Gosh this was so long to type
part 14
The day had been dull and long in Adrien's opinion but he was excited. His dad was letting him have a small sleep over with Nino, Alya, and Marinette. How he had managed to convince the old man was far beyond him but he wasn't complaining.
He walked into the Agreste Fashion house expecting his father to be at his desk doing paper work looking stiff and formal as per usual. Instead, his father was sitting on a stool, looking just about ready to drop dead, staring at a piece of paper with Eponine and Maria looking just as aggravated.
"You guys don't seem too hot." He commented.
"We're doomed!" Maria announced banging her head against the table.
"Miss Balboa you're exaggerating." His dad said with a sigh. "Perhaps we should do more research and choose an actual theme. This is just the primary stage."
"Maybe we should go to some fabric stores too?" Eponine said. "That should probably help us."
Adrien looked at them.
"What is going on?" He asked.
"We're testing primary ideas for a bridal line and your dad didn't think things through!" Maria said turning her head to face him.
"I did think things through!" His dad announced losing his cool.
"If you had really thought things through, we would not be ready to kill each other boss!" She growled.
"I had thought it through." He huffed.
Adrien had to stifle his giggles. Really this birthday was the best one to happen to him since his mother had died.
"Sure you did," Maria mumbled. "Ugh…."
Adrien looked to Maria and realized she was glaring at her phone.
"Something wrong?" Adrien asked.
"Just family issues, child," She said sitting up. "I'm gonna go make a phone call."
"Hurry back!" Eponine said with a smile.
Adrien watched as she left curious as to what was bothering her with her family. He knew that she and her family got along well save for the lack of privacy.
Maria sighed as she called her house.
"Maria thank god!" She heard her mother cry in her native tongue.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Your aunt broke your lock to your room!" Her mom said.
She sighed and looked to the floor.
"Put her on the phone." She said quietly. God, why was that happening to her? She had tried to be civil towards the woman, let her do as she pleased, and never said a bad word to her.
"Mija, good, I was trying to tell your mother to get me a blanket and she tells me that the room was locked. Why are you locking your room? Is there something you don't want us to see? You know, mija, it's things like this that make me say you should come home and settle down with a boy I know. Alfonso from my church would be so good to you..."
Maria tuned out her aunt and leaned her heard on the table.
"Tia!" She snapped. "My room was locked because all my sewing stuff was in there and I didn't want Luciana to get in there and hurt herself. I will call a locksmith to go there and fix it. I have to go back to work now."
Maria began to shake in anger. What had she done to that woman to deserve all her spite and malice? She had offered her a place to stay, gave her a bed, treated her with respect and civility, and she been generally good to her. Yet, the woman still chose to act as if she had done something wrong and that she had to be chastised like a child.
She felt herself start to cry. Really why was this happening? She leaned against the wall to try and compose herself. She tried to hold back any loud sobs that dared escaper her lips. She covered her mouth to quiet herself down thankful that the design room was empty.
Gabriel was surprised when Adrien announced his departure rather quickly but understood that the boy wanted to make sure everything for his slumber part was perfect. Honestly, why did the boy want a slumber party anyways? He was surprised he wasn't getting concerned phone calls about a co-ed slumber party; but if those kids' parents trusted them then he really couldn't say it was a bad idea.
He looked to Miss Laura who was staring in the direction where Miss Balboa had gone.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"Maria doesn't normally take this long to call home," Miss Laura said frowning. "I think something's wrong."
"Perhaps it's taking a bit longer than usual to call home." Gabriel said with a shrug. He wasn't worried—or least he didn't want people to realize that he might be 0.099% worried—about the time Miss Balboa was taking.
"Maybe…" Miss Laura said looking back down at her work.
"Perhaps we should call it a day." Gabriel said with a frown.
"Boss?" Miss Laura squeaked in surprised. "Are you sure?"
"At this point it would be easier to do research on our own and I have other engagements I need to tend to." He said with a nod.
"Do you want me to go tell, Maria?" She asked looking back towards the direction Miss Balboa had gone.
"I'll go. She and I need to have a talk about not blaming me for things that fail, anyways." He said standing up. "Be sure to inform that others that may clock out if they wish."
"Of course, have fun pretending you're not flirting." Miss Laura said getting up and grabbing her things.
"Miss Laura, I do believe you're missing a few hours from last week…" He said with a frown.
"Sorry boss." She said with a sheepish smile.
He frowned and walked towards the direction Miss Balboa had gone. With each step he became nervous. He didn't know why—no wait he did—but the prospect of speaking to Miss Balboa alone became terrifying.
He came to the art room and noted the door was closed. No one was present in the hallways but he heard the faint sound of a female voice. He leaned against the door and listened. It was coming from in there.
He opened the door as slowly and as quietly as possible.
His breath hitched when he saw who was there.
