"So, it's been two weeks since Dr. Boucher removed your vocal nodules. Have you spoken to anyone yet?"

Adrien shook his head.

This was his first therapy session. Dr. Robin Zollar, a woman that exuded warmth and kindness. Her voice was sweet and a little silly, and she reminded him of the fairy godmother from Cinderella. That may have been why he was responding to her so well.

Besides speaking, of course.

"Does your throat still hurt?"

Shake.

"Have you actually tried speaking?"

Shake.

"And I'm guessing you really have no desire to either, right?"

Nod.

"Okay. Talking with Marinette, it seems like she's been speaking a lot on your behalf. That's fine and all, but you will need to develop a voice of your own. Do you feel like you have no need to speak?"

Nod.

"Because Marinette speaks for you?"

Shake.

"No? Well, that is a lot different than I expected. I would like to know a little bit more about that. Would you be willing to write down what it is that you're feeling, if you won't say it out loud?" She pushed a pen and pad of paper towards him.

He stared at it for a long while.

—

"You're serious?" Marinette crossed her arms and frowned at him.

Gabriel held a tennis ball in his hand. "I mean, it wasn't my idea. But my therapist said it might be a good way to connect with Adrien."

"Catch. With his arm in a sling."

"That's why it's a tennis ball."

Marinette sighed and looked at Adrien. "What do you think, kitty?"

He sat at the end of his bed and shrugged.

"A little physical activity isn't going to kill you." Gabriel admonished.

"Yeah, but it could pull his stitches if he's not careful."

"Do I look stupid, Marinette? It's not even catch, we're just tossing it back and forth."

Marinette frowned at the man, while Adrien gave a weak grunt.

Gabriel tossed him the ball, and Adrien caught it, throwing it back.

"Sleep alright last night?"

"The usual," Said Marinette, on her phone while she sat on the couch.

"I was talking to Adrien."

"Right."

Marinette listened as the ball was tossed back and forth a few times. Before Gabriel repeated again, "Did you sleep alright last night?"

Adrien didn't respond.

"I said, did you sleep well?"

There was a grunt.

"Shrugging and grunting mean nothing to me. The doctor gave the okay, you can use your voice now."

"He doesn't want to talk," Marinette pressed. "Don't force him."

"Marinette, again, I'm talking to Adrien."

She chuckled darkly, knowing his efforts were fruitless.

"I have someone who's coming to visit soon. And your Aunt Amilie and Felix want to come and visit too. That will be fun, won't it?"

Marinette closed her phone and sat up, looking over the back of the couch to watch this awkward one sided conversation.

"Felix himself emailed me and asked me about you. He wanted continual updates, since they didn't get the same news broadcast over in London. He really cares about you."

Adrien just pitifully watched the ball, but did little else. It was obvious Gabriel was not happy with his body language, so he steeled himself into a neutral, professional posture.

Marinette hated it.

"Nathalie was helping with the company while I was busy with the investigation with you. Now that you're safe, she'll be taking a little vacation. But she assures me that she'll be back soon, and that she can't wait to see you."

The ball was tossed, caught, tossed.

"Isn't that nice? Nathalie missed you."

Toss. Catch. Toss.

"I said, isn't that nice?"

"He's mute, not deaf." Marinette drawled.

Gabriel turned and looked at her. "Look, if you keep talking for him, and encouraging this behavior, he's never going to speak. It's learned helplessness at this point, and someone has to train it out of him. So shut up."

The tennis ball hit Gabriel in the head.

"Excuse me!?" Gabriel whirled at his son.

Adrien hissed at him, like a feral cat.

Gabriel scoffed in disgust. "You're not an animal! If you are angry with me, I expect you to use your words in a level tone."

"We were treated like animals for weeks." Marinette bit. "Sorry, it's hard to think otherwise."

"Out," Gabriel nearly shouted at her. "You're not helping. Go bother your parents for a while."

With tears in her eyes, Marinette stood and started from the room.

Adrien whined and tried to follow.

"No!" Gabriel ordered. "You stay here! We're playing catch!"

Outside the room, Marinette started down the stairs, but got weak and had to sit.

"Yikes, cringe." Said Plagg, coming up to her side.

"You saw that huh?"

"I've been trying to give you both space and privacy, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to watch over Adrien like the little fairy godfather I am."

"Was Gabriel right? Am I talking for Adrien too much?"

"Ehhhh, I tend to believe that that man is never right. Even when he's right he's wrong. But in this case, he's wrong wrong. You guys are only two weeks out of the hospital. A month out of torture. I'm still trying to catch up with all the footage, and he's trying to rush the recovery process. But when you do that, it makes everything worse."

Marinette exhaled, feeling at least vindicated.

"Marinette, even if you do something 'wrong' right now, no one should blame you for it. Sure, we'll reprimand you, but you're dealing with a lot of shit, and your mind isn't totally clear. Don't feel guilty for trying to protect Adrien."

