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This was not good. This was definitely not good. Marinette sat in an alleyway, her lungs stinging as she tried to catch her breath.
Yes, her leg was utterly and undeniably fucked.
"Are you okay Tikki?" shaking hands moved to unclasp her bag. "We took quite the tumble." when Tikki came into view she looked slightly dazed. Unlike Marinette who felt decently dazed. Turned out if you waited until literally 3 seconds before you detransform to retreat so you can use your miraculous cure and swing across the rooftops of Paris you will eventually detransform in mid-air, smack yourself into the corner of a facade and fall down a 4 story house.
"I'm fine Marinette." her Kwami floated up and down her body, assessing the damage. "But you aren't." Marinette could only groan as she had tried to sit up against the cold stone pressing into her side and back. For a second her sight got all blurry by the sides.
"Shhhh, it's okay you shouldn't sit up yet." Tikki looked at her with big eyes. Shimmering and glinting in the sparely lit street. Realization dawned on Marinette before Tikki could even begin to try and make her case.
She would have to go to the hospital. This she couldn't just brush off like a bruise after stumbling over her own feet.
Distinctly she remembered being with Kagami before. She'd be worried.
Marinette should really get a grip, stand up and go find her friend. Or well- whatever they were. Kagami had moved to tell her something before the Akuma Alert had blared through their phones, disrupting her mid... mid what? Marinette couldn't quite remember what she had been trying to say. It was important she knew, tears had threatend to spill from under her eyes. Kagami hated crying, especially infront of others. But she had als looked so... hopeful at the same time? Marinette huffed in frustration. She wanted to get back to her. But- what explanation could she possibly give Kagami? Oh sorry I didn't come and find you after the akuma attack, I got run over by a car?
This was serious it yet again dawned on her as a brutal pain in her side began to surface. Simultaneously she became uncomfortably aware of a sticky warm substance slowly running down one of her temples.
Oh no. Oh no no no. Please adrenaline or shock or whatever had numbed her pain beforehand. Please don't leave me.
At this point she was hardly able to register Tikki insistently pushing her phone into her hand. It was quiet as the phone rang and Marinette stared down at it. The screen was cracked. How had her screen cracked? It must've been when she fell.
What a weird question that was. She laid in an alley half concious, she herself broken and bruised and she wondered about her cracked phone screen. Marinette almost snorted at that. Wait. She did laugh at it. But she stopped. It hurt.
Tikki had been the one to unlock her phone and push in the emergency number. But Marinette would have to handle the call on her own. Nobody could know that there had been somebody with her. Too many questions.
Irritated tears began to prickle in her eyes when the operator asked her where she was, because she didn't know and Tikki couldn't see the streetsign when peering out from the alleyway. She vaguely remembered feeling more tired and tired as she tried to lie through her teeth about some sort of car accident and then eventually not receiving any response from the operator at all anymore.
In reality the operator was the one who didn't receive a response anymore as Marinette clawed at her own arms and turned into herself because it was cold. So cold and she just couldn't get warm anymore.
But then she did get warm, after some time. The soft tune of her phone ringing lulled her even deeper into the soft sheets of her bed. Or at least she assumed she was in bed. She recognized the tune. She had set up a custom tune for Kagami. That was the one playing she thought.
Eventually that too stopped and she felt herself move up. Or down? For just a split moment she thought Kagami was talking to her, but that too faded away from memory as a loud rush rose in her ears.
---
It took exactly eight and a half hours for Marinette to wake up. Tikki had exhalarated her healing, even outside of the suit which perhaps above all had been her saving grace. That and Ryuku.
When Marinette had woken up and seen first her parents and then Ryuku by her side she thought it was over. That her identity as Ladybug had come to light and that her parents were crying because she had disappointed them and Ryuku's expression was carefully leveled because in the end it was Marinette... just Marinette underneath the mask.
She chose not to try to speak over the oxygen mask over her face. Careful. Deciding to listen for what's actually going on. She was sure her head was clearer than it was supposed to be right after waking up due to Tikki helping.
On a whim she decided that she couldn't remember. The only thing coming out of her mouth would be that there had been an akuma attack and right after everyone was still panicked and she thought that she heard screeching tires before everything was just a blur.
Yes, that would be her story.
