Marinette Dupain-Cheng would never have guessed that her life would look like it did today.

So much had changed during the last ten years of her life.

Yet it still felt like it was only yesterday she still went to Collége Françoise Dupont.

Now she was 24 years old and would soon be entering a new chapter of her life.

Marinette lifted up her skirt and walked up to the full body mirror.

Her hand flew to her mouth when she caught sight of her reflection.

The dress fitted her perfectly.

It was a white sheath dress with a short trail behind her. The skirt was falling in just the right way. A sweetheart neckline with some see-through material created the illusion of a higher neckline with lace on the three quarter sleeves.

Everyone had called her crazy for wanting to make her own dress. Seeing the result in the mirror she knew she made the right decision.

The heels she was wearing was completely covered by the skirt, but they added an inch to her height.

Her makeup was just enough to accent her best features without being too much.

Her hair was loose and had been curled. The tips reached just beneath her shoulders and the white flower made a great contrast to her midnight blue hair.

She was speechless.

This was the day she'd been waiting anxiously for months to come.

It was so different from how she had imagined it like all those years ago.

But then again she'd changed too.

-LineBreak-

Marinette was once again crying.

She'd been doing that a lot since Lila came back.

Lila had been back in school for two weeks now.

In those two weeks Lila had made Marinette's life a bigger hell than Chloe had ever managed in four years.

Lies.

Lila told them as easily as breathing.

In the beginning they had been ridiculous, but fairly easy to disprove.

Ladybug, Prince Ali and Jagged Stone were all very well known people and the class had met all of them att some point.

Alya was known for the ladyblog and had at multiple times gotten interviews or questions answered by the spotted heroine even though she didn't know she was her bestie.

But Alya never asked Ladybug if Lila really was her best friend.

Rose and Prince Ali e-mailed each other and had even video chatted a few times since his visit.

But Rose never asked Prince Ali if Lila had been in Achu and met him.

Marinette herself had made Jagged Stone a pair of sunglasses and a cover. He had even been at her house. Her classmates knew this.

They never asked her if Jagged ever had a kitten.

The reason Marinette tried to expose her was simple.

She didn't like the fact that someone was stringing her friends along and she didn't like having to sit alone because of a lying brat.

Then Lila threatened her and declared war.

She said she'd turn everyone against her.

Marinette was wrong in believing her friends would trust her, their everyday Ladybug.

Some of them she'd known her entire life.

But they believed a stranger instead of her.

They believed Lila when she recounted how Marinette had threatened her in the restroom.

They believed her when she told them Marinette was a bully.

They believed her when she started crying that Marinette had hit her.

They believed every single lie she fed them.

It didn't matter that Marinette always shared pastries with them. Marinette who always lent a hand when they needed it. Marinette who did everything for her friends.

In the end it didn't matter.

Because Marinette was apparently a jealous bully who found joy in other people's misery.

She had always bent over backwards for them. Dropped everything when they needed her. She never asked for anything in return. Not even thanks.

Lila claimed she only told people what they wanted to hear.

Did that mean her classmates wanted to see her as the villain?

She could feel something inside of her snap.

A few squares of toilet paper got to serve as tissue for her to wipe her tears away with.

She wouldn't cry anymore.

They weren't worth it.

-LineBreak-

"Are you alright Marinette?" Sabine Cheng asked her daughter.

Marinette hadn't even noticed her entering the room.

She could only nod.

Her maman seemed to understand what she was feeling and took a step back to take a good look of her.

A smile made it's way onto her lips. She looked so proud. She also looked close to tears, but that was understandable given the circumstances.

Her maman was probably one of the few things that hadn't changed.

Her hair might have gotten a few gray hairs and her face a few wrinkles, but she pretty much looked the same.

Most importantly, she was still the same person.

Her maman was still just as protective, hardworking and understanding as she had been when Marinette was a teenager.

-LineBreak-

When Marinette got home from school that day she made a decision.

She entered the bakery to see her maman at the cash register.

