Archive of Our Own ^beta

This had to have been one of the worst akumatized villains they’d ever fought. Usually, Ladybug was more agile than them. Usually, Chat Noir was stronger than them. But for some inexplicable reason, they couldn’t seem to get the upper hand on this one.
“This is starting to get annoying.” Ladybug grumbled as her and her partner advanced on the villain once more.
Chat Noir expanded his staff, attempting to hit the supervillain down by the chest; and failing in quick succession. “I miss Mr. Pigeon.” He sighed.
A slight laugh rose from Ladybug before she tugged Chat out of the trail of a truck sailing through the air. The two hit the ground with a thud, dissatisfied grunts following shortly after.
“My Lucky Charm didn’t work, your Cataclysm didn’t even faze him; no offense,” Ladybug exhaled, “I’m out of ideas.”
“That's a first.” Chat joked halfheartedly.

The two heroes found themselves hiding in an alley as their malefactor continued to scream out their names followed by a string of threats and colorful language. Ladybug’s eyes scanned everything surrounding them, willing her sight to lead her to the answer, but she saw nothing. Chat Noir rubbed his temples, coaxing his brain to come up with some kind of attack that could weaken their opponent.
“Can you call for backup?” Chat suggested.
“I can try,” Ladybug said apprehensively, “but I'll need my personal phone, and I transformed with it on me, so it’s gone.”
“Detransform then.” Chat answered. He then began to pull boxes into an igloo style hideout, stacking them so that neither the villain nor himself could she her when she crawled in. “Just be quick.” He added.
“Got it. Stand guard for me?” She asked.
“Of course Bugaboo.”
Ladybug simply rolled her eyes before hiding away in their makeshift tent. Chat kept his head on a swivel, the streets were cleared from the attack, so any noise would be indicative of the villain's proximity. Finally, he heard Ladybug’s muffled voice giving instructions to the other side of the call, and then the line close. The boxes let a muffled pink flash shine through their walls before Ladybug reappeared by his side.
“I’ve got Rena and Carapace,” she sighed, “no one else picked up.”
“They’re all we need…hopefully.” Chat reassured her.
The next few minutes involved nothing except pure unbridled anxiety. The pair leaned against the walls of the narrow alleyway awaiting their friends to join them, Eventually, Ladybug pointed out smudges of orange and green making their way towards them on the rooftops above. Unfortunately, so to did the voice of Hawkmoth's latest victim. The other two heroes had led him right to them.
“No time for a plan then?” Chat sighed heavily.
“We’ll figure it out.” Ladybug nodded.

They didn't figure it out as quickly as they'd hoped. By the time the duo made it to the roofs of Paris to meet the couple running towards them, they had to hop directly into action. A decent fifteen minutes of fighting ensued until the heroes began to hold the upper hand. Ladybug’s yoyo string eventually had the villain tied with his arms tight to his legs while Rena, Carapace and Chat Noir searched him for the object hiding the akuma. They had no luck, with the string impacting their abilities to search the man's pockets, they were at a standstill. The villain thrashed around in his constraints, attempting to hop away from his situation; unsuccessfully.
Pulling them aside, Ladybug laid out the newest plan. “I’m going to untie him, quickly. Then Chat Noir and Carapace will hold him while Rena searches him. He’s fast, but we can be faster. Got it?”
“Got it.” The three echoed.
They assumed their positions, and Chat Noir watched as Ladybug steaded her breathing before pulling the rope of her yoyo to send their villain free. He and Carapace went rushing towards the villain, but before they could grab him, he advanced on Ladybug.
She landed on her side. Chat would hear the echoing of the cracks of her body for the rest of his life. He stopped in his tracks as Carapace kept running, unaware. He slammed the villain into the ground, calling for backup as Chat willed his legs to move towards either the villain or Ladybug. His legs chose neither. Rena Rouge advanced towards the villain, helping Carapace to pin him down and search him. Eventually, Chat Noir found himself running towards Ladybug.
He didn’t remember what he called out to Rena and Carapace before shooting up from the scene to get her to a safer spot. But he remembered Rena’s terrified expressions that seemed far too deep for that of a co-hero relationship. He remembered Carapace telling him to go, and calling Rena’s attention back to the squirming assailant on the ground. Her eyes urged Chat to protect her, and he planned on it.

