Marinette sighed and looked at the clock face of her watch one more time. The digital display winked at her, flashing the time and the weather. As usual, the weather forecast was wrong. It showed a small sun with a smiling face, but when she looked out the windows of the bakery, all she could see was wind and rain. She put her arm down and the display faded back to black. Only three minutes had passed since the last time she had checked the time. The bakery was incredibly slow, probably because it was freezing cold and pouring rain outside. No one had the energy to leave their homes let alone come to a bakery for lukewarm sweets and iced drinks. Once the weather got just a little colder they would probably start selling more warm treats and hot drinks. They would trade out the glass display cases for pastry warmers, and bring out the larger coffee dispenser. But for now, the wind was whistling through the small cracks of the front door and the smell of city rain was slowly creeping into the cafe. Besides the wind and the cold, nothing and no one was coming into the bakery. Marinette wished for something, anything, to do. There were no cakes to bake, nothing to frost or decorate and nothing to clean or organize. She wanted something to happen. Especially today when there was so little to do in the bakery. She had been put on register duty while her parents were out getting supplies for the next large order they had to fill. Meanwhile, Adrien was upstairs, hopefully resting, but probably uncomfortable. She itched to go see him, but her parents had already scolded her for abandoning the shop too many times already. She frowned, realizing that was probably the exact reason why she had been banished to the desolate bakery today. She was in time-out. Maybe he was lonely and needed to be visited. She almost jumped up, but quickly remembered that she couldn't leave the store, no matter how dead it was. Adrien would just have to make do with the company he had, which was none. She sighed.

Tikki's voice came, muffled from the pocket of Marinette's apron, "Marinette," she poked her red head out of the pocket, "You have to stop sighing, it makes me feel tired."

Marinette rolled her eyes, "I'm just worried about Adrien. Not to mention the store is absolutely dead." Marinette gestured to the empty bakery and cafe, "I have cleaned everything I possibly can and still have more than half of my day left. I'm bored."

"You could always just close the store and go play that ridiculous robot smashing game you love so much. You could play with Adrien! With his handicap I'm sure that you'd have an advantage." Tikki smirked, and zipped to the register, sitting lightly on the edge.

"I don't need him to have a handicap to beat him." She stuck out her tongue.

Tikki giggled, "That doesn't change the fact that he has one."

Marinette sighed again, "I still don't understand how he got shot inside the precinct. And,he seems so uncomfortable all the time. He doesn't sit or stand for very long, and he is constantly moving around. I think that he's always hurting."

"He got shot in the arm, Marinette," Tikki sighed, "It's going to hurt him for a little bit."

Marinette scoffed, "I know."

Tikki smirked with lowered eyelids, "You seem to be more worried than normal."

Marinette looked away from her red and spotted friend, "Don't start this again."

Tikki laughed, "Why not just admit that you have feelings for him? You don't have to tell him, but if you just accept that maybe you're starting to care about him more than as a friend, then you'll be more at peace with your worrying. Then I can enjoy my naps without your sighing."

Marinette sat down on the stool behind the counter and leaned across the marble surface, "I don't know what I feel Tikki. I'm not really sure about my feelings from school, and if they were real or not. And then, I messed up with Andrew and then I missed the chance with Chat Noir, and maybe I'm just not meant to have a serious relationship."

Tikki let out an exasperated breath, "You're so dramatic. Of course you can have a serious relationship. Someday you'll find the right person and you'll be able to share everything with them."

"Everything?" Marinette raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking to the left.

The red kwami smiled so wide that her cheeks pushed her eyes closed, "Everything."

There was a large crash outside and Marinette was pulled from her worrying. She looked out the tinted bakery windows and out towards the large park, where there was a large, jagged, pink fence surrounding the carousel. Marinette raised an eyebrow.

Tikki looked at Marinette with a sassy smile, "Looks like you're going to have to close the store anyway. Too bad you have to spend your break fighting the akuma and not flirting with Adrien."

"Ha, ha." Marinette glared at the red kwami, "Spots on."

