HI SORRY SORRY FOR NOT POSTING THIS CHAPTER SOONER
I'VE BEEN ON NEW MEDS AND IT'S ONLY NOW THAT I'M OFF THEM THAT I REALIZED HOW HEAVILY IT AFFECTED MY ENERGY AND MOTIVATION TO WRITE
I WILL BE WRITING THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN CHAT, LILA AND CO. SOON, BUT WITH THIS CHAPTER, THIS IS MOSTLY DONE
When Chat arrived back in Marinette's bedroom only about half an hour later, he simply detransformed, jumped down to continue helping with the potion, and, surprisingly skillfully, avoided all questions from then on about what he'd done with her tormentors. Eventually, Marinette gave up trying to figure it out for the time being and returned her attention to the very delicate brew in front of them.
It took an additional six hours before the heroes finally finished the complicated restorative potion that Master Su-Han had detailed down to perfection. When the concoction turned bright green, Marinette quickly pulled the mini-cauldron off the heat and allowed the potion to settle. Once the cauldron had stopped bubbling, she decided to test the efficacy of her creation.
After collecting a bit of the potion in a dropper, she pricked her finger with one of her sewing needles and squeezed out a drop over her superficial wound. Both she and Adrien were suitably awed when they saw a soft green light start to glow upon contact with her finger before the potion was absorbed into her skin and left her wound completely healed.
"Woah… now that's cool." Adrien breathed.
Marinette nodded and couldn't smile with pride. "It's perfect. Now, we just need to bottle some of this up and finally wake your mom."
Adrien swallowed and turned to look at her in a way that purposely caught her attention. Marinette, obligingly, turned to face him, only for her breath to hitch at the look he was giving her. If she'd thought the look he gave her back when she revealed her identity to him was intense, this one was on a whole other level. It paralyzed her and she could only watch as her partner stepped closer to her and cupped her face gently.
"Marinette… there are not enough words in the entire universe that would express how much what you're doing means to me. Even before we knew there was a chance my mom could be saved, your friendship alone is likely what jump-started the healing process over the grief of losing my mother. For the first time in months, I had someone who effortlessly made me laugh on days I was sad, who made me feel important and loved when my father's neglect started to rag on me, who inspired my vision for a future when I couldn't let go of my past."
By now, Marinette's eyes were getting glassy, and Adrien could only smile at her with such tender love that it made her want to dissolve into the sobbing mess she would likely be when he finished.
"In the mask, you were the center of my world, my light at the end of the tunnel, my hopes for a happy future, my reason for standing back up every time I got knocked down. Out of the mask, you were my bridge to a life outside of my father's purview. Your eventual friendliness with me soothed others' worries about me being just like Chloé. You introduced me to classmates that introduced me to other classmates because you assured them that I was worth taking a chance on. You've massively changed my life since the first day I met you, and I am so glad that I reached out to you after our misunderstanding."
Marinette opened her mouth to reply but only let out a quiet whimper of emotion. Adrien pushed on.
"If all of that wasn't enough, now you're working as hard as you can to save the same person whose disappearance hurt me the most, and you don't even ask for gratitude. Marinette, if it wasn't clear throughout my dumb emotional rambling, I love you. I've loved you for our entire tenure as Paris' superheroes, and I'll love you for many years after we retire. Thank you for being you."
Seeing as Marinette very clearly wasn't able to find her words, she instead rose up on her tip-toes to demonstrate just how much his words meant to her. She could immediately taste the saltiness of what she assumed were her tears on his lips, but his response effectively diverted her attention back to more important matters. Namely: kissing the love of her life.
And it was so much better than anything she could have ever imagined. She had prepared for minor disappointment as it didn't seem realistic that a simple kiss could be as magical as romance authors made it out to be, but she was more than pleasantly surprised to find she needn't have worried. Logically, she was sure this was because of the high emotional tension from Adrien's beautiful speech, but all she knew was that she didn't want to stop. And from the actions of her partner, neither did he.
It was only to breathe that they eventually broke apart again. Adrien's lips stretched into a beaming smile, and Marinette immediately filed away the memory so that she would never forget this moment.
"Okay, let's get this potion all bottled up so we can save your mom." She finally said once she'd caught her breath.
Adrien nodded enthusiastically and helped her do just that.
It took only twenty minutes to completely bottle the entire cauldron of potion into small glass vials and store them inside the stasis space of Ladybug's yo-yo. With how long it had taken them to brew, the sun had already begun to set. Following his previous plan, Adrien quickly shot Chloé a text about the room he planned to stay in for the time being and got one back not ten minutes later with his room number.
"Well, I guess I should go. I need to pack up a few things from the mansion. Wait for me."
