Chapter 7 -
„An hour later the DJ Nino Lahiffe placed his headphones on the table, then high fived a dark-skinned boy which was taking the next hour for Nino, then the boy took the headphones and put it over his head, then spoke at the microphone.
„Good evening Paris, DJ Yann Malek here and tonight I'm gonna make you fall in love!"
Nathaniel came out from the restrooms, then looked around the court to look for Lila and saw her talking with Rose and Juleka next to the tables with the drinks. Nathaniel looked inside the pocket of his jacket, where Karaa lied sleeping on a small, wrapped gift which Nathaniel kept in there, then the redhead made his way up to the classmates.
„That sounds like it took a lot of work, " Lila said to the short blonde earning a nod from her.
„It is, but if she likes it, was worth for him"
Nathaniel tapped on Lila's shoulder, then she turned her head at the boy with a smile and the boy grabbed her on the hand to walk out of the crowd.
„Can I show you something?" The boy asked earning a nod of the Italian girl and they walked out of the school building, then Nathaniel helped Lila sit down on the wall next to the exit and sat next to her, shoving his hand into the left pocket. „When you were gone I was out on a weekend with my mom and I had bought this from a souvenir shop" Explained the boy with the turquoise eyes holding out a small wrapped gift at Lila, making her smile.
„Aww you didn't have to buy me anything Nathy, " Lila said looking amorously at the boy.
„I know, but I wanted to, " Nathaniel told the girl. „Probably I'm the only one, who had this idea. I mean who else is giving their girl a present?" Questioned Nathaniel looking around seeing down on the stairs Ivan giving Myléne a gift made of reused materials and on the left part of the school field a few other couples from another class receiving gifts from their significant other ones, making Nathaniel look surprised as he wasn't the only one with a gift. „Besides them, maybe, " Nathaniel said looking embarrassed at the girl, which chuckled a little.
„You're still the greatest, " Lila said opening her present up to see two silver colored bracelets one engraved with Lila's name and the second one with Nathaniel's. „Aww so we can match each other, that's great Nathaniel"
„Thank you" Nathaniel said taking the one with Lila's name, then he held his hand out, waiting for Lila to give her hand and as she was going to do so, she had an idea and took the one with Nathaniel's name and placed it on her own arm, where she had her other colored bands.
„I know couples, that wear each other's names instead. We could be one of them too, what do you say?"
„I'm fine with that" Nathaniel said smiling at the girl and placing the bracelet with Lila's name on his left arm. „Oh and we have to take it off, every time we have to transform to save Paris then or we end up like Luka"
„Sure I and Trixx will remember that, " Lila said earning a nod from the boyfriend, then embraced the boy, which smiled glad about Lila having liked the gift and leaned his head next to Lila's standing with her like that for a moment.
Beside them passed Adrien and Kagami walking the stairs down at the grass, then Kagami shrieked as she stepped with the high heels in the earth and she looked down to see, she had the stick of her shoe stuck inside the grass, then she tried to lift her foot and got annoyed as she had broken the stick of the high heel.
„Oh, " Adrien said as he saw it, then Kagami took off the two heels and sat down on the grass, followed by Adrien who tried to take the two high heels off the earth, then placed them in front of Kagami and sat next to her.
„The high heels are really uncomfortable, " Adrien said to Kagami.
„I never liked wearing high heels in the first place, it's kind of complicated to walk around with them or dance"
„Why did you wear them?" Asked the blonde boy. „To be taller?" Questioned the French boy earning a nod from the girl. „You didn't have to Kagami. I love you, just the way you are"
„I know you do, I just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable like last time in Berlin when your neck was hurting from having had your head looking down at me"
„It wasn't that bad, it got better later, " The son of Gabriel Agreste said watching Kagami starting to shiver a bit as it got a little windy and the air got colder. Adrien removed his dress jacket, afterward, he put it over Kagami's back pulling it tight in front of her and gave her a small kiss on her cheek, making her smile and lean her head on Adrien's face, making him smile and place his arm around the girl patting her on the shoulder.
„Can you check the pockets of my jacket?" Asked the boyfriend gazing at the Japanese girl. „I've got there something for you" Kagami searched in one of the pockets for the thing Adrien mentioned her and she took out a small, square box with a jewelry symbol on the cover of it. Kagami opened the boy, then she took out from it a golden-white necklace and she opened it and on the end of the necklace, it had her name on it and a small saber going through her name.
