This is another Miraculous Ladybug one-shot, this time primarily focusing on Gabriel and Mrs. Agreste! It's based on the episode "The Perfect Pear" from "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic." I thought that maybe it would be a nice story, too. But, WARNING: OOC GABRIEL AGRESTE!
And I hope you don't mind, but I have a poll going on my profile about an upcoming one-shot. I need some help deciding something about the plot. Hope you guys drop a vote, too!
Marinette was walking through the town's newly-established farmers' marketplace. The market had been set up to help small and local businesses, much like her parents' bakery, thrive in a new outlet. Her parents even had a stand in the marketplace, too. Marinette had wanted to check it out to see if there was a gift she could get for Gabriel Agreste.
It was Adrien's parents' wedding anniversary, but since his mother went MIA, his father had gotten even colder and more unattached than normal. Adrien grew depressed without his mother around.
But ever since the two of them found out about each other's secret identities, they formed a very strong bond with each other. They had become more than just partners in fighting akumas: they had fallen head over-heels with the entire package of the other person.
"Oh, look!" Tikki said, peeking out of Marinette's purse and pointing to a clothing stand.
The stand was labeled "Luis" and had many fashionable shirts, jackets, belts, bags, and so many more small pieces. They were all on par with Gabriel's line, too. And the crowd was huge.
"Let's check it out!" Marinette said, as Tikki ducked back inside her purse, and Marinette approached the stand.
An older gentleman was manning the stand, and many people were going insane over the clothes. Even Marinette was impressed.
The gentleman in question had wrinkles all over his face, his skin tone was fair, his eyes were olive, and his hair was thinning, white with some brown strands showing. He was wearing a suit, most likely from his own line, and giving people clothes and taking cash or card transactions in his POS system for the clothes.
"Wow! These are very well-made!" Marinette said, as she picked up a men's jacket from the stand. It was black with some faux emeralds inlaid in the lapels, and it had the company's insignia on the chest.
"Hello there, young lady," The older man said, as he made eye contact with Marinette. "I see you've taken a liking to this nice jacket I made."
"It's very good," Marinette said. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
"I'm Luis Courtemanche," The older man said, as he gave Marinette a smile, before examining her clothes. "I don't think I've seen any of your particular clothes in stores."
"Oh, I made my clothes myself. I plan on becoming a fashion designer one day, myself!" Marinette said, with a smile.
"Well, with your clothes, I'd say you're a shoo-in to becoming one." Luis said with a laugh.
"Thank you so much! It's nice to meet you, Luis. Welcome to Paris." Marinette said, smiling.
"I think the proper greeting is "welcome back to Paris." Luis was originally from here before opening his flagship store in Perpignan." A young woman from beside Marinette spoke up.
"Then, what brings you back to Paris?" Marinette asked.
Luis grew a misty, far-off look in his eyes, before telling Marinette, "Just… needed a change of scenery."
"I think I found the perfect present for Mr. Agreste!" Marinette said with a smile, causing Luis's eyes to snap back to reality. He seemed surprised at the mention of the name "Agreste."
Marinette merely gave him a smile, and took out her wallet, asking, "How much does this cost?"
Luis merely shook his head and said, "No, take it. On me, from one fellow fashion designer to another."
"Thank you so much!" Marinette said, as she was given a bag from the brand and she put the jacket inside. "It was very nice to meet you! I hope to see you again soon!"
Marinette then immediately took off for the Agreste Mansion, while Luis smiled as she left. In the back of his stall, one of Adrien's magazine pictures was pinned on the wall.
Inside the dining room of the mansion, Adrien was setting up some food and beverages for himself, Marinette, and his father. This included a big plate of crackers and assorted cheeses for Plagg, including camembert. Adrien was certain that his father would not be happy that day, since it was the first anniversary since his mother had gone missing.
"Are you sure about celebrating today, kid?" Plagg asked, concerned about his chosen. "Your father won't probably hear anything of it."
"That may be true," Adrien said. "But I want to mark this date as something special for a different reason. I can think of mom and father's anniversary as an anniversary for me and my lady. The anniversary of our first official date."
"That's a pretty positive spin on it," Plagg said. "Speaking of Marinette, shouldn't she be here by now?"
"She's pretty clumsy and prone to lateness anyway," Adrien said with a chuckle and a blush on his face. "Even more so since becoming Ladybug."
Plagg sighed, shaking his head.
Marinette made it to the mansion, and she rang the doorknob outside the gate.
"Hello?" A mature woman's voice asked over the intercom. "Who is this?"
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Ms. Sancoeur." Marinette said with a smile.
"Ah, Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Nathalie said, as a warm smile came to her voice. "Welcome. Young Master Adrien has been expecting you. I'll unlock the door for you."
The gates immediately opened and Marinette came inside. She made her way to the door, and as Nathalie said, the door was opened for her.
As she entered the building, she grew giddy. She had a date with Adrien, her silly kitty.
"Hey, kitty," Marinette said, as she entered the dining room. Tikki flew out of her purse to go and see Plagg. "Sorry I'm late."
Adrien smiled when he saw his lady come in from his peripheral vision, and he said, "No way! You're right on time! Just in time to celebrate my parents' anniversary."
"I know it's not the best day of the year for you and your father right now, under the circumstances," Marinette said, her face falling for a second. Then it brightened up. "But I brought him something."
Marinette immediately took out the jacket to show Adrien. Adrien turned around to see the gift, but upon seeing it, he flinched and shouted in fright.
