Note: Thanks a lot SugarCubeTikki456 for telling me that French students attend school on Saturday, I actually had no idea 😂 I'll keep it in mind in the future but I'll probably leave this story be since I kinda fixed it already. Thanks again!
Well, our very good friend and special guest awaits you...😇
Cats And Roses
Chapter 8:
Green is the color of life, abundant growth, and constant renewal of life and energy. The green rose signifies the constant rejuvenation of spirit and fertility. It can symbolize richness, abundance, and bounty. Green roses are a sign of plenty and copiousness. Green is also a very pleasing color and is often said it can impart a sense of balance, stability, and peace to the human mind.
"Plagg, come on," said Adrien, beginning to look a little irritated. A muffled voice came from behind his desk.
"Mmm..wait.."
Tapping his foot impatiently, Adrien scowled. "You can have your cheese later! I have better things to do."
"Yeah, there isn't anything better to do than stalk a girl by wasting all your birthday money buying stupid roses."
"One, I don't get birthday money. Two, I'm not stalking her. And three, they aren't stupid-"
"Why are you wasting your time buying flowers when you could be doing something better?" Plagg complained. He still refused to come out. Adrien gritted his teeth.
"Like what? Eating smelly old cheese?"
"Yes!" He muffled in delight, probably stuffing himself with even more of that disgusting camembert. Adrien rolled his eyes. His kwami had to be the most annoying being on the planet. Plagg was a living nightmare. The only benefit of having him under his thumb all day was that he could transform into Chat Noir, which he preferred more than his normal life.
"Alright, that's it. Plagg, claws out!"
"HEY! You can't jus- s-STAHHHHHH!"
He smiled. And that was the other good thing about having a kwami. With a chuckle, he extended his baton and leaped out of his window.
The wind brushed his bangs across his face as Chat Noir ran across the rooftops. He glanced down at the streets, noticing Andre's ice cream cart parked next to a building near the river. A bunch of couples were gathered around the cart, some just then walking away with their ice cream. That could be him someday.
He ducked behind an alleyway to release his transformation. His body flashed with bright green light as his transformation faded away. Plagg floated out angrily in front of him.
"I was in the middle of eating! You had no right to- Hey! I'm not finished, where are you going?"
Adrien rolled his eyes as he rushed across the street, Plagg flying closely behind him. "I don't have time to hear you complain, I need to go buy more flowers."
"And stalk your girlfriend?"
A blush rose to his cheeks. "I'm not stalking her." He stopped walking, looking up at the entrance to the garden center. "Hide, Plagg."
"But-"
"Hide!"
Plagg's glare could have withered forests. "You are not getting away with this!"
"I'll buy you more camembert afterwards, okay?" Forcing Plagg to fly back into his bag, he made his way inside. Green roses were the only ones he couldn't find anywhere, so he'd decided to try this place. Adrien was surprised at how empty the place was.
Maybe that was because people already had red roses at home. He didn't understand why red roses were so overrated. There were so many flowers, so many colors, meanings and messages just as meaningful to say. Someone special deserved something special.
"Are you looking for something?"
Adrien turned, jumping out of his thoughts.
A fairly old man was standing behind him. He was watching him with eyes so narrowed that Adrien began to feel scared. He had short blonde hair and a very bright orange complexion, dressed in a white suit with a tie. His nametag read, Grump. Adrien scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Ah..yeah..I'm looking for flowers?" Adrien immediately realized how dumb that sounded, considering that the entire place was covered in flowers.
His face twisted into a knot of anger. "Well..we have lots, if you didn't notice."
"W-Well, I'm sorry.." Adrien hesitantly looked up, "..Grump."
The man's glare could have withered forests. "What," he said in a dealy silent voice, "did you just call me?"
"Gr-Grump?"
"Grump? Why the hell would my name be Grump?!"
"It-It's what your name tag says?"
"What!?" The man wildly looked down, his jaw dropping as he tore his name tag off. He looked at it with such horror that Adrien began to feel uneasy again. "GAH! They misspelled it again!" The man shot Adrien another glare. "I know this is your doing."
"Hey, I just came here to buy flowers," said Adrien, beginning to feel a twinge of annoyance. "What's your deal?"
"Stupid people, always so disrespectful," He grumbled, folding his arms. "Why do you need flowers anyways?"
