Rogue

Chapter Two

Marinette stared at her cracked phone screen, thumb running over the thin lines as she fiddled with her now-cold tea.

It had been a couple days since her incident with Chat. She had thrown herself into working on schoolwork, trying to drown out all her confusing thoughts. What was she supposed to think, after an encounter like that? It truly hurt to see Chat like that, acting like a stranger. Granted, Marinette and Chat weren't as close as Ladybug and Chat used to be, but still...

"You're going to give yourself a headache with all that sighing, Marinette." Tikki floated over, trying to placate her holder. "You can't control Chat Noir. All you can do is keep moving forward. Besides, you got some good news this morning, didn't you?"

Marinette glanced over at her open laptop, where an email was pulled up onscreen. The first few lines read:

Dear M. Dupain-Cheng,

Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that your application, along with your sample design portfolio, has impressed us here at Yves Saint Laurent, and we would like to offer you an internship at our New York location...

A slight smile rose on her face. "You're right, it's pretty amazing. A French brand, too."

"See? You're doing an incredible job. You can't keep worrying about this."

Sighing, Marinette stood to pour out the rest of her tea. "It's not that simple, Tikki. I might not be Ladybug anymore, but why is he still running around as Chat? I thought he wanted nothing to do with the Miraculous anymore..."

Still, Tikki was right on one point. Stewing wasn't going to get her anywhere. She'd be better off putting this nervous energy to good use.

Picking up her sketchbook and purse, she waited for Tikki to join her before heading out. (Hey, old habits die hard.)

Marinette stopped by a food stand in the park and ordered a couple cookies before settling into one of her favorite sketching spots since lycee. Although it was comfortable in the shade under this tree, it had a good view of that damned Ladybug and Chat Noir statue. She angled herself away from it and started to work.

Her body relaxed as she sketched. She'd been trying to think of more luxury designs lately, instead of her trademark day-to-day designs, and it had been fun. The creative exercise was exactly what she needed to keep her mind off her sadness.

Stopping to slide Tikki a cookie, her mind wandered. Despite the circumstances, it had been nice to see Chat again. She'd always wondered, deep in her mind, if he'd been okay. He had looked healthy, and definitely still had the agility from back then. In fact, based on the way he'd been moving, she suspected that he'd never really stopped moonlighting as Chat.

His hair had been a little shorter on the sides, but still styled in a messy fashion, she'd noticed. And...had he had an ear piercing? She thought she'd seen a small gold hoop on one side. He'd also been so tall. Chat had always been taller than her, but now he towered. His shoulders were broader, too. She hadn't been the only one who'd grown up.

Startled, Marinette stilled her hand as she realized she'd been sketching Chat Noir. The beginnings of his silhouette stared back at her on the page, and she'd even doodled his hair already. She swallowed thickly and lifted her eraser, but couldn't do it.

Why do I still care so much about that cat?

Shaking her head, Marinette closed her sketchbook with a snap. Enough was enough. She wasn't a high schooler anymore, and Chat wasn't exactly on friendly terms with her right now. Tikki was right, she needed to concentrate on responding to that internship offer, and--