Chapter Text
He’s released from the hospital on a Sunday.
Most of his friends weren’t able to get clearance to visit during his hospital stay, so he’s excited to see Nino and Alya waiting for him in the lobby, along with Marinette, and a giant iced coffee. Actual caffeine – he almost cries at the sight.
They both greet him with hugs and Nino presses the cold drink into his hand. There’s condensation on the cup and everything.
“I could kiss you,” he sighs, before downing nearly half the drink.
Alya smirks, casting a sideways glance at her friend. “Maybe we should’ve let Marinette bring the coffee.”
“Alyaaa,” Marinette whispers, turning beet red. Adrien averts his eyes, dutifully pretending he didn’t hear anything.
“How you feelin’, dude?” Nino cuts in, gaze flickering down to Adrien’s empty sleeve, so quick that he almost misses it. “You’re looking pretty good, all things considered.”
There it is. He’s been mentally preparing to have this conversation a million times over the next few weeks (or months, or years), and to be on the receiving end of just as many pitying looks. It’s… not going to be fun. But, well, he doesn’t want to hide away from the world forever. Might as well face it head on.
“I’m alright. Physical therapy is coming along, and they eased me off the really strong pain meds, so I have a lot more energy now. I’m slowly starting to feel like myself again.” His friends offer small words of encouragement in response.
“More importantly,” Nino claps him on the back, giving him an excited grin, “Chat Noir, dude?! That’s so cool! I can’t believe my best friend is a famous superhero!”
Adrien ducks his head, embarrassed at the attention. He wants to rub the back of his neck – a nervous tick he’s had since he was a child. “Thanks. But, uh,” he nods his head toward Marinette, “you know you’re also friends with Ladybug, right? She’s definitely the cooler one.”
Marinette scoffs, and her eyebrows do that cute scrunching thing that happens when she’s confused. “What are you talking about? Chat Noir is way cooler than Ladybug. He’s brave and funny, and he makes fighting akumas look effortless.”
He falls easily into their banter, pretending to be offended. “Excuse me, but Ladybug does the real work. She’s crazy smart and always figures out a plan. She’s the backbone of the team, for sure.”
Her cheeks are red, and he would think she’s actually angry if it weren’t for the smile tugging at her lips. “Yeah, but Ladybug definitely can’t handle it alone. Do you even realize how many times she would’ve lost a fight if it weren’t for Chat Noir?”
He feels something swell in his chest, and gives her a playful nudge with his elbow. “Okay, so they make a good team. But Ladybug is definitely the prettier one.”
She crosses her arms and gives him a flat look. “Chat Noir is literally a supermodel.”
He opens his mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. “…Yeah, I’ll give you that one.” She gives him a victorious grin. Adrien looks at Alya, quirking an eyebrow at her. “You don’t seem that surprised to know your best friend’s identity, miss Ladyblogger.”
He takes another sip of his coffee, watching curiously as Alya grows flustered. “Well, I kind of already knew?” He sputters and breaks into a coughing fit. Nino thumps him on the back a few times. He throws an accusing glare at Marinette, who has the decency to look guilty.
“I was having a really hard time adjusting when I became the new Guardian; I just needed someone who could help me out as a civilian.” She looks really apologetic, and some of his annoyance fades. “I would’ve told you if I could. It was just too dangerous for us to know each other’s identities.”
Ah, right. That makes sense. It probably would’ve been really bad if his father had found out.
Adrien gives a shrug and a half smile. He still feels a little left out, but it doesn’t do any good to dwell on it. “No worries, Marinette, I understand. I know it’s a huge responsibility and Master Fu didn’t really give you a choice, so I’m glad you had a friend you could trust to help.”
Alya gives Marinette a side hug, and everything is back to normal again. “Uh, of course my BFF could trust me! I am great at keeping secrets, you know.” She throws Adrien a smirk. “Did you know that I was a superhero too? We’ve actually worked together before.”
