Here it is, the 165th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released on schedule. Everyone's settled into Troy, Ochaco has confessed to Izuku, and everyone is ready for what is to come. There's still a bit of time, however, enough for one more night for Marinette and Adrien to be alone and have some personal time before they focus on the war to come. What could possibly go wrong with that? Well let's see as that is all the administrative stuff that I have for you and as there are no guest reviews to respond to or questions to answer I will end this note here. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all. That is all I have for this pre chapter note so that means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 165th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.

Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.

Chapter 165: Alone at Night

"A picnic?" Marinette asked with a note of surprise in her voice as she landed on the roof at the back of the girls' side and took in the sight of a blanket and pillows already laid out with a small picnic basket next to it. "At night? Well we are in our pajamas so the blanket does make sense I guess."

"Sometimes I think back on out time in Paris and wonder what it would have been like had we found out about each other's secret identities back then and started dating." Adrien said as he turned to her wearing only the white t-shirt with a black stripe around the chest, black shorts with a stipe on each leg, and socks. "And one idea that came to mind was a simple picnic in my backyard though I did think of having a video game set up on a screen as well to add some more entertainment to it. The basket's empty by the way, it's just here for the aesthetics."

"The picnic idea does sound nice." Marinette said with a smile as she walked over to Adrien as he took in her usual pajamas of a white tank top with thin straps and pink pants and understanding that the basket had to be empty, they'd already eaten and with food starting to get scarce they couldn't waste any but it was a nice touch. "We could have played some games, had something to eat, and then laid back on the blacked holding hands and looking at the clouds before kissing under them. We might have even been able to do more if your father wasn't around."

"Fat chance there." Adrien said with a laugh as Marinette reached him and he pulled her into his arms. "He'd never allow it, might even meddled with our relationship if he didn't see it as benefiting the family brand knowing him."

"Well I'd would have been a clumsy, tongue tied, mess back then as well." Marinette said. "I always was around you before, well…"

"I know but it's what I remember you as from then, it was part of who you were." Adrien said. "You were a friend then despite that. Since then I've gotten to know all of you and you know all of me."

"That I do kitty and I love you." Marinette said as she lent up and took his lips in hers, her arms going to his neck and his pulling her in deepening their kiss for a moment before they broke apart and she rested her head on his chest as he held her. "It may not be clouds but tonight we have the stars instead."

"That we do." Adrien said as he picked her up in his arms, which elicited a cute eep from Marinette, and turned to the blankets. "Just like before the Provisional License Exam."

"Yeah only back then we were just worried about passing an exam." Marinette said as Adrien sat down still holding her so that she was now in his lap though he fell back to lie on the blanked so she slid to the side to lie next to him, her head on his chest and right arm across it as his right held her waist. "Now, well…"

"I know." Adrien said.

For a few moments they just lay there in silence with Marinette just listening to the soft beats of Adrien's heart her breathing in time with it. There were no words that needed to be said at the moment, they both knew what was coming in a few days' time, so they didn't need to discuss it, at least not right away. Plus, it was why they were having this night together as it would probably be their last night alone together so they needed it. Everyone else was doing their own things as well so they opted to as well. Finally Adrien broke the silence.

"How'd you know that this would be the best place for tonight?" Adrien asked. "I was with Todoroki, Ida, Kirishima, and Bakugo earlier so I wasn't looking but you were it seems. I know that this is better than back in the dorms because of the fortification around the building but I'd not checked it out."

"Oh that, well I may or may not have been up here earlier spying on another pair that were having their own private moment down on the plateau." Marinette said with a smile. "I couldn't hear as they were right by the cliff's edge and I didn't want to listen in on their conversation, just make sure that it went well after giving one of them some advice, again."

"I see, so that's why Midoriya wasn't with us earlier when we were making sure that Todoroki was ok." Adrien said getting it right away. "I didn't realize it at the time but afterwards, when I saw him at dinner, I realized that he wasn't there which was odd given how he's usually there when a friend needs checking up on. I guess he had a different friend to check up on. I presume that Uraraka has finally told him then."

