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Marinette woke up, her eyes and throat burning as she rolled over blinking the sleep from her eyes, the haze not clearing as she did so. Instead her eyes only stung more.
That wasn’t right.
She sat up, the smell of smoke finally registering in her sleep-addled brain kicking her into high gear. She was on one of the top floors which made evacuating a bit more hazardous, not that she was concerned. First thing was getting the important things. The grimoires and Miracle Box.
Smoke inhalation. That was a bad thing. A bad thing she was currently doing. Great. She grabbed her messenger bag and a scrap of fabric, tying the second over her nose and mouth, ignoring the small part of her in the back of her head that wondered if it was supposed to be wet. She didn’t have the time or means to do that at the moment and something was better than nothing in any case.
She shoved her feet into the sneakers that lay next to her door, praying she wouldn’t trip over her shoe laces as she quickly hurried down the hall into the guest room, picking up her sewing kit holding the Miracle Box and shoving the grimoires and photo albums for her memories into her messenger bag, zipping it shut and heading back out, barely taking a step out when a beam fell crosswise into the hallway.
Merde .
This is fine. The building’s structure is weakening is all. It’s fine.
She held her breath, squinting her eyes against the harsh air, taking the fastest, softest steps she could as she gained speed, vaulting over the bean realizing halfway through that that was a bad idea , as the ground underneath her foot broke away from the pressure of her pushing off which only meant nothing good could come from her landing.
She grit her teeth, already moving when she landed, trying to keep her movement moving forward despite the ground breaking away underfoot a half step behind her as she burst out into the main hall where she was met with fallen beams and fallen floor. And flames. Large flames.
Perfect.
Just great.
She glanced around, all the doors appeared open which was good. Her neighbors had gotten out then. She was about to try to pick her way to the opposite side of the hall where both the staircases and fire escapes were, a great design job there, when the window behind her shattered and hanging there was one of the local vigilantes. Nightwing.
“Need a hand?”
“Please!”
“How comfortable are you with jumping out here?”
“How confident are you that you’ll catch me?”
“Without the box and bag. Extremely. Didn’t anyone ever tell you you should leave your belongings in case of a fire?”
“You can pry it from my charred body. It’s coming.”
“Okay then. When you’re ready.”
Marinette double checked her hold on the box and swung the messenger bag so it hung on the same side of her body as the box was held before leaping out of the window completely airborne for a moment before feeling a strong arm wrap around her, trying to halt her momentum, she helped wrapping her arm around him before locking her legs around his waist, and her arm around his neck freeing his hand up.
“Nice catch.”
“Nice reaction time.”
She held on as he unlocked the stop holding them in place just outside the window, the two beginning their descent as she pulled the makeshift mask off her face.
“How are you holding up?”
“My eyes and throat are burning, my apartments destroyed, probably slightly burned, so. I’m doing great. Thanks for the rescue.”
“I’m glad I could help save such a pretty lady.”
She laughed as he said that, a faint blush rising onto her cheeks as she let out a small cough.
They’d barely touched the ground, Marinette unwrapping herself from the vigilante, the dryness and cough in her throat getting worse, before her world faded to black.
—-------------------------
Marinette woke up the faint beeping and sterile light that seemed blinding. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the light.
“How are you feeling?”
She turned, surprised to find Nightwing standing next to her bed. She opened her mouth to speak, only a soft rasp coming out before she shook her head, her throat too dry to talk.
He wasted no time in grabbing a small glass of water with straw from the small side table, likely put there for when she woke up. She eagerly drank it, welcoming the cool water soothing her throat.
“Better.”
“Much.”
“So how are you feeling?”
“Like I just got out of an apartment fire and lost most of my life… Where’s my bag and kit?”
He gestured towards the chair in the corner. “Safe and sound. You were very adamant about them surviving the fire.”
She let out a breath and relaxed as she saw them.
“Thank you. So do you watch all the women you save, sleep?”
“Only the fearless ones with no emergency contact information.”
She laughed, which she quickly discovered was a mistake as she started coughing, giving a grateful nod when she found another glass of water pressed gently into her hand, greedily drinking it’s contents.
“Thank you. For everything. I appreciate it.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng. They should have my emergency contact info on record.”
He nodded with a small smile. “I will pass that on to the nurse. I have to say I have never seen anyone so willing to jump out of a window.”
“There was a fire to my back and I have years of practice.”
“Should I be concerned?”
She shook her head. “Ignore that I’m not thinking my words through at the moment. Thank you for staying with me. I do appreciate it.”
“It’s nothing. I can stay until your emergency contact gets here.”
“She’ll be coming from Metropolis, I won’t hold you that long. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”
“It wouldn’t be a problem.”
She smiled. “If you're fighting to stay to spend time with me, I hate to break it to you that I’m about a half step away from falling asleep. I would give you my number but I no longer have a phone. Go. Protect the city. Luck’s in your favor for meeting me again if you are so inclined.”
He laughed, ducking his head in surrender. “It was nice to meet you, Marinette. I wish it had been under nicer circumstances.”
“It was nice to meet you as well.”