Blood. There's too much blood.
She shoves away the man who caused it all, who had plagued her life since she took up the miraculous. He slumps to the ground, unconscious, but she doesn't notice. She's already across the room, dropping to her knees desperately gathering her fallen partner into her arms. She can feel, even through a layer of spandex and leather, that his heartbeat is irregular and shallow, and he's already far too cold. He feels her touch, and manages to open his eyes to offer what he hopes is a comforting smile, despite his injuries.
At a glance, he seems fine, sporting only minor gashes, the worst tracing his temple down to his cheek. His arm is cradled to his side, but it seems unbroken.
However, if you'd seen the fight, you'd have seen how hard he was thrown, crashing against solid brick hard enough to crack it. You might have heard the sickening fracture that accompanied it. You wouldn't have heard a sound from him, his lungs forced empty by the impact. But you'd have seen how horrifyingly limp he was left, slumped against the wall as a thin line of blood traced its path from the corner of his mouth. You would've seen his laboured breathing as his ribcage collapsed, bleeding out on the inside.
Their suits are impenetrable, but they aren't impact resistant. They can block any hit, but can't protect from crushing blows.
She feels tears pushing their way up from the corner of her eyes, with only a desperate hope that she can still save him holding them back. He draws a breath, and it's terrifying to hear, so shallow and ragged. He's trembling, and as he coughs, the thin trail of blood from his mouth thickens, dropping from his chin to pool on his chest. "M-m- my lady" he chokes, reaching up to cradle her head.
She chokes back a sob, grabbing his wrists and tugging them from her face as she desperately presses her hands to the gash on his temple, but it's useless, that's not what's killing him. She grabs her bandalore and tosses it in the air, the broken "Miraculous Ladybug" echoing in the dark empty room, but without an akuma to purify it drops uselessly to the floor, clattering on the cold tile. She desperately tries again, and again, and again, hoping against hope that somehow it'll be different, that somehow it'll fix everything.
It's only when she feels Chat's claws start to weakly drag across her leg in an attempt to gain her attention that she finally accepts that the Miraculous Cure won't be able to fix everything.
It won't be able to fix him.
Her vision blurs, and she starts to feel dizzy. Her stomach feels hollow but she still feels like throwing up. It's only Chat's claws insistent grazing along her leg that keeps her from breaking down there and then. She distantly hears a crashing; she knows the emergency services must have arrived. But Hawkmoth's lair is a labyrinth; they won't be able to find them in time. Not when Chat is so far gone.
She forces herself to look down at Chat, and she gently cards a hand through his hair while the other rests on his cheek. He, despite his wounds, manages a weak smile, reaching up to cover her hand with his.
"You did it, My Lady"
Her mouth tightens, lips pressing into a watery line, the closest she can manage to a smile. "We did it, you stupid cat."
He coughs, and more blood splatters from his mouth, painting the front of his suit crimson. He spits, trying to clear his mouth, and when he speaks again, it much weaker, forcing her to strain to hear him. "I knew we could."
She chokes back another sob, swiping a thumb across the rim of his mask. "You stupid cat" She repeats, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Why?"
Chat gently grasps her hand, pulling it from his face to hold it with both of his on his chest. He regards her sadly, weakly gripping her hand, and he doesn't need to answer. Because it's the same reason it's always been.
"I-I'll l-l-love you f-"
Ladybug presses a finger against his lips, shushing him. He looks up at her, but she gathers him up, cradling him against her chest, determined to be strong for him in his last minutes. The thought makes her want to break down there and then, but she pushes it to the back of her mind. "I'll love you forever"
She begins stroking his hair.
"I'll like you for always"
He grips her arms, and she feels him start to tremble
"As long as I'm living"
She leans down, pressing a kiss to his crown as she feels tears drip down the front of her suit, her own tracing paths from her eyes.
"My kitty you'll be"
His shoulders heave; she can hear quiet sobs tearing from his throat, and she feels what's left of her heart shatter. She rocks him back and forth, pressing his wet face to her chest, trying to offer what little comfort she can.
