Forever

This is the final chapter of this story :( It's mainly just closure stuff and I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, heck, I haven't really been happy with the last four chapters. But hey, an ending is better than no ending. I don't own MLB.

Marinette and Adrien didn't remember falling asleep. Shortly after Tikki and Plagg's tale of magic and loss they had found themselves back on Marinette's bed, curled up together, legs and arms tangled into one another. It was still rather early the morning, the golden rays of light creeping in through the bedroom window and flooding the room in their warm glow, that Adrien's brilliant green eyes fluttered open. Marinette was still sound asleep next to him, her tangled ebony hair fell ungracefully around her face. He smirked and carefully brushed the loose strands behind her ears, revealing the line of freckles on her cheeks. He craned his neck and carefully placed tiny kisses on every single one of her freckles. He felt the young girl stir beneath him, her baby blue eyes opening ever so slightly. She groaned at the rude (well- not really rude) awakening. But Adrien didn't stop showering her cheeks in delicate kisses. She smirked at him as his hands ghosted down her sides, stopping at her waist. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer to him, their chests connected, she could feel his heart beat against her's. He continued to kiss her senselessly, causing tiny giggles to emit from the blue eyed girl's pink lips. Her laugh sounded like the ringing of bells, not many people sounded attractive when they laughed, but Marinette was an exception. Adrien loved that laugh, and he loved her.

"Well that's a nice way to wake up." She whispered, her voice was quiet and intimate, a secret for just the two of them.

He leaned down to brush his lips against hers. She felt her heart rate quickly increase. She was laying in her bed and she was kissing Adrien Agreste. She would be lying if she said that she never had this fantasy, although in their fantasies they didn't have clothes on. Kissing him wasn't like anything that she had ever imagined before. It was so much better. His lips were soft against hers and each touch filled her with tiny little butterflies. His lips were sweet and his scent was unbelievably intoxicating. It didn't matter if he was Adrien or Chat Noir, he always made her feel as though she were walking on air. He made her feel like she was the most precious, special, important girl in the world, and to him that's exactly what she was. She just hoped that she could be everything he wanted and more.

"You are so beautiful in the morning." Adrien breathed when he pulled away, smiling at her. His eyes travelled across her face, as though he were memorizing every aspect of her being.

"Shut up." Marinette groaned, her face was hot and bright crimson.

They lay next to each other for a moment, foreheads pressed together, never breaking eye contact. Giant smiles were plastered onto both of their faces, which were completely covered in a bright red blush. They loved each other, more than anything else in the world. After all that happened in the last week, they were just glad to have this moment, to be able to look at each other in this way. That neither of them were injured or in any physical pain. Adrien tucked a loose strand of black hair back into its place. His eyes never left hers, as though he were afraid she would vanish into thin air. He finally broke the silence between them.

"I want to stay like this all day." He whispered.

Marinette immediately turned bright red, she giggled anxiously. Gosh, he loved that laugh, he loved it when she smiled. She was radiant and pure when she was happy, that smile made him feel whole. He didn't feel empty, he didn't feel broken. All of this shit with his mom and his father didn't matter, as long as he had could see that smile every day. His hands moved to cup her cheek, he leaned in closer so that their noses were touching.

"Adrien." She chuckled, feeling completely flustered.

"Please?" Adrien begged, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

She wasn't going to lie, she wanted to stay like this too. They didn't even need to kiss or do anything, they could just cuddle and talk if they wanted to. Being in his strong embrace just felt so good, so right. Her heart was thumping in her chest so loudly that she wondered if he could hear it too. She fought the urge to give in, to kiss him again and again until night fell. But she knew that they couldn't, no matter how much they both wanted to.

"We can't stay in bed all day." She told him.

"Fine," He rolled his eyes. "Then go out with me."

"Cheesy doofus," Marinette teased him, rubbing her nose against his. He gave her his cheshire cat-like smile, and she began to melt all over again. "I'll think about it."

Adrien's smile had never been bigger in his whole life. Marinette smirked too, but her smile quickly faltered when she met his eyes. She saw something behind the usual sparkle, something that worried her, something that he wasn't telling her about.

