"You're in a merry mood today, nurse!" 

Adrien chuckles under his breath just as his patient comments out loud, gaining the attention of the other patients in their shared room. After fixing the records on his nurse cart, he looks back at the giddy middle-aged woman who he just checked a few moments ago. “Oh, you know, who wouldn’t love a new day? Am I right?” He finishes with a soft laugh.

Another patient, sitting up on her bed, then says in a singsong, “He must be in love!” The other patients then join in, teasing the nurse with words that are making him blush a deep shade of red. 

He begins, stammering, “L-Love? N-No, I don’t think s-so…”

“Who’s in love?” Doctor DC suddenly asks out loud, gaining the attention of everyone in the room just as she enters.  

And simply with her mere presence, the nurse blushes all the more. Memories of two nights before and the warmth her lips gave despite the chill in the air make the hair at the back of his neck tingle. It's there, the electrifying effect she leaves on him. 

Just as she slowly pulls away, her lips leaving a lingering after-feeling on Adrien’s lips, he sat there all frozen and out of breath. None of them expected that to happen, but for Marinette, she felt that it was just the right thing to do. 

His eyes fluttered open, instantly peering into the blue eyes of the doctor who was quietly staring back at him. Her lips are slightly parted from being on his moments ago. “Marinette,” he breathes out. 

She murmurs, “This is how we kiss goodnight from now on.” And without any further hesitation, Marinette pulls him to her, locking their lips together again. 

"Oh, no one in particular, doctor," one of the patients drawls, though she discreetly points a finger towards Nurse Adrien who has his eyes now on the patients' charts lying on his cart, finding those objects as the most interesting things in the whole room now.

Doctor DC then sighs in assent before nodding ever so softly. "I see, I see. Is Nurse Adrien causing you any trouble?" She asks, making the nurse whip his head up to look at her. Though in a mere second, he looks down again because he could not fight off his red cheeks. 

Another patient immediately reports as she scrambles to get off her bed and walk towards the doctor, "He's causing us trouble because he's keeping his lips sealed!" Then she zips her fingers through her closed mouth. 

"Oh?" Doctor DC raises a knowing eyebrow at the nurse who still would not look her way. It was cute to see him like this. Well, the doctor has grown to find him adorable in all aspects. This may be the exact example of when one says that a person would eventually 'grow on you'. "I think I know what the nurse is keeping from you, ladies." 

"Ooooh, what is it? What is it?"
"Please spill the tea, doctor!" 

A smirk grows on Doctor DC's face as she looks at all the ladies who are cajoling her to tell them on the spot. "The nurse and I may or may not have locked lips two nights ago," she suddenly confesses, causing the patients to cheer and whoop loudly out of glee and the nurse was on the brink of digging himself a hole to hide in. 

What in the world is she thinking?! He thought, tempted to slap his hands to cover his face, but doing so is a huge health hazard. 

"Nurse Adrien! There is no need to be shy!” The patient who was beside Doctor DC saunters to the nurse and playfully pokes his arm. The nurse throws a bashful look at the patient and then darts his eyes towards the doctor who has her arms crossed and is still wearing a smirk on her face. All the more his cheeks flaring up red. 

“I-I’m n-not...I’m n-not shy,” he stutters, though everyone in the room knows otherwise. Even the nurse himself. 

The ladies giggle amongst themselves and continue to look at each other, all excited with how things have changed between the doctor and nurse. 

“Nurse! It’s okay to feel that way! Aren’t we all human?” One patient coaxes. Another patient chimes in, “Being a nurse, wouldn’t you be aware of those, I don’t know, neurotransmitters that make you happy and cause your heart to go boom, boom, boom?” All the women laugh at that comment. 

Doctor DC chuckles at them then wipes off her smirk to go back to business. Although it is nice to let loose at times, she has to stay professional most of the time. “Okay, enough with the teasing, ladies,” she raises an eyebrow at them and immediately they go back to their respective beds as the laughs die down and the nurse could finally have the space to recover from the embarrassment clearly shown by the color on his face. “Nurse Adrien and I have to go for now and continue with our rounds,” she continues, “I trust that you’ll all behave?”

