-MARINETTE-

"Ow...ow...fuckiddy ow." Marinette breathed as she gripped on to Adrien's hand.

Adrien winced slightly as Marinette sat on Alya's bed.

"Do you want any more of the pain killers they prescribed you?" Adrien asked her with a grimace

Marinette shook her head hesitantly and looked at Adrian with an apologetic expression.
Marinette was feeling immense pain in her ribs and her heart felt heavy at how close she was to getting her son back but failed eminently.
Adrien could sense this as he looked down at her lap. He carefully grabbed her hand and kiss the top of her palm. Marinette looked up at him and sighed.

"Are you sure? You looked like you're in a lot of pain." He whispered, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips.

Marinette looked at him through narrow eyes her arms slowly folding as she tried to avoid any contact with her broken ribs.

"I know you want to laugh..." Marinette growled. "I still don't believe that I was drugged that bad." She sighed, looking away from him. " I doubt I said any of those things either." She said stubbornly and looked away from him.

Adrien laughed softly his brow raising as he looked at her with a shrug.

"Sweetheart, you were pretty adamant that you had a hamster, then you put your tongue in my ear when I fell asleep." He explained, a small laugh heaving from his chest while he explained.

Marinette shook, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Liar..." She huffed, her gaze still away from him.
Adrien laughed wearily.
"Trust me. I wish I was." He replied, his hand rubbing her shoulder.

Marinette sighed, slowly undoing her arms as she finally looked at Adrien.

"Adrien... Did you go back after finding me?" She asked, her heart dropping to more serious matters.

Adrien looked at her, his eyes moving off to the side in brief contemplation.
"Yeah...He was gone by the time I went back." He explained.
Marinette slumped her shoulders. They were going for far too long without their little one.

"I was...so close..." Marinette sighed, she really wanted to believe that, although deep down she felt as if she couldn't be more wrong.
She clenched her fists and looked up at Adrien, attempting to fight back tears.
"H-How'd you know I was in trouble?" Marinette asked with a gulp, her hands shaking slightly.

Adrien continued to give her a blank expression.
"I didn't...I just was there..." Adrien sighed. "You see...that area held a lot of memories for me." Adrien explained, shifting his weight.

"We went on our first actual date. You confessed to me about Louis...and I admitted that I liked you." He spoke softly.
Marinette's eyes latched on to his.
"I was just walking by with Nino, when I heard you scream... Nino took cover and called Alya, and I went after you."

Marinette cringed at the memory. To be fully honest with herself, she missed Nathanaël. She missed how gentle and caring he was. This monster that came to be just wasn't him, and she would do everything in her power to get him back.

Adrien rubbed her shoulder, pulling her out of her trance.

"It'll be okay, Marinette." He whispered, a small smile on his face.
Marinette chuckled half heartedly. She shook her head as she wiped a stray tear from her eye.
"Your stupid smile makes me mad. I could just hit you. " She laughed nervously through her tears.
Adrien chuckled, angling his jaw with a confident grin.
"Take your best shot." He stated proudly.

Marinette glared at him, as he waited. With a deep sigh, she swallowed hard and clenched her fist.
With a concentrated expression, her hardened fist became proximal with his jaw line.

With a smirk, Marinette kissed her fist and lightly tapped his face.
Adrien breathed out a small laugh.
Marinette looked sheepishly at him, cracking a small smile.
"Was that the best you got?" He teased. "Could use a little work."

Marinette giggled softly, playfully hitting his chest.
"How can you smile at a time like this?" She breathed, as she took his face into her hands.

Adrien hummed as he touched her hand that lay over his cheeks.
"Because sweetie, I've realized something. We have an entirely new team." He said delicately.

Marinette slowly scrunched up her face, as her hands carefully lifted from his face.
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.

As if on cue, the bedroom door slightly opened.
Marinette carefully looked up.
Alya poked her head inside before hesitantly slipping inside, Nino was behind her with a nervous smile.
Marinette looked at Adrien, her eyes now focusing on a small black kwami sitting on Adrien's shoulders.

She jumped slightly as Tikki pressed herself into Marinette's neck thoughtfully.

Alya thoughtfully crouched down, touching Marinette's leg with a touching smile.

"We're all a team." Alya spoke softly. "We're going to help you and Adrien get Louis back."

Marinette felt her chest grow warm. She could feel her foolish smile spread upon her lips. She couldn't stop the variety of emotions that began to swarm inside of her.
But the most strongest one she felt was relief. All this time she felt that her and Adrien were in on it alone, but she was wrong.

