┌── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┐

September 23rd

└── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘

Adrien stared down at his housemate, usually doll-like features marred by her recent suffering. Her eyes were puffy and red, skin pale and cold, and her hair painfully knotted. Within minutes, the doors burst open and Gabriel Agreste strode in, hands behind his back and Nathalie at his heels.

"Sir! You can't just barge in like that-"

Swivelling around, Gabriel shot an icy glare at the woman, strong enough to knock her back a step.

"M'am, I am Marinette's legal guardian at the moment. If you allowed my son into the room, I will certainly come in as well."

The nurse gritted her teeth as Nathalie ushered her out of the room.

"Mr. Agreste will only be a moment..." She said, holding the clipboard in one hand and leading the woman out with the other.

"Yes, but he needs to sign in!"

"Gabriel Agreste will not write his name on such papers, nor wear such a pass," Nathalie said as she walked out. The silver-haired man walked over to Marinette's bedside and peered over his spectacles at the girl with a stern look.

"She's asleep," Adrien whispered, avoiding his father's gaze.

"What happened?" Adrien gritted his teeth. He knew his father had been briefed on the earlier events.

"We were attacked. Marinette was targetted and... well," Adrien put his head in hands, "I couldn't save her father, I tried... but all I did was get in the way. Now she's hurt and it's all my fault-"

Gabriel let out a breath and slowly took a seat on the chair next to son. Hesitantly, he wrapped his hand around Adrien's shoulders and let the boy sob into his shoulder.

"Agrestes don't cry, son."

But Adrien continued to cry, tears staining his father's expensive jacket. Instead of pushing him away, Gabriel just stared down at the dark-haired girl and continued allowing his son to do as he was.

"I will speak with the doctor. I'm sure everything will be alright."

Adrien stifled another sob. "Yes, but... I-"

"It wasn't your fault, Adrien."

The blonde boy looked up at his father, trying to determine whether he was truly sympathetic or just putting on an act to appease him. Adrien wiped his eyes. He knew that expression. The pursed lips, the avoidance in eye contact. His father felt guilty.

"I will contact Marinette's parents-"

"Wait!" Adrien said, stunning his father with the sudden yell. "I just- Can we wait until the doctor clears her? I don't want... her parents to-"

How was he supposed to tell him that he was doing it for Marinette? Marinette wouldn't want her parents to worry, nor would she want them to come home just for her. He knew it was wrong, but he had to prevent his father from causing the family panic.

"Her parents shouldn't hear of this from us. Especially since she's not even awake yet. Besides, I'm sure she'll want to tell them herself."

Gabriel eyed his son before letting out a sigh. "Alright. I should go speak with the doctor now-"

"MARINETTE!" A voice boomed, loud enough to make the room feel as if it was shaking. "MARI!" They screamed again. The doors burst open and a frazzled girl with long auburn hair came inside, tears streaming down her cheeks. She rushed to Marinette's bedside and grabbed onto her hand. She drew back once her friend's chilled skin touched her own.

"Marinette! Oh my god! It's-"

Adrien looked up at Alya and stood up to pull her away. "I-It's okay-"

Marinette's eyes cracked open at the sudden noice. Wincing in pain, she made her way into an upright position. "What-"

"M'am! YOU CAN'T just!" The nurse ran in again, the same angry and irritated look on her face. Nathalie followed, reaching instinctively towards Alya. But she wasn't having it.

"Get your goddamn hands off me! I'll have you know this is my SISTER lying in this bed I will literally crush you if you lay a finger on me let alone HER! DO YOU UNDERSTAN-"

"Alya-" Adrien laid his hand on the girl's shoulder and she stopped her screaming to look up at him. His glossy green eyes showed it all.

He'd been crying over Marinette.

Man, when she realizes, Marinette's gonna go crazy!

"Relax, she's okay..." Yet, the tone in Adrien's voice didn't sound so sure.

"Doctor! Yes, they are in here-" A distant voice called. Nathalie moved out of the way as the nurse brought in a machine. The doctor came in afterwards, not far behind. He had grey hair and a well kept beard. He wore thick-rimmed glasses that reminded both Alya and Adrien of Nino's father.

