#I'm also thinking of joining Adrien Appreciation Week but I'll also have /this/ to update

[rosettared]

Lift Me Up

Summary: After watching Chat Noir almost get himself killed once again, Ladybug strongly considers they tell each other the truth - though not before he tells her his plan to cheer her up. A patrol picnic. Simple enough. What could go wrong? In which Adrien gets sick, they get trapped in an elevator, and Master Fu knows what's really in Marinette's heart. Pairing(s): Ladybug/Chat Noir, Adrien/Marinette (it’s a love square fic, so naturally all four corners are present)

Chapter 1: Enough is Enough Word Count: 4481 Also read on: AO3 Next Chapter >>

Marinette had a lot on her mind right now, and she wasn’t sure which thought she should address first. Recalling everything that unfolded before her very eyes – watching yet another schoolmate upset over what only Chloé found trivial, watching as she succumbed to Hawk Moth’s tempting offer, watching as she reigned fiery terror upon Paris with her fuelled rage, watching as Chat Noir took yet another hit for her – it was all becoming quite overwhelming for her.

It didn’t quite help that she had a bad week to begin with, and it was a wonder how she had not yet been akumatised herself (Tikki once mentioned that bearing the miraculous gave her the protection from Hawk Moth’s akumas, but surely, he’s sensed her negative emotions before). Alya had been horribly ill with high fever, so she sat by herself through all her classes. Her sewing machine had broken the very minute she wanted to start on a project she had been excited for.  Her workload from school was ridiculous, what more with her responsibilities as class president piling up. Marinette had come running into class one morning with a cup of coffee, and it didn’t take long until she tripped over herself on the school steps (well, Adrien lent her his jacket to wear over her stained shirt, if anything good came out of that).

As Lady Luck herself, it was funny how her luck seemed to be running dry.

She wasn’t laughing.

She watched over the city she fought to protect, swinging her legs as they dangled over the ledge of the rooftop. She was forty minutes early for her joint Friday patrol with Chat tonight, but she couldn’t think at home. The confined pink walls of her bedroom, though she loved them, were not what she wanted to associate with the battles in her brain. Her room was her workspace, where she felt creativity flow from her head to her hands, where she put heart into each of her projects. She needed the fresh air and wide-open space she could only get from over the rooftops of Paris. It reminded her that her decisions may bring consequences to her people, including the people she loved, so she had to think about her actions more carefully.

Today’s akuma, Medusa, was Clara, a girl from Marinette’s art class. Before class had started, she had shown Marinette her art project, which was a near-perfect clay sculpture of herself, from the collarbone up. It had taken her every day since they received their assignment, and she was proud. But when it was Clara’s turn to unveil it to the class, she could only look and gape in sheer horror. Someone had defaced it – it was missing both ears, and there were cracks everywhere. It didn’t take a genius to know who was behind it, and the sight of Chloe and Sabrina high-fiving and snickering was all the proof she needed. Marinette had run after her to cheer her up, but she realised that Hawk Moth got to her first. He had given her elongated snake-like locks, which could turn whoever she wished into solid stone (instead of her eyes, like in the stories Marinette read as a child).

Of all the thoughts that ran in her mind, the most profound one – the one that shouted and nagged for her attention – was the memory of Chat pushing her away and taking her place when one of Medusa’s serpents aimed for her. She had had her guard down, trying to think of a plan with her Lucky Charm (a can of hairspray, go figure), and she somehow missed the ear-piercing cry of “Ladybug, watch out!” from her partner, and before she knew it, her breath was knocked out of her and Chat slowly turned into stone, from where the snake had wrapped itself around his waist. When Medusa threatened to knock him over, and shatter him into a million pieces, the scream that left Marinette’s mouth was shrill and deafening, raw with dread and fear.

She hated this feeling.

That was the sixth time this month. Chat had been taking bullets meant for her, time and time again, and Marinette hated it. She was so sick of watching her partner put himself in danger, which often times made him turn against her. She hated fighting one of her best friends over and over again. Other times, Chat would literally take bullets for her, which was much, much worse. She couldn’t count the number of times in their three years together that she’s watched him die in her arms, watched him untangle from her grasp that had only grown tighter as time passed. If it wasn’t for her restoration spell after each battle, she wasn’t sure what she would do.

She was tired of losing him.

