Okay, so here's the second one.

This is the second in a series of me trying the "project my feelings onto fictional character(s)" thing. I just realized, though, that my statement about angst in the first part isn't entirely true. I have most definitely written angst, for this fandom! And here's another one, because the world feels like it's ending, my anxiety is through the roof, period cramps suck, and I woke up in pain the morning I came up with these ideas.

They met while abroad in China. Their connection was short, but it was love at first sight. Something a man like Gabriel Agreste never thought could possibly be true until he met her.

She consumed his whole life. Wherever he looked he thought he saw her. Which was an impressive feat considering he stayed in China for another two weeks after they'd talked briefly with each other while waiting for a bus. He had been behind her, on the way to the bus stop, when she'd dropped a folder from her briefcase. Noticing that no one else seemed to care, he'd returned it to her, knowing how important the contents of a folder could be.

After that, anything that was remotely yellow would remind him of her golden hair. Anything remotely green would remind him of her emerald eyes. It was driving him insane. He could barely focus on the business he'd come to China for in the first place.

He wondered what she was doing here. If she was here for work, like he was, or if she was here on vacation. He wondered where she was originally from.

It wasn't until he was back in France did he find her number, tucked away and lost in the piles of his designs.

After two long, grueling weeks, they finally reconnected.

While it may have been love at first sight for him, she needed some charming. He could tell she was hesitant to jump head-first into a relationship. So he started learning about her through dates and talks and coffee breaks.

Eventually, when they were going steady, she became her muse. He'd add another bracelet or a pair of earrings, a necklace to his brand new line of jewelry. Each new piece was a play on words and little winks to her favorite color, favorite desert, where she was born, her birthday, her favorite animal, the list went on and on.

But not everything could be as perfect as they felt forever. That day came when Gabriel hit a rough patch in building his label, working hours on end every single day.

He told himself it was for her, for the child she carried.

Adrien.

And that was what this was, taking Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous and using them to bring Adrien's mother and his wife back.

The reason he thought it was his fault was because it was his fault, her disappearance.

It had been for Adrien.

It was for Adrien.

It always has been for Adrien.

Wow, I hope this doesn't read as stalkerish and obsessive, because that was totally not my intention. Rest assured their relationship was completely mutual and he didn't pursue her until she said yes (like so many "romance" movies portray these days)—he kept his boundaries when charming her.

btw, writing about characters without names fucking sucks. I mean, yeah, I could just come up with a name, but I don't like doing that because I have personal issues with straying from canon too much unless/until I become comfortable with my knowledge of the source material.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure the title fits with the idea I came up with, but I guess I'm spinning it on its head a bit. In Hamilton, Alexander does what he does to protect himself, his legacy, his world. In this story, Adrien is Gabriel's world (and, I mean, so is Mama Agreste), so. (That's the best explanation I could come up with, idk.)

Thank you for reading,
TheBrightestNight