"I..Well." A blush spread across his cheeks. His expression softened. "See, there's this girl that-"
The man let out a loud groan. "Great! Another person to remind me of my nonexistent love life. With all your gushy, disgusting romance-"
"Don't you work here?" Adrien asked calmly.
"Yeah, cause I have nothing else to do!"
"Can..can I please buy my flowers?"
He took several breaths to calm himself down, then looked at Adrien, annoyed. He couldn't figure out what he could have possibly done to anger this man. "Take what you want and leave, boy."
"Ah, do you know where the roses are?" said Adrien, ignoring the permanent glare the man was directing at him. "I'm kind of looking for-"
"How am I supposed to know where they are!?"
"Sir, you work here."
"I don't know, okay?" He crossed his arms, not looking back before walking back to the counter. Adrien tried to call after him.
"Hey, I'm not finished-!"
"Talk to the wall!"
Adrien sighed. Maybe Grump was just having a bad day. He walked around the area and noticed the roses after a few passes. He smiled.
"You know, Grumpy might be right." Plagg spoke, peeking out from under Adrien's bag. He rolled his eyes.
"Stay inside Plagg, I don't want anyone to see you." His face brightened when seeing exactly what he wanted. There were plenty of gorgeous roses, a group of the exact type of seafoam green colored ones that caught his attention. He carefully picked them up, taking a moment to admire how natural they looked. Adrien was curious if they were indeed natural and considered asking the man at the counter, but immediately told himself that would be a bad idea.
He gathered exactly eight of the flowers and smiled. "Perfect."
Adrien hurriedly made his way back to the counter, carefully placing the flowers on the table in front of him. "I'd like to buy-'' He heard a rather loud crunching sound, and looked up to see the man hungrily devouring some orange cheeto puffs. Adrien cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
That appeared to be the first time the man noticed him. The man looked up, startled. He quickly tossed the bag into the garbage can behind him, wiping his mouth and coughing. "I-Uh, yes? What do you need?"
"Well..I..I need to buy.." He awkwardly gestured to the green roses he'd placed in front of the counter.
"Oh." The man grumbled. "It's you again. Here, just take them," He said, shoving the flowers into his arms. Adrien was bewildered.
"I-I don't need to pay?"
The man hesitated. "Uh..no."
Adrien knew he should have taken them and went, but it didn't feel right to him. "A-Are you sure? Why can't I pay?"
"Because I.." He looked around sheepishly to make sure no one was listening. He leaned in to whisper, "Well, I don't know how to handle money."
"Why not?"
"I didn't graduate high-school, okay!? Don't rub it in!"
Adrien's expression softened. He waited there for a second before pulling out his wallet and pulling out some cash. He smiled kindly, placing it on the counter and causing the man to look surprised. "Here. Keep the change."
His eyes lit up. "Money? Give me that!" He snatched it from Adrien's hands, carefully admiring the cash. Adrien cleared his throat again.
"Say, uh..what is your name, sir?"
"GET OUT!"
"Okay, okay!" Adrien hurriedly grabbed the roses and practically bolted out the door, breathing a sigh of relief as he heard the door slam behind him. The roses he had seen there were actually amazing, which made Adrien regret that he was never going back to that place again.
Adrien let his transformation fall as he reached Marinette's balcony. He grinned to himself at the fact that she had no idea he was up here. And he knew for a fact that Marinette always had her trapdoor unlocked, meaning he was granted free access into her room. His face flushed red immediately. What!? Get a grip Agreste, he told himself firmly. You leave the flowers and you go.
He crouched down next to her trapdoor, praying his hardest that Marinette wouldn't pop up at her trapdoor the next second. His grin grew as he took the piece of paper he'd tucked in his pocket and scribbled down a note. This time, he knew exactly what to write.
Adrien tried his best not to laugh as he wrote, "Do you like cats?" His grin grew as he tucked it between the flowers and placed it by her trapdoor.
He smiled, bending down to give it a small kiss. "You can't get out of this one, Princess," He murmured with a smirk, getting back up on his feet. Adrien couldn't help but look pleased with himself.
"Stalker," Plagg mumbled again, ruining the moment. Adrien ignored him, deciding he should probably leave before someone caught him.
"Plagg, claws out!"
He felt particularly satisfied as he leaped off her balcony. Trying to tell his lady directly just how much he loved her had failed several times, so this year he would simply have to show her. In the best way possible.
