"Future Rewoven" Book 3 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy |COMPLETED|

Chpt 46: Healing.

The previous night had seemed to both fly by and drag on.  The four teenagers had parted ways with Maya after Marinette had briefly talked to Gorilla, asking him to make it seem like everything in the mansion was normal until they contacted him with a new plan.  They hadn't yet decided what to do about the missing Gabriel.  Marinette then made a quick call to Master Fu to assure him that they were all alright and promised to visit him the next day to fill him in on everything and return the borrowed Miraculouses.

Marinette had then asked Alya and Nino if they could sleep over at her house.  They had all trooped into Marinette's house and Marinette had asked for permission for the sleepover.  After Marinette's parents had noticed Adrien's glazed expression, they hadn't pressed her on any more details, deciding to give Adrien's friends the night to help him recover from whatever happened, which they figured had something to do with all of those photos and reports, which must have been fake, and they would bring it up in the morning.

They then all set up beds made of blankets and pillows on the floor of Marinette's room.  The four kwamis took the opportunity of their unexpected freedom to play some games and gorge on snacks.  The obvious joy they took in each other's company lightened the otherwise somber mood that hung over the room.

"Will we get in trouble now that we all know each other's identities?" asked Nino worriedly.

"Yeah, we're not supposed to know, right?" added Alya.

"That's true and I've usually relied on the Miraculous Ladybugs to fix whatever needed to be fixed, but since the earrings weren't being used at the time . . ." Marinette trailed off.  She did wonder if it was at all possible that the next time she used the earrings that the Ladybugs would maybe take care of it then.  She always got the feeling there was more to the Ladybugs than anyone knew- that they were able to judge situations, and fix what they deemed to be important.  It wasn't just black and white decisions.  Maybe Master Fu hadn't exactly understood all of the rules surrounding the Miraculouses, Miracle Box, and the book.  She didn't know what kind of training was involved to become a Guardian.  And can anyone really know everything about all of these very complicated, magical things that have been around for thousands of years?  And she also hoped that Master Fu would allow them to— .

". . . our memories?" asked Nino.

"What?  Oh, sorry, my mind was wandering and I missed your question," said Marinette.

"So, you think we will maybe lose these memories the next time you transform?" asked Nino, upset that he might not be able to share this secret with his friends anymore.

Marinette shrugged.  "It's possible.  We'll just have to wait and see.  But, for the moment, I'm so happy to have more people to share this with.  It's been really hard- especially when I was completely on my own for the first six months or so.  Having no one to talk to made everything so much more difficult and I felt so alone.  This is so much better!"  She smiled at them.  It really did feel better to be able to share the joys and burdens of being a superhero.

"I won't even go into how stupid I feel by totally missing that you two were superheroes.  I mean, you guys look so much like them and you both disappeared a lot and showed up late and—" said Alya.

"Let's just forget all of that.  The most important thing is that you have both always been good friends.  That's enough!" said Marinette.  She glanced over to check on Adrien.  He seemed to be sleeping peacefully.  She hoped that was true.

"So, what do we need to do tomorrow?" asked Nino.

"Unfortunately, I'll need your Miraculouses back.  I would love to let you keep them, but I have a feeling that still won't be possible yet.  Maybe some day.  And then, Adrien and I need to go and talk to someone.  Can we get together some time later tomorrow?"