"I u-understand..." Marinette shivered, nodding at the doctor and nurse every time they shot a request at her.

"Rest, no school for at least a few days until you're not getting those chills anymore. If you develop a fever, wet cough, or your temperature drops again then you'll need go to the emergency room. Homework must be done with breaks and you should ask for help if you need to-"

Alya stood behind the doctor with two fingers pulling her mouth into a smile. Marinette awkwardly smiled at the doctor and waved her hand.

"I will definitely do all of that. I promise."

"Great, well, if that is so, you may leave. But please remember-"

Adrien came up behind Alya and stared into the room, startling her.

"Ah! What the fuck, Agreste?" She clamped a hand over her mouth and turned red. She was never one to swear in front of adults, especially someone of such high status.

The doctor and nurse, preoccupied with pestering an overwhelmed Marinette didn't notice as Adrien shrugged an apology.

"Yeah, sorry...Just here to take Marinette home."

Alya looked from side to side before wrapping her hand around Adrien's wrist and dragging him down the hall.

"Ah! Alya what are you doing-"

She ignored his complaints as she stomped down until she came across an empty hallway. Throwing him against the wall she waved a finger in his face.

"You are so lucky that I don't-"

"That you don't what?" Adrien crossed his arms and stared at her with a serious look plastered on his face. What was she to do? There was nothing she could do that could make this any worse then it already was. Besides, whatever dirt she had on him, he had on her.

Alya let out a loud drawn out sigh and backed away from him, slumping against the opposite wall. Sliding to the ground she put her head in her hands.

"This is all a mess... it's our fault she's like this." The redhead grumbled, twining her fingers through unruly hair. Adrien took a deep breath and made his way to Alya's side, sliding down the wall to sit next to her as well.

"We did everything we could. Besides, it all worked out in the end-"

"Yes, but... but what if it was worse?" Alya turned to look at Adrien. When he noticed the tears filling her eyes, he felt a sudden pain in his heart. All this time he had been feeling like it was his fault, but, Alya probably felt much worse. She had been forced to take on both Ladybug and Chat Noir's role while Parisians tosses insults at her. The guilt she felt was probably just as strong, if not stronger, then the emotions he did.

"It wasn't. You did everything you could, trust me when I say that."

It was quiet for a minute as the two teenagers stared forward. The hallway they were in was narrow and only seemed to be used for maitnence. Every so often, doctors, nurses, and patients would walk by the entry way to the hall, but nobody seemed to look in their direction. For once, Adrien was glad that he was able to get away from all of this. All this time he'd wanted to do whatever you could to save Marinette, and to save Paris, but now, drawn back from it all, a frozen ring on his hand and guilt in the back of his mind, he was happy to be away from it all.

"Are you going to tell her?" Alya suddenly asked, interuppting the silence between them.

"Tell who?" Adrien cocked an eyebrow and turned his head to meet her eyes.

"God, Agreste. You're so dense!" She threw her arms up and placed her head between her hands once again.

"I'm sorry, do you mean, tell Marinette? Tell her what?"

"Tell her about what happened out there- she's sure to ask. She doesn't know that I'm-"

"That you're...a hero too." Adrien looked down at his feet. "I won't say anything if you won't." He responded, pulling his knees to his chest. "Besides, Ladybug's told me a million times, it's dangerous for people to know our other's civilian identities. Not just for us, but them too."

"I guess....that's true. But maybe... maybe we should tell her a little bit? Even if she's not a hero, she deserves to know how she was saved-"

"But how are we supposed to explain how we know it all?"

"You could explain that you were the one that was in the barrier with her-"

"I can't do that!" Adrien hissed, his cheeks turning red and his hands diving to touch his face.

"Why?"

"Because... she saw me... when I went in. She was in and out of consciousnesses but she still knew it was me-"

"You mean... Chat Noir?"

Adrien looked from side to side before nodding voluntarily.

"Yes."

"I need to tell her." Alya suddenly said, determined, she stood up, falling forward slightly.

"W-What? Tell her what? Why!?"

"She needs to know what you said-"

Turning around to face the exit to the main hallway, Alya took a step forward, only for her to be grasped onto by Adrien.