"Marinette" he whispers, clinging to her like a lifeline. Which she likely is. His voice is raw, weak, and thick with tears "I don't want to die"
She lowers him to lie in her lap, cradling his head. She leans down to press a kiss to his forehead, his nose, his cheeks, finally his lips. "I know, minou. I know. You're so brave." She chokes on the words, but tightens her hold on him. He reaches for her hand, pressing a weak kiss to the back of it. She flips their hands, pressing a kiss of her own to the back of each of his fingers before pressing his hand to her chest, splaying his fingers over her heart. "I love you, Adrien" she whispers, stroking his hairline.
His hair falls in a halo around his head, and suddenly, all traces of pain and distress leave his face. He looks at her, eyes shining with tears, and even though he's battered and bruised and on the brink of death, he seems so at peace. His expression relaxes into a gentle smile, and in that moment she remembers the first time she saw that smile, all those years ago when she first met him. He is unguarded, vulnerable, pure, and in that moment, he has never been more beautiful. He drags his thumb back and forth across her collarbone, and somehow, it soothes her. "I love you too, Marinette."
The world seems to stand still for them as they sit there. Gradually, Chat's breath grows shallower, and his eyes lose focus. The gentle pressure he's been putting on her chest dissipates, and she looks down at his still form miserably.
"Chat?"
The name leaves her in a whisper; a futile hope that maybe this is all a nightmare, that he'll wake up and make one of his stupid cat jokes and tease her for being so worried. They'll go downstairs and get patched up together and go home and celebrate their victory and-
Chat's hand goes limp, dropping onto his chest. And she knows in her heart that he's gone.
Her lip trembles. She manages to reach up, tenderly closing his eyelids, before breaking down, desperately clutching him to her chest like a child clutches a stuffed animal for protection from the dark. Horrible, heartbroken tears rip from her throat as she comes to terms with the fact that her partner, her husband, her best friend, her kitty, is gone.
There's an electric cackling as their transformations leave them in flashes of pink and green. The moment he's properly reformed, Plagg lands on Adrien's chest, crying softly and quietly, ears drooping and tiny shoulders heaving as he curls up under his chin. Tikki also has tears in her eyes, but she flies to nuzzle against Marinette's neck to try and comfort the heartbroken girl, but Marinette is inconsolable.
After what could be an eternity, her grief run dry, she hears the dull rumble of boots thudding against the floors above them. They come to a stop outside a door on a balcony overlooking them, and after a lengthy pause, it bursts open. Marinette catches sight of the metallic gleam of a battering ram before it's retracted and replaced by a riot shield. It's followed by others, until an entire platoon of officers are flooding into the room expecting a fight. The lead officer looks down, catches sight of her, and tosses up an arm in a signal to halt.
She faintly hears him yelling something, which increases in volume when he notices the boy lying in her lap. She looks up to see one of the officers hollering into a radio of some sort, a number of officers already swarming down the steps and over to them. One of them reaches for Chat, and she almost hisses, clutching his cold body tighter to his chest. He draws his hand back quickly, yelling something else into his communicator, and through the broken door comes a number of paramedics, lugging first aid kits and a mobile stretcher. When they reach her, she almost hisses at them too, but Tikki nudges her gently and she reluctantly releases her hold on him, scooping up Plagg in the process. The medics immediately swarm him, but the moment she loses sight of him, she thrashes, kicking against the officers that try to restrain her and hollering until he re-enters her sight. Recognizing her need to keep visual contact, the paramedics carefully manoeuvre around Adrien without obstructing him from Marinette's view, all the while yelling at each other things about vitals and his lack of a pulse.
When they've finally secured him to the stretcher, they quickly hoist him up together, and Marinette scrambles to her feet. One of the officers reaches for her, but backs down after another barks at him. Giving the second officer a look of thanks, she follows the paramedics to the stairs, the kwamis moving to rest in her pockets. The only thing she is aware of outside of the load they carry is a number of the officers removing their helmets and pressing them to their chests, heads bowed, as they pass.