Be aware, I got no real plan for this idea, I'll update when I can and hopefully it'll be a fun fic for us all.
"I'm going out!" Marinette called, rushing past Jagged Stone as he went over his schedule with Penny. It was a perfect opportunity to make an escape. Her uncle could only focus on so much. Her words would just fly over his head.
Or so she thought.
Just as she reached the door, he called.
"Take Fang with you!"
She paused, hand on the knob.
"Wouldn't he just draw attention to me?" she wondered, turning her pout to the rockstar.
Jagged shrugged, unapologetic. "Needs a walk anyway," he reasoned.
Fang rumbled in agreement from where he lounged on the back of the couch, his orange eyes hopeful. Caving with a sigh, Marinette got Fang's leash, offering a small smile as the croc danced in place, happy to go out. Scuttling down, Fang ran to her, pausing only long for Marinette to leash him before he started to resume his dance in place.
"Going to check out the bakery," she informed, slipping out as Jagged and Penny made acknowledged hums. Once it was just the two of them in the hall, Marinette turned to Fang, stating with an unsure shrug, "Well, let's go see my new home."
Fang clicked his teeth excitedly, eager to move.
Neither paid attention to the guest that rushed out of the elavator as soon as they came in, his face pale from seeing the crocodile. Pushing for the first floor, the two waited patiently to reach the bottom. Marinette fiddled with Fang's leash, rubbing the leather between her fingers.
She still hasn't fully wrapped her mind around this.
It was a good idea. Come here a week or two early, learn the streets of her parents' home, improve her French, and see a bit of what show business is like. Even get a few of her designs out there through her uncle.
It was a great idea!
A great opportunity!
Didn't change how frightful the situation was. A whole new big city, all new faces, new challenges to face...
She wasn't ready.
She started when she felt a nudge on her ankle.
Fang peered up, grinning toothily.
She shared it, her's a little smaller.
"You're right," she agreed allowed, rocking on the heels of shoes. It'll be fine. Besides, by the time school starts, her parents will be here, she'd be living with them in the new bakery, and Uncle Jag will be busier with concerts and interviews.
No one was going to find out an immediate connection between the two.
Just got to be careful till then.
Oh, speaking of being careful...
Bending down, she narrowed her eyes at the croc.
Fang blinked up at her innocently, his toothy smile curious.
Pointing down at him, she warned, "No eating pigeons."
Fang's maw dropped open, the reptile gaping at her.
"No," she repeated, "you know what happens when you snap at birds! You choke on their feathers!"
He rumbled, shaking his head with a very loud snort.
"Do I have to remind you about what happened with that cockatoo?"
Fang hissed.
"Yeah I thought so. So no snapping at pigeons! You do that buster, I'm bringing you back here." To make her declaration more clear, she gave his nose a firm poke.
Fang clacked his jaw, displeased.
The elevator chimed, cracking the doors open for them. A lady on the other side jerked with a squeal, brown eyes wide at the sight of the crocodile. Flashing her a somewhat apologetic smile, Marinette slipped, ignoring all the stares coming there way as Fang lumbered beside her. She spotted the scowling blonde from yesterday, sitting next to a grimacing red head who was also glaring at her.
Tearing her gaze away, she and Fang slipped out of the hotel lobby and stopped just before the Parisian streets. There was a bit more sky than she was used too. And the buildings didn't tower quite as high as they did in New York City.
She rather liked it.
She could get used to this.
Glancing over absently when she heard a startled gasp, she caught sight of a kid pointing at them, a very visible gape on her face. Only to be hurriedly dragged along by her mother, who was eyeing them warily.
Fang clacked jaws and shuffled on his claws as he peered up at her.
Right.
Walk.
They were on a walk.
Checking out her home.
"Let's see," she murmured, walking a little ways from the door, letting people slip in so they didn't have to walk around the crocodile. Not that Fang would have snapped at anyone. Now if she remembered correctly, according to her dad, their home was just down the street of the school she was going to next year, and that was coincidentally close to the hotel Uncle Jag was staying at...
So it had to be close...
Looking to her right, she could see the top of a school looming over a park. Collège Françoise Dupont was written on the side.
That was the school she's going to this fall.
So it was close, and ooooh she had to go through a park!
She lived next to a park!
How perfect was this?!
Doing her own excited wiggle, she pointed to it, declaring, "Let's go to the park!"
Fang gave an excited, eager hiss.
With a little skip in her step and a perky trot from the croc, they eagerly slipped into the park, looking it over and ignoring all the gapes and stares they got. Marinette liked this park. It was small, pretty open, great sun, an adorable fountain, and she spotted five great sketching spots. A perfect place to hang out.
She squeaked when she was sharply tugged left.
Looking ahead, she cringed when she saw Fang heading straight for that fountain.
"Oh no no no no," she tsked, digging her heels into the ground and tugging at the leash sharply.
Fang huffed.
"You got a bath yesterday!" she snipped.
Fang clacked his jaws argumentatively.
Marinette crossed her arms and glared down at him.
Growling, Fang turned away with a huff. He blew air at a pigeon that hopped close to him.