"Is something wrong?" Adrien's voice sounded concerned and heartfelt, he cupped her cheek in his hand. "We don't have to go out today if you're still shaken up, it's going to take a long time to get over what happened. Or if it's whatever we are now, we don't have to put a label on our relationship if you don't want to, or-"

He was rambling. Marinette quickly placed a kiss on his lips to shut him up. It was the best answer that she could have given him. One kiss turned into two, then three. The hot bubbly feeling filled her stomach once again, the feeling of being on fire without burning, the feeling of flying without falling. The feeling of being completely alive, of breathing, of existing. She pulled away and looked at him again, he chuckled and shook his head, his unkempt blonde locks swaying with every motion. She just wanted to run her fingers through that beautiful mop of gold hair.

"Of course I want to go out with you," She admitted. "And whatever we are now, I'm happy with it."

He smiled at her, but when he leaned in to kiss her again, she moved away.

"Are you alright?" She finally asked.

"I'll be o-" He started, but Marinette interrupted him.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about her," Marinette stated, her voice cautious as though she were afraid to offend him. "Or about him, or what happened, and whatever comes next now that Hawkmoth won't be around anymore. Just know that when you're ready to talk, I'll be here to listen."

She saw right through him. He turned away from her, sitting cross legged on her comforter. He hung his head and screwed his eyes shut, he didn't want to cry again. She knew that there were details that he had left out about what happened between him and his mother, and he knew that it was bad to keep such things bottled up. He pressed his lips together tightly. He wasn't sure that he was ready to talk about it just yet, and she respected that. She always respected him. He turned his head to look at her again. There was so much concern, so much love on the young girl's face. He tried his best to smile for her, tried to repress any emotion just like he always had around his family and friends. But there was no need to, not around her.

"I want to forget about everything, even if it's just for today." He admitted. "I want to spend the day with you."

Marinette gave him a small, understanding nod. She was still worried about him, but maybe a day to relax was what the both of them really needed. She hugged Adrien tightly, his head fit perfectly into the crook of her neck. She was prepared to drift off right there in his arms when a buzzing noise forced her into reality. Her cell phone.

The blue eyed girl picked up the device that had been lying on her nightstand, hearing a very familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello?" The voice called.

"Alya?" Marinette smiled. It was so good to hear her best friend's voice again. Especially after a long week of hell.

"Where have you been, girl?" Alya was practically yelling at this point, being the mom friend that she was. "Your parents said you went to London, why didn't you say anything?"

"I'll explain later," Marinette replied, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I'll meet you in the park in an hour?"

"Alright, see you soon." Alya responded.

"See you!" Marinette smiled before the call ended.

Marinette lay her phone face down on her nightstand and collapsed back onto her bed. She wanted to sink into the welcoming embrace of the sheets, which were comfortable, soft, and smelled of lavender detergent. She felt safe, warm, and comfortable, extremely glad that she was sleeping on a real mattress instead of the floor. The temptation to remain in bed all day slowly crept back into her mind. And she knew that Adrien was still thinking about it too. But they still had one very important thing that they needed to take care of. She pulled the pink duvet off of her body and slipped out of her bed.

"One last thing." She whispered, fishing through the box where she had stored with her sewing supplies and pulling out the butterfly miraculous.

"What do you want to do with it?" Adrien asked, standing up from the young girl's bed.

Marinette looked over at the tiny makeshift bed beside hers, inside were their slumbering kwamis. She hated to wake them, but she knew that they would ultimately want to decide the fate of their best friend. Tikki was a morning person, luckily enough. Plagg however, was something else. Marinette carefully nudged the two kwamis awake with the tip of her finger. Plagg groaned and immediately gave her a look that was so intense that it could only be described as murder.

"You better be waking me up to feed me." Plagg groaned in annoyance.

Adrien gave Marinette a look, as if to say 'you shouldn't have done that.' Marinette simply rolled her eyes at him.

"I need your opinion as to what we should do with this." Marinette explained, the pin resting in her hand.

Plagg glared at the pin in disgust.

"Throw it out." Plagg simply replied.

