Ugh!
A 4 a.m. call for a shoot? Who approved this schedule? Adrien grumbled quietly to himself as his alarm continued to go off. His father's voice called through the door for him to hurry up and he had the answer to the question. He always questioned the necessity of 4 a.m. calls when he was required to beat the sun up by several hours. Of course the Great and Powerful Gabriel Agreste had summoned his heir from his warm, cozy bed at such an unreasonable hour for yet another photoshoot! He turned off the alarm, sorely tempted to roll over and continue sleeping, but thought better of it.
Did it matter that Adrien had a packed schedule full of schooling, fencing, Chinese language lessons, piano lessons, and, recently added, online business courses? Nope. That he's expected to excel in all of them whether he wants them or not? No way, José. That Adrien was a growing boy and needed his rest? Of course not! Did it matter that he regularly jumps across rooftops through the night to fight akumas, and had in fact only gotten to bed about three hours ago? Adrien was sure that thought never crossed his father's mind. When would Adrien's wants and wishes be taken into account where his schedule is concerned? The obvious answer- when Adrien turned fifty or Gabriel died of a stress induced heart attack at the age of seventy.
Adrien groaned as he stretched then flinched at the knock on the door.
"You have ten minutes to be downstairs or Gerard will come in to carry you to the car. Don't be late!"
Sometimes his father's voice was just the most unpleasant thing Adrien's ever heard. And as the holder of the Black Cat Miraculous, which transforms him into the superhero Chat Noir to fight brainwashed and superpowered monsters for the past five years, he's heard some truly horrific things. Can't help it if his father's voice at 4 a.m. beats them all.
He groggily pulled on black jeans and a soft green T-shirt before making a quick stop in his bathroom. Insisting on getting to choose his own clothes to go to these early morning shoots had been worth the full month of media grounding. He couldn't see the point in being forced into business formal clothes when he'd just be changing all day anyway. He also just had to run a comb through his hair and do a basic face wash since the hair stylist would have to tame the blond locks herself and the makeup artist would be covering any blemishes. Not that any blemishes would pass the photo retouching in the final pics, but Adrien always tried to make less work for anyone that was employed by his father. He knows first hand how hard the man works his employees. He opened his door just as a large fist raised to knock.
"I'm ready," Adrien asserted even as he stifled a yawn.
His driver/bodyguard looked at him with raised brows, but turned to go down to the car knowing Adrien would be right behind him. Adrien made sure to nip into the kitchen for his dietician approved smoothie and to swipe a few pieces of cheese for his kwami. There had been an akuma fight in the middle of the night and he'd had to use the cheese he'd already stashed in the duffle bag he always took to shoots. He stashed the cheese in his bag just before exiting the mansion doors. Darting out to the car that already had Nathalie seated in the passenger seat, he quickly buckled in and prepared for yet another of his seemingly endless days as a Gabriel model.
It's not that he hated the work, but there was so much more he'd rather be doing. Like going to school and hearing Nino gush over a new recording artist he'd just discovered, or listening to Alya's latest conspiracy theory about Hawkmoth's identity. She'd almost convinced Adrien that he was Hawkmoth, and if he didn't know for sure that he had the ironclad alibi of being Chat Noir, Hawkmoth's nemesis along with his partner Ladybug, he might have believed her. She was very convincing after all. Adrien felt he would rather sit and listen to Marinette gush over her newest project for hours, especially during lunch when she would share treats from the bakery with all her friends, than be up this early for taking pictures. Marinette had something that drew him in and made him feel welcome. So yeah, maybe he'd rather be at school, well at this hour, still in bed, rather than heading to the Gabriel building for another early morning photoshoot, but somethings were just too far out of his reach.
One more year and then I'm a legal adult and can renegotiate my contract , Adrien thought to himself. And Mayor Bourgeois has promised to set me up with his own personal legal team to do the negotiations. I'm going to make sure I only have to leave class like, maybe, twice a month.
They arrived at the building and silently made their way to the studio that people were already bustling around. The studio was soon to be transformed into some kind of fantasy get away if the backdrop and props were anything to go by. Adrien noticed a plethora of flower arches and tulle. He gave a little wave to the photographer's assistant who was taking light readings and the obviously sleepy woman waved back while trying to stifle a yawn.
"Adrien," Nathalie said while looking at her tablet, "Mags just arrived. Get changed into your first outfit and then head over to her. She'll be set up by the time you change."
"Yes, Nathalie."
He ran into his personal dresser and the general stylist right before he got to his changing room.
"Adrien!" Mantel said with a large smile, "I've got your first outfit ready but had to come check with Herme about which belt was required for the first shot."
"Good morning Monsieur Monet," Adrien said as he gave a little nod to each person, "Mantel."
"Morning Adrien," Herme Monet said distractedly as he flipped through his pages. "Ah, yes you're doing the white shirt with gray pants first," he murmured. "I think we'll want that lighter brown to warm things up a bit. Don't you have a watch with that same colored band?"
Mantel was already nodding and noting the detail on his own sheets for the shoot.
