Current One-Shot: Fight Like This. Hawkmoth may have been defeated, but Paris is ill equipped to deal with the result. Marinette's fight isn't over, this time without the suit to help. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and one determined Kim Le Chien isn't ready to see his friend give up.

I don't have much to say to introduce this story. I tried something new and kinda weird, so let me know how you feel about it when you finish reading this one-shot. I'm definitely not super proud of it, but I put in a lot of time so I decided to post it anyways. Who knows? Maybe one of you will really like it. Sorry for disappearing again! School has been really rough this year alongside mental heath, and I also have been doing some planning to write my own original novel. Still, I hope to be updating a bit more consistently from now on! This time let's hope nothing messes that up!

Marinette's Point of View

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

My hands shake, and I dig my fingers into my palms. I'm not sure what I hope that action will accomplish. Do I think it'll calm my anger, or at least stop the shaking?

Not really, but it at least grounds me to the here and now.

I stare down at my diary, rereading the last sentence I wrote in it. How can someone lose everything amidst their biggest victory?

That thought haunted me. It was as if it was burned into my brain, with a hold so tight that I'd never be free of it. Thanks to it, I was a prisoner in my own mind.

And thanks to Hawkmoth, practically a prisoner in my own body.

The fight was brutal. I don't think either of us were prepared for the battle we eneed up having to face. If I'd had to do it without Chat, I know I wouldn't have won. Even with his help, we still had to call in all three of our temporary heroes for the showdown. Hawkmoth was stronger than any of us had expected, and he'd been prepared.

Even worse, though we won, we didn't get the Miraculous back to Master Fu. During the fight, it disappeared, and if Hawkmoth was to be believed, he had no idea where it went. His panic over its disappearance, even as he was being arrested, certainly seemed genuine.

Hawkmoth. The identity of the man who had tormented Paris for over two years wasn't what any of us expected. No one would have ever guessed that Gabriel Agreste was the one behind the mask. The previously akumatized, detached, confident owner of Gabriel was the public enemy. It shattered a lot of people's perceptions.

Especially Chat's, who practically crumbled when the man detransformed.

It was when he detransformed that things really went awry, and not just because of his missing Miraculous. He'd taken the opportunity to use our horrified shock to his advantage. I wasn't prepared for his attack till too late, and by the time I realized he was barreling towards me with the desperation of a mad man, I couldn't fend him off properly with my yoyo. Instead, I was forced to frantically trying to push him away from me and my earrings, taking a step back for each step he took forward.

He'd grabbed my yoyo, clinging on to it but not exterminate enough pressure to actually do anything to keep me in place. The punch I hit him with in the jaw was enough to force everyone back into the action, but not before he was able to slap me, hard enough that I was sent stumbling away.

If it wasn't for his butterflies still apparently feeling some sort of fidelity towards him, perhaps the situation could have been rectified then and there, or at least kept from getting worse. But as Chat took Hawkmoth on in a fit of rage, the butterflies kept Carapace, Rena Rouge, and Queen Bee at bay.

They were distractions, so no one would notice as I careened backwards and out the previously smashed window. Perhaps that was Gabriel's goal, or maybe it was simply an unfortunate series of events, but either way everything managed to culminate into the terror that was freefalling. It shouldn't have been so scary; after all, I jumped from rooftop to rooftop all the time. But there's something different about falling when you know you have something secure to help you not splatter all over the ground, something you've had practice with, versus the vomit-inducing ride down that I was now facing.

Despite my tugging on the yoyo, I couldn't bring the loop attached back to me. My only guess was that Gabriel still had it encased in his hands, keeping my trusted tool from being able to pull me back up. The thing I'd grown so reliant on was made useless, and I was useless without it.

Wrapping my yoyo around my waist in the futile hope that it would somehow save me, I fully expected to die.

