I Promise
"Marinette?" Cat Noir said softly. Not believing it was her. "It's you? You're Ladybug?" Marinette nodded.
"Disappointed?" She asked, and Cat Noir quickly shook his head.
"No, of course not." He told her. "In fact now that I know it's you, I can't imagine it being anybody else."
Marinette smiled. "The doctors are probably going to be back soon." She said. "So, can you promise not to take any peeks while you help me get into this stupid hospital gown?"
"Wouldn't dream of it, m'lady." He told her and quickly helped her change out of her clothes and into the gown. He hid her clothes in a pillow case and set it in one of the chairs in the room.
"To think that Ladybug sat behind me all this time." He muttered, and he didn't mean for her to hear it, but she did.
"Sat behind you?" She asked, connecting the dots. "A-Adrien?"
"The one and only." He told her. Marinette almost laughed, but it brought a sharp pain to her chest, so it was cut off.
"Now it all makes sense." Was all she said, and then there was a knock on the door. Cat Noir walked over and opened it a little to see one of the nurses. She was holding a box with a Ladybug cosplay costume in it.
"I sent someone to go and buy this." She told him. He took it and thanked her, telling her the doctors could come back in.
He opened the box, took the Ladybug mask out and handed it to her.
"Here, put this on." He told her. She grabbed the mask with a shaking hand and slid the string of the mask over her head. She adjusted it until it completely concealed her identity and looked over at Cat Noir.
"It's not as comfortable as the real thing," She wheezed. "But it'll do."
Cat Noir smiled at her and then the doctors came back into the room and got back to work. Cat Noir stood by her side and held her hand as they did all the poking and prodding necessary. Then it was time to get her head CT and chest x-ray, and he was there through every step. Well, almost every step. He wasn't allowed in the room while she got x-rayed or scanned, but he waited outside by the door for her.
Marinette couldn't help but smile when she was brought out of her x-ray to find him waiting for her. She grabbed his hand in hers and intertwined their fingers. He smiled back at her and held her hand all the way back to her room.
A couple hours later, Marinette was being discharged. She had a binder cast of sorts -she couldn't remember the proper term for it- around her chest to help her broken ribs heal and strict orders from her doctors to get plenty of rest until her concussion resolved. She was back in her normal clothes and the doctors had left her and Cat Noir alone in the room so she could transform back into Ladybug and leave with him. Cat Noir had gone down to the hospital cafeteria to find food for Marinette's Kwami as well as his own earlier, so both Kwami's were fully energized and ready to go. Cat Noir grabbed the pain medication the doctor had prescribed for her and put it in one of his pockets before turning to a now transformed Marinette.
"You ready to go?" He asked her, she nodded.
"Let's get out of here." She said. "I hate hospitals."
"That makes two of us." He told her and they made their way out of the hospital.
Cat Noir let her walk out of the hospital, but as soon as they got outside, he told her to get on his back.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because, you're lucky I let you walk out of the hospital on your own." He told her. "You have a concussion and broken ribs, you shouldn't be moving around all that much. Doctors orders remember, m'lady? So, just get on my back."
Ladybug was hesitant for a second before caving in and getting onto Cat Noir's back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his shoulders and laid her head in the crook of his neck. He smiled at first before extending his staff and bringing them to a rooftop. He didn't run because he didn't want her to be in anymore pain than she was already in. He walked on the rooftops and apologized when he had to jump to another roof and she would hiss in pain.
When he made it to the main area of the city, people began noticing him on the rooftops with Ladybug on his back so people would follow him from the streets and ask if she was okay. To which Ladybug would lift her head, smile at them and tell them she was okay and that there was nothing to worry about.
Cat Noir managed to lose the people who had been following them and found an alleyway near Marinette's house so she could transform back.
"What am I supposed to tell them?" She asked him. "I can't just show up at home with a concussion and broken ribs and expect them to just not bat an eye."
"Leave that to me, m'lady." He told her and scooped her up in his arms bridal style.
She smiled up at him and laid her head on his shoulder as he walked to the side door of the bakery that lead to her family's apartment. He walked her all the way up the stairs and then knocked on the door. When Marinette's parents opened the door and saw their daughter in the arms of Cat Noir, they were relieved.
"Oh my god, Marinette!" Her father cried, taking her from Cat Noir's arms and into his own. He held her close to him and her mother went over and hugged her daughter, who hissed in pain when they tightened their grip. Her parents quickly let go of her to see what the problem was.
"What's wrong? What hurts?" Her mother asked her, that's when Cat Noir spoke up.
"The akuma attacked her." He said. "I had to take her to the hospital. She has a concussion and some broken ribs, so she's been prescribed with some pain medication and plenty of rest."
He took the bottle of pain pills from his pocket and handed it to her father, who took them from him with a thankful smile.
"Oh, also, no crazy activities for her for a while. Those ribs of hers need to heal." He told them.
"Thank you, Cat Noir." Marinette's mother said and hugged the leather clad hero, who awkwardly hugged her back after a moment.
