Chapter Text
Nathalie stops Adrien on the stairs. “Where are you going?”
Adrien tenses and gives her a nervous smile. “To school?”
She raises a single eyebrow, the rest of her face blank. “This early?”
“Um, yeah? Nino said it’s a thing him and Marinette do after the first snow.” They both glance to the window. The snow is falling lightly now, simply being more picturesque than actually accumulating much on the roads. “If…that’s okay?”
“It’s not,” she says sharply.
Adrien winces. He knew this was a possibility, he just ignored it. He does have a backup plan that involves him sneaking out his window in a very Chat Noir way. Just minus the enhanced agility and ability to fall long distances without getting injured. He’s lept from his climbing wall to the couch plenty of times, he’ll be fine.
“It’s not okay,” Nathalie repeats, “but just this once—” Adrien lights up and she holds up a hand before he can interrupt her. “I suppose I can allow it. I assume you would prefer to be alone.”
Adrien tries to keep a straight face as he nods seriously.
Nathalie inhales slowly through her nose. “Contact me as soon as you reach the school,” she says tightly.
“Thank you!” Adrien throws his arms around Nathalie’s neck. She stiffens as he hugs her tightly. “It means the world.”
She pats his arm awkwardly. “As I can see.”
Adrien pulls away and doesn’t bother hiding the wide smile on his face. Leaving through the front door is a much better alternative to possibly falling from his bedroom window. “Are you going to tell Père?” he asks, suddenly feeling a pit of anxiety open.
Nathalie looks down at her tablet tapping on the screen. “Do you want him to know?”
Adrien gulps. Walking to school is bad enough. Walking to school with his partners — that’s one conversation they haven’t had yet. Adrien isn’t exactly ready for that conversation. He doesn’t think he’d be able to handle if it he were only dating one of them. The three of them is definitely too much for his father to swallow at once. “Not really,” he admits.
“You took the car,” Nathalie says flatly. “Just as usual. Be careful, watch out for ice, and if you forget to contact me, this will not be happening again.” She glances up to him with a sharp gaze. “Are we clear?”
Adrien nods quickly.
“Good. Enjoy yourself.” Nathalie turns on her heel and walks down the hallway toward her office.
Adrien watches her leave for a long moment before turning to the door.
Freedom .
Almost as if cued, his phone buzzes in his pocket. It’s the group chat and Nino announcing their arrival. Adrien still thinks it’s sort of silly that Nino is scared of his father, but Adrien can’t blame him. His father can be terrifying.
He sweeps his eyes over the room once more before opening the door, leaving on his own with no weight on his shoulders for the first time in what seems like forever.
He’s greeted by freezing winter air and bright smiles.
“Hey, you live!” Alya hands him a travel mug.
Adrien frowns as he takes it from her. “What’s this?”
“Hot coco,” Marinette says. She bumps her shoulder against Nino’s. “Part of the tradition.”
“Am I going to burn my tongue?” Adrien asks Alya.
She shrugs. “I say go for it. Live life to the fullest, burn your tongue, and down that hot chocolate.”
Nino rolls his eyes. “You’ll be fine, dude. I promise.”
Alya holds her mug up to Adrien. “Cheers?”
He clinks his mug against hers. “Cheers.” He takes a long sip, closing his eyes and enjoying it. He’s had probably far too much of the Dupain-Cheng’s hot chocolate this winter, and there’s just something about it that makes him feel at home .
“We live!” Alya says victoriously.
Adrien lowers his mug and nods.
“Well yeah, it’d be unfortunate if someone died while walking to school,” Marinette teases.
Adrien thinks back to his plan to climb out the window and decides to never mention it ever.
“Ready to go?” Nino asks.
Adrien glances back at the house. “Definitely. We probably shouldn’t be standing here in case my father looks out the window.”
Alya scrunches up her nose. “Didn’t ask?”
“Definitely did not.” Adrien pauses as they step outside the gates, shaking off any remaining anxiety before continuing on.
“So what do you two do when it snows but it’s not a school day?” Alya asks. “Because I’ve kind of been wondering that since you invited us. Thanks for that, by the way.” She loops her arm through Adrien’s and pulls him close.
He tries to focus on the conversation, but he’s fascinated by the way the snow crunches underneath his shoes.
“We do it anyway,” Marinette says. “We get to the school and then go to the park and stay there until either one of us gets called home or we can’t feel our fingers or ears anymore.”
“Or we get hungry,” Nino adds. “Because once we stayed out until after lunch. And that was a mistake.”
Marinette nods in agreement. “Mistakes were definitely made.”
“Never again.”
“Cuddling on the couch afterward was fun though.”
Nino smiles at her. “Top ten moments, for sure.”
Adrien frowns down at his feet.
Alya nudges him. “Everything okay, marshmallow?”
“My feet are wet.” He doesn’t mean to have that much wonder and confusion in his tone, but it happens anyway. For some reason, he wasn’t expecting the snow to soak into his shoes.
Alya stops walking and pulls him to a stop with her. “Excuse me?”
“Uh…” He blinks. “My feet are wet?”
She shakes her head. “Darling, that’s how snow works.”
“Aren’t you our science genius?” Nino ruffles Adrien’s hair. “Snow is made of water of course it’s wet.”
Marinette frowns. Adrien can see the gears in her brain turning. “Are you… You’ve been in snow before, right?”
Adrien carefully gauges their expressions before nodding slowly.
“Then why—”
“Okay, not really,” he interrupts. “I-I mean, probably ? I assume I have? I just…don’t remember it. I’ve seen snow before but mostly from, like, the windows. I’m not usually out in the snow.” He lifts a hand toward the sky, snowflakes landing lightly on his palm. He knows that if he were to look at them under a microscope, they’d all be distinct and unique, but right now all he sees is small white dots that quickly melt on his skin.
“What about walking out to the car to go places?” Nino asks.
“The pathway is always shoveled. You can ruin shoes with moisture. … Oh .”
Alya snorts. “Nice one, marsh.”
Adrien rolls his eyes. “I didn’t make the connection before now, sue me. It’s a lot harder when you don’t remember what snow feels like.”
Marinette narrows her eyes. “Have you ever made a snowman?”
Adrien searches his memory before shrugging. “I have to have, right?”
Nino looks up at the sky. “So does anyone know when the first actual storm is coming because we need like at least a foot of snow.”
Alya smirks. “It should totally be on a snow day.”
“Complete with soaked through clothing, possibly minor frostbite, and hot chocolate with way too many marshmallows?” Marinette asks.
“No such thing,” Alya and Nino say simultaneously.
Adrien shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I feel like I just missed part of this conversation. What are we doing?”
Nino throws his arms around Marinette and Adrien’s shoulders, pulling them and consequently Alya, closer. “Adrien Agreste, we are giving you the childhood that you deserve .”
Marinette laughs as Nino presses a sloppy kiss to Adrien’s cheek. Adrien feels his heart burst. Alya lifts her mug toward the sky.
“Come at us, snow!” she shouts. “We are ready!”