"CATaclysm!" Chat Noir shouted, jumping into the air with his fist raised, ready to bring it down on the layer of rock surrounding the latest villain. The boulder crumpled around them and Ladybug could do what she did best, calling out her Lucky Charm.
"A watering can?" she asked aloud. Rocky Helmet let out a loud cackle and sprung the ground up from under Chat, sending him flying while Ladybug was distracted. "Chat!" the girl shouted, running after her partner. He laid surrounded by broken rock and rubble, his leg twisted in a way that made crippled the cat boy.
"Watch out, behind you!" Chat shouted to make the girl turn around. She'd only caught a glimpse of him, but she could see the way his leg was bent in a bad, bad way. Ladybug figured it out quickly, wetting the dirt on the rocks and letting Rocky Helmet coat himself in the goo. Once he was distracted she snatched the helmet off his head and smashed it before cleansing the akuma.
However, even after repairing Paris, when Marinette looked back at Adrien, he was still curled up in pain. Marinette jogged over, plopping down on the ground beside Chat. "Are you OK?" she asked.
"My leg hurts a little bit..." he seethed out. Once he tried to sit up, a new wave of pain surged through him and he yowled in pain. "OK, it hurts a lot!" he grunted, falling back over.
"We have to get you to the hospital!" Marinette said through her sudden panic. Adrien let his transformation go, sending Plagg flying several feet away. Tikki flew over and helped the little cat back over.
"Adrien, you dummy!" Plagg fussed. "That hurt!"
"It's not my fault!" Adrien yelled before the pain hit him again. "Owowowow," he seethed, looking up at Marinette. The girl bent down and struggled to lift him into her arms and not hurt his leg any more. It felt loose, which was not a good thing. The leg dangled out of her arms since any touch to it nearly put Adrien in tears. Plagg and Tikki zipped down into Marinette's bag to hide and worry (more Plagg on the worrying than Tikki).
Marinette sat in the waiting room nervously bouncing her leg up and down. Plagg sat on her shoulder looking just as worried, if not more so. So, it was up to Tikki to calm the two down.
"He'll be OK, don't worry so much!" the ladybug kwami tried, patting Marinette and Plagg on their backs.
"He's a weak kid!" Plagg wailed. "He cried taking a bandaid off, this has to be killing him!" Tikki pulled the cat kwami into a hug, letting him cry against her. Marinette sat silent, still trying to sort through what had happened.
"Why didn't he heal when I cast the lucky charm?" she asked.
"It only fixes material things, not people..." Tikki explained. "But, it's probably not that bad because of Plagg!"
That's when the doctor and a wheel-chaired Adrien came out. Marinette was up on her feet immediately and Plagg and Tikki darted behind her.
"Is he OK?" she asked, sounding slightly desperate.
The doctor smiled, "A little fractured in two bones, but otherwise he's fine. You got lucky, son," the doctor patted Adrien on the back. Marinette sighed in relief and held her hands out to help Adrien to his feet – er, foot. He grabbed the crutches offered by a nurse and fixed them under his arms.
"Well that was fun, let's never do it again," he tried to joke as they exited the building. Marinette turned to him, a scowl spread across her face. "Marinette?"
She punched his arm. Hard.
"Ow!"
"You had us worried sick!" she yelled, tears springing into her eyes. "Some cat-like reflexes you have...!"
"It's OK, though," Adrien said softly. "You don't have to worry, I'm fine." They made it back to the bakery since it was closer than Adrien's house, and Marinette hauled him up the stairs to the living room and onto the sofa. "What's going to be interesting is explaining to my dad how I broke my leg," Adrien said with a snicker. Plagg plopped down on his chest, curling up and demanding trauma cheese.
"And to everyone at school," Marinette added, tapping the hard cast.
Adrien nodded, leaning back on the sofa arm and stretching his top half, since it was the easiest. "Well...we could say I fell down the stairs and twisted it badly," Adrien suggested. Marinette nodded, scanning over the bottle of medication in her hands. "What's that for?" he asked.
"You didn't think you wouldn't have medicine to take, did you? Unless you want to be in pain," Marinette said with a smirk. Adrien gulped, slapping a hand over his mouth.
"Not happening," he said through the hand. "No!"
Marinette giggled, shaking up the bottle and pouring it into the measuring spoon. "How come it's liquid? You're fifteen, shouldn't you take pills?"
"Can't," was all Adrien said. He twisted his head and brought a pillow over his face, refusing the medicine.
"Come on, you silly kitty, take your medicine!" Marinette teased. She stooped down to his side, poking his arm to try and get a reaction. He tensed up and buried his face farther into the pillow, which only made Marinette roll her eyes.
"I'm taking it, Mari!" Adrien mumbled.
"Come on, it's even bubblegum flavored!" Marinette said with a giggle. Adrien knew better. That 'bubblegum' was without a doubt chalk. And he wasn't tasting it, no way. Marinette sighed and stood up, looking at the pathetic figure curled up on her sofa. There had to be a way to get him to take the medicine...
"Well, I guess you don't have to take it," Marinette started.
Adrien looked up suspiciously, not for a moment believing her.
"I mean, if you did take it, then obviously you'd be tougher than I thought...but, it doesn't make a difference I guess, kitten." Oh, that got him up.
"I'm not a kitten!" he fussed, caught off guard when the medicine spoon found its way between his lips. Marinette tilted the spoon up so it would go in, slipping it out once every drop was gone. Adrien glared at her in betrayal before letting his mouth hang open.
"Adrien!" Marinette yelped. She pushed his jaw back up and leaned his head back. "Just swallow the medicine!"
"Nu-uh!" he practically gargled.
When Adrien hopped into the class that next morning, every pair of eyes was on him immediately. He looked down at the floor sheepishly, answering every 'what happened?' with 'fell down the stairs' like he'd said the day before. He propped his foot up on an extra chair, well aware of the numbness that started to take over.
And, of course Chloe was there as quick as possible to sign his cast. That seemed to invite everyone else to sign it as well, and Adrien was sure all the ink had made his leg even heavier than it was just moments before.
Alya looked at Marinette, asking why she hadn't gotten up to sign the cast yet. "Well, everyone else has been there, I don't want to overwhelm him..." Marinette tried, hoping the reason would pass.
"Alright, well there's no one there right now," Alya said with a smirk, plopping a sharpie in Marinette's hand. She sighed and took the step down to Adrien, who looked up with a smile.
"Morning, Princess," he greeted. Marinette smiled and stooped down, scribbling down her name on the cast right below his knee. "Thanks," he said with an even bigger smile. Dork.
"No problem, you kitten," Marinette said with a smirk, leaving the boy to fluster.
