2. Light's Out

Marinette. 

Marinette was Ladybug.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. The sweet, caring girl from school, the girl with a heart of gold and determination like no other. The girl who stumbled on her words when he was near… was his beloved Ladybug.

He let himself have a moment’s respite and allowed his heart to swell at the revelation.

He let out the breath he was holding and reached out with a trembling hand, running his gloved fingers down the side of her face, gently caressing her cheek with a thumb. He was suddenly very aware of the quickening heartbeat in his ears.

Marinette was Ladybug.

His fingers traveled further up, carefully brushing her bangs away from her eyes. Her hair was sticky with blood, and his eyes passed over every contour on her face as if it was the first time he saw her. His breath faltered.

Marinette was Ladybug. 

She had been so close to him all this time. Sat behind him in class, worked on projects with him, hung out with him… 

And now here she was, lying flush against him and bleeding. A lot. 

Blood. Staining her face. And shirt. And arms. And... 

A sudden jolt traveled through his spine at the sight of the blood coating his chest, breaking his stupor, yanking him back to reality. He was suddenly very aware that he was trembling and that there was a sting in his eyes. He shuddered and pulled Marinette against his chest, as if that alone kept her tethered to life.

“Oh god, M-Marinette...” he choked out, holding her as he rocked slightly, “Open your eyes, please…Wake up...”

He caused this. His negligence caused this. He hurt his classmate. His friend. His partner. 

His partner.

His chest constricted painfully. 

This is my fault... This is my fault...

“Chat Noir… ”

The small voice broke through his mental tirade and he paused. Was that…? Did Marinette just…? 

He looked down at her. Her eyes were still closed. Her lips were slightly parted but they were pale and unmoving, barely drawing breath... 

“Chat Noir… here… ”

There it was again. A small, high pitched voice coming from underneath Marinette. He looked around her head and he saw her. A small, red creature slumped on the ground, looking so weak and beat-up that she was barely able to turn her head up to look at Chat. 

He reached down with a hand, gently taking the little Kwami in his hands and lifting her up. She was in really bad shape. 

“Y-You’re…” 

“Tikki…” the Kwami said, leaning against his fingers with trembling paws, “I’m Ladybug’s Kwami…” 

“Ladybug’s Kwami…” he repeated, as if in a trance. 

“Chat, she needs help… ” Tikki said between exhausted breaths, her tone urgent, desperate. “She is hurt really bad. Please…” Chat could see the little Kwami was fading, using sheer willpower alone to keep herself awake. 

“Don’t let them take her Miraculous…” Tikki said, “Please, save her …” 

“What can I do?” Chat asked desperately. 

Tikki’s eyelids were slowly drooping. “Outside…go...” But as soon as the last word left her lips, she collapsed on his palm. 

He gave a sharp intake of breath. Of course. There were ambulances outside. He could pass her as an injured civilian. He could save her yet. 

With renewed vigor, Chat put Tikki down and reached up again, gently removing Marinette’s earrings and tucking them away within the safety of his pockets. Then, with as much gentleness, he grabbed Tikki again and eased the unconscious Kwami into the space between the crook of his neck and the collar of his suit, where she fit snug and safe. 

He slid a hand underneath Marinette’s knees, the other one around her back, and hauled her up with him. 

“Hang in there, Marinette. …” He squeezed her to him briefly, and then broke into a run. 

You’re going to be okay. he chanted in his head, You’re going to be okay… 

His mind went numb, absent. Adrenaline fueled his motions. His body seemed to be moving of its own accord, leading his legs to his goal with a sense of urgency unlike anything he had ever felt before. Before he knew it, he had escaped the building and bounded into the streets below, running towards the nearest ambulance. 

He barely heard his own voice pleading for help as he pushed Marinette toward one of the paramedics, their eyes wide in surprise. He could feel himself fighting back the tears, his voice hoarse from raw emotion. 

“Please, save her …” he heard himself repeat over and over, telling the men in black and orange her name, where she lived, what was happening to her. They seemed taken aback by Chat Noir’s desperation, but they acknowledged his urgency and took Marinette from him, easing her broken body on a stretcher, as another paramedic tried to stem the flow of blood from her head. 

There was so much of it.

He looked on the proceedings in silence, his mind miles away. His stomach recoiled at the big crimson splotches all over her clothes and skin. He idly registered questions being directed at him from the media reporters on the scene who had caught up with him, but he didn’t answer any of them. His mind tuned them out, focused solely on Marinette - his Ladybug - being hauled up on the back of the ambulance on the stretcher. The ambulance fleeing the scene, taking Marinette with it. 