A chorus of yeses and the occasional “of course, Doctor!” fill the room and the Doctor smiles at them before jutting her chin to the side as she looks at the nurse. “Come on, nurse, let’s go.”

“Y-Yes, doctor,” Adrien instantly replies and pushes the nurse cart with him, following the doctor walking out of the room. The patients bid him farewell, all with wide smiles on their faces, before making themselves busy with chatting with each other as the doctor-nurse pair leaves. 

As the two walk beside each other, Doctor DC hides her hands in the pockets of her white coat and throws a glance at the man beside her. “You’re awfully quiet, nurse,” she comments. 

“Should you have really shared that, doctor?” The nurse asks softly as they walk. He brings one hand up to his face and presses the back of it on each of his cheeks. “I don’t think I’ve ever blushed that hard when you told them. And…” he purses his lips, “that was not a model kind of bedside manner.”

Doctor DC chuckles with his words and stops in her step, turning her body to face the nurse who also has stopped in his step. “Adrien,” she starts in a strangely gentle voice, “I trust those ladies with all my heart. I have other doctors, nurses, and staff afraid of me already. I wouldn’t want my patients to be scared of me, so I act as a person with them,” she emphasizes, smiling at him.

“Oh...w-well,” the nurse sputters, “that may be a way to rationalize what happened…?” he ends unsurely as if it was his intention to ask a question in the first place. 

The doctor then breathes out a sudden heavy and long sigh. “Also,” she drawls, losing her smile. Then she chuckles wryly, almost sounding like she was in bewilderment. “I have happened to make a deal with those ladies months ago that if ever something new happens between us, I would have to tell them,” she admits, batting her eyelashes at the nurse who is now completely stunned with the doctor’s confession.

“Months ago…” he breathes out, uncertain if what he heard was right. “Months ago?” he repeats, furrowing his eyebrows at her, “Are you saying that I had a chance with you even months ago?”

Doctor DC’s eyes widen at that, and taken aback, she takes a small step backward as her jaw drops a bit in disbelief. “W-What? No!” she immediately exclaims. She notices the nurse falter a bit with her words, so she instantly clears her throat and takes her hands out of the coat pockets before raising them a bit in the air with hopes of explaining clearly what she was trying to say. “They liked pairing us together,” she clarifies, “but it did not change the way I felt for you then.”

The nurse nods slowly in assent, still trying to process her words. "To be frank with you, doctor, I'm actually not surprised.”

“As you should,” the doctor mumbles under her breath before clearing her throat. “Well, I’m glad that we made things clear between us,” she says in a louder voice, one that was meant for the nurse to hear, “Just because you know what my lips feel like doesn’t mean that I won’t be strict around you anymore.”

“Again, not surprised with that, as well.”

“Good. So don’t forget that you’re still an idiot,” the doctor states, then looks to her left and right, checking if there is anyone near them who could see what she’s going to do next. When she knows that the coast is clear, she takes a step closer to the nurse and reaches up a hand to rub the back of his ear. “Though,” she whispers, “what’s changed is that you’re now my idiotic newbie.” She smirks at him and playfully pinches the tip of his ear before walking away with a wink, leaving a flustered and smitten nurse behind with a huge grin on his face. 

------------

After making sure she gave a serving of salad to Nurse Adrien and purchasing her daily fill of mini chocolate croissants, Marinette went back to her office to enjoy her meal for lunch. She smiles as she takes the last forkful of salad before she proceeds to dessert. She would not lie if she said that she also did feel some kind of flustered when she was standing that close to the nurse. She giggles and takes a sip of water before she brings out one mini chocolate croissant from the brown paper bag. “He does look cuter than usual today,” she mutters to herself. 

“Am I late to the party or something?” Doctor Chloé’s annoying and loud voice breaks Marinette off the peace and quiet she had moments ago as the doctor enters the room and takes a seat in front of her respective desk. 