"Just doing my job, ma'am." He told her. "Besides, Marinette's a special girl. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to her."
Her parents smiled at him.
"Thank you." Her father said, and Cat Noir nodded.
"Of course." Cat Noir said. "Well, I've got to get going and see how Ladybug is holding up."
"Oh, we heard what happened. Is she alright?" Marinette's mother asked him. Cat Noir glanced at Marinette who was trying to hold back a giggle. He smiled at her.
"She's doing just fine." He told them and bid them all goodbye before leaving, stealing one last glance at Marinette who had since moved to the couch.
He smiled and left to go back to his own house.
The next day, everyone at school had heard about Marinette and her injuries. Alya was going crazy worrying about her, and Adrien did his best to assure her that she was fine.
"Alya, I promise you. She's okay." Adrien told the anxious reporter. "I spoke with her myself, yesterday."
"You talked to her?" She asked him.
"Yeah, I uh...saw it happen." He told her sadly. "I saw her get attacked and then I watched Cat Noir come back for her after he took Ladybug to the hospital after that nasty fall of hers."
"Oh, I know right?" Alya said. "I'm so glad that Ladybug and Marinette are okay. I want to see her so bad."
"Well, I've been put in charge of taking her assignments and homework. Do you want to come with me after school to give it to her?"
"Seriously?!" Alya asked. "Oh my god, I could hug you, yes! I need to see her."
"Okay, meet me out front after school." He told her and the bell rang, signaling the beginning of their class.
Marinette sat on her chaise in her bedroom with her sketchbook in her lap and Tikki on her shoulder. She had been sketching some new designs when her mother knocked on her door. Tikki quickly hid and Marinette told her mother to come in.
"Hey honey, do you think you're up for some visitors?" She asked her daughter, Marinette smiled and nodded. Her mother disappeared back down the stairs and not so soon after she went down, Alya came running up followed closely behind by Adrien.
"Marinette!" Alya said as she burst into the room and wrapped her best friend in a desperate hug. "Oh my god! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, Alya." Marinette reassured her best friend, glancing at Adrien. "I'm lucky Cat Noir was there when he was." Adrien smiled at her.
"Tell me about it!" Alya said, pulling back. "I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't been there and you had just been left laying there."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that, because I'm okay." She told her. "I promise."
Alya smiled at her, tears welling up in her eyes and she hugged her best friend. Marinette felt tears pricking her eyes, too. Yesterday had been terrifying and she felt so lucky to be alive.
Alya pulled away from her and wiped her eyes. Adrien took that moment to walk up to her and hand her a folder.
"These are todays assignments and stuff." He told her. "If you need help or get stuck on anything, I wrote my number down on the inside so you can call me if you need to."
She smiled at him and took the folder. "Thank you, Adrien. For everything."
Understanding what she was talking about, he smiled at her. "You're welcome, Marinette."
Without thinking, Marinette stood from her chaise and wrapped her arms around him. He was a bit taken back at first -and Alya was shocked to say the least- but he hugged her back in the end.
"Well, I've got to get going." He told her after they pulled apart. "But I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"
Marinette nodded. "Okay." She said. Adrien waved goodbye and exited her bedroom. Marinette sat back down on her chaise and Alya gave her a pointed look.
"Since when do you not stutter around Adrien?" She asked. "Since when do you and Adrien hug?"
Marinette's cheeks turned pink as she blushed and looked up at her best friend. "Well, he was there for me yesterday. Cat Noir was about to transform back so he asked Adrien to stay with me while he went and re-energized or something." She told her.
"Looks like I have more than one thing to thank Cat Noir for." Alya said, and Marinette giggled.
The girls spent hours in Marinette's bedroom, chatting away and enjoying each others company. Alya left after dinner and Marinette went up onto her balcony.
She was staring up at the moon when she heard a voice behind her.
"I'm pretty sure climbing through a trap door to get onto a balcony counts as strenuous activity." She turned to see Cat Noir perched on her roof.
"It didn't hurt that bad getting up." She said, though it was a lie. It hurt like a bitch getting up to the balcony.
"You need to be careful, Mari." He told her and she sighed.
"I know." She said. "And I will be, I promise. I just wanted to get some fresh air after being cooped up in my room all day."
"Believe it or not I know exactly how you feel." He said, coming to stand next to her.
"Are you gonna be okay patrolling on your own for a few nights?" She asked him, changing the subject.
"I'll be fine, Marinette." He told her. "You getting better is what matters."
Marinette smiled at him and he pulled her into his arms. She closed her eyes and tucked her face into his neck. He placed his cheek on the top of her head and breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, you understand me?" He asked her. "Promise me you won't ever scare me like that again."
Marinette tightened her hold on him as much as she could without it hurting and nodded into his neck.
"I promise."
A/N: And there we have it! I hope you enjoyed this two-shot as much as I enjoyed writing it! Review maybe? Tell me what you think?