*Crawls out from the dirt* I'M ALIVE! Last chapter!

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was Adrien.

They were one and the same.

Now that the initial shock of Chat getting stabbed in the shoulder and not knowing if he was alright wore off, she was coming to grips with the truth. She had been so relieved to see him sitting up, and smiling at her. The dry caked on blood that stained her fingernails didn't hold as much of a sting anymore, but it still left plenty of unanswered questions. Some that only Plagg could answer. But it was only fair to asked when Adrien could know too.

Her shower was quick, as was the meal her mother microwaved for her. She talked with her mouth full, explaining the situation to her parents, and with a little hesitation, they allowed her to stay the night at the hospital.

Marinette returned to the hospital with a backpack over her shoulder and a box of macarons under her arm. Night was falling quickly, and she was glad to make it back before visiting hours were over.

She found the room by herself and entered with a knock. "I'm back," She announced.

Adrien beamed, turning his neck carefully, "welcome back."

"Yes," Gabriel replied, his head snapping up from where it had been resting in his hand. "We've missed you."

"Really?"

"He did." The father smirked.

Marinette set the box of macaroons on the bed between the men, while she sat next to him on the mattress.

Adrien eyed the snacks, and looked to his dad.

"Go ahead," Gabriel approved.

Adrien grinned and popped a strawberry cookie in his mouth.

"ADDDRRRRIIIIKKKIINNNSSSSSSS!" The door slammed open with a shout. Chloe ran in, her make-up flawless, but a pout on her lips. "Oh Adrien! I texted you a hundred times! But you never answered so I called your secretary and she said you were in the hospital I just had to come see you!"

She leapt, pushing Marinette out of the way with a loud "move it!" And flung herself over Adrien, hugging him tightly around the neck.

"OwowowowowOWOWOW—…" Adrien muttered as her weight pressed on his wound.

"That wretched woman wouldn't tell me where you were so I had to get daddy's PI looking for you! I even called him back from his vacation! I was just so worried about you!"

Marinette grabbed Chloe by the shoulders and pulled her away. Her iron grip on Adrien pulled him with her, until she let go and he flopped back onto the bed with a groan.

"What the hell, Marinette?!" Chloe snapped, angry beyond compare.

"You were crushing him!" The other girl yelled.

"Ha! Yeah right, I'm as light as a feather!"

"No, you idiot! His arm! You were laying on his arm!" Marinette usually had better tact when it came to these things, but seeing Adrien in pain made all her patience fly out the window.

"Why are you even here? Who let you come in?!" Chloe retorted.

Adrien winced heavily in his bed, his teeth grit in pain. Gabriel was standing and pressing a button nearby and looking at the door.

Marinette was beyond angry. "Chloe, you have ten seconds to leave this room before I—…"

"Before you what?! I'd like to see you try anything."

Somewhere in the back of her head, Marinette was amused. Chloe had NO idea who she was talking to. Unfortunately, it would inevitably remain that way.

A nurse hustled into the room, coming up behind Chloe. "Excuse me, sweetie," she touched her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Chloe shrieked and snapped her herself away from the nurse.

Marinette grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way.

The brat shrieked, shouting in outrage and disgust.

Marinette hushed her.

"What's wrong, honey?" The nurse cooed, touching Adrien's arm.

"It-it hurts…" He spoke through his teeth.

"How? Can you be specific?"

"It stings."

"We had an enthusiastic guest." Gabriel explained.

"Well, let's take a look and make sure everything is okay." The nurse spoke, helping Adrien sit up.

Chloe sneered in disgust and excused herself from the room momentarily.

Gingerly, the nurse slid his gown off his shoulder, showing a thick bandage taped on both sides of his shoulder. She pulled the tape, Adrien's face scrunching up in discomfort.