The sound of footsteps hitting the ground broke her reverie, and she quickly wiped away the tears with her wrists. After the battle, she hadn’t spoken a word to the cat, hadn’t even looked at him. She remembered throwing him a hushed “see you later” over her shoulder before swinging home. He had called out to her, but she just had her mind set on getting to the bakery as fast as she could. Usually she would make it a priority to check up on him after battles, but there was only so much a girl could take.

She heard the slow steps he took in her direction, probably hesitant to approach. She straightened her position and kept her eyes on the twinkling city lights, still refusing to turn to him. “Hey,” he offered weakly, breaking the heavy silence between them. When she replied with a disinterested ‘hmm’, she saw from her peripheral that he took it upon himself to take a seat on the roof beside her. She could see that he was fidgeting with his miraculous, which he only did when he was nervous. She had half a mind to ease his thoughts, probably agitated to start the conversation, but she stayed stubborn and kept her mouth shut.

She still had a bone to pick with him.

Eventually, he cleared his throat to get her attention (he already had it, but she didn’t want him to know that yet).

“Some akuma today, huh?” he tried again. Nothing. Her eyes stayed on the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower, not very far from where they sat. He heaved a heavy sigh. “Ladybug, about what happened earlier…” Still nothing from her. She was just going to let him ramble. Another sigh. “Look, I know you’re still mad at me for what I did. I called out your name, but you didn’t hear me, and she almost turned you into a statue! I can’t say I’m sorry for pushing you, but I am sorry I made you worry. I know you would’ve done the same for me. We’re partners, after all, right?” Again, nothing. He was only making things worse. She let him try again. “If there’s anything I could do to make it up to you, just say the word and I’ll do it.”

Marinette closed her eyes and took one deep break in, and held it for four seconds, then slowly let it out for another eight. She repeated the practice one more time, tension calmly leaving her body, before opening her eyes and finally looking his way, offering him a small smile. She noticed how quickly his shoulders dropped and expression softened, ready to hear what she has to say. The anticipation in his eyes almost made her regret not speaking sooner.

Almost.

“Chat, you’re not just a partner to me. You know you’re one of my best friends, right?” she finally spoke.

Maybe it could’ve been how he took in the word ‘friend’, but he was briefly hesitant. Then he returned her smile. “’Course I do.”

“We’ve been saving Paris for, what, three years? We were only fourteen when we got the job. Crazy, huh?”

His smile grew a little more. “Yeah, we were,” he agreed.  “Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Those three years have been rewarding, I have to say.”

She felt her nerves loosen up a bit, but then they quickly tightened again. “And… and you know I trust you with my life, right?”

“And you, mine.”

“Yeah, it’s that.” Marinette took in another deep breath, then scooted closer to him on the ledge. “What you did for me with Medusa… Chat, I can’t thank you enough. You’re brave, and noble, and so, so selfless. I couldn’t ask for a better partner, but… See, it’s not that I don’t appreciate you always trying to protect me. I do, more than you’ll ever know – heck, I’ll do the same for you. You know that.” She was stalling. She had become a master in the art of rambling, if only to take her time to fight back the tears behind her eyes and the lump in her throat.

Luckily, he couldn’t tell, as he simply chuckled and said, “Yes, I do. That’s what partners do. That’s what friends do, right?”

She nodded, still fighting a losing battle. “Yeah, yeah, friends do that. Chat, listen,” she sighed, putting one gloved hand over the other, softly drumming her fingers. It was best to stop beating about the bush and just tell him like it was, tears be darned. “Okay, I’m just gonna say it. You almost died today. Medusa threatened to topple you over and let you break if I didn’t hand over my miraculous. I had to face her scaly snakes all by myself, and she almost killed you! Do you know how terrified I was? I mean, I know we’re both scared to face akumas to some extent but come on! She could have ended your life like that!” Marinette snapped her fingers for emphasis.

Chat looked away from her gaze, not wanting to see the fury in her eyes, then she calmed down a little. She was lashing out, and that was only unfair to him. He was only doing his duty, after all. She turned his face to look at her, for she wanted to see the sincerity in the tears that trailed down her mask. He almost missed how she let a tiny sob escape, and his jaw dropped.

