Work Text:
Chat Noir watched as Ladybug was thrown against a wall, and crumpled to the ground. His stomach twisted-- he was scared, and by god, he was angry. How dare Hawkmoth hurt her? They've been thrown around a lot through their time as heroes, but never has it been this bad. Never has Chat Noir been alone on Ladybug's timer while she's unconscious. Her Lucky Charm was in her limp hands; what was he supposed to do with a teddy bear?
He didn't know what to do. He extended his baton about a meter, and slammed it against the villain's head. He broke the wrist watch that the villain had been akumatized through, and the boy returned to normal, though he, too, was unconscious. Chat Noir grabbed Ladybug's yo-yo and opened it. He'd only used it whilst transformed with the ladybug miraculous, but Tikki seemed willing to let him help. He captured the Akuma in the yo-yo rather clumsily, and hoped that closing it would at least keep it from rampaging again before Ladybug could de-evillise it.
Chat Noir felt utterly useless. The only thing he knew he could do was to grab her and take her into an alleyway nearby as her earrings began to blink as a warning. Anxiety gripped at Chat Noir's stomach, but as the swarm of magic ladybugs took back her suit and Tikki appeared, he smiled at the prone form of none other than Marinette. The teddy bear disappeared, but Paris was not restored. Not yet.
"It couldn't have been anyone else," Chat Noir said, mostly to himself. Tikki dug into Marinette's little purse, pulling out a pink macaron to munch on. She looked so tired.
"Chat Noir, you know you aren't supposed to see her!" Tikki chided.
Chat Noir frowned. "What else am I supposed to do? I can't just leave her for some rando to find!" He rubbed his eyes with his hands. "I need to get her to a hospital."
Tikki nodded. "You'll have to take her in civillian form if you want to stay there with her. It would be too suspicious if Chat Noir was paying so much attention to a random seeming girl."
"You're right.." Chat Noir sighed. "Plagg, claws in." He transformed back into Adrien, and Plagg flew to his shirt pocket for a piece of camembert.
"That villan really did a number on her," Plagg commented, helpful as ever as Tikki joined him in the pocket. Adrien ignored him, and picked Marinette up. She wasn't too heavy - he'd lifted her as Ladybug hundreds of times, but it was a little harder while she was unconscious. Nonetheless, he'd lifted unconscious people before, and he got it done, holding her bridal style. He stumbled his way through alleys, until he found himself walking through the door at the nearest hospital.
"She- she got caught in the Akuma attack," he explained. "Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
He stayed with her for as long as he could, and then he sat in the waiting room to make sure that her parents weren't alone. That they knew that she wasn't alone.
Sabine wrapped him into a hug as soon as they saw him, and Tom put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for getting her here," she said between sobs. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Adrien couldn't help but hug her back. He was so scared.
Adrien stayed with them until the doctor came out to update them - stable, but critical. They went to see her in the ICU, and even though she was safe, was stable, he knew he wouldn't be able to feel whole until she woke up and could be Ladybug again. He could feel the Kwamis peeking their heads out to look at her, but he almost wanted Tikki to not have to see her when she was so lifeless looking. The doctor left them alone after explaining her injuries and what they did and have plans for, and Adrien felt a lot like crying.
He sat down shakily into a chair near her bed, hands clenched into his pants. What was he supposed to do, with Ladybug out of commission? He had to tell Paris, so they didn't assume she'd died, and so they could know what to expect.
"The city.. it's still destroyed.." Sabine murmured, looking out the window nervously. "Why hasn't Ladybug fixed it?"
"I saw her get beat up really badly," Adrien whispered. Tom probably couldn't hear him from the other side of Marinette's bed, but Sabine was right beside Adrien. "I think she may have been.. hurt too badly." His gaze settled over Marinette, and Sabine's eyes widened a fraction.
"You don't mean.."
Adrien nodded, barely. "I found her there, after Chat Noir captured the Akuma with her yo-yo." A thought occurred to him, just then, that he'd been too terrified to be able to consider before. "He told me to take her, and get her to the hospital as soon as possible. If she doesn't wake up soon, he may need to come get her Miraculous so he can keep fixing things while.. while she's here."
