Chapter Text
It began on an overcast morning at the precinct, a haze settling over Karadec as he stared at Morgane’s empty window ledge. The pillow she brought during her pregnancy sat slightly askew, the usual clutter absent, as if the energy that defined her had simply evaporated. She had been skipping work sporadically, her once chaotic vibrance dulled into mere whispers of who she was.
The others didn’t notice—not the way he did. Morgane’s absences were waved off with casual shrugs and resigned comments about her eccentric nature. But Karadec knew her better. He saw through the facade of excuses and erratic behavior, into the storm brewing behind her piercing blue eyes. She was pulling away, and though she hadn’t said it outright, he felt it.
And now, as they worked a particularly dangerous case, her detachment was costing them.
The day spiraled into chaos. A critical misstep during a sting operation—a decision Morgane made without consulting the team—nearly cost them a suspect and jeopardized lives. One that never learns, she confronted the main suspect on her own and that led to losing their advantage of him.
The aftermath was grim: tension simmering in the air like unspoken accusations. Morgane avoided his gaze, her jaw set in defiance. She was clearly annoyed and on the edge but not more than he was. Karadec could feel the fragile tether between them unraveling.
Time was passing slowly and she was slumped over her phone searching for something. He was going through all his files searching for evidence, any lead that can take them somewhere new.
Hours later, the precinct was quiet. Morgane wasn’t at her ledge and Gilles and Dafne had left for the day. Everyone felt tired looking for something, anything, and not finding that lead. Celine left to go talk to the district attorney and Karadec found himself alone in the open space. He knew he had to find her and he knew where she was.
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. On the balcony, their usual refuge, Karadec found her leaning against the railing, a lolipop between her fingers.
The air between them felt as brittle as the night air on the balcony, heavy with words unsaid and frustrations unspoken. They stood in their usual spot, but there was nothing usual about the tension crackling between them. Morgane leaned against the railing, her arms crossed, her gaze distant. Adam stood a few feet away, his hands shoved into his pockets, his posture stiff.
The silence was unbearable, yet neither dared to break it. Finally, it was Karadec who spoke, his voice low but laced with frustration.
“Morgane,” he began, his voice strained. “What the hell was that today?”
She didn’t turn to him, didn’t flinch at the sharp edge in his tone. “What do you want me to say, Kara? That I screwed up? Fine. I screwed up.”
“That’s not good enough Morgane! Poutain!” he snapped. His frustration boiled over, fed by weeks of unspoken worry. “You’re distracted. And now it’s bleeding into the cases. You put everyone at risk today. Why? What’s going on with you?” He looked at her so mad and so desperate.
She just turned at him and gave him a deep look before looking away.
“You’re pulling away,” he said. It wasn’t a question—it was an accusation.
Morgane didn’t look at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do,” he snapped, his voice rising. “You’re not coming to work anymore, you’re distracted on cases, and now—” He stopped himself, biting down the rest of his sentence.
“And now what?” Morgane asked, finally turning to face him, her eyes sharp. “Go ahead, say it.”
Karadec’s jaw clenched. “And now someone almost died today because you were careless.” He was yelling.
Morgane flinched as though he’d slapped her. “Careless? Are you serious?” Her voice was filled with emotion and she was taken aback.
“Yes, I’m serious! You’ve been distracted for weeks, Morgane! You weren’t paying attention, and it nearly cost someone their life!” He said yelling and his voice was filled with exasperation.
“Oh, give me a break, Kara!” she snapped back, stepping closer. “You think you’re so perfect? So above making mistakes? I can’t believe you’re throwing this in my face.” She pointed her finger at him.
“Because I care, Morgane! Because I’m terrified—” He stopped abruptly, his voice catching.
“Terrified of what?” she shot back, her tone mocking. “That I’m not living up to your impossibly high standards?”
Karadec ran a hand through his hair, exasperated. “No, but I’m afraid you are once again pulling away—from work, from us.”
