With the taverns he frequented masked as Chat Noir, bar fights were a common sight to Adrien. It wasn't as though the most notorious pirate of the seven kingdoms would be visiting high class establishments. They usually were the kind filled with low class ruffians and poorly clad women throwing themselves at him in hopes he'd share a little of his spoils.

So when a woman dressed in a red coat, looking presentable as ever, walked into one of the aforementioned disreputable taverns, of course he would pay attention.

He may be a pirate, but he was raised as the child of a high-ranking naval commander. Morals and values and preserving women's virtues were high on his list.

The woman looked around the room, clearly searching for someone. But as expected, she was quickly approached. He was a burly man whose leer made it very clear what he wanted from her.

Adrien sat at the edge of his seat, watching the scene from the corner of his eye in an attempt to not look overly interested. It was all he could do to not take her by the arm, pull her outside, and tell her that this tavern was no place for a lovely lady.

Thankfully, she wasn't naïve enough to accept his advances despite being naïve enough to walk in here in the first place. Chat caught the tail end of him asking her to go upstairs with her. Thankfully, she was having none of it.

He backed her up to the bar, and Adrien was one step away from taking the guy by the neck and throttling him. But the woman shocked him along with everyone else in the bar when she flipped around, yanking the half-empty bottle of liquor straight from the bartender's hand and smashing it into the guy's head.

Adrien fell in love with her right then.

If that wasn't enough, she held the neck of the bottle with the jagged edge against the man's neck. "Leave. Me. Alone," she growled.

Fierce little thing. Adrien grinned. He just fell a little more.

The burly man's face was cut to pieces, blood trails dripping down his neck onto his shirt, but he didn't seem to notice. Instead, he reached for the girl's neck, ignorant to the fact she was holding broke glass at his own.

Before the man could grab her, Adrien took a chair and knocked him out cold.

The girl in the pretty, red coat turned to him, allowing him to see that her eyes were a lovely shade of blue.

"Forgive me, princess," he purred, tossing on his signature cattish grin. "But it seemed you could use a little rescuing."

Her brow furrowed in confusion. The pout on her lips was adorable, but it proved that she was far too naïve to be walking around without someone, particularly a male, with her. Meaning Adrien had a good excuse to escort her out of here and to wherever she should be. "What brings you here, anyway?"

She scowled at him, and for a moment, he thought she would refuse to answer. "I was looking for a friend, but it's clear he's not here."

"Maybe I could help you find your friend. This cat is actually an expert at finding people."

She looked him up and down before meeting his gaze again. "You're not a cat."

It drew a round of laughs, but something didn't sit right in Adrien's stomach. "I'm the great pirate Chat Noir, my lady."

Something sparked in her eyes, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

"Stay away from me, pirate." And with that, she marched out of the tavern.

He followed her, of course, but she'd disappeared. However, one thing was for certain: he had to meet this girl again, and he had to woo her. No other girl would ever do.

"Just so you know, Marinette," Alya began as they walked around the market. Where in the seven kingdoms they were, they weren't sure, but when Rose wanted to see the spoils of a market, they went to see the spoils of the market. "The next time you decide to go off looking for Luka alone, I'm going to trap you in a net until you know better."

"Yeah," Mylene agreed. She shifted her head covering to further protect her face from the mid-day sun. "We were really worried about you."

"And Luka can take care of himself," Juleka, Luka's younger sister, added. "He didn't need you to go looking for him."

"That may be so," Marinette said. "But after he almost got caught after losing his coat, I don't want to take any more chances."

No one could disagree with her there.

There was a clamor of commotion coming from behind the four girls. While Mylene immediately suggested they escape for the day—she never liked being surrounded by people—there was one little catch.

Mainly, two of their group were missing.

"Alix," Alya growled. "I swear if you started something again, I'll—"

Unfortunately, Alya did not need to finish that sentence. Said girl stood between Rose and some big, fat merchant.