"LUIS FASHION?!" Adrien shouted, before snatching the jacket away from Marinette. "Princess, what were you thinking?!"
The pair heard footsteps coming from the hallway that either belonged to Nathalie or Gabriel. Adrien paled, scared of what would happen if either adult saw the jacket.
"Gotta hide this, gotta hide this!" Adrien stammered in a panic. He immediately thought of one of the many closets in the building. There was actually one near the front door.
Adrien dashed out of the dining room, Plagg following him, and with Marinette and Tikki in pursuit.
Adrien immediately threw the closet open and then chucked the jacket inside. He slammed the door shut and sighed in relief.
He immediately made his way back to the dining room, with Marinette hot on his heels.
"Adrien, what's gotten into you? It was only a jacket from Luis Fashion." Marinette said, surprised that Adrien reacted the way he did.
As the two of them reentered the dining room, Adrien sighed, turned to Marinette, and said, "What's gotten into me is that there is a deep-rooted feud between the Courtemanche and the Agreste families!"
"Why?" Tikki asked, confused.
Adrien held up a finger to bark the reason why, but then he faltered, before ashamedly admitting, "I have no idea."
Marinette gave him a deadpan look, sighed, and said, "Then maybe we should ask Ms. Sancoeur?"
"Ask me what?" Nathalie asked, as she entered the dining room.
Adrien immediately thought up an excuse, asking, "Um… Does father have any time coming up to look at Marinette's newest sketches?"
Marinette blinked in surprise at Adrien's recovery. She figured that it was from all of that time making up excuses to go fight akumas alongside her.
"Let's see…" Nathalie said, before pulling up her iPad and looking through Gabriel's schedule. "He should have an opening at 11:15 AM in two weeks from Saturday."
As she examined the table, she saw all of the food placed out and said, "Excellent choices of food, Adrien. I'll go fetch your father."
As Nathalie left the dining room, Adrien sighed in relief that he managed to fool her.
He looked to Marinette, gave her a worried/sad facial expression, and said, "Listen, my lady. Whenever I ask my father or Nathalie about the Courtemanches or the feud, they just change the subject and pretend they didn't hear me. The best thing to do is not even talk about it."
Plagg, having been in the mansion long enough to know how Adrien's father behaved, nodded in solemn agreement.
"Are you sure?" Tikki asked. "Even after Marinette mentioned Mr. Agreste, that Luis Courtemanche was very friendly to her. I wonder what happened."
"Same here," Plagg said. "But if we can't ask his father or Nathalie, then where can we get that information?"
Adrien pondered over this question, before having an epiphany.
"We have a massive library! Maybe we can find something about my family history there." Adrien said.
"I'm on board!" Marinette said. "But how about we save it for tomorrow so we don't raise any suspicion today?"
"Good call," Adrien said. "I think I hear my father and Nathalie coming."
The pair sat down to the table to eat, meanwhile their kwamis went to their usual hiding spots. Plagg to the inside of Adrien's jacket pocket, Tikki to Marinette's purse.
The next day was a Sunday, so Marinette once again came by the mansion. Adrien and Marinette had come up with the excuse that the two of them were going to study a bit in the library. Since Adrien was top-notch in most subjects, the story was that he wanted to help Marinette in some of her weaker subjects, mainly physics. Nathalie and Gabriel bought that excuse, so they left the teenagers to their own devices.
"Here's the library," Adrien said, as he opened the door to the library and showed Marinette inside. "We've got our work cut out for us."
Marinette gawked at the size of the library. It was bigger than the one they had at school. It had two stories and had stairs and wheeled ladders. The books lined the shelves that covered the four walls in the room and there were shelves in the center, too. There was a computer in the center, which looked to be the catalogue.
"…No kidding. Welp, we'd better get started." Tikki said, as the group started to peruse the bookshelves.
Marinette was at the bottom shelf, looking for photo albums or something from Mr. Agreste's youth, or some sort of clue about the feud. The team had used the catalogue to find "feud" and "Cartemanche" as the keywords, but they only came up with many renditions of "Romeo and Juliet."
Adrien had gotten the rolling ladder and was up looking at the shelves that he could not reach.
"Any luck up there, Plagg?" Adrien asked. He and Marinette had asked the kwamis to look around the higher shelves so they could cover more ground faster.
"Nothing up here," Plagg said, before turning to Tikki. "How about you, Tikki?"
"I think I found something…" Tikki said, as she brought down a book to Marinette. "It looks like a small history book. I was looking for anything with "Feud" or "Cartemanche" in the title."
"The title's… "Agreste Family History?" Why would…?" Marinette began.
Hearing the title, Adrien immediately jumped down from the ladder and made his way over to his girlfriend.
"My family's history?!" Adrien nearly shouted.
"Quiet! We're in a library!" Marinette said in a hush. "Do you want Nathalie or your dad to hear us?"
"Oh, right…" Adrien said. "Let's look."
Marinette opened the book and then she looked through the table of contents. She soon came upon the page number for the Cartemanche-Agreste feud and opened the book to the page.
"Okay… It looks like this dates back some thirty or so years ago… Ah, here we go. The Agrestes weren't the only prominent family in Paris… In fact, the Cartemanche family lived nearby…" Marinette narrated, as she started to go into a flashback.
~Flashback~
There was a major commotion going on in the town square, with a crowd to watch.
Two young adult men were brawling in the town square, with headlocks, right hooks, major kicks in the unmentionables, etc.
