Chapter Twenty
Marinette blinked slowly as the rest of her body woke up. She frowned in confusion at the pure white panels in front of her. Or, rather, above her, she realized as she got her bearings. She blinked again, and the lights came into focus, overly bright, making her squint and turn her head. She froze, seeing a tangle of red and brown next to her face. The tangle moved, and she saw Alya's face underneath, and breathed a sigh of relief. Alya yawned and blinked at her for a moment before recognition filled her eyes.
"Marinette!" She cried, throwing her arms around her friend and hugging her awkwardly. Marinette patted her back with one hand, then noticed the needle taped to the back of her hand, the monitor on her finger, the wires and tubes attached to her. Her gaze took in the rest of the room. It was a sterile, white hospital room. She was hooked up to several machines and an IV drip. She was under a paper-thin sheet and a warmer white blanket, and beneath that, she wore only a thin hospital gown. But she couldn't remember how she had gotten there. Or why.
Marinette tried to think her way through it, back-tracking. She remembered the party. She remembered wonderful, toe-curling sex with Adrien. Her brow creased as she remembered the Kwamii waking them up, and that something had been wrong. She remembered laying back down with Adrien. Then…She gasped, body going rigid as the memory of the light, the heat, the cold—as the mere memory of that agony trickled through her mind.
Alya pulled away, scared she had hurt her, then terrified as she saw Marinette's face screwed up in pain. She quickly reached over and hit the call button next to the bed, and a nurse rushed in seconds later. "She woke up, and she looked fine, and then she didn't." Alya explained quickly.
Marinette couldn't breathe. She gasped, her chest heaving. Waves of heat and cold rolled over her, her stomach lurching. Her eyes swam, tiny black and white flashes flitting across her vision, going a bit dark and fuzzy around the edges. It felt like someone had reached into her chest and wrapped a fist around her heart and was squeezing it. Her hands reached up and clawed at her chest, trying to ease the sensation. The nurse grabbed her hands and pulled them down. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I need you to calm down."
"I…can't…" Marinette gasped, eyes flicking to the stranger. Just over the woman's shoulder, she thought she saw that red light, and the panic grew in intensity.
"Breathe. Just breathe. You're safe here. You're alright." The nurse caught her attention again and looked into her eyes, holding her in place, grounding her. Marinette felt her body coming back down to earth, not floating in a sea of confusion and pain and fear. "Breathe. Count down with me, okay? Ten…nine…eight…"
"Seven…six…five…" With every number, Marinette felt the tension in her chest dissipate, her muscles unclenching, until she could breathe again.
"There we go." The nurse smiled at her, then checked her charts and the machines. "Welcome back, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Your family has been very worried about you."
"Welcome…back? Did I go somewhere?" She asked, mouth moving numbly.
"I'll let the doctor explain. She should be here any moment." Alya ducked out of the room. Marinette saw her take off running down the hall before the door shut, obscuring her view.
"What just happened? Like just now? What was that?" Marinette asked.
The nurse gave her a soft, understanding smile. "That was a panic attack. I know from experience, they can make you feel like you're dying. But you are just fine. You are safe here. Everything is going to be alright."
"Going to be? Is something not alright?" She asked apprehensively.
"Let's just let the doctor explain. She knows more than I do." The nurse patted her hand.
The door opened again, and a beautiful red-headed woman swept into the room. "Dr. McKnight." Marinette said, smiling at her. It was the same doctor she had seen since coming back from the dead.
"Well, Ms. Dupain-Cheng." She paused with one hand on her hip, wagging a finger at the girl in bed with a mock-scolding look. "You have had us all worried sick." The nurse excused herself and left. Marinette saw familiar faces crowded around to get a glimpse through the door before it closed again. They didn't enter.
"Where's Adrien?" She asked. "And Tikki?" She felt so alone, almost naked without either of them near her. She had grown completely dependent on them.
"Both are fine. Tikki and Plagg are both with the older gentleman who brought you here, calls himself Master Fu?" Marinette nodded, relaxing a bit back into the bed. "Adrien is in the next room over. He is recovering a bit faster than you are, but is still weak. I will let him see you in just a few minutes; he's been trying to beg and bribe the nurses to let him in here." She smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What's wrong with us?" Marinette asked. She braced herself for bad news. The doctor was wearing that 'bad news' kind of face.
