Well this chapter was 7500 words exactly.
It was also not as bad as I thought it would be
part 21
Gabriel felt chills go down his spine as he looked at the small brown woman. The first thing he noted was that while Maria's eyes were blue compared to her mother's, the woman's brown eyes held a fury similar to her own… although the mother seemed like she could probably get away with his murder.
"Is this the Famous Gabriel Agreste that you've mentioned so much on the phone and his son?" she asked sweetly.
He hoped his will made sure that Adrien was well taken care of. Well, Philippe and Nathalie were decent enough to care for Adrien for two more years and if he was lucky Adrien would marry Marinette straight out of lycee and she could ensure that his business was secure.
"Yes…." Maria said. He could practically feel her trembling. She was probably just as afraid as he was or even more so.
"You forgot to mention how handsome they were, Mija!" the woman said looking at him with a sweet smile that most certainly held the promise of death. What was with the women in this family and having a murderous aura?
"Ahaha… I didn't notice?" he heard Maria reply. He didn't know her voice could go that high… And he hoped that thought didn't cause anymore issues with his sleeping schedule.
"Well they're handsome… and too skinny. Ay it's a good thing your Abuelita brought them here," the slightly older woman said. She smiled and stuck out her hand. "I'm Suzanna Delgado."
"Gabriel Agreste." He replied automatically shaking her hand.
She gave a smile that seemed almost similar to the cat like grin her son had.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, though a bit unexpected." She said.
"Likewise…" He replied.
"Does your son speak English or Spanish?" she asked looking at Adrien.
"He doesn't, I'm afraid. My son only speaks French and Mandarin." He replied, though the real question was why they hadn't let go of each other's hands.
The woman smiled and let go which he was grateful for. He was pretty sure that his hand was sweaty.
"Oh well, Maria, have Arturo translate for him. Set the things on the counter and then have Mr. Agreste sit with your father and grandfathers. Your uncles will be with them shortly. Do you want anything to drink? We have alcohol, water, soda." She said.
"I'm fine…" He said.
"Uuuh dad, what did she say?" he heard Adrien ask.
"She asked if we wanted something to drink and said that the brother would be translating for you." He explained.
"I'm fine." He mumbled.
Gabriel gave a small nod and looked back to the woman.
"Does you son want something?" she asked.
"He's fine." He replied.
"Are you sure?" She insisted.
"Mom…." Maria said.
Suzanna looked to her sister-in-laws who were gossiping amongst each other. The man did not give off the usual warning-signs and for lack of a better word seemed horribly awkward. She looked to her mother-in-law who already had an approving smile.
She sighed. If the old woman already liked him then that meant he was most certainly here to stay. After all, the old woman had better judgment than everyone else in the house.
Maria sighed as they walked out of the kitchen. She looked to the table and almost wanted to scream. She felt like a banshee honestly. Her father was staring up at her with a knowing smile that meant he was probably going to pull out baby pictures.
She looked to her boss who seemed a bit clammier than was expected. She gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Don't worry; they're not as vicious as mom and grandma."
"No offense, but your mom and grandma look like they could take the entire army of France with both their hands tied begin their back." Adrien said.
"They probably could." Maria said with a snort.
"Maria, is that your boss?" She heard her father ask.
"Yes, Dad, this is him." She said with a sigh.
"Good, go get us some shots. The poor bastard looks like he just went through a screening process, though with your mother and your grandmother it might as well be." He said with a laugh.
"Boss, why don't you take a seat?" She said pulling out a chair for him.
"I uh… think I'll stand." He replied shifting his weight from his right foot to his left.
"Please sit, they'll think you're rude." She said with a sigh.
"If you insist," He mumbled sitting down. "Thank you."
"Don't switch to French, cabrona. We don't like when you hide shit." Her dad said.
"I don't like it when you boss me around in my house." She replied.
"Haha, talk shit to me when you're out of student debt." He said leaning back glaring at her with a cocky smirk.
"I haven't owed anything since May, Daddy Dearest," She replied smiling sweetly placing her hands on her boss', ahem, Gabriel's shoiulder. "You should ask this bastard how much he's been paying me. I'm sure you'll find it's more than enough."
"Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't said anything about being called a bastard." Her dad said changing the subject.
"I've called him worse to his face," She said. To her surprise Gabriel let out a snort. Adrien looked at her confused and she smiled. "My dad asked why your dad didn't seem affected by the fact that he was referred to as bastard several times and I explained that I've called your father worse to his face."