Marinette was glad Chloe left the room. The wound was amazing, if not a little beautiful. The immediate skin around the wound was dark, almost black, though it did not look charred. Black wisps curled up his skin and crawled around his shoulder, like a tattoo. Lighter streaks curled in opposite directions.

The wound itself was bleeding again, as the stitches had been pulled away from each other.

"Oh honey, we have to restitch it. Let me get someone in here."

Adrien weakly protested as she left the room.

Marinette came up to the bed, and took his hand. "You're okay." She cooed.

"Yeah," he winced. "It just….sucks." He scrunched up his nose. "Can you get me some more water?"

"Sure thing." And she picked the cup up from the table.

"What is your problem, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?!" Chloe nearly shrieked, coming back into the room.

"Not now, Chloe. For the love of God."

The mayor's daughter took the cup of water out of her hands and threw it on the ground. "You will listen to me now! I'm tired of you ignoring me!"

"Well, this isn't about you, so get over it!"

Chloe cut her off with a slap to her cheek.

"You've been taking him away from me! He doesn't need you and your drama! We were better off without you! The only reason he's still hanging around with you, is because he's scared you're going to turn into that monster again!"

Marinette bit her lip in anger and rubbed her stinging cheek.

"You're just a waste of time and energy! I bet you're the reason he's injured in the first place, you stupid klutz!"

Tears pricked at Marinette's eyes as the blonde's words started to seep into her. "Who are you to tell me that I'm less then what I should be? I know you hate me, you've made it very clear. But right now, your opinion doesn't matter." She shouldered passed her and grabbed the cup off the floor.

"I'm not finished yet!"

"I think you are." Gabriel's voice cut through the tense air like a knife. Marinette cringed and shuttered back on herself. If Gabriel was getting involved, then her part in this fight was over.

Chloe clenched her fist. "Can you tell her to leave?" She nearly begged the man.

"No," Gabriel answered with finality. "I know you're Adrien's friend, but I think it's best if you left Miss Bourgeois."

Chloe gasped, then fumed. "Just wait until my father hears about this!"

Gabriel looked over her darkly. "He's not going to do anything. And if you keep this behavior up, I will forbid you from seeing Adrien. The only reason I haven't yet is because you have history."

Chloe huffed.

Two nurses entered the room, a cart at the ready. "Alright, we have to restitch the wound. Only one person gets to stay."

Gabriel was already standing and smoothing out his jacket. "We'll be leaving now. Call me if anything happens." And with that, he laid a heavy hand on Chloe's shoulder and guided her to the door.

Without missing a beat, Marinette moved into the chair he had occupied and took Adrien's free hand.

"Alright, we're going to raise his morphine levels. The pain will ebb, but there will might be some side effects of euphoria."

"Huh?" Adrien asked, blinking his dazed eyes up at her.

"You might be kind of loopy." She grinned.

As the nurses began their work, Marinette held his hand tightly, her fingers curling around his. Adrien winced and cringed at first, but as the work went on, he sunk into his mattress and breathed slowly. Only the occasional twitch of his eyelid portrayed his discomfort.

They were done quicker then it took to get the supplies. "There you are dear. All better. Be sure to avoid being jostled again."

"Don't worry…" he slurred. "I don't want to do that again…"

A few more moments and then they were alone. Alone for the first time since he had transformed in her arms. His eyes closed, and he breathed quietly.

Plagg poked out of her collar and zipped up to Adrien, nuzzling his cheek. "I'm glad you're okay." The kwami purred.

"Aw, Plagg, you really do care." Adrien whispered with his eyes closed.

"Of course! Who else would be able to buy so much camembert?"

Adrien shook his head. "You never change, Plagg."

"I don't know, in the 5000 plus years I've been alive…I think my taste in cheese has changed a few times. There was a good hundred years where I really liked Gouda-Feta. Can you imagine?"

"I don't doubt it at all." The boy stated with a shake of his head.

"Are you comfortable?" Marinette questioned.

"Yeah, for the most part. My shoulder hurts, of course."