"No- P-Please!"

"It sounds like to me that she needs to know what you said! Don't you think, Agreste?" Alya said sternly.

"No... I can't... It was embarrassing."

"She needs to know that you saved her! That you were the one with her the entire time!"

Alya knew that Marinette would want to know that the love of her life had done all of that for her.

"I didn't save her-"

"Yes you did!"

"Alya!" Adrien stuttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please, just don't...it would make everything awkward and confusing, and suspicious..." He flushed and he looked away.

"Why are you so..."

She was about to say 'dense' but stopped herself. Eyeing him more closely she noticed how nervous he looked.

"Such a nervous wreck right now?"

"You mean...other than the fact that one of my closest friends almost died?"

Alya didn't have to respond, so Adrien kept going, letting out an anxious laugh.

"Because putting me in a situation like that-"

Alya interuppted him instantly, putting her defenses up, "Excuse ME! You put yourself in that situation! I could have handled it-"

"No, you wouldn't have! You're lucky I came up there when I did or you two would have been dead meat!"

"Whatever you say-"

"It's true!"

Alya hadn't admitting she was wrong, but Adrien was right. What he did really saved her from a nasty defeat. She was a bit rusty, as was Chloe, from not holding a miraculous for so long, let alone without the help of the two pros. She knew where Chat Noir had been, but who even knew what happened to Ladybug at this point? It seemed Adrien was as in the dark on that as she was.

"I won't say anything. But I think you should, tell her. Eventually."

Adrien looked away and released Alya's wrist awkwardly. He didn't know what to say anymore.

"I think you should not just tell her everything that went down, but tell her who you really are-" Alya turned towards the boy with a frantic look in her eyes.

"She needs to know... that you're Chat Noir."

Adrien's heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. His vision became fuzzy and he thought that maybe what he was feeling currently was what an anxiety attack felt like. Stuttering for words, he looked Alya in the eye, practically desperate.

"I-I can't. I already told you. Ladybug's always saying it...it's too dangerous to reveal ourselves to anybody. That's why it's a secret identity."

It sounded like a cop-our when he said it out loud, but it really was supposed to be a secret. She could be put in danger.

And I only want to reveal myself to Ladybug... voluntarily.

"It's not going to be a secret much longer if you don't tell her soon."

"What do you mean by that?" Adrien asked, cluelessly.

"I mean... you seriously think you can explain how she ended up at Wayzz' master's place? Or how you were the one with her in the barrier? She's sure to remember bits and pieces. You said so yourself, she was in and out of consciousness-"

"I'm.. I'm scared." Adrien admitted, closing his eyes tightly to avoid his redhead friend's gaze.

"You're.. what?" Her eyes widened. Was this Adrien Agreste admitting his feelings for Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Oh does she have quite the story to tell him-

"I'm scared she won't accept me. She's such a great friend to me- I couldn't handle it. And admitting that to her is like admitting to everybody else... it's too much. And revealing my identity to anybody could both put them in danger, and make it easier for Hawkmoth to discover who I really am..."

Alya balled her hands up into fists. And she was expecting some heartfelt confession? Although, it would have been pretty awkward had he confessed to her.

"You decide for yourself, Adrien."

The blonde boy's eyes widened.

She called me by my first name.

What was he supposed to do? There was so much going on, not to mention he had to take care of and be around her with the constant guilt in the back of his mind. But there was one thing that he kept thinking about and couldn't get out of his mind... just one thing. He didn't want to give Alya the wrong idea, but he had to ask. He just had to.

"I just... I have one more question."

Alya nodded her head and checked around her to make sure nobody was listening in.

"Yes?"

"That illusion..." His heart skipped a beat. "Why? How did you know it would work?"

The redhead girl took a huge breath in and clapped her hands together. "Being Rena Rouge and creating illusions is one thing- but honestly? I don't know how I figured out what Empathie felt. I guess the way she looked at you to begin with... maybe my power was able to draw those emotions or something? I'm not really sure..."

How was she supposed to explain that she only knew it would work as a distraction and that she wasn't even sure that the girl under the Akuma's spell had feelings for Adrien?

