Operation isn't just a game

Adrien stood in front of the Dupain bakery with an umbrella as he waited. It had been just over two weeks since Marinette had gone off to undergo her SRS, and it took about a week and a half for her to recover at the hospital before she could come home. Before she went she was obviously nervous and excited at the same time. He could still remember how tightly she hugged him right before her parents drove her to the hospital. As of today it marked one year and a month of HRT, and Adrien made preparations for her return home. He had dozens of blankets and heating pads as well as ice bags on hand. Her favorite ice cream was in the freezer and he had an endless amount of movies to watch with her.

He smiled when he saw the familiar car pull up to the curb and stop in front of him. The blond waved at Tom and Sabine in the front seats and opened the side door. Marinette sat with a tired look on her face and an ice bag wedged between her legs. An exhausted smile spread across her face when she saw her boyfriend and moved to unbuckle her seat belt.

"Welcome home, princess," he greeted and held out his hand to help her. The rain pelted down on the umbrella and the cold ground. She accepted his hand and gingerly moved to face him.

"Thanks…although I don't really feel like a princess," she grunted and slowly pulled herself out of the vehicle. Her parents had gotten out of the car and held the umbrella for Adrien as he helped her out of the car. Sabine grabbed her bag and Tom closed the door behind her as the boy helped Marinette limp to the front door. Once they were all inside the warm and dry bakery they had to get her upstairs to the house part of the building. She struggled with the stairs, but made it up to the living room. Adrien slowly lowered her down to the couch and smiled at her.

"How do you feel?" He asked. She groaned and shook her head.

"It hurts a lot…I feel like I'm dead," she whined. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"I'm sure it'll feel better the longer you rest," he assured her sat down on the edge of the couch.

"Mm…what happened in school? Did I miss a lot? How's Alya and Nino?" She mumbled.

"Not a lot happened. Alya made sure to keep track of all your homework and assignments and I'm always available to help you catch up. Nino is good, and Alya wanted to be here but she had to finish a project for school. All the teachers excused you from big projects like the principal said they would when you and your parents went in to talk with him," he told her. She sighed and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks, Adrien. You're so sweet," she sighed and closed her eyes.

"Are you hungry, Marinette? Your dad and I can make you some lunch," Sabine offered.

"I'm a little hungry, I can wait a little longer," she replied and blinked up slowly at her mother.

"Okay, you go ahead and relax with Adrien while your father and I go shopping for some ingredients for tonight," she said and kissed her daughters forehead.

"What's tonight?" She questioned.

"It's a surprise! To celebrate your survival," she grinned and pinched her cheek. Marinette giggled.

"Okay, see you soon," she muttered.

"Rest well, sweetheart," Sabine bid farewell and left the two of them on the couch. She joined Tom as they grabbed their coats and headed out the door.

"Bye bye! See you soon!" they called. Adrien waved goodbye and then they were gone. He looked down at Marinette and smile tugged at his lips.

"So, besides the pain. How do you feel mentally?" He asked. She hummed for a moment and sighed.

"I feel…better. I feel like this was necessary," she smiled weakly and leaned her head back on the arm rest.

"That's good. Do you need another ice pack?" He inquired. She nodded and handed him the slightly warm one she got from the hospital and he fetched her a new one from the freezer. When he returned she moved to sit up and happily accepted the bag from his hand.

"Thank you so much. I dunno why but I did not expect it to hurt so much after this long," she said and returned the soothing ice over her crotch. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.

"You can handle it. You're the strongest girl I know," he replied as she lazily draped her arms around his neck. She hummed and smiled.

"Mmm…you think so?"

"I know so."

"Well, maybe you should reward the strongest girl you know with a real kiss since her parents just left," she whispered and lightly ran her fingers through his hair. He grinned before finally pressing his lips against hers and dragging it out before kissing her again. She smiled against his lips and added her tongue in attempts to tease him. Of course it worked and he deepened the kiss until he hand her pinned against her couch and her thighs between his knees. He was careful not to put any pressure on her lap while he thoroughly expressed just how much he missed her with his mouth. In the end it was her who pulled back gasping for breath and leaving Adrien to stare down at her with lust. He had kept his hands chastely cupping her face, but they both knew he would rather be touching her some where else.

