It was finally done.

After what seemed like a long time in a never-ending battle of good and evil, Hawk Moth was finally taken down, his Miraculous seized and currently in the hands of Ladybug. Sacrifices were made. Misunderstandings threatened to break friendships. Innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. Loved ones grieved for their afflicted. And identities were revealed among select peoples of Paris. In other words, the elements of drama were milked for all their worth.

Marinette watched as the authorities took the madman behind Paris's suffering into custody, still recovering from the heavy emotional ordeal of many revelations thrown at her at once. Gabriel Agreste, renowned fashion designer and father of the love of her life, had been more than willing to throw the city of Paris into chaos for the sake of his comatose wife. In a way, she couldn't help but sympathize with the intentions, but the way he went about it was clearly misguided and desperate. Then again, she was one to talk given the things she did for Adrien's sake in the past.

Her fellow heroes were also reeling in after everything has happened. Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee, all in their undisguised appearances as her classmates, attempted to console Cat Noir, who had been completely unresponsive to their pleas and cries since Hawk Moth's defeat and consequent unveiling. He was still a young teen who was still coping with the disappearance of his mother, only to be hit with the truth with the force of a truck. Marinette's heart ached enough for the people of Paris, but seeing Adrien in this state was too much to bear. If he didn't snap out of this, she was sure to follow in becoming a fallen. She knew she was nothing without her partner, but finding out that her flirty loyal tomcat was her longtime crush under the black mask had burdened her with more than she expected.

Before she could try to reach out to her emotionally scarred kitty, there was one more business she had to settle.

A continuous breath of loud coughs from behind reminded Marinette of the accomplice to Hawk Moth's crimes as she was being escorted by police officers.

"Wait," Marinette spoke.

The policeman nodded wordlessly in understanding, allowing the young girl to speak with the ill assistant, Nathalie Sancoeur. The air between the two women was tense already, having fought on opposite sides for the final battle. The one who previous held custody over the Peacock Miraculous under the guise of Mayura, but now was also in Marinette's possession to return to Master Fu. Of course, Marinette had a more personal grudge against the older woman, given that she removed the note on the gifted scarf she made for Adrien's birthday and made him believe that his father gave him the scarf instead. She was willing to look past that if they hadn't been supervillains bent on terrorizing Paris for the sake of magical accessories that can grant ultimate power. Past petty grievances aside, there were lingering words left to be exchanged.

"… S-State your business," Nathalie coughed; even when being arrested along with rapidly declining health, she maintained some degree of strict professionalism to the end.

"Was this all… worth it?" Marinette asked calmly. "Why? You… You knew another way and it could've spared everyone the heartache in the end, especially Adrien. Do you think he deserved this? I don't, and I know you don't either. So then… why?"

Nathalie appeared thoughtful, as though thoroughly considering the younger girl's words before a small ghost of a smile curled from a side of her lip.

"You can be cruel when you need to be," Nathalie began. "Tell me this. Were the roles reversed, would you have done what I have?"

"Of course not!" Marinette cried instantly. "There's always another way!"

"Really?" Nathalie questioned, letting out another cough. The Peacock Miraculous had taken its toll on her. She knew she wasn't going to last and was most likely going to end up like Emilie by the time she would be imprisoned. Perhaps it was out of remorse that she was going offer these next sets of words as an act of penance. "Not even if it was for his happiness?" Marinette was about to argue until it occurred to her that this woman knew how she felt towards Adrien. "Isn't that why… cough… you didn't tell him the truth? About the gift?"

"I… I don't know," Marinette muttered.

"Then let me tell you… COUGH… this," Nathalie continued, covering her mouth. She really didn't have much time left. "Ahem, forgive me."

"Go on," Marinette prompted patiently.

"You know… beforehand, the consequences that a person in love can wreak," Nathalie explained. "My advice is… don't hesitate. If you… cough… wait too long, it won't end well. Don't make the same mistake I made."

Marinette was blankly staring into space even as the officer accompanying Nathalie had taken her away. Her words had called to remembrance the harsh lesson Kagami imprinted on her during the double date at the ice rink. That seemed so long ago, yet the fact still remained that Marinette still hadn't confessed the entirety of her feelings to Adrien, having been content with the brief surge of courage pressing her to actually kiss him on the cheek on Heroes' Day.

She thought about Nathalie and her role in all this. The loyal assistant that was willing to commit heinous acts under her employer. For what? His happiness? Even if it meant she couldn't be with him as she tried to help reunite him with his wife? It didn't take long for Marinette to figure out the greater depths of Nathalie's loyalty to Gabriel, given that she played matchmaker for the likes of Ivan and Mylène and inadvertently getting her BFF, Alya, together with Nino. And then, there was her own experience with Adrien.

As Marinette pondered upon it more and more, she wondered how much similar she was with the seemingly emotionally distant assistant. Obviously, they shared great concern over Adrien, but then there was the dynamic. Unspoken, unrequited love that relegated itself to hide in the shadows and be content as long as the target of affection was happy. In Nathalie's case, she helped Gabriel do whatever it took to bring back Emilie while keeping her own feelings under wraps. Not saying anything until the final confrontation, when his evil plan to gain the Miraculous of the Ladybug and the Cat had ultimately failed and Gabriel was at his end. It was then that her advice on staving hesitation came back to the forefront.

Could I… end up like that? Marinette thought.

End up as an emotionally closed off cynic? Entertaining possibility, but not highly likely. End up lonely in the shadows, keeping her feelings to herself because of fear and hesitation while watching the target of her affections fall into an inescapable spiral of destruction? If she didn't act now, then history would be repeating itself once more in Paris. Nathalie regretted not being able to successfully turn Gabriel away from evil and relegated herself in helping him commit crimes instead. Marinette had the knowledge and the perception to understand the outcomes. Because she knew there was another way to avoid the tragedy, it was a matter of mustering her courage to put away hesitation as Kagami and Nathalie warned her.

With Adrien the way he was now, she had to act lest she became the center of another tragedy.

While they were still in the vicinity, Marinette steeled herself. Before she could return all the Miraculous to Master Fu, she had a lifelong beloved partner to save before he fell to the darkness.

"Brother, I'm here," Nino murmured, keeping his best friend in a tight embrace as the blond in question kept his head low, unwilling to see the world right now. "Let it out."

"This is totally messed up," Alya huffed. "Even utterly ridiculous, as you'd say, Chloé."

While she would've normally sent back a snappy comeback, Chloé was too distraught seeing Adrien like this. Even seeing Marinette approach them didn't fire her up as usual. Instead, her sullen blue eyes spoke on her behalf upon meeting Marinette's eyes. At another time, the meeting of their eyes would spark conflict and rivalry, but now the message conveyed were entirely different.

Save him. Please.

I will.

And this is my short piece inspired by the season two finale. So many crazy twists and turns. I enjoyed the ride overall and hope you did too.

Please review!