Post by skyeknight on Oct 18, 2017 18:56:36 GMT
Adrien couldn’t watch Namine from afar for forever. He had to make a move, but something that wouldn’t set off an anxiety attack in her. He mailed her an invitation to his house. It would be on her if she wanted to meet him. But he had explained everything. How his father had recently passed and because of it, he found his mother’s will. In the other will, she was declared as their mother’s daughter. She had rights to inherit certain parts of his company if she so chose. He informed her she would be his half-sister. The media would eat up this scandal.
Secret Siblings! An Agreste Affair!
Lies, cheating and death were all part of the story. They would be on this story like flies to shit. He wanted to get ahead of the media on this one. Come out on top, unlike what happened with Yang. Unlike Yang, Namine did not seem to have the disposition of punching out reporters. They would eat the young woman alive if they caught wind of this. He was surprised no one had yet. He had been paying more attention to the BPD ever since he found out, but he supposed that could be written off to his more charitable actions, like donating funds (which he may do just to drive off suspicion). Namine wasn’t making nearly as much as she should for the hours she put in for the BPD. They underappreciated her, he decided with disgust.
It wasn’t something he wanted to explain in a letter. However, he didn’t want her to feel cornered. Yang said she was painfully shy and prone to high anxiety. So he laid his facts bare, let her know his schedule and included his personal cell phone in case she wanted to contact him. He didn’t even know if she wanted to get to know him. He was, after all, proof that their mother had cheated on both of their respective fathers.
Still, it had been a few weeks since he sent the invite and the tell all letter. It hadn’t been intercepted. That much he knew. He used a private courier and the media also hadn’t started spinning their stories. Clearly she had received it. Was she ignoring him? Still thinking it over? Was Yang wrong in her judgment of his half-sibling and she was laughing the letter over with her friends? He hated not knowing. Naturally, the longer this went on, the more he started to assume the worst. Though, he supposed the worst would be, she sued him, took his company and hated his guts all on principle.
His mood only spiraled down as those dark thoughts gripped him. He didn’t dare bother Yang with these. She was far too busy with the Weiss case. Some friend he was… She gets kidnapped and there was absolutely nothing he could do. He had told Yang he was hanging up the mask. He couldn’t risk jail time. It would hurt not only him, but his company, his workers and of course it would hurt Yang. Reputation was everything in a town like this. No one would want to associate with the cop who dated a criminal. Even a former criminal who only stole from the corrupt. He had made too many enemies as Chat Noir to just let this go.
"Mr. Agreste?"
Oh how he loathed that title. He sighed and looked up from the paperwork he had been trying to focus on. New hires for new models for the new lines. He hadn’t liked any of the current candidates. Some of them had unsavory histories. Others were self-righteous and borderline arrogant about their images. At the end of the day, he needed to hire someone. He had taken care of everything, save for the new models and the new designers. He still went on modeling jobs, much to Yang’s disappointment, but he made sure to bring her back a souvenir whenever he went somewhere far off. Last time it was Belgium chocolates from Belgium.
"What is it Natalie?"
"There’s a young woman here to see you."
Young woman? Odd. Normally, if Yang stopped by Natalie at least announced her by name now. The woman had been monitoring them whenever she was nearby, never truly approaching Yang, but had at least approved of the new officer enough to not sit by the security monitors whenever Yang came over. They now had ‘unsupervised dates’. How scandalous, he thought mirthfully. But he thought it was sweet how Natalie thought she had to look out for Adrien’s best interests. Probably a better mother-figure than he deserved. She wasn’t tied to him only by paycheck but by loyalty.
"Do you have a name?"
It could be a reporter trying to squeeze past. They did have a list of interviews that were supposed to happen. Maybe someone was early? He set his pen down, likely not to get to the hiring process today. There was always tomorrow or well, rather the day after that. He would have to go to Milan tomorrow to secure some new fabric for a new line. Hopefully there would be something to inspire his current design team. Yang would be disappointed in his work schedule if he overworked himself so he was trying to make things work with a regular schedule.
"She says her name is Namine Goodall."
