When the Supreme Miraculous holder stepped forward into the grand entrance of his home, he thought for a moment that the magic hadn't worked. As he looked around the room, Gabriel saw that everything was in its place, just how he had left it, save for the large portrait hanging in the middle of the grand staircase. Instead of the picture just being of him and Adrien, it now had Mrs. Agreste hugging a squealing 5-year-old Adrien to her chest with Mr. Agreste standing behind her, gazing happily down at his family.

Gabriel then heard the soft melody that had haunted his dreams for the past year since her sudden disappearance.

He spun toward the sound and found himself sprinting up the stairs, taking two at a time.

Once he reached the top of the stairs, he bolted down the hallway, straight to Adrien's bedroom door. He saw that the door was ajar and just as he was about to barge in, he heard Adrien sigh. The melody stopped.

"Mom, I don't know. Maybe I should just stay here and continue being homeschooled."

"No, Adrien." Gabriel froze in his place. His wife's soft voice washed over him and he involuntary reached out toward the sweet sound. "You should go to a school with other teens your own age. I want you to have friends."

With his plan of barging into the room forgotten, Gabriel peeked through the crack in the door and saw Adrien and his wife sitting on the white couch opposite of where Gabriel lurked.

The Adrien from the past almost identical to the one in the present. Gabriel noticed how Adrien's hair was the same shade of blond but his voice was a little higher and he appeared smaller from his place on the couch. The most surprising things that Gabriel noticed about his son were his eyes. Though Adrien's eyes were the same green they had always been, there was a spark of life shining in his gaze.

Gabriel didn't focus too much on his son before his attention was drawn to the woman sitting beside Adrien. Her blonde hair gleamed on her shoulders and her eyes sparkled the same way Adrien's did. She scooted closer to Adrien and wrapped him in her arms. Adrien leaned into her embrace and closed his eyes. She gently ran a hand through his hair.

"But I have you and father," Adrien said.

"I want you to have other relationships besides your father and me. I want you to have friends, go see movies and enjoy your time as a teen." She paused. "I'm not always going to be here for you and I don't want you to be alone."

Adrien sat up and she dropped her hand from his head. "Fine. If you want me to go to school, then I will." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Gabriel's wife shook her head at their son. "Tsk, tsk. My dear boy, are you nervous? Is why you don't want to go to a public school?"

He shrugged. "What if they don't like me? What if I can't make any friends? And...I wouldn't want you to be alone here."

His wife sat back, her eyes widening at her son's statement. But she recovered quickly and smiled again. She pulled Adrien back to her and hugged him. "Oh come now. How could they not like you? You're so sweet and kind. You are incredibly smart, and not to mention a model too. They'll adore you."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "I'm more than just a model, though."

"Oh yes, you're right," said Gabriel's wife. "You also fence, speak Chinese, and you play the piano beautifully. Though I must say, you had the best teacher ever."

"Mother, you taught me how to play piano," he laughed. 

"Yes, and you were my greatest student. But if you're truly worried about being alone on the first day, you'll have Chloé, remember? She's your friend, right?"

Adrien shrugged. "Not really. I don't know her that well since I only see her at Father's fashion shows or the mayor's banquets. Plus, she always looks at me as if she wants me to get down on one knee and propose to her immediately."

His wife giggled. "Well, you never know. It could be a good match. The mayor's daughter and the famous fashion designer's son," she said as she absentmindedly patted his head. 

"No, I don't think it would." Adrien shook his head. "I don't know her. In the future, I want to find a girl whom I can trust with anything and whom I can be my complete self around."

Adrien's mother smiled. She pulled away from the hug and stood up from the couch. "Well, the only way to find a girl like that is to go out in the real world and put yourself out there. The first step? Go to school." She winked at him. 

Adrien looked away and crossed his arms, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. She had a point. 

"And I would most definitely want to meet the girl who had captured your heart." Her smile grew as she walked to the door. Gabriel saw her lean to pull the door open from his spot on the other side and he scrambled away down the hall. He rounded a corner and pressed his back against the wall. He heard her say goodnight to their son and shut the door behind her.  

He heard her slippers make their way down the marble hallway toward him. He didn't want to hide from her, but it was as though he couldn't move. Gabriel had no idea what to do because frankly, he had never planned this far ahead. He had the Miraculous, check. He had created a portal to the night his wife had disappeared, check. But what to do now? He had no idea. 