„I saw this on the internet and thought you would love it like this, " Told the blonde making the girl smile and she put it around her neck, followed by Adrien helping her by locking it up behind her neck, then he looked at it in front of her.
„And?" Questioned Adrien looking up at the brown eyes of the girl, which smiled at the boy and kissed him on the lips.
„I like it" Responded Kagami followed by Adrien giving her another kiss on her lips. A phone beeped as it received a message, then the two stopped kissing and Adrien looked in the pockets of his jacket, Kagami had over her back and saw on his display a message of his father.
„Hope was born" Stood on the message from Gabriel Agreste making Adrien chuckle.
„I wonder, what my father means about this. Last time he said that it was about the last ultrasound they made with maman," Adrien said, then Kagami widened her eyes, understanding Adrien's message.
„Congratulations, you're a brother!" Kagami announced confusing Adrien.
„W...what?" Asked Adrien surprised, then his phone received another message again showing a small paper on a baby bed from a hospital with the name Hope Agreste, followed by the date, hour and measurements of the newborn, making Adrien open his mouth in felicity. „I'm a brother!" Adrien announced with a bright smile at his girlfriend, which embraced him being happy for his celebration of the new family member.
„Congratulations Adrien, " Kagami said again petting her boyfriend behind his back. „Where are they?" Questioned Kagami and Adrien zoomed in to the image to see the symbol of the hospital on the bed and looked back at his girlfriend.
„It's the one near the champs de mars, " Adrien said getting up, then helped Kagami up, which then passed her hands on her skirt to wipe some grass of her clothes. „You're coming?"
„Of course, I'm coming with you" Kagami responded and the two ran together at the streets heading towards the bridge, where the Notre Dame was.
Inside the building, Luka was guiding Marinette along the corridor of the first floor, while she had her eyes covered with Luka's tie.
„Are we there yet?" Questioned the blue-haired girl, then Luka stopped to open the door of a classroom and guided her into the dark classroom.
„Now you can take it off, " Luka said and Marinette took the cover off to see the darkroom Luka had brought her him.
„Uhm Luka?" Asked Marinette and shrieked as a white light turned on on the other side of the room, making Marinette recognize she was in the music hall of the school watching the stage lights burning. A few more stage lights got turned on, including a pink one shining at Marinette, making her place her hand over her eyes to avoid the lights shine directly in her eyes.
On the stage appeared Luka walking with his guitar to the standing microphone at the edge of the stage.
„I wrote this song for you and with the help of my fellow bandmates we composed the music to the lyrics," Luka told the only fan at the audience and Ivan along with two taller teenagers went on stage one of them coming up with a bass and the second one stood behind a keyboard and waited along with the others for Luka's sign. „I don't know, how to call it, maybe you'll get an idea after you listen to it"
Marinette watched Luka plunk on the strings of his guitar, then the previous school comrades of Luka entered into his rhythm following his lead, then Luka started the first verse of his song.
„I watched my parents fight, I watched them yell. This every day and every night. Life was such devastation"
Marinette listened carefully to his song, remembering his sister telling Marinette about her parents' constant fighting at home.
„After my dad has left us all behind, after mother's divorce. I felt there was no need for a relationship with anyone, believing love would never last.
Ivan joined now in with the drums playing softly as the others did, then Marinette moved her head to the rhythm and at the door passed Nino along with Alya, then Nino stopped grabbing Alya on the shoulder to look with her into the room, then smiled as they saw the band playing afterward Nino took his phone out recording the band playing.
„Mother told me baby don't be afraid you're never gonna be like that. Truth is said, you're gonna be better, than that, believe in me"
Nino walked in to film the band playing on the stage moving his head to the rhythm of the music, enjoying the band's tune.
„On a Thursday morning, I was woken up by my little sister to get ready for the annual music festival. Mother said my life today would change forever and I thought, It's just a normal music competition like any other, but what I didn't expect would happen today was…." Luka sang stroking his guitar strings down, which got a little louder than before and stopped for a second, then Ivan clapped three times on the drum and all band members started to play the refrain along with Luka, now changing to become a little louder with the instruments than they were before.
