Ladybug had never felt like a stranger in her own home before. Despite having lived in this house for her entire life, she suddenly felt like it was the home of a stranger. Maybe it was because of the suit and mask, or maybe it was because of the limp, black-clad boy in her arms.

But it couldn't stop her from caring for the boy. Strange feeling or not, he was her main priority. Ladybug bent down and placed him gently on the couch. Without hesitation, she slowly lifted the hood away from his face, knowing that there was no cameras or recording devices in the room. Ladybug let out a gasp as the boy's face came into the light, even though it was what she had been expecting all along. It was just shocking to fully realize that it really was her partner who had been terrorizing Paris not half an hour ago.

Shocking as it was, Adrien needed help, medical help. She was no nurse, but she'd been taught basic first aid by her mother. That would have to be enough for her partner because there was no way Ladybug could call up help from a citizen. The risk of them recognizing Adrien and connecting the dots was too great. Ladybug was all on her own, unless the boy woke up. Knowing him, he would have a complete knowledge of first aid, not just the basics. As Paris' guardian, that was probably something she should know as well, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

Ladybug carefully removed Adrien's dark hoodie and set it aside. It was cold out, and he would need it later on. Underneath, he wore a plain white shirt that could have come from anywhere. There was no designer names or special features on it. His hoodie was simple too. Ladybug shrugged. Who cared what he wore? That wasn't important right now. Ladybug pulled a clean antiseptic wipe from the first-aid kit and ran it over Adrien's face and neck, clearing away the dirt and blood. She took another for his arms, then stood back to assess the damage. Several cuts and bruises on his arms, and a similar situation on his face.

It occurred to Ladybug that she should probably remove his shirt, just in case there were more wounds. At least she had the comfort of knowing the that the injuries would be minor. Her healing spell tended to fix the larger wounds but passed over the nicks and scrapes. She hoped it had done so to Adrien, because if she came across a busted rib or broken leg, she would not be in a good position to help him. Most of all, she wanted Adrien to wake up. At least that way, she would know if he was doing alright. If he was concussed, she had almost no way of knowing.

Or did she? Ladybug was no nurse or doctor, but she was pretty sure there would be a bruise or mark of some kind on Adrien's head if he was indeed suffering from a concussion. Gingerly, she began to run her fingers over his scalp, hand gliding through his soft hair. After a minute or two of this, Ladybug was fairly certain that Adrien did not have a concussion, but they only way to really confirm that was by talking with him. Ladybug had done all she could for him, and her next goal was to get him awake. There were multiple ways of doing that, but she needed a way that would be gentle and wouldn't shock him.

Crouching down so that she was level with Adrien's ear, Ladybug leaned forward. "Adrien," she whispered in his ear. "Adrien, wake up."

No reaction. Ladybug repeated herself, increasing her volume slightly. "Adrien!" she said forcefully. "Wake up!"

The boy didn't move. Ladybug took a bottle of water from the kit, removed the cap and poured some of the clear liquid onto her partner's face. His nose twitched, but he didn't wake up.

Ladybug slumped back onto the floor, gazing up at the ceiling. Why couldn't he just wake up? She was so tempted to call for her mother's help but wasn't sure if it was right. Her mother would surely recognise Adrien, and it wouldn't take her long to associate him with another green-eyed, blonde-haired, black-clad boy that Ladybug usually ran around with. And it would be half impossible to keep Adrien's face covered the entire time. No, she wouldn't ask for help yet. Ladybug would wait a while, let him rest. Perhaps he was just tired.

She pulled out her yo-yo and checked the time, wincing at the sudden brightness. She would give Adrien half an hour to sleep, and then she'd go downstairs. Everything would be fine.

MLBMLBMLB

As glowing white wings fluttered softly around in the darkness, Hawkmoth knelt on the ground, fists clenched and eyes tightly shut. His breathing was heavy, echoing around the chamber and mixing with the sound of flapping. His knees and joints were aching, as he'd been in the position for close to half an hour, completely still.

The villain reached for the brooch on his chest and unpinned it carefully. Clutching the piece in his gloved hand, he drew back his arm and hurled the Miraculous away. It landed somewhere in the lair and caused a cacophony of frantic flapping as it fell amongst the butterflies. Hawkmoth's suit slowly melted away, until he was left in his civilian attire. Gabriel Agreste stood, smoothing his jacket.

"I was so close, Nooroo," he said quietly. "So very, very close. Why did I not succeed?"

Nooroo emerged from the gloom of the lair, trembling with fear. "I don't know, sir," he mumbled. "There must be s-some mistake."

Gabriel stomped his foot, just like an angry toddler would. It should have been comical, but Nooroo feared his master too much to laugh. Instead, he floated in front of the man, shaking.

"Time and time again, I have failed," muttered Gabriel. "I did not think I would fail again."

"There's always next time, master."

Gabriel flashed around, fire in his eyes. "Silence!"

