{+}{+}{+}
"Are we almost there yet?" Adrien asks, "Another question, why am I wearing this blindfold?"
"It's a surprise," Nathalie replies, turning down another street. It's been a few minutes since they left the Gorilla's apartment. The ex-assistant told Adrien to wear a blindfold after they entered the car. The blonde complied, unsure of what is going on but trusted her nonetheless.
"Are those papers a part of the surprise?" the blonde questions, holding in the urge to peek over at the papers.
"Yes, they are," she answers, the car coming to a halt, "We're here. You can take off the blindfold."
Adrien pulls off the fabric covering his sight before looking around for the surprise. Yet, he's only met with an ordinary city street aligned with buildings. Sure, he's never been to this part of Paris before but didn't understand what the surprise is supposed to be. As far as he can see, there's nothing really surprising.
"Uh, where is here exactly?" The ex-model asks, trying his best not to be rude or seem less than excited. Nathalie merely opens the car door and grabs the papers, saying, "Why don't I show you? It's inside this building."
Adrien follows Nathalie into the building. He scans the comfy-looking lobby, trying to find some sort of hint of what this place is and what the surprise could be.
Nathalie and Adrien walks up to the counter. A bald man with glasses stood on the other side, a welcoming smile on his lips.
"Hello! My name is Dean Gates! Is there anything I can help you with today?" he asks.
"I'm Nathalie Sancoeur. I was told you'll have the new key since the last one broke," Nathalie says. Dean ducks down behind the counter for a moment until reappearing. He hands over a silver key with a number attached to it.
"Here you are. If you have any further questions or troubles, don't hesitate to ask," Dean says.
"Yes, thank you," Nathalie replies, gesturing for Adrien to follow her. The blonde raises an eyebrow, wondering what the key is for while following his temporary guardian to an elevator.
Once they are inside and Nathalie presses the number 3 button, Adrien curiously spoke, "What are we doing?"
"You'll see," Nathalie cryptically replies. Adrien purses his lips in thought until the sound of a ding marks their arrival. The doors split open, revealing the third floor's hallway of doors with a letter and numbers. Nathalie walks out, followed by the curious teen.
"This must be a smaller hotel," he thought, "but why are we here? We're already staying at one...unless the pay of us staying there is getting too steep."
"Here we are," the woman says, presenting door C-8.
"Oh—um, cool!" Adrien says with as much enthusiasm as possible.
"You still don't understand why we're here, don't you?" Nathalie questions, grinning when Adrien sheepishly scratches the back of his neck. She put the key into the slot and unlocks the door. She opens the door and allows Adrien to inspect the inside.
"I'm guessing it's because we can't afford to live in Le Grand Paris anymore," he answers, looking around the homey area and spotting two bedrooms.
"That's partially true," the ex-assistant answers, "but this isn't a hotel. This is an apartment building."
Adrien shot his head around towards Nathalie. Now, he is really surprised.
"You mean, we're going to be living here?" he questions in disbelief and returns to glossing over the apartment. He's always lived in big luxurious places, whether it was the mansion or temporarily staying at a high-classed hotel.
This apartment isn't as spontaneous as those other places but it didn't need to be. Adrien can see himself more at home in this smaller space than a giant, empty building.
"Correct..." Nathalie trails off, "...and there's one final surprise too."
The ex-model hums in question, wondering what else Nathalie has in store. She gestures to the normal-sized, rectangular table. The two sit down beside each other before Nathalie sets down the papers in front of him. The teen's gaze locks onto the papers in front of him, his attention drawn to the biggest word on the first page.
"Adoption?" The blonde confusingly says the word out loud, "Are you adopting a pet or something?"
Nathalie hid her snickering behind her hand, trying to regain her composure. It's a wonder how such an intelligent boy can be so oblivious. She supposes she can't blame him since he's had a secluded life.
"I would like to adopt but it's not an animal or a thing. It's a specific person who just so happens to be sitting right next to me," she explains. Adrien's jaw drops, not expecting so much to happen in one day. He takes a minute to let this soak in.
"That's if, you want me to adopt you. I'm not going to pressure you into doing something you don't want. You can have as much time as you need to think this over. You've been through a lot and-"
"Yes!" Adrien cut off a shocked Nathalie's rambling, "Yes, I'd like you to adopt me."
