Epilogue: A year later

With a shaking hand, Marinette handed the forms. The receptionist gave her a reassuring smile as she took the bundle of papers.

"It will be fine, relax. Did you add in a digital portfolio?" the young woman asked. Her long earrings swiveled when she moved her head, reflecting the light in the room. Marinette felt a chill at the butterfly logo on her blue shirt, knowing where the inspiration came from.

"I did, thank you for asking."

"No problem. Don't forget, if you're shortlisted for the internship, we'll contact you and ask you to bring in any items you made."

"Thank you, I'll remember that," Marinette felt confident enough to return her smile. "I've made many items from my portfolio, I've included photos of the final product."

"Sounds to me you'll do fine. Good luck then."

Marinette understood the polite dismissal, walked to the door and tripped over air someone left in her path. Sprawled on the floor, she prayed being a klutz will not count against her application. A hand showed up above her head which she gladly grabbed to help with getting up.

"Thank you."

"It a paw-sure, my lady."

Her whole body froze, the hairs rising on her neck. She looked up to find Adrien grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm sorry," he said, still grinning. "I couldn't help myself."

Marinette looked around, no-one gave them more than a passing glance.

"Okay, I guess. They wouldn't get the reference."

"Marinette, it is so great to see you. How have you been?"

"I'm doing well," Marinette was not sure how to react.

"That is wonderful. What is the occasion that you are blessing us with your presence today?"

Adrien's smile was infectious, she couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm applying for an internship."

"That's about time. You know I have some connections in this company, I could put in a good word."

"Don't you dare!" Marinette adopted on a stern tone. "I was hoping you wouldn't find out about it until I got my answer, I don't want you influencing it."

"Yes ma'am," Adrien held up his arms in surrender. "I was joking. I know very well that you like to achieve things yourself. Would you at least allow me to hope and pray that you get in?"

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Marinette was back to a soft friendly voice.

Adrien looked away, shuffling his feet.

"Marinette, I'd like to catch up a bit. Could I offer you some coffee? There is a great coffee machine in the kitchen. It took me six months, but I finally figured out how to use it. I'd like to show off my abilities."

Marinette considered the offer, it would be nice catching up. She has made a conscious effort not to follow his activities.

"I would like some coffee."

"Great. Follow me."

"I find this strange," Marinette conversed while they were walking. "Adrien was never the side of you to show off. How did you hold back, considering your alter ego would not stop showing off if I paid you?"

"With my father on extended leave somewhere in the South Pacific, the company has fallen on my shoulders. Having to grow up forced my two sides to merge. I needed Chat's confidence and charisma to take this on. And let's not forget," he looked back with a smirk, "you always brought out my strongest feline."

"Thank you, by the way." Adrien looked at her askance. "For taking on the media. You have all this new responsibility," she waved her arms at the surrounding building, "and you still manage to go out in costume, show yourself and make a good impression, keeping up morale. You paint me in a very good light even though I hardly come out in public."

"You were at the fire two months ago, they all saw you and thanked you. When nothing is happening it's easy to convince them you have more important things to do now that you have your life back."

They walked into a room with three round tables and a few chairs. There was a sink, a microwave, a few cupboards and a fancy coffee machine. She watched Adrien pull out some paper cups and fiddle with the coffee capsules. It was cute how much concentration he invested in the simple act of making coffee.

She waited for him at a table, not wanting to distract him. He came and placed a cup in front of her. The strong coffee aroma rose, she breathed it in. Taking a cautious sip she sighed. Perfect, just that way she always liked it.

They drank their coffee in silence.

"I heard your mother woke up."

Adrien face shone. She could feel his happiness and it warmed her heart. He needed his mother.

"She did. She isn't talking or does anything. But she looked at me and smiled. It was the most wonderful moment."

Marinette couldn't help but smile at his giddiness.

"I'm glad. You'll get your mother back."