"Family?" He simply asked, motioning around the room. The nurse squeezed her temples before Gabriel interuppted.

"Caretakers. I'm Gabriel Agreste. And I'd prefer if you do not let anyone know I was here-" He reached his hand out to shake the doctor's hand, who happily obliged.

"Great, well, Mr. Agreste, you can all relax. We're sending her home today."

Marinette was already falling asleep by the time the doctor made his way over. But his warm hand touching the arm where her IV was, made her jump in place, the covers falling off her arms.

"It-it's really hot..." She shook, watching as Alya looked at her with tearsoaked eyes.

"Yeah, you'll be like that a while. You've got a case of hypothermia. As soon as your temperature is up, you're free to go."

"I thought you had to watch over her for a few days with hypothermia?" Nathalie inquired, recieving a nod from the nurse.

"Surprisingly, since the cold you experienced wasn't real weather, you are healing much more quickly than usual. The worst will be chills the next few days as well as a small fever and cold symptoms. If it gets worse, you need to come back, otherwise, a few days home from school should be enough to recover from this case."

The nurse explained as the doctor began to fill out something on his clipboard. "We'll take your temperature and check your vitals. Take this medicine and fill this prescription, it's a broad spectrum antibiotic to help ward off pneumonia as your immune system will be compromised for a little while while your body readjusts. There's also a list we'll fill out that will help take care of anything that's related to hypothermia. Tests came back okay for now, but if your condition doesn't improve 100 percent within the next week, more will need to be done."

The nurse came closer to Marinette, who looked up into her blue eyes. She was gorgeous, and for a second, she reminded her of...

"Wait.. I-Is ev-everybody okay? I-Is... Are they safe?"

Adrien nodded but turned red as Alya looked at him suspiciously.

Gabriel took this opportunity to speak to her. "The company apologizes, as does the girl who got akumatized. There's nothing to be done now but wait until you improve. When you do, I'm sure you deserve quite the formal apology."

"I... It's fine..." Marinette whispered, wincing as the blood pressure cuff squeezed her arm.

Gabriel Agreste blinked as he stared at Marinette. "You've been through hell and back. The maids and my son will help you until you get better. In fact, I'll have Adrien stay home from school on Monday with you."

Adrien's eyes widened and Marinette turned a bright red. "Aah, that's sweet, but I don't want to be a bother-"

"Nonsense." Nathalie's stern voice interuppted, "Until you are better, both of you are to do what Adrien's father orders."

Marinette and Adrien looked down.

"Is that understood?" The woman asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes ma'am." The two teenagers answered in sync. Alya was smiling deviously in the background but shook it off her face when Gabriel turned around to leave.

"Good. I will have Adrien's bodyguard and Nathalie wait in the lobby. I will go fill out the paperwork."

"Thank you-" The doctor wrote down Marinette's vitals and turned away to escort Gabriel out of the room, while the nurse finished up what she was doing.

"What happened out there?" Marinette asked, looking up at Adrien confused.

The blonde boy took a deep breath.

✩。*•. .•*。✩

Flashback

✩。*•. .•*。✩

Once in the alleyway, the two heroes stared at the dangerous vines that scattered the area.

"Ugh... it's too dangerous in here... let's get up higher." Rena Rouge exclaimed, grabbing her school friend's hand and hauling him up onto the roof of the nearest building. The two of them hid behind the chimney before Rena turned to stare at Adrien, daggers in her eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? We need to bring HER into this?"

Adrien raised his hand up in defense. "I didn't know you hated Chloe Bourgeois so much... I happen to think she's not so bad-"

"Oh for Christ's sake!" Rena said, slapping her hand against her forehead and took a deep breath. "Where were you? I mean I've been running around in circles fighting with this damn teenager and now you come here and tell me that you've got something to help me? This could have helped me a whole ass 3 hours ago!"

"It hasn't been 3-"

"ADRIEN!"

The boy's eyes widened and he put a finger to his lip. "Please... just try to be quiet." He pulled the scarf up to cover his face.

"We're on the damn roof! Nobody can hear us!"

"Empathie can!" He fought back.

