It was a clear, starry night over Paris, where local heroes, Chat Noir and Ladybug were roaming the streets on patrol. Sure, the heroes may have to be up for school in the morning, but making sure the city of Paris is safe at night is always more important. The two of them were walking down the street- it was empty, so it was safe for them to be walking down the middle. They were conversing, but then Ladybug heard footsteps. She quickly put a hand over Chat's mouth, and he gave her a puzzled look. But then he also heard the footsteps, and boy, did that shut him up real quick. Then, there was an evil snicker.

"Hehehe… Ladybug and Chat Noir… I see you!" A deep voice echoed across the narrow roadway. The two heroes look around, trying to locate the voice's origin.

"Seriously? Who gets akumatized at this hour?" Chat asks his partner.

"That doesn't matter now. We got to stop this." Ladybug prepped her yoyo, swinging it around her index finger. Chat Noir drew his staff, looking around. Thank goodness for night vision.

"Over there!" He says, as he starts running toward where he saw the figure- a strange, lanky looking person, dressed like the living embodiment of a nightmare- fully black, glowing eyes… holding a large katana in their left arm. As Chat Noir took a leap, the villain suddenly blinked away, and caused him to miss his pounce. Chat Noir landed face first into the pavement below him.

"Nn… that's gonna leave a mark…" Chat mumbled, as he sits up and rubs his face. Before he could get a chance to fully recover, the living nightmare blinked behind to Ladybug, a hand going to grab her hands and holding them behind her back. She squirmed around trying to break free, but alas, the grip only tightened. Chat sprung to his feet, about to pounce on them… but he froze in horror as he saw the large katana being drawn back…. And then promptly thrusted into Ladybug's abdomen. It speared her, blood dripping off the tip of the blade. She yelled in pain, and sheer horror as she glanced down and saw the large blade sticking out of her front side.

"LADYBUG!" Chat shouted in horror. Now he was angry. No one touches his ladybug. The walking nightmare yanked the blade right out of her, as she falls to her knees, and then as she lays down on her side. She gave a weak cough. She was down for the count... for now. That's it. His anger was fueling him, as he just runs at the villan. The nightmare laughed.

"Aw, and what's the kitty gonna do? Claw me?" They cackled, as Chat pounced on him, with all of his body weight. They fell to the ground, as Chat's hand begins to glow black. Ladybug watched. "C-chat.. No… d-don't…" She said weakly. She was losing blood, and fast.

"Cataclysm!" He yelled, as he touched the the nightmare, who caused his to come true. Under the negatively charged touch, the nightmare froze, and immediately turned to ash- blades only being left behind, bloodied katana left on the ground. Ladybug was horrified, watching the akuma be set free, but she mustered up the strength to use her yoyo to catch the evil butterfly. She slung her yoyo, capturing the evil butterfly. Her yoyo comes back, and opens back up, letting the butterfly free.

"Adrien… you have to hurry." Plagg said, tired from the exertion of cataclysm. "Take Ladybug to the hospital before you turn back! She can't know yet!"

Chat nodded, and scooped up the wounded Ladybug in his arms. He tried to stop the bleeding, but instead, Ladybug just pressed a hand to her stomach. She was feeling dizzy and weak. She looks up at Chat Noir, as he started making a run to the nearest hospital. "You… I can't believe you just used that ability… on a person." She finally managed to say.

"No one hurts you and gets away with it, M'lady…" He simply replied, more focused on trying to get her to the hospital before he transformed back. Thankfully, he could run fast. She was fading fast.

"Chat Noir?"

"Yes, m'lady?"

"Am I… Am I going to die?" Ladybug asks weakly, beginning to get choked up. Chat felt his thoughts freeze up. He didn't know if she was going to die. He was trying his best to get her help. He was almost there. He could see the hospital just in the distance.

"C-chat…?"

"...Of course you won't die. You know that heroes don't die." He assured her. But she didn't reply. She was drifting in and out of consciousness as he ran towards the emergency room entrance. He stopped at the door, and allowed them to open, before running inside.

