Adrien was awakened by the brightness of the sun peeking through the gap in the curtains. He yawned and moved to stretch, but a stab of pain his his ribs forced all the air out of his chest in a pained huff.

As Adrien snapped into blurry consciousness, he became aware that his entire body seemed riddled with aches and pains.

He tried to prop himself up on his elbows, and he groaned when his head spun with the motion.

Adrien gently lowered himself back onto his pillow, cursing the fog in his head for keeping the how and why of his injuries out of his grasp.

"Mm, Chat Noir?" A sleepy and obviously female voice asked beside him.

He had just enough time to panic before the girl shot up into his line of sight.

Her dark hair was disheveled and the bags under her eyes told him she hadn't been sleeping for long.

"Marinette?" Adrien rasped uncomprehendingly.

She smiled, looking rather relieved. "Oh I'm so glad you're okay!"

Adrien blinked, "Thanks? Uh, I actually don't know how I got here."

Marinette's smile dimmed a bit.

"You don't remember anything from yesterday?" She asked.

Adrien tried to sift through the bits and pieces of memories from the day before, but the resulting headache made it hard to focus.

"I…remember there was an akuma attack. The school was evacuated?" he said with a grimace.

Marinette's smile dropped completely. "Oh no. You probably have a concussion! Oh my gosh, you could've died and I didn't take you to the hospital! I'm so so so sorry, Chat!" Marinette whisper-wailed.

Adrien had the presence of mind to feel confused as to why she was calling him "Chat" when he wasn't transformed. He lifted a hand and checked for claws to be sure. No claws, so it stood to reason that she knew his identity.

"How did I get here? I only remember fighting the akuma with Ladybug," he admitted.

Marinette's expression darkened, "Hawkmoth and Mayura showed up after the miraculous cure to try and take the miraculouses."

Her hand drifted up to ghost over the tender spot on the side of Adrien's head.

"He hurt you," she spat, anger drawing her eyebrows together over her eyes.

Adrien winced, "That's embarrassing."

Marinette's eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly. "No! You were amazing. You held your own very well until he started fighting dirty. The headshot was a lucky hit, I promise."

Adrien did his best to take stock of his surroundings and realized he must be in Marinette's bed, if the pink walls and trapdoor above him were anything to go by.

"How did I end up here though?" Adrien asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Marinette giggled nervously. "Oh, I originally wanted to bring you to my chaise, but you weren't conscious enough to help me get you down the ladder. I didn't want to risk falling when you were already injured, so I left you up here," she explained.

Adrien chuckled and immediately regretted it.

"That makes sense, but I actually wanted to know how I got to your house," he admitted.

Marinette's face became cherry red in a matter of seconds.

"Oh! Of course that's what you were asking! Why would you be asking about something else, that's so silly! Ahahaha!" Marinette squealed, a nearly manic grin on her face.

Adrien winced as the sudden high pitch of her voice aggravated his headache. She clapped a hand over her mouth and muttered an apology.

He assured her he was fine, and she lowered her hand until it rested lightly on his chest.

"I brought you here after Rena and Carapace showed up to drive them off. I guess you don't remember, but I de transformed a few rooftops away and we had to use your baton to get here," Marinette said.

Adrien knew there was something weighty about what she just told him, but his head was still so foggy. She was gazing at him expectantly, but he couldn't figure out what she was waiting for.

"Detransformed?" He asked, puzzled over why she would-

Marinette nodded, and suddenly the pieces fell into place.

"My Lady," he whispered reverently, grabbing the hand that rested on his chest and drawing it to his lips.

Marinette giggled and nodded at him. Another realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Mayura! Did she hurt you?" Adrien asked, dread pooling in his stomach as he looked for any possible injuries.

Marinette shrugged.

"I have a few bruises. I think she was there to keep me busy and tired while Hawkmoth snatched your ring," she admitted.

Adrien immediately checked his hand and sighed in relief at seeing it in its usual place. Marinette gently turned his face toward her, fixing him with the sweetest smile he'd ever seen.

"You didn't think I'd let them get your ring, did you?" She teased.

The way her hand tenderly cupped his cheek had Adrien questioning whether he was just dreaming. He swallowed and tried to organize his blurry thoughts.

"N-No. Of course not," he stammered embarrassingly.

Marinette leaned closer, and Adrien's cheeks burned with a fierce blush.

"Did you mean what you said yesterday, or was it the concussion talking?" Marinette asked in a quiet voice, eyebrows drawn together in thought.

"That depends. What did I say?" Adrien asked.

Marinette's cheeks immediately took on a matching shade of red, and she averted her eyes bashfully.

"That you loved me even more for being Marinette?" She said, sneaking a peek at Adrien's expression.

"That was definitely the concussion," Adrien said. "Because I would've planned something more romantic for my confession."

Marinette giggled, "I dunno, I think dazed and confused Chat Noir would be pretty hard to top in the romance department."

Adrien grinned and gently pulled her closer, "I love you, Bugaboo."

She beamed and rubbed her thumb against his cheek.

"I love you too, Kitty."

Adrien felt like he was on cloud nine, and not just because his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

Marinette's lips drew up in a smirk, and Adrien's breath caught in his throat.

"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?" She said, a challenge burning in her beautiful blue eyes.

Well, Adrien was never one to back down from a challenge. So if his resulting lightheadedness was caused by something other than his concussion, he'd never tell a soul.