"Sure sure, but nevermind that. What is it with you and that Kagami chick? When she said her name, you reacted like a turtle, pulling yourself into your shell and backing away from her like she was the danger you'd been running from."

"This isn't the time for explanations," Adrien said in a serious voice. "We need to act. Now take this to Queen Bee and get her to help us!"

The familiar box made Alya want to jump out of her skin.

She sighed dramatically and snatched it. "I know, I know. I'm sure she will no questions asked. But what's the other one for?" She pointed down at the one clutched in his hand.

"Well," Adrien took a deep breath, "You need to use this one yourself, but you can only use it for 5 minutes. So you must wait until the right moment. Together you and Queen Bee can do this, I know you can!"

"Okay but what's inside there?" Rena asked, pointing to it with her eyebrow cocked.

"It's... Ladybug's miraculous."

Instead of gasping, Rena just let out a small sigh. "That's it huh?"

Adrien looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... That's it. That's everything I've always wanted to do, was to be Ladybug for one day... but now... now I'm scared."

She turned to face the Eiffel Tower in the distance, staring at it. Her hair blew back in the wind and for a second she thought she would faint right then in there.

"I'm not Ladybug, and to take her job from her like that-"

"It's an important job, and sometimes, just like a real job, you need someone to fill in. I don't know what happened to her, but in order to save Paris you need to take on the responsibility of being Paris' savior for 5 measly minutes. I'll do everything I can to help you, but you need to do it Rena's way."

Rena took a huge breath and blinked tears out of her eyes. She opened her hand for Adrien to place the box, and he did, slowly, allowing everything to sink in.

"You can do it, I know you can..." He said with a reassuring smile.

Rena Rouge smiled at him for a second, feeling happy that for once someone believed she was capable of being a hero. Yes Nino always thought she did, and Ladybug obviously trusted her for a reason, but he was the first civilian... or sort of civilian, to not say anything like..

'Oh, Rena Rouge is nothing compared to the other heroes.'

What bullshit.

"Okay, I get it. Thanks for this. Time to go kick some akuma ass!" She screamed, before whipping out her flute and hopping off the roof.

"W-WAIT!" Adrien called, staring after her. But she was already gone. "How am I supposed to... get off this roof now?"

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Rena Rouge stared at the large white building. The Bourgeois Hotel. Just like the last time she'd seen it, fancy and full of snobby rich people. The orange hero had to stifle a gag as she approached the door. As her hand grazed the glass, a large vine came out of the ground and wrapped itself around her wrist. With a gasp, she kicked at it, as it pulled at her foot as well.

"Let me go you f-"

A sudden smash sounded, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye. She stumbled backward nearly running into her savior.

"Ugh! Ridiculous!" The voice said, loud and obnoxiously. Rena Rouge had to give herself a full-blown pep talk before turning around.

"Ah! Just the girl I was looking fo-"

Her eyes widened. Yes, it was Chloe Bourgeois (obviously) but at the same time, she was unrecognizable. Her perfect blonde hair, that was usually tied back, hung low on her shoulders. Her makeup was smeared under her eyes and her bangs were stuck to her face with sweat. The poor girl was covered in dirt and her yellow jacket was ripped nearly in half. With a loud groan Chloe blocked her face by shoving her hand in front of Alya's.

"Don't look at me! This is... This is so... Embarrassing-"

Rena Rouge knocking the girl's hand away and tried to glare at her, but she couldn't. Unfortunately, she burst out laughing, having to cover her mouth so she wasn't too loud.

"Stop!" Chloe whined.

"I'm s-sorry, it's just- I've never seen you so-"

"So unladylike? I know-I know.. I just..." She turned bright red and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I couldn't just stand by and watch these giant flytraps attack my beautiful home! And... And... I don't know." Chloe pouted, crossing her arms and avoiding eye contact with the hero in front of her.

"Don't ever bring this up."

"I won't, don't worry."

Chloe's face let up. "Oh thank god!" In an instant, she fanned her face and ripped off her jacket, tying it around her waist and stretching. She flicked off her heels and placed them neatly next to the door. "This was so bothering me... walking around like a model when I was clearly not looking like one-"

"Oh, Chloe..." Rena pinched the bridge of her nose before looking up at her with a smirk. "I'm here for-"

"Oh obviously! My miraculous please?" She smiled, sticking a tongue in Rena's face.

