The Killer and Her Cat :hearts: Ch. 10

GUYS oh wow - I don’t know how this happened but somehow the chapter 9 I posted is EXACTLY the same as chapter 7?! How did I not realise this earlier! oh my lord!!! 🤦‍♀🤦‍♀ this entire time - so silly of me!

My notes were really out of order for chapters 7-9 and I kept swapping scenes around so I must have at one point just completely copy and pasted it into both chapters and then posted chapter 9 so much time after I posted chapter 7, I didn’t realise I was posting the exact same thing (besides the final edits that I do before posting - I’m just now realising I edited the same chapter twice and still never noticed!!?!?! Like WHAT)

So (although this was supposed to be “chapter 11”) technically THIS is chapter 10 :sob: since chapter 9 shouldn’t exist. I’m just gonna cut chapter 9 from the chapter list and update the previous chapter’s number and pretend that silly mistake never happened.

Anywhooooo, happy reading 🤗 (also apologies if you’re expecting more “tension”, it IS to come, I just want them to get to know each other cuz it’s kinda a slow burn and I want it to come off more authentic then the “love at first sight” trope)

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┊ Written by : me

┊ Cover art by: me

┊ Ship : Adrienette (sorta)

┊ Genre : Romance, Comedy, Adventure & Action

┊ Characters (excluding spaces): 5916

┊ Word Count : 1320

┊ Trigger Warnings: N/A.

Disclaimer 1: I don’t know enough card games so I’m only going to reference one I actually do know how to play for the sake of the story - I wrote it as “Cabo” in this chapter but I usually call it “Cactus” irl.

Disclaimer 2: This scene is 1000% inspired by Not Even Bones (on Webtoon); if you’re looking for a great enemies-to-lovers to read.

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“Are… Are you okay?”

Marinette’s eyebrows quirked together a little bit, probably just as shocked as he was by the question. Somehow, covered in cuts and gashes and bruises, this girl still managed to look pretty. That annoyed him a little more than it should.

However, she ignored him once again and pointed to the bowl of steaming soup below him.

“Eat. It’s not poison.”

This time, he obliged. And once he started he couldn’t stop.

Marinette just sat and watched him. She sat so still and so silent, Adrien couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.

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Marinette watched as Adrien drained the entire bowl within less than five minutes. Damn, he MUST have been hungry. She grimaced - that was her fault.

He wiped the last of the soup from his lips with his thumb. Red lips, plump and still slightly wet from the broth despite his efforts.

Adrien was beautiful, to say the least. Even she couldn’t deny it. In another life, he could have been a model. His hair looked soft and fluffy, the kind of sandy blonde that reminded her of the beach. It fell in loose careless strands around his face. He was tan too. And his cheeks, they were tinged crimson; it was a natural blush. He had the greenest eyes she’d ever seen - but not a harsh green like Plagg’s, it was a soft green - a jade green.

Those green eyes then turned on her and her heart fluttered in response. Odd, she thought.

“Uh… thanks,” he mumbled, pushing the empty bowl back through the flap.

“Have you been bored?” She asked.

“What?”

“Are you bored?”

Adrien glanced over at the blue bottle cap which sat on the floor besides her. “No...”

Marinette tapped the side of her head and she brought out an old pack of cards. They were crinkled, the box hardly holding itself together, but they managed.

“Do you know how to play?”

Adrien just stared at her. Probably confused as to why she, his assassin, wanted to play a card game of all things.

“Well?” She prompted.

The boy shrugged.

A smile tugged at her lips and she started shuffling the cards. Careful. No fancy shuffling- not with these cards anyway; they were too old to be handled in such a way; these were delicate, like fossils.

Master Fu had given her this pack. Which was a big deal. These cards had been hand painted by him and his mother when he had been a little boy.

The red cards were painted to look like ladybugs. Tiny little red black-spotted insects delicately crafted as if they were crawling over the cards real time.

On the other hand, the black cards had cute black little kittens; equally as breathtaking. The small creatures were drawn onto them, rolling over, sitting, sleeping, playing.

Marinette used to stay up at night shifting through each card and observing every unique little detail and pose. Her favourite one was the ace of spades, the kitten was playing with a ladybug that had landed on its nose. It was the only card that had both the cat and the ladybug on it.

