Numb (FINISHED!!)

Chapter six

Marinette woke up to the sound of clanging and screams. "Marinette quickly! There's an akuma on the loose!" Tikki called out, wide awake in mere seconds. The superhero could never understand how their kwami was able to do that, sure she had improved a lot over the last two years but she was no where near close to Tikki's level of awokenness.

It didn't help that it was winter either. Tikki had explained to her that, much like Chat Noir taking on cat-like traits such as purring (which has been an experience in its own when a certain spotted heroine discovered it), Marinette would start to take on ladybug-like traits as well.

And of course, what else would it be, other than ladybugs are sleepier in the cold winter months. So of course when Marinette was awoken from the sounds of chaos, even though she was used to it, she couldn't help but be surprised from being awoken so quickly.

Sighing the girl put on a tired smile, calling upon her small kwami friend's powers and turning her into the one and only Ladybug. Jumping out of the trap door that led to the balcony atop her roof she raised her arm and released her yo-yo, hanging onto the indestructible wire and swinging across Paris. When she arrived on the scene she saw that Chat Noir was already there, waiting for her.

"Good afternoon Ladybug, I'm afraid there's nothing mew today. It seems like Mr. Pigeon is the cat's meow for Hawkmoth." Chat Noir said, walking up to his spotted friend. Being taken aback by her chuckle he let a small smile appear on his face, replacing the smirk he was iconically known for. "Well at least we know this'll be easy, I was in the middle of a cat nap." She commented before using her yo-yo to zip away, leaving the cat in even more confusion and even slight worry.

Ladybug never laughed at his puns, much less returned them! While it was refreshing to have someone like his puns and return them, it scared him to have his partner return them. He wasn't used to her being as cheerful as she was at the moment.

It didn't take them long to defeat the villain they had come to know so well and had soon ended their battle with the signature "Pound it!" after a quick fist bump. "What's got you so happy Ladybug? Don't get me wrong, it's a nice change! I guess I'm just a bit worried." Chat Noir confessed after the battle, scratching the back of his neck as the spotted hero gave him a nod and a smile.

"I've been in the hospital ever since that last akuma. Strict bed rest, so I'm happy to be able to get back to work." She says with a calming smile, unknowingly sending a wave of guilt over her partner. "What? Ladybug? Are you okay? I'm so sorry, if I had knew then I would've dropped by and-" "And have seen my civilian identity. It's okay Kitty, it was boring but nothing life threatening. It doesn't even hurt right now," she lied. It did hurt, really bad actually. She was sure that she had reopened the wound.

She didn't mind however, she was more than ecstatic to be swinging throughout the sky of Paris, more than thrilled at being able to fight along side her friend. Even if she hadn't been as friendly to him over the past two years. Suddenly a guilty look washes over her face as she breaths in a breath of courage. "Chat, I actually owe you an apology. I haven't been treating you right over the past two years. You see, something happened in my civilian life hat I still haven't...moved on from.

"Because of this I've been treating you horribly, shortening our meetings and not speaking to you after fights and while on patrol. I apologize for my behavior and hope you can forgive me." Ending her spout of words, she hears the beeping of her miraculous and lightly touches her earrings, biding her silent friend a quiet goodbye and then swinging away with her yo-yo, hoping to be able to make it home to change her stitches.

~~~~~~

Adrien didn't know how long he stayed in that exact spot as Chat Noir before he was awaken from his surprised stupor by the beeping of his miraculous. Shaking his head, still stunned by his friend's confessions and apology, he vaulted home using his baton.

He had barely made it through his window when his transformation let up, leaving him to use his heightened strength to crawl through his open window. He just sat there, stunned and sitting against the smaller window directly underneath the larger one. Plagg was worried for his chosen, but he knew hat he couldn't do anything on an empty stomach. Which in turn led to Plagg eating some Camembert on the boy's bed, staring at nothing and everything while lost in thought. "Plagg. This entire time I was telling myself that she was fine. That she could handle herself.

"She was in the hospital Plagg. In a hospital, on immediate bed rest! And I did nothing! I didn't even try looking for her! Ever since Kagami came into my life," it was always worded that way, Plagg thought sourly, "I've been a horrible friend. I've become a horrible partner! Marinette hasn't been the same for the past two years! Ladybug started burning out around the same time!

"And I questioned none of it! Not a single part of it! I'm such a bad person! What am I doing wrong? How do I make it better? Plagg, help me please." He pleaded silently, his mind becoming a bomb field that his intelligence just couldn't cross, leaving the answer always on the other side but never in reach.

Adrien didn't know how long he was sitting in that spot, what he did know was that when he had woken up he was no longer in that spot, instead he was laying in his bed, the little kwami purring under his chin. His eyes flickered over to the clock on his bedside table, it had read nine thirty in the morning.

When he had tried to jump up to get dressed and rush to the school, Natalie had walked in, confirming that he was found passed out and now had a cold from leaving his window open. He would be staying home from school and would return to his usual duties when he was returned to his former health.

Adrien nodded, gripping Plagg underneath the bedspread until his father's assistant had left him to be alone in his room. "Sorry Plagg." He apologizes and leans over, grabbing some Camembert for the hungry kwami. "Hmm, it's fine right now but that is only because you gave me cheese!" Plagg grumbles, taking small bites of the cheese instead of swallowing it in one bite, as he usually was known to do.

"You better rest up kid, you're gonna visit Marinette later after patrol with Ladybug." Plagg says mid-chew. Adrien, seeing his kwami being so silent, decides against asking what he meant and instead just nodded, doing as he was told.

It had been many hours since Adrien was last awake and Plagg had painfully noticed that no one had come to check on him, leaving him alone while he was sick. Plagg considered himself lucky, as lucky as a black cat can get anyways, that Adrien was not one to vomit when sick. He may have turned off the power so that the boy's father would check on him, which he didn't, instead choosing to send Natalie, and save him from hypothermia, but Plagg was not one to stay near vomit.

Going back to the topic of Plagg turning off the power in order to help Adrien, while Plagg is powerful, he isn't strong enough to lift a growing human teenager off the ground and place him onto his bed.

While he could've closed the window he'd still have to deal with the original idea of moving him and all of its problems. Even if Adrien was a model he was not light. The fact that Plagg was even able to pull it off at all made him think he deserved more than a singular slice of the heavenly cheese that is Camembert, but since he knew that nobody would check on Adrien and make sure he's okay he decided that he'd leave the kid alone when it came to cheese.

He had enough to keep him from starving, that's all he's supposed to get anyways. Sighing Plagg flew up from his spot on the bed and tapped Adrien a few times with his nub of an arm. It took a few pokes and a couple of statements about Ladybug waiting for him to wake him up.

When he woke up Plagg immediately wished he hadn't interrupted the boy's sleep. He looked exhausted, his nose was stuffed, which was very apparent from the sound of his breathing, and his completion was as pale as paper. "Adrien you don't have to go if you feel horrible." Plagg said, his ears flat to his head.

Adrien simply shook his head, telling Plagg that Ladybug needed him. With that the small kwami was sucked into the magical jewelry, temporarily lending his chosen his powers.

Plagg only hopped that the boy would be okay.

And that Marinette would help him.