Adrien almost felt like his blood went ice cold. Or someone dumped a bucket of ice water on his head. Naturally, this was a surprise. So she was here after all this time? He had started to give up hope. He swallowed thickly. As he sat there, he almost felt his head spinning with the revelation. He thought he had been prepared for this. He thought he had been ready. Except now he was suddenly very uncomfortable and very nervous. He took a deep breath, smoothed a hand through his hair and looked up at his assistant.
"Please, send her to the parlor. I’ll be in momentarily. And would you -"
"I’ll have the kitchen prepare some sweets."
He had to flush over the knowing smile on the woman’s face. So she knew then. Adrien had been watching Namine enough to know whenever she went to Nevermore, she ordered one of their specialty drinks (always changing) and the newest sweet creation that the Seddon family made. Adrien was only hoping to make Namine comfortable. Though, the sweets may butter her up a bit. His staff wasn’t like those of Nevermore, but they were good at what they did. He had always been happy with their work.
Natalie left him as she went to go and do what he asked. It gave Adrien time to pull himself together. He adjusted the button up shirt he wore, buttoning it up all the way, fixing the collar, pulling down his sleeves. He was anxious. He was afraid of leaving a bad first impression. However, he couldn’t put this off forever. He didn’t want to keep her waiting too long. So he made the descent to the parlor. Natalie was in the room with the young woman by the time he got to the bottom of the steps. He stopped short of the door to get a peak of his sister. His heart was racing.
Their appearance was almost uncanny. Except he had green eyes and her eyes were blue. She dressed in white, perhaps to blend in with her surroundings, or at least get washed out and be unnoticed. She curled in on herself as she sat in the chair, trying to make herself seem smaller than what she was. Again, he felt like this was her way of trying to be unnoticed under Natalie’s gaze (however kind it was). Maybe, if she would let him, he would introduce her to colors in her wardrobe. Baby steps however, he had to introduce himself properly before he started to ‘inject himself’ in her life.
He cleared his throat and entered the room. Namine turned to him, startled and wide eyed. He suddenly felt awful for not knocking. He recovered quickly and offered her one of his more charming smiles. Well, they worked on Yang, so hopefully they would win over his sister? Luckily the sweets and even a tea tray were brought in, set on the table in front of the blonde young woman, but were untouched. He worried she didn’t like what was put out or perhaps she had an allergy he was unaware of?
"I’ll leave you to it," Natalie announced.
She closed the doors behind her as she went. He wondered if she wasn’t going to watch this exchange on the security feed? In case Namine turned out not to be Namine and this wasn’t going to go as he had hoped. The two just stared at one another with an awkward silence. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was silence. Yang knew that. It’s why Adrien and Chat Noir alike had the gift for gab. This explained why Adrien had accidentally shared more with Yang when he was Chat than he intended to. Though, he had naturally wanted to open up to her because he really liked her.
"I, er, thanks for coming! I guess you have some questions?" he surmised.
Namine’s gaze flickered to her feet, finally losing her nerve. He didn’t think he was that scary, but Yang insisted that the other had some form of anxiety so maybe that was it? The silence remained looming over the both of them. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing to the bookshelf on the wall, to avoid looking at her. They had to talk about this, even if they weren’t entirely comfortable with doing so. They were there together. She had to at least want to discuss this, even if it was just to take her half of the company, right?
"It’s probably a lot to take in. I mean, I was surprised."
"D-Do you know what h-happened to mom?"
He winced. Despite her soft voice and noticeable stutter, she went for the heavy hitting question first. It was also something he had wanted to ask her. If she was asking, she likely didn’t know what happened to the woman herself. That was a little disappointing. He had missed his mother dearly. Her disappearance hurt him even now. He would be broken if he found out that neither he nor Namine were good enough of a reason to stick around and she had a third family out there somewhere. That likely wasn’t the case. What he did remember of his mother was a kind and loving woman. Family came first for her.
"No."
"O-Oh."
Another silence fell over them. Adrien sighed. Things wouldn’t go anywhere if they just sat around awkwardly, trying not to talk to or look at one another. He took a few hesitant steps over to Namine. The artist watched him warily, as if afraid he would lash out or hurt her. He had read about how she had been kidnapped and how awful her father was. If he had known he had a sister, he would have wished he could have stopped all that. He knelt at her feet, so that she could look down on him. He didn’t miss the way she jumped when he took her hand in his. He gave it a light reassuring squeeze.
