Chapter Text
“Why can’t I go out and make friends like everyone else?”
“Because you are not like everyone else, you are my son!” Adrien’s father firmly told him. “Continue.”
And that was the last word the man spoke before leaving the boy at the dining table. Yet again it seemed his status, his fame, something so many would crave, denied him what he truly wanted. Once again he was trapped within this mansion, a gilded cage he had been far too aware of. He couldn’t stand it.
“Adrien.” Nathalie’s words somehow pierced through his anguish. The woman who had become like a second mother to the young boy walked over to him. Her expression was one of understanding, not of a false comfort that might’ve made those shimmering bars stand out more. His first instinct after his father’s departure would have been to run to his room and block out the world, but based on how Nathalie was acting, he felt like something life-changing would come about if he stayed.
“I’m sorry I told your father about this, but my job means I have to tell him of anything that happens,” she began. Adrien found himself regretting his earlier choice until she continued. “I know you’ve both been hurting since your mother’s disappearance. It may not be my place to talk about your family matters but… I want to give you something, in hopes it will ease that pain a little.”
Nathalie calmly produced a glass box, and inside was a strange sphere made of an almost silvery metal. “As you know, Emilie and I had a past of treasure hunting, just like she had with Gabriel. While they found a very special book in Tibet, we discovered this strange item from a falling meteorite in the wilderness of the US, having left a sizable crater not too far from a public camping area.”
Adrien was so surprised at the alien meteor that he almost dropped the box when Nathalie placed it into his hands.
“Your mother gave this to me as a token of our friendship… and now I believe you should have it. Gabriel has the book to remember her by, and now you have something too.”
Adrien looked at the object in disbelief for a moment before looking back to the woman. “But… what about you? If I take this, how would you…” his words trailed off, but Nathalie was able to clearly tell what he was about to ask.
“Well… I have you,” she said with a warm smile. “I see in you all the kindness and joy she gave to the world, and the heart that you carry with you. That is what I have to remember her by.”
“Nathalie…” the boy teared up, looking at the woman who yet again had proven to him why he sees her as another parent. “Thank you.”
The woman nodded calmly. “Go ahead and take it to your room, we can drop the rest of today’s schedule.”
Adrien said nothing, merely nodding back to her before rushing to his room. He almost didn’t register the strange box left on his table, it wasn’t important now. What was important was Nathalie’s gift.
One that had been given to her originally by his mother, that was now his. It was a precious memory that Nathalie had entrusted him with. Something that might hold a message from her.
Carefully, he set the box down and opened the lid, taking the oddly light sphere out. Gently he began to rotate the object around, looking for something his mother might have left on it. Curiously, he took note of several stone fragments lodged into certain places on the otherwise smooth sphere. With resolve, he took to grabbing the splinters of rock and pulling them free, wanting to clean the item of debris. If the object had no clues regarding his mother or the disappearance, the least he could do was ensure the last memento he had of her was pristine and unmarred by dirt.
Imagine his surprise when the last chunk came free, and the seams of what appeared to be a hatch finally revealed themselves. With an almost silent hiss, the orb’s mechanism finally opened after so many years left alone and jammed. With little hesitation, Adrien peered inside to see what had been left sealed within, only to find…
“A… watch?”
The “watch” in question was a black and grey band with two white pipe-like protrusions wrapping around and connecting diagonally into the faceplate from both ends. The faceplate itself was a ring with four green nodules evenly spaced in both lateral and horizontal directions. Inside the ring was an icon similar to a green hourglass that seemed to glow softly within the darkened interior.
Without thinking, Adrien casually reaches his arm in to grab the mysterious glowing alien artifact that no-one had seen before. Naturally, this has consequences.
With even less hesitation than the clueless blonde, the alien device did what it did, and stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid.
And Adrien, like any rational human being, reacted as you would expect someone to when some random alien object suddenly lunges out like a demented spider and latches onto your arm.
“A—!!” Suffice to say, if Adrien had allowed his screams, Nathalie or the Gorilla might have rushed to him in a panic, and he had no way to explain the alien watch now attached to his arm. So, he slapped his other hand over his mouth… although that did not mean he did not continue to scream through the limb muffling his cries while flailing the parasitised appendage in the air in some vain attempt to shake off the offending object.
Quickly it became apparent the object would not budge, and while the temptation to slam the device into something hard or use anything to pry it off, that was more likely to damage his arm or said objects. So, he quickly gave up and flopped onto the bed with a defeated groan, staring up at the watch.
“Well, you’re not hurting me at least… heck, you’re not even uncomfortable, it’s almost like a second skin,” Adrien muttered to himself, looking over the device. “So, you were in that orb—er, that pod this entire time, huh? I wonder what left you there… hm, are you some kind of alien cloaking device? I wish I could sneak out of here so I could go to school.”
He sighed. Sure, most of his knowledge of schools comes from fiction, and he knew actual schools were far less eventful than what the common Anime would portray, but that did not make it any less desirable a goal. He wanted to go out and meet kids his age, learn together with friends amidst the bustle of a living, breathing environment, instead of being tutored alone in the cold, almost dead silence of his home.
That’s probably the point, wasn’t it? Without his mother here, the Agreste house just felt… dead, hollow. Adrien thinks back to when he was younger, when his mother was still here. The warmth and joy she radiated brought their home to life, made the place feel right and comforting. Now? All that warmth was gone, and his father’s icy attitude only served to suck away what was left. Adrien felt as alone, cold and empty as the house… and he may also be touch-starved.
He wants to get away from this, but not just for himself. The warmth they had was gone, and so the young model wants to find new joy in the outside world. He wants to go to school to make friends, hang out with others doing simple stuff, heck, maybe have a high school crush while he’s at it! Emilie Agreste would never want those she loved to wallow away in a cold home mourning her disappearance, she’d want them to find happiness beyond her, find something beautiful to push them forward.
And Adrien was going to do that, for her memory… and speaking of…
The young Agreste placed the alien pod back in its glass case, now pristine, he nodded in satisfaction as he set it on the table.
That’s when he finally drew his attention the other mysterious container in the room. It was a small, wooden box of hexagonal shape, a strange yet intricate symbol painted on top. There was no latch or lock on the item, so it would be very easy to open…
With almost a feeling of resignation, the boy sighed and reached for the box, surrendering to his curiosity.
“...I swear, if this has another alien jump out of it I’m going for my foil.”