"I missed you," he breathed and rested his forehead against hers.

"I missed you too…but this is kinda hurting me," she informed him.

"Oh fuck, really? I'm sorry, let me get off of you," he said and removed himself from her couch. She giggled and snagged his hand with hers as she pulled his head back down to kiss him sweetly.

"Don't worry. It just means you're too good at kissing," she assured him. He laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Thanks. Do you wanna watch a movie or something?" He asked.

"A movie sounds good. Maybe 'The Chorus'? That one always makes me smile," she suggested. He nodded and turned to her TV.

"You got it," he replied and turned it on.

He sat down in the spot next to her and they shifted around until she found a comfortable position that brought the least amount of pain. Adrien ended up with his back against the arm rest and Marinette snuggled up between his legs and her back rested on his lower abdomen. Her ice bag sat comfortably and she sighed with contentment once they got settled and rested her head on his chest. His arms wrapped around her affectionately and he kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad you're home. I was starting to go crazy looking over two Kwami's. Thankfully the Akuma's have been on the DL, but I dunno how Ladybug is gonna save the day when she can only limp," he informed her. She laughed.

"Maybe I can just limp over and wait while you kick their butts and use my lucky charm from the corner."

"Or maybe you can just throw rocks at them and distract them. Then you can just cleanse the Akuma and waddle away to de-transform before the media comes to interview you," he teased with a chuckle. She laughed again.

"I think we can make that work. How is Tikki by the way?" She asked.

"She's sleeping upstairs. I gave her a bunch of cookies and she went on a sugar high before crashing. Call me selfish, but I wanted you all to myself when you first got home," he told her and nuzzled against her neck. She giggled and reached back to return his affection.

"Please be as selfish as you want," she encouraged and turned her head over her shoulder to met his lips with a kiss.

"Mm…I'm okay with this. This is the extent of my selfishness for today," he replied and accepted her string of kisses.

"Well I'm wondering whether or not we're gonna address the elephant in the room or not," she mumbled against his lips. He pulled back and knitted his brows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"Are you really asking that? You were just on top of me ten minutes ago," she reminded him. He blushed.

"Oh…y-you mean…"

"When I can have sex. Yeah that's the elephant," she confirmed with a flirtatious smile. He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.

"I-I wasn't exactly thinking about that because I assumed it would be a while…because…yeah," he stammered. She kissed his cheek and patted his head.

"The doctor said 3-4 months post op. You're welcome," she informed him. He rolled his eyes and playfully stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'm not like obsessed with having sex with you, y'know? I like other things about you too," he muttered and hugged her tighter.

"Mm-hmm. Sure you do."

"C'mon, Mari, you know we've never actually had sex. You were never completely comfortable with yourself, and I respected that. It's not like I'm counting down the days," he said seriously. She sighed and nodded.

"Yeah I know. Thank you for being so patient for me. I know that you want to do it, but I really wanna do it too," she murmured and nuzzled against his neck. His face turned pink. Sure they had pushed boundaries before and he knew that the only thing that was holding her back was her anatomy, but hearing her say that she actually wanted to really did a number on him.

"Y-yeah?"

"Yeah…it was hard sometimes telling you no because sometimes I just really really wanted you," she sighed and kissed his neck. Adrien shivered and subconsciously tightened his grip around her.

"Mari…c-careful," he warned. She ignored him and instead continued kissing at his skin.

"I missed you a lot, Adrien. I really really missed you," her hot breath hit his skin and erected goosebumps over his skin.

"I missed you too…but maybe calm down a little, o-okay?" He stuttered. She let off his neck and sighed.

"Okay, but only because I don't wanna drive you too crazy," she teased. He nodded and snuggled closer to her.

"We can get to that stuff later. Until then we can just chill and watch movies while you heal," he said and buried his nose in her hair. The smell was intoxicating and the texture was just as soft as he remembered. She nodded, mindful of how close he was, and yawned.

"Maybe take some naps too…"

"That's a good idea, my lady," he said. She hummed and closed her eyes. The two of them slowly drifted off to sleep while the movie continued to play. When Tom and Sabine returned home they smiled at the two of them and gently covered them with a blanket. They let them sleep and started on Marinette's surprise dinner while the movie ran out and they snuggled closer.