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Unequivocally, the best part of Kagami’s day is when she meets Marinette after school. They attend different institutions: Marinette goes to Collège Françoise Dupont, and Kagami is enrolled at a private academy for accomplished young women. She wishes she could go to school with Marinette and Adrien, but her mother would never let her attend public school. The only reason she’s allowed to set foot on the campus is Armand D’Argencourt, the esteemed fencing instructor who only teaches at Dupont. Thanks to her enrollment in his class, she gets to head straight to her girlfriend’s high school every afternoon. Kagami changes into her fencing uniform while her mother’s self-driving car shuttles her across Paris, her privacy protected by the tinted black windows.
“See you soon,” she types quickly, shooting her girlfriend a quick text. Marinette responds by sending a flurry of heart emojis. Kagami smiles. She didn’t get the chance to see Marinette over the weekend, the both of them too busy to meet up because of packed schedules and heavy homework loads. She eagerly awaits their reunion.
After what feels like an impossibly long commute across the city, the car finally pulls up in front of Dupont, beeping to announce that she’s arrived at her destination. With her backpack slung over her shoulder, she gracefully exits the vehicle, scanning her surroundings for Marinette.
“Kagami!”
The familiar voice makes her heart soar. She looks up and spots her girlfriend sitting on the front steps of the building. Marinette’s silky black hair is tied up in a neat bun, and her cheeks are flushed from the heat of spring. She’s wearing white ballet flats, black capris, and a pink blouse. She jumps up and rushes down the steps, and before Kagami can blink, her arms are full of Marinette. Warm, beaming, lovely Marinette. Kagami closes her eyes and hugs her tight.
“Thanks for waiting for me,” Kagami says. Even though they established this routine months ago, she’s still grateful for her girlfriend’s endless patience and accommodation. On account of Kagami’s strict mother, they sometimes struggle to find time for each other, but Marinette never blames her for her limited availability.
“Are you kidding? You know I look forward to seeing you every day.”
Kagami does, in fact, know this, although she still cannot believe her luck. She smiles and kisses her girlfriend on the cheek. Marinette giggles, giving her one last squeeze before stepping back, giving them enough space to look each other in the eyes.
“How was your weekend?” Marinette inquires brightly, and Kagami shrugs. In truth, she spent most of the past two days in bed. She sat reclined against the headboard, her textbooks in her lap, elevating her right foot atop a pile of pillows. Last week during fencing practice, she landed awkwardly on her foot, a jolt of pain racing up her leg and making her pause. She didn’t think it was anything serious, however, so she just brushed it off, quickly resuming practice. For the past couple days, the ache has remained, a dull throb that occasionally distracts her. She refuses to take pain killers, but she ices her ankle whenever the chance arises. Knowing Marinette will worry, Kagami keeps her sore muscles to herself. She’s brushed off worse before.
“Relaxing,” Kagami admits truthfully. She only had to write two papers instead of the usual three. “How was yours?”
Marinette jumps into a story about a huge catering order at her parents’ bakery, and Kagami nods along, listening attentively. She relishes these minutes she gets to share with her girlfriend. If it were possible, she would ensure they spent every second together.
Kagami’s phone beeps loudly, interrupting Marinette’s retelling. She frowns as the alarm goes off, the one that signifies that she needs to head inside the school for her fencing immediately, lest she be late. She offers Marinette an apologetic smile and leans in, pressing a gentle kiss on her soft pink lips. “Gotta go.”
Marinette grabs her hand just as she starts up the steps. “I was thinking of sitting in, if you don’t mind? I’ll try not to distract you from the sidelines.”
Kagami blinks away her surprise, a bright smile blooming across her face. “Of course. I’d love for you to watch.”
Marinette grins, and they walk inside the school, side-by-side, hand-in-hand. No one shoots them weird, questioning looks, the student body accustomed to the sight of them together by now. Most people have vacated the premises by now, anyway.
They separate when they enter the courtyard, Kagami giving Marinette’s hand a tight squeeze before she breaks away to join the other fencers. She glances over her shoulder and sees her girlfriend making her way toward the stairs where she can sit and watch her practice. An urge to perform well swells in Kagami’s chest. She knows Marinette doesn’t care whether she’s the best on her team, but Kagami wants to be perfect. She wants to be flawless for the girl she loves.
“Hey, Kagami,” Adrien greets her amicably when she joins the stretching circle, and she gives him a polite nod. “I see you brought Marinette with you. Don’t worry, I won’t go easy on you just because she’s here.”
Kagami smirks then. Second to her, Adrien is the most impressive athlete on their team. “I wouldn’t want you to.”
He grins, and D’Argencourt arrives, ending the conversation. Since he’s the best fencing teacher in Paris, all of his students respect him, and Kagami is more well-versed in respecting her elders than most of her peers. She stands up straight and doesn’t allow her attention to stray while he relays instructions and groups them into pairs. Kagami is with Adrien, as usual. They’re the only ones skilled enough to match each other—besides D’Argencourt, of course.
As they break away into their groups, Kagami looks up at where Marinette is perched above them. Their eyes meet, and Marinette waves eagerly. Kagami returns the gesture with a small upturn of her lips.