As he contemplated what to do, he heard her stop and turn down another hallway, the one that led to his office. He silently followed her as he continued to think of what to say. He spotted her standing outside his office, her hand poised ready to knock. She hesitated for a moment before she drew in a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

He heard his own voice on the other side of his office's door call out, "Who is it?" 

Gabriel had never heard his own voice other than on a recording. But the recordings never portrayed just how devoid of emotion his voice truly sounded. 

His wife answered, "It's me, Gabriel. We...we need to talk." Her hands slightly shook at her sides. She looked so small outside his office door. 

Past Gabriel groaned before he said, "Not now. I'm working."

Miraculous wielder Gabriel was shocked at how his past-self could completely dismiss their wife. As he inched closer, he saw his wife ball her hands into fists.

"You're always working. This is serious, Gabriel. Something's come up and I...I need to talk to you now. Please, let me in." Her voice wavered at the end.

Gabriel heard shuffling on the other side of the door before his past-self ripped open the door and glared down at the woman in front of him. "What? What could possibly be more important than the work that I do that keeps this family with a roof over their heads and food to eat?"

His wife recoiled away from Past Gabriel. "I just needed to tell you that I...I'm going...Wh-Why do you do this? Why do you make me feel insignificant? I'm your wife!"

Past Gabriel rolled his eyes. "And as my wife, you should be more accepting of the fact that I'm working and don't need distractions right now."

Miraculous wielder Gabriel couldn't see his wife's face from his place at the end of the hall but noticed how her shoulders slumped forward and she took more two steps back. "What happened to you? Where is the man that I married because I haven't seen him in years." 

Past Gabriel rolled his eyes and moved to shut the door. "I don't have time for this nonsense. You are always so emotional. We'll talk about whatever it is that you need tomorrow. Right now, I have to get back to work."

Past Gabriel slammed the door and his wife sniffled. She wiped her face with the back of her arm before she took a deep breath and turned away from the door. She walked back down the hall towards Miraculous wielder Gabriel. Once again, he scrambled away from her, unable to think of anything to say or do other than watch his wife from a distance. 

He followed her to their room and saw her pack a suitcase. She had tears running down her cheeks. Gabriel wanted more than anything to wipe them away but he couldn't move away from his spot outside their room. She kept muttering under her breath how she couldn't do it anymore and that she'll go to the place where she can feel useful. 

Once everything that was hers was packed, she walked out of their room without looking back. She made her way to Adrien's room and slowly opened his door. The lights were off and she silently entered his room. Gabriel saw her lean over Adrien's sleeping form and press a kiss to his forehead. She whispered something Gabriel couldn't hear before she reached up and took out her favorite hair clip. 

Gabriel gasped. It was the peacock hair clip that he had given her when she had passed her Miraculous on to the next wielder. Suddenly, Gabriel was swept up in the past as memories of an amateur fashion designer and a peacock superheroine swam in front of his eyes. When she had saved him, when she revealed her identity to him, when he asked her to marry her...everything came back. He hadn't opened the box containing his memories in years. He had kept everything locked away where they couldn't distract him from his work but seeing her now brought all those memories back to the forefront of his mind. But one memory concerning the hairpin stood out in particular. When they had discovered that she was pregnant with Adrien, she knew that she wouldn't be able to be both a mother and a superheroine. She had decided to pass the Miraculous on to the next wielder and Gabriel had given her a new peacock hair clip to not replace the Miraculous, but....just to make her happy.

Gabriel had been so caught up in his memories that he didn't see his wife leave Adrien's room and disappear down the hall with her suitcase. He broke out of his reverie and bolted down the hall, his eyes desperately searching for where she had gone. 

When he ran out to the top of the staircase and into the main foyer, he saw his wife about to open the front door. Without thinking, he shouted, "Wait! Stop! Don't go, Valerie!"

Gabriel's wife paused at the door before she slowly turned back around to face him. Her piercing green eyes pinned him to his place at the top of the staircase. Tears continued to run freely down her cheeks as her eyes looked up at him in shock.

"Gabriel? Wha-What are you doing? What are you wearing? Weren't you just-?"