"Plagg!" Tikki exclaimed, slapping her brother on the arm. He winced, glaring at her as he rubbed the spot that was now burning with pain.

"You can't seriously care that little about her." Tikki pleaded.

Plagg looked down. He was thinking about her again. He hadn't seen her in over a hundred years, maybe it was time to forgive her. Tikki obviously had. But then again, Tikki was special. She could forgive, she could forget, she could even attempt to have a friendship with her again. She was his lucky little sister. He didn't understand why he couldn't forgive Falla. Maybe it was because he trusted her once, maybe because he could still hear Tikki screaming as she died, or maybe it was simply because he loved her.

"Look, you and I both know it would be better if she just disappeared." Plagg said the words more harshly than he intended to, earning another painful slap from his sister and equally shocked expressions from Marinette and Adrien. "She's not connected to a soul, so we can't figure out who will find her next. What if whoever finds her is crazy? And I mean actually crazy. She might…"

Plagg trailed off after that. A memory long forgotten slowly crept into his mind, a memory of laughter. Real, pure, joyful, laughter. It filled his ears and overpowered his thoughts. It was a laugh that he could only describe as symphony, starting out quiet and elegant, and then building to a crashing wave of emotion. The most beautiful laugh that he had ever heard. It had been ten thousand years, and that laugh was still his favourite sound. As quickly as the memory comes, it fades into nothing. A memory, a phantom, always looming, always haunting.

"Fuck it." He finally whispered, there was obviously pain in his voice, but nobody seemed to notice. "Just do whatever you want with her."

The teenagers and Tikki watched as Plagg lumbered off somewhere, more than likely to the kitchen. Adrien had a rather surprised look on his face, he had never heard Plagg swear before. Nor had he seen his kwami look so sad. The blonde boy looked down at the pin in Marinette's palm. It had ruined so many more lives than just his father's, but destroying it wasn't an option. He knew that Plagg didn't want to destroy Falla either, not really.

"Sorry about him," Tikki apologized. "He gets like this whenever I mention her, he just needs time to cool off."

Tikki gracefully floated onto Marinette's palm, observing the butterfly shaped pin. She could feel Falla's presence lingering within the miraculous. It was comforting, knowing that she was alright, but it was also melancholy. Ten thousand years and they hadn't really spoken, so she had to settle for being close by. At least she knew that Falla could sense her too.

"How come she isn't connected to anyone?" Adrien asked hesitantly.

Tikki frowned. She wasn't entirely sure why Falla hadn't been attached to anyone while she and Plagg had, all she had were theories.

"It's complicated," Tikki finally replied. "We became kwamis because of the ancient voodoo magic that Saaxir used on us. Everything happened the way it was supposed to, our souls left our bodies, we took on the form of the creatures that had been chosen for us, the ladybug and the cat. We were supposed to become servants, similar to Falla, assist in the creation and destruction of the new world. I'm sure that you are aware by now what would happen if someone were to combine your miraculouses."

The two teens nodded, still listening intently. They now knew that to combine their powers meant that they would gain ultimate power, more than any human had ever seen. To combine their magic would create a God, but it wouldn't be a kind God. If someone were to seize their miraculouses, there would only be destruction and despair. Which was why it was a good thing that they had taken Falla away from Hawkmoth, if they had let Falla stay then there would be nothing but catastrophe.

"But something happened when we died." Tikki continued, her voice suddenly growing more cheerful. "I guess it was entirely my good luck, because the two of you were born into your first life the moment we died. Plagg and I fused ourselves to your souls, we became companions for all of eternity."

Marinette looked down at the pin again. She wondered what it was like for Falla. Constantly having to shift between masters, having no real constant. There had only been two souls to claim when she died, and she could get neither. Meaning that she was doomed to become a force of annihilation with whichever master beckoned her. She wondered how Gabriel Agreste managed to find her, whether he had ever considered using her before his wife disappeared. She knew that they had to make sure that Falla never fell into the wrong hands ever again.

"What should we do?" She asked.

"It's up to you," Tikki whispered, the ghost of a smile hidden on her face. "You can keep it somewhere safe, no one will be able to use Falla's powers ever again. At least, not in this life."

