{+}{+}{+}

"Are we almost there yet?" Adrien asked, "Another question, why am I wearing this blindfold?"

"It's a surprise," Nathalie replied, turning down another street. It's been a few minutes since they left the Gorilla's apartment. The ex-assistant told Adrien to wear a blindfold after they entered the car. The blonde complied, unsure of what is going on but trusted her nonetheless.

"Are those papers a part of the surprise?" the blonde questioned, holding in the urge to peek over at the papers.

"Yes, they are," she answered, the car coming to a halt, "We're here. You can take off the blindfold."

   Adrien pulled off the fabric covering his sight before looking around for the surprise. Yet, he's only met with an ordinary city street aligned with buildings. Sure, he's never been to this part of Paris before but didn't understand what the surprise is supposed to be. As far as he can see, there's nothing really surprising.

   "Uh, where is here exactly?" The ex-model asked, trying his best not to be rude or seem less than excited. Nathalie merely opened the car door and grabbed the papers, saying, "Why don't I show you? It's inside this building."

   Adrien followed Nathalie into the building. He scanned the comfy-looking lobby, trying to find some sort of hint of what this place is and what the surprise could be.

   Nathalie and Adrien walked up to the counter. A bald man with glasses stood on the other side, a welcoming smile on his lips.

   "Hello! My name is Dean Gates! Is there anything I can help you with today?"  he asked.

   "I'm Nathalie Sancoeur. I was told you'll have the new key since the last one broke," Nathalie said. Dean ducked down behind the counter for a moment until reappearing. He handed over a silver key with a number attached to it.

   "Here you are. If you have any further questions or troubles, don't hesitate to ask," Dean said.

   "Yes, thank you," Nathalie replied, gesturing for Adrien to follow her. The blonde raised an eyebrow, wondering what the key is for while following his temporary guardian to an elevator.

   Once they are inside and Nathalie pressed the number 3 button, Adrien curiously spoke, "What are we doing?"

   "You'll see," Nathalie cryptically replied. Adrien pursed his lips in thought until the sound of a ding marked their arrival. The doors split open, revealing the third floor's hallway of doors with a letter and numbers. Nathalie walked out, followed by the curious teen.

   "This must be a smaller hotel," he thought, "but why are we here? We're already staying at one...unless the pay of us staying there is getting too steep."

   "Here we are," the woman said, presenting door C-8.

"Oh—um, cool!" Adrien said with as much enthusiasm as possible.

"You still don't understand why we're here, don't you?" Nathalie questioned, grinning when Adrien sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. She put the key into the slot and unlocked the door. She opened the door and allowed Adrien to inspect the inside.

"I'm guessing it's because we can't afford to live in Le Grand Paris anymore," he answered, looking around the homey area and spotting two bedrooms.

"That's partially true," the ex-assistant answered, "but this isn't a hotel. This is an apartment building,"

Adrien shot his head around towards Nathalie. Now, he is really surprised.

"You mean, we're going to be living here?" he said in disbelief and returned to glossing over the apartment. He's always lived in big luxurious places, whether it was the mansion or temporarily staying at a high-classed hotel.

This apartment isn't as spontaneous as those other places but it didn't need to be. Adrien can see himself more at home in this smaller space than a giant, empty building.

"Correct..." Nathalie trailed off, "...and there's one final surprise too."

The ex-model hummed in question, wondering what else Nathalie has in store. She gestures to the normal-sized, rectangular table. The two sit down beside each other before Nathalie sets down the papers in front of him. The teen's gaze locked onto the papers in front of him, his attention drawn to the biggest word on the first page.

"Adoption?" The blonde confusingly said the word out loud, "Are you adopting a pet or something?"

Nathalie hid her snickering behind her hand, trying to regain her composure. It's a wonder how such an intelligent boy can be so oblivious. She supposes she can blame him since he's had a secluded life.

"I would like to adopt but it's not an animal or a thing. It's a specific person who just so happens to be sitting right next to me," she explained. Adrien's jaw dropped, not expecting so much to happen in one day. He takes a minute to let this soak in.

"That's if, you want me to adopt you. I'm not going to pressure you into doing something you don't want. You can have as much time as you need to think this over. You've been through a lot and-"

"Yes!" Adrien cut off a shocked Nathalie's rambling, "Yes, I'd like you to adopt me."

