Prompt: Sentimental Gifts

Adrien sat at a table as Gramps made his way to the bar to get them a couple of drinks. Even after Adrien had argued that he would like to get the older man one as a thank you for the clothing, it seemed the guy wouldn't take no for an answer. He couldn't help but study the man who'd taken him under his wing, it seemed the guy was still in amazing shape for his age, and even though Adrien knew both him and his wife to be in their early 80's, there was a chance the two could past for mid 60's (if you disregarded their appearance).

Even though they both looked like the most caring grandparents in the world — complete with the shrinking appearance of Granny — Adrien was almost certain they could beat the normal athletic twenty something year old in a race. There was nothing to either of them, just muscular athletic frames. His mind began to fuzz as a possibility tried to push in. Placing a hand to his head, he looked down at the table to steady himself, what was it with these two?

"You okay, kid?" The phrasing was so similar, but once again a bolt of electricity shot through his cortex causing him to wince and backtrack from the thought.

"Yeah," Adrien replied with a hiss, "just some sort of weird headache."

"Drink this." He placed a tumbler down in front of him that contained a small amount of golden liquid. "It'll put some hairs on your chest."

As Gramps took a swig of his own, Adrien picked up the tumbler and gave it a swirl, studying the thickness of the liquid as it moved in a cyclone in the glass. Placing it under his nose he took a rather deep sniff, the smell of the liquid burning through his nose, down into his throat.

"Woah," he gasped, moving the tumbler back to the table only to be met by the chortling laughter of his drinking partner. "How can you drink that?"

Gramps took another sip before placing it back on the coaster. "It's quite the saviour when you have four children and ten grandchildren. The great grandkids are starting to pop out now too."

"If you don't mind me asking, how old are you both?" Adrien queried, picking up the glass once more and placing it to his lips. A tiny drip of whisky hit his tongue and, if he was being honest, it didn't taste too badly at all. It was oddly warming and homely,

"Good isn't it?" Gramps said, sitting back in his seat and studying Adrien. "And to answer your question, I'm 83 and M'L— M'wife is 82."

"Oh woah," Adrien said shocked, "you both seem younger."

"Even though we don't look it?" Gramps laughed, his eyes twinkling with an unknown youth.

"I wasn't — I didn't —" Feeling uncomfortable, Adrien grabbed the tumbler and took another large gulp. His face wincing as the liquid burned moving down his throat. As Adrien coughed, Gramps laughed again, the man was obviously a very joyful fellow, and Adrien couldn't help but wonder if he'd always had such a sunny disposition.

"It's okay, we're both very lucky. I may be 83 but I don't feel a day over 50... well some days it's 60, but don't tell Granny. She likes to think she's fitter than me."

Adrien snorted, imagining the arguments between them about who could bench press the most, and most likely the tournament to prove it.

"So you have a big family? What's that like?" Adrien placed his elbows on the table, linking his fingers and setting them under his chin as he moved forward in curiosity.

Adrien had always dreamed of a big family, one he could share with Marinette and enjoy the laughter that filled a warm, loving home. He'd always lived in a house which he considered too big; the size separating the family too much and instead of bringing them together, it tore them apart.

Over the past couple of years he'd spent a lot more time in the bakery than he did at home. The love he experienced everytime he went there made him yearn for the day he could break free out of his family home and into his own with Marinette. Always with Marinette.

"It's chaotic, but amazing. It's something I always wanted. You see, my family wasn't exactly caring. Well, I suppose they were in their own way," he reminisced, "but their way was so far off the mark, it was scary." He chortled as he remembered, picking up his glass for another swig.

Adrien watched as the confident man seemed to lose a little of his edge as he spoke about his family, and Adrien couldn't help but match it against his own. They cared, but in their own unique way.

"You said you have four children. Are they close?" Adrien asked, watching the gentleman's face ignite at the mention of such a topic. If they needed to power the room, they just needed to bottle him.

"Really close," he smiled. "The eldest are twins, then they have a brother and a sister. The last one was a bit of a shock, she definitely wasn't planned but she's the light of our life. She's so full of energy and enthusiasm, nothing like the other three. But they're all best of friends, we're really lucky with that. They spend a lot of time together and still see me and Granny often, upholding family traditions and all. We're a very sentimental family, our gifts reflect that each year too. More are crafted than brought."

"That sounds great." Adrien smiled at Gramps, moving backwards and taking another gulp of the whisky in front of him in complete awe of what this man has. He really did seem to live the dream.

"It is... now. It hasn't always been that way though, myself and Granny went through a lot — and I mean a lot — to get to this place."

"Really? You two together just seems so natural," Adrien said, curiosity once again taking over. How could two people who seemed so perfect for each other not have been childhood best friends to sweethearts, how could these two have anything but the romance of dreams.

"We are and we always have been. My wife doesn't take love declarations well, especially when she feels it's from someone who could hurt her. Before me she only really had one boyfriend and a fling, and she self sabotaged herself both times."

Adrien couldn't help but run through his mind about Marinette. A short stint with Luka and then a brief encounter with him as Chat Noir and that was about it. Could Gramps know something that could help him? He couldn't help but wonder how he won his wife over, contemplating grabbing a notebook and pen to make some notes as he quizzed him.

"In what way?" Adrien asked.

"She'd only date those she was certain would come to an end, that's why she basically ignored me for years, even when I was so obvious that I loved her, I may as well have had it tattooed on my head at one point." He laughed to himself and leant forward, taking a hold of the glass and looking into the amber liquid. "Where with the others she could see how it would end, or knew it must come to an end, she had a future planned with me, a future she wanted."

"And you loved her?"

"More than anything. It was hard getting her to understand how genuine my feelings were, but once I finally cracked her and was given some good advice, we hardly ever looked back."