In the haze of his thoughts, he suddenly wondered if Alya was there, too. He wondered if she had seen it. 

He was afraid to look, but he did so anyways. He looked around for her. She was always there, risking her neck for the best scoop whenever Ladybug and Chat Noir were around. She was reckless and hard-headed like that. 

It didn't take long to find her. There she was indeed. A blur of brown and red through his tear-filled eyes, looking at him from the sidewalk. Her hands were on her mouth, her eyes blown wide in shock, glistening with welled up tears. Her phone lay discarded at her feet. She must have dropped it when she saw just who Chat was carrying.

She lowered her hands only barely, enough to mouth Marinette’s name in disbelief.

And then Chat couldn’t stand being there any longer. 

He drew his baton, extending it and vaulting to the nearest roof. As soon as he found purchase on the tiles, he broke into a run. The tears finally came, mingling with the gentle drops that continued to fall from the sky, sliding down his face. 

He could still hear the blaring of the ambulances from far away, even with the sound of the wind in his ears. He didn’t know if they were actually there or just haunting his mind, reminding him of the precious cargo one of them carried.

Eventually, he made it home, slinking through the window and immediately falling to his hands and knees, panting. His arms trembled, threatening to give out, and he choked back a sob. Low, garbled voices reached his ears from the computer set in his room. He probably left it on. He didn’t recall, and he didn’t really care. Cold was quickly encompassing him, numbing his senses.

He barely heard the last warning beep from his ring before his disguise disintegrated in a green flash. Plagg tumbled out of the ring with a whine, lying dazed on the floor. Adrien then felt something warm slipping from his neck and instinctively brought a hand up in time to catch a falling Tikki. 

“Tikki!” Adrien cradled the unconscious Kwami in his hands, pulling himself up and stumbling to his bed. He laid her carefully on his pillow, stroking her tiny head with a trembling finger. “Tikki?”

“Move over!” came Plagg’s sudden screech as he zoomed past Adrien to land on Tikki’s side, moving Adrien’s hand away. “Tikki! Tikki, talk to me!” 

Plagg fussed over her, stroking her head gingerly in an attempt to wake her but Tikki didn’t stir; she was knocked out cold. 

Adrien watched, almost in a daze. 

Just as his mind began to shut down from the adrenaline draining from his body, the garbled voices started filtering into his head again in the shape of half-formed sentences. 

“...Chat Noir was….. Akuma… buildings… in its radius….Ladybug….” 

He turned his head at his larger computer screen. He had two windows open: Alya’s Ladyblog and the local news broadcast. Alya’s live feed had gone dark, but he knew perfectly well why that was. The news broadcast was still going, however, and he set his attention there.

The reporter was giving a summary of the events of that day, pointing out the destructive power of the Akuma and urging people to remain vigilant and vacate the premises if he was spotted. She then switched to talk about Ladybug and Chat Noir and Adrien tensed, feeling cold wash over him again. Footage from their battle appeared on screen; the camera was shaky, shot from the streets, but he saw it clearly, the exact moment it all went downhill.

They were behind the turret, talking. Ladybug had raised her arm to conjure Lucky Charm, and then Demoman hit. Even though the video was at normal speed, Adrien’s mind played it in painful slow motion: The moment he pushed her out of the way and leapt back. The moment she stumbled in an attempt to catch the Lucky Charm. The moment she realized she wasn’t fast enough, her eyes wide. The moment the wrecking ball slammed into her and smashed her through the roof. The moment her body disappeared under the rubble in a cloud of dust. The moment the ball retracted and she didn’t come back up…

Adrien’s stomach churned painfully, hot tears escaping his eyes, unbidden. 

The reporter continued. The headline Where is Ladybug? rolled on the bottom of the broadcast, as they played the footage of Demoman escaping and Chat Noir fighting alone. The feed cut to the chaotic streets, where smoke and dust flooded the air among mounds of rubble. There was yelling and people running around, helping others who had gotten hurt in the attack. Some people were bleeding from wounds on their arms or heads, limping away. A new headline rolled. No casualties so far, but a lot of injured civilians. The worst ones off were being eased into stretchers and taken to the hospital.

