Written for the prompt "Please get better soon. I can't stand to see you this way." Enjoy!
Has the walk home always been this long?
Adrien knows that it's a bit of a drive from school to his house, but making his way back after the fight with the akuma is taking forever. It's been at least an hour since he convinced Ladybug that he wouldn't die on his way home, and each step seems to take more energy from his already drained body. He's alternating between shivering and feeling like his skin is on fire, and the buildings around him are hazy and blurred.
By the time his front door comes into sight, his legs are wobbling and he's weaving on his feet, unable to walk in a straight line. He'd thrown up several more times on his journey home, ducking into deserted back alleyways and hoping and praying that there weren't any paparazzi or nosy fans around to see him.
He floats over to the gate and lets himself in. As soon as he sets one foot inside he can hear his father's angry voice, probably demanding where he's been. Adrien is too dizzy and dazed to make out what he's saying, but the sharp tone sends a shock of pain through his head.
"Hey dad," he mumbles, tongue thick and heavy in his mouth. His words slur together, but he's too lightheaded to care. He's home. He made it. He can finally stop.
Black spots fill his vision, and his ears start ringing as his father frowns at him, genuine concern interrupting his furious tirade. "Adrien?"
The room is too hot, and the walls swirl around him as he stares in fascination. He feels a hand on his shoulder, shaking him slightly, before the looming blackness overwhelms him.
It's pitch-black the next time he opens his eyes, and it takes him longer than it should to realize that it's because the lights are off. He immediately goes to sit up, scrabbling at the sheets and pillows, but a wave of dizziness knocks him back to the bed, gasping. It's easy to lose track of how long he just lays there, taking deep breaths in attempt to stave off the wooziness and returning nausea. The room is freezing, and he bunches the sheets around him as much as possible without looking, sighing happily at the additional warmth.
The next time he dares to open his eyes and look around, there's a figure standing over the bed. He notices that it's a dark-haired girl and initially assumes that it's Natalie, coming in to check on him, but even in the middle of the night his powers still allow him to see. He'd recognize Ladybug's striking spotted suit anywhere.
"Ladybug?" he murmurs, hardly daring to believe his eyes. "What're you doing here?" He's too sick and dazed to think about the fact that he's a sweaty, feverish mess. With bed head for days.
She presses a gentle hand to his forehead and frowns. Adrien sighs in relief at the coolness against his skin. "A friend told me that you were sick. And wow, you're really burning up! Here, drink some water." She hands him a glass from the bedside table.
Water has never tasted so good. Adrien's first instinct is to gulp it down, despite the disgusting taste in his mouth. His mouth is a desert in the full heat of summer: dry. But Ladybug makes him take slow sips. "Don't want you to make yourself sick again," she scolds gently.
Adrien would wonder what she's talking about, but then she places a cool wet cloth on his forehead and all reasonable trains of thought are halted in favor of basking in the cold feeling of relief. His eyes close without him realizing, and soon he's hovering on the precipice of falling asleep.
He feels someone brushing his bangs back and readjusting the cloth on his forehead. "Please get better soon. I can't stand to see you this way," Ladybug murmurs sadly. Her voice is like a lullaby. It's the gentlest he's ever heard her sound.
When he wakes up in the morning, his fever has broken and the sun is streaming through his curtains. The cold washcloth from last night is lying on the floor and his sheets are a tangled mess.
For a brief moment, he wonders if he really did see Ladybug last night, before laughing to himself. It was probably just a fever dream, and in reality Natalie came in to make sure he didn't die in his sleep.
Still, he muses to himself, Ladybug taking care of him was nice. Even if it's only in his dreams.
Three days later, Marinette comes down with the flu.
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