“I swear, Chat Noir, I’m not mad at you,” she began, her voice controlled, hoping she could get at least this to him. Chat, however, did not look convinced. “I’m just… I’m just tired. I know you mean well, but I’m tired of having to fight you over and over again, or worse. I almost lost you again today, and I hate that I can’t make you promise it won’t happen anymore, because it will. You and I both know that.”

Chat was quiet for quite some time, longer than Marinette liked, and she waited for him to deny her claim, or defend himself. Say something, she thought. When he didn’t, she sighed again and proceeded. “We protect each other, Kitty. I know I’ve taken blows for you before, but it’s obvious that our counts don’t tally.” She brought up one hand to his face to gently rub her thumb against his cheek. He leaned into her touch, and Marinette felt her insides turn to mush and flow through her body.

“You’ve thrown me off a roof.” The dumb cat dared to give her a cheeky grin. She wanted to smack it right off his pretty face.

“When you were mind-controlled! Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Chat lifted his own hand to hers, and he wrapped his fingers around her own. When he placed a soft kiss on her palm, even through the layers of spandex between them, all of Marinette’s nerves caught on fire, the burn spreading from her neck to the tips of her ears. He then pursed his lips in thought. “You’re the only one who can save the akuma victims. We can’t afford for you to get hurt. I can’t let anything happen to you, Bugaboo.” It was rare that he used that particular nickname in such a situation, but she guessed that was how he tried to lighten the mood. By the direction this conversation was going, he didn’t have much luck there. “If they get to you, there’s not much I can do. I find out where the akuma is, break it free, and then what? I don’t have my own ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ like you, I can’t clean up our messes or purify the akumas, and I know you’re more than capable to save Paris without me. You’re way too important for our missions, so I will gladly put your safety before my own.”

“Even if it’ll cost you your life?”

“Especially if it’ll cost me my life! Better me than you, Ladybug,” his voice strained, and she realised he was holding back just as much as she was. “Besides, you always save me in the end, right? I trust that whatever sacrifice I make, you’ll always find a way to make things right.”

“That’s not the point, Chat. I don’t want to have to fight you anymore. I don’t want to have to save Paris without you, I can’t do it without you. I’ve seen you die in so many ways, and I want it to stop. I just…” her voice faltered, and like the weight of all her week’s troubles taking their toll on her, she finally broke the dam behind her eyes, not caring that she looked more vulnerable than ever to her partner. This was the boy she trusted with every fibre of her being. He deserved to see her like this.

“Just because I can purify akumas, that doesn’t make you expendable,” she added in between desperate sobs. “You are not expendable, Chat, do you hear me? You’re just as important as I am, and I want to be by your side, every step of the way. We’re a team, remember? We fight for Paris together.” Marinette took his hands in her own and squeezed, trying to tell him that every word she spoke was 100% fact. “I don’t need you to fight for me, I need you to fight with me. There’s only so much I can take, so I need you to promise that you’ll be more careful, Chat. I… I-I lo-,” Not yet, she thought. She couldn’t bring herself to say it, not right now. She cleared her throat and tried one more time. “I can’t lose you.”

She saw the way his muscles relaxed, and his shoulders dropped again, and she felt the breath he was slowly letting out through his nose. She welcomed the way he released his hands from her hold, so he could wrap them around her waist and pull her closer to him, flushing at how he pressed a lingering kiss on the top of her head. “Alright. I promise.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

Adrien had never been more on edge.

Ever since his talk with Ladybug last week, her words had become his new mantra, playing in his head like a broken radio. ‘Be more careful’, she had said to him. He was bound to find a new akuma victim this week, but by Wednesday, nothing had happened yet. The stillness was unsettling, and Adrien had been on the lookout for any suspicious activity. His enhanced senses as Chat Noir had seeped more into his civilian life as time went on, so that made it all-the-more easy for him. He kept a watchful eye on Chloé, and so far, she hadn’t given anyone more distress than usual, so he supposed that should have eased him a little.

It didn’t.

Something bad was going to happen. He could feel it.

Adrien walked into class that morning, his head reminding him repeatedly to calm down, and was taken aback at the sight of his best friend in the seat next to his own. Nino looked… off. For starters, he was incredibly pallid, his form pale and weak. His eyes drooped behind his thick-framed glasses, and the bags and dark circles underneath were as clear as day. The turn of his body to greet Adrien was sluggish, and his reactions were belated.

