Chapter Text
The girls hands trembled with nerves as she quickly grabbed the cans of food beneath the counter. She didn’t like being out alone, but knew someone had to watch the camp. Her chest was thumping and her breath came in short gasps, she kept hearing what seemed like footsteps but when she turned, there was nothing there. Marinette, you’re just being paranoid. You already checked the area, there’s no corpse’s nearby. Just hurry up and you’ll be back to Alya before you know it. She thought, giving herself a mental pep talk. The wind howled through the blasted out windows, the glass that once filled them having been shattered long ago. Marinette shivered and wrapped her jacket around herself, but the cold seeped through anyway.
She could tell the winter months were going to be difficult, it was only autumn and she was already cold! That’s why Alya had sent her out in the first place, she knew they needed to stock up on food before all the animals went into hibernation. Alya was always like that, planning ahead. That’s how they had survived all this time after the dead had begun to rise. Marinette knew she would’ve been dead a long time ago if Alya and her weren’t together when this all had gone down. The memory of that fateful day flashed in her head, and she involuntarily shuddered.
She remembered the terror that had swept the streets, the panic, the death… All of it was awful. But somehow Alya managed to remain calm as the undead swarmed through the streets of Paris. The minute she heard the news she went over to Marinette’s house and helped her barricade her parent’s bakery. Alya had already realized the streets would be clogged with traffic, so there was no hope of getting out of the city for awhile. They had waited in there for three weeks, and watched with horror as the people of Paris were massacred. Every day they would hear banging on the door and they would shrink back in Marinette’s room, waiting for the barricade to collapse.
But it didn’t and within a month things cleared out enough for them to escape. They had been on the run ever since, working as a team.
Marinette thought over all of this as she scavenged, her hands deftly grabbing water and food and placing it neatly inside her backpack. She stood up after clearing the counter out, and moved on to the next one. She opened a drawer and almost squealed with delight at what she saw. It was a bottle of painkillers, which was something that was a very rare and coveted commodity these days. When you were constantly running for your life, pain was simply a constant state of being. Having just an hour of relief would be utter heaven to anyone who had survived this long. Just as she was about to pick up what was the equivalent of the god’s ambrosia, Marinette heard the unmistakable click of a gun turning off the safety behind her head.
“Drop. The. Pills.” A male voice said behind her. The voice was emotionless and cold, and Marinette tried not to tremble. Slowly, she put the pills down, grabbing her knife out of her belt sheath with her other arm as subtly as she could, her hands shaking violently. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, beads of sweat forming on her forehead and behind the goggles she wore. The pills touched the table.
“There we go. Now turn around slowly.” Swallowing, she prepared herself for what to do.
Tightening her grip on the knife till her knuckles turned white, she ducked and whirled around, hearing the gunshot go off right where her head had been. Within seconds she had a knife held to her attacker’s throat, and pushed him up against a wall.
Staring back at her were crystal green eyes framed by messy blonde hair and a pair of black goggles similar to her red ones. Now his eyes were wide with fear as she pressed the cold sharpened blade against his thumping artery, and he gulped.
“Drop. The. Gun.” She said, mimicking his tone. He glared at her, his eyes tiny jewels of hate, and the clang of the gun dropping echoed around the room like a ghost. “Good. Now I’m going to take your gun and the pills, and leave. If you follow me, I will not hesitate to blow your brains out, or slit your throat, whichever you prefer.” She smiled sweetly at him, her tone dripping with sarcasm, and his frown deepened.
“Fine, I won’t follow you. I just think I need those pills more than you.” He said, his voice full of contempt. They were so close she could feel his breath on her face, his chest moving in and out calmly. He didn’t seem to be lying.
“You really think I’m gonna fall for that? Look, we all need painkillers as much as the next guy. Everyone has that one friend or family member who is in ‘terrible pain’ and begs you for mercy, so you feel sympathetic and give them your loot. Then, you find them a week later overdosed in a ditch with all the pills gone, so don’t waste your bullshit story on me.” Marinette told him angrily, her eyes narrowed to match his own. They stared each other down for a moment more, and then he sighed in defeat.
“Ok. You’re right, we probably need the pain pills for similar reasons. You found them first so I suppose I’ll let you have them.” He huffed in reluctance. She peered at him, unsure if he was tricking her or not.
“You don’t have much of a choice when I have a knife to your throat. Now, when I bend down to grab your gun, don’t move a muscle or else this knife is going in your groin.” Her tone was flat, and she laughed internally at his shocked expression. His eyes widened and he nodded hesitantly.
She bent down cautiously, keeping her eyes trained on his the entire time. She noticed he seemed young, almost about the same age as her. That was a surprise to her. Everyone who was her age was dead by now. Death had claimed many, the younger people seeming more willing to step into Death’s relieving grasp than others. She grasped the cool metal object in her hand, the weight of the pistol surprising her. Then she slowly stood back up, and he watched her with fascination, getting a good look at her as well.
Marinette was aware she looked like a mess, but frankly she didn’t care. Her black pigtailed hair was very greasy and her pale skin was covered with soot and dirt. She and Alya tried to bathe as often as possible but lately the rivers had been much too cold to step foot in. She noticed the boy was dirty as well, but seemed very attractive from what she could see of his face. He almost could’ve been a model.
“You’re young.” He commented in an astonished tone.
“You are too.” She replied casually, turning to face him.
“How old are you?” He had a sense of wonder in his eyes, as if she was the first young person he’d seen in months. Who knows? Maybe she was. She pondered whether or not she should lie to him, but realized age no longer mattered that much.
“I’m sixteen. You?” He hesitated, probably wondering the same thing she was.
