Keeping It Fair (Adrienette AU)

7

ADRIEN

I push open the door and saunter in the building I have grown accustomed to visiting for the past few years.

This private orphanage was opened when I was a second-year student in university. When I cut too much of my classes, the university made me spend my community service hours here with helping out the administration and playing with the children. For the first few weeks here, I hated every moment of it. The kids were too talkative and rowdy, the administration kept on asking me to do things for them especially if it is related to the kids (sometimes heading some of the games). But through time, I started to feel a connection with everyone here. As the days went by and my community service hours lessened, there was a growing ache in my heart. I knew that I was going to miss spending my hours here. So when I served all my hours left, I decided to spend my free days by visiting the orphanage. Now that I work with Aaron Byvael, it is easy for me to gather a list of different works of charities like this establishment and ask them to hold events for him to mingle with the residents. It's good publicity especially for a person who is running for president.

Speaking of Aaron, that mishap during the president's birthday did not reach the public at all. I had to pull a lot of strings to make sure that it did not happen, but I still took the blame for what he said.

Most of the time in this job, my smiles are fake. I play it off naturally but no one would know that I would feel albeit dead inside.

Though, the smile I made when I doused the blueberry with seawater was real. She then pushed me to the sea when she noticed that her make-up was smudged on her face. We hid from everyone after that, getting in our own cars to drive back home. I had to tell Nino and Luka that I couldn't even stay long.

"Miss Bustier!" I happily greet the woman behind the reception desk.

She looks up and stands with her arms wide when she sees me. "Adrien! How are you?" She greets me with the same intensity.

"Always feeling grand like you are, Miss Bustier!" I reply, smiling widely at her. "How are the kids?"

"Still cheerful as always," she replies, walking to the other side of her desk. "They were actually asking me two nights ago during dinner when you'll visit them."

"And what did you tell them?" I ask, playfully knocking on her desk while leaning on it.

"I told them that you are a very busy man."

"Hm, that's true," I chime in.

"And that you'll bring lots of toys the next time you visit them," she continues  which causes me to do a double-take.

"Huh?!" I shout out in shock. Miss Bustier bursts out in giggles then I frown, realizing that she was teasing me. "Miss Bustier," I whine, "don't give me heart attacks like that!"

"Adrien, the kids here understand that you are helping out Aaron Byvael. So, you should not be worried all the time. We can handle ourselves here."

"Miss Bustier, I have never doubted your ability in taking care of the kids here," I tell her earnestly.

She hums in reply and skeptically raises an eyebrow at me. "And sometimes I doubt if you mean what you say."

I hold my hands up in surrender, smirking at her. "You got me."

She lets out a laugh then juts a chin at me. "What do you need?"

"You got free day there in your schedule of activities for Byvael to visit?" I ask, tilting my head. I pout my lips, hopefully giving off a cute expression.