Somewhere above me, someone shouted, "Ladybug!" I think it was Queen Bee, though the shock of the moment has left me unsure as to whether or not that's right. My eyes scrunched tight, and I forced myself to bite back tears. Perhaps this was just a sacrifice that had to be made. There are always losses and casualties in battles.

Maybe I was just this one's.

But fate declared otherwise. Suddenly, there was something yanking on the yoyo, forcing it to halt in its descent. The sharp stop was more than startling; it hurt. I heard a snap, and couldn't contain my scream, though at the time I wasn't sure if it was one of shock or pain. But I managed to open my eyes, and suddenly there was Chat and a detransformed Chloe, both clinging and sobbing as Carapace and Rena Rouge held a violently jerking Gabriel down. They all kept talking, trying to reassure me that everything was going to be alright, but I didn't understand.

At some point, the setting melted into a hospital room. According to my doctors, that was due to the overwhelming nature of the trauma that had just occurred, as well as the stress it had caused me both physically and mentally. Though they never stayed long enough to assure me that I hadn't imagined their visit, I recall different faces from my hazy memories of those first few days: Alya's, Chloe's, Nino's, and Adrien's were the most distinct. While I couldn't recall necessarily seeing their faces, my parents having been there was a given, and though I can't say for certain, I'm almost positive I can recall seeing my grandma's face as well as my classmate's, and even Tikki's.

When I finally came fully too, I was detransformed and there were piles upon piles of Get Well Soon cards and gifts. I'd let myself believe for just a moment that they weren't what I thought they were, but in the end I forced myself to acknowledge the fact that the secret was out: Paris knew I was Ladybug.

There was no other reasonable explanation as to why so many cards had Ladybug and ladybugs drawn on them.

I tried to stand, maybe to read one of the cards or to see if anyone was around. It was the first time in who knows how long that I was fully awake and aware, the first time I can remember at least. I don't remember my reason for standing beyond just feeling as if I needed to; to be honest, it didn't even matter.

All that mattered in that moment was that I tried to stand up - and couldn't.

I remember a horrible realization washing over me: I couldn't feel my legs. And I began to panic, breath quickening and tears pricking at my eyes as I leaned forward. Where were they? Reaching my hand out, I was able to confirm that my legs were there. Upon that confirmation, I tried again to stand, to kick, heck, to even move a toe. There was nothing.

Then I shoved them. Poked them. Smacked them. I couldn't feel anything. I don't know when in the process I began to scream and sob, but it was happening. I was shaking, practically clawing at my legs to try and get some sort of reaction from them. At some point, my parents ran in, with my three closest friends and Chloe close behind. They were panicked and the room grew so loud, but I couldn't hear anything they said.

All I knew was that my legs weren't working.

My dad and Nino grabbed my arms, pinning me down as I violently thrashed about and screamed, "What happened to my legs?"

Their faces showed devastation. They were startled. Horrified. This reaction had, apparently, not been expected. I don't even know if they knew anything was wrong with my legs.

Doctors rushed in. Sedated me. I remembered clutching my father's arm and sobbing as I kept repeating my question. "Papa, what happened to my legs?"

The haze started up again. I remember the same faces swirling around in my memories, along with disjointed phrases. I love you and Hang in there, Mari are two I heard often. But there are others that stick out.

Please come back to me.

If only I'd known...

Why her?

Master, are you sure your plan is best? It could completely backfire. Look how hurt she is. Losing anything else could devastate her...

You're going to be okay.

Marinette, I don't know if you can hear me...but I'm here for you. I, I never would have guessed...but it makes sense. Oh gosh, my lady, I failed you. I'm so sorry.

The next time I finally came to, I didn't scream. I didn't try to stand either. I just sat and cried, hands shaking as I continued to feel my legs, to try and comprehend what had happened to me.

Everyone visited. Even though my mind was clearer this time, the faces still all managed to blur together. There were just too many people stopping by. When I did get time to myself, I talked to Tikki. She tried desperately to comfort me, but there wasn't much she could say.

