this is definitely not lilanette heavy. this is me beginning to develop lila and her background and other stuff. its a new character. wew. by the way i have planned out the rest of the chapters up until chapter 30
so thats nice
It wasn't often that Lila got to see any of her relatives. She didn't even know how many cousins she had.
But here she was, Sunday morning, in the backseat of her parents' car as they made their way to a relative she had seen only a couple of times in her life (and that was as a child). Lila's grandmother Silvia had recently moved from Italy to France (only a couple of weeks before Lila had arrived) and would be staying here for the rest of her life, unlike Lila and her family. Lila wasn't sure what to expect; her memories of this person were blurry and vague. The only other memories she had were of holiday and birthday cards with some money sent to her, signed Silvia in a dark ink. She was supposed to help unpack some boxes and stuff (although half of her own belongings were still packed away in cardboard at her own house).
"How's work?" Lila asked, remembering to be polite. She always walked on glass around her parents, trying to be respectful. It never really resulted in much, though.
"It's good. Tiring, but it's going pretty well." Lila's mom said from the driver's seat as they approached a red light. Then she looked in the rearview mirror, making eye contact with Lila. "Are you sure you're okay travelling around with us?" She asked. This was actually a question that came around often. But Lila always replied in the same way.
"I'm the one that asked to come along." Lila answered. Because that was true. What kind of daughter would she be if she backed out now? Besides, she didn't really want to go back to Italy.
"That's right. And If Lila wants to stop travelling, she'll tell us." Her father cut in, as he always did. Lila's mother made a weird expression in the mirror.
"I'm sorry we can't spend much time with you." She finally said as the light turned green. "Are you sure you don't mind?" Another question that was asked frequently, but without much emotion behind it. Lila wondered if it was just so her mother felt less guilt.
"I'm sure." Lila replied, but she said it with conflicting feelings inside of her. On one hand, she did want to spend more time with her family, and she wanted her parents to pay more attention to her. On the other, it would be weird, because she never really had much of their attention before and they probably didn't even know Lila that well. And she didn't want to get in the way of their jobs, especially after she had been the one to make her parents take her along. Before she started travelling, anything she had done to get her parents' attention normally went unnoticed or punished, because they were too busy or she would lie poorly. But most of the time, she was stuck at boarding school, and her parents were out doing whatever it is diplomats do.
And she had changed that now. But even though she had flown across skies and had touched new places, she still felt like she couldn't even touch her parents.
"Your grandmother can drive you home later." Her mom said as they slowed to a stop in front of an intimidating building of art deco architecture. "Remember, apartment 9C3."
Lila got out of the car and waved goodbye, watching as the vehicle drove off and turned around a corner in the distance. She wasn't really looking forward to unpacking a bunch of old boxes, and she was kind of worried that the woman would be cranky. Too bad for her, though.
There was nowhere else to go.
Lila pushed her way through the spinning doors and walked across the tiled lobby floor to the elevator. It was a fairly nice-looking place, with clean walls and a modern decor. And then she was rising up, moving past floors until the elevator slowed down smoothly at the ninth floor. The doors slid open with a quiet ding, and then she was alone in the floor center. From here she could see three different hallways branching out, and she headed towards the one labeled with a large C. But she didn't even have to look for the specific room because when she looked up, she saw a figure standing partway down the hall. An elderly, thin woman with very short silvery hair was looking at her. She held herself with confidence and with a straight back. She wore rectangular glasses, a buttoned mint cardigan and black pants. Her brown skin was lined with wrinkles, but Lila was suddenly jarred when the laugh lines surrounding the woman's mouth deepened and the bright green eyes crinkled.
She was smiling at Lila. It was a genuine smile that reached up to the woman's eyes and transformed her face into a beautiful expression of joy.
"You must be Lila!" The woman said with a voice full of kindness. Suddenly Lila was reminded of Marinette's parents. Warm, friendly, and brimming with affection. Like Silvia.
"Grandma Silvia?" Lila said quietly as she approached, not quite able to grasp the fact that someone was this happy to see her. She was kind of skeptical, to be honest. Especially because this was the woman who apparently birthed her dad, who was about as affectionate as steel wool.
And then Silvia was sweeping Lila up into a tight hug, leaving Lila speechless. The woman smelled of citrus fruits and flowers, and the cardigan was soft on Lila's chin. Lila suddenly felt a sensation of comfort wash over her. A kind of comfort she had only felt around Marinette's parents.
"Oh, I haven't seen you in so long!" Her grandmother was saying, and Lila slowly put her own arms around her, somewhat willing to accept the physical touch. And then Silvia was backing away and had only her warm hands planted solidly on Lila's shoulders. "Your dad never tells me when I can come visit, it's absolutely ridiculous. It's thanks to your mother that I knew you came to Paris. I'm so glad I can finally see you again. Please, come in."
With that, Lila stepped into the apartment, reeling from the sheer sincerity of the greeting she had just received. And as she moved to take her off her heeled boots, she realized that she felt more at home with Silvia than she ever had around the people who had brought her into this world in the first place.
As Lila swept her eyes around the beautiful apartment, she remembered her main objective and she looked around the rooms to count the boxes. She could see none amongst the clean furniture and light wood floor.
"I thought I was going to help you unpack?" Lila asked as she turned to watch Silvia close the apartment door.