"Judging by his hilarious reaction, I'm certain she has though I'm not going to ask her about it until after the war." Marinette said giggling at the memory of Midoriya's reaction to what had to be Ochaco's confession. "She came to me last night after All Might told us the plan and asking for advice about telling him. She knew that he'd come to talk to her, she wanted that for other reasons, but the idea of telling him was also on her mind."

"Why?" Adrien asked. "We have the war coming up so wouldn't that burden him? You know how he overanalyzes things."

"Midoriya does do that but he also knows how to prioritize so he'll still focus on Shigaraki and then analyze this and his own feelings for Ochaco, at last." Marinette said. "Ochaco knows this so she knew that telling him wouldn't overburden him, might even motivate him to not foolishly sacrifice himself even. That and Ochaco knows that the battle is coming and that, well, some of us may not come back from it so this is a good time to tell him and she can face Himiko Toga without worrying that she never told Midoriya that she loves him if the worst were to happen to her."

"I see, when you put it like that it does make some sense." Adrien said thinking on what Marinette had said. "Did you influence her decision?"

"I don't think so, I only told her what she needed to hear about it." Marinette said. "That it was Ochaco's decision alone and to follow her heart in making it, that's the advice that I gave. It's hard for me though because I've never been in her shoes, you know, confessing my love on the eve of a battle. Our one big battle on Heroes' Day was, well, last minute and so I didn't have time to come and find you to confess. Course I couldn't as they needed me first and you are Cat Noir so you I wouldn't have found you anyway, my love."

"Yeah true and with all that was going on that day I never confessed to you as Cat Noir then because everyone else was with us." Adrien said. "And whenever I saw Ladybug as myself without the costume I never had the time to confess either though that would have been funny if I had."

"That would have been both a dream and nightmare for me at the same time as I'm sure I'd have reverted back to my clumsy, tongue tied, self around you which wouldn't have looked good when I was in full Ladybug costume." Marinette said with a chuckle. "Though us dating in with one as a civilian and the other a hero, that might be hard."

"I'm sure we could have made it work but there may be problems what with the other me having to slip away to transform and then rejoin you." Adrien admitted. "Though there were a few instances where you hid me and I just transformed and came to help before returning there so it's possible. That said, when you're in love you do stupid things. I wasn't always the best kitty around you bugaboo."

"And I wasn't great around you when we were in our civilian forms." Marinette said. "Not only couldn't I string together a sentence but I was even more clumsy than usual and over complicated things all the time. My strange way of seeing things works great with Lucky Charm but not so great when trying to talk to the boy I'm in love with. I also may have done things that were, um, well, wrong."

"Wrong?" Adrien asked. "Like what?"

"Oh you know like accidentally steal your phone once because I left a voicemail on it after Alya used her phone to call you and I panicked and threw her phone away and then openly talked about my crush on you not realizing that the voicemail was still on and so I tried to erase it." Marinette said. "That was one of my lowest points for sure."

"I remember that." Adrien said. "So that's what happened to my phone when I thought I'd lost it before it reappeared in my bag the next day. So you had it."

"Yeah sorry about that." Marinette said deeply ashamed by how she'd acted in the past. "And on top of that I may have stalked you, like legit if the cops found my board with your detailed schedule, my many pictures of you though at least those were taken from your various modeling appearances so legit, and the chest of gifts that I had for you, I may have been arrested for stalking you."

"That bad?" Adrien asked and Marinette nodded her head on his chest. "But you're a girl, they'd have probably let you off for it or called it sweet and cute."

"They shouldn't, gender shouldn't be an excuse for bad behavior." Marinette said seriously. "If it's bad for a man to do it then it's bad for a woman to do it. Still, I am sorry for taking your phone and for, um, stalking you."

"It's a good thing that you know what you did was wrong." Adrien said. "And it worked out in the end, so I accept your apology. I don't hold it against you, especially because I know it wasn't malicious or anything, you were just struggling to express your feelings at the time."

