No Way Out

Epilogue

Emilie went outside as soon as the guests of honor arrived at the Agreste mansion. "My babies!" she said, giving each one of her grandchildren a hug. Then she moved to Marinette. "Perfect timing, baby. Your parents just got here." Finally, she gave Adrien a hug before escorting everyone inside.

It was a loud ruckus in the foyer as everyone greeted each other.

After a few more hugs, Marinette went up to talk to Nathalie. "I'm so glad you could make it. How were things at the office today?"

"They were great. Things are finally back to normal now that we pushed back the launch of the luxury line indefinitely. You made the right decision. The brand's been doing exceedingly well without it, so there's no need to rush into the next step."

She smiled. "The brand is doing well because of its fabulous new director of operations."

"I'm only doing what you would have done," Nathalie countered. "It's not because of me."

"Of course it is. You've been in the fashion industry since I was five. There was no one better than you to take over."

Nathalie sighed, clearly not agreeing but not wanting to argue.

"I'm glad you're here," Marinette continued. "We have a lot of catching up to do. I miss seeing you almost every day."

"I miss you too, but unfortunately I can't stay very long tonight. I'll need to head out in twenty minutes or so."

Marinette frowned. "Uh uh, no way. You're not going back to the office tonight..."

"I'm not going to the office. I have a date."

There was a pause as she blinked. "A date? Like, a romantic date?"

"Yes of course. What other type of date is there?"

"Well there's... wait, who are you going on a date with?"

"Gerald," Nathalie replied.

There was more blinking. "From accessories?" Marinette asked incredulously.

She laughed. "He's not that bad. It turns out that he only kept requesting your presence because he wanted an excuse to talk to me. Sorry you got dragged into the middle of it."

More blinking.

"Ever since you stepped down, we've spent a lot of time together," Nathalie continued. "And now we're dating."

Marinette finally stopped blinking and smiled widely. "Well that's awesome. I'm very happy for you, Nathalie."

"Thank you, Marinette. It's..."

The sound of a crash interrupted the conversation and everyone turned toward its source.

Finding that Louis had slipped on the floor and fell, Gabriel went over and quickly scooped him up. "What happened?" he asked the boy. "Are you hurt?"

"No Grandfather, I'm okay," Louis replied.

"Good. I'm glad that you didn't hurt yourself this time."

"Don't worry, you won't have to sing for me. Daddy learned the song and sings it to me all the time now. And it always makes me feel better, just like when you used to sing."

"And speaking of feeling better," Tom said, stepping up. "How did your doctor's appointment go, Gabriel? Marinette told us that you had to have some tests done."

He didn't get the chance to answer the question because Louis piped up. "Grandfather, are you sick?"

"No, I'm not," he said gently to the boy, placing him down. "Not anymore. Your dad was kind enough to sing to me too." Then he addressed Tom. "All the tests came back negative, and the scan was clear. So it seems like I'm perfectly healthy."