"Wow, cocky aren't you?"

"Well, you need me, obviously... Why else would you be here? Without Ladybug?"

Alya's face turned red and for a second she was afraid Chloe could see right under her mask. "Right... well then, take this." Carefully, Rena made sure she didn't mix up the two boxes.

"Okay... thanks I guess." Opening up the box, Pollen flew out and greeted Chloe with a smile. Rena crossed her arms and looked down the street as she waited for the bee to transform.

"Pollen, buzz on!"

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Rena Rouge stared down at the ground as Queen Bee appeared behind her. "The citizens are still taking care of the vines. Whatever you did, clearly worked-"

"Oh it wasn't me-" Rena winked, hopping down and sneaking behind a blue car. "But that's a secret..."

Coming up behind her, Chloe nearly tripped right into Rena Rouge as she stopped herself from moving too quickly. "There!" She exclaimed pointing at the top of the Eiffel tower.

"Of course it's there," Queen Bee scoffed, "They always go there."

It was true. Practically every single akuma stationed itself at Paris' greatest landmark.

"Okay, you take the right side, I'll take left. Let's clear out the plants and then meet back up at the base of the tower."

"Deal."

Rena took off in one direction while Chloe in the other. Together, they worked their butts off, kicking the plants in their nonexistent behind and turning them into dust. Each time one disappeared, another one would get angrier, leading both heroes to think that they were all connected somehow. If only they could find the heart of it all, Empathie herself. Meeting back up in the middle as said, Rena stared up at the tower and took in the view. "Man if this thing wasn't covered in EVIL vines, throw a few flowers in there and you'd have quite the masterpiece." She put a finger to her chin as Chloe smirked and turned around.

"Watch out!" Quickly, the yellow hero shoved her foxy friend to the ground as a blob of ice magic flew toward them.

"Close one..." Rena whispered, standing back at her feet as she came face to face with Empathie.

"What do we have here? A dog and a beetle? What a joke..."

Chloe balled her hands up into fists.

"Excuse me!? We are heroes just like Ladybug and Chat Noir! We-"

"Chloe quiet!" Rena snatched her hand over the blonde's mouth. "You need to stop blabbering so much!"

Chloe protested as Rena removed her hand to reach for her flute.

"It's over, Empathie. We know this isn't you, give up now or else!" The blonde spoke, watching out of the corner of her eye as Rena got prepared to attack. For a split second, a flash of light passed through Empathie's eyes. It was almost as if she herself was trying to fight the akuma out of its body. Who knew that a butterfly could do so much damage?

"Nah..." She whispered, before throwing another blob of ice their way. It hit the ground, scattering and covered the entire base of the Eiffel Tower in thick frost. The two girls slipped out of the way as Empathie charged at them. Rushing onto the first floor of the tower, the two of them split up, Chloe on the left, Rena on the right. They watched as Empathie took her time making their way to them.

"She has a false sense of confidence." The fox called, looking over at the bee.

A figure stood behind Rena as Chloe peered over at her.

"Rena! Watch o-"

But she wasn't fast enough, and Rena was shoved towards Empathie in an instant. Behind her, a mannequin-like girl popped out of the shadows and smiled down at her. She had long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. Her features resembled those of a statue but her movements did not.

"Thank you, Samantha," Empathie smirked, creating a vine out of the palm of her hand and pulling Rena towards her. The girl screamed out as her face slid against the floor and she landed at the Akuma's feet. Chloe was shoved too, this time by a darker haired girl who looked the same. Both servants made their way to Empathie's side.

"This is pathetic." Empathie spit, kicking at the fallen bee.

"AH! Keep your dirty feet off of me!" Chloe cried, plugging her nose.

"Oh be quiet!" She kicked again.

Rena used this opportunity to call out to the mannequins.

"Hey! Blondie! Wake up!"

"That's ridiculous! What are you doing, Rena?" Chloe asked under her breath, her face still squished against the floor.