Marinette growled. Why did she have to face off big guys lately? She may not be anything extraordinary but she did feel the need to protect her friends, something much easier to accomplish when the men weren't twice her size.

She looked around, desperately searching for a weapon. She smirked at the broken pot behind another merchant's stand.

She always used the weapon as a last resort, and a man reaching for her friend's coat counted as a dire emergency. Marinette had no choice but to break her weapon over the man's head.

The pottery cracked, knocking the man down long enough for Alix, Rose, and Marinette to run. They had overstayed their welcome, it seemed, and now it was time to go.

"Get back here!" someone shouted, which only caused the girls to run faster through the crowd. Marinette lagged behind, constantly searching for whatever object might become useful should the man catch up to them. Their main priority was to get back to the water front while not being followed.

They were so close to being free, but Marinette always found that this form made her little clumsier than her other one. She tripped over something, crashing headlong onto the ground and sliding to a stop.

"Gotcha."

Fear pulsed though her as she looked up to see the man reaching for her. Only for a sword to block his path.

Startled, Marinette looked up to see who held that sword, and her gut instantly sank. Because she recognized that blonde mess of hair and black outfit.

"Chat Noir," the fat merchant said, jaw on the ground as he quickly backed up.

"What seems to be the trouble here?" Chat Noir asked, a taunting smirk on his face.

"This," the merchant gestured to Marinette, "wretch bashed me over the head after her friends were caught stealing."

"They weren't stealing!" Marinette quickly countered. Could she say she knew it for a fact? No. But she knew her friends, and while Rose and Alix were sometimes too nosey and curious for their own good, none of them could be accused of stealing.

"There, you see?" Chat Noir said, flashing the merchant a smile before leaning down to offer a hand to Marinette.

Marinette hesitated before taking his hand. He was a pirate. Pirates could not be trusted. That was a lecture she knew she would heed. However, in this one instance, she felt safe enough in at least letting him assist her to stand again.

The merchant sputtered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that my Ladybug would never lie."

Her eyes widened slightly, but he just smiled at her. "Go on, my lady. I'll be waiting for you." He sent her a wink.

She didn't necessarily know what that meant, but she did see the opportunity to escape while Chat Noir chatted effortlessly with the merchant.

So that was exactly what she did.

Her friends were waiting for her, still in human form, as she ran to the water.

"Where were you?" Alya asked, clearly worried.

"I tripped, that's all," Marinette dismissed. "Now, come on. I'd like to forget this day ever happened."

"Yeah," Alya agreed. "Next time we go to a market, could we not anger the fat man?"

"Yeah, that's the second time in a row," Mylene added.

With a snort, Alix tossed her hands in the air. "It's not my fault he didn't like us looking at his trinkets."

"I'm sorry," Rose said.

Alix instantly softened. "It's not your fault, Rose," she assured. "He was being rude. I think you had every right to pick up the trinket."

"Well, nevertheless," Marinette interjected, "Could we just get back home?"

None of the girls could disagree. One by one, her friends dove into the water, each of them transforming. As she hit the water, Marinette couldn't help but let her thoughts linger on a certain pirate with a strange name. That was twice he'd helped her. Which to her, that was extremely odd.

Weren't pirates supposed to be the scum of the sea?

Normally, Adrien didn't care what kind of animals followed his ship around. It didn't matter. However, this particular seal had decided to linger for nearly a month now. He couldn't help but think that the little red and black seal deserved a name.

"Morning, Tikki," he hollered down at it.

The seal even looked up at him as though it could answer. He had to laugh. "The sea looking good today?"

That's when the seal dove down to hide.

But it came back.

For two months straight.

"Marinette! Wait."

She sighed. So much for sneaking out without being noticed.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Yeah. You've disappeared a lot lately."

"Why are you so secretive?"

The questions came rapidly from her friends. So quick Marinette didn't even have the time to answer a single one.