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Adrien sat on the couch, looking around the comfortably sized home. He was still feeling awestruck over the fact that he lived here. He didn't have to feel guilty about staying past midnight, because this was his home, and if he wanted to stay awake until one in the morning no one would judge him. It was still a little overwhelming to think that he lived with the Dupain-Chengs. No matter how awestruck he was, though, he was increasingly more grateful that he wasn't alone with his healing bullet wound. His whole body ached from the strain of sitting forward on the couch, looking out at the gloomy weather. The vibrant greens of the summer had finally faded away, giving room for the reds, yellows and browns of fall. The strong wind picked the leaves from the trees and spread them around Paris. After the rain subsided, there would be leaves to step on and jump in and the children would find a different kind of fun in the new season.

Adrien smiled sadly, thinking of all the times he'd walked past the very park he could see out the window and wished to join the other children. He had never had the chance. He had been groomed for success and perfection, and that left little time for amusement. He let himself daydream about what a childhood full of birthday parties and schoolyard games would have been like. He closed his eyes, and imagined the exhilaration. His daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of a faint scream.

Adrien's eyes flew open, and he stood up quickly, ignoring the pain. He leaned against the window, looked around for the source of the scream and saw a glittering pink fence growing around the carousel in the park. Panic and adrenaline pumped through him and he froze.

"Plagg," his voice was strained, "We, we have to go."

Plagg groaned, and lazily moved from the couch to Adrien's shoulder, "Don't get me wrong kid, I like your spunk, but you can't do anything with that busted arm. You'd be even more useless than you normally are." Plagg gave Adrien a teasing smirk.

Adrien glared back, "Plagg, I'm being serious." Adrien looked out the window, worry crossing his face. He looked down at his arm in the sling, and then looked to Plagg, "Is there really nothing I can do?"

Plagg sighed, "You really want to help? This was such a perfect opportunity to take a break from being a hero. We could take a nap instead." Plagg smiled, gesturing towards the couch.

Adrien looked back outside, "But, what if she needs my help?"

"Look Romeo, there is a way, but it will be painful." Plagg groaned, obviously put out to have to offer the option to his exuberant miraculous holder in the first place.

Adrien perked up, "Really? Let's do it."

Plagg's ears twitched, "Didn't you hear me? It's gonna hurt. A lot. The power of the miraculous stones is not all powerful. I can't heal your arm."

"Yeah yeah, I heard you, but I don't have a choice. If there's a way, then I have to help her. I'm her partner, I can't just watch from the sidelines while she risks her life to save people." Adrien's green eyes flicked to the park where he saw Ladybug land gracefully in the middle of the park.

"Geez." Plagg sighed again, "Fine, fine." He floated so that he was eye to eye with Adrien. He crossed his kwami arms, "When you activate the miraculous and you have an injury, the miraculous can temporarily keep the injury stable and keep you from taking more damage." Plagg made a face, "It would be like a flexible cast. You would be able to use the arm, but I can't mitigate the pain. And just like a cast, if you overdo it, you'll still have to deal with the consequences."

Adrien beamed, "This is great news!"

"I'm not done, kid. Once the miraculous powers down, it will be worse than when you started. It will be sore and you may have permanent damage to your muscles and the dexterity of your hand and arm." Plagg looked at Adrien with serious eyes.

Adrien moved his gaze between his arm and Plagg and the ever growing pink fence around the park. He set his eyebrows together and looked at Plagg, "That's a risk I have to take. Claws out."

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Ladybug looked around the park, all signs of the akuma attack were gone, and the small white butterfly had already disappeared. Her earings bleeped in her ears, and she looked at Chat Noir.

"Well done, Mon Chaton. We did it." She held out her fist with a sweet smile.

Chat Noir softly knocked his fist against hers, and she watched as he seemed to grimace. He put his arm down slowly, and saluted her with his other hand, "Until next time, My Lady." He turned and took to the rooftops of the city. Ladybug leaped over the fence of the park, dashed into the bakery and released her transformation. Tikki appeared and hovered near Marinette.

"Chat Noir was acting a little bit strange today, don't you think?" Marinette looked at her small red companion with concern etched across her face.