"That comes later. I only have a couple of boxes in other rooms. But now, how would you like some tea?" Silvia offered as she lead Lila to a green sofa with yellow and white cushions. There was a large television screen mounted up on the wall across from her, and a rectangular white coffee table directly in front of her knees. The room seemed to be loosely based off a scheme of white and brown with splashes of green and its analogous colors. In contrast to the modern design of the area, there were also several clay flowerpots with bright leafy plants placed around the room. It was a lot more eye-catching and lively than the muted hues of her own house. It kind of reminded her of the pink that was present in every room of Marinette's bakery.
"Yes, please." Lila answered quietly. She kept her eyes on Silvia as she went through a doorway to a sleek kitchen that was similarly colored. It was a very beautiful apartment, even if Lila felt a bit out of place in her bright orange and black outfit.
She didn't know what to think. Silvia had been everything but what she expected. The lady seemed strong, capable, and immeasurably warm. And she seemed to welcome Lila with open arms.
"Do you like earl gray?" Silvia's voice came from the kitchen.
"Yes." Lila called back, and then she sank down into the cushions. The sofa was so soft and she felt at ease. Despite the surprise she had felt when Silvia's arms had wrapped around her, all she could really conclude was that she really liked her. Several minutes passed where Lila was simply content to relax where she was, and then she heard Silvia's footsteps again. When she looked up, her grandmother held two cups, each giving off slight steam. Silvia placed them down on white coasters on the table, and slid one towards Lila before sitting down on an armchair at another side of the coffee table. Even if Lila had appreciated the hug from earlier, she was also glad to have some space. She reached over and took the handle of one of the white cups and sipped at the hot liquid. And then she was surprised again, because it was exactly how she always liked her tea.
Silvia oriented herself so that she was facing Lila and put one leg over the other.
"We've definitely got to make up for a lot of missed time." She said, smiling. "Talk to me."
And Lila talked.
When Marinette woke up late in the morning, she was greeted with a couple of texts on her phone from Lila, which were said to have been sent several hours ago.
Lila: good morning
Marinette smiled sleepily as she pulled herself up a sitting position.
Lila: im going 2 meet my grandma for the 1st time in ages
Her grandmother? Marinette wondered what she was like.
Mari: :o nice! and good morning to u too c:
She texted back. But unfortunately for her, there was no fun to be had in meeting relatives. Marinette turned her head to look at the deadly mountain of paper on her desk, and sighed.
"I have a girlfriend, too." Lila said, looking down at the cup in her hands.
"Really?" Silvia asked, "tell me about her!" She said, clearly interested in the subject, just as she had been during their entire conversation. After years or never having anyone to just talk to about her life or whatever, Lila had built up quite a hoard of words. And now, here before her grandma, she was letting them go. She had Silvia's undivided attention as she talked about her new school, her new friends, her new life. It made her feel nice. Appreciated. Important. That someone was so focused on her.
"Her name is Marinette," Lila began, looking back up at Silvia. "She was one of my first friends here."
Silvia made a noise of approval at that. "How did that happen?" She asked.
"Just, on the second day of me being here, she came up to me and said she wanted to be friends." Lila told her, smiling at the memory, even if it had come accompanied with confusion and fear over Ladybug. "We got closer over the next few days."
"How so?" Silvia inquired.
"Well, you know how there are all those supervillains and such here, right?" Lila asked.
"Oh, of course." Silvia nodded.
"Well," Lila laughed nervously, "I was one of them."
"The fox one, right?" Silvia said, thoughtfulness in her voice. "She looked just like you!"
"Yes." Lila admitted, blushing a bit. "It's kind of weird, but it seems like a man called Hawkmoth can turn you into a supervillain with black butterflies you feel negative emotions."
"Oh, yes! And Ladybug and Chat Noir help save you, right?" Silvia said knowingly. She probably read the Ladyblog.
"Correct. But for me, I was Volpina twice." Lila confessed. It normally wasn't an easy topic for her to breach, but she felt like if she told Silvia, there would be no ridicule or embarrassment involved. And she was right. "The second time around, um, I felt bad because I thought she didn't like me."
Lila looked up to meet Silvia's gaze. Her grandmother said nothing, only urged her along with wide eyes full of expectation.
"Y-you know how Ladybug always finds the object that the butterfly infected?" Lila continued, feeling blood begin its rush to her face. Because now she was going to admit that something as corny as love saving the day actually happened.
Silvia nodded, leaning forward to show how engaged she was in the story.
"Marinette talked to me before Ladybug showed up. And-" She cut herself off, growing more embarrassed by the second. Everytime she thought about what happened between her and Marinette, she was overcome with the urge to frolic about. Then she swallowed and continued. "Well, she kissed me while I was Volpina. And it only took that for the butterfly to leave." She finished, and was fairly red as she finally closed her mouth.
Silvia leaned back into her chair, with a mix of awe and satisfaction on her face.
"Wow." She finally said. But she didn't make fun of Lila, or laugh, or anything that made Lila regret telling her. Being able to talk about so casually (even while concealing an important piece of information) was refreshing. Lila couldn't imagine even breathing a word of it to her parents. But around Silvia, she felt like she could talk about anything.
Lila had never had that before.
And when Lila folded down the last cardboard box, laughing at a joke that Silvia had told with a mischievous smile, she'd realized that the sun had already dipped below the horizon a long time ago.