💀 pour oublier ma peine immense

[bonnechance]

It had been a long and hard three years.

Ladybug had run out of fingers with which to count the sticky situations she and Chat Noir had been in because of Hawkmoth. But finally, finally, she and her partner had him dead to rights. As time went on, they had grown desperate, and they'd made mistakes - but nothing they hadn't been able to fix. He'd made mistakes, too, and that was how the two of them had managed to track him down.

Heart pounding, she cast her gaze down at the man that had been their adversary for so long. Hawkmoth stared back at the both of them with a dark glare full of loathing. There were a lot of things she had wanted to ask him when she finally caught up to him, but there was only one question she was actually able to form.

"How could you?" She whispered, her voice ragged. She was breathing heavily - the fight had taken a lot out of her. Out of her partner, and out of their enemy, too; had it gone on much longer, they all might have dropped dead out of exhaustion. "You hurt so many people."

Hawkmoth's eyes glittered, and he pressed his lips together into a thin line. Ladybug felt something roll down her cheek - sweat, she hoped, and not blood or tears, but she'd taken a hit to the temple earlier and she couldn't be certain that it wasn't bleeding (and in fact it was). But she was in better shape than him, at least. He was beaten down, he had lost.

All that remained was to take his Miraculous and make sure that Nooroo's power never, ever fell int the hands of someone like him ever again.

His refusal to answer stirred anger in her where there had once been pity.

"Men. Women. Children. You used them all - and for what? What on earth could have been worth it? I don't understand. Explain yourself, Hawkmoth."

He didn't answer. He looked between the two of them, seething. Ladybug scowled and knelt down in front of him, curled her fingers around his brooch, and yanked it away from his suit.

The magic holding his transformation together fell apart, and Nooroo emerged from the butterfly Miraculous at long last. Ladybug cradled him in the crook of her arm and watched as the facial features of their nemesis became clear.

A well-dressed man, middle-aged. Nobody she recognized. Without his Miraculous, he should have been powerless. Defeated. Done for.

She didn't catch his smirk until it was too late.

His hand darted into the suit jacket that hadn't been there before, and his fingers closed around something she couldn't see. "I'll make you understand," He snarled, and the next thing she knew his hand emerged from the jacket and the crack of a gunshot split the air. "Perhaps now we'll share the same wish."

There was a gun in his hand, Ladybug realized, as a dull roar and the man's twisted, bitter laughter filled her ears. He hadn't aimed at her. She turned toward her partner with dread.

He had aimed at him, and his laughter was not the laughter of a man who had missed his mark.

Comments

[sunsoutpunsout]

Adrien's vision tunneled, and only concentrating on his breathing kept him from passing out. His iron grip on the counter kept him from falling over, but it all made him terribly dizzy. Marinette's voice reached him through the fog, and her hand on his shoulder brought him back like a lifeline.

With great effort, he turned his head to look up at her. He was pale and sweaty, but already coming back. Being in a sitting position was doing him some good already.

"... hey." He sounded breathless, and a moment later the guilt crept in. "Didn't mean to scare you."

His teeth chattered a little, lingering shock.

[bonnechance]

She wouldn't say that he hadn't scared her - he had. She wouldn't say that it was okay - it wasn't. But she shifted her hand away from his shoulder so that she could wrap hsr arm around him, and then took him by the elbow with her other hand.

"Do you think you're okay to get back to bed or do you need a minute?"

Marinette's voice was gentle, but there was an underlying firmness to it, too. She wasn't going to be going anywhere until she could be certain he was okay.

...even if she had to princess carry him back to his bed to do it.

[sunsoutpunsout]

Marinette's arm around him was warm and calming, and Adrien felt stupid about freaking out... but was still too freaked out to be completely calm.

"Just a minute," he whispered, and lay his head on her shoulder, his fingers on her arm. Every breath, he gathered up his strength, pushed away his fear, doubt and pain.

He was alive he was alive he was alive he could do this.

[bonnechance]

"Take as long as you need," Marinette murmured, adjusting her hold on him as he settled his head against her shoulder so that she could support him better.

She could feel his heart beating. Hers beat in time with his - both of them having been frightened, for somewhat similar reasons - and as the seconds ticked by, her breathing began to match his as well.

Breathe in, breathe out. You're okay. I've got you.

Even now, they were in sync.