Marinette nodded and once again stepped up to hug him. "And don't think you're getting out of telling what you did to Alya and Lila!"
Adrien laughed and happily returned the embrace, promising he would tell her later. They stayed there for only a few short minutes before they broke apart again. Adrien quickly called on his transformation and left one more brief kiss on her lips before he finally scrambled up and out of her skylight.
Twenty minutes later, Ladybug was back at the Agreste Mansion. Adrien hadn't had much to pack, so after he'd transformed, he returned as Chat Noir where they quickly met back up with Gabriel. The ride down to the lair was just as tense as the first time, though this time, the air was filled with anticipation rather than foreboding. As they reached the bottom, the trio exited the elevator and made their way to the center island where Émilie's pod sat.
Ladybug quickly opened up her yo-yo and pulled out a single vial of potion before turning to address Gabriel.
"The potion needs to be ingested for internal wounds. Will she be able to survive if we open the stasis pod?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yes, but not for long. Ten minutes at most."
Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "That's more than enough time for the potion to work its magic. Are you ready?"
Gabriel closed his for a moment and took a fortifying breath before moving to the control panel. "I'm ready."
With a quick series of buttons, the lights inside the pod slowly dimmed before the glass peeled back to expose Émilie Agreste to the world once more. Ladybug moved quickly while Chat and Gabriel watched with bated breath.
Popping the cork, Ladybug slowly poured the restorative potion into Émilie's mouth, thankful that, somehow, she still had her autonomous reaction to swallow. Once the vial had been drained, the young hero took a step back and waited.
For fifteen agonizing seconds, absolutely nothing seemed to happen. It was only when hope started to die for the three Miraculous wielders that the first sight of change began to show. In the center of her chest, a soft green light began to glow. As the seconds ticked on, the glow grew brighter and brighter, until more lights began to appear over her body.
Ladybug theorized that even though her body functions were temporarily suspended, thus extending her life, after so long of being comatose, her muscles had begun to atrophy, though at a much slower rate than usual. Thankfully, the potion would completely restore to her physical peak, so they didn't need to worry about extended physical therapy or anything of the sort.
After a full three minutes had passed, the green glow slowly began to die down until it faded completely. The tension in the room seemed to thicken as they waited for any sign movement until eventually, Émilie's fingers twitched. The small movement was then followed by slightly more movement before the Agreste matriarch finally began to stir.
When her eyes finally fluttered open, both Gabriel and Chat sucked in a breath. Neither could hold back the tears that had gathered in their eyes, though Chat made sure to stay behind his father to ensure he didn't see his reaction.
With a groan, Émilie's eyes landed on her husband. "Mon chou? What's happened? Where am I?"
And just like that, Gabriel unfroze and rushed over to his wife. "Mon amour… You're awake…" And for the first time in years, Gabriel allowed his tears to fall.
As Émilie comforted her husband and Gabriel caught his wife up on what happened, Ladybug turned to her partner.
"Are you sure you don't want to detransform right now and go join them?" She whispered, wiping the tears that had also begun to fall down his face.
Chat opened his mouth to speak but had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could.
"I—I don't know…"
Ladybug gently pulled him down to bring his forehead to hers. "Chaton, this is your mom. You've waited almost two years to see her, to finally speak to her again. Go be with her."
Chat closed his eyes tightly and nodded softly. "C-can you take Fa—Gabriel's Miraculous before I do, though. Just in case…"
Ladybug smiled and nodded, gently pressing her lips to his before turning back to the heartwarming reunion.
"M. Agreste, I believe it is time for you to uphold your end of the bargain."
Both Gabriel and Émilie turned to the voice and it was only then that Gabriel realized he had been in his own little world. Émilie tilted her head in confusion and Gabriel softly whispered a promise to explain later before he stood and removed the Butterfly Brooch from his chest.
"A deal's a deal, Ladybug. Thank you for bringing my dear wife back." With less reluctance than she expected, Gabriel handed it over where Ladybug quickly dropped into her yo-yo.
"It was my absolute pleasure, M. Agreste." Ladybug responded with a smile, giving Chat a discreet nod.
As soon as he knew the 'war' was finally over, Chat sucked in a fortifying breath and stepped forward, gaining the attention of both senior Agrestes.
"Well, now that my identity is kind of pointless to keep now, I might as well de-transform too." Gabriel raised a brow in confusion as Chat called off his transformation.
It was only when the green light faded that realization, and then horror flickered onto his face. At his reveal, Émilie gasped.
"Oh, my baby… I was wondering where you were!"
Adrien sent a somber look towards his father before he turned to his mother. His expression softened and his eyes were once again glistening as he rushed toward her with a smile on his face.