"Wait-" Adrien saw the outfits he was supposed to be modeling and they all looked very familiar. "Didn't we already do these?" he asked as he flipped through his dresser's "cheat sheets".
Herme noded and gave a little sigh. "Your father decided that he was going to scrap the 'adventure to far away places' idea and re-do everything as a far off romantic fantasy."
Privately Adrien groaned. This has Lila written all over it.
"I bet Louis was pulling his hair out trying to find a way to save those photos and not have to reshoot everything," Mantel said.
Herme nodded again, "Our poor art director is going to lose all his hair before thirty."
Adrien snorted. Louis Jacques was many things, but bald was certainly not one of them. He had thick bushy eyebrows and wild brown hair that was only matched by his prodigious beard.
"Well, if we see him with patches of beard missing, we'll know what happened," Adrien snickered and the two adults both laughed quietly.
"Go get dressed kid," Herme said as he ruffled Adrien's hair. "I'll send Mantel in as soon as we've hammered out a few more details."
Adrien grinned and headed into the dressing room to stash his belongings and get changed as quickly as possible. He made sure his magical artifact was safely stowed with Plagg along with the slices of cheese and his tablet and earbuds. He hoped the kwami could entertain himself while he worked. Maybe this time he'd not cause chaos for members of the cast and crew.
Thinking of having to pose with Lila put a damper on his mood. He'd stopped pretending to be friends to protect Marinette, Lila had broken that deal almost the very next day. He'd settled into a more neutral stance when the girl was near him at school, though it wasn't easy. He had to tolerate the girl because somehow she had his dad on speed dial, and the man was willing to indulge Lila's whims as long as she kept herself between Adrien and his friends. Fortunately Adrien and his friends were now very accomplished at working around and within the arbitrary and ever changing rules his father imposed. Thank kwami he had such clever and dependable friends!
As he buttoned up the fine linen shirt, he frowned. He already saw too much of Lila on regular days, now he'd be stuck within arm's length of the spoiled brat all day.
True to Herme's word Mantel was soon putting an expert knot in Adrien's tie as the first outfit came together.
"What's got you in such a sour mood, Little Sunshine?" Mantel asked.
Adrien heaved a tiny sigh before answering. "It's just us having to re-do everything just to make it look more romantic," he scowled. "It's just Lila and my father trying to make her and I look like a couple… Again."
Mantel pat Adrien's shoulder a couple of times before responding. "Well, you and I both know that no amount of magic, Miraculous or otherwise, will ever make that happen."
Adrien snorted before chuckling, "You've got that right."
"Why don't you look at this as a way to spot the minute differences between the two shoots to see how small things can make a big difference in the end product?"
"What do you mean?" Adrien couldn't help the curiosity that crept into his voice.
"Well, there are big differences like the sets and lighting, right?" the dresser said, taking out unretouched photos from the last shoot. "But can you tell me what differences there are between this outfit and the one you're wearing?"
He spent a few minutes glancing between the photo and his full length mirror before listing off things like the belt, shoes, and even the jewelry.
"All correct," Mantel smiled at the kid's grin. "Even small things can make a big difference between the feel of two pics. The bracelet and neck kerchief in the picture make you look more rugged and ready for adventure, but the watch, belt, and tie you're wearing now just scream dressed to impress. And when they add the ladies it'll look like it's the ladies you're trying to impress."
Adrien's eyes went big. He grabbed his phone and started typing rapidly.
"Adrien, what-"
"I've got to write myself a note before I forget what you just said. It's too early to send a text now- because she'd just sleep through it and then not realize she has a notification- but at Marinette's last photoshoot the pictures weren't exactly what she wanted so maybe if we change up some of her accessories it'll get the look she was hoping for!"
"Oh?" Mantel smiled at the mention of Adrien's 'very good friend' and decided they had time to kill before the kid had to head off to make up. "You're working for her now? Hope we're not losing our best model to Ms. Marinette."
Adrien waved the mock concern away. "You know I have a non-compete clause in my contract. I'm just helping on the other side of the camera. Rose and I were doing your job last week in the park when we took pictures for Marinette's next campaign."
"Oh really? What's she working on now?"
The next twenty minutes was Adrien singing Marinette's praises for her newest campaign of dressy and formal clothing that fit a wide range of body types and sizes from the burley Ivan to the still very petite Rose.
Their classmate Mylene had to attend a formal occasion with her parents at short notice, and none of the dresses that she liked were available in her size and couldn't have been ordered or altered in time. And, everything her size, made her look more like the Mother-of-the-Bride than the seventeen year old girl she is. She'd come crying to Marinette asking what she could do to not embarrass herself at the event. Marinette had marched her to a fabric store to find material in a color Mylene liked, then spent two days and two nights creating a dress that made Mylene look like a fairytale princess. Mantel smiled as Adrien pulled out his phone and started flipping through photos of the girl in her dress and the tired looking, but very proud seamstress posed with her.
Mantel loved hearing how Mylene's date, her long time boyfriend Ivan, had taken one look at the girl and asked her to marry him. It was a little bit of a joke, because they're still so young, but Adrien had hinted that Ivan had become even more attentive to his sweetheart since the event.