"Or destroy her." Marinette finished, her voice had a gloomy tint to it. She wasn't a fan of option two.

"Or," Tikki interjected. "You can give it to someone that you trust. As long as they never wear the pin Falla will stay inside of the miraculous."

Marinette bit her bottom lip and looked at Adrien. He shook his head. They couldn't give Falla to anyone, what if someone stole the pin? Or worse... There was no telling what might happen in the future and they needed to keep Paris safe.

"I'll make a box for it," Marinette chimed. "Just like the one that I keep my diary in, no one will be able to take it."

"Wise choice." Tikki agreed, hugging the side of her chosen's face.

Marinette smiled and placed the butterfly pin back into the box with her sewing supplies for the time being, she would go to the craft store later to buy all of the materials that she would need. She placed the box with the sewing supplies and the miraculous into the drawer of her desk. Her eyes travelled to the notebooks lying on her desk beside her computer. She picked up the three journals, her blue eyes travelling from the cursive letters on the cover to the blonde boy standing in front of her.

"What do you want to do with those notebooks?" She asked.

Adrien took the journal on top of the pile, the one with the names of all their past selves. He flipped to the first page, memorizing each name as they appeared on the white pages. His eyes caught something, something that made his heart sink. Something that made him feel depressed and a little bit anxious.

"Twenty-eight years." He mumbled.

Marinette raised her eyebrow at him. She wondered if she hadn't heard him right. Twenty-eight? What had he meant by that?

"Pardon?" Marinette put a hand lightly on his shoulder.

"We lived twice in twenty-eight years." Adrien explained, showing her the page. "Between 1913 and 1941, that means that we died at fourteen twice."

Marinette glanced down at the page. He was right. After the Ladybug who died on the Titanic, there were two more before Angela. According to the journal one was shot in New York City in the 1920s while trying to stop a robbery, the other was killed by Nazis at the Battle of France. The very thought of what such information implied was terrifying. The thought that she might not die of old age, that neither of them would. She had always known the risk that came with being Ladybug, that something terrible might happen to the both of them if they weren't careful. Sure, the whole reincarnation thing took away the fear of death. At least she knew that she'd come back, that she'd be with him. In every life, in every era, they would always be together.

"A long life is not a luxury for many Chat Noir and Ladybugs," Tikki explained, her head hung in sadness. She didn't like thinking about it, but it was the truth. "A lot of them died young, stopping wars or in terrible disasters. But no matter what, they rely on one another, they always have, ever since the first. Your souls are just as connected to each other as they are with your miraculouses."

Marinette and Adrien smiled at each other, their fingers lacing together, fitting perfectly together. They were connected, they were meant for each other. Across time and space, in a thousand lifetimes, in a thousand eras. They would always be together, their souls intertwined before time itself. They were, in every sense of the word, soulmates.

"I wouldn't worry about your lives being in danger," Tikki continued. Sitting on Marinette's shoulder. "You have the butterfly miraculous, so unless a new evil presents itself you will be alright. The both of you will live long, happy lives."

"What happens now that we've defeated Hawkmoth?" Adrien questioned, sitting on the edge of Marinette's chaise. He hadn't combed his hair yet, it was messy and looked more like Chat Noir's.

"That's up to you to decide." Tikki explained, floating in front of the young boy's face. "You can continue to keep Paris safe, even if there won't be any more akuma, or you can retire. Either way, you'll always have Plagg and I, and each other."

Neither of them had any thoughts about giving up being superheroes just yet. Not when there was still a city that needed saving. Marinette locked eyes with Adrien and smiled at him, a warm hearted smile filled with nothing but admiration for her partner in crime. They knew that they were thinking the exact same thing.

"We're still heroes." Adrien mused, his eyes never leaving Marinette's. "Forever."

Marinette's smile was spectacular, the way she smiled was something so pure, special, and brilliant. Her smile stayed there for a minute, it only faded when she broke his gaze. She looked down at the notebook labelled with their names. She cautiously picked it up, a small reminiscent smile appeared on her pink lips as she flipped through the pure white pages. The pages that told the tale of their lives. They were vikings, aristocrats, vigilantes, paupers, warriors. They had so many adventures, so many stories. She let the rest of the pages run out beneath her fingertips until the notebook closed in her hand.