"Again?" "How many times does it make that this week?" "I'll call the police…"
Just then, a younger Roger Raincomprix started blowing his whistle and intervened to break up the fight. He was a lot leaner and more muscular, his red hair just a little longer, too.
"Break it up!" Roger shouted, as he separated the two men, and two other cops held them back from each other. "Enough with your town square brawls! You keep disturbing the peace! If you're going to fight, at least do it nonviolently!"
Two young men on the outside of the fight were glaring at each other. One was a platinum blonde with hazel eyes, who was standing on the right side of the town square. He was glaring to another man across the square, who had olive eyes and brown hair.
In fact, on opposite sides of the square, several groups of people were giving each other the stink eye.
"Geez, the feud was so bad it would often escalate into violent fights on a daily basis and the police had to intervene all the time." Marinette narrated. "And according to this, the only Cartemanche and Agreste that were able to get along were Gabriel and Bijou."
Behind the leg of the brunette man was a little girl with honey blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing a blue dress and carrying a stuffed cat.
Across the street, behind the blonde man, a little boy with pale blonde hair and ice-blue eyes was peeking out. They were not glaring at each other, but rather, they were eying each other with curiosity.
The two children managed to get away from the adults, and they soon ran to a nearby flower shop that was a decent distance away from the fight.
"Oh, whew…" The boy said, as he turned to the girl. "I know I'm not supposed to talk to or get close to you."
"Same goes for me…" The girl said in reply.
"Anyway, my father, Astor says we can't hang out because of the feud… But I don't feel that way." Gabriel said.
"Neither do I. Daddy says that even he doesn't know how this whole feud started…" Bijou said.
"Then feuding is pointless." Gabriel bluntly said.
He took out a few euros and placed them on the flower shop counter. He took a pink carnation out of one of the displays, and then he gave it to Bijou.
"Thank you. It's beautiful." Bijou said, blushing and smiling in gratitude.
"You're very welcome." Gabriel said, a rare smile on his face.
The two of them locked pinkies right there, both smiling and promising not to let the feud get in the way of their friendship.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Adrien shouted, cutting into the flashback.
~End of Flashback~
"Gabriel and Bijou?!" Adrien said, completely surprised. "Those are mom and father's names!"
Marinette looked back at the book and said, "Well, Agreste is the name your mother took when she married your father… But it seems that Cartemanche was her maiden name."
"…You mean to say my mother was a CARTEMANCHE?!" Adrien hollered, in complete shock. "So I'm related to the Cartemanches?! But… how come I never knew?"
"I don't know, Adrien," Marinette said. "But remember: your mother's name is now Bijou Agreste, and the Cartemanches haven't been in Paris all your life, so I don't think there were any clues or any reason for you to know…"
"…Does the book say anything else?" Adrien said, bracing himself for more of the story.
Marinette looked back to the book, skimmed it over, and said, "It looks like your parents were absolutely head-over-heels for each other. Like something out of a fairytale. Anyone who had been around them couldn't help but feel happy, too."
"That explains why your father has been so cold ever since she disappeared, Adrien," Plagg said. "He must have loved your mother so much, that when she vanished, he just grew devastated. She must be really important to your father."
Adrien nodded, realizing that Plagg had a point. The way his mother's disappearance had affected his father must have cut deeper than Adrien initially thought, especially if this new information about their relationship was any clue.
"Is there any more?" Adrien asked, feeling curious, wanting to know more about his parents.
"…That's strange. It doesn't say much else after that… Aside from the fact that your father's best friend was Mr. Kubdel." Marinette said.
"Alix's father?" Adrien asked. "How come father never mentioned it?"
"Maybe they grew distant?" Marinette asked. "I'll call Alix and see if we can meet up with her dad."
"Good idea." Adrien said, as he put the book away, and then the group left the library.
They were walking to the museum, where Mr. Kubdel would most likely be. Meanwhile, Marinette was on the phone with Alix.
"Hey, Marinette. What's kickin', girl?" Alix said over the phone.
"Adrien and I need to talk to your dad. Is he around?" Marinette asked.
"Oh, he should be at the museum as always, Marinette," Alix said. "I'll shoot him a text and let him know you and Adrien need to talk to him."
"Thanks, Alix." Marinette said.
The pair and their kwamis soon made it to the museum and sure enough, Mr. Kubdel was standing in front of the building, waiting for them.
"Ah, Marinette, Adrien. What can I do for you?" Mr. Kubdel said, as the two teens approached him. "I know that art is not your true forte in life. Especially since you surround yourself with the arts in your own ways at home."
"You're right… Marinette and I aren't here for that…" Adrien said, looking off to the side. He was unsure of how to broach the subject.
"Come to ask about your father, Adrien?" Mr. Kubdel said.
Adrien gave a nod, looking the man in the eyes.
"Those were the days…" Mr. Kubdel said, as he ushered the two into his office at the museum.
"So, I learned that you and my father were good friends, so…" Adrien began.
"Ah, yes," Mr. Kubdel said. "We were great friends in our youth, but as time passed, we grew apart. But the two of us would always have great fun in the past. In fact, once upon a time…"
~Flashback~
A young adult Gabriel and Mr. Kubdel were running back and forth across some strawberry fields, trying to make red dye for some fabrics. There were large buckets on one side of the fields, while the opposite side of the field had the strawberries.
"We were racing to see who could make the most fabric dye in the least amount of time," Mr. Kubdel narrated. "Gabriel would've won if SOMEONE hadn't caught his eye."