“Stop it,” Marinette grumbles before taking a bite off her croissant, though the way she feels how her heart has gained in speed with its beating and that she’s starting to blush says otherwise.

“So something happened between you and the nurse?” The blonde doctor turns in her chair to cross her arms and raise an inquisitive eyebrow at her colleague.

“Chloé, It was nothing.”

“Nothing? From what I’ve learned from all my dates in the past, a kiss is absolutely something!” She stands and leans on Marinette’s desk before peering into her face. “Come on, one room of your patients could not wait to tell me.”

Marinette rolls her eyes. Of course, those ladies would tell her. “So what?”

“So what?” Chloé repeats then smirks at her and playfully slaps Marinette’s arm. “I knew you would warm up to him!” She gushes. “Is it real this time, though?” She inquires.

Marinette plays it off with a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know. You be the judge of that.”

“Oh, my God.” Chloé suddenly points a finger at something on Marinette’s face. “Your heart is definitely racing.”

“What?” Marinette scoffs, “No way.”

Chloé exclaims, “Your ears are pink!” Then she lets out a scream in glee. “It’s definitely due to the capillaries dilating, meaning more blood is flowing through them because, as I said, your heart is racing! Come on, Marinette! And you call yourself a cardiac surgeon.” She slaps her arm again. “Look at you! Your body is immediately going through a defense mechanism to stop you from a fight-or-flight confrontation A.K.A. drilling you on what is going on with that hot, blond nurse of yours! Oh, my God, I sounded like I was referring to myself except that I’m a doctor!” She rambles on and Marinette could only shake her head and push herself off her seat. 

“Chloé,” she stands to refill her glass of water at the dispenser located at the corner of the office, “please don’t get too ahead of yourself and…” her words die down in her throat when she locks her eyes on the nameplate of a certain desk in the office. It’s not the nameplate that made her freeze in place, rather it was the name engraved on its wood. 

Luka Couffaine

Her heart dropped to her stomach the moment she silently read that name, thoughts of her idiot now replaced with a certain person that she still deeply cares for. 

“Marinette?” Chloé’s voice suddenly rings in her ears that Marinette had to blink and make sure where she was for a moment. 

The doctor faces her blonde colleague and with wide eyes, shakily points at the nameplate standing on the empty desk. “When was that placed?” She asks.

Chloé breathes out a quiet sigh and gazes at the nameplate before meeting Marinette’s eyes again, instantly softening her gaze, perhaps out of pity. “It’s been there since yesterday.”

“How come I did not notice?”

“I did not want to say anything. You were going to find out eventually.”

“Why is everything getting prepared so early?” Marinette breathes out the question. “He’s still arriving in two weeks.”

“I guess the administration wanted to prepare for him at an earlier time.” Chloé takes a step forward and rests a hand on top of Marinette’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” She asks in concern, her face contorted in worry. 

“Me?” Marinette scoffs and shakes her head, “Don’t worry about me. Of course I’m okay.”

The blonde doctor hums, deciding to not push her colleague any further. Though, one more question is making her ache to ask. “...Have you told your nurse?” she asks her quietly.

“I bet the other nurses have told him about the new head of the department-”

“I’m talking about your past, Mari,” Chloé interrupts her gently, squeezing her shoulder out of reassurance, “Does he know that the new head is someone...who means something to you?”

"No,” Marinette answers deadpanned, “and there is no reason to tell him.”

“But Mari-”

Marinette interjects harshly, “It’s not important to do so. Okay, maybe I’ve told him that I can’t naturally conceive, but Adrien does not need to know that I was engaged before. End of discussion.”

Chloé frowns at her colleague’s sudden yet expected strictness. “And what happens if he knows?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Marinette huffs and tears her gaze away from the nameplate to head to the water dispenser. 

