Chapter Text
"Keynes delivers an outstanding win after defeating Mendez by 0.031 seconds!”
Adrien groaned again as he watched the race. This win could’ve been his. He was prepared, the track was his to conquer, if only it hadn’t been for the rain. What had started as a drizzle a couple of hours before the race had turned into an unforeseen downpour. Optimal race conditions were anticipated. The rain had thrown him off track, literally. Within just the first lap, as he was about to exit the curves, he ended up off track, warranting a safety car being deployed.
The aquaplaning, paired with the low visibility, drove him off track and into the barriers. The front wing had been heavily damaged, and there was no chance he could drive it to the pit box, let alone finish the race. He could do nothing but sit there and accept defeat. Despite having had time to come to terms with it, the DNF marking on the official score board was like a punch to his gut.
After two consecutive Grand Prix wins and acquiring back-to-back pole positions, he’d held out hopes to win the Japanese Grand Prix as well. He wasn’t the only one. The entire team was looking forward to it. Landing up with position 4 was a minor setback, not a big deal. Or that was what they had thought.
However, even this, Adrien could get over. Losing the Grand Prix hurt, but so far, Adrien had been in the leading position with points. He was aiming big, for the coveted position of Championship winner for the year. He only had to put this loss behind me and move forward with a positive mindset, on to the next race in Emilia-Romagna.
The good thing was that he had sustained no injuries and was scheduled to race the upcoming weekend without any hindrance. The alarming news came in the form of a call from his father.
A little while after he checked into his hotel, he received a call from his father.
Adrien greatly treasured his father’s presence in his life, although it was not evident, it was significant. The father and son duo had never been particularly close. Back when he had first expressed interest in car racing, his father had been hesitant. Not that he had voiced his concerns, but Adrien could tell. His mother had been more than encouraging. Being an F1 driver herself, Emilie Agreste had guided Adrien the best she could. Adrien all but grew up longing to race alongside his mother.
Gabriel’s has sponsored Adrien since his starting days. However, things had taken an abrupt turn when his mother was gravely injured in a major crash on the race track just a few years before Adrien joined the F1. The injuries were fatal, leading to his mother's death. Ever since, his father had been, understandably, reluctant to let him continue with the sport.
Adrien made a name for himself after he ended up winning the Australian Grand Prix a year after his debut. To quote the tabloids, the people loved his charming personality and decisive driving.
Keeping all of it in mind, you’d think Adrien was good to go. That is what he thought as well. His father, on the other hand, disagreed. A threatening call would be the last thing Adrien would’ve expected. Gabriel didn’t call often. But when he did, it was usually small talk. He would ask if Adrien was okay, how the race had been, when he was to fly to the new location, that kind of small talk. Not ‘I won’t be sponsoring you anymore’ kind of small talk.
“Kid, stop brooding.”
Adrien looked up to see Plagg munching on a piece of cheese, likely camembert. In tow were Nooroo and Duusu, the latter of whom was closing the door to the hotel suite.
Adrien wished he could stop brooding. However, this might as well be his career on the line. It was everything he had worked towards. When Adrien was younger, he had done a few modelling gigs for his father’s company. The pictures had turned out splendid, and Paris had loved it. His parents had both shown enthusiasm towards the prospect of being a part of the company. Adrien’s mind, however, was trained somewhere else entirely.
Even when he was posing for the camera, he couldn’t get the idea of racing out of his mind. The shoots that were planned spontaneously, a temporary pursuit, remained just that. His photo shoots may have caught the eyes of the public, but his heart was unwilling to let go of racing. Maybe it was a distraction set in place by his parents, a career path they leaned towards. It remained as something impermanent.
“Adrien,” Nooroo called out. “He’ll get over it. Hopefully.” That prompted Adrien to shoot Nooroo a look. Gabriel Agreste was no stranger to changing his mind, but Adrien could tell when he was hellbent on something. This was one of those instances.
“I’ll call Ms. Nathalie and tell her to talk to him about it,” Duusu said in a quiet voice, as if she were trying her best to reassure him.
Nathalie was a woman who could do wonders. She was the sole reason anyone in the Agreste family got anything done. She knew exactly where they were, at what moment, and what they needed. She was also probably overworked. Adrien hated burdening her. Nathalie was the person who would call him after a rough session or after a win. To provide comfort or congratulations. If anything went wrong, Nathalie was the person to call. She’d been a constant support by his side ever since he was young. Be that as it may, not even Nathalie could convince Gabriel when it came to this.
