Wowza man ya girl is stressed ::'( but tbh I'm hyped about where I'm going with this fic yahoooooooooooo
-o-
Marinette glanced around the large, unfamiliar room. She wasn't sure where she was, though it surely seemed very luxurious here. It was nothing like she'd ever seen before.
"Who is this?"
She turned her head toward the source of the voice, and there she noticed three people standing across the room from her. Two were grown women, while one was a young child. She immediately identified the kid as herself and knew this was another dream. As usual, the other two people were only black figures with features she couldn't make out.
The four-year-old girl gripped onto her mother's pants, hiding her face shyly behind her leg. Her mother smiled gently, patting the timid child's head.
"Mother," she spoke evenly, "this is your granddaughter."
Marinette's forehead crinkled in confusion. She usually wasn't able to make out more than a couple words in her dreams. However, it seemed this one was different...
The oldest woman was evidently shocked, glancing down at the young girl with wide eyes, before averting her attention back to the other woman.
"This is...Gabriel's child?"
Gabriel? Who was Gabriel? Her father's name was Tom.
"Don't be so shocked. We're engaged, after all," the woman with the child clinging to her leg responded smoothly.
"I just didn't expect you guys to be so quick," she admitted.
"Things just happened that way."
There was an awkward moment of silence before the woman who seemed to be her grandmother fixed her eyes on the small girl.
"What's her name?" she asked.
"Marinette."
Marinette tensed up upon hearing her name. She already knew it was her all along, however hearing some sort of confirmation seemed to make everything seem more real.
"Marinette?" the woman asked, again.
"Marinette?" She repeated herself like a broken record. Marinette could see everything blurring away as her consciousness slowly came back to her…
"Marinette?"
She lazily lifted an eye, her entire body feeling numb due to the fact that she'd just woken up. She found the blonde kneeling right by her bed, however in his human form, this time. She figured he didn't want to scare her anymore than needed after last night terror-filled events.
"How…do you know my name…?" she croaked, throat dry and scratchy. He handed her a glass of water, in which she accepted, only to feel a fresh surge of pain rush through it upon even the slightest of movements. She completely forgot about her injury.
The glass slipped from her fingertips, slamming against the floor and shattering, sending small shards of glass flying and littering the room.
Marinette leaned over apologetically, using her good arm to reach down and pick up the glass, only for the boy to gently grasp her wrist and tuck it back under the covers.
"I'll take care of it," he assured her, bending down to gather the broken pieces. She kept quiet, a bit surprised at his uncharacteristic behavior. "As for your name, I overheard it," he admitted, almost sounding guilty about it. Marinette nodded in understanding, although he couldn't see it because his back was facing her.
"What about you?" she queried, halting the boy in his actions. She realized only a second later how little sense her question made.
"What?"
"I mean, your name," she elaborated, "it's not fair if you know mine but I don't know yours."
There was a brief moment of silence where Marinette thought she'd asked the wrong question. She knew she should've just minded her own business. What good would her knowing his name do for him?
To her surprise, the blonde raised his head, making eye contact with her. She observed his green orbs intently as a rush of déjà vu hit her the moment he parted his lips. "I'm Adrien."
Marinette nodded, finally tearing her eyes from his. She cleared her throat. "That's a nice name."
He turned his head as well, clearly lost in the moment just as she was. "Thanks, I got it for my birthday."
She awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of her neck. This was rather uncomfortable... "Haha, me too…"
"..."
"..."
"...Want to go for a walk?" she suggested, willing to do anything to get out of this nerve-wracking situation. Plus, she could use a bit of fresh air, even if she was a bit scared still from the events that transpired a little while ago, though she wouldn't say it.
"No." He shot down her idea without even a second of thought. Marinette frowned, not even very passionate about taking a walk until now. Somehow she suddenly felt like getting some air after his curt rejection.
"Fine, I'll go alone."
"No." His tone was even harsher this time. She froze. "You were nearly torn apart by a pack of wolves no less than a few hours ago. You're not leaving," he instructed, pointing a stern finger at her as if he were a parent scolding a child.