"Do you know him?" Sabine asked, eyes pinched closed when he looked at her. "Chat Noir?"
Adrien smiled sadly. "Yeah. He treats her as well as she'll let him." He looked at Marinette's sleeping face again. "I think he really loves her. As much as you can know someone when you have to keep your identities secret, I mean."
"What's he like in person?" Sabine clenched her hands together. Adrien thought they might have been shaking. "I've never had an opportunity to really talk to him."
"He.." Adrien had no idea where to start. How do you describe your alter ego to a woman whose daughter you had to take to a hospital after getting beaten unconscious? "He really cares about the people of Paris. Your daughter especially." He laughed a bitterly. What he wouldn't give right now for her to be okay.
Sabine put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Does your father know where you are, dear?"
Adrien shook his head. "No, Ma'am. I get left unattended between school and my extracurriculars." He looked at her a little meaningfully, hoping she catches what he's trying to say behind the words.
A sad sort of understanding filled her eyes. She smiles despite it. "You don't have to be alone anymore. You've got us now."
Adrien tried to smile back, but it probably fell flat. He just.. he feels so numb. He can't tell if he just isn't feeling anything, or if he's feeling everything.
Based on how terrified he was earlier, he's guessing the latter.
"She looks so peaceful when she's asleep," Adrien said quietly. Sabine nods. "When I see her at school, she's almost always worked up about something or other. She's.. she's a really great friend." He managed a smile at the thought of how Marinette acts at school. "And when she's Ladybug.. she feels so free. She told me once, that even though it's a big responsibility, she can just be herself without feeling like she has to worry about what people think of her. Who hates a hero, right?"
"I'll never get to see the side of her that her friends see," Sabine said, just as quietly. "I won't get to see the one you see as Chat Noir, or the one she has for her crushes. I get to see my baby girl as the version she's willing to show me, and that's it, really." She smiled sadly at him. "I envy you a little, that you get to know all of her in a way that I never will. So take care of her where I can't, okay?"
Adrien nodded. "I try my best." He looks back over at Marinette. "She's stubborn. She's so determined. It's amazing to watch. She's a little awkward, but in an endearing way. She's so unbelievably kind, even to people who treat her badly. I can't think of anyone who'd be a better Ladybug." He feels warmth in his chest, and his cheeks. "I'd give her the world, if that's what she wanted. I'd give her the entire universe."
Sabine pats his knee with a knowing look in her eyes. They stayed there until a nurse comes in to tell them visiting hours were over. Sabine and Tom gave him a ride home. His father was angry that he wasn't home on time. Adrien wasn't given the chance to explain before he got sent to his room as punishment, as if he was gonna go anywhere else in that cold, loveless house.
He snuck out that night as Chat Noir to get Marinette's Miraculous. He left his ring on her finger. He doesn't know if wearing it while tranforming into Mister Bug would activate the whole 'wish' thing, but he doesn't want to risk it.
He set the butterfly free, and it flew around his head a couple times before flying off. He sat on the roof of the hospital for a little while before he summoned the Lucky Charm. It was the same bear. He looked at it for a while, and then it clicked into place. He hugged it to his chest, idly kicking his feet. The bear was for him. It wasn't for the akuma. He held it for a long while, wishing he wasn't alone. He wished Marinette was there with him.
He was relieved when using the restoration power of it allowed him to keep the memory of Marinette's identity. Time would tell if Sabine could remember. He jumped down to Marinette's window, and he saw that she hadn't woken up. His heart sunk a little. Was she not waking up because not even the Miraculous could heal her, or because she was just sleeping normally now, and not in a coma? He went back home.
Adrien was distant during school the next day. Their teacher announced that Marinette's parents called in saying she had been injured and was in the hospital. Alya and Nino were giving him looks, like they could read his mind. It was clear to everyone how affected he was by Marinette being gone. Even Chloe had backed off of trying to force herself onto him.
Adrien went back to the hospital as soon as school was out, ignoring Nino's attempts to talk to him. Marinette was more important than Nino wanting to hang out.
Sabine and Tom weren't there when he got there, but it made sense. Their daughter being in a coma didn't mean the entire world stopped for them. They still had the bakery to run.
