The spring air was warm against Ladybugs face. It had been a few months since she had transformed, allowing her body the time it needed to fully recover. Looking down at her hand, she clenched it into a fist. She had almost forgotten the strength the transformation brought with it.

"Goodmorning Bugaboo~" She smiled brightly when her eyes landed on ChatNoir. It had been so long since she had seen him like this, and it nearly brought tears to her eyes. She turned, engulfing him in a hug, wanting nothing more than to soak in the warmth of his body.

"It's been a while since I've seen you kitty."

"What ever are you talking about? We had breakfast together just this morning." Ladybug rolled her eyes and attempted to suppress her giggles, leaning up and pressing their lips together.

"Oh barf in my mouth, are y'all gonna keep flirting up here?" Ladybug turned, smiling softly at Rena Rouge.

"Sorry sorry, thanks for meeting us." She felt slightly nervous looking at several of her friends. There was no longer that barrier between any of them. They knew she was Marinette, and they knew about everything that had happened. No more secrets.

"What's going on Ladybug?" Viperion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, is everything ok?" Bunnix put her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes thank you, everything is actually really good." She took a deep breath before speaking louder. "I wanted to thank you all for your bravery and strength. I couldn't have done any of this without you. You are all the reason that Paris is safe from Hawkmoth, and because of that, I would like to gift you all with your Miraculous. Until further notice, you are all the permanent holders of your Miraculous. Viperion, Carapace, Rena-rouge, and Bunnix. You have all earned my trust, and I trust you to treat these with care and responsibility. And if the time ever comes, you will agree to give them back, but for now, Paris could use some heroes like you."

She watched their eyes widen before they all started to speak at once. Words of gratitude and confusion jumbled together and Ladybug laughed softly. "Ladybug, we couldn't...this is a big deal are you sure?"

"Bunnix...You guarded the miracle box while I was out of commission. I know you can handle this." She turned to them all and spoke again. "I know this is a big responsibility, but in the event that another force threatens Paris, I want to be prepared. My fear of letting others in nearly cost some of you your lives. If I had just trusted my gut and left you all with your miraculous in the first place, it would have gone a lot smoother. I didn't give you all the credit you deserve. So please, accept this request. Hold on to them."

Viperion stepped forwards, gently resting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up, tears in her eyes. "Thank you Ladybug, we'll do our best."

"Don't beat yourself up girl. It was a lot of pressure to be under. Everything worked out in the end thanks to you as well. Don't sell yourself short."

"Yeah! It was super smart of you to give me the miracle box. I would never have thought of hiding it in my burrow."

"You were incredible out there LB, I've never met someone as strong as you." Carapace said, giving her two thumbs up.

"Don't beat yourself up. We're all so proud of you Ladybug. You did amazing."

"Thanks you guys." She wiped her tears quickly, shaking the want to cry away. "Anyway, I know you all won't let me down. This was a big win for us, but we can't get too comfortable. People will always be after power, and with something as strong as our miraculous, we need to always be prepared. Thank you all for your bravery, I have the utmost faith in all of you." She held her fist out, and everyone put there's in, gently bumping them together. "Now go on an get out of here, enjoy your newfound freedom. But remember, be careful...and have fun."

She watched them all leave with a sad smile, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You did good bugaboo, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Chat. It's a bittersweet feeling." He didn't answer, and instead wrapped his arms around her, gently kissing the top of her head.

~...~

"Graduation huh?"

"Everything is changing so quickly." Marinette sighed, leaning her head on Adriens shoulder. "No more HawkMoth, no more highschool. What am I going to do with myself?"

"I'm sure you'll find something else to stress about." He teased, lowering the volume on the movie they were watching.

"Hey! I'm serious, what are we going to do?"

"Worry about the normal things University students worry about? Grades, friends, getting drunk every weekend. It's exciting, getting to experience normal life for once."

Marinette thought about that. It was the same thing that had been on her mind since she was in the hospital. What even was a normal life? Would she always be living in fear of someone worse than Hawkmoth coming for them? Would that anxiety and guilt ever go away, or would she be haunted by her bad decisions for the rest of her life?

"I'm scared." She whispered, taking a deep breath. "I wished for so long that Ladybug would disappear. I wanted to be just Marinette for so long, but...but Ladybug is a part of me and I don't know who I am without her."

"Well baby…" He leaned down kissing the side of her head. "Now you get to find out. You don't have to let go of Ladybug, she's a part of you like Chat's a part of me. But now, we get to find out who Adrien and Marinette truly are, and we get to do it together. So yeah it's scary, but also so exciting."

"Yeah...You're right. It is pretty exciting, not knowing what's coming next."

"We've got the rest of our lives ahead of us, and nothing but time to figure it out ok? Don't let the past hold you back, all you can do is keep moving forward." Sure the future was scary, but Marinette was sure that no matter what was thrown her way, with Adrien and her friends' support, she could do almost anything.

"With no more secrets to keep?"

"With no more secrets to keep." He agreed, leaning down and kissing her gently.

And that is the end lovelies. Thank you all for you support and love of this story, it means the absolute world to me. As of right now, there will be no second story, but you never know what the future holds. I am however writing a new miraculous fic called speak now and you can find it on my profile! Thanks again and I love you all!