How do you grieve someone who meant more to you than you realised? How can you stand there and watch the person who brought you into this world, the person who cared for you unknowingly, who saved your life, be lowered into the ground like just an inanimate object? How can you carry on when your life has been pulled apart at the seams and ripped so badly you have no idea if it can be mended? You try and try but it just won't fit together anymore, at least not the way it used to.
Adrien watched as the priest said his final words and Nathalie's coffin was lowered into the ground. He thought he was dealing with it, but this right here and right now, was not someone who was dealing with it. He felt numb. Broken. His whole life was a lie and a sham. He felt an arm wrap around his shoulders, twisting himself to come face to face with the Gorilla.
Due to what had transpired not too long ago, Nathalie's funeral was closed off. Only close friends and family were welcome, and it seemed himself and his bodyguard were her only close friends and, metaphorically, her family. The area had been closed off keeping prying eyes and paparazzi out and away from the ceremony.
A grunt left Gorilla's mouth, indicating it was time for them to return to the hotel. Adrien let the red rose in his hand drop down onto the coffin as he kissed his fingers and threw that down too.
"I'll never forget what you did for me," his voice was low, quiet, broken. It was no longer hidden that Nathalie had died saving Adrien's life, that he owed everything to her.
"Neither will I," a voice spoke up behind him, causing him to turn suddenly.
The girl in red walked forward, a red rose in one hand and a black suit bag in the other. She placed the bag down and threw a red rose to lie on top of the coffin. Adrien took a moment to study her before turning back to the Gorilla. Seeming to understand what Adrien needed to happen, he grunted again and walked the priest away from the plot, along with the grounds keeper who was standing with his shovel.
"How have you managed to get here? What about school?" Adrien asked, eyes following their companions around the side of the building.
"Those darn dentists' just needed to give me a quick check up this morning, my parents were mortified that more notice wasn't given for the school." Her lips turned up into a small smile, eyes following the same as Adrien's.
As soon as the others rounded the corner, Ladybug jumped towards Adrien, taking him in her arms.
"Careful, LB, you'll break me."
She pulled back a little, keeping her arms around his waist and looked him up and down. The look in her eyes overpowered all emotions he was feeling as he moved his head down and kissed her on the corner of the lips. He wasn't quite sure where he was aiming for. Her lips, her cheek, her nose?
She smiled back at him before loosening the grip from around his waist. She stood by his side, both staring down into the newly created hole now the proud owner of a Clarksburg wooden casket.
Adrien stretched his hand towards Ladybug allowing her to slot both hands together, fingers joined in coordination with their hearts. They both stood there in silence, each playing their own stories in their heads from the day the final battle went down.
"I haven't asked this, but how did it happen?" Adrien spoke, yet the words didn't sound like his own.
"Adrien -"
"I need to know, M'Lady. How did it happen? Was there a fight? Did she get forced into it? I need to know, I need closure."
It had been a little over a month and Marinette's nightmares were still fresh, her mind replaying the whole event as though it was on Netflix. It never changed, and she was quite sure the memory was never adapted. Tikki would never speak about it, and Plagg was in a state not too different from Adrien. It seemed his emotions fed off that of his wielder.
She sighed, thinking about where to start. She closed her eyes, only to reopen them quickly, thanks to the rapid flashbacks taking over her consciousness.
"Your father was on a rampage. He'd ripped my earrings out. You were already down. He made the wish and your mother appeared next to me."
"Did she care about what had happened to me?" He asked. She could see the build up of tears at the bottom of his eyelids.
"At first, yes, but then she discovered that the wish had actually worked and was more enthralled with that."
Adrien let out a puff of air and looked at his partner. He couldn't begin to imagine what she had been through. They were both broken teens, and he just hoped they could both move past all this and try to have some sort of normal life going forward. Though, what would that actually be for two heroes?
"Nathalie grabbed the Miraculous' before I could. She asked me to trust her and I did. It's my fault, I should have gotten to them first and reversed it all, I should have stopped Nathalie from making the sacrifice." Tears welled in her eyes as Adiren grabbed her, pulling her into his body. "I'm so sorry."
He placed his lips into her hair and they continued to embrace each other, feeling the comfort they only did when connected to each other.
"I'm sorry, Adrien," the tears spilled from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. Adrien grasped her tighter allowing his own to fall. He may have lost Nathalie, but it could have been so much worse. He knew for a fact that if Nathalie didn't sacrifice herself then Marinette would have and there was no way he could live losing her.
"Do you forgive me?" He could feel her shaking under his arms as she spoke.
"There's nothing to forgive, Bugaboo." No other words needed to be spoken. It was done. The chapter was finished and all they could do now was concentrate on healing. Together.
•••••
"Did you sleep at all last night?"
