Chapter Text
She came in the rain, bursting through the door of La Veilleuse at half-past two, drenched from head to toe and shivering violently.
She had the air of a cornered wild animal; From the frizzy black locks she had wrangled into a messy attempt at a ponytail and her wide, blue eyes, to her state of dress, clad in nothing but a thin tank-top, torn leggings and worn sneakers that looked as if they’d crumble to pieces at any second, it was clear that whatever had forced her out into the rain had given her little time to prepare.
Had beaten her up too. There was a cut above her eye and her arms were mottled with what he assumed were, but couldn’t confirm in the dim lighting to be, bruises of varying shades.
“A-Are you open?” She questioned, her whole body vibrating with the cold as she stood just inside the doorway, the sound of freezing rain echoing in the small pub.
“We closed at two.” Luka answered on instinct, still half in shock at her appearance.
Even the regulars had called it quits around midnight, happily scampering home before the worst of the storm had hit. No one in their right mind would be out in this kind of weather unless it was an emergency.
That line of thinking seemed to trigger his brain into rational thinking again, because he stood straight and lay the broom he’d been holding against the counter.
“Are you okay? Do you need to call someone?”
“N-No.” She glanced around the pub, teeth chattering quietly as she wrapped her arms around herself. “I’m just l-looking for the nearest h-hotel.”
She was shit out of luck if a hotel was what she was after.
“It’s tourist season. Only motel in town is booked out for probably the next eight weeks or so.”
“Fuck.”
He hadn’t expected such a word from such a soft looking woman and it caused him to have to hold in a shocked noise as she leaned her head back and bit at her bottom lip.
“Okay.” She let out a ragged breath, taking a moment to steady herself before she searched for another solution. “W-When’s the next bus out of here?”
“With this storm?” He frowned, feeling sorry for her. This had to be the worst time to be stranded in town. “A couple days at least.”
“Days?” She looked at him in disbelief, eyes starting to tear up as he nodded.
“The roads in and out of here are narrow.” He explained. “The storm will clear up by morning but it’ll knock out some trees. It’ll take them a few days to clear it all away.”
“Oh.” The woman slouched, almost like all the air had left her at once, before she ran her hands over her eyes. “Okay. Um- Is there anywhere nearby that’s open all night? I-“ Her voice broke and she paused to cough; a miserable, hacking sound that sent alarm bells clanging around his skull.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Sorry.” She whispered as she pulled her arm away from her face. “I just- just need a restroom and somewhere to get a meal. Maybe catch a few hours of sleep. I’ve- I’ve been in the rain for awhile.”
‘Awhile’ seemed like an understatement.
“We’re the last to close in town; Nothing else will open until morning.” He looked her over again, those alarm bells still pestering him as she nodded in resignation. “But I have some leftovers,” He offered. “Nothing fancy, just stuff prepped for the dinner rush, but it’s something. Bathroom is back there, on the right. I don’t have an extra bed but you’re welcome to hang out here until the storm clears up.”
Suddenly, she was tense, examining him in much the same way that a mouse would freeze at the sight of a prowling cat.
“I…don’t want to intrude.”
“Seems like you could use it.” He stepped behind the counter, hoping that giving her a bit of space would help calm her nerves. “Do you have any allergies?”
“N-No.”
“I’ll warm something up for you. You should dry off; Do you have a suitcase or something? Any other clothes?”
The woman shook her head, eyeing him carefully.
“Wait here.”
It took him at least ten minutes to get up the stairs, unlock his apartment door, scrounge through his closet for clothes he thought might fit her and return back to the dining area, but when he did she was standing right where he’d left her, shaking as she glanced around the pub.
“Here.” He told her as he held out the pile of clothing. “They might be a bit long, but they should work. My apartment is upstairs, I can toss your clothes in the wash while you eat and rest.”
“I can’t pay you much.” She blurted, fingers twitching as she held herself back from taking the offering. “I-I don’t have more than it’d cost to get a hotel for a night or two.”
“I don’t want your money.” Luka assured, pushing the clothing back out toward her. She eyed him suspiciously, a trembling hand reaching out to take them.
“Wh- What do you want?”
God, had the woman never had someone be kind to her before?
“Nothing.” He shrugged as she took the clothes from him. “Just trying to help you out. I’ll warm up some food. You should get changed.”
The woman nodded, staring down at the clothes in her hand as if they were a gift from God himself.
“Th-Thank you.”
She disappeared down the hall, the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing stirring him into action.
Leftovers. He should get to that.
As the food warmed, Luka couldn’t help but wonder what had brought her all the way there in the middle of the storm. She wasn’t a local, he knew that much, so she must have come from one of the neighboring towns, but even without the storm to slow her down it would have been a long walk, ten miles at the least. She could have rode in on the last bus, but it had come and gone around midnight, so either she’d been waiting outside for two hours or she hadn’t been on, and if her car had broken down somewhere and forced her to walk to town, he figured she probably would have asked to call a tow truck when he’d offered her the phone. At least if she’d been stumbling around in the storm for the last few hours, that explained the injuries; rain that unforgiving made everything slippery, whipped branches around so hard they stung and created mud puddles that lay in wait, eager to trip up their next victim. A scratch above the eye and a couple bruises were to be expected.
“Are you sure there isn’t anyone I can call for you?” He asked when he heard the bathroom door open again. “A family member? A friend? Anyone?”
“No, thank you.”
He turned to face her as she entered the kitchen, standing cautiously in the doorway with her clothes in hand.
Out of the rain and soiled clothes, her skin had begun to redden and her eyes had grown significantly brighter. She looked warm, wrapped in his old band t-shirt and a pair of his sweatpants, a red hair tie on her wrist and her bare feet against the tile. He realized as he turned to grab some plates that her hair was down and soaked even more than it had been when she’d first arrived; She must have tried to wash it in the bathroom sink.
“Food is ready.” He announced when he’d plated a heavy portion. “You can take a seat and I’ll run your things upstairs.”
She stared at the food for just a moment too long, eyes flickering between the plate and him, before she nodded and allowed him to take her things, retreating with her plate to a seat at the bar.
Luka stomped up the stairs for the second time that night, carrying her things into his laundry room and throwing everything but her shoes into the washing machine. He grabbed a few towels off the rack, stuffing them into her shoes to try and absorb any water they’d collected before grabbing a blanket off the couch and heading back downstairs with a yawn. A glance at the clock on the way into the dining area told him it was fifteen past three and he paused momentarily in the doorway, surprised to see her hunched over the bar, eyes closed and breathing even. He’d expected to find her stuffing her face with how hungry she’d looked, but it seemed as though halfway through her meal she’d just crumpled over out of exhaustion and the sight of it made him wince. If she hadn’t been a stranger he would have offered her somewhere more comfortable -his couch, his bed- but instead he gently shifted her off the edge of her plate and draped the blanket around her shoulders, carrying the plate back into the kitchen and dumping the rest into the trash.
He checked on her once more, locking the door of the pub to keep them both safe, then headed up to his apartment, locking his door behind him and crashing on his couch, too tired to make it to the bedroom.
Whoever she was, at least she was taken care of for the night.
••••••
The furious banging of the front door woke him and Luka groaned, throwing himself off the couch and traipsing downstairs in the same clothes he’d worn the day before. In his sleep-addled state he’d forgotten about the woman and he was momentarily stunned to see an intruder trying to break out of the pub rather than in to it.
“Hey, hey,” He called as soon as he’d snapped back into consciousness. “It unlocks. Just-“ He stepped in front of the woman and turned the lock, showing her how the door opened. “There.”
She stopped her frantic escape attempt to look up at him, her heavy breathing the only sound as she glanced between him and the slightly open door.
“I- I can go?”
“Yeah, of course.” He breathed out, a little confused and more than concerned. “I just locked the door to make sure no one else came in, not to trap you here.”
“Oh.” She took a hesitant step towards the door, eyes locked on him as if waiting for him to jump out at her.
“But you might want to stay, at least for a little bit longer.” He reminded her. “Your clothes are still up in my laundry room. I don’t think they made it to the dryer last night, but I can start it now and they’ll be done by breakfast.”
She looked down at herself at his words, seeming to only remember just then that she was in borrowed clothing.
“Right. Sorry. I- um, I guess I’ll stay.”
“Okay.” He agreed gently. “I’m going to lock the door. We don’t open until eleven and I don’t want anybody just walking in. But you can unlock it yourself if you want to step out, yeah?”
She nodded, eyes warily watching his every movement.
Something was definitely off with this woman; She had to have been through something awful to be so panicked she didn’t even consider trying to unlock the damn door.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” He asked again, feeling somewhat responsible even if she wasn’t technically his to look after. “You don’t need to call anyone? Family? Friends? A tow truck?” His eyes roamed across the bruises along her arms again, noting that they seemed significantly darker than they had the night before. “The police…”
She stiffened and shook her head.
“N-No. No police.”
“Are you in trouble?” He questioned, then jokingly, added, “Should I be concerned that I’m harboring a fugitive?”
She blinked, silent for a long moment, before she let out a little half-giggle, half-cry, shaking her head as she reached up to wipe her eyes.
“No. Not a fugitive. I- I just really need to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Well, as long as you’re not a fugitive…I happen to have a friend who works with the bus system. I could give her a call as soon as they open and ask her how soon they think they’ll have the busses out of town running again.” He backed away from the door and started toward the bar. “You’ll have to stay for breakfast though…If you can stay awake for it.”
The woman sniffled, but followed after him, placing herself back at the bar as he poured himself a drink and took a sip.
“You want anything? I’ll get started on breakfast in a minute, but maybe something stronger will help you out?”
The woman shook her head. “No, thank you. I-“ She ran a hand through her hair and jumped slightly, as if only realizing just then that her hair was down. As she pulled her hair up into the same ponytail it’d resided in the night before and secured it with her red hair tie, she apologized. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep here; I hope I didn’t put you out too much. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”
He shook his head almost instantly.
“Wasn’t a big deal. I’ll take a name though, if you’ll give it. I’m Luka.”
The woman’s eyes regarded his face, then the hand he’d held out to her with caution. Slowly, she lifted her own and placed it lightly in his. He shook her hand once, then withdrew.
“I- I’m Marinette.”