Adrien sighed at the thought of having to cancel another evening with Marinette due to another work meeting. Luckily, she had called to let him know that she had made plans with Alya. It made him feel a little less guilty, but no less annoyed. Still, he understood the responsibilities of his position and couldn't slack in that area of his life.
The thing that bothered him the most about days like today was that fact that there were large gaps of down time. He had to make his day long due to how meetings and work all lined up, but if they had been back to back he could have been off doing more important things with the rest of his day.
At the moment, he was sitting in his office with a notebook on his desk. He held a pencil in his right hand, lightly tapping it on the desktop. He had answered all of his work emails and was waiting for whatever meeting or crazy emergency he had to tend to.
Adrien had the very daunting task of planning out the big date. He'd had all sorts of grand plans over the years for when she'd finally agree. Some of which were made before he even knew her alter-ego.
One of the grandest he had thought of had been a romantic night on the top of the Eiffel tower. Getting a view of the city that only they could attain due to their superhero status. There had also been the one in front of the grand window at Notre Dame. Still, those had been the unattainable dreams of a teenage fanboy.
He smiled to himself. If he had known who his lady was while they had still been protecting the city, he would have been serenading her from her balcony every night. At least, he'd liked to think so. The thought itself sparked and idea in him and he began to furiously write down some notes. When he had finished, he looked proudly at his plan. He had a few calls to make, but he was sure Marinette would love it.
Marinette stepped out of the building's front doors, her shoulders physically sagged with relief. She blew out a puff of air that traveled up the front of her face and caused her bangs to fly up.
She looked around for Alya and realized she wasn't sure what she should be looking for. As she was scanning the area, she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Marinette whirled around in surprise to see Alya behind her, smiling and holding two helmets.
"Are you ready?" Alya used her head to point down the road. "I'm parked up the street."
Marinette took the offered helmet and followed her friend. Parked just out of the way of traffic was a purple Vespa. Alya Jumped on first and smiled back at Marinette.
"Jump on, and don't forget to put on that helmet." She made the statement as she placed her own over her head.
Marinette followed suit and jumped on behind Alya. As soon as the motor started, Marinette squeaked and wrapped her arms around Alya's waist.
"Adrien's not going to get jealous, is he?" Alya took a quick glance at Marinette before pulling into traffic.
To say that Alya was a reckless driver would not have been wholly accurate. Technically, she obeyed all of the rules of the road, but she moved between other vehicles so quickly that Marinette decided keeping her eyes shut was the only possible way to avoid dying of a heart attack on their way to the hospital.
She kept her tight grip on Alya until the motor shut off, and their arrival was announced.
"We're here."
Marinette extricated herself from Alya's waist and made a slow dismount. She handed her helmet over and Alya placed them both into a compartment under the seat. Marinette followed her lead through the path to Alix's room. Jalil was standing outside of the door waiting for them.
Marinette had never had much contact with Jalil outside of the Pharoh incident, so she didn't know much about his general character. Still, his nervous pacing conveyed the deep concern he carried for his sister's well-being.
Jalil jerked his head in their direction when he heard their footsteps approaching.
"You brought someone?" He looked Marinette up and down, then offered his hand. "I'm sorry, while you do look familiar, I can't quite remember your name."
"Marinette." She took his hand and shook it lightly. "I was in the same class with Alix, you and I have met a few times, but I can understand how hard it is to keep track of names."
She released his hand and he smiled at her with a nod, then turned his attention to Alya.
"Can we talk privately for a second?"
"Sure, Marinette, can you hang out here?" Alya accepted Marinette's silent nod and stepped off to the side with Jalil.
"You forgot to mention you were bringing someone." He wasn't mad, just concerned.
"Crap." She punched herself in the forehead. "I knew I forgot to do something. I'm really sorry. I never expected her to go in, we've just been out of touch for a while, and we're just starting to reconnect. I've really stepped over the line."
"No, it's fine." He looked a little disappointed. "I was kind of hoping you'd tell me she's the one that wrote the post."
"Oh, I didn't even think about that."
"It's been a long day for all of us." He started to push her back toward the room.
As they approached, they saw Marinette speaking with an older female nurse that had exited the room.
"Oh, it looks like they're back." Marinette pointed to the returning duo.
"What's going on?" Jalil asked.
"She's steady today. She's actually said a few words here and there, mostly asking when you were coming back." The nurse responded.
"Sorry about earlier." He hung his head. "I kind of got excited."
"As much as it was against policy, it's the most improvement she's shown since coming here." The nurse admitted. "So, we'll overlook it, this time. She's prepped for a visit."
The silver haired woman walked away to leave them to themselves.
"I'm going to go in and see if she's willing to talk with you, Alya." He turned to Marinette. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask that you stay out here. She reacts really strongly to a lot of people and I don't want to upset her. Maybe another time?"
"I understand." She nodded and sat down in a chair that lined the hallway. He looked to Alya.
"I can't even guarantee she'll talk to you, but at the very least, you could text me questions, and we might be able to make something come of this."
"Sounds like a plan." Alya nodded and waited as Jalil stepped into the room.
As usual, the room was very dark. The only light to see by came from the monitors she was hooked into. The mask over her eyes prevented any of that from leaking into her vision.
It broke Jalil's heart to see his sister reduced to this. Her level of spunky was once unrivaled. Everything about her emitted energy. He could never remember a time where she had stood still. Looking at her now, having known that version of her, he felt as if he were looking at a drained battery that happened to be shaped like his sister.
Still, a big difference stood out today. She was sitting straight up, and her attention seemed to be in his direction. This was a huge change from the slumped over unresponsiveness he had grown accustomed to her wearing.
"Hey." He said cautiously.
"It's just you?" Her voice cracked from misuse, but the confusion was clear.
"Alya's outside. If you're up for it, she wants to ask you some questions."
"No." She shook her head gently. "Not Alya. I know her voice. I heard someone talking to the nurse. They sounded familiar, but didn't cause an attack."
"Oh." Jalil was surprised by this. "Do you remember Marinette?"
Alix stiffened at the name.
"Marinette." She whispered. Her voice so low, it was almost inaudible.
Alya paced up and down the hallway, trying to figure out what kind of questions to ask Alix. She had checked in at lunch with Nino, but he didn't have anything that would actually be useful to them, yet. She knew he would call if anything came up, still it didn't make her any less nervous.
Marinette sat with her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. Her eyes followed Alya's repetitive path. She was beginning to feel like the black kit-cat clock Adrien had placed on her kitchen wall. The only thing she needed was a tail to swing in the opposite direction from where her eyes traveled.
The buzz of Alya's cell interrupted the tense air of the hallway. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone. As she flicked on the screen to check the text, Marinette watched as Alya's face shifted from one of concern to one of utter surprise.
Alya's eyes slowly moved from the screen to Marinette's.
"She wants to talk to you."