Eventually, like all good things, their time came to the end and Nathalie reminded Adrien to head over to hair and make up, as if he hadn't been modeling since the age of five.
He hurried in the direction of the tall woman with a pink and blue mohawk.
"Mags! You're here!" he exclaimed as he was swept up into a crushing hug from the woman.
"I am my Sunbeam," she gave him a final squeeze and stepped back. "Adrien," she held his chin firmly in her hand and looked closely at his face tilting it slightly back and forth, "How dare you get even more handsome without my permission?"
Adrien couldn't hide the blush that always came when Mags made such declarations. He knew she was willing to play and tease, but she didn't give compliments she didn't mean.
"It only comes from getting to see my favorite makeup artist," he replied with a cheeky grin.
She let go of his face and shooed him into the chair. "Come, come. Let me see what we're working with today." She turned him so that more light could fall on his face. "Sunshine, you aren't getting enough sleep," she said as she brushed a thumb under his eye. Continuing to sweep down his cheek she added, "Maybe a little more moisturizer now that you're actually shaving regularly," she murmured.
Adrien nodded and saw that Nathalie had already made a note to change up his skin care routine on her tablet before she walked away to supervise another part of the production. Meanwhile Mags tucked a paper drape around his neck to protect his clothes from any mishaps.
"Now that the dragon is gone," Mags said as she started prepping Adrien's face, "What's the latest news on your girl?"
"Oh, Marinette's started a new line of formal wear-" Adrien said before abruptly cutting off. "But Mags, Marinette's not my girl in any way," he said very seriously.
"And yet you knew exactly who I was talking about," Mags sing-songs with a grin and Adrien looked like he was about to argue his point. "Close up," she lightly tapped his chin for Adrien to close his lips so she could apply the foundation to the lower part of his face. "You knew who I was talking about because I always ask after her," Mags went on, her smile softening. "She's also the only one of your friends that I've actually met in person. No need to feel called out, mijito. If I asked after your boy, you'd know I meant Nino. And if I mentioned your intrepid reporter, of course you'd think of Alya. Wouldn't you?"
Adrien looked a little bashful.
"So what has the Shining Star been working on lately?" Mags asked as she moved on to adding contour and highlights.
"Well, you remember how when Kim broke his leg and had to sacrifice his favorite pair of pants because he really couldn't wear shorts in the middle of winter, Marinette made a line of clothes that worked well for people with assistance aides and other physical needs?" he watched Mags nod though she didn't stop working. "Well this time she's doing the same with formal and semi-formal wear for people of all body sizes! She's naming this line 'Every BODY's Beautiful'." He pulled out his phone to pull up the group chat to show Mags the pictures from the shoot.
There were pictures of more than the clothes. Many candid shots showed Adrien handing props and accessories to Marientte. Mags couldn't help but notice the soft smile that always adorned the boy's face when the girl wasn't looking. And she absolutely grinned at the few pics that caught the full smile Adrien gave the girl when she was glancing at him. That smile was the whole reason she called him Sunbeam.
"Looks like the little Star has another wonderful idea there," Mags said as she put down the eyeshadow and brush, "I hope it'll do well."
"Yeah," Adrien softly agreed. He would have nodded but the woman was doing mascara and she would have murdered him if he accidentally made her put the wand in his eye if Nathalie didn't get to him first. "I hope father will actually pick this one up. He said her other one wasn't directed at his clientele." He actually rolled his eyes at the excuse.
Mags huffed a small laugh. "Didn't Style Queen call her last campaign an inspired way to bring the art of couture to the less fortunate?"
Adrien couldn't help the wince, fortunately Mags had already stepped back a bit. "Uh, yeah, Chloe's mom could have chosen a better way to phrase it, but-" he gave a little sigh, "Marinette really did find ways to make people with casts or confined to wheelchairs able to easily get in and out of clothing, and still look good."
"She's a regular little miracle worker, it's true," Mags said as she finished off her work with setting powder. She swiveled the chair back to the mirror. "Almost as good as me finding a way to make you look even more devastatingly handsome." She tousled his hair before shooing him over to the hairdresser. "Go show Sasha what our girl's gotten up to."
Sasha immediately put a cape around Adrien's neck as she pulled out a comb.
"Did I hear Mags saying Marinette's up to something new?" the plump woman asked as she combed through his hair.
Adrien's face lit up with a smile, the woman always reminded him of an older Rose, she was as sweet and enthusiastic about things Adrien was involved in as his classmate. Sasha had been doing his hair since his very first shoot and always asked about his newest interests and school projects. "Just wait till I show you!"
He spent the next fifteen minutes gushing to Sasha just as he had to his previous listeners all about Marinette's inspired new line and how he'd had such a fun time helping out on the girl's last photoshoot.
"What, you don't have fun with us?" Sasha teased as she did a final flourish of hairspray.
"With you? Yes," Adrien replied with a grin. It fell as he watched one of the other models head to make up. "With her ? No."
Adrien saw Sasha's eyes flick over to the makeup station as her happy face slid into one of utmost professionalism as she recognized the person sitting in Mag's chair.
"Fair," was all the woman said as she gave one more small spray to his hair.
