Dangerous Games | By : Cat_Eyes Category: +M through R > Miraculous LadyBug Views: 11603 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Thomas Astruc and released by Zag studios. No profit was made writing this story. |
The sun wasn't even up when Adrien's stirring pulled Marinette from a restless sleep.
'What time is it?' she moaned, blearily.
'It's five o'clock; I have to be at work in half an hour. Go back to sleep,' he murmured. She felt him stroke her hair.
Marinette mumbled an affirmative and rolled over before he left the room. She dozed for another two hours, true sleep eluding her, before she gave in and got up. Her eyes felt crusty, her teeth furry, and she was more tired than she had been before she went to bed the night before.
Adrien had left her a note on his kitchen bench telling her to help herself to anything she needed, and had even included a spare key in case she wanted to come back after submitting her statement to the police. She could have cried at his thoughtfulness.
She helped herself to a cup of tea and a slice of toast before having a shower and preparing to leave.
'Do you think I'll need anything, Tikki?'
Tikki sat on the back of the lounge, nibbling a biscuit from the emergency stash Marinette kept in her bag. 'More biscuits.'
'I meant for the police.'
'Oh, well, your phone has your call log so they'll want to see that. Your should also take the photos and that doll. If you can procure a hard copy of your landline calls, you should get that, too.'
Marinette stroked her chin. 'That could take a while, but the sooner I ask, the sooner I'll have it. Good thinking, Tikki.'
Tentatively, she locked up Adrien's apartment and scurried across to her own. She inched the door open and stuck her head in, Tikki hovering anxiously just behind her. It was quiet; there was no evidence of an intrusion or sign of an unwelcome visitor. Still, she remained cautious as she went inside to pick up the photos and the doll.
'Damn it, I left my phone at work.' Marinette scowled at her own foolishness.
'So just stop by on your way to the police station,' suggested Tikki.
Marinette turned to her with wide eyes. 'I'm supposed to be taking a sick day. If I show up, they'll know something's wrong.'
Tikki tilted her head. 'Would that be such a bad thing? Mathéo is a nice guy, he'll understand. But if that's how you want to do it, why not call Adrien and ask him to fetch your phone and wait for you out front?'
Marinette huffed, indecisive and frustrated. 'I can't disturb Adrien while he's working, but the alternative could wind up with me tied to my studio for the rest of my natural life. What do I do?'
Her landline rang. Marinette answered without thinking. 'Hello?'
'Girl, there you are. I've been trying to reach you,' Alya answered.
A gusty sigh of relief rushed out of her. 'I'm so sorry, Alya. I left my phone in my studio yesterday.'
'Aren't you going to need that for the police?' she asked.
'Therein lies my problem. Adrien said he'd cover for me today, but if I turn up, everyone will know we're both lying. Do you how badly that would reflect on us? Oh, my God, people will think I'm sleeping with the boss' son. They'll accuse him of slumming it with a lowly designer, his career will be shot, and both our lives will be over,' she wailed.
'Calm down,' ordered Alya. 'I'll get your phone for you. Where did you leave it?'
'It's on the changeroom floor inside my studio,' Marinette replied, meekly.
'Right. I'll see you across the road from Gabriel's in half an hour, ok?'
'Ok. Thanks, Alya.'
'No problem. See you soon, M.'
Marinette paced while she waited around the corner from Gabriel's. Alya had already gone in, armed with excuses as to why she needed access to Marinette's studio should someone question her. She had been gone for ten minutes now, which was more than enough time for her to get in, find the phone, and come back.
'Something's gone wrong, I know it. Security's detained her for suspicious behaviour, she'll be arrested for fraud, and accused of breaking and entering with malicious intent, and - '
'Will you stop panicking,' Alya demanded as she rounded the corner. 'Everything was fine, I just got a little turned around in that veritable rabbit's warren you call a workplace. It's been a while since I last visited you there, remember?'
Marinette scratched her head, flushing guiltily. 'Sorry.'
Alya sighed. 'Never mind. You ready to see the phone company?'