The stunned look on the woman's face is made evident. She thought Adrien would have a different reaction to this. Yet, she is glad things turned out the better way than the worst possible scenario.
"What do I have to do?" He asks, excitedly.
"Just sign this line and that's it," Nathalie answers, pointing to the blank line, "Everything else is and will be done."
Adrien didn't hesitate to grab a pen and perfectly sign his signature on the line. After he finishes, the blonde wraps Nathalie into a hug and she happily returns it.
"Happy birthday, Adrien."
{+}{+}{+}
"Before we start playing video games, I'd like your honest opinion on something," Marinette says, opening the bakery's side door.
"Sure," Adrien agrees, following the bluenette inside, "What do you need my opinion on?"
"I'll show you, but I need your brutality honest answer on this," the bluenette replies, "This means, no going soft on me."
"I'll try to give you the best constructive criticism I can," Adrien promises. Marinette gave an appreciative smile before the two began climbing the steps to the apartment above.
Marinette's mind drifts a little, her hand still tingling from holding Adrien's hand. The lovely sensation stays, except for the warmth it brought had diminished once they let go upon arrival. An odd—strange—feeling she's never quite experienced with any of her past crushes.
Bluebell eyes glances to the side, seeing the sweet blonde boy who somehow captured her heart in a short amount of time.
Then, her foot caught the edge of the next step and fell forward. The bluenette grunts in pain, chin throbbing from colliding with the wooden step.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien asks, helping the teenage girl to her feet. Her face is painted pink in embarrassment for getting so easily distracted...and her clumsiness, of course.
"He must think I'm a klutz," Marinette thought in disdain. She rubs her aching jaw and reassures the ex-model, "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. I-I've been cursed—through m-much worse!"
She holds in her frustration, not wanting to blow up in front of Adrien. That would make things even more embarrassing if she lost her head. She doesn't want to ruin their time together because gravity just loves pulling jokes like her to the ground.
"Here," the blonde boy says. Marinette snaps out of her gloomy state when an arm suddenly wraps around her own. She can feel Adrien's presence even closer than when they held hands. His left side brushes with her right. Okay, now she is rethinking her clumsiness has some perks
"This way, you won't fall," Adrien explains, sunnily. Marinette gapes in awe and her heart rapidly hammers. Her mouth ran on autopilot, a soft mumble escaping her lips, "I think it's too late for that."
"Sorry, what was that?" Adrien asks, not understanding what the bluenette said. Marinette gasps a little, clasping a hand over her stupid mouth. Then, she frantically tried to cover her tracks with incoherent gibberish. Finally, she sighs in defeat.
"Nothing, I said, nothing," she finishes off, looking at the floor. The blonde felt something in his chest twist with concern and...suspicion. He isn't quite sure what is wrong with Marinette. She acts frightened around him but doesn't seem to dislike his presence. He doesn't know. Yet, he'll do his best to help her when she's willing to seek it.
"So, what did you want to show me?" Adrien questions, "I can't wait to see it!"
The bluenette perks up, happiness returning to her facial features.
"Let's go! I need to have it finished before the two leave," Marinette says while the teens continue up the rest of the stairs without any more problems.
{+}{+}{+}
"So...what do you think?"
After stepping around the pile of bags and alerting her mother she brought a friend home, Marinette hurriedly made a break for her room with Adrien. The bluenette didn't want to risk running into Celine or even, Tikki. If Celine caught Marinette with a guy, who knows what kind of embarrassing things the redheaded woman would pull.
Luckily, they managed to enter her bedroom without difficulty.
Once Adrien settled down on the chaise, he watches Marinette scurry over to her closet. She opens the closet door and rummages through the curtain of clothes. He curiously scans the pink room, filled with pictures of different people (some familiar), fabrics, and creations.
His gaze returns to the frantic bluebell-eyed girl pulling out a rather big box. She set it down in front of him a few feet away and took off the lid.
"I've been working on this for a while but it was kind of difficult when the person I want to give it to continuously barges into my room," Marinette had explained, "Fortunately, I finished it before today but I need a second opinion on this."