Gabriel had picked up a large bucket of the strawberry dye and was about to finish the race. While he was running, out of Gabriel's peripheral vision, he saw Bijou, now a grown woman with long, blonde hair, sewing a beautiful dress nearby.
However, Gabriel had been so busy gazing at her that he did not see the rock nearby. He tripped, throwing the vat of berry dye into the air.
The bucket landed on the dress Bijou was making, and not only did the dress turn completely red, but some of the dye got on Bijou, too.
Nearby, Bijou's father, Luis, came over to see the commotion. He had gotten older, with parts of his hair greying.
He immediately saw the tarnished dress, stomped over to Bijou, completely enraged at the sight of the disaster.
Gabriel got up and tried to get himself readjusted, but Mr. Kubdel had dragged him out of sight.
"Bijou, what did you do?!" Luis demanded of her.
"D-Don't look at me…" Bijou said, trying to figure out what to do or say.
Gabriel did not want to see Bijou take the fall for him, so he emerged from the hiding spot to go and take responsibility.
"She did nothing wrong, sir." Gabriel said, walking up to Luis and Bijou.
"I beg your pardon?" Luis said, as he gently pushed Bijou behind him.
"The dress. That was my fault." Gabriel said, pointing to the dress.
Bijou gave him a smile. Luis clearly saw it, approached Gabriel, and said, "Then you owe me another dress! Bijou, come along."
Luis then started leading Bijou back to the house. He immediately said, "I won't have my daughter making googly-eyes at an Agreste!"
Bijou merely looked behind her and gave Gabriel a shy smile. Gabriel clearly saw it, and a smitten look came on his face. Hearts began fluttering around his head. Mr. Kubdel tried to shake his hand in front of Gabriel's face to snap him out of it, but Gabriel was too far gone.
~End of Flashback~
"Luis would never had known that it was Gabriel's fault. But he isn't the type to let your mother take the fall for his mistakes, Adrien." Mr. Kubdel said, as he started organizing some documents.
"I never knew that about my father." Adrien said, a smile coming to his face.
Learning that his father had a soft side to his personality, especially regarding his mother, made Adrien feel like he had his father pegged wrong.
"Any time Gabriel got a break, he would head over to the Cartmanches to redo the dress. I didn't see him for weeks. Although in his defense, it gave him time to talk to and get to know Bijou." Mr. Kubdel said.
"Did you know my mother, too?" Adrien asked.
"She was a sweetheart, but if you want to know more about Bijou, then you should talk to Mrs. Chamack." Mr. Kubdel said.
"Mrs. Chamack?" Marinette inquired.
"Those two were best friends as children." Mr. Kubdel said.
"Then we'd better go and find her at the TV station! Hopefully she has time to talk. Come on, Adrien!" Marinette said, as she made to leave the office.
Adrien stayed behind and then asked Mr. Kubdel, "Is there any chance that I could stop by again in the future to hear more stories?"
"I'd love that." Mr. Kubdel said. Adrien smiled and went to follow his girlfriend.
At the TV station, Nadja had finished up her shoot for the day and was about to head home, when Marinette and Adrien walked in.
"Well, color me surprised," Nadja said, giving the two teens a smile. "Marinette and Adrien. What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Mrs. Chamack," Adrien said. "I heard that you and my mother were close friends, so I was hoping you could tell us something about her."
"Oh, I would absolutely love to. I never had the best timing for bringing it up. But come and sit down. I can chat you up about Bijou all day if you'd like!" Nadja said, as she pulled up some chairs for the trio to sit down together. "To start off with, Adrien, did you know that your mother was the one that convinced me to pursue a TV career?"
"Really?" Adrien said, his eyes lighting up with surprise.
"Back when I was Nadja Descoteaux, I was unsure of what my life's calling was. But then your mom brought a video camera and told me to just get creative, dance, or whatever! The next thing I knew, I had been hired to work on a TV set!" Nadja said. "It was like Bijou knew what I was meant to do in life."
Adrien's eyes started to tear up with tears of joy. Marinette gave Adrien a smile.
"But that was the first of many TV shoots for me. Bijou was there with me through thick and thin." Nadja said, as she went into a flashback.
~Flashback~
"She'd be my director…" Nadja narrated.
Bijou and Nadja were doing a practice video shoot out in the strawberry fields and Bijou was being very helpful with feedback for Nadja's performances.
"Help with my presentation skills…" Nadja narrated.
Nadja was practicing a small speech in front of Bijou, but whenever she would mess up or stammer, go too fast, or not explain something well enough, Bijou was quick to point it out.
"And help with music choices!" Nadja sang.
Nadja and Bijou were working on a music playlist to present to a TV station for Nadja's audition.
"Your mother did so much for me." Nadja narrated.
The scene changed to Nadja, carrying a box in her hands, walking to the berry fields to find Bijou.
"I wanted to come and thank her in person, with a present from Sabine, Marinette's mother." Nadja narrated.
Nadja soon something out of her peripheral vision and ducked behind some of the trees in the field, before peeking out.
Right in the center of the field, were Bijou and Gabriel. They were having a nice picnic, complete with bruschetta, Niçoise salad, and some quiche Lorraine. They were sitting on a fancy picnic blanket from Gabriel's place, and Bijou had provided the tableware. They were laughing together, smiling, and having a nice time with each other.
Gabriel pulled a bouquet of pink carnations out from behind him. However, the pollen irritated his nose and he sneezed. Looking up, he saw that the carnations had gotten all over Bijou, from her hair to her face. Petals were scattered all over her and stems were sticking out of her hair in strange places.
