Career day had arrived and Lucy sat somewhat anxiously in her seat as class began. Only a few parents had signed up to be a part of career day, and Lucy's mother had been one. She had told Lucy she would try an make it after her early morning class, but looking at the time on her phone, Lucy was afraid it might not happen. As of the past few weeks, Monica and Lucy had seen very little of one another. Her mother took her fathers departure with a heavy heart and seemed to be throwing herself into work to distract herself. Lucy was a supportive daughter. She understood that everyone had their own way of dealing with grief. Much like her mother, Lucy dealt with it by not dealing with it. Her mother kept busy with work and Lucy kept busy with school, and her friends. It was just easier not to think about it. That of course didn't mean Lucy didn't get a little lonely when she got home and her mother wasn't there, or if she was there but had already gone to bed. Career day was just a stupid excuse for them to be in the same room together. As Marinette and her father made their way to the front of the room, Lucy watched Adrien slip out of the class. It looked like she wasn't the only one hoping for a distant parent to arrive.
Adrien sighed as he ended his voice mail to his father. He really had hoped his father would have made the time to stop by. He supposed he wasn't surprised by this outcome but that didn't stop him from being disappointed. His attention was brought to a blonde woman in a blue sweater and black pencil skirt wondering down the hall with an unsure expression on her face. As soon as their eyes met Adrien knew exactly who she was. She was Lucy's mother. She smiled at him and made her way to his location.
"Adrien." She said making the boy look at her surprised. This was their first time meeting after all. Seeing his confusion the woman quickly apologized.
"Lucy has mentioned you before, and I've seen pictures of you. I'm Monica, Lucy's mother."
Adrien gave her a friendly smile and help out his hand which the woman politely took.
"It's nice to meet you Ms. Are you here for career day?"
"Please, call me Monica. And yes." She frowned a little looking in the window seeing the glum expression on Lucy's face. It was apparent her daughter had expected she wouldn't make it.
"Lucy and I haven't seen much of each other since..."
"Right." Adrien said. "I'm sorry for your loss, by the way." Monica gave him a sad smile before looking back through the window.
"Thank you. Anyway, I have been kind of throwing myself into work lately and now its like my daughter and I are just two ships passing in the night. That's why I felt compelled to make it to this thing. I knew it would mean a lot to her. I hate disappointing her." Monica looked at Adrien as he placed a hand on her arm with a warm smile.
"I'm sure she understands. Plus, you are making the effort to rectify it and I am positive she will be happy to see you." His smile faltered slightly causing Monica to tilt her head.
"Parent couldn't make it?" She asked. Adrien shook his head no.
"My father, like you also buried himself in his work after my mom left us. Unlike you, however, he doesn't seem to care about silly things such as showing up for career day." Adrien shrugged. "It's okay though. I know he is busy."
Monica frowned and placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder. For a moment she wondered when he mentioned his mom had left, if he meant physically or spiritually but she supposed in the end it didn't matter. She also did not like how sad Adrien looked over his father not being around. She hoped Lucy did not share his pain.
"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry, but know you are welcome at our place anytime. Lucy has spoken highly of you and I trust her judgment. I'm not always there for her the way I should be, the way I want to be. I'm sure she would love the company, as will you. Don't give up on your father just yet though alright? His own pain might be over powering his ability to see yours, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care." She then hugged him and Adrien for just a second thought he might cry. He had missed mom hugs.
"We should get in there." She then said pulling away and Adrien said nothing but nodded.
Walking into the classroom, Adrien watched Lucy's face light up and for just a second he forgot it was because her mother was behind him. He wondered what it would be like for that look to actually be directed toward himself. It made him pleased to see her so happy. Unfortunately the fact that Adrien himself would not experience the same happiness that came with a busy parent finding time to come to a school function, caused sadness to course through him as he sat down next to Nino who patted his back.
Lucy scooted over some so her mother could sit next to her. The two smiled at one another as Marinette made her way up to their level with croissants.
"Mari, this is my mom Monica. Mom, this is Marinette." Lucy introduced.
"Nice to meet you Marinette." Monica greeted with a smile that Marinette returned.
"You as well! Here you go guys." Marinette said passing the mother and daughter some croissants. Alya's mom went up next and explained she was a chef but had nothing to share, but suggested the Mayor treat everyone to lunch at his hotel getting everyone excited. Next was Sabrina's father who turned out to be a police officer. Something that surprised Lucy a little given her and Sabrina's antics. Marinette was making her way down the steps when she managed to trip and spill her croissants all over the place. Chloe of course ridiculed her for it.
"Well that girls a bit of a tart, isnt she?" Monica whispered causing Lucy to chuckle quietly. It was then Chloe noticed her bracelet was missing and accused Marinette of stealing it. When Sabrina's father suggested she may have just misplaced it, Chloe called out for her father who immediately told the officer to search Marinette. He refused, telling the mayor that is was against the law to randomly search people. Outraged the mayor fired Sabrina's father who looked baffled at the entire situation. He sighed defeated and left the class.
"Hey! You can't fire him for following the law! That doesn't make any sense!" Monica stood while crossing her arms glaring at the mayor.
"On the contrary I do, and I did!" The mayor fired back.
"I hope he sues the fuck out of you!" Lucy's mother seethed.
"Who do you think you are!?"
"The woman who's about to make you cry in front of a bunch of kids, that's who I am, don't make me come down there!" She threatened. Tom, Marinettes father stood in front of his daughter protectively.
