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Adrien can remember the day he wrote the very first letter that started it all.
It is his tenth birthday. A day that was once full of joy and celebration, is now just another day spent working. His photographer had grown frustrated with Adrien's lack of a "happy smile" and took a much-needed break.
The blonde blankly stared at a mother holding the tiny hand of her child as they strolled towards the carousel. The mother had an amused look in her sparkling eyes while the little boy tugged her along.
It had been four years since the disappearance of his mother. As the years dragged by, so did the silence and emptiness of the house.
Adrien sighed, looking away from the duo and back at his notebook to continue his studies, twiddling a pencil between his fingers. Nathalie is going to test him later and show his father the score he would get. If Adrien doesn't get a perfect score, there will be consequences for having anything less.
"Hey, kid?" a muffled voice called.
The ten-year-old turned away from the notebook and focused his attention on a young woman holding a jar with only a couple of pickles left. She is chomping on a pickle at the moment, explaining the muffling of her voice.
"Do you mind if I sit on the bench too?" She asked after swallowing down the food. Adrien blinked for a moment before looking at the bench he is currently sitting on. Besides himself, the rest of the seating area is covered with his homeschool stuff and leaving no space.
"Oh...yeah. Sorry about that," the young blonde apologized, cleaning up his things and set them on the ground. The woman gave an appreciative smile and sat down next to him. Adrien returned to his studying, the sounds of crunching in the background a bit distracting.
"Shouldn't you be in school right now?"
Adrien's orbs shifted back to the curious woman.
"Um..." Adrien began, shifting in his spot, "I...I'm homeschooled."
The woman hummed, finishing off the pickle before responding, "It must be nice being homeschooled. You can stay at home, take tests in sweats, and don't have to worry about getting a date for the prom."
Adrien frowned, half-heartedly shrugging his shoulders. The woman frowned, concern showing in her features. She plunged her hand into the jar, grabbing one of the pickles. She pulled it out before setting the glass containment aside.
The woman quickly took Adrien's notebook from his lap, resulting in a flabbergasted ten-year-old. He is about to ask what the woman was doing until being cut short by an offered green vegetable.
"Talk to me, kid. I can tell you have a few things you want to get off of your chest," she said. Adrien raised an eyebrow, glancing at the woman and the pickle.
"How did you know?" The blonde questioned, hesitatingly grabbing the pickle and stared at it. The first thing he noticed is the pickle wasn't coated in juice but damp enough to be fresh.
"You could say, it's a new mother's intuition," the woman answered, grabbing another pickle from the jar and taking a giant bite from it, "I've studied the faces of my daughter to know enough."
"You have a daughter?" Adrien said, biting into the pickle. The woman fondly nodded, "Yeah, you could say she is my happiness."
Adrien felt a pang in his heart, finding the dirt below quite interesting. He wouldn't say he is jealous of the little girl, who he never met, but...envious? Whatever feeling is going through Adrien, it did hurt.
The woman seemed to notice this.
"You don't have to tell me your whole life story...or really, anything. We did just meet like...fifteen minutes ago," the woman began, "I'm just saying if you need an ear that'll listen then you can chatter mine up."
Adrien knew that he shouldn't trust strangers. Yet, he felt like he could trust this young-looking adult, who is randomly carrying around a pickle jar (as strange as that sounds). He never really had anyone to talk with since his mother. No friends, no family willing to give their time, not even some of the staff in the mansion.
So, why not talk with a stranger, who is willing to consider his feelings? Adrien isn't going to tell this woman his whole life story for obvious reasons but...he can at least tell this woman why he's in such a damper mood.
"Today's my birthday..." Adrien started, pausing on how to word everything into enough detail, "...and my dad isn't the kind of person to celebrate. The most he does is give me a pen for a present before sending me off to work or study. He acts...like it's just another day."
The blonde boy took another bite from the pickle, casting his whimsical gaze over at the park and avoiding the carousel. The woman hummed in acknowledgment.