However, Bijou laughed, eliciting laughter from her companion. After they had calmed down, Bijou and Gabriel stared leaning in towards each other, their lips puckering.
Nadja knew what was bound to happen and decided to give them some privacy. As she backed up, she stepped on a branch and it snapped.
The sudden noise alerted Bijou and Gabriel to the intruder's presence. Gabriel stood up to confront the encroacher, concerned that they had been found out by a member of either family.
Nadja came out from behind the trees and waved at her friends. Bijou and Gabriel let out a breath of relief.
Bijou stepped forward and said, "I'm so glad it's only you, Nadja."
"Sorry about that," Nadja said, as she walked over to the pair. "Sabine sent me here with to give you as thanks… But I see you're in the middle of something."
Gabriel and Bijou blushed, while the former rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"You'll keep this a secret, right?" Bijou asked, her hands clasped together.
Nadja mimed "zip it, lock it, put it in my pocket" to Bijou and gave her a smile.
However, the group saw Astor nearby, and he was carrying a basket to pick some strawberries. He wanted to bring them back to the Agreste's house and make some strawberry shortcake out of them.
However, before Astor could begin picking the berries, he looked up and saw Bijou and Gabriel together. Recognizing Bijou, Astor straightened up in shock before growing an angry glower on his face.
"Gabriel Agreste, what the hell are you doing?!" Astor demanded, as he stomped over to Gabriel.
Gabriel was about to stick up for himself. Meanwhile, Nadja backed off, electing to stay out of the conflict.
Astor pointed at Bijou before telling Gabriel, "We do not associate with Cartemanches!"
Astor then grabbed Gabriel by the front of his shirt and started dragging him away from Bijou. However, Gabriel managed to turn his head towards his girlfriend and give her a wink.
Bijou shyly waved at Gabriel. Nadja approached her and said, "Wow. You and Gabriel Agreste? Well, the saying goes, "Seeing is believing." But your families are always at each other's throats!"
"The heart wants what it wants, Nadja. This is beyond my control…" Bijou said. She grew goo-goo eyes and hearts began fluttering around her head.
Nadja waved her hand in front of Bijou's face, but it was to no avail.
"Then Bijou told me the sweetest love story I've ever heard in my life…" Nadja narrated.
Bijou and Gabriel were sitting on a hilltop near the strawberry fields, sitting on a picnic blanket again.
"Happy one-hundred-seventy-one-thousand, two-hundred hour anniversary, chéri." Gabriel said, as he delicately put a carnation behind Bijou's ear.
"Come on, Gabriel, we haven't been together that long." Bijou said with a laugh.
"True, true, but it's the anniversary of when we first spoke to each other and agreed that the feud was pointless." Gabriel said with a smile and delicately stroked Bijou's cheek.
Bijou blushed with a smile, flattered that Gabriel took notice of those details.
"So… it's fine if you didn't get me anything." Gabriel said, feigning disappointment, before giving Bijou a smile.
Bijou shook her head and rolled her eyes, before taking out a violin and saying, "I actually did."
"A violin? For me? But I only know how to play piano…" Gabriel said, as he took the violin and bow and examined it.
"Quiet, Gabriel." Bijou said, taking the violin back.
She positioned the violin as a professional would, and then she started to play the instrument using the bow.
The scene panned to Bijou in her bedroom, looking out the window with a sad expression. The Cartemanche and Agreste households were on opposite sides of the town square, which is why members of the families would get into scuffles all the time. It was impossible to avoid one another.
"We're far apart, in ev'ry way, but you're the best part of my day." Bijou sang.
A paper airplane flew into her bedroom window and landed on her desk. She opened it up and saw a very well-drawn picture of her, with Gabriel's signature on the bottom right corner.
"And sure as I breathe the air. I know we are the perfect pair." Bijou sang.
The same paper airplane flew into Gabriel's bedroom, and then he opened it up. Bijou had drawn a portrait of Gabriel, but while it was not as well-done, it was clear enough who she intended to draw. Her signature was on the bottom left corner, too.
"On a prickly path that goes on for miles…" Bijou sang.
Once again, members of both families had gotten into a fight in the town square. Gabriel and Bijou had come up with a series of hand signals that they could use to communicate without getting too close to each other.
Gabriel made the hand signal that said, "Let's get out of here."
Bijou gave a nod and hand signaled a reply to the affirmative. The two lovers managed to slip away and run off to go on a date.
"But it's worth it just to see you smile." Bijou sang.
The pair had gone to an ice cream shop and were sharing a milkshake together. As they were sipping on the straws, they wound up kissing each other by accident, a la "Lady and The Tramp." They both blushed and backed off with smiles.
"And I cannot be pulled apart from the hold you have on my heart."
The Cartemanches were doing their daily business a decent distance away from the Agrestes, but Bijou and Gabriel were still able to see each other while hiding in plain sight.
"And even if the world tells us it's wrong. You're in my head like a catchy song." Bijou sang.
Gabriel had turned on a stereo and gave Bijou a bow. Bijou did a curtsy, and then the pair started to do a make-shift ballroom dance. Since everyone else in town got into it, too, it was hard for either fighting family to tell what was going on.
The scene changed back to Gabriel and Bijou on their date.
"Wow…" Gabriel said.
"So… does it pass?" Bijou asked, as she kept playing the violin.
"This is the best present you've ever given me!" Gabriel said, as he got closer to keep listening.
"Seasons change and leaves may fall. But I'll be with you through them all." Bijou sang.