Nino was just fine last week, so Adrien tried to recall their past conversations to see what could have made him so sick. He remembered Nino excusing himself from their study sessions to pay Alya a quick visit when she was sick. He and Marinette didn’t think too much of it the first time, awed at how much Nino cared for his girlfriend, to be there in her time of need. Now that he was thinking about it, it baffled him how he didn’t realise that he would leave to see her twice, thrice, several times in that same week. The one time he and Marinette made time to visit Alya themselves, Nino was already there.

He did mention that he was at Alya’s all weekend.

Ah, that explains it, Adrien thought.

“Dude, you look awful,” he told Nino bluntly, skipping their morning handshake routine. Nino didn’t even try to look offended, and instead opted to give him a shrug. “Why did you come? You should be lying on your bed, resting at home.”

Nino sniffled. “No one was at home, and my mom wouldn’t let me stay by myself.”

Adrien knitted his eyebrows. “You’re seventeen.”

“You’ve met my mom.”

That’s true. Touché, Lahiffe. Touché.  

“Go to the nurse’s, then. That’s much better than staying here.”

“No point. I shouldn’t have to miss today’s classes.”

“There’s also no point if you’re gonna be sneezing and coughing in class, either.”

It was astounding how flat and final Nino’s expression was in his sick state, refusing to budge from his spot. There was no talking him out of leaving class.

So be it.

Adrien shook his head, then taking his seat in the front row and placing a hand on Nino’s shoulder. “I’m gonna help you get through this, man. Don’t worry about it. I can reteach everything you might miss, and you can borrow my notes to copy once you get better.” He took out the notebook and pens from his bag, prepared for the day’s lessons. “And I’ll explain the situation to the teachers if they decide to pick on you – if they can’t already tell,” he chuckled quietly.

Nino gave him a reassuring grin, one that barely reached his tired eyes, and plopped his elbow on their desk and opened his palm. There was only one thing that could mean, so Adrien clasped his hand in his and squeezed, telling Nino he was honouring his word (his bro-mise, as he liked to think. Nino left the room when he first told him this). He watched from his peripheral as Nino blew his nose into a tissue, and the class was filling up more, with Mme Bustier walking through the door a sign that she was about to begin today’s lesson (she must have loved their class a whole lot, if teaching them for three years in a row was something to come by).

For the rest of the day, Adrien made sure to give as much aid as he could to his sick best friend. He followed him to the nurse’s office for some much-needed medication, he waited for him all through lunch because Nino was eating more slowly, and he helped him up the stairs because he didn’t exactly have the energy. Nino occasionally insisted that his help wasn’t necessary, but Adrien wasn’t having it.

An hour into their next class, with Adrien diligently jotting down his notes and Nino coughing in the background, all heads turned to see the classroom door being violently swung open by one tardy Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She stumbled to her seat as rushed as the apology she gave their teacher, who was, with everyone else, all too familiar to Marinette’s notorious track record. She had never really been discreet about it. Adrien assumed she ran all the way to school, given how heavy she was panting behind him.

While their teacher wasn’t looking, he turned to smile at his friend in greeting. “Overslept again?” he whispered, a smirk now replacing his grin.

She shook her head, settling down and getting her own tablet out. “Not this time,” she replied, almost proud that she was late for something else for a change. Her eyes then darted to Nino. “What happened to him?”

“Alya. Too many visits,” he chuckled into his fist. “Speaking of, any word from her?”

She nodded. “That’s why I’m late. I stopped by her place this morning with some treats from the bakery.” She took out a small green box from her backpack, opened the lid and offered some cream puffs (well, whatever was left) to Adrien, who happily popped one into his mouth. Those were Alya’s favourites, and he knew her parents had made them fresh this morning. “She’s getting better, thank goodness. She’s certainly faring better than Sir Snot McSniffles over there,” she snorted. “If she’s well enough, she’ll even come to school tomorrow. After more than a week of sitting by myself, that’s something to look forward to.”

“Excuse me?” he scoffed in disbelief. “What are Nino and I, then? Gargoyles? Have you not been appreciating our company, Mme Dupain-Cheng?"

She punched his shoulder lightly, only to humour him, and he rubbed where she hit him with a pout. “You know what I mean.

“Some friend you are. You’ve broken my heart.”

She giggled. “Aw, does the poor little rich boy want me to patch it up? Shall I fetch you a band-aid, Adrien?”

