Epilogue

Dinner went without a single hitch, and when Elodie left, she promised both Gabriel and Adrien to see them in two days, on the day of Emily's death, so they could go to the cemetery together and place flowers on her grave. But Adrien, who had so many questions to ask her about his mother, knowing that Elodie, would be able to answer them better than anyone else, asked her if she would like to meet up the following day, so they could continue to talk. Unfortunately, Elodie had some businesses to take care of the following day, stating that she needed to resolve them, before leaving for Egypt the day after the anniversary of Emily's death, and such a meet would have to be postponed to another day.

Still, knowing that from that moment on, the mansion's doors would always be open for his aunt, made Adrien feel less sad about not being able to spend part of the next day with her.

"We'll have plenty of opportunities from now on. And I promise you, that every time I come to Paris, I'll always make time to be with you." -Elodie said. –"Plus, you have my phone number. You can always call me, whenever you feel like talking to me. You're not getting rid of me that easily." -she smiled to him.

Those words from Elodie got stuck into Adrien's brain, as he said goodbye to her, after which he decided to go to his bedroom. Upon entering, he went to check his cell phone, which was resting on top of his desk. Grabbing it, he saw that he had numerous texts sent by his friends, asking him if everything had gone according to plan, or not. Reading them one by one, he could not help but to smile, giving graces for having such great friends who cared about him and his well-being; and more importantly, who had volunteered to help him out, if he needed. Thinking about everything that happened on that day, he felt like the luckiest teenager in the world, or at least, in all of Paris.

"Everything went okay. I'll tell you everything, tomorrow in school." -Adrien texted them all the same message.

The clock stroke one in the morning, and Adrien could not sleep. Everything that happened during that day, had left him unable to sleep a wink. And on top of it, he could not stop thinking about how he had managed to fulfil his mom's last wish, which in turn, made him think about her and just how much he missed her. Tossing and turning in his bed, he tried his best to fall asleep, especially because he knew that he had to get up and go to school in a couple of hours. But eventually, he gave up. Annoyed by what was going on, he got out from under the covers, with the intention of doing something other than just lying on the bed, and accidentally woke up Plagg, who was asleep on his bedside table.

"W-What are you d-doing? Can't sleep?" -Plagg asked Adrien, with a slightly groggy voice.

"Sorry, if I woke you up, Plagg." -Adrien apologized to his kwami. He did not mean to wake him up.

"It's okay… sleeping is for sissies, anyway." -Plagg commented, as he yawned. –"Why couldn't he be a little more careful? I was having such a lovely dream where I was in a tall mountain, which was entirely made out of Camembert." -he thought to himself. –"Anyways, like I was saying, you can't sleep?"

"No, I can't, Plagg." -Adrien answered his kwami. –"The adrenaline caused by everything that happened today is still coursing through my veins, and I just can't sleep." -he declared, omitting the part that he was thinking about how much he missed his mom.

"Well, why don't you go out for a walk? You could even call Marinette and ask her to join you." -Plagg suggested him, knowing that Adrien would love to have the girl he loved by his side, during the walk.

"I don't want to bother her. Besides, it's late, and we've got classes in the morning." -Adrien said.

"If you don't to go out, then, why don't we play a game? You still haven't let me try to win back the crown of champion of Mario Kart 8."

The idea was tempting, and with the amount of adrenaline that was still in his veins, Adrien believed that that would give him the advantage, while playing. Still, deep down, he knew Plagg would win him easily, because he would not be able to keep his mind in the game; not when it came to feelings regarding his mother, that were swirling around in his mind. One could describe those feelings as an amalgam of absence, sadness, happiness, nostalgia and melancholy. With those in his head, he knew the black cat kwami would win him for sure. Sighing, he looked out the window and saw just how beautiful the Moon was. There were two things that always reminded him of his mother; the rain and the Moon, especially when it was full.

"You know what, Plagg? I think I'm going for a stroll. There's something I need to do." -Adrien told his kwami. He had decided that a quick sprint on Paris' rooftops would help him burning enough energy to fall asleep more easily. Plus, there really was something he felt he needed to do before falling asleep.