“Why would he suddenly threaten to withdraw support?” Adrien questioned. This sudden decision was unexpected. Adrien continued, “I’m perfectly fine! The front wing was damaged. I don’t have as much as a scratch on me.”
Nooroo and Duusu exchanged a look but said nothing. Duusu nudged Plagg, who was sitting on the chair next to her.
“He’s probably freaked out about-” Duusu kicked Plagg - "Ow!”
Adrien raised an eyebrow at her actions. Duusu smiled at him. “Gabriel has his reasons. Even if he means it, you’re plenty popular. You’ll find another sponsor. Don’t worry yourself over this, Adrien. Gabriel can’t withdraw his support until the end of the season. You have time.”
Adrien felt a relief wash over him. “When do we leave for Italy?”
“Uh, about that.” Nooroo glanced at Duusu before turning to him. “Nathalie sent me a text. Gabriel won’t let Adrien board the private jet.”
Adrien ran his fingers through his hair, troubled. “Duusu, I thought you said we had till the end of this season?” he asked her.
She grimaced. Then, taking a breath, she said, “Don’t worry about this. We’ll talk to Gabriel.”
Plagg stood up. Tossing the cheese wrapper into the bin under the table, he headed towards the door. As he opened it, he looked back at Adrien. “I’ll get you a ticket on a commercial plane as soon as I can.” With that, he left.
Duusu walked over to pat his hair. She smiled at him as she looked down at him and then left as well. Nooroo gave him a small smile before following her.
Adrien scrolled social media as he lay down on the bed. Adrien, like anyone else, was not a fan of the tabloids. Neither did he want to hear what they had to say about his crash. He was not a fan of driving in the rain, and it seemed neither was the rain a fan of him. He was, in fact, not a fan of the rain in general. As a child, he had been terrified of thunder, and with that, the rain.
He switched from social media to the results of the Grand Prix. Jessica Keynes, or popularly known as Sparrow, had won the Japanese Grand Prix for this year.
Close behind her, after a delay of 0.031 seconds, was Delmar Mendez. Delmar had placed in the top three for all of the qualifying rounds, even landing the pole position for the race. Adrien had envisioned that he would end up in the top three. The third position, however, was more intriguing. It was none other than Ladybug herself.
In the races so far, Ladybug had been almost constantly ranking in the second position, sharing the podium with two other ever-changing drivers. Prior to the race, other than Delmar and himself, she might as well have been a contender for first place.
Ladybug had been a F1 driver as long as he. Her first-ever Grand Prix was won in Japan. Not only that, but she had managed to secure a Japanese Grand Prix last year as well. This, coupled with her consecutive second places in the preceding Grand Prix, had led Adrien to believe she would be a major competitor this season. Then again, he couldn’t remember a time she hadn’t been a major competitor for him. But that was not all that Ladybug was.
As a driver, it was only fitting to see the other drivers as your competition when you’re on the race track. However, off the race track, things were different. Being in the same sport, it’s only natural to make friends. Adrien, of course, like any other driver, regarded the others as his colleagues, if not even friends. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, however, was his rival, on and off track.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, otherwise known as Ladybug. You either create a nickname for yourself or are given one by the public. Unlike Adrien, who dubbed himself Chat noir -on Plagg’s suggestion, that is- ,Marinette earned hers.
Her red racing suit and the way she had often talked about it being considered lucky had led the interviewer to call her Ladybug. In the next race, her race suit wasn’t red anymore. It was red with black polka dots. She’d won the race that weekend. During her interview, she said it was luck that backed her up and winked at the camera. They gave her a nickname, and she ran with it. She owned up to it.
It felt like a twisted game of fate that her nickname directly contradicted his own. It felt as if they were destined to dance this way. Adrien didn’t mind. Marinette was the most stubborn, irrational, and-
His phone flashed to show an incoming call from Plagg. “Hello?” Adrien answered.
“Your flight is tomorrow, kid. I’ll send you the details.”
“Appreciate it, Plagg. Thanks.”
“I’ll be on another flight, you’re on your own.”
Adrien’s brow furrowed. They were leaving him on his own? That’s something you don’t see everyd- “If you need anything, ask Placide.”
Of course, not. His bodyguard, how could he forget?
“Got it. See you in Italy, Plagg.”
“Yeah, see you in Italy, kid .”