"Don't talk to my friend like that, bitch-" Empathie snarled, kicking at Rena. The fox was quick and clever though, using her foot to kick Empathie's left leg out from under her as her right leg was risen to kick her. She fell out and Rena pushed the blonde mannequin out of the way as Chloe kicked at the brunette.

"Now, Chloe!"

Together, they worked to restrain Empathie. Just as Chloe got close enough to call venom, a frustrated servant grabbed onto her arm, pulling it back. Instantly, Empathie was able to free herself and shoot at Rena, hitting her in the shoulder.

"AGH!" Collapsing back in pain, Chloe watched in horror as Empathie let out a laugh.

"No, you don't!"

Pushing the puppet away, she shoved her weapon down. Just as it was about to touch Empathie, the akuma pulled the blonde girl in front of it, causing it to immobilize the mannequin instead of her.

"What a friend you are!" Chloe screeched, reaching for the girl as she pushed Rena away.

"You will not win! Just give it up!"

Around Chloe appeared several mirrors, encasing her in a small area.

"What is going on!?" She called out, screaming as the mirror's distorted her reflection.

"Chloe...." They called.

Rena pounced onto her feet and whipped out her flute. Stunned as vines appeared around her she closed her eyes.

"Queen Bee!" Rena screamed, "Don't listen to them! She saw your emotions! Don't let her in!"

"It's too late..." The reflections called, "You're hideous!"

"Disgusting!"

"Fat!"

"You'll never be like your mom! You're just a rich man's daughter with no talent!"

Chloe was not one to fall under a spell so fast, but she couldn't help it. Hearing those words at this point in her life was too much.

"NO!" She yelled, staring at her reflection with wide eyes as it tricked her mind into giving up.

"Give your miraculous up!"

"You don't deserve to have it!"

"NO!" Rena screamed as Chloe reached up and ripped the hairpin out of her hair.

"Queen Bee!"

"You will pay for this!" Rena yelled.

But just as Chloe was about to give up her jewel, the mirrors shattered into a thousand pieces. Exploding, the glass shot in all directions, causing her to squeal as a few hit her in the face.

Adrien let out a cough as the mirrors turned to dust, and turning in the opposite direction dodged behind a pillar. Only Rena saw that he was there.

"WHAT!? How did my mirrors break?" Empathie screamed.

Pipe in hand, Adrien struggled not to let out the smallest breath. What he was doing now was more dangerous than usual. But he'd risked everything for Paris now, and he was not about to give up before taking Hawkmoth down.

Rena clutched the flute in her hand before blowing into it. The soft tune only seemed to be noticed by the two mannequins and her two friends. Empathie did not move as she approached the fallen bee. Now detransformed and vulnerable, Chloe crawled backward. "Get away!" She cried, hiding the smirk appearing on her lips.

The two servants rushed to Empathie's side, pulling at her arms. They were trying to tell her that Rena had activated her power, but without mouths, they could not.

"It's over." Rena whispered as an illusion appeared behind Adrien.

"Adrien..." The illusion whispered, "Come here, Adrien."

The blonde boy turned around to see Marinette standing before him. Shocked, and not positive that it was an illusion at first, he backed away from her, right into sight of Empathie.

"What's this?" She asked, letting go of Chloe's arm and creating vines to block the exit ways.

"How did you get here, Adrien?"

But Chloe wrapped her arms around Empathie's heels and distracted her as Marinette approached.

"Get off me, you wench!" Empathie cried, her eyes flashing red. Chloe was kicked off easily, but it gave Marinette enough time to approach Adrien.

"What are you doing? Marinette? Is that you?" He asked, not sure whether or not to cry now that he'd seen she's okay.

"MARINETTE!?" Empathie roared, ice appearing under her feet. "HOW DID YOU ESCAPE ME? YOU WILL P-"

"Adrien..."

The akuma must be in her necklace. It's the only hope I've got.

Rena Rouge slowly stood up, motioning to Chloe to keep Empathie's servants back. If only Empathie wasn't so contained by her own emotions, she could have heard the fox sneaking up on her.

The illusion Marinette was still wearing her bikini, now showing off every curve of her body, it crawled towards Adrien until their bodies were inches apart. His face lit up a bright red as he braced himself for the worst. He knew by now that it was an illusion. For Marinette would never in a million years act this way.