I never threw my Lucky Charm, never called for the Miraculous Cure. There was no mistaking it: there would be no curing this.

We'd defeated Hawkmoth, and the cost was the use of my legs.

My parents had to help me practically every time I had to move around the house. I couldn't go up the stairs in the wheelchair they got me, and we couldn't afford to move. My parents had tried to say we were going to, but I wouldn't let them. This was their business as well as our home. I wasn't going to ruin that for them.

So instead I need help to get to any floor in our house, and I can't get up to my balcony anymore. It's miserable.

I thought there might have still been a way, a way for me to still be able to walk. I called Tikki out the first moment we were alone, despite everyone knowing who I was. I had to try, to see if it worked. I told myself it was because Paris still needed me...but I knew it was more selfish than that. I wanted to walk again. That was the real reason I was trying so hard to transform.

Whether or not I could have resisted the urge to use my Miraculous selfishly, however, would never be known; it did nothing to help my legs. I still couldn't walk.

When Master Fu visited, requesting my Miraculous back, I couldn't even argue. I let him take my earrings and watched him walk away. It was hard to read his emotions. He seemed disappointed; it might have been about the situation, but I could 't help and feel like the disappointment was directed at me. That I had somehow failed him. It was devastating, yet I somehow managed not to crack till after he was gone.

I couldn't even imagine how I'd feel when a new Ladybug made an appearance. After all, Mayura was still out there. The Miraculous wielders needed a Ladybug on the team...and I couldn't be that anymore. A paralyzed Ladybug was useless in a fight. I would be a weak link, a chip in the armor.

I was worthless now. Without the earrings, I was nothing. I wasn't saving the city anymore, what everyone now knew I did. I couldn't do something that had encompassed my life for the past few years. It was all over.

Chat Noir still visited me. Master Fu apparently hadn't told him about needing to choose a new Ladybug, which meant there was no new Ladybug, at least not one that had chosen to reveal herself; I don't know why he wouldn't tell Chat yet, let alone refuse to give the earrings out again. Still, perhaos he had yet to deem it necessary. After all, Mayura has yet to dare and make another appearance. Perhaps she too was stunned by Hawkmoth's defeat, needing to sort herself out in order to mount a proper attack.

Either way, there was not a new Ladybug yet, and I wasn't going to be the one to tell Chat that there would be. So instead he visited me and we would sit there, staring at each other as we tried to figure out where to go from here. He kept apologizing, and every time he would end up crying.

It wasn't healthy for either of us.

School wasn't any better. It was as if no one could meet my eyes, not even Miss Bustier. It was hard enough to get to school, but to go and have no one know how to speak to you? It was sickening. It hurt.

Alya would tear up each time she saw me, and run away to avoid speaking with me. Nino would freeze up and avert his gaze. Adrien, like Alya, avoided interaction completely. Even Chloe, who had hated me so desperately, couldn't find a word to speak against me. Perhaps it was because I was her hero, but her change of heart was bizarre. The fact that she couldn't bring herself to approach me, just staring at me with pity in her eyes, stung.

Any time someone could work up the never to talk to me, pity laced their words. I felt compeltely alone. Isolated. Eventually, it was all too much. One day I just refused to go, and my parents, my devastated parents who couldn't figure out how to help me, didn't make me. They didn't even argue, just backing off and leaving me to sit in my room.

I didn't go the next day. Or the next day. Or the next. No one questioned me. No one pushed me. They let me stop.

Chat's visits had begun to dwindle already, but it took a week of me skipping school before he visited. He'd heard. Why wouldn't he have heard? Everyone knew who I was. Everyone was watching me. No doubt everyone had heard that I had stopped attending school, stopped even daring to leave my house. They'd all accepted it.

Even Chat didn't argue about it with me. He'd accepted my decision, just asking why I did it, and when I continued to stay silent, he dropped the question. He just kept apologizing for it as if it was his fault like usual, crying over what had happened. It was all too much. I lost it.

