48. Epilogue

"Bonjour, kids!" the tour guide greeted them as she stood beside the bus driver.

"Bonjour, Madame!"

"Did you enjoy your week-long trip to Normandy?"

"Oui!"

"That's good to hear." the tour guide chuckled. "Anybody here wants to share their learnings and experiences?"

Juleka raised her hand. "I've learned that there are lots of World War II monuments and cemeteries in Normandy that must be treated with respect."

"Thank you, Mme. Couffaine. How about you, M. Kurtzberg?"

"I've learned that Normandy is a land of art. From the Tapestry in Bayeux to the House of Monet in Giverny, this region has been an inspiration to many modern-day artists."

"I agree. Normandy was even believed to be the birthplace of Impressionism." the tour guide saw another hand. "Yes, Mme. Raincomprix?"

"Normandy has lots of beautiful beaches!"

"Yeah." Rose swooned. "Not only beautiful, but also romantic."

"You're right, Mme. Lavillant."

Chloe scoffed. "I beg to differ. Papa's resort in Marseille is better!"

"Better, huh?" Alya adjusted her glasses with a smirk. "If your Papa's resort is better, then why am I seeing tans all over your body?"

All of their classmates laughed much to the blondie's disgruntlement. Nobody bats an eye when she pulled out her phone and dialed the Mayor. They were too used to her childish behavior.

"How about the food? Their pastries here are superb." Nino said. "Especially their apple pies. No one can ever beat Normandy's special apple pies."

"Not even Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie's apple pies?" Adrien inserted as he wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulder.

The DJ scowled. "Look who's talking, Cheesy Boy."

"I'm not a Cheesy Boy!"

"Yes you are," the designer cooed as she ruffled his blond hair. "You and your cheesy pickup lines."

There was a collective 'ooh' in the background.

"But you gouda admit it." he pulled her closer to kiss her nose. "My cheese puns are grate."

She groaned with a deadpan stare. "You're incorrigible."

"You mean un-brie-lievable."

"Quit the puns, Agreste!" Kim threw a popcorn on his way while the other boys used a crumpled paper.

"Alright. That's enough for now." Miss Bustier stopped the commotion. "Now that everyone was able to learn a lot from this field trip, I expect that all of you will have your written reports ready by Monday."

There was a collective 'no way' in the background.

"And no more deadline extension."

Their cries became louder.

"Why am I going to submit a written report," Chloe lamented with crossed arms. "If there's nothing that interests me here?"

"Then why don't you try to write something extraordinary that happened on this trip, Mme. Bourgeoise." their adviser suggested.

"Extraordinary? You mean a report about what happened with these two idiots?"

All eyes fell on Adrien and Marinette.

"Urk - "

"Eeep - "

The class snickered at their beet-red faces.

Nobody knows how the two teenagers returned to their hotel without alarming the faculty and staff. They might be sound asleep to notice their arrival, but the rooms were securely locked and bolted from the inside so there's no way for them to enter without knocking the door.

Unless Ladybug and Chat Noir accompanied them and accessed the windows.

"So..." Alya drawled when she cornered her best friend back in the lobby. "How's your date with Adrien?"

Marinette tapped her chin as if contemplating "Hmm, it was...great. It went well."

"Just 'great', that's it? Can you elaborate it?'

"Well..." the designer began to twirl her thumbs. "He treated me like a princess...?"

"And?"

"We ate...an omelette?"

"An omelette?!"

Marinette's brows furrowed. "Did you know that the souffléed omelette at La Mère Poulard is one of the well-sought food in the world?"

"I don't want the details about the food! What I want are the details of your activities!" she hissed.

"But I'm already giving you the details!"

"I want the highlights of your date!"

"Eating is one of the highlights of the date!"

Alya's patience was tested to its limits that morning not only by Marinette but also by Adrien. Every time she asked them for a direct question, they would always redirect the conversation to something else. No one, not even Nino, was able to crack the couple's mask and learn their secrets.

What frustrates her most was the fact that no one won the bet.

"Didn't I tell you that gambling is bad?" the raven-haired said as she slipped to her assigned seat.

"I don't gamble." she retorted. "I plan. And according to my plan, you and your beau were supposed to be together."

Marinette looked at the said beau then gave him a flirtatious wink. "We're still together."

"I meant last night." the brunette huffed. "If only Chat Noir didn't crash it."

"And Ladybug," Adrien added with a frown when his friends gave him an odd stare. "What? She took me for a date!"

"And you allowed her, you snowflake!"

C'mon Cesaire, how can you say 'no' to a beautiful lady like Ladybug?"

"Hmm. Fair point."

"Beautiful, huh?"

"Jealous much, Princess?" the blond reached for her hand then kissed her knuckles. "Just to let you know, you're the most beautiful lady in the world."

She pinched his cheek fondly. "Aww, you're so sweet~"

Nino yanked his ball cap then slapped it on his best friend's face, separating the two. "Enough with these flirtings, both of you. You're giving me cavities!"

Adrien and Marinette laughed as they separated and returned to their seats.

"But you know, Alya." the designer spoke as their bus began to move. "We really don't mind telling you everything if you just asked us nicely."

The brunette's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Her best friend nodded.

"You're going to tell me everything with the cherries on top, Mari?"

"I don't see why not."

Alya squealed enthusiastically. "I love you so, so much! So, how did it all begin?"

Marinette eyed her partner for a moment, and when he gave her a subtle nod, she said: "I'm going to tell you a story about our miraculous adventure."

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- FIN -

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Salut, Je m'appelle Chimpukampu.

I would like to thank everyone for all the support, comments, likes and kudos! Without you guys, I don't think I'll be motivated enough to continue this story - or even write this story.

For those who are wondering, I wrote this fanfic during S1. That time, the latest episode that was released was Timebreaker (hence, the main focus of the plot). Others mentioned that the story was similar to Code Lyoko, and I can't really say that because I haven't watched Code Lyoko yet. The nearest inspiration so far that I could think of while writing this fanfic is 'Utsuro no Hako to Zero no Maria', especially its first volume. It's a light novel by the way.

Apologies if I published the chapters initially with lots of auto-corrects and grammar errors. English being my third language is not the best excuse, I know, but sometimes when you're too tired to proofread you just post it and just let the readers point out the errors through comments then fix it the next day. I'm just new to this fandom, and to be honest I don't have close online friends who can beta my work.

Now that my current job was cutting me some slacks, I'll be able to update my other works and publish newer ones - especially that we have S2 eps on air.

I have a Tumblr account under similar username ( .com) for those who want to add me.