"Maybe it was the weather?" Tikki shrugged, "It is pretty gloomy out there."

Marinette turned her head to look back out at the cold, dreary streets of Paris, "Maybe." She hummed, "But he didn't seem like himself. He seemed slow, not slow, but slower than normal, you know?" She looked back to Tikki.

Tikki giggled, "He wasn't as annoying as usual if that's what you mean."

Marinette smiled, "No that's not what I meant," she snickered, "I was actually glad for the brief break from his normally pun-filled and overly-flirtatious behavior."

Tikki tilted her head, making her antena flick to the side, "So if it wasn't the weather, then maybe he's just tired? He has a life outside of heroism, just like you, ya know."

Marinette put her hand over her mouth, and pulled her fingers across her face before she folded her arms and sighed, "I don't know, He just didn't seem like himself. He seemed tired, like really tired. And normally when we bump our knuckles together, he's got quite a bit power behind his punches. Today he seemed kinda," she frowned at Tikki, "frail. And he left so fast, normally I have to encourage him to go."

Tikki smiled, "You're sweet to worry about him, but I wouldn't get too worked up about it. You two are close enough that if something was really wrong, he would tell you."

"I guess." Marinette hummed.

"So, stop worrying about Chat Noir. He's fine." Tikki reassured her.

Marinette smiled a little, but her mind continued to swirl around her feline friend. He had seemed so sluggish today, and he was clumsy as he moved. Normally he was full of energy and could leap in circles around her. She sighed again, and groaned, "I don't have time to worry about Chat, I have to go babysit an empty bakery."

Tikki looked at Marinette with wide eyes, "I figured it out."

"What?" Marinette looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"You're so worried about Adrien that you're finding reasons to worry about everyone." Tikki made a broad gesture with her arms. She looked at Marinette with a sassy smirk.

Marinette frowned, and walked away from Tikki, leaving the kwami to float near the door and laugh. Marinette returned to her seat behind the counter, and looked at her watch again. It had only been twenty minutes. She groaned, and hit her head softly against the counter.

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Chat Noir all but fell through the open window of the Dupain-Cheng's living room. He groaned loudly as he toppled to the floor, and cried out as his arm flew forward instinctively to catch him, only to buckle under the weight of his body. He gritted his teeth, and pushed himself from the floor using his other arm. He stumbled to the window and slammed it shut, grateful that he wasn't too wet and that the rain was going the wrong direction to get into the house. He looked at his shoulder, and started to feel a little light-headed. Plagg had warned him that he would be able to use his arm, but it would hurt. He had underestimated how badly it would really hurt.

He leaned on the wall and folded his arm back over his torso and released the miraculous transformation. He cried out, and sank to the floor, grateful that the sling reappeared with his normal clothing.

Plagg hovered over him, genuinely concerned, "Are you gonna make it, kid?"

Adrien looked over to his shoulder, and sighed, "Shit."

"I tried to warn you. Maybe you should call someone. Make up some excuse as to why you are now going to die of blood loss." Plagg hovered over Adrien's shoulder, looking forlornly at the growing red splotch on Adrien's clothing.

Adrien leaned away from the wall and hoisted himself off the floor, "And what will I tell them, Plagg? 'Hello, yes, I reopened my wound. How you ask? Well, I punched a glitter monster in the face. Yes, a glitter monster.' I don't think that's gonna go over well." Adrien groaned and tried to get a little more comfortable.

"Well obviously don't tell them that." Plagg huffed, "Say you fell, tripped over something and caught yourself. Technically that wouldn't be a lie."

Adrien hissed and reached for his cell phone, "I'll call Marinette. If nothing else she can drive me to the Hospital where they will heal me and then kill me for being stupid."

Plagg fidgeted.

Adrien looked over to the small black kwami and smiled, "It's not your fault buddy, you warned me and I chose to push my rotten luck anyway." He used his pointer finger to softly scratch Plagg's chin.

Plagg made a quiet purring sound, and nuzzled Adrien's hand a bit before he backed away, and frowned, "Of course it's not my fault." He folded his arms. Adrien didn't make a fuss, and Plagg was more relaxed now.

