#adrien aguast

[sasuhinasno1fan]

The wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 1+2

My night was crappy but this was inspired by the stories I’ve seen where Lila wins and wishes for Adrien’s life. In those stories, their moms stay the same but this time I thought, but what if they didn’t? Apologies if the Lila salt was heavy, it was hard to make her lies be noticed now without slandering her a little. I don’t know, I just worked hard on this and wanted to make sure it was posted. The first part was pulled from Lila’s Lament by BroadwayCutie16 on AO3. @adrienaugust

Who Am I?

"I Wish to have everything Adrien Agreste has!"

And the world...

...went...

...b l a c k...

.......................

Seconds later, reality twisted and warped itself to rewrite fate itself.

To adjust the world to the Wisher's demands.

The universe, the director of the world, snapped his fingers to alter his script.

He moved actors around and rearranged their roles.

He rewound the show to the beginning.

He pressed "play".

And Lila woke up in a strange new room.

                                           _____________

“Adrien, piccolino, time to wake up. We need to meet the headmaster before I go off to work.”

Adrien groaned, rolling his face into the pillow even more, hoping to go back to sleep. He ignored the footsteps and the sound of his door opening and the sound of the lights turning on. He felt a hand ruffling his hair before hearing the sound of his blinds being pulled open. He finally pulled his head away from the pillow and blearily looked at the woman inside his room.

“Come on caro. I told you to go to sleep earlier.”

“But new episode.” He whined, sounding as exhausted as he felt.

The woman shook her head, her loose brown hair shifting on her shoulders. “I’m sure it could have waited.” She approached the bed again, running a hand through Adrien’s blonde hair. “Come on, go get showered and if we have enough time, we can go out for breakfast. I hear croissants are to die for.”

“Ok, mama.”

He watched with green eyes as she walked around the suitcases and boxes in his room, gathering her brown hair into a ponytail. He got up, stumbling himself as he reached the window and looked at the view he had of the park. It was mostly runners or a person feeding the pigeons, but it was pretty. The whole of France was from what he could see. They��d arrive pretty late the night before and had struggled to get their things upstairs as their apartment didn’t have an elevator but thankfully it was only the third floor. After things were moved in and they showered, his mom went straight to bed while he did what his mom warned him not to do and watched the newest episode of Spy X Family.

“I don’t hear movement!”

“I’m coming.”

He showered and changed, pulling on his ripped jeans and stuffing his feet in his boots. His oversized cropped sweater barely brushed the end of his jeans, allowing his formfitting tank underneath to be seen. He didn’t bother brushing his hair, ruffing his fingers through it before sticking a beanie on his head. He picked up his bag, looking at the clear front. His pins on his ita bag hadn’t moved around and the charms were mostly still in place. He looked inside at the old notebooks that had been used almost a week ago at his old school in Italy. He missed it already, only having been back for a few weeks before being sent here, but he only called it a good thing that he hadn’t made many new friends before he left. He hoped he could make friends here. According to his mom, this assignment was going to be for at least 2 years.

He met his mom in what was their attached kitchen. Like most diplomatic placings, the living area was huge, the set furniture home to a few boxes and bags. His mother was flipping through things in a small carry on, putting the documents into one of her clear folders, one Adrien had ordered from Japan as a gift for doing well on an exam he had 2 days to study for.

“The school should have most of this paperwork already, but just to be safe. Maybe we can finally move these things out of this suitcase and into a safer place. I thought you got rid of those boots.”

“I did. And I got new ones.” His mother scowled at him. “These shoes are in at least 3 different outfits.”

Getting out of the house didn’t take long but figuring out the way to school was a bit harder. They only had enough time to stop and pick up croissants before they finally pulled up to school. Another town car was pulling up and letting out a student as he and his mother got out of the car. He glanced at the girl in designer clothes heavily featuring a butterfly and long brown hair, who seemed stunned to see him.

“Oh, caro, finish that quickly so we can go meet the principal.” His mother said, wiping some of the crumbs off the side of his mouth. He noticed the girl seemed upset but she quickly covered it and stormed off. He’d seen other teens at the schools he went to do the same, unwilling to show their emotions. To be honest, he hated it. The idea of not showing who you were, letting people see you at your worst and best? Sure, there were times where it was good to hide it but forever hiding it? No thank you.

                                        ____________________

Lila watched Adrien enter the classroom behind Mml. Bustier. She couldn’t believe how the once model was dressed, in cropped shirts and boots, his bag displaying pins and charms, but it didn’t matter. She had his life and she knew how this would go.

Waking up in Adrien’s life was a surprise, but it was proof she got what she wanted. The room, the clothes, the house…the absence of the father. She still couldn’t believe how Gabriel was treating his own child. The breakfast of chicken breast and celery, the massively long schedule that was recited for her, needing to book time to see her own father? But it was fine, she’d been Gabriel’s muse before and she managed to yank him in any direction she pleased so it was only a matter of time. Her classmates were acting odd around her. Adrien used to be greeted with welcomes when he walked into the classroom, smiles and general good cheer. Her appearance hadn’t gotten that. A few replies, but most was stares that seemed to go right through her.

