The conclusion of this series. Hope it won't be too bad.
Day 8: Anything
It had been a few weeks since the final battle against Paris' supervillain. If it could be called a battle-Gabriel Agreste had been already considering a surrender if Style Queen failed, as if an Akumatized Villain created by someone so vile to get Akumatized over being made to sit in the second row wasn't powerful enough then he couldn't figure what to do, and when he was visited by five superheroes, including the one who had single-handedly thrashed Style Queen for five minutes, he didn't even try and deny anything. He just gave up the two Miraculous he had plus all his data, admitted why he had done it, thanked them when Nambi figured out how to cure his wife (and between the method and who had figured it out, that had been embarrassing for all the presents), and called the police himself. He and his secretary were expected to be sentenced to 10 years(1). Poor Adrien had taken it relatively well for the circumstances, and they had managed to talk his mother into not pulling him from school.
It had been an "interesting" time for Lila and Marinette, especially as they and the class had to deal with a number of idiots who didn't get the difference between Adrien and his father. But it paled in comparison to the confrontation before them: the woman known as "La Benigna" (the good one)-Lila's mother. Who for once was at home and had wanted to talk with them both. And considering how conservative (or "idiotically backward when it comes to love", as Lila had put it) the Italian diplomatic world was, it didn't bead well.
"And what if she threatens to move? Or if she threatens your grandmother's passport! Or-"
"Calm down, Lila." Marinette said, being for once the calm one as they waited for her in the apartment's dining room. And while it was amusing to Lila, of all people, a nervous wreck, the fact someone could do that was concerning. Especially as Marinette knew that a large part of Lila's less reputable character traits could be blamed on her mother somehow managing to be criminally absent(2) and overexpose the girl to people who were literally paid to scam, cheat and lie(3)-and was extremely good at that herself. Still, Marinette knew they could take her, and said just so to her girlfriend.
"But... How?" Lila asked. "She's no Gabriel Agreste, she-"
"Left you alone for days at a time, constantly misses the parent-teacher conferences, and in short she's more neglectful than Gabriel." Marinette stated, matter-of-factly. "What would happen if that became known?"
"I'd likely lose my job." Lila's mother admitted from the door as she entered and showed off a directional mic to indicate she had been listening the whole time. "And thank you for making the whole thing much faster-I have nothing about same-sex relationships, and current trends would keep fools from making any open move, but they might try more covert moves, and I wanted to make sure you could take it. Now, could you wait a minute? I remember you liked my supplì(4), and it should be ready in a moment."
As the woman left for the kitchen, Lila turned to Marinette and said: "Can I move in with you?"
"Sure thing." Marinette agreed. Lila's mother may be a good diplomat, but she just wasn't cut to be a parent. Or to stay around children.
Notes
(1)By the French Penal Code, Gabriel Agreste would face between 20 years of jail and life, depending on how he acts and how pissed the judge is at him, plus fines. Full collaboration and giving himself up would reduce the jail time by half, however.
(2)As we see in the series, Lila's mother can be away for four days at a time. And apparently, diplomats are often that overworked in the real world too.
(3)Sad to say, but diplomats, in the process of representing their nations' interests, tend to do just that. And on an order they will break many laws. Case in point, many members of the various delegations to the United Nations don't pay their traffic tickets because they're ordered to not pay them, no matter their opinions.
(4)A typical Roman dish.