The pair would go on walks every day through the strawberry patch, no matter what the season. In the autumn, they would huddle close, and in winter they would share a scarf as another excuse to cuddle with each other. Giving each other romantic gazes, holding hands, they would do it all.
"And rain or shine, you'll always be mine." Bijou sang.
In the springtime, thunder cracked and it began to rain. The pair ran for cover under some of the trees, and then Gabriel opened up his umbrella for the two of them to share. Bijou, touched by this, hugged Gabriel tightly.
"On a prickly path that goes on for miles." Bijou sang.
Gabriel was hauling a huge load of finished goods for his father when he caught Bijou making fruit dyes for fabrics.
He gave Bijou a wave, but his father caught him and shook his head. However, Gabriel did not listen to him and kept watching his secret girlfriend.
Upon further observation, Gabriel noticed Bijou was using the strawberries from the patch, amongst other types of berries, including blueberries and blackberries. Gabriel could tell from first glance that it was not a one-person job, and Bijou would be unable to do it all by herself in a short amount of time.
"You're the only one who makes it all worthwhile." Bijou sang.
The next morning, Bijou went to get back to her task, only to see that all of the dyes had been made and organized. She looked ahead and saw Gabriel lying on the grass, sleeping. He was exhausted and covered in splatters of berry juice, and it looked like he had pulled an all-nighter.
Bijou sat next to him and patted his head gently, happy that Gabriel did this for her.
"And you should not blame me, too, if I can't help falling in love with you…" Bijou sang, as the scene panned back to their date, but she immediately stopped playing the violin and slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she had said.
"Hey! I was going to say the same thing to YOU!" Gabriel said, as he hugged Bijou close to him, being sure not to damage the violin.
"You're upset that I said it first." Bijou said with a smile as she put the violin down.
Gabriel took her hand and stood her up before saying, "No, I was going to pull you up and cover your eyes…"
He put his hands over Bijou's eyes and carefully lead her over somewhere nearby.
"Bring you over here…" Gabriel began, before he stopped, and had Bijou stop. He then lifted his hands away. "And say, 'Surprise!'"
Bijou smiled with joy as she saw that Gabriel had put "GA + BC" inside a heart on a tree. The tree itself was in the center of the field, but it was easily hidden since the tree was so far out of the way.
"Then you would say, 'Oh Gabriel, I absolutely adore it!' And then I would say, 'I love you.'" Gabriel said, as he mimicked how he wanted the whole thing to play out.
Bijou blushed at the thoughtfulness of Gabriel's gift.
"I wish it would have actually gone the way I wanted it." Gabriel said, but he was not really upset in all truth.
"It's perfect!" Bijou said, as the pair shared a hug.
They were about to share a kiss, when…
Like shattering glass, their paradise was about to be ruined.
Bijou was in her room, reading a book, when Luis came in and announced, "The Cartemanches are moving."
Bijou gasped in horror.
~End of Flashback~
Adrien and Marinette gasped in surprise, too.
"Hang on, I had inferred that the Cartemanches moved, but all those events between Astor and Luis… I had no clue any of that happened." Marinette said, in complete shock.
"That couldn't have been easy on mom and father." Adrien said.
"It wasn't." Nadja said, as she continued.
~Continued Flashback~
"We're moving?! To Perpignan?! That's all the way on the other side of the nation, dad!" Bijou said, in protest.
"It's for the best," Luis explained. "The market for fashion design isn't as competitive as here in Paris. We'll have more avenues and resources to diversify the brand. And most importantly, we'll get away from those damned Agrestes!"
Luis then left the room for Bijou to let it sink in. She collapsed on her bed and began sobbing.
"Needless to say, Bijou was horrified, heartbroken, and so many other emotions at once," Nadja narrated. "But since she could not find any other way to avoid it, she did what she felt was her only choice…"
Having called an emergency meet-up, Bijou had asked Gabriel to meet her at their tree. The two of them were holding each other close as she broke the news to her boyfriend. She was crying her eyes out. Gabriel was unhappy at this turn of events, too.
"You're telling me that this is the end?! After everything that's happened?!" Gabriel asked, completely floored at this information.
Bijou, still crying, told Gabriel, "There's nothing I can do, Gabriel! We're moving. I love you, but… My family comes first!"
She ran off in tears, leaving Gabriel at the tree. He was so angry and sad at the fact that he was about to lose his girlfriend. He put his hand against the tree, before he grew the severe face that he would be known for in his later years. He took off in the opposite direction, towards City Hall.
"Then, Gabriel did the most romantic thing that I've seen anyone ever do!" Nadja narrated.
~End of Flashback~
"Come on, tell us! What did father do?!" Adrien asked, eager to learn what his father had done.
His father was romantic enough to carve his and Bijou's names into a tree trunk. Thus, Adrien was really expecting his father to do something just as meaningful and romantic.
"We'll need one more person to tell that story." Nadja said with a smile.
She brought the pair to the Grand Paris hotel to meet up with Mayor Bourgeois.
"Mayor Bourgeois, you know my parents?" Adrien asked.
Mayor Bourgeois put the papers he was working on down, before turning to the pair.
"Not as well as Mrs. Chamack here, but I had a role in their love story," Mayor Bourgeois said, as he stood up. "The night before the Cartemanches moved, Gabriel asked me to meet up with him at the center of the strawberry fields."
~Flashback~
Gabriel had brought Bijou to their usual meeting spot near the tree, but Bijou was still sad over moving away.