She was Lila Agreste. They should be rushing to greet her.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet your new classmate. Adrien, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Hi, I’m Adrien Rossi. I was born and raised in Italy but I move around a lot. Both my parents are diplomates, which makes this my third school of the year? I like anime, cosplay and hanging out with my mom. I hope we can be friends.”

The whole class kindly welcomed him, which made her clench her fists. But it was ok, she’d get her way.

“Mml. Bustier, I’d be happy to give our new student a tour.” She said, standing up.

She felt everyone staring at her, but it wasn’t the good kind that made her stand up taller. It was the same feeling she got when she thought Marinette might actually win in calling her out. But that was crazy.

Mml. Bustier didn’t seem to think so as she stared up at her, much like Mml. Mendeleiev would do to most students. “I don’t think so. Your free period is being spent with Max for studying remember? Your last quiz has your father very disappointed. Nino, would you please show him around?”

“Sure.”

Class was swiftly swept up and started and everything felt wrong. This wasn’t how people treated Adrien, so why were they treating her this way? But it was ok, if she had his life, Adrien had hers, which meant he’d lie. She could call him out and win affection. It was easy.

She had a chance when Literature ended a few minutes early and everyone swarmed Adrien, trying to get to know him.

“Have you been to really amazing places?”

“I mean, I call them amazing, but some wouldn’t think London for 2 weeks is amazing and the month in Scotland after that. But I enjoyed every minute of it.”

“What was your favourite part about it?”

“Food and cosplay locations. Some of my best pictures were in random places I found, though I do love a lot of the ones in Italy when we were back or visiting family.”

“You must have a really popular Instagram then. I mean, you must have access to meeting so many celebrities.”

“Not really. I’ve only met a few C list celebs, who came to benefits. But that was just in passing mostly. My mom doesn’t want me taking ad deals and such while I’m still in school and I agree. My life is pretty quiet, minus the moving. It’s only gotten more hectic recently but it’s never been anywhere extravagant. I guess I rubbed elbows with a few elite kids, but they didn’t want anything to do with me, so it didn’t matter.”

Wait, what? Where were the embellished tales? Talks of fabulous places to live, people who wanted to be near, perfect life?

“I’ve never seen you at a benefit. Must not be to high up on the ladder.” The words came out her mouth without thinking.

“What benefit would you have gone to? You never left your house until last year.” Alya stated, staring her down.

“My father stopped inviting yours after all those rejects.” Chloe, who was still sitting in her seat, spoke.

“Just watch, another lie for the media to rip into.” She heard Kim whisper.

Media? what did...She was in the media. A media who chased and exposed Adrien’s location. A media that posted his every word. Marinette might of used the media to try and pull apart her lies but no one higher ever called her out about it. But if she was in the media all the time like she’d be now, her every word, her every lie would be scrutinized.

“Well, your mother doesn’t love you!”

The class exploded, all yelling at her before Adrien stood up, glaring at her. He looked at her like that once, but this felt worse.

“I don’t know who the hell you are, nor do I care but watch your mouth about my mother. My mom happily spends time with me and makes sure I know how much she cares. Just because you’re so clearly starved for love, doesn’t mean you get to take it out on me. Grow the fuck up.” He turned to Nino. “Why don’t you show me around now?”

“Gladly!”

                                         ____________________

Adrien wasn’t one to just yell at a person, but this random girl told him his mother didn’t love him. Who did she think she was?

“What is her deal?”

“That was Lila Agreste.”

“Agreste? Like Gabriel Agretse, the fashion designer?”

Nino nodded. “You’ve heard about how he’s a recluse right? Well, Lila started school for the first time last year. We got pretty star struck when we met her for the first time. Should have realised something was up when Chloe, daughter of the mayor and never lets anyone forget it, didn’t like her. Lila kept telling us all these things, making all these promises to us but thing is, when we started talking about it to other people, word got around and the truth started coming out. She’s really good at lying and manipulating people. Once we realised what she does, we stopped believing what she said. Marinette, the Asian girl sitting behind you? she tried welcoming Lila, but she was just beyond help. Ignore anything she says. It’s a miracle she hasn’t been pulled from school with all the scandals she’s caused.”

“Well, she doesn’t matter. So, my mom works a lot. It sucks yeah, but she still checks in with me and I know she loves me.”

“Well, her mom did disappear 2 years ago.”

“And that’s sad, truly it is, but that doesn’t give her the right to act like that. My parents are divorced and you don’t see me attacking people with married parents.”

Adrien decided to put Lila out of his mind. She just seemed to be a spoiled rich girl and he had practise with those.

“Hey, any chance you know of the best Italian places to eat?”

“You want to Italian for lunch?” Nino asked, looking a bit confused.

“No, my mom and I have this tradition that whenever we move to a new place, we find the best Italian place. We judge it on how good the pizza and cannolis are.” Adrien said, nearly bouncing as they went down the steps.

