Adrien had just climbed into bed, settling in for the night. Plagg slept on a pillow next to Adrien every night. Although the Cat Kwami would never admit it, he didn't like being alone very much.
Thoughts drifting to Marinette, Adrien's grin grew wider and wider as he lied on his back, glancing up at the dark ceiling.
"Did that really happen?" he asked.
"It really did," Plagg answered. "About time, too. You two really put us through a lot. And another positive thing to come out of this is I get to see Tikki more often," he cooed, his tone sounded similar to that he used when speaking of cheese, particularly Camembert.
Adrien rolled over to face his Kwami. "Didn't you tell me once, 'Who needs ladies when you have cheese?'"
Plagg floated up above his pillow, crossing his arms. "That's what I tell myself when I can't be with Tikki," he stated. "I've had to go dozens of years at a time without her. And you think you have had it bad?"
The next morning, on her way out of her apartment, Marinette ran into Adrien.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going," she apologized quickly, picking up her keys off the ground, before she noticed who she had bumped into. "Ah, Adrien! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
"I'm on my way. I thought I'd pick you up and take you to work."
She glanced behind him at his car, then back to him. Her first thought was to brush the offer off and take the bus as she usually did, but things had changed, and he might take her denying the offer the wrong way.
"That would be great, thank you," she smiled. He took her hand and led her to the car.
"Do you have some time after work today?" Adrien asked as he snapped his seat belt into place.
"Well…" she started, teasing him just a little. Then she laughed. "Of course I have time for you. What's up?"
He smiled, his eyes gleaming at the sound of her laugh. "You'll find out when I pick you up from work."
When she arrived at work, her boss Sophie spotted her getting out of Adrien's car and waving goodbye as she shut the door and watched him drive away.
The second Marinette walked into the building, Sophie dragged her aside, her face lit up with excitement.
"Was that Adrien Agreste's car?"
She nodded. "Good morning to you, too, Sophie."
"I thought you weren't getting along," her boss crossed her arms, trying to look as if she didn't approve, even though she secretly did, and was very ecstatic.
"We weren't, but… things changed, and now we're...together," she admitted with a small shrug of her shoulders. It took a few moments for it to sink in after saying it aloud for the first time. It was definitely something she'd have to get her mind wrapped around.
"About time," she said, "he came in here way too often to be realistic, to be perfectly honest with you. Nobody minorly tears their clothes that often."
"What do you mean?" Marinette wondered. "I don't recall seeing him come here that often."
Sophie smiled deviously. "That's because a majority of the times he came by, you were too busy to see him. So, I was the one that patched up his clothes when your time was occupied elsewhere. He would always sit right there," she pointed at her workstation, and the chair that sat in front of her desk. "And he'd just watch you work as he waited. I asked him if he knew you, because at first it was really off-putting that a total stranger would look at you like that, but he told me you were old friends, and that you guys had met in Collège. By the way he spoke of you, and looked at you, I couldn't doubt that he was telling me the truth."
"So that's why you were asking me all about Adrien that day. Very sly, Sophie," Marinette wagged her finger at her boss, but she just couldn't help herself from grinning.
Sophie brushed her hair back. "Of course, darling. Now tell me, do the two of you have plans tonight?"
"Ah, yeah, he's picking me up after work. He has a surprise planned," her cheeks were tinted pink as she fiddled with the strap of her purse.
"You can leave an hour early today, so you can have an extra hour with your prince," she winked before heading off to her desk.
"Prince?" she wondered aloud. What book was she reading now?
It turned out to be a slow day at work for Marinette, which meant she had less work to keep her busy, and more time for her mind to wander. Now thanks to Sophie's comment, that free time was spent with her picturing Adrien as a prince from a fairytale. He wore a white 16th century tailcoat, with intricate golden decor and buttons. The cuffs of his sleeves and his collar were a pale green. His belt was his father's logo, only fashioned to be much more elegant and regal. His pants were the same shade of green as his cuffs and collar, and his boots that went all the way up to the bottom of his kneecaps were a light brown. Adrien had a grand sword fastened on his hip…. Marinette quickly stopped herself from wandering too far into her daydream, as the more she more she thought about it, the more details she would add to this imaginary costume, and the more unreal he was beginning to feel. She spent the rest of the day finishing every last bit of work she could possibly get done.
As Sophie had promised, Marinette was let off work early.
"How'd you manage that?" Adrien had asked her when she called to tell him to pick her up an hour early.
"It's because of you. She knows about us, so she let me off. Sophie told me you used to come into the shop a lot. You weren't exactly subtle, were you?" she snickered.
She heard Adrien laugh on the other end. "Apparently I was subtle enough that you didn't notice I was there most of the time."
"Hey!" she exclaimed in a teasing tone. "So, what are we doing?"
Adrien pulled up in front of her then. He got out of his car and opened the door for her. "You'll see," he responded, motioning her in. "Your carriage awaits, m'lady."