Not that she particularly wanted to. Where she was going and what she was doing would probably convince Alya to actually complete her favorite threat.

"Tell us, girl!" Alya finished.

By now, Marinette was staring at her five closest friends, their expressions varying from concerned to irritated. As much as Marinette didn't want to tell them where she was going, the last thing she wanted was to lie. She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"I," Marinette said, hoping her cringe wasn't evident. "I might be going… to meet… someone."

That was all it took for those five girls to start bombarding her with a whole new set of questions.

"Who is he?"

"Do we know him?"

"Is he handsome?

It wasn't until Marinette managed to dodge all of their questions that Marinette was released to go meet her mystery man.

She knew her friends were irritated with her for not telling the whole truth, but she didn't lie. Not even about going to meet a guy. Because today, after three months of following the Cataclysm around on the sea, her curiosity had finally gotten the better of her.

Today, she was going to meet Chat Noir out on land.

Her heart was racing with excitement. And nervousness. She knew she was taking a huge risk. She knew it. She also knew her friends would strangle her if they knew she was going up on land alone. However, she just had to meet him. He wasn't like any of the other pirates of the sea. He was kind and had the nicest laugh.

He'd named her and called her his good luck charm. Surely, he wasn't the average pirate.

She arrived at the town she knew he'd be in. He always came to this market and only this one, but to confirm it, she searched for his ship. When she spotted it docked at a harbor, she relaxed. Now, to get on land.

She found a secret spot to transform. With a flash, she stepped out of the ocean, her skin shedding to reveal a thinner one underneath while her first skin wrapped around her in a coat. She still wore the clothes that she'd had on last time she stepped out of land, meaning she wouldn't garner odd looks or unwanted attention.

It also meant she could immediately begin her search for Chat Noir. Considering it might very well take all day and she still might not be successful, getting started as soon as she could was an absolute must.

Adrien wandered the markets, looking for supplies. Being out in broad daylight didn't quite bother him. At least, not at this market. He had to be careful where he showed himself, but since he thwarted the assassination of some high-ranking noble, he'd been given free-reign here.

It wasn't exactly intentional. More of a pure coincidence that there had been a large bounty on the assassin's head and Chat Noir had taken him out right before he could finish his kill. Really, it was a right-place-right-time situation.

"Miss, are you going to buy anything or not?"

Adrien glanced over to see what the shopkeeper was yelling about, only to do a doubletake. Standing in front of him was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen in his life, the one he swore would only ever do.

And right now, she was cowering under the gaze of the shopkeeper, a pretty trinket held against her chest as though she'd been frightened. Slowly, she unfurled herself from her cowered position, only to glance sadly at the trinket before putting it back.

But Adrien wouldn't have it.

"Here," he said, tossing a large coin in the shopkeeper's direction.

The man barely caught it, but Adrien didn't pay much attention. Instead, he was looking at the woman who was looking at him. With a grin, he pushed the trinket back up to her. "For you, milady." He sent her a wink, hoping to get a blush out of her.

Instead, she tilted her head at the action. However, she did blush as she held the trinket close. "Thank you."

"Of course," he said, his smile growing. "Tis a pleasure to see you again. Do you visit the market often?"

"On occasion," she said. "But usually not alone."

She was alone today? He had to work hard to shove down the satisfactory grin that threatened to bubble up at any moment. "Well, then, I see it my duty to escort you around. I simply cannot let such a lovely young woman walk around alone."

Finally, there was a blush on her cheeks that caused his heart to pound with pride. "Then I suppose I can't refuse."

"I can't believe you're still seeing him!" Alya said, shaking her head in bewilderment.

Marinette hadn't been able to keep her secret for long. After a full month, Alya finally dragged the truth out of Marinette. Which meant that fire rained down on her.

An impressive feat considering that they lived in the sea.

"I understand your doubts," Marinette admitted. "But he's wonderful and kind and charming and thoughtful and—"

"Whoa, slow down there, princess," Alix interrupted with a smug grin.