"We're lucky." She whispered. She sat on the chaise next to Adrien and placed the three notebooks in her lap. Adrien looked at her curiously, she simply smiled at him. "Think about it. We walked the earth while it was still flat, we saw the pyramids go up, we saw entire civilizations torn down. We've witnessed the discovery of new worlds, explored far away places that no longer exist, seen things that are only myths now."

"The stuff of legend." He breathed in response, his eyes wide in amazement at the mere thought. "That's what we are."

Adrien hugged the girl around her waist and kissed the side of her face, her bubbly laughter pierced the air around them. She was the most amazing thing that he had ever seen. And she was his. They belonged to each other eternally.

His hand ran over the notebook, over the fancy letters that his mother had written many years ago. He pulled away from Marinette and took the notebooks into his arms.

"I think that I want to keep them." He said solemnly, looking down at his lap. "I just need to put them somewhere my father won't find them."

"They belong to you," Marinette whispered. "Just don't spend too much time thinking about them, okay?"

He nodded and smiled at her. He stood up from her pink chaise and pulled her up with him. He stood in front of her, smiling down at her. He wanted to do something for her. A thank you, for everything. For being his partner, for helping him stay sane while they were kidnapped, for trusting him with her secret.

"We should probably get ready to meet Alya." He told her, his smile never faltering.

"I look like a mess." Marinette complained.

"I think you're cute." Adrien cooed. Marinette gave him a playful yet stern look. "Okay! I should probably go home and change anyways. So, I'll go home, get ready, and I'll pick you up in an hour. Sound good?"

Marinette placed her hands on the boy's shoulders, stood on her toes, and kissed the boy delicately. Their mouths melted together, their lips tasted sweet. It was only a quick kiss, the two teenagers smiled at each other when they pulled away.

"Sounds perfect." She mumbled.

He gave her one last kiss, melting into her like butter. He wanted to enjoy every minute, every second, every moment, with this girl. He would love her in this life, and for all of eternity. Not many guys could say that about a girl so confidently, but he knew that he was meant to love her. He left her in her house, trying not to disturb her parents as he sneaked out. Plagg was in the kitchen, of course, eating leftover cheese bread that was starting to harden.

"Leaving already?" The kwami inquired, floating in front of his chosen's face.

"I'm coming back in an hour." Adrien replied, walking down the steps of her apartment.

It was still fairly early in the morning, yet the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the world below. The sky was brilliant blue, the clouds were floating lazily in the breeze as he made his way back to his home. The air was cool, but the sunshine was promising to warm up the early morning air, bathing the world in its glow. His eyes had seen that sun rise and fall thousands of times, his soul had seen it millions of times. He thought about his past, about evolution, science, and philosophy. He was there when the sun still revolved around the Earth, when the stars told stories of the future. He was there, he saw it. He wished that he could remember it now.

"What did you decide to do with her?" Plagg inquired as Adrien opened the large gate of his house.

"With Falla?" Adrien clarified as they walked up the driveway. Plagg nodded. "We're keeping her miraculous safe."

Plagg nodded as Adrien turned the key and opened the front door. As he passed the door to his father's office he couldn't help but pause. Was his father awake yet? Had he noticed that Falla was missing? Had he noticed that Adrien was missing? He should check on him, just to make sure that everything was alright. The blonde boy slowly poked his head through the door, only to see that his father was still slumped over on his desk. Whatever Ariana had given him was strong if he managed to sleep through the night. He slowly entered his father's office and closed the door behind him as quietly as he could. He walked towards the desk, his feet hardly making a sound on the hardwood floor as he did. He gently shook his father, who stirred in his slumber, letting out a low groan.

"Father?" Adrien called, continuing to shake his father's shoulder lightly. "Wake up."

Gabriel slowly opened one eye, then the other. He looked at his son curiously, as though something were wrong, but he couldn't quite figure out what.

