Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and... Rena Rouge?

Waking Up V2

Marinette woke up three times before being fully conscious.

The light... it's so bright. Everything is blurry. Where am I? 

This was the first.

She tried to move her head, her fingers, her body, anything she could. But there was little she was capable of. Voices were clear, or as clear as they could be. A woman approached her. She looked at a monitor, then at Marinette. She looked at this woman, trying to find her eyes, but it was all too blurry. Marinette tried to speak but her voice only came out as a rasp. Everything was so numb.

Though she was soon out again.

The next time she woke, she felt herself being held tightly. A pair of arms wrapping around her torso, their head on her stomach, and another holding her hand. She saw the outline of the person holding her hand. It was her dad. She tried to speak again but the results weren't any different for the first time. The only difference was how long she stayed awake.

"She's improving," were the first clear words she could hear. Before that only murmurs that sounded like the teachers from the Peanuts. There were more words that her slow, barely functioning brain couldn't understand. Mostly doctor stuff and things about her condition, from the sounds of it.

However, consciousness didn't last long as she felt herself falling back to sleep, her eyes heavy, her brain refusing to function, and her body already shutting down. "I love you, sweetheart."

Marinette didn't wake for another twenty-four hours.

-

"Will she be okay?" Adrien asked, standing by his friend with Nino beside him. Marinette looked pale. Paler than she'd ever been, even when sick. But considering she was in a very deep sleep for 6 months, it wasn't a surprise she looked like a fresh corpse.

The nurse frowned. "She seems to be getting better, her parents said they appeared to start waking up a couple of hours ago. However, we haven't seen much since then." The two boys nodded. "I'll leave you with your friend." She exited the room, leaving Adrien and Nino by themselves. The room was baron and cold. The only noise was from the ventilation and the heart monitor. If you dropped a pen, it could be heard for miles.

Adrien gripped Marinette's hand firmly, holding back sobs. He bit down on his hand, shutting his eyes tightly. Nino rubbed his back comfortingly. "It's all my fault... I wasn't fast enough to save her, I wasn't fast enough to save Alya either! I couldn't do anything. I'm a terrible hero!"

"Hey, dude, I don't think the girls would want you blaming yourself. You did what you could, okay?" The tanned boy glanced at the clock and let out a disappointed sigh. "I should get going. My parents are leaving for work soon and I've got to watch Chris."

Adrien turned his head, making eye contact with Nino. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You're not going to see Alya? I thought you two were-" Nino quickly shook his head and advertised his gaze, not wanting to cause an awkward conversation. "Oh... You go on then. I'll see you at school on Monday."

"Bye, man." When Adrien was sure the door was closed, he finally let out the sobs he had been so desperately trying to hold in. His throat felt raw from crying and his eyes were so red he hadn't done a photoshoot for weeks. He blamed himself for everything that had happened to both of his best friends. And... the girl he fell in love with.

He knew Marinette was Ladybug and he had been desperately trying to figure out how to unlearn it - as if it were that simple. He'd asked Max, his father, Natalie, even his cousin Felix. How he'd expected to simply forget is unknown but he wasn't thinking, he just wanted to not remember.

But now it was all he could think about. Everything else would never resurface above the thick murky oil that was the unfathomable blame he pushed upon himself. He knew that Ladybug- that Marinette would tell him it wasn't his fault, that he did what he could and he was only one boy but that didn't retain the intense emotions that poured from his mind.

"You aren't to blame," he could hear her say. "It's Shadow Moth who should feel the guilt, not you." But her words seemed useless in his void imagination. He wouldn't believe them until she could prove them true.

But those in eternal slumber simply don't wake on a whim.

-

"I heard the new horror movie was cool. I think you'd like it!" explained the short teen excitedly. Their face fell empty of their supposed joy and they dropped back into the chair next to the hospital cot. "Please wake up..." whispered Alix. "I miss my horror movie buddy."

Alix sat in their chair, their knees hugged to their chest. The short teen had visited Alya at every opportunity. Despite them not hanging out as much as Alya and Marinette, the two were still close friends and the missing presence in Alix's life was enough to drive her here. She had been reading scary poems and books as well as playing horror movies on her phone. It was the biggest thing the two had in common.

One of Alix's most fondest memories was them laughing over Halloween Kills while in the theatre. They two couldn't stop mocking the movie and ended up getting kicked out of the theatre. Instead of going back home, they went to get ice cream (a.k.a. Wendy's Frosties.) "You know..." Alix started as if she were going to convince Alya to wake up.

"The nurses have said Marinette's made progress in waking up. I know you're not particularly fond of racing but if you woke up first..." It's useless anyway...

"Nevermind. It's not like you can hear me anyway." The pink-haired skater looked down at her pocket watch. "I have to go. I'll be back tomorrow though. Maybe I can read you some Edgar Allen Poe? Make you wake up quicker with Fifty Shades of Gray!" They snickered to themself and stood up, making their way to the door. They reached for the handle and could've sworn she heard a voice. They whipped their head back, false hope in their heart.

Nothing. Stupid imagination.

But when they finally opened the door, they knew the voice this time wasn't fake.

"...Puta."

"I know you just called me a whore but that is the best thing I've heard today!"

-

Both girls had finally woken up after seemingly only a week of having "died." The whole experience was odd in itself but what they had to do afterwards wasn't the most fun. There were tests to check their stability, mostly blood and coordination tests. It took another month for them to be discharged. Somehow they hadn't seen one another even once since the two had burnt alive in the fire. But when they did? It was emotional.

It was each girl's first day of Lycée. They remained in the same building however different classes than in Collège. They had homeroom together. Both Alya and Marinette were sluggish from all that had happened but the moment their eyes met they had the energy of children who just ate candy. Alya bolted from her seat to tackle her girlfriend in a loving embrace. Even with aching muscles, her grip was as strong as that of Hercules. She didn't want to let go of her girlfriend ever again.

"I missed you so much-" "It was all real-" "I'm so glad to see you!" "I couldn't stand not seeing you-" "You're not hurt, right?!" Each girl giggled and nodded into the neck of the other.

"I love you, mi Vida. I will never leave you again, you have my word."

"I love you too, mon chéri."

The girls brought one another into the tight embrace of the other, refusing to let go. When the professor walked in, she recognized the two and excused them for a moment, then were too emotional to pay attention and - like any good teacher - she knew this.

Alya and Marinette not only just longed for the arms of each other, but for the comfort and familiarity of each. Marinette loved the smell of Alya's perfume that smelled like pomegranate and pine. Alya loved the scent of fresh baked goods like croissants and cannolis that Marinette couldn't quite wash out of her shirt. They brought comfort at times where home could not. what they said was true. They loved one another. and they weren't afraid to admit it.