Adrien Agreste's eyes were locked onto the looming building in front of him— the hospital. He couldn't seem to move closer toward it, he felt as if his knees might buckle any moment. What do I say, anyway? Plagg shook his head as he looked up to Adrien from the inside of his open button-up shirt.
"Just go in there." he hissed to his young ward "Tell them that you're Marinette's friend. It's the truth anyway." he frowned as he saw Adrien's eyes tear up some "Listen, Chat." that got Adrien's attention, and he looked down to his little kwami "You save the city, every week, are you telling me you can't face a hospital?"
"But-" Adrien began, but Plagg cut him off "No. No buts." he replied with a grimace "Except to get you butt in there. She's your friend and she needs you, Adrien. You are not allowed to stand out here, sulk, and feel sorry for yourself. Sheesh kid."
Adrien nodded, he knew that Plagg was right, just as he had been right earlier when he had made it back to school as Chat Noir. He had been covered in blood— Marinette's blood— when he had arrived. Thankfully when his suit had vanished, so had most of it. Aside from what had been on his face. It had been a blur, making it to the school bathroom but before he knew it he had been there in front of the mirror, vigorously scrubbing the dried gore from his cheek and chin. Plagg had intervened, grabbing Adrien's hand before telling him to calm down and get a hold of himself. Thankfully Plagg had managed that before Adrien had scrubbed a hole in his cheek. He had been especially grateful for that when he finally made it to the cafeteria. It had been only moments after that, and the bell had rung.
Going through the last of the classes had been the hardest, he found himself staring at Marinette's seat as he sat alone. He couldn't focus on anything the teacher said, who could after what he had witnessed? He was thankful, however, for the absence of Alya and Nino. He didn't question why they hadn't been there, he was just glad they were elsewhere. He didn't think he could face his friends after what had happened— they would have known something was wrong.
After the last bell rang, and Adrien had made his way to his locker, he finally looked at his phone. There were more than twenty messages from Nino and Alya. Twenty. His breathing hitched as he looked through some of them, all telling him about Marinette's accident and what they had heard of her condition— which wasn't much. The final messages told him he better get his butt down to the hospital when he read them (courtesy of Alya) and some saying that he needed to get down there quickly and that they were getting worried he hadn't arrived yet (courtesy of Nino)
Adrien could have smacked himself in the head, he should have known that's why his friends weren't at school. After that, he had managed to get a hold of Nathalie. It had taken a quick explanation and a little begging to get him out of his photo shoot that afternoon. Nathalie had known Adrien would be useless if he did arrive, being worried for his friend, and so she had had an excuse when she told his father. Left to her, she would have let him go right away, but Gabriel Agreste could have been a different story. Regardless, here Adrien was now, in front of the hospital with Plagg yet again rightfully scorning him.
Adrien took a deep breath "Alright, Plagg, I'm going." he managed to say without sounding sick, he certainly felt quite sick and he swallowed down the bile and anxiety in his throat."Do you think her parents are in there?"
Plagg recognized Adrien's stall tactic "Of course they are, kid! Do you think they would leave their daughter alone? I thought you were supposed to be smart or something." Plagg shook his head as he disappeared into Adrien's outer shirt again "Just get in there already before I decide to find a new, braver, Chat Noir." Plagg's voice was muffled from the material of the shirt, but Adrien could still hear him as he shook his own head. That last comment had given Adrien a small smile, and the courage to continue walking into the hospital "Yeah, yeah, but then who would buy your camembert?"
Adrien's smile had faded after he had walked through the visitor's entrance. There was no one there, besides the receptionist, which he somehow found comforting. He breathed a small sigh as he approached the desk.
"Can you tell me where I can find Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Adrien asked quietly with his soft, humble voice that today sounded more humble and quiet than usual. The nurse apologized and asked him to speak up. He cleared his throat "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm a friend of the family. Can you tell me where she's at?" the receptionist plugged in the name on her monitor and shook her head "She's not in a room that allows for visitors yet, she's-" Adrien's eyes widened as the receptionist shook her head again, she couldn't release more information to the teen. "But if you follow that hallway." she indicated one to the right of her "And go through those double door to take a left you'll find a sitting area. Her family should be there. They can answer your questions."
Adrien thanked the receptionist numbly, afraid of what he would hear when he arrived. He felt like there was a stone in his stomach as he headed that direction. Plagg could feel his trepidation, it practically seethed from him "Kid." Plagg whispered to Adrien but didn't dare duck his head out for fear of being seen by the hospital staff "You'll be ok. Just keep walking. Don't be afraid of what you'll hear, you already know the important thing. Marinette is alive, thanks to you, and that's what matters right now." Some part of Adrien knew that was true, but the more prominent part screamed in his head that this was all his fault. If he had reacted sooner, maybe she wouldn't have lost as much blood. Maybe she would already be out of the hospital. It didn't matter that none of that even made sense, he knew he couldn't have done anything differently, but the images of Marinette broken as she had been haunted him.
Adrien gulped as he headed through the double doors. He could see a waiting area in the distance, and he was fairly sure he could see Tom (Marinette's father) in front of the open doorway. Tom's back was to the door, and he didn't look out of it as he went to sit back down. However, as Adrien approached closer, Tom caught a glimpse of him and stood up.
