Please enjoy the short, but sweet final chapter to From the Rain. I hope you all enjoyed! :)

The sudden vibrations of her phone jolted Marinette awake. With an annoyed groan, she reached for her phone and pressed the answer button, holding the phone to her ear. "Who is this and why are you calling me at 8:00 in the morning on a weekend?" she yelled at the other side. "It's me," the voice on the other end said. Marinette sat upright immediately and her frown turned into a smile.

"Adrien! Why are you calling so early?"

"I need your help! My father is presenting my design today and I have to go to the meeting too. I can't go alone though. Will you come with? You did help me with most of the design after all." Adrien sounded nervous and desperate. It was unusual for him to sound so scared, but Gabriel Agreste was an intimidating man. Adrien didn't want to be a disappointment.

"Sure!" Marinette quickly answered. "I'll be over in 20 minutes!"

"No need. I'll pick you up. See you in 20!" Adrien hung up the phone, leaving Marinette in shock. "He does everything at his own pace," she sighed as she grabbed a fresh pair of clothes. As she changed, she called over to Tikki and said, "Time to wake up, Tikki! Adrien's coming in 20 minutes!" Tikki rolled over with an annoyed groan, but complied.

After changing and a quick brushing of her hair, Marinette looked out her window to see a familiar looking pair waiting outside the bakery. She rushed downstairs and told her parents a quick good-bye.

"And where might you be off to in such a hurry?" her mother laughed. "Adrien's picking me up!" Marinette explained happily as she bolted out the door. Her parents looked at each other and laughed. They were happy that her daughter had finally connected with the boy she loved and they were excited to have such a wonderful future son-in-law.

Marinette went out to the car and opened the door to be greeted by Adrien. He was wearing rather fancy clothes and Marinette immediately felt underdressed. She knew he was giving a presentation and it was rather formal, but it was obvious she wasn't dressed for the occasion.

"Good morning, my lady," Adrien nodded as Marinette jumped into the car. He held her hand and helped her in. Once she was seated, she let out a loud sigh and said, "So where exactly are we going? You didn't tell me it was a fancy occasion. You're wearing a tie and I'm in a sweater. This is why I can never put you in charge during patrols."

"You're beautiful dressed the way you are," Adrien complimented her. "Besides, I needed you here for moral support. You don't actually need to do anything."

"Support for what? Your design is great. Be confident!"

"I wish I could be. You can probably guess that I'm pretty nervous. I thought I might feel a bit better if you were with me. Is that okay? I know I woke you up early and kinda forced this on you. I can drop you back of at home if you'd like." Adrien looked a little hesitant as if he felt bad for bringing Marinette along.

She quickly shook her head and replied. "For you I'd do anything! I'm having to be here and support you!" They both blushed at her embarrassing proclamation.

The car drove a bit further and finally arrived at Gabriel Agreste's main office. Adrien helped Marinette out of the car and towards the front entrance. "Just stick with me," he whispered in her ear. "Everyone knows me here." Marinette simply nodded, but was distracted by the regal appearance of the building, inside and out.

Everything was so orderly and nicely laid out. There beautiful flowers and potted plants in every corner. Portraits of famous models and designs lined the walls. People in elite uniforms ran around, trying to get their jobs done. "So this is what it's like on the inside..." Marinette thought in awe. She had only seen the building from the outside and dreamed of what the inside might be like.

"My father's office is on the top floor," Adrien explained as he took Marinette to the elevator. They stepped in and slowly started heading up. As they waited in silence, Marinette was reading Adrien's body language. His shoulders were tense and he had a nervous expression. She grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze to let him know she was there for him. He blushed and glanced up at her. Marinette returned an eager smile.

The elevator arrived at the top floor and the couple stepped out. There was a small hallway that led to a single door at the end. Adrien knocked on the door and it was opened by Nathalie. "You're here on time," she said firmly. "Good. Please come in and take a seat. Your father will be ready shortly."

Marinette and Adrien sat down on a black leather couch as they waited for Mr. Agreste. Marinette found it odd that Adrien had to wait to see his father like people waited to see the dentist. Adrien was rummaged through his bag and pulled out a folder that contained the finished design. He opened it up and ran his fingers over the paper. "This is it..." he thought.

"Adrien, your father can see you now."