"No, I'm not him. I mean, I am Gabriel, but from a year in the future. I've come back to...to stop you from leaving." He silently chastised himself for sounding so pathetic and emotional. 

Valerie looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What? How? No, wait. A better question would be why are you doing this?" She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve and dropped her bag onto the marble floor. "Why are you doing this to me, Gabriel?"

Instead of answering, Gabriel jumped off the landing and, using the power of the Supreme Miraculous, flew down to her. She stifled a yelp at how he hovered over the floor and glanced at his hand, at the ring, and at his ears, at the earrings. "You...you didn't," she whispered.

He nodded once. "I did. I have the Ladybug and Cat Noir Miraculous. I couldn't just let you walk away from me and disappear forever."

"Disappear? Forever? What are you talking about?"

"Valerie, the night you left...tonight...you never came back. You left me alone and I couldn't just let you go."

"Left you? Alone?" Her eyes widened. She grabbed his suit and yanked him down to her so they were eye level. "What happened to Adrien?!"

Gabriel tried to break free from her hold, but she had an iron grip on his suit. "Adrien? You're worried about Adrien? He's perfectly fine in the future, other than the fact that he betrayed me." He was completely dumbfounded at how she was more worried about their son than the fact that he had done so much work and had traveled through time to stop her from leaving him. 

"Betrayed you? Gabriel, what happened? What did you do?" Her menacing gaze and lock solid grip on his suit trapped him from stepping away from her.

"Me? I didn't do anything! It was Adrien who kept me from coming back to stop you sooner. It was Adrien who withheld the Cat Noir ring from me." Gabriel hated getting worked up and feeling strong emotions. It stopped him from able to think rationally and it made him feel out of control. He hated not being in control. 

"Adrien kept the Cat Noir Miraculous from you? Adrien is Cat Noir?! But he doesn't have the Miraculous!"

"Maybe not now, but I assure you, he has it in the future. And he refused to give it to me, not that he knew that I was Hawk Moth anyway. Still, he should've just handed it over and-"

"Wait, you're Hawk Moth?!"

Gabriel brought up his hands and grabbed her wrists. He released her hold on him and took a step back from her. He tried to regain control of his breathing and calm down. He ran a hand through his hair to set it back into its pristine place. "Yes, in one year from now, I'm able to obtain the Butterfly Miraculous and gain both Ladybug's and Cat noir's Miraculous in order to come back here, to now. But, Valerie, you're missing the point."

"The point of how you most undoubtedly had to battle our son in order to steal what had been rightfully granted to him?" His wife planted her hands on her hips and glared accusingly at Gabriel. 

He couldn't believe her. After all the work he had done to try and save her, here she was making accusations at him! Sure, she had hit the nail on the head with her last remark, but none of that mattered. She couldn't see the bigger picture and it infuriated him. He wasn't the villain here. He was the hero. 

He waved a hand, trying to appear nonchalant and hide how much her words affected him. "Look, none of that's here nor there. The point of why I'm here is to stop you from leaving and have you stay. I need you."

Valerie pressed her lips together and started to tap her foot on the marble floor. "That's where you're wrong. You don't need me. Not anymore. Not since your fashion line took off." She sighed and looked away from him. "Well, since you didn't want to listen to earlier, I guess you'll finally listen now." She met his gaze. "Gabriel...I don't like it here. I feel useless and unwanted and if not for Adrien, I would feel completely unloved."

Gabriel started to speak, but Valerie held up a hand and pinned him with a glare. "No, you will listen until I've finished speaking. I've tried to help when I could, I've tried to be a good wife for you and I've tried to believe that you still love me, but I can't do this anymore. I feel useless here. I feel like I'm no longer your wife but rather your assistant. I can't help but think you've stopped caring about me. You've never been one to reveal your feelings, and I get that, Gabriel, I really do. But you used to share everything with me. You used to share your dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer, of spending the rest of our lives together, and raising a family." 

Valerie's tears began to run again, but when Gabriel moved to wipe them away, she swatted his hand away from her and took a step back towards the grand front door.

"It hurts me so much to leave Adrien like this, but...I want to walk away from you. And while you may no longer love me, I still care about you enough to leave you with the one person who loves you unconditionally. Our son still looks up to you and loves you. However, I doubt how much he loves you now after you've fought him for his Miraculous. But I don't want to be a useless trophy wife anymore."

