There were two of them now.
He remembered when he was twelve crying his eyes out when he stood in front of the first one. But he never expected to be near the verge of breaking again as he stood before the second one, silent tears streaking down his face as he gripped Marinette's hand tightly.
So much for that surprise.
-oOo-
A month had passed since Adrien and Marinette went on that first date to the cafe but there had been plenty more since then. There were trips to the movies, a few picnics at some parks, one beach trip which Adrien wasn't all that fond of but he went along anyway because it made her happy and the sundress she wore was too adorable for this world. She along with Alya and Nino also threw him a surprise coming back party on stage when he was finally able to start performing with his band again.
It wasn't until after Marinette finally moved in with Alya that she started to seriously work on her portfolio. She spent a lot of late nights either working on a design or actually putting a few pieces together but the things she'd come up with were out of this world. Adrien would come over often when she got too absorbed usually with take out just to make sure that she didn't forget to eat. They were honestly his favorite nights that he spent with her, usually curled up on her bed quietly playing on his guitar as she ran around with strips of fabric hanging out of her mouth. It was the only place in her room that was out of the way enough for her to move around but even then he'd sometimes find himself suddenly surrounded by fabric.
Watching her work was like he was seeing her completely unmasked so to speak. The way she cutely stuck her tongue out as she delicately embroidered a shirt, or surrounded herself in a mountain of balled up sketch paper trying to perfectly design her next project, or how she'd always manage to prick her finger at least five times stitching fabric together. She was too focused to worry about anything else like how her laugh sounded or if she was rambling too much talking about something she thought he wasn't interested in; side note her laugh was the most beautiful song he's heard and he was always interested in whatever she talked about.
Granted she had opened up around him quite a bit, coming out of her anxiety ridden shell of constantly questioning herself to reveal a surprisingly confident woman. But those completely unfiltered nights were his favorite despite the few words they shared and her true personality came out in her designs. Bold and daring with a passionate flair of whimsy.
Naturally this meant his curse of rotten luck would strike on such a night.
"Ouch!" Marinette hissed, raising her finger to her lips to suck on the finger she had poked with her sewing needle for the tenth time that night. Adrien quietly snickered on the bed, guitar in hand, and it earned him quite the glare from the bluenette that he easily shrugged off with a wide smile. She rolled her eyes at him, quickly going back to work as the rocker's phone started to ring in his pocket. He managed to fish the device out of his pocket but his fingers froze over the screen as he stared down at the number that read out across the screen. Honestly he was surprised he still remembered that number but he was even more surprised that it was actually calling him. How the hell did she find his number?
He took in a deep breath before finally sliding his finger across the screen and raising it up to his ear, "Hey, Nathalie." He said, voice laced with caution. Marinette had looked up from her work when he spoke up, staring at him curiously. She had never heard him talk about anyone with that name before. Everyone in his band was male, their manager was some girl named Juleka who had the sweetest partner in the world, Rose, and Adrien didn't really associate with anyone else. So then who was Nathalie?
Whoever she was and whatever she was telling Adrien wasn't good. Marinette watched his expression as it shifted from shocked confusion, to a quick flash of anger, before falling into sort of sadness she had only seen once before six years ago. That broken, empty look he wore when she had pulled him off that subway platform as if his entire world had just shattered into pieces all around him. Slowly she set down her pencil as he moved his guitar off his lap to rest next to him, leaning forward to rest his head in his free hand which was propped up against his knee.
"When did he find out?" He asked quietly, voice void of any emotion. "A year ago? And he never…" He trailed off, apparently cut off from whoever was on the other line. "Tomorrow? Yeah, yeah I'll be there. Thank you for telling me, Nathalie. I'll see you tomorrow." He hung up the phone, letting the device drop to the floor as his other hand moved to join the first in cradling his face. There was a very long silence that seemed to make the air in the room grow uncomfortably heavy before Marinette noticed that his shoulders were shaking.
