Adrien deserves a chapter, we don't have enough of him rn. The hope is to get this chapter out on October 19th because, in my head, that's Adrien's birthday.
Slipping through the wrought iron gate that separated the Agreste property from the rest of Lillac was a familiar task, one Adrien had performed on almost a nightly basis for the past five years. Though it was notably more difficult in broad daylight, a promise to be in town today kept him from thinking too hard about it.
Besides, the air was so much fresher outside those tall brick walls.
The market he was heading to could hardly be considered far from the mansion-prison-house-thing he lived in, making the very prospect of an outing exhilaratingly dangerous.
Keeping his head low, he followed the twisting paths of the neighborhood as they led him slowly towards the deficient parts of the city. Mansions turned to townhomes turned to shops turned to the bustling marketplace. A smile crept onto his face, somewhere between mischief and relief with a hint of adoration. Here was somewhere so much less suffocating than the mansion.
Weaving through the stalls of essentials and luxuries, he made his way towards a small backstreet he knew would lead him to that marvelous soul who eagerly awaited him. And waiting she was, sitting on top an old trash bin, legs crossed and arms folded and looking every bit the older sister she was.
Just not to him.
"Hello, Izzy. Fancy meeting you here."
Those harsh blue eyes attempted to cut through him, as though he'd never been stared down by ice before.
"You know, it's not very ladylike to sit like that. You're only supposed to cross your ankles."
"You foul chicken, you're lucky I like you," she scoffed as she sprung off the bin and landed in front of him.
"Ready for an adventure?"
The attempted contempt in her eyes was quickly replaced by a very dangerous look he knew far too well.
A smirk, a mocking bow, and a "lead the way" later and the two were off, the marketplace theirs for the taking.
~ MLB ~
Wandering the marketplace with Izzy was a bit like herding chickens into a henhouse. It's just how it is. She's scattered and topics switched from one thing to another, each new booth offering a new subject of conversation, and Adrien knew he was never going to tire of moving. Of doing more than sitting in a silent bedroom with Plagg and his thoughts the only distraction from the bleakness of the house. He'd never thought he'd be grateful for Plagg's unconditional love for cheese, but at least that was more fascinating than just staring at the ceiling.
He tuned back into what the blonde dragging him through the marketplace was saying, shaking himself away from the mansion he'd abandoned this morning.
"Once she's feeling better, Momma was saying that she'd make me a new dress for my birthday! And she'll let me choose the color too! I was thinking blue, but blue's expensive. What do you think, Adrien?"
He grinned, "I think you'd look lovely in blue. It'd help bring out your eyes. How is your mother recently?"
Izzy almost literally lit up.
"She's much better! Thank you for helping. Skylar didn't think you would, but I told him you always keep your promises and I was right. Now, what color dress do you think I should ask for?"
Adrien raised an eyebrow, teasing, "You said you wanted blue, didn't you?"
Izzy stared at him for a second. Blinking, she replied, "Well, yes. But I also mentioned it was expensive. Weren't you listening?"
A mischievous smile crept onto his and he watched the young girl's expression darken to a glare.
"You are not allowed to buy it for me. You've done enough recently."
His smirk widened.
"What if I make it your birthday gift? What will you do then, Isabel?"
She tried to hide her smile, glancing away at the cloth.
"You are a foul chicken, you know that? However, I cannot argue with a birthday gift. If you insist."
He laughed as he gestured for her to take her pick, watching as she studied each one for all the things one would need to check when it came to clothing. Finally, she made her choice, he made his purchase and was then unceremoniously dragged off yet again.
He could have sworn he heard someone behind them, but Izzy was far too impatient to find out. Not when there was fabric to get home and brothers to drag off to the next part of their grand plans and a mother to check on.
They entered her small, practically nonexistent backyard, Izzy immediately going off to harass her brother. Adrien hung back, silently wishing for just a moment he'd had siblings.
Scarlett emerged from the house, moving towards her children with sparkling eyes. Her fingers ran through Izzy's hair and Adrien could just make out snippets of the conversation.
"...too late…suppertime…don't bother anyone too much…say hi to…"
Then her eyes wandered to him and she smiled. It was a motherly smile, one he only received from her nowadays. He moved towards her, slipping an arm around her waist after noticing the slight sway in her stance.
A soft smile gracing his lips, he led Scarlett back towards the house with the excuse of "we should get our new possessions inside anyway."
Placing Izzy's new items on their small dining table, he accepted the slice of fresh bread offered to him and barely had time to enjoy it before Skylar was out the door again. Adrien followed him, calling back to Isabel, "take too long admiring fabric and we're leaving you!"
He barely beat her out the door.
And because she was in charge this morning, she grabbed the boys' hands and dragged them away, humming loudly to herself. Once again, Adrien got the sense they were being followed, but once again, Izzy was too into what came next to worry about what was happening now.
Keeping up with her was hard even with her dragging them behind her, but they soon came upon their destination, a small park. Located just at the south end of the market, it was designed as a place for children to stay while their parents shopped.
And Adrien should have expected the onslaught of those very children turning him into playground equipment. That didn't stop a wild grin from forming on his face as he tried to focus on anything any of them were saying.
"It's been forever!"
"I thought you weren't coming back!'
"Adrien!"
"About time!"
"Yay!"
Isabel was sitting beside Skylar the grass a couple feet away, smirking at the madness. Her expression only got more devious with the helpless look Adrien sent her a minute later, a clear sign of distress.
Finally, Skylar got sick of it and stood up. By some unspoken code, every other child peeled away from him and assembled themselves into a line, in age order.
It was now Isabel decided to rise, her voice full of authority as she yelled, "Roll call!"
He didn't manage to hold back his sigh as Adrien moved to the end of the line. He was the oldest after all.
"Begin!"
"Adrien Agreste, age seventeen!"
"Isabel Amore, age twelve!"
"Robert Nelson, age twelve!"
"Charles Brooke, age ten!"
"Skylar Amore, age seven!"
"Crystal Bluewood, age six, and Rylie Bluewood, age three!"
Isabel surveyed the group with a motherly sense of pride. Her blue eyes landed on Adrien again and she grinned wickedly.
"Good to have you back, Agent Emerald."
Adrien nodded, fighting a grin off his face.
"Alright, my lovely coven, now that our final gem has returned, we can begin the ceremony."
I've joined a cult. It was the same thought that always entered his mind when at these so-called 'coven meetings.'
"For this meeting, we shall be inquiring of Agent Emerald of his previous whereabouts. Agent Emerald, care to share?"
The sound of a carriage interrupted them before he could even start to answer and sent people scrambling out of the way.
Adrien found himself subconsciously fixing his posture and wiping expression from his features.
The door to the carriage swung open, his father stepping out just enough to make eye contact with him. Words were not spoken, sound itself seemed to be holding its breath before Adrien's eyes dropped and he moved to join his father.
The ride home was as silent as meetings with his father ever were, tense and frightening. He almost wished he was being lectured. Surely that was better than never knowing what thoughts were tumbling through the mind of his father.
After that, he was banished to his room again, this time with the door locked.
DID I ACTUALLY GET A CHAPTER OUT BEFORE I PLANNED?! OHMYLANTA
Adrien is the hardest character to write, official. How he acts in my head is not how he acts in canon and that makes him so difficult to get right my goodness. I tried. I tried. That's the best I got.
Also, if anyone sees any typos, please point them out to me, I have no beta readers. #imalonelyauthorplsdonthurtme
Anyway, happy October y'all! The best month of the year has arrived! (Tied with April, I can't decide between the two)