Marinette could only glare at Alix. However, Rose was close enough to smack Alix's shoulder. "Let her be!" she scolded. "I, for one, think it's utterly adorable!"

"Of course, you would," Alix mumbled.

"You have to admit," Mylene spoke up. "That this Chat Noir has treated her really well for being a pirate."

Seeing that her point was made, Marinette gestured wildly at Mylene. "Thank you!"

"Girl, we just want you taken care of and safe," Alya spoke up again. "Don't blame us for being a little concerned."

At that, Marinette sobered. As she thought of it, she realized she would do the same to any of her friends if they found themselves in her situation. They were all very close and protective of each other. Was it wrong of them to be worried about her?

"I'm sorry," Marinette said, the fight being drained out of her. "I guess I just… got excited about everything."

Alya's expression morphed to something soft before she grabbed her friend in a tight hug. "We just love you, that's all. And we want the best for you."

Within moments, Marinette was the center of a group hug, all her friends' murmuring their agreements.

Marinette returned the hug as best she could. "Thank you, girls," she said. "You're the best friends a selkie could ask for."

Marinette was up past her head in trouble.

Her coat was gone, leaving her feeling bare despite wearing a blouse that was a little too large for her and a skirt that she'd ripped when the captain of the ship she was trapped on dragged her down into his bedroom.

It was all her fault. She'd been so careless. It had become her favorite past-time to swim beside the Cataclysm, the ship owned by the man she swore was the love of her life. Chat Noir was the only pirate she could ever call trustworthy and kind. He showed her respect on land, but what she noticed was he even treated the sea creatures with respect. There was one time he'd caught a seal in his nets when fishing, and instead of calling it a meal, he'd cut it loose and smiled at it as it swam off.

It was the action that left all her friends admitting that maybe Chat Noir wasn't such a terrible pirate after all. It at least got them to calm a bit about Marinette's insistence on seeing him every chance she could.

He was always a perfect gentleman with her. It had been a year now that she had been scouting out his ship, waiting for whenever it would dock and allow her the chance to spend time by his side. He always made her feel treasured. He was never greedy with his money, instead throwing it at merchants whenever she found something pretty. She now harbored a collection hidden away in a secret grotto.

She suspected that Alya may be jealous of some of the trinkets considering the way she eyed them.

However, all of that seemed distant as her fear overtook her. Pirates were the ones that she was warned to stay away from while she was taught that the Royal Navy sailors weren't too dangerous. But Marinette begged to differ. She'd been caught in one of their nets while trying to get to the Cataclysm, which hadn't been that far off. Instead of letting her go free, the captain deemed her his prize. Marinette knew enough about human males from her time on land with Chat Noir to know that a man deeming her his "prize" meant "having his way with her".

And that gleam in his eyes had terrified her.

There was a commotion on the other side of the doorway, shouting and screaming and the sound of metal against metal. And then the door handle jiggled.

A new wave of terror filled her as she searched to find anything that would allow her to defend herself.

She reached for a metal lamp just as the door burst open, but it wasn't the captain who entered.

Her heart fluttered in shock as she took in his black attire, and the lamp fell from her hands. "Chat Noir."

He looked as surprised as she did. "Ladybug?"

At the sound of her nickname, she ran into his arms. He instantly embraced her, tucking her against his chest protectively. "What are you doing here?" he asked, stroking her hair affectionately. "Are you okay?"

No. She was most definitely not okay. She was trapped and the captain wanted to use her for his personal pleasure and-and-and—

"He took my coat."

"I'll get you a new one," he quickly said.

"No," she said, biting her lip. "No, you don't understand. I have to have my coat."

He pulled away just enough to look her in the eye. "It's not worth it," he said. "Leave it be, I'll get you a—"

"No," she interrupted. "No. You don't… I can't… I have to have that coat. You don't understand what I am."