"And here I thought I was actually going to get that crown back." -Plagg sighed. –"Who knows, maybe he'll go to Marinette's place and finally tell her he loves her… and maybe, just maybe, I'll finally stop hearing him, saying that he's mad in love with her, but doesn't have the courage to propose to her." -he thought to himself. –"Just say the magic words, and let's go."

"Plagg, transforme-moi!" –Adrien cried out, turning into Chat Noir.

The night air felt chilly, as Chat ran across the rooftop of the building he had landed on a couple of seconds before. Usually, when on patrol at night, he would thank for when the nights were that chilly, because it helped him stay awake and alert for any kind of trouble he could find. But on that night, he needed the polar opposite of a chilly night to help him get to sleep.

Hopping from rooftop to rooftop he was trying his best to burn out the adrenaline that was still inside him, while making his way to the place he felt he needed to go to before the night ended, Montmartre Cemetery. In the mid-18th century, overcrowding in the cemeteries of Paris had created numerous problems, from impossibly high funeral costs to unsanitary living conditions in the surrounding neighbourhoods. And In the 1780s, the Cimetière des Innocents was officially closed and citizens were banned from burying corpses within the city limits of Paris. As a result, in the beginning of the 19th century, numerous other cemeteries were constructed outside the precincts of the capital, with Montmartre Cemetery being one of them. Opening in 1825, was initially known as la Cimetière des Grandes Carrières, or Cemetery of the Large Quarries, with the name referencing the cemetery's unique location, an abandoned gypsum quarry, which had previously been used during the French Revolution as a mass grave. Over the course of the following two centuries, it became the last resting place for numerous notable individuals like Dalida, Edgar Degas, Georges Feaydeau, Gustave Moreau and François Truffaut, just to name a few. Their graves had become a popular tourist attraction over the years. And among them there was also one grave, a more recent one that had also become a popular tourist attraction. The grave of Emily Agreste.

When Emily Agreste died, she was one of the most famous movie stars in the world, and living in Paris, most people, including her fans believed that her body would be put to rest in Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, like it happened with most of Paris' most illustrious residents. But that did not happen. In one of the last decisions they made together, before Elodie decided to cut ties with Gabriel, the two of them decided that they did not want Emily's grave to be a popular tourist attraction, especially since they did not want to have any tourist disturbing them when they were to visit it. So, from all of the cemeteries in the centre of Paris, they chose the one that attracted less tourist. At first, Gabriel wanted to build a mausoleum inside the mansion, but abandoned the idea, when thinking about how that would affect Adrien. So, in the end, Emily was buried in Montmartre Cemetery. From the lots that were available, they chose the one they felt was the best, one that was near a century-old oak tree. And on that night, that grave was going to receive the visit of Chat Noir, who felt like he needed to talk to someone about what happened that day, and of what was going on in his head.

Landing on the Rue Caulaincourt viaduct, which passed through the cemetery, Chat Noir climbed onto the viaduct's railing and looked over the cemetery, to see if there were any night watchmen around. He did not have any problem in running into one, but if possible, he wanted to avoid them. He did not want to lose his time explaining what he was doing there. Not seeing any, he jumped down the viaduct and landed near ne of the graves. It had been nearly a year since he had been there, but to him, it did not feel like it had been that long. Walking between the graves, Chat Noir made his way towards his mother's grave. When he was little, he was scared of the numerous statues that were on the graves, saying that at night, they probably came to life and walked around the cemetery, making sure that the ghosts of those that had been buried there, would not leave. But now, he was not scared of them. In fact, over the years, he had grown fond of some of them, feeling that they were beautiful and that his mother was lucky to have been buried in a place, with so many beautiful statues. Still, none of those statues could compete with the one that was on Emily's grave. Sketched by Gabriel himself, the life-size statue depicted his wife lying in a bed, with her eyes closed, and holding a beautiful flower bouquet. The sculptor who sculpted it was the best in Europe, and one of the best in the world, and Gabriel spent no expenses in it, as well as in the decorations of his wife's grave. On the base of the grave, he ordered that a sentence was carved into the stone: "Beauty is everywhere. One only needs to open its heart to see it.", a sentence often said by Emily. And at the base of it, one could see a small black onyx tablet where it was written in golden letters "Emily Agreste, Beloved Spouse, Mother, Daughter and Sister".

