A Masked Deal

Patrol

"I hear Tenerife is nice in the winter. It has a very stable temperature."

"Yeah, but I was thinking of somewhere more exotic, somewhere a bit further away. I haven't been on holiday in years, I think our New York trip was one of the last."

"Which? When I interviewed the heroes for my blog two years ago."

"Yeah." Marinette was sitting next to Alya on the sofa, laptop open on her thighs. There was a specific reason she was looking at such places, and the choice had to be perfect. She and Chat Noir had decided they wanted to get married soon. So it was looking like a winter wedding, but that meant a trip to somewhere warmer. There was no way she was getting married in snow.

"What about Cape Verde? Or the Maldives?"

Marinette typed both into the search engine and gasped at the pictures. Both places were stunning. She opened a page showing little huts on the beautiful blue water in the Maldives and her heart melted. This is where she wanted to get married. If she couldn't have the huge Parisian wedding she'd dreamed about then this is where she was going to go.

"Oh wow!" Alya looked over Marinette's shoulder at the huts sitting above the water's tide.

"I think, no, I know, I want to go here. This is where I want to get married."

"I completely ag-" Alya stopped midword. Married? Did she hear right? "Marinette?"

She looked over and her friend quickly stood and walked into the kitchen.

"Get back here now!" Alya demanded.

Marinette slowly walked back and sat beside her best friend, looking like a toddler who was one more action away from being placed on the naughty step.

"How are you, by the way? You never told me about your last date with Nino?" Marinette hoped the power of distraction would work. Alya liked to talk about her dates. She didn't need Marinette to tell her anything about a wedding, or that she was marrying her partner.

"Don't try that with me girl. You said getting married and then went all crazy. You don't have a boyfriend so why are you looking for a place to get married this winter."

"Because I like to dream?"

"Marinette, Ladybug, Dupain-Cheng, tell me now or so help me God, I will hurt you."

Marinette sighed and turned to face her friend.

"I'm kind of engaged." She said softly.

"Kind of? How can you be kind of?"

"We made a deal when we were eighteen, and now we are ... going ...through ... with ... it."

Alya looked at Marinette like she'd gone crazy.

"A deal? A deal with whom?"

Covering her mouth Marinette muffled out the name of her betrothed, before heading back to the kitchen. This time though, Alya was on her tail.

"Chat? You made a deal to marry Chat? You two are getting married?" She had so many questions for her shorter friend, she had no idea where to start.

"Yes, Chat and I made a deal and both decided we want to go through with it."

"So that's why you haven't been dating. You've been waiting for him." Marinette nodded a smile taking place on her lips. "Look at your face, you're completely smitten."