Marinette was seeing red.

Her head was throbbing, probably a mild concussion when she got side-swiped by the truck, with a ringing sensation in her left ear. She didn't feel any dislocations or fractures, but her right arm and left leg were quite tender to move.

There was a rustle on her bag, which means that Tikki was safe.

However...

"Chat?"

On the side of the road was her white feline, her savior, sprawling on the ground. She called his name several times yet he remained unresponsive and silent...and lifeless.

"CHAT!"

It was the adrenaline that pushed her body to get up and limp towards her injured cat. There were lots of people everywhere, most were onlookers who grew curious about the accident yet none of them cared about the hero that saved her life.

"CHAT BLANC!"

Someone called her name, but she never dared to look back for a reply. When a hand suddenly fell on her shoulder, she immediately shrugged it away.

"Let me go!" she yelled at the medic who was trying to address her wounds. "Chat - Chat Blanc...he's..."

"But Miss, you're -"

The girl was able to free herself from his restraints then rushed towards her pet.

"Chat!"

Fat tears welled in her eyes as she knelt down and inspected his broken limbs. She could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, but his green eyes remained shut.

"Oh, kitty." she sobbed at his badly-shaped body, then looked around for possible reinforcements. "Stay with me, okay? Don't give up."

Everyone was busy attending the traumatized toddler who didn't have a single scratch, and to the reckless driver who got stowed away by a stretcher. The truck that damaged the pipeline caused not only floodings but also a heavy traffic around the area.

Nobody dared to assist Marinette and her cat.

When all of a sudden, a white shirt fell on top of Chat Blanc.

She caught a glimpse of a silver ring when a hand wrapped the feline's body and cradled it carefully in the arms. She looked up and stared at a familiar green eye.

"Let's go and save Chat Blanc!" Adrien declared.

Marinette's body went to auto-pilot.

She barely recalled how she climbed inside the limousine while clutching her dying cat. She remembered how Adrien commanded his driver to the nearest pet clinic in an unusual authoritative tone, but she made no comment.

She didn't take a heed on how his hand reached out to touch her face, only to stop himself then tucked it in his lap with clenched fists.

Thankfully, it wasn't a long drive.

The vehicle wasn't on full stop yet when Marinette yanked the door open and ran towards the clinic.

"Help!" she bellowed at the attendant. "Please save my cat!"

The personnel was taken aback by the pig-tailed girl's ragged condition, but she couldn't deny her frantic pleas for her animal's well-being.

"Please save Chat Blanc!" she sobbed.

Without further ado, the attendant accepted the bundled feline then brought it inside the operating room.

"Please be okay, Chat," Marinette whispered then covered her mouth with shivering hands. "Hang in there, kitty."

Adrien caught her on time when her knees wobbled and about to collapse on the floor.

"Marinette, we need to tend your injuries."

She nodded dumbly, letting herself be led by her crush to the visitor's area and made her sit on a bench.

She was too exhausted to give any reactions when the blond removed the dirt and blood smears gently on her face with a wet cloth.

"You're lucky it's just a small wound," he commented after he tilted her head and opened a clear box for antiseptics.

He either borrowed the first-aid kit from the clinic staff or got it from his bodyguard, Marinette got no clue.

The silence was suffocating her.

"Chat Blanc didn't deserve this. Any of this." she sniffed while staring blankly at the operating room. "I'm the one who was supposed to receive the impact and ended up in a hospital, not him. I deserved to be in his place...suffering and dying...not, not him. Not my cat."

"Marinette." the way he slammed the medicine lid jerked her from her stupor. "Don't you ever dare say that!"

His emerald orbs met her sapphire ones, and there she saw the mixture of his fury and fear on his hardened stares.

Realization finally dawned on her that Adrien, her sweet classmate Adrien, was there all along.

"You saw everything." she uttered with disbelief.

His jaw tightened as he nodded. "I was there the whole time, Marinette. I was there when the kid crossed the street. I was there when the truck lost its brakes. I was there when you pushed the kid to the safe place. I was there when...when..."

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut with balled fists on his side. He lowered his head as if trying to compose himself not to let his emotions run wild.

"You almost died before me." his voice hitched. "And all I could do was to stare and wait for the outcome while feeling helpless. You almost died, Marinette."

She felt guilty.

"I'm sorry."

When she met his watery gaze, her dam finally broke.

Marinette never realized she almost died that day.

"I'm sorry." she shuddered while covering her face out of shame. "I'm sorry, Adrien. It was stupid for my part to run on an oncoming vehicle, and for you to witness - "

"Hey, hey. Shh, It's alright, Marinette. It's alright." he cooed while wrapping her arms around her body. "The most important thing is that you're safe. And it's not stupid - you saved someone's life today."

"I saved someone's life," she muttered bitterly. "In exchange for another."

He pulled her out from the embrace then prodded her palms to cup her cheeks. Then he used his thumbs to wipe her tears.

"Hey, look at me. Look at me, Marinette."

She averted her gaze because she didn't want to be reminded of her cat's green eyes again, but when she met him this time, she didn't expect to see her other cat.

Adrien happens to share the same eye color as Chat Noir's.

