Something wakes her up suddenly in the middle of the night. She doesn't know what it was but she'll be glad for it later. She glances out her window to see that it's still night. She moves to look away but before she does, something catches her eye. It's the light of the streetlamps that manage to create a ghostly shape, just barely visible in the rain. She turns on her bedside lamp and that light is just enough to make out the shape. Black leather shines, outlines a shoulder, a knee, pointed ears, a mask. Green eyes with a dull glow, and shaggy hair, just barely discernable as blond. Rain dripping from wet hair, streaming down a cheek, off a leather-covered back, down the window panes between them. She stumbles off her bed, turns on the light, fumbles with the clasp, and suddenly, the rain is pelting her, the wind guiding it through the window. She hardly notices.
"Chat?" She gasps.
The tears, whether from him or the sky, she does not know, keep pouring down his face but he gives her a weak smile.
"Hey Mari." He says, though his voice is shaking and broken.
"You stupid cat!" She explodes, more from concern than anything else. He chokes out a bitter, rueful chuckle. She sighs and gives his arm a tug, though that should hardly be enough to send him tumbling through the window like it does now. She hurriedly closes the window and turns to his shaking form, sprawled on her bedroom floor. She crouches down beside him and lays a hand on his cheek.
"What were you thinking?" Her voice is softer now but still just as worried.
"S-Sor-rry M'lady. It...H-"
"Shh. You can tell me later. For now let's just get you dry and warmed up, ok?"
He nods then he drops the transformation. When Plagg appears, it is with a concern that she has never seen him show before. While she is busy gathering towels and some of her father's old clothes, the kwami sits in front of his young human and Tikki comes over to sit beside him. Marinette comes back, pulls him up to sit on her sofa, and wraps a towel around his shoulders. He's still crying, she sits beside him, wraps her arms around him, murmers soft reassurances. His head falls against her shoulder as shivers and sobs shake his body. Marinette gives him an old pair of pyjamas that used to belong to her father, she had taken out the seams and made them smaller.
"Can you go put these on in the bathroom?"
He nods mutely. She watches his hunched form make his way to the bathroom. Once he's in, she turns to Plagg.
"How long has he been out there?" She demands.
"Not long after the akuma attack finished. He's been transformed since."
"Since the akuma attack!? That was just after school finished! It's been raining since this morning! What happened, Plagg?"
He shakes his head. "I don't know. His father wanted to talk to him after he got home. When he came back, he was really upset and he transformed and left the house."
She sighs. "Alright. We can talk about it when he's better. I'll go make him some hot chocolate. Keep an eye on him until I get back."
The little kwami nods and settles down next to Tikki.
"This is bad Tikki. Really bad, and I don't even know what happened."
Tikki is worried. Plagg doesn't get this worried for normal teenage problems.
"He'll be ok. Whatever happens, he has you, and he has us." She adds, "Marinette loves him. She'll do anything for him. We'll be alright in the end."
"NO!" He lashes out. "You can't say that. It's not true. You, of all people, know that. How long have we been around? How many have misused the miraculous? How many cats have gone mad, with grief or rage or pain? How many of my cats have I lost? You can't say that."
Tikki's eyes widen as Plagg's outburst fades, and his whole posture drops in dejection.
"I'm sorry Plagg."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too."
He flies off to go check on Adrien, leaving her reaching out to empty air. Adrien comes out of the bathroom, still shivering, but not wet, the pyjamas too big and hanging from his shoulders.
"Mari?" He calls softly.
Tikki answers him, "She's making hot chocolate. She got a blanket for you." She points to a thick blanket folded on the sofa. His eyes are still red but he gives her a smile and thanks her. He sits in the corner of the sofa with his knees pressed against his chest and the blanket covering all but his head. Soon, Marinette comes back with two mugs of hot chocolate and a plate of quiche and cookies from the bakery. She sits down beside him and asks him, "When did you last eat?"
He frowns. "Lunch, I think."
"Thought so. Here." She hands him the food and sets a mug down beside him. They eat and drink in silence. When he's finished, he lays his head in her lap. She combs her fingers through his hair.
"You're feverish."
"I'm sorry."
She smiles.
"Silly cat. Why didn't you come earlier?"
His speech is slurred as he starts to fall asleep but she can make out a few words.
"Didn't want...you...trouble."
She just shakes her head and smiles fondly. She stays there for the rest of the night and drifts off to his breathing. In the morning, she tells her parents that she can't go to school today, evades their questioning and goes back to watch over Adrien. When he wakes up, his fever has gone down and she brings him food for breakfast. She eats with him and when they're done she finally asks.
"What happened?"
His face falls in the shadow of intense remembered pain. He shakes his head, as if to try to shake it away. "My Lady, he's...my father, he's…"
He's struggling to say it and tears are falling again, but she just waits, a hand stroking the back of his head gently, until finally, he looks up, a terribly broken expression on his face.
"My father is Hawkmoth."
Her free hand flies to her mouth, tears forming that reflect his own. "Oh Chaton, ma chère, I'm sorry."
Whether she pulls or he falls into her arms is unclear, but his face is buried in her shoulder and she feels as if she might tear apart the world and herself with it to stop his tears. But instead, she pulls away and puts a hand on each side of his face, thumbs wiping away tears, "Kitty, Adrien, I'm here. I won't let him hurt you."
But in a strangled voice he says, "He already has."
She brings their foreheads together, runs a thumb along his cheekbone, knowing she would need to pick up the pieces of his broken heart and by extension, her own.
"I'm here, alright? I'm here. You're not alone. We're going to get through this, okay? I'm here."
"But what do we do?" he asks, because she has always been the one with the plan, the better half of him, the leader of their team. "He knows I'm Chat Noir."
She doesn't say anything for a few seconds. "You can stay here. My parents will let you stay in the spare room. You can tell them as much or as little as you want. They'll respect your privacy. And we won't face your father until you're ready, if I can help it. Just, promise me you'll tell me if something's wrong. Don't do what you did yesterday. Come to me, okay?"
He nods. "Oui M'Lady."
She smiles and kisses his forehead, and for a few moments, they can just bask in each other's love, until they have to get up and face the world again.