"Actually, I wanted to ask Plagg about that. I thought our suits were impenetrable? How did Adrien get hurt so badly?"

Tikki came out of hiding then and answered, "your suits keep you protected from man made weapons. But if you are struck with a miraculous weapon, it'll do damage."

"In the case with Adrien," Plagg began, "the staff didn't just tear through the suit like fabric, but essentially it tore through it's atoms."

"Isn't that how they make nuclear energy? Or like...bombs?" Adrien asked, his voice wavering.

"Neat, huh?"

"Are you okay, Plagg?"

"I have a little headache. I'm glad Marinette was there when she was. I needed a big ass nap."

Adrien chuckled. "You need another big ass nap. You always start swearing when your tired."

"You know me so well." The kwami yawned and curled up under his pillow.

Tense silence once again overtook the duo.

"Are you tired?" Marinette asked softly. 'Wow, what a smart thing to say...' She berated herself.

"A little. The surgery took a lot out of me."

"Well, I brought a book. I can just read if you're tired…"

"No, I want to talk to you!" He said suddenly, squeezing her hand. "If you're still here, I suppose you don't hate me."

"Oh of course not, minou!" Her faced flushed as she said his nickname. "Just surprised. And confused. And maybe a little annoyed? But not angry. Why did you hide it from me?"

"Well, I was going to tell you, when you told me you were Ladybug, but you were so adamant that I keep my identity…then you said that Adrien had picked you instead of Ladybug, and I didn't know if I should tell you, cause I didn't want to bum you out, but you are Ladybug and if things had been different, I probably would have fallen in love with Marinette first…"

The boy fell silent. To him, his excuses felt like him trying to save his own skin.

"You didn't know what to do." She finished for him.

"Yeah, basically."

"Well…I can you answer a question? If you hadn't known I was Ladybug…would you have still asked me out?"

"I—…" He fell silent. "I don't know. It's hard to tell. Because when you confessed to me, I was honest about how I felt. You were a good friend to me, and I did want to get to know you more. Maybe I wouldn't have asked you out on a date…but I would have tried to be closer to you."

Her smile was forlorn.

He let go of her hand and cupped her cheek instead. "But I love you. As soon as I found out who you were, everything made sense. I saw Marinette in everything Ladybug did, and Ladybug in Marinette. You were one amazing, kind person. My only regret is that I didn't know who you were sooner, so I could be with you sooner."

Marinette turned her face in and kissed his palm.

"What do you think? Can you love Chat Noir?"

She turned his hand over, kissing the back of it and his knuckles. "I think I've always loved Chat Noir."

"Then you should kiss me, so I know you mean it."

Her nose crinkled. "Cheeky, aren't we?"

"Do you like cheeky?"

She leaned in, biting her bottom lip as she came closer. She leaned over him, hovering over his lips. "Don't get in in a habit of it, chaton."

"I'll try not to, my lady."

This kiss was hot and heavy, and sweet and warm. Fuzzy heads and fluttering stomach…everything that young tender love was made of. He pulled her closer, so she was pressed chest to chest with him.

"Careful of your arm," she whispered, against his lips.

"Damn my arm, I've been waiting to kiss you since yesterday."

"We kissed yesterday."

"And I really liked it!"

"Is that the meds talking?"

He kissed her harder, fiercer, then pulled away to kiss up her jaw. He whispered in her ear, "I just lose myself when I'm with you. I want to share everything with you. Every secret, every feeling…I want you to know everything about me."

"Adrien…" She hummed back. She propped herself up on arm, so she could run her fingers through his hair and look him in the eye. "If it's alright with you…we have all the time in the world."

"Then, you want to make it official?"

"Yes," she kissed his nose. "But it might take my parents some persuading. They were okay with one date, but I don't know how they'll feel about a boyfriend."

Adrien hummed, a content smile on his face. "Boyfriend. I like the sound of that."