~

Chat settled his limp partner onto a relatively hidden rooftop as far away from the akumatized villain as his legs took him before they gave out. Her breathing was ragged and slow, her eyes pinched closed in agony. Chat Noir’s mind raced with fear. He considered running her to a hospital, but that would most likely end in her identity being revealed to the whole of the hospital, and eventually, all of Paris. As Ladybug took another shaky inhale, Chat raised his hand to check her pulse. He wasn’t a doctor, but the out of time rhythm that echoed under Chat’s fingers was something he’d decided was not a good sign.

Ladybug’s earrings flashed with the final spot on beginning to dissolve. Chat cursed under his breath, and shuffled her even deeper into the corner of the roof. He scanned the horizon and streets below, ensuring that civilians were unaware of their presence. Once he was confident she was hidden, he turned to face away from her, keeping his hand on top of hers in case he needed to check her pulse again and for his own comfort. Maybe Ladybug’s kwami would know what to do?

With a flash from behind him, Chat felt her gloved hand replaced with skin. Through his own suit, he could feel her hand growing colder. He waited for any sign that Ladybug’s kwami had been released from her earrings, and soon enough, he could hear a small voice squeaking in confusion.
“Ma-Chat Noir!” the voice inquired, “What is going on?”
“I-” Chat choked, “she’s hurt, I don’t know what to do.”
“Why are you sitting like that?” Tikki asked, flying around to make eye contact with him.
“Her identity-”
“Chat Noir, that is not important right now,” Tikki squeaked. “I need you to get her home so me and Plagg can help her, and there’s no way to do that without you seeing her without the mask.”
Chat tried to protest once more, throwing out possible solutions that would keep him from discovering the secret that his partner so desperately tried to hide from him.
“Adrien-” Tikki said sternly, addressing him by his true name. “-this is unavoidable, we have no choice. She needs you right now. Sacrifices must be made.”

Chat Noir simply inhaled. He knew Tikki was right. He clenched and unclenched his fists to calm his heart rate, and brought himself to his feet. This was not how he wanted to meet the girl behind the mask, this is not how he thought it would go, this is not what-
“Marinette!” he yelped. Faster than he could allow himself to process the information being received, he scooped up his classmate and began hurling himself towards the Dupain-Cheng Bakery. He threw caution to the wind, not bothering to take back roads and hide in alleyways. Tikki followed close behind, only speaking to encourage Chat to keep going.

Eventually, they reached the balcony that led into Marinette's room. Tikki phased through the trapdoor to unlock it from the inside, and Chat threw it open, diving the short distance onto the loft bed below, before jumping off the railing to place the shaking girl on the chaise lounge situated by the window.
“I need Plagg!” Tikki instructed.
Adrien released his transformation, collapsing onto the chair beside Marinette’s desk.
“Cheese ple- What happened?” Plagg nearly yelled, flying over to Tikki who was frantically attempting to locate the wounds on her holder.
“She got knocked into a wall.” Adrien forced himself to explain, “Hard.”
“And the guy who did it?” Plagg asked.
“Rena Rouge and Carapace are dealing with him.” Adrien ran a hand over his face. Not allowing himself another moment of rest, he found himself crouching at the foot of the chaise where his lady lay motionless. “What can I do? What do you need?” He directed at Tikki, who seemed to be preparing for something large.
“I need you to hold her still.” Tikki sighed flatly.
“Sugarcube we can’t-” Plagg attempted to interject.
“She can take it.” Tikki assured, in an unconvincing voice.
“Plagg, what are you doing?” Adrien asked shakily.
“We’re gonna heal her.” Plagg answered decidedly.
“She’s not going to feel great afterward.” Tikki explained.
“Understatement.” Plagg added bluntly.
“No more talking,” Tikki spat. “Adrien, hold her so she’s sitting up. Plagg, with me.”
Adrien took his place beside Marinette, wrapping an arm around her waist to hold her up and a hand on her shoulder to steady her. Tikki and Plagg placed themselves at her back where she’d made contact with the wall what seemed like hours ago.

