Change was inevitable.
Three years have passed since Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated their first akumatized villain; Stoneheart.
Three years since Marinette stumbled on a rooftop, clumsily defeating a villain as Ladybug, whereas Chat Noir confidently stood by her side.
Three years since Tikki and Plagg became friends with their charges.
Three years since Adrien Agreste walked into the same class as Marinette Dupain-Cheng and tried to help her out from Chloé's wrath.
Three years…
Since then, Hawk Moth has not yet been captured, but nearing their eighteenth birthday and the predictions from Master Fu, they had their hopes high. Not only had they drastically improved their fighting skills (with Chat Noir now having the body of his alter ego and Ladybug far more popular with the men at school with her new… assets), but their team had also expanded.
Volpina and two others joined the team, creating a total of five. Chat and Ladybug were still partners in crime and co-captains, per se, on the team.
A miraculous group of five became one, training at least one hour a day (how they managed to fit it into their schedules, none of them knew) and seven days a week. They worked as a team, fought villains on a near daily basis and were stronger than ever before. Paris was grateful and even made it blatantly obvious with fan-clubs and fans themselves grew in numbers.
In France they already had a total of 8 statues erected, had done at least 20 interviews (most of them for the Ladyblog) and Ladybug had almost as much authority as the mayor. All within one year.
They loved their jobs; all of them - even their youngest player on the team – Jade, whom was just 14 years old.
As this story starts, they were running after another victim, this one being one of the biggest, most vicious of them all so far. A wrestler gone rogue turned into a beast of 60 meters high, trampling the citizens of Paris.
Well, to be more specific, Volpina and Jade Turtle were chasing the beast. Queen Bee and Chat Noir, an unlikely pair, were settling for keeping the citizens of France out of danger's path while Ladybug was trying to get this beast to move away from the buildings. Ladybug was already heavily injured, having been thrown across unimaginable lengths, but remained the fastest, except for Chat who had also been injured so badly that he couldn't run. Those two were always the ones who got hurt first, not that they complained. It was their job to keep everyone safe – especially their team.
Ladybug yo-yo-ed herself across Paris swiftly, and when she finally reached the Eiffel Tower on higher ground than the beast, she was able to summon her last resort.
"Lucky Charm!"
What she got in return was once again, at first sight, useless. It was a blunt, wooden sword, almost looking like a sword.
Ladybug glanced around in hope of an answer and found it (alongside a lot of spit to the face) and grinned triumphantly. Of course! It was so simple! There was something stuck in its teeth! Volpina had noticed it at the beginning of the fight.
Okay, maybe it wasn't so simple.
Ladybug grimaced the sight of the beast's jaws. The teeth were at least the size of Chat and they were sharper than Queen Bee's weapon collection combined.
Sacrifices will be made…
She never told him.
It will never be easy, but you must know.
It would have to happen. Someday. Just not today.
Ladybug swung the yo-yo to the top of the beast's head, allowing it the swing around one of the horns and she followed the swing, aiming for its mouth when it made a guttural roar.
She landed safely on the tongue. Slick landing, but the sword lodged itself into the inner gums, and once again the beast roared in pain.
Ladybug pulled the sword out and stabbed it through the gap where the alleged gem was stuck in. The gem fell out of the mouth and Ladybug jumped out with it. It fell to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower, shattering into a billion pieces…
… and a little butterfly flew out.
The sky was glowing red and the evening that came with it was nostalgic. Paris was restored to its former glory, while the team of heroes took that sunset as a moment to relax a little bit.
As the five of them surveyed the city with the familiar relief of a successful mission.
Slowly the team dispersed, until only Chat Noir and Ladybug remained.
"I must say, my Lady, your performance today was purr-fect!"
He always saved the puns for her.
"Nearly miraculous!" Ladybug quipped.
Chat Noir chuckled, his green orbs catching her beautiful, blue-bottle eyes. After all those years, he still remained ridiculously in love with her. He knew it was one-sided and no matter how much it hurt, he couldn't stop thinking about her.
"What're you staring at, Tom-Cat?" Ladybug asked; eyes curious.
Chat snapped out of his reverie, his cheeky grin never leaving his face. "Nothing. It's just that this lighting… it makes you look so… radiant."
"You're oddly flattering this evening. More so than usual."
Ladybug noticed that he was staring at her lips and her breathing hitched. His green eyes looked so… familiar… welcoming…
There were so many adjectives she could list, but she was too lost to even think.
"So many things have changed," Chat whispered; his far deeper voice now husky.
"What do you mean?"
Chat shrugged nonchalantly. "Everything has changed. You are… so much more beautiful, stronger and much, much more confident than you ever were before. Your smile… is so much bigger, your IQ has increased significantly…"
"Your puns have decreased," Ladybug murmured sadly.
Chat continued nonetheless. "We're both stronger, we have a very strong team… you'd be surprised… Jade doesn't have a dad. She let it slip the other day, calling me her…" His tone suddenly softened, slipping into a phase of thought suddenly.
"Wow," Ladybug murmured, surprised by Chat's solemn tone.
"But… you know what hasn't changed? It's something… that never changes."
"You're also oddly poetic, Kitty Cat," Ladybug murmured. Their voices barely stretched to the other one, despite the close proximity.
"I'm sorry, Bugaboo… I shouldn't…"
Ladybug grasped Chat's bicep, almost urging him to continue. "Chat, so being so… chatty. Tell me what's on your mind."
"Bugaboo… Ladybug… My lady… As selfish as it may sound and how bitter it seems coming from a stray cat to one of nobility in the full sense of the word… Je t'aime, madamoiselle. From the beginning."
Silence struck the Parisian night. The muggy air around the couple seemed impossible to breathe in, so Chat leaned in for a little kiss of life.
It was just a peck at first, but one kiss wasn't enough for either of the young adults. A nudge in the right direction allowed a little more. Multiple beeps later, noticed by neither of them, Adrien and Marinette indulged in the touch of their loved ones. Without hiding from each other, without a mask… just the two of them.
Adrien pulled away for a second, to get some air, but he smirked, rather than gasped in shock. He always knew that Marinette was his lady behind the spotted mask.
Some things just never changed.