Miraculously Unrequited

Outsider POV

The clacking of her heels against the pavement as Marinette hurried home vibrated through her whole body.  Every step she took past strangers and tall buildings made her worry more and more that she was going to be late.  Stepping into her apartment building, her phone rings from her bag.  She rummages through it to pull out her phone and answer annoyed, "hello? I'm sorry but I'm really in a rush can I call you back?" She was about to hang up when a familiar haggard voice came from the other side. She scrambled, "Master!  I'm so sorry, I had no idea you would call!" 

"It's alright, Marinette."  Master Fu assured her with a cough, "I was just checking in to see if you ran into any trouble." Back in his little hut, he was tapping his pencil quickly against his desk waiting for bad news. 

But it never came, "I'm fine.  I was just collecting the rest of my sketches from my office.  You don't need to worry about me so much, Master." She clicked a button on her elevator to go up as Master Fu warned her again about the dangers she may face. 

"You need to be extra careful with packing, Marinette.  I know you may feel safe now but there are many shadows trying to find you in this city."

 While he grabbed on about how she needs to be careful, Marinette pulled a makeup wipe from her bag and wiped off the packed on foundation she had, and breathed a sigh of relief.  'It feels like ages since I've been able to do that,' she thought to herself.

"You need to make sure not to leave anything that will connect you to your old life.  Have you burned all of your belongings yet?" His pencil tapping became more vigorous as he flipped through papers with passport pictures and ID cards hidden within them.  

Marinette nods to her neighbor who was riding the elevator with her then whispered into the phone, "all of the pictures I had n my possession are destroyed as well as my passport and other doc.u.ments I had sealed away.  You don't need to worry about anything, Master, I have it under control this time."  Turning the key and pushing open her door, Marinette put her bag down on the counter only to get a glimpse of the dark figure drenched in shadows standing in the corner of her living room.  She didn't pay any mind to them before reaching into her cupboard to grab two glasses and a bottle of merlot. 

Mast Fu stopped tapping and sighed, "you make me age from worry."

"That's all I'm here for," she chuckled.  "I have to finish packing so I'll have to call you later, Master."  Marinette didn't wait for his signature, 'okay stay safe,' before hanging up the phone.  She threw it on the counter next to her purse and grabbed the glasses to plop herself down on her couch.  

She looked up to see him in all his glory.  His shiny blond hair didn't keep her gaze for long and neither did his sea-green eyes but the skintight black catsuit made her memories jump the tiniest bit.  There was something about it that she couldn't quite grasp in the back of her mind.  She shrugged it off and offered him a freshly poured glass of wine.  When he didn't grab it from her, she looked up and shoved it closer to him. 

The shaded figure reached down and c.a.r.e.s.sed her cheek.  He wiped away any of the remaining foundation that lay there and revealed her cleverly covered scar that had faded over the year.  She swats his hand away and spits, "you you don't want to sit and drink with me then just get out. I'm not talking to you unless you take what I'm offering." She turned her head away from him and placed the glass across the table from her without saying another word.

The shaded figure looked at the wine then to her before sitting down across from her and grabbing the glass. They didn't say anything for a few minutes. The sound of clinking glass against teeth and small gulps between the two of them became familiar sounds.

Looking out her window, Marinette sighed, "I really don't temper anything so whatever you're here to ask me about is useless." She swirled the remaining wine in her glass around, "you should just stop now before you're feelings get hurt." She went to pour another cup but felt his eyes trained on her.

Not a word escaped from his lips nor did he move from his seat yet he was holding her still as a stalk. She felt like if she moved something would break between them. She looked up at him for a response but he was still silent.

Instead of words, he pulled a small photo from his belt and whipped it onto the table between them. Still, not a sentencw came from him. His eyes kept digging deeper and deeper into her blue bell ones searching for some sort of sign she wasn't giving.

Looking down at the picture, Marinette dropped the glass in her hand letting it roll across the room towards the man. He didn't bend down to pick it up nor even look at it. No, he was still diving deeper and deeper into her reaction to the photo.

"Where the hell did you get this from?" She stands up hastily when he doesn't answer and yells at him this time, "answer me! This isn't something you can just pick up off of the street!" But even with her raised tone, the man just stared at her towering over him. His eyes squinted at her reaction.

Losing patience, Marinette caved, "detransform! Do it now while I still have patience with you breaking in here!" She steps toward him but he swiftly stands up to dodge her.

Without a word, he turns for the window he came in and jumps out, disappearing into the night.

Grabbing the photograph, Marinette runs to her bathroom and starts to rummage through what's left in her cabinets. Pulling out a small black and red box, she flips it up to see familiarily unfamiliar black earrings. Putting them in, she whispers, "spots on." Pink lights flash around her, transforming her into Ladybug for the first time in years.

Without another moment to lose, she runs to the open window and jumps out. Freefalling through the Paris streets, she opens her eyes before reaching the pavement. Whipping out her yo-yo, she grapples onto a nearby fire escape to chase after the stray black cat she shared a glass with that night.