Title: Revive
Rating: T
Series: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
Sub-Series: Multiverse Series
Pairing: Marinette/Adrien (Adrienette)
Summary: On the brink of death, Adrien realizes who and what is most important to him, bringing a drastic change to his life.
Disclaimer: All characters, events, locations, products, etc. are the property of their respective owners and/or copyright/intellectual property holders.
Multiverse Disclaimer: All Fanfiction by its very nature is an Alternate Universe; some are just more alternate than others are. My multiverse stories are my versions of 'what-ifs'. Some are based on what if another author had done 'this', and some are what if the actual writers had done 'that'. I firmly believe in the suspension of doubt, but doubt can only be expelled so far before it gets to the 'come on' point. My stories will never reach that point. So, all I ask is that you sit back, relax, and enjoy the story, and if you liked it enough, please leave me a nice little review.
AN: As I was writing this, I realized that I unintentionally took several pieces of inspiration from other stories. Both stories are amazing and always worth several reads. So, given this, I would like to both thank and dedicate my inspiration to Shateu's story Do Not Mess With My Lady, and PurpleBooks58's Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Myth Buster. As I said, both contributed several ideas, unconsciously, and I just wanted to give credit where credit was due. Both are available on .
AN 2: I started this story on July 6, 2021, my brother's birthday, and have been working on it off and on since then. In March 2022, my brother passed away. I was in the middle of writing this story when we found out, I have not been able to write a single word on any story since that day. Just recently, in the past few months, I have started to get interested in reading fan fiction again and that inspired me to start writing again. I guess that I have been able to find some peace. I only mention this so that you, the reader, can know how this story is truly a labor of love.
Song Inspiration:
"Deliver Me" – Sara Brightman
"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" – Bryan Adams
"Illusion" – VNV Nation
o.0.o.0.o
His breath caught in his throat when he saw her, her natural beauty highlighted by the surrounding environment.
He finally remembered to breathe when she slowly approached him, her eyes captivating him even through the gauzy material that covered them. From the depths, their brilliant bluebell blue shone with a radiant light he could never hope to capture on film.
Soon her hand was placed into his and he was lost in those eyes, her pink lips just visible through the thin material, the smile that graced them impossible to miss.
Vaguely he heard a voice speaking next to him, words about 'coming together to join,' or something like that. He paid them no mind, his eyes and being entirely focused on the girl before him.
He eventually tuned in to the words being spoken when he heard her name on the other person's lips.
"Do you take Adrien to be your lawfully wedded husband…" the voice droned on; the full implications of the words lost on the young man for the moment.
Soon a buzz began to sound in his ear; it started small but eventually grew louder as fragments of a word forced their way into his mind.
"-rien."
He tried to shake the noise and focus on the girl in front of him, her captivating eyes, and lips all he could see, all he wanted to see.
"M…" he started to whisper her name only to have the words stolen from his throat when the buzzing grew louder, more of the word becoming clear as it did.
"-drien."
He shook his head to clear the noise; her smile could faintly be seen through the material he now realized was a bridal veil. His smile grew as he realized this beautiful woman was marrying him, the previous words finally penetrating his brain.
He tried to focus on the smile he could see behind the veil, but the buzzing grew louder and louder as a headache began to form behind his eyes. He had to squint as the pain brought bright flashes of light, the buzzing growing even louder.
"Adrien," he heard his name as the buzzing grew in intensity and pain began to radiate from his stomach.
"Adrien," his name grew louder as the light, buzzing, and pain all intensified. Eventually, he realized his chest was hurting and he was having trouble breathing.
"ADRIEN!"
His name resounded with a tiny forceful slap, and he was snapped awake, a glob of blood spilling from his mouth as he coughed back into the real world, his dream of the woman he truly loved fading into nothingness as blinding white pain tore through his body.
"Plagg?" he said through the blood filling his mouth, the pain sapping any strength he had left, he was barely able to stifle a cry of pain. Weakly he lifted his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, it languidly rose and smeared more than it cleaned.
Adrien couldn't fight the fatigue he was feeling, he just wanted to sleep and return to his dream and his bride, he knew her, deep in his heart, he knew he knew her. But try as he might he could not remember her name, just her bluebell eyes, and pink lips.
"Come on kid, stay with me," the Kwami said as he slapped Adrien again, trying to keep his holder from falling asleep again.
"I'm here, Plagg," he replied in a soft, weak voice.
