Chapter Text
Chapter One
Nathalie sat at her desk outside of Gabriel Agreste’s home office. Over the time she had spent being her employer’s secretary, she had learned and seen many things. One of them, being Adrien. She had been his home-school teacher when he wasn’t practicing the piano, going to fencing class, or having a Chinese lesson. She made his schedule, ordered his regulated meals, allowed certain snacks after long days to keep calorie count equal to what he would burn in a day. She also kept track of his mental health once every six months. Even though she didn’t have to.
It was law to make sure children maintained a physical and psychological health checkup every three years from the age of six. It was also law to make sure all the model papers were in order for Gabriel to keep his son employed as a model to the company. This was regulated by the Child Labor and Exploitation laws in France. Knowing any photoshoots had to be held before eight pm every day and he couldn’t work more than seven hours a day, or thirty-five in a week. This was the same for any ‘minor’ employee that Gabriel obtained in the company. Anyone under the age of eighteen was considered a minor in France and that made the paperwork all the more difficult to keep updated. But after doing so for years, it seemed like a walk in the park for Nathalie. At least until she started having the bad reaction to the damaged Peacock Miraculous.
Even with all of her current health problems, she still made sure Adrien was in complete health. And it was in this realization that her health was decreasing, that she noticed something was wrong with Adrien. He was losing weight, seemed mentally exhausted, physically worn out, and almost depressed at times. She looked into what he did in a month and noticed little details about his schedule.
Gabriel had Adrien working almost forty hours a week, had almost no social life outside of school. Was spending more time fencing than someone of his physical age could handle, and his slight struggle in grades was starting to be noticeable. True it was so minor that a small paper could raise it back to an A plus from an A minus. But Gabriel insisted on perfect grades at all times. That was too much to ask of a fourteen and a half minor under his employ. And the worst part was that Adrien wasn’t just an employee. He was Gabriel’s only child. His only son. And he only saw him once a month if you added all the minutes up to twenty-four hours in one month, even then it was stretching it. She couldn’t watch the boy she cared about, one she considered her own child, to continue to live like this. If this continued, Adrien wouldn’t pass the health mark in six months.
It was then that she had contacted a few people and started a process behind her employers back. That had been three months ago. As she sat at her desk, she received an email to a private account she had made three months prior. She made sure that Gabriel was still mulling over designs before opening it and looking it over. It was just what she had been hoping for. She only had to wait for one more email and she could set her plan into motion.
~
At Dupont school, the class had a free period to do as they pleased. Their normal history teacher was sick and considering they had just finished a chapter and were waiting for their test results back; they couldn’t go over any new material. So, the substitute allowed the students to work quietly on any work they had or talk quietly amongst themselves.
“Dude, if you want to sleep, I don’t think the teacher is going to mind.” Nino whispered as he watched his best friend’s head bob as he tried to stay awake.
“I’m okay Nino. I just had a bit of a late night, last night. The photo shoot ran a little over than expected because of camera difficulties. We couldn’t reschedule because I have another one today after school.” Adrien explained.
“So, you can’t hang out with us again.” Alya cut in.
“We wish we could.” Lila said sweetly, earning a scowl from Marinette and a flinch from Adrien that went unnoticed by everyone around him. “But Mr. Agreste keeps a very tight schedule. His deadlines for his new line will be coming out soon, and all the photos have to be done and verified before then. But at least Adrien won’t be alone for this one. I’ll be modeling in the photoshoot today too.” Lila said encouragingly.
“At least you won’t have to worry about being bored dude. With Lila around, time will seem to fly by.” Nino said encouragingly, placing a hand on his best friend’s shoulder.
Adrien gave his best model smile, ones he reserved for the camera, not usually for his friends. “Yeah. It will be a ton of fun.”
~
After school, Nathalie and Gorilla picked up Adrien and Lila in the limo, to take them to the photoshoot. Out of the corner of her eye, Nathalie noticed Adrien trying his hardest not to fidget in his seat as he moved slightly away from Lila as she leaned closer to him. She noticed him jump ever so slightly as the girl rubbed her chest ever so slightly against his arm. This concerned her greatly. Adrien was clearly uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything to the girl to get her to stop. Knowing she couldn’t do anything at the exact moment without having the girl make it seem like she was playing favorites, she kept quiet and continued to watch as Adrien grew more uncomfortable as the ride progressed. It was no surprise to her when the boy nearly ran out of the limo and over to hair and make-up to get ready. She waited for Lila to get out, with a grin on her smug face, before following.
