It was dark.

Dark, and yet there was a warmth encompassing her every limb. It was quiet, aside from the sound of water somewhere in the distance. Was she at the beach? The warmth felt like she was floating, floating in a pool of water with the sun heating her face. It was peaceful. Nothing hurt, there was no fear, only warmth. Marinette wanted to fall into it, embrace it whole heartedly. She took a deep breath, ready for the water to swallow her whole when she heard a voice.

It was Adrien, begging her to wake up. Why would Adrien be crying? Why would he want to take her away from the warm, dark paradise she was in.

"I love you Marinette. Please."

And suddenly, there was light.

Marinette blinked rapidly, eyes squinted from the sudden intake of the fluorescence. There was a steady beeping which informed her she was most likely in a hospital. She tried to sit up, but her body was wrapped in several places, she decided it was better to not move.

The oxygen mask in her nose tickled, but she was thankful for the extra help in taking the sweet air. The door opened and she turned her head slowly, meeting the eyes of her mother. She was carrying a coffee cup in one hand before she realized Marinette was awake. The cup crashed to the floor and her mother practically flew to her. She winced at the sudden embrace, a dull ache throbbing throughout her entire being. She weakly embraced her mother, feeling tears prick at her eyes.

"Oh Marinette. We were so worried. I can't believe it! I love you so much." She felt another hand rest on her head, and looked up to see her father. He was smiling down at her, tears leaking down his cheeks, but with the proudest look on his face. She gently patted her moms back, opening her mouth to speak. Her voice was barely there.

"-nks m-m."

"Oh Tom, water. Get her some water." Within moments there was a cup in her hand and her father helped her sit up. He removed the mask gently and she guzzled it down, gasping for air when she was done.

"Thanks." She rasped, surprised by how weak her voice still was.

"Of course. How are you feeling?" Her father asked, still petting her head.

"M'ok."

"How could you not tell us!" Her mother fretted looking at her. Marinette wanted to cry. Obviously they knew. Why else would she be here?

"I'm sorry. I couldn't, it'd put you in danger."

"But you were in danger!"

"Sabine."

"Sorry, sorry."

"We're incredibly proud of you Marinette. You are so strong and selfless. You saved everyone, and I am so proud to call you our daughter."

"Thanks guys."

A knock at the door had them both turning before Sabine smiled at Marinette weakly. "We'll be back, someone else has been waiting patiently for you to wake up." She watched her mother open the door, allowing Adrien to roll in. He was sitting in a wheelchair, which made sense. The last time Marinette had seen him, his leg was bent and his arm was shredded. He moved closer to her, pausing at the side of her bed waiting for the door to shut. He pushed himself up, and moved slowly, maneuvering himself to sit on her bed.

"Hi Kitty." Marinette whispered, hoping Adrien could still hear her. He stared at her, his eyes shaking. She watched tears pour down his cheeks and she opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head.

"How...how could you?"

There was a lot that statement could be referring to. "I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough." Adrien choked out, his shoulders shaking. "Sorry is not good enough."

"I know. I know."

"No. No! You don't know!" She recoiled, watching him sob into his hands. "Y-You were gone for over a week Marinette!" she froze, staring at him. A whole week? "They didn't think you were coming back! Something about the physical strain your organs and body had gone through. Three miraculous? You're such an idiot! Th-they were starting to talk to us about 'our options'! You're stupid! And reckless, and-" Marinette froze as Adrien pressed their lips together. She let her eyes flutter closed, and kissed him back.

When he finally pulled back he dropped his head on her shoulder, still shaking slightly. "I begged you to wake up the entire ride to the hospital.I visited you every chance I could. You were still, so...weak." He cried softly. "I was so scared I was never going to see you again and it would've been my fault."

"It's not your fault." she whispered, patting his back.

"It is. I didn't tell you about my father. I didn't tell you about everything and you almost died because of it."

"Didn't tell you... I was Ladybug. We're even." Adrien shook his head, grabbing her hands.

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize kitty." She gently wiped his tears. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Adrien's eyes grew darker, and he looked away.

"My father is in jail. Locked away like he deserves. He was ranting and raving about my mother still being in the house so there's a search of my home going on and it's been going on for the entire time. I think he's crazy." Adrien whispered. "But everyone is ok. The only major injury was you, Luka and me. Luka's got a pretty nasty wound on his shoulder but it's healing well. The damaged miraculous took a toll on his body as well but he was up in about two days. Alya and Nino, well, they're both pretty banged up but nothing serious."