Marinette opened the meal hatch to the cell and locked it in place. Then she dealt for them both, 4 cards each.

Adrien lifted them up and turned them around.

“Don’t look at them,” she huffed.

“O-oh,” he mumbled, flipping them back over quickly. She sighed and dealt him another four.

“Lay them out like this.”

The boy did as he was told, unsure of where this was going. What was her motive here?

Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not gonna kill anyone if you lose, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Great” Adrien bit his cheek - the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind until now. Yet another thing for him to worry about. He really really hoped she had been telling the truth about Plagg still being alive.

“Okay,” she said. “You can look at only two of your cards, but once you do, put them back face down. Make sure to them - you’re not allowed to look at them a second time.”

He peeked at two of his cards and she did the same.

“The lower the cards the better,” she explained. “You want the least amount of points you can get. Joker is worth 0, Red King, -2, so obviously those are good. Other face cards are 10 and ace is 1, two is 2, three, 3 - you get the idea.”

“I-I forgot my cards,” Adrien stuttered.

“Too bad,” she said. And turned the pile on its back.

“Let’s begin.”

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After a few rounds, Adrien was starting to get the idea of the game. Pick up, swap it if it’s good, put a card down and continue.

“So, you haven’t played any card games before? Not even with Plagg?”

Adrien bit his lip and grabbed a card from the pile, looked at it and put it back.

“Only like… Go Fish,” he mumbled, not really wanting to talk with her about himself, but at the same time, not wanting to displease her in fear of how she’d react.

Marinette laughed and it startled him a bit. It sounded so… normal?

Adrien had really just thought she’d start cackling. Something more like: MwaHahHah - like the witch from his dream. He was so sure she’d slowly start transforming into a warty old hag and start rubbing her bony hands together as she fantasized about the best way to cook him in an oven.

But, she didn’t start turning into a witch. She stayed a girl. A normal-looking girl - if not prettier than most - with some unfortunate fresh cuts and bruises on her face.

He ALMOST felt sorry for her.

Adrien placed a card down.

“Slam!” She said and quickly put her matching card down on top of his. She looked up at him, a flash of embarrassment crossing her face. Adrien almost laughed. An assassin who played card games and got embarrassed - who would have thought?

The girl quickly recovered:

“So, Go Fish? That’s the only card game Plagg knows how to play?”

There was a slither of judgment in her voice and Adrien’s face hardened. She had Plagg locked up in some dungeon, probably being tortured and here he was playing a card game with their kidnapper.

“We play other games,” he pursed his lips.

“Like?”

“Like… I’m not telling you,” Adrien strained his voice.

Marinette raised an eyebrow at him and Adrien felt his stomach drop. What was he thinking, talking back to a legit serial killer? “Oh, I mean, umm…”

Then she giggled. Louder than last time, looking at him in amusement. Sparkling blue eyes.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” she picked up a card and swapped it out.

“Cabo,” she said.

Adrien frowned. “Already?”

“Last go,” she gestured for him to pick up.

He picked up the card.

A red king.

He stared at the card. Luck was on his side, and then he swapped it in. They both revealed their cards.

I won, Adrien thought. He hadn’t won before. A small smile stretched onto his face until he glanced up at Marinette; a face of stone.

“Uhhh, umm. I didn’t mean to…should we play again?” he shrunk a little. Adrien should have put the red king down and lost on purpose! Stupid move, Adrien, stupid stupid move. Now Plagg’s going to die.

Marinette’s eyes flicked up to his. He waited, holding his breath. Suddenly, a sparkly smile flashed across her face. “Nice play.”

She collected the hand-made cards back from him and ever so delicately pushed them back into the box. Adrien’s beating heart slowed down a little.

“Same time, same place, tomorrow?” She asked, standing up and taking his empty dinner bowl.

“Ha ha,” Adrien sent her a dead-pan look. It’s not like he was going anywhere, anytime soon.

“Great, it’s a date,” she winked.

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Summary:

Marinette plays a card game with Adrien and they talk a little.

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Thank you for reading once again :relaxed: :relaxed: have a lovely day!

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