Author's note: Don't mind me, just injecting some cute fluff amidst all the coronavirus hysteria happening. Read author's note at the end for World Health Organisation best practices for dealing with the virus.
Adrien realised it was only with a certain privilege that the phrase 'moving out of the mansion' could bring someone so much joy. After many years of painstaking study, he'd leapt into the world of academia as an associate professor for the one subject that never let him down: physics. His father supported him with his schooling on the condition that he stayed in the mansion and became a member of the board on Gabriel. And each monthly meeting, Adrien endured the cold tone of disapproval as he again had to explain not only to his father but to the whole board that he was still not interested in taking a meaningful role in the company. There were people far more qualified (and interested) in the position than he. And Gabriel designers didn't have much use for quantum mechanics. He still modelled for campaigns as his father asked, but these days you'd be much more likely to find him with his glasses on in the university library than on an advertisement at the bus stop. He was actually pretty grateful he did wear glasses now and tried to wear them as much as often when going out and never for photo shoots - in an attempt to draw a line between the personas of his two lives.
But with each step he made towards independence, the more the Adrien with math pun t-shirts and glasses and messy hair won over the perfectly styled good model boy. And now, with the acceptance of his new job and the beginning of true financial independence, his father could do nothing as he ventured out on his own to find his own apartment, put down the deposit, purchased Ikea furniture and with Nino to help only slightly, assembled it all together himself.
His father could do nothing to stop his plans, but this grocery store layout might be his breaking point.
Now, he was well into his twenties, but surely it wasn't so incredibly crazy that this was his first time grocery shopping. He was looking for some toilet paper, but the aisles seemed completely empty. What was wrong?
He stood in front of the empty shelves, not realising how disheveled his blonde hair was becoming as he ran his hand repeatedly through it and pondered the mystery of the missing bath tissue.
A girlish laugh interrupted his pondering.
He turned around and blinked slowly at the girl beside him. She had dark hair and petite features. All scrunched up together in an adorable little laugh. She reminded him of his teenage crush on the animated Ladybug, Superheroine of Paris cartoon. Long dark hair framed bluebell eyes smiling up at him.
'If you wanted toilet paper, you're about eight hours too late. You needed to have been here when the store opened at 7AM.'
'Oh,' said Adrien, looking at his watch.
'But why?'
'Huh?'
He tried to clarify his question. 'Why would it be sold out so quickly? Is this normal?'
'Do you not read the news? Or have Facebook?'
'I…' his eyes shifted sidewards as he tried to think of the best way to explain how he never got into social media, his first attempt proving pretty disastrous. And he had been avoiding Nathalie, his usual source of news, and not reading her daily emails because he felt a bit guilty about leaving the mansion.
'And what do you mean, "is this normal?" Do you not normally buy toilet paper?'
Why was this girl so clever? Agh! The first time he maybe wanted to impress someone and she had to expose his weaknesses all in one go. In any case, honesty was usually the best policy. 'Guilty on both accounts?' he ventured.
But she just laughed at him, not in an unkind way. More in a way like he had just shared a joke which she had thought was funny. 'Covid-19. Look it up. It doesn't exactly explain why all the toilet paper is gone, you'd have to look into human psychology during times of panic for that. But that's kind of why it's gone.'
'You mean the coronavirus? I had no idea it had gotten that bad.'
'Oh yes, it has.' She nodded, seriously. 'The fatality rate for the old is what is the most concerning. Best practices from the World Health Organization include washing your hands regularly, not touching your face, isolating yourself after travel for 14 days and staying home if you've got any kind of sickness. Just in case.'
'What are the symptoms?' he asked.
She listed from the top of her head, 'Runny nose, sore throat, cough, fever, difficulty breathing in severe cases.'
He clutched at his chest in a melodramatic fashion. If modelling all these years had taught him anything, it had taught him how to strike a pose. 'Difficulty breathing?' he asked.
Her eyes widened in shock. 'Oh no! Are you ok?!'
'Not anymore. You just took my breath away.'
A deadbeat of silence passed as she ingested his words. He willed himself not to crack, not to laugh at his own joke - this was admittedly not his best joke, Tamaki would have been much more smooth, but he couldn't handle it anymore and he started cackling. With a bewildered expression on her face, she watched him carry on. In between laughs, he got out an introduction.
'My name is Adrien.' He had to pause to laugh at her skeptical expression. 'And I would like to get to know you better. And if you're going to know anything about me, you should know that I have a terrible sense of humour.' More laughs left him but then he sobered up and hastily added, 'I promise I'm not actually sick.'
'Marinette,' she replied, the side of her mouth curling into a bemused smile. 'You're terrible.' She declared. 'I like it.'
She reached into her pocket, pulled out a card and scribbled something onto it. When she handed it to him, he saw that it was her business card. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, designer at Lanvin. Scribbled next to presumably her work phone were ten digits of her personal number. 'I'm not sick either,' she said. 'Maybe when you've recovered from your terrible sense of humour, you can come over some time? I've been working from home lately because of the virus. I've got a stocked fridge of snacks, a couple of tv subscription options and sufficient toilet paper. Between those options, we could probably stay entertained.'
He gulped. Stay entertained? Is that what it was called these days? He needed to check with Nino, but Nino had been with Alya since forever so perhaps he would not be much use or up to date with the lingo. 'Sure, Marinette.' He ended up saying. He kind of enjoyed the way her name rolled off his tongue. With a dash of boldness, he added, 'If the world is going to explode into a pandemic, may as well spend its last moments with someone interesting,' and then winked at her.
She giggled. 'Now don't get any forward ideas,' she added, warningly. 'I don't usually invite boys I just met over. Not that there's anything wrong with doing that, but I'm only inviting you over because it is safer not to hang out in public due to the covid-19 outbreak.'
'I promise I won't steal any toilet tissue,' he grinned at her.
She looked up at him, narrowing her eyes as she surveyed him. 'But I already know you're a thief.'
'What do you mean?' he asked.
'Because you just stole my heart.'
Adrien's howl of laughter could be heard throughout the supermarket. People stopped their frantic trolley-loading to turn at the source of the mirth. A small smile adorned their worn-out faces as they unwittingly witnessed two people falling in love.
Author's note:
WHO basic protective measures against the new coronavirus.
Firstly, keep up to date with the latest information regarding the outbreak. Secondly, wash your hands frequently. Thirdly, maintain social distancing. Fourthly, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Fifthly, practice respiratory hygiene. Sixthly, if you feel unwell stay home and if you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early. And lastly, stay informed and follow advice given by your healthcare provider.
On top of what WHO says, I'd also like to recommend taking care of your mental health! Isolation can be exhausting. If you wanna chat with someone, feel free to message! I shall reply. Take care, friends.