A few months later…..

"You know, I never thought I'd see it," I grin at Marinette as she walks or waddles up to me, hand on her large belly. "What? You planting a garden? Can I call you Farmer Adrien now?" "I like that sound of that. But no, I never thought I'd never see you without a coffee cup in hand, Bugaboo." "Ha. Ha. You know with Emma or Hugo in here, I'm not aloud to have coffee." "Oh, so that's why your so cranky in the mornings! I was wondering!" "You better watch your back, Agreste," she glares at me. "Would you like me to pun and make it better?" "Isn't that supposed to be how a kiss works?" she smiles at me. "A pun and a kiss? My Lady, you ask a lot of me!" We stare at each other a moment, then burst into giggles. "What are those things up there?" she asks, pointing the brown balls above my head.

"Coconuts. And to answer you from earlier, I do need to watch my back, because one of those could drop at any moment." "So, would it be evil of me to wish one would bonk you on the head, so you would forget all your puns?" "That is paw-sitively pawful, Marinette. And here I was going to give you a foot massage later, but I guess I won't."

I start to work the hoe in the carrots, knowing the wheels are turning in that brilliant mind of hers. "Could I do anything to make it up to you?" I pretend to think for a moment, carefully working at the weeds. No matter if you live in Paris and have a garden or here in the middle of nowhere, there will always be weeds. "You haven't to make my favorite corn chowder," I start, and she nods happily. "And I get to pun all day long."

"Oh, you are wicked." "Tell you what? I fetch a couple of coconuts and you can make smoothies. I'll even come in for a break." "Your going to climb all the way up there?" Marinette asked, looking up at the palm tree. "Adrien, that's a little high, isn't it?" "It might be high for Adrien, but who said anything about Cat Noir? Cats are excellent climbers."

After I transform, I begin to shimmy up the skinny trunk, already tasting Marinette's delicious smoothies. "Careful, love." I grin down at her halfway up. "Don't worry, Cats always land on their feet." I think I hear her mutter "where have I heard that before?" But I have to concentrate.

The tree begins to sway under my weight and I shuffle slowly and carefully upwards. Finally, I'm in reaching distance of one of the furry looking bowling balls and I reach out my hand to pluck one, only to have the motion send one hurtling towards me and conking me on the head.

I groan as I open my eyes and wish I hadn't. "What hit me?" I moan. "A coconut. Oh, we should have just used the strawberries from town. Now, sit still, so I can wrap your bandage." "Bandage?" "You have a lump the size of a coconut on your head." "Thank goodness I'm not a model anymore, and have to go to shoots because this would so embarrassing. Are you sure you didn't put that coconut put it?"

Marinette's mouth drops open. "Your unbelievable." "Yeah, but you love me." Marinette sends me to bed after putting on my bandage. Its nice to take a quiet nap in the middle of the day. I'm busy all day long either gardening or fishing or helping Marinette with some chore or another.

She makes my soup for dinner, and I sip it slowly from a mug, still in bed. I'm just finishing the last of my coffee when Marinette comes in with a bowl. I lick my lips hopefully, could that be dessert? "Okay, now, no squirming," she says, setting the bowl down. I narrow my eyes. "Anytime you say no squirming usually means something bad is about to happen." "It just medicine." I lean to look in the bowl and the smell is awful. "What are you going to do that?" "Put on your bump. It will help with the swelling."

I hold still, but it isn't easy. After, we cuddle in bed, though it takes Marinette a long time to get comfortable. She falls asleep quickly, and I rest a hand on her stomach. My son or daughter is moving around in there, and I can't wait to meet them.

In the morning, the swelling has gone down dramatically, (was there magic in that medicine?) and I can hear Marinette in the kitchen cooking breakfast. "Good morning. I'm going to have a quick swim before breakfast," I tell her and she nods, keeping her eyes on the sizzling pan.