Then the room erupted in light. Had Adrien not closed his eyes on instinct, he probably would’ve gone blind. He could hear Marinette whimper in pain even in her comatose state, and the sound made him wince and his stomach flip. Through his eyelids, he could see the all consuming light die down. He heard Tikki and Plagg drop down to the chaise, and felt Marinette’s head slump down onto his shoulder.
“It’s safe.” Adrien heard Plagg rasp before going silent once more.
Opening his eyes, his first assessment was of Marinette, she remained asleep and limp in his arms, but she was warmer to the touch, her breathing had evened slightly, and her skin was regaining the color previously drained from her. He released her down onto the chaise, placing her into a comfortable lying position. Once he was relatively confident that she would remain alive in his absence, he turned to their kwamis. They didn’t seem in any mortal danger. Adrien simply fed them some cookies he found in one of the drawers of Marinette’s desk and they began to fly around the room in celebration soon after. Tikki plastered herself to Marinette’s cheek, letting gleeful squeaks fill the room.

Loud footsteps soon echoed in the halls beneath them. Tikki and Plagg dove behind Marinette as her mother entered the room in a full panic.
“Marinette what is happ-” she exclaimed, before taking in the situation. “Adrien?”
“Sabine.” was all he could say. He stood there; like an idiot, as Marinette’s mother seemed to click pieces of a puzzle into a cohesive picture.
“The attack.” she appeared to summarize to herself.
Adrien stuttered helplessly, unable to make up any good lie that would deter her from concluding that they had both been in the midst of a battle moments ago. “I-”
“I saw the news,” Sabine continued, “I watched Ladybug fall. I had never hoped that I was wrong so desperately.”
“Wrong?” Adrien inquired. Did she already know about Marinette’s identity?
“My daughter is the superheroine of Paris. And she got hurt. But you-” she turned to Adrien, “-brought her home. You kept her safe. Thank you, Chat Noir.”
“I’m not-” Adrien attempted to protest, before being cut off by a soul crushing hug from Sabine. He hugged her for a while, long enough to comfort both her and himself, and eventually, she retracted herself.
“You have done a good job Adrien.” Sabine smiled as she patted his cheek.
“Thank you.” Adrien smiled back, attempting to keep his composure.
Sabine took a deep inhale and adjusted her posture. “She can’t know that I know.” she decided. “She’s got the flu, and she’ll need to stay home for a few days. That’s what you’ll tell her to tell me and Tom. And until she’s better, you’ll be dropping off her homework and visiting her after school.”
“Sabine I can’t-”
“You have to. Keep doing what you do best. Protect her.”
With that, their conversation came to a close. It was evident that Sabine wanted to retreat downstairs before her daughter woke up. So, placing a chaste kiss on her daughter's forehead and giving Adrien’s hand a light squeeze, she walked back down the ladder that led into the attic, closing the trapdoor behind her.
Adrien didn’t know what to do after that, he’d finally seemed to catch up with the world that was previously moving at 2 times speed. So he sat and waited. He watched Marinette's chest rise and fall as her breaths became more regular and her face relax as the pain subsided. Their respective kwamis kept close eyes on them, Plagg waiting for Adrien to fall asleep, and Tikki waiting for Marinette to wake up.
Eventually, Adrien moved to the desk slightly farther away from Marinette. He called Nathalie, telling her that he and a few friends had gone to Marinette’s house to work on a school project that was due soon; he wouldn’t be home for dinner. She was understanding, stating that his father had other matters to attend to anyways. He fell asleep at the desk only minutes later.