The two teens stood up and headed towards another door. Adrien took a deep breath and then turned the knob. The opened door revealed a large meeting room where Gabriel Agreste and six other very official looking men were sitting. The other men seemed to be laughing with each other while Gabriel had a serious expression. His eyes were trained on Adrien from the moment the boy entered the room.

"Why if it isn't little Adrien?" one of the men laughed heartily. "It's been ten years since I saw you last. Look how grown up you are! And is this your girlfriend? My, she's a pretty one indeed." The men all nodded in agreement. Marinette was flattered by their compliment.

"Thank you, sir," Adrien smiled. He pulled out a chair for Marinette and sat down himself. He adjusted his tie and took another deep breath. He took out the folder and laid out the design in front of the men and his father.

"This is the design you requested," he said slowly. "It's inspired by none other than Ladybug. It's intended for girls and meant to be casual, but cute. I want people to be able to harness the courage and confidence of Ladybug when they're wearing it."

"A very ambitious design," another man chuckled. "I wonder if Ladybug would approve."

"She definitely does," Marinette thought to herself. "In fact, she helped him design it."

"I must say the balance of the design is quite good," the oldest man added. "This certainly does look like something we would carry in one of our lines and I think it would sell quite well with the younger generations. Ladybug is all the rage. It's simple, yet attractive. I like it. Gabriel, it appears your son has inherited your talents."

"I couldn't have done it without Marinette though!" Adrien quickly interjected. "I'm a mess without her. She's actually a designer herself and she's way more talented than I am!"

"That's not true," Marinette replied humbly. "Adrien has lots of potential. He just needs practice. I'm really not that good either."

"I think I can prove that wrong," Adrien smiled slyly. He stood up and headed over to the corner of the room where there was something under a large, black cloth. Marinette hadn't noticed it when she came in. It looked like something was hiding underneath.

"I asked Nathalie if she could prepare this for me ahead of time," Adrien explained. "I didn't want today to be all about me. Marinette deserves recognition and praise as well. So I pulled some strings and I got this officially made!" Adrien pulled the cloth away to reveal a mannequin wearing the design that Marinette had submitted for the contest days earlier.

"Adrien!" Marinette gasped. She stood up and ran over to it. "It's perfect!" she thought as she examined every thread and lace. "It's just like I imagined!" While the Marinette was gushing over the outfit, the executives began to wander over and examine it too.

"This is quite fantastic!"

"I like this one a lot too!"

"Could we add this to the upcoming fall line?"

Their approval and praise was unrelenting. Marinette's heart soared as she heard some of the biggest names in the fashion industry compliment her work. It was a dream come true.

"You've found a talented young lady, Adrien," one of the men laughed. "Don't ever lose her. I can tell she's very important to you." Adrien nodded and thought, "More than you could ever guess, sir."

All of a sudden, Gabriel Agreste stood up and the whole room went quiet. His presence commanded silence even from his closest executives and "friends". He cleared his throat and looked his son in the eye. "Very impressive Adrien," he said with a nod of approval. "I will be putting your design in the next line along with Ms. Marinette's if I have her permission."

"My permission?" Marinette exclaimed. "Of course! But I submitted into another contest, so I'm not sure if that's okay..."

Adrien laughed and patted her on the back. "My father sponsors that contest and has access to all the submitted designs. That's how I was able to get someone to make yours."

"Did you plan this all along, you silly kitty?"

"It might've been bouncing around in my head for a while."

"He was watching over me this whole time," Marinette beamed. "I never had anything to worry about."

"Pardon me, but I have another meeting I must attend," Gabriel said, exiting towards the door. "Adrien, I was pleasantly surprised by your work and I'm looking forward to seeing more from you and Miss Marinette in the future."

"Thank you, father!"

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste!"

Gabriel nodded and then left the room, the other executives shuffling out behind him. They each gave Marinette and Adrien a handshake and a "congratulations". Once everyone had left the room, Adrien sat back into a chair and slumped down.

"That was more terrifying than an akuma!" he sighed. "I thought my legs were going to give out." Marinette laughed and sat down on his lap. "You put on a good show," she smiled at him. "I couldn't even tell you were nervous. You turned on some of that Chat Noir charm."

"I couldn't have done it without you."

"We're partners, aren't we? I'll always be here for you."

"Marinette?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."