Arianne's body slowly recovered the movement as she woke up. She was lying on a hospital bed, and had no idea how she got there.

"See?" she heard a voice beside her, and found a small creature, a black cat with green eyes who looked like a kwami "I told you she would wake up! Geez, stop worrying so much"

"Well, forgive me for being concerned about my master!" she recognised the voice on her left as Ayu's "How do you feel, Aria?" asked the kwami with concern, looking at the girl.

"Uh..." she stuttered. She wasn't really sure what to say, she was a bit more concerned about the fact that there were two kwamis in her hospital room, and a hospital was full of people that could get in at any moment and see them. And also, she had no idea whose kwami the black cat was "What are you doing?" she finally managed to let out some words, as she looked at Ayu, who looked at her confused as to what she meant "You should be hiding!" then, she looked at the other kwami "And I'm pretty sure you should be hiding, too! Who are you, anyway, and what are you doing here?"

"This is Plagg" introduced Ayu, flying to float besides Plagg "He is a kwami" Arianne was right, afterall, he was a kwami!

"Of whom?" she questioned, she still didn't have that detail.

"Of Adrien!" replied Plagg, making Arianne look at him in pure and utter shock. It took her a minute to react and say something.

"What?" that was all she could say.

"Adrien is Chat Noir!" this time, Ayu answered, instead of Plagg. Arianne was even more shocked to hear that.

"What?" she asked once more, still trying to process this new information "Wait, why are you telling me this? Shouldn't his identity be a secret?" she asked after solid four minutes of silence and processing.

"I like fair play" she heard Adrien's voice on the door, and turned to look at him leaning against the doorframe.

Now that she looked at him more clearly, he did look like Chat Noir, the hair specially, not his eyes so much, since Adrien's eyes were a lighter green than Chat Noir's. The transformation most probably darkened them.

"What do you mean 'fair play'?" she questioned curiously, and Adrien sat on the edge of her bed to speak and be closer to her. He was very glad that Arianne was alright, and he didn't know what he would have done if she hadn't woken up.

"When I saved you from the river, your pin had slipped off your hair, so you were in your civilian form" he explained as Arianne listened curiously "It didn't feel right to know your identity but you not knowing mine, so here I am, m'lady" he stated like Chat Noir usually did "And this is yours" he took out her pin from his pocket and placed it on her hair.

"Thanks" replied Arianne with a smile "How long was I asleep?"

"Sixteen hours" replied Adrien, to which Arianne opened her eyes wide. That was a very long time! "Volpina wasn't a superhero, after all, she was just Lila akumatized"

"I knew there was something off about her" stated Arianne, just as Thiago got into the room. He was also very glad the his best friend was okay.

"It's great to have you back, Aria" said Thiago with a smile upon seeing the girl awake "I hope I didn't interrupt anything" he added, looking at her and then at Adrien.

"We were just talking about Volpina" replied Adrien, just as Jazmin emerged from Thiago's pocket.

"You really had us worried back there" stated the kwami, folding her arms with an angry expression, which looked extremely cute on her "Don't do that again" Arianne cut her gaze between Adrien and Thiago, before finally asking:

"How long have you guys known each other's identities?" she assumed by how casually Adrien and Thiago reacted to each other's kwamis, that they already knew about them.

"Ever since the gaming tournament" replied Thiago "He was constantly insisting that I tell him who you were"

"Yeah, that's true" Adrien said with a chuckle, just as the doctor, a young woman, got in and their kwamis hid, so they wouldn't be seen.

"Miss Mercier, it's good to see that you're awake" she stated with a kind smile.

"Thanks, I'm glad to be back" replied Arianne politely "What exactly happened to me?"

"You almost drowned in the Seine" explained the doctor "If Chat Noir hadn't rescued you..." a solemn expression crossed her face "Let's just say that things would be very different right now" Arianne stayed quiet, as the fact that she almost died sunk in, and she couldn't help but give Adrien a quick glance. She found him smiling at her like he always did. Arianne smiled back slightly, before turning to look at the doctor once more "We are gonna run a few tests on you tomorrow, and then you will be free to go"

"Okay. Thank you" Arianne nodded, and the doctor went off.

Many people came to visit her and see how she was along the day: Marinette, Alya, Nino, some of her classmates...her parents had been working all day, but they weren't really worried about leaving her alone, 'cause she had Thiago and Adrien as company all day.

Later that day, she was left alone for a couple of hours, since her parents were going to eat at home with Thiago and then come back. Adrien would have gladly stayed all night at the hospital with her, but his father didn't let him, much to his annoyance.