“Well, I’m usually fine with whatever, but if you want a real expert opinion, we can ask Alya. Her mom is a chef at the most premier hotel in France. But first, the tour!”

By the time the tour was over, lunch had started so Nino dragged him to cafeteria, bringing him over to sit with Alya and Marinette. He waved to his other classmates and watched Lila storming into the cafeteria, Max following after looking annoyed and exhausted. He guessed the tutoring session didn���t go well.

“Hey Alya, does your mom have suggestions for Italian places? Adrien and his mom wanted to know.” Nino asked, while Adrien pulled his sweater off, pulling his beanie back down, seeming to not see the blush on Marinette’s face.

“I can ask her. You know, Marinette had a question about your cosplays. She’s a designer.”

“Oh really? That’s amazing. My skills are pretty basic. I’ve been tempted to do Hawks from Boku no Hero Academia, but trying to figure out how to do wings seems nearly impossible.”

“Oh, I’ve never gotten to do anything like that. But I’d be happy to help. Do you have pictures?” Marinette asked.

Adrien pulled up his cosplay Instagram, handing his phone over, not questioning when Alya switched between his food and personal Instagram as well.

“I know you say your life is pretty normal, but these look amazing.” Alya said, swiping through the pictures of food, landscapes and Adrien in both elaborate and simple costumes.

“I just look for the positives, I guess. You guys will have to show me your favourite spots.”

“How about in exchange for 3 of the best Italian places, as suggested to by my mom, you let me do an interview on my blog? It’s mostly focused on the heroes but after meeting Lila, surprisingly, I’ve realised it does a reporter good to have a broader reach.” Alya stated.

“Right, who are the heroes? My mom is here mostly because of this ‘supervillain’ that’s appeared, mostly to off assistance and advice but I’m a bit vague on the details.”

Alya brightened up, using Adrien’s phone to bring up her blog and handed it to him, leaning over the table so she could scroll for him.

“Scarlet Bug and Catseye, two themed heroes who appeared out of nowhere, just around the same time akumas did.”

“Demons?” seeing the confused look, Adrien explained, “Akuma is a Japanese spirit, also known as a demon. They show up a fair amount in anime, usually fantasy or magical.”

“I’m gonna ask you more on that later, but these akumas are purple butterflies. In fact, Ivan had been the first victim. They go for people experiencing high negative emotions. We don’t know how Hawkmoth, the guy controlling them, chooses the person, just that it can happen at any time. Scarlet Bug and Catseye showed up at the same time and where able to both defeat Ivan and help him turn back but also cleansed the akuma so it was just a normal butterfly.”

“Most of our class has been akumatized already.” Nino reminded. “we’ve been called the Miracuclass, since the items the heroes turn with is called the Miraculous. Hawkmoth wants them for some reason. That’s always what the akumas ask for when fighting them.”

“You know, Lila pretended that she knew the two of them, but they went on record saying they didn’t, saying the couldn’t been seen as familiar friends with civilians, even famous ones.”

Adrien leaned over, looking past Alya to where Lila was sitting, alone. He felt sorry for her, but seeing what she’d been doing and hearing what she’d been saying, it didn’t stay that way for long.

“Are they at least cool?”

“The coolest! I have this theory that they might be related to each other just because of how they act towards each other. Reminds me of me and my siblings.”

“Alya is still learning to not go running into fights for footage. She’s gotten scolded but has yet to listen.” Marinette said.

“Will you shush? Trust me, if your mom ever meets them, she’ll know they’re a major help to France.”

“I’ll make sure to mention it to her. And I’ll ask about the interview, mom is pretty insistent I don’t get into any sort of ads or media she doesn’t agree with. She only agreed to the Instagram since I don’t show my face in the food one and I’m in costume on my cosplay one.”

“Fair enough, now about those food suggestions.”

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A wish for a different life - Adrien AGUreste Day 3

So when my friends and I were talking about this, we did mention that Adrien is open about how he misses his mom when she’s busy but one thing we decided to focus on was how he’d react when she missed their tradition. I kept worrying that I was kinda going overboard but I feel like while Adrien would justify anything else Ms Rossi missed with ‘well work is important because it gives us this life’  I feel like this one constant they have, if it got messed up, it would upset him a lot. Difference is, I think if she knew, she’d do her best to change. I also realised there are a lot of single parent kids in the class so it was suggested they help, I hope you enjoy. @adrienaugust

Family

The apartment was quite. The noise from Paris outside seeped into his room through his open window, the slight wind making the pictures he’d hung up last night move with it. He usually didn’t mind quite; it was the missing sounds he didn’t like. His mom moving around the kitchen, making breakfast or on the phone, they were absent. His mom never came home last night. the trash full of 3 orders of canolies said so. He clipped his bangs away from his face, trying to not get upset and failing.

He switched out the board in his itabag, shoving the sleeves of his shirt up as he walked into the kitchen and picked up an apple before pulling 3 boxes out of the fridge. While he tried to remind himself that his mother missed their tradition for a job that gave them their life, the pizzas didn’t have to go to waste. It’d be going better if he’d actually answered his mom’s concerned text messages.

