-"Tikki, Sugarcube...are you awake?" Plagg called softly from just inside the skylight. A bleary eyed Tikki floated her way up to him.

"Do I look like I'm awake? It's almost three in the morning, what are you doing here?" Plagg indicated for her to follow him outside. Going over to where he had left the bag he opened it to show her the contents. Tikki stared in stunned silence before finding her voice again.

"Are they real?" She asked, Plagg nodded. "But how did you get them? Where are they from?" Plagg hesitated and Tikki narrowed her eyes at him. It wasn't like Plagg to act cagey.

"I...I can't tell you Sugarcube."

"Don't you go Sugarcubing me!" She huffed folding her arms. "You can't just turn up here in the middle of the night with the two missing Miraculous and not say anything about how you found them!" Plagg pinned his ear down onto his head as his counterpart lambasted him. He sighed heavily. He was never one to keep secrets from Tikki. Like their chosen, they were two sides of one whole.

"Look, if I tell you, promise you won't say anything to Marinette." Tikki shook her head in disbelief.

"But Plagg, Marinette is the Guardian. She has a right to know who Hawk Moth was and how you got a hold of these." Plagg looked at her with sad eyes.

"Please Tikki, for my Kitten's sake." He pleaded. Tikki's eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. An understanding passed between their eyes.

"Go on Plagg, I'm listening."

Plagg retold to Tikki the whole story as Felix had told him. Tikki sat silent, huddled next to him as the snow again began to lightly come down. She couldn't believe how the real culprit had been under their noses the whole time and that it took someone like Felix to find everyone out in just a few days.

"So Felix is willing to keep quiet for the sake of this family heirloom ring? Can we really trust him?" She asked, still trying to decide the best course of action from here.

"He did give me the Miraculous." He answered, sounding hopeful. "I mean, he could have kept it for himself."

"That's true." Tikki agreed. "And it seems like Nathalie won't be saying anything, but is Mr Agreste really going to believe he just threw them away in a drunken stupor?" Plagg shrugged.

"I've seen people do worse when they are drunk. I just hope when Adrien turns 18 he won't try running over rooftops when he's had a few too many, I almost lost one of my kittens when he tried to do that." Tikki looked at him confused.

"But even if he had fallen, the transformation would have protected him." Plagg gave her a toothy grin.

"I never said he was transformed at the time." The two kwamis collapsed against each other in laughter. She remembered that Chat Noir well. He was quite the rogue, but had a heart of gold.

"What's so funny out here?" Marinette poked her head out of the skylight, a blanket wrapped around her. "Plagg, it's freezing. Come inside and tell me what's going on." Plagg gathered up his bag and followed Marinette and Tikki into the room. Marinette turned on a small soft light so she could see Plagg better in the dark. "Plagg what are you doing here? Does Adrien know your out?" Plagg turned on the kitten eyes and sweet voice.

"I was just out for a late night stroll to see my Sugarcube when my nose led me to detect something that had been discarded." He said, dripping in so much sweetness Marinette was immediately suspicious. Once she looked in the bag though, all questions of the lateness of the hour vanished.

"Plagg, where did you find these?" The cat Kwami gave her his best Chat Noir grin. "In a bin." He said flatly. Tikki glared at him. Out of everything he could have said, why would anybody believe that!

"A bin? Really?" Marinette questioned. "What were you doing in a bin?"

"Looking for cheese. My nose led me to a well aged Roquefort that had been shamefully discarded, and I found this bag nearby." Marinette scrunched her nose up.

"Ewww, Plagg that's disgusting. But why would Hawk Moth just throw these away?"

"Who knows, humans are strange." He quipped, Marinette cocked an eyebrow at him.

"About as strange as a Kwami searching a bin for cheese at three in the morning?" Plagg crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air.

"I'm a cat remember. We like to prowl at night, alright. Besides, Adrien doesn't keep tabs on me, I'm free to do what I like." Marinette nodded thoughtfully. Of course Adrien wouldn't try to stop Plagg having his freedom, he knows all too well the pain of having your freedom taken away.

"Alright Plagg, I won't ask anything more. Let's just be grateful that they have been returned." She took the butterfly pin and peacock brooch out of the bag and put them on to free the Kwamis. Duusu immediately started buzzing around the room, rambling at a hundred miles an hour. Nooroo on the other hand, floated quietly nearby, a little unsure and seeking reassurance from Plagg and Tikki. Tikki briefly explained what happened with Master Fu passing the Miracle box onto Ladybug. Marinette welcomed the Kwamis and assured them they were safe now.