"Is there no one else you can celebrate with? What about some friends, co-workers...your mother?" The woman questioned before hitting her head, "Never mind, you don't need to answer that. That's your own personal...business..."
The woman felt her chest twist, seeing Adrien uncomfortably shift and sorrow embracing his damaged soul.
She let out a groan, "Kid, I'm sorry. It really isn't any of my business."
"It's alright..." the blonde reassured, sadly, "You just sort of...opened my eyes."
The woman's frown deepened, guilt gnawing at her very being. She ate the last of her pickle and reached into the jar to grab another. She is left in dismay when realizing that the jar has no pickles left, the juice remaining.
An idea formed in the woman's head while turning to the blonde. The woman looked down at the jar and dumped liquid contents into the grass. Then, she grabbed a few tissues from her pocket and quickly dried the inside. The woman screwed the lid back on and handed it to the ten-year-old.
Adrien blinked when an empty jar suddenly came into his vision. The boy took the jar before giving a confused look over at the woman.
"I know this probably isn't any better than some pen but..." the woman continued, tapping the top of the jar's lid, "...you can fill this jar with something meaningful."
"Like what?" Adrien asked, confused but intrigued by the woman's words. The woman pursed her lips in thought before answering, "Hope, you can fill it with hope."
Adrien is left stunned, feeling perkier and hopeful than he has ever been in four years. A smile formed on the boy's face as he responded, "I will."
The woman handed Adrien's notebook back before standing up, "Welp, it was a nice chat while it lasted but I've got to go. Happy birthday, kid!"
"Wait!" Adrien called, making the woman pause from continuing any farther. She faced the ten-year-old and cocked her head to the side in curiosity.
"What's your name?" The blonde asked.
With one last, cheeky smile, the woman answered, "Celine."
Adrien watched Celine walk towards the jungle gym then noticed the children playing in it. They are laughing, playing, and running around as any ordinary kid would do. Yet, the thing that grabbed the blonde's attention is that they are all playing with someone.
A friend, maybe even a stranger they're now best friends within just a few minutes they've known each other.
Adrien faced the jar sitting beside him and his notebook. A lightbulb began to flicker upon the blonde boy's head. He tore out a blank sheet from the notebook and wrote down his letter.
Want to be my pen pal? :)
Yes No
Not too long after, Adrien found a hiding spot and felt hope for something extraordinary to happen. Adrien crawled out from behind the bushes and stood up, brushing the leaves and branch bits from his hair.
"There you are!" Adrien's photographer shouted, making Adrien jump, "It's time to retake your pictures before the sun's lighting changes! Chop chop! I do not have all day!"
Adrien followed the impatient photographer but didn't care about his frustration. Adrien finally felt happy and smiled nonstop for the rest of the day. He couldn't wait for a reply.
Every time he visited the park, Adrien checked the letter for any changes and never gave up on hope. He held onto it, even if he was dangerously dangling by a thread and could fall at any moment into a chasm filled with disappointment. Adrien continued to hold onto that thinly, little mishap of string like it was his last lifeline.
Two and a half years had passed.
Two and a half years of loneliness and silence.
Two and a half years stuck in the same meaningless routine.
Two and a half years feeling tired and worn down by endless work.
Two and a half years grasping that simple piece of thread.
Two and a half years may have passed by...but all the torment was worth the wait when the day finally arrived.
Yes
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Adrien looked into the mirror one more time and adjusted his green tie for the nth time.
He feels a little nervous, wanting his first time meeting with his pen pal to go smoothly. Ladybug is his first and only friend (as sad as that sounds). He didn't want to mess anything up to make her react negatively towards him, considering who his father was revealed to be.
Adrien knows he is nothing like his father and never will be. There is so much more to the blonde than living in his father's shadow.
Yet, that doesn't mean other people won't look at Adrien and see his father instead. Everyone has a different opinion or judgment about everything, some good and others bad. Adrien learned that after becoming a model, seeing all the rumors, comments, and ridicule.