Paramedics were flitting around, helping the critically wounded when he saw himself emerge as Chat Noir from a cloud of dust, carrying Marinette’s bleeding body in his arms, pleading with the paramedics. He looked terrible. Covered in soot, shaken, his eyes manic and his body caked in blood. Marinette’s blood. Adrien froze.

He saw her. He saw her clear as day. Limp like a rag doll in his arms, her face a ghostly white. He saw the strips of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth and nose. He saw the large gash on her head clearer than ever, deep and open and bleeding profusely, staining her clothing all the way from her shirt to her pants, covering his chest and his arms. Adrien hated it. Hated how lifeless she looked. Hated how his mind kept conjuring the same words over and over in his head... 

She is dead. 

Marinette is dead... 

And just like that, his head spun, his vision blurred, and Adrien doubled over, heaving on the floor before all went black.

The next time he woke, his head was pounding as though he’d been hit by a freight train.  He grimaced at the taste of bile in his mouth, swallowing thickly, his throat dry. His eyes hurt. Looking up at the light from his computer screen he was forced to turn away, but it was bright and painful even behind closed lids.

He groaned as he slowly rolled onto his back. After a moment, he lifted a trembling arm to latch on to the edge of the bed to pull himself up to a sitting position, careful to avoid the spot on the floor where he was sure the contents of his stomach lay. 

With much difficulty, he managed to crack open his swollen eyes. He let his gaze land on the view outside his window. It was completely dark, and the rain was falling harder now, pit-pattering against the windowpanes. His room was also sunk in darkness, save for the glow of his computer screen, and he wondered just how long he had been out. He didn’t even remember passing out.

He felt exhausted; his limbs like lead. 

“Plagg…” Adrien rasped, grabbing his aching head as he rested his back on the edge of his bed. “What time is it?” 

“Ask your phone,” came Plagg’s reply from the pillow, almost bitter, “It’s been chiming non-stop.” 

Adrien sighed as he pulled himself to his feet with shaking arms. His hands fumbled as he attempted to grab the phone on the computer desk, his eyes slow to adjust to the light of his room. Plagg was on his pillow, curled up beside Tikki, who still seemed to be out of it. Adrien could see the worry lining the black Kwami’s tiny green eyes, but decided not to press. 

He clicked the home button on his phone, and was greeted by several messages piled up in his inbox, as well as some missed calls from… Alya? His heart skipped a beat. Most of the messages were from Alya too...He tapped her name, bringing up the message log. 

5:31 PM [Alya: Adrien are u there?  

5:35 PM [Alya : did you see the news?

5:43 PM [Alya: i need to talk to you asap. Please text me back

6:00 PM [MISSED CALL FROM ALYA CÉSAIRE]

6:03 PM [MISSED CALL FROM ALYA CÉSAIRE]

6:04 PM [Alya : please pick up

6:10 PM [Alya: Mari’s in the hospital. akuma attack.

6:11 PM [Alya : it's bad

6:12 PM [Alya :  I’m with her parents rn. waiting for news.

6:14 PM [Alya : Call me when u see this

6:40 PM [MISSED CALL FROM ALYA CÉSAIRE]

6:43 PM [MISSED CALL FROM ALYA CÉSAIRE]

7:20 PM [Alya: Still no news. where are you?

7:30 PM [Alya: Adrien?

He blinked, his lethargic mind still processing the texts. Mari. Hospital. Bad . Alya was in the hospital with Marinette’s parents, waiting for news on Marinette’s state. She wanted to talk to him, of all people.

It all came rushing back to him at once; he had to squeeze his eyes shut to keep himself from retching again. He sat on the bed, took a few steadying breaths, and opened his eyes again. His phone read 7:35 PM, so her last message had been sent only five minutes ago. Marinette was alive. She wasn’t dead… at least, not yet. He allowed himself to let out a shaky breath of relief.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Adrien asked Plagg with annoyance.

“You were out cold. Besides, you were freaking out.” Plagg said. “It was driving me crazy.” 

Adrien scoffed, “You are one to talk.” his eyes then softened when he saw Tikki beside him. “How is she doing?” 

“Not too good…” 

“What’s wrong with her?” 

“She-” 

“...Plagg?” Tikki croaked suddenly, opening her eyes a crack to look at the black Kwami beside her. 

“Tikki!” Plagg cried, “Are you okay? Why did you go and do that for!?” Plagg accused, holding her head in his paws. 

“I had to…” 

“What are you talking about?” Adrien asked her. "Do what?"