The shoot was only meant to last two hours. Lila drew it out to five hours. While this didn’t extend her hours past the legal point. It did extend Adrien’s and it wasn’t even the end of the week and there were still multiple shoots to do before the deadline. She made a note of it in her private email folder, as well as Adrien’s behavior toward and around Lila, the other model. As she finished sending the email to the proper recipient, she noticed Lila was doing her private photo’s, giving Adrien a break. She made her way over to him, out of sight of the photographer and Lila before leaning closer to Adrien. He jumped slightly and she gave him an apologetic smile.
“Adrien, does Lila often get so close to you? You seemed rather uncomfortable during the ride here. I could see what she was doing. Do you want to talk about it?” She asked.
“It… It’s fine Nathalie. It doesn’t bother me. I understand that I have to be close to her for the photos. It won’t be a problem. I promise.” He tried to reassure her.
She took a seat next to him, so she was eye level with him. “That isn’t what I asked Adrien. What she did in the car was widely inappropriate. You are your own person Adrien. It’s your body. If someone touches you and it makes you feel uncomfortable, you can tell them to stop. You are your own person. It’s your body and no one can touch you if you don’t want them to. Fans, friends, family, no matter who they are. No one will ever tell you that you have to be touched in an uncomfortable way.” She explained, she watched as awe and understanding came across Adrien’s face. “While it is true that for work, you have to be close to someone. If they do something that makes you uncomfortable, you can stop the shoot. If any other model ever touches you in any way that you feel is a bad touch. Say so. Pause the shoot, tell them to stop and maybe rearrange to a way that is comfortable. You have as much control of the shoot as the photographer or myself.”
He was quiet for a few minutes as he thought over what Nathalie had said. He knew deep down she was right, but could that upset his father? Nathalie knew where his thoughts were headed as a slight scowl came to his face and his eyes became downcast. “Don’t worry about your father. He can’t force you to feel any different than you already do. He can be upset about the situation, but not about how you handled yourself. It’s your body. Not his.” She patted his shoulder and stood again. She made her way behind the chairs, just as Lila came into view and sat in the unoccupied chair.
“This is so much fun. Isn’t it, Adrien?” Lila said happily.
“Yeah.” He muttered as he turned away from her, lost in thought.
~
It was well past eight at night, by the time the group dropped Lila off and made it back to the mansion. Adrien made his way up to his room to do his homework and eat his dinner in his room once again. This was the second night in a row he ate in his room so he could finish his homework. She found it rather depressing before she buried the feeling so she could face Gabriel without showing any negative emotions toward him.
“Report Nathalie.” Gabriel said, not looking up from his work stand.
“The shoot went well, and they will be on your desk in the morning. Lila drew the shoot out by two hours, but the outcome will be to your standard. Adrien has retired to his room and I will have dinner brought up to him shortly.” She filed out smoothly.
“Good. See that Adrien keeps up his grades and is rested for the next shoot tomorrow. I must have everything ready by the end of the week.” Gabriel instructed.
“Of course, sir.” Nathalie agreed, jotting it down on her tablet and leaving the office. She hadn’t made it five feet out of the office and toward the kitchen before her tablet gave a ding from her private email. This one was from a different address. Opening it she read it over and allowed a smile to appear on her face before putting the email away as read and continued on to the kitchen. Everything was falling into place. Even after many years of serving Gabriel, nearly dying, and keeping his secret of being hawkmoth, she couldn’t continue like this. And now all she had to do was one more step, which would play out tomorrow.
She grabbed Adrien’s dinner and made her way up to his room. Knocking, she heard him mutter a “Come in.” before opening the door and stepping inside. He looked up at her and noticed the dinner in her hands. He gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks Nathalie. I really appreciate it.”
“Of Course, Adrien. Be sure to get plenty of rest tonight. You have a busy day tomorrow.” She told him with a soft smile. One he missed the true meaning of.
“I will Nathalie. I managed to get most of the work done during school and my breaks at the photo shoot. I only have this paper left and then I’ll get ready for bed.” He assured her.
