You're home. [Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction] (Completed)

Chapter 40 - Reminiscent.

The area around them was restored. Chloe's wounds were healed, and Chat Noir assumed the rest of the town that was damaged would be restored as well.

Ladybug's transformation dropped. Marinette fell towards him. Chat Noir quickly caught the exhausted woman in his arms. Her wounds were healed, but nothing would erase the memories. Chat's ring beeped and a second later, he was just Adrien Agreste.

He brushed her unkempt hair out of her face, frowning slightly. Dark circles hung under her eyes. Her lips were chapped and clothing still torn. Her magic ability could only go so far, he realized.

"Adrien..." Chloe breathed, her blue eyes wide. Her long hair hung on top her shoulders, tangled and the curls coming out. Nathanael helped Chloe stand up. He wrapped his arm around her waist, allowing her to snake an arm around his shoulders for support.

Adrien kept a straight face. "Hey.." he sounded exhausted. Marinette was tottering in and out of consciousness. Adrien sensed she was trying to stay awake for something. It wasn't long till she figured out what that something was. Master Fu. Adrien guided his exhausted fiancé to the still old man.

He helped her sit down next to him. With slow, weak movements she checked for a pulse, false hope sparkling in her eyes. It took just seconds for that faulty hope to fizzle. Her head fell onto Adrien's shoulder.

"This shouldn't have happened..." Marinette whispered, sobs rising in the back of her throat.

Sirens wailed in the background and the red and blue lights from police cars shined through the grimy windows - covered in dust and mildew.

First responders broke through the old warehouse's doors, the chain and padlock falling to the floor with a clang. Nurses with rolling beds rushed in and began attending to Nathanael and Chloe, and then another wave came to Adrien and Marinette's side.

Police cuffed Gabriel Agreste and took his akumatized victim for questioning.

Voices were far off and echoing in Adrien's mind. He was far to busy thinking to pay attention to what they were saying. Was everything really over? What would they do now? What about their kwamis? Would it be worth it to hide their identities any longer? Each question he asked caused him to drift further into a state of complete silence.

Not that it mattered. His unresponsiveness caused him to be taken into an ambulance as well. They sped off to the hospital, leaving their fight and Marinette and Chloe's torture cell behind them.

~

"Thank goodness you are okay!" Sabine said under her breath as she shuffled to Adrien's bedside.

Adrien, still woozy from blood-loss and drugs the nurses gave him, smiled weakly at his future mother-in-law. "I'm okay, don't worry about m-" he paused, thoughts of Marinette immediately changing his train of thought. "Where is she?" He asked in a panic, muscles tensing. Adrien was ready to jump right out of that hospital bed if he needed to.

Sabine put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Whoa, whoa, steady. Tom is with her right now. She is next door." She kept a quiet, calm voice. Relief washed through his being.

"I want to go see her." He looked up at the aging woman, as if asking for permission.

"I want to speak with you for a second." That was all Sabine had to say. Adrien, concerned something may have happened while he was asleep, didn't try to argue against her word. Sabine continued.

"Can you explain to me what happened..?" She asked. Adrien's stomach did a barrel roll. He wasn't sure how he could explain it to her. How should he explain it to her? Would Marinette tell her parents about being Ladybug? So should he tell them as well? Should he even tell them about Gabriel, and Master Fu? Where should he even begin?