Adrien felt a wave of nostalgia kick in as he gazed upon the young woman in front of him. Marinette had taken his advice and worn the dress that had once belonged to his mother but strangely enough she had decided to let her hair fall free from it's usual style so that it hung gracefully down the exposed skin of her back. She had no physical resemblance to Adrien's mother aside from her slight frame and obvious beauty; however Adrien sensed the same gentleness and caring nature from her that he cherished in his mother. The mixture of the two brought a bittersweet tear to his eye.

Marinette felt her heart tear in two as she noted the pained expression of Adrien's face "what's wrong?! I don't have to wear this if it is too painful for you!" Adrien laughed against his tears and pulled her close to him in a tight embrace "no…don't mind me. It's just that you look so beautiful!" he brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear before placing a gentle kiss on her cheek "shall we go?"

He pulled out her chair at the dinner table and she offered a slight giggle in return "you're such a gentleman!" he grinned playfully "you know it…milady" Marinette laughed cheerfully again before scrunching up her face and shaking her head playfully "nope…still doesn't work without the ears I am afraid!"

Adrien shrugged as he sat next to her and pulled his own chair in "I can arrange that you know?" Adrien picked up his fork and started eating however Marinette hesitated "erm…shouldn't we wait for your father?" Adrien looked at his fork and slowly shook his head "nah…he always says he's coming but he never does" he dropped his fork in surprise as the door opened "I guess I earned that one…sorry I am late"

Adrien stared wide eyed and open mouthed as his father sat opposite them at the table and picked his fork up. He looked at Marinette and nodded his approval "I was right…it fits and suits you perfectly" she could feel the heat pooling in her cheeks in embarrassment "th..thank you, I appreciate the clothes to wear and I am flattered by your compliment. Gabriel nodded once again before resuming his food.

Marinette noted the strange atmosphere and tried to think of a suitable subject to ease the awkward tension she felt however surprisingly enough it was Gabriel who spoke first "You are most welcome to stay as our guest Marinette, while you are with us you may wander around the house as you please…however I ask you follow the same rules that also apply to Adrien…such as any rooms that have my name on I ask you not to enter and I will not allow any distractions to Adrien's schedule" Marinette offered a warm smile "thank you for your kind hospitality- of course I will adhere to your rules and I promise to not distract Adrien from his work and schedule"

Adrien frowned a little and this did not slip past his father "I am willing to negotiate some free time in your schedule to spend with Marinette, as long as you prove to me her presence here does not hinder your work Adrien…is this agreeable?" Adrien set his fork down and stared at his father in utmost shock as though he did not believe his ears "you're willing to do that?" Gabriel nodded once again with the faintest smile "yes…I believe that is only reasonable. May I suggest something else? How about Marinette accompanies you to your shoots…maybe even participate?" Adrien looked at Marinette excitedly "how about it?"

Marinette remained quiet as this request sunk in me? Participate in one of Adrien's photo shoots? Of course I would LOVE that! Talk about a dream come true! "is…is that ok? I mean are you sure I would be suitable?" Gabriel stood from his chair "yes of course. You have a natural chemistry with Adrien that he never had with any other models who worked with him… I think it would work very well for the camera. Besides, I have never found another woman who suited that dress as much as my wife…no one will ever pull it off the way she did…but you definitely come as close as you can get"

Marinette wasn't sure how to process this compliment and so she stammered in her usual clumsy way until Adrien also stood with a wide smile "I am so excited to do this shoot with you Marinette! Thank you father…I promise it will be my best work yet!" Gabriel grinned slightly as he turned to leave the room "yes Son I know it will be…enjoy dessert. I am returning to work now good night"

Adrien touched Marinette's cheek with a single finger, it was deeply flushed and the evidence of this showed through the heat that Adrien could feel as he traced his index finger down her scarlet cheeks. "I hope it didn't weird you out; my father giving you those compliments. He's a designer and gets carried away when he finds a new project…although I haven't seen him like this since before my mother disappeared" Marinette raised her hand to Adrien's and held it in place on her face. His finger had been cool compared to the burning embarrassment flowing from her blushes.

"No, its ok I understand he was talking from a professional point of view… It's just that I never dreamed that I would ever receive such compliments from Gabriel Agreste the famous designer…nor that I would be asked to participate in a photo shoot with you". Adrien was watching the spot where his father had been sat and found a warmth spreading through him "you know Marinette, my mother was my father's main source of inspiration; he told me that many times. Tonight I think you rekindled something within him that I had thought lost. You don't look like my mother but you resemble her in other ways. I think my father sees it too…now he's gone let's take dessert to my room shall we…Ice cream and a movie?"

Gabriel shut the dining room door behind him and paused as he listened to the joyous chatter from beyond it. He sighed deeply in anguish, Marinette reminded him so deeply of what he had lost because he could see that she and Adrien had something similar. She brought a similar joy to Adrien that Gabriel's wife had brought to him. It was in these moments that he was torn between his duty as a husband and a duty as a father. He cherished the joy Adrien was feeling and yet should Marinette turn out to be Lady Bug…I just hope I am wrong! He walked away from the happy laughter hoping deep inside that Hawk Moth will not stand in the way of his Son's happiness.

Thank you to everyone who has followed/reviewed etc I am soooooo thrilled with the response I hope you're enjoying it up to now...I promise there is more to come, hmmm I wonder what fun they can have with ice cream ;) only one way to find out!