Continuing Tales

Wingless

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by spectaclesandbooks

Part 35 of 38

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Marinette stiffened immediately, the sudden tension tangible. Adrien reached out automatically to grab her hand supportively as the doctor frowned at his clipboard. The blood had drained from her face, leaving her pale and her hand was trembling in his. He stroked the back of it with a thumb, trying to keep his own fear at bay so he could just be there for her. Whatever happened.

"Wh- okay, um, what's- what's the news?" She stammered and the doctor looked up, his face unreadable.

"Which one do you want first? Good or bad?"

Marinette floundered visibly and looked at Adrien for support. He nodded encouragingly, tightening his grip on her hands. Mari took a deep breath and looked back at Doctor Angarius.

"The- the bad news."

"Okay, well I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this Marinette, but I'm afraid… you're no longer able to rely on Nurse Dulcifer to be your personal chauffeur. She's grown entirely tired of having to carry you everywhere, and has insisted that you shake yourself out of your torpidity and begin to walk on your own again."

There was a brief pause, during which Adrien struggled to comprehend what the doctor had just said, his heart thumping panickedly in his chest. Next to him, Marinette was frowning, apparently just as confused as he was.

"Nurse Dulcifer- but- I don't…" she furrowed her brow, and then gasped. Adrien looked over to see an expression of hope and amazement dawn on her face. "Wait... I can walk? She- you- I can get up?"

Suddenly, the doctor's face split into a huge grin, showing shiny white teeth as he nodded.

"You can, indeed. The nurses and I have been awed by your remarkably speedy recovery, and have decided that- should you feel ready- you may start the physical therapy and begin to use your legs again."

Finally understanding, Adrien looked over to where Mari was bouncing ecstatically on the bed, her face in an identical Cheshire grin as the doctors. Her whole face was lit up in glee, her cheeks rosy and her eyes sparkling. For the first time in weeks, she looked whole and well, the anticipation of returning to normality an enticing prospect.

"I apologise for the method in which I told you," the doctor continued ruefully, "it was Alessandra's idea. Nurse Dulcifer has always been one for pranks, but I hope I didn't cause either of you too much distress."

Adrien rolled his eyes. It sounded like the kind of thing Plagg would try to pull, and by the laughing light in Marinette's eyes, he could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"It's alright," she told the man good-naturedly, though the hammering that was only just beginning to slow in Adrien's chest begged to differ. "She's the one that's had to carry me to the bathroom twice a day for the last fortnight, I can accept a little teasing. So I take it there's no actual bad news?"

Angarius shook his head, smiling widely again.

"Nope, you're pretty much good to go. Well, 'go' as in 'try to stand up without falling over' in agony."

Marinette's face fell slightly.

"Oh. That's reassuring."

Adrien laughed at the trepidation in her eyes, knowing how perfectly alright she was bound to be.

"Please, you'll be fine." He told her lovingly, and he heard a light chuckle from the doctor.

"I agree with the young man. If the startling speed of your recovery is anything to go by, I think you'll do splendidly. One of the physiotherapists will be here soon to guide you, and I take it your friend would like to stay?"

Mari looked at Adrien, who nodded immediately.

"Of course, yeah, I'd love to stay."

"Good." Angarius smiled at the two and began making his way to the door. "Would you like me to send Nurse Dulcifer back in for a good telling-off?"

Marinette laughed and shook her head.

"No, it's fine, thank you doctor. I'll make sure to be extra whiny during tomorrow's bath, though, just to get my own back."

The man nodded with another chuckle, and left the two alone. Adrien practically collapsed the moment the door was shut, his head falling down onto the bed next to where he held Mari's hand.

"Oh my god, that was the scariest thing…" he groaned, and felt Mari's free hand coming over to stroke comfortingly through his hair. "I thought he was going to say something terrible, like 'you've got three months to live' or 'turns out the bullet was poisoned' or something like that."

"I know, me too." Mari giggled. "I'm fine though, and I can finally start walking again!"

Adrien sat up at this, smiling brightly at her excitement.

"I'm so proud of you," he told her, bending to kiss her hand and holding it warmly in both of his. "You're so strong, I know you're going to have no problem doing this. And I'll be right here to help, you know that, right?"

"Of course, kitty. I know you'll catch me if I fall."

"Always."

oOo

"Are you ready, Miss Cheng?"

Nervous, Marinette took a deep breath, and looked to Adrien for reassurance. He stood around five feet away from where she sat in her wheelchair, his arms outstretched, ready for her to take his hands. He nodded encouragingly, so she looked back at the physiotherapist.

"Yes."

"Okay," the man nodded. "Before we begin, remember that your muscle strength can decrease by up to three percent with every day of inactivity, so it's perfectly normal for you to feel weak, or for this to cause discomfort. And you haven't been fully upright for several weeks, so dizziness may occur."

"Great." She mumbled, looking back at Adrien feeling slightly disheartened. She had been so looking forwards to being able to get up again, she was nervous now she had the opportunity. What if she couldn't do it? But at the hope and trust on her boyfriend's face, she pushed her self-doubts to the back of her mind and clenched her hands around the armrests of the chair. "Alright, let's do this."

She placed her feet flat on the floor, and slowly eased her weight onto herself. Marinette then cautiously pushed herself up with her arms, staying bent over for a moment before straightening her back to stand mostly upright. Her knees wobbled, not having had to support her for fifteen days, and the height at which she saw the world was disorienting and made her head spin. She kept her hands on the armrests, but even though she was not supporting her entire weight, her body felt sore and her legs felt weak.

