Marinette woke up in a haze, Chat had visited her last night and she had ended up staying awake far later than she intended just to finish up her homework that was due at the end of the week. Between Michal's insistence of her joining him on an outing with his old friends and her own old friend taking up a couple of hours reminiscing over cocoa, she was exhausted. Chat looked as uncomfortable as she felt during most of their conversation, leaving her confused and worried about his well being. Tikki had stayed hidden in her purse the entire time that Chat was in her apartment, zipping out to question her about him when he climbed out of her window shortly before midnight. Between Tikki's worry filled questions and the papers she had due for her classes, Marinette barely got even a hint of sleep that night.

She prepared for the day in a haze, still caught up on what had happened the night before. Her musings almost causing her to miss the rose tucked into her door's marker as she exited her apartment. A simple ribbon of red was tied around the rose with her name written on it in black felt tip pen. She saw it when she turned to make sure that her door was locked tight for the day. Thoughts that maybe Chat left it for her brought a small smile to her lips before a cursory glance down the hall showed her each and every door sported a rose for whoever lived beyond them. The realization killing any chance in her mind that Chat left it for her, and sent her lips slipping into a small frown as she plucked the flower from her door. It was a simple gift, but the reason behind it was hidden to her. She glanced down either side of the hall once again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the one who left the roses on the doors, when she had no such luck she let out a slow and slightly annoyed sigh before tucking the rose into her purse beside a dozing Tikki.

She still had the rose on her mind as she stepped into the courtyard of ESMOD that morning. Her sluggish behavior was mirrored by many of her fellow students who washed past her like a wave breaking on a rock at the edge of the sea. The thought brought images of sea foam green skirts and deep grey tops to her mind, she couldn't wait to sit down in her first class so she could sketch the images out for later. The idea of the outfit put a slight skip in her step as she approached the main building of the university.

"Morning Mari!" She nearly jumped out of her skin when an arm wrapped around her shoulder, she had been so distracted by her ideas for a new outfit that she had not noticed Michal's approach at all.

"Morning." she replied after taking a moment to yawn, "did you sleep well?" she asked halfway through another yawn. He smiled and draped his arm over her shoulder as he tended to do and turned her towards her first class, how he knew to turn her that way she couldn't discern.

"Better than you did it seems." He gave her a warm smile as they headed towards the door of the wing where her class resided.

"Long night, a lot of homework kept me awake." Marinette couldn't tell him she was up so late due to a certain hero deciding to pay her a visit, and he didn't question her lie one bit. In fact his smile seemed wider as she spoke and he was studying her face carefully as if he was afraid he would never see her again. "This is my class." she said in a hushed and anxious voice when his stare became too much for her.

She didn't wait for him to answer her, instead she pulled her bag closer to herself and turned quickly to enter her classroom door. Maria, a kind girl who both looked and acted like her old friend Rose, was standing near it when she walked in. She gave the blonde a small smile as she moved to walk past her and to her sear, only to stop short when Maria grabbed ahold of her upper arm.

"Are you okay?" The question took Marinette by surprise and had her raising her eyebrows towards her hairline as her eyes opened wider than ever.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Marinette began, then stopped when she saw where Maria was looking. Marinette turned her head towards the door to see Michal standing there scowling at her. His face melded into a bright smile the second he saw her looking, then he was gone.

"He looked really angry." Maria explained softly. "It's not really like you not to say goodbye to your boyfriend either.

"My boy-" Marinette let out a soft chuckle as she shook her head, "no no, Michal is just a good friend of mine, that's all. I don't have time for boys."

"Oh, I just assumed… I mean you two are always together lately." Maria gave her a small shrug. Marinette answered her with a smile and a shrug of her own before she moved to her seat.

In the following weeks Marinette found herself growing paranoid. Her walks home had become later in the night due to the fashion club that she had joined running so late. Michal had offered to wait and walk her home every day but she had refused him, not wanting anyone else to get the wrong idea and assume their friendship was something more. The sun was just starting to set when she found herself walking out of the school every day, and by the time she got to her apartment once again night had settled in like a warm blanket. She wasn't worried about it being night, she had spent many nights on the rooftops of the buildings she now walked past in her youth. No, what was making her skin crawl on those walks home was the distinct feeling that someone was watching her the entire way.