Approaching it, Chat could not help but to shed a tear, as he looked at his mother's grave, which was partially obscured by the shadow casted upon it by the large oak tree near it. She looked incredibly peaceful, as if she was just lying there, sleeping. Around it were several flower bouquets as well as wreaths, each one more beautiful than the other. These were all presents from Emily's fans, who upon visiting her grave, left them as a sign of both admiration and respect. Looking at them, the feline hero was happy to see that people still revered his mom. He did not say a word for the next couple of minutes, remaining in silence, trying to gather both the courage and the exact words he wanted to tell her.

"Hey, mom." -Chat Noir finally spoke, while waving at the stone statue of Emily. –"It's me, Adrien. I know, I know, you probably don't recognize me with this outfit and with this mask, but it's me." -he continued to talk, as if he was having a real conversation with his dead mother. –"I know that the anniversary of your death is two days away, but I just couldn't wait to come and pay you a visit."

Chat continued to talk as if his mother was standing right there in front of them, hearing every last word he had to say to her.

"Aunt Elodie and dad aren't angry at one another anymore, you know? They finally buried the hatchet this afternoon, when I showed them those bracelets you bought them and that letter. They put them on right away, saying that you had excellent taste in jewellery." -Chat commented. –"I know you would have loved to see that happening…"-he went on. –"And I really wished you had been there to see it. There were tears, lots and lots of tears, not just from them, but from me as well. Today… Today I think that our house finally stopped being a mausoleum, to become a home once again, you know? I even asked dad to replace the painting of the two of us in the foyer, with the one that was stored in the attic… the one where you're also in, and where dad's smiling, and he said that he would ask Gorilla to do that tomorrow… I'm even a little afraid that all of this that has been happening is just a dream, and I'll wake up to realize it was just that."

The whole idea of everything that happened being just a dream scared the feline hero. Still, deep in his heart, he knew that the idea of it being just a dream was foolish. Dreams tend to be illogical, even the most lucid ones have something in them that helps people to differentiate dreams from reality, and there were no indications of all of that being a dream. Trying to get that thought from his mind, Chat decided to change the subject.

"But, changing the subject, you're probably wondering about the outfit, right?" -Chat Noir asked. –"Well, long story short, my friends and I, we were chosen to be the protectors of Paris… we protect the city from this crazy psycho who wants to conquer the world. We got awesome powers and I think you would be really proud of me, like you always were. In fact, I think you would be proud of not only me, but everyone else on the team as well." -he said, as he remembered some of the times Emily told him she was incredibly proud of him, after one of his many accomplishments as a child. –"You always told me that the most important thing in life, besides family, is friends, and I guess I hit the jackpot with all of them. I really wished you were still here to meet all of them… well, you already knew Chloe, because she was always visiting our house when we were little, but the others, I think you would like them all, because… well, I know this is really cliché, mom, but they have become like a second family to me, mom. They are friends whom I would give my life for, and they would do the same for me, in a heartbeat."

He kept talking about each one of his friends, saying what he liked about them, what he did not like about them sometimes, while repeating himself about how lucky he was to have met them and all of the things they had gone through, ever since he met them. And as he talked, he remembered about some things that he had forgotten about his friends, and which he believed his mother would like to hear more about.

"And that's mainly the reason why my music taste has improved over the years. Nino makes sure that I listen to the best music there is. And finally, there's Marinette… she's, well, she's amazing. She's smart, she's beautiful, she's sweet, she's incredibly talented, she's got these really beautiful blue eyes… mom, I'm in love with her, but I can't find the courage to tell her that." -Chat sighed. –"I admit that I'm a little scared about the idea that she might not see me as more than just a friend, but that's not the main reason why I can't tell her how I feel. I'm just shy. I pretend that I'm not shy when I'm on the runway wearing one of dad's clothes, and when I'm wearing this outfit and this mask, because I feel that they help me to conceal that shyness. When I wear them, I don't feel shy, I feel like being someone else. I mean, I could do tell her how I feel about her when I'm Chat Noir, but I don't want that. I want to tell her how I feel, without wearing a mask." -he kept sighing.