"Hey Marinette, how's the bakery?" He smiled, feeling guilty.

"Really? That's great, because I may or may not be bleeding all over my favorite shirt."

The phone beeped in his ear, letting him know that Marinette had hung up on him. He sighed, and tried to ignore the ache of his muscles that seemed to worsen with every beat of his heart.

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Marinette shoved her phone in her pocket as she leapt over the counter and locked the door with clumsy hands. She flipped the sign around and sped towards the back of the store, flipping the lights off as she ran. She hurried up the short flight of stairs, skipping some as she ran to her front door. She leapt over the last stair and slammed into the door with the momentum of her leap. She ignored the dull pain in her arm that meant she would have a bruise later, cursing her klutzy inability to manage her strength, and threw the door open. She bolted into the house, listening to the faint click of the door as it swung shut slowly behind her.

"Adrien? Adrien where are you?" Marinette scanned the whole room, and didn't see any sign of him. She took a step forward and Adrien's good arm appeared over the edge of the couch. Marinette felt herself launch towards the couch, and jump over the furniture to the other side. She looked down at him, horrified.

Adrien looked at her with wide eyes, "Did you just jump over the couch?" he glanced at the high back of the couch, and then back to Marinette. Her eyes were glued to the giant red spot blossoming from his shoulder. She was still wearing her apron from the shop. He flushed and looked away from her again.

"I may or may not have tripped over my own feet, and then tried to catch myself." He smiled sheepishly, and winced a little, "I don't think my stitches liked it very much."

Marinette crashed to her knees and looked at him, "Who taught you to walk!? How clumsy are you?" her voice cracked and she pointed to his wound with both of her hands.

"I was lost in thought, and then I was bleeding," he looked at her apologetically, "It all happened kinda fast. I'm sorry. I guess I didn't know I was that fragile." He lied.

Marinette gingerly moved his shirt and picked at the bandages around his wound, trying to see if any of them were salvageable. They were soaked through with blood, and she was worried about his stitches. She raised her eyes to his and felt the corners of her mouth bend down, "This is going to hurt. I'm sorry."

She lifted his arm in the sling and removed the velcro strap and threw the sling to the floor. He groaned as she maneuvered his arm to get his button-up shirt off his arm. Under the dark shirt, he had a tanktop that was stained with blood. Marinette sighed, and pushed the shirt and tank top away from the bloody bandages.

"This doesn't look good, Adrien."

"Honestly," Adrien smirked, "It doesn't feel very good either."

Marinette ignored his flippant statement and peeled away the soiled bandages with shaking hands. She closed her eyes and prayed that he hadn't reopened it too badly. If the stitches were still in place they would make it. If not, she would have to drive him to the hospital. She squeezed her eyes shut, and peeled away the bandage all the way.

Just look, just look, just look, she chanted in her mind. She forced her eyes open and looked at Adrien's wound. She let out a breath, the big, ugly black stitches were still intact. He was bloody but he wasn't going to have to go back to the hospital.

"So?" He asked, "What's the diagnosis?"

She glared at him, "You're an idiot." She huffed, "Stay here, I'll be right back."

"Yes ma'am." Adrien groaned, finally feeling the pain as his adrenaline rush ended. He was also starting to feel guilty for making Marinette helping, and making her worry about him. He tried to distract himself by listening to Marinette rummage through the cupboards and closets around the kitchen, and listening to her quiet footfalls as she moved around the house. She appeared again, with a basket full of dressings and gauze and medical tape. She set her basket on the coffee table and went to fetch something else.

Adrien closed his eyes, feeling tired, sore, and stupid. What did he think was going to happen? Running around Paris as Chat Noir with a bullet wound. He let out a breath. He had put too much faith in the miraculous and had acted recklessly. Plagg had warned him, and he was so desperate to help Ladybug and to be out of the sling and out of the house that he went too far. A mistake he was absolutely determined to never make again. Chat Noir couldn't disappear, he knew that, but Chat Noir would have to be more careful or Adrien was going to potentially lose functionality in his arm forever. He heard something heavy hit the table and his eyes flew open. There was a glass of water and a small glass bowl with a few colored pills in it.