He nearly chokes on his coffee again. He really needs to stop taking sips until this conversation is over. “What?”
“Yep. Rena Rouge,” she salutes.
Nino raises a hand, bashful. “Carapace.”
“What?”
The paparazzi swarms them when he first steps out, but thankfully they leave after he answers a few questions and lets them snap plenty of pictures. He’s dealt with the paparazzi for years, so he knows how they work. Better to get it all out of the way now and hope they move onto something else in a few days.
Adrien takes a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. The weather is nice and the conversation is light, and he feels content for the first time since waking up nearly a week ago. He doesn’t meet with his lawyer about custody and asset division until tomorrow, so for once he decides to let loose and enjoy the day. No worries, no responsibilities. It’s the same freedom he usually feels as Chat Noir, and the thought brings an easy smile to his face.
Marinette’s parents offered to let him sleep on the couch tonight, which is very kind of them. And – he realizes as they all walk into the bakery – they’ve also decided to throw a party.
“SURPRISE!”
Adrien jumps back and presses his hand to his chest. There are people everywhere. Their entire class is scattered around the small space, even Chloe. Kagami and Luka came, too. Plus, a couple friends from fencing class and Wayhem. Marinette’s parents are standing next to a giant three-tier cake under a banner that reads ‘welcome home’.
And they’re all staring at him, waiting for him to say something.
“Uh. Hi.”
Nino puts his arm around his shoulders, pulling him into the bakery, and everything bursts into life. Music is playing, cake is sliced and served, and he’s swept into so many different conversations that he barely has time to think. Adrien finds himself having a genuinely fun time, finally getting all of the social interaction that he’s been missing for the past week. He’s never had a real birthday party (aside from the one that was crashed by his akumatized best friend), but he imagines they’re probably a lot like this.
All this attention, it’s… a little overwhelming, if he’s honest. He thought he’d be used to it, what with being famous two-times-over, but it’s a lot for his still-recovering brain to process, and he finds his energy quickly running out.
That’s when Marinette and Alya show up out of nowhere and drag him upstairs.
“Where are we going?”
“Just close your eyes,” Alya huffs from behind him, pushing him up another flight of stairs. Why do they have so many stairs in their home?
“It’s probably not safe to close my eyes while walking up a staircase.”
Marinette snorts and Alya groans. They lead him up the final steps to Marinette’s room and, just before pushing the trap door open, she pauses and turns to look at him. “Okay, now close your eyes, smarty cat.”
He does as he’s told and Marinette tugs him through the door. A sweet smell hits his nose almost immediately, but he resists sneaking a peek, listening to the two girls shuffle around the room. Finally, they give him the okay, and he opens his eyes.
There are gifts everywhere. Beautiful bouquets of flowers; plushies off all different kinds; balloons, and cards, and candy, and even a couple of get-well-soon banners full of signatures. His jaw goes slack and he walks into the middle of the room. Every single flat surface, every square inch of the furniture, even a good portion of the floor – it’s absolutely filled with presents.
His sight gets blurry, and soon he’s fighting hard not to cry.
“These are gifts that came in for you, while you were in the hospital. The doctor didn’t want them to fill up your room, so we asked people to send them here instead, and well…” Marinette shrugs one shoulder, “they just kept coming in.”
“We wanted to make sure you saw this, Adrien.” Alya says, stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s scary, realizing that your secret is out there for everyone to know. But sometimes it’s easier to share that secret instead of trying to carry the world on your shoulders until you crumble under the weight of it. When Marinette told me her identity, she was falling apart. It was a last resort for her. But by doing so, we realized that we could handle problems better if we could tackle them together. It’s much easier to fall down when you know there are people there to help you get back up.”
Marinette clasps her hands behind her back. “These don’t even include the gifts from our friends. They’re all from strangers; random citizens of Paris who care about you, who wanted to show their gratitude. There are so many people who support us.” She looks at her feet for a moment, and then lifts her gaze back up to him. “There are a lot of people who love you.”
