Chapter 14: Company

~Marinette's P.O.V~

Over the next few days, news about lucky charm repairing damage around the city spread like wildfire. Several television stations celebrated my return throughout all of France, but the celebrations were short lived as many other stations still criticized me for having disappeared in the first place.

New theories popped up everyday to explain my absence, the 'better' theories suggested I'd taken a vacation from superhero work, or briefly gone in hiding, while the worse ones chastising me on television for not taking my position seriously and announced how they would do a better job if they were in my position. One reporter even went so far as to call me a 'disgraceful hero' that was unnecessarily placing peoples lives at risk.

Tikki told me not to pay any of it any mind, but every time I watched the news or caught up on the latest Ladybug conspiracy, I couldn't help but focus on it completely.

I didn't like most of what I saw but at the same time, I didn't like the idea of not knowing what they were saying about me. And so, everytime something came on regardless if I'd already heard the often false accusations or not, I'd keep watching until like clockwork-, my heart rate would skyrocket and I'd have to stop whatever I was doing to catch my breath again.

Tikki didn't let me watch the news anymore when she realised these events were connected.

School announced classes would resume at the beginning of the week but at my current rate of recovery, it didn't look like I would be attending any time soon. Alya seemed as upset as I was, but she didn't say anything other than promise me she would stop by my house everyday to visit and keep me updated on homework so it be like I wasn't missing anything at all, which did make me feel a little better.

Adding to my list of visitors, Chat Noir made a habit of stopping by my house every evening to inform me of his progress and even help me with research. His help was invaluable. Not only did I get things done quicker with his input, but he always managed to brighten the mood when I got too stressed, or sometimes, when I was just in too much pain to focus.

Chat seemed to have an uncanny sense for when I didn't feel well, though I always did my best to hide it from him and everyone else, so I had to be as careful with my tell tale signs with him as I did with my parents.

Whenever I showed even the slightest sign of fatigue, he would suggest we take a break for a while; and by 'suggest,' I actually mean force me into taking a break from my research, as he would take away whatever I was working on if I refused.

This would lead into our typical argument, I would call him a thief, then he would insist he hadn't the slightest idea of what I was talking about, then I'd demand he give my things back, and he'd simply suggest we relax until my things 'turned up again'.

I complained to Tikki about this whenever he wasn't around, but I got absolutely no sympathy as she seemed to find it as amusing as he did.

I told Chat Noir on numerous occasions that if he kept taking my stuff away I would kick him out... but I couldn't actually bring myself to do it. He laughed at my hot headed tendencies and diffuse my foul mood without even trying. It was easy to get lost in conversation with him-, though it did not escape my attention how often he tried to get me to talk about Ladybug.

I think he understood how much any halt in our progress made me antsy, so after we took what he considered to be a reasonable break, he would give back my devices and continue to help me with whatever I needed.

Though I'd never admit it to him for fear of inflating his already enormous ego, I enjoyed his company.

I had Tikki as well as my parents around all the time so I never felt lonely, but being around Chat Noir was different. He was someone I could really talk to, someone who understood the pressure I was under.

By the time Chat Noir stopped by that evening I had already spent the better part of my day on a lead that turned out to be another dead end.

Chat must have realized how frustrated I was because when he stopped by after his patrol, he immediately recommended we take a break. Knowing he would probably force me to stop if I said no, I agreed and turned on some music from Jagged Stone that I found out we both liked.

This occupied us for a while. He sat quietly in my computer chair tapping his foot to the beat and I closed my eyes letting my head rest on my pillow until my headache finally dissipated.

"You need a hobby," Chat said, causing me to stir from my trance.

I peered over at him to find him swishing his tail in his hand while looking calmly out the window to pass the time.

"I have plenty of hobbies," I disagreed.

"Apparently you need a better one."

"Funny, I think I know a certain cat that has too much time on his hands," I gave him a pointed look.

"I'll have you know, I'm purrr-fectly capable of occupying myself."

"Which is why you choose to spend your evenings with me," I remarked.

"I can't help it," he winked. "You're too much fun."

"You're such a child," I rolled my eyes.

"At least I know how to have fun," he laughed, spinning to face me in his chair. "I mean, what do you usually do when you're not bedridden or caught up in superhero work. What would you be doing right now?"

"Who knows, lots of things," I shrugged.

"Humour me," he motioned for me to continue.

I let out an exasperated sigh as I looked up at my ceiling. "I don't know, probably helping my parents in the bakery, or maybe doing something outside... But actually it's terrible weather, so I'd probably be up here practicing designs or doing in homework or hanging out with my... my friends..." my voice died down as I got toward the end. "I used to do a lot of stuff," I muttered thinking back to what had been only a short time ago.