He just hopes that Ladybug isn't like others, leaping before looking.
Adrien felt sweaty, wiping his palms on his black pants and taking in a deep breath. He tried to smooth down an annoying strand of hair that stuck out of place before finally patting it down with some water.
A knock on the door echoed off the bathroom walls.
"Are you about done, Adrien? You're going to be late," Nathalie asked from the other side of the door. Adrien glanced in the mirror one last time for any blemishes before opening the door.
"I think I'm ready," he answered. The woman raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side.
"What?" The teen asked, confused by his temporary guardian's facial expression.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Nathalie questioned. In that split moment, a million questions raced through Adrien's head. He began to freak out, trying to figure out what he was missing.
"Oh! Adrien!" Adrien nearly shouted once realizing what he was forgetting. Nathalie's face wrinkled in befuddlement, watching the blonde boy practically skid back into the bathroom.
"Adrien Fragrance," he corrected, pulling out what society called "a manly perfume." Adrien sprayed a decent amount into the air and walked through the mist, obscuring himself in the smell. He put the fragrance away and exited the restroom again.
"Okay, now I'm-" Adrien is cut short when seeing Nathalie holding his cat ears and mask.
"Oh...that's what you meant by..." Adrien trailed off, awkwardly nodding his head, "Yeah, that makes a lot more sense."
Nathalie fondly smiled handing over the two objects. Adrien grasped the ears and mask in his hands, eagerly placing them on his head. He pulled the mask over his eyes, green eyes seen through the eyeholes.
"How do I look?" Adrien asked, stepping back to make it easier to present himself. The woman scanned the teen up and down, lips pursed in thought. Something about Adrien's image bothered her until scoping the blonde locks again. Nathalie stepped forward and took the cat ears off of the teen's head.
"What are you—hey!" Adrien was about to ask a question until Nathalie began to mess up his hair, "Do you know how long it took me to do my hair?"
Once Nathalie is satisfied with her work, she placed the ears back on the teen's head and reevaluated his look. The raven-haired woman hummed in success while saying, "That's better."
Adrien returned to the bathroom to see what Nathalie's work. He is mildly surprised when seeing his reflection, hair wildly untamed like a lion's mane. He turned his head to both sides, really taking in the look that is starting to grow on him.
"Actually, I really like this," Adrien commented, swiveling his gaze over to Nathalie with a grateful smile on his face, "Thanks!"
"No problem," Nathalie replied, "Now, are you ready to go?"
"Almost, I realized I forgot another thing," Adrien replied, making Nathalie wonder what else could be missing. Besides being requested for a quick detour on their way to the dance, she couldn't think of anything that could've been forgotten.
Before Nathalie could ask what it is that's missing, Adrien unexpectedly pulled her into an embrace. Nathalie nearly stumbled back in surprise, collecting what fragments of conscious thinking she had left to keep her stable. She stood awkwardly frozen for a few seconds before relaxing her stiff body.
The woman raveled her arm around the teen, bringing him in closer and soaking in his warmth. Adrien settled within her hold, resting his head against Nathalie's shoulder and pretended for one selfish moment of his mother holding him.
Adrien knew his mother would always have a place in his heart. He wouldn't allow Nathalie to fill in such a spot but left just enough room for her to leave a mark, someone the blonde could look up to.
Nathalie is like a...caring and authoritative older sister or aunt, he supposed. No matter the case, Adrien considered Nathalie family though they were not blood-related.
Finally, the two pulled away from each other.
"Okay," Adrien said, "Now, I'm ready."
Nathalie's lips cracked the smallest of smiles before ruffling the blonde's locks a bit. She grabbed her car keys while Adrien nervously readjusted his coat.
"Where are we stopping on this detour, anyway?" Nathalie asked as they walked out of their hotel room.
Adrien scratched the back of his neck and balanced on the ball of his heels, sheepishly answering, "Marianne's Flower Shop."
Adrien felt slightly flustered, earning a confused look from Nathalie.
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