It’s quiet as he takes it all in. Music drifts faintly from downstairs. A café full of people having a celebration. Marinette’s room, full of flowers and trinkets and well-wishes. Two of his best friends, smiling at him in the quiet glow of sunset.
He swallows a lump in his throat and draws them both into a hug.
“Thank you.”
He’s laying on the couch, everyone else having gone to bed, when he suddenly remembers something. He gets up and quietly walks over to his bag. The envelope that Nurse Louise gave him all those days ago sits loose, unopened, in the outer pocket; he pulls it out and sits at the kitchen counter.
There are a lot of people who love you, Marinette’s words echo in his head.
Inside is a pink paper card, creased carefully down the middle. There’s a cat drawn on the front of the card in black crayon, very obviously a child’s handiwork. His eyes scan the drawing, tracing over every carefully placed line, before opening the card.
Dear Chat Noir,
I hope you get better soon! Daddy says you got hurt. When I get hurt, mommy kisses my boo boo and it feels all better! Have you tried that? I drew you a kitty! Meow! You are my favrit hero because I love kittys. You are so cool and funny! You saved my mommy once when she turned into a acoo akoo monster and got really scary. But you and Ladybug made her all better and she is not scary any more! Thank you! I hope you have a good night sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite. Meow!
Love,
Emy
There’s a paperclip at the bottom of the letter, but whatever was attached must’ve fallen off. He opens the envelope and feels around until he finds a small photograph. His heart gives a painful tug when he sees her.
A little girl, probably no more than five or six years old, is posing for the camera, a goofy grin on her face. She’s got brown hair and bright eyes, she’s missing two baby teeth, and she’s wearing cat-themed pajamas.
And her left arm is prosthetic, from the elbow down.
He re-reads the letter. Twice. Three times. By the time he lays back down on the couch, he has the whole thing memorized. He decides that, in the morning, he’s going to borrow a pen and paper and give her a handwritten response, no matter how frustrated he gets or how long it takes him.
That night, he falls asleep feeling – for the first time – that maybe something good can come of all this.
.
.
The miraculous wake up on a Monday.
He’s sitting in the park with Nino, enjoying his last week in France before going to live with Aunt Amelie in England to finish his schooling. It’s been about a month since he was released from the hospital, and although his health has been steadily improving, the impending move has been weighing heavily on his mind.
“It’s not like it’s forever, dude. Only three years until we’re adults, and you can get an apartment. Time will fly by, like, so fast!”
Adrien slumps back against the bench and closes his eyes. Three years. So much can happen in three years. “I’m just worried that things will change between us. I don’t want you guys to forget about me or something.”
Nino nearly drops his ice cream. “Bro, what? That could never happen. Just because we won’t see each other every day doesn’t mean I’ll forget about you. Sure, things may feel a little different sometimes, but change is okay. You’re my best friend, forever and always, no matter what.”
He holds a fist out and Adrien feels a weight lift off his chest. He smiles, sets his ice cream on the bench beside him, and bumps his knuckles against Nino’s. “No matter what.”
The sun is hot, the air is sticky, and his ring only gives two warning beeps before there’s a kwami flying in his face.
“Plagg?!”
The realization hits him like a ton of bricks – his friend is back. Happy tears spring into his eyes and he jumps to his feet.
He hugs the kwami close to his face. “Oh my god, Plagg!”
“You can finally see me! I was right here the whole time, but I couldn’t talk to you, I couldn’t use my powers – I couldn’t even eat camembert! It was awful!” His tone is dramatic, but there’s a hint of genuine distress hidden underneath.
Adrien pulls back to look at Plagg. “I missed you, buddy.”
The kwami actually has tears in his eyes, and Adrien realizes that the whole situation must’ve hit him harder than he’s letting on. To suddenly and forcefully be cut off from communicating with a friend after something so traumatic… to watch everything unfold, but not be able to interact in any way… that’s a nightmare that he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.
“Are you okay, Adrien?”