~

Marinette had never woken up so unpleasantly. Her sharp alarm couldn’t compare to the sharp pains emanating from every corner of her head, not to mention the constant ache of her back. She tried to think back to when she fell asleep, it was unlike her to fall asleep on the chaise when the ladder to her bed was only a few steps away. But then came the realization that she hadn’t fallen asleep. She had been knocked out. Memories of the searing pains of her impact and Chat Noir’s head whipping towards her came flooding back. Her only other memory was a roof. Chat Noir had been there. He’d been muttering something under his breath that she couldn’t quite make out. After that, nothing.
But now she was in her room. Had Tikki somehow transported her back? No, there was no way an unpowered kwami could drag her back to the bakery. She slowly hoisted herself up into a seated position. Her eyes were slitted as she peered through her moonlit room. Tikki was sound asleep in her normal spot up above the loft bed, but another creature seemed to lay with her.
“Plagg?” she whispered to herself.
Then she saw him. Asleep at her sewing desk, his head propped up in his hands, was Chat Noir. No. That wasn’t Chat Noir. He was wearing regular civilian clothes. She couldn’t make out his face in the darkness, but Adrien Agreste was asleep in her room. The tight inhale she let in sent a wave of pain coursing through her body, but she simply ignored it, because Adrien Agreste was in. Her. Room. But Adrien wasn’t anywhere near the streets where their battle was held. All civilians had been cleared by Parisian Police.
And suddenly it all made sense. Chat Noir was the last one with her. They were alone on that rooftop. Not only was Adrien in her room, so too was Chat Noir.
“Chaton?” she asked as she pushed herself up higher, voice cracking from the effort.
His head snapped up, she watched as he took a quick survey of the room, eyes darting from corner to corner with every muscle tensed. When his eyes finally took her in, his body loosened. Marinette had no time to register the moment from which he made eye contact with her to the moment he had tangled himself into her, holding her both gently and with impressive firmness, shaking as he did so.
“You absolute asshole,” he cried, “never, ever, ever, do that again. Please never do that again.”
Marinette didn’t say anything back, she just shuffled deeper into his arms, wincing slightly at the movement but not caring enough to stop.
“You left me. Please don’t leave me again. Don’t ever do that again.” he continued to plead.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Marinette reassured him, astonished at her own outward calmness. “I'm ok. I promise. Just breathe Adrien.”
Adrien withdrew himself from her and studied her face, his expression unreadable. Hints of confusion, sadness, joy, and something else all taking their places in his features. “Did you just-”
“What?” Marinette cocked her head slightly.
“You called me-” Adrien drifted a hand up to his face where his mask should be, only to find it missing, recalling how he hadn’t transformed since falling asleep at Marinette's desk. “Shit. I’m sorry, I forgot to retransform and then I fell asleep, but then you woke up and-”
“Adrien, it’s fine.” Marinette laughed slightly before clasping a hand over her side. “Sure I’m freaking out internally; like a lot, but it’s fine. You had your reasons. I'm not mad.”
Adrien only nodded in return. He studied Marinette’s face. Ladybug’s face? Same face, idiot. He reminded himself. Her eyes were wide open, but when she blinked they lingered closed for just a second longer as if she was moments away from sleep. Her mouth was slightly upturned, as if she found irony in the situation they found themselves in.
“You ok Chaton?” Marinette asked, knocking Adrien out of his daze.
“Yeah. I’m good,” he all but whispered. He didn’t want to ruin this odd little moment they both seemed to be basking in, but the realities of the late night began to catch up with him. “My Father will kill me if I don’t get home soon.”
“Oh, I didn’t even think of that,” Marinette shook her head. “How late is it?” She asked as she craned her neck towards the clock hanging off her wall.
11:26
“Do you want help getting up your bed before I leave?” Adrien asked, looking over at the ladder that led up to her bed. Marinette half laughed-half winced in response. “I’ll take that as a yes?”
“If you don’t mind?”
“Not at all Bugaboo.”
Marinette rolled her eyes at his antics, and for once he was grateful for it.

Adrien woke up Plagg before transforming to gently scoop Marinette up in his arms bridal style and jump up to her bed. She scooted herself against the headboard wall to keep herself sitting upright, exhaling sharply as she got situated.
“You sure you’re ok?” Chat Noir winced at her obvious discomfort.
“What makes you think otherwise?” She smirked in return.
“Oh nothing.” Chat smirked back, “Another thing before I leave though, you should probably take a few days off, superhero wise and school wise.”
“How am I supposed to tell my parents though?” Marinette implored.
“Just, uh, tell them you’ve got the flu?” Chat hated implementing Sabine’s plan, but if he had to keep a secret from this girl, this would be the only one. “You’ll probably be slow moving anyways for a while, so that’ll convince them. Plus I’ll bring your homework to you until you come back.”
“Yeah, that’ll do the trick.” Marinette nodded. Her eyes were solemn as she gazed at him, the thought of another lie told to her parents increasing the pain she was already in.
“I’m sorry about all this.” Chat attempted to recapture her attention. “I get it. The lying I mean, it’s not fun.”
“I’m just happy that you get it.” Marinette smiled, “Y’know? It’d be a lot worse if I was on my own.”
“Good thing you’re not then.” Adrien reached out to tuck a strand of hair away from her face.
Marinette leaned into the touch, “Goodnight Kitty.”
“Goodnight M’lady.” Chat smiled once more as he flipped the trapdoor to the balcony open, “Oh, one more thing.” He ducked back down to greet Marinette’s lips with his own. As he stood back up, a hand pulled him back down once more. The second kiss was much better. Marinette pulled him closer to her, reaching one hand up into his hair while the other held him by the arm as if she would run away. He didn’t. He ran his hands up her arms and into her hair, pulling her even deeper into the kiss; if that was possible. Marinette chuckled lightly as they pulled apart, resting her forehead against his. Chat Noir smiled brighter than he had all day, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs before kissing her forehead as he stood up once more.
“I love you Kitty.” Marinette whispered.
“I love you too M’lady.” Chat whispered back before disappearing into the darkness of the Parisian night.

