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It’s been a few weeks after they defeated Hawk Moth. A few weeks after they revealed themselves. Adrien and Marinette both needed some time to work things out, but they agreed to meet up in a few weeks. When the day comes, Marinette arrives early, as she usually did. The two heroes were meeting in the park, and with nothing better to do while she waited, Marinette laid down in the grass. Every now and again, ladybugs would caress her before taking flight again. That was normal for her, though. What was unusual was when a butterfly, white as could be, fluttered its wings until it landed upon her nose.
She stared at it, a small smile playing on her lips. Its wings opened and shut, but aside from that, it didn’t really move. Eventually, she grew restless, laying there. She didn’t want to scare the butterfly off, so when she moved to stand, she did so carefully and at a very slow pace. The creature only moved to readjust itself. Had it been any normal butterfly, Marinette was certain it would have never stayed so long, especially not through her jostling movements. No, this was no normal butterfly. And she knew better than to think it was.
“I’m very happy you’ve found freedom. You and all the others that were used for evil deserve to be free. Make sure to take care, alright?” she said, talking even though she knew it would never speak back. She couldn’t help it, though. Through everything her and Chat Noir had faced, she’d never felt any vehemence towards the butterflies themselves. It wasn’t their fault. And she was about to tell it that when a shout interrupted her thoughts.
“Marinette!” a voice called, one that was familiar and filled with a warmth she’d missed. She turned to look at her partner in all his civilian glory, strutting towards her with the swagger of a cat. She smiled and lifted her hand to wave a small greeting. When she did that, the butterfly finally parted from her face and rose into the air. Her greeting to Adrien turned into a parting for the butterfly. Deep down in her gut, she knew this would be her last goodbye to them.
“Bye bye, little butterfly,” she shouted. It drew some gazes, but she couldn’t bring herself to care just then. Watching the insect fly away, Marinette soon found herself standing next to Adrien. He looked from her to the butterfly, a smile on his face.
They watched until it disappeared from sight before giving their full attention to each other. Today is going to be a great day, both of them thought. As if to emphasize the rightness of that thought, the two heroes leaned into each other and stayed that way for hours to come.