Then, Marinette pulls out a long, elegant dress. The black top has long sleeves, a bow sagging off the right shoulder. The skirt flowed a different-colored strip before and after every other of the black stripes.
"I call this the rainbow dress. It's a bit of an...inspiration," Marinette added, sheepishly, "So, what do you think?"
"Wow, Marinette...this looks amazing..." Adrien trails off, standing from the furniture and carefully began to feel the material of the dress, "You really made this? You're incredibly talented."
The bluenette feels her face flush again, wanting to bury her head into the dress to hide.
"Y-You really th-think so? I-I mean, there's no-nothing wrong with it, right?" She asks, stuttering over her words in a panic.
"Trust me, Marinette. I don't have any complaints," Adrien replies before asking, "Who's the lucky girl that's getting this dress anyway?"
Marinette's knees felt weak, so she sat down on her desk's chair (that's close by) and places the clothing back inside the box, "Just my...aunt? I guess I don't really know what to call her except by her name, Celine."
The blonde perks up at the familiar name, recognizing it from somewhere but isn't able to put a finger on it. He isn't given much time to think deeper on the name when Marinette mockingly challenges him to a few rounds of Ultimate Mech Strike III.
{+}{+}{+}
"Alright, the car is all packed," Tom informed the girls.
"Thank you so much, Tom and Sabine," Celine genuinely spoke to the couple, "I know this year...or all of the other years we've done this meetup hasn't been the easiest, but it's still nice to know we have some sort of family to visit."
"You and Tikki will always have a place in this house, Celine," Tom reassures, Sabine nodding in agreement. The redhead woman smiles and spread her arms out, "Ah, come here you old saps!"
Celine gave them each a farewell hug before Tikki clambers down the steps with a bag on her back.
"Mommy!" She calls, excitedly, "Marinette has surprises for us! She's going to make me an aunt!"
The three adults stood in confusion before Marinette burst into the area. Every eye in the room locks onto the teen. Her face is fully flushed red and movements are frantic. Yet, she at least didn't manage to trip while chasing Tikki. Unfortunately, she didn't make it on time.
"Oooo, Marinette! You scoundrel!" Celine dramatically gaspes, "I didn't even think you were capable of seducing a guy."
"No, it's a misunderstanding!" Marinette explains, frantically waving her hands. Yet, it didn't help her situation when Adrien walks into the room holding a box.
"You forgot these upstairs," he says, setting them down on the floor.
"Dang, Mari Bear," Celine breathlessly exclaims, impressed and gave the teen girl an approving thumbs-up, "That's a nice upgrade you got there!"
The bluenette groans, hiding her face in her hands. She took in a deep breath and glares at the redheaded woman. Marinette can't hold it any longer when a smile spreads across her face. She walks over and pulls Celine into a hug.
"Wait...I know you!" Adrien exclaimes, "I saw you at the park!"
Celine blinks before realization fell upon her, "Oh, yeah! You're that blonde kid that had a leaf stuck in your hair and having trouble writing-"
She stops, slowly glancing from Adrien to Marinette. Then, it dawns on her and the dots connect. Slowly, the biggest teasing grin slides across her features. A deep shade of pink dusting Adrien's cheeks, forcing himself not to look at the confused bluenette.
"So...about those surprises," Celine says, shrugging off what just occurred to her. She decides she'd save her teasing for next year, having a gut feeling that the two teens will be dating by the time she returns.
"Well..." Marinette began, unsure of what is happening, "I was telling Tikki before she interrupted me that I'm going to have a baby doll sent to you by mail because I'm not done with it yet. That's your surprise."
Tikki gasps then let out a cheer, enthusiastically jumping up and down. She loves dolls, not only for extreme modeling wars but because there always from Marinette. Marinette has made every doll (except for the Barbie doll her mom gave her for Christmas last year) she owns.
"And for you, Celine," Marinette continues, grabbing the box and handing it over to the redheaded woman.
"Wow..." she quietly gaspes in awe, "...you got me a box."
Marinette rolls her eyes, "Open it!"
Celine opens the box, seeing tissue paper covering the gift and a note sitting on top with three words.
Until Next Time...
{+}{+}{+}
If you guys have any questions, I'll do a Q&A at the end of the book!