Adrien saw the discomfort on her face and made to move closer, but stopping when she put out a hand. She needed to do this on her own, she needed to prove to herself that she was strong enough to do this.

"You okay, Mari?" His voice concerned, she could tell he was anxious for her. That wasn't exactly reassuring.

"I'm good," she muttered, her face full of concentration and focus. She took a deep breath, and ever so slowly eased one of her feet forwards. The physiotherapist watched eagle-eyed from a foot or two away as she let go of the wheelchair with first one hand, then the other. For a moment, she stood entirely unsupported, but then her knees buckled and Adrien sprinted across the space between them to catch her before she hit the floor.

"I've got you, Mari, it's okay." He whispered as he placed her back in the wheelchair. She was breathing heavily and her face was red as she avoided his gaze slightly. "You alright?"

"Fine." She responded curtly, and made to stand up again. "Let's go again."

"Woah, just give yourself a moment to adjust, okay?" He warned, not letting her stand up.

"I'm fine." She sounded determined, and the physio nodded at him to let her try again. So Adrien stood back as she breathed deeply and pushed herself over onto her feet again. But this time, she didn't even get the chance to let go of the armrests before her legs crumpled, and she had to lurch backwards into the chair so she wouldn't hit the floor.

Adrien had darted forwards to catch her again, but she practically threw his hands off his when he reached out for her. He jerked back from her as she looked stoically up at the physio.

"Could I have a drink of water, please?" She asked through gritted teeth, but if the therapist noticed her tone, he didn't comment, simply nodding and walking out of the ward.

"Marinette?" The girl didn't respond to the sound of her name, instead looked furiously down at her legs. Adrien was confused by her sudden change of mood until he noticed the tears pooling in her eyes even as she kept them looking away from him. Her loose hair swung down to curtain her face as she tried to hide her disappointment and embarrassment, but he stroked it behind her ear to look at her earnestly.

"Mari?"

"I'm fine, Adrien." She practically snapped, and then her lower lip trembled.

"Mari, you're doing so well. You've made amazing progress- this is the first time you've stood up in two weeks and you didn't even black out."

"Couldn't manage to take one bloody step, though." Marinette whispered miserably, thoroughly disgusted with her weakness. "What kind of superhero am I if I can't even walk?"

"Princess, you've got to give yourself a chance!" Adrien tipped her chin up to make her look at him as he hovered over her. "You've only tried twice and you even managed to stand up on your own. That's brilliant, considering you got yourself shot only two weeks ago. Give yourself the opportunity to be weak, you're entirely allowed to not be perfect right now. I'll think nothing less of you, no matter how many times it takes you."

"I was so looking forward to this though," the bluenette mumbled, all her hostility gone in the wake of her crestfallen dismay. "I was going mad, having to be carried everywhere, stuck in bed all day. I couldn't wait to start being me again. I thought once I had the chance I'd just be able to jump right back into it. And now- now I can't. I mean, I can't even walk. How am I supposed to be Ladybug?"

"Come on, give yourself time. You've spent the last two weeks recovering from a bullet wound, your body's not exactly at it's peak right now. And the physiotherapist said it's perfectly normal to feel wobbly- your muscle strength could have deteriorated by nearly fifty percent over the fifteen days, so I think even standing up is a tremendous achievement. Don't you?"

She didn't meet his eyes.

"I- I don't like feeling weak."

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you are the strongest person I know, and also the most infuriating." She looked up at Adrien at his words, an incredulous frown furrowing her forehead. "You're brave and strong and beautiful and incredible, but also the most self-deprecating and unconfident idiot I've ever had the misfortune of loving."

"Um, thanks?"

He laughed, taking one of her hands in his and clutching it to his chest, relishing the way the darkness was slowly leaving her face as he spoke.

"You're doing incredibly well, Marinette. You're not weak. You heard Doctor Angarius, your recovery was remarkably fast and you're already managing to stand up unsupported- don't interrupt me- even if only for a moment. I think that's an achievement and you should be happy with it. I'm humongously proud of you, and you need to recognise that's it's okay to not be perfect for a while. It's okay to be human."

Marinette was silent, until her hand tightened around his and she let out a little huff of a laugh.

"God, when did you get so good at all this motivational speech stuff? You're giving Ladybug a run for her money."

The blond chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I did learn from the best." He stood up and beamed down at her as a soft smile crossed her face.

"Adrien?

"Yes, my lady?"

"Thank you. I- I know that these last few weeks haven't been easy on you, and you've basically been my rock throughout the whole ordeal. I don't know how you manage to be so optimistic and hopeful and so irritatingly soppy the whole time, but I really appreciate it. So thank you."

Adrien hunkered back down to look at her, his lips curving upwards gently

"Hey, I told you I'd be here to catch you, didn't I?" He stroked her cheek with his hand and she leaned into his touch. They then heard the door to the ward open again as the physiotherapist came back in with a plastic cup full of water.

"Here we go, Miss Cheng. Ready to try again?"

Taking the cup from him and placing it carefully on the floor next to her, Mari nodded. Adrien backed a few feet away from her, grinning at the determination that crossed her face.

"Ready."

Wingless

A Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Story
by spectaclesandbooks

Part 35 of 38

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