"I mean, I obviously knew Empathie had some negative feelings for Marinette. So when I created Marinette as an illusion... I set for her to interact with you..."

"What does that all mean?" Adrien asked, hiding his flushed features.

"When creating an illusion, I can imagine what I want it to look like. I can also create the personality and the kind of things I want it to say... When I made Marinette's illusion, my main goal was to distract Empathie. In a way, it used you as bait on its own level."

"I guess.. that makes sense."

Alya released a struggled breath. It was a lot harder to explain then it was to do.

"But... when the illusion came at me... I..." Adrien shrugged his shoulders and looked at the floor shyly. "I didn't know what to do. The way that, that Marinette looked at me and came at me put me in a state of shock. And then when she reached for me, she didn't touch me at all but... I for some reason was drawn to her. I almost... I almost kissed her-"

"Adrien," Alya interrupted, "You do realize that it wasn't really Marinette, right?"

The blonde boy nodded his head rapidly. "O-Of course!"

"Then what are you asking?"

"I.. Are the illusions supposed to control people like that?"

"She didn't control you. I mean-it didn't control you."

"But-"

"My dense, dense boy-" Alya put a hand on his shoulder about to explain to him that he was only now feeling every bit of love he'd had locked away towards Marinette for years, but stopped herself. She didn't want to be the one to make Adrien believe he like Marinette. Nor did she want to be the one to let him believe Marinette had feelings for him... he had to discover that feeling on his own terms.

"My illusions... they don't control anyone."

The words spread in Adrien's head like wildfire.

"Anything you felt for the illusion, felt real because I made the illusion look and seem real. Either you've never experienced a flirty girl like that before, or you actually have feelings for the illusion's source."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. When they did, Adrien put his hands up and waved frantically. "What? What does that mean-"

"Alya! Adrien!" A quiet but eager voice was heard calling down the hall.

"Um...Are you sure they went this way?" They asked.

"Yes, they did. Check the lobby if they aren't there." A woman's voice responded.

"Okay."

Alya and Adrien walked to the hallway's exit and the redhead threw her arms around the source of the happy voice.

"Marinette! You ready to go home?"

Marinette smiled as she made eye contact with her best friend. "Sure. Sorry for worrying you."

Adrien grabbed onto Marinette's shoulder. "'Gorilla and Nathalie are waiting outside for us,"

Marinette giggled at the new nickname the two of them had found for his bodyguard. Alya rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"Are you ready? It's cool out there so you can wear my j-jacket-"

When he stuttered on the word of his last sentence, Alya's eyes widened and Marinette stopped to look at him for a second.

"S-Sorry... uh... I mean.. here-" The blonde boy slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around the blue-haired girl. Immediately, Marinette's face lit up a bright red. She was wearing much-too-big hospital scrubs since the swimsuit she'd worn before was obviously not suitable for exiting the building, especially since she had been admitted with hypothermia. With the bag of belongings in her hand, she turned to face Alya who smirked at Marinette.

"I guess Agreste will take care of you for me?"

"Haha.. Yeah.." Marinette whispered, before wrapping Alya into a hug, "Thank you for being there for me. I'm still not sure what happened, but I'll figure it out soon."

Alya looked at Adrien as Marinette held onto her.

"Yeah. I'd hope so." She responded, staring into Adrien's eyes while speaking.

A few more seconds passed until Marinette went to release Alya, but the girl pulled her back to whisper something in her ear. Adrien couldn't see Marinette's reaction, yet watched as Alya headed off.

"Great. W-Well, I'll see you at s-school-" Marinette began, stumbling over her words.

"See you at school when you feel better and after the time period you're supposed to be resting?- yes." Alya put on a stern look as her inner mom friend shone through. Marinette rolled her eyes before pulling Adrien's jacket tighter around her.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, see you soon." Alya turned to wave one last time, winking at Adrien while.

After leaving the two in the hall to walk at their own pace and exiting through the stairway, Adrien stared after Alya with a dumbfounded look.

Anything you felt for the illusion, felt real because I made the illusion look and seem real.

The model led Marinette away from the hospital rooms and to the elevator.

