Marinette stared at the ceiling above her and sighed deeply. Adrien was slouched in a nearby arm chair as they brainstormed appropriate ideas for Tom and Sabine's test "I literally have no idea what I could test them on…I don't want Master Fu to accuse me of going easy on them but I also don't want to make it unnecessarily difficult for them either!" Tikki was sat on the pillow next to Marinette's head also deep in thought "maybe you're overthinking this Marinette…what is the first though that enters your head?"

Plagg was goofing around nearby as the others were thinking hard in silence, suddenly a sudden crash destroyed the focussed silence in the room as a nearby lamp feel onto the floor. Adrien groaned in response "ugh couldn't you help a little Plagg instead of trashing the place?" Tikki nodded in agreement and pointed to Plagg accusingly "yeah come on Plagg lend us a paw here" Plagg simply shrugged "hey the lamp flew into me! Ugh fine; I think you are right Tikki- they are overthinking it- and so are you! The answer is even simpler; ask Master Fu for help"

Marinette shook her head in disagreement "No way Plagg- he said I have to give the test!" Plagg sat back as he gulped down a large bite of cheese he had helped himself to "he said you have to give the test, he didn't say that you couldn't have a crash course on tests though did he? I am sure he wouldn't mind giving you some pointers on what his expectations are!" Tikki's eyes grew large and round in surprise "you know what Plagg…you are right!" Marinette pulled her phone out as Adrien tossed another piece of camembert to Plagg "ok then, I guess it wouldn't hurt to call Master Fu" she pressed dial and set the phone onto speaker

"Hello Master Fu, I have spoken to my parents but I was wondering if you could help me?"

"Hello Marinette, of course; what is the matter?"

"Well I am having trouble setting a suitable test for my parents; I don't want to be too easy on them or too hard- what kind of thing would be classed as a test?"

"hmmm, let me give you this advice; the best tests are the ones life gives us. How people react in their everyday lives are an honest representation of their personalities. The best tests are when you don't know it's a test because the results are natural"

Marinette raised her eyebrows at Adrien and mouthed 'why can't he ever give me a straight answer' Adrien chuckled behind his hand.

"Adrien, Marinette doesn't understand me does she?" the both of them stopped laughing and looked at the phone. Marinette picked it up and looked at the screen

"that's strange; I don't recall putting it onto video call?"

"haha very funny Marinette! Think about it this way. This is not an academic test, we are not interested in the knowledge that your parents hold. We want to know them as people, if someone is doing a job interview they can simply say whatever they think the employers want to hear. We want to know what really lies beneath the surface- how do we truly know they are good people?"

"They are my parents! I know they are good people"

"Just because they brought you into the world that doesn't automatically make them good people- what proof do you have?"

"Well…well, ugh how am I supposed to answer that?!"

"hmmm ok, what did they say when you told them you are lady bug?"

"Not a lot really…turns out they already knew"

"interesting…how long have they known?"

"they figured it out pretty much straight away"

"See what I mean? Life sets the perfect tests! Tell them they pass!"

"Wh…what? How?"

"I said that you could give them the test- and you did- unknowingly"

"please explain master...I'm confused!"

"The hardest choice a parent must make in life is when to let go. At what point do you hand the reigns over to your child and let them take control of their own life? You were merely 14 when you took on the role of Lady Bug and they figured out it was you and knew the dangers of this; however they put their own feelings aside and trusted you to make your own choice. It would have been perfectly normal for a parent to take that choice away from their child and force them to stay away from the danger"

"But master- how is that personal sacrifice?"

"It is because when you love someone you can forget one important life lesson; needs of the many outnumber the needs of the few. They accepted that their child whom they dearly love would be at risk so the whole of Paris could be safe, they acknowledged that they needed to set aside their need to have their only daughter safe in order to keep everyone else away from danger- this was their sacrifice- proving to me and to you, Marinette; that they are worthy"

"Wow, I never thought of it like that. You are right Master- they could have confronted me at any time and told me that it was too dangerous and yet they trusted me and had faith that I would succeed. I understand what you meant now! Thank You!"

"my pleasure. bye bye Marinette"

Master Fu hung up and Adrien laughed a little "well...I guess that solves that problem- we just need to deliver the news to Tom and Sabine" Marinette smiled faintly "how about we tell them tomorrow- I guess I'm not ready to say goodbye to England yet and that would mean mission complete right?"

Adrien sat beside her- extending his arm for comfort "is something bothering you?" she shook her head with a weak smile "I'm not sure, I guess...I think I have really enjoyed our time together, sure we have had ups and downs; but its a journey we have taken together as Marinette and Adrien- not as Lady Bug and Cat Noir. I feel like a lot is about to change and change is good but before that happens I am enjoying things as they are now"

Leaning into his warmth she placed a gentle hand on his chest. She couldn't explain it but she felt a strange emotion within her- she could not explain whether it was sadness or happiness. Adrien held her tightly "Marinette! What is wrong?!" he noted the tears that had started falling down her face "Adrien... before we go back to our friends and family, while we are here together- just the two of us. I want you to know that on this trip I have come to realise the true depth of my feelings for you. I didn't know how powerful love felt! I feel it so strongly that I am almost afraid of it- is that crazy?"

She knew she liked Adrien she had been crushing on him forever but his lifestyle had always prevented true interaction- then there was Cat Noir, he was another side of Adrien behind a mask it was only recently she had found the two sides of the same person and it was only on this journey that she had come to know them as one- the two sides of the one person she loved "It's not crazy Marinette, I understand how you feel. I have known for a long time that my feelings for you are stronger than I have ever been prepared for. Our parents both approached the subject of Marriage- typical couples are scared by this concept and what it entails- I wasn't. I could envision my life with you- the possibilities for us and I knew that my future is meant to be shared with you- I could never envision it any other way now!"

"I'm not sure I know how to deal with these feelings Adrien, I'm almost afraid to welcome them in because when I do they overwhelm me- it almost hurts" Adrien cradled her face gently and kissed her cheek lovingly "when they build to the point that it hurts, you know what we need to do?" Marinette smiled against her tears "what?" Adrien's face was coy as he once again leaned into her "this" he began to kiss her passionately as he analysed the very emotions that Marinette had described, residing in his own soul "let's tell your parents the news- yes it will be mission complete; but if your not ready to leave we won't! I am yours to do with what you want where you want and if that means staying in England a little longer then so be it- I want you to be happy!"

Marinette forgot all about her tears of joy as she claimed Adrien's mouth once again. His words had been as deep and meaningful as her own- they both had attempted to convey their true feelings to one another. Marinette knew that there would never be any words that could give justice to her feelings but she knew that she had given a damn good try- so did Adrien. Now all they could do was show their feelings to one another. Adrien was right- this did ease the strange pain that love caused within them.