Chapter 21

As Marinette stands in the long line to get her ticket to Shanghai, again she wonders if she should really do this. Isn't this just running away from her problems? After all, her friends have forgiven her and understand. So will her parents, the rest of the city doesn't really matter.

As she looks back towards Paris she sees a group of people gathering around someone's phone. That's when she hears the unmistakable sounds of her own screaming.

'It has nothing to do with if they wil understand. I can't spend the next few months or years, being assaulted by the worst moment in my life every 5 seconds. They haven't stopped playing it on the news, almost on a loop. It's sickening.' Marinette sighs and once more, turns away from Paris. Shanghai may not be far enough.

"Hey, turn that off! Don't you have any respect!" A boy about her age definitely Asian snaps at the group. They all grumble before putting the phone away.

"Sorry about them, how can you watch such horror repeatedly?" The boy says, as he steps up next to Marinette.

Marinette blinks and looks at him, confused as to why he's talking to her.

Handing her a tissues he gestures to the silent tears she hadn't noticed were falling down her face.

"Oh… thanks…" She whispers, as she dries her face. How embarrassing.

"I saw it upset you… did you, know him?" He asks gently, gesturing to the banner of Cat Noir.

"Adrien, yes. We were friends in school." She fingers the Cat Miraculous on her necklace. She couldn't believe her parents lost her engagement ring. Right, lost.

"I'm sorry. Heading to Shanghai, me too. Maybe we can sit together sometimes and chat when we get bored. I'd say the whole trip, but I'm an introvert and that is too much peopleing for me." He shudders at the thought, drawing an unexpected giggle from Marinette.

"Well, it is a very long trip. So, why not. You live in Shanghai?" She asks the boy.

"Yes, with my family. I sort of ran away to France to see my grandma, I'm going back or they'll disown me." He chuckles and shrugs like he doesn't really care.

"Funny, I'm running away too." She mutters before she can stop herself.

"Yeah, if my best friend was plastered everywhere and people kept replaying his death. I'd run far away too." Ian sighs and offers her a bottle of soda, orange her favourite.

"Thanks…" She says, not meaning the bottle.

"No problem. See you on board." He winks as he walks off. "Oh, buy before you get on. The prices are outrageous." He yells back.

A few hours later after stocking up on snacks and drinks at the store, she's finally settled into her own compartment. The trip is almost 2 weeks long, that's a long time to spend in a seat next to a stranger.

"I really should have asked that boy his name, oh well." Shutting the door, she let's Tikki and Plagg out for a stretch and a snack.

"Now Plagg, now running off. You hear me?" Marinette warns him, he's slowly coming out of his funk and is starting to cause trouble again.

"I hear ya, I hear ya." He chuckles as he eats a cookie she gave him. He swore he'll never eat that cheese ever again. She doesn't blame him.

"I'll keep him out of trouble." Tikki giggles as she eats her cookie.

Marinette sets up the top bunk for the two to sleep in. She can't help notice how tired they both look. Maybe it's time for a nap in the miracle box, not like they're actually needed.

"Hey guys, do you-" A sudden bang on the door causes her to stop mid-sentence and jump.

Plagg and Tikki look at each other, then fly up and hide on the top bunk. Sighing, Marinette opens the compartment door.

"Hey, so… can you tell the conductor I've been with you this whole time?" The boy from the station smiles at her, as he slips in and sits down on the loveseat opposite her bunk.

"Um… why?" She asks, suddenly suspicious.

"I may… or may not… have punched a fellow passenger?" He grins and gives her a wink as the conductor appears at her door.

"He's been with me, he left for 5 minutes to go the bathroom. Apparently, mine's too small for his liking. I mean, how much space does he need for crying outloud. Not like he has to sit down or anything. He gets to stand up, heck he could pee in my sink if he wanted. So lucky! Being a girl sucks." Sighing, she shuts the door in the conductors confused face and locks it.

"Wow… that was, wow!" He chuckles as he makes to climb up onto the top bunk.

"Don't you have your own compartment or seat?" She asks, blocking his access.

"Nah, I don't. I'm a stow-away." He laughs, as he pulls out his ticket. "Kidding, but my seat partner was who I punched. And you said I'm staying with you, so…" He grins.

"Fine, bottom then. And ignore me, I like to talk to myself. Also, spend the day in the sightseeing car, and I won't cover for you a second time." She folds her arms as he points to the bed she's standing in front of.

