gasped quietly, excitement bubbling up inside of her. The blonde princess had always been her favorite, mainly because she was always so happy and bubbly. It reminded Marinette of herself, especially BC (before Chloe). Rapunzel was spending five or more minutes with each child since her line wasn't very long. Marinette's smile widened as she watched the girl interact with each person who came through. She seemed to have the character down perfectly and was able to keep her excitement going for so long.
Marinette stood at the front of the line, waiting for her turn to meet the princess. Her knees wiggled excitedly before the worker waved her forward. She bounded over as Rapunzel turned around.
"Well hello!" The blonde exclaimed and gave her a big hug.
"Hi!" Marinette giggled, returning the gesture with just as much enthusiasm.
When they finally pulled apart, Rapunzel went to speak, but the words were replaced by a loud gasp when she saw the buttons on the dress. "It's your birthday?!" She was then pulled into another bone crushing hug, which reminded her of Lila. "Happy birthday! How old are you?"
"I'm eighteen." Marinette giggled.
"Me too! Oh and I love your dress. The flowers are so beautiful!"
"Thank you. I made it myself." Marinette's hands gently gripped the edge of the tulle layer as she swung back and forth, making the ivy and flowers in the bottom of it move around.
"You did? Well it's very impressive. You should make more and sell them." The blonde furrowed her brow, lips poking out as she nodded, trying her best to seem serious.
"Well that's my dream!"
"Oh really? Well follow your dreams. I did and I found out that I'm a princess and I found Flynn. I can see that you're obviously a princess from your crown and your dressmaking skills. Have you talked to Cinderella? I'm sure she and her mice would be very impressed. Have you found your Flynn yet?" The girl's green eyes moved over to her friend group who stood waiting their turn.
Why did these people think she and Adrien were dating? "Nope not yet! Still looking!" She said as Alya moved toward where the photographer was to get a better angle for her photos.
"Well don't worry! Just keep looking. He's out there somewhere!" They took pictures and Marinette stepped to the side to let the others have their turn.
Once that was over, they walked to Main Street, sitting on the edge of the sidewalk to mark their spots for the Disney Magic on Parade! which began at 5:30. Dinner was at Auberge du Cendrillon before backtracking to some areas in order to try out some rides they missed. The exhausted girls, sat down in front of the castle, stretching and trying to relax while the boy's grabbed snacks. The park was closing in twenty minutes, so they wanted to make sure they had a good spot for Disney Dreams! before the crowds arrived.
Marinette had a gentle grip on Adrien's arms as she bounced, waiting for the show to start. Nino and Alya were in front of them, Nino's arm around her waist, like couples do, as they waited for the show. All the lights dimmed and a man's voice announced the start. A soft squeal left Marinette. Her hands released him as the castle began to change colors before Tinkerbell flew around. The look of awe never left Marinette's face as she watched the show until the song from Tangled came on.
Adrien glanced over to see her holding her hands over her mouth. The lights from the castle revealed the shine of tears on her cheeks. He leaned down close to her ear. "Are you alright, Marinette?" He partially shout-whispered since the music was so loud.
A nod. "This song always makes me cry and..." She took a shuddering breath. "I-I'm just so happy... This day has been better than I could have ever imagined..." Adrien's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to lean against him.
"Happy birthday Mari." He smiled and finished watching the show.
When the last song ended, Marinette applauded so hard that her palms turned red. All traces of tears were gone from her face and her smile had returned. "Thank you all so much." She said and hugged them each individually. "This has been the best birthday I could have ever asked for."
Alright guys. I'm pretty sure this is going to be the last post before the wedding. The next chapter will be up in a few weeks.
Also, I was really excited for this chapter! I can't wait to hear what you guys think!