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Marinette was used to waking up at all hours to save Paris. It was a part of her job as a superhero.
But, what she wasn’t used to was waking up as the victim of an akuma attack.
Pain was the first and only thing she felt. Just the effort to open her eyes was too much, but she knew she had to. A million tiny knives were stabbing her abdomen, and when she looked down, she almost passed out.
Protruding from her stomach was a wooden beam, holding her firmly in place against whatever hard thing she was lying on.
“Ughh,” she groaned, and immediately regretted making any noise as the movement sent a shot of fiery agony through her body. She looked around, trying to survey the damage. Her room was gone. In its place was rubble and debris, and she was on top of it.
Her vision was starting to blur. She vaguely wondered how much longer she had. Couldn’t be much longer since her body was starting to go numb and cold.
Was this really how she was going to die? With no one around, suffering until her final breath? It was a superhero's death, and she hadn’t even been transformed. No one would know what happened to Ladybug. Chat…
Chat Noir. Her partner, her best friend. Her everything. He wouldn’t know. Would Tikki tell him? Visions of her family and friends mourning her filled her head. She hated to cause anyone grief. She’d miss them.
Something pinched her face, and she frowned.
“Marinette! Focus on my voice!” the red blob was yelling at her. So rude! She couldn’t even die in peace?
Another pinch. “Nghh,” she croaked, her eyes refusing to focus on the blob that kept yelling at her. Trying to breathe hurt so much, like every time she sucked in a breath she swallowed water instead of air. It gurgled in her mouth and she coughed, which spurred a spasm of coughing and pain.
She was drowning on her own blood.
“Come on, Marinette, fight! You have to stay awake until Chat gets here! I told Plagg to come, so just hold on a little longer!”
Tikki sounded desperate. Marinette wondered why she was so worried. Maybe she had missed something.
Sounds trickled to her ears slowly. Screaming and crying. God it was so annoying, couldn’t they shut up? There was a thump, and footsteps.
“Ladybug?” the voice sounded distraught. Was he in pain? Marinette needed to do something about it, she needed to help…
“Chat….help…unify…now!” Marinette didn’t understand. She felt someone touch her, and she cried out at the sensation.
“Noooo,” she moaned, arms flailing helplessly to fend off her attacker. They couldn’t take her miraculous!
“Shhh, m’lady, it’s me, it’s Chat. I have to borrow your miraculous so I can help, okay?” his voice was soothing and he ran gentle fingers on her face.
“I…love…you,” she choked out, between raspy gasps for breath. The world was fading away, but at least he knew how she felt. At least she wouldn’t die alone.
_____________________
“Plagg, Tikki, Unify!!”
Chat Noir had not expected to find out Ladybug’s identity at three in the morning because she was bleeding out in her bedroom, but these were the cards he’d been dealt.
When he arrived after an urgent message from Tikki telling him to go to Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, he’d almost passed out at the sight before him.
Amidst the rubble that had once been his favorite bakery and the home of one of his closest friends, lay his lady. His eyes must not be working properly. That couldn’t be Marinette Dupain-Cheng lying there. It had to be someone else who was covered in dark red blood.
“Nononononono!” he collapsed on the wreckage in front of her, thinking he’d come too late to save his love.
But then, she screamed. And fuck if that wasn’t music to his ears. Legs that could barely keep him upright suddenly filled with energy as he raced to her side. Tikki was saying something to him, but the world was somewhere else. Marinette was deathly pale, her breath coming in gurgling gasps between screams of absolute agony.
The beam sticking out of her stomach made his own stomach lose its contents. Wooden shards were coated in blood and other things that Chat did not want to think about. He carefully—oh so carefully---grabbed her hand.
“Ladybug? Can you hear me? I’m going to fix you, everything will be fine, I promise. I love you so much, you just need to hold on princess,” he said, forcing his voice to be calm and soothing. If…if this was the last thing she heard, he didn’t want her to worry.
“Chat, take her earrings now! It’s the only way you can help. You have to unify hers and your miraculous now, before its too late! The second you take off the earrings, I won’t be able to keep her alive. It will be a matter of minutes. You must cleanse the akuma as fast as possible!”
Chat knew he needed to listen to Tikki. But his stupid human mind didn’t want to leave his love to die alone, magic be damned. He had to remember that this could be fixed if he did his job. That this would just be one more nightmare to add to the pile, but it wouldn’t be reality. Only if he listened to Tikki.
Chat went to grab the earrings, but froze when Marinette moaned, “Noooo…” her arms flailed, trying to fend him off, but she was too weak.
He cupped her face in his hands, holding her like a precious jewel. “Shhh, M’lady, it’s me, it’s Chat. I have to borrow your miraculous so I can help, okay?” He searched her face for any recognition she understood, and for a second, her glassy eyes cleared and she gave him the faintest smile. Taking her earrings off, he gave her the closest thing to a smile that he could muster.
