Harbored

Calculation

"What?" Adrien asked, taken aback from her blunt and vague statement. He craved elaboration, drawing conclusions he wouldd really rather not picture.

"I killed him," she weakly repeated, staring off into the distance. Marinette could feel a strict tightening bounding its way up her chest and into her dry throat.

"Who?"

"Nathanael. I killed Nathanael."

She was still seated upon Adrien's lap as though he was cradling her like a small infant. This angle gave him a view of her somber profile.

"You know that medication I stole from the royal cabinet way back at the palace?" she asked, glancing at him for any signal of response. Adrien meagerly nodded his head. "It was a form of Euthanasia, a rare and highly illegal lethal drug. Nathanael's the one who pestered me about putting an end to his misery. Who am I to withhold total healing from those I love? Adrien, it had to be done. Please understand," Marinette begged, almost as if his approval would make everything justified.

Adrien remained mute, he reassuringly squeezed her tighter. He wound his hands through her midnight locks, massaging Marinette's scalp. 

Derived from the relaxing pleasure of Adrien's administrations, her weeping slowed and her breathing mellowed.

"I cannot speak for your actions, whether or not I agree with them. However, I can say that you must have loved him an awful lot in order to perform such drastic measures," Adrien said, finally responding to her pleas. 

She weakly shook her head.

"I did love him, just not the way people make it sound. Nathanael was complicated to say the least.

"I have known him since I was a kid. He showed me what real freedom could be. When he fell ill, I just complied with all of his taxing demands. I know it was not in any way healthy, but I did them nonetheless," Marinette sniffled. 

She borrowed her head into his neck even further, relishing his outdoorsy scent.

"How long did you put up with him?"

"Ten years."

"And about the King and Queen?"

"They are my biological parents."

"Then how did-"

"I ran away from them after they locked my delinquent self in the dungeon. Never looking back."

"And about what you said about dating me if Nathanael was out of the picture?"

"I take it back. I got... involved with you for all the wrong reasons, all the while desperately trying to keep my dysfunctional relationship afloat. You need a girl who is not a cheater, who will not wrong you, and who is not me."

"Take a step back here. You just lost a person whom you were close with. I say we journey back to Nino's. We need to avoid just about everyone in this town and the kingdom. Once we reach Nino, we will regroup and go from there," Adrien planned.

As he moved to get up, Marinette whimpered, clutching tightly to Adrien's shirt. "I will not ever leave you, Marinette. I promise," Adrien swore, "Just let me get you to absolute safety."

She breathed a quiet agreement before allowing Adrien to stand her back up on her own feet. He stepped close to her, invading Marinette's personal space. Adrien brushed a fallen lock of hair behind her delicate ear. Without any thought, Adrien placed a protective and assuring peck on Marinette's dry lips. After reopening his emerald eyes, Adrien feathered another precious kiss on her hairline.

"Let's go."

***

In an odd twist of sequential events, so rare it has only occurred once before, Adrien found himself leading Marinette. They manically jogged through the woods, running away from a jagged past, into a hopeful future. That is if they can reach Nino's place before their whereabouts are made widely known.

"Adrien, I need another rest or else I will not make it one more step," she wearily complained. 

Without any verbiage, he picked her up like a scooped baby, and continued his speedy pace. Determination seared from Adrien's entire body, willing himself to push farther than his own limits. 

What was a little extra weight?

Adrien was too focused on getting Marinette to safety, that he missed a protruding tree root. His demise was met as Adrien tripped over it, still clutching Marinette in his muscular arms. Regretfully, she took the brunt of the fall, Adrien ungracefully landing on top of her. The two rolled a few feet in a mangled heap of limbs.

"I am all for speed but, you need to slow down and gather your bearings. I am not traveling with a racy lunatic, you hear me?!" Marinette seethed. "I have been through too much today to deal with your rash mistakes!" she continued her rampage.

Adrien was breathing like that of a wildebeest; quick, deep and husky. He attempted to regain homeostasis within himself before responding to her.

"I am sorry," he paused, glancing at her, "Rest here for the night and continue in the morning." Marinette rightfully concurred.

After finding a dry patch of grass, Adrien yanked out two blankets from his backpack. Splaying one down as a makeshift mattress, he laid himself down on top before notioning for her to join next to him. Observing her hesitance, he said, "I will not bite. I got carried away, that' is all. You need sleep just as much as I do." He patted the empty spot for emphasis.

Blandly, Marinette made haste to the open area and relaxed on the ground beside Adrien. Once both had settled, he tugged the second blanket over their weary bodies.

"Goodnight, Princess," Adrien yawned.

"Goodnight, Bookkeeper."

Rest made no presence to Marinette, no matter how hard she willed it. Her mind raced too quickly, observing the outlandish sweeping canopy. Each tree towered over the pair.

She glanced at Adrien. He appeared to be dozed off quite a deal as little, calm breaths released loudly from his open mouth. Admiring the curling strands of blonde that perched upon his relaxed forehead, Marinette could not help but think of how cute he was. Sure, he was kind of an uptight party pooper, who had a helpful habit of saving her ass. But asleep, he was beautifully peaceful.

In the corner of his mouth, she noticed a slight pooling of saliva dripping. She drew near it, wondering how a perfect Adrien would be one to drool in slumber. The scandalous thought alone made her insides chuckle. Just a little bit ago Adrien was completely hell bound on getting to Nino's at an inhuman speed. The speedy brute who previously knocked her over dissipated into a sweet little cutie pie.

Once more, her pupils gravitated towards the drool collecting on his pink lip. She leaned down, resting her nose on his cheek, inhaling languidly. His scent was enough to drive her crazy. However, she knew better than to get romantically involved with him. Their entire relationship would be built upon malice and cheating, no matter how much she wanted to.

The soft fluttering of birds nestling into their nests and leaves falling amid the midnight hour lulled Marinette into a shifty, uncomfortable sleep.