Her response made Adrien's grin return, though not as long as before.
"Let's just hope we're out of here before midnight," the hairdresser said with a sigh. "You do remember you turn into a pumpkin at midnight, right?"
"Yes Fairy Godmother," Adrien said with a slight bow. "I'd better see if the mice have finished sewing my dress for the ball."
Sasha held the fasteners for the cape protecting Adrien's clothes from stray hairs or product. "Just say the magic words and your new gown will appear."
A mischievous grin crossed his face as he called out a quiet, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
And, as she had done so many times before, she pulled off the cape while giving the chair a spin. Adrien gave out a small laugh as she gave the chair one more full turn before stopping him.
"Off you go to the ball," she said playfully. "And don't come back without your princess!"
"M-My Princess?" Adrien sputtered while his face grew warm.
Sasha gave him a close look before waving him away and resetting for the next model.
Adrien was quick to grab a bottle of water from the service table and hurry over to the area the other models would be expected to wait in before the first photo. He watched as things were finalized between Herme and Louis. They were all waiting for Nathalie to finish talking with the new photographer.
Felice Alinari wasn't one of Gabriel's usual photographers, but he was well known and highly sought after. He was brought in to take Adrien's image from "clean cut boy next door" to "young man ready to take on the world." Gabriel was hoping to have Adrien grow up in the public eye without having any sort of awkward phases or rebellious streaks, well, none that weren't carefully crafted to positively keep the brand in people's attention in any case.
Adrien smiled when Alex, the model that was ready next, sat down near him.
"Morning Golden Gleam," Alex greeted him.
"It is indeed morning, oh Master of the Depths. Whether it is a good one remains to be seen," Adrien replied as they gave each other a light fist bump. "And how are you on this fine day?"
"Nothing as fine as our beloved's abs," was the grumbled answer.
"Too true."
Adrien smiled as his self-proclaimed "love rival" took out his phone to show Adrien his newest lock screen. The two had been having monthly contests to see who could create the most absurd, but complementary photos of movie stars and other popular people. The "winner" claimed the affections of the person of the month and made sure to rub it in whenever they worked together.
"Can you beat this?" Alex quietly taunted.
Adrien took a look at the heavily photoshopped picture of Aquaman and broke out into a laugh. "There's no way to beat that, Alex," he conceded. "I'm too embarrassed to even show you what I came up with once I knew we were shooting together."
"Adrien," his fellow model grabbed his forearm, "you have to show me what you did. Otherwise I automatically win the affections of our beloved for another month, and I think I will actually die if I get two months of Jason Mamoa's devotion that easily. What kind of a victory is an uncontested win?"
Adrien truly blushed as he pulled out his phone and pulled up his entry for this shoot's unofficial photoshop contest. Alex scrutinized the picture for a full minute before speaking.
"I like the sparkles you've added," he began slowly. "And those hearts are a classic," he nodded even as his brow furrowed, "but please explain why you've photoshopped Aquaman's head onto Ladybug's body."
He chuckled a little before saying, "I was messing around with an old photo I had of Ladybug-"
"Did it already have the sparkles and hearts?" Alex interrupted.
Adrien nodded. "So I was photoshopping my friends' faces onto Ladybug's body for um, reasons," he ducked his head before continuing, "but when I put Marinette's on I kind of…" he trailed off.
"You got distracted and ran out of time for our little contest?" Alex smirked at his co-worker.
The blond boy huffed out even as he swiped to the next photo and put his phone into the taller man's face. "Look at this and tell me you wouldn't lose an hour or two seeing the two most fantastic women on earth being blended into one wonderful, perfect woman!"
Alex gently pushed the phone a little away from his face. "Surely it hasn't slipped your mind that, while I find the female form beautiful in general, it's AquaMAN that we are fighting over?"
Adrien huffed again, but put his phone away without looking back at the picture. "I can admit when I've been bested, Alex," he murmured. "For the next month I, Adrien 'Golden Gleam' Agreste, relinquish all claim to the affections of the King of Atlantis and ruler of the Seven Seas to Alex 'Master of the Depths' Archambault."
Alex laughed as he patted Adrien's shoulder. "At least you're a good loser. Of course I think I had the advantage here. If this had been a contest over Ladybug or Marine-"
"Don't finish that thought," Adrien growled.
Alex laughed louder. "And right there you prove my point little Sunlight," he bumped his shoulder against Adrien who'd dropped the scowl and was starting to smirk back at Alex.
"Yeah, well, if we'd been serious over The Rock that one month I think you would have made me disappear in the middle of the night and my body would never be found."
"True. I would have-"
"Good morning all," a tall blonde form dropped between the two, cutting off the friendly battle of words before it could continue.
"Good morning-" Adrien broke off, waiting for the newcomer to speak. He'd worked with them before and knew that, depending on the name they used, the pronouns would need to be appropriate for the day.
"Lior," was supplied by the blonde model.
Ah, today's a day for feminine pronouns , Adrien thought as Alex greeted Lior and they both looked back to the stations where the other two models were still getting made up.
"Didn't you get here after Lila?" Adrien asked. "How'd you beat her getting ready?"