"Adrien?" She asked quietly as she got up from her chair to walk over towards the bed. The closer she got the sooner she was able to tell that something was seriously wrong as she spotted tears falling past the fingers that covered his eyes. "What happened?" She asked a bit more hurriedly this time, sitting down on the bed next to him as she draped an arm over his shoulders. Adrien was quick to turn himself around, his arms wrapping around her torso as he buried his face in her chest and proceeded to completely break down before her.
"Minou, what's going on?" Marinette asked, worry painted completely over her face as she gently stroked his hair. "My father...he...he's…" Adrien whimpered, unable to really finish the sentence but Marinette was easily able to pick up on what he meant. Despite the fact that this was the last way Adrien thought he'd ever react to news such as this there were so many reasons as to why he was currently sobbing into his girlfriend's chest.
He was distraught because this meant that he literally had no family left and that at 26 he was now an orphan. No, it's not as bad as some, but usually children don't lose their parents until they're much, much older. But that wasn't what was getting to him the most.
It was the fact that their last words to each other had been so hateful and full of malice that it lead to six years of nothing but silence between them. Neither one attempted to contact the other one, try to apologize or fix things, it was just silence. Adrien had hoped that maybe one day they would have been able to patch things up and try to rebuild something. Sure Gabriel wasn't the best father when it came to nurturing or anything else that really dealt with emotion but materialistically he provided everything that Adrien would have needed growing up and then some. He was still family, they couldn't have been estranged forever. But Adrien had been too stubborn to be the one to reach out and initiate such a change. He had wanted his father to be the one to come out and apologize. But now neither one of them had the chance.
Sorrow wasn't the only cause for his tears, either. Adrien was also furious that for the last year Gabriel had known that this day was going to come but instead of telling anyone about he just kept it to himself. Instead of it maybe prompting some kind of reasonable, calm exchange between father and son the son was left to be blindsided with the news of his father's passing. Who in their right mind doesn't tell their child that they're dying of cancer?! Who the hell just doesn't tell anyone and let's their kid find out after the fact that maybe they didn't want their last words to their father be 'Go fuck yourself'?!
"Adrien...I'm so sorry…" Marinette whispered, tightening her hold on Adrien. He clung to her desperately like she was his last lifeline on Earth, grossly weeping onto her shoulders as she attempted to console him.
-oOo-
"Thank you for coming, Adrien." Nathalie said as she held open the front door for the blond. He couldn't really find his voice, instead just nodding quietly at her as he stepped into his old home. Looking around he could tell that nothing had really changed except that maybe things looked a bit dustier than normal. As he followed Nathalie through the house he came to a stop in front of the old portrait of his mother. It was more faded than he remembered, raising a hand up to let his fingers brush against the canvas. The color in her eyes had dimmed and her hair lacked the honey warmth it once carried.
"Adrien?" Nathalie's voice snapped him out of his daze. He turned to see her standing in a doorway waiting patiently for him. "Sorry." He muttered as he dropped his hand off the portrait, hesitating for just a moment longer before moving to follow Nathalie once again. She lead him towards Gabriel's old office, making her way inside and sitting down at his desk just to immediately start rummaging through some papers. "I'm sorry that we didn't tell you about this sooner, Adrien. It was just that Gabriel didn't…"
She paused, looking up from her papers to see that Adrien was still standing in the doorway with one hand resting on the door frame. He had a far off look on his face like he was remembering something; the fight he had with his father to be precise. The woman let out a soft sigh as she set the papers back down on the desk. "He felt incredibly guilty about what happened." She said after a short moment of silence.
Adrien lifted his head up to look at her, eyes a little wide, before it dropped back down as he gave her a half hearted smile. "Sure he did." He muttered, finally stepping into the office to sit at one of the chairs across from Nathalie. "That was why he never said anything afterwards. So much guilt." He spat out as he looked around the office. "He never said anything because he knew you didn't want him to be apart of your life anymore. He was trying to respect your wishes."