"You're going to have to sit up." She hummed, holding out her hand.

He took it, and she pulled him up to a sitting position, "Thanks, and sorry about this. I wasn't sure who else could help me."

She smiled, and Adrien felt himself relax, she held out the bowl and water to him, "I have had my fair share of nasty scrapes and close calls. I can handle rebandaging a shoulder."

He took the bowl and dumped all the pills into his mouth, and chased them down with water. He looked at her, her apron and shoes were gone. He smirked, "You are an ex-fashion designer, and now a baker. How have you gotten any experience in all of this?"

A pretty blush flooded her cheeks and she looked at the carpet, "Well, after school, and moving out and living on my own, I wanted to take a personal safety class. I ended up really liking the peace of mind that came with knowing I could be deadly." She laughed.

"Deadly, huh?" Adrien looked at her, setting the bowl and glass back on the table.

She stepped back, and bent her knees, dropping into a deep and sturdy stance. Without looking she knew that her feet were parallel to each other and that the invisible line between the heel of her back foot and the toes of her front foot made a perfectly straight line, pointing directly at her invisible foe. Her arms snapped to position at her sides, her fists tight and ready, "Deadly." She giggled, her rigid form loosening like water as she eased back into standing. She turned and looked at him, "I've become something of a martial arts adrenaline junkie. And my teacher isn't easy on me. I've broken things and split my cheeks and many other injuries."

Adrien looked at Marinette, impressed. All this time he'd known her and he never would have guessed. She was so kind and soft. He looked at the floor, thinking about his own personal safety classes. He had never really liked them, and had stopped going after his father insisted on sending him around with a bodyguard. However, maybe once his arm was healed, it wouldn't be a bad idea. He had a fleeting thought of Marinette flipping a grown man to the floor, and suppressed a chuckle.

"Well," he looked at her, "I guess I'm lucky to have you."

She ruffled his hair, making a teasing face, "I guess you are. You're also unlucky, we need to take off your bloody clothes."

Adrien frowned.

She laughed a light laugh, and transitioned from a playful friend to a devoted caretaker, making him feel oddly peaceful as she went quiet and focused on his aggravated injury. He watched her with a kind of worried enchantment, thinking about how many times she must have done this before. A strange pang of jealousy struck him as he thought that she might have helped another man with something like this. He silently chided himself, and tried not to move.

Marinette moved quietly around him and carefully took his button-up shirt off his good arm, trying very hard to ignore the lean build of his arm, and the muscles she could now feel but hadn't seen before. She felt her cheeks flush, and glared at the carpet, thinking of Tikki snickering at her somewhere in the house. She crumpled the ruined shirt, and threw it onto the coffee table. She purposely avoided making eye contact, and moved behind him to get to his other, injured arm. She again tried to ignore the lean build of his body, distracted by the muscles that stretched across his back. She reached out for the hem of his tank top and paused, feeling her face grow warm. She scolded herself and gently gripped the edge of the shirt, trying not to notice the warmth of his skin against her fingertips. She felt heat burn across her shoulders. Frustrated with herself, she pulled his tank top up quickly, and when she could no longer reach, he bent over so she could pull it off the rest of the way. She tossed it onto the other shirt and turned quickly to the kitchen hoping that the blush that was radiating off her cheeks wasn't as visible as it felt.

She walked with determination over to the kitchen and picked up the electric kettle, and a large plastic bowl. She glared at the counter for a moment. This was no time to get all flustered by him. He was bleeding and injured. She sighed, and felt herself relax. She wasn't going to do this again. She could stare and get embarrassed, but in the end, she might not be brave enough to really give her heart to him. But she could care about him, and care for him. She smiled sadly and turned around, bowl and kettle in hand.

Adrien sighed, this wasn't going to be pleasant.

Marinette walked back to the couch, set the bowl on the coffee table and slowly poured the hot water into it. It sent steam swirling up into the air. She rolled up her sleeves and tied back her hair in a messy bun, "Alright, I can't promise this won't hurt but I promise to be as gentle as I can."

"I'll take it." Adrien smiled.

