Work Text:
Marinette had just begun to work on one of her (26) late assignments when she ran out of tissues. She snatched at the air above the empty box at least three times before her head caught up with her body and she turned her head.
Her back popped at the movement, reminding Marinette of her aching shoulders and pounding headache. The box of tissues was, sadly, empty.
Reaching up to rub her temples, Marinette sighed. Her head was filled with cotton, whirring along slower than a…really slow thing, she didn’t know. Marinette turned her head back to the incredibly bright computer screen, only then noticing the many crumpled up tissues surrounding her, completely covering the surface of the desk.
She needed a nap. And a shower. And an opportunity to stretch her exhausted-for-no-reason legs. But she also needed to bring her grades up, sooner rather than later. If she didn’t, her parents would crack down on her, limiting her time to go out as Ladybug…and the time she had to see Chat.
But just a small break couldn’t hurt, right? Marinette obviously needed a new box of tissues, maybe a water bottle or a warm cup of tea, or whatever not-sick-people with a runny nose usually drank. She was also starving, so it’d probably be a good idea to catch a bite to eat. Maybe she’d have time to walk around, her back really was killing her and had she gotten injured recently?
Marinette mentally wound through the past week. She hadn’t been needing to patrol as often, but could she have strained them somehow? Maybe when she was roof-running with Alex, it was always a struggle to keep up with the pint-sized girl, especially when she was running without powers.
Marinette shook her head to clear it. Tissues, something to drink, some food, and a hot water bottle for her knees, or maybe some ice. Or a heat pack. She could do this.
Immediately after standing up, Marinette was forced to grab at the back of her chair. The room spun around her and the faint buzzing noise in her ears got louder. How long had she been sitting for again?
After waiting for 5 seconds, the room stilled and Marinette released her death-grip on the chair. She was fine, all she had to do was make it down from her room and go down another flight of stairs to the kitchen and…what was she going to do again? Her nose was runny and her stomach hurt, so probably get some medicine? But that wasn’t right, Marinette isn’t sick.
Shaking her head again, Marinette opened her eyes. When had she closed them? She was…what was she doing? God, she’s so tired. She wants Chat. Late night talks with her kitty always make things better.
“Chat~”, Marinette mumbled in a sing-song voice. “Come say hi to me pleaseeeeee.”
She then frowned. “Wait no, nevermind. I’m, I'm busy.” She giggled. Marinette was…supposed to be going somewhere, right? Maybe she needed to be patrolling? No, tonight was Chat’s night. Her head really hurt. A head massage would feel really good right now. Maybe she should go talk to her Maman.
But first, she had other plans. Carefully, Marinette picked her way through her (pretty messy) bedroom and opened the door. God , was she freezing. Had her Papá changed the thermostat settings? He always got mad at her for doing that.
Whatever, this wasn’t important right now. Wacky temperature or not, Marinette still had a job to do. First, she’d go downstairs to the kitchen. She was lethargic, could feel her fingers trembling, so getting her blood sugar up would hopefully fix that. She didn’t need any more issues on her plate.
She nodded, satisfied with herself. Her plans are so good, it's no wonder she’s Ladybug. But her head also really hurt. Like a lot.
Sometimes, Marinette really hated living above a bakery, even if it was the best pâtisserie in all of Paris. It was such a hassle walking down two flights of stairs just to get from her bedroom to the kitchen. The house was so dark, it was difficult for her to see the next step.
Her headache pulsed, probably due to the change in elevation. She had just reached the first landing, the common area that connected her parent’s room and the two-and-a-half bathrooms to the rest of the apartment shrouded in the shadows of night.
Marinette carefully but quickly picked her way through the dark, tidy room, before reaching the next flight of stairs and pausing. Where was she…food, right. Then hot packs for her legs, or her back, or any other of the places that were hurting. Then…something else? Tissues?
Shakily, she took a step. The kitchen was so far though, and everything was spinning, shaking with her every breath. The floor felt like a wave, rolling beneath her feet. And now she was sweltering, choked by her clothes. Had her Papá changed the temperature again?
