*****

As much as he wished otherwise, Adrien's days at the tower kept passing him by.

On that day of late April, it was sunny and warm; the cherry trees around Val's tower were all in full bloom, painting the hill pale pink with petals. Adrien was sleepier than usual as he ate his breakfast - on the previous evening, he and Val had been outside studying the night sky until very late; and although Val had reassured him that he could sleep as long as he wanted, he'd woken up on his own at six in the morning - tired, but unable to go back to sleep. He accepted Val's offer of a cup of coffee and tried his best to be there.