”What?! Huh?! What are you even talking about Karadec?!” She looked genuinely confused and furious.
Karadec stepped closer to her. “I waited for you, Morgane! That night at my goodbye party—I waited for you all night.” He was yelling, he was angry, he was looking away. His hands were open towards her, his palms showing all his tension.
Her expression darkened, and she took a step forward, her voice like a whip. “You had no right to expect me to show up after you decided to sneak off and leave, abandoning all of us—abandoning me—without so much as a real goodbye.” Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Her voice was sore.
“Oh! And you have some nerve,” Karadec shot back, his voice raw, “to accuse me of abandonment after you betrayed me more than anyone ever has.” He is yelling at her again but now he grabbed on the rails as if to release his tension towards it.
Morgane’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Betrayed you? Are you serious? I had no choice! You’re so self-righteous and rigid—you wouldn’t have understood my position even if I tried to explain it!” She couldn’t control herself, she opened her arms exasperated and desperate, as if her right was choking her and she had to speak up now.
“Me?” he said, incredulous. “Never available? I blew my life apart for you! I was in a steady, good relationship, Morgane, and I ruined it because I was always available for you.” He wasn’t yelling any more but his tone was so serious, conveying how he actually truly meant every single word he said.
Her laugh was bitter, almost cruel. “If that’s all you wanted—a steady, perfect relationship with a female version of yourself—why did you kiss me while you were still in that ‘perfect’ relationship?”
“Because I’ve been in love with you since the first months I met you, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise!” he yelled, his voice breaking. “But when I finally came to you, Morgane—when I finally realized what I felt—you were already in Ludo’s arms.”
Her face twisted with anger, pain bubbling to the surface. “Forgive me for not being a fortune teller, Adam! How was I supposed to know that rigid, by-the-book Commander Karadec was in love with his messy, chaotic consultant, who, up until then, only seemed to yell at her and be annoyed by her?”
“I still yell at you, Morgane! I still get annoyed with you! That doesn’t mean I don’t—” He stopped himself, his voice trembling.
“Doesn’t mean what?” she demanded. “Say it, Adam! You keep pushing me away and pulling me in—I’m done being in the middle!”
“You’re in the middle?” he said, his voice rising again. “I gave you my home, my bed, my life! I’ve even given you my house, my family, everything I am. How the hell are you in the middle?”
“Because I know you want me,” she shot back, her voice cracking, “but I don’t know if you love me—or if you just love having me around until you get tired of me and leave again.”
“I NEVER LEFT BECAUSE I WAS TIRED OF YOU!” he roared, his voice echoing in the empty night. “I left because I was ruined, Morgane. I couldn’t be around you anymore because I was in too much pain.”
“And you think that was easy for me?” she yelled back. “Do you have any idea what it felt like to watch you walk away? To know you were leaving and I couldn’t stop you?”
“I couldn’t stay,” he said, his voice quieter now but no less anguished. “You were in my every thought, Morgane, in my every cell. You invaded every part of me, and it hurt so damn much.”
“Yeah, well, loving you hurts too,” she said, her voice trembling. “I never knew love could hurt like this—like I was dying.”
They stood there, both breathing heavily, their words hanging between them like broken glass.
Karadec took a step closer, his voice softer now. “You think I don’t feel the same? That leaving you didn’t feel like dying to me, too?”
He closed his eyes. "I care about you. I know there's something off about you. I know you. Talk to me."
Her laugh was sharp, bitter. “Oh, now you care what’s going on with me? Where was this concern when you were sneaking off to leave us all behind without a word?”
His jaw clenched. “Don’t. Don’t turn this around on me, again. I’m asking you for the truth.”
“The truth?” She turned to face him now, her eyes blazing. “You want the truth? Fine. You don’t get to demand the truth when you can’t even see what’s in front of you, Adam.”
The weight of his first name hung between them, a rarity in their exchanges. Karadec stiffened, his defenses rising. “I’ve been nothing but here for you, Morgane. You don’t get to play the victim.”
