Adrien straightened in his chair at school, his spine popping. He rotated his shoulders, trying to work out the stiffness between them. He had fallen asleep on a chair at the hospital once again the night before, leaving him sore beyond belief.

The bell rang, and everyone gathered up their supplies. Adrien followed suit, his eyes scanning the classroom. Everyone kept to themselves, and their faces each seemed sad. Lila was missing—she had been expelled for lying about Marinette to get her in trouble. He was glad she was gone. She deserved every bad thing that came to her.

"Adrien," Alya murmured, touching his shoulder. He turned around, his eyes lighting on Marinette's empty seat. His heart twisted at the sight, but he tried to ignore it.

"Yeah?" he asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Every time he fell asleep, nightmares plagued his mind, images of the day Marinette had fallen into her coma. He often wondered if he could've done anything differently to help her—if somehow he could've saved her.

"Any change?" Alya asked, adjusting her bag across her shoulder. Nino stood next to her, his hands playing with his many bracelets.

"No," Adrien said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was overdue for a haircut. "She's still asleep."

"Did the doctors say anything?" Nino asked. He put his arm around Alya's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Adrien watched the action, his eyes narrowing. He would give anything to be able to hold Marinette like that.

"No." Adrien stared at the ground. "Nothing."

"Adrien, you shouldn't feel guilty." Alya's voice sounded tired, and he quickly looked at her again. "It's my fault this happened. I should've stuck by Marinette's side."

"You made a mistake," Adrien whispered. "I think she will forgive you."

Alya looked away, tears shining in her eyes. Adrien knew she wasn't going to believe it until Marinette woke up and told her herself. The situation had the entire class feeling horrible. Everyone felt responsible in some way.

Adrien picked up his bag. "Well, I'm off."

"Going home?" Nino asked, glancing between his two friends, his eyes showing his inner turmoil. Nino tried to hide how Marinette's condition affected him, but Adrien knew it hurt him just as much as it hurt everyone else in the class. Perhaps Nino hadn't been close to Marinette, but that didn't lessen the emotional impact on any of them, really.

"Nope. The hospital." Adrien was too tired to form full sentences anymore. He, Nino, and Alya had been taking turns visiting the hospital, but more often than not Adrien was there even when it wasn't his turn. He couldn't stand being home, not after his father's arrest.

"Is Felix bothering you?" Alya suddenly turned around, her eyes on fire. He could tell she wanted to pick a fight. She had too much pent up aggression after the incident.

Adrien silently shook his head. He had managed to convince his aunt and cousin to come live in Paris so Adrien could stay close to his friends and, more importantly, Marinette. He had been avoiding the house and his family, however. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that his father had been the villain of Paris the entire time, and the damage Queen Justice had left behind still hadn't been repaired. Being there reminded him too much of all he had lost.

"You shouldn't spend too much time there." Alya twisted her hands. "Marinette wouldn't want you to stop living."

Adrien nodded but didn't say anything. He bit the inside of his cheek. He would never stop visiting Marinette. He wouldn't give up on her. She would wake up, and then they could figure out everything together.

It was only a matter of time.

"See you." Adrien lifted his hand in farewell and ran out of the building to his limousine, tears gathering in his eyes. He sat back as the car began to move.

"Come on, Marinette," he whispered. "How much longer?"

Darkness drifted past, soothing with its calm touch. The space felt like home. There was no reason to awake, because past the curtain of darkness lay pain and exhaustion. Here, there was no such thing.

But then . . . light broke through the darkness, and it burned where it touched. Thrashing around didn't help as the light grew brighter and brighter until it touched everything. The darkness receded, and the light came closer and closer.

Marinette opened her eyes with a groan, wishing she could go back to the dark space. What had happened? Where was she?

The ceiling above her offered no clues, and she was tempted to close her eyes once again and return to the inviting darkness. But something stopped her. An image, a feeling. Hazy, but present. What was she forgetting?

Curious, she propped herself up onto her elbows. She scanned the room. It was a hospital room, and she was lying in the bed, dressed in a hospital gown. The iv attached to her arm itched, and she stared at it. A beeping noise in the room sped up, and she glanced at the heart monitor. That was her heart rate. Why was she in the hospital?

A movement caught her eye, and she looked toward the chairs pushed to the side of the room. A blanket covered someone sitting there, leaving only a shock of blond hair uncovered.

A faint memory stirred in the corner of her mind. Cat Noir, staring at her with shock as his transformation disappeared, leaving . . .

"Adrien?" she whispered.

The person stirred, and his head popped up, his sleepy eyes peering at her. The green eyes widened, and he raised his fists to wipe at them before looking at her once again.

"Marinette?" he breathed, standing up. The blanket tangled around his legs, and he tripped, almost falling to the floor. He grabbed onto the bed frame for support, shaking Marinette up and down. She giggled uncomfortably, staring at his hand. The white ring there stood out to her, mocking her and her inability to figure out the obvious sooner.

