{+}{+}{+}
One Week Later...
Police finally managed to open Hawkmoth's safe after many trials and errors. Yet, more horrors are discovered inside.
One is a journal filled with entries about Gabriel Agreste's failures, his slow descent into madness, and mental illness. A contract was found folded in the back of the journal, promising to never speak of the doctor or the procedure used to remove an embryo from a mother's womb.
This leads us to the last discovery, the cooler. A cooler was found, filled with dry ice and the remains of a preserved fetus—Gabriel's own unborn child, Izzy Agreste! A cooling device was attached to the cooler, keeping the ice from melting and the fetus from decomposing. Reports say the embryo was not a keepsake or properly respected for its death but as a means to use its fetal tissue.
"The fetal tissue is used for treatments for degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease..." Dr. Thomas explains "...samples from a fetus that has been aborted and grow cells from the tissue in Petri dishes."
Not only is this news rattling to the bone, so is Gabriel's escape from jail during the safe extraction. Is it a major coincidence or an extraordinarily thought-out escape plan?
"There you are!"
Adrien stopped reading Gossip Girl's latest update on her blog and looked over at the approaching figure. The blonde smiled, standing from the bench and greeting the person he planned to meet.
"I've been looking all over for you. Of course, it probably would've been smart to look here first," Marinette sheepishly said, scratching the back of her neck. Adrien chuckled, happy to finally get to hang out with his pen pal without any distractions or disturbances.
The blonde has checked the jar a day ago, finding the letter Marinette and was quite baffled after reading it. Worrying would've been an understatement to what Adrien had felt. He quickly typed in her number (checking it a few times to make sure he didn't mess up in his rushed state) before texting the bluenette.
Adrien let out a sigh of relief once Marinette replied and confirmed that everything is okay. The two texted each other for a little bit until deciding to hang out. They decided to meet at the park but never clarified the exact location in the park. Adrien assumed the bench near the opening is a good rendezvous.
Yet, it didn't seem Marinette didn't think of that.
Many things happened after Marinette and Tikki returned home. There was anger and punishments had been set but also tears and relief. Obviously, everything didn't go back to normal and her aunt has been very abundant with giving the two girls space. Marinette appreciated it more than Sabine knew but it is still going to be hard accepting the truth and forgiveness.
Marinette is grateful Tikki went back to being herself after everything she's been put through.
Even with the slow process of fixing their broken family, every little bit counted and is nicely coming together.
"You could've texted or called me and asked where I was," Adrien advised, making Marinette perk up in realization and hit her forehead.
"Shoot, you're right! Why didn't I do that? Either way, I still should've known we would meet here. It's so obvious. I'm so lame!" Marinette grumbled.
"Hey, it's alright. You don't need to beat yourself up about it. I'm sure you have had a lot on your mind," Adrien replied, a bit of concern laced within his voice.
"Yeah..." Marinette agreed before quickly shaking her head, "but it seems you did too. I read it on Gossip Girl this morning but we don't have to talk about any of that stuff if you don't want too. We both came here to have fun, show you around Paris, and get to know each other a bit more in person."
Adrien smiled in agreement, excited to finally get a chance to hang out with Marinette. He's been through heck and back these past couple of weeks. Sure, he's on edge and paranoid knowing his dad had escaped jail. The blonde literally looks around every corner and over his shoulders to make sure no suspicious characters are following him.
Besides that, he actually feels quite relieved in a weird way. Maybe, the blonde is reassuring himself that his father probably hightailed to another country and will never see him again.
"Hopefully," Adrien thought, taking in the view of the bustling park before returning his gaze to Marinette.
"So, what are we going to do first, Bugaboo?" Adrien teased. A smirk formed on his lips, revealing his Chat Noir side. Marinette's eyes slightly widened, not expecting the nickname. She felt her heart suddenly skip a beat and her cheeks warm.
"What the?" The bluenette thought, "Why am I feeling this way? This is only the second time we've met in person—well, third—but that's not the point! So, why am I getting flustered?"
Worry began to settle into Adrien's chest when Marinette continued to stare at him, making him think he did something wrong. He frowned and tried to get the bluenette's attention again, "Marinette, is everything alright? Did I say something that bothered you? I'm sorry if I did."
Marinette snapped out of her trance and sporadically waved her hands around in dismay. Her temperature rose due to embarrassment.
"No! No, you did nothing wrong. I promise—uh, is-is there anything you wanted to try out now that y-you have the chance," Marinette rambled, trying to rapidly change the subject and wanting to find a nice rock to hide under.
Yet, Adrien relaxing seemed to ease Marinette's embarrassment and make her wonder why the ex-model seemed so nervous—so self-conscious. She frowned upon the idea of Adrien's past and present family issues. Plus, social media probably didn't do too kindly with the issue more than it increased Adrien's anxiety with what other people think of him.
All his confidence is merely to cover up the truth. Marinette is at least glad Adrien is comfortable enough to show his true colors to her though they've only met a handful of times. She supposed the year and a half of being pen pals made a great impact on their close bond too.
Even though they didn't know each other's identity, it didn't stop them from forming a close friendship or lose faith.
Somehow, two strangers became best friends through the thick and thin of things.
"I've always wanted to go see a movie with a friend," Adrien suggested.
"Really?" Marinette spoke with astonishment, not expecting that answer. Out of all the sights and places they could visit in Paris, the first thing Adrien wanted to do was go see a movie with a friend. Marinette couldn't help but find that adorable.
