The (much wanted) epilogue!

*Merry Christmas, Miraculous readers*

The Agreste's accident and the disappearance of Gabriel Agreste had become a current topic on the news, worldwide. Although it was always revolving the accident, the main tabloids rolled around Gabriel's last will now.

It was very a polemic matter because the great designer had changed his will two days before he died.

Once Adrien first overheard in the television that Gabriel had changed his will - on Christmas night -, he immediately thought his father had cut him off. It made sense in his head. It was before he had made peace with the man, after all... Although it really didn't matter to Adrien - he was never a fan of the fact that money made people think they can do anything they want -, he had to admit it stung a little. But a few days after they arrived in Paris, his father's lawyer had come to him and had demanded Marinette's presence as well.

It turned out that Gabriel had left everything to Adrien. Everything, except Gabriel's brand, which he left to Marinette. Adrien and Marinette had gaped at the lawyer, thinking he was just joking with them. Once they realized he wasn't, Marinette immediately refused. She couldn't ever accept it, plus she was already in trouble for not supervising the upcoming catwalk in Milan. She had her hands more than full. Sure, her dream was to work at Gabriel's... But accepting the whole company, it didn't seem right.

Adrien immediately tried to convince her to accept - she was the best person for it, after all - but she still refused. That was when the lawyer had intervened, saying that Gabriel knew she wouldn't accept, therefore he had left a letter for her. And one for Adrien as well. They'd blinked at the man while he offered them both their letters.

Marinette's letter said:

"Miss Dupain-Cheng,

The moment you took my child from me, was the moment when I realized the mistake I did by keeping him away from you. I was selfish. I didn't want him to remember my past mistakes, so I only thought of myself. For that, I'm sorry.
If you are reading this, it means I've succeeded. Again, I'm sorry, but I'm not the kind of man that rots in prison.
With this said, I know you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You are the kind of person that fights for what's right, and you will feel that accepting a company from someone like me, an Hawk, won't be the right thing to do. I urge you to rethink your resolve, because, this time, you are wrong. I ask you to put your pride aside for a minute, miss Dupain-Cheng. Think about the people that will lose their jobs if Gabriel's goes bankrupt. And, if you think that Adrien will keep the company, I beg you rethink it too. Adrien never liked the fashion world, you'd be dooming him to a life of misery. You, on the other hand, are an extremely talented designer, just like I was with your age, and have what it takes to run Gabriel's. In addition, I believe that working at Gabriel's was your dream not so long ago. Am I wrong?
I leave Gabriel's and Adrien to you. That's how much I trust you, little Lady.
I hope you and Adrien can find a way to forgive me, someday.

Have a good life,

Gabriel Agreste"

Marinette had read the letter in silence and, although she knew she was being manipulated by Gabriel Agreste's words, she ended up agreeing with him. If she didn't keep the company, Adrien would be the one who would sacrifice his dreams in order to guaranty the people's future. And she couldn't let that happen. Plus, as Gabriel had put it, working at Gabriel's was her dream.

With this in mind, and to Adrien's absolute surprise, she had accepted Gabriel's brand. She would hire a CEO for the moment and would finish her bachelor while working with the CEO closely.

Still astonished with Marinette's sudden change of heart, Adrien had opened his letter.

"Adrien,

I have no idea how much you do remember, but, if this are my last words to you, I want to apologize. For everything. I was never a good father, even when you were little and your mother was still around, I often neglected both of you. Back then, you had her, so you never felt alone. But when she died, I should have gotten closer to you and given you all my love. Instead, I got caught up in my own grief and forgot I wasn't the only one suffering. I'd lost my wife, the love of my life, but you had lost your mother. We could have been so much stronger together, if only I'd been a better father. A better person...
I'm really sorry, my son. I will try working on it from now on. I will start a new life, with a new name, an I will work hard to be someone you and your mother would be proud of.
One of my biggest regrets is never answering your questions about your her. Seeing Emilie on Halloween made me realize that. So, if you still want to know, I've kept everything she owned and she has touched in the attic of our country house. The keys are on the safe from my office in the mansion in Paris.