In the end it didn't matter because a doctor had come in and actually explained said story to her. They had been able to link her failed call for an ambulance to her. Well, a few things were new. Like Ryuku finding her because her phone had rang loudly and then carried her to the nearest hospital.
At that part Marinette peered up at the masked hero still very evidently her friend underneath the mask.
In the end her parents were crying from relief and Ryuku, well Ryuku Marinette realized was trying to hold back tears.
And because she full well knew that that was Kagami under that mask she began to cry as well. Her friend, her utterly amazing and strong friend had come to look for her, and in exactly that moment her persistence had not only been an admirable quality but the virtue that saved her life.
Marinette nodded at her friend who had no idea that she knew the full story, no idea that she knew exactly who she was thanking for saving her life. Marinette was not trusting herself to be able to talk. But nonetherless Ryuku bent down to her level and briefly hugged the smaller girl. Everybody was moved of course. The doctor thanking the heroine, her parents as well and the horde of reporters outside of the hospital were of course ready to capture every single move Ryuku would make. The people inside of the little hospital room of course had no idea. Well Marinette, had a hunch.
Eyes lowering to her costume Marinette took a deep breath. She had forgotten to retrieve the miraculous. Then she forced to relax her muscles. She couldn't do anything about that now. As Ryuku slowly pulled away from her and their eyes locked the memories suddenly hit Marinette with a brute force.
Kagami taking her hands into hers as they sat down on a bench, and crying and telling her that she needed to tell her something. She remembered almost knowing what Kagami wanted to tell her. Almost eager because she felt the same and was waiting for permission to just blurt everything out.
Because Marinette loved Kagami and felt compelled to pull the girl down into a second hug because she just needed to comfort her.
For a split second a memory of that alley wanted to resurface as well. A memory of Ryukus panicked voice calling for her to please just wake up. Marinette pushed it far down into the deepest corner of her brain.
She could see it in Ryukus eyes as they scanned Marinette yet again as she laid in the hospital bed. Kagamis eyes spoke of devastation as they scanned her.
Marinette felt the same devastation in her heart. She was so close, and yet she couldn't comfort her and hold her as she cried about having to find her, half dead and then having to lift her limp body into her arms, several bones slightly shifting under her hands as she checked on Marinette after every big jump because she couldn't possibly die, not in her arms, not as she was trying to safe her. Just a few minutes longer Mari.
And just like that Ryuku turned to leave. Barely able to tear her eyes from Marinette's blue ones. It was obvious that she didn't want to leave. Marinette wanted to call out, to beg her not to leave. She had not given Kagami an answer yet. But this she reminded herself wasn't Kagami who stood before her. It was Ryuku. And she'd have to let her go because Kagami had no idea that she knew.
---
It took them four days.
Four days as Marinette regarded the notification of *20 missed calls from Kagami* on her phone as said girl lounged next to her hospital bed reading her tips for recovering after major injuries.
At first everything had gone so fast.
The next morning Marinette had called Kagami to tell her she was in the hospital. The girl had picked up immediately and had stormed into her hospital room within exactly 7 minutes. Marinette didn't care how. Whether she used her miraculous or had stuck around nearby just waiting for her call she didn't care. She immediately burst into sobs when she laid her eyes upon Kagami whose eyes were red rimmed and her hair unkempt.
And as Kagami had rushed forward to comfort her she blurted out her own confession of utter adoration for the other girl, along with an apology that it had taken her so long to give Kagami an answer. They had cried together. And Kagami had visited every day as they relearned to laugh together.
It had taken Marinette four of these long days to gain the courage to ask Kagami to kiss her.
Kiss her until they both forgot how the other had looked that faithful night.
Kagami had been quick to draw Marinette into her, lips brushing slightly as both of them took a moment to brace themselves. And then their lips pressed together as Marinette ignored the awkward bend heads and arms and prepared to get lost.
She didn't get lost.
It was rather like finding her way back home where everything was soft und bright and honest. It wasn't a candle lit dinner on a rooftop and they had to pull away when Marinettes head began to hurt again, but somehow just because it was Kagami who brushed away her fringe and gazed at her with such... such love afterwards Marinette decided that it was... well not perfect but somehow weirdly romantic.
She beamed with warmth and love, and when she turned to completely ignore the doctor's call to take it easy and sat up to capture Kagamis lips with hers again none of them questioned it.