"Marinette." Adrien decided to play along, careful not to touch her as he reached. One touch and she'd disappear. Slowly, the illusion crept in.

"I like you so much, Adrien. Brielle doesn't deserve you as I do-"

The voice echoed and everything went quiet as Marinette's illusion crept in closer. Adrien knew at that point that he couldn't back out. Even if it wasn't really Marinette, it still made him feel something inside. The girl was there with him and spirit and he was sure of it. As she crept in closer, that's when he realized what Rena had been going for. But how did she know anything about what was happening at the agency? Had she been there?

Marinette leaned in. "I wanna feel you..." She whispered, loud enough for the akuma to hear every word.

Adrien hadn't realized how much she really looked like the real thing. She had Marinette's eyes. Her silky dark hair, her pale skin, and freckles. Everything about her was attractive to him, and always had been, but that couldn't have been what he was feeling. It wasn't just attraction, the feeling he was getting from her being so close was too much. The illusion was meant to trick everybody, not just the akuma. He had to pull away at some point.

Please, Rena, hurry up.

He tried to shake the thoughts from his mind as Marinette's lips parted.

Wake up!

If he didn't pull away, he might actually have his first kiss with Marinette's illusion!

It's just the illusion. I'm not actually attracted to her, she's my best friend!

But he was so drawn into kind aura, he couldn't help himself lean in as well.

As their lips were about to meet, Empathie screamed out.

"Don't YOU DARE!"

And then, in a flash of light. It was over.

"Spots on!" Alya called, feeling an overwhelming sense of confidence fill her as the popular dotted suit covered her from neck to toe. When she was finished transforming, she could feel the kwami's energy radiating inside of her.

Capture the akuma.

It said.

Cleanse the akuma.

Smashing the necklace around Empathie's neck, the akuma fluttered out, and Rena's eyes lit up. Moving the yo-yo as skillfully as she could, and with much help from Tikki, she passed it to capture the small black bug.

"Gotcha!"

With the butterfly inside, the followed Tikki's instructions to free it, watching as it fluttered out into the air.

Now say-

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

Rena didn't need help for that one, as the tower returned to normal and Marinette's illusion completely disappeared. Falling to her knees, Tikki had kept the transformation for as long as possible, and she fell out of the miraculous immediately. Collapsing at Rena, now Alya's, feet.

"Don't turn around!" She yelled as her cheeks turned a bright red.

Alya gasped and picked up the small kwami as she looked up to make sure they hadn't seen her detransform. Chloe still had her back to her and hadn't seen her identity, but Adrien...

He had.

✩。*•. .•*。✩

End Flashback

✩。*•. .•*。✩

"You know I love you right-" Alya whispered as Marinette let out a groan.

"You do not need to whisper, I'm not that sensitive-"

"Yes, but..."

"No buts, just talk normally, okay? I'm fine."

Marinette's cheeks tinted red as Alya sighed. "Okay, okay, but we've got a lot to talk about when you get home-"

"I'm back." The nurse announced as she walked into the room holding a blue tray. "Eat this, we'll check your vitals again, and if all's okay, you are free to return home tonight." Placing the tray on a small table and pulling it in front of the sick girl, the nurse returned to the doorway.

Marinette swallowed to coat her dry throat before smiling lightly, "Alright, thank you."

Alya stared at the tray. "Well, eat up."

The dark-haired girl took a sip of the juice on her tray.

"Ugh... I hate hospital food." Marinette complained, receiving a giggle from Alya.

Adrien watched from the couch as his gaze landed on Marinette. His heart skipped a beat and he had to turn away to avoid confirming Alya's presence.

It was just an illusion.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

A/N: Hey dreamers! Long as hell chapter, but... I really liked this one. A lot. Hope you did as well. Of course, I was not going to have our first Adrienette kiss be an illusion- what kind of author would I be? I was sick of making you wait so I wanted to give you a treat, haha.

Song Choice: In Your Arms by Illenium (feat. X Ambassadors)
Marinette almost died in Adrien's arms... I find this perfect. Absolutely.

Word Count: 4783

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