------------

A week has passed and Adrien has shared at least seven kisses with the doctor. Not that he’s counting or something similar to that…

Now he, along with some of the free pediatric nurses, is preparing for Manon’s 12th birthday and he wants to make sure that everything goes according to plan. Doctor DC managed to get a vacant conference room they could use for the night of the party and decorate it to the fullest. A princess party is going to be held tonight and it’s going to be Manon’s best birthday yet. 

“Should I add more tiara cut-outs on this side of the wall, dude?” Nino asks Adrien, a pair of scissors on one hand and a half-finished tiara on the other. He uses the scissors to point at the pink paper tiaras randomly taped on the wall. 

Adrien hums in thought, looking at the same wall Nino is looking at. “Maybe two more on the right side,” he answers. “Then you can head to preparing the tables, especially those for the younger patients who will be coming tonight.”

Another specific thing that Manon requested: to invite the other stay-in patients of the pediatric ward to her party. 

“Got it, boss,” Nino says. 

Adrien smiles at his best friend as a sign of thanks and proceeds to head to the back part of the conference room which acts as a small break room. Usually, there is nothing inside except for an empty table, a chair, and a water dispenser. Now, there is the addition of a child mannequin wearing a simple pink gown with glitters constantly sparkling on its skirt befitting for a princess. Of course, what is a princess party without the celebrant wearing a princess gown? 

Yes, Adrien made sure to make a gown for Manon even if it did cost him a few sleepless nights. Seeing the finished product is all worth it. 

“I knew that you made a gown for her.” A familiar voice breaks him from his reverie and he turns to see Doctor DC leaning on the doorframe, her eyes on the gown as she smiles. 

“It’s my gift for Manon,” Adrien informs the doctor as he smiles back at her. “She might as well dress like a princess tonight, right? I just hope it fits her.”

“Why am I not surprised with what you did?” She walks to stand beside him and runs a finger through the skirt of the dress, making a bit of the glitter from it stick on her. 

“I think it’s because we’ve been working together for almost a year already. We know some particular things about each other.”

The doctor chuckles softly, “Yes, that would explain a lot. It’s crazy how time flies so fast.”

“Why are you here, though, doctor? The party starts in two hours, so you don’t have to be here yet.”

“I can’t check-up on how things are going?” Doctor DC asks, pouting at the nurse. He could not deny how cute she looks with her lips pursed in such a manner. It makes him want to lean in and place a kiss on her soft lips.

And that is what he does. 

He sneakily snakes an arm around her waist and brings her close, pressing merely a chaste kiss on her lips. The doctor is even too stunned to comprehend what the nurse just did. 

“W-What,” she sputters, causing the nurse to laugh before cupping her cheek with his other hand to kiss her again, deeper. The doctor also gets to return the kiss this time. 

They hold each other close, their lips moving and hearts beating rapidly against each other. Perhaps the way their lips have met caused them to go into a state of delirium, all kinds of rational thinking thrown out of the window as the temptation to not let each other go clouds their senses. 

The doctor feels the nurse smile into their kiss which makes her smile as well. She has not been kissed by a man in years. She finds it nice and comforting to be in his warm embrace. The way he cradles her face in his hand makes her feel like she is the most delicate thing in this world, and for once, she loves that feeling. 

The nurse slowly pulls away first and his eyes flutter open, seeing the euphoric daze written on the doctor’s face. He gives her a lopsided smile. “Sorry, I got carried away.” He unwraps his arms around her. 

She giggles softly. “You should get carried away more often. You literally took my breath away.” She cranes her neck to kiss the corner of his lips and utters, “I think you have some things you need to finish preparing. I’ll see you later, my nurse.” The doctor waves her hand and walks out of the breakroom just in time for the nurse to break off into the widest grin ever. 

Where in the world did he get that amount of bravery? He does not know and he doesn't care. What matters is that he gave her a breathtaking kiss, one that truly rendered her speechless. Thankfully, no one walked in to witness what was happening, at least it will be a memory shared only between the two of them. 

Now, what was he supposed to do? Ah, yes, finish with all the preparations!

