Chapter Thirteen: Connections
"I just wish he'd come by," she whispered into her pillow, feeling the threat of dry sobs swell in the center of her chest again. Each time she pictured the hurt in his eyes, or the stillness of his parting words, her stomach sank. The inexplicable sense of hopelessness wound the strings of her heart until they were taut, threatening to break with each ragged inhale she managed.
Mari knew Chat wasn't coming back. His notable absence was ultimately expected, given their last encounter, and the fault decidedly rested with her. Only the gentle touches and soft words of her ancient friend kept the darkness from overcoming her completely, but God, the agony kept twisting her emotions into a scarred mass. She felt, with the stretching separation, the damage to their relationship was becoming irreparable.
If that wasn't enough, atop the pain and confusion, she was endeavoring to navigate and dissect the previous events, to no avail, and she still retained a blank slate for most of the day she'd gone in search of the Cat hero.
Images cascaded along her memory each time she reached for that particular point of time. However, they skewed beyond reach, the collective gathering into a torrential downpour of disorder. The result left her suffocating on a multitude of chaos and fragments that didn't make sense beyond the distant promises of a reality she wasn't sure existed.
She couldn't usher in a decent breath of air to soothe the burning sensation wasting an unforeseeable havoc across the epitome of her entire life. It spread, like calculated wildfire across her emotions, churning them into a molten frenzy of discourse she couldn't contain or comprehend. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. It wasn't…something she'd ever be prepared to handle. It left the secret heroine vulnerable.
"I just want to see him," she reiterated, the sound of her voice strangled around the tingling lump in her throat. Each minute and day without him was becoming harder, not easier, to live through. She wasn't sure she would survive.
"I know you do." Tikki's voice remained calm, but the sad edge just evoked another dry sob from the teenager. "Things will be okay."
"I doubt it." The woman buried her face further into the wet object, allowing the broken sounds to escape, her entire body trembling with the excruciation they elicited.
***POV CHANGE***
His eyes strayed to her desk more than once every single day during class. Noticing her absence wasn't a strong enough definition to describe the gravitational pull swirling inside his being. He felt like a piece of his very soul was missing.
He'd wanted, with every ounce of his existence to visit her, but it took just as much control to abstain, because it was what she had wanted. Both him and Chat weren't welcome, so he suffered his fate in semi-secluded silence.
If his father wasn't keeping him busy with work most of the week, he might have gone insane. That was another issue entirely. He'd been guiding their new hire, Luzheng, and he…he felt drawn to her through dimensions and space. He felt like his body and mind were tearing into pieces, trying to cross pathways they weren't meant to journey.
Her golden eyes peered into the depths of his entirety, conjuring up tendrils of memories lost on the whispers of eternity. He heard her voice echoing along the darkest corners of his mind, even when she wasn't speaking, breathing his name, over and over until it reverberated, unabated, through his skull. It was as painful as the symphony of her tone was sweet.
"You seem distracted," her voice murmured in Mandarin, pulling his attention from his splitting thoughts.
He tried to offer a reassuring smile, avoiding her gaze. "I'm fine," he replied in her native tongue. "I just have a lot of things to sort through."
"May I help?"
A sharp laugh escaped before he could help himself, and the young woman looked genuinely startled. "Sorry," he blurted, shaking his head. "I'm good." His emerald orbs migrated towards the group of photographers and producers huddled together, deciding their fate.
The week was shoot after shoot…after shoot. His brain and body were metaphorical sludge at this point, and he was lucky that Hawk Moth seemed to be taking a break from terrorizing the city, for now.
"We want to do the choreography again," the director commanded, bringing a sigh to his lips.
"We are doing something incorrect?" Her voice was of vague concern as her dark brows drew together, peering at the model as the orchestrator approached, gesturing they get into starting positions.
"No, you are lovely," he replied easily. "They just like to take several shots to be cautious." He tentatively touched a loose strand of silken onyx hair near her temple. "Should we get her hair back together?" His voice was louder than he meant as he switched back to French, staring off at the director.
During the fast paced, rigorous dance rehearsal, several locks had come undone from the tight bun at the back of her head. "No, we did think of it, but it has a raw quality to it. We're going to go with it for this shot," Jacques muttered, coming up behind Adrien to pluck at the teen's clothing without a single inquiry. He was used to it.
The invasive hands adjusted his black dress pants before fidgeting with the expensive white button up he was wearing. "Just remember," another voice called from near a video camera, "we want to see the intensity."
A young male appeared, offering them each a bottle of water to drink from. They'd needed several rounds of hydrating, but the more they practiced, the more natural the dance became…and intimate.
After handing their bottles back, the blonde's right hand clasped her left in the air, sliding the other to her hip, the soft pink fabric of her short fairy style dress giving way beneath his grasp.