He couldn’t help the hopeless smile on his face. He loved hearing his name roll off her tongue.

They were both interrupted by their teacher loudly clearing her throat, like she was as sick as Nino right now, and they both faced forward with their hands on their desks. “Excuse me, Adrien and Marinette, would you like to take over my class?” she put her hands on her hips and eyed them menacingly. He imagined that when the day came to finally face Hawk Moth in person, his evil glare would rival hers. “I will gladly sit aside so you can share what you have to say to the rest of class.”

Adrien didn’t dare look up, only hearing faint sniggers from his classmates. He kept his eyes on his hands, and flatly told their teacher, “No, ma’am.”

“We’re sorry, ma’am,” Marinette chimed in, and their teacher resumed to writing on the chalkboard.

Slumping further into his seat and letting out a sigh, Adrien straightened up when he felt a quick, sudden vibration from the pocket of his jeans. He fished out his phone from said pocket to find one new text message: from Marinette, of course.

M: Alya’s been feeling like she’s missing out. She’s just been gone for so long, and I feel bad that I haven’t been visiting her as much as Nino has, so what better than to bring her favourites and fill her in?  

Adrien took no time at all to text her a reply.

A: You’re truly amazing, Marinette. She’s really lucky to have you for a best friend, then.  

She didn’t text back right away, for reasons Adrien couldn’t think of at the top of his head. He wondered if she was just trying to think of the perfect response. He imagined Marinette looking at her phone with such intensity, like if she stared hard enough her text would write itself, and aggressively hitting the keys, her tongue stuck out in that cute little way she did when she was concentrating. That was what he tended to do if he didn’t send a reply in 0.4 seconds. Then his phone lit up.

M: I know, right? Who wouldn’t be? :P

A: lmao can’t argue with that. You gonna see her again after school?

M: Definitely. I asked my parents to save some madeleines when I go visit her again. I might even bring along some video games! You coming with?  

Oh, how tempting that truly was, that Adrien almost said yes.

A: Don’t think so :( You know how it takes my father three business days to pay me any attention.

M: All too well, unfortunately.

A: Don’t you think you’ve fed her enough?

M: Hey, I say that free food and good company are KEY to cheering someone up. You should try it sometime ;)

Something about that last text had him drawn, and he found himself rereading it over and over. Even as the final bell rang, and he and Nino headed straight for the library to study, he was still thinking about it. He couldn’t get it off his mind even as he came home and walked into his bedroom, flopped on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He knew that he would greatly appreciate being surrounded by his closest friends and talk about life with pizzas in hand. He certainly had to try that out the next time one of his friends needed good cheering up. Had any of them been upset lately?

“You made Ladybug pretty mad,” Plagg pointed out, flying out from underneath his overshirt to land on the mattress. He must have said that one out loud. “Would be nice if you did something for her, I don’t know.”

Adrien couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “I’m sorry, was that what I thought it was? Good, dare I say helpful, advice?” he raised an eyebrow, doubtful. “Ground-breaking. I didn’t know you had it in you, buddy.”

“Hey, I’m just sayin’,” the kwami stated and gave him an indifferent shrug. “You did say you’d do something for her. Better get to it, boy.”

That wasn’t a bad idea. Perhaps he should.

All sorts of ideas to make Ladybug feel better came flooding his brain, and Adrien got out of bed to hurry to his desk. He must have gone too fast, because he felt a sharp pang to the head, suddenly feeling as if the room was spinning, holding the corner of the desk for support. He couldn’t breathe properly, for his nose was slowly getting congested and he started to sniffle. His throat began to clench a little, and he could taste the phlegm at the back of his mouth. He buckled over and brought his hand to his neck as he started to cough out a lung.

Plagg, the little punk, only laughed heartily at his predicament. “Looks like all that time with Nino the Nauseous finally paid off!”

This was not good. This was not good at all. It seemed his gut feeling was right, that something bad was bound to happen, and that something bad did happen – he just didn’t think it would happen to him.

Ladybug’s gonna kill me.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ladynoir #adrienette #marichat #ladrien #ml #my works #i've been working on this for a while #AND LOOK IT ISN'T A ONESHOT THIS TIME #I'm also thinking of joining Adrien Appreciation Week but I'll also have /this/ to update #i'll try doing both