Borderline

shoelaces & weights

Marinette was sure that she was going to break her eardrums in half. Or at least, damage them severely, as she set the music streaming from her headphones on the loudest notch possible. 

When in absolute distress, she would either turn to the occasional comfort her mother had to offer, or to a smorgasbord of food. Marinette's mother was out of the question this time around, and she had no sparing money to spend.

Finding a new solution to her whirlwind of strong emotion, and looming court date, she decided to check out one of the many recreational amenities her expensive new apartment had to offer. Currently, she was absolutely busting her ass at one of the multitude of arm weight machines. Luckily, there were not too many other people in the comfortably sizable workout area. Packed gyms were awful, and only would have added unnecessary stress to her soul. Angrily grunting, Marinette looked like a mad woman, swinging her arms about in a back and forth motion. 

There was nothing slow or calculated, only haphazard motion.

With a rather obnoxious clank, she moved on to the next machine. Adjusting the weight and the press against the top of her thighs, she used the seated leg curl. Marinette's face twisted up in laced frustration, not accomplishing the number of reps she wanted before tiring. Slamming the weight down and back into the starting position, she growled audibly. She probably looked like a grown toddler, throwing a fit in a public setting like she was.

"Whoa there, Princess. Any harder and you'd break the thing," a male's voice resounded from behind her. She flung one leg off the machine, angling her body to catch a view of the idiot dumb enough to talk to her. Marinette glared at the seemingly rude and inconsiderate human being. "Sorry, I'm just trying to help a fellow resident out," he said upon noticing her unwelcoming stare. The stranger held up his hands in surrender, practically waving a white flag to ease Marinette's tension.

She eventually relaxed her body, before breathing out a quiet apology. Returning to her workout, Marinette reset her position, and began leg curling once more. "Hey there, wait!" he announced, moving until he stood in front of her, as she halted. The male grabbed her right foot, yanking it towards himself. This motion caused Marinette to sink low into the bottom of the chair, adding strain to her neck.

"Excuse me, but-"

"Your shoelace is untied, and I cannot allow you to potentially trip and being harm to yourself, if I can help it."

"Ugh. Just hurry up, I have a lot left to do here."

"Fair enough. The only way I'll tie your lace quickly, is if you agree to go out on a date with me."

Marinette was annoyed. How was it that she attracted mentally unstable, or gym rat types of men? Was it an impossible wish to date a kind, smart gentleman?

Snarling, Marinette replied saying, "Fuck no. I have enough problems, and tying my own shoes is not one of them." She ripped her foot out of his grabby hands, and continued pumping iron. The seemingly egocentric man threaded his eyebrows together in a fusion of confusion and disappointment. "Okay. I didn't mean to offend you, which I clearly did. If you decide you need any kind of help, I'll be over by the free weights," he mentioned, hanging his head and moseying away.

Marinette sighed, knowing she could have been nicer. She did, however, channel every last drop of her patience toward calming Adrien down earlier that day. Adrien was quite worked up, and it took massive stints of time to get him to sleep. Her mistake was terrible, and was what drove her to workout to be so intense.

The stranger was only sincerely trying to assist her, and she just had to go and be the jerk of the century to him.

Swallowing her pride and cowering her tail, Marinette stood up and peered around the gym. Her blue eyes caught onto his figure, which was occupied with dumbbells. She made her way, bee lining towards the free weights. Once she stopped near him, Marinette made her presence known by sticking her untied shoe up and into the air, holding it near his currently equipped hands. She said no word as he nearly dropped the weights instantaneously, and focused solely on her foot.

"My name's Ethan. What's yours?"

"Marinette."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

"That was too cheesy."

"My humblest apologies, Ms. Marinette."

"Well hell, if anyone should be sorry, it would be me and the monster that came over me back there."

"It's fine, no harm done," Ethan said.

"It's just that my patient wore me out today, and I shouldn't have lashed out at a person who only wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally hurt myself."

"Patient?"

She sighed, not really wanting to open up the can of words, namely Adrien. The comorbid man was the very last thing she wished to discuss, especially with a new face. "Look, I can tell it's a touchy subject, and I just got us on good terms again, so you have no need to explain yourself yet," Ethan said, drawing marginally closer to her.

"Oh? We have an us and a yet?"

"You don't have to tell me anything until after our fourth date. That's when we'll get into the mushy details of our lives."

She was surprised that she wasn't totally creeped out by his obvious advancements. Instead, Marinette welcomed Ethan's flattery with receiving arms. His kindness was actually refreshing from her contrasting work environment. Blushing a tinged pink, Marinette didn't reply, and simply looked away. While glancing just about anywhere but Ethan, her eyes latched onto the clock, noticing the time.

"As fun as this has been, I have work super early tomorrow, and should hit the road soon."

She jabbed a thumb behind her at the exit and gathered her gym bag, pivoting on a heel. Marinette sped walked, trying to escape Ethan before he could get her number, or something else just as trivial.

Finally feeling the wind whipping against her face, Marinette cantered toward her apartment. The entire time, she was praying that Ethan wasn't following her path. Unlocking her door and slipping in, Marinette sighed against it. 

She sat her keys down on the small table near the entryway. She trudged down the hallway, not harboring enough energy to pick up her feet properly.

Slipping off sweaty clothes, Marinette drew a lavish bubble bath. Plunking herself in, she relaxed against the suds, feeling the soap brushing her skin. Marinette rested her neck on the lip of the tub, staring at the popcorn ceiling.

When her skin was the pale version of a raisin, she reluctantly pulled herself out. Marinette slunk on a silk nightie and pounced on her bed. Allowing sleep to overcome her consciousness, she couldn't help but think about how she probably should have accepted Ethan's date invite. That, and she found the nauseating thought of Adrien's reaction to Ethan flashing from the corners of her mind.

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May 16, 2017