Adrien can't stop staring at the buildings of the city approaching. Tall, beautiful, diverse, chaotic. A new world. Quietly a rock song is played through the speakers of the car, played by Nathalie at one point in the drive. According to her, it's a famous rocker named Jagged Stone. It's new to Adrien, yet he loves it already.
A book sits on the seat beside him. He had just put it down when the city came into view.
Wow.
They enter the city, and Adrien leans close to the window, peering at the sights around him. Terrifying. No... excellerating.
He hasn't seen his mother in forever. What will she be like now? Will she except him again as her son? Will they be closer than dad and him? Terrifying? Yes.
The eiffel tower looms over the city like an invincible king. Adrien's seen it a few times before on his visits with his mom and on the occasional field trip their class would take. Although that only happened once, it cost too much just for the drive.
"Your mother is quite excited to see you," Nathalie says. It's one of the only things she has said to him the entire three hour drive.
"I'm excited to see her too," he says. Is he? Or just the idea of what she once was?
"The school set up for you is also going to be a perfect fit," she says. Adrien swallows a lump of fear down his throat. He really hopes the school isn't the downfall of all of this.
"I have a question for you Nathalie. What are you exactly, to my mom?" It isn't until after he asks the question that he realizes it may come across as rude. Nathalie laughs. Coming from her it sounds unnatural and strange.
"Assistant, agent, friend. You will be seeing a lot of me," she says.
"Oh," Adrien says. Suddenly the car slows, and Adrien tenses in his seat. They pull up to a smaller building with white paneling and blue rimmed windows and door. In one of the larger windows near the door he can see someone pulling aside a curtain to look outside.
He can only see their silhouette, but he can tell straight away by the pony tail and slim jaw that it's his mother.
"Welcome home," Nathalie says from the driver seat. But no, this doesn't feel like home so far to Adrien. He thinks of the farm when he hears the word, but not his father. The farm.
As soon as Nathalie clicks the gear of the car into park, Adrien unclicks his seatbelt and crawls out of the car door. A breeze hits him immediately, along with the smell of pavement and the distant smell of baking.
Adrien pulls his suitcase out from the back seat then he shoves the door of the car to close it, and it shuts with a slam. Adrien notices too late that Nathalie is staring straight at him, half out of the car with wide eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to slam it so hard," he says with a blush. Adrien is still far to used to the poor quality of his father's old truck.
"Just not so... slammy next time," she says. Adrien nods.
They begin to walk toward the front door, and Adrien carries his suitcase in one hand. His heart beats loudly against his chest in nerves, and the skin on his palms begin to grow sweaty. Just a few more steps to the door. Now only a couple. One more.
The door opens without neither Nathalie or Adrien touching it, and on the other side greets a woman.
She's exactly how he remembers her, a long and narrow face, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, and bright green eyes. His mother was always quiet beautiful.
"Adrien," she greets, her lips pulling tight into an easy smile. He smiles back as a feeling of warmth spreads through his chest.
"Hi mom," he replies. Without hesitation he empraces her in a hug and she squeezes him back in her arms. He's the same height as her now, nearly taller.
"I've missed you loads," his mother says into his ear.
"I've missed you too." Slowly they separate, but his mom holds his elbows in her hands as she looks at his face.
Does she hear the thumping of his heart? Surely it must be loud enough by now.
"I'm sure we have much to catch up on," she says, "But how about I show you around first?" He nods, a goofy grin stuck on his lips.
"Yes, please." His mother begins to lead him around the house. The house is small, yet much roomier than the farmhouse. Each wall is painted with light pastel shades of colours, and each piece of furniture is placed in a symmetrical position. It's going to take some getting used to.
"Now the room at the end of the hallway is yours," his mother explains, "I'll let you go take a look, but if you need me I'll just be in the kitchen. You still like my stew correct?"
Adrien licks his lips, "Of course." She smiles, studying his face once again and she brings a hand up to caress the side of his face with her palm. The gesture seems so... natural.
"You have grown to be quite handsome Adrien."
"Thank you Mom," he replies. With that she turns and leaves, and Adrien is left to walk to the room that is to be his.
The wooden door opens silently, and immediately sunlight from through a window bathes him. Adrien walks through, closing the door behind him.
The room is small, yet big enough for him to fit in a few bookshelves to hold his books. A bed sits in the far corner of the room, topped with gray blankets and a few white pillows. Across from it on the other wall is a tall dresser, even though Adrien will barely be able to fit just one drawer with the amount of clothes he has. On the wall closest to him is a desk, made of a dark rich wood, multiple small drawers along its sides, and a large flat surface on its top. It's much nicer than his desk at the farm.
Someone knocks on the door, and Adrien tenses. He opens the door to see Nathalie on the other side holding a box of books with his suitcase resting on top.
"Nathalie!" He says, quickly taking the load off her straining and trembling arms. "I would've brought these to my room myself you know." He can see Nathalie nod as he set the box and suitcase down.
"Oh I was aware," she says.
"I'll take the other two boxes, okay?" Adrien says. The expression he sees on Nathalie almost appears to be a scowl. Is he not suppose to carry his own things? He does not like the idea of all his books being dealt with by another person.