“Ooh! Pizza!” Nino called, getting up from his seat as Adrien dropped them on the teacher’s desk once he walked into his classroom. “You didn’t have to bring leftovers.”

“It’s not. It’s the whole thing. Mama didn’t come home last night.”

“Dude, is everything ok?” Nino asked concerened.

“Yeah, she’s fine. She just stayed at the embassy. It’s just…” he noticed most of his classmates where listening in and lowered his voice a little, “I feel angry but, ugh! She was working. That’s why we’re in France, so she can work. And it’s not like this is a constant occurrence, I know my mom loves me. It’s just, it didn’t matter how busy she was, she never missed this. Ugh, I feel like a spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum. It’s not that big a deal.”

Nino put a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, we’re allowed to throw tantrums still. You said you always do this, so it’s understandable why your upset. I mean, you ordered from 3 different places for her.”

“Yeah, I just. I need some time alone.”

“Well, the teachers have these meetings every once in a while, to go over things to do during Akuma attacks. We’ve got the first 2 periods free.”

“Awesome. Let everyone else know to help themselves. I’ll be back.” Adrien said, patting the boxes before leaving.

He walked down the steps, taking in the calmness of the courtyard, as most students headed to their classes or other rooms rather than stay in the courtyard. He ducked under one of the steps, sitting on the ground and sighing. Nino had a point about him being allowed to be upset but it still felt stupid. Maybe it was because he didn’t expect much from his parents with them hanging out. He noticed since their split that the time they spent with him was more than when they were together. Adrien had gotten used to being in their office when they worked before, taking in the comfort of being near them. once he was older with his own hobbies, he either worked on cosplays at home or went exploring or hung out with the few friends he did make, but honestly, once his parents separated and started joining him in his hobbies, they started to feel more fun.

“Oh.”

He looked up and saw someone about to duck under the same stairwell. Their hood on their red sweatshirt was pulled up.

“I’m sorry, do you usually hang out here?” Adrien asked, about to get up and move when the person’s gaze went to his bag.

“Oh! Is that SakuSyao?” Adrien’s itabag was showcasing the couple from the Clamp anime. “Where did you get that pin?”

“Which one?”

“The one with their bears as a card?”

“Oh,” Adrien brightened up getting to talk about one of his favourite things. “Actually, an artist I follow was doing pin commissions. I never really found one with their bears so I asked for this one to be made. It’s the only one in existence, assuming others didn’t ask for the same thing. I can give you, their info. Oh, um, I’m Adrien by the way.”

The person sat down and pushed their hood off their head. “Marc Anciel. Are you new? I don’t think I’ve seen you around.”

“Yeah, I transferred into Mml. Bustier’s class yesterday. My mom and I just moved here. Diplomat kid.”

“Wow, that must be exciting.”

Adrien shrugged. “I mean new places to go are exciting but the moving gets old. Even more so when the work starts messing with traditions.” He waved off Marc’s concerned look. “It’s nothing. So, fan of Clamp?”

“Mostly. Though I love explaining to my mother the age differences in them when it comes to couples. She finds it funny since she’s older than my dad by 5 years.”

Adrien nearly bounced in excited energy. “Ok, no. I never read the Cardcaptor Sakura manga, but who was gonna tell me Eriol and the teacher who dated an 8th grader were together? I know he’s a reincarnation, but so was Sakura’s dad. Not that he’s not an example too.”

“Can you believe my mom goes on a rant about Usagi and Mamoru?”

“Same! My mama can’t get it either. I’m not saying that her dating at 14 while he’s 4 years older isn’t concerning, but show the same level of concern when dealing with Clamp.”

Marc started to look a little red. “I haven’t been able to talk to many people about this. Most people are interested in shounen anime.”

“I like it all. Even some ones not many people have heard of. I could watch Preter for ages. I’m guessing you like it?” Adrien asked at Marc’s wide eyes.

“It was my first proper anime I watched. Once I found out they originated from manga, I begged my mom to get the whole set for me. Himeno and Hayate, I want a relationship like theirs, minus the massive dislike they had at first. Though, I guess I’d like the growing trust we have in each other.”

“Word of advice, bad boys aren’t bad. Just go for the guys who are more for the aesthetic and not so much the whole lifestyle. If they care more about their reputation than you, not worth it. Trust me.” Adrien advised. “Could have saved myself 5 months. Guess I should be lucky I moved after that.”

“Oh, well, um. The person I like isn’t like that. Well, I don’t think he is. He seems really quite and focused, but passionate about his art. His art really inspires me.” Marc started to mess with the hood of his hoodie, like he wanted to hid again.

“You’ll have to point him out to me.” Adrien didn’t claim to be amazing at match making, but he was successful a few times.

“You might know him. He’s in your class. Unfortunately next to Lila, but that’s a different story. I still can’t believe she tried giving some lie about Stan Lee after his death.”