"Ah," she stood there in surprise, the only movement from her was her blinking.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing," she waved her hand back and forth, as if to brush away her thoughts. Marinette climbed in, and they headed towards Adrien's house. Once there, he led her into a room she had never been in before. The moment she laid eyes on it, she forgot to breathe.
There was a beautiful grand piano in the middle of the very large room. He had laced the bookshelves that lined the walls, as well as the piano itself with delicate white and pink flowers that looked as if they'd fall apart with even a gentle touch. The fragrance they emitted was heavenly, calming, with just the right amount of sweetness. Although there were no candles the lighting in the room was made to imitate them perfectly.
Adrien sat at the piano, and began to play for her as she remained near the entrance, where she had frozen in place upon her entry, taking it all in. At once, she recognized the melody he was playing as Wherever You Will Go by The Calling. As soon as the music started, each note he played touched her heart. By the end, she had silent tears streaming down her cheeks. Adrien motioned her over, to join him. He then pulled out the lucky charm she had given him many years ago.
"This is my most prized possession," he admitted. "Whenever I carry it with me, I feel like you're with me even when you aren't there. If I ever forget it and leave it at home, I feel uneasy until I have it again."
"It really means that much to you?" breathed Marinette, she glanced up from the beads in his hands to his eyes.
"It really does," he confirmed, "because you gave it to me." Adrien leaned in towards Marinette as he went to put the beads in his pocket.
Suddenly, they heard the thrumming of multiple objects hitting the hard ground, the sound echoing around the room.
"No, no, no!" Adrien gasped, as he looked down. Scrambling, he desperately began picking up the beads that had slid off the string and onto the tiled floor. Marinette got off the bench and picked up every bead she could find. "There's one missing!" he exclaimed, looking around the room.
Marinette's phone began to ring. "It's my mom, I'll take care of this quickly and we'll find the missing bead. Don't worry, it's here somewhere," she assured him before taking the call. "Hello?"
"Honey, you need to come home immediately! Your Nainai called me, dad's in the hospital and she can't manage work and taking care of him. She needs us to help out and be her support. I've arranged for us to fly to Shanghai tomorrow. Can you get some time off of work?"
Marinette looked down at Adrien who was still searching for the bead.
"Yes, h-how long will we be away?"
The last word caught Adrien's attention. He got to his feet and made his way over to Marinette.
"At least a month.. It'll be difficult, with the bakery and your work, but family always comes first."
"It's our responsibility, I know, Maman," she replied, her tone nearly emotionless. "I understand. I'll be home soon," she hung up.
"...You're leaving?" he murmured, his face suddenly gone pale, as if he'd just seen a ghost. "Where?"
"My grandpa's sick, and my grandma can't handle their business alone and take care of him," she informed him, not looking him in the eyes. "They live in China."
"Is he okay?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, she didn't say much on the phone."
Adrien took her hands. "How long will you be gone?"
She swallowed. "A month."
"A...a month?" he barely got out.
"At least, it could be longer. Like I said, I don't know the details. I'm so sorry, Adrien," Marinette whispered in despair.
"I'll come with you!" he offered, quickly guiding her out of the room and towards the door. "I can help you. You can't speak Mandarin, so I can be your translator. I can also help with whatever else you need."
Marinette gave him a small smile, and cupped his face in her hands. "I know you would, but you know you can't come. Your father wouldn't allow you to miss work to fly halfway across the world on your own for even a day, much less a month minimum. I'll be okay, don't worry."
"I know you will, that's not-" he cut himself off.
"Not what?" she asked.
"That's not what's upsetting me. We just got together, and now you're leaving, indefinitely. I don't know when I'll see you again, and I don't want to be away from you, not again," his eyes began to burn, so he glanced away, hoping she wouldn't see. But she saw the pain and the threat of tears in his eyes anyway.
"I know, I don't want this either. But it's not forever, okay? Maybe everything will go well and we'll come home sooner than planned," Marinette offered him, hoping to perk him up a little bit, even though she feared she'd be gone much longer, given her mother's grave tone on the phone and the early scheduled flight.
"When do you leave?"
"Tomorrow," she said. Plagg and Tikki had overheard everything from the other room, and quietly said their goodbyes before Tikki snuggled into Marinette's purse. Adrien wordlessly got Marinette's coat and scarf off of the rack, helping her put them on. After putting on his own, he took her hand in his and walked her home.
What he thought would be the start of everything for him, for them, turned out to be only a taste of what could be, and what he still hoped would be someday.
Plagg had remained behind, wanting to gorge himself on the stinky cheese until he slipped into a food coma, his way of dealing with his pain. While stuffing himself, he saw a shiny object on the floor. Curious, he glided down to it, identifying it immediately, before he reached it. It was one of the beads from the string Adrien carried around with him, something he knew he would go crazy looking for, especially with today's new development. With a sigh, Plagg set down his cheese so he could carry the bead over to the table, where he knew Adrien would see it and put his lucky charm back together again.
I wrote and posted this super late, so come morning I may reread it and tweak some things. But I'm happy with it for the moment.
OUaT inspired this chapter just a bit with the whole prince thing. Whoops!
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