“She did something we shouldn’t do.” Plagg said with an angry squeak. 

“And what’s that?” 

Once she had gotten some of her bearings together, Tikki sighed, trying to sit up. “As you know, your suits are magic...” she started, her voice weak and hoarse. She was not really looking at Adrien, barely able to speak, let alone turn her head. “We lend you our power to improve your abilities and make you stronger, faster, more resilient.. that way you are able to resist pain that would normally cripple you were you in civilian form...” 

“But the suits don’t stop you from feeling things altogether, so you may still feel some pain or get hurt under the suit,” Plagg continued for her, “The only reason you usually come out unscathed is because of the Miraculous Ladybug ’s power, which heals everything. I guess what I’m trying to say is, we take that damage for you and absorb it.” 

“But... you guys look fine when we transform back,” Adrien argued, trying to understand, “Unless we use our powers, it doesn’t look like you go through anything. You don’t even look tired!” 

“You could say we are gods of a sort, so we have much more resistance than you. The normal damage you guys go through daily is really not that big a deal for us, so really, it’s not an issue.” Plagg said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“But we absorb all of the damage you take anyway,” Tikki continued, “So you don’t have to feel all of it, because we are made to withstand that.” 

“But there’s… instances, were it can be too much, even for us.” Plagg hesitated.

“Such as…?” Adrien pressed. 

“As far as the laws of the universe are concerned, Ladybug should’ve died today.” Plagg said. 

The straightforward, almost emotionless way Plagg said it sent a shiver down Adrien’s spine. 

“The hit was too much. Her body was completely shattered, even with the power of the suit taking the brunt of it.” Tikki breathed, “But… I tried to heal her. I used up my energy to try and mend everything I could in her body and keep her alive. But it’s hard. Your special powers are like a spell, so unless Ladybug says Miraculous Ladybug, I can’t do much on my own. I had to force myself through the seal that binds us, which took all of my power. When the roof caved on her, I tried to hold on and keep the transformation up so it wouldn’t crush her...But because my energy was already spent from using Lucky Charm and keeping her alive… she still ended up pretty badly hurt, I couldn’t heal all of her…”

“When you arrived, and took her out, I finally let her transformation go.” Tikki finished with an exhausted sigh. 

“Essentially, Tikki nearly traded her life for Ladybug’s, by saving her and keeping up the transformation beyond the threshold…” Plagg said. “It's one thing to unleash our power when our wielder casts it, and another to break through the seal that binds us to your whim and bring someone back to life. What Tikki did was no little thing, and it could’ve costed her existence. We are not supposed to do this. Ever. We protect you from most things but we can't - should not - stop you from dying if the damage is too bad."

Adrien was shocked into silence. So Ladybug was nearly dead, but Tikki brought her back, and kept her alive until Chat Noir found her, at the risk of using herself up and disappearing. Which explained why Plagg was so worried for her. The amount of appreciation Adrien felt for the red Kwami for keeping his partner alive was so overwhelming he could already feel tears welling up in his eyes again.

“Tikki... I-” Adrien murmured, gently taking her in his hands and kissing her head “Thank you so, so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”

Tikki smiled tiredly and shook her head a bit, eyes dropping. “I love her just as much as you do, Chat…Just take care of her for me...” 

“Tikki wait-!" 

“Chill, it’s not what you think.” Plagg said, calmly floating up to them, “She’s not dying or anything. Not anymore anyway. What she means is, if Ladybug survives her wounds, she won’t be able to transform in a while, so you have to take care of Ladybug while Tikki recovers. It will take more than food to bring Tikki back to full power. It could take days or weeks.” He turned to her for confirmation, but Tikki was already fading again, her eyes closing.

“Tikki, no!” Plagg rounded on Adrien, his tone urgent, “What are you standing around for? Get her something to eat!” 

“Wh-what?” Adrien stuttered, “Cheese?” 

“No, not cheese!” Plagg chided, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “She is even more refined than I am! Sweet! Something sweet or with sugar!”

“Sweet, sweet…” Adrien repeated to himself. He stumbled to the shelf beside his desk, looking through the stash of gift boxes he kept there. Thanks to his modelling career, he had a generous number of fans that often sent gifts to him. Cards, chocolates, pastries… He could never eat all of them, not only because he had to watch his weight for work, but because he just couldn't . So, he had made a habit of giving some to Nino whenever he came over, so it wouldn’t go to waste. 