Lior rolled her eyes. "Her majesty could not accept that she had to have purple eyeshadow for her first look and stomped off to get Nathalie." She shrugged a shoulder, "I grabbed her seat before she could get back to annoy Mags. Jeana and I switched seats just a few minutes ago, so we should be ready to go once the royal pain is taken care of."
The other two models softly sniggered.
Adrien gave a soft sigh, "It's not even seven and it's already been a long day."
"Mood," the brunette swaggering over to their little corner said as she held up a water bottle in salute. "Morning my lovelies."
The other models all greeted their compatriot.
"Morning Jeana, how are the kittens?" Adrien eagerly asked as he made room between Lior and himself.
Jeana pouted a bit. "I see how it is Adrien. I barely get a good morning before you ask after the children."
They all laughed.
"I can see you're doing well, Jean-Jean," Adrien replied with a pout of his own. "But you said the kids were starting to climb on things and I was hoping you'd have more to say about them."
Jeana pulled out her phone and started to bring up pictures of the stray cat she and Adrien had newly rescued after their last shoot in one of Paris' many parks. They figured she must have been recently abandoned as she hadn't been skittish of the two when they'd approached her. The cat had a slight injury so Jeana, as the one that could actually go where she wanted to, had taken the cat to the vet. They'd been surprised to find out that she hadn't been microchipped but had been days away from giving birth. Jeana and her partner decided to keep all the cats, with the understanding that Adrien was to be their 'Fairy Cat Father'. And now she was almost contractually obligated to get out baby pictures whenever she and Adrien were in the same room.
"You have to trade with me," Jeana said seriously. "Mags was going on and on about your girl's latest designs."
Adrien didn't even register getting out his phone and going to the pictures from Marinette's latest photoshoot in his eagerness to see the adorable kittens. He and Jeana switched phones and Adrien immediately began to coo. Alex looked over Adrien's shoulder for the first two or three pics then switched to seeing what Lior and Jeana were murmuring so excitedly over.
The phones quickly disappeared when the all too familiar voice of the last model of the day grew close. Lila was strutting over while chatting with Nathalie. On the assistant's other side was a tall man that reminded Adrien of Nino. Although this man had a bit of a scruffy beard, his hairstyle and glasses were spot on for Adrien's friend. His sincere smile and nods in their direction gave Adrien a great feeling off him. If Lila hadn't been there it would have been a terrific shoot that he would love to tell Marinette all about. As it was, Adrien and the others dropped the joking and immediately focused on the man.
After Nathalie introduced the photographer to everyone, and Monsieur Alinari took a few moments to talk to the crew and models about his vision for the shoot, some music was turned on to establish the mood and everyone began to be placed for their first shot.
Adrien was placed in front with Lila on one side and Lior on the other, while Alex and Jeana were relegated to the back. Alinari was calling out for soft smiles and the occasional smirk from the models. While Lila's smirk came to her far too easily, Adrien found it difficult to create anything approximating a loving gaze when he was instructed to look directly at Lila. Adrien was thankful that often, for a particular kind of shot, models had to create a pose that looked intimate, but then look off to the side or closer to the camera to avoid strange looking profiles or catching just the white of the eyes. He found that he had an easier time making googly eyes at the light stand than at Lila. Of course when he was posed with Jeana he merely had to think of the kitten pictures she had shared with him, and when posing with Lior he only had to think of the T&S mini-macarons she always smuggled to him when they worked together to be able to create the necessary romantic looking poses Alinari was calling out. Even when it was just Alex and Adrien, the softest of smirks crossed his face when Alex whispered "Love rival" right before the photographer snapped the picture.
They'd made it through half of the collection when Alinari called a break for lunch. He instructed Adrien to change and then come find him before he left the studio. Once Adrien was back in his own clothes he waved Lila off saying he had to talk to the photographer and since he didn't know how long their talk would take, it would be best for her to go without him as he'd hate to deprive Lila of her lunch hour.
Adrien made sure to take a few calming breaths before approaching the photographer who was sitting behind his laptop going over the rough photos they'd taken this morning. He was a little apprehensive as he could see Nathalie, with her tablet facing the photographer, meaning that Adrien's father was going to be part of this discussion, too.
"Adrien," his father's voice was as calm and cold as it almost always was, "I've been monitoring this morning's photos and I am not pleased with your performance. Especially when you are paired with Miss Rossi."
Adrien hung his head, but was unsurprised by his father's critique.
"I expect this shoot to produce pictures where all the women want to have you look at them the way you look at Lila and where all the men want to be you. Is that understood?"
There was only one reply he could possibly give, "Yes, father."
"See to it," the man replied. "Felice," he addressed the photographer, "I'm pleased with most of these roughs, but if Adrien continues to disappoint, you may need to retake his close ups with him and Miss Rossi. You will of course be paid time and a half for anything extra you need to do." He gave Adrien a withering look, and at the photographer's nod, the screen suddenly went black.
"Adrien," Nathalie said in her no-nonsense way, "I'm sure you'll find a way to keep from taking extra time out of Monsieur Alinari's busy schedule." She raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow waiting for Adrien to show he understood their expectations.