He smiles, pulling the kwami in for another hug and giving his head a light scratch. “Yeah, I’m… I’m okay.”
“Good.”
It’s a relief to know that Plagg was by his side this whole time, even when he was dormant. They pull back again, and Adrien spots Nino, staring slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the two of them. He turns to his other friend, an excited grin tugs at his lips.
“Nino, this is Plagg. Plagg, Nino.”
“Whoa, so cool!” Nino stands, shaking Plagg’s tiny paw with one hand. “You’re Adrien’s kwami, right?”
“The one and only,” the kwami preens. “And you’re Carapace. Wayzz would not stop talking about you, it was interrupting my beauty sleep.”
Nino’s eyes somehow get even wider. “Is Wayzz awake, too?”
“Well, yeah. If I’m awake, then the other kwamis are awake.”
“Wait,” Adrien interrupts, their situation slowly dawning on him. If the other kwamis are awake, then…
Then that means –
“Adrieeeen!”
His head whips around toward the noise and his heart nearly stops.
Ladybug.
She swings into the park and crashes into him, and they’re both laughing, breathless and giddy. He wraps his arm around her waist and picks her up, twirling her around as she squeals in his ear. Once her feet are back on the ground, she pulls back just enough to look at his face, and oh.
She’s shining like the sun, cheeks rosy and grin bright, and a warmth blossoms in his chest, spreading like fire under his skin. He reaches up and brushes his fingers against the edge of her mask, and her breath stutters. Ladybug – Marinette is staring at him, eyes wide and hopeful, and it makes his knees weak. He wishes he could freeze time, just so he could look at her forever.
Unfortunately, the moment is shattered when everyone in the park swarms them.
“Look, it’s Ladybug!”
“Ladybug is back!”
The chatter quickly becomes unintelligible, and Adrien and Ladybug separate, careful to keep an appropriate distance between them. Some of the crowd is watching Adrien expectantly, and it takes him a few seconds to realize they’re waiting for him to transform. His stomach drops. Ladybug notices.
“Let’s get out of here,” she whispers, and he gives a small nod. She turns to Nino. “Do you want to come with us?”
Nino shakes his head, a conspiratorial smile on his face. “Nah, I should go find Alya. She’s gonna freak when she hears the news. I’ll catch up with you later.”
He and Adrien share a nod and another fist bump. Ladybug pulls him close, shouts a quick “bug out” to the crowd, and then they’re sailing through the air. The wind whips through his hair and fills his lungs, and he lets out a whoop of joy as adrenaline kicks in. He missed this feeling.
She sets them down on a secluded rooftop and he watches as she carefully, almost reverently, tucks her yo-yo against her hip. She looks up at him and chews on her lip, mulling over something in her head, before stepping forward and pulling him into another hug. She buries her face in his chest and he feels her fingers curl into the back of his shirt. The tips of her ears are red. It’s… very cute. He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pressing his face into her hair. She smells like fresh bread and vanilla. It really is a wonder that he never put two and two together before.
She steps back and drops her transformation, and then it’s Marinette standing in front of him.
“Hey,” he says softly. His fingertips are tingling with the urge to touch her again.
“Hi,” she responds with a shy smile, hands fiddling with the strap of her purse.
Before he can say anything else, Plagg zips out of his shirt and into Marinette’s face, and she greets him with a surprised giggle. Tikki, similarly, flies (much more gracefully) up to him and nuzzles his chin.
“Adrien! I’m so happy to see you,” her high voice squeaks.
He smiles at the kwami. “I’m happy to see you too, Tikki. Thanks for keeping Plagg company during all this.”
“Puh-lease!” Plagg calls from where he’s snuggling up in Marinette’s hands. “I was doing fine on my own. Sugarcube just stuck around to annoy me.” Tikki rolls her eyes and flutters back over to Marinette, who holds out a cookie for the kwami.
He watches curiously as Marinette’s brow furrows, gaze becoming unfocused. “Hey Tikki… what finally woke you all up?”