"Yeah I was a real mess back then but I'm glad that it did work out." Marinette said. "However, if I could do it again I would be different, well I hope so."

"Well if it's any consolation if you were found out by Chloe, she would have ensured that you were actually punished." Adrien said. "She did have it in for you and would have told her father to arrest you for it and to ignore your gender."

"True, oddly, for as much as I disliked Chloe in our past life, her hatred for me would have seen me properly punished which isn't really that bad a thing." Marinette said with a chuckle. "Course it wouldn't be because I actually deserved it, hell she'd have done the same as me I'm pretty sure, but because she would have leapt on that and a chance to get rid of a rival in a heartbeat."

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked confused. "I know you and Chloe never got along but rival? That I don't get."

"Right, you're as dense as Midoriya is, well hopefully not after earlier as there's no way he can miss Ochaco's feelings for him now." Marinette said still chuckling. "But yeah, Chloe was my rival because she loved you Adrien, the same way I did. Sure there were no doubt superficial reasons to her crush on you like your status and wealth, along with her own vanity and narcissism, and she'd have been the dominant one, but, well, I do get the feeling that her feelings were genuine in her own odd way."

"Chloe loved me like that?" Adrien asked confused. "I never knew. She was just my only friend growing up, it's why I gave her so many chances. In the end she did prove to be somewhat useful as Queen Bee. I'd never have reciprocated her feelings though, she was too mean to others, I could never fall for someone like that. I gave her a lot of chances because of our past but being in a class with her did show me that there was more to her than I'd realized."

"I know kitty." Marinette said. "And it shows how good you are that you saw the good in Chloe, just another reason why I love you. My relationship with her was, however, well, that was about as bad, if not worse than, Midoriya and Bakugo's."

"I can see the parallels though somehow Bakugo is better I feel." Adrien said. "He's been making a bit more of an effort lately to hang out with us, hell he was with me, Ida, and Kirishima earlier when we were helping Todoroki out so he's clearly improving."

"He apologized and accepted his faults and how bad his past actions were." Marinette said. "Words alone don't make up for it of course but actions will do that and he at least seems to be trying there. He was never hostile towards me because he respected me but the others, well he's got a long way to go."

"Agreed." Adrien said. "And now it's time for Midoriya to get a different confession from someone close to him. I wonder how he'll handle it."

"No clue but I know that Ochaco won't expect an answer until after the war." Marinette said. "There isn't time to begin with and Midoriya has to focus on his battle with Shigaraki. Afterwards though, he'll fully analyze the situation and give Ochaco the answer she deserves."

"That may take a little time as I don't think he knows the answer himself, at least not yet." Adrien said causing Marinette to lift her head up and look at him. "Oh I'm sure that he feels the same way about her as she does about him but he's not yet aware that he's in love with her. Midoriya's a smart guy but he's not the best with his own feelings likely because of his past and with his own dream he's been too focused to really think about romance. He needs his time to think on it and then respond, after he's kicked Shigaraki's ass first of course."

"True he does have to do that." Marinette said as she fell back down to rest her head on Adrien's chest again before adding. "D, do you think that he will though? Win that is. I know that the whole All for One and One for All thing is coming to a conclusion but I can't help but be worried about it because he could lose."

"Yeah, I'm worried as well." Adrien admitted as he looked up at the stars overhead. "I won't deny that. However, I have faith in Midoriya that he'll do it, that he'll find a way to defeat Shigaraki and end this war once and for all. It's not just him though, I have faith in all of our classmates, as well as in the kwamis and pros, to win their battles as well and to help Midoriya win his. It's a tough plan but it's the best that we got. So long as it holds, we should be good. We always triumph in the end, even if we stumble a bit on the way."

"It's certainly better than anything we had before Star's death, that's for sure." Marinette said not adding that they didn't have anything at all back then and if it hadn't been for her they wouldn't have even had the time to accidentally uncover Aoyama's betrayal and realize that they had an avenue to plan around that might win them the war. "I know that we've pulled off wins in the past but in the end we got cocky and, well, when we lost we lost everything."