“Wait, Stan Lee? I’m gonna get to your crush on Nathaniel in a second, but what?” just how much more was he going to find out about Lila?

“I only heard it from Marinette but apparently right when a lot of her lies were being questioned, she told Nathaniel she could get his work noticed by Stan Lee, who was already passed for the past few months. Not to mention the fact that she’s never interacted with any comic artist or anything like that. Marinette tried explaining that she thinks she’s just dealing with a lot because of her dad and her insane schedule but I just can’t fathom having a life like that and just lying like nothing can touch you. If anything, you’d want to be open right? Find people who accept you as you are? Chloe’s kinda known for causing a lot of akumas with the way she acts, but as far as I know, she doesn’t lie about herself. She’s like Cleo from Monster High, but before you get to know her as a person.”

“I think the fact that I know that reference is a bit sad.” A new but familiar voice said from above them.

The two looked up to see Luka, the pizza delivery boy from the night before, sitting on the steps and looking down at them from between the space.

“Hi Luka.”

“You’re my delivery boy from last night!”

“Hi Marc and yes, that would be me. So did you and your mom figure out the best pizza?”

Adrien’s smile dropped as he remembered the still full boxes he brought to school and his mom’s absence.

“Not really. She didn’t show up last night. first time ever. But it’s fine! She was working, that’s why we’re here, so it’s fine.”

He heard Luka moving but was distracted by Marc putting a hand on his arm.

“It doesn’t sound like it’s fine.”

“It’s not. I don’t get bothered by the amount of work she has to do or how busy she gets because it means the times, we can hang out are even better. It’s just…this is our one tradition. Every place we’ve gone, we’ve done this. When we go back to Italy, we get pizza at the place we’ve decided is best after months of checking. It just, hurts that she didn’t show up, let alone even call to let me know she wouldn’t come.” He ranted. He felt angry. He didn’t have to but he did. He understood his mom’s job but that still didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“You know, my mom works as a captain for some really rich people’s boats. She hates it, she thrives off of chaos but it’s what she loves to do. Sometimes she works late and when she gets back, doesn’t matter if we were asleep, me and my sister will have breakfast with her, talking about our day, things like that. It did hurt when she wouldn’t wake us up sometimes. Can you honestly say this one missed dinner is the only time your mom had to back out of things?” Luka asked, sitting next to them

No. there had been school open houses, a few competitions at conventions or for fencing when he did it. “But she always made up for it.”

“My mom does that by letting us come to her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think what Luka’s trying to get at is that you could go to her. Not that you knew what was going to happen last night, but if you knew earlier, you would have taken dinner to her right?” Adrien nodded. “Personally, I think really long text messages telling parents how you feel work too. I kinda get the feeling you don’t tell your mom much about how you miss her do you?” Marc asked.

Adrien shrugged. He was honest about how much his mom worked but when it came to telling her directly, that was a different story. “She’s busy. I don’t want to bother her.” He knew since his mom wasn’t dealing with the stress of the fights she had with his dad anymore, seeing how to talked to them in the first place, it should be easy to be open with his mom. Some parts were. He just felt guilty ladling her with how he felt with her job, a job she worked to provide for them.

“Not that I think your mom would do this but what will happen if you don’t tell her how you truly feel and it happens again?”

Open houses and contests were one thing, but a tradition they’d kept alive since he was a kid was another.

“I should talk to her, shouldn’t I?”

“I know screaming at your parents comes with the territory of being a teen but I find that calming talking gets you heard better.” Luka said. “Bring pizza over to her office at lunch and talk. It’ll help.”

“Right. Oh crap!” he remembered. “I brought all the pizza for the class to have! Uh, Marc, who’s class are you in? I can find you after.”

“Just meet me here after school. You still have to let me know the artist and we can chat more about shojou anime.”

“Definitely! And don’t think I’ll forget about your crush.” Adrien got up and headed back to class, only barely noticing that Luka was following. He walked into class and saw Alix flicking a pocket knife closed as Juleka closed a pizza box, one that had been cut in half and made into a smaller box.

“Ah, there you are! We saved you pizza for you and your mom.” Alix said.

Juleka brought him the box and handed it to him, her voice melodic as she spoke. “Nino explained why you were upset. A lot of us are from single parent households and we get how it feels when parents back out of stuff, especially traditions. Alya mentioned how you really put the research in for this so we thought that you couldn’t let the tradition just end because of a missed day. Talking things out and telling parents how you feel does more wonders than you think. We think if you went and talked to your mom during lunch, it would help you feel better.”

“Thanks. Yeah, I was just told that.”

“By another single parent child.”

“Luka.” Juleka said, noticing him over Adrien’s shoulder. As he took a closer look at the two of them, he noticed they looked pretty similar. Not just the dyed hair and close enough styles but the shape of their noses. “Thank you.” she said, taking the wallet he handed her.

“You’re lucky my teachers pushed classes back until later. I’ll see you later or you staying with Rose tonight?”