She bit her lower lip, deciding to push the line a bit. "But if you come with to protect me…?"
He glared at her, and Marinette immediately regretted her words. "What, do I look like your babysitter?" the blonde demanded with an eye roll. The girl pressed her lips together tightly, finally making her resolve to just stay silent for now. Pushing her boundaries wasn't such a bright idea after all.
"Sorry…" she apologized sheepishly, snuggling back up into the covers and shutting her eyes. A bit of extra sleep never hurt anyone. Besides, if she had to somehow locate a faraway town from here, a lot of energy would be required.
Marinette's eyes flew open.
Speaking of locations…where was she?
She looked around, finding a surprisingly tidy room and comfortable bed. It wasn't like the one she woke up in the last time she passed out, but where else could it be? "Is this the doctor's again?" she inquired, quirking an eyebrow up. He smiled softly, an expression she did not expect to see from him.
"No, this is my home."
His answer surprised her. She didn't expect demons to have homes too. "You have a home?"
He scoffed. "Don't look so shocked."
"I just thought…nevermind."
Then it was back to the awkward silence. Marinette shifted in the bed slightly, wincing when pressure was applied to her right arm. "How's your shoulder doing?" he asked, obviously witnessing her small act of pain.
Not finding any point in sizing the injury up, plus she wanted to get back to travelling as soon as possible, she just forced a smile and replied, "Fine."
He didn't seem to believe her, raising an eyebrow and tapping his chin. "Can you move it properly?"
Feeling obliged to abide to his request, the girl raised her arm quickly in hopes that it would lessen the pain, although it seemed to make things worse. "Ouch," she hissed, grasping at her wounded shoulder with her other hand. She was careful to avoid the bandages he'd placed there to patch her up, not wanting to undo anything. He tsked as if knowing this would be the case.
"Stay here in bed. I'll find you something to eat somewhere…" he commanded, and whilst she could hear the harshness he attempted to force into his tone, she could also make out the mild concern. Marinette pointed to her backpack.
"I brought some food in my backpack," she informed him, watching as he went to grab her pink-striped bag. He unzipped the largest pocket, pulling out a container of fruit.
"I never did get to ask where you were headed to," he realized aloud, handing her a banana. Marinette gratefully accepted it with her left-hand, the only hand she could use without feeling intense pain.
She shrugged nonchalantly at his question, hoping he wouldn't keep inquiring about her situation. "Somewhere far."
Unfortunately for her, this response seemed to pique his interest. "Why is that? Do you dislike the village?" he questioned. Marinette hummed thoughtfully.
"No…they're just sort of trying to kill me right now. Come to think of it, weren't you there?" she replied lightheartedly, as if she were talking about her last year's birthday party rather than her possible death.
He crinkled his nose. "Temporarily. I left after handing you the bucket."
She sighed. "They think I'm a demon."
"With what proof?" he chuckled dryly.
"Me putting out the fire," she replied, although not exactly too sure of that herself. Nathanael did say something about seeing a glow in the forest, but if she told the demon—err, Adrien, about that, he might go find Nathanael and kill him for seeing something he shouldn't have. She didn't want to take any chances.
"Sounds like a weak argument," he noted.
"It guess it was," she agreed.
Marinette peeled her banana, silently taking small bites while Adrien gathered some of her containers of food and began moving them to his kitchen—that is, until she stopped him.
"You don't need to move those," she assured him, holding out a hand of protest. He turned around, making a face."
"And why not?" he challenged.
"I'll be leaving," she announced, gesturing for him to set the containers down. To her utter humiliation, he ignored her and snorted indignantly.
"Leaving? You don't even know where you're going," he said. The girl frowned, knowing he had a point. But she wouldn't let him have the satisfaction of having the last word.
"Well…I guess I'll figure it out," she protested weakly. That's when the blonde smirked, slightly startling her. Why was he smirking? Nothing good ever came with his smirks.
"Or, you can just stay here."