"Yes, Nathalie."
"Good." She walked away, presumably to get food, but knowing her workaholic tendencies, it was probably to put out any fires his father deemed as needing her direct attention.
Adrien's eyes were focused on the ground. He's nearly a legal adult and both those people always make him feel like he's five! He wasn't expecting the hand on his shoulder, and it took everything in him not to flinch away.
"Sorry, tesoro," the warm voice said as the hand squeezed his shoulder before being removed. "I know that not everyone can feel the chemistry with all their coworkers. Come look at a few of these pictures." The man patted a chair next to him and Adrien sat down.
There were several pictures with Adrien and the other models. Sometimes it was Adrien partnered with one of the others and sometimes it was just the women. There was one with Lila in the middle with Adrien and Alex on either side.
"Adrien I want you to look at these two pictures," Alinari pointed at one where Adrien's smile looked almost strained as he looked 'adoringly' at Lila. It was followed by a picture where Adrien was looking at Alex with a softer, more genuine smile. The body positions hadn't changed, but the feeling of the two pictures were vastly different.
"I've noticed that you get a bit colder, more closed off when you're asked to interact with Lila," the photographer said without accusation. "But here, a fraction of a second later, you have no problem with the almost love sick smile we were going for." He clicked over to a different set of outfits. "Here with Lior and there with Jeana, you don't have this closed off expression and seem to be enjoying their presence. But here and here with Lila you look ready to break from the strain." He paused while taking in Adrien's face and demeanor. "It's not like this would be noticeable to most people, but it is my job to notice such things."
"I'm sorry-" Adrien began to apologize to Alinari.
"Adrien," the man's voice was very serious, "do you feel safe around Lila?"
He looked at the older man and felt himself bluescreen for a second. "Oh, um, yeah. I mean I don't trust her as far as a three-year-old child could throw her, but I'm safe around her."
He watched the photographer slowly nod his head. "Okay, good, I was concerned because of what I heard her muttering in Italian, but if she's not actually doing that-" the man broke off. "It's something I'll bring up with Nathalie later."
"O-okay?"
"So this is just trust issues between you two?" The photographer seemed to be trying to puzzle out a difficult mystery. "You're safe, but not the best of friends?"
Adrien nodded. "She goes to my school and has targeted a few of my friends with false accusations and some nasty gossip. I don't particularly like her, but since we work together I try to get along."
"Well, I can see that you don't have such qualms with the others," Alinari scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Okay, I'll think about this during lunch. If you can't work together then I'll keep you two separated more."
Adrien shook his head. "That won't work, Monsieur Alinari. This whole shoot is my father trying to set up Lila and I as a couple as he moves my image into the more young adult area rather than innocent teenage range."
Alinari looked surprised. "I thought it was just my imagination," he mumbled, "he never said it outright."
"Trust your instincts, monsieur," Adrien said with a wry grin. "I've seen your work and it shows that they're very good."
"Well I guess we can-"
Adrien sighed, "Leave this to me." He hung his head, "I'll figure something out."
Alinari again patted Adrien's shoulder. "Okay, we'll both think this over while we break for lunch." He mussed Adrien's hair knowing that hair and makeup would have to be retouched again anyway. "Go eat! You deserve a break after all your hard work today."
Adrien hitched a smirk in place and gave the photographer a two fingered salute. "Yes, sir!" He paused before turning to walk away, "Oh, make sure to ask Lior for a chance at the secret stash of macarons when you get back. She gets them from T&S, so they're the best in Paris." He fixed the man with a playful scowl, "The passion fruit ones are spoken for."
While Alinari chuckled, Adrien hurried off to meet his driver. He was unfortunate enough to find the man waiting by the car with Lila already in the back seat.
"Your father invited me to join you two for lunch," the young woman simpered, "and I couldn't possibly pass up the opportunity to get to know the two of you better, now could I?"
The calculating look in her eye made Adrien want to facepalm. He just knew that he'd be stuck, alone with Lila, all lunch. His father tended not to show normally, but with Lila in attendance it was almost guaranteed Gabriel wouldn't be there. And the paparazzi will most likely receive a mysterious and anonymous tip as to where to find Adrien right before the meal's end.
Wonderful.
Maybe his father is hoping for a repeat of all those times he and Marinette went running from his crazed fans? After all '#Pajama girl sighting' still tended to trend after all his major campaigns because Marinette wouldn't allow him to be mobbed on her watch. But Lila wasn't one to run from the spotlight, and she had no talent for looking after Adrien's interests over her own. Just another way that Volpina failed to measure up to his Everyday Ladybug!
As Adrien had predicted, Gabriel didn't show up to the bistro, and he spent a tedious hour listening to Lila gossip about their classmates and coworkers, brag about her amazing plans for the weekend, or turn every attempt at a subject change back to how awful Marinette was. Adrien was almost praying for an akuma, but he'd hate for Hawkmoth to take advantage of someone just so he could spend a few minutes away from Lila.
Adrien returned to the studio in a foul mood. All he wanted was half an hour away from the harpy! Was that really too much to ask? He tried to hold back the groan when the stylist approached him, especially with Lila following close behind the man, but he couldn't help it.