"When did I ever say that?" He asked harshly, his attention snapping back to her. "All I wanted was for him to actually tell me I did a good job for once. Maybe even say that he loved me. Hell, just show me any sign that he was my father instead of just my boss. At the very least just an apology, proof he knew what emotions are. I mean, clearly I wasn't that hard to find if you were able to call me to tell me that he was…" He stopped there, falling silent as he sunk into the chair. "Sorry, I just...why did you want me over here?" He asked, quickly changing the subject before he blew up any further.
Nathalie stared at him across the desk with her brows furrowed softly, wearing pained expression on her face. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it, closing it to clear her throat before looking back down at her papers. "I wanted to go over his will with you." She said. "I'm actually in his will?" Adrien asked, still feeling a bit snippy. "Yes, Adrien, you are." She shot back; it was her turn to blow up a little. "Despite what you think Gabriel never forgave himself for treating you the way he did. He regretted it up until the day he died and all he wanted to do was try and make amends. He thought that when you were ready you'd come back and-"
"So when he found out that he was dying and only had a year to live he didn't think that maybe he should try and reach out to me instead?" Adrien snapped back. "Would you have listened?" Nathalie asked coldly. Adrien blinked, taken aback by her words. "Would you have really listened to him or believed him? Or would you have thought it was just some guilt trip ploy to try and win you back?"
"I…" His voice failed him as he thought the question over. Would he have believed his father? If a year ago his father had found his number and called him...no, it would have been Nathalie calling him, his father doesn't call anyone. If it had been Nathalie then no, he probably wouldn't have believed a single word of it. But on the off chance that it had actually been his father who called him? Probably still… "No, I guess not." Adrien answered quietly.
Silence settled into the room once more before Nathalie finally spoke up. "He left you pretty much everything outside of the company, though he did leave you all of his shares as well." Adrien slowly lifted his head up to look at her as she told him this. "Wait...what?" He asked quietly. "You were the last bit of family he had, Adrien. He still considered you his son even after you left. I agree that he was terrible at showing it to you, pushed you incredibly hard, and got too rough at times. And it wasn't until after you left that he realized what he had done, but he did actually love you."
Adrien squirmed a bit in his seat, not really knowing what to do with this information. His father left him everything? "W-What exactly do you mean by...everything?" He asked quietly. "I mean exactly that. The house and everything inside of it, the money in his bank accounts, his shares over his company, everything. He left the actual ownership of his company to his partner because he assumed you wouldn't want to run it." Nathalie answered calmly. Adrien suddenly felt like he couldn't breath. How...why...the last time he thought about his father Adrien assumed the man still hated him for walking out the way he did. Now here he was sitting in the same office he had stormed out of in a fit of rage being told that he wasn't hated, that it was the exact opposite and that in the sort of last and only act of love Gabriel could do left his son with everything he could possibly give.
"There's one last thing, a letter that he wrote to you." Nathalie said, revealing the sealed envelope from the stack of papers on the desk and handing it over to Adrien. He opened it up slowly, almost afraid of what could be written on it.
Adrien,
First, I just want to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I treated you after your mother passed. I'm sorry that I couldn't prevent her passing in the first place. I'm sorry that I didn't realize what I was doing to you until it was too late. I'm sorry that I forced you out and pushed you so hard. It was wrong of me, the way I acted, and if I could take it all back I could. But, regrettably, life doesn't work that way.
I know that leaving you with the estate and everything I own can't even possibly begin to make up for what I've done, but this is all that I can do. I don't expect you to keep or accept any of it, so know that you can do with it what you will. I realize that I probably should have warned you that this day was coming ahead of time. However I didn't want you to think that it was some sick ploy to try and win you back. Please understand that my reluctance to inform you about this was not an act of spite or malice. I did not intend to throw this news upon you so suddenly it just seemed like the best choice of action to go with.
I don't expect you to forgive me, nor will I ask for you to. I give this to you selflessly and hope that it can be beneficial for you in some way. Perhaps it will help you further the music career that you've set up for yourself. You're quite the talented musician.
I love you, Adrien. I know I never said it and I never showed it, but I do.
Gabriel.