[sunsoutpunsout]

Feeling Marinette's arms around him, soaking in her warmth, Adrien breathed through the lingering panic and started to relax. Her breathing settled into a pattern with his, and together, they slowed down.

His thumb brushed over her arm, soothing them both.

The doubts crept up, and he pushed them back as best he could, concentrating only on the next breath. Marinette was here for him. He, who could barely remember her, but would already do anything for her.

"I'm sorry for scaring you," he whispered against her neck. He didn't mean just now. Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer.

[bonnechance]

Her heart gave an out-of-place little flutter when she felt his breath on her neck, and she did her best to ignore it. Not the time, definitely not the place for her to be getting all giddy over being this close to him. There would be time for that later, after he was recovered.

"There's nothing to be scared of anymore," she whispered, and it was an attempt to reassure herself as much as it was an attempt to reassure him. "You're going to be okay."

It registered on her then that she was the one Nooroo had come to fetch, not Gabriel; part of her wondered why that was. She would ask him later.

"You're going to be okay," she repeated, and hugged him close.

[sunsoutpunsout]

For the first time with full clarity, Adrien imagined what Marinette must have been through. Though his body was the one with the wounds, he hadn't been awake to be terrified and helpless. He couldn't imagine what that must have felt like.

Though their story was a mystery, the way she treated him left no doubt of how much she cared for him, and he could hear the way she comforted herself with her own words.

He would not worry her again. He would not put her through this again.

Adrien resolved to recover.

For the moment, he allowed himself this weakness, allowed himself to need her. He breathed in the scent of her skin, and deep down, understood that this was for the both of them.

[bonnechance]

Holding Adrien like this allowed Marinette to center herself, and she allowed herself the time to just feel him in her arms and know that he was here, okay, recovering well enough that he'd managed to get to his bathroom before collapsing.

It was remarkable. Anyone else with wounds like his probably wouldn't have made it across the room.

Finally, though, she took a breath.

"I'm going to carry you back to your bed now," she whispered. "If that's okay with you. ...is it okay with you?"

[sunsoutpunsout]

To be fair, not knowing how hurt he was had made it easier. Now that Adrien knew he'd lost more than one bit of his skull, he was more inclined to be gentle with himself.

But wait, woah, back up there.

"You can lift me?" he asked, slightly alarmed and very impressed. "I don't want you to hurt yourself-"

[bonnechance]

"I can lift you," Marinette confirmed with the beginnings of a smile tugging up at her lips.

That's right. He didn't know she was Ladybug; heck, he probably didn't even know there was a Ladybug. She tried not to think about that too deeply as she adjusted her hold on him, hooking one arm below his knees and keeping the other securely around his back.

She braced herself, then stood, taking an easy step toward the door. "See? Nothing to it. I've got you."

[sunsoutpunsout]

The adjustment in blood pressure about did him in, but he clung to her, feeling a wave dizziness and nausea as Marinette lifted him up off the ground.

It was no small feat. She wasn't a very tall girl, and he probably outweighed her by a good fifty or so pounds (even with his injuries, and having lost some weight he probably couldn't afford to) but she'd deadlifted him like he was nothing.

Adrien felt a very badly-timed drop in his stomach that had nothing to do with how hurt he was.

... okay.

[bonnechance]

...so maybe she was showing off a little.

At least she had a decent excuse - growing up in a bakery to start with, hauling around mannequins as she got more into designing - to explain away the strength without delving too much into the superhero thing.

She slipped through the bathroom door and crossed the room back to his bed, walking slowly and carefully to keep from jostling him too much. She was gentle as she leaned over and eased him back into bed.

"You okay...?"

He'd been so quiet.

[sunsoutpunsout]

"I'm okay."

Adrien hurt and was lightheaded, but okay was relative. He was okay enough to answer her, but not much else. He eased down into the sheets with a sigh, reluctant to let go of her but relieved to be horizontal. His cheeks were a little bit pink.

Clearing his throat, Adrien lifted one hand.

"... you're strong."

[bonnechance]

"My parents own a bakery," She explained. "I've been lifting bags of flour since I could walk."

It was an echo of a conversation she could vaguely remember having once, a long time ago, but she did her best to ignore the sharp pang in her heart. That he didn't know why she was so strong was nobody's fault but Hawkmoth's.

"Comes with the territory, you know?"

