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Adrien's 15th birthday had been pretty much a completely unmitigated disaster. Still, over the past year, things had been looking up, and maybe he was naïve enough to believe his 16th would be better.
It started off great, at least. He woke up to a warm, quiet room, full of delicious smells, and found that someone had delivered breakfast into his room while he was sleeping. There was a fantastic spread laid out on his coffee table; fruits and pastries and juices and coffee and his favorite cheese soufflé--far too much for him to eat all on his own. Plagg was happy to help.
As he pushed away the last of his breakfast, he stretched and reflected on the past year. For all outward appearances, nothing had really changed. His dad still enforced a strict curfew, Nino was only allowed by on rare occasions, his mother was still gone, and he was no closer to confessing his feelings to Ladybug. He was still weighed down with Chinese and fencing and photo shoots and school and superhero duties--but despite all that, he felt like everything had changed. As Chat Noir, he'd had a glorious chance to taste freedom and try it on for himself, and he'd grown into his role as the city's favorite cavalier. He'd made more friends than he'd ever had before, been to school, seen and done things he never would have imagined beyond the walls of his bedroom and the anime on his tv. He'd grown into himself.
Adrien had been sure to secure his father's approval ahead of time, but he had the whole day to himself and permission to invite over as many guests as he wanted. It was the one day of the year that he got these freedoms, and he planned to make the most of it. As he dressed and brushed his teeth, he texted his friends. Nino was the obvious first, then Chloé, as she was his oldest friend and, moreover, likely to have her phone in her hand at all times. Maybe Alya was free, too; when she and Chloé could stop fighting, they all got along great. And Marinette, too; she was slowly inching out of her shell, and Adrien sometimes saw glimpses of confidence and wit that made him think of Ladybug and smile; with echoes of his own best friend in her, he loved hanging out. And Kim, who was the absolute life of any party, and Rose, who brought joy wherever she went.
But when Adrien stretched out on his couch, full and clean and fully dressed, his phone was silent. Not a single person had texted him back.
He tried to not let it get to him. It was still early, after all. Maybe they weren't awake yet.
Adrien tapped his fingers restlessly on the arm of the couch. He wanted to go somewhere, do something, hang out with his friends. It was his birthday ; he wasn’t going to spend the day sitting around in his room, playing video games or watching television or wasting hours on the Internet. Not alone. Not today. Not again.
He got up after a few more moments’ consideration. Maybe he could talk someone into letting him use the car. Adrien could imagine himself zipping around the city, showing up unannounced to rope them into a surprise adventure. Come on, dude! It’s my birthday. Get dressed, you’re coming with me.
Alright, so the car wasn’t that big. He’d be able to pick up maybe two people. Still, he let himself have that fantasy, and he slipped his shoes on.
“Come on, Plagg,” Adrien called, holding his jacket open for Plagg to slide in and hide. He approached the door with a spring in his step, and turned the handle.
Locked.
He pulled on the handle again. It was definitely locked; he wasn’t mistaken. What the…? He frowned and crossed over to the other door, next to the bathroom, but that was locked, too.
He rapped on the door, feeling a little foolish for knocking on the wrong side. But still there was no response. No one was in the hallway. He tried again, pounding on the door until his knuckles were sore. “Father?” he called. “Nathalie?”
Adrien felt distinctly uncomfortable, and most of all, betrayed , as he sank to his knees and sat down. His father wouldn’t lie to him. He had woken up, excited for the day, but now it felt like a trick, to keep him distracted from whatever was really happening.
“What’s going on, Plagg?” he asked, as the kwami poked his head out.
Plagg frowned, whiskers twitching in irritation. “I dunno, kid. But, you know, there’s more than one way out of here.”
“Yeah,” Adrien replied sourly. “There’s two doors.”
“Okay, smart mouth, I meant the window.”
“Oh. You’re right. Plagg, transform me!”
As a whole, Parisians hadn't gotten used to running into Ladybug or Chat Noir on the street; it was still a rare and exciting occasion. But the sight of one of them no longer incited the mass panic that it had before. After a while, they got used to the fact that, sometimes, a hero would show up without danger on their heels. They looked to be teenagers, after all, and sometimes they just liked to hang out, take a walk, visit some fans, get a free lunch.
Today seemed to be one of those days, Nino noticed, seeing Chat Noir down the street. He was crouched down, talking to a pair of little kids, one of whom was conversing animatedly back, and the other of whom was hiding behind their parent.
Nino was only a block away from Alya's house; he was on his way there, in fact, to pick up some supplies, but seeing Chat Noir so close gave him another reason to light a fire under his feet.
Chat looked up as he felt someone pass by him, and saw a familiar figure--or rather, his back, which was getting farther and farther away. A string of sadness wrapped around his heart, and he could feel it pulling as Nino drew farther away, but he resisted the urge to go off and sulk. He patted the kids on their heads and, with a final, jaunty salute, raced after Nino.
He tried to play it off on a whim, rushing past his best friend with little more than a friendly and completely innocuous “Hello!”
Nino called after him.
“Hey! Chat Noir!”
Chat stopped, arranging his face into something mildly cautious and quizzical, and turned around. He hung back as Nino caught up to him.
“I’m not-- I mean, you don’t have to be anywhere?” Nino asked upon glimpsing his hero’s face. Chat realized that despite his best efforts, he was grimacing, and he pushed it away with a polite smile.
“No,” he said. “What’s up, man?”
“I was just wondering what you were doing out,” Nino replied. “And, I know this is a huge favor, but I’ve got a friend who would love to hear from you. She’s close by. Would you mind…?”
Chat shrugged, and Nino took that as answer enough, heading off once more and beckoning for him to follow. He reflected sourly that Nino seemed to be full of boundless, excited energy. Alya must have been really excited for the prospect of an interview.