The stunned look on the woman's face is made evident. She thought Adrien would have a different reaction to this. Yet, she is glad things turned out the better way than the worst possible scenario.

"What do I have to do?" He asked, excitedly.

"Just sign this line and that's it," Nathalie answered, pointing to the blank line, "Everything else is and will be done."

Adrien didn't hesitate to grab a pen and perfectly sign his signature on the line. After he finished, the blonde wrapped Nathalie into a hug and she happily returned it.

"Happy birthday, Adrien."

{+}{+}{+}

   "Before we start playing video games, I'd like your honest opinion on something," Marinette said, opening the bakery's side door.

    "Sure," Adrien agreed, following the bluenette inside, "What do you need my opinion on?"

   "I'll show you, but I need your brutality honest answer on this," the bluenette replied, "This means, no going soft on me."

   "I'll try to give you the best constructive criticism I can," Adrien promised. Marinette gave an appreciative smile before the two began climbing the steps to the apartment above.

   Marinette's mind drifted a little, her hand still tingling from holding Adrien's hand. The lovely sensation stayed, except for the warmth it brought had diminished once they let go upon arrival. An odd—strange—feeling she's never quite experienced with any of her past crushes.

   Bluebell eyes glanced to the side, seeing the sweet blonde boy who somehow captured her heart in a short amount of time.

   Then, her foot caught the edge of the next step and fell forward. The bluenette grunted in pain, chin throbbing from colliding with the wooden step.

   "Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien asked, helping the teenage girl to her feet. Her face is painted pink in embarrassment for getting so easily distracted...and her clumsiness, of course.

   "He must think I'm a klutz," Marinette thought in disdain. She rubbed her aching jaw and reassured the ex-model, "Y-Yeah, I'm okay. I-I've been cursed—through m-much worse!"

   She held in her frustration, not wanting to blow up in front of Adrien. That would make things even more embarrassing if she lost her head. She doesn't want to ruin their time together because gravity just loves pulling jokes like her to the ground.

   "Here," the blonde boy said. Marinette snapped out of her gloomy state when an arm suddenly wrapped around her own. She can feel Adrien's presence even closer than when they held hands. His left side brushed with her right.

"This way, you won't fall," Adrien explained, sunnily. Marinette gaped in awe and her heart rapidly hammered. Her mouth ran on autopilot, a soft mumble escaping her lips, "I think it's too late for that."

"Sorry, what was that?" Adrien asked, not understanding what the bluenette said. Marinette gasped a little, clasping a hand over her stupid mouth. Then, she frantically tried to cover her tracks with incoherent gibberish. Finally, she sighed in defeat.

"Nothing, I said, nothing," she finished off, looking at the floor. The blonde felt something in his chest twist with concern and...suspicion. He isn't quite sure what is wrong with Marinette.

   She acts frightened around him but doesn't seem to dislike his presence. He doesn't know. Yet, he'll do his best to help her when she's willing to seek it.

"So, what did you want to show me?" Adrien questioned, "I can't wait to see it!"

The bluenette perked up, happiness returning to her facial features.

"Let's go! I need to have it finished before the two leave," Marinette said while the teens continued up the rest of the stairs without any more problems.

{+}{+}{+}

   "So...what do you think?"

   After stepping around the pile of bags and alerting her mother she brought a friend home, Marinette hurriedly made a break for her room with Adrien.  The bluenette didn't want to risk running into Celine or even, Tikki. If Celine caught Marinette with a guy, who knows what kind of embarrassing things the redheaded woman would pull.

   Luckily, they managed to enter her bedroom without difficulty.

   Once Adrien settled down on the chaise, he watched Marinette scurry over to her closet. She opened the closet door and rummaged through the curtain of clothes. He curiously scanned the pink room, filled with pictures of different people (some familiar), fabrics, and creations.

His gaze returned to the frantic bluebell-eyed girl pulling out a rather big box. She set it down in front of him a few feet away and took off the lid.

   "I've been working on this for a while but it was kinda difficult when the person I want to give it to continuously barges into my room," Marinette had explained, "Fortunately, I finished it before today but I need a second opinion on this."