Gabriel gestured to what he had set up, and Bijou's eyes widened with surprise and joy. There were decorations and candles everywhere, a small wedding cake courtesy of Tom Dupain, Mr. Kubdel and Nadja were in the audience, and Mayor Bourgeois was standing in front of the tree, holding the book and giving the pair a smile.
"I can't imagine my life without you, Bijou," Gabriel said. "I'll establish myself as a fashion designer, that much I know. What I'm sure of the most is us. So sure, that I would be your husband here and now!"
He got down on one knee and held Bijou's hands. Bijou, tearing up with joy, nodded and said, "I would be your wife, too!"
The pair turned to Mayor Bourgeois and then he smiled and nodded, before saying, "My turn."
"I was the one who officiated your parents' secret wedding, Adrien. It went perfectly." Mayor Bourgeois narrated.
The pair walked up to the mayor, and Gabriel had fashioned some rings himself. They were simple, since he knew Bijou's tastes.
"Gabriel knew Bijou wasn't the type to like extravagance. Over time, she grew used to it while living with Gabriel." Mayor Bourgeois continued with the narration.
"Sounds like you, Marinette." Adrien said.
Marinette merely giggled.
"The two of them had a very simple way of exchanging their vows." Mayor Bourgeois said, as he kept narrating the wedding.
Back to the wedding, Gabriel and Bijou exchanged their rings and were now holding hands.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you…" Mayor Bourgeois began, but…
"What in blazes is happening?!" Astor shouted, interrupting the ceremony. He came upon the scene, completely surprised at the setup. "The candles and decorations… What is the meaning of this?!"
"Bijou! Where are you? You need to be packing!" Luis said, as he also came upon the wedding.
The two men saw the couple, and then Luis asked, "What are the two of you doing?"
The two fathers approached the pair, both with angry, stern looks on their faces. Mayor Bourgeois lost his place in the ceremony, Mr. Kubdel and Nadja were scared of what was about to happen, and finally, Gabriel and Bijou looked at each other in fear, knowing they had been caught.
However, they grew determined facial expressions. They got closer to each other, and Gabriel hugged Bijou close. Gabriel took a deep breath.
"Father, Luis…" Gabriel addressed the two men, making sure his voice was clear, steady, and determined. "Bijou and I are in love with each other!"
The two lovers went back to giving each other loving looks.
"SAY WHAT?!" The two fathers shouted, shocked at this news.
"That's right, we are! And we'll be wed as soon as Mayor Bourgeois says…" Bijou said, reminding Mayor Bourgeois of where he left off.
"Oh, right! By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Mayor Bourgeois quickly finished, before backing away.
The newlyweds held hands, and then Bijou said, "I've never felt better in my life."
She took Gabriel's face into her hands, pulled him closer and kissed him on the lips. Gabriel kissed back, and then the two of them shared a hug.
"What nonsense are you spouting, married?!" Astor shouted, shoving himself in between the couple, before pushing Gabriel away from Bijou. "The two of you can't be married!"
"Finally, we're on the same page for once!" Luis said, approaching his daughter. "Bijou, this stops now! We're moving, and you're obligated to your family!"
Luis made to leave, with the intention of Bijou coming with him, but Bijou would not budge.
"No, dad," Bijou said. "Since I'm now married to Gabriel Agreste, that makes the Agrestes my family, too!"
Luis stopped and turned back to his daughter in surprise. Astor was also floored that Bijou would say something so moving. Gabriel broke away from his father and stood side-by-side with Bijou. He held her hand while looking at Luis. Nadja, Mr. Kubdel, and Mayor Bourgeois all backed off.
"You're not serious, are you?" Luis said, approaching the newlyweds. "So, Bijou, are you telling me you're choosing to be an Agreste, over being a Cartemanche?"
Hearing those words, Bijou felt the back of her eyes heat up, and tears began to leak. Gabriel was also shocked that Luis would say such a thing.
"You're forcing me to choose, aren't you?" Bijou asked of her father.
Luis was taken aback by this, but then he took a deep breath and said, "Yes."
Bijou, completely shocked that her father would ask this of her, let the tears flow. Her fists clenched, and she worked up every ounce of courage she had to defy her father.
"Then… I renounce the name of Cartemanche. I'm Mrs. Bijou Agreste now." Bijou said, as she looked her father in the eye, not moving from her spot.
Everyone was in shock that Bijou make this declaration.
"Bijou…" Gabriel said, as he hugged his new wife to him while giving her cheek a kiss.
Bijou gave her father one last look in the eyes before turning to embrace Gabriel, too.
"Fine by me!" Luis shouted in rage before running off.
Knowing she had lost the family she was born into, Bijou started sobbing into Gabriel's chest.
"I'm sorry… that shouldn't be a choice anyone should have to make." Gabriel cooed.
Seeing how devoted Bijou was to his son, to the point of renouncing her family ties with his enemy, Astor came over and put a hand to her shoulder.
Bijou looked up to her new father-in-law, and Astor merely gave her a smile.
~End of Flashback~
After hearing the story, Adrien was fuming. He was sharing a hug with Marinette, who was trying to help him feel better. Suffice to say, it was not working.
"I can't believe that Luis went and abandoned my mother that way!" Adrien shouted, in complete fury. "Now I understand why father never told me about any of their past, and why mom going missing hurt him so much."
"I don't blame him. Having to make a choice like that shouldn't happen to anyone. And talking about tough topics like this is NOT easy." Mayor Bourgeois said.
"Knowing when there's a good time to talk about it is also hard." Nadja said, nodding in agreement.
