Chapter Text
The black-clad vigilante leapt between the rooftops. In front of him glowed a shimmer of red, too beautiful to grasp, yet he must keep going. He must.
A growl in the distance diverted his attention. He growled in turn, making clear that its interruption was unwarranted, but was greeted by a giggle, soft and melodious, like bells. He knew that it was okay. They would do this together, and he was giddy at the prospect. He would protect her no matter what!
"Adrien! Adrien! It's time to get up."
Opening his eyes, he looked up at mirroring green eyes belonging to a face framed by cascading blonde hair. He smiled warmly, but couldn't help contain the chuckle bubbling up to his mouth, "I'm nineteen, Maman, I can't having you waking up every morning."
She snorted in a rather unlady-like fashion which would remained between the two of them away from the eyes or ears of Adrien's strict father. "I can't help it if my son doesn't wake up at an appropriate time."
Adrien was already shaking his head, "It's not my fault that my parents decided to live out in the middle of nowhere, and I only have the sun to wake me up each morning."
She sighed before smiling and watching Adrien fondly as he began pulling himself out of bed, "I'd hate to be in the city though, especially with crime at such a high rate."
Adrien shrugged as he pulled back the curtain of his window, "I wouldn't know. You've never let me go beyond the outskirts of Paris."
Maybe this time, he'd niggled and pressed enough. He wanted to see the city of Paris just once, with the grand Eiffel Tower which seemed to lean ever so slightly to the right.
"Isn't this enough?"
Adrien sighed as he saw his mother forlorn expression and leaned back against the wall taking a deep breath, "I'm getting older and I need to take a step out on my own, right?"
"Your mother is right, Adrien. The city is a strange and dangerous place. You will need to mind more than just that passing thief."
Adrien shut his mouth and bowed his head at the voice of his father who had come around and placed a tender hand on his wife's shoulder.
"Yes, father," Adrien granted before heading outside.
Gabriel and Emilie shared a sad smile after watching their boy exit their little cottage. He didn't know, but they would save him from the evils which plagued this world.
Adrien went outside in his pajamas, a light linen shirt and pants which allowed for nice airflow on these hot summer days. The warm air was refreshing, and Adrien took a breath of it, a few actually, slowly to let the moment last. Beside the cottage was a garden. In the distance stood the Eiffel Tower overlooking the grand city of Paris.
Adrien meandered around the garden tending to the tomatoes and strawberries, the rosemary and sage as his mind wandered where his feet couldn't. He wondered what it would be like to walk down one of those lanes and find himself in Paris, among the high rises where he could almost touch the sun. If only he could walk down the street and greet the new faces lining up in his vision. Could he just visit and maybe meet up with Chloé and catch up. He smiled down at the bed of pansies, gently stroking its blue and white petals. One would look beautiful in her hair.
He really should go; he had just never acted upon pressing the issue. Adrien glanced back to the cottage knowing full well, why he hadn't. His parents were protective to say the least and didn't trust city-folk within a ten foot pole. Of course, he had brought up the possibility of going out beyond the garden countless times before when he was younger and innocent, but his parents always reminded him that the outside world was strange, perilous, not to mention terrible people, horrible people who would take him away from them without a single good-bye.
Adrien chuckled at the thought. He understood the dangers; he was wiser, more mature, now. He wouldn't really have minded the prospect of remaining at home so much either if not for Chloé Bourgeois and her visits which started up when they were children. Her dad, the mayor of Paris, had come by for an inspection of some sort when they were growing into their teen years as Adrien recalled, and Chloé had begrudgingly come along.
That was how she laid the story out to him while they were sitting in this exact garden, and her father was finishing business with his parents. He smirked at her verdict at the end of that particular visit, "You're not as ridiculous as I thought."
When Chloé's father came for other important meetings or inspection, she came with him, spending her time with Adrien and eventually telling him about the "Woes of Chloé Bourgeois", their tender nickname for her rants which she brought with her from the city.
These started when he questioned her about why she was so adamant to stay with him rather than go back to Paris, the City of Love. She had groaned, proclaiming that she wanted to stay with Adrien away from all the frustrating city life, starting with her cold-hearted father who refused to give her anything and expected everything from her because she was the "daughter of the mayor". She had put air-quote around her declaration after she wept before Adrien one day. He learned later that her mother, the esteemed Audrey Bourgeois, had divorced her husband because how he pestered her, but when it came to little Chloé, her mother had done nothing to take her, protect her. It was ridiculous, Chloé had told him, utterly ridiculous, that her mother didn't care enough to take her own daughter away from such a menace to society. She would regularly tell Adrien that he was the nicest person she had ever met, and when Adrien had questioned the truth of her declaration, she laughed at him.
He couldn't help smile at the memory now. She had told him that they were all just ridiculous to treat her, the mayor's daughter, with either disdain or indifference.