Marinette was surprised then, when at the end of the fourth week she found none other than the city's black clad superhero sitting on her fire escape after coming home. He was hunched and curled in on himself, appearing to have fallen asleep on the cold metal stairs that he was perched on. She slowly made her way to the window that she was spying him through. Her brows furrowed as she pulled it open and leaned her head out into the crisp night air.

"Chat?" she called, watching the male jump at the sound of her voice. He turned to look at her as he blinked the sleep away from his eyes. "What are you doing out there?" she asked as she leaned out slightly to look around and make sure no one was watching from below them.

"Mmh?" Chat turned to face her quickly at the sound of her voice and gave her a small sleepy smile. "Hey there Princess, sorry to intrude." He murmured as he crawled through her open window only to fall flat on his face on her couch.

"Chat Noir, what's wrong?!" Marinette exclaimed as she rushed to his side, he only groaned and rolled his head so he could breathe better. There was sweat dampening his face and running over his mask. Marinette reached out to slowly wipe away the wetness on his skin as her face fell into a frown. "What happened?" She asked softly.

"Long day." Chat's voice wafted on the breeze that brushed past his lips and over her face. She could smell a faint trace of vomit that lingered on him. He was clearly sick, Marinette confirmed this by resting her palm on his forehead and feeling the burning heat that rested under his skin.

"You have a fever Chat, you've been working too hard." She informed him as she stood and turned to make her way to her small bathroom. She was stopped by a gloved hand on her wrist and turned her head to look down at him with a small frown upon her lips. "I need to get some medicine to get your fever down." She told him while tugging lightly on his hand to get him to release her. His arm fell heavily beside the couch as she ran unhindered to the bathroom.

"He looks like he's about to collapse." Tikki said as she flew out of Marinette's shirt pocket. Marinette nodded solemnly as she opened the mirror above her sink to reveal her medicine cabinet. She didn't reply to the hovering kwami right away as she sorted through the pill bottles before her. Only when she found the right one and had it in her hand did she turn to look Tikki in the eye.

"His kwami-" Marinette began.

"Plagg." Tikki said his name quickly as she crossed her tiny arms.

"Okay, Plagg. He may be sick to. I need you to go to Master Fu and see if he has any medicine that we could possibly give him without Chat knowing, maybe slip it into the pocket of his suit." She leaned against the sinks counter as she rested her fingers against her chin in thought.

"Medicine won't help if Plagg is sick, Master Fu would have to realign his spiritual essence. Like he did for me back when you were thirteen." Tikki tilted her head to one side as she spoke and Marinette let out a slow sigh.

"The medicine will knock Chat out, it certainly knocks me out, do you think Master Fu could perform the spell or whatever he does while Plagg is still holding Chat's transformation?" Marinette asked as her brows furrowed in concern.

"He should be able to."

"Then hurry and bring him here, tell him to ring my bell and I'll let him in. Everyone else always knocks so that will let me know it's him." With that Tikki was phasing through her bathroom wall and Marinette was heading the other way, back out into her hallway where she could see Chat's unruly hair over her couch's arm. "And here I said I didn't have any time for boys." She mumbled to herself as she shook her head. Chat couldn't be put in the same box as she put the other boys in her life, he was her friend and partner. Someone she cared about deeply and wanted to see safe no matter what. Someone who not many years ago she was ready to share her deepest secret with.

He seemed to be asleep when she positioned herself beside him once again, but his right eye snapped open at the sound of the pill bottles top popping off. She gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile as she shook two pills out onto her palm and held them out to him. His mask raised around where his eyebrow would be and she let out a soft huff of annoyance as he made no move to take her offer.

"Come on Chat, you need to take this to get your fever down. I don't need a sick cat in my apartment all weekend." She teased as she held them closer to his face. He grunted and turned to hide his face in the pillow in response to this and she let out another angry huff. "Chat…" she hoped that a sterner tone would make him listen.

"I don't wanna." was his muffled reply.

"Chat Noir you take this medicine or I am taking you to the hospital." She was beyond annoyed at this point, couldn't he see that she wanted to help him get better? Why was he being so stubborn, he came to her didn't he?

"I don't want to!" He turned to look at her as he shouted the words and she sucked in a quick breath.

"You are going to take these pills one way or another." She warned him as she crossed her arms before herself. He grunted as his eyes found the floor rather than lingering on her face.

