"People change and forget to tell each other."

❅ ❅ ❅

    Just as Adrien dropped the bouquet, Marinette suddenly winced and grabbed the side of her head. Her face crumpled in pain. "Ack, it's pounding like crazy. Oh, what was I saying?" Marinette lifted her head while rubbing her head, mumbling how it throbbed for no reason. She locked eyes with him, frowned, seemed to contemplate something, and her face proceeded to turn bright red. "A-ADRIEN?!"

    Without a moment to lose, she quickly drew the blankets and ducked under the covers as if it could act as an invisible barrier between Marinette and the boy in front of her. Adrien was slightly taken aback, not entirely sure if he should laugh or be worried. "Are you feeling alright?" He placed a hand on the bed with concern. "Should I get a doctor?"

"No, no!" She peeked out from behind her covers with only her eyes. Adrien noticed that the sparkle in her gaze was back. Her eyes reflected life; something that wasn't there earlier. It was warm and enticing like a cup of hot chocolate. She was back. "I just you expected never, I mean, never expected you to be here!" Shifting upright, Marinette finally straightened up out from under the blankets. Her face was still painted with a bright red blush on her cheekbones.

    Thinking that something was wrong, Adrien leaned towards her, pushing her bangs out of her face and placing his hand on her forehead. "You're heating up..." He said with worry. "A fever, maybe?"

Her body heat seemed to spike at his touch and she waved her hands wildly. "Nope; not at all! T-Trust me, I'm fine!"

    Adrien's heart thumped, unknowingly thinking that her fluster was adorable. He lowered his hand against her cheek, cradling her face gently. This girl; this sweet, confident girl who always stood up for her classmates and smiled through thick and thin... Was Ladybug. How in the world could he not recognize it earlier? Perhaps it was the fact that Marinette acted somewhat different to him compared with other people, but he always thought she assumed he was strange. Or the idea that she was still unsettled from the gum incident, yet either way, Adrien was glad it was her.

    He was glad that this was the girl he loved; the one under the mask.

Marinette cautiously reached up with her hands, holding his arm in her grasp. "Adrien?" She asked with her face still bright red. "A-Are you okay?"

"Ah." He dropped his hand and felt himself blush. "Yeah, sorry about that." The pounding against his chest began to hurt, but it was the same feeling he had with Ladybug. He couldn't help but be this in love with her.

As soon as the girl gave a shy smile that melted his heart, a knock interrupted their moment. Without a moment to lose, Nathalie stepped in, clipboard in hand and her glasses pushed high onto the bridge of her nose. "Hi, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," She spoke with the same monotonous voice. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

"Oh, thank you," Marinette bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for checking up on me."

Nathalie simply nodded in reply and turned her sharp heels to face Adrien. "It's time, Adrien. You're going to be late for school if we don't leave now." She tapped on the watch on her wrist and Adrien's heart sank. He had to leave her. Adrien grabbed her hand in haste, quickly trying to find a solution to see her again.

Fear instantly gripped his entire being; he didn't want to leave her side. Not after everything they went through. When would he be able to tell her that he knew her secret? Would he let her know his? Moreover, would she hold blame against him for watching her plummet to the ground?

    "Hey..." He said, tightly holding her hand in his. "Mind if I drop by for another visit later this week? Would that be alright with you?"

    Marinette, sort of shocked by this change of behavior, took a while to formulate a sentence. "Of course it's okay! I'd... I'd love to see you again." She tilted her head with another grin which instantly reminded Adrien of their meeting on the Eiffel tower.

    He swallowed the lump in his throat with images of her fall flashing in his head. "Okay," Adrien did his best to smile back. He got up from his seat, bent forward, and gently kissed the top of her head. "See you later."

Following Nathalie's footsteps, Adrien exited the room without looking back. If he did, however, then he would've noticed that the dark-haired girl was blushing furiously in her hospital bed.

❀ ❀ ❀

Adrien couldn't wait for school to be over.

Not because of the classes he took; he honestly found science to be very interesting. As soon as the bell rang, he took off, shooting down the stairs and began running down the street. He pulled out the business card he received at the hospital which simply contained an address and a single word at the top: Chiropractor.

"What in the world was a chiropractor doing at a hospital?" Adrien grumbled as he imputed the address and followed his G.P.S., looking both ways before crossing the street. "He's a back doctor, not an actual one."

Plagg popped his head out of Adrien's right shirt pocket while nibbling on a slice of Camembert. "Man, I haven't seen that old geezer in ages. If anyone can help Tikki, it's gonna be him. Trust me."

With his other hand, he raised it to see the small, red kwami still unconscious in his palm. Tikki seemed to do much better than a week ago; her breathing became more relaxed and timely and she looked as if she were sleeping. However, she still wasn't waking up and this "Dr. Fu" person may be their only hope.

"I hope you're right, Plagg," Adrien said with his eyes locked on the screen of his mobile device. "I really hope so."

Within minutes, his tracker fell right on the red flag on his G.P.S., indicating that he came to his destination. Adrien looked up to come face-to-face with a small building with a Chinese sign that read "Chiropractor". Adrien was glad that lessons came in handy and that he wasn't lead to the wrong address.

Plagg placed a tiny paw on Adrien's chest. "Ready?"

His heart pounded against his chest, strong enough to break through his ribs. Although he was nervous, Adrien nodded his head. "Ready?"

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open. The first thing he saw was Dr. Fu who seemed to be meditating on a tatami floor.

He closed the door behind him and locked eyes with the old man. Adrien lifted the red Kwami in his grasp while approaching the man who merely knelt still on the ground. The so-called doctor lifted a hand to take the Kwami, but Adrien took a step back at the movement. Dr. Fu's eyes twinkled with a hint of amusement. "Oh? Suspicious?"

The blonde boy shifted his stance, leaning his weight onto one leg. With a low, dangerous tone, Adrien held Tikki close as he spoke. "Tell me who you are first. Then we'll talk."

    The old man adjusted his position, slowly getting onto his feet to stand upright. He stroked his bearded with a strange gleam in his gaze. The lines around his eyes smiled as he chuckled slightly. 

"I am Master Fu, healer and guardian of the Miraculous. Allow me to give you the answers you've been wanting."

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i wish this story could grow as popular as red string (and surpass it), but sadly it hasn't gotten as recognized as i hoped... but that's okay because i love it and that's all that matters :)

(i secretly hate this chapter but oh whale)