She placed a hand on his head before heading for the door. “Glad to hear it. Sleep well Adrien. I’ll check to see if you’re in bed in an hour. Good night.” As she closed the door, she heard his repeated good night. A smile came to her face as she stood there for a moment. Tomorrow, everything would change. After all, everything that was happening, wasn’t fair to those she cared about. Things had to change. Walking off, she went to prepare everything for tomorrow.
~
Adrien arrived at school with Nathalie accompanying him that morning. He figured it was as a last reminder she would be getting him for the photoshoot later. Little did he know that everything would change by the time school was over. “I’ll see you later Nathalie. Thanks for the ride.” He said with a natural smile before closing the door. As the car drove off, he walked toward the entrance and was greeted by Nino. “Hey Nino.”
“Hey, Dude. How was the photoshoot last night? Lila is already talking about how long it was. That the Photographer didn’t like some of the shots, so they had to do them over again.” Nino said casually.
“Kind of. Someone didn’t like the photos, but it wasn’t the photographer. Of course, she could have thought it was him considering he asked to do them over.” Adrien explained as they walked into the school. They grabbed what they needed for the first class from their lockers before heading up the stairs to class. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Marinette and Alya going past them to head up to class. He could see that Marinette probably already ran into Lila and hadn’t been too happy about her lie. He knew the smart designer in training learned a bit about Photoshoots from the time they did one for Juleka after the class photo debacle. And that rarely did the photographer dislike their pictures. After all, it was part of the field she wanted to go into after university. She had to know what to look for when working and looking at other peoples work. What photos brought out the important aspects of the products being presented.
Putting that to the back of his mind, he followed Nino up to class. He had also thought a lot about what Nathalie had said about people touching him in ways he found uncomfortable. Lila had been doing that a lot too. Something she had been pushing on a lot lately. “Dude, you okay? Did you get any sleep last night?” Nino asked, noticing the far off look on his friend’s face and mistaking it for tiredness and not deep thought.
“I’m good Nino. Just thinking about something Nathalie told me yesterday.” He reassured his friend.
Before Nino could reply there was a call of the blonde’s name as they walked into the classroom. “Adrien! There you are. I just got news from Mr. Agreste that we will be doing another shoot together tomorrow. Isn’t that just amazing?” She declared as she grabbed his arm and pressed her chest to his arm.
Nathalie’s words filled his head in an instant and something inside Adrien seemed to snap. “You need to let go of me right now Lila! You are making me uncomfortable and I don’t like that your throwing your body all over me! I don’t like you that way and I never will.” Adrien declared as he yanked his arm back and stepped away from Lila.
“But Adrien,” Lila said, following him a little only to see him move away from her. “Why are you acting like this? We had so much fun yesterday. You even wrapped me up in your arms.”
Adrien scowled darkly at her. “That was for the photo. I had to do that! I had no fun with you Lila. I was exhausted from the photoshoot the night before and it was boring to be there for an extra two hours because you didn’t like how you were standing. Not to mention we had to do a few over. You need to stop clinging to me every chance you get. I don’t like it and I’m not going to allow you to touch me when I don’t feel comfortable with you even being near me. You make my skin crawl when ever you put a hands on me, and it makes me want to get as far away from you as possible!” He said truthfully.
Lila leaned forward, hiding the tear drops when she covered her face. “Why are you being so mean to me? I thought we were friends.” She said, looking back up at him with tears in her eyes.
“I’m not being mean to you Lila. I’m telling you that you touching me in unwanted and inappropriate! And I’m not going to allow you to get your way anymore. We aren’t friends. We are coworkers and nothing more. I don’t want you touching me outside of work and even then, it will be limited to what I feel is appropriate. Not you.” He finished.
He moved around Nino, who was gob smacked at Adrien’s outburst, before sliding down to his spot at the desk. Lila stood in the same spot, in front of the stairs, in shock. The fake tears still rolling slowly down her face. She faced him and put on her best pout. “I don’t understand Adrien. What changed? You said you liked me.”
“I never said that Lila. Don’t put words in my mouth!” Adrien said slamming his hands down on the desk and standing slightly. “You know what I think about you Lila. You are a liar! You lied to Nathalie about coming over to help me when you were the one that asked me for help. And then spent the whole time there asking me questions unrelated to the homework and not helping me at all! So, no Lila. I don’t like you!” He told her, gaining gasps from everyone around them. “If you don’t mind Lila.” He continued, ignoring their classmates. “I would like to enjoy some time with my real friends before class starts. I will see you later maybe, if not tomorrow.” He said sitting back down and taking out his notebook, so he was ready when the teacher did come through the door.