“We’re video chatting Ali, but I’ll call. Enjoy work tonight and good luck with classes.”

“Thanks. Hey, good luck with your mom.” He told Adrien. “Bye Rose.”

“Bye Luka!” the blonde cried from her seat, waving cheerfully.

“I didn’t realise you met my brother.” Juleka said just as Luka left and Mml. Bustier came in.

“He was my delivery guy last night. And thanks. All of you.” he told the class.

“I see we have pizza.” Mml. Bustier said, glancing at the two boxes and the broken cardboard in the recycling bin.

“Adrien brought some over from his dinner last night!” Rose said. “We haven’t taken any yet.”

“Well then, how about we use it as prizes for our quiz this morning? Everyone has to answer a question and then can get a slice. Lila, I’m sure we can keep this a secret from your father this once.”

“No thank you.” the rich brunette said, glaring down at Adrien.

He rolled his eyes as he took his seat, putting the box next to him. He hadn’t expected his classmates to offer their advice and help him like this but he couldn’t help but feel grateful. Most of the kids at the schools he went to either didn’t care about their relationship with their parents or were insistent it had to be kept a certain way so they could get what they wanted. Rarely did they want to be open and honest with their parents like Adrien did. He was nervous about telling his mom about how he felt about her work at times. It still felt like it was childish and spoiled of him to be upset about her work and the time it ate. But he knew if he didn’t say anything, like Luka suggested, it could happen again and if she didn’t know how it made him feel, wouldn’t it mean she thought it’d be ok again?

                                               ____________

Most embassies looked the same. The Italian Embassy in France fit in with the old architecture outside and all the opulent architecture inside. He only had a chance to find one nearby Italian bakery to pick up canolies from before coming here. He had about less than 40 minutes, not counting the time it would take to get back to school before classes started again, but of course, he had to wait for his identity to be confirmed by the staff.

“Singor Rossi? Your mother will see you. her office is up the stairs and down the hall. The head diplomat kindly left flowers outside her door so she could find her office.”

“Grazi.”

He walked up the stairs, trying to take in the decor but he was still full of nerves over what he was going to say. he found her office and he took in the exhausted dressing she was in. her blazer was on the back of her chair and her hair was out of her ponytail, the desk a mess of paperwork. She looked up before he could knock and her whole face brightened up.

“Adrien! They told me you came. Come here caro.” She said, standing up and opening her arms.

He took little time hugging her, squeezing tight. He missed seeing her the night before, not just for their tradition, but the first day was always theirs.

As she pulled back, she noticed the boxes and her smile dropped. “Oh caro, I’m so sorry I called so late. The canolies must have been ruined.”

“Yeah. They were. These are from an Italian bakery not far from school. I, I was pretty upset that you never showed. You’ve never missed our first night tradition.”

“I know. There’s so much paperwork to go over. Having magical heroes and a magic terrorist threatening the country isn’t something we really know how to deal with. New York on their heroes are a much different ballpark than this. Still though, I should have called or told you to come here.”

Adrien placed the boxes down and looked at his mom. “I know you didn’t mean it; I believe you. it’s just, I’m scared if I don’t tell you how this made me feel, you might think it’s ok to do it again. I get that you’re busy, trust me I do and I don’t mind when you have to back out of things but this, our tradition. It’s the one thing I always thought would come before work. Even when you and dad were fighting, it was something we always did. It’s stupid, but I feel like if you start backing out of this then it’ll continue and nothing we do will matter anymore. Not our lunch dates, or when you agree to cosplay with me or even simple time just at home.”

“Caro.” His mother’s expression dropped. “Why didn’t you say before that it upset you when I backed out of things? I never wanted you to feel like that.”

“You had work. Work that helps me do those things.”

“Work isn’t as important as you are.” She took his face in her hands and looked into his eyes. “Work isn’t more important than our traditions. I’m sorry I made you feel like it was and that you had to be ok with me choosing work over the things you wanted me at. That’s not ok. Can I explain why I choose to stay last night?” Adrien nodded. “So, our time in New York gave us a bit of insight into what it’s like to have heroes in the city, but it’s something they’ve perfected, even with most heroes having their identities known. They have superpowered villains that are able to be take care of and at most, they just keep an eye on any crimes. It’s different here. This Hawkmoth is classified as a terrorist and the only people who can go up against him have so much hidden. From what I understand, it’s for our protection as much as theirs but there’s so much that needs to be in place. The things they need to protect us is the same thing Hawkmoth wants, so they need protection too. Italy has been asked to come up with plans to give them help when needed and also defend against akumas as best as possible. I don’t know much about Scarlet Bug and Catseye, but I can imagine that their parents would be worried sick if anything happened to them and I want to do my part to help.”

He almost forgot that the Hawkmoth issue was the main reason they were in France right now. He didn’t know why he felt surprised she was worried about Paris’ heroes, his mom always wanted to protect those who needed it.

“That’s why I felt like I had to stay last night, but it shouldn’t have been at the risk of making you feel that way. The other moments mattered too.”