His brow furrowed, which caused her gut to sink. Never once did she tell him that she wasn't human. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized it would come out one of these days, but she never thought she would be so worried about his reaction. "What do you mean? What you a—" He stopped short, his eyes widening.

"I'm a selkie," she confirmed. "I've always met you on land, so you wouldn't have any reason to believe it. But that's why I need my coat so badly. I…"

He looked at her a while longer before shaking his head. "Okay. It's okay. I'll find your coat. Just stay here. I will come back for you."

"Promise?" Her voice came out soft and weak and uncertain.

He looked at her, his green eyes turning hard. Despite his expression being fierce, it was with a certain gentleness that he pulled her close and pressed a kiss to her temple. "I will be back," he repeated on a whisper. "I promise. Stay here, out of the fighting, please."

Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard that it was difficult to say, "okay."

He pulled himself away, and with one last meaningful glance, he rushed out the door.

Before she could fall over, Marinette found a place to sit. While her heart was pounding with the fear that someone other than Chat was going to burst though that door at any minute, her mind was reeling from the kiss. She reached up to touch her temple, and a smile crossed her lips at the thought of his kiss.

She needed to pull herself back down to earth.

His entrance the second time still scared her as much as the first. Relief flooded her when she realized it was Chat, her coat in hand.

She gasped happily, reaching out for it, but she quickly pulled her hand back. He gave her a smile that momentarily caused her to forget why she'd pulled her hand back in the first place. Only when she realized he was about to wrap her up in it did her mind start working again. Backing up, she cried for him to stop.

He froze in place, though he looked worried. "What is it?"

"You have to know," she warned, looking at the man she loved, "the lore of selkies."

His brow furrowed. "The lore of selkies?"

She nodded. "If… if you give that back to me, I'll become completely and totally besotted with you." She'd heard that it was as though a magic spell would be cast over her and she would have eyes for no man other than him.

Slowly, a wide grin stretched across his face as he continued to approach her. "Are you okay with that?"

Her heart thumped oddly in her chest. "Wh… what?"

"Are you okay with being besotted with me?" he asked. "Because frankly, miladybug, I'm pretty besotted with you already."

Again, her heart did an odd dance while her stomach twisted into shy knots. "And are you okay that I kinda lied?"

His brow furrowed again as he took a half step back. "Lied?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were difficult to come by. It was only because of the banging and screaming above that reminded her that they trapped on a ship that words suddenly appeared on her tongue. "Returning a coat is also a selkie marriage custom."

His eyes seemed to widen at that. She couldn't blame him. Of course, it would scare him. He was a pirate. And pirates flirted with women, not married them.

Her eyes sank to the ground as she took another step back. "I'm sorry. Just drop the coat on the floor and I'll pick it up and—"

She froze. He'd come very close to her; she could feel it. She opened her eyes, only to confirm that his boots were right before her, and when she looked up, she noticed his arms were around her, ready to drape the coat over her shoulders with her say so.

Her eyes locked on his, and she felt herself warm as a lopsided grin graced his face. "Say the word and I'm yours," he whispered.

The world faded away as her heart pounded in her chest. He wanted her? He wanted to marry her? A pirate? Take a selkie wife? "You… want to marry me?"

He smiled.

"A selkie?"

He shrugged.

"There is no going back."

"It's a marriage. Of course, there isn't." He said it with such certainty that her fear dissipated.

She licked her suddenly dry lips, then swallowed. "Give me my coat."

In one smooth motion, he wrapped the coat over her shoulders, and Marinette felt everything change in that moment. All she wanted to do was get lost in those eyes that were gleaming as they gazed back into hers. She was acutely aware of how tightly he was holding her coat to her body, as though he could wrap her up and protect her from the world.

"Now, let's get you out of here."

"What?"

He smirked in a way that was strictly Chat Noir, then picked her up, garnering a squeak from her. "Out the window, my ladybug. And I will find you again later tonight."