And that was the reason why he had come to visit his mother's grave that night. Chat Noir wanted to tell her all about what he had been doing and about his friends and all their adventures, but most importantly, he was seeking guidance from her, or as most guidance one could get from a dead person, to profess his love to Marinette.

"Mom… I know you can't really help me, but, I've always believed that there's an afterlife, and after seeing all the things that I've seen, I believe in it even more, and if you are there, and you think I should gather every last bit of courage that I have in me and tell Marinette how I feel, could you send me a sign?"

Chat Noir was not expecting that to work, even if deep inside his heart, he hoped for something to happen that he deemed a sign from his dead mother. But something did happen, something he was not expecting. From behind him, he heard a meowing. Slowly turning around, the feline hero saw a black cat staring at him. The cat looked a little feral, like a street cat, but unlike most street cats, upon being seen, it did not run away. Instead, it just stood there, tilting its head to the left, as if waiting for

"Hey, there." -Chat Noir greeted the feline. –"What are you doing here, kitty?" -he asked the cat, as it approached him, rubbing itself against his left leg. –"Don't tell me you're the cemetery's guard? Because if you are, well, I think that you have caught me trespassing."

Meowing again, the cat made its way towards Emily's grave, jumping on it, curling itself near the statue's feet. Smiling, Chat Noir approached the cat, thinking that it would run away this time, but it did not. Instead, it just stood there, waiting for the miraculous hero to come near it.

"Oh, I get it, you like to hang out near my mom's grave, don't you? Well, you got good taste. My mom was always a cat person." -Chat Noir told the cat, as he kneeled in front of the feline, and petted him on the head, making it purr. –"I don't know if this is the sign I was asking of you, mom, but I'll take it." -he thought to himself, smiling, while continuing to pet the cat. –"I will think of a way to tell Marinette how I feel about her, I promise you."

When he finally stopped petting the cat, Chat Noir felt it was time to go back home, knowing that he would be back in just two days to visit his mother's grave, this time accompanied by his father, his aunt, and most likely Nathalie, Nina and Gorilla.

"You keep an eye on my mom's grave, okay? Would you do me that favour? From one feline to another?" -Chat Noir asked the cat, who meowed back at him. –"Thanks, I knew I could count on you." -he smiled, as he got back –"Us, black cats have got to stick together, am I right?"

Taking a last look at his mom's gave, Chat Noir could not help but to become a little emotional.

"See you later, mom, and thanks. Loved to talk to you, as always." -Chat Noir smiled, as a tear ran down his cheek.

The following morning, the weather seemed to have decided to play a prank on everyone in Paris. While the day before it was sunny and clear skies, that one saw the skies completely clouded, accompanied by some really strong winds, which were making the still naked trees to wave their branches like crazy. It was the kind of day you would expect to see in the winter, but never really want, unless you have to stay at home. Unfortunately, that would not be the case with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who was running late for school, because she failed to hear her alarm clock, and also because Tikki also fell asleep and did not wake her up.

"Do you have everything you need?" -Tikki asked Marinette, as she jumped inside the girl's backpack.

"I think so, Tikki." -Marinette said, as she put on her backpack and grabbed her umbrella. The last thing she wanted was to get wet, if it started to rain. –"I've got everything, except for breakfast." -she said. –"I'll have to grab a croissant from the showcase downstairs."

But she was not only one who was late for school that day. Nathaniel had also overslept and as he exited home, he hoped that it would not start to rain, before he got to school. All because he couldn't find his sketch folder to put his sketchbook on, and had to carry it on his arms, due to not having any more space in his backpack, which by all means, was quite small.

"That's what you get for having such a small backpack, Nathaniel." -Mulan told him, as they entered the elevator and Nathaniel pushed the button to go down.

"It's not my fault my mom thinks I don't need a bigger one." -Nathaniel answered him.

"What does she think you are? 6 years old? Because anyone can see that a young man such as yourself, needs a bigger backpack, especially when you need to put in all your books, your gym clothes and your sketchbook." -Mulan commented.

"Well, try and explain that to her." -Nathaniel answered Mulan, as they kept going down, on their way to the building's foyer.

"I would, if I could. Remember, nobody should know about my existence, other than you and the rest of your friends." –Mulan said.