When she had finished, she wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her jacket and tightened the scarf around her neck. 

After a moment of silence, Gabriel took a step toward her. She moved back. "Valerie, I...I don't....But I can....Will you-" He sighed, not knowing what to say. "Where will you go?" he eventually asked.

She stopped fiddling with her scarf and met his eyes. "India."

"India?! Why India?"

"Because that's where the present Peacock Miraculous wielder is and she needs help. She doesn't know how to use her powers and needs guidance. Master Fu must remain here for some reason he won't tell me, but he says that I need to go to India if I want to help her. So I'm going."

Gabriel was beside himself as to why would his wife leave him and Adrien so she can go and help an insignificant teenager. "You're leaving...to go to India...to help a young Miraculous wielder...so you can feel useful? Are you serious right now?! Do you know how dangerous it is for you to just-" He couldn't even finish his sentence. Instead, he accepted the anger, the hurt, the loss, the betrayal that had resided in his heart for the past year and screamed.

Valerie covered her ears and looked worriedly up the staircase, sure that his scream had woken Adrien up. 

But Gabriel didn't care who heard. He just couldn't believe it. She was leaving him because she wanted to. She hadn't been kidnapped, or blackmailed, or even bribed. She was leaving because she felt unloved. Before he had seen his past-self with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed her when she said that she felt unloved. From the way Past Gabriel had treated her, it was no wonder that she wanted to leave. But he could tell that she absolutely adored their son and it broke her heart to leave him behind. 

But Gabriel didn't want her to leave him. He didn't want her to go. Ever since her disappearance, he had flung himself into his work to avoid his emotions and instead, messed with other people's emotions to get what he wanted as Hawk Moth. But who...who was he? He didn't even know who he was anymore. How could he do such things in order to be a hero? Every Akuma, no...every person who had fallen victim to Hawk Moth's influence flashed before his eyes. He saw everyone, including the girl that his son loved. How could Gabriel have done such a thing? 

He now realized that Valerie had been right. He didn't blame her for wanting to leave him because...look at how far he had fallen. And Adrien...he did the same thing to Adrien, didn't he? He brushed off his son and pushed him away because he had previously felt that he was doing the right thing. He didn't want to be that man, that monster, anymore. He wanted his wife back, he wanted his family back and he didn't want to be alone anymore. If there was one thing that he hated more than the intense emotions he was feeling then, it was that he hated to be alone. 

When he stopped screaming, he sank to his knees in front of his wife, pulled her to him and hugged her torso. He breathed in her sweet scent and let himself cry for the first time in years. She started to shake and tried to pull away from him, but he only held on tighter. 

"I'm sorry, Valerie. I'm so, so sorry. I never realized how much you needed me to be there for you. To show you I care. But you're wrong in thinking I don't love you. I do. I do love you, I just have the lousiest way of showing it." 

Instead of replying, Valerie stooped down and hugged him. He held on to her like she was about to disappear. He didn't know how long they stayed on the floor wrapped in each other's embrace, but eventually, she started to pull away from him. 

When her arms dropped back to her sides, Gabriel stood up and held out his hand. His wife placed her hand in his and he helped her up off the floor. "There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?" he whispered. He stared down at his feet, unable to look at her.

Valerie shook her head. 

He nodded once. Then he put both arms on either side of her and trapped her against the door. "Please, don't stay away because you're afraid to come back. Please, know that in a year from now, I will have changed. I will be better, and should you return, both Adrien and I will welcome you with open arms. Please...please come back to me." 

Valerie looked up at him with so many emotions in her eyes, but Gabriel couldn't distinguish any of them. He hated intense feelings, and he was horrible at recognizing other people's emotions. But when his wife stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek, he felt love. 

"I'll come back, Gabriel," she said. "I promise."

They stared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to pull away, but this time, it was Gabriel who pulled away first. 

Valerie shakily released her breath and grabbed her bag from off the floor. She opened the door and Gabriel reached around her to hold it open for her. A taxi was already waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs outside. 

She walked out the door but turned back. "I promise I'll come back," she said. 