~

Over breakfast the next morning, Adrien received a strongly worded reprimanding about coming home late while Marinette was getting her temperature checked by her father as she lay sleeping. Regardless, they were both smiling.

A while later, Adrien took his place in class next to Nino, who was chatting with Alya nervously.
“What’s up?” He tried to seem curious.
“Just, um, worried about Marinette is all bro.” Nino replied as Alya continued to type frantically on her phone.
“I heard from her late last night.” Adrien said; technically it was true. “She’s fine, she said she had come down with the flu.”
“You WHAT?” Alya slammed her hands down on the table. “She’s ok?”
“She’s ok Alya.” Adrien nodded. Alya narrowed her eyes at him, not in anger, but maybe in curiosity? Confusion? Adrien did the same right back to her, the same emotions present. Eventually, Nino seemed to clue in and joined their “skeptical circle.” They looked back and forth at one another until they reached a silent understanding. Alya had figured out who Adrien was, she was a reporter goddamnit, and all the information had been given to her through his words. Adrien had figured out who Rena Rouge and Carapace were under the mask, which answered the urgency in Rena’s expressions when Ladybug had fallen and Carapaces ability to call her back into her mind afterward. Nino had figured out that Alya had figured something out, which he was sure he’d get the lowdown on later, and he had figured out that Adrien and Marinette were totally dating, because he just felt it. He knew his bro.
“Anyway,” Alya smirked, “What are you guys doing this weekend?”

~

Marinette nearly cackled as Adrien replayed the interaction to her. He had shot into her room at lightning speed after a short conversation with Sabine and Tom that consisted of “Oh hi Adrien, are you dropping off homework?” “Why yes, I am going to drop off homework to your daughter, catch her up on the latest news from our friends, and then leave. There will be no kissing involved.” Sure, he didn’t say that outloud, but he sure said it in his head.
“Oh she knows that it’s you.” Marinette stifled a laugh.
“Oh yeah.” Adrien hung his head in fake sadness.
“Ok but Alya and Nino?” Adrien cocked his head, “They know each other's identities don’t they?”
“I may or may not have given them their Miraculouses at the same time once.” Marinette replied.
“Mari you did not.” Adrien gaped.
“It was a life or death situation!” Marinette punched his arm. “I had no choice.”
“Fair. Fair.” Adrien raised his arms up in surrender. Marinette took the opportunity to grab him by the face and kiss him. Adrien didn’t argue. They stayed like that for an undisclosed amount of time until they heard Alya’s voice from the kitchen, who was explaining to Sabine that she’d had the bright idea to come visit Marinette to “see if she was feeling better.”
“Bullshit!” Marinette whisper-yelled as she entered the room. Adrien threw a pillow at their intruder.
“Hah!” the reporter exclaimed before taking the pillow to her face, “Knew it!” She threw the pillow back at Adrien.
“What in the world are you talking about Alya?” Both Adrien and Marinette played innocent until Alya pulled up an in depth monologue that had to have been pre written about what dirty liars they were.
“We’ve been caught, M'lady.” Adrien pouted at Marinette.
“Whatever shall we do?” Marinette pouted back.
Maybe they should've felt more worried about their current predicament, but as Alya scaled Marinette’s ladder demanding details and promises that Marinette was in fact ok, all they could feel was joy. For a moment, they silently agreed to forget about the world for a while, Alya would never tell, there weren't any akuma attacks in this moment, and Marinette was already beginning to feel better. For a moment they simply laughed and joked and made terrible cat puns, though that was mostly Adrien.
When Sabine called Alya and Adrien to go home so Marinette could rest, Alya hugged her friend, made one last remark about “being right” and climbed down the ladder to wait for Adrien. Adrien kissed Marinette again, and rested his forehead on hers, and then kissed her again. Alya called them out for PDA, and the couple groaned at her. Adrien smiled at her even more brightly than the night before as Marinette laughed at Alya’s whining.
“Love you Mari.” Adrien whispered as he climbed down the ladder.
“Love you too Adrien.” Marinette whispered back.