In Front of my Eyes : A Miraculous Story

Epilogue 1

6 months later

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Marinette

"You want to go to the movies after school?" Chloe asked at lunch.

"I wish I could." I answered honestly. "Adrien and I are visiting Gabriel this afternoon. It's the first time he's allowed visitors and Adrien isn't ready to go by himself."

"I'll go with you, Chloe." Alya added, trying to make nice with her.

It hadn't been easy after everything had gone down. Gabriel and Nathalie were both arrested. Both of them stood trials and both of them are now in the Paris Jail for a good long time. His identity of Hawkmoth was revealed, and in a last ditch effort to take Adrien and me down, he revealed our identities on national television.

My parents went absolutely ballistic at first, but after about a month of the public nearly beating down my door, the world got used to it. It wasn't as if we had any supervillains to fight anymore.

We still were Paris's superheroes, but it wasn't like it once was. We patrolled the city and made sure everything was in order, but there was no more daily attacks or constant fear. Things were peaceful for once.

Once the chaos died down and the two of us returned to school, everyone apologized for the way they acted with Lila. I wasn't as quick to forgive them this time around, but I did eventually. Lila realized she couldn't play the victim anymore, and quickly realized that she no longer had a place at our school. She was gone before the week had even finished.

As for Adrien... well, he's been better. Nino had allowed him to move in with him, so the two of them have been living together since everything had gone down. His mother was finally laid to rest. That was the hardest part for him. He had to start an entirely new grieving process all over again, but this time, he wasn't alone.

He didn't attend the trials, though enough people had spoken to him about it that he always knew exactly what was going on. He refused to talk to his father or Nathalie, and though at first it completely took over his life, he was finally adjusting to his new normal.

That wasn't to say everything was perfect in our worlds, but it was certainly a start. If you would've told me a year ago that Chloe, Alya and I would all be making plans to go to the movies together while I waited for my boyfriend Adrien, I probably would've laughed in your face, but that's the way life works.

"Hey Marinette, sorry I'm late." Adrien said as he sat down next to us, laying a small kiss on my cheek.

"Hi Kitty." I answered back, nestling a bit closed to his side.

"Ew, get a room!" Nino laughed as he sat next to Alya, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Ugh, ridiculous. I can't believe I'm actually sitting at a table with the 4 of you and I'm the single one!" Chloe pouted.

"Oh, you know you love us." Alya teased.

She didn't have a response to this, though a small smile did take over her face.

How strange, I thought to myself.

As lunch died down and the school bell rang, though, the smiles stopped. Adrien and I exchanged a small look before saying goodbye to our friends. The walk to our ride waiting outside was an awful one, but the feel of the car once we were inside was even worse.

"We don't have to do this." I whispered to him, grabbing his hand in mine.

"Yeah we do." Adrien said, determination in his voice. "He has to see that he lost. That the two
of us are still standing and Paris is safe. He has to see me, Mari."

I responded with a mere nod of my head as I kept his hand firmly in mine.

There were days where it all seemed to be getting better, but then days like these came around and screwed everything up. Gabriel Agreste has already taken too much from us, I wouldn't let him take Adrien's happiness, too.

The ride was far too short, and before we knew it, we both braced ourselves as we walked into the jail.