As awareness slipped back into his mind, Adrien reached out instinctively. Blinking, he pulled back his hand, confused to find only an empty space where Marinette had been.
"Not that one, Tikki." A hushed voice echoed through the darkness from the other side of the room.
A relieved sigh escaped him, anxious tension ebbing away from his muscles as the familiar voice quelled his sleepy mind; at least she was still here...
"How on Earth does he even do this with claws…?"
Adrien's eyes shot open at that. Claws?
"Carefully, I'd imagine," Tikki sighed mournfully, before diving back into the tiny box on Marinette's desk.
His grip on the cushion tightened when he saw those glowing green eyes blinking in the dark—the very same ones he usually spotted in the mirror.
Well, spotted wasn't the right word…
His mind was molasses slow, creeping forward to tie the disparate threads together. Why was she borrowing Plagg's form…?
"They're getting stuck on the tape…" Marinette murmured, her voice a bit deeper, richer in the dark. "Ugh…"
What tape…? Rubbing his eyes, Adrien sat up, his brows furrowing as he peered across the moonlit room. "What's going on?"
She flinched, straightening over the remains of the first aid kit.
Glowing, piercing green eyes shot up to meet his.
"Marinette?" he murmured, leaping up from the chaise, stumbling towards her in the darkness. "What happened?"
She smiled up at him softly, as his fingertips slipped into the neat braid. "Nothing you need to worry about…"
His eyes searched hers, feeling utterly blind in the dark. He gently pressed his palms against her cheeks, cupping her face.
LadyNoire winced, hissing sharply. "Yeouch."
Tikki scrambled, diving back down into the first aid kit… "You've got to cover that cut, Marinette."
"What cut?" His eyes struggled to focus in the moonlight, his hands shifting to hover just above the marred skin before settling on her shoulders. "What happened to your face? Are you okay, Marinette?"
She exhaled sharply. Even without his sensitive ears—even without the familiar cool weight on his finger—he felt that gasp in his bones.
"It's nothing, really." Stubbornly, she pressed the gauze pad to her face. "I will be fine…"
He shook his head. "Marinette? How did this—"
Those glowing green eyes pointedly shifted away from his gaze, fidgeting with the tape still sticking to her claws.
"Marinette," Adrien narrowed his eyes, blowing out a ragged breath. "You went over to my house, didn't you?"
Her heavy sigh splintered the darkness.
Slamming his eyes shut, Adrien took a half step backwards. "I knew I shouldn't have told Plagg—"
"You can't blame Plagg, Adrien. You knew I wasn't going to let him keep your secrets… not anymore." She blinked at him, slowly—devastatingly. Then, she leaned in to fill the chasm of space that had been opening up between them. "Not when it is hurting you, Minou…"
"You think I'd want you to get hurt in my place instead?" He shook his head, incredulous. "That's the last thing I'd ever want."
LadyNoire was quiet, her smile softening gently as she pressed her forehead to his. "I know."
His heart felt like a vise in his chest, his fingers rubbing comforting circles across her shoulders. He should have never thought to have kept her in the dark.
"Who?" He breathed, finally.
"Hm?"
"Who did this?"
LadyNoire's eyes dipped away in the darkness. "Mayura."
Frantic, he scrambled for her desk… grasping around for the smaller box. If she was wearing Plagg right now, then she must have left them somewhere safe.
"She'll be looking for Chat Noir…"
"You don't know that. Mayura—she's smarter than that. Scary smart." He frowned, quickly drawing the lines to the risk. His gaze tripped around the room, furiously hoping for even a scrap of inspiration she so often possessed, growing more desperate to find that previous box by the second.
LadyNoire chuckled darkly. "And you've just had to hide it all, sneaking under their noses all along. It's a miracle you weren't caught earlier."
There. Adrien grinned, watching as her eyes darted, instinctively to the drawer of her desk.
As she spun on her heel, pacing the floor, he practically dove towards it.
"I can't let you go back there unprotected." She vowed. "I won't…"
Without hesitation, he pulled the box open, palming the earrings. "I can't take that chance, Marinette. Not with your safety."
Her hand slipped up, tracing his jaw line ever so carefully with her claws as he slid the earrings into place.
He closed his eyes, trusting her claws not to prick his skin as he leaned gently against her hands—hands that already carried far too much burden. "You're much too precious to me…"
The harder edges of LadyNoire's eyes softened, pupils slitting wide.
"Tikki," he called out, eyes never breaking with his partner. "Spots on."
The rush of red light had hardly even fallen before his hands drew her closer, pressing sweet, reverent kisses across her face.
She was amazing.
Mister Bug inhaled deeply, pressing his lips to her forehead, brushing away the dusky bangs. Imbuing his every touch with the depth of his feelings for her.
No one else had protected him as she did.
He chased down her mask, lips grazing the cherubic, wrinkled up tip of her nose.
She had walked right into the fire for him…
But she'd been burned.
His mouth settled beside the airy brush of freckles dusting her cheek, and his eyes finally slid open. Watching… waiting… pleading for the skin to heal.
He was treating her as if she were made of glass. And, though he knew exactly how much abuse Plagg could take, he doesn't want that—not for her.
He loved her too much for that.
Mister Bug's eyes slid closed—this had to be his fault. He wasn't enough. He wasn't powerful enough to help her to heal. He wasn't enough to protect her.
He was supposed to be her shield, darn it! Gritting his teeth together, he pulled away. "It isn't working..."
Repentant, his gloved fingers slipped her long hair loose on the braid.
"Don't worry, Minou." Her hands fell lightly atop his shoulders… her lips barely catching the corner of his as she pressed up onto her tiptoes.
Her lips curved upwards, and she pulled him back over onto the chaise. He was helpless to do much else but follow her lead—anywhere it might take them.
She tugged him down, beside her on the cushions. "A little bug once told me that practice makes purrfect."
His eyes widened. The slightly irreverent mischief and lightness of her tone was going a long way to ease the brunt of the weight off his shoulders.
Silently, Adrien renewed his own promise to protect her. He always had, and he always would—no matter what. "You do what you do best. Plan." He gulped, hugging her more tightly. "I'll… figure this out. Somehow."
"I know you will," she purred, happily. She nuzzled her head against his chest as he pulled her closer into his arms on the chaise.
Breathless, his lips met hers desperately. He poured his every hope, every feeling, every breath for her into that fervent touch.
LadyNoire smiled against his lips, returning his kiss with equal measure.
It might never be safe for him to go to the home he'd known again.
But then again, maybe he wouldn't have to.
Here—in her arms—he would have all the home he ever needed.
