Marinette hated to stop so much, but she felt as if she would be unable to breathe if she didn't take another rest. She set her bag down and placed one knee on the ground next to it, panting uncontrollably. She was scared and sad to have to take this step, but more than anything she was angered by this last hardship Lila had put her through. No matter how far she went from the house - no longer her home, she reminded herself - she still couldn't get out from under the influence of her stepmother.

She looked up at the sun in the cloud-dotted sky and suddenly realized how warm she was under her dark cloak. She quickly unfastened it and hooked it over her bag before beginning her walk again. She once more found herself looking back over her shoulder, as she had been for the last half mile.

She was overreacting, she knew. There wasn't anyone following her. She hadn't left a note with anyone but Tikki, and she didn't even know if Chat Noir had gotten his note from her room. She had realized after the fact that Lila had gone into her room once already, and she could easily do so again. That is, if Chat Noir did, in fact, show up. Which was perhaps much less likely, considering their last parting. A part of Marinette hoped desperately that he would have found her note and know that she didn't bear him any ill will, but the other parts of her were terrified of what Lila might do if she found him there again. Had her stepmother perhaps discovered Marinette's plan, and instead of stopping her stepdaughter, she simply waited for the stranger to show up in order to get what she wanted out of him?

And there it was. Lila, overshadowing her thoughts again. Marinette's mind suddenly filled with fears of search parties in the city on the lookout for her, palace guards running her down to insist she return home, even arrest warrants for "Ladybug". She shook her head vigorously and tried to push the thoughts away as best she could. She didn't know what Lila could have done in the few hours since she'd left, but it couldn't have gone far. Certainly not to arrest warrants - and it's not like anyone knew who Ladybug was anyway.

"Anyone except Lila."

She tried hard to banish that thought from her mind as she had been trying all night and all morning, but it just kept coming back, intrusive as ever. Lila knew. And that knowledge in her hands was a dangerous thing.

But there wasn't a thing to be done about it now but find a place to hide. And Marinette had a place in mind. It was perhaps a bit dangerous, but Marinette felt strangely as if she could trust the person she had in mind to keep her presence a secret.

Marinette hoisted her bag more securely and glanced over her shoulder once more, seeing only what she had been seeing for the past half hour of walking: forest on either side of the road, a few cottages dotted here and there in the open spaces through the trees, and not a person in sight. She wasn't entirely sure what she was afraid of seeing - Lila storming after her, Nathaniel determined not to let her get away again, a whole battalion of royal guards bearing down on her with their horses, shouting for her to stop in the name of the law - but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone would follow her.

She had only just contained her sound of panic when Nathaniel had mentioned, in an offhand sort of manner, that there was a rumor of an entourage in the village looking for Ladybug. He couldn't understand why she had asked him to go out and see where, exactly, they were looking, but she had been searching for any excuse to get him out of the little house so she could slip away. Looking back on it now, after only a half hour of walking and pondering and determinedly pushing away her fears, she wished she knew where exactly the royal entourage had been going, and who had been involved.

Not that she cared, exactly, if the prince had been out searching for her, but she just… wanted to know. And if he was, she wanted to know why.

She silently cursed Lila again as she felt her rib start to act up again. She forced herself to go on, reaching into her bag and feeling around until she felt the cold ruby pendant, nestled within the folds of her second skirt. She knew the risks, and she couldn't believe she was actually doing this, but anything was better than staying where she was.

She just hoped the proprietor of the pawn shop might be able to help her find a job, perhaps even give her one at the shop, and that she might be able to find a place to live in a part of town where no one would recognize or think to look for her. If she could save up enough money, she'd leave town. If not, she'd stay as far away from her old home as possible. It was a big city, no one would notice one more person on the far side.

Not that people particularly remembered her even when she wasn't trying to be inconspicuous.

As she reached the end of the trees lining the road and saw the bridge ahead of her, she glanced over her shoulder once more.

Her eyes widened as she saw a form coming in the distance, seemingly running at full speed. She, too, picked up her pace in a sudden panic. The figure was too far away to make out the details, but it was certainly a man running after her. Marinette began to flag after only a few hundred feet of trying to run through the burning of her legs, the stabbing pain in her chest, and the heaving of her breath. She forced herself to keep her going, not to look back, knowing that if she could just get to the bridge, she would be able to run down the bank and hide until whoever it was had passed.

Just like the night she'd met him.