"Worse is a nice understatement." Adrien said with a laugh.
"Well, Daddy Dearest, don't break him, I still need him to sign my paychecks, and I have to give the heathens the boy to entertain." She said giving Gabriel a pat on his shoulders before taking Adrien by the arm and leading the boy away.
Gabriel looked awkwardly at the three men who were staring at him. His eyes darted to the man he knew to be Maria's father. The man had that same lazy smile that Maria had when she was in no mood for mischief. He was green eyed and dark skinned with short and neat black hair, and he had the build of a man who had been working in manual labor his whole life.
"So you're Gabriel Agreste." The man said.
"And I assume you are Mr. Balboa." He replied unsure of what else to say.
"My name's Aaron Jose Balboa the third. The man with the receding hairline and my dashing jaw-line is my father, Aaron Jose Balboa the second, and the devilishly handsome stud to his left is my father-in-law Emmanuel Delgado. It's a pleasure to meet you," Mr. Aaron Jose Balboa the third said. "You can call me AJ, my dad Jose, and stud-muffin over there Manny."
"I see." He said.
"Mind if we call you Gabe?" Mr. Emmanuel Delgado asked.
"That's fine." Gabriel replied.
"So you can switch between three languages, sweet. How many more do you know? Arturo knows about four or five. Aaron knows four, and Maria takes the cake with seven languages." AJ said (he really had no choice in the naming matter. Who knew that there would be three generations of men with the same name under one roof)?
"I speak about six or seven." He replied.
"Nice. Which ones." The man insisted. He was quite surprised he was even being conversed with, because really, he had felt an almost hostile atmosphere as soon as he had entered. It seemed to have left but there was still an amount of discomfort he could not help but feel.
"French, English, Spanish, Dutch, Mandarin, Arabic and a bit of German," he said bringing his hand to his neck to scratch it.
"Not bad," the man mused with a smile. "You know, my little girl is very headstrong about her ideals. She's quite smart."
"I am quite aware of that." He replied.
"So you've read her essay? I didn't really because reading is fucking annoying." AJ said.
"I read it." He replied curtly. He was surprised at how easily these people could curse but given the fact that Maria and her brother cursed like it was no big deal, why it still surprised him was a mystery.
"I applaud you. That was fifty pages of work." Her father said.
"It was 182." He corrected quietly.
"Holy shit really?" her father said looking at him with both impressed and horrified eyes. "And you read it all?"
"Yes." He replied. He had probably read that essay three four times—not that anyone needed to know that—and he could say without a doubt the girl could've been a writer if she felt like it.
"She could've been a writer. She wanted to be one for a while too," The man explained. "Frankly, the fact that she's gone this far in the fashion scene is impressive. I'm quite proud. I still remember that she cried every time she had to use a machine when she first started. It freaked her out more than driving."
A snort escaped his lips as the man spoke. He had a hard time believe that the ever confident Maria "I will make you the greatest freakin' ball gown in three hours" Balboa was once afraid of sewing machines.
"It's hard to believe now even for me. Give her fabric and she's a happy little monkey off in lala land sewing dresses." AJ said.
"Remember when she came home crying because she had to stare a penis for two hours?" He heard her balding grandfather say.
The three men began laughing and he felt awkward as they did.
"Man," AJ began. "That one was a funny one. She had to take figure drawing at one of her old schools and then on the first night she had to draw a naked man and it was hilarious because despite the fact that she acts like a hot shit when it comes to sex and stuff she's more innocent than a nun."
"She cried the whole class?" he asked.
"Oh no, she managed to keep a straight face. She cried the whole car ride home saying she never wanted to see another penis again." AJ said with a snort.
"You got a kid, right?" He heard her other grandfather say.
"Yes, my son, Adrien." He replied.
"He's a cute kid. He gets his looks from his mother I'm assuming." AJ said.
"His looks and his personality come from his mother." He replied.
"Not bad," AJ said. "Maria; bring us our shots already!"
Gabriel looked to Maria who was chatting with Adrien happily. She looked over to them stuck her tongue and blew a raspberry at them before looking back to Adrien.
Maria smiled as she explained to Adrien that the boys rough-housing was their way of showing affection. He had been a bit off put when he saw them get into fighting stances.
"So this is just how they play…" He repeated.
"Of course! I gotta go get the men drinks. If you get freaked out, I'll find something safer for you to do, okay?" She said patting his cheek.
"Okay." He replied with a nervous smile before taking a seat next to Zeke.