"We didn't lose each other m'lady." Adrien reminded her as he squeezed her. "So we didn't lose everything and it's because we had each other that we recovered from what happened in Paris all those years ago. This is nothing compare to that; we will win this war."

"Yeah, we will." Marinette agreed her own passion coming back into her voice. "We can't dwell or worry about it; we just have to be ourselves and trust in our friends and allies just as they trust in us. It's just, well, this life is a hell of a lot more dangerous than our last one. We never saw death before, now it's become a common occurrence for us."

"That it is but the world has changed since our time, it's a lot more dangerous than it was before the advent." Adrien said. "And I know that we've had some close calls…"

"You mean you've had some close calls." Marinette said glaring up at him though not raising her head. "I'm not complaining that my cure is back but seriously, that was bad and that's not factoring in how you were at Stain's mercy or your actions in the forest."

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry for all of that." Adrien said his voice filled with remorse at how he'd put Marinette through those things since they arrived in this time period. "I did what I had to with Stain and he recognized me as a true hero so didn't kill me, not that I was in danger as my actions ensured that Midoriya could get there in time while the forest ensured that you were safe and I learned from it and got a support item made to counter pathogens."

"True, you did learn from the forest and it showed in the joint training exercise as you were able to avoid Komori's microscopic mushrooms." Marinette said. "And I know you did what you had to in all those situation but that still doesn't mean that I'm not upset at them. I accept your actions, especially because I probably would have done the same, but I am allowed to be selfish about the man I love and want him to not almost die multiple times."

"I know and all I can do is say that this time I won't do something like that but I can't promise it." Adrien said and Marinette sighed knowing that that was the best she'd get though it was because of things like this that she loved Adrien. "This is the final battle and my role is solely to contain decay if Monoma is taken out and if not to assist Midoriya in defeating Shigaraki. It's you that I'm worried about. All for One is something else. Shigaraki is destructive, angry, and powerful but All for One is smart, measured, and powerful so way more dangerous in my book."

"That he is, even Hawk Moth wasn't as bad as he was." Marinette admitted her heart picking up a bit at how worried Adrien was for her and her own battle. "But I've been training hard, I'm ready for the fight with him and to back up Endeavor and the others who are part of the team that will face All for One. It would take something big for him to throw me off and he doesn't know us so he can't do that."

"He knows our Quirks though and he might target Lucky Charm but yeah just so long as your safe it will be good." Adrien said. "And we'll be in touch with Momo, she can create a portal to get us out of harm's way if need be."

"That part I'm not worried about, Momo is where she needs to be and she mentioned that Mage will assist in preserving her cover so she's all good." Marinette said glad that at least one of their class would be safe and helping at the same time though she'd not expected Momo to go to the same lengths as she and Adrien had gone and had a feeding tube and stomach pump fitted. "She'll do her part and I trust the others will as well. Just, hard, you know, thinking that this is it, that if we lose that's the end of Japan, the end of our new lives, and possibly the end of the world as All for One takes over."

"It's big, no doubt about it, bigger than anything that we've faced before but we've come out on top." Adrien said. "We did so on Heroes' Day, we can do it now."

"We succeeded then but we lost in the end." Marinette said with a sigh of regret. "We let Hawk Moth hit us with that power with no was back, he blasted us out of the timeline and into the future. Yes, he seems to have given up after he realized that we weren't coming back and never revealed his identity to anyone while returning the Miraculouses but all that does is makes it is a draw at best. He beat us really, sent us away so we couldn't oppose him any longer but without our Miraculouses he couldn't achieve his wish and gave up."

"Yeah, I won't lie, we did fail to defeat Hawk Moth in the end." Adrien said his own voice filled with regret as well. "That was a failure on our part. I wonder though, what do you think was his wish? Bakugo theorized that my father might have been Hawk Moth and akumatized himself but I'm not sure there. It could have happened but, well, while my father may have been controlling, distant, and cold, he was no villain I feel."

"You can akumatize yourself?" Marinette asked surprised at the news as she'd not considered that a possibility. "Really?"