"Stop it!" I'd screamed the words at him. "Just stop!"

He'd frozen like a deer in headlights, completely taken aback by my sudden outburst; after all, I had grown more and more silent during each of our meetings, till in the last few I had just stopped talking completely. "L-LB?"

"Stop crying! You just come here and cry! How do you think I feel? Do you think this helps? Everything is ruined. I can't walk!"

"Mari-"

"No! For once stop talking! You coming here and sobbing over what happens never helps. Just leave!"

He reaches his hand out, seeming stunned. "I-I don't want to leave you alone..."

I slap his hand back, biting back a shriek. "But I want you to! All you do is talk about what happened. I get it, I'm pathetic now! I can't do anything! You come here all the time. It's killing me as it is! Why are you making it even worse? You don't even trust me with your identity, despite the fact that the world knows mine! What happened to you trusting me?"

"I'm sorry...I want to tell you...but I-I can't..."

"Yes, you can." I spit the words at him. "You won't. That's the difference."

"Ladybug-"

"That's over! I'm not her anymore! I never will be! Just...just get out!"

Chat's ears pinned against his head as he averted his gaze, standing up to leave. "I'll come back when we're both a bit more reasonable." Then he left.

And he never did come back.

Everyone has made it clear, including Chat: I'm fragile now.

Too much of anything could cause me to break.

I'm not necessary anymore, and should just sit back.

I throw my pencil to the ground, wishing I could crush it beneath my feet. There's no point to this! It's all over. My life is over. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I shut my notebook. I'm trapped with only myself for company because no one wants to try anymore. Because I don't want to try anymore.

What's the point?

It's as if the universe decided to answer back in the next second when a loud knocking interrupts my thoughts. "Marinette!" I flinch, starting to spin my wheelchair to try and figure out who on earth is talking. "Marinette, I'm coming in!"

There are no words to describe my shock when Kim Le Chien is the one who steps inside.

I'm completely dumbfounded. Kim? What is he doing here? We never really talked at school, let alone outside of it. Which is odd, seeing as we've been in the same class for years.

We state at each other, neither of us willing to speak for at least three minutes.

I crack first, raising my eyebrows. "Kim? What the heck are you doing here?"

He takes a step forward, frowning. "I'm here because the Marinette I knew wouldn't just be giving up like this."

Now I can't help but laugh. "The Marinette you knew? We barely even talked. What Marinette did you know?"

At this point, Kim has reached my wheelchair, and kneels beside it. The oook on his face is more serious than any I've ever seen him make. And yet...it's not pitying. There's no pity in Kim's eyes. So then why is he here?

"The Marinette I knew tried no matter what. Heck, you were fighting akumas daily. You're a hero!"

"I think you're confused." I don't mean to sound cruel, but at the same time, it feels good to be a complete jerk. "Ladybug does the fighting. Does the saving. Nice try though."

"Marinette fought Chloe to become class president. Marinette was always there to help on a rough day. Marinette, you knew everyone's name and favorite pastry. It wasn't hard to figure out who left me the box of cookies in my locker after the Dark Cupid incident. The name of the bakery was on the box."

I scowl. "Why are you trying so hard to get...whatever it is you want?"

He frowns as if it's obvious. "Because it's time someone repaid the favor."

In the end, he convinces me to go to the park with him. And by convinces me, I mean that he wheels me out of the house against my will while my parents did nothing to stop him. When we arrive at the park, he wheels me to the bleachers by a decently sized track and grins.

"Race me?" He wiggles his eyebrows, earning a glare and a shake of the head. How am I even supposed to do that? I expect him to be disappointed, but instead he just chuckles and shrugs. "Alright."

Then he begins to run around the track.