"I will," Adrien had a faraway look. "Although, Natalie surprised me. With father gone she has taken the parenting part seriously, in a good way. Besides helping me a ton with the business, she took on the mother figure. She hasn't replaced my mom, but she's been a light in my life. We share most meals, spend quality time together. We even went on a family vacation. Also, she's been a great help with Kagami."

Marinette failed at not keeping track of everything Adrien related. She knew that a few months after everything hit the fan and rained down on them, Adrien started dating Kagami. It was a very public affair, so she couldn't be blamed for following it.

"Natalie helped me navigate the perils of paparazzi and the media. More importantly, she helped me be a good boyfriend and not mess things up like I did, well, with you." He blushed - how cute.

"She told me she loved you like a son, don't push her aside when your mother gets healthy."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I've come to love her too. She sat with Mom for many hours probably talking about me, filling her in on what she missed while in the coma. I think by the time she gets out of bed I would officially have two mothers. Makes sense, since I don't really have a father."

They concentrated on their drinks once more, letting the seriousness of the conversation dissipate.

"What about you?" Adrien asked. "Didn't you end up going out with Luka? How are things?"

Around the same time Adrien began a relationship with Kagami, Marinette relented to Luka's advances and agreed to go out with him. They were together for three months. They were fun, and she enjoyed her time with Luka. But he wanted more from her than she could give. As much as she tried, her heart was not in it.

"We broke up two months ago."

"Ya, okay. Em.. that was me being stupid," Adrien looked embarrassed. "I shouldn't have asked that. I knew you broke up. I was going to pretend to be surprised so you won't know I've been keeping track. But, yes, well. I'll shut up now."

Oh, my god. He's so adorable. He's gone all pink.

"In that case, I will confess that I know you're no longer dating Kagami. The media claims she broke up with you but something is off and I don't know what. Nino has been surprisingly mum on the topic, avoiding my questions like a pro. Alya must have been training him."

Adrien chuckled. He has such a bubbly laugh.

"I swore him to secrecy. I'm happy to hear he has kept to it." He was now looking at her, looking for something on her face. She wasn't sure what he found, but it was enough for him to continue. "This must stay between us. Don't repeat it, not even to Nino."

Marinette met him stare for stare.

"It will not pass from these lips. This sounds serious."

"You see, she cheated on me." Marinette's eyes almost popped out her head. "And before you bite my head off, this was not my insecurities. I walked in on her in a very compromising position. I froze on the spot, unable to move, even after she noticed me. She shrieked then tried to pretend it wasn't what it looked like, which was rather idiotic considering the situation. She then apologized profusely and begged forgiveness." Adrien spun his empty coffee cup in his hands, studying the remains as if foretelling the future. "It was over. I kept the reason hidden, I don't want to ruin her reputation or embarrass myself. Win-win for both of us. It seems she took the liberty to let it be known she was the one to break it off. All I can say is - whatever."

Marinette studied the boy in front of her. The man. This isn't the same boy she fell in love with, nor was it her over the top partner. This was someone new. Older, mature, stable.

"That was very mature of you, you handled it very well. And to think it is one of your greatest fears."

"Maybe," his eyes were darker green than she remembered. She felt herself falling into their depths. "Maybe I did not fear it so much with her. I did not see it as such a great loss."

She held onto the railing, she was going to drown.

"Marinette," the sound of his voice caressed her ears. "I've missed you."

What a beautiful sound, she wanted to hear it more.

"Adrien," she let go, "I missed you too."

A/N

And that is the end. I will leave it to the reader's imagination as to how the couple handles it from this point on.
I hope none of you are upset with such an open-ended ending. I saw no reason to write the restarting of the relationship.
We see Adrien has matured and Marinette is walking in with her eyes wide open. Will it work - we can only hope.

Thank you all for reading this story until the end.

At the end of the day, either my "short chapter" idea was not such a great success, or this story was simply not as interesting as much as MaribugSplit. I am debating reposting the story in the future in a six chapters format as an experiment.
After all, I'm still learning.

Bye - until next time.