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hearing her mother speaking frantically to her father was not what marinette expected to wake up to. she attempts to wipe the fog from her eyes as she looks over to her alarm, thirty minutes before she was supposed to wake up. what the hell were they doing, being so loud in the kitchen? tikki is nowhere to be seen at the moment, and marinette assumes she’s gorging on cookies in the jar downstairs.
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she gently gets out of bed, tossing her pink covers aside and going down the ladder carefully. she blindly comes out of her room, rubbing her eyes again as they adjust to the lights downstairs. her eyes have no problem reading the headline on the screen, though.
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𝗛𝗔𝗪𝗞𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛 : 𝗘𝗦𝗖𝗔𝗣𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡
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“oh marinette, sweetheart. we were hoping you wouldn’t worry about that. i’m sure ladybug and chat noir will take care of him soon. if you don’t wanna go to school we understand ...” sabine trails off, tom’s large hands resting on her shoulders. marinette stumbles for words. all she can focus on is that he’s out of prison and 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳.
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“i think i’ll go today, but thank you. i—“ she pauses, attempting not to show too much fear.
marinette stumbles back up the stairs, where tikki is waiting with just as wide of eyes.
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“i heard it earlier, but figured you needed sleep before you—“⠀
“needed sleep? you thought it was a good idea to 𝗡𝗢𝗧 wake me when a terrorist that i have to deal with is 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗦𝗘?” marinette huffed, looking around her room desperately for answers she knew she wouldn’t find. she mechanically starting grabbing things for school. he wouldn’t do anything in daylight, and without his broach he couldn’t do much ...
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her phone ringing cuts her off. did alya find out too? marinette reaches for her phone but stops half way. the number is unknown. her hands tremble as she reaches for the phone, and hold it to her ear. before she can even get a greeting out, his voice is booming over the phone. ⠀
“i made a promise to find you, ladybug, and i kept it.”⠀
“promise me you’ll leave my family out of this. this is between you, me, and chat. i’m your target this time.”⠀
“maybe you should worry more about yourself. watch your back, ladybug. i have eyes everywhere.”
with that, the dial tone rings, and marinette launches her phone across her room, crashing against the wall and shattering into pieces on her desk. ⠀
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marinette knows her lungs are in perfect shape, but the cloudy breaths she’s taking don’t help her panic. while alya isn’t clued in on what’s happening to marinette besides that hawkmoth is out, she knows something is wrong. marinette doesn’t hesitate to let alya walk her to school. they start outside the bakery, and she can’t stop looking over her shoulder every few minutes. she 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 his eyes on her. she knows he’s there, watching her. she knows he wants more than just the miraculous.
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he wants revenge.
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“why are you so nervous, girl? i know this whole hawkmoth situation is stressful, but ladybug has it! lila even said that ladybug already has a plan to take him—“ marinette soon drops listening, too focused on the security cameras outside the shopping plaza they pass on the way to school. she knows they’re looking at her. she feels hands ghost her neck and she whips around, relief filling her when no one is behind her.
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“hey, quick question! what the 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠? is there something you’re not telling me? is your anxiety getting bad again?” alya places a steady hand on her shoulder and the smaller girl flinches away. marinette’s not sure what will kill her first : hawkmoth or her paranoia.
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nino’s not sure what’s happening, either, but marinette knows he’s trying. he offers to walk her to her next class, even if it’s out of the way. it puts her at a little ease. still, her heart races everytime she ducks down to grab something from her bag. she 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 to look straight. and left. and right. and behind. she just needs to be looking 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 for signs of him.
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alya is next to her for her next class, and the other girl seems to be at a loss on how to help.
“hey, maybe you wanna meet with adrien in the park? then, he can protect you and then you can go on a date! not that you need protecting?” alya cuts herself off, and marinette would face palm if anxiety wasn’t choking her up.
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“i’m good today, alya, but thank you. i’m just gonna head home after class and sleep.” or put hawkmoth in jail again, but alya would never know the difference. ⠀
“if you say so, m. 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐𝘩 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝘩𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡𝘩, babe.” marinette gives a shaky smile and grabs her backpack, keeping her house keys tucked carefully between her knuckles.
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she slides out of her seat and her legs feel like jelly. the hands ghost around her neck again, and she stumbles to her knees next to her chair. adrien is by her side immediately and she brushes him off. ⠀
“sorry. clumsy! you know me...”⠀
marinette pauses, taking in his also ruffled appearance similar to hers. the bags under his eyes don’t help, and she’s sure they mimic hers. she wants to say something, but her tongue feels puffy in her mouth and her knees sting. she stands up with his help and attempts to give him a smile, but it comes out more of a grimace.
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she doesn’t think twice when he offers to walk her home.
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it’s dinner time by the time she’s able to contact chat noir via her yo-yo. if feels weird, talking to him without his puns or smiles. it feels weird, not being able to flirt or tease him.
everything is just 𝙤𝙛𝙛.
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“i don’t think he’ll do anything overnight. he’ll want to wait until the news die down.” chat’s in denial, and she knows it. she wonders if he got a call, too. ⠀
“he doesn’t have his miraculous, though. he could be anyone. he was arrested as hawkmoth and then the jury decided no one gets the right to know who he is! which i’m still pissed about... would they give that information if 𝘸𝘦 asked?”⠀
chat seems to hesitate, as if he knows something she doesn’t. she’s tired of secrets between them, and she knows she should tell him about the call . (and chat knows he should tell her who hawkmoth really is, but it hurts too much to speak and he knows his father won’t hurt anyone)
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so the words go unspoken between the two. no one answers the question of his identity. he doesn’t tell her that it’s his father, and she doesn’t tell him the call she received. the call ends with a million words said and a billion unspoken.
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her parents tell her goodnight as she continues to work on designs. she knows she should sleep, but marinette also knows he’s waiting. lurking somewhere, waiting for her to be caught off guard. tikki attempts to soothe her, offering to go on patrol, but they both know it’s too risky.
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marinette knows something is wrong. she can feel it pounding in her chest, entering her lungs, tickling her skin. the energy is surrounding her and all she can do is drown
in it and wait.
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she’s in bed when she feels his hands around her throat. she doesn’t open her eyes, because she already knows who it is. the girl attempts to struggle, but she knows it of no use. she manages to chuck her earrings towards tikki because her limbs start to go numb. she’s gasping for air she can’t get and any energy she had to open her eyes is gone. she feels bile climb up her throat and she’s knows this is it. she wants her mom. she wants to talk to alya again. wants to hug nino. wants to kiss adrien. wants to tell chat she loves him. she wants to—
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marinette shoots up in her bed, hearting pounding. tears that she couldn’t feel before are running down her cheeks and neck, and a thick layer of sweat is everywhere. she wipes at her eyes and attempts to calm her breathing. tikki is somewhere sleeping through this, she’s sure. she glances around the room and pauses in horror as she looks at her clock.
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thirty minutes before her alarm goes off.
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𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀.