Marinette finished her shift and entered her apartment. It was dark. Odd since Luka was due to be home. 'Maybe he's asleep?'

She knocked on his bedroom door. "Luka?" She waited for an answer or any sound of movement. "Luka?"

"I'm opening the door!" She warned that the last time she barged in he was in an exposed state and got lectured on knocking before entering. She turned on his bedroom light shining a light on the filth that inhabited Luka's room. Empty water bottles scattered about, the weird smell of dirty laundry mixed with potent Cologne, and wadded up pieces of paper that she assumed were music lyrics. There were tissues waddled as well. He tended to steal the tissues throughout the house. He blamed his hoarding issues on allergies but that didn't add up.

Luka refused to tell her and Juleka knew why he hoarded tissues but refused to talk about it. She told Marinette "You're better off not knowing. It's nasty."

He also bought lotion to pair with his tissues. His bed was unmade as it always was. She wondered if he was in the bathroom but the door was wide open. She would be able to hear or see if he was in there.

'He would have called or texted if he was going to be late or was staying over with someone.'

He was nowhere to be found. He was gone. "What the-?" She questioned as she wondered where he wandered off to. She pulled out her phone to check just in case. She had accidentally left her phone on silent before.

"Luka, you okay?" She texted. Immediately a little grey ellipsis popped up.

A message appeared. "If I don't get to play with my toy then you don't get to play with yours."

"Luka?" Marinette texted back as that message didn't sound like him. "I am sorry I ruined your poster and blamed it on the cats."

"If I don't get to play with my toy then you don't get to play with yours." The sender repeated.

"Who is this? I think you have my friend's phone." She asked as perhaps someone pickpocketed Luka or he just dropped it or he drank too much and his bandmates were messing with his phone.

A picture was attached. In it was Luka tied to a chair with ropes, his mouth was covered with silver duct tape, and it looked like he took a swim with all his clothes on. His eyes glared at the camera as he glared hatefully at the person holding the phone.

She sent "?????" as she believed his bandmates to be behind this. They tended to take jokes too far.

"Do you not care for your toy's safety?"

"Toy? Come on, guys. Let him be."

The mystery sender FaceTimed her. Luka tied to a chair. His environment was nothing but concrete walls. A female dressed in yellow and black reflective of a bumblebee ripped the duct tape off her mouth. Instantly he began to shout.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I? WHO THE HECK? WHERE'S MARINETTE? IF YOU'VE HURT HER I FU-" The female hung up and cut off Luka before he could finish questioning her.

She became spooked as Luka would just tell her to ignore his bandmates but he was genuinely uncertain as she. "DON'T HURT HIM!"

"I will send you instructions. If you do not follow the instructions then Luka will be punished in your stead which will eventually lead to his termination. If you do as you're told he will be allowed to live. Reply Yes or No if you acknowledge my terms. His safety is up to you, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Yes." She rapidly texted back. She didn't know what this person wanted. Money? She had hardly had any.

"Find your apron from La Coccinella."

Marinette had hung it up on the coat rack by the front door. She held it in her hand. Not sure why this person would be interested in her apron. "I have it." She took a picture even though that wasn't a request but she wanted the sender to know she was following their instructions.

"Now take your pants, shirt, bra, and panties all off. Put on that apron and a pair of heels."

Marinette read those instructions and her face paled. She didn't want to do this but Luka's life was worth far more than her dignity.

She inhaled and exhaled. "I can do this for him." "I can do this for him." "I can do this for him!" She repeated as she stripped herself of her shirt and her pants. She stood there with her thumbs under her white nylon bra straps. She was working up the courage to part with it.

'How would they know if I left it on? What would they do to him if I disobeyed?' The word: Termination flashed before her. She lowered her straps and twisted the clasp to her sternum. She unhooked it and dropped it to the floor as a declaration to herself that 'There was no going back.'

She placed the red apron over her head and carefully tied it tightly with her signature sloppy now. She then took her underwear off. The sender had requested for her to take her panties off but Marinette wouldn't classify her choice of undergarment as panties. Grey boyshort style underwear with the word: PINK etched in a pink and green floral rose pattern on her rear. One of those rewards she gave to herself even though it was one in a pack of five. They were cute and she couldn't resist them.

She wondered if this was punishment for indulging in herself. She slipped her boyshorts off and grabbed her clothing and discarded them into a laundry bin. Her bare feet made a light pitter-patter sound as they hit the hardwood floor as she headed towards her room.

She searched her closest for the first pair of heels. Any would do as long as they were a set match. She pulled out a few single heels. Red, black, and silver, and then as if a miracle appeared a pair of nudes smushed underneath her winter boots appeared. A pair that she bought for an apprenticeship interview that she didn't get.

They already wielded a bad memory. What would it matter if she added another to the mix? That apprenticeship was for none other than Gabriel Agreste. Her hero or so she thought until she arrived at the gates of the Agreste's manor, portfolio in hand. Dressed in a blush pink pantsuit that she designed just for this and a new pair of heels. Only to be rejected by his assistant over an intercom system.

As she put the heels of dread on she held onto the wall as she was out of practice. She checked her pocket for the phone to confirm that she followed the humiliating rules. She took a frustrated deep breath as she had left the phone on the kitchen counter. She cursed herself underneath her breath. "Why am I so stupid?"

She wobbled to the kitchen trying to retrain herself to walk in heels. She made it to the kitchen before tripping on the area in which the hardwood floor met the kitchen tile. A loud 'THUD' echoed throughout the apartment. She had grabbed the phone before hitting the ground. Releasing she could have waited to put her heels on after she got into the kitchen. Her elbow was sore as she hit it on the edge of the counter.

"Clumsy dumbass, this is LIFE OR DEATH!"

She texted the sender that she completed their request. Not daring to send a photo unless the sender specifically requested for her to do so. She just crossed her fingers hoping that this person would take her word for it.

"Next, there will be a knock at the door. You will greet him with a smile. You will say the words "Welcome home honey, I hope work went well." You will then proceed to take his coat and make him dinner. Then you will follow all of his directions. Failure to follow any of this will lead to his termination. His safety is up to you."

The mysterious sender sent a clip of Luka being punched hard enough in the abdomen to knock the wind out of him. This did not deter him from alerting Marinette. "MARINETTE RUN!"
He gasped.

There was a sound that didn't sound familiar to Marinette. Sounded like something breaking. The closest she could compare it to was a twig snapping.

"Don't do what he says! You can't! Not for me!" The Female Fatale smacked Luka leaving a red mark that would ultimately bruise. To sway Marinette to follow through.

She looked down at her phone in horror. "I have to listen to them! I can't let you die! Not if I can prevent it!"

She texted the sender that she would do exactly what was asked of her.