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Adrien never understood the way people looked at his mother when they went out. The few times they went out, of course. With his dad being a fashion designer and his mom a famous actress, their schedules and public recognition didn't allow them to have a walk quite often.
Adrien couldn't understand how someone as sweet, nice and pretty as her mother got so many roles in really successful horror movies.
The name of the first horror film he remembered his mother starring in was "BEcause”. Adrien, being only four, couldn't understand why his parents didn't allow him to watch it.
"I want to see mom acting" he always said as an argument to convince them, unsuccessfully. His dad forbade it saying the movie had "adult topics" on it. The only thing he ever got to know about it were the words "obsessive love". Adrien couldn't understand how love could be scary. Especially his mother's love.
Soon, he couldn't even remember the names of all the movies she had acted in. One of them was about a game where people had to fight each other. Another one had a plotline similar to Alice in Wonderland, but darker. There also was a Japanese one with a strange name he wasn't able to remember.
Some days, Emilie would arrive home wearing the costume or the makeup she had for the filming. When that happened, Gabriel took care that Adrien wasn't there to witness it. He didn't want his son to see her dressed like someone who would give any child (or adult) nightmares.
When Gabriel wasn't home, that task fell to Nathalie.
Nathalie didn't worry about it as much as Gabriel did. Sure, sometimes her costumes were a little too creepy for a kid, but Adrien was Emilie's son. If he didn't see her dressed like that in his own house, he would see her on movie posters or teasers. Aside from that, Nathalie was aware of the excitement he felt watching any tiny fragment of his mother's performance, even if it only was on the clothes she was wearing.
It was one of those days. Emilie walked in with a pretty white dress that covered her up to her knees and elegant black shoes that made her look like a doll. Her hair was tied back in two braids turned into buns. Her face was covered with small but notable red dots, simulating bloodstains. In her hands she had more of those red dots, but they looked way more realistic.
“Mom, mom, mom!” Adrien ran to hug his mother.
“Be careful, dear, you could get stained” Emilie hugged him back, trying not to touch him directly with the palms of her hands.
“Can you tell me what the movie is about?” the kid changed the conversation topic fast and made an adorable "please" face.
“Dad isn't here yet, is he?” since Adrien shook his head, she looked at him and said “It's about a girl who has a doppelganger”
“What does that word mean?” he seemed confused.
“A doppelganger is someone who looks exactly like you”
“Oh, so it's like aunt Amelie and you? Or Felix and me!” Adrien sounded so excited Emilie couldn't help but smile.
“Yes, like that. But the doppelganger of this movie is not a very good person” as soon as she finished the sentence, she coughed twice. “It’s really late. You should go to bed, sunshine.” She quickly hid her hands behind her back and made a gesture to tell him to go up the stairs.
After an exchange of "I love you” and a promise of giving him a goodnight kiss, Adrien went to his room.
When his footsteps stopped resonating, Nathalie walked quickly towards Emilie and grabbed the hands she was hiding behind her back to see them. There were bigger and more irregular red stains than before, and they were not fake.
“Em, this isn’t normal. You have to see a doctor now” Nathalie's eyes were focused on the little drops of blood Emilie had coughed.
“I'm fine, don't worry” the blonde woman smiled sadly.
“Emilie, look at me. Emilie.” the assistant's blue eyes finally met her green eyes.
“I can't go to...” Nathalie didn't let her finish the sentence.
“I don't care. I'm driving you to the hospital now” she said with a firm tone.
“You're going to be the one explaining I used a broken magic jewel that got me like this”
Nathalie froze for a second after hearing that. If a professional saw Emilie, they would have no idea of what was happening to her, and that certainly wouldn't help.
“Nat, please, take care of Adrien if I ever…” Nathalie put a hand on Emilie's lips. She couldn't let her finish that sentence. She couldn't hear it.
“You'll be fine. I promise. We'll find a solution” she holded back the need of saying ‘I will find a solution’. She already knew Gabriel wouldn't be able to do it, at least alone, but she did not want to mention it out loud.
They looked at each other for a few seconds that felt like hours. Nathalie cleaned the real bloodstains on Emilie's hands with her own and decided to cut the silence.
“You look really pretty with that dress”
“Actually, it’s not very comfortable. I'm going to need help taking it off. I fought with the ribbon of the back for almost twenty minutes to put it on” Emilie smiled, back to her normal self.
“You promised Adrien you'll give him a goodnight kiss first, remember?”
“I know he would love to receive one from you too.”