[sunsoutpunsout]

It did trip something. A truck, the sound of a rough-idling engine. The smell of flour, petrol and sweat, and a large, gentle hand patting Adrien's shoulder.

He caught his breath, blinking a few times, staring off into space, trying to chase that feeling. It slipped away like sand through his fingers.

He cleared his throat instead, lifting an eyebrow. "Bags of flour, huh?"

[bonnechance]

"That's right," Marinette answered, sounding and looking a little more cheery than she had felt in the last week or so. This conversation was going... Well. Amazingly well, considering that it had started with her finding him half-collapsed on the bathroom floor.

She pulled back a little, then held up her arm so that she could flex.

"Nothing better for building up muscle strength," she joked. "Not even actual weights."

[sunsoutpunsout]

Watching her made it easier to forget the uneasy shift in his stomach that came from not remembering. He wanted to reach for her, make a show of feeling her bicep, but he wasn't sure he wouldn't accidentally smack her instead due to his lack of coordination.

"Have you lifted me before?" he asked, a little playfully, intending to suggest that he help her with a few reps.

[bonnechance]

"Probably not the way you're thinking," Marinette replied, thinking back to winding her yo-yo's string around him as Ladybug and pulling him over a streetlamp, or literally throwing him off her when they'd gotten tangled up in a fight.

They were superheroes. They led interesting lives.

"Why," She asked with a tilt of her head and a bit of a mischievous sparkle in her eyes, "Are you interested in being lifted?"

Someone really needed to tell her to stop flirting with the invalid.

[sunsoutpunsout]

Well, that wasn't where his mind went. Adrien's mouth opened, and for a moment he just stared at her, before a very Chat Noir grin spread across his face.

"I might not be a bag of flour, but if you knead me, I'm sure I could rise to the occasion."

... there he was. And apparently even brain damage couldn't stop him.

[bonnechance]

...did he really just—

That was Chat Noir. That was pure Chat Noir, and she knew that Chat and Adrien were the same person, so it was pure Adrien, too, but he'd seemed so subdued (and understandably so) that she'd honestly been worried that the traces of her partner would have to be coaxed back.

But no, they'd been there all along. As what he'd said sunk in, though, her cheeks flushed pink and she looked torn between laughing, jumping for joy, and crying.

"You haven't lost your rye sense of humor," She finally managed in a whisper. "I'm so glad."

[sunsoutpunsout]

As Marinette's face flushed, Adrien wondered if he'd made totally the wrong call, but she didn't look uncomfortable. If anything, she seemed to find it a little too familiar.

He paused for a moment, then reached out for her hand, taking it in both of his, running his thumb over the back of it thoughtfully.

"Hey," he whispered, tugging gently. "Come up here."

Honestly, she looked like she needed a hug.

[bonnechance]

He managed to take her hand without smacking anything. Progress. Marinette's lips curved up a little at that.

"What is it...?"

Did he need something? She wasn't sure. But she scooted forward, just next to his bedside, and reached over with one hand to brush some of his hair away from his face tenderly.

That he might try to give her a hug was the last thing she expected... it wouldn't be at all unwelcome, though.

[sunsoutpunsout]

Adrien had been about to scoot over to make more room for her, but her fingers brushing his hair back from his face felt too good. Now that he knew what he looked like, he was even more appreciative of her total lack of hesitation.

A smile peeked out, but then he reached up for her.

"Can't be comfortable in that chair," he finally said, shifting over.

[bonnechance]

"It's a little more comfortable than it looks," Marinette mumbled, glancing back at it just briefly before returning her gaze to him. "But that's not really saying much."

—it hit her, a moment later, as she processed the space he'd cleared by shifting over. Oh. Was that really okay? Adrien seemed to think it was - he was reaching for her, even - and without really thinking it over, she took his hands and nodded before moving in to fill the space.

What Adrien wanted, he got. She'd decided that a long time ago. And honestly? She wanted it, too. She'd been uneasy, being a few rooms away; sticking close was probably for the better, and if the chair was uncomfortable, then...

[sunsoutpunsout]

It was no time to worry about how clean the sheets were, or if he'd brushed his teeth, or how bad he looked. His heart gave a little thump as she climbed up next to him, and he squeezed Marinette's hands.

Carefully, he arranged himself for the least amount of pain from his injuries, with one exception.

He put his arm around her.