Gabriel could only nod. As she walked down the stairs to the taxi, Gabriel wanted to yell so many things to her: to tell her to stay, to never leave him, that he loved her, that he needed her more than she needed him. But instead, he simply watched her get into the taxi and drive off into the night. 

~~~

"So...do you guys know how long it takes for reality to change?" Nino said as he leaned back against the wall.

"Nino!" Alya punched his side.

"Oof! Sorry, I just asking!" Instead of scooting away from her, however, Nino ignored Alya's frightening glare and moved closer to her.  

Alya huffed but rested her head against his shoulder.

Adrien shook his head at the two and continued to wrap bandages around Marinette's arms. She had numerous cuts running up her arms from where she had skidded along the floor when Miss Fortune's electric power had collided with her back. 

Marinette still hadn't woken up, but her steadying breathing reassured Adrien every few seconds that she was alive. His heart had pounded in his chest and his vision had begun to blur when he thought she had died. He didn't want to lose her. He had already lost his mother, and he didn't know what he would do if he lost Marinette too. 

Trix and Wayzz were hovering over their new wielders, their tiny shoulders slumped over and their eyes broadcasting their anguish. They both had just lost their first major battle with their new wielders and didn't like the defeat. 

Nooroo was sitting on Adrien's shoulder. He had apologized profusely for Gabriel's actions, but Adrien had simply told him that it was not the Kwami's fault. It was his father's and his alone. Now, the Kwami sat silently with his eyes closed and his shoulders slumped the same way as the other two Kwamis. 

Adrien silently continued to wrap Marinette's arms. He didn't know what to think. His father was gone; he had traveled back in time to stop his mother from leaving. He didn't know how to feel about everything that had happened. He desperately wanted to see his mother again, but not at the cost of losing his life as Cat Noir, not at the cost of losing his friends, and especially not at the cost of losing Marinette. But his father had said that he had betrayed him. Adrien felt it was the other way around. The entire time Adrien had been Cat Noir, his father had been his and Marinette's archnemesis, determined to steal their Miraculous. 

The only thing Adrien did know was that in a few seconds, he would no longer care about any of it because he'd be in a different reality, one where his mother had never left. 

But as the seconds bled into minutes and the minutes dragged into an hour, he began to doubt whether time would change at all or if it simply had a lagging effect. 

Once he had bandaged as many of Marinette's wounds as he could, he gently rested her head in his lap and ran his fingers through her hair. Something about the situation pulled his thoughts back to the night he last saw his mother a little over a year ago. They had been sitting on the couch in his room and he remembered telling her about how he wanted to find the girl whom he could tell anything to and be his complete self around. When he gazed down at Marinette, he heard a small voice in the back of his head say that Marinette was the girl. He wished his mom could have met Marinette. She would have loved her.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the girl in his arms started to move. Marinette's eyes blinked open and when she tried to move her arms, she sucked in a sharp breath. 

"I'm sorry it hurts," Adrien said as Marinette struggled to sit up.

She met his worried gaze and softly smiled. "It's alright. I'll live." She then looked around Hawk Moth's Lair and frowned. "He's gone, isn't he?"

Adrien nodded. 

Marinette scooted around until she sat next to her partner. She rested her head on his shoulder. "How are you doing? Are you okay?"

Adrien looked at her, incredulously. Marinette was the one who had been blasted with electricity and had so many cuts and bruises along her body, and yet she had asked him if he was okay. She was more worried about him than herself.  Yep, she was the one.

Adrien shrugged and said, "I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm not okay, but...I'll live. I just don't know what to do now."

"Marinette! You're awake! Oh, thank goodness!" Alya said from her spot next to Nino across the room. She grinned. "I would hug you, but I'm afraid that I would hurt you even more." 

Marinette laughed but had to clutch her side because of the pain. "I think it would hurt you too, but I'm glad to see that you're also alright. How are you holding up, Nino?"

Nino rolled his shoulder and cracked his knuckles. "A little bruised here and there but for the most part, I'm good," he said. "But dudes, if I see Hawk Moth again, I'll-"

Before he could finish, a large light blared through the room and a purple vortex opened in the center of the lair. Adrien shielded his eyes from the light and when he opened them again, he saw his father standing alone. 

