Unbroken

Chapter 21

Sifting through his father's paperwork, Adrien was hopeful when he found that he had hired a private investigator to look for Marinette. He shuddered at the thought as to why his father might have been looking for her, but right now he would take any leads he could.

Unfortunately, his father's very public arrest had scared off the less than reputable investigator who wanted nothing more to do with the search for Marinette Agreste. In a hasty phone call, he told Adrien that he knew she was in New York and that he had seen her with Luka, but her place of residence and the name she was using was still a mystery. Despite Adrien's offer of a substantial amount of money, the man refused to continue the search and himself disappeared. Adrien was back to where he started.

The rain had been fairly constant for days, the grey drizzle matching his mood. Taking an umbrella, Adrien opted to walk the short distance from the mansion to his parents-in-law's bakery and try to shake off his melancholy, but the rain only made him think of her. The umbrella he gave her all those years ago was long gone now, but the rain always brought him back to that day. He had been so happy to have made a friend, never realising she would become so much more.

Despite the Christmas decorations that hung in the shop windows, it was hard to feel the joy of the season. It should have been their first Christmas together. Alya and Nino had gone to the Alps for a skiing holiday, Kagami had gone to visit her mother in Japan and Chloé and Félix were going to spend Christmas in London. His cousin had invited him to join them, but there was too much mess to sort out in Paris. Instead, Adrien decided to spend Christmas with Tom and Sabine before their move to the country. It wouldn't be the same without Marinette there, but it was the closest thing to home he had now.

At the bakery, Tom and Sabine had been busy fulfilling last minute orders. Christmas week was always their busiest time of the year, but with packing up the house in preparation for the move, it was extra chaotic. They had been grateful for Adrien's help, but also to give him the distraction of something else to focus on.

When the bakery bell tinkled, Sabine was expecting a mop of blond hair to enter, not the teal tipped hair of the musician that had walked in.

"Luka!" She exclaimed. She quickly covered her surprise and offered a friendly hug. "I wasn't expecting to see you here in Paris, how are you dear?"

"I'm well thank you. I came home for the holidays." He explained, holding up a gift bag. "Marinette asked me to bring this to you."

Sabine took the bag and saw the gifts wrapped inside. Tom walked in behind her and greeted Luka.

"How's our baby girl?" He asked, the sadness of their daughter's absence was clearly weighing heavily on him.

Before Luka had a chance to answer, the bell again rang behind him and the sound of a gasp.

"Luka?"

Luka turned to see Adrien staring at him like he had seen a ghost. The blond man then looked around hopefully. "Is Marinette here too?"

"Ahhh...no." Luka hesitated, unsure how to handle this. "She's still in New York, but I guess you already knew she was there."

"I thought she might go to you." Adrien said, his eyes downcast. "She needed someone she could trust."

Tom and Sabine gave each other a worried look as more customers started entering the bakery. "Maybe you two should go talk in the house." She indicated up the stairs. Adrien and Luka left the bakery and went to sit in the family room, sitting side by side on the couch. There was an awkward silence before Adrien spoke.

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine." Luka assured him. "You know I would never let anything happen to her." There was another awkward silence before Luka let out a sigh. "Adrien, I want you to know that I always liked you. You're a good person and you have done more for Marinette than anyone, but there's something I have to say out loud here. You and I are in love with the same woman."