First Order of Business | Adrienette

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Marinette gets dropped off by Alya late at night when she knows her parents are asleep. She needs to remove her bandages and put on more treatment. It could've been worse, but she is still tired of walking headfirst into preventable accidents.

She enters her room, throwing her tote on her desk before heading to her bed. The second she lays back, she gets a call. She lets out a groan and stands back up to grab her phone.

She yawns into the speaker, "Hello?"

"Marinette," Luka's voice says on the other line. "Were you sleeping?"

"No, no." She looks longingly at her bed. "What's up?"

"I got your sketchbook. We both open, so I'll bring it by tomorrow."

"Thank you so much. I owe you one." To think that sketchbook was the reason why she was in this predicament. Maybe it was a sign that it's time to stop chasing dreams and get serious about finding a solid career elsewhere.

"Has Mr. Ramier contacted you?" Marinette puts her phone on speaker and starts going through her emails. Mr. Ramier didn't like calling or texting, so she had to keep an eye on her emails to make sure she caught shift changes or last minute call-ins.

She opened an email she got in the afternoon, telling Luka, "I just saw."

Marinette,

We need to discuss your future at the coffee bar. Be there tomorrow at 8AM. I believe you know what I am referring to.

Best,

X. Ramier

"I'm getting fired, aren't I?" Marinette sighs. She brushes her fingers against her wall where the old paint is chipping. She has been planning to redo her room to accommodate more to her now that she's an adult. She had moved back in with her parents the previous summer after failing to keep a job in a community center. Her life continues to spiral, and she never feels like she has time to ground herself.

"I'm holding onto hope that he doesn't," Luka tells her. Not his usual positive tone that he carries with her. "I told him to sleep on it."

"I mess up so much. I really don't think he'll let me stay after today." She sinks down into an old bean bag that is uncomfortable on her spine.

"You're great with customers though, and you're a great barista. When you're gone, people always ask for you and Ramier knows this. You're not disposable." That is a big compliment she is not ready to assess.

"You saw him today?"

"He came in after someone told him about the accident." The pregnant blonde. "He also had to do some paperwork for it. You did get injured." There was a pause in between them. Marinette takes her hair out of the bun from that morning, releasing some tension at the top of her head. "How is your hand, by the way?"

"It's okay. It doesn't really hurt too much. Some small blisters, but I don't think they'll leave permanent scars. I'm still going to remember this for the rest of my life, though. With or without a burn mark."

"Things happen. You'll be okay." Why did things always happen to her, though? Why can't she go through a single year without life altering changes and challenges that ruin her? She can't catch a break, and she can't afford to sit around and wait for things to get better. She's not getting better. "Well, I'll let you sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." Did she accidentally leave him in silence? She always seems to these days.

"Goodnight, Luka."

-

Mr. Ramier doesn't have an office. The coffee bar is just the counter up front, their machinery against a wall, and a tiny back room lined with freezers and a rack of supplies that get restocked once a week. When he needs to talk to people, they meet him in the corner of the back room where there is a circular table and two stools. Marinette chooses to stand.