Worry filled her mind. Marinette hadn't heard from Adrien all day. She had sent many texts, some calm and normal, others panicked and paranoid.

Good morning Adrien!

How're you?

Did you stay home today?

Are you okay?

Did you get called to a last-minute photoshoot?

I hope you had a nice day

Everyone missed you at school

It was really busy at the bakery today. We had this one customer who needed us to list every ingredient we put into our cookies, cupcakes, and macrons before she would buy anything. It took such a long time. She was nice though.

Are you okay?

Am I bothering you?

I hope I'm not bothering you. You're probably busy I'm sorry

A part of her feared he was simply ignoring her. Maybe he wanted to break up. Maybe he was so annoyed with the fact that she had sent a billion texts that he wanted to dump her and that's why he wouldn't respond. Or maybe he was dying. Regardless of what it was, she needed to go see him.

She was already in her pajamas, but it would probably be okay if she just ran over to his home with a coat. It was late, but she couldn't shake her worry. The idea that he was sick was most likely, and she packed a few things in a plastic bag before heading over. Arriving at the mansion, she pressed at the buzzer. It took some time for anybody to respond, but eventually a female voice, whom she assumed belonged to Adrien's father's secretary Nathalie. Her tone was bland and weary.

"Mme. Dupain-Cheng, do you realise it is late in the evening? What business do you have?"

"I wanted to check up on Adrien. He wasn't at school today and he hasn't been responding to any of my texts."

"Adrien has taken the day off and is sick. I'll let him know you came."

"But I want to see him!"

"He will not be seeing anyone tonight. Good night Mme Dupain-Cheng." Marinette could hear the com click off and was left out in the cold. She wasn't going to stand for this. There was more than one way to see Adrien tonight, and she wasn't going to go home until she was sure he was okay.

Seconds later, she was at his window, hanging from the roof on her yo-yo. After checking to make sure he was left alone for the night, she tapped lightly at the pane. Drearily, his silhouette managed to open up one of the windows, letting her in. With ever step he took, she felt worse for making him get up at all. He was clearly sick.

"Marinette!" he whispered. "What are you doing here?" Coughs erupted from his throat shortly after he spoke.

"You're sick," she replied, her eyes full of worry. Without thinking, she lifted him into her arms and placed him back in bed, tucking him in snugly.

"I'm fine. The worst is over. By tomorrow, I'll be walking around again." Marinette frowned. Even without night-vision, she could see how awful he looked. His nose was red, his eyes tired, and his voice sounded terribly raspy. She wondered if he was whispering to be quiet, or whispering because he hadn't a voice left.

Detransforming and allowing Tikki to wander where she may, Marinette draped herself over Adrien's blanketed body in what was meant to be a hug. He welcomed it.

"You'll get sick," he warned her, but did nothing to push her away.

"That's okay. You said the worst was over." Her voice was muffled by the covers. "Oh, I almost forgot, I brought you some things." She ran back to the discarded bag by the window. "Just small things, since I thought you'd have the best care here and it wasn't as if you didn't have medicine or soup or anything." Out of the bag came a few books, a knitted object, and a jar. "I've got some manga and books, a hat that I had been meaning to give you, I admit I was knitting nervously all afternoon and it was finished sooner than I thought it would be, and I have some hot chocolate powder with marshmallows and peppermint in a jar. But, I guess you don't really want that right now…"

Past his sleepy eyes, Adrien grinned contentedly. She could see the adoration smouldering through him. "You're amazing Marinette. I love you." She met his smile with her own.

"I love you too." The grip on her hand tightened ever so slightly.

"I think the best thing right now would be if you just, sat here with me for a while. Could you?"

"Of course!" she said, nearly exclaiming just a little too loudly. "I mean, of course." Marinette made herself comfortable, taking a seat on the bed and holding on to Adrien's outstretched hand. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you."