Address to the country house: Unnamed Road, 56220 Rochefort-en-Terre, France

I hope you look at her things and know how proud she is of you. So am I. I'm sorry I didn't let you know more often.
If it's not asking too much of you, I want you to live the best life you can, son. Ignore the dreams I had for you. Follow your own dreams. I know you'll be the greatest physics teacher any school will have the honor to welcome. But most importantly, if something as bad as losing your mother ever happens to you again, don't behave as I did.
Your mother used to say: Follow the light.
So, take her advice. Let your friends and loved ones in.
A life in the dark will always be a life without light. Meaningless. When you live your life in the light, there might be shadows, but the light always wins as long as you chose to follow it. You are the living proof of that. If I ever did something good for you, was to show you what not to do.
Chose the light. Have the courage that I never had.

Know that I and your mother are watching you, even though we are in different places for now,

I love you,

Gabriel"

Adrien had cried.

He was finally getting some closure. A release from his anger. He had been fighting it with Marinette's help, but it hadn't been easy. Now, he could finally make peace with the past and look forward to the future.

Marinette and Adrien wouldn't forgive Gabriel. Not now, not ever. They had no idea if Gabriel had actually died. No body had been found, and from what he'd written in his letters, it sounded that it all had been planned... But maybe he planned on escaping and not on crashing? He did make a new will, as if he knew he was going to 'die'... But they couldn't know for sure. They might never find out... And it was okay. All it took for them to let it go had been a heartfelt letter from the later. He was no longer in their lives. He had no miraculous and no name. In the end, the new year started and they could finally breathe.

Ladybug and Chat Noir let Paris know that Hawkmoth was dead in a press conference. That day was made a National Holiday in their honor. Paris was safe and rejoicing.

And Luck was finally here to stay. Marinette moved in with Adrien to his apartment, where they lived happily. It seemed like a dream, after everything... The best part was that it was the reality, and that made it so much better.

Marinette helped to finish the winter's collection runway, she wouldn't feel okay by leaving everything as it was. Nicolas Ghesquière had given her an opportunity of a lifetime, and she wasn't going to let him down. He expressed his sincere sadness that she was leaving them, followed by a warm congratulation. She was going to occupy the position of his rival and he wished they could be friends instead. Marinette agreed: friendship with Nicolas Ghesquière was way more advantage for Gabriel's than a rivalry.

All these events led to the current media situation. Marinette had been announced as heir of Gabriel's. Interviews with both Marinette and Adrien followed. The fashion magazines couldn't get enough of it. "The unexpected heir" was all over the tabloids. Adrien insisted every time that she had his full support and that his father had made an excellent choice to leave Gabriel's to Marinette instead of someone else, himself included. He would most of the time salient that his father always wanted the best for his company, and Marinette was the best. There were occasional reports implying that Marinette had something to do with the designer's death or that she had only received Gabriel's because she was dating Adrien, but there was nothing they could do about it. Marinette and Adrien learned to accept that some people would always think poorly of the others. As Adrien often said: "Marinette doesn't need to prove anything to anybody. She is brilliant and she was chosen by father, himself. That is all we need to know." Taking over Gabriel's hadn't been easy on Marinette, but she had Adrien's support and that was all that mattered.

With the summer break, you'd think she would have more free time... But no. Amongst Gabriel's brand duties piling up, she had to make not one, but TWO wedding dresses. Alya's and Chloe's.

Ben had proposed to Chloe on Valentine's day. It was a bit too much, but, for Chloe Bourgeois, it had been perfect. Nothing was ever too much for her.

Shockingly (but not so much), Chloe and Ben would be the first to tie the knot. They were going to live in Paris and visit Ben's family occasionally. Chloe's father was in the hospital and there were no signs that he would be getting out so soon. Which was good and bad, at the same time. Good meaning that he was going to live... Bad meaning that without the hospital machines and cares he wouldn't live. So he was stuck in there.