"What are you thinking, Arianne?" questioned the kwami upon seeing how quiet his master was.

"Ayu, I drowned" stated the girl, as if she was realising it for the first time.

"Yeah, but you are okay now! That's all that matters!" replied the wolf cheerfully.

"No, Ayu. You don't understand" she said with a serious tone, making the kwami look at her confused.

"Understand what?" he questioned, scratching his head.

"I almost died" she stated, and silence reigned in the hospital room for some seconds "My grandma always used to say that life was too short. Back then, I thought it was just words you say to someone to encourage them, but...life is actually short. And I've been so stupid!"

"Why do you say that?" questioned the kwami, sitting on her shoulder.

"I thought that my limitations were other people" she replied, and Ayu saw a newfound light in her eyes as she spoke "But all this time...the only thing standing between me and what I wanted was...me" Ayu stared at her quietly as she let all her thoughts out "I was the one who didn't want to write to Ethan because I thought I wasn't ready. I was the one who didn't want to talk to Marinette about Adrien because I thought she'd hate me. But if I had died...I wouldn't have been able to do any of that"

"What are you saying?" asked Ayu curiously, trying to understand her thinking. Arianne looked at him with determination in her eyes.

"I'm tired" she stated "I'm tired of fears. I'm tired of insecurities. I'm tired of limitations. I wanna do something crazy just because I can!" she said with excitement, bouncing on her bed "I wanna go Bungee Jumping! I wanna learn to ice skate! I wanna go on tour!" she had even more thing she wanted to do, but if she named them all they would be there for ages "Starting today, I wanna live every day of my life as if it's the last one!" Ayu smiled upon hearing that "You only have one life. If you are gonna live it, you gotta live it right"

The first thing Arianne decided to do with her new outlook in life was to talk to Marinette and explain what was going one. She had been pushing it back for way too long.

She was currently sitting at an outside table in a café near the Eiffel Tower, waiting for Marinette to show up. She did after some minutes, and Arianne waved at her so she could see her.

"Aria, hey!" she greeted happily, sitting down in front of her "How are you?"

"Much better" replied Arianne with a smile and a nod "What about you? Been working on any new designs lately?"

"A couple" replied the girl with a tilt of her head "I'm still missing some things, but I'll figure it out eventually" Arianne didn't doubt that.

A waitress came to their table, and both girls ordered what they wanted to eat, before continuing speaking.

"So...you said you wanted to talk about something? Honestly, I was a bit worried. You sounded a bit distressed over the phone"

"Oh, don't worry! I'm fine!" she stated in assurance "And you didn't do anything wrong if that's what you're wondering!" Marinette sighed in relief.

"Oh, good" she stated "That eases my mind" Arianne smiled at her upon hearing that, and Marinette leaned closer to the table "So? What is it?" she questioned, and Arianne's expression turned serious, but she was not gonna back down. She was gonna tell her, and come what may.

"I've been hiding something from you" she started calmly, making Marinette arch her eyebrows in surprise "I just...I didn't know how to tell you"

"What is it? Tell me" urged Marinette politely "Whatever it is, I'll understand"

"I don't know if that's really the case here" replied the girl, and Marinette already had a suspicion of what she was talking about "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you that—"

"That you are in love with Adrien?" guessed Marinette, making Arianne open her eyes wide.

"How-how do you know?" she stuttered, and Marinette smiled at her.

"Aria, we've known each other for years. I've noticed in the way you look at him. You're happier when he's around" Arianne was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say, Marinette's statement had caught her completely off guard "And...I've also noticed that he's in love with you, too" Arianne avoided her gaze sheepishly, 'cause she couldn't bring herself to deny that. And, even if she did, it would be a lie. Adrien himself had told her that he was in love with her "Have you guys...talked about this?" she questioned softly.

"Sort of" replied Arianne, looking at her "I mean, I explained to him what was going and he told me that he would wait 'till I figured all this out"

"You're not making him wait around because of me, are you?" questioned Marinette. If Arianne and Adrien were in love with each other, they had to go for it. And she would support their relationship no matter what. It would take time, but she would be able to get over her crush on Adrien.

"I'd be lying if I said no" replied Arianne sheepishly.

"How long has this been happening?" questioned her friend.

"Uhm...a month, I think" 

"And how long have you been in love with him?" 

"Three years" replied the girl, and Marinette opened her eyes horrified upon hearing that. This girl had been in love with Adrien for three years, and when the chance finally came she didn't take it? For her?

