Today's Story is by MalcomReynolds. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF DEATH / SUICIDE.

Author's Note: MR: This is nothing but a happy, cheerful, sunshiney ball of angst. There is Major Character Death, Suicide, Tragedy and Tears. If you are looking for a happy, fluffy Valentine's piece, this is not it. It is however, a love story. The story of a girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and the lengths that her friends went to in order to show their love for her.

Ep: (peeks out from several stacks of Kleenex boxes) Lyra, I'm a mess. I look like I've been crying for a month, and I've only had this story in my inbox since yesterday. I'm gonna put my Chat Noir ears on and loop the Miraculous theme song until I feel better.

Lyra: Uh, well Ep,…. We *did* technically give MR the nickname "Mistress of Death" didn't we? I admit though, I didn't expect to see such a mess for a VDay story….

MR: It's a friendship story. You guys are the ones who let me pick the prompt heartbreak. What exactly were you expecting? And I thought I got upgraded to "Pure Snowflake of Death". (At least that's what my nametag says…)

They stand before the two open holes in the graveyard, hearts heavy, heads bowed. Adrien Agreste sinks to his knees between the two graves, his bodyguard watching from a distance. Tears stream down the boy's face, as the ashes are poured into the ground. There is a police barricade around the cemetery, keeping this moment private, the burial of a celebrity.

The murder of Gabriel Agreste, in very secretive circumstances, followed by the suicide of his assistant had many talking, whispering that they had arrested the wrong person, that it was a lovers quarrel and not an act of cold-blooded murder by a young up and coming designer, but those who circled the graveside knew different.

Adrien was flanked by his friends, Nino Lahiffe, Alya Cesaire, Max Kante and Kim LeChien on one side, Kagami Tsurugi, Luka Couffaine and Alix Kubdel on the other. These were the people who had been there for Gabriel's final moments. Those that knew the truth behind what had happened, and those that would attend the burial of a third person later that day. One buried in secret, even further away from the prying eyes of the media.

Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, and they were the only ones who knew it, those that were huddled around the grave. His assistant, Nathalie had been Mayura, and today, that era was over. Adrien wiped the tears from his cheek, shed not for the father who had never been much of a parent, but for the possibilities that the man had stolen from him.

The teens piled back into the car in which Adrien's bodyguard, now his temporary guardian, had driven them to the graveside. In ones and twos they were dropped off, those unwilling to stay alone hanging with friends, until Adrien and Luka were alone in the car.

"You don't have to do this alone, you know." Luka said to him, his hand on Adrien's shoulder. "You have friends. We're all here for you."

Looking up at Luka, Adrien offered a tight smile. "You loved her, too. Didn't you?" It was more a statement than a question, but Luka answered it, anyway.

"Yeah. Still do. The moment I met Marinette, I knew... " He shrugged as he trailed off. "But I wasn't the one she wanted. And that was OK. You can't control who you love. I was content being her friend. Just knowing her, you know?"

"If not you, then who? Ladybug shot me down so many times, all over another guy. I assumed, once I knew…" He paused, choking back the sobs that threatened to overwhelm him. "I assumed it was you."

Luka chuckled, although there was no humor behind the sound. "Ladybug only ever shot down Chat Noir didn't she." The car pulled up next to the Liberty as he asked the question, touching Adrien's shoulder once more. "And I'm always around if you need anything, Adrien. I promise you." With a final squeeze, he stepped out of the car, head down, hands jammed into his pockets, trudging towards his home.

Adrien looked up at his bodyguard. "Can you take me to the hospital?" With a grunt, the large man pulled the car back out into traffic. As they arrived at the hospital, Adrien thanked the man, and told him he'd be going in alone. He walked down the long, sterile hallway, trying to prepare himself for what he was about to see.