Adrien curled into himself on his chair, just watching the steady rise and fall of Marinette's breathing. She was so pretty with her hair down. He just wished he was seeing it under better circumstances.
He didn't know how long he was there before Alya and Nino and Marinette's other friends all showed up. He barely spared them all a glance. Nino came to sit beside him, where Sabine had been the day before, and started talking about something quietly. Adrien wasn't listening, though. He was watching Alya, Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Mylene all gather around Marinette's beside. Rose put a vase of flowers on one of the beside tables. Adrien vaguely wondered what kind they were, but he didn't ask. The girls were taking turns talking to Marinette, and he felt grateful that they weren't letting her unconscious state stop them from being the great friends that Adrien knew they were.
Nino suddenly poked him, and Adrien jumped a little, finally looking at him.
"There you are," Nino joked. "Do you know what happened?"
Adrien shrugged a little. "Found her after the Akuma attack."
"Oh, man, you're the one that found her?" Nino frowned. "No wonder you're a wreck."
Adrien huffed. "Thanks." He looked back at Marinette. He intended on staying until visiting hours were over again, no matter how mad his father got. He didn't know how he was supposed to go back to his normal life.
If anyone had noticed that he was wearing Marinette's earrings and not wearing his ring, they hadn't said anything. The ring in question was tucked into his backpack. He didn't want to put it back on until he was going to be Chat Noir again, but he wouldn't be until Marinette woke up and could be Ladybug again. He'd decided he would give either Alya or Nino the ring. He couldn't bear to part with the earrings right now.
The next Akuma attack was only two days after Marinette was put into a coma, and Alya was the closest to him when he transformed.
He called her into an alley while everyone else was running away, and he gave her his MIraculous. "Ladybug is currently out of commission, so I'm using her Miraculous for the moment. You get to use mine."
Alya grinned, and put it on. "You can count on me, Mister Bug!"
Mister Bug smiled a little sadly. "You can keep it until I need it back, because I can't do this on my own."
Alya mock-saluted him, and he told her the activation words. It was a little weird seeing someone else use his Miraculous, but he trusted Alya whole-heartedly. She was a formidable partner - aliasing herself as Chat de Minuit - and was incredibly reliable.
Adrien still felt like he was slowly unraveling, and he visited Marinette every day, but he tried to get back into the swing of fighting (pun intended) as a distraction. Maybe he let himself get hit here and there just to feel something other than missing her, but he wasn't gonna tell anyone. He knew Alya wasn't paying enough attention to notice it.
With the days turning to weeks, and the weeks into three and a half months, Adrien only got more and more unhinged as the obvious hole where Marinette should be felt more and more jagged to him. He was tired all the time, and more than a little rough around the edges.
He honestly didn't remember dozing off, but he must have, because he woke up to fingers brushing gently through his hair. He let the feeling linger for a moment before he opened his eyes. He was met with Marinette smiling wearily at him.
He sat up abruptly. "You're awake!" Before he could think about it, he wrapped her into a hug.
She weakly hugged him back, surprised at the affection. "I woke up a few minutes ago," she said, voice raspy. Adrien pulled away to look at her. He missed her eyes so much. He missed her voice, even if right now, it was only an echo of what it used to be. "I don't.. remember what happened. I just remember the Akuma attack.. and then I woke up here."
"You got hit really hard in the fight," Adrien said, "You've been asleep for about three and a half months."
Her eyes widened. Her gaze flickered over to his ears, where he was very clearly wearing her earrings. "So- my earrings."
Adrien nodded. "I know."
Marinette stared at him for a moment. "Have you been helping Chat Noir?"
Adrien smiled. "I guess you could say that."
Marinette smiled back. "Thank you. I know it's a big job, but it's so important." Her lip started trembling a little, but she bit it after only a second. Adrien gently took her hand in his.
"I'd take it on a million times over if I had to," he murmured. "I was so scared, Marinette, I- I-" He closed his eyes, trying to not relive the fear he'd felt. "I thought, the entire way here, that I had lost you." He opened his eyes again, eyebrows furrowing.
Marinette blushed a little. "I'm sorry I worried you." She looked down at their entwined hands. "Do my parents know?" She glanced back at the earrings.
