Miraculous - Revive

Chapter 12

Marinette glanced around and rubbed her hands together nervously.

"It's her."

"Ladybug?"

"Stay away from her..."

She watched as a mother and her child steered in the opposite direction, avoiding her.

"Marinette..."

She smiled down at Tikki then looked back up at the gray, clouded sky, "is this..."

Small white flakes started to fall around her.

"I suppose it's normal this time of year..." Tikki flew out and caught a flake on her tongue, "snow is so pretty!"

"Yeah..." Marinette let out a breath and let the snow fall over her face.

"So, what was up with that?" Tikki glanced back at the woman and her son.

"Haven't you heard?" Marinette pulled her jacket together and crossed her arms, "Ladybug and Cat Noir are wrecking havoc all over the country, but... I'm surprised I'm still walking a free woman right now..."

It's already been a week, and... For all I know, Adrien's no longer in New York. I've been staying at Clair's place, as much as it pains me. But he offered me a place to stay when he coincidentally ran into me at a hotel on the other side of town. For all I know, he could be the reason I'm still allowed to cross the crosswalk on my own today. I guess I owe him for that.

"Hey, think of it this way, Marinette!" Tikki smiled, "at least you're not on your own in a foreign place like this!"

"Where do you think Adrien is? Is he still here?" After an entire week... "I think we'll go back out and look for him again, tomorrow."

"We still have to be careful, though. Those imposters are still out there."

Marinette looked down at the ground, "speaking of, if we want to avoid trouble, we should probably head back. Besides, it's getting late."

She slipped her hands into the fleece pockets of her new coat that she'd just received the night before.

"It's getting chilly out, you know."

"Hm."

Clair smirked, "fall gets cold. I hear it's supposed to snow tomorrow night, too."

"Interesting."

"You can act like you don't care, Marinette, but you'll be coming to me begging on your knees by the time the snow comes. So here. I'll leave this right here if you need it.

She turned from where she sat on the couch, "what?"

"This is for you. I got it today on my way home. I hope it fits."

"It does fit." Marinette chuckled and looked up at the sidewalk, "weird. There's no one out here... That's definitely abnormal for New York..."

"Marinette."

She looked at Tikki and paused, "are you okay?"

Tikki pointed in front of them and down the sidewalk was a teenage boy wearing a dark hoodie, a black vest, and dark jeans, "should we run?"

Marinette sighed and continued walking, "No, Tikki."

"But sketchy boys in a hoodie in the heart of New York... He could have a gun."

"Calm down, Tikki. Besides, if he knew who I was, he'd probably leave me be, anyway." Marinette continued once Tikki flew into her pocket and hid. She lowered her head to avoid eye contact with the boy until they crossed paths.