"Namine," he said, taking a deep breath, "If you’re willing, we can take a blood test, to prove things once and for all… And if you are my sister, I’d like to get to know you."
"But why?"
That innocent little question stung. Did she really doubt him that much that she didn’t think he wanted to get to know her? Or was that her timid nature speaking through? Where she thought that she wasn’t worth getting to know? Just thinking that he had some familial tie to her made him feel… protective of her. He wanted to help her get better off, be somewhere where she was appreciated, unlike with some of her co-workers at the BPD. Sure, the Others Unit took care of her, but he had seen the work load the humans gave her. It made him disgusted with his own kind (granted he was a ‘gifted’ human but the thought remained). He only knew Yang who knew her. But he wanted to meet more people she had in her life. Get to know them as well.
"Because… I don’t have any family left aside from you. I don’t want to ignore you if you are."
Because maybe you’re as lonely as I am?
He didn’t voice that one. He didn’t have it in him to give that one speech. He had been so lonely when it had been him and his father in this huge house. Only by having Yang coming over for their weekly dates did it seem warmer and more like a home than a mansion. Ironically, it took the passing of his father for him to gain new friends who cared for him and his wellbeing. But they couldn’t always be with him, as much as he wanted them to be. They had their own lives. There were always going to be things that pulled them apart, like work. There were times when he still felt lonely.
Namine was quiet, as if mulling this over. Waiting for her answer was almost as bad as waiting for her to contact him. He held his breath. His hand was still intertwined with hers. It was keeping him grounded. Hopefully, it could do the same for her as she thought this decision over. It struck him suddenly, that not once during this, had she smiled. Was she not happy with him? Yang had a nasty shock when she had found out the thief she loved was a rich elite. What if the same could be said for Namine? What if she–?
"I-I’d like to g-get to know you t-too."
And she smiled. Adrien beamed a smile right back at her, suddenly feeling incredibly light and joyous. It took a lot of restraint not to hug her. Would that be appropriate? No. Perhaps not yet. Not until after they tested to make sure it was true. He gave a slow nod and moved from the floor to the chair at her side. The relief that washed over him was numbing any anxiety he himself might have contracted with jumping to the worst conclusions. For now, he would get to know his sister.
"We’ll do this together, okay?"
Her head bobbed when she nodded.
Secret Siblings! An Agreste Affair!
Lies, cheating and death were all part of the story. They would be on this story like flies to shit. He wanted to get ahead of the media on this one. Come out on top, unlike what happened with Yang. Unlike Yang, Namine did not seem to have the disposition of punching out reporters. They would eat the young woman alive if they caught wind of this. He was surprised no one had yet. He had been paying more attention to the BPD ever since he found out, but he supposed that could be written off to his more charitable actions, like donating funds (which he may do just to drive off suspicion). Namine wasn’t making nearly as much as she should for the hours she put in for the BPD. They underappreciated her, he decided with disgust.
It wasn’t something he wanted to explain in a letter. However, he didn’t want her to feel cornered. Yang said she was painfully shy and prone to high anxiety. So he laid his facts bare, let her know his schedule and included his personal cell phone in case she wanted to contact him. He didn’t even know if she wanted to get to know him. He was, after all, proof that their mother had cheated on both of their respective fathers.
Still, it had been a few weeks since he sent the invite and the tell all letter. It hadn’t been intercepted. That much he knew. He used a private courier and the media also hadn’t started spinning their stories. Clearly she had received it. Was she ignoring him? Still thinking it over? Was Yang wrong in her judgment of his half-sibling and she was laughing the letter over with her friends? He hated not knowing. Naturally, the longer this went on, the more he started to assume the worst. Though, he supposed the worst would be, she sued him, took his company and hated his guts all on principle.
His mood only spiraled down as those dark thoughts gripped him. He didn’t dare bother Yang with these. She was far too busy with the Weiss case. Some friend he was… She gets kidnapped and there was absolutely nothing he could do. He had told Yang he was hanging up the mask. He couldn’t risk jail time. It would hurt not only him, but his company, his workers and of course it would hurt Yang. Reputation was everything in a town like this. No one would want to associate with the cop who dated a criminal. Even a former criminal who only stole from the corrupt. He had made too many enemies as Chat Noir to just let this go.