Either you've never experienced a flirty girl like that before, or you actually have feelings for the illusion's source.

"Adrien? Are you okay?"

The boy was shaken out of his thoughts as Marinette stood in the elevator waiting for him. He scratched the back of his head and hopped inside, pressing the button.

"That's... We don't need to go to floor 2, we need to go to the lobby-"

Marinette corrected him by pressing the right button and leaning against the wall. She stared at him as he leaned forward, his bangs falling in front of his face.

"Adrien, are you sure you're okay?"

He turned to face her and made her heart flutter with a smile. "I'm fine. Let's get you home."

Marinette knew that he was hiding something, but decided not to push the matter any further.

"Okay." She smiled back.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Nathalie opened up the door on Marinette's side of the car and ushered her out. When she closed the door behind her, Nathalie wrapped her hands around the dark-haired girl's shoulder.

"I know there's not much I can do personally, but if you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know, alright, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng?"

Marinette smiled at the usually cold woman and looked her in the eye. "Please, call me Marinette, and thank you."

"Alright, Marinette."

Adrien climbed out the opposite side of the car and shut his own door, happy for not being the one focused on by Nathalie and his bodyguard. He followed the two girls up to the front door, noticing a man with a camera hidden outside the fence. Normally, he'd ignore it and move on, but today it was about Marinette, and he didn't want anyone in Marinette's face.

When all four of them made it safely inside, he turned to his father's assistant.

"Nathalie, did you see the paparazzi outside the gate?"

The woman turned to face Adrien and simply nodded her head. "I'll contact the authorities once more."

Marinette watched as Nathalie left her side, leaving her with Adrien and Gorilla, who awkwardly stood by the staircase.

"I-I," Marinette hugged herself as she made her way to the stairs. As she placed her hand on the railing, the cold metal sent a shockwave through her body.

"Let me help you!" Adrien cried out, rushing to his friend's side and holding her up. The frazzeled girl tried hard not to blush as she began to walk up the stairs. "I-I'm fine, It's just... the railing is really cold..."

"I know..." Together the two of them made their way up the stairs and to the right, towards the guest room where Marinette was staying. When they entered the room, Adrien watched as Marinette shuffled inside and immediately locked eyes on her purse that was lying on the desk. The table was still covered in materials and paper that she'd been using the night before. Her hands dove to grab her bag. Clutching it in her hands she opened it to look inside. Everything seemed right where it was, including her phone, but there was one thing missing.

Reflexively, her hands touched her ears where her earrings no longer were. Her face turned red as she faced Adrien with a stern look.

"Uh- Um," She didn't know what to say or how to ask this, so the words came out quite quickly, "Did you see any.. any jewelry on me when I was in the barrier?"

They wouldn't just fall out! And Tikki wasn't with me...

"No, but if there was, I'm sure someone would pick it up. What did it look like?"

Marinette averted her eyes from Adrien and sighed. There was nothing she could do right now. If she needed too, she could visit Master Fu at his place once she felt well rested.

"Actually... I don't believe I was wearing them when the akuma attack happened. Sorry for the trouble." She smiled at Adrien, who gave her a grin in return. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

"Okay, well, let me know if you need anything else."

The words rang in her mind. The words Alya spoke before she left them at the hospital.

Tell Adrien you care about him. He needs to hear it.

Marinette watched as the blonde boy gripped the doorknob in his hand and went to show himself out. He'd be staying with her, home from school, for a few days while she recovered, and he was determined to make up for the guilt he was feeling, as well as help her rest.

"Adrien!" Marinette suddenly called out, jogging over to the doorway.

Instantly, the flashback from years ago, when she'd done the same thing at the picnic popped up in the back of his mind. She'd kissed his cheek then. What was to happen now? Adrien's cheeks tinted red as the bluenette looked him straight in the eyes. The light fell so delicately on her cheekbones, he could almost remember the exact light from the Alya's illusion.

"H-Here..." Marinette shrugged off the jacket and hugged her bare shoulders as the gown clung to her desparetely. In any other circumstance, she'd nearly pass out from the simple thought that she had been wearing the love of her life's jacket, but right now she was just tired. She handed Adrien his coat with shaky hands. The chills returned as she wrapped her arms around herself immediately.