“Well, there haven’t been many wishes made in the past, so it’s hard to say, but how long we take to recharge usually depends on how complicated the wish is. It could be that it took a little longer than usual since it was a costly one.” Tikki pauses, and nerves twist in Adrien’s gut. “Either that, or…”
Or… His eyes lock with Marinette’s.
There’s a new threat.
His mouth feels dry. “Nathalie has probably heard about my father by now.”
There’s a heavy silence that stretches between them. His thoughts are lost in the former assistant, the woman who took care of him more than his own father, at times. Sure, she was strict, but there was always a compassionate side to her too. He never considered her to be the kind of person who could turn into a villain. The thought makes him feel sick.
“Like Tikki said, it might not be because Mayura is back.” Marinette straightens up, looking at Adrien with determination. “And even if it is, we’ll face her together.”
Adrien feels his gut twist again, for a much different reason. He kicks his foot nervously. “I… I don’t know if I can be Chat Noir anymore.”
“What? Why?”
He rubs his thumb across the underside of his ring. “I mean, I’m about to go live in London for the next few years. Wouldn’t it be difficult to have to rely on someone who isn’t here?”
“It won’t be easy,” Marinette concedes, “but we can handle it. London isn’t that far away, especially for Astro Cat.”
“Still, what if I can’t make it in time? You know how quickly some of these battles happen.” His heart feels heavy, but he forces the next words out. “You should probably just find another Chat Noir.”
She stands frozen for a long moment, a deep frown on her face, and he feels guilty. But then, something in her gaze clicks. “It’s not really the distance that’s bothering you, is it? It’s something else.”
There’s no use hiding anything from her. She can read him like a book. He looks away and takes a deep breath, feeling his shoulders sag. “I’m scared.”
Her voice is soft, sad. “Scared of being Chat Noir?”
He closes his eyes and resists the urge to touch the stump of his right arm. The last time he was Chat Noir was not a pleasant memory, but… “No, not really. I just,” he lets out a huff, frustrated that he’s feeling this way, because he doesn’t want to. But he can’t ignore it. “I’m scared that I’ll… I’ll still have my arm in the suit.”
The transformation is a reflection of what he wants, deep down. He’s finally accepted his disability, and is even learning to appreciate all of the good that he can do because of it. But what if the suit gives him back his arm? What if that’s what he truly wants? It would be an unimaginably cruel twist of fate.
It’s Plagg who speaks up first. “Does it matter?” Adrien lifts his head to throw the kwami a perturbed look. “It’s not going to change who you are. There are plenty of holders before who have had missing extremities. Fingers, toes, legs, even an ear! You’re not any more or less complete, whether you have one arm or two, because that isn’t what defines you. It isn’t what makes you, you.”
Marinette reaches forward and takes his hand, lacing her fingers between his, and he finally manages to meet her eyes. There’s no pity, no anger – nothing but kindness. “I’m not going to force you into anything, Adrien. If you want to step away from being a superhero, you can. But… you’re the only Chat Noir. I could never replace you, even if I wanted to.” Her mouth quirks into a smile. “You and me against the world.”
With her words, the last of his worries ease away. They’re right. No matter what happens, it’s not going to change him. His personality, his bravery, his self-worth – it’s all still going to be there. Arm or no arm, he’s still Adrien. He’s still Chat Noir.
He squeezes her hand, and steps back. A deep breath.
“Plagg, claws out!”
The warm light of the transformation washes over him, familiar and exhilarating. He opens his eyes and looks down, and he can’t help but feel relieved. In place of his right arm, there’s now a black cape, lined in green and flowing down to his hip. It actually looks pretty cool, or at least he thinks it does.
Marinette seems to agree.
“Whoa!” She circles him, touching the fabric to check the seams and tugging at the cape to make sure it’s secure. There are stars in her eyes, and he can’t help but snort. “This is so awesome! Come on, model boy, give me a twirl.” He obliges, and she squeals. “The fans are gonna go crazy over your new costume!”