This...this was some kind of joke, right? Six years of nothing and this is what he gets? Some sappy letter and a will giving him more money than he knew what to do with? Maybe this was just misplaced aggression but this almost wasn't good enough. He wanted words, an actual voice, to be able to actually see and hear his father say what he wrote down. Instead this just seemed like some half assed attempt to try and make amends. But deep down he knew that wasn't what this was. This was literally the best that Gabriel thought he could do, everything he believed was in his power to do. Even though this wasn't exactly what Adrien had in mind for the day when he and his father would apologize he was at least thankful that he had this.
He set the letter down in his lap, one hand moving up to cover his mouth as he tried to keep himself from breaking down again. Nathalie leaned back in the chair silently, giving him all the time he needed to really process everything. He took in a few shaky breaths before lifting his head up to look at her. "What...what do I do now?" He asked her quietly. Nathalie let out a small sigh, looking down at the desk. "Whatever you want. No one is really expecting you to suddenly move back in." Adrien shook his head. He couldn't, not now. He'd probably end up selling the house and everything in it.
"When is the funeral?" Adrien asked after a moment. "Next week. I'm pretty sure the only one's who are going to be in attendance are a few of his business partners and myself. Naturally we'd like you there but you don't have to-"
"I'll go. Just...don't expect me to give some kind of speech. I don't think I can." He said. She nodded quietly at him, remaining silent for a minute before speaking up again. "I'll arrange to have everything transferred over to your name, try and make the process as seamless as possible." She said softly. "Thank you, Nathalie." Adrien said, offering her a very weak smile. She stood up from the desk, walking around it to stand before him, and leaned over to hug him. "I'm sorry that it happened like this, Adrien. I know you probably wanted to be able to talk in person one last time. I'm sorry we didn't tell you."
Adrien shook his head a little as he returned her hug. "It's not your fault." He managed, burying his head in her shoulder.
-oOo-
A week later he attended the funeral with Marinette, she hadn't really left his side since he'd gotten the news. He probably wouldn't have made it as well as he had without her. During the week Nathalie had kept true to her words, visiting Adrien a few times to go over and sign the proper paperwork needed to smooth over the transition. She had also helped him get the house ready for sale, hiring a crew to clean it up, and a realtor to list it. The only thing he had done was pull down the portrait of his mother, setting it up in his apartment for now though it felt kind of odd to him. He just knew he didn't want it being sold with the rest of the manion.
It was a short ceremony, and Nathalie was right in saying that the only other people who came were just a few of his father's business partners, herself, and the Gorilla. A few came over to give him their condolences but for the most part everyone kept to themselves and left quickly after it was over. After a while it was just him and Marinette standing over the still open grave, Adrien eyes transfixed on the closed casket resting inside.
Marinette rested her head on his shoulder, holding his hand tightly while her other hand came up to gently run over his arm. "How're you doing?" She asked quietly. He let out a small sigh, leaning his head to rest on top of hers as he free hand came up to join the one on his arm. "I'm alright. I just...I can't believe that this last week as even been real." He muttered. "I'm half expecting that I'm going to wake up tomorrow and find out that none of this actually happened." He said.
Marinette lifted her head up to kiss his shoulder, giving his hand a small squeeze. "Come on, let's get you home." She said softly. He glanced over at her, offering a small nod before sparing one last glance at the grave. He said a silent goodbye before the two of them finally left, heading back to his apartment.
A/N: I don't deserve you guys. . I am so sorry that this took so long for me to post. We had lost the other baker at work so I went about two and half weeks without a day off before we finally got a new guy to train. But thank you guys so much for sticking with this story for as long as you have! No it's not over yet I just really needed to tell you guys that I'm very thankful for all the support! I can't believe how many followers this story has! You are all wonderful and I'm sorry this chapter is sad, the next one will be happy. It will also probably be the last one. ALSO! I made a tumblr page/blog to post all of my writing. If you're interested you guys can follow it and I'll give you guys updates and well as chapter/story teasers! I already have a few other stories in the works. I intend to just flood you guys with writing now that I'm back to my normal work schedule. The account is called upsidedownwrites and the page is called RAYDAK. I LOVE YOU GUYS! XOXO