Marinette stumbled, legs giving out. She caught herself against the wall, cool drywall soothing her skin.
Should she go fix the temperature herself? But she was so close to getting to the kitchen-getting herself some coffee, right? So much work to be done and so little time to do it.
The hallway was spinning again, and Marinette didn’t remember when she had sat down but the cool railing felt so nice against her poor head. She was so tired, she needed to stay awake.
Her legs felt weird, and her head was still throbbing.
She was exhausted .
She was so comfortable here…maybe…she could just…take a…nap…
---
Marinette felt like her eyes were weighed down by sandbags, only opening them with great difficulty. She wasn’t in her bed, she was…sitting somewhere?
Her eyes most definitely were weighed down by something, at least, because no matter how hard she tried, they just kept sliding closed. Trippy.
Someone was talking to her, calling her name. It was a girl, a very familiar girl….But why was she calling her sweaty-heart? She wasn’t sweaty, she was very cold, actually.
Marinette focused harder on the conversation, trying to ignore the sharp spike of pain that the concentration brought in her skull, and squinted until everything came into better focus. A figure was standing over her, a figure that looked suspiciously like…
“Chat!” Marinette exclaimed. “Chat Chat Chaaaaaaaat~”.
She didn’t know why Chat was there, but that didn’t really matter much. They had spent so little time together as of late, so any extra time with him was a welcome surprise.
Except…Chat didn’t look too happy to see her. Had he been crying? The harder she looked, it was easier to see all the signs of her partner’s bad mood.
“Chat, wha’ happened?” Marinette slurred. “Why’r you cryin’?”
Chat only seemed to get sadder. “I thought,” he stammered out, sniffling. “I thought you were hurt, I was waiting on the balcony for you and I heard you call for me but you didn’t seem right and so I listened to your heartbeat and it was really weak and then it sounded like your breathing stopped for a minute and then when I got inside I saw you on the floor and I thought I was too late and I-” He sucked in a huge, gasping breath. “I just…I was worried about you, you need to take better care of yourself when you’re sick sweetheart.”
“Oh, Chat, s’ok, not sick just really sleepy but I’m kay.” Marinette patted her hand and leaned her head against the wall again. “Gonna go sleep now, kay.”
Chat said something else, but Marinette couldn’t make it out. She really was so tired…
---
The next time Marinette woke up, she was a lot more comfortable. She was pretty sure it was her bed that she was lying in, and even if it wasn’t, that was ok, because the hair pets she was getting at that moment were absolutely heavenly.
A familiar masculine voice was murmuring what sounded like a lullaby above her, the word and tune unfamiliar but soothing all the same.
The way the hand would reach to the root of her hair, softly scratching with their nails, before pulling back and repeating the motion somewhere new ticked all the right sensors in her brain. The hand somehow knew the right amount of force and pressure to apply. Marinette could already feel the repetitive motion and sweet lullaby lulling her back to sleep.
---
Marinette could feel something cold and wet on her forehead and her neck, a blissful contrast to the raging fire in her head and the desert in her throat, and she made a sleepy sound.
“Awake?” A sweet voice probed, and Marinette made a new sound, pained this time. Her head, throat, basically everything was throbbing.
“Aw, I know sweetheart. It hurts, doesn’t it?” Marinette screwed up her face in response. “Oh sweetie.”
A little bit of rustling went on, and then a hand was cupping the back of her head, lifting it to a slight angle, and a cool glass was pressed to her lips.
“This is some warm water,” the voice said, and Marinette reluctantly opened her mouth.
Swallowing was the worst kind of torture, and every time the hand tipped more water into her mouth a noise of complaint escaped her throat.
Eventually the hand decided that was enough, and the glass was pulled back.
“Okay,” the voice said softly. “Do you think you can stomach some soup, honey? I don’t want to push you, but you need food to get better.”
Marinette made a bleary noise of assent; her head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, her skull pounding and nose aching. She didn’t want to swallow any more, but she knew what the voice was telling her was true. She wouldn’t get any better without proper nutrition.
