Searching [ adrienette AU ]

what took you so long?

adrien's point of view.

[ this chapter will be in narrative form ]

This wasn't it.

Whatever he was planning to celebrate his mother's return when he was eight, he never really thought that out of all reasons that she was gone for such a long time, having another family was the cause. He never lost hope, unlike his father. To Gabriel Agreste, Emilie Graham de Vanily was dead. But Adrien always felt like she was still there, that she was still walking down the street somewhere in a city with a smile on her face.

As he grew older, however, he began to think that she was really gone. He couldn't bear the thought of that, especially during her birthdays and the day when she went missing. He was still such a small child back then, but he remembered how she sang his favorite lullaby, read him his favorite story, and carry him in her arms. She was so loving, so caring, and she'd always tell Adrien how much she loves him.

He could never forget the warmth of his mom's embrace whenever he'd cry.

That was one of the reasons why he still couldn't let go. Adrien loved his mom so much, and the fact that she disappeared so suddenly left a thousand questions to a child, and a million more when he'd grown.

Despite all the fame, fortune, and the perfect boy facade he maintains on media, he was still so broken and confused inside. Did his mother leave because she never really loved him? Was Adrien not enough? Was he not the son she wanted to have?

These questions would always appear in his mind, and the only thing he can do is to escape from them. He goes to their private resort, simply because not anyone can just go inside. He'd be away from the paparazzi. From the people who fell in love with the idea of him and probably couldn't bear to handle the real Adrien Agreste.

Now that he knows that Emilie disappeared from their lives to stay in another's, everything crumbled. Watching his father scream, cry, and throw everything that can be thrown in their home wasn't making anything better. So what did he do?

He ran. Again.

Now he's in a small cottage, sitting on the wooden floor, watching the waves of the sea as they hit the shore. They had a mansion inside the resort, but Adrien has always preferred smaller, simpler things.

He loved the peace and quiet he had here. It felt like a whole different world, with just him and the sea and nothing else. He felt free. Whenever he comes here, he doesn't feel . . . suffocated.

Only he, Nathaniel, and Nino can enter this place without being interrogated by Gorilla at the gate. He'd go here whenever he feels like he's driven to a corner and didn't know what to do.

Sitting here, escaping reality while watching the sea was enough. Well, it used to be enough when one little thing barged into his life unexpectedly.

Marinette.

To be honest, he thought she was just another fan. Another one who was consumed by this unrealistic, perfect idea of him. But she was like a magnet. He didn't exactly know why, but he enjoyed talking to her. She genuinely wanted to get to know him, and remembered every little thing he told her about. And for the first time, he felt special. Really special. He felt like he finally found someone who made him feel like the real him was the best version out of all versions he tried to show in public. He didn't even have to try.