Chloe had decided that she wanted two weddings. A small one in the hospital, with her father, and a big-gigantic-absolutely-W-T-F one for everyone else, that had to be recorded-live so that her father could assist as well if he wanted.

She had asked Alya and Marinette to be her bridesmaids. And Alya had asked Marinette and Chloe.

Because of this, Marinette had to tailor-make two wedding dresses for her friends as their wedding present. She wouldn't have it any other way! They ended up being completely different, obviously. While Alya's was simple and with a mermaid silhouette, Chloe's was bright, shiny, puffy and princessy like.

Amongst all the dress drawings Marinette had designed, there was one that she just couldn't take her eyes off. It was perfect and she wanted it for herself. So she kept it, picturing and wondering about that one day where she hoped she could wear it.

As for the bridesmaid's dresses, she decided she couldn't design them. She didn't have the time. Alya and Chloe ended up choosing gown's from Gabriel's brand anyway... but they weren't tailor-made by Marinette.

Besides the gowns being made by the same designer, both weddings couldn't have been more different.

Chloe's wedding was in summer, big, and regal. Full of guest - Who the hell invites 500 people? Who the hell knows 500 people? And with a ginormous venue.

Alya's was in Autumn. Small, cozy and with a few more people than 50.

Both of them were beautiful in their own way. And both had one more thing in common than the dress-maker.

Chloe had decided not to throw the flower bouquet. There were way too many single ladies in her wedding to do it - 150 too many. Meaning, the odds of catching the flowers were less than 1% and it would be deathly dangerous, according to her. Instead, she put the flowers on a transparent dome that was closed with the locker. Finally, she made each of the single Ladies pick one key from the basket. Only one of the keys matched the locket, obviously.

When Marinette's key opened the locket, most people clapped, but Alya, Chloe and Nino jumped of their sits and cheered like the crazy people they are, making Marinette and Adrien blush.

Hard.

Something similar happened in Alya's wedding.

There were much less single ladies in this one, around ten. Marinette, trying to escape the mortification of being cheered in front of a crowd by 'catching' the bouquet again, had chosen a spot in the back. But Alya knew her, so, she threw the bouquet harder than she should have.

To everyone's amusement (the guests were all friends and familiar faces), the bouquet ended up in Adrien's lap. Alya insisted that she wasn't going to rethrow the bouquet because it was destiny calling.

Adrien hadn't been prepared the first time, but he was this time. He had spent the last two months looking for the perfect ring with Nino's help (that was the only person in the room that understood why Adrien was behaving so unnaturally nervous today).

When the cheers and funny pick up lines calmed down, Alya started by announcing that it was time for the bridesmaid's speech, but Nino called her and murmured something on her ear. A sly grin beamed on her face and she glanced at Marinette and then at Adrien.

Adrien became red, instantly knowing what was coming and cursing Nino under his breath.

"Ladies shouldn't go first after all." Alya resumed talking to the microphone on her hand, her grin growing, "I think the best man should be the one to give his speech first, otherwise I think he will die of anxiety or something and ruin our wedding." Nino let out an incredulous snort at her choice of words and signaled her to give him the microphone.

"Honestly, Adrien, it has been painful to watch!" He said, teasing his best friend. Adrien was now glaring at the couple.

Marinette looked confused. She knew she'd heard that set of words before... But where? She looked at Chloe and she saw the blond wearing a similar grin to Alya's.

"Come on over, Agreste!" Continued Nino, signaling Adrien to get up. "Stop delaying! Now is the time."

Adrien handed the flower bouquet to Marinette and squeezed her hand before getting up and marching towards the bride and groom.

"Thanks alot, man." Adrien murmured with an hint of irony to Nino while receiving the microphone.

"Sure, dude! I'm only returning the favor." Teased Nino while Alya giggled with delighted anticipation.

Adrien cleared his throat and faced the wedding guests.

He was pale, sweaty and feeling out of place. He was a very good public speaker, but today his hands were shaking and his head was suddenly empty. He cursed under his breath, trying to remember how the speech he so carefully had written started, but he couldn't stop thinking about that big 'What if'.