The skirt itself appeared in jagged strips, layering around her thighs, giving room for the intricate movements, and of course, the woman was kept modest with matching spandex shorts beneath the material. The garment hugged her waist and ribs, the sweetheart neckline accentuated by the strapless feature of the overall piece.
Her golden orbs locked with his emerald ones, and soon, the world was falling away. Everything faded into nonexistence except the music. Only she remained, the center of his universe. Galaxies couldn't keep them apart, and he realized he was incrementally drowning in those honey pools.
His heart hammered, unnecessarily loud, competing with the sound of the music. He swallowed around the frantic pulse, giving way to the gradual beat of the noise, willing himself to surrender to his practiced instincts. The rhythm was slow, at first, and they rocked in small movements back and forth, feet planted, each motion becoming wider as the moments passed.
A crescendo hit, and Adrien spun the agile woman outwards without thought, tugging her body against his just as rapidly. The momentum allowed his hands to slide down her form, turning her left hip into him, dipping her forward. He watched with apt skill as her nose skimmed the ground, her right foot touching the back of her head just a breath before he righted her to compress their chests together.
Luzheng's weight dropped instantly to the opposing side, and he supported her arched back, watching her feet kick the empty air before rolling her backwards, flipping her. As the woman's pink ballerina shoes skimmed the floor he grasped her from behind, palms pulling her shoulders into him.
The pace was rapid, and there was no breath to be given lightly as they swayed once…twice….and both kicked their right leg outwards, rolling bodies in unison. She immediately used his body, cascading off his back, spinning in a chaotic ease of fluidity along the ground.
The blonde snagged her hand before she was beyond reach, sliding her under his forearm on the ingress. He joined their intertwined arms at the small of her back, allowing her to use the support to topple backwards, releasing her digits on the follow through.
Adrien's free hand snared her cheek, gravitating her lips towards his, leaving a whisper untouched before she bowed backwards. His nose buried against the skin below her throat as he hoisted her into the air, one of her legs snaking around his waist as he twirled their combined forms.
She looped his neck with the opposite arm, gripping her ankle with the other hand, curving as much as possible while he navigated them in wide, rapid circles along the smooth wooden floor.
"Enough," someone shouted, and he gasped, slowing his momentum enough to set the skilled woman on her feet, panting as the exertion caught up.
"Na-Nathalie?" His voice was winded as he glanced in the woman's direction, eyes questioning the sudden interruption.
"You have another scheduled appearance, and your father is dissatisfied with your tardiness," the woman said firmly.
Adrien rolled his eyes, gripping Luzheng's fingers gently to press a kiss to her knuckles. "Thank you," he breathed heavily in Mandarin, flashing a smile before he left the woman, and she seemed a little stunned by his tender departure.
**POV Change***
Another shockwave rocked the floor beneath her feet, and Mari refused to peel her eyes from her computer screen as she deftly saved her cup from sliding off the desk. She watched Chat Noir and Rena Rouge dancing around the villain with supernatural skill, staying just beyond reach with each attack.
"I'm not healing fast enough, Marinette snarled, banging her fists on the flat surface, toppling her glass this time so it shattered on the floor near her feet. She ignored it, refusing to look away from the battle.
"You're healing faster than normal, even considering the extra abuse you put your body through helping with the last Akuma," the ancient tried, squeaking. "Maybe two weeks more. Possibly less if you don't push it."
"I'm going nuts, TIkki!"
"Are you okay?" Her mom's voice startled her, and for the briefest of moments, her head swiveled to regard the woman coming through the trap door. "I heard something breaking."
A light blush crept into the teen's cheeks as she managed to stammer out an apology. "Just got over excited about the fight," she tried, gesturing at the video on her screen.
Sabine approached, staring over her shoulder at the chaos, nodding. "It scares me every time, but don't worry, Chat Noir knows what he's doing. Plus, he has Ladybug. They always fix things."
"I'm worried she won't make it, mom," the bluenette breathed raggedly, watching the feline spin out of the way of another blast. "I haven't seen her yet."
"You have to have faith," she whispered, kissing the top of Mari's head, forcing the young girl's heart to contract painfully. Little did her mother know…. "See, here she comes."
The secret heroine's eyes widened as she stared at the screen. Ladybug appeared beside the duo, and she was sure it had to be an illusion. She was sure Rena was pulling a trick. She was sure…
Rena hugged the crimson heroine…and Marinette gasped, her entire world slanting sideways.
Author's Notes: Thank you to all my patient fans and anybody still enjoying my work! I love you guys!
Mayuralover, it's great to see you're still around! Hope you're able to catch up and enjoy the continuation!
Aquilavetors, lol, if we can't make a snarky Plagg, we aren't really having fun with our characters, are we? I'm glad the words infiltrate you on some level, and hope you continue to read.