"Why should I? Those are your basic brand of Fever reducer, lined with Codeine to help with distribution of the drug." he began as he sucked in a shaky breath. "Codeine has many side effects such as drowsiness, lightheadedness, dizziness, slow heartbeat, sedation, shortness of breath, unusual thoughts or behavior, nausea, vomiting, flushing, vision changes… the list goes on and on." Marinette sat there in shock as she listened to his words. It seemed Chat had picked up quite a bit of knowledge on different drugs and their uses and side effects while they were apart. "I will take that and go to sleep, then you will leave." He said as his eyes glazed over. "Just like she did." his voice was soft at this point and made muffled due to him hiding his face in the pillow once again.

"Chat…" she rested her hand on his shoulder and watched as he turned his face enough to stare at her with one eye. "Chat, I just want to help you get better. I'm not going anywhere I promise." She said softly before letting a small smile cross her lips. "Well, I may go to bed but that just means I'll be down the hall. I'm here for you okay." He seemed to think over her words as his eye moved to look at the couch cushion below him for a moment before looking back up at her.

"Promise?" He asked softly.

"Promise." She nodded as she spoke. Her soft word seemed to put him at ease. He pushed himself into a slouched sitting position and held out his hand as he looked down at the pill bottle on the table. She placed the pills in his palm and pushed herself into a standing position, intent on getting him a glass of water to wash them down with. When she was halfway across the room she turned to inform him of her intentions only to see him swallowing the pills dry.

"I was getting you water." She muttered as she crossed her arms and gave him a stern look.

"No need, I'm putting you out enough as is." He replied as he laid back down on her couch and let out a soft moan as his hands covered his stomach. She shook her head slowly and made her way back to his side. Without a word she pulled the blanket from where it was draped over the back of her couch and laid it over him gently before sitting on the edge of her small coffee table.

"Do you often have guys sleeping over on your couch?" Chat asked with a sleepy smirk.

"No, just a stray cat or two." she replied cheekily as she watched him struggling to hold his eyes open. "Why don't you get some sleep, never know when you have to go save some damsel in distress." She added as she patted his head just as gently as she had covered him up.

"You remember that?" his voice was heavy with sleepiness as he asked the question.

"Of course." she chuckled lightly as she removed her fingers from his surprisingly soft hair. "How could i forget the first time the great Chat Noir came to my rescue?" he only hummed in response, his eyes remaining closed as his breathing evened out. She watched him as he drifted off to sleep, a sad smile replacing the smirk she had when she knew he was watching. "I'm sorry Chat." she murmured as her shoulders slumped. The 'she' he was referring to had to be Ladybug, which meant that her trying to distance herself from him for his own good only hurt him deep down inside.

The doorbell was louder than Marinette expected it to be, it caused her to jump and cast a worried glance at the slumbering Chat before rushing to her door. She didn't have a chance to open the door before Tikki was flying around her face in a rush. She closed her eyes and waved her hands, trying to get her kwami to settle down.

"What's wrong Tikki?" She asked as she finally grabbed the small creature firmly to stop her.

"I was so worried about you!" Tikki whispered quickly. "I was halfway to Master Fu's and suddenly I had this feeling in the back of my mind like you were in danger. You don't know how scared I was, if you were hurt and Chat was too sick to help and I wasn't there and-"

"Tikki calm down, don't wake Chat. I'm fine." Marinette said quickly and as quietly as she could before turning to open the door. Master Fu was still just as she remembered him, the familiar sight brought a wave a nostalgia rushing through her and caused a small smile to play on her lips.

"Good evening Ladybug." He said as he returned her smile, "I wish we would have met again under happier circumstances."

"Tikki told you what's going on?" Marinette asked as she entwined her fingers hopefully before her chest.

"Yes, no need to worry." He said as he held up on hand. "I will do what I can without giving away who you are to him. Though I expect an explanation someday soon as to why you are withholding it from him." As his eyes met hers, Marinette felt her cheeks warming with embarrassment.

"O-of course Master. Soon, promise." She assured him as he made his way inside. She took her time closing the door so that she could calm her nerves before turning to see him setting up a plate of incense on her coffee table. She shifted uncomfortably where she stood by the door and, as if he could sense her unease, Master Fu glanced her way with a reassuring smile.

