Miraculous Reveals and More (A collection of One-Shots)

Shot in the Dark (3589 words)

He knows she's right, she usually is, but he shakes his head, "I- we can't trade your identity for your life. We can deal with your identity getting out after we ensure you even live to see the repercussions" he scolds, not angrily, just frustrated.

Every day, every Akuma fight, he knows could be either of their last; whether their Miraculous get taken or something far worse. And right now he's staring at 'far worse' and she's shaking her head 'no'.

"Tikki- my Kwami, Miraculous Healing, she'll just heal me" she tries to give a reassuring smile but knows it's not giving the effect she intended, knowing it's been twisted by the pain.

"Are Kwamis even able to heal something this serious?"

She hopes so. "I don't know. I-I need to change back soon anyway. Close your eyes."

He shuts his eyes just as a bright flash illuminates the other side of his eyelids.

As her costume melts away, the pain gets worse, much worse. Obviously being Ladybug was already helping her out in some way at least. She groans in distress; Chat almost breaks the rules when she screams out, wanting to comfort her. His hands blindly cradle her head and hold her still.

Ignoring the black spots in her vision, Marinette directly addresses Tikki, "Can you fix this?" she pleads as much as asks.

She nods, obviously scared for her Chosen, "Yes, I can heal you but it will take time and I need to be fully recharged to even start on something like this. It won't be painless either. Chat, you have to find me food"

Torn, he retorts, "But I can't leave her"

"You must." She says as sternly as her small squeaky voice allows. "I need sweet foods to recharge. Once I'm good, I can turn her back into Ladybug and start properly healing her. Go!"

Eyes still closed, he releases 'Ladybug' to stand up. "I'll be as fast as I can, Ladybug" he turns 180 degrees before opening his eyes and jumping down to the streets.

He locates the nearest corner store and detransforms before entering.

The fluorescent bulbs create an atmosphere that's hazy, almost forming a liminal space with how few people are here. Just him, the cashier, and another man checking out.

Keeping his head down, he grabs fistfuls of whatever candy bar his fingers touch first, hoping Tikki isn't picky. He then hastens to the next aisle to grab a roll of cloth bandages. He rounds the aisle to the checkout counter where the same man is still deciding which lottery ticket to buy.

Adrien's foot taps impatiently, having half a mind to just run from the store without paying. Plagg pokes his head out of his pocket, snacking on a slice of camembert, "Stop shaking, waiting one minute isn't going to be detrimental."

He keeps his eyes straight ahead, speaking low, "Will this work?"

Plagg nods seriously, "Tikki is Ladybug's best chance at this point; she is Creation, after all. She has the strongest healing abilities of any Kwami"

"Has anything like this happened before? Anything this bad?"

Plagg's eyes look off to the side, "Uh, nothing exactly like this. Let's just say I've seen Chosen in better and worse situations..."

The man ahead of them finally finishes and Adrien rushes forward, dumping his armful of candy onto the counter. "How much?" he asks a bit too soon.

The cashier, a middle-aged woman, gives him a look saying 'hold your horses, mister', before continuing to scan each item at a leisurely pace.

He feels like he's about to jump out of his skin by the time the total shows in green LCDs. "That'll be 21-" she starts but Adrien has already thrown 30 euros on the counter.