"Mr. Agreste?"
Oh how he loathed that title. He sighed and looked up from the paperwork he had been trying to focus on. New hires for new models for the new lines. He hadn’t liked any of the current candidates. Some of them had unsavory histories. Others were self-righteous and borderline arrogant about their images. At the end of the day, he needed to hire someone. He had taken care of everything, save for the new models and the new designers. He still went on modeling jobs, much to Yang’s disappointment, but he made sure to bring her back a souvenir whenever he went somewhere far off. Last time it was Belgium chocolates from Belgium.
"What is it Natalie?"
"There’s a young woman here to see you."
Young woman? Odd. Normally, if Yang stopped by Natalie at least announced her by name now. The woman had been monitoring them whenever she was nearby, never truly approaching Yang, but had at least approved of the new officer enough to not sit by the security monitors whenever Yang came over. They now had ‘unsupervised dates’. How scandalous, he thought mirthfully. But he thought it was sweet how Natalie thought she had to look out for Adrien’s best interests. Probably a better mother-figure than he deserved. She wasn’t tied to him only by paycheck but by loyalty.
"Do you have a name?"
It could be a reporter trying to squeeze past. They did have a list of interviews that were supposed to happen. Maybe someone was early? He set his pen down, likely not to get to the hiring process today. There was always tomorrow or well, rather the day after that. He would have to go to Milan tomorrow to secure some new fabric for a new line. Hopefully there would be something to inspire his current design team. Yang would be disappointed in his work schedule if he overworked himself so he was trying to make things work with a regular schedule.
"She says her name is Namine Goodall."
Adrien almost felt like his blood went ice cold. Or someone dumped a bucket of ice water on his head. Naturally, this was a surprise. So she was here after all this time? He had started to give up hope. He swallowed thickly. As he sat there, he almost felt his head spinning with the revelation. He thought he had been prepared for this. He thought he had been ready. Except now he was suddenly very uncomfortable and very nervous. He took a deep breath, smoothed a hand through his hair and looked up at his assistant.
"Please, send her to the parlor. I’ll be in momentarily. And would you -"
"I’ll have the kitchen prepare some sweets."
He had to flush over the knowing smile on the woman’s face. So she knew then. Adrien had been watching Namine enough to know whenever she went to Nevermore, she ordered one of their specialty drinks (always changing) and the newest sweet creation that the Seddon family made. Adrien was only hoping to make Namine comfortable. Though, the sweets may butter her up a bit. His staff wasn’t like those of Nevermore, but they were good at what they did. He had always been happy with their work.
Natalie left him as she went to go and do what he asked. It gave Adrien time to pull himself together. He adjusted the button up shirt he wore, buttoning it up all the way, fixing the collar, pulling down his sleeves. He was anxious. He was afraid of leaving a bad first impression. However, he couldn’t put this off forever. He didn’t want to keep her waiting too long. So he made the descent to the parlor. Natalie was in the room with the young woman by the time he got to the bottom of the steps. He stopped short of the door to get a peak of his sister. His heart was racing.
Their appearance was almost uncanny. Except he had green eyes and her eyes were blue. She dressed in white, perhaps to blend in with her surroundings, or at least get washed out and be unnoticed. She curled in on herself as she sat in the chair, trying to make herself seem smaller than what she was. Again, he felt like this was her way of trying to be unnoticed under Natalie’s gaze (however kind it was). Maybe, if she would let him, he would introduce her to colors in her wardrobe. Baby steps however, he had to introduce himself properly before he started to ‘inject himself’ in her life.
He cleared his throat and entered the room. Namine turned to him, startled and wide eyed. He suddenly felt awful for not knocking. He recovered quickly and offered her one of his more charming smiles. Well, they worked on Yang, so hopefully they would win over his sister? Luckily the sweets and even a tea tray were brought in, set on the table in front of the blonde young woman, but were untouched. He worried she didn’t like what was put out or perhaps she had an allergy he was unaware of?
"I’ll leave you to it," Natalie announced.