There weren't any customers at the time.

Marinette was thankful.

She didn't think she'd be able to do this if there had been any.

Maman noticed her and had a great, big smile on her lips.

It faded fast when she noticed the solemn face Marinette was wearing.

Marinette's eyes was pleading. "Can we talk?"

In no time they were both sitting on the sofa in the living room.

And Marinette told her maman everything.

From following Lila and Adrien, the cover version she'd given Alya and Nino, to her class turning against her.

She didn't leave anything out.

No tears escaped her eyes.

She had promised herself she was done with that and she would keep that promise.

Her maman didn't say anything until she was done.

Then she told her what their options were.

-LineBreak-

She heard a slight knock on the door.

"Come in," she called with uneven voice.

The door opened and Tom Dupain entered the room.

He gave a bittersweet smile. "My little girl all grown up."

She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her throat.

"Papan, I haven't been a little girl for a long time,."

"Nonsense." Her papan dramatically shook his head. "You are always going to be my little girl."

And in a way he was right.

-LineBreak-

She and her maman had finally agreed on what to do next.

It had taken a while to discuss all options and decide what would work best, but they were pretty sure about their choice.

Then her papan entered the apartment.

He took one look at his wife and daughter before taking a seat opposite them.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

The logical thing to do would be for Marinette to explain everything or at least give a summary, but Marinette found herself tongue tied.

"We're going to get Marinette a transfer to Ms. Mendeleiev's class." Here Sabine scowled. "And it better be effective immediately."

It might not have been the most enlightening explanation, but at least there weren't any beating around the bush.

Her papan stared blankly at them for a few seconds.

Then he asked what had happened.

A more detailed explanation later and he was fully on board with their plan.

"I'll call headmaster Damocles and demand a transfer."

-LineBreak-

"Everyone's ready," her papan informed them.

Her maman started moving. "Then we better not keep them waiting." When her hand reached the handle she took one last look at her before opening the door. "I'll tell the girls they can come in."

Then they both left her.

It took less than a minute for the door to open and her maid of honour to come in.

Kagami gave a small smile. "Are you ready?"

That was a rather big change.

Thinking back Marinette could easily remember how they had barely gotten along in the beginning.

Kagami had ended up becoming one of Marinette's best friends.

-LineBreak-

Marinette would never underestimate her parents again.

The principal hadn't wanted to let her change class in middle of the year.

Her parents hadn't taken no for an answer and had dragged her with them to school to personally discuss the matter with Mr. Damocles.

She had waited outside and didn't really know what had happened inside the office, but her parents came out with self satisfied smirks, the headmaster was shaking and she was allowed to change class.

So the next day she entered Ms. Mendeleiev's classroom.

Everyone was already there and she didn't really know where she was supposed to be.

She settled on standing awkwardly at the front.

"Mr. Damocles told me you were transferring here," Ms. Mendeleiev told her. "You can sit next to Kagami."

Marinette nodded slightly and turned to look for her seat.

She recognised quite a few of her classmates.

Most noticeable were Aurore, Mireille and Marc.

And of course Kagami.

The other bluenette was sitting in the back row and was currently digging in her bag for something.

Marinette took a deep breath, hoped for the best and took her seat.

Kagami's eyebrows rose when she noticed her, but other than that she didn't show any reaction to her presence.

She didn't have time to think more about her before the bell rang and class began.

It went surprisingly well.

Ms. Mendeleiev taught in a very different way than Ms. Bustier, but change was good.

That's why she changed class after all.

She found it easier to concentrate and a lot easier to understand what was going on.

Soon enough the bell once again made it self known and they got a short break.

Kagami seemed to take that as her invitation to start up conversation.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here?"

She should have expected that.

"Lila Rossi were spreading rumours about me." She made eye contact. "Everyone else believed here and abandoned me."

Kagami's eyebrows crinkled. "Even Adrien?"

Marinette couldn't help but wonder why Kagami thought Adrien would believe her.

