Adrien's first day was nothing like he imagined it could be.
He sincerely thought every student would hate him at the second they put an eye on him, recognizing him from his model days, from his father's renamed label or just hate the way he taught the lesson. But at the contrary, their students seem to like him very much.
Adrien tried to be as much as himself as he could but at the same time still remembering that he was a teacher. Along the years he had grown to be free and not being controlled by his father at every moment of the day had allowed him to be more Chat like than when he was in high school, finally becoming the person he always wanted to be. He was a mix of the polite, kind Adrien he was taught to be and the flirty, funny and a bit reckless Chat he had the chance to be years ago.
He had three classes in the whole day, and every single one was a new but a good surprise. He felt really confident in the classroom but walking down the hallways and in the teachers room was an awkward sensation the whole day.
Teachers were usually older, and according to a few students he heard, they weren't "attractive like him".
Alex, one of his friends in the USA had told him a million times that his attractiveness was going to be one of his problems when he finally had a job. But dealing with how he looked was nothing new, he had grown around people who cared more about his looks than what was on his mind or his feelings. So having to go through life showing that you were more than just a pretty face was a daily basis for Adrien, and at this point of life he didn't cared about it anymore.
At the end of the day he was so tired, the adrenaline of the nervous rush given by the first day had run out completely and he only wanted to go to bed.
He drove home, talking with Plagg about his day. Passing by the supermarket to get some groceries and cheese and crackers for his kwami; he had planned for it to be a short visit when a magazine had called his attention.
The cover of the magazine was a collage of pop-stars and actors, nothing interesting for Adrien, without counting the little picture of DJ Bubbler aka Nino, his best friend. But that wasn't what called his attention, it was the big bright green and black letters over the pictures:
"First sight of Chat Noir in years!"
Adrien's breathe got caught on his throat. A little smile appeared on his lips and an overwhelming feeling of happiness took over him.
He only had been back in Paris for three weeks. The first one had been all about finding an apartment and buying furniture for it, while the second had been to the job interviews he had scheduled from Cambridge, and then choosing which one was his best option. Also buying a car had taken a good amount of time.
So when at the beginnings of this week when he had finally took the bravery to transform after all those years, excitement had run through his veins. Since he wasn't a hero in USA (and he didn't want to be a hero in USA; his instincts were all about running away from that) he hadn't wore the suit in six years and the familiarity had fueled him with joy, not waiting a second, he jumped out of his window and ran through Paris' roofs.
Since Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't been news for a long time, he thought no one would care anymore, but they did, they still cared so much.
Going through the pages of the magazine he found the whole article they had written only thanks to bad resolution pictures sent by fans.
There was still a Chat Noir Fan Club, there were still blogs dedicated to them and people still idolized them. After all these years, people still loved them.
But between the whole happiness that was to see Chat Noir once again, there was fear and wonder of why he was back: there wasn't something wrong in Paris that they didn't knew? Were they in danger?
And the other question was so sad, but so expected
"But if Chat Noir is back, where is our beloved Ladybug?. The team was inseparable years ago and saved Paris for four years. Paris could count on them with no doubt, if there was a problem, Chat and Ladybug were there… So, why did they disappear? Will Chat give us answers now that he is back? Most important: Will we see Ladybug again?"
Adrien put the magazine away. And walked to the cashier, trying to erase the question from his head
"Will I see Ladybug again?"
He shook his head and sighed.
The magazine was a good thing, if people were talking about him, Ladybug could hear about it and maybe come out from her hiding. Or that's what Adrien hoped it happened.
When Adrien was back in the apartment it was late night, and he was happy to finally take a seat on his new couch on the tiny living room. With a beer on his hand, and the remote control on the other he was ready to catch up on one of his favorite TV shows, when his phone rang.
Incoming call from: Chloé Bourgeois
"Damn, I forgot" Adrien gasped and answered the phone.
"Adrien"
"Hi Chlo, how are you?" He said trying to sound the sweetest he could, it was always good to be nice to her from the beginning
"I'm fine. Where are you? I'm waiting outside the restaurant as we said"
"I'm sorry, Chlo. I'm on my way, I had a long day so I went to the apartment for a change of clothes"
"Oh, okay, that's cool but come here fast, I'm hungry and dying to see you!"
"Sure, Chloé, see you in a bit"
"I hope that bit is fast-
"It is, bye" He hanged and ran to change into more comfortable clothes. A change from the pants and grey sweater, to a pair of jeans and a white button up, taking a big coat with him just in case the weather was cold.
"Plagg you are staying here"
"Thank to the creators!" Plagg exclaimed relieved "I don't know why you are still friends with that girl, she is annoying!"
"She is an old friend, and you gotta admit she has grown a lot as a person"
Plagg rolled his eyes and flied to the plate on top of the kitchen counter, without looking back to Adrien as he said his last goodbye.
Adrien made it to the restaurant faster than he thought and he was really thankful for it.
Chloé was expecting him inside, already on their table, and when she saw him she ran from it to his arms, shouting his name in her pitchy voice.
Adrien accepted the hug and laughed at her excitement, considering they had seen each other only a few weeks ago.
They had a quiet dinner, talking about everything and nothing. Chloé was working as fashion stylist, her last project had been with a big campaign for Galeries Lafayetteand her good mood was contagious. Adrien told her all about his first day, and Chloé got excited for him. If he talked about this to Chloé a years ago, she would have hated every detail but completely lie about it, but now that Chloé had realized that being nice was a good thing and tell the truth was even better, being with Chloé wasn't torture. Thought she wasn't like this all the time, it was nice to know she was trying.
Dinner ended up with the two friends making plans for another time, when Chloé, who was travelling to London for a campaign with Harrods came back.
Adrien was happy that even if things had changed, he could still relay in someone.
He made his way back home with a smile on his face and a good feeling about life. If things could go this well with Chloé then finding his Lady may not be so hard as he thought it could be.
While walking up stairs to the last floor on the building (the only bad thing of the building was no elevator) he heard really loud music and hits on the door.
He ran upstairs with a bad feeling on his gut
"There's people trying to work you idiot, open the fucking door!" A petit girl was punching his apartment door with both hands.
She was wearing pink sweatpants and a long sleeved white t-shirt that hugged her body nicely. Her hair was in a messy black bun on top of her head. And Adrien could have kept staring and checking her out if she hadn't heard the creak on the stairs and turned to him.
"Are you kidding me?!" The girl pointed at Adrien and to the keys on his hands "You left the stereo with loud annoying music for hours and you weren't ever there?! I know you are new but for god's sake have a little respect!"
Adrien opened his mouth and his eyes stared at the girl
"What? You aren't going to speak?" The girl placed her hands on her hips and leaned into Adrien "I'm working and your annoying music is distracting me! Please turn it off!"
Adrien couldn't move or speak because right in front of him, grown up and more beautiful than ever, was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And she was acting and talking (more like shouting) like she didn't knew who he was.