How long had it been since I'd seen to my friends? Or done any of my normal activities? Usually I wouldn't go even a day without doing at least one of these things and now... I didn't even know how long it would be before I could-, or would be able to do any of them again.

"It must be hard for you to be so inactive," Chat commented, I caught a note of sympathy in his voice.

"... A little," I admitted letting my eyes drift to the window. "Honestly I can't believe visiting me hasn't made you go crazy from sheer boredom."

"Hey! I meant it when I said you were fun." He sat up straighter in his chair. "And believe it or not, this is a lot more exciting than being at my house."

"Really," I cocked my brow skeptically. "Even if that's true-, which I doubt-, don't you at least miss spending time with your family?"

Chat observed my face quietly then turned away from me to face the wall. The drastic drop in his mood was obvious.

"My father works a lot so it's usually just me."

"What about your Mother?"

Again what I thought had been a harmless question came to him with difficulty.

"I haven't spoken to her in a long time," he answered simply.

"Oh..." I said lamely, setting my hands in my lap. "That sounds.. lonely."

"I'm used to it," he shrugged. "Besides, I've been lucky enough to hang out with you lately so... I don't really mind," he rubbed the back of his neck, meeting my gaze with a small grin. "Coming to see you is probably the best thing I do all day."

My heart swelled with an unexpected surge of emotion, then without thinking I reached my hand out to grab hold onto his.

"You know you're always welcome to come here if you want to, right?"

He glanced down at our hands made contact, and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

My cheeks heated up as I realised what I was doing and I snatched my hand away, trying to play it off casually by clasped my hands in my lap while making a conscious effort to calm my heart down again.

"T-thanks Marinette," he chuckled nervously, but his smile seemed a little brighter. "I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"Me too," I smiled, looking away bashfully. "I mean, if you weren't stopping by all the time I'd probably gone crazy by now."

"Yeah, being stuck in your room can get pretty boring," he nodded, as if he was talking from experience. "When do the doctors think you'll be able to get to your normal schedule?"

"They don't think I'll be able to go back to school for at least another three weeks," I groaned, not bothering to hide my annoyance. "But they did say I could start walking around this week if I felt well enough so.. that's something at least."

"That's fantastic!" He very nearly leapt to his feet. "Have you tried yet?"

"I haven't yet," I shook my head. "I'm only allowed to if I'm being supervised."

"I think I can manage that," he announced, straightening his posture and placing one arm behind his back giving me a low bow. "May I have this honor?" He asked, presented his hand to me in an elegant motion.

I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're so dramatic," I rolled my eyes.

"That's part of the charm," he peeked up, giving me a playful wink.

I smirked, setting my hand in his. "I suppose it is."

I pulled the covers back, sliding my bare feet onto the smooth floor. Chat pulled against my arm carefully to help me off the bed, but he mostly let me do it on my own which I was grateful for.

Once my heart settled I took a hesitant step forward waiting for my heart rate to rise or my legs to give out, but neither happened. I took another step away from my bed, then another, and another. I held on to Chats hands tightly just incase I needed his support, but after taking a few steps without falling over, I began to relax.

When I was confident I wouldn't fall, I let go of his hand all together and strode to the center of my room on my own.

I rotated my muscles in a gentle motion, slowly raising my arms over my head and stretching my legs in every which way. I managed to get a decent stretch for most of my body. All except for the areas around my fractured ribs and shoulder wound, which sent a horrible shock of pain if I made the slightest move in the wrong direction.

"You have no idea how great this feels," I said, lowering myself to the ground until I gently pulled my legs into the splits.

"I never knew you were so flexible," Chat praised, watching me curiously.

"I didn't know if I still would be since I haven't been able to move around much," I said slowly getting back to my feet.

I yawned pulling my arms above my head while I twirled around in mid stretch to look back at him... when I noticed the pained look on his face.

I looked down trying to find the source of his reaction-, realizing his eyes were glued to my exposed stomach, where the discolored veiny burn that stretched around my waist like jagged lightning was in clear view.

I automatically threw my arms down to my sides letting my shirt cover the burn once more and Chat managed to tear his eyes away, leaving an uncomfortable pause.

"... Does... it still hurt?" He asked eventually, no longer looking in my general direction.

"Not anymore really," I brushed off, unable to help myself from crossing my arms in front of the area. "So long as I don't put any weight on it and remember to apply the numbing cream it's not so bad."