"No, he knew she was lying." She hesitated. "He said exposing her wouldn't make her a better person. He said the lies were harmless and she wasn't hurting anyone."

The other girl closed her eyes and muttered something.

It sounded suspiciously much like she was counting under her breath.

Kagami opened her eyes again. "I thought he had a crush on you?"

She snorted. "He definitely doesn't. I would know. I had the world's biggest crush on him."

She judged Kagami's expression.

The girl was incredibly good att hiding her feelings, but Marinette was just as good at noticing the small things.

The way her jaw went just a bit slack showed that she was shocked.

Why was harder to tell.

Kagami caught herself and her jaw tightened. "Then I have to apologise." She didn't let her eyes waver from hers. "I believed you had turned down Adrien and then flaunted that other boy in his face. I've treated you poorly based on a misunderstanding. I hope there's still time for me to rectify my behaviour."

It took a few seconds for Kagami's words to really sink in. Probably because of the formal way they were delivered.

She held out her hand and smiled. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Kagami Tsurugi." She took her hand and shook it. "Pleasure meeting you."

-LineBreak-

Marinette didn't have time to answer Kagami's question before the door flew open and Chloe ran in.

Ten years ago Marinette would have never even considered inviting Chloe to her wedding.

Chloe scanned her up and down before giving a nod of approval. "You look stunning."

It was evidence that people can change.

Just because a person had been a bully didn't mean they would always be one.

-LineBreak-

It had been two weeks since Marinette transferred.

She and Kagami had connected.

Nowadays you you rarely saw one of them without the other.

Kagami would wait outside school for Marinette to arrive. They sat next to each other during class and always partnered up together. Breaks were spent together. Lunches would happen at either the bakery or at some nearby restaurant. If Kagami had fencing practice Marinette would wait for her while sketching or getting a head start on the homework.

It was one of those times that it happened.

Fencing practice was over and Marinette was waiting for Kagami to get out of the showers.

A cough drew her attention away from her sketchbook.

She looked up to see Chloe standing in front of her.

It was the first time in quite a while that someone from her old class had approached her.

In the beginning they would try to accuse her of all kind of things, but Kagami quickly put a stop to that.

Then Lila had the nerve to tell Kagami some half baked lie about Marinette. She backed off when Kagami told her what would happen to her if she tried telling her another lie about her.

Adrien had tried to throw his pacifist morals on her, but stopped when she told him she no longer had any interest in exposing Lila.

It was true.

She no longer thought Lila was worth the bother.

Chloe handed her a notebook. "I'm so sorry."

Marinette didn't know how to react.

The blonde had gotten a lot better since heroes day, but she never expected her to actually apologise for anything.

She chose to investigate the mysterious notebook instead of pointless wondering.

It was a yellow notebook with three black stripes and was quite thick.

She opened it and began reading... to then abruptly close it again.

She looked up at Chloe. "What is this?"

Chloe mumbled something unintelligible.

It must have shown on her face how much of that she understood.

Chloe took a deep breath. "It's a complete list of everything I can remember doing to you that I need to apologise for."

Oh...

She opened up the book again and began reading.

It was too much too read at once so she skipped a lot.

Chloe had certainly been thorough.

Some of these things happened four years ago.

She had really taken the time to write everything down.

Every snide remark, every shove and every mean action.

Everything was there.

It was the last line that stood out to her.

'...for not standing up for you when Lila started lying.'

She put the notebook into her backpack.

She could read it properly later.

Kagami chose that moment to walk out of the changing rooms.

"What's happening here?" Kagami asked.

It was clear she thought Chloe was bothering her.

Marinette stood up and put her arm around Chloe's shoulder.

"This is Chloe. I thought she could join us at the bakery today."

-LineBreak-

The girls wasted no time in ushering her out into the hallway.

Her papan was already waiting for them and took her arm after handing her a bouquet of white lilies.

Kagami and Chloe would be walking behind them.

The music started playing and the doors opened.