"We are not…entirely sure." Dr. McKnight frowned at her. "This…Master Fu, he says he believes the cause is mystical. We cannot find a medical cause to argue with him."
"What happened, causation aside?" Marinette pushed herself up, struggling to sit up in the bed. The doctor placed a hand on her shoulder, then reached over and pushed a button on a remote attached to the bed. The back of the bed began to rise, letting her sit up.
"Well, what happened was the two of you apparently slept for three days straight then fell into a coma-like state. When your family could not wake you up, they called emergency services, and we rushed you here. You stayed in that state for another two days, completely unresponsive. Then, almost at the same moment, you both began convulsing, then screaming for each other. We tried to sedate you, but the medication would not take effect." She paused, as if unsure of how to continue.
"I…vaguely remember hearing something." Marinette nudged her along. "Someone yelled to clear the patient, and something weird was happening."
"You were conscious?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Agreste claims to have no memory past the night you fell asleep."
"I remember. I definitely remember." She began to feel that tightness in her chest again and swallowed.
"Hey, breathe," Dr. McKnight said, taking her hand. "You're safe." Marinette took a few deep breaths, relaxing again, and nodded.
"What happened? I mean, physically. I remember what was going on in my head. Although…'conscious' might not be the right word."
"Right. Well…I am not sure how to explain it exactly. Well, I know how to explain it. But I just can't wrap my head around it." She smiled apologetically at her patient. "Sorry, it's just…I'm a doctor. A medical doctor. I have trouble with things that don't have medical explanations." She shook her head. "Right. The convulsions stopped, and you both went completely rigid, every muscle in your bodies clenched down with dangerous force; I'm surprised neither of you seem to have suffered damage from it. Your eyes opened, and they were glowing. Yours were red, his green. The glow seemed to…leak out of them. Spread over your entire body. Then it turned white, and I mean white. Blinding white. Like a clear snowy field at sunrise, white. Then it was like someone set off an EMP in your rooms. It didn't go far, but it shut down all of the equipment in your rooms and the rooms next to, above, and below you. Thankfully, there was no damage done, and we were able to keep those rooms vacated while you were out."
Marinette paused, staring at her in shock and fear and horror. "How long…how long were we out?"
"After the EMP, the light faded out, and you both became unresponsive again, bodies going completely limp. You were back in that comatose state Adrien was out for seven days. You have been out for 10."
Marinette gaped, and the doctor nodded, eyebrow raised. "Yes, it is quite serious. All together, you have been unconscious for 15 days. We will need to run a few tests to see if we can find a cause; although we ran them on Mr. Agreste, and they came back with nothing. More than that, it looks like you have suffered no damage from being unconscious and bed-ridden for that time. Usually, you would already start to see a little muscle weakness, but both of you seem to, in fact, be in even better shape than when you were admitted. Which says a lot." Marinette raised an eyebrow, and the doctor gave her a calling-your-bullshit look. "You were both already in perfect condition, with bodies people have literally killed themselves trying to achieve." Marinette smiled and shrugged sheepishly. "I know you told me that you had your own exercise methods when I tried to convince you to meet with a physical therapist, but this level of fitness is insane."
"It's an art." She said, smiling, feeling more like herself. She frowned again. "Is Master Fu still here?"
Dr. McKnight shook her head. "He went home. I believe one of your friends was to summon him when you had woken up, so he is probably on his way." Marinette nodded. "Now. On a different note. I wanted to talk to you about something, and I wasn't sure if you wanted everyone to hear." Marinette looked at her curiously. "We ran some blood tests when you were first admitted. I'm not sure you are aware…Ms. Dupain-Cheng, you're pregnant."
"Describe it to me again, in detail." Tikki ordered, crossing her arms as she hovered in front of Marinette, who was sitting next to Adrien on their living room couch.
Marinette sighed and rubbed circles over her temples. The rest of the group—Master Fu, their trio of friends, and her parents—sat or stood around the room, while Plagg hovered near Tikki. "Fine. Do you want me to start from the very beginning?" Tikki nodded. "Alright. Like I said, one minute, I was myself, and then, suddenly, I wasn't. It was like I took a back seat. I didn't know what I was doing or saying. It wasn't even my voice talking, or Adrien's. He sounded different. And he called me some other name."
