Thief | Lukadrien

Part 21 - Hospital

Adrien's POV

"Nooroo, dark wings rise."

I turned around to see Hawkmoth standing there with a sour expression.

"Jeezes f*cking chri—"

He lunged forward, bringing his cane out in front of him. I grabbed my baton and used it to block his attack, but at this point I was just going through the motions. My mind was too busy trying to figure out what the f*ck just happened.

"I... I don't understand," I muttered, lowering my head, along with my guard. As I was distracted, Hawkmoth kicked me in the abdomen, sending me flying across the room into the window.

The glass shattered as my head slammed into it. I grunted in pain and fell limp onto the floor. I checked the back of my head for blood, and sure enough, there was an open wound.

My vision was fading as I defended myself, so I just held up my staff up in front of me in hopes that I wouldn't take another blow. As Hawkmoth made several attempts to steal my ring, I failed to think of a way to get out of this situation.

"Chat!" a figure in red shouted from the doorway. What the heck was Carmen Sandiego doing here?

"Wait, where's Adrien?" someone else said. I recognized that beautiful voice—Luka. Although, he was wearing a teal body suit. Was it Halloween already?

Luka's scarlet companion ignored the question and threw a yo-yo at... what was his name? Mothball? It didn't matter. The yo-yo's string wrapped around him like a rope, immobilizing him. That was probably the weirdest weapon I had ever seen, but it worked, so I wasn't going to question it.

With Hawkmoth tied up, Ladybug—not Carmen Sandiego, as I originally thought—was able to take his miraculous. There was a flash of light, and my father replaced the villain.

A sharp pain suddenly ran through my forehead, and I sank to the ground once again with a groan.

"Hey are you okay?" Viperion asked, running over to me. He slid onto his knees and put one hand on my neck to brace it and the other on the side of my arm.

"My boyfriend has the same hair as you," I realized. "No, wait—you are my boyfriend."

I felt nauseous, and struggled to focus on what was going on.

"Take him to get help," Ladybug ordered. "I'll call the police to deal with Gabriel."

I closed my eyes as Viperion scooped me up, whimpering as the motion caused my head to roll back.

"You'll be okay, Adrien," Viperion assured me softly. "I'm gonna take you to the hospital, but I need you to detransform."

"That's not a real word."

Viperion turned into an alleyway. "It's easy, remember? You just say your deactivation phrase."

A vague memory zipped through my mind.

"Plagg, claws in."

A small cat spiralled out of my ring. I almost forgot he existed until now.

"Kid," he whispered worriedly, his hands over his mouth. "Whatever you do, don't fall asleep!"

"No, let him rest," Viperion said to Plagg, still walking briskly. "He needs medical attention now."

•••

I didn't really remember getting admitted to the hospital, but now I was here, in a bright room, wearing a flimsy nightgown. The lights in the ceiling were painful, even when I wasn't looking at them.

"Hey, Adrien."

I turned to the sound, not able to lift my aching head off the pillow. Sitting right next to my bed was Luka, who was painted with bloodshot eyes and a tired expression.

"Hi."

"How do you feel?"

"Not great, to be honest."

He smiled. "Glad your sense of humor's still intact."

"What happened? I'm not going to die, am I?"

"No, no, of course not," Luka said, whispering a laugh. He put his hand over mine. "You just have some brain damage. Doctor said it's a major concussion."

"Oh... so, what does that mean?"

"You'll be staying here for a few days. They want to monitor you just to be safe."

"What about school?"

"You'll have to stay home for the next few months at least."

"What?? But—"

"No buts, chaton. You can't do anything stimulating for the next little while. That means no school, no fencing, no piano, no looking at your phone, etc."

"Well, what can I do?"

"Uh... sleep?"

I pouted. This was going to be a boring recovery.

"Is my father okay? What happened to Hawkmoth? He was in my house..."

Luka's lip twisted as he averted his gaze. That's when it hit me.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"What am I supposed to do now?"

"Hey, don't worry," Luka said. He got up, leaned over, and kissed me lightly on the forehead. "I'll be here for you every step of the way."

"That's not really an answer..."

He chuckled. "Nathalie and your bodyguard both agreed to look after you for the time being. You can go back home once the doctor clears you."

"So... I'll go home, and just sit in my room all day doing nothing?"

"Exactly."

It sounded like my life when I was homeschooled, before getting my miraculous. Only, this time, it would be way worse. Now I wouldn't even have something to pass the time.

"I can stay with you, if you want," Luka asked, rubbing his neck. "To keep you company while you heal."

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course," he smiled, blushing faintly.

I flipped my hand over so our palms were touching. "I'd like that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He used his free hand to brush my hair back, leaned down to kiss me again, but on the lips this time. My heart fluttered for a second before settling into a peaceful state. With Luka supporting me, everything would be okay.