Her name was Sage. That was all he was able to get out of the weeping woman before she couldn't speak around the lump in her throat. That was fine. Adrien didn't know what to say beyond what he'd already mentioned. The most he could manage was to get her home. After that, he needed to think.

The blonde blinked, after images of the child's blank face staring at him from the abyss. Yeah, he had a lot of thinking to do.

"Left here, and I'm the third apartment on the right hand side of the street."

"Sure thing, Sage."

She tensed up at the door, which made him worry.

"He should still be…"

"Inside?" He felt her nod rather than saw it. Her shoulders shook. He rubbed her back, trying his best to be comforting.

"I'll call an ambulance or something. That way you can go in and not worry about anything."

She shook her head, "They're going to ask me why I didn't call sooner! I can't-"

Adrien gave her a hug. She cried a little more.

"I'll talk to the police. I'm a superhero, they have to listen to me." Sage nodded, sleek bun marred by loose, wiry curls that bounced out of their bobby pins.

So, even though all he wanted to do was go home and cry for a solid ten hours, he called the proper emergency number and asked for help. The police arrived first and were considerably understanding of the situation. The officer who arrived first had brought hot cocoa and doughnuts to share, and asked a few pertinent questions without upsetting Sage any more than he had to. When the medical officials stopped by, Chat Noir could feel his kwami start to complain about how long he had been transformed.

He stayed and answered questions. The main one was why didn't Sage call before getting akumatized? He didn't really have an answer beyond there wasn't really time for anything else. They didn't charge the grieving mother with any crimes, which was helped along by the fact that one of the heroes of Paris was vouching for her. They asked where Ladybug was, which he honestly answered that she was at home. This had been one of their longer fights, and it was a miracle he wasn't in bed yet.

The officials took the child's body from his room, murmuring to each other about what a shame the whole thing was. His chat ears were way better than they needed to be. One of Sage's neighbors had come out because of the commotion and was draping a fuzzy peach blanket over the woman's shoulders.

"Thank you so much, Chat Noir. I'll look after her now, you go on home." He smiled gratefully, then crouched down next to Sae one last time.

"Hey, here's my number if you ever need to call. My mother died when I was younger, and I got through it by talking to people." He held out a business card with his cell scribbled over the bottom portion. It was all he had on him. Sage reached out and took the card with shaky brown hands.

"You've done so much already…"

"Just because I've done one thing doesn't mean I can't offer more. Seriously, if things get tough, call me. I'm happy to help."

She sniffed, eyes welling up with a few more tears before he waved his goodbyes to the remaining emergency crews and began his long trek home via sidewalk. It was late. Very late. A few streets away, Plagg gave up on their transformation and dropped dramatically into Adrien's pocket.

"Hawkmoth went too far this time."

Adrien shrugged, "it's no different than usual."

"Breaking glasses and phones and bubble wands doesn't cause bleeding or emotional scarring."

The blond felt his stomach roil angrily as unbidden memories swirled through his brain. Plagg stiffened as though he could tell.

"Sorry, Adrien, but it's true. You shouldn't have had to do that. Kwami's and our miraculous powers have been given to unworthy souls in the past, but this was a first for me. I'm still a little unsettled by it."

The young model shook his head, "only a little unsettled?"

The kwami poked his chest. Adrien shrugged it off. The silence extended into the minute and a half marker before Plagg said one last thing.

"I'm proud of you. You did a lot of tough stuff back there."

The blond let the corners of his mouth turn up, "I'm just glad that everything worked out… Kind of." His breath hitched in his throat, nearly eating his last comment. He pressed his fingers to his eyes, a futile attempt at keeping his cheeks dry. The blond slowed to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, quiet sobs taking over the evening air.

"That k-kid wasn't more than, like, four." He saw the red and black spotted knife fly into his hand in slow-motion, remembered how his heart had stopped because he didn't know what to do with it. Ladybug hadn't had time to formulate a plan. He hadn't had time to think, and all he had was a sharp instrument of death. The child's dead eyes as he leaned over. The panicked shouting that Sage had made when she realized that she was too late.

Fresh tears soaked his hands and flowed down his face. Adrien's stomach turned before he could think about how much blood there had been. He coughed, forcing himself to stop freaking out. Calm breathing didn't happen for a solid few minutes. Plagg just looked at him, sadness on every shape of the kwami's face.

"I can't do this."

"Do what, cry on the sidewalk?"

"Plagg, not funny."

"I know, I'm sorry. Look, just get home, take a shower, and go to bed. It'll feel more distant in the morning."

Adrien wasn't so sure that that was true, but he did as he was told. It wasn't until he got out of the shower and struggled into his pajamas that he saw a text message notification. The blonde frowned, then double-tapped the screen.

It was from Marinette. She never texted him. He skimmed over the message.

Hey, couldn't sleep. Hbu?

The blond scooped up the phone and wandered back into the bathroom to brush his teeth and rub moisturizer into his skin. He might be tired, but he knew how awful acne could be and wanted to avoid it as best as possible. Not that it was the most important thing to be worried about when- No.

Same. been a weird day smh.

He never got a text back. She was a shy girl, he didn't blame her for not continuing the conversation. All the same, it would have been a welcome distraction. He spat out the foamy toothpaste, applied his beauty products, then flopped into his bed. He drifted into dark slumber as soon as his eyelids fell shut.

Marinette zombied her way through school the next day. And the day after that. And for the next week. There was a surprising lack of akuma out and about. She hoped Hawkmoth regretted his actions and had given up on being a villain, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

Adrien seemed to be having trouble, too. He had circles under his eyes, and they showed through the concealer. Nobody else said anything about it, but the dark haired girl was worried. He had done what she couldn't, and he was clearly suffering.

They had a patrol together soon. She would have to talk to him then. Marinette blushed, suddenly remembering the Chat Noir being Adrien thing, despite not being affected by it a mere two seconds ago. She hid behind her French textbook, Aliya chittering beside her.

She had to confront him about that. The whole "you're a famous model, how do you have time for this shit" thing. And also, apparently, having a crush on him. Both of him. Now that she really got the chance to stare at him for more than two seconds, it was easy to tell that Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. She wondered if he would think the same thing once he found out her identity- Nope, no, definitely not. She backed away from that thought immediately.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was an ordinary and plain girl with little to no personality. Her insult to herself stung a little. But it was the truth! How could someone as well-rounded and beautiful as Adrien even care about her? The answer was that he didn't. He only cared about Ladybug, and she barely acted like a superhero outside of the costume. The girl sighed into her textbook. She couldn't afford to reveal herself, anyway. Adrien was rich and his father could afford extra security measures if they really needed it. Her parents were wealthy, but really only enough to afford the bakery and their child. They were content, and couldn't afford to be in danger.

She couldn't tell him who she was.

Maybe she could never tell him who she was.

The girl blinked at her book. Now wasn't really the time to think about romance anyway. Not when Adrien was so upset and everything. Too much had happened for her cute crush on him to be any sort of concern. The teacher called on her to answer a problem and she just stared until he switched to someone else.

Marinette definitely had to talk to Chat Noir and make sure he was doing okay. That much she could, and would, do.