“Focus, Kagami,” Adrien teases, practicing his lunge from where he’s standing across from her.
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” she replies, moving into the appropriate stance and pulling on her mask. “Ready?”
For Kagami, fencing is a dance and she’s the prima ballerina. She blocks Adrien’s strikes easily, parrying like a pro. With her eyes narrowed in concentration, she deflects his blows and tries her best to aim true. They shift back and forth, slower than they would in a real match, paying careful attention to their form since they’re just practicing. After a couple minutes, the tip of Adrien’s sword meets its mark, signaling the end of the scrimmage. Kagami is immediately ready for another round, but her friend pauses.
“You’re favoring your left leg,” he comments, and she stills.
“I’m alright,” she reassures. Even though she can’t see his face underneath his helmet, she can tell his features have morphed into a worried expression.
“You sure?”
Kagami grits her teeth and glances up to where Marinette is perched. “I’ll beat you this time, Agreste.”
Adrien hesitates, but when she readies herself into her fighting stance, he follows suit. She lunges more aggressively this time, determined to win. For a while, she has the upper hand, backing him into a proverbial corner, but then she steps forward and— ow!
Gasping, she falters, and Adrien lowers his sword. “Kagami?”
“I’m fine,” she hisses, lifting her right foot off the ground in the hopes it’ll ease the throbbing pain. It doesn’t.
In what feels like a fraction of a second, Marinette is by her side, out of breath from racing across the courtyard. She places her hand on Kagami’s shoulder, her dark brows creased in worry.
“You’re hurt.” She crouches down and begins to examine her ankle. “What’s wrong?”
“I said I’m fine,” Kagami insists, annoyed by all the fretfulness. Her girlfriend shoots her a pointed look.
“Take off your shoe. Let me have a look.”
Kagami sighs. “Marinette…”
“You should listen to her,” Adrien supplies, and Marinette shoots him a grateful smile for his support. Kagami clenches her jaw.
Marinette stands and takes her hand, and Kagami begrudgingly allows herself to be led to the side of the courtyard. Marinette’s sky blue eyes are both pleading and stern. “C’mon, at least let me check to see if anything’s wrong.”
Kagami acquiesces, removing her helmet before sitting down on the ground and carefully unlacing her sneaker. She rolls off her sock, and Marinette gasps at the sight of purple bruised skin.
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Kagami maintains, but her girlfriend doesn’t even look at her, her gaze locked onto her injury. Marinette pokes the tender flesh, and Kagami bites her lip.
“Did that hurt?” Marinette asks.
“... Not really, no.”
Marinette hums like she doesn’t believe her. “You can’t fence like this.”
Kagami frowns. She’s pushed through worse before. She needs to keep herself in peak physical condition if she wants to be the best! Before she can protest, however, Marinette has already slipped her shoe back on her foot, and her arm is wrapped around her waist to help her stand.
“We need to get you to the doctor,” Marinette announces, and Kagami’s eyes widen, skeptical.
“It’s not that big a deal.”
Marinette is already corralling her toward D’Argencourt. “Well, we’ll let the doctor decide. If it’s really ‘not a big deal’, you can go back to practicing tomorrow.”
Kagami huffs, knowing she can’t argue with her girlfriend’s logic without sounding unreasonable. She groans, irritated, and Marinette smiles, victorious. They shuffle over to her coach and inform him of her predicament. He takes one look at her violet ankle before encouraging her to head to the doctor straight away. Marinette obviously appreciates the validation, and she gives Kagami a look as if to say: “See? He knows I’m right. ”
With their arms around each other’s shoulders, they slowly make their way out of the building, down the steps, and over to where her mother’s car is parked. As soon as they slip into the backseat, Marinette relays instructions to the computer system, directing them toward the nearest hospital. Kagami buckles in and sits back, closely examining her girlfriend’s expression. Marinette looks so tense.
Kagami squeezes her shoulder and ducks her head in order to meet her eyes. “It’s okay, Mari.”
Marinette offers her a weak smile. “I know, I know. You’ll be okay.”
The car shifts into gear and pulls away from the curb. Kagami takes Marinette’s hand and doesn’t let go.
Kagami is sitting inside the doctor’s office, looking at her x-rays. She can’t believe what she’s hearing. “A fracture?”
Dr. Dubois nods gravely. “Yes. You’re lucky you came in sooner rather than later. One more rough landing and it would’ve become a complete break. Fortunately, you caught it in time.”
Kagami stares at the pictures of her bones. If she broke her foot, she would’ve been prevented from competing for an intolerable amount of time .
“Don’t worry, you should recover in about two months. For the next eight weeks, you can’t put any weight on it. You’ll have to wear a cast and use crutches. I also advise resting as much as possible to expedite the process.”
Kagami nods wordlessly. No fencing, then. She tries to squash her disappointment.
“Before you leave today, we’ll get you fitted for a boot. I’ll have the nurses show you how to use crutches as well.”
“Thank you,” Kagami says politely in a tone her mother would approve of. She wishes she had her mother beside her to demand better from the doctors. She wishes Marinette was allowed to come back with her.