She picked up a cloth, and dipped it into the water, then squeezed the water out of it. She gently pressed the cloth against his skin and he made a sound in his nose, "It both hurts and feels good."

Marinette sighed, "I'm sorry."

Adrien smiled at her, "Don't be."

They fell into a companionable silence as Marinette moved around him and cleaned him off and bandaged him back up again. She hadn't lied, she was very good at bandaging. It was secure without being tight, and it felt stable without pinching him anywhere. She brought him a clean shirt and helped him put it on, and then buckled his arm back into the sling.

He looked up at her, "Thank you, Marinette. I really appreciate it."

"It was nothing." She winked, "But you should probably get some rest." She grabbed a pillow from the other side of the couch and a blanket from the basket next to the couch. She fluffed the pillow and gestured for him to lay down.

He lowered himself to the couch again, surprised to find that he was moderately comfortable. She threw the blanket over him, and kneeled next to him. She seemed to stop and think for a moment, hesitating a little. She pushed his hair away from his forehead, and smiled, "I'm so glad you're okay. Maybe try to be a little more careful from here on out." She pressed her lips to his forehead, and smiled at him, "Get some rest, Adrien."

She stood up gracefully and walked out of sight. Adrien felt his heart pound. He hadn't been expecting that.

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Adrien drifted in and out of sleep, trying his best to stay still and stay comfortable. He would wake up and look around, seeing that no one was around, and that he was still on the couch and then drift back to sleep. However, as he was trying to convince himself that he didn't want to readjust his position he heard Marinette's voice from behind the couch. His ears perked up, and he listened intently.

"Alya," her voice was quiet, barely louder than a whisper, "I can't do this."

Adrien blinked, confused, but figured that she still assumed he was asleep. He closed his eyes and settled into the pillow. She didn't need to know that he was awake. Adrien heard the quiet, garbled sound of Alya's voice in the phone.

"Don't give me that," she sounded frantic, "I didn't even realize what was happening until it had already happened!"

Another string of garbled sounds.

"Al, I know that I had a crush on him in school. But that was just a crush! I was just a dumb teenager with a celebrity crush. I mean he was a star, and he was the heartthrob of the school. I was just another girl with a set of heart eyes for Adrien Agreste."

Adrien made a face, confused. Marinette had been so shy in school. She seemed like such a nice girl, and when she had been with her friends, she was always so animated and cheerful. He had desperately wanted to be her friend, but she was always so nervous and standoffish. He had assumed that she hated him, or at least didn't like him very much and was just trying to be nice. His face flushed, it had been the opposite.

Marinette sighed as Alya's voice came through the phone, "Girl, what does it matter? Maybe it was just a crush then, and that's over. That was almost a decade ago, and you were a kid. What matters is what do you think about him now?"

"I," Marinette paused, "I think that maybe I liked Adrien in school and never really got over him. I mean, I think that I forgot about him, and moved on. But now that he's here, living in my house and I'm remembering why I liked him in the first place, nothing to do with his fame, I think that I have feelings for him." Her voice squeaked, "Again."

Adrien's eyes flew open, and he slammed them shut again as Alya's voice got louder on the phone.

Marinette sputtered, and then almost whined, still whispering, "I didn't say that! I said I had feelings for him, I didn't say that I," She paused, "I didn't say that."

Marinette sighed again, while Alya's voice chattered away.

"He just looked so miserable, and he'd been alone all day, and I'm in this house with him and I kissed his forehead and now my heart and my face are on fire and I don't know what to do. That's why I called you, I need advice. I didn't call you so you could tease me, Al."

Adrien didn't have the brain power to listen to the rest of the conversation as he processed what was happening. Marinette had liked him when they were in school together. She liked him now. He had won her heart a long time ago, and not even known it. He smiled to himself, a little bit relieved to know that his feelings weren't unrequited. And with that realization, his heart swelled and he was filled with a warm, sweet feeling.

He really loved Marinette, and now he didn't have to be worried she didn't like him. He felt himself drifting back to sleep, and smiled again to himself. If this bit of information was all he got for getting shot, then getting shot was worth it.