Marinette was currently sprawled over her workstation in her bedroom, exhausted from a lack of sleep and an emotional morning with Adrien.
"No," she sighed, lifting her head from the desk, complete with the leftover macaron crumbles of the delicious sweet treat she was eating before she passed out, stuck to her cheek.
"How was the funeral?" Alya came over and sat next to her friend, picking off each crumb of pink delicacy from her face.
"It was so sad, Alya. Just Adrien and the Gorilla. She deserved more than that, she deserved so much more."
"Whilst I don't disagree with you, we all know that if you had gotten to the Miraculous' first you would have traded your own life." She stroked her fingers through one of Marinette's pigtails, hoping to placate the girl before being attacked with a thousand reasons why she should have been the one to die in place of Nathalie and Adrien.
"I'm not even going to argue with that. I'm also not going to argue with the fact that my idea would have been stupid."
"Thank God for that, finally something we agree on."
Alya smiled at her friend and looked her over. There was a lot of pampering needed before their prom. There was no way she would let her friend walk into the dance looking like the Bride of Frankenstien.
"What are you working on?" Alya asked.
"Adrien's characterization. I'm just finding it so difficult, Al. I know him so well, yet not at all. Knowing he's Chat and Adrien is messing with my mind. How can they be so different?"
Alya stood up and made her way to the mannequin currently holding Marinette's altered dress. She walked around it paying special attention to the cut, and the fit. Noticing the giant cut out on the lower back, she couldn't help but wonder why? Interesting.
"They aren't," Alya spoke matter of fact, shrugging her shoulders at her oblivious friend.
"What do you mean they aren't? It's perfect against punny, the complete opposite." Marinette looked down at her sheet of paper which at the moment consisted of Adrien's name, and Adrien's name alone.
"Give me one attribute of Chat Noir," her redheaded friend said.
"He's funny,"
"So, Adrien's not funny, excellent. Onto the -"
"That's not what I said." Marinette stopped Alya in mid sentence.
When had she said Adrien wasn't funny?
"Ok, so both of them are funny. Tell me one thing about Adrien," Alya continued, knowing exactly where this road was going to lead. She had a plan and it was going to be executed to the best of her ability.
"He's so sweet and kind,"
"Excellent, at least we know Chat's not -"
"What? No, Alya, Chat is so kind and genuine. He's loyal and brave and he makes me feel like I could take on the world. But Adrien, he's like the good Angel on my shoulder making sure I do the right thing and make the right choices. They're both supportive and caring. Did you know Adrien stood up to Lila in the past because he was fed up with her attacks on me, oh Chat, well he -" Marinette stopped in mid speech and looked at Alya, clever played, fox. "I see what you've done there, no need to gloat."
Alya laughed at her friend, before heading to the trapdoor.
"Come on. Cinderella, we've still got school before the ball." Alya cackled as she walked down the stairs, Marinette stomping behind her. It was going to be a long day.
•••••
Seven pm came in a flash.
Music was blaring out of the school as many couples made their way up the school steps and into the fully decorated courtyard. By fully decorated it meant banners, balloons and glitter, so, so much glitter. The design team had worked non-stop from the end of the school day to make sure the room was kitted out perfectly.
Tables were draped in white linen, as bows were tied magnificently on the backs of the chairs, the remaining netting draping down the back and onto the floor. The refreshments table was decked out with drinks and treats from the Dupain-Cheng bakery, and the DJ booth was ready on the makeshift stage, along with the thrones for the King and Queen. The voting had closed and Ms. Bustier took it upon herself to count them, offering her own services to name the Prom King and Queen..
Girls around the area were currently fixing their hair, make up and nails, as the guys shaved and drenched themselves in 'Adrien the Fragrance' it was going to be a radiant and carefree, dreamy night,
Marinette and Alya were no different. After both showering and scrubbing themselves to a point of looking like a lobster, they helped each other to create impactful updo's, painted each other's nails, and finally, they checked over their make up for the evening. Once all the accessories were completed there was only one thing left to do.
It was time to put on their dresses.
Even after everything they'd been through and had yet to go through, Marinette really thought she was pushing it by reusing Gabriel's dress. As she stood in front of the mirror twisting left and right, she couldn't help the guilt which overtook her. This dress represented so many bad things and awful memories, yet it was also a big part of her life.
She remembered that the dress had a faulty zip. A zip which came down at the end of her shoot, and thinking about it now, it was that which would have given away her soulmark, her identity. If Gabriel wasn't sure before, she knew that at that moment he would have figured it all out. Then he'd hire the hit on her, anyway.
She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her hips, smoothing down the creases, and looked at herself in the mirror. She may be wearing material supplied by Gabriel, but it is fair to say that now it looked nothing like his original creation.