The doorway was flanked by two police officers, but whether to keep people out, or to keep the patient in, it was impossible to tell. They looked Adrien over, folded their arms, and shook their heads. He went to the nurse's station, and explained to them that he needed to get in to her room. He had to see her. He was on the approved list. After several phone calls, and a few pulled strings, the door was opened to him. There was another officer stationed in the room, this one to keep the patient under control, although the idea itself was laughable.

She looked so small, laying there, pale and unmoving on the white sheets. She was hooked up to monitors for just about everything, bandages everywhere, eyes closed, breathing shallow. Her dark hair spread across the pillow, and if he squinted hard enough, Adrien could almost fool himself that Marinette was just sleeping.

She lay there, and Adrien just stood, watching her, listening to the monitors beep, her chest rising slightly, then falling again, the pause between breaths making his heart clench. He stepped to her bedside, every movement followed by the officer in the room. Knowing that Tikki would find a way, he slipped the earring from his pocket under Marinette's hand under the guise of touching her fingers. The fact that a napkin wrapped macaron slipped from his pocket, and got nudged under the bed went unnoticed by the officer, who was watching him stroke two bruised fingers.

His voice hushed and reverential, he whispered the words loud enough that the guard could hear them, but he didn't care. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I'm sorry for everything that my father did to you, to us, to Paris. I'm sorry for not seeing you when you were right in front of me. I'm sorry that you are here, on this hospital bed, when you should be out, living your life, celebrating the downfall of a monster. I'm sorry for what I'm going to tell the world about you without your permission." He gave her fingers a tiny squeeze, and let them slip from his as he turned and walked out of the room, the eyes of the policeman boring a hole in his back.

Sliding back into the car that was waiting for him, Adrien sighed. He had one more stop to make, and it was both the hardest and easiest thing he had to do that day. The car drew to a stop outside of the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie-Patisserie. The bakery itself was dark, but he rang the bell, and waited until he saw Tom Dupain appear in the doorway. The big man's shoulders slumped in relief, and he came over to let Adrien in. He waved in the bodyguard, too, not taking no for an answer, and ushered them upstairs to the living room.

To Adrien's surprise, Luka, Alya and Nino were already there, sitting around the space. Various excuses of "didn't want them to be alone", "knew you would come" and "wanted to show our support" were offered, and then offered repeatedly over the next hour or so, as, in ones and twos, all the current miraculous holders found their way to the Dupain-Cheng's living room.

Tom offered everyone refreshments, needing to keep busy, to do something with his hands, while his only child was being kept so far out of his reach. Sabine offered comfort, as those present tried to comfort her. Eventually, Sabine made her way to Adrien. She drew him into a hug. "I'm so sorry for everything you're dealing with. I don't know what happened, but I just can't see how Marinette is responsible for your father's death."

Sighing, Adrien gently guided her into a seat. He sat next to her, taking her hand, eyes glued to the floor, and blew out a prolonged breath. "Actually, Mrs. Cheng, she is. I was there. We all were. I actually came to tell you what really happened. I'm going to tell the world, but I thought that the two of you should be the first to know."

Luka, who was leaning against the wall, talking softly with Max, looked over at Adrien, and shook his head. "Actually, we're all going to tell the world. I told you before, I'm not going to let you do this on your own, Adrien. We're all in this together. We're a team."

Looking around the room, Adrien saw the others nodding in agreement, and turned back to Sabine and Tom, who had come to sit next to his wife, putting his arm around her as she stared at Adrien in shock at his statement.

"The first thing you need to know is that my father was Hawkmoth. The second is that Marinette was Ladybug. I saw what happened, and in no way am I angry or upset by any of your daughter's actions. My father, on the other hand, got exactly what he deserved." Adrien paused taking a deep breath.

"I know you're wondering how I know all this, is that I'm Chat Noir." He paused to let them take in everything that he said.

"I'm Rena Rouge" said Alya.

"Carapace" added Nino.

"Viperion."

"Pegasus."

"I'm Bunnyx, and he's King Monkey." Alix jabbed her thumb at Kim, who had just shoved an entire croissant in his mouth.