"Uh...yeah," Adrien sheepishly admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"He's cute," a voice in Marinette's head suddenly said. She blushed before shaking away the familiar mischievous voice of a certain redhead. Marinette softly smiled at the blonde teen, "Okay. Then, let's go see a movie."
The bluebell-eyed girl watched as Adrien's spirit raised in mere seconds from shy to over-joyed.
"A-Are you sure? We don't have too-"
"Adrien, I'm positive," Marinette cut him off, "We can always do other things a different time but I'd love—like to go see a movie with you!" Marinette speedily corrected, nervously shifting in her spot. Lucky for her, Adrien didn't seem to notice. He is too happy and excited to give a second thought on Marinette's weird behavior.
The two left the park and began their trek towards the movie theater. They continued to talk about random things and respectfully stayed off any topics that involved each other's family problems.
"Maybe, after we're done watching the movie, we can go somewhere to eat a late lunch," Marinette suggested.
"That sounds good. Do you have any recommendations for a good place to eat?" Adrien asked. Marinette hummed, pulling out her phone to check for any good places to eat that are close by the theater. Yet, her search is immediately stopped by a notification from her SSP app. The bluenette didn't think much of it and clicked the notification to take a quick peek.
She scrunches her nose, immediately regretting clicking it once seeing Lila's picture. Marinette didn't bother to read the phrase, hitting the dislike button.
"Is something wrong?"
The bluenette shifts her gaze away from her phone's screen to Adrien, "No, why?"
"You had a look of disgust on your face," Adrien plainly answered, pointing out with the innocence of a child.
"Oh," Marinette started, flushing red, "It's nothing to worry about it. It's nothing important."
Adrien gave an unsure nod and didn't go any further on the topic. Marinette gave a small smile before searching for the actual reason she is on her phone.
Suddenly, a random question came to mind. He pursed his lips in thought, wondering if Marinette might be able to answer.
Honestly, it's been bothering him for a bit and couldn't help imagining possible scenarios for the past week of what it would be like...
"Hey, Marinette," Adrien suddenly spoke, earning the bluenette's attention. She curiously hummed and tilted her head a little. Adrien smiled a little at the cute movement until shyly facing away. He hesitates for a moment longer before letting the question roll off his tongue.
"Do you...have any siblings?"
Marinette's grip on her phone went limp, letting the device slide out of her hand. She's caught off-guard by the question and scrambles down to pick up her phone. There are many things Marinette thought he would ask but this question is far beyond what she expected.
Adrien winced, feeling bad for asking something that is probably personal.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. You don't need to answer something personal!" Adrien quickly said.
"No, it's not that!" Marinette reassured, pocketing her thankfully okay phone, "I just wasn't expecting you to ask that is all."
"Still, it was out of the blue, I guess," the blonde replied.
"Well, you see. I kind of do. She's sort of my...younger half-sister?" Marinette answered, testing out the words that felt most right. The bluenette didn't know if step-sister was the correct term. She couldn't see why it can't be the right answer but half-sister just sounded better in a way.
Yet, debating on the right way to describe her and Tikki's relation didn't stick around too long. Like a flip of a switch, Marinette's curiosity made her wonder why Adrien is asking this.
"He's probably just trying to get to know me," Marinette thought, still feeling something off about the question like an annoying itch she couldn't quite scratch.
"Really? What's it like...having a younger sibling?" Adrien asked, finally finding the courage to face Marinette. Marinette raised an eyebrow before thinking over the question. She's never really thought about it before since only recently finding out about it. Marinette has only ever seen Tikki as a cousin, though the aspiring designer has wondered what it would be like having a sibling.
Maybe, she'll begin to learn...or maybe, she already knows. As far as anything, the change in relation doesn't mean neither of them has personally changed.
"Well...it's like having a miniature shadow follow you wherever you go. Sometimes, it's nice to have around and other times it can be really annoying," Marinette started, earning a chuckle from Adrien, "It can make you laugh when it does something funny and make you jealous because you have to be the bigger person."
Marinette wistfully recalls her memories with Tikki. All the good, bittersweet and bad memories that clung to her brain. Throughout the years, Marinette has watched Tikki grow. Yet, Marinette has also missed out on a lot of Tikki's life too, making it somewhat sad.
"It grows faster in the blink of an eye..." Marinette continues, "...with every day that comes and goes. Sometimes, you're sad when it's gone. In a way, they're like a mixture of a special friend you'll never find anywhere else who sometimes has your back."
"That sounds...really nice," Adrien softly spoke, clarity filling his soul and the smallest grace of a grin appearing on his lips. Marinette nodded in agreement before realizing why Adrien asked the question. Marinette looked over at the blonde, seeing genuine peace etched into his features.
Marinette sadly smiled, deciding not to disturb the calm after the chaotic storm he's been through. It's the least the bluenette can do.
"Are you allergic to anything?" Marinette asked, changing the subject. Before Adrien could answer, a pigeon flew overhead and lost one of its feathers. The feather twirled around in a graceful dance until brushing against Adrien's face.
The ex-model sneezed.
"Never mind, I figured it out."
The two laughed, finally arriving at their destination—arriving at pure peace with themselves.
It only took them one step forward into the beginning of a new chapter of their life together.
{+}{+}{+}