Once the two Kwamis were more settled and familiarised with their new family, Marinette removed the peacock brooch first, sending Duusu into the box to excitedly find her fellow Kwamis. Marinette then turned to Nooroo, who was still very quiet and unsure.

"Nooroo, I know you can't tell me who Hawk Moth was, but can you at least tell me why he did it? There must have been a reason he was desperate enough to spend three years chasing us the way he did?" Nooroo lowered his eyes, a sadness and perhaps even an empathy filling them.

"He wanted to bring back someone he loved very much." The Kwami said quietly. "I tried to tell him that there would have been a terrible price to pay if he succeeded, but he didn't listen. All he could think about was that your Miraculous would bring her back, no matter the consequence. It became almost an obsession in him" Marinette felt a real pain in her heart. She could understand how desperate you could feel to bring back to life someone you lost. Every time Adrien had sacrificed himself as Chat for her, she felt a piece of herself die with him, making her more determined to defeat the akuma and set everything right. She didn't even want to contemplate a situation where his life was out of her hands entirely. Her eyes began to water just thinking about it.

"Does he have family around him? Will he be okay?" Nooroo was taken aback. Although Hawk Moth had justified his action through love, he had done terrible things and made everyone's life miserable. Yet here was this Ladybug, concerned that a man like that would be alright. Nooroo smiled at her softly.

"He has people who care very much for him." The Kwami answered. "I think he lost sight of that for a long time, but he is finding it again now. He will be alright, I'm sure of it." Marinette nodded and smiled back at the little Kwami.

"I'm glad." She said. "No one should have to live in pain and loneliness." She stood up and walked over to the Miracle Box.

"Ready to see your friends again?" Nooroo smiled as he entered into the box. It was going on for 4:30am, but Marinette was too awake to sleep. An announcement would need to be made, but she wanted to talk to Adrien first. Calling on her transformation she followed Plagg to the Eiffel Tower where she would wait while he got Chat.

It didn't take long for her partner to soon arrive. The snow was falling in waves, but their transformations helped to ward off a lot of the cold. "Plagg said you needed to see me m'lady, is everything alright?" Ladybug rushed over to him and grabbed him tightly around the neck, a wave of emotion taking over her and she began to sob into his chest. "What is it Bug, what's wrong?" But his concern turned to confusion when her sons started turning into an almost hysterical laughter.

"It's over Chaton, it's finally over." Then the tears came again. Chat just held her close until she calmed down enough to speak. Sitting on the edge watching the horizon, Ladybug told him about Plagg finding the Miraculous discarded in a bin where he was looking for stinky cheese. Adrien burst out laughing.

"No wonder he stinks so bad, I thought it was just the cheese I was giving him, but if he's going to go snooping through bins, I may have to start insisting on baths before he gets into the bed." Adrien knew how much Plagg would hate that, but he's not going to have Marinette finding bin jam in his bed. He was grateful for his mask and the darkness as red heat flushed across his face at the thought of Marinette in his bed!

"Maybe Plagg might need a leash." She teased. Adrien smiled as he looked at the cat ring on his finger.

"I couldn't do that to him." He said. "Plagg gave me this freedom to be Chat Noir, I could never take his away from him."

"I know, I'm just teasing." She whispered, leaning against his shoulder as the dawn began to break on the horizon. Ladybug breathed in the cold, crisp air juxtapositioned against the warmth of Chat's body next to hers. "I love you Adrien." She said softly. "I don't think I could breathe if anything ever happened to you." She could feel the hot tears running down her cheek, Chat hooked a finger under her chin, turning her face towards him.

"Hey, what's all this about m'lady. I'm not going anywhere." He pulled he up onto his lap and held her tight as she buried her head into his chest.

"Nooroo said that Hawk Moth did this to bring back someone he loved. He must have been in a lot of pain to risk so much to bring her back." Chat gently ran soothing circles on her back with his claws.

"I can understand that." He eventually conceded. "It doesn't make it right, but I guess I would probably want to do the same." She looked up at him and gently touched his face.

"Promise me you won't keep throwing yourself in harms way like you did yesterday." She said, a seriousness in her tone. Chat cupped her face in his hand.

"You know I can't promise that." He said earnestly. "You know I would always put my family first, and you're part of that." She could feel a blush on her cheeks as her heartbeat quickened. "But if there are no more akumas, then I guess I'll just have to find new ways to give you a heart attack."