Dr. Dubois smiles and nods before exiting the room. Kagami sits on the examination table, staring down at her injured foot. Two months. Such a terribly long time. She doesn’t know how she’ll endure. She buries her face in her palms.
A while later, Kagami returns to the waiting room, aided by her crutches. Marinette rises from her plastic chair without hesitation, rushing over to her.
“What happened? Is your ankle broken? Can you walk?” she asks frantically, looking her over.
“Not my ankle, no. Some bones in my foot are fractured. I have to wear a cast for the next two months,” Kagami explains, already hobbling over to the exit. She wants to get out of this place as soon as possible, away from the prying eyes of the other patients and their families. Marinette hovers close, almost like she’s unsure if she’s allowed to help her or if she even can.
“Two months?” Marinette asks, surprised. Kagami nods somberly, leaving the waiting room and heading over to the elevators. “That’s such a long time.”
“I won’t be able to fence,” Kagami says softly. She can feel her girlfriend’s gaze on her, heavy and searching.
“Oh, Kagami.” Marinette flutters closer, hugging her around the middle from behind. The embrace is awkward because of the crutches, but Kagami still appreciates the gesture. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your coach will understand. You’ll be back to competing in no time!”
The elevator dings, and Kagami breaks away, slipping inside. Her girlfriend follows close behind. She sighs. “That’s not it.”
Marinette raises a questioning eyebrow.
“I won’t be going to practice, so I won’t be able to see you every day after school,” Kagami explains sadly. This is all her fault. She wouldn’t have put them in this situation if she just took better care of herself. The ride to the ground floor is quiet, as well as their walk to the parking garage. Her mother is going to be so cross with her for getting herself injured. She can already imagine her admonishing words: reckless, irresponsible, headstrong…
Marinette opens the door and helps her into her seat, her face pinched. It takes some maneuvering, but they manage to make it work. She drops her crutches on the floor and leans her head back, eyes closed. She hears Marinette’s door close and her buckle click, and then… a long beat of silence.
“Kagami.”
She cracks open one eye and glances at her girlfriend. Her expression is so serious, it’s startling.
“We’ll still be able to see each other. We have the weekends, and I can come by and visit you after school when I have time. You shouldn’t feel guilty for being injured. You’re not an inconvenience to me. You never will be.” Marinette scoots closer and reaches up to caress her cheek. “You’ve done nothing wrong.”
Kagami’s heart clenches. She doesn’t know what she’s done to deserve such a caring, understanding girlfriend. Marinette seems to always know what she’s thinking, and she always finds the right words to console her.
Her throat feels tight, and she struggles to swallow. “I know. Thank you.”
Marinette’s eyes soften. “It’s gonna be alright. I promise.”
Kagami crosses the distance between them, resting her forehead against Marinette’s. “I know. I just…” She exhales audibly. “I wish I hadn’t been so stubborn. I got myself into this mess.”
Marinette chuckles softly. “Well, yes, you should’ve had it checked out sooner, but you can’t blame yourself. You didn’t know.”
Kagami nuzzles her cheek. “I should’ve known.”
Marinette shushes her with a single finger pressed against her lips. “Hush. You can’t do anything about that now. All you need to think about is getting better.”
Kagami is tempted to roll her eyes, but she abstains. Her mother trained her out of such poor etiquette years ago.
Marinette plants her lips on the curve of her cheek. “And I’ll be there to help you get through it. I’ll stop by every weekend and every weekday that I can. Plus, we can continue to text and call like we always do. If your mom thinks I’m distracting you from schoolwork, I can bribe her with sweets from the bakery! By the time you’re healed, you’ll be sick of me!”
“I could never tire of your company,” Kagami replies, genuine. She can feel the heat rising off her girlfriend’s face.
“Me neither,” she agrees, closing the gap between them with a kiss. Marinette tastes like strawberry gloss, her lips impossibly soft and warm. Kagami wraps her arms around her waist, tugging her to her chest. Marinette encircles her neck, her fingers playing idly with the back of her hair. They remain entwined for some time, clutching tightly and breathing sighs into each other’s mouths. Kagami could stay here in the backseat with her girlfriend forever. They kiss until they’re both out of breath and more than a little bit flustered, only breaking away because Kagami’s phone beeps. She pulls the device out of her pocket and sees the notifications flooding her screen.
“Is that your mom?”
Kagami nods. “She’s wondering where I am. I’m normally home by now. I didn’t tell her we went to the doctor.” She shoots her girlfriend an apologetic look. “I can drop you off at your house.” She doesn’t want Marinette present for the tense conversation she’s undoubtedly going to have with her overprotective mother.
Marinette nods and then gives her address to the car. The vehicle beeps in affirmation before pulling out of the parking spot, gliding toward the garage exit. Kagami settles back into her seat, her girlfriend pressed up against her side.
“Can you call me tonight when you’re free?” Marinette asks.
“Of course.” Kagami knows she’ll need the comfort of her girlfriend’s voice later this evening if she hopes to get any peaceful rest. She reaches for her fingers and clasps her hand, kissing the top of her head. “I love you, Mari.”
Marinette snuggles closer, humming happily. “Love you too.”