"According to Wayzz it is though Nooroo would be able to confirm it." Adrien said. "So that does open up who Hawk Moth could be as he could have akumatized himself to throw us off his trail."

"Yeah he could have." Marinette said thinking though given the moment she didn't want to reveal that she'd once suspected Gabriel Agreste because he had the Miraculous grimoire but his akumatization and explanation for how he'd acquired it had dispelled that suspicion though now that suspicion was back and the pair could address it after the war. "But we kinda have bigger things to focus on right now."

"That was my conclusion as well." Adrien said. "Still, I'll always wonder what Hawk Moth's wish was."

"Same but we'll probably never know." Marinette said. "I want to say that it was a nefarious one but I dunno, my gut tells me it's not but rather that his wish was likely something so serious, something he cared so deeply about, that he ended up turning to evil to achieve it."

"Yeah I can actually see that, we know that some people become villains because they desire something so much that they'll do anything for it." Adrien said recalling what Bakugo had said about his mother's disappearance could have turned his father into a villain. "When I think back on it, he had the Moth and Peacock Miraculouses before we got ours so he likely found out about the wish that was granted when you combined our Miraculouses decided that he had to turn to evil to force Master Fu to activate the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses thus putting them into circulation and allowing him to seize them for his own goal, his own wish."

"That does make perfect sense." Marinette agreed. "If he wants to get his hands on those two Miraculouses then the best way is through evil."

"Precisely." Adrien said. "But that said, whatever it is has to be something so dear to him that he'd do anything and I can't think about what that could be. Even wishing for my mother back, which I won't deny thinking about, isn't enough for me because I could never pay the price that would be required for that."

"And that's why you're a hero kitty, but there are those who will pay the price for something or someone that they love and thus will resort to evil to achieve it." Marinette said patting Adrien on the chest. "Living in this superhero world for coming up on 2 years now has made me realize that things aren't always as black and white as they seem. For the most part they're gray."

"That's very true." Adrien said. "While there is true evil out there like All for One who are just pure sociopaths, most are either made evil by society or family treating them wrongfully or have some reason for it. It doesn't justify their actions of course but it does explain them. I was there for Stain's speech, I saw his conviction, his zealotry, he knew that what he did was evil but he justified it because of the corruption in the hero system, a corruption that sadly is there."

"Yeah I've seen the video." Marinette said. "But he spared you because he saw that you were a true hero which shows the complexity of his twisted world view. Course Stain's a murderer as well so he should be punished and he will be recaptured once this is over but yeah I wouldn't be surprised if most of the League have more understandable reasons for why they ended up becoming villains."

"We know from Shoji's experiences what Spinner's likely is." Adrien said. "The heteromorph discrimination that he no doubt suffered coupled with his clear devotion to Stain and then Shigaraki led him down that path."

"If we win society has to change to prevent stuff like that from happening again because we need to truly understand the complexity of Quirks and what they do to the mind even with the counseling we were told kids got." Marinette said thinking on all that she'd learned since she and Adrien had arrived in the future and looking at it from her outside perspective on the situation. "I wouldn't be surprised if Toga's reasons are to do with how drinking blood as part of her Quirk is really unacceptable in civilized society. The act alone has to mess with a person's mind and if you're a kid who doesn't understand and is treated poorly for it, I can't even imagine what it would do to that person's mental state."

"It would explain a lot for sure." Adrien said. "But as we know, just because you experienced this doesn't mean that you have to go down that path. Look at those who came from environments that could have caused villains but didn't. We all know of Hawks's history thanks to Dabi, but he became a hero and not a villain like his father. Same with Shoji, he could very well have been part of Spinner's army but because he saved that girl and the good memory of his Quirk that that act gave him, he was able to overcome the bigotry he faced to get away and become a hero."

"It can be done but the opposite is also true and unfortunately I think that the path of villainy is more common." Marinette said. "Just look at Dabi. Endeavor's obsession with his own legacy and surpassing All Might was passed onto his eldest son and when he gave up on Dabi because of the drawback Dabi's Quirk caused him due to his constitution being built for cold not heat, that broke something in him. Add in what happened to him to turn him into what he became and, well, you can see how Dabi ended up the way he did. Very few could go through all that and come out sane in the end."