Gathering her up in a gentle hug, Adrien melted into her embrace and spoke brokenly into her shoulder. "I'm so glad you're okay… I missed you so much."
Having no such compunctions about being gentle, Émilie squeezed her son tightly and gently patted his back as he cried. "I missed you too, mon chéri. I'm here now," she whispered.
Deciding to de-transform herself, a red light flashed before Marinette took Ladybug's place. Walking up to stand beside Gabriel, she saw that his previous joy had been replaced with a look of regret and self-loathing.
"…Did you know?" He whispered as he watched his son and wife comfort each other.
Marinette shook her head. "Not until after you revealed yourself to us. We made sure to keep our identities secret just in case either one of us ever got akumatized."
Gabriel went silent for a moment before he spoke again. "…How did he take it?"
Marinette sighed. "Bad. It was why Chat disappeared during our little meeting. He's already made arrangements to stay at Chloé's hotel for a while."
At that revelation, Gabriel seemed to age a little more before her eyes. She could tell he knew this might permanently damage their relationship, if it hadn't already been due to his previous behavior.
The duo stayed silent until Adrien finally pulled away from his mother and began to catch her up on what had been going on in his life. It was only when Adrien started talking about and gesturing towards Marinette that Émilie turned and found that the Ladybug hero had de-transformed.
Immediately, Émilie's eyes brightened and she turned a mischievous smile towards her son. "Oh, so my little boy has a girlfriend now, huh?~"
Adrien's cheeks pinkened while Marinette fought valiantly against her own blush. "Unofficial as of yet, but that was the plan." Adrien admitted, sending his partner his trademark Chat-wink.
Marinette rolled her eyes and walked forward to finally introduce herself to her soon-to-be boyfriend's mother.
"Welcome back, Mme Agreste." She greeted with a smile.
"Thank you, dear. And please, call me Émilie! Until the relationship is official, then you can call me maman~" Marinette's face turned bright red alongside her partner's, and Émilie couldn't help but burst out laughing at the reactions.
After a few more minutes of catching up, the quartet made their way back up to the mansion to get some food and to check up on Émilie's health in a more comfortable environment.
With confirmation that her more severe injuries had been fully healed, Marinette would still need to learn Tikki's Healing magic in order for Émilie to make a full recovery. As it stood, she was out of danger, but she would need a full dose of Tikki's magic before she was back to peak health.
"You may still experience some dizzy spells and weakness in your arms and legs, but that should be the extent of it. Once my Chosen has trained her Healing magic to an acceptable level, it will be as if you had never been injured in the first place! In fact, your lifespan may even extend, depending on how well Marinette does."
Émilie smiled at the Ladybug kwami and nodded gratefully. "Thank you both for all your help. If there is anything I can do for you in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."
Gabriel nodded his head in agreement, and Adrien gave Marinette a look to make sure she didn't try to reject it and play down her achievement. Marinette could only sigh. He knows me too well.
"Thank you, Émilie. I will be sure to do that."
With that done and dinner finally being served, the evening bled into night and it was time for Marinette to go home. Adrien would stay behind to break the news to his mom that he would be staying elsewhere, as well help his father explain the reason why.
Before that though, Adrien would see his princess off.
"Thank you again, Marinette. For everything."
Marinette rolled her eyes again. "Oh hush! I've been thanked more than enough in the last 24 hours, I get it! I'm awesome! Geeeez."
Adrien laughed and pulled her in for a kiss, one that Marinette happily returned. As they broke apart, Adrien his forehead against hers and smiled.
"Now, about what mom said earlier. How about we finally make this official, hm?"
Marinette nodded enthusiastically.
Adrien slowly took a step back and put on a face of the most cliché stuck up noble she had ever seen and bowed, gently taking her hand in his.
"My lady, would you do me the great honor of allowing me to officially begin courting a lovely woman such as yourself?"
Marinette giggled and adopted a similar noble countenance.
"My lord, it would be my great pleasure to be courted by such a noble and upstanding man such as yourself."
They both looked at each other before they broke out into giggles at their ridiculous display. When they eventually calmed down, Marinette looked up at the retreating sun and sighed.
"Well, I better get going."
Adrien nodded and pulled her in once more. "Then, I will see you tomorrow, Princess. There's a lot we need to work out, like telling Paris it is finally forever free from akumas."
Marinette nodded and pulled him down for a kiss. "We'll talk about it tomorrow, Kitty. Good night."
"Good night, my lady."
And with that, Marinette called upon her transformation and made her back to the bakery for some much needed sleep. It was only when she was on the very brink of consciousness that she remembered that Adrien owed her one hell of an explanation about what he did with Lila and the others.