A few weeks had passed since the fateful battle with Hawk Moth. After much tear-stained, emotion-driven deliberation, Marinette and Adrien decided not to turn Gabriel over to the authorities. With his miraculous captured, he was no longer a threat, but had to live with the guilt of everything he had done. That was deemed to be punishment enough.

Adrien couldn't bear to live at home with his father after that, though. He went to stay with Nino, saying he was running from home because he was mad at his father, but provided no more explanation than that. Nino was happy to allow his best friend to crash at his place until he was ready to go home.

Master Fu had succeeded in restoring Nathalie's health, guaranteeing her that there was no risk of her lapsing into a coma as Emilie had. She gratefully returned to her duties and provided support to Gabriel during the difficult times.

Adrien and Gabriel both were coming to terms with the fact that Emilie would soon be gone for good. Cat Noir often snuck into the house at night to visit his mother in the basement when his father wasn't around, trying to make up for lost time. Gabriel was working on fabricating a story of how he found his wife dead after she had been missing for so long, in order to allow for a burial without complications, to give them closure on the whole ordeal.

Marinette and Adrien then had to inform the public that the threat of Hawk Moth had been dealt with. As Ladybug and Cat Noir, they granted an exclusive interview to Nadja Chamack to inform the city that they were safe. They never revealed Hawk Moth's identity but assured the people that his miraculous was seized and that he was never going to threaten them again. A few days later, a parade was arranged in honor of the heroes to thank them for their service. Cat Noir finally got to meet the heroes behind the masks of Rena Rouge and Carapace, much to his surprise, when Ladybug delivered their miraculous to them so they could participate in the celebration.

Marinette and Adrien decided that their identities should remain a secret to others, even with Hawk Moth's defeat, as Master Fu allowed them to hold on to the miraculous. He told them that Paris had come to view them as symbols of hope and freedom and he didn't want to take that away. He also officially named Marinette as his successor as Guardian of the miraculous, making her identity even more vital to protect.

Finally, when things had settled down a bit, Adrien asked Marinette out on a date. By that time, Marinette's parents had finally forgiven him for breaking her heart the first time and allowed them to go out. As Adrien walked Marinette out of the house, he first took her hand and led her into the park.

Marinette felt her heart beating rapidly as they walked slowly down the path together. She still hadn't been there since the night of their first date. Though she had forgiven them and the two had grown together since then, it was difficult to remove the pain of that initial heartbreak. She could feel her whole body tense as they approached the bench.

"It's all right," Adrien said quietly, shooting her a smile, "You can trust me."

"Yeah," Marinette agreed with a shaky smile, feeling herself relax a bit.

The two sat down on the bench, the same one they sat on together so long ago. Marinette had her hair down again, though she was wearing a different dress this time. Adrien continued to hold her hand as he turned toward her with a nervous smile.

"Marinette," he started, "I really messed up last time we were here together, so let's try and do it right this time." Marinette felt her heart racing with excitement as he looked at her, holding her hand, getting lost in his emerald-green stare. "I'm in love with y…"

Adrien was interrupted midsentence by a police siren wailing nearby. The two turned as one to the nearby street to see a car racing down the road, a gunman leaning out the window and taking aim behind him. Shots were fired as the pursuing police car came into view, chasing the gunman.

As the two cars disappeared behind the buildings, their sirens still splitting the silent night, Marinette and Adrien looked to each other with a knowing smile. In unison, the two declared aloud, "Spots on! Claws out!" The magic of their miraculous immediately empowered them, turning them into the heroes of Paris, ready to save them from anyone that would disturb the peace.

With their synchronized movements, the two leapt onto the roof of the nearby building, looking down at the high-speed chase in progress. They stood on the rooftop together for a moment, ready to leap into action.

"Ladybug," Cat Noir said, putting a hand on her cheek, "I love you." He pulled her in for a quick kiss.

"I love you, too," Ladybug smiled back, "Now it's time to save the day."

The two heroes jumped off into the night to save the day again, together.

FIN

Thus concludes my first fanfic. This has been a crazy and wonderful experience for me. Thank you for all of your favorites/follows/reviews, they have given me so much confidence in my writing skills and made this whole adventure so amazing for me! I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I've had a few other ideas for fics, but unfortunately I don't have time to write anything else right now. I have too many side-projects I'm working on atm, including writing and publishing my first book (which takes priority), so don't expect anything new from me for a while, but I hope to come back and write more here in the future. Thanks for joining me for this adventure, it's been miraculous!