The Naked Truth

Epilogue 1

The alarm rang way too early for Marinette. When the devilish device of torture started beeping, regularly ripping the silence of the room, she fumbled frantically with her hand on her bedside, until she grabbed it and hit snooze. Five minutes later, her hand beat madly on the surface of her phone again, trying to stop it once more, but felt the resistance of something soft. She tiredly lifted one eyelid to see Tikki's frowning little face.

"Ow, another five minutes, Tikki!" she moaned and hid her head under the blankets. But the little kwami zipped under the blanket and lifted them up.

"No, Marinette, it's time to get up. You'll be late for school!" she said sternly. "Get up!"

Marinette sat up and picked up her phone, looking at the time. "It's not even seven in the morning, Tikki!" She yawned. "What's the rush?"

"You will need time to get prepared today," chirped Tikki. The little kwami zipped downstairs. "Come on, come down!"

Marinette glared at her and moved one leg to get out of bed. But the second she moved, she held her breath and gasped.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" asked Tikki reemerging at the top of the stairs.

"Why are my legs so sore?" groaned Marinette. She moved the other leg and made to stand up. "Uuuuuh, it's so painful to walk! I feel like an eighty year old woman!"

Tikki chuckled a little and Marinette glared at her. "Don't look at me like that, Marinette. You're just not used to what you did last night."

"You mean it's all the cat's fault?" she roared as she dragged her feet to the stairs and then clenched her eyes shut and gasped at each step down, until she reached the next floor.

Tikki flew in front of her face and looked at her amusedly. "I wouldn't say that it's just his fault, Marinette. He was actually really sweet and careful. It's normal to feel a bit sore. Like when you do pilates again after your holidays!"

Marinette was slowly putting her clothes on. "You mean that you knew that I was going to be like this?"

"I saw a few morning afters in my thousands of years of service with my Ladybugs, so yes. It's nothing new to me."

Marinette grunted. "Is that why you set my alarm for quarter to seven in the frigging morning?"

Tikki chuckled. "I thought you may need the extra time."

Tikki chuckled again as Marinette brushed her teeth tiredly, washed her face and proceeded to put a large amount of concealer on the very evident black marks under her eyes. Then, she also put a little eyeliner on her heavy eyelids and proceeded to comb her hair and style it in pigtails.

"I thought Adrien said once that he liked your hair loose."

The raven-haired girl glared at the little kwami. "Why should I do what he wants? He's the culprit of... this!"

"Marinette," said Tikki with a sigh. "You're not being reasonable now. You're only a little sore, you'll be fine as you start moving."

Marinette huffed, but eventually left her hair loose, just passing her comb through it one last time. She also took care to put a foulard around her neck, to hide a certain mark left again by a certain cat. She looked at her concerned little friend and stroked her tiny head lovingly.

"Don't worry Tikki. I know it's not Adrien's fault but... I'm in so much pain it's unbelievable. I needed to vent! I'll be okay when I see him, I swear!" She stroked her kwami's cheek a bit more, noticing how she had relaxed a little at her holder's words. Then, she walked to the trapdoor and went downstairs.