Updated C2
Grief changes you, grief from loss even more so. Never had Marinette dreamed she would become the kind of person who would agree to sex with a stranger without even asking his name! Her heart was still exploding against her chest as she hurried into the girl's restroom, still unable to believe what she had just done!
With unsteady hands she pushed against the cubicle door; before quickly locking herself in, slumping against the back of the door and sliding to the floor- before she stifled her pained cries.
Guilt. The pain she felt was guilt; she had been unfaithful to Luka, worse still she had enjoyed it- more than enjoyed, it had been amazing! Through a large exhale of breath, she shook her head as her heartrate slowly returned to normal. No, she hadn't been unfaithful; Luka was gone, she had no Fiancé- she was single.
The buzzing of her phone reminded her just where she was- and what she had yet to do. Fran had been calling her frantically but was now resorting to texts- Marinette was 10 minutes late. Finally joining the others in the conference room, she rushed to her seat. Keeping her eyes fixed on the screen and anywhere but the green eyes- that were still following her every move.
"I apologise for my lateness Marcus, I…" With a kind smile he simply nodded with a wave of his hand, "not to worry- you're here just in time, are you ready Marinette?" Nodding her head quickly she rose clumsily to her feet and opened her portfolio. All she needed to do was show her sketches and scrap materials that were to give life to her ideas- which should have been easy…right? Of course not! She was Marinette after all- the world's famous klutz.
She groaned inwardly as she fumbled unsteadily through the pages of her presentation, her words were jumbled and her heart was once again racing as her eyes caught with each of the other's- she needed to know how well her ideas were being received in her bumbling performance! It was with relief she could see nods of approval, and intrigued faces- all except one.
The green eyes she had saved for last because she knew she would lose the last of her composure, yet when she finally dared a glance, she had not expected to see such a frown buried above them. Did he not like her work?
She returned to her seat and unwittingly caught eye contact with him once again- the crease was still deeply imbedded in his forehead- seriously what was his problem?! Now feeling desperate to escape and pretend that nothing had ever happened, Marinette's words were now becoming rushed and panicked so that she could flee once again- which she did hastily once they were eventually dismissed.
Gratefully grabbing her jacket and bag, she hurried to the car park- not expecting to have a companion in tow, "can I help you?" An amused chuckle sounded from behind her, which prickled at her scalp, "as I recall you already did- so your name is Marinette?"
She raked her keys from her bag- once again avoiding eye contact as she nodded indifferently- still irked at his evident disproval in her presentation, "uh-huh. Happy now? You know my name- now you can get lost!" He was apparently not fazed by her abrasiveness however, because he did not look annoyed, on the contrary- he was clearly amused!
"Listen Marinette- do you want to go get a coffee or something? I need to explain!" She had begun to consider his request, however when the image of his creased forehead in her presentation flashed across her mind, she felt her irritation return.
Unable to hold her tongue, Marinette snapped icily, "do you always fuck people you have just met at business meetings?" He was clearly taken aback this time, however he recovered promptly as he retorted with a grin, "do you?"
Shaking her head, Marinette sighed, "touché!" How could she argue with that? After all she agreed to it readily. He laughed nervously and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm really screwing this up, please Marinette- don't tell me you don't recognise me?"
Unable to stop the harsh snort of amusement that escaped her as she sat in the driver's seat, she rolled her eyes sarcastically, "of course I do! we fucked less than 3 hours ago- see ya tomorrow!"
Dripping with smugness as she watched his figure grow smaller in the side view mirror, Marinette chuckled playfully to herself; poor guy he made her climax harder than she had ever in her life, but she could only reward him with disdain and sarcasm.
Stepping into the threshold of her fortress, she let out a soft sigh- as once again a deafening silence greeted her. Emptiness burned through her soul as she stood uncertainly before she sank into the sofa and stared into space, wondering once again what she was going to do with herself.
As the shadows of the evening crept their way into her room, she scowled at them loathingly, she did not welcome the night- because night-times were the hardest. Laying alone in a bed he should have been sharing with her. Marinette had never felt so lonely in her life. Why did she always end up alone?
Not really knowing what she was doing, she entered her equally silent bedroom, and slumped against her wardrobe before her eyes rested on the large box that rested on top of it. She had avoided doing this many times but tonight, she could no longer resist. She reached for the box that held all of her memories in- mainly, her memories with Luka.
Clutching it tightly to her chest, she sat onto her bed and started rifling through all of the pictures and finally allowed a small smile to surface as she reminisced the good times with Luka. When she had reached the bottom of the pile a yellowed piece of paper caught her eye.
Her small fingers trailed along the creases of the paper, she had long since forgotten about this part of her life! She strained her mind to her childhood and gasped in shock as a whole long forgotten chapter of her life materialised once again.
She briefly wondered it had all been a dream, being 'Lady bug', having a secret life and her beloved 'secret' friend- her 'Cat Noir'. Ignoring the lump in her throat, Marinette held up a small piece of paper to her face.
It had all ended so unexpectedly.
"Cat Noir, you wanted to see me?" Something was wrong, she was certain. Cat Noir was devoid of his usual flirtatious self; however, his eyes were sincere as he pulled her into a tight embrace "I'm leaving, tomorrow...Hawkmoth is taking me far away!"