"Thanks Plagg. That helps." She glanced up at Adrien's bedroom door. "I better get back in there."

Marinette climbed the stairs again, coming up to the door.

As she opened it, she stared in horror as Gabriel stood over Adrien, a finger in his face, nearly spitting in anger.

Adrien's expression was completely zoned out. A defense mechanism that he had adopted in their hellhole.

He was gone. And would probably continue to be so for a few hours. Did his mind go blank? Or did he retreat into a daydream? There was no way of knowing.

She shouldn't have left the room.

"…not only is it disrespectful, it's counterproductive. How are we supposed to help you if you won't talk to us? You never had a problem speaking your mind before!"

Marinette slid onto the bed next to Adrien, grabbing him around the waist and pulling his head to her shoulder. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here."

Adrien didn't respond.

Plagg got between them and Gabriel. "You're done."

"I'm only trying to help."

"You put him into shock. How does that help him? You've removed him from this plain of reality. Great job. Dad of the year."

"Look, I just wanted to—"

"Are you still here?" Marinette snapped. "Get out. Now!"

"I'm not going anywhere! This is my house, and Adrien is my son!"

"He's my husband!"

Gabriel clenched his fist. "That wedding was a sham. You're as much of his wife as you are a ball and chain around his ankle. He'll never get better with you dragging him back!"

The door swung open, banging against the wall. Marinette jumped at the noise and held onto Adrien.

Tom and Sabine entered, having been sent for by Tikki.

"Can you give us a moment?" Gabriel asked like he hadn't just verbally punched Marinette in the gut. "We were having a discussion."

Sabine said nothing, but slapped Gabriel across his face. "Be glad it was only a slap." She bit.

"That's assault!"

"And I bet the judge will be real sympathetic to you after what you said to our daughter and son-in-law."

Gabriel just scowled at them. "I feel like we've had this discussion before."

"We did, and last time, Adrien started crying. We can continue this discussion out in the lobby."

"I'm not done talking to Adrien!"

Tom cracked his knuckles. "Oh, yes you are." With one swift scoop, Tom had Gabriel draped over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

"Put me down! I can walk!"

"This is what I used to do with Marinette when she was a child and threw tantrums in a store. You're going to act like a child, we're going to treat you like a child."

"I'm not a child!" Was the last thing Marinette heard before Sabine shut the door.

"Are you alright honey?" Sabine asked, sitting beside Adrien.

Marinette swallowed back tears. "I knew it…I want to help Adrien…but I'm making everything worse…"

Sabine looked to heaven. "Lord, I'm going to kick that man's ass." She shook her head. "No, no Marinette, Adrien needs you right now." She delicately pet Adrien's hair. "He feels safe around you, and you understand him the best. Gabriel is lost and frustrated right now. He has no idea how to act. And believe me, it's hard for us too. I worry every day about what the right thing to do is."

"But you don't…you don't yell at me."

"Because yelling at you never helped in the past. We've talked sternly to you when you were in trouble, and we did groundings, and the occasional spanking when you were very very bad. But yelling only made you afraid and distrusting. I suspect that's the attitude from Adrien he's used to."

Adrien didn't respond in any way, just continued to bore a hole in the floor with his dull gaze.

"The doctor said that you being together was good. And what does Gabriel know about this kind of stuff? He designs clothes."

Marinette cracked a smile.

"Your father and I will sit him down and have a good stern talking to him. He's the one making things worse."

Marinette breathed a calming breath. "Okay." She let go of Adrien, only to take hold of his face and guide him to look at her. "Kitty?"

He blinked owlishly at her.

"You with me?"

Another slow blink.

"Is he alright?" Sabine asked.

"No, he's—" Marinette clenched her eyes shut. "He was like this back in…"

"That place."

"Yeah, he…when things would get bad, he sort of…shut down. Salo said it was a sign of death. I think he's trying to protect himself." She pet his hair, and kissed his cheeks.

"What can I do to help?"

"Can we move him to the couch?"

Sabine nodded and stood, wrapping an arm around his waist.

Despite being mentally checked out, he was still respondent to movement. As they pulled him to his feet, he stood on his own, though still weakly. They guided him slowly over to the couch and had him sit down.

"Here's a nice warm blanket. Do you want some tea?"

"Yes please, maman."

Plagg spoke up from where he was silently watching. "I think Adrien would really enjoy a coke."

"Are you sure?"

"He might only have a few sips, but it's his favorite drink." Then he whispered conspiratorially, "but his dad never lets him have it."

"Okay, I think I'm following."

"Marinette, you play video games, right?" Plagg asked.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Good. I'll put in his favorite game, and you play it, and see if that rouses him."

"Good thinking!"

Plagg floated over to the TV, and turned on the console while Sabine left to get them snacks.

Marinette leaned over and placed another kiss on his cheek.

The drum beats started up as the main menu came up.

Marinette groaned. "Skyrim..."

"What? Don't like it?"

"I've never played it!"