"Yeah, I'm not going to deny that Endeavor bears a lot of the blame for what his eldest child became." Adrien said. "And I know that Shoto feels the same way. That's why he's going to take care of his brother and end his rampage. He's in a clear headspace now, that's why a few of us talked with him earlier so that we could make sure that he was ready for his coming battle."

"If anyone can stop Dabi it's him." Marinette said before she paused for a moment as a nagging thought that she'd had the other day when Shoji had told them about his past came back to her and she decided to voice it while they had a moment. "But all this makes you really think about your own path."

"What do you mean bugaboo?" Adrien asked.

Marinette was silent for a moment as she got her thoughts in order. She'd never really thought about how she'd ended up here before, well she knew how she ended up in the future but what she meant was that she'd never really thought about how she became a strong confident hero. However, now that they were discussing it, and especially after hearing Shoji's tale, she'd thought more on it and for the first time realized just how close she came to breaking before she met Adrien. If she'd had a Quirk back then, she shuddered to think what might have become of her.

"I, well, I know you saw some of it but you had a different perspective due to knowing her within high society so I don't hold that against you." Marinette said as she got her thoughts in order. "That and you're kind and caring and just wanted the best for her so you didn't know but for three years before you came to school I was in the same class as Chloe and she was a total bitch to me the entire time. No that's not true, and there's actually a harsher word I'd use for her but I won't say it allowed, the truth is that she was a bully plain and simple."

"I did see some of her negative side after I started going to school but yeah I was blinded a bit when it came to her because of our past." Adrien said with a sigh. "She was my only friend growing up, well her and my cousin Felix I guess, and she was always overly nice to me so I knew that there was good in her and gave her a lot of chances to show it. Looking back on it, while she did have moments as Queen Bee and threw that party for the class, she probably only cared about me because of my family's money and reputation. After meeting her mother I can see that Chloe's just like her and, well, again she's a product of her upbringing. I'm sorry for what she did to you my love."

"You have nothing to apologize for Adrien." Marinette said smiling as she heard the love for her in his voice as well as his shame at not seeing Chloe for who she really was because she could never be upset at Adrien for having some good memories growing up. "Chloe made my life a living hell, she did that for everyone really but I was her favorite target. Why me I don't know other than social standing, a moot point these days as the Guardians nurtured my family's business into an empire that dwarfs any wealth that Chloe's family had, but I was her favorite target. By the time you started coming to school, I didn't want to go to school, that's how bad it was."

"I…" Adrien began before recalling what Marinette had said and stopping himself from apologizing again and instead shifted gears slightly. "Did you have someone? If I recall, Alya is like me in that she transferred to Francois Dupont at the same time that I did rather than start before junior high so she didn't start there."

"Yeah I did have a protector of sorts." Marinette said recalling it with a smile. "Gods, I feel bad because it's been a while since I thought of her but thanks for reminding me. She was the year above; our mothers were friends so she was like a big sister to me back then. Socqueline Wang, she was really confident and always stood up to Chloe for me, she wasn't afraid of Chloe at all and didn't take her shit. Also she was a gifted gymnast and expert in taekwondo which helped I think."

"That's the first I'm hearing of her." Adrien admitted. "I should have asked."

"It's ok, I don't like thinking about those days too much and besides, I kinda lost touch with Socqueline a bit after she graduated." Marinette said. "That and I was really worried about dealing with Chloe again only now I wouldn't have Socqueline to back me up. I had hoped that I wouldn't be in the same class as her but, well, I was. Thankfully, Alya was new and I sat next to her. That decision changed my life."

"Huh?" Adrien asked a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

"Alya stood up to Chloe from the start, it's how we became so close so fast, and unlike Socqueline she was my age and in the same class so I had a supporter all the time." Marinette said. "Plus she was confident and social which helped a lot. It's thanks to Alya that I had the confidence to really become Ladybug. That and falling for you when I realized that you were a good guy didn't hurt, well other than myself when I got clumsy around you."

