Peace

A week passed.

Marinette had spent the first two days following the ball in the hospital being taken care of. She hadn't given too much thought to her bruised head at the time, but once she had delivered Adrien to the nurses and untransformed in a hospital bathroom, she would have collapsed on the floor if it hadn't been for Alya.

Marinette had a severe concussion caused by a strong blow to the back of her head. She claimed that she didn't remember how she had gotten it and the doctor believed her. All of Paris was aware of what had happened at the Halloween Masquerade. It was all over the news and tabloids. And since Marinette and Adrien were the stars of the event, it was natural that they had been the ones the Akumas had attacked. At least, that was the official story.

In the doctor's opinion, Marinette had been lucky that she only got to sustain a concussion. The area of the head where she had been hit was very dangerous. An inch to the side or a slightly stronger blow and Marinette could have died. And no. No blood wasn't a good sign. No blood would come out if she had an internal bleeding. It looked less nasty, but it wasn't a good thing. On the contrary, it would mess up things inside.

Overall, the doctors were impressed that she had had the consciousness and clarity of thought to call a taxi and get to the hospital on her own. Again, the official story.

After two infernally boring days in the hospital, she had been discharged and sent home, where she was to stay put for at least one week. And she would have done it without a problem — A week at home, no school, no stress, no nothing... That sounded like a vacation. — If only she wasn't so worried about Adrien.

Adrien was still unconscious. The doctors had scanned every bit of him, but nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. They just couldn't explain why the boy was asleep.

During the two days Marinette had spent in the hospital, the nurses had brought her news about his state. They all shipped them, as did the entirety Paris, apparently. They thought it was a beautiful tragedy what had happened and were hoping for a happy ending. Marinette appreciated the occasional updates on Adrien, but she had to see him... So she would pretend she needed to go to the bathroom so she could pass by his room. Hoping, every time, that he would open his green eyes, look at her and make a terrible joke about hospitals. But he never did and every single time her heart broke.

Gabriel was always there during visiting hours, looking miserable. He never said a word to her when she came for her quick "bathroom" visit, and Marinette never said a word back.

She hadn't figured out what to do about him yet... She had to tell the authorities, but if she did, Adrien would be left without a mother and a father...

That was the theme that reigned in her conversations with Alya (and Tikki and Trixx). Her best friend came to visit with Nino after classes. And while Nino went to check up on his best friend, the girls talked. They had come to the conclusion that they should give Adrien a place for his opinion too. So they decided they should wait for him to wake up.

Alya didn't want to say it aloud, but what if he didn't wake up? Hawkmoth couldn't be left unpunished and out in the open, free as a bird to do anything that he wanted. So, what if Adrien never woke up?

Alya had visited Master Fuu and according to him, at the moment, there was nothing to be done. The answer he had given her was pretty much the same as Tikki had given Marinette. Nothing like this had ever happened in the past. Not that he knew of. He gave Alya some flowers bathed in a recovery potion for her to place in Adrien's bedroom and in Marinette's. Marinette had instantly felt it's healing effects, but Adrien was not showing any signs that he did.

Chloe visited every day too. She was incredibly supportive. Oddly, she was the person who best understood Marinette's frustration. She said it was all thanks to the days she spent in that hospital keeping her father company. She would bring all the fashion magazines, staring Marinette and her wonderful collection (Chloe's words), and all of the social magazines, staring Marinette and Adrien dancing together. It didn't make Marinette feel better, seeing herself dancing with Adrien, but it did remind her that he loved her and that nothing was going to change that.

As terribly boring as being in the hospital for two days had been, being imprisoned at home was way worse. She didn't have the hourly updates on Adrien's health and she didn't have the little visits to the 'bathroom' to see him.

She was going crazy.

To make everything worse, her mother and father seemed to have found that their mission as parents was to keep an eye on her in the convalescence process.

Day and night.

They were always there. She couldn't even talk to Tikki anymore! Needless to say, Ladybug wasn't seen in the Paris sky nor did she visit Adrien's room. Not that she didn't want to... She couldn't! It was as if her parents knew that she would find a way to escape if she was left alone... They did know her very well.

It was one night, after four days, and after hearing from Nino and Alya that there was no news on Adrien's state, that she finally found the window to do what she knew she shouldn't but had to do.

The day had passed without anything worth mentioning. She had woken up at three in the afternoon. Yes at three in the afternoon. Her job while convalescing was to sleep and eat only. Her mother was still there with her — as in, she stayed the night. Marinette had eaten, turned on the TV only to turned it back off. Nadja Chamack was interviewing the police Capitan on 'Where are the Paris Superheroes?' and they were talking about how they would handle an Akuma situation without Paris' Protectors. The other channels were pretty much talking about the same. Everything on the Daily News was still surrounding the Masquerade Ball theme. Without TV and computer, Marinette slept some more. She wasn't allowed to use her computer while recovering. Her parents knew that she would use it to work. After the ball, she had hundreds of emails to answer.