"You've never played Skyrim?!" Plagg nearly shouted in mock offense. He didn't actually care, but old Adrien would have.

"I know the memes, Sneak 100, 'I took an arrow to the knee' but I never actually sat down and played it. It's so long!"

"Well, you got a lot of time on your hands now. Might as well start!"

"Yeah, might as well..."

She modeled her character to look like Ladybug, with red paint over the eyes to replicate a mask.

As she started playing, Sabine came back and left the snacks.

Marinette paused the game to help Adrien take a few sips of his drink. She placed the can in his good hand and brought it to his lips. Then she tilted the can slightly, watching as he drank on his own.

It didn't rouse a response.

"If this goes on much longer, I'm going to call the doctor." Said Sabine. "I'm worried."

"Me too." Said Marinette, sweeping the bangs from his forehead.

Sabine stayed and watched the game, wincing when Marinette sliced someone's head off with a sword.

"This is pretty gory, are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, it's almost cartoonish. I...I did much worse."

Marinette continued to sneak glances at Adrien. He seemed to be watching the screen now, instead of looking through it. His eyes followed her character, and Sabine took it as a sign that he had mostly come back around.

"Feeling a little better, Adrien?" She asked.

He hummed.

So she left them alone.

Tikki sat on Marinette's lap, while Plagg nuzzled into Adrien's hair. The room was quiet, the volume on the game turned down, and only soft ambient music was heard.

"I love you."

Marinette blinked. The voice was so soft, so rough, and wavering, she didn't think she heard it at first. But she turned to look at Adrien, seeing that he was looking at her. Her breathing picked up, as she waited, begging him to speak again. She bit her lip to keep her from speaking and interrupting if he did say something.

"I didn't know what else to say."

She shook her head at him, and turned her body to face him. "Say whatever you want. You know I won't judge." She leaned in, staring deep into his eyes to prove he had her full attention.

Adrien rested a hand on hers, squeezing slightly. He met her gaze, holding it with his breath.

"You…" He began, only to pause.

"Yes?" She urged.

"You…are really bad at this game."

Marinette nearly collapsed on him, she was laughing so hard.

—

Adrien recalled this very special moment with his lady after the therapist handed the notepad. So he had lied. He had spoken to someone. His other half, his partner, his soulmate. But it felt a lot less like 'finally speaking' then it did sharing a secret. He had confided as much in her then. He still didn't want to talk, but with her it was different.

With her, he felt safe, free, and wanted. He could talk for hours, or say nothing. Either way, he was comfortable.

"Adrien?" The therapist asked delicately, as he hadn't written anything. "If you prefer not to answer, that's fine too. We have a half an hour left in this session."

He was inclined to write out his feelings just as much as he was to speak. It was hard to find the words. Much less ones that were worthy of being spoken.

Finally, he admitted what he didn't want to.

Why bother speaking if no one will listen?

—

It was evening when she arrived. The sun was just about to set, sending La Grande Paris into glittering gold and orange light.

Though it felt weird to be staying in a hotel when her home was just a block away.

Disguised with sunglasses and a handkerchief, Emilie was escorted upstairs to the nicest suite available.

And inside awaited her dearly beloved husband.

"Gabriel?" She asked softly.

She heard his breath caught in his throat. "Emilie…" In a few quick strides, he was on her, embracing her, kissing her, weeping on her. "I've missed you so much…"

"I'm here darling, I'm here…" She whispered, shedding tears of her own.

They stayed that way a long while, just in each other's arms. Occasionally sharing kisses and words of love.

Finally, Gabriel pulled away to look her up and down. "You must be exhausted."

"I'm actually not. I slept on the plane, and then I've been nervous ever since landing."

"Nervous? About what?"

"About being gone, seeing you again, what I'm going to see…"

"Oh." He huffed. "Well, did you want to shower? Are you hungry?"

"Yes to both."

"I've packed some clothes for you. Why don't we get you all settled in, and then I'll tell you the whole sad story."

"And Adrien?"

"He's home."

"When will I get to see him?"

Gabriel gnawed on his bottom lip. "Well…soon, I hope. But, he's changed a lot."

"So have you." Emilie pet his hair. "You've gone gray."

"I think I look distinguished."

"You look old."

"You haven't aged a day, my love."

Emilie smiled softly, leaning in to give him a small kiss. "Flatterer."

"But about Adrien…you see, he's not speaking to anyone. I'm hoping that seeing you again will give him that spark."

"Does he know what happened?"

"…not quite."

"What does he think happened to me? Does he think I'm dead? Would seeing me shock him?"

"I think it might be a little shocking, but he just thinks you disappeared. Makes things a little easier to explain."

"Speaking of explaining…"

"Shower, dinner, then I'll get to it."

—

At 3 AM, Gabriel hustled out of La Grande Paris, having done far too much damage. Good thing it was dark, or half of Paris would have questioned why the Gabriel Agreste was leaving a hotel late at night while a mysterious woman screamed obscenities at him from a balcony.