"Okay, repeat after me - Chat Blanc is alive."

Oh, how she wished his words were true.

"Say it with me, Marinette. Chat Blanc is alive."

"Chat Blanc is alive." she parroted.

"Because cats have nine lives."

The girl frowned then wrinkled her nose. "No way you can convince me with that superstition, Adrien. You can ask Biology."

The blond made an indignant pout.

"You're supposed to repeat after me, not to talk back." he huffed. "Okay, let's do it again. Chat Blanc is alive."

She pursed a grin. "Chat Blanc is alive."

"Because cats have nine lives."

"Nope."

When he feigned a hurtful expression, she couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"There's the Marinette I know." he beamed.

Adrien, the legendary sunshine child, bestowed her his infamous rays of smiles enough to melt her into a puddle of goo.

What a blissful kind of torture to her weary heart.

"I'm sorry for putting you up with me." she sobered then looked down with a profused blush. "A - and I know that you're bu - busy. And Ohmygosh your photoshoot!"

The blond chuckled, pushing his classmate back to her seat when she suddenly stood up. "It's fine, Marinette. We've finished the shoot and about to wrap some things that time. Actually, I was waiting for Gori - I mean, my bodyguard to pick me up."

"I see." she slumped her back then sighed with relief. "Still, I'm sorry."

"You know, I'd rather hear you say 'Thank You' instead of 'I'm Sorry'"

The way he bit his knuckle to suppress his laugh and with his playful green stares he really reminded her of a certain Kitty Cat.

"Thank you."

Damn you Chat Noir, wherever you are.

He flashed her a lopsided grin. "Okay. Now that I'm done with your head wound, do you have anything that's bothering you? Like a sprain or abrasion?"

She shook her head.

Adrien didn't buy it.

When he grasped her right arm, she flinched automatically.

"My, my, Marinette. And here I thought you hate liars." he admonished lightly. "Now be a good girl and remove that blazer for me so I can check your arm."

If he was Chat Noir, she could've said 'Make me.' Instead, she simply obeyed him in silence.

And that was how they saw the blooming purple and red bruises just below her shoulder blade.

It was an ugly sight to behold.

Adrien immediately left her alone, but before she could think about him feeling disgusted, he came back with a handful of gel patches.

"I was about to ask for ice but the clinic has these cold compressors, so they let me borrow it," he explained while wrapping one of the patches around her arm with care.

"You're so good with this," she noted how he secured the patch with a tie.

The blond shrugged his shoulders. "If you have these...strenuous activities, you'll need to know the basic first aid in addressing cuts and bruises."

She raised her arm to admire his neat work.

"Anything else, Marinette?" he asked then narrowed his gaze when she didn't answer immediately.

It irked her how he pulled out her Kitty's beady glares whenever he inquired about her injuries after an Akuma attack.

"Erm," she muttered sheepishly then raised her left leg slowly. "I may or may have hit something hard on my knee?"

He smirked.

"Based on how you limped a while ago, I thought you'll never admit that."

She frowned.

She never thought Adrien Agreste could be this cocky.

She let him rolled her pink jeans up to dab a cold cream on her knee. "You're just as stubborn as someone I know."

"Who, Nino?"

Before he could answer, the clinic's door swung open, revealing a disheveled Sabine and a petrified Tom.

"Maman?!" Marinette squeaked. "Papa? What are you - "

She was cut short when her mother crushed her in a hug, followed by her father.

"Oh, my baby! My baby! I'm so glad you're okay!" the petite Chinese sobbed then examined her daughter's features. "Alya called us about you, what happened to you, and where to find you!"

"Alya?! But Alya's not with - "

"MARINETTE!"

As if on cue, her brunette best friend leaped towards her and gave a similar hug. Behind her was her boyfriend Nino.

"Oh my God, you have no idea how I almost choked the taxi driver and blackmailed him to beat the traffic lights just for me to arrive here!" she cried. "If Nino forgot his phone again - "

"I didn't!" the DJ defended, planting a kiss on top of the pig-tailed girl's crown.

"- I swear I'm going to drown him in the depths of Seine!"

Marinette didn't ask Nino on how in the world he knew about the accident. Instead, she glanced at the flustered model who was rubbing his neck.

"Uhm, I don't have Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng's number, so I texted Nino, who I know was with Alya so that she can pass the message to your parents. That's why they're here," he explained shyly.

He was making it hard for her not to fall in love with him all over again.

Tom walked towards the boy then gave him his infamous bear hug.

"Thank you, son." the baker whispered. "Thank you for saving our daughter."

"I - I - I - It's alright, Sir - ACK! - I mean, Tom! Tom! I - I'm just doing my duty as her friend!" he flailed his arms in the air. "And Marinette's a real hero! She - she saved the kid!"

Marinette flinched upon meeting her parents and her two bespectacled friends' glares. She knew she'd be receiving 20% praises and 80% incessant lectures from them later.

The atmosphere shifted momentarily when Dr. Moshe left the operating room.

"Marinette?" the veterinarian pulled his face mask which revealed his toothy smile. "Seems like Chat Blanc used one of his nine lives."