So her day was spent on the couch and bed, sleeping and sometimes talking to her mother or father, depending on who was on duty. She had gone to her bedroom right after dinner. Even though she did nothing that day, she was feeling tired. She had a severe concussion, after all.

It was her father's turn to watch her. For the tenth time, she insisted that she didn't need a guard while she slept. Her father chuckled knowingly and answered that she might need something in the middle of the night. Well, she was so tired of the whole situation that she simply fell into her bed and slept.

Luck on her side or not, she woke up in the middle of the night. She turned on her bed and reached for her phone to see what time was it.

Three A.M.

She sighed slightly and looked at the chaise lounge where her father was… asleep. It was bound to happen to one of them. Her mother and father had been pushing themselves day and night so that one of them was awake while watching Marinette. This meant that with the bakery and Marinette they were sleeping every other night. Marinette had woken up in the middle of the night before, only to find one of her parents still awake. But tonight, her father was sleeping.

With a smile growing on her face and careful not to make a sound, Marinette woke up Tikki and climbed to her balcony. The cold Autumn wind on her face made her feel alive for the first time since she had been imprisoned for convalescence. She breathed deep, delighted with the wind tickling her skin.

She wasn't going out for long... She just needed to see Adrien. Even if he was still asleep.

"Tikki, spots on!" She murmured almost inaudible. Tikki's magic imbued her body with strength and her concussion was suddenly forgotten. Feeling brand new again, Ladybug threw her yo-yo and flew through the night.

Ladybug searched for the area in the hospital where Adrien's room was. It wasn't as easy to find as she thought it would be. The hospital looked way bigger from the outside. Once she found it, she swung herself to Adrien's window with the help of her yo-yo to sneak a peek.

With a wave of disappointment, she saw that Adrien was still unconscious. She pushed the windows one by one, praying that one of them was open.

A satisfying creak was heard as she managed to open one of the windows. Carefully, so as not to make another sound (Not that she didn't want to wake up Adrien, she did want that, but she couldn't alert the nurses in the process), she let herself in.

She wasn't prepared for the overwhelming flow of emotions that flooded through her.

A knot formed in her throat and her eyes filled with tears. It was suddenly very hard to breathe.

Ladybug stood there, near the bed, looking at Adrien Agreste for a while. She couldn't seem to find the strength to move.

Adrien was asleep.

Not dead. No.

But asleep. And it had passed one week.

Ladybug wasn't prepared for this. She mechanically reached for his hand and took it in hers. His hand was warm, not cold like it was the last time she had held it. A tear rolled down her face. She didn't know this awareness would affect her so badly. She did know that he was still asleep, but knowing and seeing were very different things.

What if...

What if he never woke up? Ever again?

Despair started to crawl into her system. A flow of uncontrollable sobs shook her body. Ladybug let her herself fall to the floor, holding Adrien's hand, and cried.

"Oh, Kitty..." Ladybug let out, her voice so fragile that it sounded like it could break at any point. She kneeled near the bed's head and looked at him. Her tears were wetting the bed sheets, but she didn't care. "Please, wake up." She let her head fall to the bed and cried some more with her free arm around her head. "I can't do this without you..." She quietly sobbed, not finding the energy to look at him again.

Some minutes passed and Ladybug was starting to feel tired again. She couldn't fall asleep there. Even though she didn't want to leave his side, she had to go back home.

Just five more minutes, she thought, finally turning her head to Adrien. The river of tears had dried out, leaving Ladybug with her head weighting a ton.

The window creaked once again, almost giving Ladybug a heart attack. With her heart trying to leap from her chest, she turned her head so quickly that she instantly regretted it. But pain and dizziness were swiftly replaced by anxiety. Hawkmoth had just entered Adrien's room. She didn't know where they stood now. If he wanted to attack her, she wasn't in the right condition to defend herself. She stood up and struck him with the most threatening glare she could manage.

Hawkmoth calmly raised his hands, his palms facing her, a gesture to make her feel more at ease. He wasn't here to fight. Still, she didn't move. What if he wanted to make her let her guard down to attack her? He'd done that before.

He was the reason Adrien was like this. He somehow had taken Chat Noir's Miraculous from him. If it wasn't for Hawkmoth's negligence, this would never have happened. And from the looks of it, he knew that. At least he had the decency to look guilty.

"I am truly happy to see you are feeling better" Hawkmoth said, but he didn't seem happy at all. He was talking to her, but his eyes were on his son's face. She could see him go through the same disappointment she had experience moments ago. He had hoped to see his son awake. He passed to the other side of Adrien's bed and Ladybug's eyes followed him. He finally looked at her, "I am sorry." His face was filled with sorrow and concern, he looked back at Adrien, "I was blinded by my wish to bring my family back, and I almost killed my son." He let his head fall into his hands.