Marinette nodded, and they headed to her nearest telecommunications branch. They were extremely busy, taking ninety minutes before someone finally saw them. The woman was very kind and solicitous, printing out a copy of Marinette's phone records right away after she was shown the mobile's call log, the photos, and the doll.
She and Alya thanked her profusely, paid the fee, then went to find the nearest police station. Marinette shivered more and more the closer they got. Alya held her hand and smiled in a silent show of support. Bolstered, Marinette lifted her head and kept going.
The officer treated her very gently, careful to keep his voice calm and even, while he took her statement, accepted her evidence, and questioned her, though he allowed her to keep her mobile phone. Marinette thought she was behaving very professionally, maintaining eye contact, being as thorough and detailed as she could recall, and she was particularly proud that she didn't cry once, though she came close.
She heaved a sigh of relief when she emerged from the police station a few hours later. 'I'm glad that's over,'
Alya patted her back. 'You did well, I'm proud. What say you we get a celebratory coffee and cake?'
Nodding eagerly, Marinette let Alya drag her away to a fancy café.
After saying goodbye to Alya, Marinette stopped by her parents' bakery, to spend a couple of hours catching up with them. She didn't tell them of her recent troubles, preferring they not worry over her needlessly. They caught her up on the gossip of their neighbourhood, family, and customers.
Marinette was relieved to hear Tom and Sabine were happy, and unaware of her trials. They went about their lives as they always had, cheery and determined no matter what came their way.
It was late in the afternoon when she made her way home, her anxiety spiking the closer she got. Every stranger she passed was a potential threat, and the longer she was away from her home was more time for the stalker to leave something threatening.
She jogged the last few yards, leaping up the steps of the stoop two at a time. She shoved open the door and slammed it behind her, leaning against it as she breathed heavily.
'Marinette, is everything all right?'
Her head whipped up to see Luka standing before his mail box, envelopes in one hand, his keys in the other.
She forced a smile. 'Yeah, everything's fine. How are you?'
He didn't look convinced. 'I'm ok. Seriously, is something bothering you? You know you can come to me with anything, right?'
Marinette straightened up and nodded. 'I know, thank you. It's all taken care of, I promise. There's nothing to worry about.'
'If you say so,' he said, dubiously.
She retrieved her keys from her purse and went to her own mail box. Luka watched closely as she opened it and pulled out a stack of junk mail and a plain envelope.
'Listen, Marinette,' Luka started, with a light blush, 'about the other night.'
She looked up at him, surprised. She had all but forgotten about their threesome. 'Yes?'
'Can I talk to you about it soon? There's something I need to say, and I don't want to do that here, where anyone could hear.'
'Sure. Actually, there's probably some things I ought to say to you, too. How does tomorrow night sound?'
He nodded with a resigned sigh. 'Yeah, that'll do. I have to get moving, though. I promised Mum I'd have dinner with her tonight.'
'Ok, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye, Luka.'
He tipped his head in farewell and left, leaving Marinette alone in the foyer. Suddenly feeling vulnerable and alone, she locked her mail box and ran to the elevator. It opened immediately, so she stepped in and pushed the close door button frantically.
She rode up in tense silence while Tikki napped in the bottom of her purse. No one else got on. When she arrived on her floor, she hurried to her apartment and scampered inside. Once the door was closed and bolted, she let out the breath she'd been holding.
She slumped onto her couch, exhausted. Carefully, she removed Tikki's purse strap from her shoulder, and rested the bag on the cushion beside her. She toed her shoes off and shuffled through the small stack of junk mail. Finding nothing of interest, she turned to the plain envelope, and hesitantly opened it with shaky fingers.
Inside were pictures of her on her balcony at night. The first three photos featured her on her own, but there were five more with Chat Noir as he talked with, held her, or kissed her. In each of them, his face had been burnt out, leaving nothing more than a perfectly round hole with seared edges.
Marinette gasped, a trembling hand coming up to her mouth as tears gathered in her eyes.
'Oh no, what have I done?'
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