   Then, Marinette pulled out a long, elegant dress. The black top has long sleeves, a bow sagging off the right shoulder. The skirt flowed a different-colored strip before and after every other of the black stripes.

   "I call this the rainbow dress. It's a bit of an...inspiration," Marinette added, sheepishly, "So, what do you think?"

   "Wow, Marinette...this looks amazing..." Adrien trailed off, standing from the furniture and carefully began to feel the material of the dress, "You really made this? You're incredibly talented."

   The bluenette felt her face flush, wanting to bury her head into the dress to hide.

   "Y-You really th-think so? I-I mean, there's no-nothing wrong with it, right?" She asked, stuttering over her words in a panic.

   "Trust me, Marinette. I don't have any complaints," Adrien replied before asking, "Who's the lucky girl that's getting this dress anyway?"

   Marinette's knees felt weak, so she sat down on her desk's chair (that's close by) and placed the clothing back inside the box, "Just my...aunt? I guess I don't really know what to call her except by her name, Celine."

   The blonde perked up at the familiar name, recognizing it from somewhere but isn't able to put a finger on it. He isn't given much time to think deeper on the name when Marinette mockingly challenged him to a few rounds of Ultra Mech Strike III.

{+}{+}{+}

   "Alright, the car is all packed," Tom informed the girls.

"Thank you so much, Tom and Sabine," Celine genuinely spoke to the couple, "I know this year...or all of the other years we've done this meetup hasn't been the easiest, but it's still nice to know we have some sort of family to visit."

"You and Tikki will always have a place in this house, Celine," Tom reassured, Sabine nodding in agreement. The redhead woman smiled and spread her arms out, "Ah, come here you old saps!"

Celine gave them each a farewell hug before Tikki clambered down the steps with a bag on her back.

"Mommy!" She called, excitedly, "Marinette has surprises for us! She's going to make me an aunt!"

The three adults stood in confusion before Marinette burst into the area. Every eye in the room locked onto the teen. Her face is fully flushed red and movements are frantic. Yet, she at least didn't manage to trip while chasing Tikki. Unfortunately, she didn't make it on time.

"Oooo, Marinette! You scoundrel!" Celine dramatically gasped, "I didn't even think you were capable of seducing a guy."

   "No, it's a misunderstanding!" Marinette explained, frantically waving her hands. Yet, it didn't help her situation when Adrien walked into the room holding a box.

   "You forgot these upstairs," he said, setting them down on the floor.

   "Dang, Mari Bear," Celine said, impressed and gave the teen girl an approving thumbs-up, "That's a nice upgrade you got there!"

   The bluenette groaned, hiding her face in her hands. She took in a deep breath and glared at the redheaded woman. Marinette can't hold it any longer when a smile spreads across her face. She walks over and pulls Celine into a hug.

"Wait...I know you!" Adrien exclaimed, "I saw you at the park!"

Celine blinked before realization fell upon her, "Oh, yeah! You're that blonde kid that had a leaf stuck in your hair and having trouble writing-"

She stopped, slowly glancing from Adrien to Marinette. Then, it dawned on her and the dots connected. Slowly, the biggest teasing grin slid across her features. A deep shade of pink dusted Adrien's cheeks, forcing himself not to look at the confused bluenette.

   "So...about those surprises," Celine said, shrugging off what just occurred to her. She decided she'd save her teasing for next year, having a gut feeling that the two teens will be dating by the time she returns.

   "Well..." Marinette began, unsure of what was happening, "I was telling Tikki before she interrupted me that I'm going to have a baby doll sent to you by mail because I'm not done with it yet. That's your surprise."

Tikki gasped then let out a cheer, enthusiastically jumping up and down. She loves dolls, not only for extreme modeling wars but because there always from Marinette. Marinette has made every doll (except for a Barbie doll her mom gave her for Christmas last year) she owns.

"And for you, Celine," Marinette continued, grabbing the box and handing it over to the redheaded woman.

   "Wow..." she quietly gasped in awe, "...you got me a box."

   Marinette rolled her eyes, "Open it!"

   Celine opened the box, seeing tissue paper covering the gift and a note sitting on top with three words.

Until Next Time...

{+}{+}{+}

If you guys have any questions, I'll do a Q&A at the end of the book!