Marinette slowly reached out, carefully taking Alya's face into her hands.
"Thank you..." She breathed, leaning forward, and kissing her friend firmly on the the forehead before the two hugged carefully.

Adrien carefully cut in.
"If we want to start anything, Marinette you have to make sure you're in good shape to fight. It's obvious that Nathanaël is a lot more stronger than the last time." He explained

Marinette carefully pulled away from Alya.
"How do we start?" She asked, slightly wincing.

Adrien looked at her apprehensively. "Well, you're obviously in pain. Go easy on yourself, Marinette." He sighed.

Marinette looked down at her lap with a grimace.
"Do I have to?" she groaned, slightly throwing her head back.

Adrien shrugged.
"I mean... No. But if you're into pain, go ahead." He teased.
Marinette looked at him with a glare.
Alya giggled softly, taking Nino's hand.

888

Marinette lay back in the bed, the pillows propping her up only slightly. She held her eyes closed, as her hands remained laying atop one another right at her belly button.
She remained expressionless as the moon light began to glow against the soft contours of her face.

Adrien crouched down beside her, his hands slowly rubbing against the top of her head.

Although Marinette was under the influence of painkillers, it wasn't enough to dumb her down completely, but it did calm her down and reduce pain significantly.

Adrien slowly traced his fingers down the cross of her bangs delicately.

Marinette opened her eyes, the edges of them were pink and she carefully looked at Adrien.

"It hurts..." She breathed, her face growing weary.
Adrien softly grabbed her hand, kissing the top of it gently.

"What hurts? Your ribs?" He asked curiously, his thumb carefully rubbing her skin.

Marinette sighed, her fingers lacing with his softly as she carefully brought his hand to her chest.

"This hurts more than anything." She spoke softly, her eyes closing.
Adrien looked at her solemny.

Adrien could feel her heart beat softly under his palm. She breathed evenly, her eyes closing slowly as she relaxed under his touch.
"Mine too..." He breathed, leaning over to kiss her head.
Marinette hummed her eyes remaining closed.
Adrien looked up just as the bedroom door opened.
An array of light from the hallway caused Marinette to wince.

Adrien carefully looked up trying to focus on the shadow that emanated from within it.

Alya looked at Adrien with a weary smile.
"We need you." She whispered, attempting to be considerate to Marinette.

Adrien nodded, quickly turning his head to kiss Marinette before he stood up, following Alya thoughtfully.

Adrien closed the door behind him, and followed Alya down to the first story of her home.

Nino sat at the table within the kitchen, a sheet of paper with a few scribbles in front of him.

Alya sighed as she pulled out a chair.
"Have a seat." She murmured softly.
Adrien complied, his head aching as he sat beside Nino. Alya sat across from him, carefully taking the sheet from Nino.

"So I've been thinking..." Alya spoke. "That Marinette really needs to heal as quickly as she can, because she's the bait."

Adrien raised a brow, briefly looking at Nino before turning his gaze back to Alya's.

"Bait?" He mused, his hand slowly rubbing at the nape of his neck.

Alya nodded with a subtle smile.
"Yes. Nathanaël seems to only appear when she's around. Am I right? Instead of hiding her from him, we need her to be in plain sight. He needs to show up. That's what we want. We use Marinette as the bait, Nino and I will keep a look out, you go in for the attack..." She explained, her eyes looking at Adrien before continuing.
"Nino will stay close by to help aid Marinette somewhere private so she can transform."

Adrien rubbed his chin, his eyes trailing off of Alya as they remained on the table.

"That's when you distract him, you fight him until Marinette can return to you. I'll stay close by to get the baby so you two can finish him off." Alya finished thoughtfully.

"Sounds like it could work..." Adrien sighed.

"But how do we know he'll bring the baby?" Nino interjected, his brow raised.
Adrien looked at Alya expectantly.

Alya remained silent, she touched her chin thoughtfully before she spoke again.
"We don't...we just have to hope and pray that he does." Alya replied truthfully.

Adrien sighed, his muscles aching. His mouth immediately feeling dry.

"The best you could do is taunt him into doing so." Alya added.

Adrien rubbed his temples as Nino hunched forward. The night was adjust drawing to a close, and every single one of them were growing more and more tired by the minute.

"I'm worried that Marinette won't be safe. I don't need her breaking anymore bones." Adrien sighed. "I want to be sure that I'm close by so that if he does make an unexpected attack I'll be there." Adrien explained.

