20. Adrien's Girlfriend

In which Adrien doesn't want a kiss

(Epilogue)

'Absolutely not!' Adrien cried, already beet red and vexed. 'No kissing!'

'But Monsieur Adrien!' Vincent lamented throwing his head back and his hands up in the air as if he'd been one of inflatable tube men.

Adrien almost pitied him. He'd stood in front of Vincent's camera for years, never complaining, never demanding, never protesting. Even if the Italian photographer's ideas made him uncomfortable or silly. Even if he had to endure hours of strange poses and itchy clothes. But not today. Today the man had crossed the line.

'I said no!' Adrien repeated.

'Vincent, why are you shouting at my son, at my photoshoot?' A stern voice came from behind the photographer.

Vincent whipped his head to where Adrien's father was standing, his face not bearing any traces of smile or content.

'Ah, Monsieur Agreste, there's a problem,' he wailed, gesturing wildly to Adrien and his supposed partner for the photoshoot, a loud blonde girl from Norway, as far as he recalled. 'Your son refuses to kiss the model he's been paired with.'

'There was never any kissing involved before.' Adrien grumbled, taking a few extra steps away from the other model. 'I don't see how suddenly it's needed.'

Vincent rolled his eyes. 'Adrien, that's the whole theme of this collection,' he complained. 'You simply can't not kiss your colleague. Every outfit deserves a kiss!'

'No, I won't,'Adrien stomped his foot stubbornly. His embarrassment at Vincent's failed attempts at cajoling, prompting or persuading him into kissing the girl had been epic even before his father had arrived. Now it was of astronomical proportions. But he had made up his mind.

'Monsieur Agreste, this is unprofessional,' Vincent apparently couldn't recognize a dead horse when he saw one. And as this was the first time Adrien technically threw a tantrum (not really, but the stink eye the photographer was giving him made it feel that way), he must have thought taking things up to his father would help in any way.

Well, it wouldn't.

'I warn you, Vincent. Adrien is an Agreste, and once committed, an Agreste will never yield,' Monsieur Agreste announced coldly. 'Besides, I have anticipated the current difficulties and the solution is… being prepared.'

The photographer nodded gloomily. He turned to the Norwegian model and shrugged.

Adrien was about to sigh in relief when his father glared at him. A raised brow was never a good sign.

'Now Adrien,' Agreste senior rubbed the bridge of his nose. 'I understand your discomfort, but you're not a 14 year old anymore. This collection is targeted at older teens and young adults and as such it requires, as the main designer likes to say - some "rock-and-roll",' he winced at the description. 'So if you're uncomfortable and want to resign-‚' he suspended his voice.

'No!' Adrien protested. 'I promised I'd help,' he cast a look at the other model and lowered his voice to a desperate whisper. 'But I can't kiss her. I just can't.'

'I see.' His father straightened up and looked at something behind Adrien's back. Whatever he saw there, it made him smirk like a cat that just ate a canary. 'May I offer you another solution?' he motioned Adrien to turn around.

The sight stole the air in his lungs and made him clutch at his chest, as his heart threatened to rip out and run. To her.

For an outsider it probably looked as if Marinette simply arrived at the set. But not for Adrien. As far as he was concerned she graced these mortals with her divine presence. Now, however, it seemed that she had received a whole makeover.

Her hair was curled into midnight locks, weaving its way around her shoulders. Her beauty was subtly enhanced by the make-up artist, who made her lashes even longer and somehow managed to make her unique freckles stand out despite the applied blush. She was wearing a dress of her own design, delicate and ethereal. The material hugged her curves like a glove, yet it seemed to float as if in a breeze. She looked like incarnation of the Spring herself.

It's been four years since that fateful April and she never ceased taking his breath away. Sometimes he wondered if the fever had been real, or maybe just an embarrassing dream that allowed him to finally understand what his heart had known all along. That Marinette Dupain-Cheng was his love, his soulmate, his everything.

'Ah, and here she is,' Adrien's father announced with a smile.

'Monsieur Gabriel?' Marinette stepped lightly over the set as she approached them. 'You wanted to see me?'

'You hired a new model, Monsieur Agreste?' the photographer exclaimed, his gaze already calculating and planning. 'A new face?'

'Vincent, may I introduce you to the creative mind behind this collection,' Gabriel raised his voice above the susurration that swept over the set at Marinette's arrival. 'Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng.'

'I will kiss her!' Adrien volunteered, finally understanding his father's scheme. 'I'm the only one allowed to, you know!' he added with a Cheshire cat grin.

'Of course you will, Adrien,' Agreste senior assured, corners of his lips twitching into a smirk. 'Now go to the make-up artist to refresh your look. You're all sweaty and your hair simply won't do.'

He gave the boy a gentle push and offered to show Marinette to the set while they waited for Adrien. As the teen made his way to the makeup station he heard his father's content voice.

'I thank the heavens every day that he fell in love with you, Marinette.' Now there was a horrified gasp as he added. 'There was a time I was seriously afraid Ladybug would be my future daughter-in-law.'

Adrien heard Marinette's adorable giggle and he snorted. If only his father knew.

He often went back to that moment when he had helped her to a bench, before she made him return to the photoshoot, leaving her to wait for Ladybug to do her magic and cure her ankle. He sometimes regretted not stalling for a bit that day. Maybe he'd figure it out sooner. Instead it took him all day of floating on cloud nine before he recalled the sensation of his first kisses with Marinette, and connected it with the time Ladybug's power surged through him the day before that. Same energy, same magic. In one compact package of the love of his life, the bravest girl he knew. His girlfriend.

The End

Author's Note: And here is the epilogue for Spring Fever. It's time to say goodbye to this story. It's been quite a ride, that stretched Adrinette April up until December! Thank you all for sticking with this fic to the very end. I hope you enjoyed it. I greatly appreciate your reviews, favs and follows. It was a pleasure to see each and every one of them.

I am deeply grateful to my beta Remasa for all the help, brainstorming and valuable advice! Make sure to check out her stories, they're one of my favorites.

What's next from me? My ML Secret Santa contribution and then I plan to get back to The Girl in the Mirror and my other unfinished multichapter stories. Stay tuned!

You can find me on tumblr (perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com), where I share my fics and art, and reblog mostly miraculous stuff.