"And I'm Ryuko." Kagami spoke for the first time since she'd arrived, inclining her head regally. "I'd like to offer the Tsurugi's family lawyer, should Marinette still need it after we tell the world what happened."

Sabine had covered her mouth with her hands, as Marinette's friends, the superheroes of Paris, spoke out in support of her daughter. "Thank you. Thank you all so much." Tom nodded, tears rolling down his cheeks, while his wife's eyes glistened dangerously, as-yet unshed tears threatening to spill.

Adrien started the story, but the others picked up the threads when he got overwhelmed, or chiming in with what they had seen when he'd been occupied elsewhere.

They'd been fighting a fairly easy akuma, one that was flashy, but not particularly dangerous but kept them distracted while Mayura and a sentimonster had appeared. Ladybug had run off to get the extra miraculous, meeting up with Chat Noir, and sending him to get Max, Alix, and Kim. She'd handed the miraculous to Alya, Nino, and Luka, telling them where to meet her. Once the whole group was together, the akuma was swiftly defeated, the sentimonster similarly so. Mayura stepped back, and laughed, looking at something behind them.

Turning, they saw Hawkmoth, his cane pinning Ladybug against the wall leaning forward, threateningly. Chat screamed and was ready to tear into Hawkmoth, when he saw Ladybug shake her head ever so slightly. Rena and Carapace dragged King Monkey and Pegasus into the battle with Mayura, while the Time Twins watched for any momentary action that could give them an advantage.

Chat, body tensed, never took his eyes off of where Hawkmoth and Ladybug were locked together. A gasp and a scream from the group battling Mayura was all that it took to break Hawkmoth's concentration for the fraction of a second that Ladybug needed to reach out the arm that she'd wiggled free to snatch the Butterfly Miraculous from the villain's chest. His transformation falling, Hawkmoth tried to throw Ladybug aside, but she still had a grip on his cane, and the pair toppled over the edge, to fall ten stories to the ground.

Ladybug was reaching for her yo-yo, distracted by the fall, and Hawkmoth grasped her earring and yanked on it, ripping it out through the skin of her ear. Starting to detransform herself, her yo-yo disappeared, and the two hit the ground with a sickening thump.

Still partially transformed when she made contact, Ladybug was somewhat protected, although Hawkmoth fared worse, not surviving the impact, face down, so his identity was not immediately revealed.

Chat was the first into the alley beside the building, immediately recognizing his father's broken body, without having to turn him over. Nathalie Sancour, who's scream at having her miraculous ripped from her was what had distracted Hawkmoth in the first place. She fought to break free from Carapace and King Monkey, each who had one of her arms. She slammed Carapace into King Monkey, causing them to release her in surprise. Rena, dove to grab her, but it was too late, she'd already launched herself over the side of the building.

She fell silently, and the noise they heard when she hit the ground was followed by a keening wail coming from Chat. As a group, they looked around, then flowed over the side of the building, getting to the ground in whatever ways they could, surprised to see Chat not looking at the broken body of Ladybug, but the still body of Gabriel Agreste.

A movement behind them, and the faintly whispered words "Miraculous Ladybug" sapped the last bit of strength that she had, the small fluttering of red bugs that flew out, barely a foot over her prone body, zipped around the city, repairing the structural damage caused by both the akuma and the sentimonster. Then the last of her transformation unraveled swiftly, her body slumping, her identity revealed to all.

Rena was the first to kneel at Ladybug's side, followed shortly by Viperion and Bunnix, while King Monkey and Pegasus checked over Nathalie's body, and Carapace placed a hand on Chat's shoulder. Carapace was the only one who heard Chat's muffled sobs of "Father. Why did you have to do this?"

He stared at Chat Noir for a moment, and then softly whispered, "Adrien?"

"She's still alive!" Bunnyx called out. "Barely, but she's hanging on."