He knelt on one knee, taking her hand in his, "bugaboo, this is goodbye…for now at least." His Ladybug watched with wide eyes as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and the hand that held hers retreated; leaving behind a small piece of folded paper…
Marinette sniffled back her tears from the painful flashback, she never heard from her friend again. But it had been anti-climactic, 5 years she lived her secret life with Cat Noir's in his battle with Hawkmoth…yet she never discovered his identity or saved him!
Her eyes turned back to the now aged and crumpled piece of paper in her hands, if what the paper said was true…she may finally have the answers she wanted in 6 days.
Once more she read the note through silent tears;
By tomorrow I shall be gone,
Our battle is over- though still not yet won,
My dearest Bugaboo,
This is my wish;
One day- I guess 10 years from now when I will be free,
Upon my return,
I promise- should you agree,
That yours alone- I forever will be,
Along with my heart I offer only to you;
My real identity.
Cat Noir didn't state a place to meet, he didn't have to. She always knew where he would be waiting for her- if he even remembered...after all she had forgotten; why shouldn't he?
It had all started so long ago, she was a child who had run away from Chloe and her gang who had bullied her relentlessly. She had hidden in a place far away that was hidden and met a boy...he had changed her life- and she had changed his.
She ran desperately, Chloe would never give chase herself but no doubt one of her goons would be sent after her. Marinette jumped over a nearby wall and hurried into the trees nearby. The wall had been incredibly tall- but she was good at climbing.
Fearing that it wouldn't yet be safe enough to return, she started to explore the beautiful woodlands around her- she would have never guessed that a place like this was so close by- was it a park?
The sound of someone clearing their throat caused her to jump, after all she still didn't know whether she was allowed in here! A young boy was hanging from a tree nearby before he dropped and landed agilely on his feet.
"You're not supposed to be here you know?" Marinette swallowed nervously before she started sprinting away to avoid getting into trouble. Though she hadn't made it far before he caught her with a little grin, "it's ok! I won't tell!"
It was strange, his face was gentle and yet his eyes seemed to watch her with keen interest as Marinette walked around curiously, "what is your name? Do you live near here?" He shook his head quickly before climbing a tree once again and sitting in it's branches.
"I'm not supposed to tell...I'm sorry." There was no doubt, this boy seemed so sad and lonely, but Marinette wanted to help somehow! She climbed the tree and sat next to him smiling widely, "it's ok you don't need to tell me, I will make a name up for you!"
The boy stood excitedly and leaped from the tree once again, "really? That sounds fun!" He landed gracefully once again and looked up to her with an air of pride as Marinette clapped his superb landing before giggling, "you remind me of a cat with all this climbing and jumping- shall I call you kitty?"
This was apparently not a good choice as he screwed his face up in disgust, "no way! That sounds so girly- how about Cat Noir! That sounds cool, its the name of a superhero I like to read about, that means you are Ladybug!"
He pointed at her red coat and nodded in approval, "see you even dress in her colour!" Marinette jumped down to join him too and threw her fist into the air, "that does sound like fun! But you know...I can tell you my name if you want?"
His face dropped a little before taking her hand gently and shaking his head, "no. Superheroes never reveal their real identities to each other...that way I can keep you safe from the villain Hawkmoth who would keep us apart!"
She had been only 10 years old when she had met 'Cat Noir', they had became instant friends and for years after that she would try to visit him in the same spot as often as possible.
The whole time they never spoke about their own lives and simply clung on to their nicknames out of habit because they had become too old to play superheroes, but the part of him that yearned for freedom, clung to their fantasy like it was the air he needed because in truth; without his Ladybug- he truly would have suffocated!
Over time, Marinette had come to realise that 'Hawkmoth' was most likely his father who was overprotective and cold, she was Cat Noir's only friend. But even then the time that they were able to spend together became less and less until that fateful day when they were only 15, when he left and never returned.
She had grieved his absence for months until eventually she started to date Luka and her memories of 'Cat Noir' faded quickly. It had been a painful loss to her and so, to protect her heart, she had decided to forget about Cat Noir. Even though he had promised her he would return for her- she didn't really believe he would remember her after all this time- would he?
But now… she was alone, alone enough to wonder if Cat Noir could fix her broken heart. Luka had always said that each person had a song in their heart, he said that heartstrings were just like guitar strings that played your own tune. When someone was broken hearted it was because their strings had snapped.
Would Cat Noir really come? Would fate bring her someone who could help her forget her own broken heart for a moment- could fate help fix her broken Heartstrings?
Forcing herself back to the present, Marinette held onto the paper tightly and wiped her eyes against her pillow; before stuffing her clenched fist beneath it.
With restlessness plaguing her mind, it wandered back to the guy from the meeting, his lips had felt so perfect against hers- not to mention the overwhelmingly good sex. She wanted to forget her annoyance at him for his disapproval and to just embrace his warmth once again as she fought the loneliness within her yet again!
Her lust was now awoken and having become overly hot and bothered, her mind settled on the intense gaze from his green eyes as he slid in and out of her against the desk…then the wall!
Without pausing to think, she lowered her hand to where her desire was flowing from. Desperately wishing it was his hand to be touching her instead of her own, she began grinding away against her own fingers.
The climax that soon followed was enjoyable, yet somehow unsatisfying. How could anything compare to what he had given her that day?
There was only one thing to do; she needed to slip away with him again tomorrow!