He browsed through his options but his hand stopped on a box with familiar branding. It was a small white box with elegant dark brown swirls. A logo with a big T and S surrounded by laurels sat in the middle, the words Boulangerie - Patisserie right beneath it. 

He took it without a second thought, walking back to the bed and sitting down. He opened the small box on his lap, finding an assortment of tiny chocolate chip cookies in the shape of hearts. The familiar smell wafted to his nose, delicious and fresh despite not opening the box in a while. Now he knew why Tom and Sabine’s bakery was so well known. 

It reminded him of Marinette too, but he pushed that thought away before his stomach did somersaults again. 

He grabbed several cookies and brought them close to Tikki, who was still safely nestled in Adrien’s other hand. “Here you go. Eat up, Tikki.” 

Tikki sniffed the cookies and made a humming sound, opening her eyes blearily. Not wasting any time, she grabbed a cookie and stuffed it in her mouth, munching away with a sound of delight. She swallowed almost immediately, a spark of recognition in her eyes. 

“These are-” she began. 

“From Marinette’s bakery. Yes.” 

Tikki looked up at him for what seemed like the first time since she woke up, and she paused, staring really long and hard at him. 

“Adrien…” Tikki gasped, suddenly smiling in awe, “It was you after all!” 

Adrien raised an eyebrow. “Uh, sorry?” 

“You are Chat Noir!” 

Adrien winced. “Yes, it’s me.” he then balked, “Wait, what do you mean by ‘it was you after all’ ? Did Marinette find out?” 

Tikki shook her head. “No, she didn’t, but I could feel it every time she went to school. I could feel Plagg around and I knew someone in Marinette’s class was Chat Noir. I was starting to suspect you since I always felt Plagg strongest when she was in school near you or hanging out with you.”

“So you guys don’t know who each other’s chosens are?” Adrien asked, eyebrow raised.

“For safety reasons, we usually don’t.” Tikki said, “But we can feel each other, and I felt Plagg a lot.” 

“Yeah, I guess I did too…” Plagg seemed to be avoiding looking at Adrien’s eyes. 

Adrien turned to him, narrowing his eyes. “Did you know?” he said, frowning. “Did you know Marinette was Ladybug?” 

“I… had suspicions.” Plagg replied, dismissing him. “I didn’t think it was relevant.” 

“Not relevant ?” Adrien said in disbelief, “Plagg! You knew how I felt about Ladybug!”

“Yeah well, that’s hardly my problem.” 

“Plagg…” Tikki chided. 

“We are not supposed to tell them if we find out, and you know that!” Plagg countered, turning to Tikki. “If they figure it out, they have to do it on their own!” 

“Oh, now you care to follow rules? Who was the one who told me, and I quote,” Adrien made a face, trying his best to imitate Plagg's voice, “‘What are you doing, you almost found out who the love of your life was, what were you thinking’  when I chose to close the door on Ladybug transforming instead of peeking?”

“You did that?” Tikki asked with a kind smile, “That’s was really nice and responsible of you.” 

Adrien smiled a little, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand, “Yeah, well… I wanted to respect her decision.” 

Tikki giggled and Adrien turned on Plagg again. 

“Anything else you’ve been keeping from me?” 

“None of your business,” the black kwami replied stubbornly, crossing his arms a he floated with his back to Adrien. 

“If it involves me, it is my business!” Adrien retorted. 

Tikki laughed, finding amusement in Plagg and his protégé arguing. “Did you tell him about the kiss, Plagg?”

Plagg cringed. 

“Kiss ?” Adrien’s eyes widened. “What kiss ?”

“Uh... I may have forgotten to mention that little detail.” Plagg rubbed the back of his head. 

“Forgotten!?” Adrien said, aghast, “Maybe I will forget to feed you! What kiss? Start talking!”

Plagg groaned, but Tikki’s pointed stare made him hesitate. “Okay, fine… remember back when Dark Cupid attacked, you got hit by an arrow and started hating on Ladybug?” 

“Yeah, you were quick to relay that part of the ordeal to me in excruciating detail, if I recall…” Adrien said, fuming. 

“Yeah okay, so… the only way to snap you out of it was.. uh…” 

“Ladybug kissed you.” Tikki interrupted with a smile. “She kissed you to break Dark Cupid’s spell!” 

Adrien gaped, eyes wide, and then he threw himself back on the bed dramatically, covering his face with one hand while holding Tikki on the other. He groaned loudly in despair. 