I'm stunned. I expected him to yell at me, or at least wheel me home if I wouldn't do what he wanted. Or, even more likely, that he'd try to make me. Instead, he left me to watch him work out. He ran around the track as well as doing some other exercises, and after at least thirty minutes, he walked back over to me.

"You ready to go home?"

I blink at him, still shocked by the turn of events. "W-what was that?"

He raises an eyebrow. "You're gonna get better, Marinette, even if you don't want to. I'm going to make sure of it. But this is just step one. We could move faster if you'd agree to work with me...but I'll leave it be for now."

He walks me home, letting me sit in stunned silence as I try to fully comprehend what just happened. And when we reach my house, he helps me inside before saying goodbye. I have no answer for my parents when they ask what that was about.

I don't expect him to come back, but in my spite of my disinterest he shows up again the next day and we do it again. This behavior continues, and eventually it becomes part of my routine. Every day, Kim will show up at my house and wheel me out to the park, and I'll watch him work out. Some times I've brought a book along. Another time he told me I should take pictures of him, so I tried to take the worst ones I possibly could. One time I even brought sewing materials, even though I haven't sewn - let alone designed - since the accident. It wasn't great, but it was taking steps.

Eventually I began requesting for my parents to help me downstairs before Kim arrived so that the whole ordeal would be easier, since he didn't seem like he would be giving up anytime soon. They were surprised but happy to oblige with the new change in my schedule, eventually helping me down without even waiting for me to ask. They do their best to hide their smiles and whispered optimisms, but I know they are both pleased and excited. They think it means I am getting better. I don't have the heart to crush their hopes, so long as they don't talk about it directly to me.

A few weeks into our routine, Kim asks me the same question he always asks when we reach the track: "Race me?"

"No." The familiar response falls from my lips, but as he nods and starts to head over to the track, I find myself stretching out my hand to regain his attention. "Wait!"

He turns, raising his eyebrows. "What's up, Mari?"

I hesitate, unsure how to voice what I wish to say. "I...well, I don't want to race...but maybe...you'd help me experience what it's like to run again?"

He looks shocked for a moment, but then he grins. "Heck yeah, Mari! Let's give it a go." He goes behind me and grabs the handles of my wheelchair, carefully pushing me out onto the track. "Ready?"

"Yeah." I thankfully sound a bit more confident this time around.

He gives me no warning, just starting to run. It's terrifying and exhilarating. We don't go too fast; I have definitely gone faster in my life. But it's faster than I've gone for a while and when he stops I can feel something in my heart shift, reminding me of what I lost.

My smile drops and Kim frowns before quietly stating, "Let's get you home."

Next time I don't ask. But after three more times, I work up my courage, and slowly this too becomes a routine. Kim will help me go around the track for at least one lap every day, and then I'll watch him do the rest of his workout. While we talked a lot at first, recently more often than not we've fallen into a now familiar silence. It's comfortable. I never thought it'd be that way.

Finally, I am able to make the next step.

"Race me?"

"Yes."

Kim's face spreads into a wide grin, and this time I wheel myself over to the track. He gets into position beside me before asking, "Should I go easy on you?"

"No." I surprise myself with my fierceness. "I don't expect to win yet. But don't go easy on me."

We start and, as expected, he crushes me. But slowly I make progress. I know I'll never be able to go as fast, but it's still fun to try and give him a run for his money.

Around three months after the accident, he suggests what I was no longer expecting. "Let me try to help you walk."

I balk. "I can't walk, Kim. My spine snapped. I'm paralyzed."

But he's persistent. "Please. Let's just try."

I can't even stand on my legs. Eventually I'm crying in anger, but Kim is persistent. He insists on trying again and again, holding onto my arms and trying to help me move my legs.

But despite my protests, and my parents' concerns, this becomes the new norm. Kim keeps trying, and I try to humor him every day till my patience can't handle anymore. Then I complain for the rest of our session, because he never stops when I want him to.

