Riposte 2

An Ending

"No no no no no" Mister Bug said to himself as his earrings beeped for their final warning. He jumped down to an alleyway next to the fencing hall, landing just as his transformation wore off.

Adrien reached out and caught Tikki is his hands. "I'm sorry, I only have Camembert for you to eat" he told her.

"It's okay" the kwami said weakly.

He grabbed some cheese from the inside pocket of his uniform and held it out for Tikki. She munched on it with a grimace on her face.

"I'm going to take the earrings off now" he said when she was done eating.

"That's probably a good idea."

Adrien removed the earrings and put them in his pocket. "Let's go see Marinette."

Tikki nodded and disappeared into his uniform.

He quickly made his way to the front of the building. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off of him when his eyes landed on Marinette. She was outside on the front sidewalk, talking with Luka. Adrien ran over and stopped right in front of her.

Marinette was taken aback by how close he was. Her cheeks quickly reddened.

"I'm so glad that you're alright" he whispered, gazing at her.

"I... I'm f... fine" she stuttered. "Are you okay?"

"I'm great" Adrien replied with a huge smile on his face.

"Well that's good" Marinette said, smiling back.

They stared at each other for a minute.

Luka raised his eyebrows as he looked between them. "I'm going to head out" he said.

Marinette blinked and turned to him. "Oh okay. I hope you had fun. You know, before the craziness and all."

"Yeah it was awesome. Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem" she replied.

"I guess I'll see you around" Luka said before walking off.

Marinette turned back to Adrien. "Oh, I almost forgot! Great job tonight."

Adrien's face fell. "What?" he asked hesitantly.

"Great job. I think you would have won the whole tournament if it didn't get interrupted." She smiled widely. "Just don't tell Kagami that I said that" she added in a hushed tone.

He exhaled, and then chuckled. "I won't."

Marinette looked around and sighed. "I was hoping to talk to her before I leave but I don't see her anywhere. I hope she's feeling better."

Adrien couldn't believe what he was hearing. Marinette just almost died and she was concerned about the person who attacked her. She was unlike anyone else he had ever met.

"I should get going" she continued. "It's getting late."

"Stay here. I'm sure Kagami will be back any minute" he insisted.

"No, I should really go. But thank you so much for the lesson today. I learned a lot" she added.

"Me too" he said softly. He glanced down at her right hand and saw a rose-gold ring on her finger.

"Tell Kagami that I said bye."

"I will" he said as he watched her walk away.

************************************

Marinette was leaning against the railing of her balcony talking to Plagg when Mister Bug arrived. He immediately went up and embraced her.

"It's okay, Kitty. I'm fine" she reassured him.