Chapter 4: father's request

Adrien yawned and stretched out on his giant bed. He blinked up at the ceiling before deciding to curled up and take a quick cat nap. It had been approximately 36 hours since he told his father about dating Marinette, and 24 since he told Marinette about telling his father about them…even though there technically wasn't a "them". She took it surprisingly well, and they had kept in touch through minimal texting outside of school. There wasn't much to say between the two of them, so he didn't bother trying to milk a conversation out of her. Instead he focused on sleeping so he would be well rested for his patrol later that night with Ladybug. Ladybug…

To tell his lady or not…he couldn't decide. On one hand he wanted to share everything with her, even make her a little jealous, but on the other hand he understood her desire to remain anonymous to each other. No, this wasn't an appropriate thing to share with Ladybug. She'd get mad at him for revealing too much about himself to her, or possibly smack him for trying to make her jealous. Either way he'd end up feeling guilty and she would get mad at him. All he wanted to do was please her, so upsetting her was the opposite of his goal. His goal was to get her to love him…somehow. It was hard when he struggled to love himself…

"Adrieeeeen…where is my cheeeeeeese," Plagg sang as he floated on top of Adrien's head. The blond shifted and groaned.

"Somewhere…" he mumbled.

"Somewhere isn't here though. I need my daily does of Camembert," he whined. Adrien finally pried his eyes open and sat up. He leaned over his bed and reached in to his bag to pull out as slice of the cheese his Kwami was so obsessed with.

"Mmmm! Merci beaucoup!" Plagg cried before devouring the smelly slime.

"Yeah, whatever," Adrin yawned. Just as he laid back down on his bed he heard a knock at his door and groaned again. Why couldn't he just rest?

"Come in…" He allowed and sat back up. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as Nathalie entered his room.

"Uh, hey Nathalie," he mumbled.

"Your father would-"

"Like to speak to me? Yeah okay," he sighed and got out of his bed.

"Actually, he would like to dine with you tonight," she informed him. Adrien blinked at her. His sudden grogginess was shaken and he was wide awake.

"He…what?" He questioned.

"Your father wishes for your company at dinner tonight," she reiterated.

"Oh um…o-okay. Is there a set time? Do I need to like change clothes or…"

"It'll be semi-formal, and at 8 o'clock tonight," she answered. Shit. Patrol was supposed to start at 8 o'clock as well.

"Got it…okay, I'll be there," he said. Nathalie nodded before leaving him alone in his big empty room again. Once the door clicked shut Adrien flopped back down on his bed and let out a big long sigh.

"So, how are you going to be at patrol with Ladybug and dinner with your dad at the same time tonight?" Plagg asked. Adrien frowned.

"I'm gonna have to cancel on Ladybug tonight," he decided.

"What? Really? Are you seriously giving up a night alone with your true love for your father?" He questioned. Adrien nodded reluctantly.

"I dunno. It might be important. He's never requested that we eat dinner together."

"Okay…if that's what really matters to you," Plagg hummed.

"Trust me, normally I would ditch or postpone patrol if my dad requested me in the evening but this isn't normally. The situation I'm in right now…is complicated."

"Right…"

"Anyways, can you send a message to Ladybug saying I can't make it tonight?" He asked. Plagg sighed.

"Sure."

Once the clock hit 7:59 Adrien was already in the seat across from his father. Literally a minute later at exactly 8 o'clock dinner was served. It felt a little ridiculous dining two people in a table meant for a hundred. Then again it was the only dining table they had, and for some reason Gabriel had to keep it professional. Like he was meeting with a client instead of his son. It made Adrien more uncomfortable then the buttoned up dress shirt he wore over his slacks. The things he did for his father…

The first course was pea soup for some reason. The dark green sludge looked digesting, but Adrien learned from a young age to tolerate even the most foul foods without pulling a face or throwing up. He stomached through the death soup and calmly gulped down his water after the last bite. So far his father had been silent besides the occasional small talk. He asked about his day and shared a few tidbits of his own day as well. After the empty soup bowls were taken a plate of fine roast beef was served in its place. Adrien smiled. Finally something that was manageable. He had to consciously remind himself to spread his napkin over his lap before digging in to his food. Still, he remained composed and polite under his eagerness for food. Who knows how his father would react to his absolute love for food. Gabriel cleared his throat after Adrien had gotten through half of his meat.

"I'm sure you are curious as to why I requested to dine with you tonight," he spoke in his usual cold and chilling voice. Adrien stopped mid-chew to process what his father said and nodded before swallowing.

"I did find it odd," he replied.

"My apologies, but I have something I'd like to discuss with you," he stated and wiped his mouth before putting down his napkin.

"Uh…y-yeah?" Adrien stuttered.

"I'm curious about your new girlfriend. So far you've only given me her name," he announced. Adrien blinked and felt his eye twitch. Did he seriously arrange a dinner with him only to talk about his new publicity stunt.

"Uh…Marinette? What do you want to know?" He asked.

"When did you guys start dating?"

"Um, rather recently. I-it's hard to properly explain, but I guess when I started to look for a girlfriend I found her easily," he answered. Gabriel nodded.

"I see. So you're feelings for her are serious?"

"Yes. A-absolutely. She's a really nice girl," he replied.

"I see. Only nice?"

"No, she's also pretty uh, and headstrong, very lov-I mean likable…um kinda clumsy too, but I think that just makes her that much cuter," he added.

"How have your friends reacted to your new relationship?"

"My friends…?" Adrien thought for a moment. Nino and Alya knew it wasn't real, but the rest of the class was either overly happy and excited for them or completely 100% furious with him for dating Marinette.

"To be completely honest some of them hate me now…apparently a lot of other people have crushes on Marinette too," he told him.

"Oh? So she's rather popular?"

"Yes, I'd say so. It seems like everyone likes her in one way or another."

"And you just so happen to be the lucky lad who had captured her heart?"

"Y-yes, I guess you could say that…"

"That's good. I'm glad you found someone you actually like instead of someone I set you up with," Gabriel spoke with a small smile. Adrien's eyes widened with wonder and he had to hold back a grin. Was his father really showing emotion to him? Did he actually want him to be happy?

"It's much more convincing for the cameras. Those journalists can spot a fake relationship from miles away," he continued. Adrien's smile dropped.

"Oh yeah. Of course," he replied unenthusiastically. Gabriel nodded and stood up from the table.

"I was a pleasure having dinner with you tonight," he said. Adrien nodded and sadly played with the food in front of him with his fork.

"Yeah…same," he muttered as his father walked off to the door.

"Oh, and Adrien," he stopped with his hand on the knob, successfully capturing his son's attention. Gabriel smiled again.

"I want to meet Ms. Dupain-Cheng very soon. Invite her to the dinner party on Thursday." It sounded more like an order than a request. Adrien's face was once again drained of all color. Of course his father wanted to meet her. This was just perfect.

"Uh…u-uhm o-okay," he stuttered terribly.

"Good. Make sure to go to bed at a reasonable time…and…I dunno, brush your teeth," he said before leaving the room for good. Adrien was speechless as he stared at the spot his father once stood. Did that really just happen?