What if she said no?

"Hi." He forced himself to say, but it came out with uncertainty, earning himself some giggles from the crowd - from Nino, Alya, and Chloe mostly. Marinette was really concerned and wondering why weren't they too. Adrien never, EVER behaved like that. He was the confident one...

"Ahm- Hi!" He repeated, chuckling embarrassed, "I'm Adrien Agreste and I'm the best man... Ahm..." The crowd was silently looking at him. Some confused, some skeptical, and some - very few - amused.

Oh My God, this is so embarrassing. He thought. Okay, I can do this. I'm the King of Puns.

"What an emotional day it's been, am I right? Even the cake is in tiers!" He said a tiny bit too happily. It had the desired effect, though: the guests laughed. Feeling a bit more confident, he continued, "I'm so happy for you Nino! And Alya! I can't believe you're Meowried now!" Some more laughter followed, and he glanced nervously to Marinette right when she facepalmed.

Now I'm sure she will say No. Oh lord, why can't I give a speech without puns?

But they just kept coming, "Alya, did you change your last name?" He asked the bride and received a nod. Alya was now whipping tears from her face, "Hum," He pretended to wonder, placing a hand on his chin, "Alya Lahiffe. It does have a nice RING to it!" The room was roaring with laughter.

Crap! Why didn't I bring the speech with me like a normal person? I really need to stop this before it gets out of hand.

The crowd took longer to calm down this time. When they did, Adrien was very serious. His gaze fixed on Marinette. She started to blush with the intensity of his eyes on hers.

"Can you come here, Princess?" He asked, raising a hand towards her, inviting her to take it.

"Are you going to make puns about me?" She asked quietly and shyly, starting another wave of giggles and chuckles.

Adrien shook his head, "No." He said with certainty, "At least, I hope not." He gulped, drawing more laughter from the guest.

"Come on, Mari! Go to him!" Asked Alya, and the crowd cheered.

Marinette placed the bouquet on the table near Chloe and got up, unconvinced.

"Go!" Chloe whispered, "I will take good care of your bouquet!"

Marinette sighed and walked to Adrien. When she took his hand, the room was so quiet that if a drop of water was to fall, it would be heard.

Adrien seemed visibly more relaxed with her touch, but his hands kept shaking. Marinette was about to ask him if he was alright, but he started talking first:

"Marinette" he said, taking her other hand, "Princess, M'Lady..." He looked her in the eye and her smile was what kept him going, "I knew you were the love of my life the minute you fell on me from the sky." She giggled, remembering the day they'd first met. She was still confused, not knowing how this had to do with the best man's speech, but it looked like it was important, so she didn't interrupt.

"We fought so many battles together from that day on... And we were also so blind!" He laughed and she nodded giggling with him, "We kept chasing each other's tails! Honestly, it's kind of a miracle how we got to where we are." Alya, Nino and Chloe laughed. The guests were all smiling at Adrien's sweet words, but there were only five people in the room that fully understood them, "When I got back in Paris and saw you, in that moonless night, I fell for you all over again. It was like seeing you for the first time! And my words two nights after, couldn't have been more wrong. You were never a bad idea, Princess. I only thought that because I was terrified. One look at you and I was done. I was terrified." He repeated. Marinette was really close to him now. He could see tears threatening to fall from her big blue eyes. The world was shut and silent, there was no one but them. "Like I am now."

Marinette smile was torn with a frown of worry, followed by a gape of surprise when he let go of her hands and kneeled down on one knee.

The world came right back to them: roaring with screams, gasp, and applause.

Adrien looked at Marinette and opened a tiny blue jewelry box, showing her a beautiful ring.

She beamed, glowing at him. Bathing him with her light.

Even before he asked, he knew her answer. Suddenly, he wasn't afraid anymore.

He was following the light.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Will you marry me?" He made his best Chat Noir smirk and added, "I want to be with you forever. Think you can handle me that long?"

When she kissed him, he knew he was home.