Miss Balboa was leaning her back against the wall with one hand covering her mouth while tears flowed down her face like small cascades. She was shaking and completely unaware of his presence. He could hear her muffled attempts to calm herself down.
He could feel everything him screaming at him to do something about it. What could he do? He couldn't even comfort his own son when they had lost Clarisse. He would most certainly make everything worse.
And yet, a tiny voice whispered, "Help her…"
He took a deep breath and walked towards her. He could feel himself about to collapse but kept his composure. He was a grown man, not a love-struck teenage boy—despite his feelings for the younger woman—and he was going to act like it.
"Maria…" He called surprised by how soft his own voice had been.
Maria jumped when she heard her name being called. She looked to her side and saw her boss standing there. She quickly began to wipe her tears.
"B-boss!" She squeaked. "I'm so sorry!"
"Is everything alright, Miss Balboa?" He asked moving closer to her causing her to flinch a little. She was not sure why but the suddenness of them being alone frightened her…and excited her more than it should.
"Why do you ask?" She said wiping another tear.
"Miss Balboa… You were crying right now were you not?" He said shifting his gaze to the floor.
She bit her lower lip and looked up at him. He didn't need to know about her family life. He had his own issues and besides that they weren't close. She was technically nothing more than another person whose paycheck he had to sign.
She gave a weak smile and said, "Its fine Mr. Agreste. It's nothing to ask about. I'll be fine in a minute. I just need to…"
She began to sob again. There was too much stressing her out and this was the worst of it. She couldn't help it.
"I'm sorry, I'll calm down…" She began to say.
Gabriel didn't know what do. In moments like this one would give physical comfort, if his memory was correct. Would she be fine with that? What if she thought it was harassment? Several dozen terrible scenarios appeared in his head.
They all disappeared when he looked at Miss Balboa. Her crying made him feel awkward but also sad and angry. While Miss Balboa was a pain in the ass, she was a generally pleasant person to be around and much more vibrant. To see her so dull and so muted, it just didn't seem right. He wondered who would make her react so badly.
He took another deep breath and slowly moved closer to her crying form. She kept repeating that she was sorry but what for? She had done nothing wrong and it was obviously someone else's fault. He put a hand on her should gently.
"Don't read too much into this." He said quietly pulling her into his arms.
Maria gasped softly when she realized what was happening. He had his arms around her awkwardly. She wanted to laugh a bit at the situation but at the same time she was grateful. She desperately needed some sort of affection at the moment.
She wrapped her arms around his waist gripping his vest. She hoped he wouldn't find that too forward of her. She needed something warm and he was so very warm.
Gabriel was surprised the by her actions but accepted them none the less. He noted that she was still shaking but at least it was not too bad. He could not really give words of comfort to her since he did not know what had caused her to lose her composure.
But he also wanted to keep like this for a bit. He felt childish and needy but it felt strange to get physical affection by someone willing of the opposite sex.
Maria began to feel herself calm as she inhaled his scent. He smelled like vanilla and coffee beans. It was strange but also entirely him. She closed her eyes as she laid her heard on his chest.
"Thank you," She whispered softly. "I really needed a hug."
"It's not a problem." She heard him mumble.
He was surprised that she had thanked him but at the same time relieved. He was not sure what his mind would have done if she had gotten mad.
He felt her slowly push away from him and looked at her. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffed. Some of her make-up had become ruined. Her simple black peplum shirt and black pants seemed fine. She looked awkward as she gave him a shy smile.
"Sorry for losing my shit." She said quietly.
"It's fine," He said. "It was rather unnerving to see you lose your composer. Normally, it's against my nature to pry, but I am curious as to why you were so upset?"
"Oh… It's nothing!" She said with nervous chuckle and wave of her hand.
"Miss Balboa, you were having an emotional meltdown, that was not nothing," He said with a frown. "What happened?"
"Ugh…" She said looking away.
Maria wanted to cry again. She didn't want to think about it anymore. She took a deep breath.
"Please," She whispered. "I don't wanna think about it anymore. I'm being childish right now. I just need to distract myself."
To her surprise he stayed silent. He looked at the floor and then at her. She looked to the floor hoping that he would take mercy on her nerves. She felt emotionally drained and she didn't want to focus on her family any more.
"I see." He said after a minute.
She looked back up and was surprised to see him staring at the floor pensively.
"Well," He said looking up at her. "Seeing, as you don't want to focus on what's upsetting you, you can suffer by helping me with something."
"And w-what's that?" She asked with a sniffle.
"I need help picking out a cat for Adrien." He said with a frown.
"You're getting Adrien a cat?" She asked with a slight bounce.
"Yes," He said. "But I have no clue what type of cat he likes and I figure since you talk to her more than necessary you would know a bit more about what too choose."
"I know exactly what he wants!" She announced forcing herself to perk up.
"Good, because I was just about to leave." He said.
"Wait what about work?" She asked tilting her head.