They started walking. Her eyes landed on one of the groomsmen.

Marc gave her an encouraging smile.

-LineBreak-

The duo of Marinette and Kagami had easily become a trio with Chloe.

In less than three days Chloe had decided to and convinced her father that she would be better off in Ms. Mendeleiev's class.

They did everything together.

Apparently that included chasing off evil butterflies.

"Got it!" Chloe exclaimed when she caught the akuma in a glass jar and closed the lid.

They must have looked ridiculous the way that they had been jumping around trying to stop the little insect.

Marinette crouched next to the upset boy they had stumbled upon. "What happened Marc?"

The boy had tear tracks covering his face.

He told them how Lila had read his and Nathaniel's comic book. She thought Ladybug would never say some of the lines and Nathaniel chose to make her the new writer of the comic book.

Who better to write about Ladybug than Ladybug's best friend?

Nathaniel hadn't even asked Marc if he was willing to step down. He just assumed.

"Cheer up." Chloe told him. "It's his loss if he doesn't want Collége Françoise Dupont's best writer to work with him."

"I would have to agree." Kagami added her two cents to the conversation. "Your work is exemplary."

And then they were four.

-LineBreak-

She smiled back and let her eyes travel to the best man.

They had dated for awhile, but they broke it off on good terms.

He was engaged to Kagami now and she couldn't be happier for them.

Marinette knew she had a lot to thank Luka for.

-LineBreak-

It was their eight date so far.

The girls and Marc had managed to talk her into asking Luka out again and she had.

They had shared an ice-cream and taken a walk in the park.

They'd been dating ever since.

Now they were having a picnic.

She had brought bread and dessert while he had made them lunch.

Somehow they had started talking about their futures.

Luka wanted to become a musician so he could spread his music.

He wanted to know what her goals were.

She told him she wanted to get an internship to one of the big fashion companies and try to work herself up to a designer position.

He eyebrows scrunched up. "Why would you limit yourself to working under someone when you could make it on your own?"

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out.

Why couldn't she?

She had the ideas.

She knew people liked what she did. Jagged Stone was proof of that.

From then on she had a new dream and she was going to make it real.

-LineBreak-

He helped her create her own dream and she made it real.

MDC Fashions was one of the world's top brands and she had worked with a lot of famous people.

She spared a few glances around the room.

All girls dream about their wedding, but Marinette would never in her wildest dreams have thought this was what her would have looked like.

She could see her mother crying in the front row.

Most of her relatives had come all the way to Paris for her big day.

Ms. Mendeleiev and Ms. Bustier were there. Penny Rolling could be seen handing Jagged Stone a tissue. Clara Nightingale and Anarka Couffaine were crying together. Wearing one of her dresses were Audrey Buorgeois herself.

So many people had come to show their support.

Marinette didn't let her eyes fall on her husband to be before everyone had taken their places and she had handed her bouquet to Kagami.

He looked incredible.

The black suit they had picked out together made him look like the complete opposite of her.

Yin and yang.

The point was further made by her hair as dark as night and his mop of sunlight blond.

"Do you take Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be your lawfully wedded wife until death do you apart?"

His eyes met hers. "I do."

She loved the way he looked at her as if she was his entire world.

It hadn't always been that way.

She hadn't liked him in the beginning.

And through the years they hadn't always seen eye to eye.

They were too different for that to happen.

But today she wasn't just marrying her fiance and boyfriend of 3 years.

No, she was marrying her best friend and partner.

When Adrien had refused to stand up for her a dream had been destroyed.

When he essentially told her that Lila's feelings mattered more than hers she gave up all hopes and dreams of ever being Mrs. Agreste.

"Do you take Félix Agreste to be your lawfully wedded husband until death do you apart?"

Marinette couldn't help but think that fate had a weird sense of humour.

She had no idea what this new chapter in her life would lead to, but she knew that she was ready for whatever life might throw at her.

And if she wasn't she had some wonderful friends that would have her back.

"I do."