#cardiac attack

“It's a beautiful story,” she said. “Did you write it?”  

“I'm afraid no,” he replied with a smile. “Actually my lovely wife is the one who wrote this.”  

“Oh? That's so sweet. I think I'd like to meet her someday.”  

“I'm sure you'll like her.”  

“So what happened next? In the story? Who did she choose?”  

“Okay...”  

(flashback)  

Beep-beep.  

“Chat Noir, you're about to transform back!”  

Chat looked at his beeping ring, he was on his last minute.  

“We need to get you away from here,” Ladybug frantically whispered, sparing a glance at the crowd of reporters in front of them. She put her arm around her partner’s waist and pulled him along backwards. And then with a quick “Excuse us,” they had launched into the air.  

Ladybug realised with the reporters so close, it wouldn't be safe to detransform in the open. And with his injured leg, Chat couldn’t hold up much longer. Nor could Ladybug hold him up too long, for she was injured too. Her home was in sight, and while it might be risky, it was the best option right now.  

“Come on!” she urged.  

“But this is Marine-"  

“I know, I'll explain to her.”  

She pushed Chat in through the latch door so that he landed with a thud onto her bed. Just as she shut the door behind her, a green flash of light illuminated the room.  

Oh no.  

Stunned into immobility, Ladybug stared as the green light of detransformation passed over Chat’s body, and in his place sat...  

“A-Adrien?”  

He stared at her, then down at himself, and then back at her, a look of absolute shock on his face. “M' lady,” he whispered, “I'm so sorry, I didn't-"  

“Adrien,” Ladybug had got down on the bed and was kneeling next to him. She lightly touched his cheek, “It's you.”  

“Ladybug, I-"  

“All this time, it's been you!” Adrien noticed tears were beginning to form in her beautiful blue eyes, as her voice grew more and more emotional. “And I thought I had to choose? How could I?”  

Adrien was utterly confused. What was Ladybug talking about?  

Ladybug edged nearer towards him. Her face only inches away from his, she ran her hands along the sides of his face.  

“Why didn't I see it sooner?” A laugh broke from her lips. “To think that I fell in love with you twice!” Tears now flowed freely down her cheeks.  

“You- you love me?” Adrien asked incredulously.  

“Yes!” Ladybug’s face broke into a radiant smile as she touched her forehead to his. “I love you Adrien, Chat Noir. I love you.”  

“If this is a dream then I never want to wake up.” Adrien closed his eyes, basking in the warmth of their closeness.  

“Me neither,” Ladybug whispered back.  

They stayed like that for no one knew how long. When finally Ladybug pulled back, she opened her eyes to find herself looking into a very familiar set of emerald eyes. A strong desire arose in her, and without a second thought, she crashed her lips into his.  

She was surprised to find Adrien kissing her back with just as much love, just as much passion as she did. Their lungs were running out of air, but neither wanted to break away. They kissed as if their life depended on it.  

Just then a woman’s voice floated into the room. “Marinette, could you come down here for a minute?”  

Ladybug immediately broke the kiss to shout back, “Coming, mom!”  

She turned back to meet Adrien's eyes, but found him looking at her with disbelief.  

That's when she realised what she had just done.  

“Is it really you, Mari?” Adrien whispered, almost as if he was afraid to say it out loud.  

“It’s no use hiding it any longer, is it?” She looked away. Was Adrien disappointed in her? “I- I didn't mean for you to- mmph!”  

The rest of her words were muffled as Adrien's lips fervently caught hers in between his. And just like that, they were kissing again.  

This kiss was shorter than the last one, but in no way less sweet. When they broke off, Adrien only said “I am glad it’s you, Marinette. I love you.”  

(flashback ends)  

She looked up, her eyes glistening with tears. “I remember now,” she whispered. “It was us.”  

A tear rolled down his cheek. “My Princess.” He leaned across the table and cupped her face in his hands. “I love you so much.”  

“Adrien,” she whispered, and planted kisses on the palms of both of his hands.  

“Marinette,” he whispered back, savouring every syllable of her name.  

“What happened to me?” She cocked her head to the side as she looked into his eyes.  