"What?" she repeated, trying to make sure she'd heard him right.

He chuckled as he managed to open the window with one hand, then set her down on the sill. "You are getting out of here, am I clear?"

Her heart jumped nervously, and she grabbed his shirt. "I don't want to leave you."

With a cattish grin, he took one of her hands off his shoulder and pressed a kiss to the back. "We'll meet again," he said, leaning closer to her, "my wife."

Her heart pounded at those words.

He gave her a smile. "Now," he said, his hands now resting on her waist. He looked like he was going to kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her.

Her eyes closed on their own accord.

"You are getting out of here."

Suddenly, she felt herself falling. Her eyes burst open just as she hit the water. She was stunned for a second, but managed to grab her coat and wrap it around herself. It quickly became a second skin as she morphed back to her seal form.

She popped her head above water, only to see his smiling face. He shot her a salute before he disappeared.

Her heart taken and worried, she lingered around the ships, watching as treasure chests and goods were taken across a gang plank from the Papillion to the Cataclysm. Normally, she wouldn't agree with the lawlessness, but in this case, she wouldn't make a fuss. That captain had stolen her coat. How dare the man steal her from the sea and think he could use her for his pleasure. She held no pity for him as Chat Noir marched across the gang plank, taunting the man one last time before sailing off, leaving the crew of the Papillion tied up and without goods.

Marinette could only grin as she slipped away. She would find the Cataclysm again soon enough, but for now, she had some news to share with her friends.

"I'm married!"

In an instant, five selkies were staring at Marinette.

"What?"

"Yeah!" Marinette cried as she rushed over, ready to explain everything that had transpired to her friends.

"You were captured?"

"On a royal ship?"

"That captain is going to pay!"

"Yes, yes, and my husband already made him."

This got the girls to pause. "Your husband?" Alya asked.

"Oh, come on," Alix scoffed. "Don't look so surprised. With as much time as she's spent around Chat Noir, it's shocking she only just got married to him."

None of the other girls could disagree with it.

"You have to admit," Mylene said, breaking the silence. "He did seem nice the one time we saw him in the market."

"And he paid for his things," Rose pointed out.

"And he does make Marinette happy," Juleka added.

Alya sighed. "Fine, so he's a decent guy. Sorry for being picky over who gave my best friend's coat to her."

Marinette sided up to Alya and wrapped her arms around her. "He's a good man, I promise."

"Which is something I never thought I'd hear be said about a pirate," Alya admitted. "So I want to meet him before you go away with him."

Marinette frowned. "I usually have to find his ship—"

"Well, then, it seems like we are going to storm the Cataclysm."

Marinette looked at her friend, whose expression showed she was completely serious. Glancing at her other friends, she noted that they all looked the same: hands on their hips and eyes fiery with determination.

She couldn't help but smile. "I love you all."

Their smiles faded pretty quickly as they attacked Marinette in a group hug. "We love you, too."

Adrien sat on the rocky beach of the coast they docked at, waiting for his Ladybug. The moment he'd seen her seal form, he realized she was his Tikki, his little good luck charm. How appropriate that he called her Ladybug.

He was so eager for her to come back to him that he made it easy to find her, docking at this city, in this market where they always met. She would arrive; he knew it.

Off in the distance, he saw some creatures jump out of the sea, swimming towards shore while barking to each other. He smiled when he realized they were seals. The question remaining was if one of those seals was his selkie or not.

He didn't have long to wait for that answer to become clear.

She appeared at the base of the rocks, looking up at him with her seal eyes. In a glow, he watched her transform, revealing glossy black hair tumbling over her blue, blue eyes as she stared up at him in reverence.

His heart pounded in his chest. Hard. "Why, fancy meeting you here, miladybug."

Her grin glowed in the dusk sky. She pulled herself up out of the water onto the rocks, and that's when five other seals appeared. In bright glows all their own, the five seals morphed to humans. And all of them glared up at him threateningly.