Lila gave a half sob before slowly walking up the stairs looking dejected, hoping to get comfort from anyone. As she took her seat next to Nathanial, he stood up and moved next to Ivan. He asked if he could sit next to him and the gentle giant agreed with a smile. Realizing no one was paying attention to her, she whipped the fake tears off her face and scowled. He had nearly blown her full story. Thankfully she could recover from this by saying that he had left out what they had talked about in the car on the way to his house.
After Lila was up in her seat, Nino sat down and put a hand on Adrien’s shoulder for a moment. “Whoa dude. Something must have happened yesterday for you to go off the rail with her. Do you want to talk about it?” he asked taking his hand back and looking at his friend concerned.
Adrien gave him a grateful smile. “I needed to get that off my chest. Lila lied to Nathalie’s face and got both her and my bodyguard in trouble with my father. I don’t want that happening again. Nathalie reminded me of some things that I had kind of put off as innocent because of the job I have. But just because I’m a model doesn’t mean I can allow anyone to just cling and rub themselves all over me. Personal space is a thing I forgot I had control over. I guess I was so used to following my father’s orders, I forgot that there were things I did have control of.”
“I get it, I think. Your old man is really strict. He barely lets you have any fun. So, I get how something like personal space can seem like something that isn’t there. Especially because you’re a model and people are having you stand in a certain way or making you change into something. Even putting makeup on your face so you do give off a gleam on the camera. That I get, but I had no idea Lila was hanging on you like Chloe usually does.” Nino said.
Before Adrien could comment, a cough next to him brought their attention to the person sanding next to the desk. “As much as it actually pains me to say this, DJ boy is right.” Chloe said making everyone gasp again. Marinette even dropped her pencil. It landed right next to Adrien’s foot, but no one took note of it. “I want to apologize to you Adrien. If I made you feel uncomfortable because I hugged you, a certain way.”
“It’s okay Chloe. If you could stop trying to kiss me, that would make me feel better. But I don’t mind a hug from my oldest friend, every once and a while.” He assured her. Chloe nodded before they headed back to her seat. Adrien moved his foot to sit in his seat better and felt something move against his foot. Looking down, he noticed a pencil on the ground. It had some teeth marks on the end, where the eraser normally is. Smiling, he turned around and held out the pencil to Marinette. He knew she was the only one close enough that had a habit of biting the pencil when deep in thought. “Here Marinette. I think you dropped this.”
Said girl blushed before gingerly taking the pencil from his hand and offering a smile in return. “You Adrien thank.” She muttered before realizing she said it mixed up again. “I mean, Thank you, Adrien.” He gave a slight nod before turning back in his seat. It was only a moment later that the teacher walked in and class started.
~
After dropping Adrien off, Nathalie instructed Gorilla to make a few stops on the way back to the mansion. Gorilla didn’t know what Nathalie was planning and he certainly wouldn’t say anything. He only hoped that she would include him in whatever she was planning. At least then he would know what to expect. At least that was what Nathalie believed his raised eyebrow and concerned look meant. She told him to stop at one place, a lawyer’s office, before getting back in the car with another woman. Said woman was on the phone with someone and it seemed urgent.
“Yes, we are on our way. Yes, I have everything documented and even have the warrant. We will be arriving shortly, how soon can you meet us there?” the woman asked before waiting for a response. “Perfect. See you in ten minutes.” She hung up the phone before sighing and turning to Nathalie. “Are you sure you want to do this? We can still say it was anonymous.”
“I need to be the one he knows turned him in. Adrien will be under my care while the investigation is under way. It will be better knowing that someone who cares about the boy and has his best interests at heart is the one speaking up. He doesn’t do that enough for himself.” Nathalie admitted. It was quiet for a moment before Nathalie turned to Gorilla. “Hey, I was accepted in a new job yesterday. I even put in a good word with my new employer and that you would most likely be joining as well. They agreed that you are welcome if that is what you wish.” Gorilla gave her a grateful smile and seemed to pick up speed to get to the mansion.