"Excuse me, but I've got a dire emergency here!" He urged, as he transformed back into Adrien. Ladybug was unconscious at this point, as she was taken away. She had transformed back, but he couldn't see her. Adrien sat down in a chair, and put his hands in his head. Her blood stained his shirt. His father was going to be highly upset when he realizes that his son is not in bed. A tired Plagg crawls out and onto Adrien's lap.

"Can I have my cheese now?"

"Is that really what your concern is?" Adrien seemed annoyed. "Okay, fine…" He mumbled, tucking his tired kwami in the pocket of his pajama pants, and goes off in search of food. Plagg pokes his head out, and looks at Adrien.

"What are you going to do about your dad when he finds out you're not home? He's going to be mad…"

"I don't care what he thinks at the moment. He probably won't even care anyway. I'm not leaving Ladybug alone here. She'd never do that for Chat Noir."

"Yeah, I guess… But you're gonna be grounded, for sure!"

"Plagg, I don't care about that now…" Adrien mumbled. He was tired. That fight exhausted him. Finally, he found what looked like a vending machine, but he had no money. Guess he's going to have to wait… A doctor then walked by, and Adrien looked up at him. "Excuse me, Doctor… but is there anyway you can spare me some food? I don't have any money on me and I'm very hungry…" He asks.

"I'll see what I can do, kid. Stay right there." The kind doctor says to him, and walks off down the hall. Adrien leans against the wall. He's worried about Ladybug. That's all his thoughts were consumed with. The doctor soon returned and she had a package of crackers.

"Here you are, kid." She said, as she smiled softly.

"Thank you so much." Adrien said, as he opened the package of crackers, and ate one. "Can you tell me how Ladybug is doing?" The doctor gave him a puzzled look.

"Was that the young girl who came in with the massive stabwound in the abdomen? Well, she's in surgery now, but I believe the doctor said she was lucky in that the only damage was to her liver, and it was minor damage. She could have died from blood loss, however, if she arrived any later." She explains. Adrien was stunned. She really was a lucky ladybug.

"Wow… that's… good news. When can I see her?"

"Hopefully within the next two hours, and I'll let you in. Just go have a seat in the waiting room, and I'll come look for you." She explains, and Adrien nods.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said, as he walks back towards the waiting room. While making his way back, he fed Plagg a cracker, and then another one. It wasn't cheese, but honestly, he'd take anything at this point. As Adrien finished up the package of crackers, he tossed the wrapper into the garbage can, before flopping onto a chair. He was beginning to get nervous, because he's about to find out who his ladybug is. She looks familiar… and sounds familiar too, now that he thought about it… But he could never put his finger on it! He shut his eyes, in a vain attempt to sleep. It was late- and he was probably going to be forced to show up to school tomorrow at his father's insistance, regardless of how tired he was. What about Ladybug's family? Surely she has a family, who will be beyond upset about their child in this state.

He only got about a half-hour of quality sleep, the rest of his time being spent phasing in Sand out of consciousness. This time, he got startled out of his unconscious period by a tap on his shoulder. He jolted upright and perfectly straight. It was the same doctor who was kind enough to get him some crackers to feed the hungry kwami, and himself.

"Sorry to interrupt, kid. She is out of surgery and ready to receive visitors. Right this way, please." She said, as she started walking into the hospital. He followed, closely behind.

"How...how is she doing?" He nervously asks.

"She's currently still asleep from surgery. She should be waking up soon. Surgery was successful, however." The doctor replied simply, calling the elevator to send them to the fifth floor. The elevator ride up was quite tense, riddled with silence. As the elevator doors opened, they stepped out, and he was lead down the silent, long hallway. It was very well lit, bleak, and everything was white. The doctor paused in front of one door at the end. "Right here." She steps aside, and leads him in. "I'll leave you alone with her…" She said, as she walks away.

Adrien walked around the curtain, dividing off the room from the door. The room was silent, only the regular beeping of the heart monitor making noise. There was a pit in his stomach as he got a clear look of who was lying in the bed. He felt his heart sank. Marinette was Ladybug. Marinette was the person he saw, speared like a kebab on that katana. It was her blood on his shirt. She didn't deserve that. As he approached closer, she began to rouse from surgery.