"Listen up," the one in the center directed. Her hair was almost red in the light and her skin was darker than the rest. "That is our best friend whom you married. If we find out that you hurt her in any way, you will have five selkies ready to charge your ship and wreck all the havoc in the world, and I clear about that?"

"Alya," Ladybug warned through gritted teeth.

She glared up at her friend. "Shush! I'm threatening your husband."

Adrien felt a little lost and simply decided that staying quiet was the best option for now. He let this Alya yell at him a while before she finally ran out of words and settled for glaring at him.

"Forgive her," Ladybug said, sliding up next to him and wrapping her arms around one of his. "She's my best friend."

'But we're all her friends," the selkie with pink hair warned, glaring at Adrien. "And we all have her back. If you don't treat her well, we'll sink your ship and drag all your crew under and feast on their bodies."

Considering the strange looks the other selkies gave her, Adrien was going to assume that wasn't what selkies did.

Or, he hoped, anyway.

"Don't worry," he said, finally finding the words to say. "I plan to take good care of her."

"But you're a pirate," a third selkie, one with long blonde hair spoke up. "Usually, we're taught not to trust you."

"I… true," he admitted. "But I have morals," he quickly defended. "I was raised as the son of a military commander. My father had failed for years trying to eradicate the pirate issue haunting the towns. So, in my rebellion, I became a pirate to take down other pirates. My crew consists entirely of kids who grew up in the military, like me."

Adrien watched the girls' expressions shift, partly out of surprise and partly confusion.

"If you don't believe me, I understand," he assured. "But I swear, my morals are of high standard, and I promise that your friend will be in safe hands."

In a flash, he was being squeezed by the squealing girl at his side. "I knew I liked you!"

His cheeks warmed as he looked down at the girl who had thrown her arms around him and shoved her face against his shoulder. The way she was curled into his side made him want to just pull her into his lap already, so he could hold her the way she was holding him.

Slowly, Alya's surprise faded into something smug. "Well then, military brat, we'll hold you to those expectations."

He had the district feeling that failing to meet her high expectations would bring more harm on him than he could imagine. "I won't fail her."

His Ladybug giggled happily.

"Before we go," the selkie with pink hair spoke up, "we need to know one last thing."

"And that is?"

"Marinette never told us your name, pirate."

Suddenly, the girl at his side stiffened.

"Marinette?" he repeated quietly. It took him a few seconds to realize that that was the name of his Ladybug. "Your name's Marinette."

"No. Way."

Adrien glanced back at the other selkies just in time to watch their shock give way to wild grins. "Girl! You never told him your name?"

"I…" Marinette began. She paused to swallow. "No?"

That sent the other girls into peals of laughter, slapping the water and splashing around.

"Marinette," Alya said between fits of giggles. "What are we going to do with you!"

Marinette pouted and pressed her face into his shoulder again.

"Your name is beautiful," he whispered to her, hoping to ease her clear embarrassment.

"Not helping," she mumbled against his shirt.

He chuckled before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him.

"Just so you know," he said against her hair. "My name is Adrien."

"Adrien?"

"Adrien Agreste," he confirmed.

"Adrien," she said, letting the name roll off her tongue in a way that was far too alluring. His name never sounded so good. "Adrien."

"Adrien?" one of the selkies repeated. "That's your name?"

He nodded. "Adrien Agreste. But don't let the name get out. I'm known only as Chat Noir and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Who are we going to tell?" Alya smugly challenged.

Adrien had to admit she had a point.

"Well, Adrien," Alya said. "You better take good care of her."

"Yeah," the pink-haired selkie agreed. "Or you'll live to regret it."

Alya may be scary, but that little pink-haired one was downright terrifying. "I understand," he assured. "And I swear she will be well taken care of."

"We trust you," the petite blonde selkie piped up.