She smiled and walked to the kitchen. Her mother and aunts were bustling around making sure all the food for the evening was perfect. Heck, even her Tia Marcia was helping. She just prayed the woman hadn't been the one to cook the rice. The woman was terrible at it.
"Mom, where did you put the shot glasses? Dad, Grandpa Manny, and Feo want shots for them and Boss." She said.
"Why do you still call him boss?" her aunt Soccoro asked. "Did you say you were gonna marry him?"
"Ahahaha, that was twenty years ago. I've developed a taste since then." She replied.
"They're over here and the tequila is on top of the fridge!" Her mother said.
"Thanks, mom." She said walking to grab the small glasses from above her Tia Zulema's head. She grabbed the bottle of alcohol from the top of the fridge and strutted back to the dining table.
She slowed down and listened as her father and her boss where in a heated debate with her grandfathers about the proper way to discipline a child. She almost wanted to laugh when she heard her boss say that all their methods where horrible. She laughed considering that his form of discipline was by forcing the kid to do manual labor for long periods of time (Adrien had gotten in trouble for ditching class quite a few times apparently which made Gabriel assign him several jobs and two full days of being the employee pack mule for that).
"Well isn't this cute." She said with a giggle.
"Oh shush." Her father said. "Serve us and go back to the kitchen."
"Excuse you." She said raising an eyebrow.
"Your mom wants you to make some salsa to go with the carnitas in case no one wants birria!" the old man said holding his hands up.
"Fine, let me serve you your shots and then I'll be off to help the ladies cook." She said with a roll of her eyes.
"Enjoy them, they're all light weights." She said to her boss.
"Keep talking out of your ass Maria." Her dad said.
"I can handle my alcohol. You babies can barely handle a bottle. It takes at least a full bottle to get me slightly buzzed." She said with a cocky grin.
"With your personality you don't need alcohol." She heard her boss mutter.
"Rude." She huffed.
"He's not lying though." Grandpa Jose said. "You don't need alcohol at all to be a loud pain in the ass."
"And you don't need alcohol to be an ugly baldy." She replied.
"Hey, I still married your grandma and you have my genes." He said motioning for her to hand him the bottle and the cups.
"I'm still trying to figure out how that happened; grandma is way out of your league." She replied.
"Singing on a donkey is the best way to seduce a woman, or does French-fry here have a better idea." Her grandfather taunted.
"France is the country of love," Gabriel said. "But I think that you've asked the wrong person. Romance is not my forte. I think it's romantic to sit in silence and do work."
"Hahaha," She heard her grandpa Manny go. "I like this guy. Maria, you should invite your boss more often. He's all sorts of awkward."
"I'll see to it, Abuelito." She said with a laugh.
"I get no say in this?" Gabriel asked.
"None whatsoever, they like you too much." She replied handing him a glass. "Drink up."
Luciana watched as her uncles played with Adrien and her Nino and his boyfriend—whose name was Theo apparently—talk and play video games. She huffed and looked at the brown-haired boy in front of her. Sadly, Rudy was the only other cinnamon roll—that's what Nina called them—there, so they were stuck playing together. He sucked at playing Barbie's and he didn't like Mr. Gabe!
She glared at the dumb blue eye boy and then looked to Mr. Gabe who was looking at Nina the way that Flynn looked at Rapunzel. She wanted to squeal at how cute they were! What was that word that her Nina used? Oh Tree Pees? Something like that whatever it was.
She looked back to the six year old and glared at him again. He glared back like the butthead he was. She did not like Rudy. She didn't care if he was her uncle. He was a butt.
"I don't like him. He's a big butthead." Rudy said.
"He's a prince!" She exclaimed. "You're the butthead!"
"Luciana, don't be calling Rudy names." She heard Tio Arty say.
"Aaaw but he's being mean about Mr. Gabe!" she whined. "Tell Adrien that I want him to be my cousin!"
"Didn't you say you wanted him to be your husband an hour ago?" she heard Tio Zeke say.
"Yeah but mom says you can't marry your cousin and if Mr. Gabe marries Nina, I can't marry him so I want him to know that I want him as my cousin, duh." She said. Really were all boys this stupid?
Zeke laughed and then said something Artie who then said something in that funny talk that Mr. Gabe and Theo used to Adrien and then looked to her.
"He said that you can't be his cousin until you get them to kiss." Artie said with a stupid smile on his stupid face.
"I can get them to kiss." She said with a huff.