Upon seeing his father again, Adrien had expected to be filled with rage and the need for vengeance for what his father had done, but one look at his father's face made all of his fury vanish. His father had large bags under his eyes and his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying. His legs shook like they were going to give out at any second. 

Nino was about to stand and give Hawk Moth a piece of his mind when the Supreme Miraculous holder removed his earrings and slid the ring off his right hand. At once, his costume melted away and his normal clothes reappeared. He looked at the two Miraculous in his hand as Plagg and Tikki reappeared above Gabriel. 

"Marinette! Adrien!" the two Kwamis exclaimed at the same time as they raced toward the two teenagers. 

Tikki hugged Marinette's cheek as she repeatedly said how happy she was to see that Marinette was alright.

Plagg floated in front of Adrien's face and crossed his small arms. "I'm...uh, glad to see you're alright too. But really, though. Are you okay, Adrien?" the Kwami asked and though he tried to appear nonchalant, Adrien could tell that the Kwami was truly worried about him. 

Adrien grinned. He reached out and hugged Plagg. "I'm okay."

"Uh, no, Adrien! You know I hate hugging! Let me go!" The Kwami squirmed against the teen's embrace before he broke free and sat on Adrien's other shoulder, a small smile tugging at the corners of Plagg's mouth. 

When Adrien looked away from Plagg, he saw his father standing in front of him. He met his father's gaze. "Father..."

Gabriel sank to the floor and said the words Adrien thought he would never hear from his father. "Adrien, I... apologize. I apologize for never being there for you, I apologize for always leaving you on your own, I apologize for making you think that my work is more important than you, my only son, and I'm...so sorry for all the trouble I've caused as Hawk Moth."

Adrien looked at his father and thought for sure that reality must have reversed or caved in on itself because his father never apologized. Ever. But nothing had changed around Adrien.

Wait, everything is still the same? 

"Father," he said, "what...what happened? Did you see Mother? Weren't you going to-?"

Gabriel looked at the floor in front of him, unable to meet his son's eyes. "I did. I found her. I did try to stop her, but I realized that...I've been a horrible husband and father and she left because..." He sucked in a deep breath before he continued. "Your mother left because she felt that I didn't love her anymore, and if I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed her. But she left to go help the next Peacock Miraculous wielder and I let her go."

A million questions raced through Adrien's mind but before he could ask a single one, his father spoke again. 

"Yes, before you were born, your mother was the Peacock superheroine. However, she knew that she couldn't be a good mother and a superhero, so she passed on the Miraculous to the next wielder so she could always be with you and...me. But I pushed her away..." He paused and his eyes focused on another spot on the floor. "But it broke her heart to leave you behind. She wanted to take you with her and she would've too, but she left you with me so that I wouldn't be completely alone.

"And I let her go. I was a horrible husband and a lousy father, but I...I want to be better. I want to be the father you need, but I'll understand if you can never forgive me for all the terrible and monstrous things I've done-"

"I forgive you."

Gabriel's head snapped up to look at his son. Adrien met his father's gaze and knew that his father wasn't lying. He meant what he said and though his dad had been pretty terrible in more ways than one, Adrien still loved his dad because he was his dad. His father was putting himself out there and actually showing...emotion and his feelings. Adrien never thought that his dad had actually felt anything until now. Adrien had to meet him halfway.

Adrien could tell that his dad didn't know what to do, so Adrien stood up. Gabriel stood as well and placed the Cat Noir Miraculous in Adrien's hand. Then Adrien did something he hadn't done in years. He hugged his father. Gabriel stiffened for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Adrien and hugged him back. 

After a moment, Gabriel broke away from the hug and turned toward Marinette. He apologized profusely to her and handed her back her earrings. She smiled and accepted his apology. Adrien helped Marinette stand as Gabriel apologized to both Alya and Nino. Alya also accepted his apology, but Nino remained skeptical. Nevertheless, he still accepted Gabriel's apology. 

As the five stood in the room, Gabriel walked over to where he had discarded the butterfly Miraculous and picked it up. Everyone held their breaths, unsure of what he would do, when Gabriel looked over at Marinette. "Is there someone who can take care of Nooroo?"

Marinette blinked before she nodded and took the butterfly Miraculous from Adrien's father. "Yes, there is. I'm sure Master Fu would like to meet you."