He was still looking in his drink, finally lifting the glass to his lips and taking a rather large gulp before placing it down and looking straight at Adrien.

"You want to know the advice, don't you?" He smiled.

"I would appreciate any help as I seem to be pathetic when it comes to love, but I don't want to pry," Adrien said.

"I don't know about your Marinette, but mine had a lot of previous... how can I even explain it... issues? I suppose. Her trust wasn't there and she did everything possible to put obstacles between us. Something stopped her from believing it, even if I outright proposed she wouldn't have considered it a declaration... It wasn't enough. She needed the words to be supported by actions and proof. She was overly factual for someone who was so creative and dreamed so big. Eventually I was fed up and took an opportunity away from our friends, when it was just the two of us, to finally have the heart to heart that was needed."

"And did it work?" Adrien said, only to be met by a wide 'cat that's got the cream' smile.

"Really well."

"That's what me and Marinette need. Time to talk and sort this out but she just won't give me the chance." Adrien took his own drink and finished it off, grimacing at the taste as once more his oesophagus was burnt.

"You're snowed in, I'm sure you can work something out. If you need to speak to her, wouldn't now be the most ideal time? Fancy another?" Gramps pointed to Adrien's empty glass only for the blond to shy away.

"Oh - um - no thanks. I'm good."

"You'll get used to it. I promise."

They sat in silence for a while, the room chatter becoming the backdrop for their thoughts, Adrien's own taking the opportunity to run wild.

"I'm just going to get a refill, are you sure you don't want anything?" Gramps asked, standing up from the table and downing what was left of his own.

"Oh, just water please. If that's okay?" Adrien was met by a nod before Gramps headed back to the bar.

Adrien looked around the room and started to humm, he wasn't certain where it was coming from but he was quite sure Last Christmas was playing from either this room or the one next door — the kitchen.

'Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away.'

An icy chill ran down Adrien's spine. Even if he got this talk done and dusted with Marinette, was there going to be more than just the time they spent in this magical cabin? How did he know that this would work, that what they put in now, over this next day or so, would be worth it?

A glass appeared in front of him, Gramps once again taking the seat opposite. "What's bothering you my lad?"

Bothering him? Well, wasn't that just the million dollar question. He was quite sure as he progressed on with his life, his therapist would be able to buy a small island off the coast of Bermuda.

"Was it okay after you got together? How did you know it was right?" If he didn't ask this man who was he going to ask? His father would be no help, he couldn't ask anyone close to Marinette in case they spilled the conversation and Nino was just... he'd prefer to not go there.

But right now, he had an option sitting in front of him, one who was being so open and honest Adrien couldn't explain his gratitude.

"Before we discuss this, I just want you to know I adore my wife. From the first day I met her, right up until now, but that doesn't mean it's always been smooth sailing or that we've had no issues, because believe me, we've had some major blow outs."

"That's one of my biggest fears. I don't want to mess this up, but I want to be with her more than anything. I want to be hers. I would do whatever it takes to keep us together — if we get that far." Adrien was ready to stand on the table and preach his never dying love for Marinette, instead he just claimed his loyalty to his new friend and hoped an answer was about to appear and slap him around the head.

"I want you to remember every word you've just said because it's most likely you will have to fight to keep your love strong – it's only natural."

Adrien nodded, using his fingers to trace the condensation on the glass up and down as he waited for the old man to speak again. The cold drips of moisture that coated his skin travelled from his fingers to his gut. He was almost certain he was not going to like what came next.

"My wife and I had some pretty major secrets, almost to a point where we were living two different lives."

"What were you secret agents?" Adrien asked, a smile lighting up his eyes.

The older man beckoned him closer, taking the opportunity to whisper in his ear. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

As Adrien shot back in his seat. Gramps laughed, clutching his belly in an action not too dissimilar to Santa.

"Just kidding my boy. Anyway, something happened and these secrets were revealed, which was fine. It helped our relationship and allowed us to spend a lot more time together, plus an added ingredient to which finally got us together. It was great. We were happy. Until one day..."

Adrien was on the edge of his seat, this story greater than any movie he'd seen in the past year.

"What happened?" He was almost breathless as he spoke, his eyes wide and ready for the next part.

"The lies came back, but this time it was all a little too close to home. It drove a wedge between us and I couldn't remember ever being as angry as what I was at that moment. I threw her out of our home and told her I didn't want to see her again, that what she did was beyond hurtful."

Adrien gasped, his hand moving to cover his mouth. "Was she having an affair?"

Gramps almost fell off his seat. "Gosh, no! She'd never do that. She loved me, I knew that to be true. She just mollycoddled me, treated me sometimes like a fragile broken boy, when really I needed to hear and accept the truth — regardless of the situation."

"How did you get back together?" Adrien asked, if something had affected them that much yet they were still together today, madly in love with a huge family, he must have forgiven her, right?

As he considered the story, he couldn't help but imagine Marinette reacting in the same way. She always wanted to protect him, not realising it was his job to protect her.

"I remembered the key to a relationship was communication. Find out the facts and the information before allowing my hot headedness to take over and make the situation worse. Luckily for me, I managed to calm down and get to Granny before she'd even pressed the button for the elevator. I need to listen to the whole story and react not the other way round; plus remember 'people do crazy things when they're in love' right? I should have given her the benefit of the doubt."

"Hercules?"

"Of course."

The two men smiled at each other, the older taking his glass and presenting it to Adrien. "You've got this kid. Just use your heart, not your head."

Looking around the room and considering his next move when Marinette returned, Adrien's eyes landed on a dusty piano sitting in the corner. He knew just where to start.

"Hey, Gramps, I don't suppose you know how to play the piano do you?"