“Nothing,” Adrien shrugged. “You just went away for a little while.”  

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows in an attempt to remember. And she did remember. “How much time do we have?”  

“I'm not sure,” Adrien spoke in a little voice. “Last time, it was no longer than five minutes.”  

A shadow passed over Marinette's face. “Okay,” she mumbled.  

“Hey,” Adrien brought her attention back to himself, “I brought along something.”  

Saying so he took out his phone from his pocket, and navigated with shaking fingers. Music began to flow into the room from the speakers fixed in the corners of the room.  

“May I have this dance m' lady?” he bowed slightly and extended a hand.  

Marinette’s cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as she smiled. “Oh, kitty.” She placed her hand in his and let him lead her from the table onto the floor.  

They held each other close in their arms while they danced. It was almost as if they were afraid that if they let go, this moment will slip away from them forever.  

Adrien occasionally planted kisses on every inch of Marinette's face that he could reach. “Oh, how I missed you m' lady!”  

Marinette nuzzled close to Adrien's neck. “I love you, my Prince.”  

After a while, she leaned back slightly to look at him. “How are the children?”  

“Oh they are doing so good,” Adrien said with fondness. “They were here today. Little Anna and Daniel too, they are getting so big.”  

“And the kwamis?”  

“Emma is taking good care of them. But they still miss you.”  

Marinette's eyes twinkled with tears. “Will you tell them all that I love them?”  

“Of course I will.”  

“And that I'm sorry?”  

“I'll tell them buginette. And hey,” he cupped her face with his hand, “don't you feel bad about this okay?”  

Marinette looked at him and smiled slightly. “I miss you all so much, Adrien. I am so sorry that I can’t be with you,” her voice shook, “Was this- did we make a mistake?”  

“No we didn't,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “This was the right decision, and we both know it. And we did have an amazing life so far, didn't we?”  

“Adrien,” her voice dropped to a whisper, “do you think we can borrow the Miraculous for tonight? Would that be alright? You know what we could do? We could run across the rooftops together, just like old times! And we could sit on the beams of the Eiffel tower and look out at the city.”  

Adrien sighed. What would he not have given to be able to do that? But time was short and uncertain. “I don't think so. Not tonight Princess.”  

“Come on, why not?”  

Just then the expression on Mari’s face changed. “Wait a minute... why did you call me princess? I don't know you, Sir. Am I supposed to know you?” She said in a painfully formal tone.  

Adrien gasped. It was over? So soon? But he didn't want to let go already! Couldn't he- couldn't he just hold on a little longer?  

“Hey Mari, I love you... stay with me, please don't leave.”  

“Excuse me, who are you?”  

“I'm Adrien, your kitty, and you're my Marinette,” he took a step towards her, but she stepped back.  

“No, Sir. I'm afraid I don't know you.”  

“Come on, bugaboo.”  

“Please Sir!” her tone was more insistent now. “I must ask you to stop calling me by those names now!”  

Despite himself, a smile crept up Adrien's face. Even now Marinette didn't like being called “bugaboo".  

As much as Adrien hated it, he knew there wasn't anything he could do now. This happened every night. After every spell of getting her memories back, Marinette forgot everything all over again. But with every passing night, the periods for which she came back grew shorter and shorter. And tonight, he felt an unexplained heaviness in his heart. As if he was going away from his Lady for a long, long time.  

Hugo woke up in the middle of the night, feeling thirsty. He raised himself up on his elbows and looked to his side; Julie was still asleep. Carefully, he got out of the bed and let himself out of the room.  

After getting a glass of water from the kitchen, he felt very much awake. So he decided to take a stroll through the house.  

As he passed by his father's room, he was surprised to see the lights on. He was not supposed to be awake at this late an hour.  

“Dad?” he cautiously knocked, so that he would not wake him up if he was already asleep.  

“Hugo, is that you?” came his father's voice. “Come in, my boy.”  

He slowly opened the door, and found his father was sitting up in bed.  

“What are you doing, Dad?” he asked.  