„A young girl had approached me shyly as I was inside my room and as I saw her for the first time…..the rhythm of my heart's suddenly changed…I couldn't describe this feeling….I never felt like this before. No matter with who I spend the time with, no one has ever made me feel like this the way you did"
Outside of the room stood Jean Duparc from the other 12th grade waving at some other students, which ran the stairs up and met the brunette boy at the door watching Luka's band performing in the music hall.
„The more time I've spent with you, made me realize how much you really mean to me. .I never felt like this before. No matter with who I spend the time with, no one has ever made me feel like this the way you did"
„Hey this music is way better, than the one down there, " Kim said entering the hall to watch the band play followed by a few of his classmates and other students, that belonged to another class.
„Oh Luka's playing the song he wrote for Marinette, " Nathaniel said as he stood next to the Vietnamese along with his Italian girlfriend.
„That must have been a lot of work, " Lila said listening to the song of the raven-haired boy.
„Most writers aren't as much valued as artists, even if they work twice as hard as an artist, " Nathaniel said earning a nod from the brunette.
„Hey Nathaniel I accidentally hurt that raven-haired boy from art class his feelings by mistake. Have you seen him?" Questioned the Vietnamese boy and the redhead shook his head.
„What did you do?" Questioned Nathaniel interested.
„Uhm it's a long story…,"
„Girl you've been the song inside my head I've been listening to since the first time we met. I'm addicted to you like baby Johnny is to sugar and chocolate. Baby, I'm addicted to you, just like the baby is addicted to sucrose-containing snacks" „Now I want everyone to sing along with me this verse. „ Luka questioned the students attending the concert, then started to clap to do the rhythm and Marinette looked all around her really abashed about the situation, then all students, including her classmates started to clap in tact with the lead singer.
„Girl you've been the song inside my head I've been listening to since the first time we met."
Most of Miss Bustier's class stood in a line clapping at the rhythm and Kim checked out the line with his classmates to see everyone present, then continued clapping.
„I'm addicted to you like baby Johnny is to sugar and chocolate. Baby, I'm addicted to you, just like the baby is addicted to sucrose-containing snacks"
„Now again!" Luka ordered joining along with the students singing the verse together.
„Girl you've been the song inside my head I've been listening to since the first time we met."
„Hey, are Kagami and Adrien still out there?" Questioned Lila looking at Nathaniel and Kim, which were clapping in tact with the others.
„What did you ask?" The German descendant boy asked the girlfriend, which repeated the question again.
„I asked if Adrien was still out with Kagami"
„I think so" Responded Nathaniel then looked at Kim. „Kim, did you see, if Kagami and Adrien were out of the school court?"
„I don't know, where did you two see them the last time?" Questioned the tall boy.
„They were out laying on the grass together" Responded Nathaniel.
„Maybe they're moving on like in those proms in the movies"
„Moving on how?" Questioned Nathaniel confused.
„Maybe the two are screwing around somewhere….like Adrien is most likely to get laid somewhere"
„You're nuts Kim, do you know that?" Asked Nathaniel frowing at his inappropriate comment, making Lila chuckle at the Vietnamese's comment.
„We go look for them later, then we'll see it, " Lila said while clapping then the song had ended and the crowd gave a huge applause at the performance of Luka's band and the lead singer got down of the stage, making his way to the blue-haired girl.
„The lyrics probably need a workout, but what did you think about it?" The boy asked, then Marinette embraced the boy giving him a long kiss on the lips and all started to whistle around as the two were kissing, which caused Luka to heat up in embarrassed, followed by Marinette recede back abashedly by her act. Luka rolled his eyes away embarrassed and looked at his younger girlfriend back.
„I guess that's a yes?" He asked earning a nod from the blue-haired girl and they shared another hug, afterward, the students in the room started to leave the place heading back to the court to continue to enjoy their night.
Adrien and Kagami were inside an elevator of the maternity department heading to the fourth floor, then left the elevator as it arrived and both ran the corridor along stopping on another corridor, which went into two different directions.
„Look isn't that your bodyguard?" Kagami asked pointing out at a huge man wearing a dark-grey suit guarding the room behind him.
„Yes, it is" Adrien responded heading together with the girl at the man, who heard the two walking on the tiles of the corridor, then knocked on the door and opened it up for the two and they entered into the room to see Emilie Agreste lying on the nursing care bed and in front of her on a chair sat her husband Gabriel holding in his arms a newborn wearing a pink body.
