Pouring herself a cup of tea, Sabrina let out a calming breath and looked around her counseling office, taking in the homy atmosphere. When she had first agreed to work for the Agreste Charity as a counselor, she had assumed that most of her clients would be coming to her from the Charity's rehab centers, and that she would be seeing them on the first floor at the rehab center. She had expected a few heroes to come to her, of course – how many other counselors could Alya really talk to about the stress of having to essentially live a double life as both the Ladyblogger and Rena Rouge, one of Ladybug's closest allies? Who else could understand Kim's anxiety over how much he worried Ondine when he stayed out too late on patrol? What counselors could Hoda even visit, being an alien living on a strange planet? And Sabrina was all too happy to give back to the others, to thank them for accepting her back, even after what had happened in Angola.

Still, she hadn't expected to spend the majority of her time counseling heroes. With the disruptions to the Lynchpin's drug-running operation, the number of people entering the various rehab centers for help had skyrocketed in the weeks immediately following their last sting operation, though the rehab centers' populations had stabilized recently. Lately, it seemed as though Sabrina spent more of her time in this office, visiting with the Heroes of Paris and others, than she did in the rehab center downstairs. Not that she would ever complain about the opportunity to work in the more comfortable surroundings of her office, instead of the relatively-sterile rehab center.

Even before the knock came at the door, Sabrina had already gotten up from the small kitchen table and walked into the waiting room, stopping in front of the door. "It's open!" she called cheerfully, as Nooroo flitted down from his accustomed perch on the shelf above the window to land on her shoulder.

Slowly, the door opened, and Adrien and Marinette walked through, looking around the waiting area expectantly. Sabrina smiled warmly, greeting Marinette with a hug before offering the same to Adrien. "It's good to see you!" Sabrina told them fondly. "I know it's been a while since the wedding – and I've seen you both since then – but I haven't seen you both together. Would you like some tea? I just made a fresh pot."

Marinette nodded eagerly, moving around Sabrina in the direction of the kitchen. "Of course!" Grabbing a couple cups out of the cabinet, she poured some for herself and Adrien. "How is the remodeling going?" she asked, handing Adrien his tea.

"A lot better, after you and Chloe and Zoe helped out," Sabrina assured her, smiling. "We've got all the furniture in the right places – Max and I even started getting the nursery set up, though we're still missing a few things."

"I'm sure you'll have everything you need after the baby shower!" Marinette answered, smirking impishly.

Sabrina gave her a suspicious look. "You and Chloe had better not…"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Who, us?" she asked, a little too innocently. She grinned. "But by the time we're done, you will absolutely have whatever you need for this baby."

"We already have just about everything we need for this baby."

"Which is not the same as everything."

Looking back and forth between them, Adrien frowned, though his emotions betrayed amusement. "Why is it that the two of you have gotten to meet Chloe's surprise-sister, but I still haven't?" he demanded.

Marinette quirked an eyebrow at him. "Maybe because someone put off the company's quarterly reports to the last minute…" she teased.

He made a face. "It's not my fault they didn't get done while we were on our honeymoon," he grumbled. "I told them to have the financial report finished by the time we got back, but the accounting department dragged their feet."

Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh?"

"They were missing a couple of figures from the American distributor," he allowed. "But they could have had everything else ready to go."

Marinette shrugged. "It got finished in time, one way or the other. Maybe next week we should invite Chloe and Zoe over to the Mansion for dinner," she suggested.

"We can do that. I think Mom would enjoy meeting Chloe's sister, too!"

Sabrina raised an eyebrow at them in amusement. "Well, now that that's taken care of, I guess we're finished for now! So, are you going to pay with cash or check?"

Marinette stifled a giggle. "I'm still not sure why you asked us to come, though," she admitted, furrowing her brows and failing to hide her confusion. "Are you afraid we're in trouble, or something?"

"Nothing of the sort," Sabrina assured her smoothly, giving her a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to see how things are going. You had your wedding almost a month ago; you've been married close to five months. By now, some of the 'newness' of it should be starting to wear off. So, you should start finding more of those little points of friction in your relationship – the things that were cute and endearing when you first moved in together and first were married, but now they are starting to annoy you."

Adrien glanced at Marinette, raising an eyebrow dubiously. "I mean, I think we're doing pretty well. Right, Bug?"

Marinette nodded, leaning into his side. "I don't really think there's anything Adrien does that annoys me. Although I do occasionally need at least a little space…" she added under her breath, giving him an affectionate nudge in the ribs.

Adrien pursed his lips, his brows furrowed.

Sabrina quirked an eyebrow at them and smiled, as Nooroo glanced pointedly at Tikki and Plagg, and the three Kwamis disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. "Why don't we go into the office and talk a bit?" Sabrina suggested.

Adrien sighed. "Fine."

Once they were situated, Sabrina placed a new sheet on her clipboard and leaned forward, glancing back and forth between them. "So, where should we start? Marinette, you mentioned that you sometimes would appreciate a little more space?"

Marinette shrugged. "It's nothing major. Adrien's two main love languages are gifts and physical touch," she explained. "And that's a good thing! I love gifts – giving and receiving. And I love the physical intimacy, too, don't get me wrong. I enjoy spending quality time together, just cuddling on the couch. Some nights, the only reason I can sleep is because Adrien is right there next to me."

"But…" Sabrina prompted, raising an expectant eyebrow.