"Go prepare to sleep." He told her, "I will let myself out and Tikki can lock the door. There is a chance that Chat Noir will detransform during the process and if he isn't aware of who you are I doubt he would want you knowing who he is." Marinette rubbed her neck shyly as he spoke and nodded to his suggestion. Before walking slowly across the room towards her hallway.

"Chat…" She stopped beside him to gather her thoughts. "He's going to be alright, right?" she asked in a small whisper.

"He will be fine. Go get some sleep." She didn't wait for him to tell her again, instead she made her way quickly to her room and prepared for bed, all the while listening to the muffled sound of Master Fu's soft chanting with a worried frown creasing her brow.

Adrien groaned as his eyes fluttered open. His neck was hanging at an odd angle and was beginning to feel sore. Plagg snoring into his ear didn't help at all, neither did the fact that his surroundings were hidden in the blur he could see through his eyes. He grunted as he grabbed Plagg by the tail and held him close to his face so he could make out his kwami's features. The small black cat creature looked so peaceful that Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. He had been warned by Plagg when he first found out the kwami was feeling sick, if he transformed with him in that state then he too would get the illness. But then he had a nagging suspicion that whoever the guy was who counted Marinette's floor would return and wanted to check in on her. He should have just gone as Adrien, wanting to reconnect after years of little to no contact would have been a good enough reason. He didn't and ended up so sick that even with the increased eyesight that being Chat Noir gave him, he found it hard to fight against the swaying surroundings he passed through.

"Plagg…" He complained as the kwami snored into his face, filling his nose with the smell of camembert cheese. "Ugh, well you seem to be feeling better." He grunted as he moved to sit up.

It was then that he realized he was laid across a couch.

I never left Marinette's house last night. I detransformed in my sleep. What if she saw me? Not good. The thoughts rushed through his mind as he dropped Plagg to grip his hair tightly in his hands. His eyes flicked to her hallway as he swallowed a lump that had grown in his throat.

"Plagg, Plagg wake up." He hissed as he lifted the black cat kwami close to his face. Plagg opened one eye to look him over before closing it once again. "Come on it's important." Adrien poked at Plagg with his free hand as a deep frown formed on his face. Plagg only grumbled and rolled over. "Fine." He huffed as he held the hand brandishing his ring close to his face. He called for his transformation and smirked as Plagg complained all the way into his ring. Once transformed he breathed a sigh of relief and stood to study his surroundings once more with his now enhanced eyesight. He made his way quietly through the apartment, smiling at the same pictures that he had seen a hundred times before as he walked down the hall and as silently as he could, he opened her bedroom door.

It was dark in her bedroom, but with his nightvision Chat could still make everything out as clear as day. She was still sleeping, curled on her bed with her hand resting on her phone as it sat plugged into a charger on her nightstand. Her bedroom was decorated much like the one she had at her parents house, though there was no ladder up to her bed now as it simply rested in the corner beside a pair of french doors that lead out to a small balcony covered in flowers. She looked so peaceful in her sleep that he felt like his fears for her safety the night before were reasonless and rash.

"Sweet dreams, Princess." He said around a smile as he backed away and shut her door just as cautiously as he had opened it. It didn't take him long to write her a thank you note and leave it beside her coffee maker. He then left her apartment the same way he came in, taking the extra time to make sure the window was securely shut behind him as well.

Adrien grumbled as he stepped into his office, his head throbbing after taking away the transformation and his eyes burning from the lack of visual aid. His assistant rushed up to him the moment he was through the front doors and handed him folder after folder of submitted designs from contest hopefuls. After a quick glance through them he noticed that he still did not see Marinette among those participating and felt his already annoying headache increase. Why didn't she enter? She had talent, even the horrible prick that was his father said so when they were younger. Was she worried that she would be called out for knowing him personally? He shifted to hold the folders at his side as his eyes settled on Abigail once again.

"Do you know if my two o'clock is here?" He asked as he straightened his shoulders. He had to focus on work and put thoughts of his friend to the back of his mind for now, especially with who it was he was meant to see on that particular day.

"Geez Adrien, you act like we don't already know each other or something." Adrien turned at the sound of the low gravelly voice and gave its owner a warm welcoming smile.

"Hello Luka, been a long time." He said as he offered the rocker a hand to shake. Luka Couffaine returned his smile with a playful smirk as he took his offered hand and shook it vigorously, the many chans on his wrist clattering together as he did so.