She pauses in front of him and gives him a smirk, the kind that makes his stomach flip.
“Hey, kitty, what do you say we go on a patrol?”
He smiles, feeling lighter and happier than he has in months.
“I’d be honored to, My Lady.”
.
.
She kisses him on a Wednesday.
The city of Paris is hosting a huge celebration for the anniversary of the superheroes’ return, and so Adrien gets permission to visit for an entire week. The past year has flown by, just like Nino said it would. He still texts his friends almost every day. He meets up with Ladybug semi-regularly go on patrol and continue the search for Mayura, even though there haven’t been any attacks yet. And, on top of all that, he’s finally been able to announce his plans for the Agreste Foundation – a nonprofit organization for researching and developing prosthetic technology. He’s excited to get to work; it turns out his father’s obscene wealth is finally good for something, and the mansion is a perfect place to house the whole thing.
But that’s something to think about tomorrow. For now he’s Chat Noir, relaxing on the Eiffel Tower with Ladybug, listening to the people celebrating in the streets and basking in the warmth of the late-summer sun. The world feels brighter and full of hope. And when he makes a joke about how the parade must’ve cost an arm and a leg to fund, she barks out a laugh before grabbing his face and kissing him.
It’s… wow.
He knows they’ve kissed before; he’s seen the pictures. But each time, his memory was wiped because of an akuma, and he didn’t get to enjoy it. But this – this he would remember. There’s no way he could ever forget this one.
She pulls back and he takes a few seconds to revel in the kiss before blinking open his eyes. Her expression is honest and hopeful, and his heart is racing so fast that he’s sure she can probably hear it. She bites her lip. His eyes follow the movement. He swallows.
“I guess I should make jokes more often.”
She groans and pushes his face back playfully, and he can’t help but snicker. “That is not why I kissed you, dummy.”
He shifts so they’re sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. “Then why did you kiss me?”
She flushes under her mask, and it’s a beautiful sight. “I don’t know. Just because you – like, you were being – you? I guess? A-and I’ve liked you for a while, now, so I just. Wanted to.”
She looks up at him through her eyelashes and his face feels warm. She kissed him just because she wanted to, no other reason. Because she likes him.
“Y-you can kiss me whenever you want, too, you know.”
The admission knocks the breath out of him, but he quickly regains his composure and quirks an eyebrow at her. “Whenever I want?” he teases. She somehow turns even redder.
“I-I mean! Not whenever you want, like, you shouldn’t kiss me when it’s not appropriate – I mean, not inappropriate in that way, just, like, not in the middle of a fight. Or something.”
She presses a hand against her burning cheek and he feels a rush of affection. He loves this girl. He thinks he’s always loved her. The girl who stood up to a supervillain and shouted her promises at the top of her lungs. The girl who saw the real him under a cloud of rain and gave him a second chance. The girl who has been by his side, at every moment and in every way, since the first day they met.
He loves her.
“Marinette,” he gently grabs her wrist, and she looks at him with wide eyes. “Can I kiss you now?”
She’s frozen for a moment, but then her expression melts into a smile, and that’s all the permission he needs.
His lips press against hers, softly, carefully. Her eyelashes flutter against his cheek and his nose brushes hers, and then he’s pressing closer, closer. She brings a hand up to the back of his neck and threads her fingers into his hair, and he never wants this to end. With every beat, his heart whispers its love to her, and her heart whispers it back.
Life isn’t perfect. Some days, he still gets overwhelmed with grief. He still has to deal with phantom pains from his arm. He misses out on doing a lot of stuff with his friends. He still worries about what the next two years may bring and how quickly things could change.
But, he thinks as Ladybug rests her head on his shoulder, he’s not alone. He’s got friends and family, loved ones and strangers, people all over the world who want to see him succeed. People who are there to catch him when he stumbles, and help him back on his feet again. And he’s got Ladybug. He’s got Marinette.
With her by his side, he’s strong enough to take on anything.