"And Manon, don't forget about her." -Nathaniel told his kwami.

"Yes, and Manon, I haven't forgotten about her." -Mulan sighed. –"The point is, your mom or your dad can't see me. So, it has to be you to convince either one of them to get you a new backpack, one where you can fit your sketchbook, when you're also taking your gym clothes to school in it." -he commented. –"And while we're at it, one where I can move a bit more freely. If I have to ride hidden inside it, then I would like to, at least, be able to float around, without bumping into your books, or your smelly gym sooks."

"Hey! My gym socks aren't that smelly!" -Nathaniel shot back at Mulan.

"Yes, they are. You just don't say that, because you don't have to smell them up close, Nathaniel." -Mulan told him. –"Oh, here's another idea, why don't you buy a new backpack yourself?" -he suggested.

"I would, if I had the money. I spent most of my savings on that new tablet that's going to come out in a couple of weeks, not to mention those new Caran D'Ache colouring pencils the other week." -Nathaniel declared. –"Between those two things and a couple of snacks I bought, I'm pretty much broke."

"I miss the days when people would pay tribute to you heroes. Back then, you would never see a miraculous hero hungry or without a dime on his pocket. People would give you things, to show you just how much they appreciated your work." -Mulan declared. –"Of course, all the heroes would always refuse things that they felt were too valuable for them to keep, and that's a good thing. But they would never say no to a plate of food or one or two copper coins… I really miss those days." -he sighed.

"Well, too bad that doesn't happen anymore, but you know what? Even if people paid us for saving the city, I hardly believe we would get a cent, after the taxes." -Nathaniel joked, as the elevator stopped. –"Now, let's get going. I don't want to arrive late."

Arriving both at the same time, Marinette and Nathaniel greeted each other with an awkward smile, like they always did when they were running late. They could not remember why they began doing that when they began arriving late together at time, but it was something they always did when this happened, which was more often than one could imagine.

"Good morning, Nathaniel." -Marinette smiled at him.

"Good morning, Marinette." -Nathaniel smiled at her. –"Let me guess, Tikki fell asleep and you didn't hear your alarm ringing." -he joked.

"Yup. And let me guess, the same thing happened to you?" -Marinette asked him.

"Ditto." -Nathaniel said, as they began going up the stairs. –"I guess we didn't start the morning with the right foot." -he said, while entering the school.

"Well, it can only get better from now on." -Marinette said, with a cheerful smile on her face. –"And look on the bright side, we already did our warm-up exercises, and we're ready for gym class. Plus, we still have three minutes until the bell rings." -she declared.

"Yeah, at least we won't need to warm-up." -Nathaniel said, when he noticed his shoelaces were untied. Stopping, he kneeled to tie them, while placing his sketchbook down. –"Go ahead, I'll catch you in a minute." -he told Marinette.

"Okay, I'll be over there, with the rest of class." -Marinette said, as she continued to walk to where the rest of the class were.

Not wanting to waste much time, Nathaniel quickly tied his shoelaces, giving them a double knot. He was about to get up, when someone went against him, knocking him into the ground. Although Nathaniel hit the ground, the person who went against him did not fall like he did. Looking up, Nathaniel saw who he had bumped into. At first, he thought it was a girl, but a second later, he saw that it was actually a boy. He was of average height and had a somewhat feminine appearance, with messy black hair, jade green eyes with visible lashes, thick eyebrows, pink lips, and a slender face with a pointed chin. He was wearing a red hooded jacket with white drawstrings and a white section on the back of the hood, lined with pink material. Underneath it, he was wearing a V-neck tie-dye shirt. On his hands, he was wearing black fingerless gloves. He was sporting ripped dark grey jeans with silver studs along the pockets and around the waist with a silver buckle, and black boots. Nathaniel noticed that he had his nails painted black and that he was wearing a black choker around his neck. But what he noticed the most were his eyes. Whoever he was, he had the most beautiful green eyes Nathaniel had ever seen in a person. And the more he looked at him, the more he felt his heart melting away.

"S-Sorry, I didn't see you." -the boy said, as he helped out Nathaniel get back up. –"Are you okay?" -he asked with a shy voice.