Ladybug couldn't find a word to say, so she let him keep talking. It seemed like he had been holding it inside of him and now had finally let it all out.

"You should have arrested me," He said looking at her, almost like he was implying she hadn't done her job properly. She was about to reply indignantly when he talked again, "But if you had, I couldn't be here with him." Ladybug's mouth formed a perfect O. "Thank you."

"I didn't do it for you." She objected calmly.

"I know you didn't." He said with regret coloring his voice, "Thank you" he repeated.

She nodded.

They stood there, quiet for a while. An uncomfortable silence enveloped the hospital room. Two mortal enemies suffering by Adrien's bed.

"Ladybug, I have decided to resign my Miraculous" Hawkmoth said as if he was talking about the weather. Ladybug looked at him with shock written all over her face. The next emotion she felt was hope. If Hawkmoth disappeared the streets of Paris would be safe again. Ladybug, Chat Noir and Rena Rouge could keep doing a perimeter patrol once in a while just to keep the ruffians and thieves out of the streets, but without Hawkmoth's shadow darkening the Parisians' hearts with fear, everything would fall into place. There would be finally peace. "It has only brought misfortune, to me and the ones I love"

Ladybug couldn't help but nod. Without Hawkmoth, Adrien would never have been hurt.

"If you'd care to join me in the Mansion, I will give it to you."

Ladybug frowned. Was it a trap?

Hawkmoth looked at her when she didn't answer. Noticing her troubled expression, he quickly explained: "I can't give it to you now. We are at the Hospital and we both came in through that window," He pointed out, "How would I explain how I got here if I gave you my Miraculous now?"

It did make sense, Ladybug thought.

"Okay," She agreed after thinking for a second, "but we are not going inside."

Hawkmoth nodded, dismissing the matter. He looked at Adrien with great intensity, then he closed his eyes and shook his head. The man looked miserable. Ladybug almost felt pity for him. Almost. He slowly passed his hand over Adrien's forehead and placed a kiss on it.

Hawkmoth walked to the window and looked at Ladybug, "Meet you at the Mansion in ten minutes?"

She agreed with a nod of her head.

"Until then," and he retreated into the night.

She looked at Adrien. He would like to know that his father was finally doing the right thing. Another stray tear rolled down her face. She didn't know she still had enough water left in her body to cry.

Ladybug carefully hugged Adrien's sleeping body. She let out a sob she had been holding in, thinking she would give anything to see him well again, to feel his strong arms around her body in a fierce hug.

She gently kissed him on the lips, wishing with all her might for him to wake up.

But he didn't.

Real life wasn't like that. He wouldn't wake up with true love's kiss. Things didn't work like that.

Trying to fight the letdown, Ladybug caressed Adrien's cheek one last time that evening and left to go meet with his father.

Ladybug wiped the tears off her face and swung herself to the Agreste Mansion. Once she got there, Gabriel was waiting for her by the front gates. She landed near him but kept her distance. She was sure that she couldn't trust him. He reached for both his pockets and slowly took, not one, but two tiny red bordeaux boxes out.

"This is the Moth Miraculous." He said handing her one box. Ladybug carefully opened it and sighed with relief. The Moth miraculous rested inside the box. She looked with curiosity at the other box. "This is the Peacock Miraculous." He breathed, seeing Ladybug's outraged face, he added: "We were chosen, you know?" Ladybug frowned, not understanding. She didn't want to talk to him. She just wanted to get this over with and go home. Gabriel sighed, "Me and Emilie were chosen by a Guardian before we met. We were just kids... Not older than seventeen." He smiled with nostalgia, "I know all too well how you feel. I relate too much to your story with Adrien. We were you." He chuckled without humour, "I guess what they say is really true." He paused and opened the little box still on his hands, "If you don't die a Hero, like she did, one day you will find yourself a Villain."

Ladybug was not sure what to say. She had never asked Adrien how his mother died, she had always imagined some kind of disease had taken Emilie. But apparently, she had died a hero. As Peacock.

"I told myself that I was doing the right thing, using my Miraculous for selfish purposes. It was for her not me. It was for the Greater Good. But I was lying to myself. I am sorry." He closed the box and handed it to Ladybug.

"You are doing the right thing now." She managed to mumble.

He nodded, "I know."

"When Adrien wakes up he is going to be proud of you." She forced herself to say.

"When he wakes up, I will ask him to resign his Miraculous too." He said. Ladybug was about to argue when he said, "I am not going to make him do it. I am going to ask him. It will be his choice."

She gulped and nodded. That was fair.

"Farewell, Ladybug." He said and smiled slightly, "I hope you never have the reason to wear that suit again."

Ladybug smiled at this. He meant well. After everything, he wanted her to be safe.

"Goodbye."

Ladybug swung herself with her yo-yo and left feeling lighter than she ever thought she would that night.

She had made peace with the enemy.