**K y'all, here's that long-awaited update! So sorry it took so long, I've had a pretty crazy week!

Thanks again for all your support and ideas!

Chapter 34

-Marinette-

"And as Emilie phrased it after we told her: 'we fell in love standing up'." Marinette finished the note in her journal that night, smiling down at the words. Mrs. Agreste had been perfectly right. That dinner talk had been rough- smoothing out everything with Mr. Agreste, and then the pink cheeks of telling about everything with Adrien- to his mother had been scary, but Marinette couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Agreste's smile had grown with each second as she and Adrien gushed the details. Even Mr. Agreste wore a satisfied grin. Marinette knew that they'd still be constantly grilled for details, especially since their relationship was public, but the embarrassment was worth the boy.

As she closed her diary and moved to settle into bed, she heard the familiar knock on the trapdoor, and without hesitation, she stood back up and opened the hatch for her kitty to slip inside.

"How are you tonight, my lovely lady?" he purred to her as he landed beside her.

"Definitely a busy day," she smiled back as he slipped his hands into hers and bent to kiss her cheek.

"I'm so glad I had you there with me," Chat said as they cuddled on Marinette's lounge.

"I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't woken up," Chat admitted as he played with Marinette's free hair.

"Me either," Marinette confessed.

"But I would have been okay still," Chat smiled, "And now I have both of my favorite women in my life." Marinette smiled at his sweet comment, but the thought still dragged in her mind.

What if Emilie hadn't woken up?

-Natalie-

What if Emilie hadn't woken up?

Maybe she could have had a chance.

But with so much hope on their side, they were bound to get what they wanted eventually. But still, it was time to move on. Natalie answered the message that popped up on her phone- an email from Mayor Bourgeois asking if she would accept his offer to work for him now as his secretary for his duties as Mayor and as he managed the hotel. Natalie replied grudgingly that she'd take the job, knowing that it meant dealing with Chloe every day, but it was still good pay and a safe distance away from the pain at the Agrestes. She'd take a better job in another city if she could find one, but for now this would have to do.

Natalie knew that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't just push away the pain and hide it. It was long past time for her to let go. Looking back down at her hand, the traitorous soulmate mark that had refused to turn red. Waved curving lines behind her simple budding rose formed the shape of an outstretched hand- part of the reason why seeing Gabriel's had thrown her for a loop. Until she'd noticed Emilie's hand on it. Natalie stared at the simple design, wondering how something that seemed so ordinary to her had caused so much pain. But as she tore her eyes away from it, she failed to notice the faint word that was scrawled in gold beside the pinky of the hand on her tattoo. One word.

Wait.

-Gabriel Agreste-

He was complete for the first time in years. He slept well for the first time in years. It wasn't until he woke up in the middle of the night that he realized that he'd fallen asleep with Emilie's hand still in his. The little notice made him smile, and his tattoo and Emilie's flickered a quick red before his sleepy eyes fixated on her silent form. Her face was peaceful, just like it had been when she'd slept so long, but this was different. She smiled in her sleep and her fingers twitched in Gabriel's grasp. She was perfectly alive. As Gabriel set his head back down on the pillow, he heard the softest of a noise at the door. His head leapt up from the pillow to see Adrien standing in the doorway, watching his father with his mother's green eyes.

"Father?" He asked, taking a careful step forward.

"Yes, Adrien?" Gabriel answered, wondering what his son could possibly need at this hour.

"I know I'm 16, but can I be a kid one more night?"

Now Gabriel understood. He nodded softly and a small smile crept over Adrien's face and he stepped closer, and crawled into bed between his two parents, cuddled right in the middle of them. Emilie barely stirred, but it was almost as though she sensed her son's presence, because her free arm wrapped itself in a gentle embrace around him, her other hand not leaving Gabriel's grasp.

They were a family.

-Adrien-

He had everything he'd ever wanted. He'd only stayed at Marinette's a couple hours cuddling and talking until he'd found himself at home, wandering the halls until he materialized at his parents' door. And then he'd gone back in time again, huddled between his parents in their bed, feeling truly loved by both of them for the first time in years. It was thrilling. Adrien woke up again at around 3 in the morning and looked to each of his sides and found his mother still asleep, a smile on her face as she slept, and a glance to his other side revealed that his father also had a grin on his face, even in his dreams. He slowly fell asleep as well, and without realizing it, he too slept with a blissful grin.

-Marinette-

She woke up late and remembered that she didn't have school. A relief. Hearing the birds chirp out her window reminded her that there was still a big day to start. With a yawn, she got up from her bed and rifled through her clothes before settling on a simple, classy outfit. She was halfway through brushing her hair when she heard her phone chime and found a text from Adrien greeting her.

'Good morning m'lady. Can you keep a secret?'

Marinette smirked as she answered, 'probably. What do you need kitty?'

'My mother says she wants to meet your parents. But we still have to reveal to the public that we have her back again.'

'Wow. When are you going to do that?'

'Sometime this week is my guess. Any ideas for a cover story?'

Marinette bit her lip as she thought with Adrien's last text. What could they say? They didn't want to reveal Gabriel's identity as Hawkmoth, especially when he'd worked so hard to make reforms.

'Maybe give her story on being kidnapped or getting lost on a trip? I dunno, I got nothing good.'

'Dangggg. I'll suggest those to Dad, but lemme know if you come up with anything else.'

'Gotcha.'

He didn't answer her for a moment, but soon enough Marinette got another message.

'Also, you free tonight?'

'Of course.'