"Y-Yeah, I'm okay." -Nathaniel said, as he got up. –"You don't have to apologize. I was the one who was not paying attention."

"N-No, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I really wasn't paying much attention." -the boy said with an even shier voice than before. –"I'm new around here, and I'm still

"You'll get used to it, in no time, I'm sure." -Nathaniel said, as he kept smiling at him.

"Well, then… see you around?" -the boy said, as he blushed a bit.

"Definitely." -Nathaniel smiled, as he walked away.

As he walked to where Marinette and the others were, Nathaniel could not help but to keep smiling. He had not realized yet, but that mysterious boy had made an impression on him.

"Guess you made a new friend, huh?" -Ivan told Nathaniel, as he leaned against the railing.

"You could say that…" -Nathaniel chuckled a little.

"So, who was he?" -Mylene asked Nathaniel, curious.

"I… I don't know. I didn't ask his name." -Nathaniel told her. He had completely forgotten about asking him his name.

"You talked to him, and you didn't even ask his name?" -Alix asked him. –"How could you forget to ask such a thing, Nathaniel?!" -she asked him, incredulous of what she had heard him saying.

"What can I say? I forgot to ask him." -Nathaniel shrugged his shoulders, while still thinking about just how green the boy's eyes were.

"Who?" -Chloe asked, as she and Sabrina came back from the restroom. –"Who are you all talking about?" -she demanded to know.

"The boy that accidentally went against Nathaniel." -Marinette told Chloe.

"Really? What was he like?" -Chloe asked, now more curious than ever.

"Like this." -Alya said, as she showed the blonde a photo, she had taken of the boy in question with her cell phone.

"I've never seen him around here before. He must be new." -Juleka said.

"Hmm… That's Marc Anciel. He's a new student that arrived about two days ago." -Chloe declared, which made everyone look at her, asking themselves on how she knew about that.

"And how do you know that, Chloe?" -Alya asked her, while rising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I'm Chloe Bourgeois, everything that happens in this school, I must know about it… especially when a new student arrives." -Chloe said, talking in the same manner her old diva persona used to talk with everyone, which made them all chuckle, including her. –"Plus, I may have thought that he was a girl at first, because his face looks really feminine." -she admitted –"Either way, like I said, from what I was told, I know that he transferred a couple of days ago, and that he's on Miss Mendeleiev's class."

"Miss Mendeleiv's class, you say?" -Rose asked.

"That's what I've heard. And my sources are usually always right." -Chloe answered the blonde.

"Have you guys noticed that when a new student is transferred, he or she is always transferred to one of the other classes, but never transferred into our class?" -Max pointed out.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, that never happens." -Sabrina agreed with him. –"It's kind of weird." -she commented.

"Well, weird or not, it's a good thing too, because it would be hard for us to keep talking between us, regarding certain subjects, without making someone new to our class feel left out." -Nino declared.

"Hmm… Not trying to change the subject or anything, but has anyone seen Adrien?" -Marinette asked, as she looked at the clock, which now marked one minute until the bell rang.

They all kept discussing why Adrien was running late, when he was usually the first one to arrive, wondering if something happened to him. All, except for Nathaniel, who had his mind elsewhere.

"Marc… He looked so handsome. I mean, he looks handsome, but like Chloe said, he has those feminine traces to his face, which makes him kind of cute. I think I've never felt this way before… I think… I think I'm in love." -Nathaniel thought to himself, as his usual smile was replaced with an awkward smile; the kind of which a person has when thinking about someone special.

The End… for now.

And here you have it, everyone. The end of this fanfic. This epilogue was complicated to write, because I did not want it to look cheesy, especially the part where Chat visits Emily's grave just to talk to her... I tried to stirr away from the clichés that we have come to expect from characters that talk to their deceased loved ones, and I think I did manage to do such a thing, while still giving it a bit of emotional back. Also, I bet you weren't expecting that last surprise I added to it, were you? I told you that Marc would show up in this AU of mine, and now he has made his big debut. You can expect to read more about him in the following sequels, I assure you of that... yup, that means that the adventures of the Miraculous Team are going to continue.

Tune in next time, to keep following the adventures of Ladybug and her teammates in "Miraculous Team: Valentine Lovers". Until then, see ya around.