Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or it's characters.
Chapter 41,
When Marinette finally finished Adrien's new t-shirt, Adrien was full of emotions. He was a little at war with himself. As much as he loved the shirt Marinette made for him, could he really get away with wearing clothes that didn't belong to his father? How would his father feel about the shirt? Would he like it? Would he hate it? Would he take the shirt away from him? Would he want to get Adrien's opinion on future designs? Would... would his father finally stop ignoring him?
"You ok?" Marinette asked and Adrien hesistated and rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's very nice, Marinette." Adrien said instead of answering the question.
"You know, I won't be hurt if you don't wear this shirt right away. I love making clothes, and it was really fun to design this with you... This was really fun, even if you never wear it." Marinette said and Adrien sighed heavily.
"I want to wear it. I'm just a little nervous by it." Adrien admitted bashfully. Marinette offered him a warm smile and folded the shirt.
"Listen, I'm not gonna force you to wear this, and I can understand that it might be a little strange to wear other clothes when you're outside the modelling studio... I just think, if this is something you want, then go ahead and take it home. You can always keep it in your closet and look at it and whatnot... but if there is a way that I can help you feel more like yourself, then I want to help in any way I can." Marinette said and Adrien sighed.
"That sorta reminds me. Did you ever figure out what you wanted to do for Father's contest?" Adrien asked and Marinette leaned back in her chair.
"Not really. Every time I try to think of a good idea for the contest and how to help advertise in America... my thoughts get clouded with the kids down at the orphanage. I'd rather help them keep their home, then promote some... random line." Marinette said, almost bitterly, and Adrien blinked.
"Well, the promotion could be whatever you want it to be. Why not do something that can help them?" Adrien asked and Marinette blinked.
"Doing something charitable wouldn't be a very good promotion- especially when it's for a different country." Marinette said and Adrien shrugged.
"Everyone in class has a different idea for how my faher can advertise in America. They're gonna give it their all, and present the best idea they come up with. I mean, even if father doesn't pick your idea, you'll still be giving it your best shot, and you'll be staying true to yourself. That's gotta count for something." Adrien said and Marinette smiled.
She smiled then, and she smiled now, as she remembered that moment. Adrien was right, everyone in class was presenting the best idea they could come up with. Having our own fashion olympic games, featuring the best sportswear. creating an in-depth video game involving working at the Gabriel Company and the clothes your avatar makes/wears are actually products in the upcoming fashion line. And then one person suggested printing thousands of postcards and sending them to every house in America.
"Alright Adrien, it's your turn." Miss Bustier said and Adrien hesitantly stood up and looked at Nathalie holding an ipad for his father to view the room with.
"Well, I was thinking that it would be beneficial to make connections with American fashion industries and stores/companies that sell clothing. You could reach out to them directly, but it would be more personal to spend time with them in a more fun or casual setting. You could do a fashion tour of America visiting the cities you think would be the greatest asset for you. New York, California, Florida, Texas-"
"Texas, dude? They don't seem very fashion-forward." Nino commented.
"Well, there is the stereotypical thought process that 'everything is bigger in Texas'. Not to mention the fact the phrase 'Don't mess with Texas' was originated from the realization that it's one of the most independent states in America, and can take care of itself. I think father would want to associate himself with people..." Adrien paused and shot a quick glare at his father.
"... Who can take care of themselves." Adrien said before dropping the glare, and looked down at his notebook.
"You could do a tour and then have an after party where you, or an individual representing you, can promote the line to stores and gain trust with other fashion companies. Once you've established a relationship with them, you can get a better sense of what the Americans like, and you can get information from the American fashion industries on themes they, themselves, are focusing on... and it would be a good practice to exercise when you want to take your clothing lines to Italy, or China, or Spain, or wherever you decide to promote next." Adrein said, crossing his arms halfway through his little speech. He knew he had a good idea, but his father would never consider his idea. The only thing Adrien wasn't sure about, was the exact reason why.
"Sounds wonderful, a real challanger." Miss Bustier said and Adrien sat down, avoiding his father's gaze.
"Ok, who haven't we heard from yet. Um, Marinette, are you ready to present your idea?" She asked and Marinette stood up a little.
"The other day I went and I donated a bunch of stuff down at the orphanage-"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Chloe interrupted.
"Chloe, be quiet, no one interrupted you when you were talking." Adrien spat out and Chloe's eyes widened. It was so unusual for her to Adrien this angry. Then Adrien turned around and gave Marinette a sweet smile that made her blush.
"Go ahead Marinette." He encouraged and and she tucked hair behind her ear bashfully.
"Well, when I was down there I was able to stop and have a conversation with Madame Trotter, the lady in charge of the home she's been rather concerned since her rent has been raised and every time I stopped and tried to think of an idea for this contest, I would think of them. So I was thinking of something that would not only help the orphans keep their home, but also something that would be fun for them to work on too. It seemed like a lot of them enjoyed music, so I was thinking about a fashion show that's as entertaining as it is fashionable." Marinette said.
"Would you care to elaborate on that?" Gabriel asked and Marinette rubbed the back of her neck.
"Well, specifically, I was thinking that we could make it more like a concert. Songs are traditionally 2 minutes long, and you can showcase an outfit or two. A traditional fashion show has up to 100 outfits, which would be roughly an hour and a half. Which is slightly longer then a regular fashion show, but shorter then a regular concert. The kids can help pick music and outfits for each song, and maybe they can even help us size the clothes for all of us to wear." Marinette said and Ivan smiled.
"You mean all of us get to be in your fashion show?" Ivan asked and Marinette shrugged.
"Well, why not? I mean we were all in Chloe's fashion show and that was really fun. By the way, Chloe, thanks for that. If we can get another chance to work together, then I say we go for it." Marinette said and a few of the students clapped.
"Alright, anybody else?" Miss Bustier asked and Alya giggled.
"Marinette was the last one." Alya said and Miss Bustier's eyes widened. She did a brief scan of her students and realized Alya was right.
"Well then, we have a couple of minutes until lunch; why don't we head to the cafeteria a little early, so we can let the judges talk." Miss Bustier said and the classroom picked up their lunchboxes and exited the room.
"One moment, Adrien." Gabriel said and Adrien turned and walked over to the screen.
"Yeah?" Adrien said, feeling like he was gonna get in trouble for his glare from earlier.
"I was just wondering..." Gabriel hesitated. Did Adrien always have ideas like that. He was rather impressed, but he didn't know how to form the words.
"Do you always... uh... wear that outfit?" Gabriel asked, backing out of what he wanted to say.
"Excuse me?" Adrien asked confused and it was met with one of Gabriel's thoughtful expressions.
"It's from last season. I'll have to work on something new for you to wear." Gabriel said and Adrien just couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Are you...?" Adrien didn't know what to say, but he was so insulted.
"Are you serious?" Adrien said, trying to control himself, but he couldn't help the scoff that escaped his lips before he asked the question.
"Of course I'm serious. Have you even seen me kid around? I need to make sure you're dressed properly after all. Imagine how our business rivals will react when you're wearing something 'out-of-fashion'. I'll need to fix you as soon as possible. End Of Discussion." Gabriel said, dismissing Adrien. In that moment, Adrien felt like nothing more then a mannequin for his father's clothing. And as he walked away Adrien felt determined to never feel like that again. But he's going to need Marinette's help.