Thank you all so much for reading the first chapter and for following the story, here's the next one!
Summary: After a traumatic experience, Marinette's smile fades into the darkness. In order to help her, Adrien visits her in the day and at night, he visits as Chat Noir. Can he bring her smile back? or will she succumb to an akuma?
Rated M for implied Rape
"How does that feel?" Marinette experimentally moved her newly casted arm, "Well... now I wont accidentally bump it into things" Elijah nodded, taking down notes as Sabine and Tom asked him questions. "When can Mari go back to school? She only has less than 2 weeks left."
Elijah eyed the x-ray of Marinette's arm. "Mari has a closed Spiral fracture in the Humerus area (Upper arm). A spiral fracture is caused by the twisting of the bone, which when Chat Noir told me this morning, Marinette must have twisted her arm when she hit the dumpster, causing the impact to crack her bone in a spiral pattern."
He pointed the x-ray to the three, "An example of a spiral fracture is when you break a stick in half, but instead of the usual way, you twist it, making the broken ends of the stick uneven and angled in a weird position."
"Unfortunately, the cast alone is not enough for the fractures to heal by itself. I would have to perform surgery and insert pins or small rods to stabilize the bones during the healing process. But luckily, the fracture did not go all the way. In simple terms, the central area of your Humerus is still intact, meaning that you will only require two to three rods at most."
Marinette's eyes shifted to her parents; Sabine chewed on her lips while Tom held her hands. "Two days after your surgery, you can head back to school. But it's necessary that you should see a therapist." Marinette's eyes widened, she didn't need a therapist. Before she could contradict, Elijah continued.
"I know that you don't want to but its a part of the healing process. You can take anyone with you as long as you go to the sessions, okay?" He looked at her with earnest eyes, even her parents were hoping that she would accept it. "Fine".
"When do you want to schedule the surgery?" Elijah picked up his calendar, "The earlier the better" Tom answered almost instantly. Marinette didn't know what she wanted, a part of her wanted to go and transform and look for the man who did this to her, to have him beg for her mercy. Another part wanted this to be all over, to continue living her miraculous life. But one thing was for certain, she didn't want to talk to someone about what happened, especially not someone she didn't know.
Besides Chat Noir, no one knew the full story. Chat had only told Elijah the dumpster part of the story, leaving out all the other gruesome details of that night.
"I'll check with the OR (Operation Room) schedule" Elijah quickly stood up and left the room. Sabine and Tom whispered to themselves, agreeing that they should grab the earliest opportunity they could. They didn't want their daughter to be stuck in a cast all winter or to miss the last few days of school before winter break.
When Elijah entered the room, he sat beside Marinette on the patient's table. "The earliest that I can give you is later tonight at 8pm. But are you sure about this? Don't you need time to sink everything in?" His questions pointed to Marinette, knowing that her parents would do anything for her.
Honestly, Marinette knew that she couldn't catch the man without this surgery. "Its alright, the sooner we do this the quicker my arm gets better." Elijah nodded, he playfully ruffled her hair before leaving the room again to reserve the room.
If Alya paid attention to her class or to any of her classmates, she would have noticed Adrien's reaction when she had told him about the surgery. His face had gone pale and his brain ran a thousand thoughts at once. He quickly texted Sabine, "How did the trip to the hospital go?" trying not to sound too frantic.
After Sabine had told him most of the details, he relaxed. It wasn't as bad as Alya made it sound. Unfortunately, Alya and Nino had prior arrangements and wouldn't be able to go to the hospital, plus Adrien had to be home by dinner. But that didn't mean that Chat Noir wasn't allowed to visit after her surgery.
"Hey, do you guys want to give her a get well party?" Adrien suggested a bit too loudly to the point where Alix practically shouted "YES!" from across the room, some others heard as well and agreed, they called the rest of the class (Except for Chloe and Sabrina) to prepare their surprise.
Alya and Nino took charge of everyone in less than 5 minutes, Adrien watched with a smile as everyone became enthusiastic about the surprise. Lila had even volunteered for all the decorating supplies and suggested to buy everything that they needed for the party. Sabine had told him that Marinette would be able to return to school on Thursday, which was two days from now. Their teacher even agreed to canceling her lesson for that day to support Marinette.
When word got out in the school of the secret get-well party for Marinette, it wasn't a surprise to see younger kids from their school participate. He even overheard a group of kids saying that they should get her a big card and sign it. Marinette was a sweetheart to both her batch and even younger students in their school.