•••••
Adrien took a swig out of Kim's hip flask to calm his nerves. The guys were currently waiting at the bottom of the staircase for their dates to arrive. Originally, Adrien wanted to walk Marinette over, but being the independent woman she was, she'd told him and Nino they would meet them there. The two girls were determined to make it there together.
Allowing the liquid courage to take over his nerves and settle him slightly he looked up towards the bakery and the vision in front of him took his breath away.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an Angel.
She glowed under the street lights and Adrien couldn't help the way his heart picked up speed. A wolf whistle sounded next to him and he looked to see Kim there staring.
"Agreste, you are one lucky son of a gun."
"I know," Adrien smiled back, finally remembering he had feet and he could use them. He walked towards his Lady, each step feeling like he was closing in on heaven.
"M'Lady?" He bowed down and offered his hand out to her.
With a small giggle she placed her own hand in his, allowing him to bring it to his lips and place a delicate kiss on the back.
"Get a room already," Alya announced as she made her way past them and over to Nino.
"You look incredible," Adrien stated, looking her over.
"Do you really think so? I was worried about the dress."
Adrien looked her over one more time to try and decipher what she meant, why wouldn't he like the dress? As he studied the jet black crystals flowing down the material, a memory of the dress in reverse shot into his head. The red ball gown his father had made.
"You're amazing, Marinette," Adrien breathed out. He wasn't lying either. She looked gorgeous.
"You're not angry I've used your father's dress?"
"It may be the material, but it's your dress, Bugaboo."
The dress, aside from the colour and black crystals, no longer had any similarity to the one she wore in the photoshoot. The halterneck dress ran straight down to the floor, and a low dip in the back which left it bare. Marinette smiled before knocking her shoulder against his.
"Don't call me that."
He laughed out loud at their regular play of words and offered his elbow out to her. Slotting her into the crease, they made their way to their friends and headed up to the courtyard where the party was going strong.
Looking up to the stage, Marinette caught Luka's eye. He gave them both a smile as Rose sang some sort of song about love and Soulmates. Adrien couldn't help but look at the raven haired beauty next to him. He had a soulmate. Someone to love and to hold. He had someone who cared for him without restriction and without malice. He had someone he loved more than life itself, who he would throw himself in danger for time and time again just so she could survive.
He loved Ladybug.
He loved Marinette.
And tonight he was going to prove it.
Once inside the venue, the two heroes stayed together and hung back against the walls. Adrien knew as soon as people caught a glance at them questions would be fired left, right and centre. At the moment he just wanted to spend the time with Marinette, in his safe place.
Kitty Section had just finished their first set as Ms. Bustier took the microphone from Rose. Like everyone else that evening, she'd made a tremendous effort, kitted out in a full circle ball gown, she looked like Cinderella, obviously opting for a quick salon appointment before the evening's events..
"Welcome everyone to our first ever Prom, now we promised to do this American style so over the past week you have all been voting for your Prom King and Queen. I am now proud to present to you, the results."
She pulled an envelope from behind her back as Ivan took to the drums.
"In third place is ..."
Ivan began to roll on the drums adding to the tension in the room.
"Alya Césaire and Le Chien Kim."
Applause broke out around the room as Kim and Alya met in the centre of the dance floor and headed onto the stage. They were presented with flowers and a small crown. Kim, ever the performer, hit a 'Usain Bolt' pose as the crowd erupted into cheers.
"And now for our runners up."
Alya and Kim moved over to the side, allowing the next couple to take centre stage.
"Chloé Bourgeois and Max Kanté."
"Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous." Everyone burst out laughing as for once Chloé played on herself. She took a curtsy in the middle of the room and hooked her arm into Max's. As they approached the stage, Adrien circled his arm around Marinette's waist and pulled her into his side.
"It seems my Princess has been upgraded to a Queen," his words were like liquid gold, causing Marinette to break out in a mad blush. He was her Kitty, and suddenly it all made sense. He made sense and she made sense.
"And our winners for Prom King and Prom Queen ..."
Ivan played the drums again even though everyone now knew the outcome of the votes.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste."
A loud cheer filled the venue, and a spotlight switched on above their heads causing the two soulmates to shield their eyes. Marinette broke into laughter as she felt Adrien pull her towards the stage.
Just like Moses parting the red sea, the crowd began to step back and allow them through, but the atmosphere change was more than noticeable.
As Marinette and Adrien passed their friends the cheers turned into gasps, which turned into shrieks, which turned in comments of disbelief. Marinette held onto Adrien's arm tighter, unsure whether they had decided on the right thing to do..
"Marinette's back!"
"Are they?"
"No way?"
"He's been fighting his own father? All this time?"