“Here for me?” Her voice rose, incredulous. “You were here long enough to kiss me and then walk away. To leave for a financial department job and pretend like it was about anything other than running away.”
“I didn’t run away,” he countered, his voice tightening. “Morgane, we keep circling back to this, I left because I couldn’t stay—because of you!”
“Because of me?” she echoed, her voice cracking under the weight of her anger and pain. “You left because you’re a coward, Adam. You left because you couldn’t handle feeling something real.”
“And you stayed because you couldn’t admit to yourself what we both know,” he shot back.
Her breath hitched. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ve been in love with you since the first months I met you, Morgane,” he said, his voice trembling. “And no matter how hard I tried to convince myself otherwise, you were already in Ludo’s arms before I could tell you.”
The confession hung in the air like a thunderclap.
Morgane froze, the fight momentarily knocked out of her. When she found her voice, it was quiet, raw. “Do you think that makes any of this easier? That knowing you felt the same way makes it hurt less?”
Karadec’s voice softened. “I don’t know. Maybe I hoped it would.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy with unsaid words and unresolved pain.
“Adam,” she said finally, “I don’t know how to do this.”
“Do what?”
“This,” she gestured between them, the vulnerability in her eyes cutting through his walls. “Us. You scare me. How much you scare me.”
“You think I’m not afraid?” he whispered. “You think I don’t wake up every day terrified that I’m going to lose this—lose you?”
Her lips parted, but no words came.
Karadec stepped closer, his voice trembling. “I’m afraid, Morgane. I’m afraid because I’ve never wanted anything as much as I want this—want you. And it’s killing me to see you slipping away.”
Karadec lowered his head and nodded. He couldn't even bear looking at her. His eyes were filled with tears and he didn't want her to see it.
Her walls crumbled, cause even though she couldn't really see his face, she felt the emotion in his voice. “I’m not slipping away, Adam. I’m just—” She exhaled shakily. “I’m just scared you’ll leave again.”
“I’m here,” he said firmly, his hazel eyes locking onto hers. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.” He unconsciously opened his palms, as if he completely opened himself to her.
She took a long look at him with eyes almost filled with tears and a suspicious look that slowly turned calmer. She nodded her head slowly turning away from him and sniffing her nose.
“Okay.” She said puzzled
“That’s a start” she added with a voice that revealed her disbelief in the situation. She kept awkwardly unconsciously nodding her head.
A small tender smile stretched on his lips. He removed his gaze off of her cause he felt awkward and he smiled with his head lowered down.
She turned and looked at him and she felt her chest tightening.
“I…I…I… should go check on Leo!” She said awkwardly pointing towards the direction of his room.
”Morgane…” he said softly with a hint of exasperation. It was the same tone he used when he entered the hospital room after she crashed his investigation of the influencer’s murder and she had to be rushed to the hospital.
She Had turned to go check on Leo but she turned back at the sound of her name and his soft tone. With eyes wide in surprise she looked at him.
”Come here” he said softly and tenderly but very firmly.
She followed his command without any complaints. When she reached his proximity with a swift motion he encircled her with his arms and she felt his hand tucking her head in his shoulder. Holding her head firmly.
She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in.
She circled his back with her hands and allowed herself to feel safe in his arms.
Their fight dissolved into something tender, the raw edges of their emotions softening as they stood on the balcony, the city lights flickering below.
She had closed her eyes.
He had closed his eyes.
Unconscious of each other’s reactions, they were both reeling in the feeling of this hug.
Karadec opened his eyes abruptly and softly shifted to let go of her while taking a step back.
He looked at her nodded his head and smiled shyly.
She was so much calmer, so serene all of a sudden. She smiled back at him and came to lean on the balcony’s railing beside him. They both gazed at the city in front of them in comfortable silence.
For the first time in a long time, they saw each other clearly—not as adversaries, but as two people tethered by love and fear, desperately trying to hold on.