"I'm so sorry," Adrien apologized, releasing the bed frame as soon as he was able to stand up by himself. "Are you okay?"

"I'm . . . fine," she said, straightening. "Why are you here? Where are my parents?"

"I'm always here," he blurted. He ran a hand through his hair as his cheeks turned red. "Your parents left to get dinner."

She nodded and glanced toward the door. "What . . . what happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

His big smile fell immediately, and his shoulders slumped. "You don't remember?" His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat.

"I mean, I remember . . ." She stopped, her hands going to her ears. Her earrings were missing. "Where are my earrings?" Her heart stuttered, and the beeping from the heart monitor sped up. She cursed the thing.

"Don't worry," Adrien said, pulling the earrings from his pocket. "The rest of the miraculouses are at my house."

"Marinette!" A tiny voice yelled, and a blur of red flew past Adrien.

"Tikki!" Marinette exclaimed, holding the tiny kwami to her chest.

"I'm so glad you're awake," Tikki said, smiling widely. "The doctors weren't sure you were going to wake up."

Marinette raised her eyes to meet Adrien's. Plagg floated next to him now, and neither of them looked surprised. "Okay, what happened?" She shook her head. "I know you're Cat Noir, but how do you know I'm Ladybug?"

Adrien glanced between the two kwamis. "You got akumatized into Princess Justice," he explained.

Blood drained from Marinette's face. "Did I hurt anyone?" She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. "How did you purify the akuma without me?"

Adrien smiled faintly and pulled the chair he had previously inhabited closer to her bed before sitting down. "Nino, Alya, and Lila had to go to the hospital, but they're all fine now. Lila was expelled though, for lying about you."

Marinette pursed her lips, annoyed that the news made her very happy. "Are Nino and Alya mad?"

"No." Adrien gestured to the other chairs. "They're here a lot too. They just want you to be okay."

Marinette rested her head on her pillow. "Wow," she whispered. "Ladybug getting akumatized. Never thought it would happen."

Adrien laughed, but the it sounded forced. "Well, you were still Ladybug, even akumatized."

"What do you mean?" She looked at Adrien, surprised to see pain etched there. "What did I do?"

"You took everyone's miraculouses and went after Hawk Moth and Mayura." He grimaced. "They're in jail now."

The heart monitor beeped, and Marinette's face flushed. "Wait. We won? It's over?"

"Yeah." Adrien looked away. "I suppose it is."

"What's wrong?" Marinette's eyebrows furrowed. This was the sort of thing they should be celebrating. After all, they had been working together to defeat Hawk Moth for months now. Marinette's face reddened as she realized she had kissed Cat Noir, which meant she had kissed Adrien. She was suddenly glad Adrien was so distracted by his thoughts and didn't seem to notice her embarrassment.

"Hawk Moth was my father, and Mayura was his assistant, Nathalie," Adrien muttered.

Marinette's jaw dropped. "Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth?" She blinked several times, her brain trying to process everything. "Are you okay?" she asked, her stomach twisting on his behalf.

"Yeah," Adrien said, giving her a half smile as he straightened. "You're okay, and that's all I needed."

Marinette paused, her fingers twitching. "So, wait . . . how did you de-akumatize me?"

Adrien stood up and came closer, his fingers gripping the bottom of his shirt tightly. "I did what any good knight in shining armor should do. I kissed you and broke the spell." He smirked, and Marinette could see the Cat Noir in him shining through.

"Really?" her voice squeaked, and she cleared her throat. "Why on earth would you do that?"

Adrien leaned over her, his breath stirring her hair. "Because I love you," he whispered.

"Me?" Marinette's face burned, and she felt the customary stammer coming on. The heart monitor beeped annoyingly in the background, betraying how nervous she was. "I mean, I know you like Ladybug, but me? I'm nothing special."

A darkness passed over his face. "Princess Justice said that too," he whispered. "But Marinette, you are extraordinary. And I love you, all aspects of you." He hesitated for a moment before retreating. "But I guess you don't like Cat Noir."

"No," Marinette protested, straining to sit up. "I do like Cat Noir, I just always liked you more." She flushed when she realized she had just admitted to having a crush on him.

Adrien smiled, his green eyes gleaming like Cat's always did. "So you won't mind my jokes, purrincess?" He raised one of his eyebrows.

A shiver passed over Marinette at the nickname Cat Noir had given her coming out of Adrien's mouth. "No, of course not. Your jokes make me happy, even though they are stupid sometimes."

Adrien leaned down again. "In that case, Marinette, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

Marinette's heart stuttered, and the entire world faded away except for Adrien's handsome face. This was it, the moment she had always dreamed of. "Yes," she whispered.

Adrien closed the space between them, and his lips touched hers, soft and warm like she had always imagined.

And just like that, everything was okay once more in the world. They still had a lot to figure out, but as long as they were together, nothing could ever go wrong.

FIN

That's it! I hope you enjoyed! If you want more Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction, check out my profile. For more of my writing, or if you want to connect with me, go to: Salandrawolfe . com
Thanks for reading!
-Sally