"I gave everyone the rest of the day off." He said. "Are you coming or not?"
"Yes sir!" She said with a grin.
Adrien sat idly next to Marinette as she looked over her sketch book. She had been the first one to arrive and greeted him happily. Since no one was there yet they had agreed to wait in the living room. He had been planning to watch Netflix while she drew but he had become curios.
Truthfully, he had developed a weird habit of watching her when she sketched. She was very different from his father when he sketched. His father was stone faced and completely focused but it was amazing to watch the way his hands move. Marinette was completely different. Her face was soft and her hand movement was slow. Her movements where magic and each stroke was a new spell.
He could understand why so many boys in their class fell for her. She was an amazing girl and even he couldn't deny that. He looked at her and wondered why she rejected them each time. She could quite literally have any guy in class but instead she remained single.
"Marinette?" He called softly.
"Hmm?" She said looking up from her sketch book.
"I have a question." He stated.
"Okay, what is it?" She asked tilting her head to the side. He almost screamed in frustration from how cute that was.
"Okay, this is gonna sound weird," He began. "But how come you don't have a boyfriend?"
"eh?" She asked turning red.
"Not to be weird or anything," He said biting his lip. "It's just that you're really pretty and every guy in class has pretty much fallen in love with you at some point… and it's just surprising that none of them caught your eye. I mean Nino is awesome and stuff. Nathanael and you are both pretty artistic… and I just think it's weird."
"Oh…" She said looking down. "That's because… you see… I have… I really like this guy!"
"You like someone? Who's the idiot who doesn't realize how amazing you are?" Adrien said standing up.
"Haha, he doesn't go to our school." She said in a high pitch voice.
"Do you like him that much? You're redder than Nathanael's hair." He said poking her forehead.
"I'm fine! Did you like my present?" She asked. He was surprised at how quickly she changed the subject but shrugged it off.
"I haven't opened it yet. I should probably see what Maria got me too." He said looking at the two gift bags on the nearby table.
"Ooh I wonder if she got you something good." Marinette said losing her blush slowly.
He was sad to see it go. She was so cute when she was all red and flustered.
He grabbed the two bags and looked at her.
"You want me to open yours first?" He asked.
"Sure!" She said smiling at him.
He smiled and opened the bag. To his surprise it was several dark shirts with cat puns on them. He gave her a grin.
"They're puuuur-fect." He announced.
She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle and he felt proud. He liked being the source of Marinette's smile.
He looked to Maria's gift and opened it. It was a DVD box set of an anime called "Black Cat." He blanched for a second. She had mentioned that her brother suggested it. He looked into it and saw a small card with a green paw.
It had written on it: "Claws out, Kitty; better make sure you know that the original Bad Ass has arrived."
If that was from Aaron, then it meant two things.
One: Aaron knew he was Chat Noir.
Two: Ladybug was going to kick his ass so hard his dad would feel it.
Maria looked around the high end pet store that they had arrived at. She knew Adrien had mentioned that he was a huge Chat Noir fan and kind of wanted a black kitten. She looked at all the kittens and was surprised that there were barely any.
She looked to her boss who seemed very preoccupied with a poodle pup. She covered her mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape. The two seemed to be locked in a strange staring contest. It was rather cute in her opinion.
She continued to look around until she finally found a small black kitten laying sadly its case looking as all the people passed it by.
"Boss!" She called.
"Going." He called back walking up to her.
She watched as he inspected the cat with his glare.
"Adrien wants a black kitten," She said with a laugh. "He's a fan of Chat Noir."
"I see." He said.
"Are you gonna get the poodle pup?" She asked with a giggle.
"What makes you say that?" He snapped.
"You two were having quite the staring contest, plus a pet would do you good." She said.
"I don't have time for a dog." He said with a frown.
"You and Adrien would bond well over pet care," She said with a smile. "Plus, it would do great things for your public image."
"You think so?" He asked looking back at the pup.
"Yes." She said with a nod.
Gabriel had not expected to leave the store with both a puppy and a kitten. He had thought that two would instantly try to kill each other but surprisingly they got along well. Maria—ahem, Miss Balboa—was a natural with them and somehow both animals adored her instantly.
They arrived at their destination. He exited first to help Miss Balboa out.
"Our driver would be glad to take you home." He said as he took the two fur balls into his hands.
"Do you think he could drop me off at the Bourgeois hotel? I need to go visit my grandmother." She said.
"He will." He said with a nod.
"Thank you," She said. "Oh boss, you got something on your cheek."
She motioned for him to move a bit closer and he did so lowering his head a bit. She bit her lip nervously before quickly pecking him on the cheek.
"Don't read too much into that…" She said quietly looking away.
Gabriel nodded and said, "Right well… Good night."
In case you're wondering. Adrien names his kitten The Dowager Catress and Gabriel names his Puppy Winnie the Poodle.
Please leave any thoughts :D