“Yeah. I do get why you had to then, but I miss you with all the work you do. I wasn’t going to say anything but the single parent kids in my class said it’d be better if I did talk to you.”

“And I’m glad you did.” His mother pressed a kiss onto his cheek. “I want you to come talk to me, no matter what. I mean it, no amount of work is more important than you. I wish I could promise work won’t get in the way but what I can promise is that I’ll try harder. I don’t want you to ever feel like you have to hide, ok?”

Every worry he had, every bit of anger and hurt started to slip away. His mom meant her promises, the really deep ones. She made one when she and his dad finally split and he knew she’d keep this one to.

“Ok.”

Just as he was about to hug his mother, a sudden explosion happened, gently shaking the room like a mild earthquake.

“There is an Akuma attacking the nearby area. Please stay inside and wait for further instructions. Scarlet Bug and Catseye are on the scene.”

He couldn’t help it, he rushed to the window and tried to spot something. Just over the roofs, he saw the smoke of something and he could hear the cries of something otherworldly. He’d seen his fair share of superhero fights when in New York, rarely in person, but this felt different. He just spotted two specks that landed on a nearby roof. He pulled out his phone and using his camera, zoomed in. it was a bit pixelated but the two figures were in red and black respectively. The one in black had long hair that almost seemed tinged green. The one in red spun something in a circle. They seemed to talk before they both jumped back towards the attack.

It was small, but he just had his first glimpse at the heroes of Paris.

He jumped when the phone rang and his mother answered.

“Si, we’re fine. Yes, we’ll stay away from the windows.” She gave him a look that pulled him away from staring more. “Grazi. We’ll wait for your call then. We’ve been told to stay here and close the doors. Most of security affects like bars and screens don’t work or will be easily destroyed. If the Akuma thinks no one is in a room, they’ve been more likely to leave it alone. Besides, we’ll be warned if the fight gets closer to us. I know it seems a bit of poor timing, but how about we eat that pizza?”

Adrien nodded and watched as his mother pulled the pillows off the nearby couch and drop them on the floor. Work was literally outside, fighting, but instead his mom choose him. He knew other parents would turn to work when it was this close but his mom wasn’t going to break her promise. He hoped that the heroes of Paris would eventually know the woman they had in their corner. A woman who cared so deeply that Adrien felt so proud to call her his mom.

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 3+4

Still not feeling very chatty but here’s the second chapter. I wasn’t in love with it but couldn’t figure out how to redo it in a way I like so enjoy. @adrienaugust

Memories

“So mama says to order the food at least 30 minutes before. They use a separate food delivery service and since you’re ordering from 3 different places, you don’t want anything getting cold. She is curious why cannolies.”

“If they can stand up to going from hot to warm, then they’re good.” Adrien said, typing all the notes into his phone. “This gives me time anyway to start unpacking anyway. Hey, do any of you guys live the park? I’m not at the entrance that’s near here, but on the other side and I’m hoping I’ll have a walking partner once I know my way around.”

“Marinette lives right across the street from the nearby entrance. It’s really a straight shot. If you want, we can come meet you tomorrow.”

“Later in the week if that’s ok? Mom is insisting I take the 10-minute car ride, at least until the embassy gives us our metro cards.”

“Sounds like a plan. You’ve got our numbers, shoot us a call if you’ve got way too much pizza.” Nino said, as Adrien spotted the embassy car and headed towards it.

“I will. See you guys tomorrow!” he waved to his new friends and climbed in, still waving as the car pulled into traffic. He leaned back in his seat and looked at the group selfie Nino insisted on after hearing his lack of friends he had with the moving. He liked his class and the people he felt like he could call his friends. He hoped they didn’t have to move all of a sudden.

Life as a diplomates’ child was never easy. His parents, some of the best partners he would see in their job, weren’t the best partners in their social life. What had once been a strong force fell into fights when work increased and the moves would grind at their nerves. If Adrien hadn’t wanted to save the little tolerance his parents had for each other, they could have destroyed each other. No kid wanted to sit their parents down and tell them they thought they’d be better off separated, but it’s what he did. He’d felt like he had no one to talk to because he was so busy worrying about his parents and it was starting to affect his life more than he could ever want. New schools and his odd lists of hobbies didn’t help either. Very rarely did he make lasting friends, usually because the schools his parents placed him in were for the uber rich and he got sick of the backstabbing really quick. It might have helped with his colourful vocabulary, but it also made a lot of time for the things he loved now: cosplay, learning languages, playing piano, exploring. It was easy to hid his hurt and loneliness for a while with exploring the places he was in, even if it was for a week. But when he started wanting validation from online presence in a way that scared him, he knew things had to change.

His parents split, which ended up allowing them to talk better and they’d gotten reassigned to Italy again. The few friends he did still have were beyond excited to have him back and he could finally share his hobbies. Moves still happened and he was usually nervous about making friends, ones who didn’t turn their nose up at the odd things he liked doing, but this time he was sure he’d found a solid group, if not solid class. Minus Lila. She’d continued to glare at him for the rest of the day and the few comments she did make were either punished for or he took care of with an eyeroll and scoff that seemed to shut her up quick. He still didn’t get what the issue was with her. Maybe she didn’t like Italian people?