With bleary eyes Adrien took in the scene, he was laying in an alley, his stomach was torn open, and he was wheezing from a chest wound. While he had never been very good at Biology, Adrien was pretty sure that his lungs were filling with blood, making it even more difficult to breathe.
He vaguely heard the sounds of battle from the street; he realized at once that his Lady was still fighting the Akuma, alone.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to push himself up only for his strength to vanish and send him crashing back against the brick wall behind him.
He coughed up more blood as he stared at Plagg, the small creature that had been his only friend for the longest time.
With a small smile, he gave in to the dawning realization that he was dying.
"Plagg," he called to the small black cat-like creature that floated inches from his face. Adrien slowly lifted a blood-covered hand from his chest and gently stroked Plagg's head.
While the little god of destruction would never admit it, Adrien could see tears falling from the creature's eyes.
"It'll be okay, Plagg, it's not the first time you've lost a Black Cat," Adrien said as he carefully stroked the little god's head.
"But they weren't you, Adrien; you're the best kitten I've had in millennia."
Adrien smiled weakly as he let his hand drop and his head fall back against the wall.
"You were my first true friend," he admitted with a shuddering breath, blood bubbling up his throat as he struggled to breathe, foamy blood spilling from his chest.
"It's because of you that I was able to have so many experiences, thank you for that." He gave a genuine smile to his partner, knowing it could be the very last time he ever did so.
There were so many things he wanted to say, so many things, but he knew that his time was running out.
"Plagg, I want you to do something for me," he said after a moment of struggling to breathe, eyes closed for a moment as he concentrated on his words, he soon found the strength to open them again and look at Plagg.
"Anything," the Kwami said through his tears.
"I want you to tell Marinette what happened to me, she was my first real human friend and deserves to know." He paused for a moment as he imagined the baker's daughter in his mind. Her bluebell eyes, pink lips, a smattering of freckles, and blue-black hair filled his mind and made his weakening heart give a mighty thump. While Chloé may have been his first friend, she wasn't what he would call a true friend, no, that honor belonged to Marinette and Marinette alone, just like his heart.
"I don't know how it happened, Plagg," he said as his eyes began to droop, "but I care so much for her, maybe even more than my Lady, I think I love her. So, do me a favor and tell her how much I care about her, tell her I love her, and tell Ladybug how sorry I am."
His words began to trail off as his eyes closed.
Plagg flew forward and slapped him again, only managing to rouse him for a moment, beneath Adrien the pool of blood grew larger and larger.
"Tell her yourself," he said as he held Adrien's face, "you'll survive this just like all the other times."
Adrien just smiled.
"I love you too, Plagg, be… sure… to tell…. Mari…. I… love… h…"
He trailed off entirely as his eyes finally closed and his breathing stopped, his heart following moments later. His body slumped against the wall as his blood pooled beneath him, the sticky red substance now covering his lifeless right hand and the silver ring that sat on his finger. His blonde hair was matted with sweat, and trails of blood were drying on his chin.
Even as the Miraculous Cure spread across the city, it was too late, Adrien Agreste, also known as the superhero Chat Noir, was dead.
Yet, even as the tears continued to fall from Plagg's eyes, the precious magic of the Miraculous Cure did its work and healed Adrien's body. The only thing Plagg needed to know as he watched the blood disappear and the wounds heal was whether the magic had been in time to save Adrien's life. The Cure would always heal the damage done, so long as there was an Akuma attack to undo the damage from. However, if Adrien was too far gone, not even the magic could bring him back.
Silently he waited, off in the distance he could hear Ladybug calling for his kitten, but Plagg would not leave him, even for her. So, he stayed by his side. A minute passed, then another before Plagg noticed the gentle rise and fall of Adrien's chest as he slowly took in air, his body reacting on its own.
As he waited, he knew it was still a gamble as to whether or not Adrien would wake up or end up in a coma for the rest of his life.
A sound off to the side caught his attention and he glanced over to see Ladybug swinging away, the faint sound of beeping reaching Plagg's sensitive ears. Her time was almost up, she had to leave before she de-transformed. Plagg assumed that she thought Chat Noir had been in a similar situation and had left before his time ran out.
Not for the first time did Plagg wish that Ladybug's Kwami had been able to convince her to reveal their identities to each other. It would make this entire situation so much easier if she knew who his kitten was.
With a sigh, he nuzzled under Adrien's chin and waited, he could have contacted Ladybug, but he knew his kitten would not want her to discover his identity like this. So, all the little god of destruction could do was wait, and hope Adrien woke up.