"Th-Thanks you.. I mean.. Thank you for letting me borrow it on the way here. That was nice of you... and uh..."

She took a huge noticeable breath in. "I want to thank you for everything you did for me... I can't remember much, but I do know that you were there while I was suffering, and for that, I am grateful..."

Just say it, Marinette. Just tell him you care.

"I...I..."

Oh for fucks sake...

"I care... I care you- I care about you... so please, don't hesitate to let me know how I can repay you for the acts of kindness you've shown me the last few days."

Adrien's face glowed a bright red and he had to take a step back to avoid getting too flustered.

"I... Thank you, Marinette. I'll let you know, but please don't worry. I did it because you're my friend and I care about you too."

Marinette forced a smile onto her face.

Of course... What was I expecting to hear?

"Great... well, I'll head off to bed."

Adrien turned to close the door. When it was almost closed, he popped his head back in.

"I'll have Aria help you in the morning. I was going to run to school to get some work and tell the teachers what's going on. Please sleep well, Marinette."

With a small smile, he closed the door and left Marinette alone in the nearly empty room. She turned towards the bed and walked over to it, collapsing immediately. She was so exhausted. Even though sleep was not on her mind, she couldn't help but fall into the sheets instantly. Without much realization, tears appeared and dripped down her cheeks. Why couldn't she remember anything? She couldn't remember anything that happened and it hurt her! Tikki was gone. Her miraculous was gone completely. Adrien seemed to pull away from her and Alya was acting weird. Plus, how was she supposed to explain this all to her parents?

It was too much. Marinette tried to stop the tears, but they just kept coming. So instead of waiting for them to slow, she began to change into her homemade ladybug themed pagamas and pull back the covers of the bed she had let to sleep in.

"Tikki..." She whispered, closing her eyes, "I need you. I'm sorry I left you."

She was barely aware of it, but in that exact moment, she was probably the loneliest she'd ever been in years. Her parents weren't there, her friends bad distanced themselves themselves...the rumors were still rampaging through the school, and given Adrien's fame, all of Paris, and she wasn't so oblivious as not to have seen people taking pictures as they left the hospital. Even the nurses were gossiping.

Gabriel Agreste... I wonder what he thinks?

Is he ashamed?

But what made her feel loneliest was the lack of the one thing in her life that literally brightened up her world.

Tikki.

She was gone. Having left her for the first time in years...

She could barely remember a time when Tikki wasn't at least a few feet away. Except for earlier when she lost her without realizing.

Tikki was always with her, always.

But now, Marinette couldn't feel Tikki at all.

Where is she? Is she okay?

At this moment, Marinette was just Marinette. There was no Ladybug. Ladybug didn't exist. There were many questions she had. Like how did it all end? How was the akuma defeated and why was her miraculous missing? But starting after the akuma attack was so fuzzy she couldn't focus enough to remember anything useful.

Crawling into bed and cocooning herself in the covers, Marinette stared at the wall and thought to herself. She tried to remember how she got in the barrier, to begin with. All she could seem to remember was the pain and freezing cold she felt.

But there was some warmth.

Slowly, it started to come back to her.

"ADRIEN!"

She remembered calling his name.

Adrien was in there? With her? How?

That couldn't be right. She thought harder, scrunching her face up and tossing while.

Come on!

"I'm here, princess-"

But that's Chat Noir's voice... Ugh! What was going on?

She tossed and turned a few more minutes until her body grew heavy. Pulling the covers up her shivering body and tucking her feet under them, she clenched her eyes shut and drifted off to sleep. Tears stained her cheeks and the pillowcase under her head.

Tikki...

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

A/N: Hello dreamers! What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! Happily, I've been writing chapters more often. I'm determined to get this book to the top spot, so please, if you could help me at all, follow my account! And vote on the chapters as well! Also, please don't hesitate to leave feedback or predictions. I love seeing those! Comment as much as you like! I read them daily!

Song Choice: Faded By Alan Walker
Marinette feels like her life is fading away inch by inch, as loneliness begins to consume her as well as confusion.

Word Count: 4354

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