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“You should be resting,” she admonished, slipping through the open window of the vacant building. “How are you ever going to heal if you don’t take it easy, Chat?”
Adrien offered her a distracted smile.
“I’m sorry, my, um, Ladybug. I guess I’m a bit restless.”
He’d almost called her his lady, cringing at the misstep. Would he ever be able to stop? He wondered if the habit would ever truly go away after all they’d shared.
Despite everything, he still loved her.
“Alright, Chat, over here.” She pointed toward the table and chairs. “I need to check your side.”
“It’s feeling much better,” he mumbled.
A smile graced her features as she glanced in his direction.
“I’d like to check that for myself.”
He continued to shuffle toward her, his feet sidestepping the spare amount of debris littering the floor. The building had been abandoned some time ago, making it the perfect spot for their little hideaway as he recovered. The near-fatal blow hadn’t been half as heart-wrenching as learning his father had been Hawk Moth or as devastating as his magic dissolved before Ladybug’s eyes.
He grimaced, recalling the shocked look crossing her features that day. She’d looked disappointed to find Adrien behind the mask, the son of their archnemesis and her partner.
“You’re thinking too much, Chaton. I thought that was supposed to be my flaw,” she whispered, her fingers making quick work of the bandage covering his side. She hadn’t wasted a moment when he’d reached her, settling on the table’s edge.
He couldn’t quite muster the strength to give her a carefree smile.
A hand brushed against his cheek, drawing his attention to the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.
“The world misses you. Your friends miss you.” She brushed a quick kiss against the stubble on his jaw. “I miss you. Hiding here can’t be good for you, either, Adrien.”
He didn’t say anything.
She returned to her original task, checking his wound. It took her a few minutes to ensure everything looked clean and healing as it should. Satisfied, she pressed a clean bandage against him, her gloved hands doing wonders against his exposed skin.
A stray thought flitted through his mind, pressing him to imagine what her bare hands would feel like. He shut it down quick, not daring to believe she’d want to willingly touch him after learning who he was. It didn’t matter that she had touched him this past week or two.
“Talk to me, Chaton. I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.”
His head dropped, his chin hitting his chest.
“Do you really believe anyone misses me? As Adrien? I can’t help feeling like the world would be better if I disappeared.” He refused to look at her as he spoke, not daring to see the condemnation in her eyes.
“Why do you say that?” she whispered. “Don’t you think your friends love and miss you?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.”
“Chat Noir, I never pegged you for a quitter. You pursued me for the past two years. You’ve stuck with all your lessons despite not having much interest in them. You go above and beyond for your friends, too.” She grabbed his chin and held it firm, staring at him with a determined look. “You are not a quitter in or out of your magic suit. So, don’t you dare quit now. Give them a chance. Give yourself a chance.”
“I’m not sure I’m strong enough,” he muttered. “I’m scared I’ll be alone. Truly alone this time.”
Arms wrapped around him, her head tucking into his shoulder.
“You’ll never be alone, Adrien, I promise.”
Sliding his arms around her back, he shook, almost fearful this was all a dream. He never wanted to wake if it was.
“Once you’ve healed up, you should try. I know Nino’s been missing his best friend. So are Alya and Marinette. Even Chloe, not that she’ll ever admit it.”
He chuckled, knowing the last part to be true. “You truly think so?”
“I know so,” she whispered.
His face must’ve showed some doubts because the next thing he knew, she called off her transformation. Pink washed over her, leaving Marinette standing where Ladybug had been.
Words failed him as one emotion after another slammed through him. Shame. Hope. Despair. Joy. Grief. Each one and more cycled through him.
“Come home, Chaton.”
The words stuck in his throat, swallowing several times before he managed to say, “I can’t. I don’t have a home anymore.”
“Yes, you do,” she murmured, nestling deeper in his arms, “with me. My parents know and heartily approve you living with us. So, what do you say? Are you ready to become a Dupain-Cheng, Chaton?”
Tears gathered, unbidden.
He nodded. “Yes. More than anything, yes. Thank you, my Lady.”
“Anytime, my Chaton. Anytime.”