Miraculous Evergarden (Violet Evergarden/Miraculous)

1.5

The trio reached the cafe soon after passing Lieutenant Colonel Hodgin's news station.   Marinette seemed to be on the clumsy side, considering Violet had to pull her back to the sidewalk before a car could run her over. Was this really the girl who Violet initially named as one of the biggest threats in her class? Yes, Marinette was most likely faking her clumsiness. Violet had learned to not take everything at face value during the war. Anything or anyone could be a threat, even those who seemed harmless. The suicide bombers had proven that early on into Violet's tour. Violet opened the door for the other two girls, quickly analyzing the patrons currently drinking coffee or eating a meal. 

None of them seemed to be a threat, and could be disposed of easily should they show themselves to be enemies. Violet would have to memorize the Parisians who were often akumatized into villains. Many said that lightning never struck twice, too bad the same couldn't be said about Hawkmoth and his akumas. More reconnaissance would be needed to fill in the rest of the picture.

The akuma known as Mr. Pigeon often struck about once a month now, sometimes more. Hawkmoth didn't seem to be very creative if he kept using the bird obsessed man. There was one question that kept popping up in the back of Violet's mind. 

Why hasn't the government stepped in? Paris was being threatened by a super powered terrorist, and their only response was to allow Ladybug and Chat Noir fight their battles. Why didn't they deploy the Garde Nationale? Were they afraid that Hawkmoth would get his hands on military equipment? 

"Do you smell that?" Marinette exclaimed as she took a deep breath with Alya doing the same. The two girls started giggling. "Sandwiches." 

Violet took a small sniff. The air smelled normal, and was an improvement from her gunpowder smelling comrades, but she did detect hints of Parisian bread. Nothing stood out to Violet. She followed the two girls inside the cafe silently. 

"How long have you been in Paris?" Alya asked as they waited in line to order their lunch. Violet pulled her eyes from the menu written in French. 

"I arrived a month ago." Violet answered simply. She arrived in France a few months ago, spending her time at a military hospital in the countryside as she went through physical therapy for her new arms. 

"Oh cool. Are you enjoying the change in scenery? Paris is known as the city of love for a reason." Alya nudged Marinette in the side who started blushing after mumbling something under her breath. 

In all honesty, Violet hadn't been paying attention, though she did notice the differences in architecture between France and Afghanistan. France seemed like an alien world compared to the war torn country Violet had served in. Most of the buildings looked old and were in one piece. 

"I haven't noticed, though I do find the way Paris is built quite interesting when compared to Kabul." Violet replied bluntly. She would need to continue practicing her French once she returned to her quarters, she almost messed up a word there. 

The two girls froze at the mention of Kabul, which didn't go unnoticed by Violet. Were all teenagers like this? Violet's research indicated that teenagers liked to talk a lot, so she was briefed on what information to reveal, and what should be kept out of public knowledge. 

"Oh look, it's our turn to order!" Marinette stuttered nervously as they reached the front of the line. Violet simply turned her attention back to the menu as the two girls started ordering first. 

What would the Major want? 

----

Marinette ate her quiche silently, not because she wanted to mind you, it was due to her staring at Violet's metal fingers as they delicately held a fork. Violet decided to grab a salad, while Alya decided to get the sandwich of the day. Marinette had heard of advanced prosthetics such as the ones Violet had. Max gave the class a long speech talking about the difference the prosthetics could make once they were more widespread. 

"So what's the deal with this Hodgins guy you mentioned earlier. I thought you were an Evergarden." Alya asked after taking a bite of her sandwich. Violet was in the middle of biting a rather delicious looking tomato, bringing a napkin up to her face as she gently lowered her fork. 

"He is currently acting as my guardian dealing with my day to day affairs. Mrs. Evergarden legally adopted me as a favor to Lieutenant Colonel's Hodgins' comrade." Violet said without a hint of emotion in her voice, her facial expressions indifferent. "Former Lieutenant Colonel I mean." She added. 

Marinette's mouth formed an O as Alya started typing something on her phone. 

"Do you mind if I post this on my blog-"

"I would appreciate it if you didn't." Violet's emotionless reply sounded harsh, but that must have been Marinette's mind. Marinette was inclined to agree with Violet. That was a family matter that was no one else's business, even if it was the Evergarden family. 

"Yeah Alya! Violet's showing us a lot of trust by telling us this." Marinette said, taking another bite of the delicious quiche. "I thought you ran the Ladyblog, not High Society magazine." 

Alya started blushing and nodded her head. "You're right. I'm sorry Violet, I shouldn't have asked." 

Violet gave a simple nod in return and went back to eating her tomato, causing another silence to fill the table. Marinette was in the middle of taking another bite when she felt Alya kick her under the table. Yeah, she was going to get a talking to once they made it back to school. 

The door to the cafe slowly opened, the bell ringing softly. 

"Violet? What are you doing here? Are these your friends?" A familiar male voice spoke in accented French. Violet immediately stood up and saluted, causing the entire cafe to look at them awkwardly. Slowly turning around to see who was speaking, Marinette felt the heat rush through her cheeks. 

It was the man she ran into this morning. 

A/N
None of my stories die. I just get lazy and get inspired to write other stories. I'm working on about 5-6 at the moment. Half of this chapter was finished about a month ago. I wanted to finish it before the year was over so here it is!