The water feels so good today, already warmed by the harsh tropical sun. Changing into my garden clothes, I walk back to the cabin to find Marinette just setting the table. Eggs, sausage, and juice grace my plate and suddenly I feel like I'm the luckiest person on the planet. "You look happy this morning," Marinette says, tucking into her eggs. "I'm the luckiest guy in the world, because I married you." "Well, it does help to have Lady Luck on your side. Mind if I bring a blanket out and watch you work?"

"You know I love your company. Come whenever your ready." I chop firewood in the clearing near the garden, Cyprus taught me how. I never let Marinette near the ax, for its very sharp and very dangerous. The days here may be wickedly hot, but the nights range to cool to cold.

Gathering the wood into a neat bundle, I tie it together to bring back later. Today is going to be a good day for the potatoes and corn are ready to be harvested. I see Marinette coming through the trees. "Whew, takes awhile to get anywhere with my little watermelon!" she rubs her belly affectionately. My mouths waters. "Remind me to pick up watermelon seeds next time where in the village."

Marinette spreads her blanket out and works on her sewing. It was thoughtful of her to make a picnic lunch. She's usually busy or resting in the cabin these days, so I'm glad she made the effort to come sit with me.

"Do you like it here, Adrien?" she asks, her head in my lap. "Its different than Paris, isn't it?" "Paris has many great memories, but all of them include you, Bugaboo." "Really? All the best ones?" "Hm, maybe not when you had to get out the water sprayer, but yes, I would say a good chunk."

"Remember when we saw each other sometimes as Cat and Marinette and Andre would be so disappointed? How many times did we have to fight that giant snowman again?" I laugh. "To many. If we knew and were allowed to tell, we could have saved him a lot of heartache." Marinette giggles. "Yeah, probably."

Marinette shifts into a more comfortable position. "You know, I've told this before, but I loved you even when you were Cat Blanc. You will always be Cat Noir to me." "Here's me being curious," I ask, stroking her hair. "Even without Cat Blanc, were you in love with me?" "That's a tough question. I guess I was in a way, even though at the time I thought Adrien was the only one for me." "And here we turned out to be the same person."

Marinette leaves to go rest after lunch, and I gather as many baskets of corn and potatoes I can muster. "That's the last of them," I tell her, wiping the sweat from my brow. Its nearly sunset, and the sky is streaked with colors from the artist's palette. "How about we bake some potatoes down at the shore? I already have a campfire all ready to go."

We take everything we need down to the shore, and its even more beautiful down here then up he beach. Plagg is excited about the cheese and sour cream on our baked potatoes, while Tikki just wants dessert.

We're just finishing as the sky grows completely dark, and thousands of stars are sprinkled like a spilled salt shaker across the heavens.

For a long time we listen to the waves going in and out with the tide. A wave is like a heartbeat, only the waves will never stop. A sliver of moon peeks above the horizon and slowly rises from its bed. As it sails higher into the sky, a glowing moon path along the water can be seen.

Everything is at peace. No villains, no tears, no foes. Marinette rubs her belly, murmuring soothing words to our son or daughter, the future Ladybug or Cat Noir.

"Do you think they'll have enemies, like we once had?" Marinette asks. "I hope not. But we will train them once they are ready." "Adrien?" "Yes?" "When are you going to get me a hamster?" Her question makes me laugh aloud and soon she is laughing with me. "Just make sure you don't name it Loneliness!"

When our laughter dies away, she smiles at me. "I used to feel so alone, even when I was Ladybug. But each day and evening, I would look forward to seeing you as Adrien, and at night, Cat Noir. Though your the same person, you showed me different sides of your personalities. I knew from the very start, we would be friends, for we had a certain spark."

"It was your confidence and sassiness that made me fall head over heels for you," I say. "Are you sure you didn't fall in love with me when we first met flying through the air?" "Well, maybe then too."

In the light of the flickering fire, we talk memories and I feel my heart glow. Finally, Marinette begins to yawn and so do I. "Ready for bed?" she nods. "Before we head inside, there's just one more thing," I tell her and lean down to give her a good night kiss, and many more are still to come.