She closed the doors behind her as she went. He wondered if she wasn’t going to watch this exchange on the security feed? In case Namine turned out not to be Namine and this wasn’t going to go as he had hoped. The two just stared at one another with an awkward silence. If there was one thing he could not stand, it was silence. Yang knew that. It’s why Adrien and Chat Noir alike had the gift for gab. This explained why Adrien had accidentally shared more with Yang when he was Chat than he intended to. Though, he had naturally wanted to open up to her because he really liked her.
"I, er, thanks for coming! I guess you have some questions?" he surmised.
Namine’s gaze flickered to her feet, finally losing her nerve. He didn’t think he was that scary, but Yang insisted that the other had some form of anxiety so maybe that was it? The silence remained looming over the both of them. He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing to the bookshelf on the wall, to avoid looking at her. They had to talk about this, even if they weren’t entirely comfortable with doing so. They were there together. She had to at least want to discuss this, even if it was just to take her half of the company, right?
"It’s probably a lot to take in. I mean, I was surprised."
"D-Do you know what h-happened to mom?"
He winced. Despite her soft voice and noticeable stutter, she went for the heavy hitting question first. It was also something he had wanted to ask her. If she was asking, she likely didn’t know what happened to the woman herself. That was a little disappointing. He had missed his mother dearly. Her disappearance hurt him even now. He would be broken if he found out that neither he nor Namine were good enough of a reason to stick around and she had a third family out there somewhere. That likely wasn’t the case. What he did remember of his mother was a kind and loving woman. Family came first for her.
"No."
"O-Oh."
Another silence fell over them. Adrien sighed. Things wouldn’t go anywhere if they just sat around awkwardly, trying not to talk to or look at one another. He took a few hesitant steps over to Namine. The artist watched him warily, as if afraid he would lash out or hurt her. He had read about how she had been kidnapped and how awful her father was. If he had known he had a sister, he would have wished he could have stopped all that. He knelt at her feet, so that she could look down on him. He didn’t miss the way she jumped when he took her hand in his. He gave it a light reassuring squeeze.
"Namine," he said, taking a deep breath, "If you’re willing, we can take a blood test, to prove things once and for all… And if you are my sister, I’d like to get to know you."
"But why?"
That innocent little question stung. Did she really doubt him that much that she didn’t think he wanted to get to know her? Or was that her timid nature speaking through? Where she thought that she wasn’t worth getting to know? Just thinking that he had some familial tie to her made him feel… protective of her. He wanted to help her get better off, be somewhere where she was appreciated, unlike with some of her co-workers at the BPD. Sure, the Others Unit took care of her, but he had seen the work load the humans gave her. It made him disgusted with his own kind (granted he was a ‘gifted’ human but the thought remained). He only knew Yang who knew her. But he wanted to meet more people she had in her life. Get to know them as well.
"Because… I don’t have any family left aside from you. I don’t want to ignore you if you are."
Because maybe you’re as lonely as I am?
He didn’t voice that one. He didn’t have it in him to give that one speech. He had been so lonely when it had been him and his father in this huge house. Only by having Yang coming over for their weekly dates did it seem warmer and more like a home than a mansion. Ironically, it took the passing of his father for him to gain new friends who cared for him and his wellbeing. But they couldn’t always be with him, as much as he wanted them to be. They had their own lives. There were always going to be things that pulled them apart, like work. There were times when he still felt lonely.
Namine was quiet, as if mulling this over. Waiting for her answer was almost as bad as waiting for her to contact him. He held his breath. His hand was still intertwined with hers. It was keeping him grounded. Hopefully, it could do the same for her as she thought this decision over. It struck him suddenly, that not once during this, had she smiled. Was she not happy with him? Yang had a nasty shock when she had found out the thief she loved was a rich elite. What if the same could be said for Namine? What if she–?
"I-I’d like to g-get to know you t-too."
And she smiled. Adrien beamed a smile right back at her, suddenly feeling incredibly light and joyous. It took a lot of restraint not to hug her. Would that be appropriate? No. Perhaps not yet. Not until after they tested to make sure it was true. He gave a slow nod and moved from the floor to the chair at her side. The relief that washed over him was numbing any anxiety he himself might have contracted with jumping to the worst conclusions. For now, he would get to know his sister.
"We’ll do this together, okay?"
Her head bobbed when she nodded.