"Good luck with that." She heard Rudy mutter from the side.
"I can! I bet all my cookies on it!" She said puffing out her cheeks.
Artie laughed and said something to Adrien who then said something back. She frowned watching them talk. They didn't she could do it! She was a professional at this! How did they think all her Barbie's got together? They were all too stubborn and shy and she had to bibbidy-bobbidy-boo them together.
"He says he doesn't believe you can do it but he'll take the bet." Artie said with a laugh.
"If I do it he has to get me some princess dresses for my Barbie's." she said with a frown.
The boy gave her a smirk and stuck her tongue out at him. He was as dumb as the rest of them. Boys were stupid and she was not going to deal with it. She grabbed her dolls and then gave a death glare to Rudy before going to set up for her master plan
They would see. They would all see. And she would have some pretty new dresses for her Barbie dolls.
Adrien snorted as he watched Luciana practically hop away in anger. She looked like a demented rabbit with how she moved. He looked back to the guys who were just as amused.
"Honestly, kids are hilarious." Arturo said.
"They are. Man, it's like taking candies from a baby." He said with a snort.
"Pffft! That pun was perfect." Arturo said. "So you wanna play Minecraft? Or Mario Bros?"
"Anything is good, to be honest. I just want to play videogames!" Adrien said.
Gabriel found himself highly amused by the three men. From what he learned, Jose, the balding one, was part of the landscaping business and co-owned property with his youngest brother. Manny, on the other hand, had his own real-estate business that he recently began seeing as he got bored of being retired after a month. AJ just recently began his own business that mixed the both of those together. And the three were apparently business partners who let Maria's twin handle all the finances.
"So you do anything besides the fashion?" AJ asked.
"I have few side-ventures but nothing amazing." He replied with a shrug taking a small sip of his drink.
"Not bad," AJ said then smirked. "Wanna see something hilarious?"
"Eh… why not?" He replied with a shrug.
The man smirked and took out his phone. He lifted the phone to his face and Gabriel nearly choked on his spit trying to hold back his laugh. It was a picture of a teenaged Maria with cake stuck all over her face and a shirt that was far too big for her and some of her hair on the floor and murder in her eyes.
"Man that was a great Halloween." AJ said.
"What was she supposed to be?" He asked.
"A murderous cake-maker." Maria's father replied with a laugh.
Gabriel pulled out his phone and said, "I have something similar with my son. He had a strange obsession with planes when he was little."
He watched as the man laughed at a very disgruntled five year old Adrien crying because he had finally seen an airplane and couldn't get on. Honestly how he managed to keep his composer that day was a miracle. Adrien was just a mess of emotions and even Clarisse hadn't been able to keep up with him.
"Man that kid seems so calm now." AJ commented.
"He's still struggling to adjust…" He muttered.
"Aaah… right. So anyways, what are your side ventures?" AJ asked.
"They're just a few real estate investments, actually. I have them in Spain under the eye of a colleague." He said.
"Not bad." AJ said.
"Grandpa!" Both men looked down surprised to see Luciana tugging on AJ's shirt.
"What is it, Monkey?" AJ said while he picked her up and sat her on his lap.
"Can I sit with you, my tatas (grandfathers), and Mr. Gabe?" she asked looking up at him sadly.
"Sure but why? It's just stinky old men talking about old men stuff." AJ said.
"Boys are stupid and Rudy doesn't know how to play barbies," She huffed crossing her arms. "The only perfect man in this world is Steve Rodgers!"
"Jesus, what is your mom teaching you?" AJ asked with a laugh.
"The lords work." She said with a serious face. Gabriel faked a couch to try and hide his laughter.
"Your mother is an atheist. " AJ mumbled looking at him with an amused look.
"Well, she certainly takes after the women of the family…" Gabriel said.
"Oh man, seriously. They could be a vicious gang if they wanted to be." AJ said.
"Your mother was a chola for a while." Jose said with a nod as he served himself another drink.
"Sure dad." AJ said with a roll of his eyes.
"Grandpa! Ask nina if she can get me juice!" Luciana said pulling on her grandpa's beard. She watched as he laughed.
"Fine." He said before yelling for Nina to get her some juice.
She sat watched as her Nina poked her head out of the kitchen. Grandpa said something mean to her and then Nina went back into the kitchen. She looked at her work on the floor then to Mr. Gabe. If her plan was gonna work he had to look back.
