Where Does the Red String Go? -Miraculous Ladybug AU Soulmates

Chapter 19- Please

Adrien's POV

I can't focus on the assignment. It felt incomplete without Marinette doing it with me. Ms. Bustier had allowed an extension on the paper, due to my hectic modeling schedule. But how was I going to finish it without her?

I wasn't allowed to see her when Luka was near, so I pulled the only string I had: Buying pastries. Nathalie already knew Marinette was my soulmate, so she allowed me to go outside long enough to talk to her. I wasn't allowed to be completely free until I kissed her and sealed the bond. Even though my freedom was one of the greatest things I treasured, I wasn't going to force her.

So when I told Nathalie I wanted pastries, she nodded and went up to my father's study to keep him busy.

The sky began to grow dark as the moon rose up from the sky. I was sure Marinette was going to deliver the pastries, I knew the days when she normally worked. I sat outside the great brown double doors and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Then I felt it. The sense of impending doom. Not for my own self, but my soulmate. Nathalie told me that soulmates felt emotion that was past the normal human brain. Because we were linked, some strong emotions would pass down the string and the other person would feel it too.

This time, I felt her fear. It started off uncertain, then relieved, then the fear peaked up so high I could barely breathe. Running to Gorilla, I say the words again I hoped I wouldn't have to repeat. "Marinette, she's in danger." I could barely get the words out because of Marinette's paralyzing fear. What was happening to her? Was it worse than last time?

Without hesitating, Gorilla scooped me up and turned on the car. I held out my wrist so he could follow the red string. On the other hand, I quickly called the police station. I didn't care that Marinette thought Luka was innocent, I wasn't taking any chances. I waited for them to pick up, the slow seconds painstakingly stretching out.

"Hello? Please help. There's a girl in danger. Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng and I'm her soulmate. Please, y-you h-have to h-help her." I choke back tears. I couldn't lose her again.

I barely registered the female's voice telling me to stay calm and that they were following me. All I could hear was my panic mixed with Marinette's, which was some torture by itself. Mixed with the terror of losing Marinette, the pain became unbearable. I could barely keep my heart from my throat and was forcing air into my lungs.

The streetlights blur together as I urge Gorilla to go faster. I start to hear the sirens of the multiple police cars. The night was cloaked in an inky black, the lights from the cars barely illuminating anything. My tears start to fall as I break down. I couldn't do this again. It was worse this time as I now knew she was my soulmate. Please don't die. I chant those words in my head like a mantra.

Please don't die.

Please don't die.

Please don't die.

Please.

The car skids to a stop. I immediately get out and start running, following in the direction of the string. Behind me, I hear the telltale signs of the Police Department following me. The sirens hurt my ears.

I stop to let the police catch up to me so they can illuminate the pathway. I continue to run for who knows how long, praying that Marinette is still alive by the time I find her.

Please don't die.

Please don't die.

I round a corner and come to a stop in front of a park. It's old and the fence is cracked and warped and rubbish floats by the breeze. I stop, panting, as I strain my ears for any sound. When the ringing in my ears subsides I hear a scream. Then I saw her.

Marinette had backed up against a rock in the park and was holding her hands out. She was whimpering uncontrollably and her eyes were bright with terror. On top of her was Luka, holding a kitchen knife with his eyes shining like a psychopath. His pupils were dilated and in them, I saw complete madness. Like a rabid animal chasing its prey.

Luka raises the knife and smiles sadistically. Marinette screams again, a sound so full of agony that I feel in my bones. I started to run towards her, begging the Gods to just slow time for one second before the knife entered her heart. I couldn't lose her. I run towards her, leaping just as the knife is about to enter her body.

Please don't die.

I reach her and pull her out of the way, just before the knife connects with her arm. Marinette screamed as the knife lodged in her wrist. I hear the shouts of the police as they arrive and arrest Luka.

I look at the bluenette beneath me, her eyes shining with sweat. For a moment, there's only the two of us. "Marinette," I say, relief nearly crushing me. She looks at me too, her beautiful bluebell eyes as clear as the ocean. My mouth opens, about to tell her what I've felt all along. "I-"

But she's ripped away from my grasp.

The ambulance arrived and took her. Paramedics come and lay her on a stretcher, wheeling her in the ambulance. "No!" I scream she can't go again! I feel arms around me as the Gorilla restrains my movements. "No! Marinette! Please-" my words cut off as I choke.

I sink to the ground and watch as the ambulance doors shut and she's driven off. She slipped from my grasp again. My tears start to fall as I crouch on the dirt, senseless to the world. A thunderstorm begins to start as buckets of rain shower me and Gorilla.

I could never tell her what I truly felt. The tears blur my face as my hands take fistfuls of dirt. "Marinette," I whisper to the sodden earth. I had to say it just this once. Just this once, if never again.

"I...I...I need you."