Nino was leaving Paris.

Marinette and I protested, but he was adamant.

"There's nothing left for me here," he had said.

So there we were on the edge of the forest. He had a satchel slung over his shoulder, filled with money and freshly baked bread and other provisions, supplied by myself and Marinette. Nino wore a plain tunic and trousers, though Mari had shoved handmade clothes into his bag despite his protests. He said we were doing too much, but I felt I wasn't doing enough. I gave him a couple coins and nothing else. Marinette did all the work.

I watched her embrace him in a tight hug. Her tear-filled eyes were on the brink of spilling.

"Where will you go?" She asked. Nino shrugged.

"I don't know."

Marinette released him. A salty water droplet slid down her cheek and dripped onto her shirt. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and he placed his hands on her shoulders. She sniffed.

"Don't cry," he said.

"How can I not cry? Nino, you're like a brother to me!"

He smiled.

"You've always been there for me Mari, but now I have to be there for myself. You've been like a sister to me for years and I'm going to miss you."

Marinette smiled weakly and wiped her eyes.

"I know you have to go," she said. "Goodbye, Nino."

"Goodbye, Marinette."

Tikki nuzzled his cheek. I wished Tikki was my kwami, she was so much nicer.

Nino released her shoulders and turned to me.

"Hey man," I said, my voice too high then I would have liked it.

Nino pulled me in for a hug. When he let me go I spoke.

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"For being my friend."

He grinned a little.

"It's pretty hard to not be your friend, Adrien. And I still am, no matter what."

He started walking but looked back at us.

"Tell my parents I love them, okay?"

Marinette nodded, her lips pressed together in an attempt not to sob.

Nino walked away through the woods. We were silent, trying to hear each one of his footsteps and each snap of the stomped upon twigs. We squinted, trying to see him as he walked out of view.

There are many ways of dealing with grief. It's this present feeling that you can't escape once you've lost someone. You can ignore it but you can't shake it. You can run but you can't run away from it. You can accept it, the most painful way of all. You aren't stronger than a person who chose a different method. You can't blame others for running or hiding. It doesn't make them weak. Grief just leaves a scar in you; It'll hurt for awhile as it heals, but then you'll stop noticing it. But the scar is always there. You can always see it. It will just become part of your normal.

Nino chose to run so no one could see his scars. I can respect that. I wasn't better than him for staying. I just hoped one day he could come back.

"I guess It's just you and me now," Marinette said sadly.

"Yeah, I guess so."

There was a pause.

"We should talk."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Marinette sighed and sat down on the muddy early winter ground. I sat beside her.

"So," I said awkwardly.

"You kissed me," she stated. "Why?"

I thought it was obvious.

"I like you. I like you a lot."

Her face plummeted unto her knees. I thought she was crying, but she was giggling.

"What?" I asked. "What did I do? Marinette, we're having a serious moment here."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just I like you too."

"Really?"

"Duh, for like a year."

"Oh my god, I'm so stupid." It was my face's turn to plummet.

"You really are."

"Hey!"

She snorted and I laughed.

For a second, we were happy. Then it faded.

"You know this could never work, right?"

The truth rose with her words.

"I know," I said, voice sounding like a dull knife.

"I mean, you're a prince and I'm a girl who's going to die."

"You're not going to die."

"Yes, I am. I've accepted it. You need to too."

"I can't just do that. We're going to break the curse, Mari."

"How?"

"By killing Hawkmoth."

Marinette groaned.

"Not you too."

"What do you-"

"Just stay out of it!" She snapped. "It's bad enough that Alya is dead and Nino is gone! Don't risk your life too!"

She stormed off, leaving a confused prince in her wake.

MLBMLBMLB

"You're plan is going well, Hawkmoth," said Chloè in the dark, musty alleyway.

"You doubted me?"

"Of course not."

"She's running out of friends to sacrifice." Hawkmoth sounded pleased, his icy voice.

"Yes, about that. The prince is a very dear friend to her. I hope you won't forget your part of the bargain."

"Of course not. You will marry the prince when the game is won."

"Promise me." Chloè's voice was sharp. "Promise me no harm will come to Adrien."

"I promise."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Hawkmoth sighed.

"Come closer."

Chloè took a reluctant step. She tried to ignore her shaking hands.

Hawkmoth lifted up his mask.

Chloè's eyes widened at the man sitting before her.

Then she smiled.

"Okay then. Let's get cracking."

*Sorry it's short. My bad. I pushed off writing it because I'm tired. So, you can feel the conclusion coming, huh? I think maybe 6 more chapters. YOU'RE NEARLY FREE! A lot of you are asking me to stop killing off so many characters. Let me just check my hit list...

Nope! Not done yet!*