"I'm glad to see this place didn't burn down while I was away." Luka teased as they let go. Adrien chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck, just below his ponytail. The memory of his half joking comment on his company the last time he saw Luka replaying in his mind all the while.

"The day's not over yet." Adrien replied with another soft chuckle as he motioned for Luka to follow him towards his personal elevator. The men walked across the lobby and stepped inside the metallic and mirror lined box before anyone else could stop and ask Adrien for advice on the latest line. The blonde breathed a sigh of relief as his black and blue haired friend leaned against the back wall.

"It is good to be back in Paris again." Luka broke the silence as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Touring is the worst, I can't wait to see mom and Juleka again."

"What about Rose?" Adrien asked, it was no secret Juleka and Rose came out as officially dating after they graduated and now lived together in the city. He was pretty sure that Luka's mom parked her houseboat as close to their apartment as possible, she always did like Rose.

"Yeah, Rose comes with Juleka nowadays. Have you seen Mari lately?" Luka's innocent question had Adrien swallowing back a lump in his throat.

"Ah, uh… no I can't say I have, I heard she started going to ESMOD though so I doubt she really has a lot of time on her hands now." Adrien quickly said. It wasn't really a lie, he hadn't seen her but Chat had. He could get by with that couldn't he?

"Didn't you talk at ESMOD recently? You didn't go see her after? I always try to make time to hang with the old group whenever I'm in town." Luka was more prying than Alya at this point and with the mirrored space around them Adrien had nowhere to look without seeing the rocker's eyes on him.

"I didn't, I am pretty busy with all this and medical school." He grumbled, the excitement of seeing Luka again gone as he scratched away at the back of his neck. He shifted uncomfortably and covered it up by acting as if he was making sure they were headed to the right floor, all the while the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end as he felt Luka's eyes on him.

The doors finally opened once again, much to Adrien's relief, showing them a view of his office beyond another pair of doors made nearly entirely of glass. He stepped out quickly, not waiting for Luka to follow before throwing open the glass doors ahead of him and making his way over to his desk. The folders in his hand were thrown half heartedly on the same stack as the others when he took his seat. Luka took a bit longer to glance around the room itself, this was when Adrien noticed that the rocker still had his signature red guitar slung across his back. He wondered if the other man ever went anywhere without it as he booted up his computer and secretly slipped Plagg a piece of cheese.

It wasn't long before Luka took a seat in one of the chairs across the desk from him, resting his instrument in the other one with more care than he showed his own body when he flopped down into the seat. They discussed the design of Luka's outfits for his next show for close to two hours before settling on something the rocker wanted and Adrien could realistically have ready in a months time. After business was concluded Adrien got to hear a few new songs Luka was working on that had yet to even be recorded before the rocker announced he was running late for a dinner with his mother. The blonde was just beginning to relax once again around his old friend when Luka turned to him at the elevator and gave him a bright smile.

"See you around man, I'll ask Rose to set up a lunch for all of us so we can both hang with Mari, Alya, and the others again." He said as he gave Adrien a small wave farewell.

"Oh ah… yeah um. Sure." Adrien stammered as he felt his face flush, Luka wanted to get the old group back together, as in the group of friends who got together every year during the music festival after his father finally allowed him to go the first time. It was a nice thought, a lunch with old friends, but none of them just spent the night on an old friends couch while half delusional with sickness and possibly gave away the secret that they were a superhero to said old friend.

Adrien on the other hand, had.

"Saturday sound good?" Luka asked, oblivious to Adriens plight.

"What? Oh, yeah, uh huh." Adrien looked up at Luka quickly, his friends words shocking him out of his thoughts of the night before. He still worried over what Marinette had seen, and hoped that she wasn't upset with him for hiding it for so long if she had. He would have to talk to her later, as Chat of course just to be safe, about what happened at her place the night before.

"See you then." With that Adrien was finally alone. He slumped back into his chair and let out a long exhale that finished with a groan as he pressed the balls of his hands against his eyes, he had three days to talk to her as Chat before Luka wanted them all together for lunch. Three days. Not a lot of time to work with but he's done more in less.

"You okay kid?" Plagg asked from where he sat in his own tiny chair on the desk.

"No." Adrien breathed, "but I will be."

Hello Dear Readers!

I'm not abandoning this. o.o Just thought you would like to know.

Much Love;

Ad