Nino nodded in agreement, slightly humming in thought before he looked at Adrien.

"It's really understandable man." He chided in. "But Marinette is a smart girl. I feel like she could mostly handle well on her own."

Adrien looked at Nino wearily and rubbed his arm.
"So then I guess it's settled." Adrien sighed. "Where do we set this up?" He asked as Alya slowly started to slide the paper over to him.

"At the Notre Dame." She replied. "Each dot is where each of us should be positioned."

Adrien examined the paper. He knew Nino was right. Marinette was a smart strong willed girl who could handle much of her own, but something about having her smack right in the center for Nathanaël's attack made him nervous. He knew it was all in good terms to get their son back, but he couldn't help but to worry about the outcomes and how the whole thing would play out.

He looked up as Alya touched his arm.

"Relax, Adrien. If you just take a deep breath, and focus...it'll run smoothly. No one will get hurt, and you will have your son back." She assured before she leaned back into her chair, her hand carefully pulling away from Adrien's arm.

"Ultimately, our goal is to get Louis. He needs to be returned to me safe and sound while you guys capture Nathanaël's akuma." Alya summarized.
Nino nodded, his eyes blinking eerily slow and a small yawn escaped his lips.
Alya looked at him and then at Adrien before she carefully pushed out her chair.
"I guess we can conclude this for now. We all could use some sleep." Alya spoke, watching Nino slip from his chair.
Nino made no plans to go home as he brushed by Alya and began to fumble with the couch.
Adrien followed suit, helping her pull out the decent sofa bed inside.

Nino kicked off his shoes as he sunk into the bed, a low groan sunk through the sheets as he remained still.

Alya folded her arms thoughtfully, chucking at the exhaustion Nino was sporting as he had no strength to get up and dress the bed for sleep.

Alya's eyes carefully trailed up to Adrien who stood beside her with a much more pale complexion. He almost looked green from what Alya could see.

"Is everything alright?" She asked with concern, touching Adrien's shoulder lightly.

Adrien hummed in response, looking at her with a weary smile.

"Yeah...I'm just thirsty." He explained, his mouth was getting a bit dry.

Alya nodded.
"We have some cups in the cabinet. In the fridge we have water, soda and juice. Take your pick." She sighed.

"I'm gonna go shower." She added on, her eyes trailing off to the side. "Get some rest, Adrien." She said, looking at him briefly before she scooted past him. He could hear her footsteps drowning out as she did her business.

It hadn't dawned on Adrien until now of how incredibly stressful the situation was. It also just dawned to him of how long Louis had been missing.

Adrien looked down at Nino with a soft chuckle as he began to snore immensely. Adrien went to the cabinet to retrieve a cup as Alya had instructed.
He carefully opened the fridge, his eyes weighing his options. He paused as his eyes caught a large bottle of NUAGE.
Adrien sighed, his muscles aching. It looked like it hadn't been opened yet, and Adrien was sure that it belonged to Alya's mother.
He was desperate, but to actually consider drinking it to drown out noise in his head as completely unacceptable...or was it? Adrien could remember a few times when he's heard of such thing being used to numb one's senses. While his parents were out, one nanny in particular used that very same tactic.
She had even struck Adrien once or twice while under the influence, it didn't seem to bother her any.
Adrien, being a mindless four year old didn't have the developed communication skills to inform his parents, so she simply stuck to that method until she was eventually fired for stealing.
That memory was carefully pushed to the back of his head as he glanced at the bottle one more. He sighed, his body feeling worse than it had ever been. Having remembered that only brought his stress levels up.
Was he that desperate to drink it raw?
Would Alya's mom be mad if he took some? Or maybe just a little bit more than just some?

"I'll just buy her another one." Adrien murmured, reaching for the bottle and breaking it's seal.

000000

-MARINETTE-

Marinette slowly opened her eyes. The pale moonlight casted an eerie glow to her skin.
She wasn't sure how long she was asleep, but by the night sky she could tell that it wasn't that long.
She carefully dabbed at the sweat on her forehead, her chest rising and falling evenly.
She could still feel that she was slightly drugged and the pain in her ribs were dull.
She looked up carefully as Adrien slid into the room silently. He closed the door behind him slowly as to not make a sound.

"Is everything okay with Alya?" Marinette asked in a curious whisper.
Adrien looked up at her sharply, almost as if he was expecting her to still be sleeping.
He gave her a weary smile and nodded.

"Y-yeah. Everything's fine." He assured in a breathy voice as he staggered slightly to the edge of the bed.
Marinette gave him a strange look as she raised a brow.
"Adrien? Are you okay?" She asked timidly.

