Desideratum

Chapter 24

"Cadence!" her shout resounded through the house, and was instantly met with laughter.

Resisting the urge to groan out loud, Marinette made one last swipe of lipstick before hurriedly exiting her room and heading down the hallway. She came to stand in another doorway in a matter of seconds, only to see her son comfortably seated in the middle of his bedroom, grinning up in her direction.

"Cadence!" she groaned. "I asked you nicely to go to sleep!"

"I know, but you're leaving!" he whined, clearly well-entertained.

"Cadence, how old are you?" Marinette asked, incredulous. Although he had his moments of rebellion, since he hosted a lot of energy and happened to find her reactions particularly amusing, they were few and far in between—and almost always caught her in the worst of times. "This isn't the first time you've been alone. What is wrong with you?"

He responded with another laugh.

"Come on," she insisted. Entering the room, she picked him up and promptly deposited him on the bed. This time, the boy complied, allowing her to pull the covers over him, tucking him in. "Now, I want you to stay here," she emphasized. "I want you to sleep. I mean it."

He gave a nod in response, and she gave him an unconvinced look, but she kissed his forehead, regardless. Then she straightened and made her way out of the room, skillfully avoiding the not so small anymore puppy seeking for attention.

Once she turned out the lights and closed the door behind her, she heaved a sigh. This would have been a perfect end to a hectic day, but it wasn't over yet. Rushing to her room to retrieve her phone, she stormed back down the hallway and down the stairs. She couldn't wait until she could finally slip underneath the covers of her bed and close her eyes.

The front door opened before she hit the landing on the first floor, sending sweet relief through her veins.

It was only a matter of moments before she came face to face with Luka.

"Take care of Cadence," she instructed in a rush. "Make sure he really does go to sleep."

Luka blinked. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. She pushed past him without a single intention of repeating herself, and it was only then that he had the chance to see what she was wearing: a simple blue dress with long sleeves and a v-neckline. It was short, perhaps shorter than he was used to seeing on her, but it was looser on her body. But there was something about the midnight-blue color that complemented her skin so perfectly and the shoes that did so many wonders to her legs… something that made the outfit more beautiful than anything he had ever seen her wearing.

Before his mind could even fully register the action, he had grabbed her upper arm and halted her movements.

Marinette turned to face him, straight dark hair flying around her face to rest on her shoulders. Her eyes, darkened by make-up, looked down at his hand first, before they met his own, wide with surprise.

A frown on his features, he took another look at her. "Where are you going?"

"Out," she replied, and he could feel the small effort she put into freeing herself from his grip. "To dinner."

"What?" he very nearly yelled. "You have a date?"

Her brows furrowed as his grip suddenly grew tighter. "Yes! So I can tell my newly-found soulmate how I live with my ex-husband." She threw him a flat look, before yanking her arm free and snapping, "Some of us have work!"

"You're—"

"Late," she completed. "That's what I am."

Turning around to leave, she was stopped once again.

"I'll take you," he proclaimed, preparing to follow her.

Her firm answer deterred him. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I am perfectly capable of driving myself around."

"But you can't drink if you drive yourself there," he retorted.

For a moment, Marinette seemed taken aback by his insistence. "Well then, I won't drink."

"Tch, it's impolite to refuse a glass of wine."

She was stunned. But most importantly, she was torn between the desire to either laugh or slap him. "Wow, hello diplomacy," she mocked. Then she rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Luka."

All he could do was let out a frustrated groan as the door closed behind her.

The lights were out and the house was silent when she came home late that night. She was careful as she closed and locked the door behind her, doubting that Cadence or Luka were awake and not wanting to bother them.

Her conviction lasted until she exited the foyer and almost ran headfirst into the bare chest of her ex-husband.

Taking a step back to avoid crashing into him, she gazed up with surprise clearly written over her face. Then her eyes narrowed. "You've been waiting," she accused.

He was quick to deny. "No, I…" He pointed behind him to the kitchen. "…was thirsty."

Raising an eyebrow, she remained unconvinced. But she decided to give him the benefit of doubt after a moment spent in contemplation, and tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear as she moved past him to advance into the house.

"So…" His voice stopped her. "You refused that glass of wine?"

She rolled her eyes before she turned around to face him. "You would be happy to find out I wasn't offered one."

"You have no idea how fortunate that was," Luka insisted.

Marinette huffed an amused breath at the ridiculousness of it all. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "Did Cadence…?"

"Go to sleep when you told him to?" he guessed. "No. But that's my fault. I asked him to tell me more about that Alexandre boss of yours."

At that moment, she didn't know whether to be amused, pleased, annoyed, or devastated, so she swallowed, and resumed her answer with a simple, "Get a life, Luka." Turning around, she began to make her way upstairs. She was about halfway through when her steps faltered, and she hesitated.

Her voice was soft as she spoke her last words of the day. "He wasn't even there, by the way. So that you can, you know, finally sleep."