"You'll swim later," she eased, "I think there's a private pool back there. You can have it all to yourself." Especially since nobody really wanted to swim with a croc. Fang beamed, doing his excited jig once more.
"Hey!"
Starting, she turned to see the other of the two blonds from yesterday waving at her, his big smile turning shy as their eyes met. Sparing a quick glance to the adults he was with, he hurried over, green eyes bright and full of curiosity.
Marinette gave him a poised smile, feeling Fang curl around her feet, observing the approaching boy.
"Hey you remem-" he started, but she quickly cut, her smile teasing.
"One of the two intruders from yesterday," she confirmed with a light tease.
He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away. "Yeah, sorry about that. Um, that, that wasn't supposed to happen. I mean, yeah, uh. Sorry," he said sheepishly.
She cracked a smile, reassuring, "It's ok. Believe me, we've dealt with worse."
There's one fan in particular she could think of.
She hoped he didn't follow them all the way to Paris.
"Anyway! Uh, hi! I'm Adrien! Adrien Agreste! It's very nice to meet you Marinette! I'm, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say that yesterday, I should've, and, well I'm sorry for freaking about-" he babbled, running his hand through his hair absently, then brought it down to rub his neck while he looked away, a light blush on his cheeks.
Marinette giggled. "It's alright," she eased once more, "you didn't know. Thank you for worrying for me."
His smile was shy and appreciative.
It was a nice smile.
Agreste.
The name was familiar...
"You're related to Gabriel Agreste?" she asked.
Shifting uncomfortably, he confirmed, "Yeah, I'm his son."
"Ah, cool."
And it was. The Agreste fashion line she greatly enjoyed. Gabriel Agreste had amazing taste, class, and sense of style. Her admiration was cut short when the blond visibly drooped across from her.
"Yeah..." he awkwardly agreed.
They stood there for a minute, Marinette eyeing him expectantly while Adrien looked away, tugging at his hair awkwardly. Fang snorted, itching to move and drawing Adrien's attention to the croc. Adrien joked, "Taking him for a walk?"
"I am." Looking down at the croc, she confirmed, "Uncle Jag's going to be a bit too busy here to take him out, so... Yeah."
"Oh. Cool! What's it like walking a crocodile?"
"Like walking a dog?"
"Cool!"
Well, Marinette decided, this had to be one of the most awkward conversations she's ever had. The two stood together in silence once more, Marinette glancing over to the school while Adrien scrambled for a conversation topic. Clearing her throat and straightening, she pressed, "Was there something you wanted?"
Jumping, he stuttered, "Just, uh, wanted to say hi! See how you were doing, see if you settled in well, and uh, apologize, for yesterday. We really shouldn't have..." Thankfully they didn't get in too much trouble. And his dad didn't hear about it. And the punishment wasn't too bad, despite what Chloe thought.
She couldn't go shopping for a week and Adrien wasn't allowed to be in the hotel for that same week. Which was fine with him. Though what else he'd do with his free time, he didn't know. His green eyes slid up to Marinette, a little hopeful that he'd have another comrade to keep him company.
"We settled in fine," Marinette reassured, "and apology accepted. Just don't do it again." Fang started to chew on her pant leg. "Anyway, we should probably go. Good luck with your shoot." Fang released her, wiggling happily, they were finally going again!
"Wait!" Adrien cried, reaching for her, though careful not to actually grab her. "Where you going?"
Marinette eyed him for a minute before answering, "To take a look at a bakery."
"Oh cool! Could I-"
"You know," Marinette cuts in, stopping for a moment as she turned to him. Fang rumbled in annoyance. "Getting friendly with me isn't going to get you close to Jagged Stone."
Adrien gaped at her. "What? I, I wasn't-"
She raised a dark brow. "Uh huh. I've already gone through this. I don't want to do it again." As if to back up her words, Fang clacked his jaws and snorted with a big shake of head. "Nice meeting you, but, sorry." She quickly left, not looking back at the sad blond staring after her.
...He could get where she's coming from.
He's met a few other kids that were friendly only because they wanted to get close to him for his wealth, his father, or to Chloe. He knows it pretty well, so he can relate to her wanting space, to thinking that his reasons for talking with her were selfish. That it was just for Jagged Stone alone.
Didn't make it hurt less.
Narrowing his eyes, he glanced back, seeing that the crew were still distracted. Taking his chance, he raced after her before anyone noticed and could stop him.
He surprised her as he came up beside her, flashing her a big smile. "So what bakery we going too?" he asked, "What sweets you going to get? Me, I, I don't know what to get. Only sweets I know are chocolate chip cookies. But I don't have those too often. Like once a month I can have one cookie. You have any suggestions fo-"
"What are you doing?" she asked, openly gaping at him.
Blinking, he said, "I'd like to go to the bakery too! I'm hungry!"
"But I said-"
"I know," he reassured, rubbing the back of his neck warily, "I, I won't deny that getting to know Jagged Stone would be cool, but I'm fine if it's just you. You're his niece! That's so cool! Jagged Stone's niece! I'm walking right next to Jagged Stone's niece!" Fang snorted, taking a snap at Adrien's pant leg. The blond quickly added, "And pet crocodile!" Fang rumbled, pleased.