"Eliza." Adrien interjected. He sat with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on steepled fingers, staring into the fireplace.
"Eliza. And…did you call him Griffon?" Plagg asked, sounding a little nervous as he shared a glance with his partner.
"Just…just Griff, I think. Wait," Marinette's frown deepened. "Are they another pair that bonded to the Miraculous?" Plagg and Tikki both nodded solemnly. Marinette groaned, and her head hit the back of the couch. "You can't tell me this one was a sign of something." She accused.
"Why not? What exactly were you two doing when this happened?" Master Fu asked. Marinette turned a deep shade of red, and Adrien snapped out of his contemplative stance, blinking at him and pressing his lips tighter together. Their silence spoke volumes. Not that it had to.
"Obviously they were having hot passionate sex," Alya said, waving her hand. Marinette dropped her head in her hands.
"So the intercourse was the trigger." Master Fu seemed unfazed. Tom looked scandalized. Sabine grinned like the Cheshire Cat. Nino and Chloe fist-bumped with perfectly straight faces behind Alya.
"Not…exactly." Marinette said in a quiet, squeaky voice. They did need to be completely precise with their information, if they were to receive any actual aid. "It wasn't the…sex, itself. It was the, uh…the climax." She couldn't meet anyone's eyes.
Master Fu nodded, placing a finger on his chin in thought. "Which pair were this Eliza and Griffon? How did they perish?"
Plagg flinched. "Horribly." He answered.
Tikki took his hand (paw?) and gave him a sad look. "Eliza, Elizabeth, was…well, she was a pirate. Griffon was a naval officer. They had an affair ongoing for almost a decade while they were bonded. She became a Robin Hood-type character in the Caribbean, stealing from the more vicious fleets to give to those small towns and islands that needed the materials, while also hoarding her own stash of precious gold. Griffon had been sent to chase her down and put an end to her, but once he saw what she was doing, joined her on her crusade, as a spy within the royal navy. That is, until they were caught." Tikki's eyes held depths of pain and sorrow for her lost charge.
Plagg took over the tale. "They became aware of another Miraculous Holder. This one was unlike them, and was using their powers for dark purposes. They were so caught up in each other, though, and in playing Robin Hood, that they weren't paying close enough attention. When the Holder grew quiet, they were naïve enough to believe themselves free and clear. They planned to rendezvous on an uncharted island—a sandbar, really, with just a couple of trees—for one of their trysts. They both made it to the island, when things came out of the sand. Warriors. They were stolen and put into the brigg on a different ship, a cursed ship. They were in the furthest cells from each other, and they were tortured. Their Miraculous were stolen so that we couldn't help, but kept close so that we had to watch. The only times they were ever taken above deck was to watch as the captain, the Miraculous Holder, destroyed a ship, burning alive its crew and passengers."
"Sometimes they would be put in cells right across from each other. If they reached out as far as they could, they could almost touch. Almost," Tikki's voice was shaking. "Then, one night, they came across Eliza's old ship and crew. The two were taken above deck, and watched them load the cannon. Eliza and Griffon broke free from their captives and threw those manning the guns overboard. But they were starved and beaten bloody and weak from months of captivity. They didn't stand a chance. So, instead, they came together and shared a final kiss. The first sword struck them through the stomach, right through both of them. They began to glow. Plagg and I knew what was going on; we had seen it before. It didn't make it any easier. Their power exploded. That ship, Eliza's old ship, every member of both crews—all gone in an instant of fire and destruction." The room was silent.
"Well, that was…a terrifying image." Marinette said, eyes wide. "But, what does that have to do with us? What was it a sign of?"
"The dangers of codependency?" Alya said with a shrug.
"The need for more pirates in the world." Nino said, nodding.
"Don't get cocky?" Chloe piped up.
"It means," Master Fu spoke over them. "For you two not to get too caught up in each other that you miss what is happening around you."
Marinette's brow creased in confusion. "Wait, what is happening around us?"
"I do not think it was necessarily that specific." Master Fu said, maybe a little too quickly. "Perhaps it is a more general warning. Like a fortune cookie." Tikki and Plagg nodded enthusiastically, yet remained quiet.