"Yeah I thought that was just your kinda thing." Adrien said with a chuckle that Marinette felt in his chest. "I think I was the only one who didn't see your crush."

"You and Chloe but Chloe learned during that whole premier event for that movie based on us." Marinette said with a chuckle of her own before getting serious. "But yeah, if I hadn't have met Alya and realized that you weren't like Chloe, who knows what would have happened to me. It was from that that I became Ladybug and got more confident with everything in my life be it with or without the mask on. That was why I could stand up to Chloe more and the more I did the more I realized that she no longer had power over me."

"That's m'lady." Adrien said with a grin. "And why I fell for you. I get the feeling that if we'd not been blasted to the future and learned the truth of who the other was I may have fallen for you as Marinette, if I'd had to give up on Ladybug that is."

"Oh I would have probably gotten to the point where I got really pissed off at you as Cat Noir always flirting with me." Marinette said. "Might have gone too far to make a point, especially if I was pushed by the public thinking we were together, but it would have been necessary to make it clear that I didn't like Cat Noir that way. I mean I did but I didn't know that it was you under the mask."

"Yeah it probably would have taken a harsh rejection for me to stop." Adrien said. "And that could have made things messy for a while."

"No doubt it would." Marinette said. "Learning who was under the mask and being able to be together with the one we love was a good thing that came from all this but yeah, if not for Alya being in our class who knows what would have happened. I may have become a villain if I got the power to exact revenge on Chloe, I don't doubt that she'd have pushed me that far if I didn't have a counterbalance in Alya. We know that Chloe's capable of it, we all saw the akumatizations that she caused and the attacks that stemmed from them. If I had a Miraculous power, I shudder to imagine what I'd have become."

"That I get, more than you know Marinette." Adrien said, his girlfriend's words hitting home and making him think of his own situation. "If I'd not gone to school and been allowed to stay despite defying my father's wishes, who knows what would have happened. Being under my father's thumb, confined and forced to model when I didn't want to and without my mother around, I may have sought to find her and bring her back. In that case, I could have gotten to the point that if I learned of the wish I'd have taken it despite the consequences."

Marinette let Adrien's words sink in and she realized that like her he was on a knife's edge when they got their Miraculouses without realizing it until now. That made Marinette really think and wonder what would have happened in another timeline where they had Quirks or the Miraculouses weren't used for good but she dismissed that as there were too many variables to consider. Still, all this pointed something out to Marinette that she had to voice.

"It's amazing how a few small choices or random events can change the direction of your life." Marinette said after the silence had dragged on for a few moments. "And we owe so much to that class and our friends in it, they did so much for us just as we did a lot for them as Ladybug and Cat Noir."

"That we do." Adrien said as the sadness came to his voice. "And we never got to tell them that or just how much they meant to us."

"No we didn't and we will probably never get the closure that we need on that front even after the messages they recorded for us supporting us and knowing that we were safe even though we'd disappeared without a trace." Marinette said just as sad and blinking back tears as she recalled those messages that Mage had provided for them. "But we made a promise to live our new lives like out old, to make our friends proud of us and show that we can thrive in this new age. We've done that even with the trying times we are now in. We've become heroes again; we live openly with our powers in a way we couldn't dream of before, we have so many new friends who are just like our old ones, and we have each other and our love."

"That we do." Adrien said cheering up. "I know that if our friends could see us now they'd be proud of what we've become and of course thrilled that we're finally together."

"That they would." Marinette said. "But enough of this pity party and reminiscing on a past that we can't change, or at least shouldn't I guess because I've spoken with Fluff and she's said that while it's possible to do so, we really shouldn't change the past because it will drastically affect the future. So we must look to the future and succeed in the battle to come. Our new friends support us, they know of our past now, and we won't let them down, we'll do our part in bringing an end to this war and ushering in a new age of peace in this world."

