Lock Me Up (Miraculous 1930's AU)

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

  "Once in khaki suits, gee we looked swell
Full of that yankee doodly dum
Half a million boots went sloggin' through hell
And I was the kid with the drum."  

Chicago, Illinois. June 2, 1930.

"You rotten thieves! You're going to pay for what you've done!" Rang through the air, followed by a concentration of loud machine gun fire. 

"In your dreams," a young man with blonde hair spat in return. "Hand me that gun," he grunted, spinning his head around to look at the woman behind him. The woman hastily put the Tommy gun into the man's hands, who smirked and turned his head to poke his head out the third story window before quickly unleashing a rain of bullets in retaliation. The sound of men hollering pierced the air as police men donning blue uniforms dropped to the ground. 

"You stinking dog! You're never going to get away with this!" Yelled a tall man on the ground who wore a grey trench-coat and fedora. He held up his black shot gun, squinting as he took aim at the mop of blonde hair that could be seen through the open hotel window.  The tall man gritted his teeth, fired, and prayed. In a stroke of luck, what could be seen of the criminal dropped to the ground. "Got him," The man mumbled. 

Inside the hotel, the blonde laid on the ground, writhing in pain as the woman that knelt beside him clutched his head with desperation. "You're going to be just fine, I promise. You... You... darn it. Line?!" 

"CUT!" A short, plump man on the ground called, waving his arms around. "How do you keep forgetting the same line over and over again? It's so easy!"

"Hey, it's alright," The blonde smiled, sitting up. "We all forget lines sometimes, right?" 

The woman gave a small smile, nodding. "Thanks Adrien." 

"Agh! I swear, these new talkie movies are more trouble than they're worth," the small man grumbled, shaking his head. "Have your lunch break, everyone! Maybe by then everyone will know their lines, yes..." 

Adrien rose to his feet alongside the woman, brushing off his brown trousers before giving her a nod and smile as he made his way out the room and down the stairs to exit the hotel. Once he got to the ground, he was greeted by men and women from around the set shaking his hand and giving praises exclaiming "how talented he was for such a young man." He was a bit flustered when it came to receiving compliments, so he simply kept nodding his head, smiling, and shaking hands until he could tear himself away from the people and off the set.

Even as he walked down the sidewalk, however, the attention didn't stop. Folks who were better-off financially would drive by in their shiny cars and either beep their horns if they were driving themselves or quickly jump on their drivers to do it for them as they enthusiastically waved at the well-known young man. Adrien, of course, would simply give a curt smile and wave in return. He wouldn't let it show, however, how it bothered him, and not just because of the attention. In some ways, Adrien hated his career. He felt as though through being both a model and an actor, he was flaunting his wealthy state while many people of the time couldn't even afford to buy the magazines or go to the movies he featured in. And here these people in fancy cars were, driving by and waving at this well-off young man as they passed people in ragged clothes with empty pockets and stomachs on the sidewalk. Adrien looked down sadly at his well-shined shoes as he thought of this, before his view was interrupted by the sight of a tin can being held out in the corner of his eye. 

"Sir? Could you spare a dime?" Adrien turned his gaze to fully look at a young man who appeared to be around his age. He had darker skin and donned clothes that looked as though it was all he could manage to scrounge up. In front of him he held a rusted tin can. Adrien paused a moment before shoving his hands in his pockets and scrounging whatever change he could find. A moment later, the sound of a dollar and twenty cents hitting the bottom of an empty can was heard. The young man looked down into the can before looking back up at Adrien with a wide grin. "Gee, thanks! I can really have all of this?"