Clair de Lune: A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction

20 ⇢ epilogue

How could I ever be so lucky?

Marinette's thoughts kept circling back to her good fortune, to how grateful she was to be caught in that particular moment in time.

As she lounged with her partner on a secluded beach right outside of Saint Jean Pied de Port, she found herself reminiscing over the winter holiday they spent with their closest friends. Nino—who really wasn't kidding when he bragged about how far south he lived—allowed her and Adrien to tag along with Alya on their vacation at his home on the beach.

The girl was grateful for some time away with her boyfriend. After all, he moved out of the dormitory in the beginning of November to go live with his father. Marinette knew it was a vital part of the therapy sessions Adrien had with Gabriel, but it still hurt to not see him around as much. While the family therapy focused on building the relationship between the Agreste men, Adrien frequently hinted to Marinette that his father may have been struggling with some underlying, more serious psychological disorder.

He'd praise his father in passing, mostly pertaining to how he was dealing with what Adrien characterized as manic episodes. Perhaps, if Gabriel had reached out for help sooner, there never would've been a Hawk Moth. She thought about that quite a bit.

Although Marinette was happy for Adrien, she did miss having him at her disposal. Going to stay with Nino after Christmas was an excellent idea, allowing her to sneak into his bed at night like she used to. Adrien was reluctant to leave his father when they had made so much great progress in therapy, but decided that a week of vacation wouldn't ruin that.

As promised, Hawk Moth slipped away in silence. One day, the akuma attacks simply stopped. Ladybug and Cat Noir still made patrol appearances, but those were mostly to scan for safety concerns and petty theft. Whispers and rumors flooded the streets, but Adrien kept his promise to his father. In the past two months, Gabriel had also kept his word when it came to Adrien. From what he'd shared, Marinette could tell that Gabriel was far more accepting of Adrien's true interests—she even had lunch at the mansion one Saturday afternoon.

Although she couldn't quite look at him the same, Marinette still felt her stomach fill up with butterflies when Gabriel complimented her work.

"What's the plan for tonight?" Adrien asked, tilting his head to look at the girl strewn out on the towel next to him.

Even in the southeast point of France, it was still a little brisk out. The couple made sure to enjoy the beach in sweatshirts and long pants, the temperature remaining tolerable on their bundled up bodies.

Marinette opened her eyes to look over at Adrien, admiring everything that he was. She couldn't deny that he looked better than ever once he stopped living in the dormitory. He took on a darker color, his naturally tan skin resurfacing. She could tell that he even gained a few pounds, no longer looking so sickly in the face. Getting some sleep looked good on him.

"I think we're gonna go down into Santiago de Compostela. Nino says Spaniards have some cool New Year's traditions." Marinette pulled down the sunglasses that rested on her forehead to cover her eyes, the sun coming out from beneath the clouds up above.

"Hm." Adrien turned to lay on his side, Marinette assuming that he wanted a better look at her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She leaned up from her resting position, placing her forearms beneath her so she could lean back on them.

"I know the applications for European schools aren't due for another few months, but the American college deadlines are here. Did you send all of yours in?" Adrien asked, using the arm that wasn't holding him up to block the sun from his eyes.