A Monster in Paris︱A MariBlanc Love Story

7. Tears for the Fallen

Marinette woke up drenched in cold sweat, her chest heaving. Thunder roared around her and lightning flashed from behind her curtains. Tears blurred her vision and Marinette hugged her knees to her chest, curling into herself.

"Just a dream," she mumbled, "It's just a dream. It's not real. It's not real."

She could still see his face when she closed her eyes – a demon in white with lifeless blue eyes and a touch that turned the world cold. She'd tried to run from him, to hide, to escape, but he'd anticipated every one of her moves. Faster than anything she'd ever encountered, he'd successfully cornered her and proudly showed her row upon row of sharp, shiny teeth.

Then he'd pounced, and torn into her with his claws.

Usually Tikki would already be comforting her, alerted to Marinette's distress by her whimpers or cries. The kwami had often told Marinette how she'd tried to wake her in the midst of her tossing and turning, especially on difficult nights.

But Tikki hadn't come yet. All the lights in her room were still off and the only sounds Marinette heard came from the raging storm outside. The kwami was probably still sleeping. Maybe it was a good thing too.

Marinette didn't really feel like talking to anyone – or anything really – after what had happened today, when Gabriel had thrown her out his house and Adrien...He'd looked livid when he saw her at the bottom of his staircase.

Marinette fell back on her bed, arms splayed out on either side of her. Her pulse began to calm and she sighed out as she tried to make herself comfortable.

She'd never seen Adrien like that before, anger radiating off him like heat from a furnace. He'd called for her as she left, but Marinette had been too terrified, too humiliated, to stay for a second longer. It was better this way. At least now she'd never have to hear Adrien say the words his father had, and he wouldn't get pulled from school if she was found harassing him.

"Harassing him," she muttered.

Is that what I'm doing?

She watched quietly as rain pelted down against her trapdoor, the wind whistling and howling on the other side of the glass. The skies had been clear when she'd left as Ladybug, careful to keep her parents from noticing she'd left. The weather must've changed sometime during the night, after all, she didn't remember seeing the darkening clouds roll in after she came home –

When did I get home?

Dread settled in the pit of her stomach and her eyes widened. She tried to wrack her brain for the memory of her soaring through the sky, of her wrapping her yo-yo around her parent's chimney and pulling herself forward. But she didn't remember returning after she'd left the mansion.

She only remembered the bridge.

Blue eyes danced before her mind, a remnant from her nightmare and Marinette sat up straight. She tossed the blankets aside and nearly cried out when she found herself still wearing the clothes she'd left in. She threw the sheets off the bed and scrambled around the dark for her purse.

She remembered staring down into the water, at her reflection, Tikki's pleas and the earrings in the palm of her hand. She remembered the akuma fluttering towards her and Chat Noir as he'd slammed into her and pinned her against the railing. His body had been warm and strong against hers, his breathing loud and labored in her ear.

Then he'd sank to his knees and convulsed on the ground. A flash of blue had enveloped him, and her nightmare had begun.

She should've never taken off the miraculous.