"Will it ever-"

"Hey!" I said, placing my hand on his shoulder to give him a playful shove. "Why don't we do something more fun?"

His lips lifted into a tiny smirk, but the expression didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Like what?" He asked, thankfully allowing the change in conversation.

"Well.." I thought aloud as my gaze drifted to the window.

The glass was partly fogged and the dim light suggested it was cold, but still I was captivated.

"Let's go outside," I said turning back.

"Outside?" He cast a wary glance out the window. "But it's raining."

"That hasn't stopped you," I pointed out.

"That's because I'm special," he shrugged.

"Uh-huh," I couldn't help but smirk. "And what exactly makes you so special?"

"My special suit."

I let out a wheezy laugh. "Well I happen to have a super special umbrella, so I think that makes us just about even in this case."

He grinned, but the smile left his face as soon as he looked back outside. "I don't know Marinette, is it okay for you to go outside?"

"It'll be fine," I assured him. "So long as you carry me up the ladder."

"See, that leads me to believe you shouldn't be doing this," he laughed, giving me a serious look. "Should you be doing this?"

"Well... -"

"I'll take that as a no," he interjected.

"Oh come on, please!" I pleaded, clasping my hands together. "I haven't left my house in weeks and going crazy in here. It wouldn't be a big deal if we went out for just a little while." I batted my lashes rapidly to feign innocence, but I'm sure it looked more like I was faking a stroke.

"Alass!" He placed a hand over his head dramatically, catching onto the act. "The princess has overpowered me with her puppy eyes. How can I say no to those puppy eyes?"

"You can't," I shook my head and he laughed again in response.

"I don't know who's more difficult, you or Ladybug," he shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. "Such handfuls the two of you."

"That is definitely the other way around," I snorted. "Now stop trying to change the subject."

"Nothing gets past you does it?"

"Chat."

"Alright-alright," he held up a hand in defeat. "But only for a little while."

"That's all I ask," I grinned, my heart thumped with excitement.

Finding my shoes wasn't a problem. Bending down to put them on my feet however, was a difficulty that I had not accounted for. Leaning over exacerbated the burned skin across my stomach which I could ignore, but the strain on my ribs and lungs was far more prominent and I had to take short raspy breaths to keep from expanding them too far in the awkward bend.

I thought I developed a good enough method to get past the pain and put on the shoes, when halfway into the process I felt the blood rush from my head.

I rocked upward unsteadily and grip the counter for balance as I was overcome with a fit of coughing. Chat appeared by my side setting a hand on my shoulder to steady me.

"You okay?" He asked.

I held out a finger telling him to give me a second, then I snatched a tissue from the desk as another set of increasingly violent coughs tore out.

When the worst of the fit subsided and I was able to catch my breath I noticed that my mouth had a strange metallic tange. I pulled my hand just a few inches away from my face to look into the tissue-, and my breath hitched. Looking down at the tissue, I found the white surface was covered with dark splotches of red.

It was blood... my blood.

First disbelief, then shock and fear all shot through me so fast I had a hard time processing the jumble of emotion. I gripped the corner of the desk to keep from slumping down into the chair and simply gaped at my hand.

"Is something wrong?" Chat asked, making me jump as I remembered he was right beside me.

"N-nothing!" I blurted, balling the tissue in my shaky fist and quickly shoving it behind my back and into my pocket. "Just.. needed a moment to catch my breath," I lied, forcing a smile that may have been a bit too enthusiastic.

He observed my face carefully, obviously unsure if my answer. I flicked my eyes to side catching a glimpse of Tikki as she shot me a worried look as well from her hiding spot amongst some of my sewing supplies.

"Maybe we should hold off on going out for today," he suggested cautiously.

"What? No, that would be silly. I'm fine, I'm good to go," I insisted pulling on his arm this time as I slipped on my other shoe, and promptly grabbed my umbrella laying against the wall.

"See, I'm all ready," I affirmed, presenting myself as what I hoped looked like casual confidence.

I couldn't quite stop my hand from shaking, so I gripped it tightly on the the umbrella to steady it.

Chat stared at me indecisively and I bit my lip, wondering if he somehow knew, if he saw through me. For a moment I thought he was going to outright refuse right there, but then he surprise me by throwing a warm blanket over my shoulders.

"Now you're ready," he confirmed, then before I could say thank you he scooped me into his arms and leapt to the balcony in a single bound.

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Authors note:

Thanks to all who have read this far and left a fabulous comment to show me your support 3. Ya'll a bunch of sweethearts ^~^

Make sure you stay tuned to find out what happens next week, and don't forget to follow and favorite the story if you liked it!

~Snowfall