Author's Note

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to read this story. When I started, I didn't have a plan, I didn't have a schedule, and I didn't have the foggiest clue of where this story takes place in the Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir timeline (my guess, season three, but like I said, foggiest clue).

I didn't know if I would finish this story or not; this is actually the first story I've ever written that I've actually finished. I wrote the first chapter with the intention of it being a two–shot or something, but then as I was writing more ideas kept popping into my head and I kept writing, kept making more chapters.

My main idea was Adrien and Marinette become friends, then Chloé – because she also became an outcast – would join them, and the three of them would be friends. Then I remembered Kagami, then Nino, but I couldn't have Alya a part of their group because she was a huge piece of ammo for Lila. If Lila didn't have Alya, she didn't have a major way to hurt Marinette, but Nino wouldn't be a part of the group without Alya if they were together, so, I broke them up with the intention of them getting back together, I just wasn't sure when or how because, again, I didn't have a plan. I just wrote what came to my head and prayed it continued to make sense.

My original plan for how the ending would go – at least, the idea (again, no plan) – included Gabriel giving up the butterfly Miraculous, but still being in Adrien's life. He would go back to how I assume he was when Emilie was around, and it would be happy families. Then I saw Cat Blank, and I watched him manipulate and abuse his own son, force him to do something he so clearly didn't want to do, and I couldn't bring myself to let Adrien stay with a person like that.

If I wanted to, I could've continued the story to the point where Adrien meets Kelly Huckvale (who is actually a social worker in Paris, according to my Google search, 'social workers in Paris'), but to be honest it didn't really tie in with the story. This isn't a foster care story, it isn't about what happens after Hawk Moth is defeated, and to include the long–term aftermath of Gabriel's destruction on Adrien's life would just stretch the story out and change the overall concept of it.

As to the question of 'why' Gabriel handed himself in; there's simply no answer. That is the kind of question only Gabriel himself could answer. It could be guilt or remorse, maybe Nathalie convinced him, maybe watching his child abandon him is what did it. Perhaps he handed himself into the police so it still seemed like he was the one in control, not them. I don't have the answers to these questions because I simply don't know. The mind of an abuser and villain is a scary place, and it is not something I wish to put myself into. (I assume Nathalie handed herself into the police either because of guilt, or because she figured if she didn't hand herself in, Gabriel may try to blame it all on her.)

I realise there are still some unanswered questions, such as what happens with Lila, does she come back or is that it, will she try to hurt Marinette again, will she go to a new school, new country, and continue the cycle of bullying and lies that surround her? Then there's The Gorilla, 'Raymond'. I assume he gets a job being the bodyguard for someone else, but he still cares deeply for Adrien, and perhaps visits him from time to time. Perhaps, on Adrien and Marinette's wedding day, he's in the crowd, wiping his tears away and so very proud of the kid he once chased through a zoo.

I don't have answers to these questions, so I leave it up to your imagination in terms of what happens after the story ends. There will be no sequel, no follow–up or one–shot of any kind; this is it. The end.

. . .

P.S.

I have gone back through previous chapters and edited any grammar/spelling mistakes, and changed a few small details so the story flows better and stays on track. Please let me know if anything else needs fixing if you happen to read it again (besides the lack of knowledge of French cuisine – I'm Australian, we did two school terms of French in year seven, and all I remember is how to count to ten). I do appreciate, love and read you're reviews, sometimes over and over again, and quite a few of them have actually inspired events within the story, so I thank you dearly for that.