Chapter 2:

Unfortunate Timing

"Really it's fine. I'm just a little under the weather and I don't want it to get worse. I can still manage the bakery while you're gone. It's not a busy time of month anyway and you've already made all the orders!"
She looked outside as the grey clouds outside shifted. "Besides, it's still really overcast. It'll probably rain again later, so I doubt anyone will show up for a while anyway. You two enjoy the rest of your vacation," Marinette said into the phone. She listened to her dad's response and laughed lightly, ending in a little cough that she told him was because of a cold rather than because her side hurt.
"I love you too. Happy Anniversary! Tell Mom."

She hung up and sighed gently with relief. That was done.
"Well that's one thing taken care of. At least I won't have to worry about school for a while."
"Are you sure you're feeling up for this?" Tikki asked, floating up to land on Marinette's shoulder. "You haven't had time to recover yet. It's dangerous!"

"I don't have a choice, Tikki," she answered with a small smile. "Marinette and Ladybug can't go missing at the same time. Especially since Chat Noir knows that Marinette is hurt."
"I suppose… but you'll hurt yourself more if you're not careful!" Tikki protested, moving from Marinette's shoulder to look her in the eye. "And what if the rain starts up again!"
"Then I'll just have to be careful," she said. When Tikki didn't look relieved, she sighed. "It's just a quick patrol. Nothing will happen. I'll be back before the storm. Ladybug just needs to be seen. I promise I'll be careful."
"Well… I guess it's up to you, Marinette, but I really wish you'd reconsider."
"Don't worry. I won't let anything that bad happen to us again. I'm just glad you were able to recover. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Tikki."
The small Kwami's eyes softened and she smiled kindly at Marinette.
"Spots on."

Lightning flashed, illuminating the sky briefly. The thunder followed soon after.
It was absolutely the worst timing. The worst!
She was supposed to be Lady Luck! But lately, it seemed like all that luck had turned sour.
Ladybug raced through the streets, holding her side carefully in hopes it would keep the wound from splitting open again. That would be the last thing she needed.
"I can't believe this… He's gonna get there before me! I gotta hurry!"
She pushed herself to go as fast as she could, ignoring the agony the movement caused and hoping she wouldn't slip off of the rain-slicked roofs.

Of course she hadn't managed to beat the storm.

She'd run in to Chat Noir on her patrol which unusual but not unheard of in this part of town.
"Did you see an attack?" she asked, doing her very best to seem completely healthy. Fortunately the boost of magic and the convenience of a mask hid most of her pain and her pale skin from view.
"Aaah not today, My Lady," Chat said. "I'm on my way to visit a little princess."
"P-princess?"
"OH now don't be jealous, Ladybug! You're the cat's meow and I've only got eyes for you!" he said, looking delighted at the prospect of her jealousy.
She rolled her eyes. "As if," she muttered but he ignored it.
"You see there's a girl I know. That Marinette you had me protect once upon a time. "
The pit in her stomach sank lower as her fears were confirmed.
"Well it seems she needs a knight more often than we thought. She got hurt the other day and I wanted to make sure she was resting up like a good girl. I feel like she'd be prone to over-working herself."
"A-ah but.."
The first few drops of the promised storm that had been threatening since the last one ended a few days ago finally fell.
"It's raining. Maybe you should go check on her after it stops?"

"Don't worry. It's only real cats that are afraid of water. I'll be fine. 'Til next time, My Lady!"
A wave and a leap and he was gone.

She managed to get home just in time to see Chat Noir land on her roof.
Thinking quickly, she hid around the corner to release her transformation, grateful it wasn't painful like last time.
Taking a moment to catch her breath, she ran through the storm to enter through the front door and was surprised to find Chat waiting for her in the living room.
"Taking a stroll through the rain?" he asked with a raised brow and and displeased expression. "I had a feeling you'd be doing something you shouldn't."

"It's not like that!" she said, searching her mind for a plausible excuse. "I had to make a delivery. My parents are on vacation and I promised to take care of the store until they got back."

"They let you manage the store alone in your condition?!" he asked incredulously.

"Well… they think I just have a cold," she explained. "I didn't tell them… I don't want them to worry for no reason."

"No reason?" he asked incredulously. Then he sighed. "Come on, Princess. Let's get you dried off and looked after. I'll be your butler this evening."
He offered her his hand. She stared at it for a moment, then decided there was no harm in taking it. He flashed her a smile and lead her upstairs to her room.

He fussed over her, telling her to go change into something warm and dry while he got them both some towels. It wouldn't do to drip on her and make her wet all over again.
She sighed and did as he said, changing quickly while he was in the other room.

He knocked softly and asked if it was safe to enter, doing so after she said he could.
A quick dart of his eyes took in her pajamas and loose hair.
To let it dry faster, he supposed, but he couldn't help but notice the small strand that clung to her face, curling to end at the corner of her lips.

He reached out with a gentle hand to brush it back safely behind her ear, his fingers trailing along her jawline as they withdrew.
"I want to check your cut again, too," he informed her and chuckled as she turned red.

"I need to make sure you didn't open it up again and see how it's healing. "

She sighed and turned her back so she could pull her shirt over her head and cover her chest.

He was surprised at how compliant she was, but figured she must have learned her lesson last time. All the same, he drew away from her and turned to give her some privacy. He waited until the sounds of rustling had stopped and turned back to her.
He moved closer to investigate, first aid kit in hand, and found he was right to have worried.

"Marinette…" he sighed. "You overexerted yourself."

It wasn't bad, but the wound had managed to reopen in a couple of places. The plus side was that, so far, it didn't seem to be infected. It was, however, inflamed. He made a note to get her some ice once she was all settled in and taken care of.

She didn't answer, but he noticed her shoulders slump a bit as if she were properly ashamed of herself and decided not to press the issue.
Instead he hummed a comforting melody as he cleaned and redressed the wound.

"That's… a nice sound," she said, breaking the silence after a few minutes.

"Hmm? What? The song?"

"No… your voice…" she said.

He blinked in surprise and stared at her. Her face was red but she didn't look embarrassed. "My voice? Really?"

"Yeah," she said dreamily, her eyes half lidded. "I like it. "

Now he was more concerned that her red cheeks weren't just from being embarrassed.
Unable to remove his gloves, he moved closer to her slowly. Putting one hand on her shoulder to gently hold her in place when she started to lean away from him, he used the other to push back her bangs.
He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. He could feel her breath against his lips this close. She was panting softly. He could smell her quite acutely as well. It was the smell of baking and something flowery mingled with the smell of the storm that still clung to her. He could hear her heart too. Feel it rushing under the skin of her forehead. Da dump. Da dump.

He opened his eyes after a moment to find her staring at him, quite frozen.
"You, Your Highness, have a fever," he said in a low voice, tapping her nose gently as he slowly drew away.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing herself to relax her shoulders and her racing heart to calm. She couldn't, however, keep herself from staring at him as he moved to the door.
"I'll get you some medicine," he said. "I'll be back soon. Just rest for now.

If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was blushing as he all but ran out of the room.

As she settled on her pillows after pulling her shirt back on, she tried not to think about how close he'd been to her just moments ago. And how that proximity had made her heart race.

"It was just the fever…" she murmured. "That's all."