(A/N) You all are just the sweetest people, all the love for this series is amazing.
Now for our little guessing game, a few reviewers got it right. Crystalkit7, RowerLovesAstronomy, Yamina20, and finally, two unnamed Guests. You all guessed that they were characters from the amazing author Tamora Pierce. I won't go into it now, but at the Author Note at the end of this chapter I will explain why I chose those names.
With that aside, let's begin the chapter!
*boop*
Adrien was released from the hospital a few days later. During his time there, he didn't see too many people. News reporters had been banned from the premises as to 'not stress the recovering Agreste.' He even heard that Alya had been barred from entrance at one point. That little piece of information had caused him to inwardly chuckle. Whenever he had been alone during that time, the doctor and her nurses had been more than happy to spend time with him. He would have thought that they would have other patients, but they were quick to inform him they were privately assigned to him.
Other than that, his father was a daily occurrence. Some days it didn't last too long due to work, but they all were genuine. They would just talk, reconnecting over lost time while both agreeing to avoid the heavier topics for now. There had been a few times he had come alone, but the other there was usually one person with him.
Most of the time it had been Nathalie, who looked like loads of stress had suddenly been lifted when she had first laid eyes on him. His old bodyguard had come for one, quiet as always but a pleasant sight.
His father did bring Marinette with him one more time…
He had come up with some half-baked excuse of why he had brought her, but in all honesty Adrien didn't care. He was just happy to see her again in such a short period of time. While Gabriel had been in the room, they had engaged in polite conversation, easily not making it seem like they had spent a lot of time together beforehand. The few minutes he had left the room were filled with Marinette updating Adrien about everyone else, which he was grateful for.
Overall, his time in the hospital wasn't all that bad. But in the end, he was more than ready to leave. The press had not been tipped on when he was being released which made it an easy exit for him. Nathalie had been the one to pick him up, stating that his father was in an important meeting and would have been there if he could. After the last few days those words were more believable for Adrien.
He felt his heartbeat quicken slightly as they pulled up to the mansion. Even though it had felt like a prison most of his life, he couldn't help but feel happy seeing it again. Everything appeared just as he remembered it, even his room had remained untouched in his absence. He took everything in slowly, letting both good and bad memories wash over him. He stood in the middle of his room like that for a few minutes, eyes closed as various emotions came and went. When he finally opened his eyes, his mind was set and he left the room in search of Nathalie. She seemed understanding of where he wanted to go, but was confused by the little stop he wanted to make on the way.
…
The reception area of Agreste was abuzz when Adrien entered, a determined look on his face as he strode up to the front desk. He received surprised looks as he asked for a certain person's office location, as well as wide eyes as to what was in his hand. As he made his way towards the elevator, Nathalie smiled before pulling out her phone to send a message to Gabriel.
He fidgeted in the elevator, unsure of how this was all going to turn out, but hopeful overall. The door opened on the right level and he got out confidently. This area was still familiar to him, but it was different walking down it versus being carried in a carrier. When the hallway opened up to the main area, he ignored the stares and whispers he was receiving from various employees. His destination was in sight and he felt the smile slowly spread across his face.
Marinette was clearly engrossed in her work. So much so that she didn't notice him standing by the door of her office. It was after a few moments that he cleared his throat to get her attention. Her head snapped up in surprise, but her eyes softened when she saw who it was. Adrien made his way in cautiously, one had rubbing the back of his neck nervously while the other was suspiciously behind his back. She raised a brow at him, and that was enough to get him to speak.
"Hey… so I just wanted to say thank you for... accompanying my father a few times to visit me... It's nice to talk to people my age." He clearly was in character in case they had any eavesdroppers. She smiled at him, playing along with his ruse as she spoke.
"I'm glad to hear that, is there anything I can do for you Adrien?" He couldn't help but cheer inwardly as she led up perfectly to what he wanted to say next.
"Well you see, there is something you can do." He brought his arm around from behind him and her breath hitched for a moment.
It was a bouquet, one similar to what she had received just a few weeks from before. Only this one had a few different flowers in place of some of the more 'love' based ones. Similar to the first one, this one contained white Heathers, Gardenias and pink and light red Carnations. Although with this one, there were no roses mixed in, probably to avoid too much attention for now. Instead there were also a few lavender Heathers mixed in with the white ones. It was filled with as much meaning as the first one had.
"I would love to go on a date with you, if that's alright." Adrien's words caused a few squeals of excitement from behind him. It was definitely clear at this point there were people intently watching the exchange. They didn't see him wink at her as he handed the bouquet over. Marinette grabbed them, seeing the card attached to the ribbon wrapped around it she opened it to read a few familiar words.
For my Purrincess
Love, Your Knight
Any doubt she had felt about it actually being him who sent her the first one was immediately washed away with the note. She scanned the bouquet quickly, finding the also familiar single red tulip hidden in the middle. She looked back up at Adrien, seeing him anxiously waiting for a response as well as a few rather non-subtle urges from the eavesdropping coworkers pretending to be working. A smile appeared on her face, and Adrien's face lit up in return to her response.
"I would be more than happy to."
*boop*
Alright, successfully led into a date chapter, and now the fun begins. A lot of you guys suggested some pretty cute date ideas and I will try to implement as much of them as I can. As for the flower meanings, that was covered in a chapter quite a while back. If it is needed though, I will post another list in the notes of next chapter.
And now for the explanation that I promised at the beginning. Back when I was a little middle schooler, I came across the author Tamora Pierce. Very soon I became enveloped in her worlds of magic and storytelling. I even bought my own (now very worn) copies and still read them to this day. Now you might be wondering why exactly I included this, well…
She was my inspiration for writing…
I started writing in high school (those stories are long gone never to be seen by the public xD). Her stories opened my imagination to my own stories I would form and mold in my head as I went through the day. The first ever idea of Cats and Curses was one that started taking shape a little over a year ago. So really, without Tamora Pierce's work, you might not have this story today…
For those who have not read her works I highly recommend them. I can tell you that my favorite of all of them would be her book Squire in her 'Protector of the Small' Quartet. (That's where Kel and Neal's names came from ;D) I am more than happy to discuss them with you in detail.
Well that's enough from me for now, see you lovelies next week!
Lots of love to you all!
~Imperial