"Adrien." Gabriel mumbled, still half asleep and obviously groggy. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven." Adrien replied.

"Oh," Gabriel's voice sounded disoriented. "What is the date?"

"It's the fourteenth, father." Adrien told him.

"Right," Gabriel affirmed, he began flipping through an agenda on his desk before landing on the date. "It looks like there's nothing scheduled today, you're free to do whatever you like."

There was something about the way his father spoke, something that Adrien couldn't place. His voice wasn't as stern as it usually was. His face was still monotonous and he still seemed cold and distant, but there was something different. Something almost freeing.

"Well then," Adrien said, his fingers twitching anxiously at his side. "I'm going to be out today."

"Very well," Gabriel's voice reverted back to the stern, monotonous voice that Adrien knew so well. "You are dismissed."

Adrien smiled kindly at his father before exiting the room. While he closed the door behind him, he hadn't left right away. He stood by the door, one ear carefully pressed to the wood. He could hear his father inside, he heard what sounded like a drawer opening and closing.

"Falla?" He heard his father's voice from the other side of the door. "Falla?"

Adrien moved away from the door in that moment, resisting every urge he had to tell his father about what happened, but Adrien knew that it was best that his father didn't know certain things. Still, he felt bad. While his father hadn't dealt with his depression in the best of ways, he still didn't deserve the abandonment that he had received. But what was Adrien supposed to tell him? He couldn't mention Falla, or Ariana, or time travel. His father would think he was ludicrous, that he had gone bonkers. So, despite the guilt and remorse that burned in his chest, he did nothing. Instead, Adrien climbed the stairs to his bedroom and went about his morning routine as he usually did. He changed his clothes, combed his hair, and washed his face. He had just finished brushing his teeth when his kwami decided to engage in conversation.

"Do you think that I'm too hard on her?" Plagg asked.

Adrien looked down at his kwami in confusion.

"On Tikki?" Adrien clarified, although the look in Plagg's eyes made it obvious that he wasn't thinking about his sister.

"On Falla." Plagg whispered, sitting on the edge of the bathroom counter. "Now that you know our history, what do you think?"

"She killed you and your sister," Adrien thought out loud, fixing his hair in the mirror. "Well, not killed, but lured you into a witch's home where you were killed. Your feelings are valid."

"But Tikki forgave her," Plagg reminded him. "Tikki cares."

"I think that you care," Adrien told his kwami before exiting the bathroom. "You just don't show it."

Plagg didn't respond. He simply dug into the endless supply of camembert cheese that was stocked in Adrien's room and ate away any remaining feelings that he might have. Adrien felt badly for Plagg, he had spent his human years pining over his best friend, and even though she obviously felt something for him she was overcome with jealousy. Adrien had heard of girls stealing hearts, but Falla had literally ripped his out of his chest. And then she died, they all died. He wondered if Falla was remorseful, if she regretted what she had done while she was alive. He wondered if she wanted her friends back, if they would ever allow her to redeem herself. He also wondered if she wanted redemption in the first place. Plagg knew that Adrien was right. There are certain people in life that you don't forget. Ones that you never stop caring for, never stop loving. You never say goodbye to them, not really. They are part of you, and they hold a piece of your heart forever. Falla was once one of those people. He knew that he'd see Falla again. Might be in ten years, might be in ten thousand. Maybe then he would forgive her, talk to her. Maybe they could be as close as they had been in life.

An hour later, Adrien was back at Marinette's house to pick her up. She wasn't wearing anything too fancy, just black pants and a pink tee shirt, but she still looked magnificent. There were so many beautiful things about her, but her smile was the most perfect thing. She glowed with a special kind of radiance that was meant for only one single person in the world. He was so lucky that he got to experience her brilliance every day. And he was glad that even after everything that they had been through, after everything that they had done, she still had that smile. That smile would always make him smile too, even on his worst day.

Alya and Nino were sitting together on a park bench when they approached. The moment Alya saw them she jumped up and attacked them in a hug. Nino following close behind her.

"Nino, our children are home!" Alya exclaimed, refusing to release the two of them from her death grip.

