After Freckles, I felt like writing more and more Miraculous Ladybug fanfictions. I don't know why but I feel reeled in to the fandom. Also, I'm not joking now when I say that this is Ladrien. So don't get your hopes up that Adrienette will happen so much. Well, not after the Ladrien of course.
Adrien would always walk up to that painting. He would do it over and over and over again, never minding the fact that he had seen that very same painting almost every passing day since it was placed. It was ten years ago. Well, nearly ten years ago.
Some random street artist has entered their home and placed the biggest painting an eight year old Adrien Agreste has ever laid his eyes on. It even beat the size of their family portrait and his family portrait was huge. His eyes glossed over every little detail on the painting. It was a painting of a teenage lady. Her hair was midnight blue, eyes just the color of the skies. She wore a polka dotted dress, the sleeves to her wrists and the skirt to her knees. In their time, it was considered a social blunder for women to wear such a short skirt. But Adrien did not care one bit. He brought the painting to his room and asked his mother to buy him a frame fit for such a painting.
"Please mother, please." Adrien begged, his teeth showing
"Why do you need such a big frame?" She asked him, looking curiously at her son
"I found this painting at the back earlier. Come with me, mother. I'll show you." He giddily grabbed his mother's hand and ran to his room, "Look." He unfolded the painting and placed it on his bed
"Adrien," his mother stared at the painting, studying the lady on the canvas
Her features were something she was slightly familiar of. It was of a girl ten years older than her son, wearing a scandalous outfit but she could always see the significance of it. She studied the lady's stance. She was looking up at the upper right, a string leading from her hand to the end of the canvas. And there was something else she could point out. The lady's face was hidden by a red and black polka dotted mask. She looked the painting over and over.
"No signature?" She murmured
"Not one clue." Adrien answered her
"So," she turned to her son who was still waiting for a response, "what color would you want the frame to be?"
And that was how the red and black polka dotted frame stood proudly at the wall opposite his bed. He would see the painting in the morning just after he woke up. He would see that painting during the afternoon when he wanted to rest. He would see that painting at night before he would sleep. Even years after his mother's sudden disappearance, the memories he and his mother had explaining what the painting was still stuck to his mind. The lady was someone of importance, he had to admit. But even after a decade of searching, he still had no clue who the mysterious painter was and who the lady on the painting was.
"I'm going out for a stroll, father." Adrien said as soon as the door to his father's room opened
He knew that he had a very short amount of time to say what he wanted so he had to be straight to the point. As always.
"In the garden?" His father asked
"To town, father." Adrien answered, "I'll be back before you know it."
Then he rushed off to the center of the town. He was always curious of what people did. Not that he was not a person but the way his father wanted him to act was not that much of a person. He wanted the perfect son, that was for sure. And Adrien was not that much of a 'perfect son' his father wanted. But he tried. He always tried. And there were days like these that he would quickly make a small excuse to go to town and rush off before his father's assistant was off finding him. He sat down on the green grass of the Champ de Mars, watching the people and most importantly, the newly built Eiffel tower. 1889 was a big year for France.
He watched as families walked past him, all happy and gleeful. He could not help but feel a little bit sad. Sure, he had luxury, his father being a designer was one way or another a great way to get money, but he guessed luxury could not make friends. Real friends that you work hard for to get. Not the kind of friends he had. He had 'friends', if he could consider Chloe and Sabrina friends. But he was sure he was stuck with them. Speaking of which, he saw as the Bourgeois family walked together nearing him. They never liked it when people looked them in the eye so the people did not try to look at them. One glance from Chloe and he was sure he was stuck for another 'play date'. He looked around, his panicking starting to look evident, then saw a family who was having a picnic near him. They looked... Nice. Maybe he could join in for a while so he would not look like he was alone. He ran up to them and saw down next to the younger girl. He watched the older woman and older man, he assumed they were the parents of the girl he was sitting down next to, and saw the shocked expressions on their faces.
"Uh, do I know you, monsieur?" She asked him, looking him up and down
"You don't, madame, but I need to hide from someone for a while. Do you mind if I join in?" He asked, Please say yes. Please say yes.
"Well of course." The man answered him and he gave him a huge grin, as well as a croissant from their basket
"Uh, thanks." Adrien smiled back
"What's your name, monsieur? So I would know what to call you." the girl asked
He turned to her and opened his mouth but closed it again as he took in her features.
"Same blue eyes, same hair," he muttered to herself, "do you, perhaps, own a red and black polka dotted dress?"
"No...?" The lady raised her brow, "My name's Marinette. And you?"
"Adrien, Adrien Agreste." He answered, still shocked at how the resemblance of this lady and his lady was uncanny
"Agreste?" Marinette furrowed her brows, "You mean Gabriel Agreste's son?" Marinette asked
"Yes." Adrien nodded, so much for going low key
"Mama! It's Gabriel's son!" The girl grinned widely, "I love your father's works!"
"I'm glad you do." He smiled weakly
As soon as Chloe and her family passed by, he gave a short sigh of relief. He made sure that they were out of the park before he left himself.
"So you were hiding from Chloe Bourgeois?" Marinette asked him
"Oh, yes." He nodded at her, "She would want me to go with them if she saw me alone. Thank goodness you took me in."
"Why?" Marinette gave him an odd look
"She's my friend." He answered
"Well that's not how friends treat each other." Marinette pointed out
"I know but she's not that kind of friend. I'm sure she would ask me again for a date." He responded, "And wow this croissant's good."
"Here, take another one." The man told him
"No thank you. That would be too much." Adrien replied, even if he badly wanted another one
"You can always go to our bakery if you want. That way, you won't feel obliged that you're just taking." Marinette supplied
"You have a bakery?" Adrien's face lit up
"Yes, just across from the collége." The older woman responded
"Say, I don't see you around schools often, and I most certainly do not see you anywhere." Marinette started
"Oh my father wanted me to be homeschooled. It's alright I guess." He shrugged, "But it keeps away friends, you know?"
Marinette looked at him for a bit before reaching her hand out to him, "Well then, from now on, I declare you as my friend."
He shook her hand, a gleeful smile slowly spreading across his face, "Really? I have a friend?"
"Yes you do." Marinette smiled at him
"Finally. A friend." He spoke to himself
He stood up, not wanting to anger his father if he went home too late, "Well, my friend, I'm sorry but I have to go now. Sometime I'll see you."
"It's fine." Marinette nodded then waved off as the boy started running back to the direction of his home, "Well at least someone else feels the same way about Chloe."