"Yes, we will help make this world, our world now, a better, safer, happier place." Adrien said moved by Marinette's words but she was a natural leader and could do that she'd just needed the confidence to unlock her potential, a confidence she'd long had now. "This time we will succeed!"

"That's my kitty." Marinette said as she pushed up on his chest and turned her head to look at him, smiling down. "I love you Adrien."

"I love you too Marinette." Adrien said smiling back.

Marinette kept her smile as she leaned down and captured his lips with hers, pouring her love and passion into the kiss. Adrien naturally returned it with just as much enthusiasm and as he did Marinette shifted her body, twisting and throwing her right leg over Adrien's waist and pushing herself further up as she straddled him never once breaking their lip lock.

However, just as Adrien was about to deepen the kiss she pulled way with a little tease and felt him follow her up a bit but she pushed him down and grinned at the slight whimper that escaped his lips as she broke the kiss. Adrien didn't fight her though and laid back, his eyes opening and looking up, his green eyes meeting her blue ones and smiling at Marinette as she looked down at him, a gleam in her eyes that caused him to purr as she smiled down at him.

"This is our last night alone before the war Adrien, talking was only part of it." Marinette said as she instinctively switched back to their native French, her voice getting sultry as she spoke and she felt the stirring under him. "And we don't need words anymore my love."

"No we don't." Adrien agreed also switching to French as his smile turning into a full grin. "Come here bugaboo."

Marinette loved that grin, and everything about Adrien, and at his words she bent down, her last reserves of restraint gone as she captured his lips in a fierce kiss, this one a lot more passionate than the one before and quickly they lived up to their nationality with it as they began to wrestle each other for dominance. They were no strangers to this of course but given the situation there was a heightened level of passion in the moment given what was about to come and they both poured their love into the kiss as Adrien's hands went to the hem of Marinette's pajama top.

Adrien began to lift the top up, his strong hands lightly brushing over Marinette's exposed sides causing her to intensify the kiss. They were so into their moment that they didn't hear anything around them, they were simply locked in their passionate embrace as Marinette straddled Adrien, their lips together, that they were lost to the world around them.

All that they could focus on was each other and their love that as Adrien slowly removed Marinette's top, the night began to fall away from them as they embraced their final night together before the battle. At least that was what they thought they'd have up until a female voice suddenly spoke to them in fluent, clearly native, French.

"I've finally found you two after years of searching and this is what greets me? Not that I'm complaining because it's about damned time!"

The voice instantly caused the couple to break apart as Marinette shot upwards. Only her training and Adrien's hands on her sides keeping her from falling to the side and off Adrien while her shirt fell back down though not before the speaker saw the glint at her navel, not that the speaker wasn't already aware of what was there.

As for Adrien, he had the lucky position of being on his back on the ground so he didn't move but he did turn his head to the voice as his hands fell back to his sides while Marinette also turned her head to the voice. What they saw there caused their eyes to widen and they spoke a single word at the same time that came out as a question, one they never thought they'd say to that person again.

"Alix?"

Oh am I cruel or what! And right after Ochaco's confession as well! Sorry but y'all know that I can't resist a good cliffhanger and this one's up there with the best in the series so far I feel. At least this time it's not completely unknown but of course the answers and why I've done this will come in the next chapter so stay tuned for that. Also, as many of you may have picked up, there are a lot of subtle references to past revelations from season 5 of Miraculous and the Paris special, as well as an overt one as I've finally caught up with the show. I had my reasons for stopping during season 4 but I got back into it to prep for the kwamis being used and season 5, while lacking in areas, was good in the end so I will incorporate more of the past that's been revealed as it works. The one thing I won't include as it felt forced to me was the whole crush on Kim and the prank thing, just Chloe being horrible to Marinette and Socqueline's role in helping Marinette. This chapter allowed me to delve deeper into all that and if I ever do one of my backlogged Miraculous crossovers set in Paris in their universe there are many changes I'd make to it to better fit in my book. Anyway, that's all that I have for y'all so I will leave this chapter off here. As always, if you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.

Stringdog