"Yes, Monet?" he snapped.
Immediately after, he was sorry for his temper. "Sorry Herme, it wasn't the best experience at lunch."
"I was hoping to bend your ear for a moment Adrien," the stylist said as he pulled Adrien toward the dressing room. Turning to Lila he said, "Mademoiselle Rossi, you must wear the outfit as already approved. If you're unable to put on a skirt and top as directed in under five minutes, perhaps modeling isn't the career for you."
The door shutting on Lila's face was a joy to behold, and began to lift Adrien's sour mood. Herme listened for a moment before opening the door and calling for one of the other dressers. He instructed them to help Lila as "the poor child doesn't seem able to button a blouse without missing essential buttonholes" before turning back to Adrien.
"Mantel was telling me about your little epiphany this morning," he said without preamble. "We were discussing it at lunch, and I think I've got an idea that you might like. Next week we were both going to be working on an independent project for another designer. Do you think your Marinette would like to come to the planning meeting to see our thought process as we plan a shoot?"
Adrien's countenance broke out into a huge grin. "Of course she'd love that!"
"Good, I've already had Nathalie block out Saturday morning and afternoon," he replied. Seeing Adrien's confusion the stylist continued, "Adrien you have to be there, too. There is no way that Mantel and I can meet alone with a seventeen year old girl that's never met either of us at some random address. You have to come with her as her friend and escort."
Somehow, impossibly, Adrien's grin grew bigger. "Let me just text her-"
"Already been confirmed," Herme said as he looked at a text notification. "Nathalie contacted your girl's parents with the offer. It seems they weren't feeling too good about the situation until Nathalie said that of course you'd be there, too."
Adrien couldn't help nervously rubbing the back of his neck while trying not to flush at the implication.
Herme leaned in to whisper, "And if you tell her to bring her latest pictures for us to review, I don't think anyone would mind going over them to see if we can help her reach her vision." He stood back smiling at the young man. " That might be something for you to text her about," he said in a more normal tone of voice.
Immediately Adrien had his phone in hand and sent a text off to Marinette. She responded back with a long string of gibberish followed with exclamation points as she tried to express her feelings through keysmash.
Mantel had to stop Adrien from obsessively answering Marinette as he tried to get Adrien into the fourth outfit of the day. Though he was just as excited about the meeting next Saturday, and was telling Adrien all kinds of things to pass along to the young designer as they both tried to rush through their preparations.
Mags and Sasha both had knowing grins as they did touch-ups before starting the second half of the day. It seems that most of the crew was in on the plan to help Marinette and they were excited to see what came out of this new collaboration.
Adrien was still excitedly texting Marinette when he and Lila were being staged for the first photos of the afternoon. He'd handed off his phone to Lior, who promised to keep it safe until he could look at it again, and had unconsciously been thinking of his friend rather than the model he was being posed with.
The smiles he gave in those pictures were so genuine that for a moment the photographer thought Adrien had befriended or perhaps fallen for the girl he was smiling so tenderly at over lunch, and wondered at it. The reality came crashing down when Lila told Adrien to shift over so the light wasn't shining directly in her eyes.
"Yes, Marinette."
Adrien froze. Lila grimaced. And several of the crew quietly gasped. With two words, the shoot came to a complete standstill. Probably only the new photographer and one of the recently hired grips hadn't heard Lila spewing vitriol about Adrien's friend Marinette.
"Adrien, how could you!" Lila immediately broke out into what sounded like fake sobs and ran off set.
Adrien wasn't sure what he was supposed to do in this situation. He stood stock still and gaped at the spot Lila had been standing in moments before. Noone else seemed to know what to do for a moment either. The silence was broken by Nathalie snapping at one of the interns and soon the unfortunate assistant was sent after Lila. The photographer quickly reshuffled the order for the last photos of the day. They decided to call the other models forward to do close ups for the outfits they were wearing, while waiting for Lila to calm down and Adrien to reboot.
Alinari noticed that Adrien was looking tense and worried. He heard the young man mumbling the words, "please, not another Lilakuma, please" so he suggested that Adrien take a little break in his dressing room for ten minutes.
Adrien quickly agreed and slipped quietly into his dressing room. He paced the room for a few moments while telling Plagg all about the debacle. The tiny godling could only cackle at the amount of chaos his kitten could produce with just two words. He was so proud of his kitten! Plagg suggested that Adrien slip on the ring he needed to be able to transform into Chat Noir, just in case a new akuma was forming even as they spoke. The chuckling kwami made sure to point out Adrien could easily slip it off in his pocket when he was called back, and Plagg would make sure to hide in a place he could be called on at a moment's notice.
Fifteen minutes later Mantel was knocking on the door and telling Adrien he was needed on the set.
Adrien wasn't paying too close of attention to what people were saying as he scanned the shadows for evidence of Lila having turned into an akuma, but he did hear Alinari bemoaning the loss of Adrien's soft look at Lila.
"There's no way to recapture that feeling," the photographer sighed.
"We've figured out a way around that," Mags was saying as Adrien stepped up to his mark. "Just give it another minute or two."