"Your mom," Adrien answered. "She was worried about why Ladybug hadn't fixed the city, and I didn't think I could lie to her."
Marinette closed her eyes. "Is she mad at me for not telling her?"
"Of course not," Adrien said. "She's so proud of you." He hesitated, then added, "I am too."
Marinette opened her eyes and then her mouth to respond, but a nurse came in right and interrupted her.
The nurse smiled, despite her initial shock. "I'm glad you're awake, Ms Dupain-Cheng. I'll page the doctor, and let her know you're up. And I'll bring you some water."
"Thank you," Adrien called to her as she left. He returned his attention to Marinette. "That's Danielle. She's been your main nurse since you got here. She's really nice, and she has a kid that just turned eight two weeks ago "
Marinette smiled adoringly at him. "How much have you been here?"
It was Adrien's turn to blush. "Every day. I obviously have school, and Akuma stuff, and other lessons that my father makes for sure that I get to, but I'm here as much as I can be."
Marinette grinned at him, blushing again too. "That's really sweet of you."
Adrien shrugged a little. "I didn't really see much point in being anywhere else."
"What about your dad? Surely he didn't.."
Adrien huffed. "He's been mad at me, but I don't care. If anyone knows how scary it is to have the chance of losing someone, it'd be him." He studied her face for a moment. "I didn't really tell him what was going on. I don't know how he'd react. Maybe it'd remind him of himself, when my mom was dying."
Marinette cupped his face in the hand that he wasn't holding. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. He felt a little like crying out of relief. The hole that had opened so deep inside of him felt like it got stitched up more and more the longer she was awake, and touching him.
Adrien kept holding her hand, even when Doctor Roan came in to check on her, and even when Sabine and Tom got there and hugged her. She didn't let go, and so Adrien didn't make himself. He felt like if he let go, he might wake up and realize she was still in a coma.
The doctor eventually left after updating Marinette's chart, and referring her to a physical therapist.
Sabine and Tom sat on the opposite side of the bed from Adrien, and while Tom seemed a little disgruntled at the fact that they were holding hands, Adrien could tell Sabine was happy for them. Adrien could only hope that Marinette actually loved him back.
Though she was pretty much completely healed now, she was still in the hospital for another month almost, starting physical therapy and ensuring completely that there was no loss of brain or motor function.
Adrien let everyone know that she had woken up, and pretty soon, almost everyone from their class had visited her. He and Alya helped catch Marinette up on the school she missed, and Adrien brought her things to keep herself entertained with when she got too overwhelmed or bored by the schoolwork. He was still there as often as he possibly could, but now that she was actually awake, he only itched to be there even more.
Marinette found out pretty quickly that Adrien was not, in fact, assisting Chat Noir. She asked him point-blank if he was Chat Noir (since he'd been the one to appoint himself the name Mister Bug when they'd switched Moraculouses), and Adrien couldn't lie to her. It wasn't fair that he knew her identity, but she couldn't know his.
After that, he told her about enlisting Alya to help him, and how even though she was great, she wasn't Marinette.
That had Marinette smiling and blushing, and Adrien had the very strong urge to kiss her. He pushed it away, not wanting to spring it on her out of nowhere, but it got harder and harder to ignore it.
When Marinette got to go home finally after a few weeks of inpatient physical therapy, he pushed her wheelchair out. She was fully capable of pushing it herself, but she'd had a session right before getting discharged, and so her arms were tired.
Tom carried her up the stairs at their house, and Adrien carried her wheelchair. When they got to the living room, Marinette's friends were there to surprise her with a small party.
There were streamers up, and a banner that read "Welcome home!" hung across the far wall.
Marinette beamed as her friends circled around her wheelchair to wrap her in a group hug. Adrien smiled at the scene, standing beside Sabine.
Adrien stayed a little on the outskirts during the party, not wanting to interrupt 'girl time' or whatever. He'd gotten close with Sabine and Tom though, in the long afternoons and evenings where the three of them were just waiting for Marinette to wake up.
He could hardly bring himself to look away from her now. She hadn't put her hair back into her usual buns since she woke up, and Adrien wonders a little if she associates the hairstyle with being Ladybug now.
