Lost Kitten

Chapter 21: Gifts

As the last bell of the school day rang, the students filed from their classes. Adrien and Marinette met up in the courtyard, Adrien automatically handing her a helmet and a leather jacket.

"What's this?" She slightly scoffed, holding up the light pink leather jacket.

"It's yours. You know that room in my house full of old items my dad made?" Marinette nodded in confirmation. "Well I was in there, looking for a few things, and I came across this. It was going to be a part of last year's winter line, but he decided to scrap the idea early on. This is a one of a kind jacket, for a one of a kind girl." Adrien smirked as he looked down at his partner who was blushing profusely and looking down at her shoes.

"Thank you, Adrien. It means a lot." Marinette put on the jacket, it went well with her outfit, which consisted of an upcycled gray men's button down shirt that she had modified to her size and tied at the front, and a pair of light blue straight-leg jeans that were cuffed at the bottom and had a simple, wide, black belt synching the top to fit her waist perfectly.

"Shall we, m'lady?" Adrien said, holding out his hand.

Marinette chuckled softly. "We shall."

The two walked hand in hand to where Adrien's motorcycle was parked. Marinette loved the feel of getting around this way. It truly was the closest thing to moving around like they did as superheroes. She hugged Adrien tighter and laid her head on his back, watching the buildings pass through the clear windshield in front of her eyes. She loved being like this with Adrien, it felt so intimate. There were times that Marinette wished that she hadn't been chosen to be Ladybug, sometimes she just felt so inadequate. This was not one of those times. She wouldn't have her life be any different from what it was right now in this moment, and she didn't know it, but Adrien felt the same way.

Once again the ominous, dark wrought iron gates of the mansion were in front of them, opening slowly. Adrien drove into the large garage off to the right, it had been built recently. Adrien took off his helmet and jacket, Marinette following suit. Adrien led Marinette into the house and to his room.

"Are they back from Toulouse yet?" Marinette said, half whispering.

"Just Nathalie as far as I know, but she just came back to pick up some things so they can stay another night. She'll be taking the helicopter back to Toulouse in an hour. I think my father stayed behind to reprimand the workers. I feel bad that we got them in trouble by sending that email."

"It'll be okay, Adrien." Marinette said squeezing his hand lightly.

Adrien heard Marinette make an 'ooh' sound and wander off. He turned around to see her climbing the ladder to his loft. Adrien chuckled at her enthusiasm as she looked at his books, CDs, and DVDs.

"What are you doing?" Adrien asked as he climbed up to the loft.

"Looking at your collections." Marinette stated simply as she ran her fingers along the spines of his books.

"Woah." She muttered softly as she said, stopping in the 'F' section and picking up a book gingerly. "Is this a first edition print of The Great Gatsby?"

"I'm actually not sure. Let me see." Adrien took the book from her hands. The vibrant blue dust jacket was quite worn, but still in good condition. It used to be his mom's favorite. He flicked through the first few pages to find the publishing and print dates. Sure enough, it was an original print. "Yeah, it is."

"That is so cool. I'm actually a bit of a book connoisseur. This could be worth upwards of £75,000." Marinette said with excitement, while admiring the beautiful blue book in her hands, every word written in English.