"Okay, I'll trust you on this," Monsieur Alinari said even as his face still looked doubtful.
"Lior, has that delivery arrived yet?" Mags called over to the model.
"Yup, just passed the front desk and should be here any minute."
"Alright, Adrien?" Alinari said as he got back to his camera set up. "We're just doing some close ups, and once Lila has calmed down, we'll do the group shot. Okay?"
Adrien nodded.
"Okay. I want you to cheat out just a little to your left," he waited for Adrien to move as directed. "And can you turn your face over your right shoulder? A little less- yes, good." Adrien heard a couple of clicks. He also heard someone come into the room, he wasn't facing the door so he couldn't see who it was but somehow the footsteps sounded familiar. People were always coming in and out during shoots so usually he barely registered it, but something about this drew his attention.
"Okay, Adrien, now keeping that pose, I want you to move only your eyes toward the camera."
That's when he saw who had come in. Standing just to the photographer's left was-
"Marinette!"
The camera's clicks came faster and faster. Alinari had his handheld camera and was moving around Adrien in a way that was very familiar to him from his usual excitable Italian photographer. He was just glad this one wasn't talking about mama's spaghetti.
Marinette looked a little confused, but was taking in everything around her from the backdrop to the makeup station and included the catering table. Though her gaze did eventually land on Adrien and her smile was returned by an even sweeter smile from the blond model.
Alinari dropped the camera to his side as he whipped toward the girl Mags had brought in.
"You!" he quickly advanced toward the young woman who was much, much shorter than him. "You are the one that has turned the storm clouds into a bright sunny day! You must stay. I need this smile for this campaign and you are the one that makes it happen." He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but thought better of it. "Please miss, I need that smile."
"I'm just here to deliver Lior's order of macarons," the stunned girl said. "Apparently somebody snitched about her cookie stash," she smirked at Adrien. "The new photographer insisted on trying one, then absconded with the box!"
"They were so good," Alinari said without a hint of remorse. "And if that's what brought you here, I'd do it again."
"Adrien, tell her we need her! Convince her to stay," the man called over his shoulder as he hurried over to Nathalie. "Call that bakery and buy out the rest of today's stock! We need their delivery person here until the shoot is over. This is non-negotiable if Monsieur Agreste wishes to retain my services."
Everyone but Nathalie was stunned, including a sulking Lila that had just been persuaded to return to set by a haggard looking assistant. She immediately turned around and flounced out of the room.
Adrien rushed over to Marinette to check on her. "Marinette are you-" he wasn't sure what to say after that.
"Adrien, what's going on?"
"Um, short version or long version?"
"Let's start short and if you need to fill in gaps I'll ask."
Adrien looked away briefly before taking a deep breath and then starting, "Lila and my father-"
Marinette held up a hand stopping him. "Okay, got it. What do you need me to do?"
Adrien began chuckling quietly. "Uh, can you stay till the shoot is over? If you have other plans it's okay," he hurried to add.
"Well it sounds like I won't have anything to do at the bakery," she smiled softly at him. "So I'm free for the rest of the day."
"Great! Let me introduce everyone while we wait for Lila to come back."
The next few minutes were spent with Adrien introducing Marinette to the rest of the cast and crew. Most of them greeted her like an old friend, which surprised her. She surprised them by already knowing their names or work from Adrien having talked about them with her. Both Mantel and Herme told her how excited they were to meet with her and Adrien on Saturday. Mags told her how much she had enjoyed her new line. Sasha offered to braid her hair while they were waiting to start again. The other models were all busy asking after her latest creations. Lior even placed an order for one of the suits she'd really liked after negotiating a price she felt was fair because Marinette tried to give her the friends and family discount.
"All right people," Alinari's voice carried through the room, "Places! Let's get this wrapped up!"
He had just finished talking to Gabriel, having shown him the pics of Adrien with Lila before and after Marinette, and Gabriel had immediately approved of the photographer's plan to keep Marinette on site for the remainder of the shoot. Nathalie had to go and threaten Lila with termination and being in breach of contract, to get the pouting model back on set, but eventually she joined the others.
As Adrien thought back to the end of the day, he had to smile. Everything seemed to go better once Marinette was there. The mood was just lighter for nearly everyone. Of course it helped that Alinari made sure that Marinette was always in his line of sight, especially when he was posed with Lila. And he had insisted that Marinette be a part of any future photoshoots where Alinari's services were to be used and Adrien would be photographed.
Adrien had even been allowed to walk Marinette home! Her parents had insisted that he stay for dinner. They asked to hear all about his day and what Marinette should expect for Saturday. Tom made sure he took home the best of their pastries. (Gabriel had paid for them after all.) Sabine insisted that he come back for dinner on Saturday. And Marinette had given him the nicest hug and a kiss to his cheek after walking him to the door. It gave him enough courage to ask Marinette out for ice cream after school the next day. When she said 'yes', he'd practically walked home on air. He couldn't wait!
Adrien snuggled into his cozy bed. The day may have started out awful, but Marinette had made it into one of the best ever. It was something she was so good at doing. Practically miraculous.
