Adrien collapsed as soon he let his transformation wear off, his knees buckling under the weight of his actions. Frustrated with himself, hot tears streamed down his face. He struggled to breathe, a numbness overtaking him from the deed he committed. Gasping for air, his body froze in panic.
I killed her—I killed Chloe. Rolling over and clutching his stomach, the boy was nauseated at what he did. Was the safety of Paris enough to kill innocents for? Ladybug's sense of justice baffled him. Did he idolize her to the point where he could not see her flaws?
The thoughts kept racing through his mind until he felt a stab in his side. Looking to the source of the pain, Adrien saw his kwami with teeth bared at his side, looking visibly concerned for the boy's mental state.
"If you keep up these thoughts, you'll attract akuma, Adrien." The kwami flew up near his face, hovering slightly above him. "You need to go to sleep. Everything is fine, except for I'm starving."
It's not fine! Adrien screamed internally. Flipping his phone over, he pressed the home button, grimacing as it lit up to display the time.
5:00 AM. The blonde sighed, face-palming as he turned over onto his back. He didn't want to go to school in a few hours to see Chloe's chair empty. He didn't want to see Marinette, who defended the class so bravely, in pain. Clutching his sides, he brought his knees close to his chest, steadying his breathing.
Natalie would be coming in his room in approximately thirty minutes to tell him to prepare for the day. Pulling his blankets over his face, Adrien groaned in exasperation. Deciding to take a sick day, he typed out a text to his father's assistant to tell her he was sick, and could not attend school or any shoots that day. With his dark circles and pale face, he was sure that he looked convincingly ill already.
As his eyes drooped, he felt Plagg adjust beside him, urging him to let them both rest after the last day's shortcomings. Sighing, he let the exhaustion overtake him.
Marinette was emotionally exhausted. After escorting Chloe back to her father, she went back home to assure her parents that she was okay. Walking up to her house, she clutched her side as the pain shot through her body again. Without the suit to give her strength, she was doubled over in pain. I think I broke a rib, she thought, biting back another sob. Before she could reach the door, she heard footsteps quickly approaching her.
"Marinette! My darling daughter!" Her father exclaimed, picking her up. "You're safe." Looking up, she saw the dark circles under his eyes. The man looked exhausted from searching for her, but his eyes shone brightly at the sight of his daughter. Opening the door to the bakery, he called out for Sabine to come down. Placing Marinette down on the sofa, he gasped as he heard her cry out in pain.
"What's wrong—Oh dear! Papa, get the car. Marinette is hurt!" Sabine cried, lifting up her daughter's shirt gingerly to see the injury. Her eyes were met with a large bruise on her side, deep purple in color. With that, she slowly helped the girl back to her feet and guided her to the car to go to the hospital.
After running tests and doing an x-ray, it was determined that Marinette had severe bruising, but no broken bones. Sighing in relief that the Miraculous had healed her to some extent, the heroine took the pain medication given to her, eager to dull the pain so she could go and search for Chat Noir later that night.
"Ms. Cheng, your daughter needs to rest for the next few days." The doctor urged, holding out the discharge paperwork. "Do not let her do anything too strenuous, and if the pain medications have any adverse effects, please contact me immediately." Nodding, the woman signed the paper work and squeezed Marinette's hand, a gentle smile on her face. Turning to Tom, she gestured for him to push the wheelchair Marinette was sitting into the car.
The next day was filled with frantic texts from Alya and Nino. Her absence when the school was evacuated caused her friends to worry, and when she wasn't in class the following day, everything exploded all at once. With that and her parents constant hovering over her, there wasn't a moment free to consult Tikki about finding Chat Noir. As she lay in her bed, she desperately awaited nightfall so she could escape the confines of her house.
As night fell upon Paris, she saw the red kwami poke her head from her purse. Nodding to let the small creature that the coast was clear, Tikki quickly joined her on her bed.
Sitting up slowly, she groaned. "Tikki, what am I going to do?" she sniffed. "I don't know if Chat Noir will ever want to see me again, and I have no idea who he is behind the mask."
Throwing her feet over the edge of her bed, she stood and stretched. With her blue hair falling gently to her shoulders, she turned to her kwami with a determined look in her eyes. She knew she had to try.
"Spots on."
Ladybug's search was fruitless. She traversed across the rooftops, taking their patrol route, looking for the slightest sign of him. No flickers of black crossed her vision, and as she searched on she felt more hopeless.
Doing the utmost to find her partner and tell him the news, she stayed out for many hours traversing the rooftops of Paris. Yawning, she disappointedly let her body take her to the only place left that she could think of, the Eiffel Tower. Standing above the city, she felt the cold wind hitting her across the face, making her eyes feel dry. Slumping back against the frigid metal, she sighed deeply.