Adrien soon realized he had something he desperately needed to do, and then he broke his hug with Marinette.
"Come on, Marinette, let's go." Adrien said, making for the door.
"Where are we going?" Marinette asked, following after him.
"To talk to my grandfather." Adrien said, a small smile gracing his lips. Marinette smiled, realizing that Adrien had wanted to extend an olive branch.
The sun was starting to set, and Luis was closing up his stand for the day. As he closed the curtain, he heard the clearing someone's throat from behind him.
"Excuse me, Luis." Marinette said, and then Luis turned to see the two teenagers before him.
"Oh, Marinette. Nice to see you again," Luis said, before making eye contact with Adrien. "Ah…"
"I'm Adrien… But I guess introductions are unnecessary. You already know who I am, don't you?" Adrien said, introducing himself.
Luis's face fell before saying, "Indeed."
"You didn't come back to Paris for a change of scenery, did you?" Marinette politely inquired.
"Right." Luis sadly admitted.
"You're back because you want to make amends, then?" Adrien asked, approaching his grandfather. Adrien was letting tears fall out of his eyes and down his face.
Luis also started to cry, before saying, "I… Have no excuse for what I did. I was so upset, but… I…"
Adrien merely gave his grandfather a hug before telling him, "The past is the past for a reason, Luis."
Luis hugged back, a smile on his face. Marinette merely gave a satisfied grin to the newly-acquainted grandfather-grandson pair. She knew it was best not to shoehorn herself into the moment.
"Oh, hey! May I call you "Grand-père?"" Adrien asked, a shy smile on his face.
"I'd like that very much." Luis said, with a big smile.
Marinette and Tikki grinned at each other, moved with the family reunion.
Later that evening, the trio went back to the Agreste mansion. Adrien had texted Nathalie ahead of time and said that he was going out on a date with Marinette, instead of telling her what was really going on.
Once Adrien came back into the house with Marinette, he called out, "Nathalie! Father! Marinette and I are back!"
Nathalie and Gabriel soon came down the stairs to meet up with the couple, and then Gabriel gave a slight smile.
"Son, did you and Marinette enjoy yourselves today?" Gabriel said.
When Adrien had broken the news to his father that he started dating Marinette, his father was pleased. He was fond of Marinette, a girl with bonafide talent in fashion design who truly cared about his son. Gabriel was impressed that Marinette cared about Adrien to the point where she would let Gabriel take credit for a birthday present she made.
Since then, Gabriel had lightened Adrien's workload and freed up time for him to spend with his girlfriend. Seeing how happy Adrien was, Gabriel did not want to take that away from his son. In fact, it reminded him a lot of himself and Bijou at that age.
Adrien then crossed his arms and gave his father a stern look.
"Oh, Marinette and I had a wonderful time… Learning about you and mom." Adrien said, looking his father in the eye.
Gabriel and Nathalie flinched, before Gabriel cleared his throat and said, "You have?"
"Yes. You, mom, and my maternalgrandfather." Adrien said, as he approached his father and gave him a knowing look.
Luis then came in and gave a remorseful look to Nathalie and Gabriel.
"…I see. You're back, then." Gabriel said, a severe look on his face.
"I am… I never should have left, though." Luis said, lowering his head.
Adrien smiled as Luis came closer to his son-in-law and grandson. Adrien took his grandfather's hand and said, "Grand-père, learning about mom and dad, and meeting you… Well, it feels really great. Like I've found a new part of myself. And… I feel so much closer to mom, too."
Nathalie started to cry, but Gabriel merely approached Luis before saying, "Adrien, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hidden it from you for so long."
"And I shouldn't have let something as moronic as a feud keep me away from my family." Luis agreed.
"I don't want to miss anything else with you, Grand-père." Adrien said, as he let go of his grandfather's hand.
"Adrien's right," Gabriel said, as he gave Luis a very rare smile. "Welcome back to Paris… beau-père."
Luis returned the favor, before extending his hand to Gabriel.
"Thank you, Gabriel." Luis said, and then the two gentleman shook hands.
It was a touching moment for Adrien. Marinette and Nathalie stood off to the side to give the men some space.
"Father… Can grand-père and Marinette stay for dinner tonight?" Adrien asked.
Gabriel once again gave Adrien a smile that was not often seen, and he said, "Yes, they may."
The hours passed, and the house chefs prepared a fancy meal for the group of five. Everyone was sitting at the table that had the picture of Adrien's mother. Adrien and Marinette were sitting next to each other, and enjoying their food.
"Well… I can think of one good thing that came about from that feud." Marinette whispered to Adrien.
"What's that, Princess?" Adrien asked, raising an eyebrow.
"If not for that feud… You would've never been born." Marinette said, a blush adorning her face.
Adrien blushed, too. He never thought of the feud that way before.
"Haha! Quite right." Luis said, chuckling.
'And if Adrien had never been born, I don't think I would've gotten such a great akuma-fighting partner.' Marinette thought, as she started to eat some more of her food.
Marinette knew in the back of her mind that the only thing that would make this better was Bijou's presence at the dinner table. But for the moment, Marinette was happy knowing that Adrien was enjoying the company of his father and grandfather.
And that's the end of that! I hope you guys liked it. I thought that a backstory like this would explain why Gabriel has gotten so cold since his wife's disappearance. Accoridng to the show, Gabriel hasn't been the same since his wife disappeared. And I think this one-shot fits the situation, too. In this case, the two of them were so in love with each other, but her disappearance left him emotionally broken.
Either way, I hope you vote on my poll!