Viperion stepped to the end of the alley, dialing 112 for the ambulance, while Rena stared down into the face of her best friend. Viperion returned to tell them the ambulance was on its way, and heard a cacophony of beeps from various miraculous. "Alright." He said, fighting to keep calm, and to keep the others calm. "Anyone who's miraculous needs recharging needs to leave. We should meet somewhere." He glanced at Nino, who was quietly comforting Chat Noir, and now, he caught the word Chat had been mumbling to himself over and over.

"We'll meet at my house. My mother won't object to a group of people just randomly showing up. My name is Luka Couffaine, and I live on a houseboat called the Liberty, which is moored along the Seine. Do any of you know it?" To his surprise, all the others nodded. "Well, this may be easier if we all know each other. Anyone who needs to recharge, go." Carapace, King Monkey, Ryuko, and Bunnix all stood and, with a nod to each other, took off in the direction of the Seine.

Rena looked up at Viperion. "I've recharged since I used Mirage. I'm on a timer, I'm staying."

Viperion nodded, slinging an arm around Chat, who looked like he could use all the support he could get. "I'm going to need your help. Hawkmoth snatched Ladybug's earring, but it is no longer in his hand. Can you help me find it? Ladybug is going to need it." Chat's ring let out a shrill wail. "I need to get him somewhere safe."

He turned to Pegasus as Rena began to search the alley. "Can you get him to the boat? Portal close and then lead him if you need to. I think we all need to talk about what's going to happen, and we need to be gone when the ambulance arrives, if we have any hope of preserving either Chat or Ladybug's identity from the general public. And for the sake of Adrien, too, it might be good to keep Hawkmoth's real name out of the media."

"I regret that decision now," Luka said softly. "I thought it would be for the best at the time. I didn't realize it would lead to this. I am so sorry."

Tom reached out a hand to the young man, clapping him on the back. "You made a split-second decision in a terrible situation, trying to help out as many people as you could. Nobody blames you for it."

"I do." He replied, almost inaudibly. Alix threw her arms around him in a hug, and the Time Twins sat there together, on the floor offering comfort to each other in a way only they understood.

Alya's voice seemed overloud as she broke the silence, throwing them back to that day.

It didn't take long for Rena to spot the earring. Red with black spots; very different looking from the solid black one in Marinette's other ear. Rena went to put it back in, but the ear was torn from the violent way the earring had been removed. She looked up as Chat and Pegasus disappeared.

Turning to Viperion, she'd told him that she wanted to wait until they heard sirens, and then she could put up an illusion to hide them. Viperion suggested just leaping to the roof of a nearby building, instead, where they could watch. Agreeing, the pair waited, each holding one of Marinette's hands and talking to her, although she was unconscious and could no longer respond to them.

At the first hint of a siren, they found themselves on a lower rooftop, only three stories tall, across the street, where they had a view of the emergency crew at work, but were unlikely to be seen. They watched as the paramedics swarmed Marinette's body, but merely covered the bodies of Nathalie and Gabriel. Once she was in the ambulance and on the way to the hospital Rena followed it to confirm which hospital she was being taken to.

Viperion stayed behind and watched the loading of Gabriel and Nathalie's bodies into a separate ambulance. When Rena rejoined him, they headed to the Liberty together.

Onboard the Liberty, Luka was surprised, but not as stunned as he might once have been, now that he knew the identity of Ladybug, to discover that he knew all the heroes. He filled everyone on what happened once they left, and then everyone turned to Adrien.

He looked at them dazedly, appearing more hurt than sad. "My father is really Hawkmoth, isn't he?" Nino put a comforting hand on him and nodded. "And he's dead?" Another nod. "And Ladybug is Marinette. But she's not dead. Not that we know of."

This time it was Alya that answered. "She was still alive when they put her in the ambulance." Stepping forward, Alya dropped the earring into Adrien's hand. "I wasn't able to get it back to her. I think you need to be the one to do it." This time it was Adrien's turn to nod.