"And what does any of that have to do with us being unconscious for 2 freaking weeks? And the rest of it?" Marinette raked a hand through her hair, still damp from her shower.
"I don't know that it is entirely related. Perhaps it was just triggered at the same time." Tikki said, swinging back and forth in the air, side to side, like a real bug hovering. "The rest…you said there was a red light, and it spoke to you?"
"Mine was green." Adrien said quietly. "That was real?"
Marinette raised an eyebrow. "Apparently. I thought you said you didn't remember anything."
"I thought it was a fever dream." He raised his hands in surrender. "But I did see that light. It said "We are one." Or something like that. And then it…" His breath caught, then picked up speed.
"Stay with me, minou," Marinette murmured, taking his hand. She returned her attention to their Kwamii. "It was like we were thrown into a fire, melted, then put in a vat of liquid nitrogen until we froze so hard we broke into pieces."
"But also not," Adrien added, before they could break in. "I don't know how to…it was like…like something was being poured into me, mixed into everything that makes me up."
"Like you were several people, and also still you, and also no one?" Tikki asked hesitantly.
"Kind of, yeah. How'd you know?" Marinette asked her.
"Because…we went through that, too." Tikki answered, looking at Plagg. "But I don't believe any other of our charges have. That was you fully bonding to the Miraculous, and the Miraculous accepting you."
"Like…fully fully?" Alya asked hesitantly, straightening. "Like, the danger has passed, fully?"
"In a way." Master Fu answered, folding his hands in front of his chest and sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Adrien and Marinette will not have to suffer through the uncertainty anymore. There is a very, very small chance that either will let their power consume them as have the others who were partially bonded. And, when they die, it will not be the explosive conclusion that their predecessors met; they will simply merge into the Miraculous itself as the Kwami once did."
"But…?" Marinette prompted.
"But," Master Fu nodded, frowning slightly. "You have become one with a sentient power. The raw energy that fuels the Miraculous is now in you, a part of you both. The changes we described previously will begin to appear more quickly. You will have more control over the charm and your gifts. You may even develop your own personal gifts. You will not be normal again."
Marinette blinked at him, a shred of fear growing in her mind. She resisted the urge to rub her stomach, thinking of the other news that the doctor had shared, and how the ordeal may have affected their…other situation. "What…" She paused, thinking carefully over her question. "What does that mean for our futures?"
Master Fu turned to her and nodded. "As I said, you have that power inside of you. You will still be able to live human lives, perhaps not ever normal lives given the fame of Ladybug and Chat Noir."
"But what about…the two of us have always wanted children." Marinette said finally.
"Ah," Master Fu looked up at the ceiling in contemplation. "To be honest…no one knows exactly what to expect. It has never happened before. I am sorry that I can give no further advice on the subject."
Adrien took her hand and kissed her knuckles, and she leaned into him, burying her face in his shoulder. "We'll figure it out, bugaboo." He said as he rubbed her back, a worried look on his face. He turned to Plagg. "Hey, you never mentioned how much that would hurt," he accused.
Plagg shrugged. "We weren't sure it would even happen. If we told you, it might 'a scared you away." Adrien shrugged as if to say, 'fair enough.'
"Can we just…be alone for a bit?" Marinette asked, looking up at the rest of their family in the room. "Thank you all so much for being there for us. We can't tell you how much that means. But, I think we need a little time to process everything."
"Of course," Sabine said, walking up and hugging both of them, Tom leaning over her shoulder to kiss the top of Marinette's head, ruffling Adrien's hair. "You just call if you need anything, okay?"
"Same here, girl. You know I'm only a ring away," Alya said, stepping up to hug them as Tom and Sabine left for the door. "Nino and I will try to keep the press off of your doorstep. We can talk later about what we want to tell people about what happened." Marinette nodded, wincing. She hadn't even begun to think about that.
Master Fu bowed and left wordlessly, and Tikki and Plagg went into their nest in the other room. Finally, they were alone.