Adrien hummed, briefly turning to look at her before nodding.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He assured.
"How are your r-ribs feeling?" He asked, slightly turning away.
Marinette rubbed her arms, as her nose flicked, picking up a scent that she was all too familiar with since that party with Nathanaël.

"Adrien...please don't tell me you're drunk..." Marinette breathed softly, looking at Adrien with a grimace. In all of her years of knowing him, this was the first time she had ever known him to lay a finger on alcohol.
She carefully shifted attempting to pull Adrien on the bed with her.
Instead she sat with her legs criss crossed on the side as Adrien struggled to fully climb on the bed.

"Adrien...I'm worried." Marinette breathed as Adrien sat on the bed in front of her.
He waved his hand dismissively as he gave her a drunken and unsure grin.
"No, no. It's okay, I'll pee it out, later." Adrien assured, almost toppling over before Marinette grabbed him.
She placed her hand on his face, moving it so that he was looking at her.

"Adrien..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at him with a grimace. She parted her lips slightly to speak but was cut off the moment he started to speak.

"M-Marinette. I want to marry you..." He spoke with a slight slur as he touched her waist.
Marinette's eyes widened, that statement totally catching her off guard. She could almost feel her heart pound painfully in her ribcage had they not been numb at that very moment.
"W-what?" She asked, her thumb brushing against his cheek.

"I-I mean..." Adrien breathed, shifting his weight as he remained in close proximity to her. "You want to marry me, too...right?"
Marinette shuddered, as his breath touched her lips. She couldn't help but to inwardly shake her head with disappointment as she could smell the alcohol laced heavily in his breath.

"Of course I do..." She responded looking into his eyes briefly before she sighed in sadness. "But we need Louis back first."

Adrien nodded, his eyes closing as he mindlessly kissed her. Marinette was taken back from the sudden kiss. She could taste the alcohol in his mouth, and for a moment she worried if it was safe with her being on medicine.
After a brief moment of short "ands, ifs, or buts" Marinette carefully returned the kiss. The kiss remained where it was, it didn't deepen or lessen as their lips surprisingly held their own for two people under the influence.

Adrien parted the kiss sloppily, as his head dropped immediately. Marinette gasped catching his head with a slight giggle.

"Adrien..." She breathed. He hummed drunkenly as he pressed his face into her chest.
Marinette sighed, carefully running her fingers through his hair. She'd occasionally kiss the top of his head softly.
At this point, she could already count off the tips of her fingers the stress that he was under. It was immense enough to make him consider drinking.
Marinette carefully angled his face, kissing his forehead softly.
"We'll be okay..." She breathed, her hands carefully dropping to the nape of his neck.

Adrien carefully wrapped his arms around her firmly, his head still resting against her chest carefully.

"C-can you do something for me?" He hiccuped softly, lifting his head to look at her.

Marinette took his face into her hands as she looked at him with a soft smile.

"What is it, my love?" She whispered, her thumbs brushed against his cheeks as they breathed evenly.

"When we're married...just...don't put olives in the spaghetti...it just ruins great taste." He sighed.
Marinette looked at him, her head shaking as she erupted into a small fit of laughter.
Adrien looked at her solemnly.
"I'm serious...you've no idea how many times I had to waste a plate of spaghetti because of... Olives." He groaned, his face scrunching up at the last word.

Marinette giggled, her hands capturing his face and bringing his head to her lips.

"Okay, I won't put olives in the spaghetti." She assured.
Adrien hummed, and leaned into her, pulling her small frame into his lap.
Marinette gasped as she was brought onto him.
He carefully buried his face into her neck. He breathed against her skin as he kept her in a comfortable embrace.
Marinette slowly ran her fingers through his hair, as she relaxed against him.

"Good kitty..." She teased.
Adrien tensed against her, his shoulders shuddering slightly before he relaxed against her.
Marinette immediately pulled away to look at him.

"You better not throw up on me...or I'll take back my promise and put olives in the spaghetti. That way you'll be forced to watch me and Louis fill our tummies with so much spaghetti!" She teased.
Adrien chucked, leaning up to level his face with hers thoughtfully.

He placed his hand firmly on the nape of her neck.
"You have my word." He breathed, leaning in to carefully seal the deal with a firm yet sweet kiss.

A/N: .... This one was just awful. I'm so sorry guys. Haha I'm under insane stress and wanted to get something out there. I'll do better next time! I promise.