Clinking noises reached Marinette’s ears, and a few more pillows were propped up behind her to move her to a more upright position. She opened her eyes to see Chat (when did he get there??) setting down a bowl of soup and lifting up a small spoonful of it.
“It's lentil soup, your mom made it,” Chat explained, seeing Marinette’s eyes on him. “You don’t have to eat it all, just a few bites, okay?”
Marinette nodded, slowly and painfully. She was exhausted, done with everything. It was a miracle she didn’t fall asleep as Chat spoonfed her, the most she could do was open her mouth everytime the spoon came near her. On a few particularly painful bites, tears welled up in her eyes.
Every time the tears threatened to spill over, Chat paused what he was doing and reached up to wipe at them.
On the fourth or fifth time, Chat paused, holding his hand on Marinette's face. He made eye contact with her, frowned, and abruptly stood up.
“I’m grabbing the thermometer. You’re scarily warm, Mari, so stay awake for me. It’ll only be a minute.” Chat leaned forward and tucked a kiss on her forehead, stroked the curve of Mari’s head, and left.
Mari tried to stay awake, she really did, but to no avail. It was only a few seconds before her head dropped to her chest, exhausted eyes finally sliding shut.
---
The next time Marinette opened her eyes, she was surrounded by a flurry of movement, voices, and cold . All encompassing, mind numbing cold.
Someone was screaming, making loud, gasping sobs. It was probably her.
She felt wet, cold, and absolutely miserable. Big, strong arms were holding her somewhere, and she felt more freezing water trickle down her head. The sensation continued, and despite herself, she found them comforting.
Someone else was crying, besides her. She didn’t want someone else to cry.
Suddenly, warm hands were on her shoulders. Soothing, slightly pressuring hands rubbed at the tension and knots. It felt nice.
Soothed by the repetitive motion and trickle of water on her head, Marinette found herself dozing off yet again. That was alright though, she was tired.
Much later, Marinette would think the ease of her sleep was due to the subconscious knowledge that those around her would keep her safe.
---
A hand racking through her hair was what roused her again. If she could purr, she would.
Humming, soft and low filled her ears, and the motions were soothing and constant and she hovered on the edge of sleep, sunk into a blissful contentment she couldn’t name.
Opening her eyes, Marinette found Chat lovingly looking down on her. In his eyes was an emotion she couldn’t quite name, almost sad, but not quite.
“Chaton.” Marinette sighed happily. “When did you get here?”
The cat chuckled. “I’ve been here for the past 7 hours, princess. How are you feeling?”
“I’m good, now that you’re here.” Marinette smiled sleepily.
The want to stay here forever encompassed her. In the warm, comforting darkness, with the quiet singing and the hair stroking and the bubbling feeling of being cared for, being protected, being the center of someone’s attention.
She never wanted to leave this feeling.
“Chaton?” Marinette mumbled.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“I was stupid to turn you down and be mean to you as Ladybug, but I’m glad I get to be this close with you as Marinette.”
The superhero made a choked off noise, but it was too late for him to ask Marinette any questions. The poor, exhausted girl had already drifted off to sleep.
---
Her head was killing her, but not as badly as it had been earlier that day. Marinette squinted at her surroundings, recognizing her bed with a dull sense of familiarity. Had she made it down to the kitchen, then? She must have, her throat didn’t hurt so bad anymore and the temperature seemed to have fixed itself.
Looking around her, she realized that her bed had been moved down from the loft, and Chat was sleeping on a chair next to her. Chat’s fingers were interlaced with her own, and there was a slight raspy quality to the black cat’s breath.
She took stock of herself, of the tissues that surrounded her and the soup bowl near her head. She definitely had been sick, but for how long? Her schedule really couldn’t afford that long of an interruption.
Suddenly, she was hit with the blurred memory of telling Chat her identity. Was it a dream? She couldn’t quite tell. As Ladybug and guardian, she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone her identity. It was too big of a risk.
But, looking at her passed out partner who she loved more than anything in the world, Marinette couldn’t really bring herself to care.