"Mm… nn.. Where.. Where am I? What's going on?" Marinette asked weakly, as her eyes opened. She looked around. She looked quite scared, until saw him. "Adrien? What are you doing here? What's going on?" She asks him with fright in her voice, as she tries to sit up, but winces in pain.

"Easy, Marinette..." He rushes over to her side, and gently rests a hand on her arm. She laid back on the bed, which was already sitting up. "Um… Chat Noir told me you were injured… so I wanted to be here for you. What happened?"

"Um… well… I was… outside, you know, just minding my own business… and then some crazy guy came and just… stabbed me. Out of no where! But thankfully Chat Noir and Ladybug saved me. She had to go, but Chat Noir was taking me to the hospital… but that was all I can remember… I hope he's not too mad I got blood on him. Blood's not easy to get out of clothes..." She fretted. He knew she was lying… but he decided to roll with it for now.

"I'm sure a little bit of blood on his outfit is the least of his concerns as a superhero. Clothes can be cleaned."

"I guess… but what about you? Aren't you going to get in trouble for being out so late?"

"I don't care about that. My good friend is hurt, and I'm not going to leave her alone in a hospital."

Marinette smiled, as she reaches for a hug. He gives her a hug, being sure to be careful. In fact, she even scoots over for him, so he can sit next to her. She glances over, and notices blood stained on his shirt. Not a lot, but it was still quite visible. She looked worried.

"Oh no, Adrien, did you get hurt too? Why's there blood on your clothes?"

Adrien looks down, and then looks back to her. "Oh, um, uh… I'm fine. I cut myself earlier. Must have reopened it, ya know?" He grinned sheepishly. Marinette looked at him suspiciously. That sounded like a pretty terrible lie.

"Adrien…wait. A-are you..." She looked at him. She was feeling overwhelmed with emotions now, eyes stinging as she blinked. There were tears coming to her eyes. Her voice dropped low. "...Are you Chat Noir?"

His eyes dart around, and then he nodded. "Yeah… that was me. You didn't deserve this, Marinette. I'm a terrible hero." He looked upset.

"Adrien, don't be ridiculous. You're a great hero, and a great partner to fight villans with…" She said, as she took a hold of his hand. Their fingers intertwined, as she continued, "you'll always be my favorite hero. You saved my life. Thank you."

He gave her hand a gentle squeezes, smiling a little. He still felt awful about how they defeated their villan. "I… I'm sorry that you had to see Cataclysm used on someone like that. I was just… so angry that someone hurt you like that. It's hard to see someone you love get hurt so badly…" He blushed intensely at what he just said.

Marinette looked at him, with shock. "You… you love me?"

Without missing a beat, he replied with, "Of course I do, Marinette. You're so many things- kind, generous, smart, beautiful, amazing in battle… all that and more."

Marinette just stared in awe about how he gushed about her. She had a warm smile on her face that made her forget about her pain for just a moment.

"Well, what about you?"

"H-huh?"

"How do you feel about me, Marinette? Be honest. I've always gotten mixed signals around you, and I just really want to know the truth. Will you please just tell me?" He pleads her, looking her in the eyes and squeezing her hand gently.

Marinette looks back at him. "You want to hear it? Okay..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love you, Adrien. So, so much. More than you ever would have known. All those times I said I didn't like you that way were a lie. I just got so nervous because I always thought you were way out of my depth…"

Adrien couldn't help but laugh. "What? I always thought you were out of my depth...Though I guess I should have took notice with how nervous you got around me that you liked me…" And soon, Marinette snuggled up to him, resting her head against him. He smiled, and gently wrapped his arms around her. He held her gently, being extra delicate given her physical state.

"...Maybe we should get some rest. It's late…" She yawned quietly, burrowing her face into his shirt. He shifted to lay on his side, holding her close to his chest.

"You don't mind if I sleep here, do you?" He asked. She chuckled, sounding quite sleepy.

"Of course I don't mind. I need my lucky charm by me."

He finally felt like he could rest now. She was going to be okay. His hand idly played with her hair, as he felt himself growing more tired. Marinette had already dozed off, cuddling close to him. He glances down at her and smiles softly. He plants a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, my lucky ladybug." He mumbled, before feeling himself dozing off as well.