"Come on, Milady," Adrien said as he turned and lifted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style up the stairs. He was amazed he could; he had none of the pins and needles or soreness or numbness he'd had when they had first woken up. "I know what you need." Marinette didn't say a single word, just stared into space, her mind completely numb to everything but her whirling thoughts. Adrien ran a hot, steamy bath and dropped a couple of bath bombs into the water, before he gently pulled off her sweatpants and t-shirt and helped her into the tub, sitting behind her.
Marinette blinked, coming back to reality as she felt the sweet water lapping against her and Adrien's hands massaging her shoulders. She sighed, feeling the tension leave her muscles. "Thank you," She said after several minutes. He was right; she had needed this.
"Any time, bug." He pulled her hair to one side and kissed her neck. His hands slid down, his arms wrapping around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. Marinette relaxed back against him as they felt the water cooling slowly around them.
"I'm scared, Adrien," She whispered at last. He rubbed her stomach comfortingly.
"You don't have to be scared, Mari. We'll figure it all out." Marinette smiled lightly at the genuine confidence and hope in his voice. "We've got all the time in the word to figure it out." Her smile fell.
"We don't though." Her voice was quiet, but it echoed in the room.
"What do you mean?" Adrien asked, stilling.
"We have to figure it out now. As in, today. Right now." She answered firmly.
"Why? What's the rush?"
Marinette paused and took a deep breath. Then, she took his hands and very deliberately placed them over her stomach. "Because, minou, you and I are expecting a kitten."
She felt him tense behind her in shock, felt time slow, could almost hear the ticking of the clock in their bedroom. "You're…" He breathed, turning her face to look at him. Marinette bit her lip and nodded, a smile slowly spreading across her face as she saw the unfiltered joy in his eyes. Adrien laughed and kissed her lips hard, turning her in his arms, water sloshing out of the tub. He picked her up, wrapping her legs around his waist, and carried her back into their bedroom, not bothering to dry them off before he sat down on the edge of the bed.
Marinette pulled away, laughing. "You're not scared?" She asked.
"Hey," He brushed the damp hair out of her face. "If anyone can figure this whole mess out, it's you and your brilliant mind. We'll get through this, you, me, and our little one. Our little family." Adrien captured her lips again, the happiness overtaking him.
Marinette sighed into his kiss with relief and a growing hunger. She pushed him back onto the bed, placing her hands on his chest. His hands slid to her thighs as she ground her hips. Her lips moved down his neck, and he let out a groan.
Suddenly, Marinette froze, then lifted her head, a wary look in her eyes. "You don't think it'll happen again, do you?" She asked. "Now that we're apparently fully bonded with the Miraculous?"
Adrien realized instantly what she was talking about: would they be overtaken by their past incarnations at the height of their pleasure again? "I think…that we will just have to wait to find out, Milady. We're in uncharted waters here."
Marinette smiled. "Well then, Captain Noir, shall we set sail?" She ran the tip of her tongue feather-light from his collar bone to just under his ear.
Adrien's head fell back, and he shuddered under her before he rolled over faster than she could follow, pinning her beneath his body. She giggled as he nipped at her breast. "Just waiting for our heading," He purred.
Marinette reached between them, grasping his length in her hands. Adrien gasped and rested his forehead on her chest as she stroked him twice before lining him up exactly where she wanted him. "There's our heading. Straight ahead." She answered.
Adrien barked a laugh, then pushed himself up, bracing himself on one forearm, his free hand gripping her waist, as he thrust himself forward into her, making her cry out, her hands clutching at his muscled back. All play was forgotten as they lost themselves in each other's touch. Their bodies finally caught up to the fact that they hadn't moved together in weeks, between three weeks of unconsciousness and three days of observation at the hospital. Marinette and Adrien clung to each other desperately, trying to get impossibly closer, trying to become one again. And this time, blissfully, when they reached that precipice, they fell over it one hundred percent themselves, feeling every bit of the heat and the passion between them.
They collapsed back on the bed panting for air, pulling the blanket up over them and laughing. "You're right." Marinette said as she slid into his arms, wrapping her arm over his stomach and resting her head on his chest. He hummed in question, raising an eyebrow at her. "You knew exactly what I needed." She kissed his chest, snuggling into him.
Adrien laughed and wrapped both arms around her, kissing the top of her head as they drifted off into a natural, easy sleep, feeling the world righting itself at last.