Author's Note: Gabriel Appreciation Week, Day 7: Regret. This is my last prompt for this week. I hope you'll like the finale of this story!

"Days of Gabriel Agreste", Day 7: Regret

'Aren't you happy to see me?'

The smile on his mother's face was unnerving. It wasn't the soft, tender smile burned into Adrien's memory. It was malicious, rigid and unforgiving. The boy raised his eyes to meet the emeralds so similar to his own and gasped. Adele's eyes bore nothing of the love he used to see in them. They were void of any emotion but spite. Their green was dimmed and he realized, there was a crimson shade to them, as if someone decided to shatter emeralds and rubies and then encrust her irises with their joined splinters.

The woman stood at the edge of the ruins taxing them with those disturbing eyes. She was dressed in mountaineer gear, just like them, except for a bag that hung across her shoulder. Pieces of the blue blouse stuck out of it together with a hilt of a knife. There was a snake shaped bracelet wrapped around her right wrist, looking strangely out of place considering the rest of her clothes. Two red rubies were set into the head of the snake and Adrien was almost sure that the way they reflected the sunlight wasn't natural.

'Adele!' Gabriel cried, choking on a sob. He hesitated for a moment, as if not sure if his legs would carry him. Then he took a tentative step towards her but she raised a hand to stop him. Her eyes narrowed as she glowered at him.

'Stay where you are!' she warned. 'I'll just take what I need and you can be back on your way in no time.'

'What the hell are you talking about,' Adrien's father frowned. 'We came to save you, to bring you back after-' he faltered, as if he just realized he never got to perform the ritual. 'You're okay,' he sighed in relief. 'You- Where were you?!'

Adele shrugged, her face painfully neutral. 'Here and there. No places that would interest you.' She pocketed the peacock miraculous and the box with the earrings. 'Now be a good husband and pass me the book and your miraculous.'

Gabriel blinked, rendered speechless by her attitude and demand. Adrien shuddered at the sight. This was another thing on top of all the others that didn't add up. How on earth could she be so detached after all the time she had been missing?

'Mom?' he gulped, his throat suddenly dry and his heart pounding painfully in his chest. He never thought he would actually get to address her again.

Adele turned her attention towards him. Something flickered in the cold eyes, a sparkle of warmth, but it died as quick as it appeared. 'Hello, Adrien,' the lack of emotions in her voice was like a slap across his cheek. She didn't say anything else, making it seem like her intent was only to greet him. She stared at him, those ruby-green eyes piercing him and ripping his soul apart.

The woman raised a brow, as if waiting for him to reply, but his voice was lost together with his wits.

'Adele-' Gabriel started, trying to get closer to her again.

'I said don't move,' she spat, her hand once again raised in his direction. But this time, this time there was a flash of crimson light that flung his father backwards. He slammed into the rocky ground, skidding a few meters before coming to a stop beside Adrien, his face twisted into a shocked scowl.

With Gabriel out of the way Adele stepped lightly over the stones and picked up the grimoire. The two men stared at her in mute surprise. She brushed a speck of dust from the book and put it in her bag next to the two items she took earlier. Then she turned to them with an uninterested look on her face.

'Your miraculous,' Adele demanded extending her hand. 'Both of you,' she emphasised eyeing the ring on Adrien's finger.

'H-how... can you d-do that...?' Adrien heard his father's broken voice. 'You d-disappeared! They… they told me you- … they said you were dead!'

'They told you what I wanted you to hear,' she didn't even grant him a look, her eyes sweeping over his figure, presumably in search for the moth brooch. 'And eventually, what I needed you to hear. Miraculouses, now,' she repeated, her voice pitched higher as she was losing her patience.

But his father was still processing her appearance and the consequences of her scarce words. Adrien doubted the man even heard her, his brain probably filtering the sensations not to cause an overload.

'You were fine all this time?' Gabriel's shocked expression matched Adrien's own face, as he tried to make some sense out of it all. 'While we were missing you? Mourning you?'