Adrien had to go home eventually, much to his dismay. He was a little jealous of Marinette's friends that were staying the night, but he knew his father wouldn't approve. It didn't matter too much, anyhow. Marinette knew he'd be back later, sneaking out as Mister Bug. Tikki hadn't talked to Marinette yet, and Adrien assumed it was just because they were in public, and then she always had doctors and her parents around.
Now, sitting on the roof of Marinette's house, close to midnight, with Tikki hiding in his shirt pocket with a delicious-looking macaron she nabbed from the bakery, he was beginning to think it wasn't quite that.
"Are you scared of seeing her, or something?" Adrien asked her quietly. "I think she misses you a lot."
"I'm worried that her seeing me will just make her miss it even more."
"Tikki, you know she'd miss you regardless. You might as well talk to her for yourself, so she knows you miss her too." Adrien sighed. "I'm worried that she thinks you've given up on her just because she can't be Ladybug right now."
"I would never give up on her!" Tikki huffed. "She's the best Ladybug I've ever gotten to help!"
"You really mean that?" A quiet voice came, from where the trapdoor into Marinette's room was. Adrien looked over with a smile.
"Do you need help getting up?"
Marinette extended a hand towards him, and he went over to help her up, and get her settled in a chair. She smiled at him, in the soft way that made his breath hitch and his heart skip a beat, and he realized that Plagg followed her up.
He sat beside her, and Plagg joined Tikki in his pocket, making Marinette glance down at it. There was a kind of sad in her gaze that reminded Adrien of what she'd interrupted.
"Tikki's worried that you seeing her will just make it worse for you that you can't be Ladybug," Adrien said.
Marinette shrugged in the way Adrien's learnt really means that she has mixed feelings about something. "I miss the freedom of it, but I know that trying where I am right now is only gonna set me back again." She tilted her head back, looking up at the moon. "It's been odd, not having Tikki with me at all times."
"It's been odd not having Plagg," Adrien admits. "But as much as I trust Alya, your Miraculous was just too important for me to give to someone else."
Marinette grinned at him - in the way that makes him blush every time - and said, "I think the earrings suit you." She reached over to his ear, swiping her thumb over the jewelry before tugging down gently on it.
"Hey!" Adrien protested playfully, hands coming up to shield his earlobe, as if it had actually hurt. She giggled, and Adrien grinned back at her. "How're you feeling?"
Marinette shakes her hand in a so-so motion. "I like seeing everyone, don't get me wrong, but right now, when I can still hardly walk for more than a few minutes, I just.." she sighed, brushing some of her hair behind her ear. "They're a lot, sometimes." Then, with a vibrant blush, she added, "Especially when the only thing I wanna do lately is hang out with you."
Adrien stared at her for a moment, feeling like something was clicking into place, but he wasn't quite sure what yet. "Is it selfish if.. if I almost don't want to give you back to them?"
"A little." Adrien frowned to himself. "But I'd let you."
"Marinette.." Adrien glances at her nervously. He takes a deep breath, praying to whatever the fuck was there that he wasn't taking the wrong hint. "Would you.. wanna go on a date sometime?"
Marinette beams at him, and Adrien felt as if the sun was out, and shining right on him. "I would love to."
Adrien nodded a little, feeling star-struck. "I.. I honestly hadn't realized I like you until you got hurt." He frowned, remembering it.
Marinette put a hand over his. "Hey." Adrien refocused on her. She smiled much more gently, and Adrien can breathe properly again. "I'm safe. You're safe. We're here, and.. and we're teenagers." She intertwined their fingers. "I've liked you since we met, honestly. I just.. I knew from the very beginning how amazing you were, and out of everyone I thought it could have been, I'm glad you're Chat Noir."
Adrien smiled. He's struck by the urge to kiss her. Her hair was starting to fall back into her face, and his fingers were reaching out to fix it before he could even think about it. She went bright red, and Adrien soon followed.
"Er- sorry." Adrien jerked his now-shaking hand back, worried that he'd made it weird.
Marinette lifted her own spare hand to cup his cheek, reminiscent of the way she did it at the hospital when she first woke up. Her hands were soft - not callused the way his were - but there was a massive difference in her muscle strength since then.
