Sixty Beats Per Minute

Chapter 19

Adrien! Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?

Behind his glasses, Adrien's eyes slowly opened, where he saw Nino's figure kneeling in front of him. Adrien sat up, and a throbbing pain immediately struck the sides of his head. He grunted and held a hand to his forehead, leaning his back against the wall. He removed his glasses and set them on the floor beside him. Nino picked them up and placed them on the kitchen counter.

"Nino," he mumbled, "What... What happened here?"

"You passed out all of a sudden," Nino explained, "You were knocked out on the floor for about two hours"

Then, a realization struck him as memories of the scene flashed before him. His eyes widened as he stood up quickly, causing the room to appear as if it were spinning in rapid circles. Adrien placed his hand on the wall for balance and gripped his head with his other hand, trying desperately not to throw up as his vertigo churned his stomach.

"Ma... Marinette," he said tiredly, "I need... To see her"

Nino frowned and placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder, "You should have a seat first"

Finally, Adrien's head stopped spinning, but still ached on both sides. The blond shot his eyes towards Nino and shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said, "Just let me see her"

Adrien lifted his wrist and looked at the timer. To his relief, it hasn't stopped counting down yet. She still had a couple weeks left.

Nino uncapped a water bottle and held it in front of Adrien, "At least drink some water before you go"

Adrien just now realized that his throat felt as if he hadn't had a single sip of water in days. He took the water bottle without complaining and held it to his lips. He tilted it upwards, allowing the cold liquid to travel down his throat as he scarfed it down rapidly like a predator devouring its prey. Before he knew it, a painful lump formed in his throat from his rapid intake of water. Adrien quickly took the bottle off his lips, coughing up some water that had clogged his throat.

Nino quickly snatched the water bottle from him, "Dude, slow down!"

Adrien cleared his throat and spoke in a dry, raspy voice.

"I'm fine," he croaked, "Now let's一"

Adrien was cut-off by another series of coughs escaping his throat. Nino rubbed his best friend's back as he handed the bottle back to him.

"Drink slowly this time"

Adrien nodded and took another swig of water. He gulped the flavorless liquid down calmly and cleared his throat, thinning out the itchy lump that fogged the inside if his throat.

"You good now?" Nino asked.

Adrien nodded and capped the bottle, "Let's go see her"

"I'm driving, though," Nino took the car keys and opened the front door, "You don't look like you're in the proper state for driving"

Adrien didn't complain and followed Nino out the door. He hoped with all his heart that the timer was correct, that he would walk into the hospital room and find her heart still beating in the heart monitor.

~

Adrien and Nino stepped through the curtain to Marinette's hospital room, where Alya had taken a seat in a hospital chair next to the bed. Marinette sat up in the hospital bed with her eyes open. The heart monitor beeped loudly at her resting heart rate of sixty beats per minute. Upon seeing this sight, memories of a woman with blonde hair and green eyes sitting in a hospital bed flashed through Adrien's mind, a memory he had been wanting to forget. Adrien pressed his quivering lips together and looked away.

Marinette smiled sadly at Adrien, "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. I... I know what happened to your mother"

Marinette looked down at her trembling, bandaged hands in her lap. Alya and Nino remained silent as their eyes traveled constantly between Adrien and Marinette. Alya stood up from her chair and walked over to Nino, gesturing to leave the two of them alone. Nino nodded and stepped through the curtain with Alya, slowly closing the door behind him.

"You don't have to stay with me," Marinette said softly, "I understand if you don't want to. After all, I'm only bringing back painful memories for you"

A small tear trickled down her cheek as she looked back at Adrien. Clenching his fists, Adrien finally gathered up the courage to look at her. He noticed the tear at the edge of her eye as he stepped up to the hospital bed.

"I'll stay with you," he used his finger to wipe her tear away, "I promised, didn't I?"

"But if you don't want to一"

"I do want to," Adrien interrupted.

As much as it pained him to look at her, he wanted to stay by her side. He needed to be there for her in her last couple weeks. After all, he didn't want her to die thinking he no longer loved her. He loved her so much that he had no words to describe it. Words fail to describe the aching feeling he had in his chest upon seeing her in the hospital bed. The only time he'd want to see her in the hospital bed is when she's bearing a child of their own. But now he knows that day will never come no matter how badly he wanted to have a future and raise children with her. Just the thought of losing her broke him in many ways that couldn't be described.

Marinette gazed down, "How much time do I have left?"

Adrien brought his arm up and showed her the timer on his inner wrist. Twenty-three days left. Tears resurfaced in Marinette's eyes, causing her entire body to shiver.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," she cried, "I didn't want to put you through this again"

"Hey, it's okay," Adrien knelt down and rested his elbows on the bed, "I want to make the most of my time with you"

"How?" Marinette asked, "I'm going to be stuck here for the rest of my life. Wouldn't you get bored of staying here all the time?"

"Well," Adrien smiled, "If I'm with you, I'll never get bored"

Marinette blushed and smiled, "You really are Chat Noir, you know that?"

Adrien laughed at her statement, "Maybe in an alternate universe"

"I'll gladly be your Ladybug then," Marinette added.

The young lovers both giggled at their silly conversation about a pair of fictional superheroes.

"So, what's your plan then?" Adrien asked, "M'lady"