Marinette sighed heavily. "But sometimes Adrien asks for more of me than I can really give," she admitted. Adrien furrowed his brows, looking at her nervously. "Not in bed," she added quickly, her ears turning red. "Definitely not that. But the rest of the time. Sometimes – not all the time. Like last week, when I was working on a commission – Mylène's wedding dress–"

"You might want to take new measurements…" Sabrina interjected, stifling a laugh.

Marinette furrowed her brows and eyed Sabrina confusedly. "Er, right…" She cleared her throat. "But, anyways, I was working on the dress when Adrien came in. Normally that's fine – it's nice when he comes in to watch. But this time, I was trying to sew, and Adrien wrapped his arms around me from behind. I could still work, but it was so much harder to concentrate while he was trying to hug me."

"You've never said anything before," Adrien protested, his eyes wide.

Marinette frowned. "I guess… I never really saw it as so much of a problem before," she confessed. "It was always so cute: you wanted to be there with me and watch me sew, and I wanted you there. But now, with so many commissions to work on in my spare time, to say nothing of the designs I still need to finish up from the honeymoon…" She let out a breath. "I don't want to push you away… but I also need to be able to focus. And it's a lot harder to do that when you're hanging off my shoulders."

"So, you are worried that Adrien is distracting you from your work, which is so important to you." Sabrina nodded in understanding. "And Adrien?" she asked, turning to him. "What do you think of what Marinette shared?"

Adrien pursed his lips, guilt and frustration in his emotions. "I understand," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "And I feel bad for distracting her – that's the last thing I want to do. But at the same time, I'm worried that Marinette is stretching herself too thin! She's been working herself to the bone to get her designs done in time, for the last season and for this one, after we lost almost three months of production time before the Tarasque appeared and then while we were in Angola. Add in all these commissions – I'm glad our friends are all getting married, but I wish they would slow down so my wife can keep up with it! And then there's everything with the Heroes of Paris – and France – and Europe…" He threw his arms up helplessly. "Sometimes, it feels like everyone has a claim on Marinette's time except me."

"Kitty…" Marinette murmured, putting a hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry if I've been distracted lately," she apologized. "I don't want to put you off or just… take you for granted, or anything like that. But I've been so busy lately. And I don't want to let anyone down!"

"Would it be fair to say that Marinette is close to letting you down?" Sabrina asked Adrien.

He furrowed his brows in thought. "I wouldn't put it that way," he began.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Marinette. "It sounds like this is starting to cause friction in your marriage. Are you afraid you might have taken on too much, with all these commissions?"

Marinette shrugged. "I mean, I don't want to turn anyone down…"

"But if you do 'spread yourself too thin,' as Adrien said, what would that do to your commissions?"

Marinette looked away. "I might not finish any of them," she admitted, her emotions shifting into guilt. "But, then, what am I supposed to do? I don't want to turn anyone down! They come to me because they like my designs! And designing and sewing is something that I've always loved."

Sabrina sighed. "All of that is absolutely a good thing! You're not wrong to want and even need time for yourself, or to do the thing you love so much," she told Marinette. "After all, you don't want to get so wrapped up in your relationship that you lose your own identity, right?"

"Right…" Marinette frowned. "But I am Adrien's wife."

"Last I checked," Adrien interjected, quirking his lip up in amusement.

Sabrina nodded. "You are. And you are also Ladybug. And you are also a friend. And you are also Marinette. You need to let yourself be all of those things. And that means that sometimes, you need to just be 'Marinette, fashion designer'. But not all the time."

Adrien frowned. "So, what does that mean?"

"Honestly, it means that you're not wrong to want to spend time with your wife, any more than she's wrong to want to spend time by herself. And you're not wrong to worry that she could be getting overwhelmed with responsibility." Sabrina's lips twitched up in amusement. "The challenge for you is to figure out how to keep all of those things in balance."

"So, what should we do?" asked Marinette.

Sabrina smiled. "Well, for starters, I would suggest that you start setting aside distinct blocks of time for your designing and commissions, and do the same for spending time with Adrien – and not just 'five minutes before bed', or however long you take."

Marinette flushed. "It's a little longer than that…"

Adrien's ears turned bright red.

Sabrina stifled a laugh, coughing away the emotions firing back and forth between them. "Regardless, you do absolutely need to set aside time for each other."

"But I have so many commissions to finish!" Marinette protested, her eyes wide. "What if I don't get them finished in time!?"

"Don't you have an entire fashion house of resources at your disposal?" Sabrina pointed out, raising an eyebrow at her. "Could you come up with the design and then let one of our seamstresses put it together?"

Marinette frowned. "I could…" she allowed. "But then it wouldn't be me doing it – I couldn't do that to Mylène. And I would still want to add the embroidery myself."

Adrien hummed. "But Giselle is really good," he reminded her. "If you told her what you wanted, she probably could sew the dress together while you work on the next design. Then you put the finishing touches on the dress once it's ready."

Marinette furrowed her brows. "Maybe…" She sighed heavily. "I'll give it some thought."

Sabrina smiled. "Maybe you don't do that with every dress. But it's okay for you to get help from others to get all of these commissions finished on time." She cocked her head to one side. "Isn't Mylène and Ivan's 'wedding' not until the summer, though?" Marinette nodded. Sabrina blinked. "So you could hold off on that one and work on one of the dresses that will be needed sooner, right?"

Marinette blinked. "Right."

"Then maybe you do that: finish them in the order they're needed, and use your fashion house to do some of the work for you!"