"Chat!" She yelled at him, playfully slapping his arm before he pulled her into a long, sweet kiss. Looking at her in the predawn light, he wondered how he ever got this luck to not only fall in love with with such an amazing woman, but for her to love him in return.

"Marinette." He whispered into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine. "What happens to us now?"

"We'll always be us Kitty." She said, running her fingers through his hair. "Well just be a different kind of us. Instead of chasing akumas, we'll just have to find something else to do." Chat gave her a smirk and waggled his eyebrows.

"I'm sure I could think of a few things." He purred. Ladybug leaned back and tapped him on the nose.

"I'm sure you could Kitty, but right now we better get home before we're missed." Chat moved her off his lap, standing first so he could help her up. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her in close.

"So, do I get to see you before the gala tonight?" Ladybug shook her head.

"Nope, Chloe invited me to a day spa with her and Sabrina. It was her way of making up for what happened yesterday. She even invited Alya, so I'm afraid no boys, or cats allowed. After that we'll be busy getting ready, so you'll just have to make do with Felix for the day." Chat sighed and ran a clawed finger down her face.

"Until tonight then." He breathed, pulling her in for one more kiss as light falls of snow swirled around them.

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news I'm Nadja Chamack and in breaking news we have an official video from Ladybug that the missing miraculous used by Hawk Moth has been found discarded and was returned by an anonymous party. Here is clip."

"Good morning everyone on this beautiful New Years Eve day. Chat Noir and I would like to thank those involved in the return of the missing Miraculous. It truly is a New Year gift to the people of Paris. I would also like to say to the man who was Hawk Moth, whoever you may be, know that whatever pain you were going through that led you down this path, there are always people around you who care about you and will help you through. I hope you heal the pain in your heart."

"I don't suppose she has a way to heal the pain in my head does she?" Gabriel murmured as he turned the television off. Nathalie came over with an ice pack and laid it on his forehead.

"No one told you to drink a whole bottle of cognac." She said with a lightly scolding tone. Gabriel half opened an eye at her.

"Surely I didn't drink all of it?" He questioned. Nathalie got up from the bed and held up the empty lead crystal bottle. Of course, Gabriel hadn't really drunk all of it, but just enough that his memory of the night before was more than just a little hazy. Nathalie, as difficult as it was, had poured the rest of the expensive liquid down the drain after Gabriel had passed out. She watched him as he sat rubbing his head.

"Can't argue with that I guess. I don't think I've drunk that much since my intern days."

Coming back over to him, Nathalie carefully sat on the bed and held his hand. "I know you didn't mean to throw the Miraculous's away." She said, having earlier convinced him that he had indeed, thrown them out the window in his drunken stupor. "But maybe it's for the best." She picked up his hand and rested her cheek on it. "It's a new year tomorrow Gabriel. Maybe…" she looked over at him as she kept her cheek on his hand. "Maybe it can be a new start...for all of us." Gabriel brought his other hand over and gently stroked her hair. He had a strange feeling rising in his chest. Maybe not strange so much as forgotten, a feeling of being in love.

Gabriel was shocked at himself. Had he really been that blind that he couldn't see what was right in front of him? Yes, sadly he had to admit he had been. Here was Nathalie, dear sweet loyal Nathalie, laying her heart out on the table, hoping he will find the pieces and put them back together again. How long had she waited, praying for the right moment when he would finally open his eyes? She closed her eyes as he continued to stroke her hair.

"Nathalie?" He asked tentatively, her hum in response quickening his old broken down heart. "Would you care to join me at the gala tonight?" Nathalie sat up straighter, a look of surprise and slight panic on her face.

"But Gabriel, I already sent your excuses to the Bourgeois's." Gabriel waved off her concern.

"I can always call Andre, he won't say no, besides, it's about time I turned up to a party I was actually invited to." Nathalie's face split onto an amused smile to hear him actually poking fun at himself. "Now you get yourself down to the Flagship store, I'll call ahead, and get them to fit you into something nice. You're going with an Agreste after all and you can't just let Marinette have all the attention, right."

Gabriel took Natalie's hand, gently pressing a kiss to the back of it before sending her on her way. Sitting in his room nursing his sore head, his vision may still be a bit fuzzy, but he was seeing clearly for the first time. He would have to find a way to deal with Emilie, and give Adrien some closure on the issue, but it could wait for another day. Today, he was going to start a new chapter in his life and face the new year with renewed hope for the future.