"Adrien?" The hulk of a man called out as he saw the model approach "Adrien, come, join us." he motioned Adrien with his hand. As Adrien stepped through the door, he noticed the larger man's eyes were red with tears (whether shed or unshed he did not know— the larger man's face was dry now regardless) However his wife Sabine's was not. Adrien looked to Sabine for only a moment before Tom clasped the young man's shoulder, sending him a few inches forward. That man certainly had quite an arm for a baker. Adrien noticed that the larger man seemed quite pale as he turned his attention back to him.
"Please, please, sit down. We're glad you came." Tom smiled, but it was a forced smile. Seeing Tom without his natural smile on, but still trying to seem like the same man, made Adrien just a little less nervous. He breathed a small sigh of relief. Things can't be that bad if Mr. Dupain is able to smile at all. He knew that Tom and Sabine loved their daughter more than anything else in the world, he knew if it was too bad there was no way they're be sitting calmly in that waiting room.
Alya had been silent until Adrien sat "Why weren't you here earlier, Adrien?" Alya asked, seeming slightly annoyed. He shifted uncomfortably as he looked to the fiery girl, who's hand was rested atop Sabine's— to comfort her he assumed. Adrien gulped a moment, not quite sure how to answer. Alya scrutinized him a moment before shaking her head "Goody-two-shoes. You didn't even check your phone until after school, did you?" Alya sighed a moment "What, did you think the rest of us were playing hooky?"
Nino was gripping Alya's other hand, he shook his head "Give him a break, Alya, if he had known about this he would have been the first one here." Adrien could feel guilt settle into the pit of his stomach. He had been concerned about hiding his identity, and honestly, he had been too afraid to come earlier. He swallowed down the gathering lump in his throat again and he looked around to all of them. Between the empty coffee cups in the room and the fact that he knew when Marinette had been hurt, he could tell they had been there for quite a long time.
"So, ah..." Adrien started off awkwardly, not knowing how to ask. Thankfully, Tom seemed to know where the boy was going. "Last we heard, she was stable." Tom answered the unspoken question "They told us she should be out of surgery soon."
Surgery? Adrien could feel his worry growing as Tom spoke. She's having surgery? Adrien started to ask more, but Tom cut him off, knowing what his next questions would be "Her leg is broken in many places." Tom managed to say, obviously talking about it pained him, even if he was trying to look strong "They said she'll be out any time. They've had to give her blood but they said, for the most part, she's stopped bleeding." Tom rubbed his arm a moment. It was then that Adrien noticed the red band around his arm. Tom must have given blood. That explained why he was so pale. Then again, Adrien was pale without having had to lose blood.
Adrien chewed on his lip a moment, almost afraid to ask any questions. He opened his mouth as he looked to Tom, he wanted to say he was sorry, but the words couldn't come out. Tom stood up so he could sit right beside Adrien. He put his arm around the younger man "Thank you." he said quietly "For coming." he added before taking in a breath to speak again "It'll be ok, alright Adrien?" Tom said that last part in a whisper and Adrien frowned a moment. He doesn't know that, he's saying that to keep me calm. And although Adrien knew Tom could very well be lying to him, he took the comfort willingly and buried his face into Tom's chest. He couldn't cry— he wouldn't cry— but just having Tom to hold him helped.
Adrien gripped the older man's midsection as he finally spoke again, quietly "You're right Mr. Dupain. She'll be fine, I know you're right. Your daughter is the strongest person I know." Adrien realized that he meant it too. His Lady was strong in a lot of ways, but she had a mask to hide behind and a miraculous to fight with against all the evil they had faced. Marinette had faced akumatized citizens without shying away, not that she often jumped into danger or anything but when faced with it, she would stand her ground and do what she could to help. Yes, Marinette is strong. Adrien considered quietly. That's how I know she'll be fine. That's what he told himself anyway as a doctor walked through the door. Adrien's eyes snapped up, knowing this is when they would hear something more definitive. Adrien's breath hitched as the doctor opened his mouth to speak.
A/N: I'm sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger, I felt like dialogue that didn't actually involve Adrien/Chat would be boring to read. I'll do a bit of exposition in the next chapter to give you guys the gist of what happened during the doctor's conversation and afterward.
I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't very interesting, I wanted to show some of Adrien's internal struggles and I feel I may have blabbed on a bit more than intended. I also tried to be a bit more descriptive, I had felt like the other chapter was far too short to cover what I did, and I didn't want this story to just be about fast action and nothing else. I want it to be emotional.
Also, TheNovelArtist, thank you for your critique! I've decided if I do any more POV switching that I'll stick with the same person for that chapter, I won't switch any POV's mid-chapter. After reading my first chapter again, I feel like you're totally right. It was very jarring. Again, thank you so much. I think it's really going to help me and the flow of the story 3 And thank everyone for your kind reviews/words. It means a lot! Also, to just say quickly, I'll be sporadic with updates. It's summer, and I work long hours when I work (12-hour shifts) I will do my best to update anywhere from 1-4 times a week if at all possible. I should easily be able to manage at least once.