She tried to keep herself from tearing up, from remembering that night in painful and vivid clarity, but it was too late. Her vision was blurring, her breathing was becoming ragged, and she didn't even notice the rock in her path until it was too late. Her foot caught on it and she fell hard, barely noticing that she'd fallen on her bag and so escaped further injury. She tried to scramble up, but her legs were screaming in pain and her rib was throbbing from the impact. She glanced behind her to see if she had been running for nothing, but what she saw made her forget her injuries, excruciating as they were, and scramble to her feet as quickly as she could.

Tall and slender, his blond hair just visible now, his white doublet and black sash flapping in the wind.

The prince was running after her.

Marinette looked ahead and saw that the bridge was just a few hundred feet ahead. She ran for it as quickly as possible, hoping against hope that he wouldn't think to look there for her, that he'd assume she was headed into town. She reached it without another backward glance and made her way down the steep grassy bank, almost losing her footing again and only staying upright due to her hand on the stone wall of the bridge. She reached the bottom and collapsed to her knees, just as she had on that night which seemed a lifetime ago, allowing her bag to slip off her shoulder as she panted and coughed, holding herself together as best she could.

She had to be quiet, she had to draw as little attention to herself as possible, she had to stay here and hope and pray he would pass her by. And then she would be able to go and live her life, devoid of any childhood fantasies or waking nightmares.

She forced herself to breath as evenly as possible, to control the shaking of her limbs. She listened with all her might, but couldn't hear a sound from behind her. Perhaps he had stopped to catch his breath, perhaps he was walking now. Marinette was shocked at the fact that there was no one else coming over the bridge, but presumed that the morning after a festival probably meant slow business and even slower customers.

She didn't know how long she stayed there. It might have been thirty seconds, it might have been half an hour. But however long it was, she waited. Listening for a sound of breathing, a footstep… anything.

"Ladybug…?"

The voice came from just behind her. She screamed and curled in on herself, then fell onto her side, clutching her broken rib with a cry of pain as she supported herself against the wall. She felt hands on her and pushed away again in a blind panic, hand still pressed to her injury. The hands moved away and she heard the same voice say frantically

"No, no, it's okay, it's just me!"

She gingerly pushed herself up again and looked up to see Prince Adrien kneeling next to her. She pushed herself farther down the bank, eyes wide and scared, but he held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you alright?"

She looked at him carefully, noticing his signs of fatigue. His face was flushed, he was panting slightly, and his hand as he held it up to soothe her was shaking.

Marinette felt the tears coming into her eyes, but she promised herself she wouldn't let herself cry in front of Adrien. Not in front of her Chaton. He seemed to notice her change in expression and said, as if to take her attention away from her fear and panic,

"I was worried about you. I was at your stepmother's this morning and found out that you'd disappeared. I didn't want you doing anything rash."

"W-what? You… what?"

Adrien smiled sweetly at her, seeming to have regained his composure, and reached into his bag. After a moment, he pulled out a pair of shoes she instantly recognized.

"I think these are yours, My Lady?"

Marinette stared at the glass in his hands, sparkling in the light of the sun.

"How did you…" Then she suddenly recollected herself and said frantically "No! They're not mine, I've never seen them before!"

Adrien just smiled kindly down at her from his higher position on the bank.

"Marinette, I know it's you. It's okay, I promise."

"W-why are you bringing it back to me, and how did you get the other one?"

He set the shoes down on the grass and scratched the back of his neck with one hand uncomfortably as he said

"That's a long story. But please, these are yours, and I want you to have them. I was looking for you, Marinette!"

Marinette shook her head vehemently, but couldn't stop herself this time. The tears came trickling out and she turned away from him, saying as quickly and coherently as she could,

"No! Please, just go! This isn't right. I don't know what you want from me, but I can't!"

"My Lady, please-"

"No! You don't want me. You deserve someone so much better than me…"

There was a silence and then he spoke again.

"I thought I told you before that you shouldn't push away the people who care about you?"

Marinette raised a tear-streaked face and looked at him in shock, going over every interaction she'd had with him and drawing an immediate blank. He smiled down at her even more broadly, even cockily, and said

"Really? Nothing? Well then, it's a good thing I brought this with me."

He set the shoes into his bag once more and pulled out a little octagonal wooden box, handing it to her with care. Marinette looked at him in confusion and reached for it, opening it as he said

"I tried to give that to you the other night, but something went wrong. I hope you'll accept it this time, Princess?"

Marinette was staring down at the glimmering jewels in the box, trying to piece the puzzle together in her mind. She looked up at the prince, staring at him, trying to envision what she needed to before the pieces clicked together and her eyes widened. He reached out and caught the box as it dropped from her limp hand, laughing at her with his eyes but saying nothing.