His heart broke when she spoke the words he’d always longed to hear from her.
“I…love…you…”
Her eyes fluttered shut, no more cries escaped her mouth. Only the tiniest hint of breath as her chest stuttered. It was time to go, but he didn’t want to leave. Placing a kiss on her forehead and whispering those three words one more time, he stood and channeled all his pain and suffering into the simple phrase: “Plagg, Tikki, Unify!!”
As the magic enveloped him, he took one last look at Marinette, trying to soak in every beautiful detail of her face, just in case.
And then he became Bug Noir, with only one goal: revenge.
The akuma never saw him coming.
He attacked with a force he hadn’t known he possessed, pouncing on the akuma like a cat on its prey. Internally, he asked Tikki to give him the Lucky Charm he was thinking of. Sure, it didn’t work like that normally, but these were not normal circumstances.
“Lucky Charm!” A spray bottle filled with the perfect combination of chemicals to put Mr. Murderer to sleep. Just what Dr. Bug requested.
Grabbing the bottle out of the sky, he aimed at the akuma’s face and sprayed. The man dropped like a rock and Bug Noir quickly scanned his body for where the akuma was hiding. The hammer in his hand seemed like the best bet.
“Cataclysm!” He yelled, slamming his hand down on the weapon. As soon as the butterfly flew out he snatched it up with the yoyo and purified it. Finding his lucky charm he hurled it into the sky and screamed the words that he hoped would heal his lady.
“Miraculous Bug Noir!”
Wasting no time, he took off to the bakery, ignoring the man lying confused in the street. He could take care of himself. Marinette was more important.
The bakery was in pristine condition when Adrien landed on Marinette’s balcony, his transformation falling as he began banging on her trap door.
“MARINETTE!!”
_____________________
Marinette knew she was dying. As soon as Chat removed her earrings, her body started to seize.
In her mind, the next few minutes were hours. Hours she spent reflecting on her life. On how much she wished to keep living her life.
Here she was, dying in the fragments of her bed, unable to say any of the things she needed to say. She wanted to tell her parents she loved them one last time. She wanted them to know she was Ladybug. She wanted to get up early on Saturday morning and knead dough with her Papa while her Maman made macarons. She wanted to tell Adrien her feelings.
Alya would be so sad. Marinette had promised to do an interview for the Ladyblog. Alya had become her biggest supporter since she found out her best friend was Ladybug. Marinette wouldn’t have made it through her depressive episode if it hadn’t been for her persistent friend.
Nino wouldn’t get to show her his latest DJ mix. Chat wouldn’t have anyone to tell his stupid puns to. Who would he shamelessly flirt with now? Something like jealousy flared in her at the idea of her Chaton flirting with anyone else. Maybe he’d finally move on and find happiness.
For her partner, she hoped someone would give him the world. Even if it couldn’t be her. Those sparkling green eyes flashed, she ran her hand through the ghost of his fluffy blonde hair. He was so familiar…almost like Adrien…
Of course that dorky kitty would turn out to be the boy she was hopelessly in love with. She’d fallen in love with the same guy twice, and now she’d never get to tell him. She hoped he knew. She hoped they all knew…
She loved them with all her heart.
With her final breaths, she opened her eyes. The sun was making its way into the sky, casting an ombre of colors into the early morning. She smiled, enjoying her view. If this was the last thing she saw, it wouldn’t be too bad, would it?
The pain was gone now, replaced with only a feeling of warmth as the sun’s rays found her. Something wiped at her face. It was her own hand, wiping away tears she hadn’t known she’d cried.
It would be daylight soon, and she’d be gone. There was a faint smile gracing her lips as she closed her eyes for the last time.
And then…
“MARINETTE!!”
Her eyes flashed open, and she gasped. She could breathe! Hungrily, she sucked in air she’d previously been deprived of. Looking down, she found that she was in her bed, her completely whole bed. Nothing was stabbing through her stomach, but as she made to sit up, she found the effort too great. Collapsing against her pillows once more, she relished in the easy way air entered her lungs.
The banging on her trap door grew louder, and she slowly tried to sit up to let him in. As soon as her hands flipped the latch to open, she laid back down. Just that small action exhausted her, making her want to sleep forever.
But now there was a very distraught kitten on her bed who needed her attention.
“Marinette, are you okay, what hurts, what can I do, how’s your stomach—” his frantic voice was spilling out questions a mile a minute.
Shakily, she covered his mouth with her hand to stop his worried rambling. “Adrien, I’m okay, I’m alive, you fixed me, Chaton,” she murmured, and he practically fell on top of her in relief.