"Geez, they could have been together for the past four years, what an irony."
The crowd gasped and hollered at the soulmark on view in the lower centre of Marinette's back. Just like to her parents, the mark made it obvious to everyone in the area. It was time they stopped hiding and revealed themselves to their fellow teammates. As a mirror image of her own soulmark, she'd left Adrien a jacket that morning with an embroidered replica on the back.
The comments continued as the two made it up to the stage, Ms Bustier embracing them both in a hug, as Alya, Nino and Luka sent out comforting thoughts. They were doing the right thing.
After the crowns had been positioned on both their heads and the flowers handed to Marinette, she stepped forward taking a deep breath and channeling the inner leader she was. She was Ladybug, there was no difference between Ladybug and Marinette, they were both one. She understood that now.
"Hi everyone, I'm Ladybug and this is Chat Noir," Adrien performed a little wave as they stood in excruciating silence. If a pin dropped, the surrounding echo would be in competition with that of a fighter jet travelling low overhead. Marinette began to count to five in her head ready to continue, however she only made it to three.
A wild applause sounded out around the room as their friends and fellow heroes celebrated the couple currently supporting plastic crowds and a bouquet of flowers. Marinette looked to Adrien who nodded for her to continue.
"We want to start off by thanking you all for the support you gave us during the final battle. We know it wasn't easy and some of you ended up in rather tricky situations, but without your help I can't imagine we'd all be standing here today.
The final battle was hard. I lost my Miraculous, my positivity and my optimism, but most of all I lost my soulmate, my friend, my Kitty. When Adrien went down I thought my life had ended, I'd just found him and then lost him again, but luckily we had someone on our side. Someone who gave their life for Adrien to live his. So for tonight I'd like us all to pay gratitude to Nathalie Sancoeur, who gave her life so we could live ours."
Marinette stepped away from the microphone allowing Adrien to step forward.
"Marinette summed it up pretty well. Without all of you I wouldn't be here. I would be dead by my own fathers hands, but it's time to move on. It's time to look towards the future and learn from the past.
Just over two months ago we were handed an assignment to write a character description for our partner. But my partner was different, I knew her in two completely different ways. It took my best friend to talk some sense into me and make me look at both Ladybug and Marinette to realise something rather Miraculous. When you start comparing them you see there is no difference. Ladybug and Marinette are the same, the only difference is the confidence of being hidden behind a mask.
When we began our journey together it was complicated, more complicated than what it needed to be. Instead of going straight to the destination we took a scenic route, very similar to that of Lizzy and Darcy. Lies, other lovers, fear and misunderstandings got in our way. We never were ones to make it easy, just look at M'Lady's lucky charms." The crowd laughed as Adrien licked his lips ready to carry on.
"The journey got us here though. To a point where I can see there is no difference between the beautiful Ladybug and the wonderful Marinette. Both girls are mine, and I'm totally a smitten kitten."
Marinette burst out laughing before moving next to him and taking his hand.
"I thought I needed time to realise my true feelings for my soulmate, but we've wasted enough of that, especially as there's nothing to think about. She is the other part of me, afterall."
Adrien turned to look at Marinette, to speak directly to her.
"I don't want to waste another minute. I love you, all of you, and I want us to be together, to start our next journey in life. That's if you'll have me."
The audience waited with bated breath for her response. It wasn't everyday Adrien Agreste decorated his undying love for someone.
"Even if you have to wear amateur clothing instead of designer?" She asked.
"I could do with saving the money anyways."
He responded with a slight lift of his shoulders.
"What about my verbal diarrhea?"
"It's cute,"
"My bossiness?"
"You're just assertive." He reached out and grabbed her hands. "I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, flaws and all. So I want to ask you one of those five questions to help with my assignment?"
Marinette was shaking. She wasn't going to do what he thought she was? Was she?
"Sure," she breathed out.
"Would you like to be my girlfriend?"
A smile slowly pulled on her lips.
"Yes, I would like nothing more."
He placed his hands on her hips, stepping his tall lean body into hers, before taking her lips with his own. Every second showing a display of their love. All too soon they separated. Marinette smiled at Adrien, she was sure he was the love of her life.
"I suppose I need to rewrite my characterisation of you, to top that performance."
"You can try, but you'll fail Bugaboo."
"To be honest it's pretty similar, just change Ladybug to Chat Noir, and Marinette to Adrien."
Pulling her towards him again, he kissed her passionately on the lips. So caught up in the moment, both missed the abundance of white butterflies and feathers taking to the sky.
For once Paris was at peace, and for once the heroes were perfectly content with being 'normal' everyday teenagers.
The End
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Thank you all for reading. It's been a rollercoaster of emotions but I hope it was worth it.
Until next time, stay Miraculous.