"We're just protective of her," the dark-haired selkie by her side quietly added.

"As good friends should be," Adrien assured. "I understand."

Somehow, it was those words that settled all five of the selkies.

"We'll let you go, then," the other blonde selkie said. "We just wanted to send Marinette off."

"And, you know, meet her husband," the pink-haired selkie added.

"Yeah," the blonde agreed, "that too."

With one last round of good-byes that turned into a somewhat tearful group hug, the five selkies shifted back to seals and slipped off into the sea.

Leaving Marinette looking longingly after them.

Adrien moved to be by her side.

At the sound of him shifting, she looked over to him and gave him a smile. "I'm sorry, it's…" She turned back to the sea. "It's harder than I thought it would be."

He gave her a reassuring smile before wrapping his arms around her. "I won't keep you from them, you know," he said, giving her a comforting squeeze. "Our home will be on the sea, you'll be able to visit whenever you wish."

Marinette turned in his arms so as to meet his gaze, and he looked down at her lovingly. "My wife deserves to be happy, after all."

Her smile turned real as she snuggled against him, her arms coming around his torso to return his embrace. "I knew you would be a good husband."

"I have the rest of my life to continue proving that to you."

With a giggle, she snuggled closer against him.

He was certain she could hear his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. "Now," he began quietly, giving into the temptation to nuzzle her hair. "Would you like to stay here? Or may I take my wife home."

"Take me home," she answered. "Please."

"Of course, my ladybug. Of course."

Bonus:

Adrien loved being married. Waking up beside his lovely wife in the mornings and having her with him when going about his business made his day brighter. He also loved that his wife happened to be a selkie that somehow just knew how to find ships.

However, he wasn't a fan of the harassment that came with it.

Nino, his first mate and best friend, was the biggest offender. Kim was the second. The only reason they were still on the ship was because they were exceedingly kind to Marinette. All the people on his ship were and finding new recruits was always a challenge.

"Where's the wife at today, buddy?" Nino began. By the tone of his voice, Adrien knew he was itching to start something.

"She's with her friends today," Adrien said, hoping it would be the end of the conversation.

But it wasn't. "Ah, so she's off the ship?"

Adrien just glared at his friend. "Knock it off."

Nino started laughing. "Sorry, buddy. I just can't wrap my head around that you willingly got married to a selkie."

"I hope that you fall in love one day just so I can spite you."

Nino burst into a fit of laughter.

Before they could continue the conversation, Adrien watched a seal leap from the water right beside the ship, followed by a couple others.

He grinned fondly. There they were.

Soon enough, Marinette was at his side. He'd had latter rungs installed on the side of the ship so she would be able to get up and down between the water and deck easily. While it posed a slight hazard, he knew he would just have to be extra careful monitoring his ship.

"Adrien," she asked, her voice soft and wonderful. She slipped a hand into his, wrapping her other hand around his bicep and resting her chin on his shoulder. "Could I bring my friends aboard? I want to show them my home."

Adrien grinned. "Of course, my love. This is your home, too."

"I don't want to get in the way of the men."

He shrugged. "They'll be fine."

With a squeak of happiness, she reached up to press a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you!" In a second, she was gone again.

He heard Nino snort from beside him. "Letting your wife run all over you." He shook his head. "Not fitting for the Pirate Chat Noir."

"Keep this up, and you'll be swabbing the deck."

"Sure. I believe y—"

At Nino's sudden silence, Adrien looked over at his buddy, only to see him frozen, staring off somewhere behind them. Curious, Adrien turned, trying to surmise what his friend was staring at.

Alya was there, hands on her hip as she appraised the ship. She looked over in Adrien's direction and shot him a smirk. "Nice ship, captain. But looks like you got a broken sailor."

Adrien looked over at Nino, who had quickly turned around to look out to the sea.

Feeling rather smug, Adrien leaned over toward his friend. "Karma's arrived."

"Shut up."