She was quite the character certainly in Adrien's mind, but she surprised him along the way. His finger ran over the velvety roses, and he smelled their fragrance as he thought about other days when she came on her own, unannounced and in need of a friend. It was on those days that she would ask him, through his parents, if he would visit with her a little while, and he would answer an assured yes when he saw her downcast expression.
They would walk through the garden Adrien knew, having now taken up the watering pot to care for the Agreste's self-sustaining garden, and she would be quiet. The first time she'd done it, Adrien hadn't known what to do in response, but he walked with her all the same down the lanes. He eventually picked a violet and stood before her uncertainly.
"What?" she had voiced at last, hard and raw.
Adrien shook his head at his words that day, "It's a beautiful flower for a beautiful girl."
"I am not beautiful," she had told him then, "At least, certainly not right now."
That day he had backed down almost immediately, "Then, I don't have to if you don't want to."
She had grunted at him and declared, "Just put the stupid flower in my hair or something, then."
Adrien smiled, remembering the complete transformation how she looked after he had placed the violet behind her ear: disgruntled to gentle; frowning to a soft smile; a huff to a deep breath.
She had stood there for a long moment visibly calmer, but Adrien was becoming antsy, uncertain where this would lead him. He was opening his mouth as he tried to think of what to ask her or tell her, but she beat him to it. She had asked him how he was, what had he been doing for the past while, and a good natured conversation would start up between them.
The days like that made the silly Chloé all the more endearing. Surely, if she could be sweet and sour, harsh and smooth, the city would be teeming with unknown faces that he could get to know. It would be her world that she could show to him, and he'd love to run down the lanes with her or walk by the Siene. Adrien's heart swelled as he considered the possibility while putting down the watering pot and looked back to the City of Love taking up the horizon.
The more the he thought about it, the more, Adrien realized that visiting Chloé was quite important to heading into the city. She had seemed rather distracted the last time that they had met in the garden. The clearest notation that Adrien could get out of her was to the effect that something was not right with one of her friends in the city. What that entailed, Chloé evaded and skirted around her entire visit. Being around Adrien seemed to assuage her a bit, but he couldn't help noticing how absent-minded she was whenever he started talking to her about it. The last that he could gather was that it wasn't anything bad, bad, not anything bad pertaining to Chloé at least. Maybe he'd be able to go into the city not only to meet her in her own environment but also to make sure she was doing alright.
Adrien could only hope that the issue had passed since she hadn't visited for a while, but the thought that maybe everything was alright was quickly rebutted by the possibility that maybe everything wasn't alright. Maybe she hadn't visited because everything had gone terribly wrong. Maybe it wasn't that she wasn't visiting but that she hadn't been able to visit.
Adrien paused then, collecting himself. Chloé was a big girl and could take care of herself Adrien knew. She knew where to find him, if she needed him too. Just because she might be in a fix didn't mean that he was the only one that she'd come to, even if, he smiled bitterly watching the expanse beyond the garden, it felt like he was since she was the only person, aside from his parents that he even knew.
Adrien ran his fingers through his hair. He really wanted to go to the city and see who and what he would find there. Yes, his parents were right, there was surely great danger there, certainly men like André Bourgeois who wouldn't let his daughter be a daughter but rather a full grown woman before she was fourteen, and surely there would be criminals like the one that his mother and father feared hiding in the cracks, but he had to see it for himself.
He assured the pestering voices of his parents which echoed in his mind that once he had seen that it really was as bad as they told him, he'd return and live out his days on a self-sustaining garden in the countryside, being visited by Chloé whenever the whim possessed her.
Adrien watched the sun then with bitter realization. It was hardly noon. Night would be the best time to---
No, he'd go to his parents first he told himself as he headed back in. One visit wouldn't hurt them, right? He nodded to himself once as he stood in front of the door. Besides, Paris would be far better to see during daylight hours.
He slipped his shoes off at the front door before realizing that he was still in his pajamas. He shook his head and went back into this room to get ready for this outing, a clean t-shirt and jacket with a pair of jeans for traversing the grasslands between him and Paris. His sturdy boots were at the door. He grabbed a bite to each from the kitchen-dining room table before standing up and looking at the door on the far side of the hall.
He strode up to his parents' bedroom door, lifting his fist but pausing for a half-second longer. Before he could lose his courage, he willed himself to knock. The thud sounded oddly in his ears, deep and uncertain. He tried again once more, twice in quick succession before his maman opened the door. A look of surprise crossed her features before she smiled and gestured for him to come in.
His father was at the desk before the window, deep in thought over something of which Adrien had no knowledge. His father's desk was a strictly off-limits area, something which he had learned since childhood.
The bedroom door thudded shut, and Adrien suddenly felt quite the weight of what he was about to do come crashing on top of him in the squeezing of his chest as Gabriel pulled himself away from his work. Adrien shook his head and stepped forward, "Father."