“Oh, just looking at some old photographs,” Adrien ran his hands lovingly over the pages of the notebook he was looking at. Hugo walked over to his father’s bed and took a seat beside him. He immediately recognized the notebook, he had seen it since he was a little child. It was his mother’s album.  

His Mom's album was a creative mess, just like her own self. It was filled with photographs of their childhood, photoshoot clippings of when his father used to be a model, magazine spreads of his mother's designs, special sketches of his mother's designs, and of course family photographs. Every page had little handwritten notes by Marinette herself. The notebook was titled “My Totographs".  

The page Adrien was currently looking at contained the sketches of his parents’ wedding dress and wedding tux. Hugo already knew everything about the time his mother had made them herself. But he listened on with interest as his father went on about all the details. He loved listening to when his father talked with so much love about something. Since his mother lost her memory, the light had gone out of his father’s eyes. It was nice to see him liven up, even if it was for a short while.  

After a few minutes, Hugo spoke up, “It's very late dad, you should go to sleep. You know what, let's continue this discussion again tomorrow.”  

“Alright,” Adrien said, shutting the album. Hugo turned down the lights of the room. “Good night dad,” he whispered before leaving the room.  

“Good night, my son,” Adrien whispered back, as he slid under the covers.  

After Hugo had left, Adrien reached out under the other pillow and took out a pink diary. He flipped over to the last page.  

“Read this to me, and I'll come back to you” it read.  

Adrien reached over and carefully placed the notebook inside his bedside drawer. Settling back into his pillows, he whispered, “Good night, m'lady.”  

“Hugo! Hugo wake up!”  

Hugo opened his eyes to find Julie leaning over him, looking on with a concerned expression on her face. He immediately sat straight up.  

“What's wrong?”  

“Dad has suffered a cardiac attack! Emma is calling the ambulance, we need to rush him to the hospital immediately!”  

Adrien was admitted in the emergency ward immediately. For hours, it was uncertain if he would make it. But miraculously, he survived the attack.  

“Surviving an attack like that,” the doctor said, “that too at such an age, it's almost unheard of. Mr Agreste is nothing less than superhero, I must say.”  

“That he is.”  

“There is something I had to ask, though. Is there anyone among you named Marinette?”  

The children shared glances. “That is the name of our mother, but she is not in a position to come.”  

“Oh, that’s okay, I understand,” the doctor smiled to himself. “That sure explains why Mr Agreste kept muttering her name while he was slipping in and out of consciousness. It is not every day that you get to hear of such a beautiful love story.”  

The doctor further said that they needed to keep him under observation for some time, just in case. So, Adrien had to stay in the hospital for a week after he was moved to the general ward. Even after he was released, he was not strong enough to stand up for too long or speak long sentences. The doctor said it was the toll the attack had taken on him, but he promised that it would wear away in a few days.  

Three days after being released from the hospital, Adrien was finally getting back his ability to think. And all he could think about was Marinette. He hadn't seen her in so long. He would not stop asking about her, and even though the children assured him that their mother was alright, nothing could put his troubled heart to rest. Not unless he could see her with his own eyes again. But no one would let him leave his room, let alone leave the house.  

“Where do you think you are going?”  

Adrien froze with his hand just short of the door handle, and whipped around. It was Plagg. It was too dark to see him, but it was difficult to miss his luminescent eyes shining in the dark.  

“I was just taking a walk,” Adrien said, “I can't sleep.”  

“You know you're not supposed to move around all by yourself.”  

“Yeah, I know.”  

Plagg floated over to him. “You weren't really going for a walk, were you? You were going to see Marinette.”  

“I miss her Plagg. I really want to see her. It's just next door, I can walk this much.”  

Plagg sighed. “Emma told me to keep an eye on you. But she’s asleep now, so maybe I can let you off this once.”  

Adrien's face lit up with a bright smile. “Oh Plagg, you are the best!”  

“Easy there kid. Now I'll go over and unlock the door, but be careful not to wake up Loius, okay?”  

“Thank you so much Plagg.”  

Adrien cautiously opened the door to Marinette's bedroom. The moonlight was falling on her face as she slept.  

She was so beautiful.  