"And the miracle box?"

"Alix still has it. She's got it hidden so don't worry about that. Everything is alright, Tikki fixed the damage back herself. She even managed to repair the miraculous in the process. It wore her out pretty badly though."

"Where is she? Is she ok?"

"She's also fine. She and Plagg have been catching up a lot recently." That made her smile, she was happy for the two of them. "And Kagami, she feels really bad about all of this. She blames herself for your injuries."

"It's not her fault."

"I know, and I think deep down she knows as well. It'll just take time."

"Well." She paused, smiling at him. "I'm glad everyone's ok. How're you?"

"I'm fine. Broken femur, some internal bleeding, bunch of stitches. The usual."

"Oh hush. Are you still in a lot of pain?"

"Occasionally." He shrugged. "I'm on bed rest and taking a lot of medications. I'll be fine."

"So...what are you doing now? Where are you staying?"

"Actually? I've been staying at your place. Your parents made a little spot for me on the first floor, I can't really make it up to your room without help. It's nice though, small, but nice. Your mom even set up a little TV and bed in the spare storage room. It's more homey than my home ever felt. She even brings me meals in bed."

"I'm really sorry Adrien." Marinette whispered after a moment of silence, gripping his hand tightly.

"Nah. Don't be. It was inevitable. He's where he belongs, and hopefully he'll get the help he needs mentally to understand why what he did was all wrong." Another knock at the door and Marinette perked up as Luka peeked in.

"Hey, your mom told me you were awake.I'm not interrupting am I? " He asked, carefully.

"No, not at all. Come in." Adrien spoke. Luka approached slowly. "Here, help me into my chair. I'll let you guys talk too. I need to get something to eat anyway." Luka helped Adrien sit down before moving to open the door for him. Then it was just the two of them.

"How's your arm?" Marinette whispered looking up at him.

"It's good. I'm good."

"You took that hit for me." Marinette said, clenching her fists. "You're the reason any of this worked out. You didn't ask questions, you didn't falter. You were brave and a real hero. You were my hero Luka. I can never thank you enough."

"You still ended up in here though."

"But everything's ok now. I'm ok now." It was silent after that. Luka stared at the wall, obviously thinking very hard about something.

"So you're ladybug huh?"

"I am."

"Well that explains a lot I guess. How distant you were and the secrets. It's ok though, I completely get it. Not to mention, Adrien's Chat and you're ladybug. You two really are meant for each other."

"I'm sorry luka."

"Hey, we talked about it already. No need for apologies, I'm just happy for you. And happy you're ok." He gently rested his hand on her arm.

"Thank you. I'm really glad we're still friends."

"Me too. I'm also glad there's no more secrets between us."

"Yeah. It's like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulder. But, I do wonder though because most of us know who everyone is, what that means for our hero personas. Do we go on, keep Paris safe from minimal crime or do we retire the bug because Hawkmoth is gone."

"I think for now, all you need to worry about is getting better." He stood up pressing a kiss to her forehead. It was a soft but meaningful gesture and she felt herself tearing up. "I'm really proud of you Marinette."

She watched him leave and she sank into the hospital bed. Her leg felt as though it were in a cast and she had several tubes connecting her arms to various machines and drips.

It was really over then. She could relax. The nurse came in, running some tests and detaching her from some of the machines. They allowed her to eat something which sat like a rock in her gut. She would be in the hospital for about another week while her body recovered. They didn't think she was strong enough to leave just yet. She didn't mind though. It gave her time to herself, time to come to terms with everything that had happened.

She no longer needed to be Ladybug. Nothing was keeping her tied to her super hero persona. She had wished for so long to not have to be Ladybug and yet, the reality of it happening filled her with so much sorrow.

Maybe Paris was ready to let go of Ladybug, but Marinette was not. Ladybug had become a part of her. Even if she hadn't appreciated the extra stress and responsibility at the time, Ladybug had made Marinette who she was today. There was no Marinette without Ladybug, just like there was no Ladybug without Marinette. They were intertwined, a bond that infinitely sealed the two sides of her. She would hold on, even if it was not to fight but only to go on nightly patrols, she would hold on.