She couldn't possibly be seeing this. It had to be a dream. But every scrap of information she'd tried to prevent Chat Noir from giving her was running through her head.

Chat Noir was upper class. Attended the palace festival. Had serious opinions about the class system. Knew princesses well enough to feel her worthy of the name.

Adrien had been struggling with his feelings for a princess. He'd been shocked when she'd known Chloé's name. He'd called something out to her in the rain - had he been calling out her name?

And, the largest clue. When one disappeared from the festival, the other appeared and was drawn infallibly back to her.

Every piece fit. Marinette felt herself reaching out to touch his face, only to draw back as she suddenly came to her senses and blinked rapidly.

"You… you… You can't be!"

He grinned at her, shattering all doubts.

"I hope you appreciate the nod to your old nickname for me? I figured 'Chaton' wouldn't strike fear into anyone, but it was such a big part of me, I didn't want to let it go. And I appreciated the 'Ladybug' motif - or was that really a coincidence?"

Marinette suddenly felt her emotions threatening to get the better of her once more. It was too much to take in, and she would have curled up upon herself had she not felt a twinge of pain from her rib again. Instinctively, she moved as if to reach for it, but stopped when she realized he would be able to see. He looked at her with concern and fear, saying nervously

"... Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry, maybe that wasn't a great way to tell you, but I was just so incredibly happy to find out that the friend I was in love with for so long was actually the girl I had fallen in love with now, and I didn't know what to do, but when I found out-

Marinette looked up at him in shock.

"L-love? What?"

He looked at her seriously, then seemed to steel himself before saying, in a voice of complete control,

"I… I'm in love with you. Both of you. All of you? I mean-"

He broke off as Marinette raised her hands to her mouth with a tiny laugh.

"It is you! Chaton, Chat Noir, it's you!"

She wanted desperately to reach out to him, to touch his hand in the same way she had as Ladybug. But here, she was without her mask. Her old fears came back to her. She might be Ladybug by night, but today she was just broken, hurt Marinette.

Suddenly, Tikki's words from the night before came back to her.

"You are you. It doesn't matter whether you're wearing an apron or a gown, you are you and nothing can change that."

She felt herself reaching for him, getting closer, and finally placing her hand gently upon his. He looked at it in shock, then looked up at her, thrilled.

"Princess - Ladybug, I… I know how much you've been hurt. I want you to know this right now. I may have my own hopes for you - er, us, but no matter what you decide to do today, and for the rest of your life, I'm on your side. You're safe."

Marinette nodded, pulling away and reaching for her satchel to fiddle with a loose thread on the strap.

"You're right. I left the house, she can't hurt me anymore."

This time it was he who reached out, slowly and gently, to take her hand.

"No! Marinette, she's gone. She can't hurt you anymore. I went to your house this morning and I confronted her about everything. We have enough evidence to have her imprisoned! She's being taken away today, and get this: Your stepsisters were the ones who gave us the proof we needed."

"What? They did?"

Adrien nodded, settling closer to her on the grass.

"Sabrina was willing to give her side of the story, which was enough to make me want to throw that stepmother of yours in the dungeon then and there, and Chloé had a whole box full of evidence, including your father's will. She was lying to you. Your father's will said you were free to leave when you turned eighteen, and since your stepmother blatantly defied that, it's grounds for imprisonment. She's gone, Princess. She can't hurt you anymore."

Marinette wanted to believe it, oh she wanted to, but a tiny voice in her mind told her that something would go wrong. Lila would never really be gone forever.

Something of this must have shown on her face, because her companion reached over and took her other hand, just as gently, as he said

"I know it's a lot to take in. I'm sorry. But I was so worried about you!"

"You were worried about me?" she said, voice suddenly rising. "I left because of you!"

A sudden terror raised its head and she grabbed his hand frantically, saying

"She doesn't know about Chat Noir, does she? She'll use it against you, she knows you came to the house and she wants something from you, she'll do something to you-"

He interrupted her quickly

"Hey! It's okay. She doesn't know about him. According to everyone else, I was looking for Ladybug and I happened to have reliable information that she had been seen in the area. Which I did - just not from the sources people would have necessarily expected. And I just happened to stop by your stepmother first, thanks to some help from that girl we met at the festival. Do you know her? Alya Cesaire?"

Marinette was still staring at him, but said absently

"Alya Cesaire? Yeah, I know her. Chato- Er, your highness?"

He laughed a bit at her.

"I think we're past that now. Adrien is fine, but I'll answer to just about any of those names."

"Me, too." Marinette felt herself giggle as she said it, then she sobered. "A-Adrien, if you don't mind me asking… why were you looking for Ladybug?"