“Seventeen. The only other person my age I know right now is my best friend.” He sighed as he said this, clearly wishing for things to change. Marinette had given up on that long ago, accepting the new world the way it was. The mood between them had inextricably shifted now that the pills situation had been settled. They were no longer hostiles battling for supplies, but rather two kids trying to survive in a dying world.
“Same for me, my best friend is the only other person I’ve really spoken to in months.” Marinette said, letting her grip on the weapons relax. Looking at him from further away, she saw he was dressed in all black with what seemed to be a pair of cat ears adorning his wavy blonde hair. Many people seemed to do that now, dressing however they wanted since it was the end of the world. Marinette couldn’t criticize considering she was wearing red leggings with a black shirt and a red coat with black polka dots to resemble a ladybug.
“Where did you live before this?” She inquired, wondering if they might’ve known each other.
“I lived in Paris, but was homeschooled.” He blushed as he said this, as if embarrassed about this fact.
“I lived in Paris too! But homeschooling, wow, that’s unusual. My parents owned a bakery, maybe you visited it?” His eyes searched, focusing on if he had ever visited a bakery but to no avail. She didn’t know why she would think she would know him, he just seemed familiar. As if it was fate that they had met.
Suddenly, a crash sounded at the end of the room. They immediately got into defensive positions, backing into a corner together with their weapons drawn. They heard the indisputable groan of a living corpse shambling towards them, and Marinette’s heart began to race as her eyes widened with fear. More groans sounded and they realized it wasn’t alone. Her breath began to come in short gasps again.
“We gotta go.” The boy said, taking her hand with his leather clad one. She didn’t protest despite the fact that he was a complete stranger. In that moment they were a team. Fear of death always brought people together in the worst of times, made even the most hateful enemies work together. This was because when it came to life or death scenarios, most of the time people had a voice in their head shrieking “STAY ALIVE NO MATTER WHAT!”. This was one of those times. Looking around, Marinette spotted a blasted out window out of the house they were in, and knew what to do.
“There!” She pointed. He nodded and he quickly boosted her up through the small spot. His trust in her was surprising. He didn’t know her. She could leave him and keep his gun and not have to worry about him anymore, leaving him to the mercy of the undead.
But she wouldn’t do that.
She landed on a box outside placed right below the opening, and grabbed his hand to pull him up. She could hear the groans getting louder as they came closer, their horrid rotting stench wafting around them and making her want to puke. With all her might, she strained her muscles as he clambered through the window. Then, with a pop he was through and she fell backwards, landing on the ground rather ungracefully. They laid there together for a moment, breathing heavily as they regained their wits.
That was too close. Marinette made a mental note to always make sure she had an escape route before checking out a building. Then, she looked to her companion, and he stared at the sky, breathing evenly.
“You okay there?” She asked him, the worry evident in her voice. He looked over at her, and grinned widely.
“I’m purrfectly grand thanks to you! I would’ve been toast if you hadn’t pulled me through that window, so thanks!” She deadpanned at him for a moment, shocked he would make a pun at this moment of all times.
“Did you really just make a cat pun?” Marinette was frowning. She had never found puns that particularly funny, rather she thought they were annoying. He laughed at that.
“Yes, I did, I tend to do that sometimes because, ya know, I got the whole cat thing going on?” He gestured to the ears.
“I noticed. Why is that anyway?” Although it was commonplace to dress outlandishly now, everyone had different reasons, and sometimes those reasons were interesting.
“I don’t know. I just always felt drawn to cats so when I found this cat headband while I was scavenging for a coat, I figured why not? I mean, you got the whole ladybug thing going on, why is that?” His hand gestured to her spots casually. Marinette paused, realizing she had never thought about why she dressed like a ladybug before.
“I… I don’t know either, just feels right I suppose.” She said with a shrug. He then sat up and smiled at her, his green eyes no longer filled with hate, but instead with happiness and curiosity. She glanced up to the sky then, and gasped when she saw orange and red streaks appearing.
“Oh no! My friend is going to be freaking out that I’m not back yet, I’m really sorry but I have to go. Here, you can have your gun back.” She no longer was worried about him attacking her, mainly because the whole reason they had the confrontation was left in a room filled with the living dead. He didn’t know her pack was bulging with food, and he seemed friendly.
“Thank you. But, wait, don’t leave yet, I don’t even know your name! I…” He looked down and blushed. “I, well, I want to get to know you better. I mean, it’s dangerous out here as we just saw. I was thinking maybe we could, like, watch each other’s backs while scavenging?” He scratched his eyes, his cheeks bright red. Marinette giggled to herself. She had only just met him five minutes before when he had held a gun to her head, but for some inexplicable reason she trusted the blonde. Plus, it was a tempting offer, she always hated scavenging alone. It made her feel incredibly uneasy to have her back exposed.
“I… I think that’s a great idea, I mean, after today it looks like we could be a good team. So how about we meet here in two days at noon, does that sound good?” He nodded eagerly. “Also I’m…” She thought about telling him her real name, but what good were those in this world? No one needed to know who you were in this day and age, and anonymity gave you power.
“Call me Ladybug.” She stated proudly. He smiled at that and an idea alighted his eyes.
“Ok then Ladybug, you can call me Chat Noir.” His grin grew wider and she smiled back, the air between them light and trusting. Marinette then turned around to walk away, feeling his eyes boring into the back of her head. Calling out loudly without turning around, she yelled,
“Nice meeting you Chat Noir!”
“It was a pleasure meeting you m’Lady!” He yelled back. The nickname made her grin like an idiot, and a weight in her chest lightened. She now had something to look forward to besides just surviving another day. She wanted to meet the silly cat again and know him better. She just felt drawn to him for some reason, and in the hopeless reality she was stuck in, she would take any excuse to keep on living.