“I—I thought I lost you, M’Lady,” he whispered, and she wrapped her arms around him. He curled into her touch as if no one had ever touched him before.
“I thought I was going to…” she couldn’t say the word, it turned sour on her tongue. Taking in a shaky breath, she looked at his face, bluebell eyes meeting emerald. “While I was…um, hurt, I realized that the two people I loved the most were the same boy. And I wished more than anything for the chance to tell you…so there it is.”
His mouth fell open, eyes going glassy. When he smiled, the sun's warmth couldn’t even compare. He stared into her soul. “Mari, I love you too. I—I love you so much it hurts.”
“I feel the same way, mon minou,” she said, and before she could overthink things, she kissed him. It wasn’t like in the books or movies where fireworks exploded behind her eyes, but it was perfect because it was him. Feeling warm and safe and loved, she kissed the boy who held her heart like a woman possessed. Adrien was the same, kissing with a ferocity that shot butterflies into her stomach.
Hands trailed over intertwined bodies, exploring each other like they’d never seen another human before. She loved every inch of him, and from the way he caressed her, he probably felt similarly.
The moment was broken when Adrien pressed too hard on her stomach, and she couldn’t keep in the hiss that escaped her.
“Mari?” he asked tentatively, “You’re still hurt.” A statement of fact, not a question.
The way his eyes searched hers made her melt. She nodded, and he frowned, something like anger flashing across his face before concern took its place. Bringing his arm to the edge of her shirt, he silently asked for permission to look at the remaining damage.
She gave him a small nod, and he lifted her shirt. She could feel it, she knew it was pretty bad, but his gasp startled her.
“Marinette, oh my god! Why didn’t you say something?!”
Face flushing, she shrugged. “It’s not that big of a deal, I didn’t want to bother you about it.”
That got her a well-deserved look. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you almost died! Whether you like it or not, I’m going to be worrying about you, especially now that you thought I’d be bothered that you’re injured!”
“I’m sorry. I’m—I’m just not used to being able to talk to anyone about this stuff.” He was angry, and rightly so, and Marinette felt guilty. She grabbed her shirt and pulled it up further so she could see her stomach. She understood the gasp. Black and blue bruises coated her stomach, surrounding a nasty bloody gash that was a little too deep for her liking.
“Shit,” she hissed, the pain fully hitting her now that she saw the remnants of her deadly injury. Adrien looked like he might pass out, he was so pale.
“Marinette, you need to see a doctor.” The high-pitched voice belonged not to Adrien, but Tikki, who had popped up beside Plagg. The two kwamis flew to look at her injury, landing on the uninjured part of her stomach, and she groaned at the feeling of pressure on her abdomen.
“I can’t go to a doctor, Tikki. There’s no way I could explain this to anyone,” she countered.
Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Okay, hear me out. Your parents seem really chill, maybe you could tell them the truth?”
The idea wasn’t bad per se, but it was terrifying. In fact, the only thing that kept her from saying no immediately was the memory of dying alone, wishing her parents knew her secret. They’d be mad. Livid. But she knew if they found out she was hurt and not taking care of herself they would blame themselves. Maybe.. if Adrien went with her, she could do it.
Now that she was thinking about it, she didn’t know if she could even get up without help.
“It’s…not a terrible idea, Adrien,” she paused, sucking in another breath and fighting the wave of nausea that washed over her. Probably because of how much pain she was in. “But I need your help.”
“Whatever you need, M’Lady,” he grinned, pressing a chaste kiss on her cheek. She swatted him away.
“First, I need my earrings back. Then you’re going to help me downstairs because I don’t think I can do it myself.” He sat up at her instruction, and saluted.
“Don’t worry, your knight in shining armor will save you, Princess,” he said, removing her earrings and returning them to her. She put them back in and gave him a half-hearted smile.
She could only hope she was making the right choice.
Adrien carefully scooped her into his arms, bridal style, and climbed down her ladder. He went slowly, knowing if he lost his balance they’d both go falling to the ground.
Still carrying her bridal style, Adrien headed downstairs into the living room. The second his feet hit the bottom step, her parents -- who had been sitting on the sofa drinking their coffee before work – turned to look for the source of the noise.
“Marinette, what in the world?!” exclaimed her mother at the same time her father said, “Why is Adrien here?”
She cringed, and was about to explain when Adrien spoke.
“Madame Cheng, Monsieur Dupain, Marinette is hurt, that’s why I’m carrying her. Let her explain before you freak out.”
He was so calm, holding her so tenderly, Marinette felt her anxiety ease. Adrien had her back, literally and figuratively. She smiled up at him before facing her parents’ very confused faces. They’d get through this, together, like they always had. It was them against the world, and she didn’t want it any other way.
“Maman, Papa…I’m Ladybug.” And all hell broke loose.