Adrien gazed at the girl astonished, while Kagami was ecstatic about meeting her boyfriend's new family member.
„She's so adorable" Kagami whispered seeing the baby breath softly, making Adrien smile enamored at the cute little bundle of joy of the Agreste household.
„She resembles Adrien a lot when I had given birth to him seventeen years ago, " Mrs. Agreste told the two teens, then Kagami walked to Adrien's mother giving her the hand felicitating the woman to the birth of the child.
„Do you want to hold your little sister for a while?" Asked Gabriel looking up at his son, which looked back seeing Kagami approaching him again to see Hope Agreste again.
„Uh yes" Responded Adrien coming down closer to his father. Gabriel held Hope over Adrien's hands, which he held them flat and Gabriel lied the baby girl with her rear first on Adrien's hand and by the other hand he slowly lied Hope's back and head on. „I got her" Warned Adrien, then Gabriel carefully removed his hands from under the newborn leaving the girl on Adrien's arms and Adrien held his sister closer to his face observing her resting peacefully on the brother's arms making him smile angelic at the sight of Hope on his arms. Kagami observed the baby in her boyfriend's arms, she couldn't help herself and get emotional about it and passed her hand under her eye cleaning up a teardrop. Adrien sighs lovingly then sat down next to his father on another chair next to his dad, then swung the baby carefully in his arms.
„She's so cute, father" Complimented the blonde boy looking at his father, that smiled at his son at seeing him glad about the new family member. Emilie smiled at seeing the two men with the girl, then Gabriel's face changed from happy to neutral remembering something and looked up at his son again.
„Adrien, Kagami….uhm I have been thinking a lot about the past, the time I was Hawk Moth and caused everyone in Paris doom, pain and other things...I just want you two to know, that if it was possible to go back in time, I wouldn't do it, I would have directly informed you about my issues instead of manipulating everyone including you two"
„Father it's alright, we know you regret it" Adrien responded earning a nod from Kagami.
„I haven't been a superhero for so long as Adrien, but now you can do things right" Kagami suggested earning a nod from the fashion designer.
„Father we could when Hope gets older spend more time together as a family as other families do, maybe a family vacation, play board games at home or other things you couldn't have done with me, cause you were too busy with your work and….well..." Adrien added looking neutral as he was mentioning the past again, then Gabriel nodded at his son.
„I wish I could have been a better father to you"
„You still can, as long as Adrien's still present" Kagami mentioned earning a nod from the adult.
„Sure I'll do it, " Gabriel said looking down at Hope yawning, making everyone look amused at the baby girl. „One thing for sure is, I will be a more present father and idol for Hope than I have been before"
„Yes" Agreed Adrien. „She will need her father in the future, more than anyone else" Adrien mentioned looking at Kagami, which was cleaning again a few tears from her eyes. Adrien's smile faded as she seemed to get a little too overemotional about the situation.
„Miss Tsurugi seems to be a little thin-skinned today, " Gabriel said making Kagami shook her head.
„No, I think she's just very touchy about all this. We don't get to see this every day" Adrien said watching the girl wipe her tears off.
„I'm just sweating from my eyes, " Kagami said making Adrien and Gabriel chuckle.
„Makes me think on Kim as we had seen the boy in the striped pajama"
„We don't mind it, if you're crying or not, Kagami. It's a feeling all humans got"
„I know, I just…..I can't" Kagami said starting to sob, thus making the Agreste's get a bit worried about the girl.
„Kagami?" Asked Emilie, then Kagami walked at the door opening back.
„Excuse me, I have to go, " Kagami said leaving the door open and walking off leaving the Agreste's back.
„Father can you hold Hope, I need to see, what's going on, " Adrien said placing the baby on Gabriel's arms, then ran off at the corridor seeing Kagami disappear in the women's restrooms. „Kagami wait!" Adrien called the Japanese girl heading to the restrooms, then he entered into the girls' toilet coming across with a young brunette woman, which looked shocked as Adrien had entered into the female place.
„Get out of here you pervert!" The woman shouted hitting Adrien on his face making him fall down on the floor, then the woman left the restrooms with the blonde sitting on the floor, afterward, he got up while caressing his own cheek, where he had got hit. „I deserved that, " Adrien said to himself, then saw Kagami sitting on the floor at the end of the short corridor of the restrooms and Adrien walked at the blue-haired girl.