"Because I knew it was you."

Marinette felt her pulse rate quicken, but this time it wasn't out of panic. She looked up at his green eyes, suddenly wondering how she could have missed the signs linking his two identities.

"You did?"

"Of course. In fact, I thought it was you the second night, but I managed to talk myself out of it."

Marinette froze. The second night. Chat Noir's conversation with Ladybug. She wondered how she could bring that up gently.

"Why… did you come out as Chat Noir instead of Adrien that night?"

At this, he looked a little flustered and a deep color came into his cheeks as he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Ah, well, see… I wanted to get to know Ladybug better, but I knew that Adrien was attracting a lot of attention, so that was my clever plan. Not so clever, once I said it out loud. Plagg just about chewed me out for that one. I didn't mean to do anything to hurt you, I just… I don't know what I was thinking. And I didn't realize how much I loved you, the you I met first, until I felt like I'd lost you."

Marinette nodded, but couldn't be angry. She remembered his comments to Ladybug from the night before about his torn heart, the looks Chat Noir gave to Marinette - to Ladybug, too - and even remembered the terrible episode in her bedroom. No matter how painful, she couldn't deny something so obvious.

Prince Adrien was in love with her.

And looking at her own self, she realized something even more obvious.

She was in love with him.

Not the handsome prince everyone saw, who was gracious and kind and equally aloof from, but the boy she had fallen in love with all those years ago. The boy who hadn't wanted her to know his name for fear of losing a real friend. That fear had never entirely faded, she realized now. Chat Noir was nothing but a manifestation of that, over a decade later.

And it was this boy, this boy who she realized with a thrill was no longer as perfect as she had thought him to be all those years, with whom she had fallen in love.

He had noticed her silence, and he pulled away from her a little bit.

"I guess I'm taking this a little fast, aren't I? I'm sorry. You've been through something so awful, and I don't even know what she did to you last night, but I know it must have been terrible, and here I am talking like this and probably putting more pressure on you. I never meant to, you know. I just… I didn't know. But I do now. And no matter what happens, no matter what you decide to do, I will support you as your friend. Because first and foremost, I'm your-"

This time it was she who cut him off with a laugh as she reached into her bag.

"You idiot cat!"

She pulled out the swath of white cloth and opened it, revealing not one but two roses. He looked at them for a moment, then smiled at her and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her, taking the small bundle from her hands and fingering it lightly.

Marinette looked at the handkerchief. She recognized it as the one Chat Noir had offered her twice before. It was old and worn, but as she looked at it closer, she noticed the corner was frayed and studded with holes, as if there had once been an embroidered design there. Marinette instinctively knew what she was looking at, and she turned her eyes to him in joy.

"You kept this?"

"All the time. It was the only thing I had from you. Though I didn't take as good care of this as you did of the rosebush. I can't believe I was such an idiot - how did I not see that?"

She laughed at that.

"I don't know, but you handed this to me twice and I still didn't put it together!"

He laughed right along with her, moving a bit closer to her.

"We're quite the pair, aren't we? Oblivious doesn't even start it."

Marinette looked at him, smiling so genuinely it seemed to hurt, and moved a little bit closer to him, surprising both of them. He looked down at her and smiled a little nervously.

"May I?"

She looked back at him and nodded shyly as she moved a few inches closer to him. He moved closer to her, too, and suddenly Marinette was in his arms. He held her close, firmly but with delicate care, as if she was a china doll that might shatter if he put too much pressure on her. Marinette felt herself stiffen, but after a moment she allowed herself to relax her body, one bit at a time, until she was entirely at ease against him.

She felt as if she could stay with him forever.

For the first time in far, far too long, she felt comfort.

She was safe.

THE END

Greetings for the last time, Lovely Reader!

I can't believe this is really over. Some of you might know that this is the first full length story I've ever written, so I want to thank each and every one of you reading this now. Whether you were here from the first week, just found the story a few days ago, or are reading this months from when it's published, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Truly, this story has changed my life, and the love and support I've gotten from all of you has been one of the factors in my choice to keep going and writing after this story is done.
Because yes, I do intend to keep writing. If nothing else, I'm going to try to do Adrienette April next month (assuming everything goes according to plan), and I have a couple of other short stories I'd like to try. But even if nothing else is ever written, I can say with pride that I've done something amazing, and so much of that is thanks to you guys.
So for the last time, I truly hope you've enjoyed this story - I hope that it was interesting, the characters were enjoyable, and that you simply had a good time reading it.
Au revoir, mes amours!