"Deal and deal. There's a girl next to him on the other side, that he wouldn't leave alone. Then he laid his hand on her bare leg. Disgusting, so I punched him. Okay, elbowed him in the face, but same thing. She moved thankfully, and he had to get off for medical treatment." He laughs as he sets his bags on the bed.

"Okay, but still. Not again." Picking up her bag with the miracle box in it, she places it on the top bunk and leaps up onto it, without any effort.

"Marinette, you don't even know this boy…" Tikki whispers, as the boy rambles on.

"I'm Marinette by the way." She leans over the edge of the bed to see him.

He blinks as he looks up at her. "Dupain-Cheng?"

Marinette, almost falls off the edge of the bed in shock. "Yes…"

"Wow, no wonder you're running away. Aren't you supposed to be his fiancée?" The boy asks, and jumps when Marinette does fall off her bunk.

"How…" She asks as she gets up and rubs her head.

"I met Lila in the hospital. My Gran was a patient there. She let slip that Adrien's fiancée beat you up for mourning him." He glares at the wall, probably thinking about Lila.

"You fucked her up good, congrats." He grins and holds out his hand. "Ian Weatherspoon."

Marinette takes his hand and shakes it. "Nice to meet you, and thanks. I was a bit unstable then. I'm a little better now."

"A little?" He chuckles.

"Well, considering the head doctor was a psychopath who burnt down her wing trying to kill her patients and me. I only got a little bit of help." Grinning she leaps back onto her bed.

"So that was you. Thought I recognised you from the papers." He chuckles as he sticks his head up, Marinette quickly throwing a blanket over the kwamis.

"No peaking unless you warn me first. I may be doing… things." She winks as she snaps the waistband of her pants. His face flushes red and he ducks back down.

Embarrassing maybe, effective, definitely!

"Did you know he was Chat Noir?" Ian asks from below her.

Her smiles slowly disappears as the memory of his eyes going blank as death took him overwhelms her.

"Yes…" She whispers, before burying her face in her pillow to muffle her sobs. Ian remains quiet, not wanting to interrupt her grief.

Sniffing Marinette lifts her head. "You said, your Grandma was a patient? Did she get discharged?"

"Yes, but not in a good way." He sighs and sniffs himself. "At least she wasn't alone. My mother said she was a horrible person and deserved to die alone. They have always hated each other. But, I feel like no one deserves to die alone. I'm glad you were there for him." Ian sniffs, before he leaves the compartment.

"Me too…" She whispers, as she looks over at Plagg who hugs the Cat Miraculous.

Marinette looks up as the compartment door reopens. "Ian?"

"No miss, it's the conductor. The record shows you booked this cabin alone, who is that boy?" The conductor asks, boy is he married to the prick he attacked or something?

"And? I met him at the train station. We're both going to Shanghai, so I said he could share with me. Is that illegal or something?" She snaps as the guy, his face flushes red and he shakes his head.

"Were you married to the guy he supposedly attacked? As you seem to have a vendetta to avenge him!" She snaps once more, unsure why.

"You misunderstand me miss. I wanted to know who he was, to know more about him. The man he attacked is very powerful in Shanghai, I just hope he can handle it." He sighs.

"He doesn't seem the type to give a shit. Drop the matter, or I'll speak to your boss." Is she being a Karen right now?

"Of course, tell him I said thank you and be careful." He nods, before leaving.

"What have you got yourself into Marinette?" Plagg asks as he floats beside her.

"I have no idea…" She sighs and decides to google his family.

"I like him." Plagg announces as he munches on some chips.

"The Weatherspoons are a influential family in Shanghai. They started out with one tiny Chinese stand and now own half the restaurants in Shanghai. The business was started by Ian's grandma back when she was a teenager. Think she worked too much and that's why they hate each other?" Marinette mumbles.

"Probably… sounds ungrateful to me." Tikki snaps.

"Maybe, she'd rather have a mother then a empire?" Marinette asks, as she looks at the family photo.

"She could have had both." Tikki shrugs and curls up under a blanket for a nap.

"Guess so. I should have said goodbye to my parents…" She sighs as she looks at her own family photo.

"Well, anyone who travels across the planet to be with their dying grandmother is okay in my book." Marinette nods in agreement with Plagg.

"And protects a young girl from harassment." She adds.

"Exactly. And at least you already have a friend in Shanghai now." Plagg points out as he joins Tikki for a nap.

"Exactly…" Yawning herself, she curls up with them. Slowly falling asleep, wondering what Adrien would think of him and his family. And if Adrien would travel across the planet to be with his dying father.

"I miss you Adrien…" Marinette whispers as she kisses the ring, falling asleep as the train pulls away from Paris for the last time.