"When did we become their children?" Adrien choked out. Marinette giggled.

When Alya finally released them from her grasp she looked between the two of them.

"So? London?" She inquired.

"That's not the most exciting thing that happened this week…" Marinette replied, sharing a knowing smirk with Adrien.

"What?" Nino raised an eyebrow at his friends.

Adrien leaned in closer to Marinette, his arm finding its place around her shoulder. Alya's eyes widened, she smiled widely, she looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

"Shut the front door!" Alya yelled in excitement, lightly shoving her best friend. "When did this happen? Why didn't you call me immediately?"

"Surprise." Marinette chuckled.

Alya squealed loudly and threw her arms around her best friend, squeezing her so tightly that she cut off Marinette's air circulation. Marinette simply smiled and hugged Alya back. She wished that there were words to express how much she had missed her friend. She wished that she could tell Alya about all of the amazing, terrifying, things that she had experienced in the last few days, but she knew that she couldn't.

"It's about time." Nino high fived his best friend.

The rest of the day consisted of making up mundane lies to avoid suspicion. Swapping made up stories about excursions, adventures, and secret rendezvous in the city. They talked about dancing on a ship, leaving out the tiny detail that it hit an iceberg and sank. Holding hands while watching a fire, not letting on that it was an inferno that burned an entire city to ashes. Visiting a beautiful little city and climbing a mountain, forgetting to mention the volcanic eruption that followed. These were the white lies they told to avoid the truth. Obviously, they couldn't tell their friends the truth, they couldn't tell anyone the truth. The truth was complicated, frightening, scarring, and no one would be able to comprehend just how dire their situation had been. Nobody would understand that what brought them together wasn't romantic moonlit nights in the city, or exploring the ruins of ancient castles. Nobody would truly understand the connection that they had, reincarnation, fighting evil side by side across time and space, the literal binding of their souls. Nobody would understand any of it.

Maybe one day they will finally tell their friends and families about being Ladybug and Chat Noir. Especially now that they were really only using the suits to patrol and check up on Paris, making sure that everyone is out of harm's way. One day they would tell the story. The story about two souls bound together by fate and love. That somewhere in time there was a boy and a girl, clad in red and black. Standing on the edge of the world, sailing across the ocean, jumping across rooftops, touching the stars, saving the world from evil. Existing everywhere, in every era, in every millennium. Living and dying, rising and falling thousands upon thousands of times. Ten thousand years to live, and they would seize every moment, live each day. Keep fighting because that is what they did best. Going on and on for eternity. Until it was time to stop.

But for the time being they sat on a park bench, their voices mixing with the cheerful laughter of their best friends. A moment frozen in time. It would be over in the blink of an eye. They would be gone, drop like little mayflies. Then they'd come back full force. It didn't matter what might happen the next day, the next year, or the next life. The only thing that mattered was that moment, and each other.

Meanwhile, a tall blonde woman watched from the other side of the park as the four friends laughed and joked on the park bench. Around her neck she wore a necklace, one of a kind, made of pure gold. The woman coiled the chain around her finger as she watched the four teens. Not wanting to be seen, she turned away and made her way out of the park. She looked back for only a moment, and she smiled.

That's the end. I realize it isn't the best. I tried my best to fill every plot hole that I made, I might have created an even bigger one but whatever. I tried.

The last four chapters could have been better, I could have tried harder. I had three essays to write along with this so, yeah. I've been very stressed.

I hope that you have enjoyed The Ladybug Effect, I know that I sure enjoyed writing it. I'm currently writing a new fic which may or may not ever see the light of day, I don't know yet. It might not be up until exams are done (so late May-early June?) I will try my best to make it better than this.

I would like to thank everyone for reading, favouriting, following, reviewing, etc. It means so much to have your support, you guys are literally the greatest readers ever. I hope that I put a smile on your faces because really that's all I want to do.

I'd like to thank my sister for giving me the title of this fic (before it was literally just called "Time," and before that it was called "All Our Yesterdays.") and giving me support by reading this.

And a no thanks to my brother, he did nothing.

Once again, I hope that you enjoyed.

Until next time, my loves!