Co-Pilot

Chapter 11

                  Adrien fiddled with his black t-shirt for a moment, the fabric somewhat loose against his figure. Thankfully, he had a wife that was smart in the fashion department. Speaking of which, Marinette sat in a chair across from him, her hair in her face, her eyes lost in a daze.

"Hey, ... you okay?" His voice was low and soft. His wife lifted her head, her hair falling to the side, her hand reaching up and brushing along her cheek to wipe away what Adrien supposed were tears. She was crying? Their eyes still hadn't met, as if his partner couldn't bring herself to face him.

"Yeah. I just..." she trailed off, her hand falling from her face to her lap with a load slap. Finally, she brought her eyes to his. The blue shimmering behind the watery gloss. "I feel like I've been awful to you. That I didn't protect you. I haven't..." she trailed off again, clearly unable to speak.

"Hey, hey, hey." Adrien began, stepping towards her and squatting down in front of her. Sweetly he rubbed his thumbs over her thighs, hoping to sooth her stress and guilt. Right now, she was vulnerable, and she needed him. "That wasn't on you baby..."

"But it was." Mari interrupted. Adrien paused, granting her the space to elaborate. "I yelled at you. I offended you..."

"Mari..."

"I just feel like I haven't done my job."

"Marinette." Adrien cut her off. He understood what she was saying. "It's okay. You were stressed out. It happens. I get it. It's not unusual that we ended up in an argument. Every couple fights with each other." She turned her eyes away. "Hey, look at me." His hands reached up and tenderly cupped her damp cheeks. "It's okay. We'll get through this." He paused to let the words sink in. "Things may be tough right now, and I know there is a lot of pressure. Believe me, I know. I feel it too, but maybe that just means we need each other that much more. Okay?"

"But Ramone said......"

"Forget about what Ramone said!" His hands dropped back into her lap, his ribs beginning to ache from the squatting position. "Yes, we're gonna screw up sometimes, but that doesn't mean we are bad agents. Cut us some slack, this is our first mission in six months. We're bound to make mistakes." Another tear glided down her cheek, he could tell that she knew he was right. "Come here." Adrien pushed her hair behind her ear, before wrapping his hand around her waist as she slinked to the edge of the chair and her arms reached around his neck. Chest to chest, they embraced, Mari burying her face in the crook of his neck. Gently, he rubbed her back, her tears soaking through his shirt onto his shoulder. Marinette was crashing, her confidence crumbling to the ground below him. Ever since he had met her, as Ladybug, she had always been one of the most confident women he had ever met. To see her fall on her knees, wasn't something he saw from her very often. A knock on the door, interrupted their moment. Adrien released and slowly stood, pulling her up with him. His hands lingered on her shoulders comfortingly. Mari didn't back off, holding onto him as if letting him go would mean losing him forever. The latch clicked, and someone entered.

"Am I interrupting something?" That wasn't the voice of the doctor from earlier. Adrien turned his gaze to the door, where Dr. Carpenter stood.

"When did you get here?" Adrien questioned, slightly pulling back from his wife again.

"Private jet, courtesy of the agency. When your results came in, they decided that I needed to be here." Carpenter responded. That didn't sound good in Adrien's mind. Was he really that injured? It didn't feel like it. Really, he just felt cramped, nothing more.

"Is everything okay?" Marinette finally spoke, entering herself into the conversation. Thankfully, she had asked the question, Adrien was somehow struggling to get off his lips.