"Dont you even think about looking through my daughters bag!"
"People please calm down! Think of the children!" Ms. Bustier tried to defuse the situation.
"I'm sure it just rolled out of her bag." Marinette said, Alya agreeing, claiming if she were a bracelet she would want to get as far away from Chloe as she could too. "Nino has been recording everything. We can watch it to see what really happened." Suggested Marinette.
Watching the video didn't reveal much, in fact it seemed to make matters worse as suddenly Marinette made it seem like anyone in the room could have taken the bracelet. After arguing for several minutes everyone was interrupted by robo-cop knock off looking for the mayor. Ms. Bustier did try to protect the mayor by telling the akumatized police officer the mayor had left, but of course the man in question could then be heard shouting at the principal, causing robo-cop to go after him and the rest of the class leave to get to safety.
"Its too bad you didn't get a turn mom." Lucy said as they walked home. He mother smiled and shrugged.
"My jobs not that interesting anyway." Lucy slung her arm over her mother's shoulder. "I'll have you know I think your job is plenty interesting." Returning the gesture Monica pulled her daughter closer and kissed her head.
"That's because your boring like me."
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Lucy didn't look up from her painting when she heard the tap on her window that evening. She and her mother had spent the rest of that morning doing a bit of window shopping, only actually buying a few random things. By noon her mother had another class to get too leaving Lucy to her own devices the rest if the day. When her mother came home, Lucy had dinner waiting for her in the microwave, which she heard her heat up before retiring to her own room. Not quite tired yet, Lucy decided to pull out her paint and have at it.
"Good news, the mayor gave that cop his job back as well as gave him a promotion!" Chat Noir spoke from her window. The boy hopped in and walked over to her spot on the floor looking over her shoulder to see the painting. It was of a gold scale that weighed unevenly. The higher end was what looked like a documentation. Perhaps a diploma. On the lower end was a heart.
"True Justice." Lucy spoke as she continued painting. "Heart or mind, one always out weighs the other."
"Well I happen to be all heart!" Chat said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. He looked from the painting to Lucy. "With the way the scale is tipped, would that signify that you are too?"
Lucy stopped painting and stared at it for a moment before answering. "No, I don't think so."
Chat was not sure if he was surprised by this answer or not. On one hand, the general kind nature of Lucy made it see like she was most definitely someone who follows their heart, but at the same time, by getting to know her, Chat had learned that Lucy was a thinker above all else. Her mind seemed to be constantly going at an almost alarming pace. He knew her mind was never quiet, and he supposed it was possible that with her mind always being so loud it might sometimes be hard to hear her heart. He could only make that guess because it sometimes felt the exact opposite for him. His heart did most of the talking. It always had.
"I always believed that once you take a decision, you have to give it your all. However, by doing so you will eventually miss a piece of your heart, or should I say, you will miss a wagon of your locomotive; like a locomotive that switches tracks and heads in a new direction, taking the rest of the train, but leaving one (or five) behind, and within it, some of your behavior, actions, habits and dreams — right along with it. Well, that's what the consequences of our decisions are all about I guess. So every now and then, when I randomly think about my next step, goal or dream, I end up thinking about the old me Vs. me now."
"Not very spontaneous are you?" Chat joked. Lucy gave out a singular breathy laugh while shaking her head.
"I'm really not. I mean, I have moments like anyone, where there is no time to think, you just do, but most of the time, that simply isn't the case.
"Like when you tried to protect Chloe from the Evillustrator." Lucy nodded and shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess. There was nothing to think about there. Chloe may be...difficult to put it lightly, but I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."
"Exactly! Ladybug and I constantly throw our selves into the line of fire because there is no choice there. Like you said, you just do."
Lucy smiled softly at him but said nothing as she continued to stare at her painting in thought. Chat nudged her shoulder with his own.
"You know, it's okay your not all heart. I have enough for the both of us. It will be a team strategy from us. You be the head, I'll be the heart. Like a balloon with a tiny weight attached to it. I'll be the one who keeps things exciting for you, keeping your feet off the ground and you can be the one who holds on to me so that way I won't float away."
"Well I'd hate for you to get stuck in a tree or something." Lucy joked looking at him.
"As someone who has already had that happen to them I can confirm it really is not fun."
Her laugh rang through his ears like bells and it was such a relief to hear after seeing her look so serious when he had arrived. Lucy rested her head on his shoulder as they leaned against the foot of her bed frame and he rested his own head on top of hers. There was a comfortable silence between them. When you're comfortable with someone, you don't need to always fill the void with noise. He liked it when they would just be. Chat could hear her though. She wasn't speaking but he could hear the wheels in her head. He glanced down at Lucy as she fidgeted with her fingers as the rested on her bent knees. Picking at the skin near her nail beds. He took one of her hands in his and squeezed it.
"Your doing it again." He said and she sighed before meeting his eyes.
"I know. I can't help it."
"I know."
Alright so this is a relatively short chapter in comparison to some others but I feel the need to update regularly or else I will forget to entirely or forget the direction I am heading. I have a sorta kinda mapped out idea of how I want this story to go and end but the flow to get it there depends on the episodes. Chat/Lucy's relationship is kind of that of a slow burn. There are specific episodes that I want to deepen their relationship with but ultimately need to feed it with those episodes in between. I love hearing your thoughts and feelings and am happy that at least some people like this story. Hopefully I will get another chapter or two up this weekend. Chow for now!