"Kiss her!" Plagg encouraged loudly.
Adrien rolled his eyes fondly, but looked curiously at Marinette to see her opinion of the matter. She was smiling at him, and so he leaned closer. She met him halfway, and Adrien felt sparks.
His nervousness faded into warmth, and he gently put his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. They parted eventually, breathless.
Adrien examined her face carefully, the nervousness returning. "Was that okay?"
Marinette giggled. "I wouldn't know! It's my first time." Her blue eyes turned mischievous, and it reminded Adrien of the same look he'd seen so many times on Ladybug when she had a particularly good plan. "We can practise, though."
Adrien grinned, cheeks reddening. "Yeah. Sounds good." He kissed her again.
Chat Noir watched nervously as Ladybug swung into action for the first time since her injury. She was badass, for sure, he just.. couldn't let her get hurt again. Especially knowing that the girl behind the mask was Marinette.
Her hair was different now - one ponytail instead of two, because that was how she'd haphazardly tied it up when they had to run away from an Akuma attack together to find a place to transform.
He was taking the brunt of the attack, because even though she'd made leaps and bounds in her muscle recovery, she was still pretty much starting over. He knew she had been getting frustrated with her self-claimed 'uselessness' and so he and Sabine came to the agreement that she could join him again, as long as she promised not to overwork herself.
Ladybug tried to even out the amount they were fighting, but Chat Noir refused to let her try to start off with her old amount of work. They had to work back up to it.
In the end, they managed to save Paris yet again, and Ladybug swung off to give herself a rest and head home while Chat Noir stayed to answer some questions for the news stations that were now approaching.
Most of these questions were about how Ladybug's recovery was going - clearly good, seeing as she was back - and Chat Noir happily told them as much as he was able to. He knew everyone had been worried, even with how effective of a teammate Chat de Minuit had been for Mister Bug.
When he'd asked Alya for the Miraculous back, she'd been way more excited than he had thought she'd be. He supposed she truly was a fangirl at heart.
Chat Noir eventually made his way off the scene, transforming in an alley somewhat near the bakery.
Adrien checked that no one was watching him before he walked the rest of the way to the bakery, getting greeted as soon as he opened the door with a big smile from Sabine.
Tom wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Sabine supplied that he was in the bathroom.
"You two were great out there!" Sabine offered him a macaron, which he took gratefully. "I'm glad it went so well, I was rooting for you."
"What were you rooting for?" Tom asked, as he came back into the shop.
Adrien smiled, though he felt a little bad about lying; "I was telling her about the fencing match I had during my lesson after school today. I won," he added, guestering with the celebratory macaron.
"Well, congrats," Tom said, proudly. "She's upstairs."
"Thanks," Adrien replied. He went up, finding Marinette all the way in her room already, sketching in her diary on her chaise lounge. She lit up when she saw it was him. Plagg flew over to Marinette's desk to pester Tikki.
"How was the press?" She asked. He bent down to kiss her cheek before sitting next to her to look over her shoulder at the design she was cooking up.
"They were really excited for you," Adrien reported. "And your dad thinks I was at fencing."
Marinette giggled. "He thinks that Mylene was having a crisis. As soon as I said it was just girl stuff, he didn't question me."
Adrien laughed a little. "Your mom let me have a macaron. I really like that passionfruit flavor."
Marinette preened. "I helped test that one!"
"You should definitely be proud," Adrien replied, pecking her on the lips. "I think it's my favorite, actually."
Marinette kissed him again. "I was hoping you would, even though you really liked the lime."
Adrien shrugged, but he was grinning again. "Any plans for the rest of today?"
"Yes actually; I was hoping you'd model a design for me." Marinette flipped back a couple pages - clearly she'd been busy today - to show him the one she was meaning. She explained her thought process behind it, and how she already had the fabrics. She just needed him to be a mannequin for her as she made it.
He was happy to follow her commands, especially with the view he was allowed to have of her concentrated face as she worked. How had he gone so long without realizing he loved her? He didn't know. Despite the challenges for both of them with the situation, he was glad that he'd been able to confront his feelings for once. If he ever screwed this up for himself, he'd make Bunnix take him back and fucking fix it.