Chapter Text
With a gulp, Adrien gave his father a bow, mocking respect and really just a cover for the scowl that spread across his face. In an attempt to quell his emotions, he plastered a look of nonchalant onto his face before righting himself and swiftly left the room. With his bodyguard in tow, Adrien headed out of the throne room, a sigh of relief escaping him when the doors behind him swung closed with a soft thud.
Conversations with his father never went over well. Being the king of Miraculand, Gabriel Agreste was basically granted the power to speak to anyone however he wanted. Unfortunately for Adrien, that meant being treated like utter garbage.
A few years ago, Adrien would have acted out. His father’s words got too much for him? Easy: give himself a piercing. His father insults his posture one too many times? Perfect, time to sneak out and go get drunk at some random bar in town. Anything he could think of to piss off his father, he tried. But Adrien’s actions were always met with severe consequences and he eventually gave up. The punishments were never worth it anyways. Plus, he was older now. The prince of Miraculand was preparing to take the throne.
That's what the conversation in the throne room had been about. Adrien’s father had selected everything for the coronation, the guests, the food, and everything in between. He was droning on and on about what Adrien would need to be wearing and the speech he would need to prepare, but rounded off the conversation with a bomb. He had selected Adrien’s bride.
For some stupid reason, the laws of the country state that no single person can take the throne. Adrien assumed that originally, the law had something to do with trying to keep a balance of power, but over time it has just morphed into tradition.
His father had been lucky. Prince Gabriel had gotten a beautiful bride, one that couldn’t hold a candle to those in all the fairytales he had grown up reading. A kind maiden beloved by the entire kingdom who gave the palace life and thanksgiving. But most importantly, she made the king so much more tolerable. While the marriage was arranged, Adrien knew that his father loved his mother. You could see it in all the old photographs of them before their wedding and even after. Adrien remembers moments from when he was young, his father and mother dancing at parties and laughing over meals together.
Adrien, however, would not be as lucky as his father. His chosen bride, Chloé Bourgeois, was not liked by many. Of course, Adrien understood the benefit she could bring to the kingdom. He was a smart man, he listened in his classes and he knew that his father could benefit heavily from having the Bourgeois under his thumb. But that didn’t mean it was fair.
He wanted to have a marriage with love, just like his parents.
Another thing that Adrien had realized recently with all of the policy meetings he attended, is that he really had no desire to rule. Listening to his father rant about unrest in the kingdom and how many civilians hated all of their new policies, it seemed like the monarchy could never win. Sure, his father wasn’t very kind to people, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t competent. King Gabriel had many successful laws put into place that managed to really benefit the kingdom. He was a good leader and he had some supporters, but not many. Many of the townsfolk just flat out hated the Agrestes for being monarchs in the first place.
He knew being king was inevitable of course, because he was the only heir to the throne and his father would have his head if anyone other than an Agreste became his successor. So Adrien had decided that if he were to be King, there would be things he needed to change.
That, however, would not be possible with Chloe by his side. He wasn’t sure if his father knew of his plans to reform the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy. It would solve a lot of the problems, the people get a say and the Agrestes would technically stay in charge. Just because Adrien didn’t want to become king didn’t mean he wouldn’t be prepared.
The laws he drafted late at night, shoved at the bottom of his desk drawer hoping that no one saw them made Adrien wonder if his father had seen them somehow. Maybe that’s why he brought in Chloe. Although that was probably a stretch, Chloe most likely was just for political reasons. Adrien really needed to get out of his head.
Luckily for him, he was almost at his room, the perfect place for him to let loose without being pulled a thousand different directions and screw his head on straight. Flashing a smile at his bodyguard behind him, he placed a hand on the door handle and tried not to let his exhaustion show.
“Thanks G,” he pushed the large door and it swung open, revealing his living quarters. “I think I’ve got it from here.” With a humph, his bodyguard saw him safely inside his room and let the prince be.
As the door swung shut, Adrien belly flopped onto his bed and groaned. This had honestly been one of the worst days he’s had all week, and that included the entire day he spent outside monitoring the militia to make sure no one was slacking off. Sighing, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around his room. His eyes scanned the walls which were mostly bare besides a few photographs scattered amongst the creamy backdrop.
His gaze focused on an old photo he had taken with Chloe. They were five at the time, toothy grins spread across both of their faces as Chloe had begged one of the maids to take a photo of them. Her arms were around him and Adrien remembered laughing and laughing after the photo had been taken. Maybe things with Chloe wouldn’t be so bad after all?
For as long as Adrien could remember, Chloe had been a part of his life. She grew less and less tolerable as the years stretched on, but at first she was a great playmate. She was definitely mischievous, that’s for sure, but she had shown him the ropes on so many things. How to fake being sick to get out of lessons was probably one of his most used Chloe lessons as a kid, but the most helpful had probably been the fact that Chloe was his first kiss.
At age 13, Chloe had tried to explain to Adrien how they should be each other's first kiss because they were both royalty and the same age. Adrien honestly couldn’t argue with her logic, and being a hormonal teen, he agreed. The kiss had been nothing special, just a small peck on the lips from the pair. Both of them pulled away, Chloe seeming like she was on cloud nine as she hung on Adrien’s arm and Adrien realizing he never wanted to kiss her again.
Rightfully, Adrien just assumed he never wanted to kiss Chloe again because of how close their friendship was. But at a gala a year later, he had kissed Marinette, the head pastry chef’s daughter, and Adrien realized that maybe he just didn’t like kissing people in general.
It wasn’t until a night out that Adrien realized he liked kissing guys. His bar sneak outs were helpful and the first time he kissed a guy, it just felt right.
It wasn’t two awkward friends smashing their lips together, it was someone new and exciting, kissing him with a passion he had never felt before, and in return, he kissed him back. The alcohol coursing through his system definitely did not hurt and his exact memory of the moment may be a tad exaggerated, but Adrien knew his feelings were the same. It was from that day on that he realized he liked men. His father, of course, would never allow kings to rule the kingdom, and Adrien had given up all hope of finding a husband.
It didn’t mean he had to marry Chloe though.
His eyes tore away from the photo and he stood, walking over to his balcony doors. Surely there were other females his dad would approve of. Like the Tsurugi Family. He would definitely need to talk to Nino about all this. Nino, the head of the royal guard, didn’t have much free time, but he had a great listening ear. That man gave some of the greatest advice and right now, Adrien needed it.
With a gentle shove, Adrien pushed the balcony doors open and went over to stand by the railing. He closed his eyes, letting the calmness of the wind settle over him to try and quell his racing thoughts. He listened to the birds and the running water from the small pond below as he took some deep breaths.
In then out.
In then out.
A few moments later, he opened his eyes and saw a pair of aqua ones staring back at his own.