After exactly two hours, the whole place was transformed into a birthday bash that Manon could not help to gush over the moment she walked into the room. Some of the nurses from the pediatrics and cardiology departments came to help out and Adrien made sure that they had crowns or tiaras on their heads. The young patients who arrived were also given their respective headpieces and some started to dance along to the music playing from the speakers while the rest talked excitedly to each other. 

Manon’s mother helped her into the gown and it almost made Adrien cry to see how it fits her. He had to make sure that it was not too tight around her chest area and that it was easy for her to walk with. His designer instinct has not let him down at all. 

The party started with a few simple games headed by the nurses and the children had so much fun working together as groups. It came to the point that everyone won the games and received different prizes. The hospital cafeteria also managed to prepare food for the children, making sure that the specific diets of some were followed. 

Some of the doctors who had free time on their hands would come by to watch the children, especially when they were still playing the party games. A few of the pediatricians stayed longer along with Doctors Chloé and DC. 

At one point in the evening, when people were almost done eating and some were dancing at the open space at the center of the conference room, Adrien spotted the doctor standing on her own by the table where they placed the game prizes on. He watches her smile and gazes lovingly at the children who are currently playing on their own or with the nurses and having the time of their lives. 

The music from a famous princess movie continues to play through the speakers and when the song changes into something like the waltz, the mellifluous rhythm fills the room and it prompts Adrien to go to the doctor. He takes one of the extra plastic tiaras lying on the table and gently places it on the doctor’s head. 

Doctor DC whips her head to the side in shock as she feels something on her head, but when she realizes that it’s just the nurse, she breathes out a sigh of relief. “What are you doing?” She asks, noting how the nurse looks very concentrated with his task of placing that thing on her head. 

“I’m placing a princess tiara on you,” he answers. "A princess should be treated well every day...and a knight should protect her forever." The nurse takes a step back to see if the tiara is fixed properly on the doctor’s neat hair.

Doctor DC smiles. “Are you saying that you’re my knight?”

“Yes, my lady,” Adrien utters in a sudden deep and dramatic voice before he bows before her. 

“My lady?!” She exclaims, “Where the heck did you get that?”

He instantly stands straight and admits warily, “...I thought you would like it.”

“Are you trying to act chivalrous?” The doctor furrows her eyebrows at him. 

“I...was just trying.”

“I disapprove of it.”

“Okay…” Adrien utters dejectedly, the thought of asking her to dance with him now gone as he feels that he ruined the night the two could have shared together. 

“Say it again,” she suddenly speaks out.

“Huh?”

“Say it again,” Doctor DC repeats in a louder voice as she throws a shy glance at him. “I might as well get used to it.”

Now, this makes Adrien smile at her. Without waiting any further, he takes a hold of her hand and drags her with him to an open area. “Dance with me, my lady.”

“What? N-Nurse, I don’t dance-”

"Oh, come on,” he interrupts her, his confidence slowly regaining. “I’ll lead. Don’t worry. You just need to hold my left hand and place this hand on my shoulder.” He guides her, gently moving and placing her arms on the designated areas of his body before he places an arm around her waist and the other holds her hand. 

The doctor does not avert her gaze, keeping it locked on the hand over the nurse’s shoulder. “Are they all watching us?” 

Adrien checks to see what’s going on with the others and to also place the doctor at ease. The children are still busy playing with the other nurses and even Doctor Chloé joins in with the fun. It’s only Nino who looks back at him and he sends a thumbs-up at Adrien. “No one is watching us, my lady,” Adrien replies, “No one would have to see how much of a klutz you are when it comes to dancing.”

She pouts at him. “You’re mean.”

Oh, the irony. Adrien laughs and then starts to slowly lead her into a dance. As he takes a step backward, she takes a step forward, and if he moves to his left, she moves to her right. “I see you’re getting the hang of it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I am,” the doctor breathes out happily. 

“One way to enjoy it though,” he whispers into her ear as they continue to dance even with the smallest of steps, “is to keep your eyes on your partner.” The doctor throws him an uncertain glance before looking back at his shoulder. “Trust me,” he cajoles, “Nothing will happen to you even if you keep your eyes on me.”