“Oh god...What I would give to remember that...” 

“Even as a villain, you seemed really into it.” Tikki added.

“Not helping…” 

The red Kwami giggled again. 

“Ladybug kissed me…” Adrien dropped his hand to his side and sighed in wonder. No, Marinette kissed you, his mind corrected. A little bit of his stress seemed to ebb away from his face. 

“Here we go again.” Plagg lamented. 

Feeling a little bit better, Tikki floated to sit beside Adrien’s face and laid a paw on his cheek. “You really love Ladybug, don’t you Adrien?” she asked gently. 

“More than my own life,” Adrien said softly, a small smile on his lips, “I thought I made it fairly obvious. As Chat Noir, I mean.” 

“Well, she suspected you felt something for her but mostly thought it was just part of your personality. If only she knew...”  She chuckled, “What about Marinette…?”

Adrien turned to her, and Adrien could see it in her eyes. ‘If you love Ladybug, you must love all of her’. Adrien dug deeply, bringing up memories of Marinette. Her determination, her kindness, her generosity, her playful smile which was so Ladybug-like. The fierceness with which she fought for her ideals, just like Ladybug. Suddenly, all the memories where he’d fought alongside Ladybug came back to him, his mind replacing his Lady with Marinette.

Marinette giggling at him when he turned into Reflekta. Marinette ringing his bell playfully and taking his advice. Marinette fearlessly taming a dragon. Marinette groaning at his puns. Marinette pounding fists at the end of a battle. Marinette saying they were a team…

How could he not feel the same way for Marinette now that he knew that she and Ladybug were one and the same? His heart swelled, and it must have shown in his face because Tikki smiled and stroked his cheek again.

“The blush says everything.” Tikki said with a satisfied nod.

“Disgusting.”

“Be quiet Plagg, you sourpuss.”

Adrien laughed, then paused. He hesitated for a minute, but dared to ask the question that had been probing him since he found out Marinette was Ladybug.  

“Tikki… Does Lady- I mean, Marinette… like me back?” He looked away, “She always seemed so nervous around me as Adrien that… I don’t know. I felt I made her uncomfortable sometimes...”

She giggled, shaking her head. “Why don’t you ask her that yourself?” Her face then fell, worry suddenly lacing her little blue eyes. “Adrien, what happened to Marinette?”

“You may want to ask her,” Plagg interrupted, floating in front of them and holding Adrien’s phone in his paws. It was vibrating, and the screen read “INCOMING CALL: ALYA CÉSAIRE”.

“Dammit! I forgot!” Adrien shot up from the bed, catching the phone and fumbling with it till he managed to click the green phone icon.

“Alya?” he said, pressing the phone to his ear.

“Finally! Where have you been? ” Came Alya’s cry from the other end. Her voice sounded shaky and hoarse, as if she had been crying. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t have my phone with me,” he lied, “Alya, I saw the news I-… how… how is she?”

Alya went silent for a moment. “Not good .”

Adrien’s heart plummeted.

“She is in surgery right now.”

Adrien closed his eyes and dropped his head, resting his forehead on his hand. He could feel the familiar prickling behind his eyes again.

“We could really use the company here… ” Alya said softly, after he went silent. "It's depressing..."

“We?” he questioned.

“Mari’s parents. Me. Especially me. I could really use a hug right now, for example . ”

“Of course, I’m on my way.” Adrien said, jumping on his feet, “Is Nino there?”

“He left town for the weekend. Visiting family. Besides ,” Alya hesitated, “ I think Marinette would rather have you here… ”

Adrien paused, his heart skipping a beat. Did Alya figure out who he was? Who Marinette was? Why was she being so specific? “Why is that?”

“Just get your butt in here, Adrien Agreste.” Alya said sternly. “ ASAP .”

“Yes, m’am.” Adrien chuckled despite himself. “Hospital?”

“I’m sending you the location .”

His phone chimed.

“Got it. Be there in 10.”

“Okay. See you soon. ”

He hung up the phone and ran to his walk-in closet, taking off his current clothes except for his jeans and pulling on a dark gray turtleneck and a black jacket. It was getting chilly and rainy, plus it would be easier to conceal both Plagg and Tikki in the sleeves of his jacket.

“Guys, we are leaving,” He told the kwami as he came out.

“Where to?” Plagg griped as he picked up the cookies Adrien had knocked over when he jumped from the bed.

“To see Marinette.”