He took a seat by her bedside. Running his fingers through her hair, he whispered “Hi.”  

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. “Adrien.”  

Adrien lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it lovingly. “Hey, Princess. I'm sorry I haven't been able to be here to read to you.”  

A tear rolled down from Marinette's eye. “I didn't know what to do. I was afraid you were never coming back.”  

“Oh, Marinette. I'll always come back.”  

Marinette tightly grasped Adrien's hand in both of her own. “What's gonna happen when I can't remember anything anymore? What will you do?”  

Adrien leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I'll be here. I'll never leave you.”  

Marinette lifted her head slightly and kissed Adrien's lips. It didn't take him a moment to kiss her back. Marinette smiled against his lips; it still sent sparks through him, even after all these years.  

Marinette was the one who broke the kiss. “I need to ask you something.”  

“What is it m' lady?”  

She took a deep breath. “Do you think that our love can create miracles?”  

Adrien smiled. “Of course I do. That's what brings you back to me each time.”  

“Do you-do you think our love could take us away together?”  

Adrien slowly lay on the bed next to Marinette. He wrapped his arms around her. “I think our love can do anything we want it to.”  

Marinette rested her head on Adrien's chest. “I love you, Adrien.”  

“And I love you Marinette.”  

They both leaned back to look into each other's eyes.  

“Good night mon minou.”  

“Good night my lady. I'll be seeing you.”  

Saying so, they closed their eyes and nestled closer to each other.  

Louis woke up to a phone call. It was Emma.  

“Hey, Emma.”  

“Is Dad there?”  

Louis sat up in his bed. “What?”  

“Dad isn't here! Is he with Mom?”  

“B-But he hasn't been over for a week,” Louis said, already getting out of bed, “and he most certainly didn't come last night.”  

“I know, but could you please check once? Otherwise, I have to call the police,” her desperation was ringing clear in her voice.  

“Okay, just hold on a second.”  

On his way to Marinette's bedroom, Louis leaned over the second-floor railing onto the living room. His dad wasn't there.  

Please be in here dad, Louis prayed as he slowly opened the door to his mom's room.  

He heaved a sigh of relief as he saw his parents lying on the bed, cuddled close to each other. He tiptoed into the room, taking care so that he would not wake them up. As he stood by the side of the bed looking at them, he smiled. His parents had always been the ideal lovers, just like in the movies. Their love was magical, beautiful like a fairy tale. Even after so many years, he had seen it with his own eyes that their love for each other had not diminished a bit.  

Just then, his expression changed. Something was wrong. Everything was too still, too silent. His heart stopped as the scariest thought crept into his mind. Praying fervently that he was wrong, he stepped closer to the bed. He placed a shaking finger in front of his father's nostrils. He sensed nothing. As tears began to form in his eyes, he put a finger in front of his mother’s nostrils, but there was nothing again. He sunk to his knees, shocked, unable to acknowledge the tears that now streamed incessantly down his cheeks.  

Picking his phone up to his ears, he sighed into it.  

“Louis?” came Emma's voice.  

“Dad...”  

“Is he there?”  

“Dad and Mom...”  

“Oh, he's with mom? That's okay, I'm coming over just now to take him home. Is mom alri-"  

“They are not breathing, Emma.” Louis declared in a whisper.  

“Wha- what are you saying, Louis?”  

No reply came from the other side.  

“Hang on bro. I am coming.”  

They had not expected so many people to turn up at the funeral. But then again, they were Marinette and Adrien Dupain-Cheng, there wasn't anyone in the city of Paris whom they hadn't inspired or supported in some way or the other. Even if no one knew that they had been Ladybug and Chat Noir, the saviours of Paris once, they had been nothing less than superheroes in their civilian life.  

“Even in death, nothing could separate them,” Emma whispered.  

“I am sure wherever they are, they are happy with each other,” Tony put an arm around her shoulders, and she wrapped her arms around him.  

Hugo and Julie embraced each other as well, Hugo sobbing silently into Julie's shoulder.  

Louis looked from one to the other and smiled. “And I have no one?” He joked, attempting to lighten the atmosphere.