A Little Fall of Rain

Adrien Tells Marinette

-Fifteen minutes earlier-

Adrien bounced with excitement as he and his bodyguard walked to the Trocadéro. Yes! He was finally free! Well, not technically free. Adrien glanced over to the imposing man at his side, but he was out of his house. And not a moment too soon, either. He felt like he was going crazy.

His bodyguard cleared his throat, and Adrien stopped his bouncing. Right. He didn't want to attract attention to himself. His father didn't know about his 'little adventure' and Adrien was doing his best to keep it that way. Luckily, his bodyguard had a weakness for action figures, and Adrien promised there would be many rare ones available for purchase.

Adrien stood on his toes and looked for his friends. They were supposed to meet somewhere around here, but it was impossible to see through the crowd. He really wished he could take off his sunglasses, but he couldn't risk being discovered. Ironically, Adrien would have drawn less attention had he been transformed into Chat Noir. It seemed half the people here were in some form of cosplay. He saw everything from simple black cat ears, to full-on Ladybug onesies. It was like half of Paris was having a hero-themed costume party.

Finally, his bodyguard tapped Adrien on the shoulder and pointed him in the direction of a waving Nino. Adrien couldn't help but smile as he drew closer to his friends. He saw Alya raise her eyebrow at his disguise. Thankfully, Nino was far more enthusiastic.

"Dude! Cap and glasses? Are you trying to copy my look?" Nino teased.

Adrien reached up to check his hair, making sure no stray strains escaped his baseball cap. "Hey! It's a good look. Just trying something new. Father might not know I'm here." Adrien lowered his glasses to wink at his friends. "It would be better if no pictures of me ended up on the internet."

Both of his friends nodded, knowingly.

"Come on, let's go check out the vendors," Alya said as she took Nino's hand. "I'm hoping there's more Carapace merchandise this year." Adrien grinned, happy that Carapace had a fangirl. Good for him! He deserved it! Adrien thought as he followed the happy couple to the merchandise vendors. Though, he secretly envied Alya. If she wanted to, she could decorate her room with all the superhero items she could buy. But Adrien had to limit himself to a few hidden photos and action figures.

As he watched Alya bounce from booth to booth, he couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement. Even if Adrien couldn't own any Ladybug merchandise, he got to spend time with the real thing. I wonder what she thinks of all this? Adrien found himself musing. Was she humbled that Paris would go to such lengths to honor her, or would she be embarrassed that someone put her likeness on a pillow?

As Adrien continued walking, he found himself at a booth that had Chat Noir and Ladybug perfume. Curiosity got the better of him. What did people think their heroes smelled like? Adrien lifted a tester to his nose and inhaled the Ladybug smell. He winced immediately. It was overwhelmingly floral and powdery, nothing like the scent of his Lady. Though Adrien doubted many people knew that.

"Checking out the competition?" Adrien looked up to see Nino at his side. "So how does 'Ladybug the Fragrance ' compare to 'Adrien the Fragrance '?"

"Well, they are equally wrong," Adrien responded with a grin. Then, he picked up the Chat Noir cologne and gave it a big whiff. Oh, man. Now that was just foul! But probably for the best. It would be weird if the perfumes actually smelled like them.

"So... not buying any as a gift for the girlfriend?" Nino teased.

"Girlfriend? You mean Kagami?" Adrien asked. "She's not my girlfriend." However, she was the only friend his father allowed Adrien to see during his heightened lockdown. But he doubted she would like any cheap perfume as a gift. Maybe he could find some Ryuuko merchandise.