First Order of Business | Adrienette

The Beginning of the End

Adrien spends the rest of his workday with the people of the lower floors. Everyone needs something to be improved, and he makes a list of it all and takes it up to his office. He's set on getting those needs met, but he needs to figure out how to do it without making too much noise. Too many upgrades would make his father put his nose in his business for once and realize Adrien isn't keeping to his plain duties.

He tries not to think too much about his father, but the family photo on his desk reminds him of their argument. What would their family be like if his mother never died? He thinks about what Lila said to him at the conference, and he scratches at his neck too vigorously to where it starts to burn. He forces himself to get out a sticky note and pen.

Purple folder filed under M

That's what she told him, and he hasn't been able to forget it. If he did check and there was nothing there, the worst that would come from it is that he wasted his time on Lila's words. But if he didn't ever go look, it would be an itch in his head he can't scratch. He only has until his father returns from Switzerland, and he still has a spare key to the mansion that's lost somewhere in his apartment. Gorilla wouldn't mind Adrien going over, either.

But what would he find? And is it worth knowing about? Ignorance is bliss sometimes, and he doesn't want to owe Lila anything. But after spending the day listening to issues that were just a few floors below him, he realizes he has to go. He can't keep living with his eyes closed.

Marinette walks in through his open door, and he looks at the time on his open laptop. She's leaving already. He quickly opens his junk drawer and throws the sticky note inside, closing it. He doesn't want to burden her with more family issues than what he already has.

"I'm heading out," she tells him. She raises an eyebrow towards his desk, and he realizes he wasn't as subtle as he thought.

"Can you give me a kiss before you go?" he asks in an attempt to distract her. He knows she's too smart, but she closes his office door and walks over anyways. He stands up to meet her and puts an arm around her waist, bending down to kiss her.

She smiles and asks him, "You don't need a ride home, Princess? I have my motorcycle." He laughs and shakes his head.

"Maybe another time," he plays along with her. "People would ask why Adrien Agreste is holding on for his life on his secretary's motorcycle."

"I'm not a bad driver, you'll see one day," she says, reaching out to fix his collar. Adrien braces his hand on the small of her back, hoping that she doesn't notice the red lines on his neck. She doesn't and instead moves to fix the front of his hair. "Do you need me to schedule you a haircut?"

"I do it myself in my bathroom," Adrien says. "But sometimes I'm too scared to cut more, so it's been subtly getting longer."

"I like it at this length," she tells him, holding a piece gently between her fingers.

"I'll keep it this way forever then," he smirks. She rolls her eyes, but he kisses her cheek to make her smile.

"Oh," she says, suddenly remembering something. "Kim texted me five minutes saying that other people saw Nathalie with boxes. You should call her and see what's happening." Now Adrien is the one that raises his eyebrow. "I have to go home already, but you should do it before she leaves."

"Yeah," Adrien nods, "I'll let you know what happened tomorrow."

She looks up at the ceiling for a moment. "Or you can call me," Marinette suggests. He smiles and gives her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"I'll call you later," he promises her. He knows he won't forget because she's all he tends to think about even after work.

She leaves his office, and he follows after her to watch her get in the elevator before he goes to search for his phone. It's somewhere under all his papers, and he finds it lodged between two folders. He calls Nathalie, and she answers straight away.