Maybe he just didn't want to come out today? Shaking her head dejectedly, she knew this probably wasn't the case.
Her body felt like lead, but she reluctantly lifted herself up. Grimacing at the pain in her side, Marinette winced visibly. The pain medication was running out, and that meant it was time to call it a night. Grasping the yo-yo at her hip, she leaped off the building and threw it ahead of her, heading back towards home.
As soon as Ladybug reached the bakery, she let her transformation wear off in a flash of bright pink light. Tikki flew up to her face, nuzzling it as her hot tears ran down. Frustrated with her inability to make things right, the blue haired girl quietly slipped back through the hatch and into her sheets.
Marinette been out of commission long enough, and though her search was not over, her identity as a civilian needed to remain intact. Her first day back at school was approaching quickly the next morning, and everyone was expecting her to go. Flitting her eyes shut, she prayed for a better tomorrow.
It had been two weeks since she'd seen Chat Noir except for in passing. No longer patrolling with her, she didn't see him anywhere on her daily route throughout the city. Even akuma attacks were spent in silence. He'd barely give her a look as he quickly expunged enemies with his Cataclysm. A cold, hard look was in his eyes, and whenever Ladybug tried to imitate a conversation between the two to clear things up, she'd be cut off by his abrupt excuse to leave.
If you think about it, he's treating me exactly how I treat him. She groaned inwardly, putting her head in her hands. Maybe he was right. I always run away, pushing everything on him.
Though she was currently sitting in history class, she couldn't remain focused but for a few moments. Emotionally exhausted from the recent transgression they had, everything still felt just as fresh as when it happened. Fighting back tears proved to be difficult, and Alya could not help but notice the drastic change in her friend's appearance and mood after her return to school the other day. Catching the dark haired girl staring back at Chloe's empty chair again, Alya noticed as her eyes flashed with grief. Did something happen with her and Chloe? The mayor's daughter had been absent for the past two weeks, claiming emotional distress after being transformed into a super villain. From how Marinette looked, she couldn't blame her for taking some time off. Marinette looked more exhausted than she did when she pulled all-nighters to finish her designs, and she'd had this same look for the past two weeks after the attack. Whenever she'd bring up her concern, it'd be waved off hurriedly as Marinette tried her hardest to fake happiness.
During lunch, Alya tried again.
"Marinette, you know you could tell me anything that's bothering you." The red haired girl touched her arm gently, noticing her friend had barely touched her lunch yet again.
Eyes widening in the realization of Alya's concern, Marinette waved her hands wildly, forcing a grin upon her countenance.
"Alya for the last time! I'm fine. Stop worrying about me, seriously. It's all good." The raven-haired girl straightened up and took a bite of her sandwich, desperate to prove that she was okay to her best friend. The last thing that she wanted was for her Alya to worry about her, and she couldn't even tell her the problem without compromising her secret.
Finishing lunch, the two girls walked back into the classroom. As they settled into their seats, Adrien and Nino turned around.
Now that you think of it, Adrien looks just as exhausted as Mari, Alya noted mentally.
"Hey ladies, what do you think of joining us later for a movie?" Nino's voice was cheesy and flirtatious. His intentions were obviously to discreetly go on a date with the golden-eyed girl next to Marinette.
"We'd love to go!" Alya exclaimed. "Right, Mari?"
"A-actually, I think I'll pass. Sorry. My competition announcement comes in the mail today." She saw her classmate's faces sink.
Hopefully the competition goes my way, she thought. But knowing how I am, I don't really deserve it after all of this. I don't deserve to be happy when I'm such a terrible person.
The bell rang, and class continued as per usual. Staring blankly at the board as the professor lectured, Marinette barely noticed when everyone started to pack up their belongings for the day.
Scrambling to shove her tablet and textbook in her backpack, she bid Alya and Nino a quick adieu, in a hurry to finish her homework so she could go look for Chat on patrol later. As she rushed out of the doors, she was suddenly sprawled out across the floor.
Looking up, her gaze was met with emerald eyes. Adrien offered her a hand, and she pulled herself up silently, not having enough energy to be flustered. Upon looking at his face, she noticed how worn the boy looked. His naturally shiny hair was dull, and his face looked thin, with dark circles under his eyes.
"Sorry about that," She mumbled. "Take care of yourself, okay?" She waved and quickly ran out of the school, leaving the boy standing dazed in the middle of the pathway.
"She didn't stutter," Adrien noted dryly.
A/N:
Thanks for the likes and favorites, everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I'm actually almost done the next one, so expect it within the next few days! If any of you all want to talk to me about my story or give suggestions, my tumblr is verbigeratingidiolalia. x