“So, what does bring you out today?” Nino asked casually. “Special occasion? Stakeout? You can tell me, I swear. I’m great at keeping secrets.”
Chat thought for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you could call it a special occasion. It’s my birthday. I just thought I’d… get out, see how everyone’s doing, you know?”
“Dude, no way!” Nino looked astounded. “Happy birthday, Chat Noir! Man, Alya will be so excited to hear that.”
“Hear what?” Alya popped out from nowhere and fell into step with the boys. She lifted her phone. “Chat Noir! Mind if I get a picture for the blog?”
He shrugged, and grinned, and she snapped a selfie. As she uploaded it, she asked, “What am I excited for?”
“It’s his birthday today,” Nino said, his own wide grin egging Alya’s on.
“You’re kidding!” Alya cried. “It’s his best friend’s birthday, too!”
Nino bobbed his head. “Yeah! Man, he’s such a huge fan of Ladybug, and you, too! Are you--I mean, I’m sure you’re busy today, doing stuff and celebrating, but bro, listen, we’re throwing him a party later, and it would be insane if you could stop by.”
Chat scratched the back of his neck. Wait, they had to be talking about him--Adrien--right? So, what about…
“Uh,” he began. “I don’t know if I’m doing anything later. Probably. I mean, my friends might want to hang out, or… something.”
Alya waved her hand. “No sweat! We’re actually on our way over now, if you want to stick with us while we pick up some people and stuff. And we’re probably going to be at it all afternoon. Just, stop by if you get a free moment.”
Chat swallowed hard, and all he could get out was a nod.
Nino started with a sudden idea, and fished for his phone. “Dude, would you mind maybe just recording a short video real quick? For my bud? I don’t mean to bother you, really, but it would totally make his day.”
His two friends’ eagerness just seemed to keep magnifying his own awkwardness and embarrassment. How could he disappoint them, though, when they were apparently willing to do so much for him?
Even if they had locked him in his room and ignored him all morning. They must have had good intentions, he reasoned.
Chat nodded quickly, clearing his throat as Nino readied his camera. When Nino pointed at him, he began.
“Hey, Adrien, I, uh, heard it was your birthday today, so congrats, man!” He paused for a moment to cough and recollect his thoughts. Recording a secret message for himself was one of the strangest things he’d ever done. “Uh, your friends seem really excited about what they’ve got planned, so I hope you have a good day, and, um, yeah! Ladybug sends her love, too. Okay, bye!”
He waved manically, until he saw Nino giving him a thumbs-up. Nino put his phone back into his pocket and surged forward to grab Chat in a hug. “Dude, thanks so much!”
Chat hugged him back, remembering to keep some professional restraint, but not wanting to. After all, this was his best friend, who was nearly in tears from getting a thirty-second video of him stammering at himself.
Wow. He loved his friends. And he could feel that they loved him, too.
The past year had definitely changed him for the better.
He pulled back before he could follow that train of thought any farther, and before he started making things weird.
“I’ve got to be somewhere,” he said, already skipping backwards. “You guys are awesome! See you!”
Alya waved after him, while Nino just shot some finger-guns that he probably thought made him look cool. And, if Chat was honest, it did.
He slowed down after a few blocks and darted into the first hiding place he could find to transform back. As he meandered back home, with Plagg warm against his chest, he felt a deeper warmth, too, like a fire in his stomach. His friends were planning him a surprise party. They had gone a step beyond what he’d barely hoped for; Adrien’s plans had included little more than inviting a few people over to chill out and play some video games. But here was proof, here was fact , that they wanted to do something for him, too. Even without his asking. They wanted to spend this important day with him, and to make sure that he was happy.
He nearly forgot everything else as he approached the gate in front of his house and buzzed for Nathalie to let him in.
“A-Adrien?” Her voice sounded strange, perhaps from shock, or the tinny intercom system. “What are you doing… out?”
“Just taking a walk,” he said cheerfully, an innocent smile on his face, and she could do little else but let him in.
“Yes, but--” Nathalie met Adrien just inside the door, barely affording him a glimpse of the foyer before hustling him past and up to his room. She jiggled the doorknob, but of course it was still locked. “Your father received strict instructions not to let you out of your room until this afternoon. How did you get out?”
She unlocked the door and hastily ushered Adrien inside. He smirked at her dumbfounded expression as she looked back at him through the doorway. “I have my ways,” he said, knowing such a vague and mysterious answer would drive her up the wall.
She shook her head. “Stay here until you're called.” Adrien gave her a mock salute, and she relaxed a centimeter. “And, Adrien? Happy birthday.”
He smiled at her. “Thanks, Nathalie.”
He gently closed the door and crossed over to the couch, hurtling over the back and landing with a loud and comfortable thump . Plagg crawled out of his jacket to lie more securely on his chest, and Adrien scratched between his ears. He propped his head up on his other arm to look down at his kwami, who already looked ready to doze off.
“Hey, Plagg? Does this count as cheating?” Adrien asked suddenly. “I mean, do you think they'll be upset that I know? It ruined the surprise.”
Plagg blinked slowly, and then sighed in exasperation. “They don't even know that you know. All you need to do is act surprised when they come get you. Just appreciate that they're doing something nice for you, even if you did kind of mess up one end of it. They don’t need to know. And now you know that they didn’t forget you, so it all works out.”
Adrien nodded. “Yeah, okay.” He moved his other hand to lay flat on his chest, and Plagg laid his head on it, closing his eyes in contentment. “I love you.”
Plagg opened his eyes for a split second and caught Adrien's gaze. He closed his eyes again, and his little mouth twitched into a fanged smile. “Love you, too, kid. Happy birthday.”