Dear Bugaboo

Until Next Time 2

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"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.