"What is it, son?"
"I--" but he got no further. Gabriel was watching him with keen eyes so that all the blood seemed to be leaving Adrien's face and rushing to his legs.
His father still watched him searchingly, and his mother's voice rang to bring him out of his stupor.
"What is it, Adrien?" Her voice was softer, perhaps more inviting.
"I want to go to the city," Adrien rushed out before quickly tacking on, "please."
Gabriel shook his head firmly.
"The city is quite a dangerous place."
Adrien turned in surprise to hear his mother's voice.
"I can take care of myself," he quickly rebutted before remembering, "but I would be happy to go with you."
"The city has nothing for us, Adrien." Gabriel's voice brought Adrien's attention back to the front.
"I can go by myself."
"You will not."
"Why not, Father?" Adrien demanded after the absolute declaration, "Is it because you don't think I can take care of myself?"
"Nothing of the sort, dear. We only---"
Emilie quieted after a hard glance from Gabriel who answered instead, "It is not a question of taking care of yourself. Your mother is right: the city is a dangerous place, but you must understand that it is dangerous because it is full of people who give in to their baser emotions and desires far too easily. They will manipulate you when you least expect it and take from you when you are walking on your way."
"I understand that, Father," Adrien countered as his hands became fists, "I've heard well enough about thieves and criminals, but I want to go out and see the world for myself."
"Isn't what we've given to you enough?" Gabriel demanded, his voice deep as he slid the chair away from the desk and rose to his full stature. He stood before Adrien while his mother was behind him. Adrien saw his father towering above him even though they were nearing the same height. His hands rested firmly behind his back, and his legs were locked together like a wall. His eyes were almost unreadable, almost expectant while disappointed, or angry after he had given his verdict.
Adrien couldn't fathom why his gut immediately dropped or why his mouth went dry. He only knew that he had crossed some line, immaterial yet impassable. His feet already began to shuffle back to the safety beyond the door, and he was on the point of bowing his head and nodded. The words, "Yes, Father," were impressed on the tip of his tongue.
Adrien was nineteen, a young man ready to explore the world. He bit his tongue hard. His thought process seemed to be back on track as he considered the absurdity of the situation. His father had never, certainly not recently, stood to correct him. The stance induced inexplicable dread, contrary to how Gabriel always remained where he was to instruct and correct his son. It was one of the stark contrasts that he prided his family on compared to Bourgeois family in which the mayor preferred to make Chloé feel small to prove his point.
The thought settled back into his head: he wanted to explore, beyond the parameters of his parents' cottage and property and see Chloé. He wasn't a little kid any more who couldn't take care of himself.
"I want to see Chloé," he argued.
"Of course, we can invite her here."
"Your mother is right. You do not need to leave in order to do that."
Adrien closes his eyes and took a deep breath. His voice dragged out, "That's not the same."
His father remained imposing, "You may see Chloé; you may not leave."
"Why not?" Adrien demanded, "What is so horrible about the city and everywhere else that I may not go there even though everyone else is there? Why can't I see what's there and make my own judgements before coming home?"
"It shouldn't be that much trouble, right? He's coming back home, and Adrien needs to see it so that he can stay here."
Gabriel's glare shifted, "Emilie."
Her voiced sounded pained, "We've had the conversation before, haven't we? We've told him that it's dangerous, so I'm sure that he understand that, but he hasn't seen it like we have. He won't understand until he does. He'll keep asking because he doesn't understand. It will continually come up, and I'm-- That's not how..."
Gabriel's stance did loosen then, his hands fell to his side, and he turned facing the window. His voice came across quieter, "You will be back tonight."
The assent came much more easily, "Yes, Father."
His father stood while the room waited with baited breath. His hands rose in front of him, probably fiddling with his wedding ring, a habit that Adrien knew came when his father was nervous.
"I will come right back," Adrien tried to assure him as his own hands loosened at his side.
Gabriel did turn then and watched his son before nodding his head and striding forward and enveloping his son in his embrace. "Come back to us safely," he whispered firmly.
"I will, Father," Adrien offered, burying his face in his father's shoulder while his arms were wrapped around him.
When they separated, Gabriel nodded once while a small smile traced his lips, and he returned to his desk.
Adrien released a breath he didn't know that he had been holding before having it knocked out of him as he was embraced tightly by his mother. She was smiling at she let him go and let him out of the room. When Adrien cleared the threshold, he heard, "Stay safe."
He nodded happily as he saw his mother's smile before running to the front door before he remembered himself and slowed to a jog. He eagerly pulled on the leather lace boots, impatient with himself for not tying them fast enough.
When they were at last on, Adrien bounded out the door, down the road and towards Paris and the leaning Eiffel Tower.