Eyeing him oddly, she cracked a disbelieving, wary smile before deciding to just roll with it. "It's not open yet," she told him, stopping as they came to the sidewalk, framing the park. Checking her cell, she looked up and down the street till she saw what she was looking for. "My grandparents passed away a few months ago and left the bakery for my Papa. I'm here to check it out, and practice my French before we officially move here in a week or two."
"You need to practice?" he said, skeptical. "You sound pretty good to me." He lived here. He should know.
"Thank you, that's very good to know."
She stopped, staring up at a three story building. Looking inside, she could the shop station at the bottom, just waiting to be opened once more. Looking across the street, she did a happy wiggle to see that their home was right across the Notre Dame. How cool was that? This place was looking better and better!
Adrien grinned. "This is where you're going to live?"
"Yep."
"You're not too far away from me! I'm just, like, around the block."
"Really?" she asked, surprised. Well, that'd be one face in this area she'd know. He seemed pretty cool so far, if he did keep to his claim. Peeking back into the window, she looked over everything critically. "Everything looks to be in order," she murmured, squinting. Adrien joined her, peeking in as well. He didn't see anything that looked out of place. Well expect for it being open. If she deemed it looked good, probably was good.
And ready to be reopened.
Fang rumbled below, starting to chew on her pant leg again.
"Alright, alright," she grumbled, tugging her leg free as she lightly glared down at the impatient croc. Turning to Adrien, she asked, "You said you were hungry?"
Beaming, Adrien reassured, "I know just the place!"
Marinette hummed happily as she sucked on a spoonful of strawberry ice cream. Adrien was far more vocal beside her, rolling the chocolate around in his mouth. At their feet Fang laid out, happily munching on the jerky she bought for him. It was a nice little ice cream parlor across the street, not too far from the park or her home, and helpfully located near a grocery store.
They really were getting a good spot here.
"This is good," she sighed, slumping back on the bench, propping her feet up on the croc.
"It's one of my favorite ice cream shops," Adrien told her, "if I can, I'll sneak over here and enjoy a small cup."
"You ever get caught?" Marinette asked.
He casts her a Chesire grin. "Only once," he practically purred out. "Haven't been caught since."
Marinette shared his coy smile. "Every now and then, I grab Uncle Jag's guitar and strum it. I haven't been caught yet, though I wouldn't be surprised if he knows."
Adrien perked beside her, eagerly asking, "You play guitar?"
"Oh," sheepishly she tugged at her hair, admitting, "I, I can play a song or two. And a few beats. But I can't play for very long. I got soft fingers. Plucking those strings hurt after a while. And I don't have enough patience for instruments in general. I can kinda read a music sheet..." She pursed her lips, pouting. Turning to him, she asked, "What about you? You play anything?"
"I play piano!" he shared, "But I would rather have learned guitar instead."
"I like piano," she eased, "Uncle Jag plays it sometimes and I listen while working. It's always soothing."
Adrien shyly offered, "I could play for you sometime?"
Marinette smiled. "I would like that."
He returned it, cheeks colored, and making a mental note to get more practice in. "So," he started once more, "you work?"
"Mmhmm," she took another bite of ice cream, humming happily around the flavor. Licking her lips, she continued, "It's part the reason I'm here earlier than my parents. Why I joined Jagged Stone here. I've designed about a quarters of his albums covers and clothes. I'm here to get more experience in."
Adrien gaped at her, and Marinette blinked at the wonder and awe in his eyes. "Adrien?" she asked.
"Yo-you means I've, I've been sitting next to Jagged Stone's album cover artist?! And designer?! And niece?!"
"Yeah?"
"Woah," he breathed out. Then he perked up, immediately asking, "What covers did you design? What clothes? Can I see them? The concepts? If, if you still have them that is-"
"Sure," she agreed, chuckling. "I don't throw away sketchbooks, or any design I drew really. Every idea I have I hold onto, maybe I could make it better later if I'm low on inspiration. So yeah, I should have the concepts, and yes, I can show them to you." It'd take a bit of hunting, but she was due to look at her older ideas anyway.
Adrien tried hard not the squeal beside her, trembling in his seat.
This was so awesome.
He could not believe his luck.
How awesome was this?!
"Where is that boy?!"
They both jumped at the shout, looking to the park to seeing Adrien's photographer was prowling around, a slight scowl on his face. "Oops," Adrien voiced, not looking as he tossed his ice cream cup away, easily making it into the trash and completely missing Marinette's awed gape. "Guess my time is up," flashing her a hopeful smile, he shyly asked, "see you again sometime?"
Returning it, she eased, "I can foresee that."
"Great! I'll see you again Marinette!"
He rushed off to the join the crew, ready to finish that shoot.
Marinette got up, taking a gander at the trashcan herself, pouting when her now empty cup just bounced off the rim. "Shoot," she grumbled, picking it up and dropping it in. Turning to Fang, she asked, "Ready to head back?"
He clacked his jaws in confirmation.