It took less time than it seemed to reach the mansion. Two police cruisers were outside the gates of the mansion, waiting for them when they arrived. Stepping out of the car, the woman and Nathalie walked over to the officer in charge. “Thank you for coming so quickly. The person under investigation is inside. I have the warrant to retrieve any and all information on his son and remove the child from the home. He has a place to go and a guardian to take care of him. Ms. Nathalie Sancoeur will be taking custody of Adrien while Gabriel Agreste is being investigated and questioned.” The woman explained.
“Understood ma’am.” The officer looked over the warrant and smiled grimly. Rarely did he have to do this, but the health of a minor was top priority. “Is the child inside?” he asked as he folded the warrant back up.
“No, he’s at school.” Nathalie offered the answer this time. “I was planning to allow him to eat wherever he wished for lunch today and then explain everything tonight after his fencing lesson. I took the liberty of cancelling the rest of his photo shoots until this is all resolved. Gabriel will have to deal with everything without his lead model, secretary and driver. Our driver has agreed to take the job offer extended to him by my new employer, Mrs. Andrey Bourgeois.” Nathalie explained firmly.
“Very well, Ms. Sancoeur. Shall we all go inside then?” The officer asked indicating to the door.
“I’m sure Mr. Agreste will be very surprised to see all of us.”
“Of course. While you are speaking with Mr. Agreste, I would like to gather Adrien’s things from his room. Clothes and hygiene products if that is alright?” Nathalie requested.
“That is perfectly fine.” The woman agreed. “You know what he would need and know where he has everything. It would be best for you to grab anything you think he would need.”
Nathalie opened the door and allowed the officers and the woman inside. The driver stayed by the car and opened the trunk so that he could fill it easily when Nathalie returned. Nathalie indicated to the door of the office, where Mr. Agreste was still working, before heading up the stairs and into Adrien’s room, closing the door behind her. Grabbing a suitcase from his closet, she piled his jeans, shirts, a few jackets, and hoodies before going over to his dresser and grabbing socks and underwear to put in his suite case as well. After securing it, she went into his bathroom and grabbed all of the necessary products he would need. She placed all the products in the carry bag before putting it in the suite case. Going back to the closet, she grabbed a spare gym bag and took it over to his desk. She took all of his schoolbooks he hadn’t needed for the first half of classes and put them in the bag. Looking around she noticed a flash drive in the side of his computer screen. She took it out and placed it in the side pocket of the bag before grabbing his phone charger and spare tablet and charger before putting them in the bag. Just before she was about to close up the bag, she remembered his photo album that he thought was hidden from any prying eyes. It held all of his friends and special moments in the album. Taking it out of its hiding place under his mattress, she put it on the bag and zipped it up. Shouldering the bag, she grabbed the handle of the suite case and headed for the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was assaulted by the sound of Gabriel’s voice booming throughout the house.
“How dare you barge into my house and declare me unfit in raising my son. What proof do you have that he is living in an unhealthy environment?”
A calmer voice answered back just as fiercely. “We have it on very good authority that you have neglected articles fifty-three and fifty-four of the Child Labor and Exploitation law! I am ordered, by law to remove the child from your custody until any solid proof and or mis claim can be determined. You, nor any of your employees, associates, or contributing companies may be allowed to interact with Adrien Agreste until this matter is resolved. This is my final warning Mr. Agreste. I will be sure to be in contact with your lawyers before the day is through.”
“This is absurd! Who would Adrien be staying with while all of this is happening? We have no other family!” Gabriel announced.
Nathalie took this moment to step forward and speak up while holding the handle of the suite case and bag over her shoulder. “He will be staying with me. I suggest to take a look at your emails, Mr. Agreste. It was a pleasure working with you. Have a good day.” With that said she walked out, not even turning back as she heard him calling after her. Even his disagreement with an officer that was most likely holding him back from following her. She reached the car and thanked Gorilla for putting the suite case and bag in the trunk of the car. She took a seat in the back seat and allowed a few tears to fall. While this had been one of the hardest things she had ever done, she knew it was the right thing to do. Not only for her sake, but mostly for Adrien’s. She stuck her hand in the top pocket of her jacket and felt the fixed peacock broach. She would make right her mistakes. And to do that, she would need to prove to the two heroes of Paris that she had changed. But that would come in time. Right now, she needed to focus on getting Adrien’s things to her apartment and then head out to pick the boy up for lunch. It was going to be a long day.