Happy New Year's everyone! My first piece of work of 2018 and I'm feeling great! I've really been using my free time productively so far and I'm happy that I'm not just sitting around.

So here is the next and final chapter! Enjoy!

The first time he fell in love, it was with a strong and confident girl. She was a vision in red, soaring around the city sky with her yoyo. She was a brave soul, stepping up to the challenge when things got rough. Her sarcasm and wit at times only made her much more endearing. Some would've thought it was just the adrenaline rush or the near-death experiences that made her that more appealing. But Adrien knew what he felt. And he was in love with Ladybug. She was intelligent, bold, quick on her feet, charming, kind, and simply perfect in his eyes.

Yes, she made her mistakes, but she always fixed them in the end. She recognized that she made mistakes at the very least. That was more than he could ask for. He never gave up on her. With the mask on, he gained confidence. With that confidence, he tended to flirt to no end. He had a feeling that it wasn't coming across that every would he said was the truth and it all came from the heart. But he still did it. She would push him back with a witty remark and sometimes she even flirted back. Those moments gave him all he needed to keep persisting for her attention and love. Idolization was present, but he knew is heart was real in the end.

Ladybug was Adrien's everything. Without her very existence, he would most definitely be miserable. He was her counterpart, even if she saw it as being heroes and nothing beyond that. He was the misfortune to her luck, the destruction to her creation. He trusted her with his very life. He would even give his up to preserve hers. That was the extent of his love. She meant more to him than his own existence.

The second time he fell in love, it was with a shy and quirky girl who proved that there was more than meets the eye. Adrien admits now that his jealousy was what made him finally stop running in a circle of denial. When he firsts met Luka and how Marinette responded to his mere presence, his blood started to boil. Having limited social interaction growing up, Adrien was confused by these feelings. He didn't believe it to be jealousy, since he didn't think he had any romantic feelings for Marinette. But that all changed when Luka was akumatized and went after Marinette for reasons he wasn't informed about.

He protected her most of the day, hiding her in different places whenever an akumatized Luka would find her. He was even more in shock when Marinette dove for him and pushed him out of the way of an oncoming attack. She hurt her arm in the process, which left him in shock. No one ever suffered an injury on his behalf before, not even Ladybug. Granted, he was always the one pushing her out of the way, but still. Marinette's injury caused him a great deal of guilt, so he protected her with more conviction. Eventually, Ladybug arrived after he hid Marinette safely away in the Louvre and they purified to akuma. But his job was far from over.

When Ladybug was gone, he immediately went back to the Louvre to search for Marinette, but she wasn't there. In a panic, he rushed to her house and sighed in relief when he found her there. He dropped in on her and asked about her injury. She smiled and said it was fine thanks to Ladybug's magic. She even apologized when he told her he panicked when he didn't find her at her hiding spot. Marinette claimed that she wanted to get out of the way in case Luka did show up for her and she never meant to startle him. After that one exchange, Adrien was hooked.

Chat Noir would bound across the Parisian rooftops to reach Marinette's balcony night after night. They would play games together, joke around, and share a snack or two. She was much more articulate with his alter ego than she was with her civilian self. He didn't know why though. But seeing this side of his friend made something stir within him, something that made his earlier sense of jealousy more rational. He was falling for Marinette and her irresistible charms. He found himself gazing longingly whenever she laughed at something he said. He would daydream about her in class sometimes, making subtle glances behind him. Luckily, everyone was too busy to notice him. He would speak her name like a prayer, because it just felt right on his tongue.

But then, he realized something. His love for Ladybug and Marinette made him so confused. He could only imagine how Marinette felt as well. If he did love her more than Ladybug, should he charm her as Adrien or Chat Noir? But he needed to decide who he loved more before he jumped to that stage. It was laughable how in the end none of those agonizing thoughts mattered.

When Adrien learned he fell in love with two halves of a whole, he almost wanted to laugh in hysteria. The girls he loved were one in the same, after all! All those sleepless nights tossing and turning on the issue of where his heart lied just went up in smoke. They were the same amazing, gorgeous, adorable, and smart girl he was so fond of. The day he revealed his identity as Adrien and Chat Noir, Marinette laughed right along with him. They were just a pair of idiots in love.

He asked her out a few days later, and she excitedly agreed. The whole school was buzzing about the new "power couple." He even learned about the bets his classmates made when wondering how long until Marinette and Adrien finally became an item. Honestly, it was cute to find out how long his girlfriend had been in love with him. It was the reason she stuttered so much, which he always found kind of endearing. They sat together, holding hands, every class they both had. Adrien thought he'd have to protect Marinette from Chloe, but Chloe proved to be a good friend that valued Adrien's happiness over having him for herself.

Everything has led to now, on New Year's Eve. Marinette and Adrien were cuddling with a big blanket wrapped around them as they gazed out at the city from her balcony. As they waited for midnight, Adrien blurted out a question that was on his mind since the beginning of his relationship with the wonderful girl next to him. "What made you fall in love with me?" He almost didn't want to say it. But then he remembered she couldn't have possible fallen in love with him for his looks. After all, she didn't care about his status or his looks when she believed he put gum on her seat. So, he didn't worry as much. But he would be lying if he said his jaw didn't drop to the floor when Marinette began listing off all the amazing qualities she saw in him. Whether his face was red because of the cold or her words, he didn't care. Adrien never felt more loved than when she gently kissed him after finishing her little speech.

Then the inevitable came. She said, "Now I feel obligated to ask. What made you fall in love with me?"

Adrien smiled his lovesick smile, his answer crystal clear. "I fell in love with Ladybug for her bravery and her strength. I fell for her intelligence and her wit. She was also kind, caring about others and trying to understand the akuma victims and their struggles. She made her mistakes, yes, but she always owned up to them and did everything in her power to fix them. Everything about her was just so perfect to me. I fell in love with Marinette for all those reasons and more. I assumed Marinette was simply the skittish type when it came to warming up around people. I also thought it was kinda cute too. She's creative and awe-inspiring. Whenever I see her drive towards her fashion projects, it makes me want to work harder on finding and pursuing my goals in life. She's also adorable when she scrunches up her nose when thinking hard on a new design. She's protective, never afraid to stand up to a bully when her friend is being belittled. She's selfless and caring, bringing a smile to anyone's face when they're down. I know from both watching and experience. Her laugh is irresistible, and my heart just melts. And she has the cutest pigtails that go so well with the freckles on her nose. That's why I love you."

He gaped when he saw tears in her eyes, but before he could apologize for whatever he might've said, she launched herself at him, keeping him in a tight embrace. She kissed his face, and he felt every ounce of her love in each kiss. He smiled happily and planted a kiss on her soft pink lips, the booming sounds of fireworks resonating throughout the city as the clock struck midnight. A new year awaited them, filled with adventures and love. They weren't going to waste a single second this time.

I'm hoping 2018 will be a much better year. I'm going to work hard and make sure you guys don't wait too long on my stories this year. I can't promise anything because school and family are priorities, but I will definitely try. Let's make 2018 a great year!

This concludes this story! In the meantime, read up on some of my other ones. #shamelesspromo