~~~

As Adrien walked Marinette to her father's bakery, Marinette thought about Mr.Agreste's meeting with Master Fu. Master Fu had asked for only Mr.Agreste to enter so when the door shut behind Mr.Agreste, Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette had turned away and began the trek home.  

Nino had offered to walk Alya home and when they had left, Adrien took Marinette's hand in his and started toward her parent's bakery. 

Now as they neared the park on the way to her home, she looked at the blond beside her. She couldn't believe how much everything had changed in only two weeks. In two weeks, both Nino and Alya had discovered her secret, she had become Miss Fortune, she had found out that Cat Noir was Adrien, Mr.Agreste was Hawk Moth, and she had battled her father and Hawk Moth with Adrien, Alya, and Nino at her side. 

She shook her head at the enormity of it all. So much had happened...but now she finally got a chance to breathe and things could calm down again. 

Adrien glanced down at her, a small grin on his face. "What are you thinking about?"

She shrugged. "Everything. Everything that had happened these past few days...can you believe it's only been two weeks?

Adrien nodded. "I know. It feels like it's been a year."

Marinette squeezed his hand and he quickly pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

As they rounded the corner of the park, the bakery came into view. Peering into the park, Marinette saw children playing on the Merry-Go-Round and running through the grass. It brought back a wave of memories from her time as Miss Fortune and she had to look away.

Adrien glanced down at her. "You okay?" he asked.

Marinette shook her head. "No. Now, whenever I look at the park, I remember..." She blinked away the memories and stopped at the crosswalk. There was a question burning in her mind and she didn't know if she could bear the answer. 

Adrien turned toward her. "Hey, it's okay if-"

She decided to ask anyway. "When you look at me," she said, interrupting him, "do you still see Miss Fortune? Because when I look into that park, all I can see now is you in the grass, looking at me like..." she paused and dared to meet his eyes. 

His worried green eyes bore into hers as he slowly shook his head. "No. No, I don't see you as Miss Fortune at all. When I look at you, I see Marinette. I see a beautiful, kind, and brave girl whom I love."

Marinette searched his eyes and found nothing but love staring back at her. 

Adrien slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. "Don't worry about any of that anymore. It's over and in the past. The only thing we can do now is move on and look toward the future."

Marinette nodded against his chest and sighed. "Okay...but you know, tomorrow doesn't look so good."

Adrien cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Marinette pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. "We have that English test tomorrow and I haven't studied a bit."  She had a small smile on her face.

With the worry quickly vanishing from his eyes, Adrien brought up his hand and jokingly smacked his forehead with his palm. "That's right! I completely forgot. Now I have to cram for the test tonight."

Marinette laughed.

The light signaled for pedestrians to walk and Adrien took her hand again. They walked across the street and stopped in front of the bakery door. Adrien leaned down and gently kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her. 

When they finally broke apart, Adrien started walking backward away from her. "I'll see you tomorrow, my lady?" He winked.

Marinette smiled. "Of course, you silly Tom Cat." She blew a kiss at him and he caught the invisible kiss in his right hand and held it over his heart.

"I'll treasure this forever, my lady!" he shouted to her. He then turned around and crossed the crosswalk, heading back to his home.

Marinette laughed as she watched him go. 

Finally, everything is fine and there's no big catastrophe. I can finally rest and enjoy being with my friends and walking home with my boyfriend. Marinette's smile grew as she pulled open the door to her parent's bakery and walked inside.

However, her moment of joy dissipated when she saw that all of the bakery's shelves and displays empty. Her father always had freshly baked pastries and desserts on display. Something was seriously wrong. 

Marinette ran through the shop and bolted up the staircase to the apartment. When she opened the apartment door, she saw boxes upon boxes in her family's living room. Some were labeled pictures and artifacts while others were labeled kitchen utensils. 

Her panic drastically rose when she spotted her parents sitting on the sofa, her father's head in his hands and her mother gently stroking his back. 

"Mom? Dad? What's going on?"

At the sound of Mariette's voice, her father rose from his seat on the couch and turned to face her. Sabine opened her mouth to speak when Tom gently waved a hand and whispered to her that he was the one who had messed everything up so he should be the one to tell their daughter. 

Marinette's legs shook and she took a step backward. "Dad? What's wrong? Why is everything packed in boxes?"

She then heard the words she had hoped her father would never say. "I'm so sorry, Marinette, but we're moving...to New York."