Guess Who [A Miraculous FanFiction]

Chapter Thirteen: Long Night

Plagg's night is going very badly. Well, actually, the last few weeks have been very rough for him. Adrien has finally awaken, yes. But his friend is still not in very good condition. At the moment, Plagg is watching Adrien, who is restlessly tossing and turning. Pain is in every movement and it hurts Plagg to watch his charge in agony.

Adrien's father is sitting by his bed, tears falling down his cheeks as he watches his son as well. The man's shoulders are shaking and Plagg can feel the fear rolling off the man.

However, Plagg feels no pity for Gabriel Agreste. He has no positive feelings for the man whatsoever. Mr. Agreste has been cold and cruel to his son and even now, he is only showing his love for his son behind a closed door. There is no one in the room to see the depths of his grief and if there was someone else, Plagg is certain that the man would show no emotion at all. This is not the father that Adrien deserves, in Plagg's opinion. After over a thousand years of watching people live and grow and die, he has very little emotional attachment to humans. That is, of course, except for his charges. And Adrien is easy to care about. Despite having a father who shows only contempt for him, Adrien is a kind and courteous person. He has a sense of humor and is patient enough to deal with Plagg on the kwami's worst days. Adrien truly only needs love and affection, and so far in his life there has been very little of it.

Except of course, for Ladybug. She accepts Adrien -or Chat anyway- as he is. They are able to work in unison to save Paris on an almost daily basis. And that makes Plagg so proud of his charge.

However....

Plagg turns away from his view of Adrien and Gabriel. He faces the open window and his eyes search along the skyline for the Eiffel Tower. Using it as a reference, he traces the blocks to where the Dupain-Cheng's house used to be. Only ashes remain there now, and it leaves a horrible chill down his spine.

With a heavy sigh, Plagg glances back at Adrien before taking off out the window. He needs to check on Adrien's friend and partner, if only because he knows that Adrien will ask about her again. And he would like to be able to tell him something truthful about her condition....

Plagg had overheard talk of Marinette Dupain-Cheng from Natahlie and Gabriel. He knows, therefore, that she is staying at her friend's house. Since he is always with Adrien, Plagg knows where Alya's house is. He finds his way to the building that houses her family's apartment with some difficulty, however. It's harder without Adrien.

Before he can try to figure out which floor Marinette would be on, Plagg spots the two girls sitting on a bench outside the building. With a sigh of relief, Plagg flies slowly towards them. He stays out of sight and listens carefully....

"-You're not what's bothering me," Mari says, her head turned away from her best friend. Unbeknownst to Alya, there are tears running down Mari's face. But her voice is calm and smooth. A confused Plagg wrinkles his whiskers. Something is bothering Marinette? Why is she crying?

Alya is frustrated: "What is it? Please. Come on, tell me!"

But Mari doesn't. She just sits there, tears running down her cheeks and Plagg feels a rush of annoyance at the redhead. He wants her to leave so he can talk to Marinette and figure out what is happening. Alya sits next to her best friend for what seems like an eternity until her mother yells for her from the second-story window. Alya stands up, glancing at the silent Marinette, before heading inside without another word.

It is a very long time before Marinette moves again after Alya leaves. Her eyes glaze over and Plagg hovers closer to her. He wants to talk to her but he's not entirely sure where to start. He doesn't necessarily want to reveal himself, but she's alone and sad, and his shriveled heart goes out to her,

That's when it hits him: Marinette shouldn't be alone! Suddenly struck by the strangeness in this scene, Plagg feels a rush of anger. He was so worried over Adrien, he didn't even think about....

He realizes that Marinette is on the stairs heading up the door and does the first thing that comes to mind.

He calls to her.

"Marinette!" His whisper carries in the quiet evening and she whips around, gasping.

Marinette's head jerks towards the sound of her name and she turns back to face the street.

"Hello?" Mari can't see him in the dark, so he flies over into the light from the front porch.

"Right here," Plagg says softly. His bright green eyes shine bright under the dim light.

"Who are you?" Marinette asks as Plagg shrugs off the impression that this is a mistake. If it is, he will just have to take the consequences.

"My name is Plagg. I am Chat's kwami."

"Chat!?" Marinette gasps, almost choking on his name. "How is he? Where is he? Is he okay? Why haven't I heard from him? Why hasn't anyone heard from him?"

"One question at a time." Plagg hovers up and places a paw on her lips. She jumps slightly at the touch but is quiet for a moment. Then, her eyebrows crinkle and she frowns.

"Wait. How....do you know who I am? Does Chat know?" Plagg watches as her eyes fill with distrust and pain. He knows how she feels about her secret identity, and she would certainly feel it a betrayal if Chat/Adrien knew who she was and didn't tell her.

"No, Marinette. He doesn't know who you are. Tikki and I have spent years together and we always know where the other is." Plagg pauses and again, is struck by how grievous a mistake he has made. After almost a month of Adrien's coma, Tikki hadn't come to visit him. Plagg had thought it was because either Marinette or Tikki had been hurt. But the teenage girl stands in front of him in perfect condition, and Tikki...He can feel no pull to her. This sends panic through his veins. In more than a thousand years, Plagg has gotten used to feeling Tikki's presence when he is close to her....

His voice is rough when he finishes his statement, "Rather, we we almost always know where the other is." He pulls in a deep, shaky breath before asking the question that he isn't sure he wants to know the answer to. "Where is Tikki?"

"I....I don't know."

Plagg's hopes wilt. He almost drops to the ground under the pain in his chest. His best friend is missing and he didn't even notice. It's only through his will that Plagg remains in the air in front of Mari. He tries to not let his emotions show as he watches her eyes fill with tears.

Marinette's voice breaks as she continues, "I haven't seen her since the night of the fire. My parents haven't let me out of their sight or else I would have gone looking for her. You don't know where she is?"

"No, no I do not." This is all his fault....

Plagg meets Marinette's terrified expression and pushes down his building anger -at himself- and fear. He has to be strong, for Tikki's sake. "Will you help me look for her please? She's probably hurt."

Marinette nods energetically and jumps off the porch. "Where are we headed?" She asks as Plagg leads the way down the street.

"Your house. That's the last time either of us saw her, after all." Plagg doesn't look at Marinette to see her reaction to his words. She doesn't respond and they both hurry down the dark street, looking for their friend.