Adrien gasped as waves of dull pain reverberated through his skull, echoing the harsh smack of the akuma's weapon as it clipped the side of his head. Getting hit out of costume hurt. He ignored the tinny ring that filled his ears like a swarm of gnats, and desperately sought out the villain through the haze of angry black and red fog that suddenly coated the world.
"GOOOAAAAL!"
His knees buckled as the shout increased the wash of pain to a tidal wave, but Adrien managed to catch a glimpse of a blurry figure in a blue jersey before another black and white ball rocketed across the park towards a knot of terrified civilians several meters to his right. As Adrien stared, willing his body to run, to move, to do something, the projectile split into two hazy forms that twisted and twined through the air...
… which were intercepted as a colorful figure coalesced from the haze and snatched the soccer balls from midair.
The akuma shrieked with rage, and the teenagers fled towards the relative safety of the street. Adrien tried to follow – I have to transform, have to help Ladybug, he thought, trying to rouse his muscles to action – but instead staggered and tripped. He fell towards the grass, dimly realizing that he should catch himself, but his arms were as reluctant to move as his legs had been. The ground spun towards him and then rapidly receded as something slammed into his side. Adrien groaned at the jolt.
Had the akuma hit him again? Had –
His laborious thoughts stilled as Ladybug's concerned face swam into his vision. Two concerned Ladybug faces, actually. Why were there - no, she was speaking, he had to pay attention. Adrien tried to focus his eyes on the left Ladybug, who looked a bit more solid.
"… bleeding… think you might… concussion…" Right, head injuries.
"'m fine, don worry," he slurred, attempting to touch her shoulder reassuringly. His fingers met only air.
"Um, Adrien, I'm over here, are you sure you're okay?" Small, strong hands steadied him as he turned towards her voice and the world began to spin again. Her blue eyes were bright with worry. She was so beautiful.
And she knew his name.
"All good. Great! Never been better." He wanted her to stay, but if she stayed, he couldn't transform, and if he didn't transform…
Ladybug jerked as a deafening cackle rung through the air.
"Shit. I- I've gotta go, Chat isn't here yet. Can you call someone to come get you? We're on a roof east of Jardin des Tuileries."
Adrien started to nod, but stopped with a wince and decided to opt for a smile instead.
She frowned, her glossy black hair glinting in the evening sun, and murmured, "I'll check on you afterwards and make sure you got down okay."
"Hey, Ladybug, wait." The words were past his lips before his poor, beleaguered brain could stop them. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the English said. "Want to get dinner tonight?"
She blushed.
…
"Bien joué!"
The swarm of ladybugs swept over the city, righting trees and repairing shattered windows. Adrien sighed with relief as the pounding ache in his head softened before fading away. It had become tolerable as soon as he transformed, but even a tiny chaos god acting as magical painkillers couldn't completely dull the concussion after the fifth time he'd been slammed into a building by the akuma's soccer balls, which hit like sledgehammers even through the suit.
A quiet beep cut through the air as the last of his soreness melted away, and Ladybug cursed quietly.
"You go on ahead, I can take care of everything here," Adrien called over his shoulder, as he crouched beside the puzzled victim.
"I said I'd check on Ad- on a civilian. He got hurt and I had to leave him on a roof." She scowled at her yoyo.
Oh. Oh, right. That… that happened. He fought to keep his expression under control.
"Hey, no problem, I can tell him you'll be a few minutes. I've got time," he replied. Casual. Be cool. Don't freak out.
Ladybug beamed at him. "Thanks, Chat. He's over on the east side, right between the big fountain and the rose garden. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes. He could do this. Provided he didn't implode. Or pass out.
Instead of curling up on the ground and screaming, which felt like the appropriate reaction to this situation, Adrien offered a hand to the bemused young man sitting on the grass, pulling him to his feet.
"Rooting for France?"
The brunet stared at him for a moment, his face pale. "Oh my god. You're Chat Noir. Oh my god. I'm so, so sorry. I'm a Portugal fan but Fontaine said that if France won –"
The gush of apologies was interrupted as a tall figure with dreadlocks sprinted across the garden. His dark skin was ashen as he skidded to a halt. "René! René, are you all right? That was so stupid of me, I shouldn't have – I just panicked."
The man – Fontaine, Adrien presumed – took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault," he said, "I told you I'd go on a date with you if France won the game, but I've been trying to ask you out for ages, and I… "
Reporters were beginning to advance, brandishing microphones and cameras, and Adrien slipped away, allowing the couple to talk without interruption from newscasters.
…
A quick transformation in a conveniently placed bush and several minutes of sprinting wildly across the park later, Adrien leaned against a tree, trying to calm his pounding heart.
"Loverboy's got a daaa-aaate," crooned Plagg, poking his head out from a shirt pocket.
"Shhh, be quiet, she'll be here any sec-"
The branches rustled and Ladybug dropped out of the leaves, landing lightly in front of him. Adrien choked on his words, an indignity compounded by the coughing fit that followed.
"Are you okay? Are you still hurt?" Ladybug was beside him, hands fluttering as if she was fighting the urge to grab his shoulder.
"I'm fine," he gasped, eyes watering, "I just… I swallowed a bug."
He could feel Plagg snickering.