"That's it!" Marinette grabbed the girl's phone from her bag and handed it to her "You're going to call him right now and tell him that the wait is over" Arianne frowned upon hearing that.

"I'm-what?" she questioned, blinking, as if that would help to process the girl's words.

"You heard me!" replied the girl "You're going to ask him to meet you at pont de arts, you're gonna talk and you're gonna put a padlock with your initials written there"

"Woah, Mari, slow down" said Arianne. The girl wasn't just bubbly when seeing a 'future' with Adrien, she was bubbly all the time "What about you?"

"Don't worry about me!" said the girl happily "I'll be fine. You've been in love with him for the longest time, and you're just adorable together. You are always doing stuff for other people, it's time you do something for yourself" she smiled brightly at her, still holding the phone towards the girl. Arianne smiled back and took it.

The second thing Arianne decided to do with her new outlook in life was to send Ethan Carter an email and request a meeting with him.

"You're finally doing it, huh?" questioned Thiago, leaning over her shoulder as she typed the email to Ethan.

"What can I say?" replied the girl with a smile, shrugging her shoulders "Life's too short" Thiago smiled upon hearing that.

"I'm proud of you" he stated with honesty "You're finally getting over your fears and making a change in your life"

"Almost dying does that to you" stated the girl with another smile. She had no problem joking around with the fact that she had almost drowned; it was all in the past now, even though it happened barely a week ago "When your entire life flashes before your eyes and you see all the opportunities you missed, you can't help but want to go back and change it. I don't wanna have any regrets" she stated "You shouldn't either" she added with a mischievous smile.

"What is that supposed to mean?" questioned Thiago, playing innocent, and making Arianne roll her eyes.

"C'mon, Thiag" she stated "Marinette?" a pink tint was colouring Thiago's cheeks now "You know, you're not gonna get very far with her if you just admire her from the distance"

"What are you talking about? I've got nothing to do with Marinette!" he said nervously, making Arianne chuckle.

"Whatever you say, Thiag. Whatever you say"

And the third thing Arianne decided to do with her new outlook in life was to talk to Adrien.

She asked him to meet her at pont de arts, and was now currently leaning against the rail while staring at the ships in the distance.

"I've always liked this place" admitted Adrien, placing his hands on the rail besides Arianne.

"So do I" said the girl quietly, with a smile "Why do you?" she added, looking at him curiously.

"It's where I met you" he replied simply, making Arianne's heart flutter as she remembered that day. It happened a long time ago, but their first meeting was still fresh in her mind, as if it had happened just yesterday "Why is it your favourite place?" Arianne answered promptly, not giving much thought to it.

"It's where I fell in love with you" she replied, not being able to hold back her smile.

"Really?" he asked softly, very surprised.

"Yeah" Arianne confirmed "Very cheesy. I know"

"No, it isn't" replied Adrien shaking his head "It's nice that our favourite places are connected to each other" they stayed in silent for a few seconds, till Arianne finally spoke up.

"I talked with that girl who had a crush on you" announced Arianne, looking at Adrien.

"What did she say?" he questioned, staring at the horizon.

"You were right" replied Arianne, making Adrien smile "She didn't get mad at me"

"See? I told you!" Adrien stated happily "And...?" he asked expectantly. She obviously had called him there for another reason, not just to tell him that.

"And...when you see your entire life flashing before your eyes, you see all the things you could have done better. You see all the chances you missed. All the choices you didn't make. All the moments you missed sharing with someone" Adrien was looking at her quietly as she said all this "My grandma used to say something. She used to say...'you only have one life. If you're gonna live it, you gotta live it right' and...almost dying made me realise that I haven't been doing that. It made me realise what I'm missing"

"And what are you missing?" questioned Adrien. Arianne stood straight to stare at him, and he did the same thing.

"Right now, I'm missing the chance of being with someone who cares about me. I'm missing the chance of being with someone that encourages me. I'm missing the chance of being with a person that has always been there for me" she made a dramatic pause "I'm missing the chance of being with you"

Adrien opened his eyes wide and a small gasp escaped his lips when he heard Arianne saying this.

"You said you would wait as long as it took" she stated, and Adrien nodded "The wait is over"

She locked their lips in a tender yet passionate kiss, as Adrien brought her close to him. When the kiss was over, they rested their foreheads together and chuckled softly.

"Je t'aime, Adrien Agreste" said Arianne softly with some tears in her eyes.

"Je t'aime, Arianne Mercier" repeated Adrien, and his eyes were also shining with tears.

With the sun setting in the distance, they merged their lips together once more, looking forward to a brighter tomorrow.