Chapter Text
Today was like all others. Marinette woke exactly with her alarm clock, stretching out her long freckled limbs in the pale blue morning. She rolled out of bed, setting one foot, and then the other, onto the cold floor.
She was quiet as she changed into her running clothes, her morning routine set to the quiet sounds of shuffling and scuffing and the occasional squeak.
She stood at the door, making sure she had everything, before calling over her shoulder: “Bye Tikki, be back in a bit!” She looked back, and giggled as the hamster sniffed at the air.
Today was like any other day, she reminded herself as she set out on her route.
She paced herself down to the river, and fell in line with all the other runners that now dotted the riverbank. She listened to music as she ran, but took very little notice of what was playing. More often than not, Marinette let herself get so lost in thought that she ran right past the halfway mark on her run. Normally she thought about designs, or schoolwork, or what she’d make for breakfast. But today she just thought of him. Did he wake up and think about what day it was? Or had the date slipped from his memory and into obscurity? Most of her, nearly all of her, hoped that he had. But a very small, almost nonexistent part of her, hoped that he hadn’t.
Today was like any other day. The reminder forced Marinette back into her body. As Marinette turned at her halfway mark, her mind drifted through other thoughts, her legs carrying her back to her apartment.
As she entered the bakery, she greeted her dad with a kiss on the cheek.
“Good morning, papa,” she said, getting herself a cup of coffee.
“Are you still planning on getting dinner with friends tonight?” Her father said over a stack of baguette.
“I think so! But you know how it can go.”
“Things do come up suddenly with those three.” Marinette ignored his suggestive tone, and sipped her coffee.
“They’re all busy people, papa. And so am I.” With a wink, Marinette sprung up the steps to their apartment, breezing past her mom with a quick good morning.
“There are meals in the fridge for Adrien, bring some to him.” Sabine called.
“Thanks mum!” Back in her bedroom, Marinette went about the business of getting ready for the day. Tikki needed lettuce and new water, Marinette’s bed needed making, and coffee desperately needed drinking.
As Marinette took the bus to class, she caught a glimpse of the willow at the tip of Ile de la Cite. It was in full bloom, sending off petals with each gust of wind. It looked exactly as it had a year ago. She remembered how those petals kept getting into Chat’s hair. She’d wanted to reach out to brush them away from his unruly blond locks. She’d wanted to reach out and comfort him somehow. But she knew it wasn’t the time. And, unfortunately, it was the last time.
Marinette always arrived earlier than the other students. First one in, last one out, her professors joked. She situated herself in the studio, bringing her long hair into a quick braid to keep the hair out of her face. She fell into her work, and luckily it was enough to keep her thoughts occupied. So occupied, in fact, that she didn’t see the person standing inches away from her, calling her name, until they waved a cup of coffee under her nose. The aroma startled Marinette out of her concentration.
“Earth to space cadet?” Chloe Bourgeois huffed.
“Sorry Chloe! Thanks for the coffee.” She took it, inhaling deeply, letting the steam rise to kiss her cheeks.
“It’s sick how much you like school, you know.”
“I know, I know.” Marinette chuckled, slinging her backpack over her shoulders and tucking her work neatly away. “Ready for class?”
“It’s been a year.” Chloe said as they walked down the now busy halls. Marinette tried not to wince at the mention.
“Don’t expect any sympathy from me, missy. After all, you’re not the only one who’s got issues.” This is what Marinette liked best about Chloe. And yes she was still awe struck by the fact that she’d say that phrase. Sentiment wasn’t something the blonde did well, and nor did she see why it was something she should do well. Marinette liked that about Chloe.
“Please, do, tell me about your issues.” It had been a joke, but Chloe went on to tell Marinette all about how Sabrina had had to miss their dinner for some so called emergency.
“As if anything could be more important than me, her loving, beautiful, caring girlfriend!” She tossed her long mane of hair behind her back.
Marinette liked to see how sarcastic she could get before Chloe noticed. “Oh, Chloe, I’m sure Sabrina was absolutely miserable as she was running scripts for Scarlet Johansson.”
“I know! Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” And thus far, she hadn’t found an upper limit to sarcasm that Chloe wouldn’t interpret to be serious.
But Marinette couldn’t call Chloe stupid. The girl was anything but. As Marinette had learned on the last day of high school, when Chloe cornered Marinette and told Marinette that she knew her little secret.
“How did you know?” Marinette asked later on, after the animosity had faded away enough to make room for curiosity.
“You think I wouldn’t have conducted a thorough investigation into who my idol was? Honestly, Marinette… I should have been Ladybug.”
“Ugh, I wish you had been.”
They’d just arrived at Chloe’s class when the siren went off. Parisians had become familiar with the sound, and at this point, the response had become almost automatic. The students in the halls all changed course, filing down the stairs, towards the basement of the school.
But Marinette and Chloe didn’t move with the flow of their fellow students. They shared a look, before scurrying towards the opposite staircase.
The akuma siren had been put in place a year before, when Hawkmoth had resurfaced and the akuma attacks had become more relentless. Rather than leaving its citizens to run, scrambling like chickens with their heads cut off, Paris had set up specific rules to determine what would happen once an akuma had been spotted.
But Chloe and Marinette knew better. They found their way to the roof, and sipped their coffees under a beautiful blue sky, and watched the action unfold.
“He’s going for Notre Dame, isn’t he.” Chloe said, observing as a giant monster made of fried food hulked through the city.
“They always go for the monuments. If I were akumatized and I really wanted to get their attention, I’d find my way to the media outlets. Quicker to spread the info and catch their notice.” Marinette noted.
“I like the monuments. It’s a certain classy flair.”
“You mean dramatic. Oh, and here he is.” Marinette pointed at a small black figure, bounding atop the rooftops, towards the figure. The girls watched as he launched himself at the monster, only to be swatted away.
“He always does that. Launch a full frontal attack. No element of surprise, no tactics. Just hoping to get a good whack on the akuma’s head.” Marinette commented.
“And here she comes!” Chloe was giddy, as a flash of red and black appeared out of nowhere, bringing the monster to its knees.
Ladybug. Or, well, Ladybird.
As the two girls commented on the fight, Marinette realized it had been a year since she was able to watch the fight with the passive interest of a distant observer.
Today was not like any other. It was a big day.
Today marked one year since she’d given up the ladybug miraculous, and retired from the superhero game forever.