Throughout the day, Adrien's mind led him to remember the night before. The way Marinette could break at any moment, she was so fragile that Adrien even had trouble leaving her in the morning. "Monsieur Agreste," his fencing instructor, Armand D'Argencourt, lifted his fencing helmet, "Something on your mind?" Adrien couldn't help but blink, "AH! I- uh... I'm sorry Monsieur." The instructor sighed, "Let's call it a day, shall we?"
Adrien nodded, taking off his helmet and gloves. "I heard about what happened to Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng." Armand placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "I'm sure she's fine. You're a good friend, though I do hope that next time, you wont be as distracted as you are today." he lightly scolded, Adrien gave him a smile before retreating to the showers.
In the showers, Adrien unintentionally stared at his hand, the same hand that held Marinette's all night long. "She's fine" he whispered to himself. He turned to his other hand, the one that had scratches due to him punching the brick wall of the alley. It was slowly healing, no one at school really noticed except for Nino. He tried not to think about that night, but flashes of Marinette from that night kept appearing at the back of his head.
He made it through class by distracting himself with Nino, Alya and class, but he couldn't help it. He clenched his fist and punched the wall of the shower room. His breath was uneven and all he saw was her blood on his hands. Adrien bit his lip to help him control of himself. "She's fine..." He whispered one more time before turning off the water.
"Plagg shouldn't see me like this" he muttered as he stared at himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and red, he didn't even realize that he had been crying in the shower. His complexion was paler than usual. Plagg would notice if he went out like this. After pulling himself together and dressing up, he opened his locker.
"I'm pretty sure she'll have the biggest party the school's ever seen" Plagg commented as he exited the boy's locker. "You think she'll like it?" Adrien asked as he packed up his things in his bag. "Like it? She'll love it" Adrien was surprised by Plagg's supportive comments, but he wasn't complaining. "Are you sure it was a good idea to tell that doctor about what happened?"
Adrien sighed, "He needed to know how she got hurt and besides, I didn't tell him everything." Zipping his bag, Adrien headed for the limo. Gorilla was in front of the entrance, silently waiting for the young master. Natalie was inside the limo waiting for him, as soon as he entered, she bombarded him with events, shoots, and even a dinner party in honor of his father's new release of Winter clothing.
Adrien has made it known to Natalie that he doesn't want to attend, but as the model for the new line and the son of the director, his attendance was a must. Don't worry Mari. I'll visit you soon. He took out his phone and texted Sabine "How is she?" He never heard back from her after she texted him that they were off to see the doctor.
His phone chimed, it was 7pm when she replied "Mari is about to head into surgery. I'm worried. She hasn't spoken to us in a while." Adrien frowned, he was currently at the dinner party. "Can I talk to her?" surely no one was going to notice his absence. He quickly stood up, when he was caught by Natalie, he excused himself to the restroom.
The phone rang, "Hello?". "Chat?" Adrien smiled at the sound of her voice, "Hey princess. How are you?"
He could hear her sigh, "Why do you have my mom's number?". "Why not?" He could imagine her rolling her eyes at him. "I'm fine Kitty. About to go into surgery."
"Are you scared?" he whispered. She didn't answer as energetic as usual, "A little bit." Adrien smiled at that. She was always so honest with him. "Don't worry princess. I have something to do, but I'll be there by the time you get out, okay? So think of me visiting you to ease your worries."
"Okay, thanks Chat." her voice was soft, "I'll see you later" "Bye princess."
The phone call ended, Adrien sat on the toilet seat for a few more minutes. Although he seemed to calm her down, that didn't stop his worries from rising up. He needed to see her, and soon. When he returned to the party, he never stopped looking at his watch, waiting for the party to end. What he didn't count for was for a certain someone to attend the party.
"ADRIKINS!" he visibly froze and cursed under his breath. Being tackled by Chloe was a normal thing at these events, so the guests knew not to get in the way of the mayor's daughter. "Oh, hey Chloe. Nice to see you." he greeted. Even at school, he tried so hard to avoid her, but with both their parents at the party, it would be impossible.
She kissed his cheek and smiled, "By the way, you make a great actor!" Adrien raised a brow, "What? Chloe, I'm a model." The blonde smiled and rolled her eyes, "Oh please! You know, when you pretended to stand up for that ugly slut, Marinette!" the boy stared at her, dumbfounded. "I knew that you were just pretending so that everyone wouldn't hate you. I know that you think she's a slut too! I heard that she's been meeting up with Chat Noir! I bet she's fucking him too!"
Since he was a little boy, Adrien knew how to be polite and respect women. He especially knew never to hit one either, but that didn't stop his hand from slapping Chloe across her face. It was loud and it echoed in the entire room. Eyes were on them, Adrien's hand was clenched by his side, his eyes piercing hers. Chloe's eyes were tearing up, her cheek stung and her lip trembled.
