(Untitled)

[black0and0white]

"And in the year two thousand and twelve, Her Majesty Rachel Caustello suffered severe injuries (in an Incident to be detailed below) and graciously stepped down from her Throne..."Adrien pauses, then resumes scribbling in a thick book. It may seem to some that he rarely frequents his office, but it's more like he's never present there in the

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[onlytolerable]

That person would be Sophie, who pokes her head through the door. Her eyes widen with surprise before she steps all the way within.

"A little bird told me you were burning the daylight oil in your office. I thought they were joking." She smiles at Sitara. "Hello, darling! What do you think of Matilda?"

[black0and0white]

"Imagine that," Adrien says dryly, leaning back slightly in his chair. One arm instinctively drops around Sitara's waist as she looks up. "S'hard, Auntie. I like her."

Adrien presses a kiss to his daughter's hair, then looks at Sophie again. "Is there something you need?"

[onlytolerable]

"Not really. I realized I'd been sitting in one spot for far too long and decided I needed to take a break." It can't be pleasant to recount all that's happened in the past few months. They all need breaks. Indeed, that might be the true reason she stopped by. "I grew up speaking French and English," she tells Sitara. "Usually mixed together. My first books confused me utterly because they didn't do the same. You'll be recognizing the meanings without translating them before you know it."

"I thought I'd have dinner out tonight, maybe treat myself to ice cream. I wouldn't object to company." She may not announce her birthday to anyone, but she always tries to make the day special for herself. She plans to invite Cadogan to her super secret birthday celebration, too. And if they can't make it? Well, she has absolutely no objection to spending her evening with the newest Nevada Barr and a pint of Chunky Monkey.

[black0and0white]

"I think it takes long time." Sitara pouts obstinately, then shifts in her father's lap as he saves the document he's working on.

"Now then, sweetie, don't think badly of yourself. You'll get it." Adrien pokes her cheek, grinning as she reaches up to poke his. "What do you say to ice cream?" Judging by the happy nodding, the plan is a go. Adrien smiles softly, then turns to Sophie again. "Sorry. By the way--"

He gets to his feet, carefully setting Sitara down on her feet before rummaging through his desk drawers. Finally, he pulls out a small, immaculately wrapped box and passes it to Sophie. "Bon anniversaire, cherie."

[dreamsofwords]

An entire hour. What is the world coming to? In any case, Adrien will find a Six of Hearts flopped across from him. It's lunch hour at the Town school, and miracle of miracles, it's also not his week to be the lunch room monitor. So the smart thing to do is wander elsewhere.

It's Adrien's lucky day, really.

"Getting it all down?"

[black0and0white]

"I hope. I figure if I hit a couple thousand words, I've got at least the basics down. Expanding from there will be a pain in the... neck, but someone has to do it." Adrien shrugs, careful to not dislodge Sitara from her seat.

[dreamsofwords]

Alasdair's lips twitch at the...change of wording, and he leans his elbow on a chair. "Yeah, but you'll get it," he says. "It's surprising how the words flow sometimes." Of course, sometimes they were a horrible bitch, but what could you do?

"So this is going to be my very best student in ten years, hm?"

[black0and0white]

"Of course she's going to be your best student. You're not going to know what to do with her brilliance. Besides move her up a few grade levels." Adrien grins down at her, and she sticks her tongue out at him before going back to her book. "Seriously, though. She'll probably be joining school either in January... or most likely next year. I don't want to send her to school without her learning English properly first."

[rough_karat]

Just an hour? And to think, Cadogan thought Vasiliy was lazy.

He knows how to manage time, thank you very much. And he's wrangled some time to knock on Adrien's door.

[black0and0white]

"Come in," Adrien calls from his seat. Actually getting up to open the door for whoever's visiting? He's much too lazy for that.

[rough_karat]

Pssh, he knows the score when knocking on someone's office. They don't have to get up to answer the door.

He open the door and amble on in, eyeing the 'tyke' (he knows she's not a tyke but he's got his quirks). "Good Monday, priyatel. Rumors say you're actually around in the daylight hours." He could see the reason for the switch. "And Matilda?" He eyes Sitara, "What ideas is that giving you, darling?"

[black0and0white]

"I know, right? It's unbelievable. I can't believe it myself." He won't talk about what he's really writing about - not with Sitara on his lap.

The girl in question glances up from her book, looking up at Vasiliy with wide eyes. "Smart people read books. Do you read books, Mister?"