„Kagami, what happened?" Questioned Adrien going down on his knees. „I thought you were just overjoyed, because of the baby, but I feel like there is something else behind it?"
Kagami kept sobbing and Adrien got up walking at the paper tower dispenser taking off a few pieces, then handed them to Kagami for her to clean her eyes. Adrien sat down next to her placing his hand behind her back and she lied her head on his shoulder and snuffed her nose on the paper towel.
„Can I know, why you're upset?" Adrien asked quietly observing the girlfriend inhaling and exhaling air to calm herself down.
„I had to think on my father" Responded Kagami.
„Your father…," Adrien repeated earning a nod from his girlfriend. „Well you never talked about him and neither have I ever questioned you about him"
„I know"
„Did something happen to your father?"
„Well, we weren't very close, to be honest. My father was the manager of a municipality in Shibuya. He was responsible for the finance branch. He worked a lot until very late at night. I just saw him for a couple of hours every week, sometimes only an hour or two per week."
„Oh….."
„Even after I was born, after the family leave, he was off the house for so long leaving me and my mother by ourselves. I never saw him at school on certain occasions, on reunions at the school, not even on my first fencing tournament,"
„Man and I thought my father was an ass"
„My father was a workaholic. He spent so much time at work, he missed my birthdays, his wedding anniversary with my mother, other days other families were out to see the new year's fireworks or to see cherry trees bloom on Hanami. This had always been like that"
„Did anyone talk to your father about it?"
„Mother and grandfather did." Responded Kagami. „But he couldn't stop this. It kept happening to him. He just couldn't leave the work for any reason."
„And then, what happened to your dad?"
„Since I and my mother moved to France my father lived in the house of my mother's parents and we were this summer there for a few weeks. My father had been earlier home, than usual and we had all a normal traditional Japanese dinner…. And after the dinner I….I and my father had an argument. I was angry with him, that he never had been there in my life, that he missed so many important dates… I threw everything I had in my heart on his face" Kagami recounted Adrien, which watched her eyes get teary again, then he comforted her by petting her on her shoulder. „I left my father back alone enraged and sat outside of the house trying to cool myself down. Later on that night, everyone was asleep and I was in my room trying to sleep, but I couldn't. I felt bad about, how I acted towards my father and I got up and went to look for him in his bedroom, but on the way, I passed in the living room, where I caught him sitting on the couch reading a book…...when I walked at him he had his eyes closed. I moved his arm, calling him for him to wake up and…...he didn't wake up…..instead I just saw his head lean in front and when I wanted to listen to his heartbeat there was nothing"
„He had a heart attack?" Asked Adrien earning a nod from the blue-haired girl, which started to cry louder causing Adrien to feel bad as she had got worse.
„The worst thing…..The last time I chatted with him was a fight and me walking off leaving him without apologizing him or telling me how much he meant to me"
"Shhh, it's not your fault. It just happened at a bad moment."
"I should have just been quiet and not have talked to him like that," The Japanese girl said cleaning her face then laying back on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien leaned a little more to the door of a closed toilet room so that he could pull Kagami into a hug for more comfort and then the boy patted the girl gently on her head. "I think he would have suffered on a heart attack anyway. You weren't the cause of it. They just happen and you can't preview it"
"I wish it wouldn't have ended like that"
Adrien passed his thumb under Kagami's eyes cleaning up her tears and she looked up at him with glossy eyes. "Look if this makes you feel better and help you mourn we could pass by your father's tombstone down in Japan. You explain everything that is in your heart and apologizes. Most people feel a lot better when they do that"
"I'll need to wait until next summer to travel back to Japan, then we'll be able to do that."
"If you think you really need to do that I wouldn't mind even to go with you in the winter holidays or earlier to Japan, or even just a couple of days"
"You even would accompany me to Japan, even if it would be for a couple of days and after 12 hours flight and another timezone?"
"I just want you to feel better again, Kagami. I don't feel alright if I know my girlfriend is feeling down"
"Thank you" Kagami thanked leaning her head under Adrien's chin feeling more soothe then Adrien pecked her on the forehead and caressed the girlfriend on the back to preserve her comfort.