Slowly, Adrien released his grip on Marinette and looked up to meet her gaze. She gave him a quick kiss on the nose before stepping back onto the floor and moving out of his way. He stood up slowly and hesitantly picked up the small jewelry box that sat on the table in front of him. He swallowed.

"You're gonna stay in the room, right?"

Marinette was already halfway out the door, but she stopped and turned around. "Are you sure you want me to?" she questioned. "You know I won't be able to see her, right?"

"I know," Adrien said, still looking at the box. "But I want to make sure she gets to meet you." His voice quivered slightly as he fought to keep his tears down. At that request, Marinette almost cried, too. But instead, she nodded her head and sat back on the couch, as far out of Adrien's way as possible.

Adrien took a few steps over and forward into the most spacious part of the room. He dug into his right pocket for his newly acquired Kwagatama whilst still holding the miraculous jewelry box in his left hand. "Duusu?" he called out. The little blue god of emotion phased in through the couch and spun in a circle before landing on Adrien's right shoulder. With the Kwagatama thread through a string and dangling off of his middle finger, Adrien used the same hand to reach up and cuddle Duusu against his face. The kwami nuzzled up to him in a tiny hug. "Thank you for giving me this gift," Adrien said. Duusu immediately started sobbing.

"Yo-ou're so-oh-oh welcoooome," he wailed. "I'm so glad I c-could give y-y-you something imp-important…" Adrien smiled and hummed a light laugh in response. He kissed the kwami on the head as Duusu wiped his tears away and sniffled, smiling at his latest holder with pure delight. Adrien then took a deep breath and placed the small charm against the familiar seal on the lid of the miraculous box.

"Reunion!" he finally called out. The charm lit up, as did the seal, and in a flash of light, the entire room changed. Small, royal blue pictograph illustrations of all the peacock miraculous holders past appeared before him. They glowed and illuminated what appeared to be a now dark room. Adrien saw a Pharoah with a peacock's tail. He saw a knight with armor resembling a beak, a woman with a quill pen, a middle eastern man with a boat and a beard of feathers. Duusu flew up to the image of a Greek man with wings and the sun shining brightly behind him.

"Icky!" he gasped. "He and I had so much fun, I miss him so much."

Adrien smiled, taking in all the history before him. And then his smile vanished.

There, in front of his face, were the images of the four most recent holders.

Félix Fathom.

Nathalie Sancoeur.

Gabriel Agreste.

And then. There was Emilie.

Adrien began reaching out to touch the image of his mother, just as he had done with past holders of the black cat miraculous in the few instances that Plagg had recommended he seek guidance from someone other than himself. But before he could make contact, his hand recoiled.

"What if…" he began asking to himself as much as to Marinette and Duusu, "what if she doesn't want to see me?"

"Then you end the reunion," Marinette responded simply. "And we move forward. But do you really think you'll have to?"

Adrien sighed.

"If there's one thing I've learned in the last 15 years," he said," It's that you never really know."

But Marinette knew. And although all she could see was Adrien reaching his hand out in front of him in their otherwise empty living room, she knew by his stumble backward, his slight gasp, and the immediate sobbing that ensued, that she was absolutely right.