“Your mother wanted to let you know she’d be a bit late tonight.” The driver said, already pulling up to the house.”

“That’s fine. Gratzi.” That just meant he’d order the food a bit later, which was fine. Right now, he had unpacking to do.

                                                ______________

Adrien was singing so loudly in Korean, he almost didn’t hear the doorbell.

“Yes?”

“Delivery from Pizzeria Arrivederci, Respiro, Trattoria – Pizzeria and Jimmy 2 Fois?”

“Come right up!”

Adrien was glad he’d worked by room; the entryway table was already set up to hold the pizzas until he was done signing for them. while he waited, he turned the music down and then balked at the time. Their last apartment had a noise curfew and he was way past it. He was also a bit worried. He assumed his mother would be home by now, but he also knew his mom would text if anything was wrong. Not to mention that the security the embassy had. Still, with everything he heard about akumas and Hawkmoth, he couldn’t help but feel worried. He adjusted the headband keeping his bangs back when a knock finally came to the door.

“Coming!”

He opened the door to see a slight tower of boxes. It moved to reveal an older guy, maybe 2 or 3 years older than him, with blue dyed hair mostly covered by a yellow bike helmet. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a hooded jean jacket and his whole style screamed punk.

“3 pizzas and 3 orders of canolies, 1 order per restaurant. Party?” the delivery guy asked, allowing Adrien to take the boxes from him.

“Nope, just me and my mom. We’re from Italy originally and we do this whenever we move to a new place. Pizza and canolies, can they impress an actual Italian?”

The delivery boy hands him the receipts to sign. “Sounds like a dream come true to be honest. How often do you do this, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Pretty often. Mom’s a diplomat and we move more often than most families. There have been good and bad places. New York’s Italian was pretty amazing.”

“New York huh?” he accepted the signed receipts. “That must have been amazing, especially with all the heroes around.”

Adrien sighed happily, remembering his time there. “It was. We were in Little Italy, even though the embassy wasn’t anywhere nearby. English is hard but I didn’t care because it was like being home. Fresh pastries from the nonnas and all the pasta dough they’d give us just because? God, we kept one nonna’s famed marinara sauce for so long. I need to go back because it was amazing. The heroes weren’t too bad though. I was oddly never in their pathway.”

“you’re making me jealous. The akuma’s here are no joke. My sister was akumatized once and it’s not exactly a favoured memory. But we do have Scarlet Bug and Catseye. Even though they have to keep a distance for people’s safety, the city feels protected. Hopefully you’ll find a bit of that here in France.”

“I hope so. All my classmates seem to think they’re pretty amazing. One wants to know everything about them.”

“Ah, so you met Alya Césaire then?” the pizza delivery guy looked almost a bit exasperated. He wondered if Alya’s desire to know everything caused that with everyone who knew her. “I’m told she means well, but maybe you can be the voice of reason to get her to stop hunting for their identities.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Well then enjoy. Well, I’m Luka and these restaurants thank you for your patronage. Enjoy the rest of your night.” Luka winked at him and Adrien couldn’t help but stare a little as he walked away. The guy was cute, sue him.

He put the food on the coffee table and continued unpacking, watching the time roll by. This was weird. His mom was never this late. Throughout his many schools, he’d met a fair amount of diplomat kids. A lot of them talked about how they were mostly raised by nannies or au-pairs or by themselves if they were old enough. Even if his mom brought work home, she’d always be home before he went to sleep. The typing of her keyboard had many a time been his lullaby. Even when he’d been sick and insistent on being attached to his mother, she would keep him close and still work. She would always make time for him, even if it was just one day in the week they could spend together. she never thought he was weird for his interests. He was carefully stacking the boxes of photos near one of the walls in the living room. The one on the top most box was one of their recent ones. A photo from back in Italy on one of the many bridges in the city, he’d convinced his mom to dress in an outfit fit for a lady of court while he dressed accordingly. He’d been trying to get her to act all coyishly but she kept laughing. They were in stiches by the time the event was over. It was a favoured memory of his now.

He just wished he knew where his mom disappeared to now.

                                               ______________________

He blinked awake, looking at the dim room. He couldn’t feel his arms and realised it was because he was laying on them on his front. He groaned and turned over, wincing at the feeling of pins and needles rushing down his arms. His eyes slowly adjusted and he saw he was in the living room. The pizza boxes where still on the coffee table. He opened one of the smaller boxes and looked at the filling leaking out of the cannoli. His mom, never made it home. He checked his phone and sitting with 2 missed call notifications was a text from his mom, letting him know she was staying at the embassy because of paperwork and she was sorry.

His mom never focused on work on their first day. She was always back and in time for pizza and canolies. He knew his mom’s work was important, but their tradition had never been backseat to it. He didn’t like it.