Adele didn't reply. She just bit her lower lip and cast a nervous look to the side.

'You left us!' the accusation his father voiced burned into Adrien's heart with the finality of the conclusion.'You left us, and you tricked us into thinking you were dead. How could you do that?'

'I thought it would be easier this way,' the woman replied, finally a shadow of regret in her eyes.

'Why? What have you been doing?'

Adele shot him an exasperated look, her cold demeanor returning with doubled force. 'That's not your business. Just give me the miraculous,' she repeated.

'No!' Gabriel hissed, pushing himself to his feet. 'I demand an explanation. You owe us that at least! I spent years looking for you!'

'I don't owe you anything,' she drawled through clenched teeth. 'That Adele you were looking for died in ruins similar to these, four years ago,' her hand brushed gently over the snake bracelet. 'Maybe she owed you something, I really can't tell.'

'So you never planned to come back? To me and to your own son?' With his father's hand pointing to him Adrien felt a tug in his heart at the realization he had truly been abandoned all this time.

Adele actually had the audacity to cackle; a very unladylike snort escaping her lips. 'Ah, a loving wife and a doting mother,' she sneered. 'That's what you've always wanted from me, right? Well, where's the fun in that, when you can do whatever you want and get whatever you desire with a flick of your finger?'

She snapped her fingers causing another ruby flash that hit Gabriel in the chest and he fell backwards again, landing on his butt with a pained grunt; to her loud amusement. He gaped at her, as if finally the reality came crashing down on him.

'I can't believe this,' he clutched at his hair. 'I did everything to find you, short of causing a war!' he wasn't even talking to her anymore, his voice barely above a whisper and unseeing eyes fixed onto the ground. 'I terrorized a whole city. I almost killed A- I did all those awful things,' a loud groan spilled from his twisted lips.

Adele replied with a chuckle, as gentle as metal scratching glass. 'Oh, that part I really appreciate,' she grinned in satisfaction. 'I must admit that I was impressed that you've managed to make use of those artifacts, before I could intercept them. The rise of Hawkmoth really piqued my interest, and I was closely following your progress. One should never say no to more power,' she added with a shrug. 'I was racking my brains for a way to track the Great Guardian and get those miraculouses, but I would have never thought of that.'

In that moment it all clicked for Adrien, all the puzzles falling into place as he finally saw the full picture behind the information Gabriel managed to get out of her.

'That's why there was a new report?' he asked, speaking for the very first time.

'It was all a ruse?' his father followed. He must have caught onto the facts by now too.

'Of course,' Adele grinned. 'Haven't you realized I went missing in a different part of Himalaya? This is just some random site and a bit of color dust to make it look more plausible,' she waved at the soot on the stones.

'And the explosions?'

'Storms do happen in the mountains,' she rolled her eyes. 'I just needed to find a place where one occurred at a time that would match a certain period and it isn't that hard. Now give me your miraculouses and I'll let you go, for old times sake.'

Adrien's hand involuntarily went to his ring and too late he recognized his mistake. Adele laughed and whistled. Half a dozen black-clad men emerged from behind the shrubs. They were at least as tall as Adele, and she wasn't short to begin with. Only their eyes could be seen from under their dark hoods covering their heads. Each wielded a sword, that glistened ominously in the afternoon sun. The biggest one of them grunted something and prepared to charge, but the woman stopped him with a raised hand.

Now Adrien felt Plagg moving anxiously in his pocket. He understood. Several miraculous were now at stake, together with an actual manual.

'One last chance, gentlemen,' his mother declared, her voice echoing in the valley.

Adrien tried to catch his father's eye to assess his state and maybe prompt him to resist. But Gabriel just looked blankly in his wife's direction, his shoulders slumped, his head hung. A deep frown carved his forehead.

The big thug made a few steps in their direction, brandishing his sword. Adrien didn't need any more signs, he needed to act now. Green light washed over his body as he was already moving towards his father. His transformation made the thug falter in his step, but it wasn't enough to actually stop him. Chat Noir leaped in front of Gabriel, his baton ready to deflect the hits.