Doctor DC sets her lips in a tight line and huffs out a sigh before finally giving in, averting her gaze from his shoulder to meet his soft emerald eyes. 

“There,” Adrien whispers, grinning gently at her. “Now, I want you to relax a bit and allow me to let you go with the flow, okay?” And with that, he takes a risk with twirling her in place. Although Marinette took it as something she did not expect, she surprisingly twirled and landed back in his hold without tripping over her feet or losing her step. 

“Oh, my God,” she gasps, breaking off into a huge smile, “that wasn’t so bad.”

“It certainly wasn’t, my lady,” Adrien replies, still keeping up with his character. 

"You know what?” Marinette starts, gazing deep into his eyes, “I thought that I would not enjoy my job because of you. Ever since I took you in...I thought that I was just allowing myself to suffer." Adrien chuckles at that. "But for these past months,” she continues, “you oddly made every moment with you special. You make me feel...you make me feel worthwhile."

"Because you are, doctor."

"Yeah...I'm starting to feel it again because of you."

Adrien’s heart continues to flutter and it feels like he’s soaring high, like being on cloud nine. He truly likes the doctor, and perhaps it might be love already. If this is what love is, then he is ready to wholeheartedly accept it. 

“I actually have something for you at the office, Adrien. I got you a gift for a job well done. I’m sure the nurses can handle things with you gone. You want to come with me and get it?”

“You’re asking the knight to run away with the princess?”

Marinette giggles and nods. “Yes, as scandalous as it may sound. Come on!” She lets go of her hold on his shoulder and tugs him with her as they exit the conference room and walk together along the hospital corridors. 

They had to let go of their hold on each other the moment they were at one of the main corridors to respect the professional space of the hospital. Though, it did not stop them from laughing together and joking around with each other. 

They happily walk together and as they enter the cardiology department, the nurses’ station is the first place that greets them.

As Marinette is in the middle of laughing, she playfully pushes the nurse to the side and looks straight ahead of her again. Though this time, someone standing by the nurses’ station makes her stop dead in her tracks. 

Her voice immediately dies down in her throat as her body turns all rigid and cold. All the air was suddenly sucked out of her, it was getting hard to breathe, as if there was something constantly clawing at her lungs. 
 
It can’t be. It can’t be him. It was impossible for her to breathe properly anymore. She feels like she could pass out at any second by now.

Adrien instantly notices the quick change of mood in the doctor and the way she looks now is making him genuinely concerned. She does not look good. She looks like the sight before her has rendered her petrified.  He follows her gaze, landing on a tall and lean man with blue highlights on his hair talking to Nurses Mylene and Rose who have wide grins on their faces. 

“Oh, there she is!” Nurse Mylene suddenly announces, looking straight at where Marinette is standing, her mouth still agape. 

The man turns and smiles softly at Marinette. "Doctor Dupain-Cheng…,” he begins, his voice akin to a singer’s, smooth and sonorous, “I did not know that they baptized you with the name, 'DC'. I hope you don’t mind my surprise. It's great to see you again, Marinette.” Then he points a finger at the tiara she is still wearing. “That’s a cute tiara on your head."

"Luka..." Marinette murmurs, still in great shock and horror. She was not ready to see him this early. She needs more time to prepare herself. She can’t have him here at all. 

And Adrien heard what she said, loud and clear. 

No one had to spell it out for Adrien. He knew from the moment he saw the doctor's eyes lay on the man in front of them.

Doctor Couffaine is Marinette's ex-fiancé.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can now say that I am officially done with my 3rd year in college 😭 though, let's hope I pass. And in a month, I shall begin my Senior year!

Also, that score from The Princess Diaries is my favorite of all time, I knew I had to place it in the chapter 😭 my future husband better dance this with me 💖

I hope you liked this chapter :) and, i guess, sorry for the cliffhanger? Hahaha Thank you for waiting!

Next story that I'll update will be 'Keeping It Fair'.

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