Nooroo went white. "Y-y-yes, master."

Gabriel began to pace, muttering under his breath. "I must not give up," he said. "I must plan, more carefully this time. Ladybug and Chat Noir will not succeed again."

"Did you retrieve any information from Chat Noir?" asked Nooroo tentatively.

"As a matter of fact, I did-" Gabriel frowned. "That's odd. I thought- I thought there was something, but...it seems to have disappeared."

Nooroo was often called useless by his master, but little did the man know that Nooroo possessed great powers. It was because of these powers that Nooroo could see the red and black trail of magic winding away from his master, and the little kwami understood that the Miraculous Cure had wiped his master's mind clean of the information.

Nooroo smiled as his master frowned, for he knew the other kwamis were safe.

MLBMLBMLB

Ladybug had been planning to wake Adrien. Instead, he woke her.

Her eyes fluttered open as someone shook her shoulder gently. Groaning, she propped herself up onto her elbows, blinking. A pair of green eyes stared down at her, and Ladybug sat up so fast she almost headbutted Adrien in the face.

"You're awake!" she cried. "Are you alright?"

Adrien nodded, hair flopping over his face. "Yeah, thanks to you."

"It was nothing." Ladybug stood and stretched. She opened her mouth to say something but hesitated.

Adrien saw her uncertainty and sighed. "Marinette, can I talk to you?"

Ladybug bit her lip. She wanted to go and see her parents, and check on the students. Most of all, she wanted to know that Alya was alive. "Can it wait a minute?" she asked. "I really have to make a call. It's urgent."

"I- uh, yeah. Sure." Adrien began to back away. "You want privacy?"

Ladybug considered. "No, you can stay." She pulled out her yo-yo and dialed a familiar number. The phone rang once, twice, three times. On the fourth ring, someone picked up, and Ladybug felt her heart jump into her throat. "A-Alya?" she squeaked. "Is that you?"

"Yeah." There was a pause. "Who's this?"

Ladybug wanted to cry, but worked to keep her voice steady. "This is Ladybug. Are you okay?"

There was a loud shriek and a thud. After a bit of rustling, Alya spoke again. "Oh my goodness, Ladybug! I'm okay, I feel great! How'd you get my number, anyway?"

"Um, I have my ways. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Absolutely, why?"

"I'll explain later, Alya. But thank you. I have to go."

"Oh. Well, okay! It was nice talking to you. Bye!"

"Bye." Ladybug smiled softly as she hung up. Turning around, she saw Adrien looking at the framed photographs on the bookshelf. She watched as he reached out and gently traced ten-year-old Marinette's cheek as she beamed, hugging her mother. Slowly, the superheroine joined him in front of the bookcase.

"You wanted to talk?" she asked softly. He jumped, startled, and went red, quickly drawing his hand back from the photograph.

"Uh, yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "Do you want to, um, sit down?"

Ladybug nodded and followed him to the lounge, sitting opposite him. "So," she said, watching him carefully.

"So." Adrien twisted his hands together, and for a moment there was silence.

"I'm sorry," they said in unison, then stared in shock.

"I'm sorry for not forgiving you," began Ladybug. "I'm sorry for running away. I'm sorry for ignoring you, and not trusting you, and for not being a good friend. I'm just really sorry, and I don't expect you to forgive me."

"I'm sorry too," said Adrien. "I shouldn't have gotten so upset, and I should have thought about the consequences of my actions. And I completely understand, which is why I forgive you. We're both at fault, and we need to put this behind us and work as a team. Okay?"

"Okay." Ladybug thought her heart might burst with joy. Her friends were alive, and she hadn't lost her partner. Adrien was right, they were both at fault. But he was also right in saying that they had to learn from their mistakes and move on. "But first, there's something I want to clear up."

Adrien looked confused. "What?"

"I want to explain something. I- I do love you, both as Adrien and Chat Noir. I'm sorry for hurting you when we were superheroes. I knew you liked me, and I shouldn't have led you on. I- ugh, this is confusing. Long story short, I value you a lot, Adrien. And I want things to go back to normal as much as possible. Partners?" She held out her gloved hand.

"Partners." Adrien knocked his knuckle against hers. "But about the other thing, I feel the same way. But so much is going on, and people might get suspicious if we suddenly start dating like that." Adrien snapped his fingers. "So how about we take it slow?"

"Agreed." Ladybug smiled at him. "I'll meet you at the usual spot early tomorrow morning. Four o'clock?"

"Four o'clock it is." He smiled back. "I'm glad we're okay."

"So am I." Ladybug stretched her arms. "So, how about you transform into Chat, and sneak out while I go downstairs and talk to my parents?"

"Sounds good to me." Adrien grinned at her. "I'll see you later, my lady."

"Bye." Ladybug waved at him, then made her way down to the bakery, doing her best to conceal her smile.

MLBMLBMLB

Hi, guys. I want to apologize for the amount of cheesiness in the last part. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!