"I suppose," Nathalie says, before she turns to walk away. "When your done come to the kitchen because supper will be ready." Adrien watches her turn around the corner at the end of the hall before beginning to walk back to the front door. He doesn't pass by anyone as reaches the door and walks back outside.
Jogging down to the car, Adrien again notices a faint lingering smell of baking in the air. It would be nice if a bakery was nearby. He always seemed to have a hankering for croissants regardless of how rarely he ever got to eat them.
The sun hangs low on the horizon now, casting a dark haze over the tops of the buildings. Every colour that paints them appears more vibrant under the low light.
Just as Adrien puts a hand on either side of a box of books, a certain light catches his attention. One of the windows on the top floors of a building just a couple houses away is lit from the inside.
He never noticed the building driving in, and the large sign above the series of doors. A bakery, and a popular one it seems.
Although it's still the image through the lit window that he notices. A girl sits at a desk, dark hair falling to her shoulders. A lamp beside her illuminates her face, emphasizing her large eyes. She looks to possibly be his age.
She could be his friend.
"Adrien!" a voice calls out. Adrien's head turns sharply toward the front door of the house, where Nathalie sticks her head through the opening of the door. "We are waiting for you to have supper."
"Sorry! I'll be quick," he says. As promised, Adrien hurries to move the two boxes to his room. Right before he leaves with the last box his eyes drift to the girl in the window once again. To his disappointment, she's no longer there.
Although he has a feeling that he will see her again anyways.
After placing the box in his bedroom, Adrien enters the kitchen.
Both his mother and Nathalie sit at the table, talking in lowered voices about film times and a certain role which his mother was unhappy who was cast as. Bowls of steaming stew sit in front of them. There's a bowl sitting in front of a chair for him, yet he still hesitates to sit.
It feels like forever since he has had a proper meal with other people. He so used to being... alone.
As soon as his mother's eyes lock on Adrien, he moves to sit down. The stew smells delicious, exactly like it used to. Why does that seem like so long ago?
Because it was.
"So we have it set up that you will be starting school tomorrow. Is that okay with you?" his mom asks. The notion startles him. It's all happening so quickly. First he had a nights notice that he was moving, now he again only has so little time to digest the fact that he is starting a big city school tomorrow.
"I uh, I guess," he replies. Slowly he begins to pick up the fork beside the bowl and he stabs a piece of beef. He shoves the piece into his mouth, not caring about the gravy that accidently drips down his chin. As he chews, already stabbing a cooked carrot, he wipes his mouth hastily with the back of his wrist. Just as he is about to eat the piece of cooked carrot, he looks up to see both Nathalie and his mom looking at him. Nathalie stares with a raised eyebrow and a parted mouth, for his mother just scowls.
"Adrien I will not put up with the lack of manners you have taken on by your father. Here you will eat much more civilized and clean than... than that," she demands, frowning.
Adrien swallows down the beef in his mouth and he averts his gaze to his bowl.
"Sorry," he murmurs. He doesn't mention how his dad would scold him on manners too, or how he is so used to not caring about manners because he is so accustomed to eating alone. There's a pit deep in his gut to tell his mother all of this, but it doesn't seem right. Regardless if it should.
Already his mother went back to eating her own meal, and Adrien eats his with more consciousness on how he puts the food in his mouth.
"Say, do you know that I have a role in a movie?" he mother asks.
"No, I didn't know that. For how long?" Adrien asks.
"Well, filming started a week ago. So I'll be gone for most of the days after and during school," he mother explains, "It's quite a nice story. A tragedy and romance. Although I merely play the best friend to the main character."
"That's really amazing. I'm happy for you," Adrien says. His mother smiles, averting her gaze. It warms him when he realizes how proud she is of it.
They talk more about the movie and she explains to him the plot and the journey of her character. Adrien listens intently, making an effort to make his interest obvious. He can tell how much his reaction induces her pride.
When the topic finally dies off, Adrien's bowl is empty. He's just about to stand up to put it in the dishwasher when he stops himself.
"Uh mom, is that a bakery just a couple houses down?" he asks.
"Oh not just any bakery. It's Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, nerely the most loved and popular bakery in Paris!" she explains, "I don't go there often, but when I have, the goods tasted absolutely amazing. I would offer to take you now, but I'm sure they are closed for the evening."
"So it's a family business?" he asks.
"Yes, it is. I believe the couple has a daughter?" his mother says the last fact as she looks to Nathalie.
"Marinette, she is Adrien's age," Nathalie justifies. Marinette. Adrien plays with the name in his head, imagining what it would feel like to say the word or to see it written on paper.
"She might even go to school at the same place you will be," his mom says. Adrien's heartbeat quickens. What if she doesn't like him? What if she's not even a nice person?
"Will I be walking to school in the morning?" he asks.
"Yes, but don't worry I'll have Nathalie give you the directions in the morning," she says, "I'll be gone for work by that time I believe."
What if she's walking to the same school at the same time?
"You should go unpack sweety, me and Nathalie will take care of the dishes." Adrien nods as he rises from his chair.
"okay," he says, "I guess I'll just be in... my room." Already he has turned away and begun walking away from the table.
Tomorrow couldn't come quick enough, and something tells him it's going to feel like a long night.