The clang of metal on metal filled the air as the remaining mercenaries moved to attack the feline hero. He stood his ground, parrying and pushing them back. Six to one was doable. He had managed worse odds than that.

Adele huffed, clearly annoyed with his resistance. 'You are making this difficult, Adrien,' she said raising the hand with the snake bracelet. She murmured something and started to weave a spell, ruby strands of magic twisting in her palm. 'Move away guys,' she instructed and aimed at Chat Noir.

'Not gonna happen,' the announcement came out of nowhere, just like the yoyo that wrapped itself around Adele's wrist and tugged it to the side. The spell she'd been weaving dissolved into mist and disappeared. The woman groaned furiously and followed the string up, to the place where Ladybug proudly stood, feet planted firmly on the stones. 'Don't even think about making a dragging cat pun,' she said before Adele could even open her mouth.

'You okay, Kitty?' the heroine shot Chat with a worried look. She yanked her yoyo freeing Adele's hand.

'All the better for seeing you, my Lady,' he grinned, not for a moment stopping the fight. But now he was deflecting the hits with new vigor. A few throws of a yoyo and a few hits of his baton later, the thugs were already lying on the ground, blissfully knocked out. Ladybug started her descent towards him.

Adele reached to the bag and pulled out the box with the earrings. She pressed her lips into a thin line when she inspected the pieces of jewelry. Adrien knew they were forged almost to perfection. He had no idea how Marinette managed to pull it off, but if he hadn't known, he would have been fooled himself. Of course, up until the point when no kwami appeared after touching them.

'You will pay for this,' the woman growled and dropped the earrings, picking up the peacock brooch instead. A flash of blue light and Paon was launching herself at Chat and Gabriel.

'Over my dead body,' Ladybug roared, vaulting herself high into the air.

'That can be arranged,' Paon retracted her fans and sent them flying in her direction.

Chat didn't even think before he leaped, turning in the air to shield himself and Ladybug with his staff. But the fans slid over it easily and hit him directly in the chest, sending him senseless into the ground. The darkness closed around him to the distant cry of 'No!' that ripped from two throats.

He fought to stay awake, to keep his eyes opened. His ears filled with white noise of the blood roaring in his veins.

'Adrien, do you hear me?'

Strong hands grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. He heard the swoosh of Ladybug's yoyo deflecting shots. Chat shook his head and the ringing in his ears finally ceased. He looked into pale blue eyes hidden by a silver mask.

'Father?'

'That was a good choice, Adrien,' Hawkmoth admitted. 'I'm sorry,' he added in a timid voice and the boy could read the rest of the apology in his dimmed eyes.

Chat's pupils only got larger, 'Yeah,' he choked out. Maybe he will be forgiven for his betrayal after all. The moth wielder sent him a weak smile of consolation.

'What do you say,' Hawkmoth nodded in the direction of Ladybug still shielding them from Paon. 'Time to stop this madness?'

'I thought you'd never ask,' Chat grinned at him.

'One,' Hawkmoth brandished his cane.

'Two,' Chat swung the baton.

'Three.'

They charged.

That's it. I honestly wish I had more time and give this story the attention it deserves. I feel that this chapter is a bit rushed and I should work more on the emotional side of it. But time was up.

I definitely want to develop this into a longer story. My initial idea was focused on love square dynamics after Chat's betrayal, this was supposed to be a background plot line that I've explored purely because of Gabriel Appreciation Week.

I appreciate your comments greatly, they make me want to write more. Please share your thoughts.

A gigantonormous thank you to Remasa, for her constant presence throughout the week, for patient beta reading throughout my typos and plot holes, for brainstorming and pulling the best ideas out of me. Check out her stories, they are pure gold!

I had a lot of fun, even if I am dead tired. I hope you had fun too?

I invite you to read my other fics and to visit me on tumblr (perditaalottachocolate-blog), I post my stories and sneak peeks and share mostly miraculous stuff.