And yet, three weeks into our new norm, Kim has me holding onto a railing, and slowly, ever so slowly, I find myself able to shuffle an inch.

My legs shake and I fall, but when Kim picks me up, looking over me to make sure I'm okay, I'm crying joyful tears.

Just for a moment, I was normal again.

A new determination fuels me. With Kim's help, I continue working to reclaim my ability to walk. It's a slow and painful process. I grow frustrated and wish to give up so often, but Kim won't let me.

And two months later, Kim is right beside me when I walk into a room I never thought I'd enter again with my now very familiar cane. He stays silent, a scowl on his face when Master Fu looks up at us both and grins.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," He bows his head to me, and before I can even respond, he extends a familiar box out to me. "I believe I have something of yours."

I hesitate, staring at in in shock. "You...you're letting me take it back?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Is that not what you want?" I gasp, and he offers an amused smile. "I did not want to take the Ladybug Miraculous from you. Yet I feared that if I did not, you would never recover. Tikki had told me there were signs of the Miraculous magic preserving a chance of survival. I am glad to see that the decision worked."

I tug at Kim's arm, staring up at him. "I wasn't going to recover...not till Kim helped." Still unsure, I look back to Master Fu. "Why didn't you give the Miraculous to someone else?"

"Till Mayura came back, I fully intended to wait."

This time a smile breaks my face, and I rush to open the box and pick the earrings up. As I put them on, Tikki squeals, appearing and nuzzling up against my cheek.

I smile, glancing at Kim. "Kim, meet Tikki."

Kim's eyes widen as the red kwami flies in front of his face. "This is what gives you the power to be Ladybug?"

Tikki huffs at this. "I am a kwami, and I let Marinette wield the powers of good luck and creation. Don't underestimate me." It's the most threatening I've ever heard her get.

When we went back to my home that Friday, it was like I was whole again. The piece of me that was missing was now back.

Kim stayed for dinner, because my parents adored him. In their eyes, he'd saved me, and they never hesitated to try and thank him in any way they could think of. He was always welcome, a fact they consistently reminded me of. He preens a bit around then, but he knows when to draw the line for the most part.

And now, I'm taking my final step of recovery. I can walk now, even though I need my cane when I am not transformed. I'm happier than I've been in ages. Tikki is with me again. Still, this is the scariest one so far, when it shouldn't even be that difficult. But I haven't even told Kim I'm doing this yet. It's a surprise for him...and for me as well.

Hand shaking, I grab the door knob, and slowly push the door open so as not to lose my nerve.

"That's correct, Lila! Within the story-" Miss Bustier stops to turn and see the interruption, gawking when she meets my eyes. "Marinette?"

Hesitant, I step inside. I can't help but now be unsure of this decision. Was it a mistake to try this yet?

"Marinette!" Then there's that familiar shout, and I turn to see Kim standing at his desk in the back, widely grinning. As he begins to try and make his way over, I can't help trying to run to him. On the stairs, I drop my cane and trip, but he catches me, smiling in amusement when I look up at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided it was time for me to come back."

Before he can say anything else, I wrap my arms around his neck and lock my lips with his.

Miss Bustier clearing her voice is what stops us, and though she tries to look disapproving, a smile breaks through. "It's good to have you back, Marinette."

I grin, clutching Kim's hand in mine.

Not my finest work, but the idea hit me so I decided to run with it. There's my try at a Kim x Marinette story. I want to try a shorter one some other time, but since I had this idea I decided to go with it, so hopefully it wasn't awful. I have some other one-shots in the work (including an idea that's an alternate take on how Chameleon could go) that will have more familiar ships, and I also intend to update my stories soon, but in the mean time, here's this to tie you over.

Let me know what you thought and how I can do better with rare pairs in the future. Also, if there's any ship you want to see me try my hand at, let me know in a review or PM! I can't promise I'll fo it, however I appreciate suggestions as they do help me in coming up with new ideas.

Until next time!

~ Dagger