"Adrien." The sound of his father's voice snapped him back to reality. Adrien took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Chloe, but speak badly of her again and I promise you that that would be the end of our friendship. Goodbye." He bowed to his father and the crowd, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience that I have caused, please return to the party."
Although everyone returned to the party, Gabriel Agreste was not pleased. He heard Chloe say her sorry's to her companions before leaving the party. Adrien frowned and bowed at the mayor, "I am sorry for hitting Chloe, but she said something horrible about someone I cared about, who is the kindest soul in the world." The mayor frowned at the boy, but nodded, "I'm sorry on her behalf. Chloe doesn't have a filter."
As soon as the mayor left, Gabriel called his attention. The two quietly escaped into his office, "Tell me what happened."
"I have a friend, Marinette- You know, the one who one the hat making contest" Gabriel seemed to nod, "Yes, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng. What happened to her?" Adrien sat down "A few days ago, she was r-raped and badly beaten up." he felt his mouth go dry. He hated saying that word. Adrien didn't look at his father, so he continued.
"This is the second time Chloe called her that." Gabriel rose a brow, "What?" There it was again, he felt that his heart was going to break. "She called Marinette a slut. She said that Mari wanted this!" Adrien didn't know that his fists were clenched, he didn't know how loud his voice was becoming. But his father never said anything towards his behavior and listened silently. "Mari is at surgery right now. I should be there to support her! When Chloe said that- I couldn't stop myself from hitting her!"
Adrien's breathing was uneven, he didn't want to be here in his father's office. He needed to be with the one that needed him the most. "Adrien" he snapped his eyes open, he didn't even noticed when he closed them. "I-I'm sorry father. I didn't mean to shout." Gabriel nodded, "I understand. But do refrain from hitting the mayor's daughter again. It would ruin your image. You can return to your room anytime you please." "Yes father."
It was after leaving the office did Adrien realize that his father didn't get mad at him. That he didn't say that what he did was wrong. Adrien quickly ran to his room and jumped on his bed. Plagg peeked from behind a mountain of cheeze, "What's gotten you in a good mood?" "I'll tell you later! I just want to see Mari before she wakes up!"
As Chat Noir, he ran across the roof tops of buildings. Stopping only to buy flowers again from the same shop then he sprinted off into the night towards the hospital. "I'm outside the hospital. What room are you guys in?" he texted Sabine. Instead of replying back, Chat spotted Tom exit the front door, waving at the boy.
"Tom! You didn't have to come and get me you know" Tom smiled and gave him a hug, "It's fine. Mari's still asleep anyway, she won't notice I'm gone." Up the elevator they went, it stopped on the 4th floor. Room 417 - Marinette Dupain-Cheng
With a knock, the two entered. Sabine stood up and gave him a hug, "Thank you for coming Chat. It means a lot to us." Chat smiled, "Don't mention it" Sabine noticed the flowers, "Let me find a vase for you to put those in." Sabine exited the room, leaving the two with Marinette. Chat placed the flowers on the table and stood beside the foot of her bed.
Marinette's eyes looked heavy, her arm was fully casted and resting by her side. Tom watched as the boy stared at his daughter. He noticed the way Chat's smile faltered and the way the boy's hand was in a fist again. His eyes full of concern. "My boy," Chat looked up and sat beside the man. "I've been wondering for sometime but... do you know Mari- I mean, outside your costume."
Chat nodded, he knew that nothing bad would happen if he told Tom that. "I see her at school" Tom seemed to nod, "I understand now." Chat tilted his head in confusion. "Ah, well... You see, no one would be so concerned for someone you met a few times. So it makes much more sense that you go to the same school."
Chat laughed, "But don't tell Mari" Tom smiled, "You got it." Sabine returned with a vase for the flowers. "The nurses are so kind, they let us borrow this until Mari gets out." It was already 9, turning 10pm. "Have you two eaten yet?" Chat had to ask. Sabine and Tom looked at each other bashfully and shook their heads, "No"
Chat smiled at the two, "Well now that I'm here, you two can go and eat first. Rest for a while. Don't worry, I wont leave Marinette's side." The couple knew that they could trust the superhero. Not just because he was a superhero, but because he was their daughter's friend, the one who has been with her since the start of this mess. The two left, leaving Chat Noir with his sleeping Princess.
I hope you enjoyed this! I'm sorry for the late upload! I've been busy with the new semester. Sorry! I know this is short but I've been writing a ton of reports and hw. My free time lately has been used of sleeping and studying. So i'm very sorry!
But I want to say thank you to everyone that supports me in this story and want to continue reading more. I hope you enjoyed! Especially the Chloe part ;)