"And that's all that happened. That night was when the news report was made that my father had died. We, uh, Plagg, Nooroo, Duusuu and I, watched it all. Then Nooroo told me about my mother. She was in a glass coffin in the basement all this time. She's dead." Tears threatened to spill from Adrien's eyes again, and as Sabine reached over and took his hand, squeezing gently, they did.

"I don't know what my bodyguard told the police. I didn't listen, I couldn't handle it." Adrien glanced up at the clock on the wall. "I need to leave soon for her funeral."

There were several offers to accompany him, but he shook his head. "We'll meet at the mansion tonight as we agreed. Nadia Chamack has already promised to be there. I told her that I had an important announcement to make. They're going to televise it live. Anybody who doesn't wish to be there, doesn't have to be."

He gave a sad smile as he waved goodbye thanking them for everything they had done.

The ceremony for Emilie Agreste was a quiet one. Only Adrien and his bodyguard were present. He felt a little bad at not informing his Aunt Amalie but knew that it would be better to have it just the two of them. As the ashes poured into the grave, Adrien thought back on his memories with his mother. Remembering her face, her voice, her smile, he wrapped his arms around himself a little tighter. He'd mourned in the two and a half years since her disappearance, and hadn't really expected to see her again, but now, even that tiny sliver of hope was gone.

The car ride back to the mansion was silent. Even since Gabriel's no talking order was lifted from the man, Adrien's bodyguard wasn't much given to casual conversation. As the car slipped quietly through the gate, Adrien could see the news van rounding the other end of the street, and mentally started preparing himself for the day's final task.

His friends arrayed in a semicircle behind him, Adrien stepped up to his father's old podium and grimaced. "Do we have to do this in here?"

"It is already all set up for a press conference. I know you're missing your father, but this really is the ideal place." Nadia reassured him.

Adrien took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Alright. Are we ready?" Nadia nodded. "Hello, everyone, my name is Adrien Agreste. It has been reported that my good friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng murdered my father. I'm here to set the record straight. I was actually an eyewitness to what happened that day, as are the seven people standing behind me."

"You see, my father had a secret. A dangerous one. He was the man that has been terrorizing the city for the past two years. The man known as Hawkmoth. His assistant who died with him was his assistant in every sense; she was Mayura."

"Now, you may think that since I know this much, I must have been in league with my father. I was not. In fact, it couldn't be further from the truth." Adrien paused, taking a deep, steadying breath to calm his nerves. "Plagg, claws out." Chat Noir stood in front of the camera, and Nadia gasped. Through her headset, she could hear the people at the station also reacting in shock.

"I did not know my father's identity until moments before his death. The people here with me can attest to that."

The people behind him nodded, one by one, starting with Luka on Adrien's far left and ending with Kagami on the far right, called for their transformation, and becoming the Heroes of Paris.

Clearing his throat, Chat Noir continued. "As you can see, there is one of our number missing. Ladybug. She is currently in a hospital bed, recovering from the fight with Hawkmoth that nearly cost her life. Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien gave a brief version of the story, how Ladybug had fought Hawkmoth and removed his miraculous, and the tragic fall after that.

"As you can see. The truth is Ladybug was involved in the death of Hawkmoth, through no ill intent on her part. As far as I am concerned, both as a Hero of Paris and as the son of the deceased, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is innocent of any wrongdoing. She has done nothing but try to keep this city safe, and as she has succeeded, we should celebrate her. Thank you."

Chat Noir stepped down from the podium, and the other heroes followed in silence. Dropping his transformation, he stepped over to Nadia. "Do you think that will work?"

Mutely, Nadia nodded her head and indicated that the cameraman should start packing up his equipment. As they opened the door to leave, an explosion of sound hit them like a tidal wave. Paris was celebrating.

Across town, in a well-guarded hospital room, Marinette Dupain-Cheng opened her eyes.