Déjà Vu
deɪʒɑː ˈvuː,French deʒa vy/
noun:
a feeling of having already experienced the present situation.
Marinette stood on the path for what seemed like hours, her conversation with Chat playing on repeat in her mind, the umbrella gripped tightly in her hand. When he had given it to her, she was overwhelmed with what she could only describe as déjà vu. Images of Adrien flashed in her brain, his eyes, his hair, his laugh, and the feeling of his fingers brushing against hers. She stared at Chat as he leaped across buildings towards the north side of town, and without thinking, she transformed, and ran off to follow him.
Chat scampered across the rooftops of Paris, his head clearer and his heart lighter. He loved his chance encounters with Marinette when he was transformed; she was much less awkward, much less shy, and much more outgoing when he was Chat. She just seemed... brighter. He felt a familiar smile creep onto his face, a smile that was usually reserved for late-night thoughts of Ladybug and his face turned scarlet when he realised who it was for. He shook those thoughts out of his head and paused for a minute to compose himself. He sat down on a building overlooking Marinette's parents' bakery, and decided to wait there for her to make sure she got home safe. He dangled his legs over the side of the roof, careful not to let them hang in front of a window, and scanned the deserted streets for Marinette. He saw no one. A few minutes passed and he started to get nervous. He extended his staff and rose up with it into the sky, to get a better view of his surroundings. He looked down at every street within a two mile radius and saw no one. Then he really began to get worried. Suppose she had gotten kidnapped by a new villain? Suppose she had gotten lost or hurt or worse... He extended his staff as far as it would go and got an overview of Paris. He couldn't see a single person. Panicking now, he scanned the area around him again, and, seeing nothing, he leaped over to Marinette's balcony to check if she was there.
Ladybug silently followed Chat across the rooftops, mostly unaware of why she was doing so. He had stopped on top of Mr.Gurond's café, and sat down, his feet swinging back and forth over the edge like a little kid. She smiled a little at his childish behaviour; "Chat can be so endearing sometimes", she thought. She noticed him look around with a slight air of concern and wondered who or what he was trying to see. She peeked out further around the air vent she was hiding behind, and watched him. Ladybug unknowingly started staring at his hair, and drifted off into a day dream for a while, before being snapped back to reality by the sound of Chat's staff extending into the air. She craned her neck upwards to follow his movements; he seemed to be searching the streets with a greater sense of urgency now. His green eyes were laced with worry and he seemed oblivious to the rain now pouring down. Second-hand concern fell onto her; Who was he looking for? Were they in trouble? Should she offer to go and help? She was about to reveal herself when she saw Chat's staff go even higher, making him almost impossible to see.
"I didn't know he could go up that far..." , she muttered quietly, and decided to stay put and see what he would do next. She didn't have to wait long until Chat landed back on the roof, picked up his staff, and jumped over to her balcony. And then he just sat there! What was he doing? Why had he gone to her house?? Ladybug sat there thinking about it for a few minutes until a lightbulb went off in her head. He was looking for her! Well, not her as Ladybug, but her as Marinette! She felt her cheeks growing hot at his concern for her, but shook the feeling off immediately. She should just go home and let him know she was ok, even though it wasn't his business to be waiting for her anyway. Leaping into an alleyway, she de-transformed and tucked Tikki back into her jacket. Then, she quickly walked out of the alleyway and down the street to her house, hoping Chat hadn't noticed her yet. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a hot chocolate, which she drank almost instantly, and a stern reminder not to forget her gloves next time. She disentangled herself from her parents as quickly as possible and raced up the stairs to her room. She took a deep breath as she opened the door, and was immediately enveloped in cold black leather; Chat's arms were around her, hugging her tight. When he finally let go he said,
"It's none of my business where you went after the park, but please be careful out there Mari..", he paused and gazed at the photo of Marinette and her family that was sitting on her desk, "Some people really care about you."
And with that, he gave her a swift kiss on the cheek and leaped out the window, leaving the girl frozen still, the memory of his lips imprinted in her mind.
