The Bracelet

Chapter 7

Marinette's P.O.V.

I hadn't seen him get up, I wasn't even sure if he'd sat down. I needed to snap out of it to be there for him as much as I could. He had died. Come back, yes, but I had still watched him step out into the road and take the hit for me. 

Like he'd done so many times as Chat.

I also need to stop fidgeting. 

Why was I? I never have before. I wouldn't say I had been a calm person to say the least. I did overthink quite a bit and I may obsess a bit too much, but not to the point of mindlessly picking away at my own body.

I press my open palms against my thighs and force them to stay there. He'd been in the bathroom for a while. 

I started to worry for him, what if something happened? What if whatever power that made the miraculous heal him had changed its mind?? What if he was laying cold and dead on the light yellow tiled bathroom floor, an exact mirrored reflection to how he had on the street, but this time I wouldn't get to hear his voice again.

I can't take anything for granted anymore.

I glance towards the bathroom door. If I focus enough, I can hear the water to the sink running on full blast. 

I want to scrub every last drop of blood off my hands. Off my legs. Off of my body. Just off of me so I could forget this happened. But I can't, not when Adrien doesn't remember. I use both fingers to tuck stray strands of hair behind both of my ears and rub my arms to ward off the chills that haven't left me since his eyes first opened again.

Why am I trying to get over it so quickly?? I'm allowed to be shocked. I'm allowed to be scared. This is normal, but it's not normal for people to come back. It's not normal to have a second chance. But honestly, I don't know what is worse. Someone staying dead or coming back without knowing who you are. Everything that made that person unique to you is just as dead as they once were. 

The bathroom door opens, then shuts forcefully. 

My head snaps over to the hall, Master Fu's does the same. If I didn't have words before, now they were in an entirely different universe.

He had shed the white overskirt like a second skin, holding it in his right hand as he strolled out of the bathroom. The top of his black shirt looked damp, I can assume it is from his still dripping hair slicked back on his head. His cheekbones had never looked more defined and his hair shined like melted gold. Almost every trance of blood was gone from his skin and hair, only his clothes remained discolored and tinted in maroon. His collarbones peeked through the top of his stretched out collar and parts of his chest was on display through ripped fabric. He clenched the red stained shirt in his hand and his face looked solemn. His eyes, while bright, were narrowed and his lips were rosy and pressed together.

His gaze reminded me too much of his father.

He walked as though he'd figured everything out. He looked so much older now. Usually his hair hung a bit in his face and he never showed off much. Now, he looked his age, if not older, and seemed not to shy away from attention. While his face tinged a cherry red, probably in result of vicious scrubbing finished only moments before, he didn't look nervous or on edge. 

What I saw made me feel insecure.

Why was his head held so high? It looked like he'd grown a couple inches. What in the world had changed?

He stopped a couple paces away from the table.

"How long has it been?"

I looked at him with wide eyes. His stare shifted from Fu to me and for the first time, I didn't see Adrien.