She kept trying to act as suspicious as possible because mommy said that was how you tricked people into looking. You had to look first. He was stubborn but she was the greatest fairy godmother ever! And she was going to get those new princess dresses and make those dumb boys cry.
Her Nina was walking towards them.
5….
He looked back.
4…
3….
2…
1…
"AAAh!"
Gabriel wasn't sure what was going on. He had looked back because he noted the child had kept averting her gaze to something behind him. Then the shriek had come. He saw blue eyes.
And his mouth felt warm.
Maria hadn't realized there was anything there and yet somehow she tripped. Her eyes met Gabriel's. She didn't know how it happened.
And her mouth felt warm.
AJ jumped back as he watched his daughter trip on her own two feet on to her boss causing them both to land on the table. He snorted when saw the horror on their faces as they realized that they had kissed.
"Man, at least give me a goat or two before you two get frisky." He teased as both of them looked at him with wide eyes and red cheeks.
"Dad!" Maria squeaked.
"I… I didn't.. what?" the man managed to say. AJ laughed.
"Maria go get changed. Agreste, I got a shirt that might fit you." He said getting up and setting down his granddaughter on the chair. He noted that the child looked incredibly. He figured whatever future grandchildren he would get after this would probably get a kick out Luciana's antics.
He actually felt quite bad for them. He figured that they probably were hoping for that sort of action to be more private and you know more romantic.
Maria quickly pushed herself off and dashed off to her room slamming the door. She leaned against it and covered her mouth. She felt herself ready to explode into sobs. That was not how she wanted her first kiss ever to go. She wanted to be romantic and with someone who loved her.
Not an unrequited love. Not a stupid crush on a man who probably didn't even look at her like that.
But she couldn't help but think of the jolt of electricity that had passed her body in the moment their lips met. For a moment she felt like she was so warm. It was that feeling of being a perfect warm shower. Every inch of her was covered in whatever she had felt in that moment.
She recalled the look of terror on his face. He probably was horrified at the fact that she was even near him. He probably hated her even more now. Oh god.
Her mind was a mess and she was covered in juice and she couldn't help but let a small tear come out. She quickly walked to her drawer and pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans (she owned like seven or eight of them), a simple white tank top, and a blue plaid button up.
She quickly walked into her personal bathroom and began to wash her face. She put some eye drops in her eyes to clear the redness and added a bit of make up so no one could tell that she may have been a bit more upset than was necessary. She pulled her hair into a sloppy bun and quickly changed.
She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down.
Gabriel was trying to calm himself down as AJ practically forced him into one of the other rooms.
"Okay I got a shirt that will fit you if you don't mind V-necks. Hate those shits but Suzy insists on buying them. They might fit you though." The man said grabbing a luggage bag.
He threw a black v-neck shirt at him and said, "Get dressed and don't bother taking your dirty shirt out."
Gabriel gave a nod watched as the man left before changing his shirt quickly. He sat on the bed and began to try and collect his thoughts. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself as his mind quickly went to that sad excuse of a kiss.
If he had ever planned to kiss her (which he may have been thinking about the night before) it would most certainly in circumstances that no one could have seen them. He wanted to kiss her because they loved each other.
Not because she tripped on accident.
She thought of him as friend. At least he hoped she still did. He took a deep breath. He was a grown man for Christ's sake. He shouldn't have been fretting over a woman… but of course she wasn't just any woman and he knew that. She was a smart and amazing woman who was simultaneously the biggest pain in the ass ever born. She somehow was someone that he just could not deny anything for no matter what it was.
He took another deep breath before getting up and making his way outside.
It took Adrien a full ten minutes to process what had happened and another 10 to process the fact that he had lost a bet to four year old. Arturo, Ezekiel, and Manolo seemed just as shocked as he was. The three murmured to each other and then Arturo looked to him.
"You're fucked bruh." He said with a shake of his head.
"She's the devil." Adrien replied.
"Dude, we know. We've known her since she was born." Arturo mumbled still trying to process it.
Adrien could not believe that a child managed to accomplish what he had been trying to do for months in a matter of minutes. He looked to the little girl and she gave him a smug smile. Yep. She was all sorts of evil and if everything came into place that evil demon monkey was going to be his cousin.
He was actually quite terrified at the prospect of being related to the child now.
Rosario leaned on the door frame watching the man. He looked very horrified, very worried, and very confused. It was obvious he was uncomfortable and trying very hard to hide it. She noted that he kept glancing to her granddaughter's bedroom.
She looked to her granddaughter who walked out and shook her head.
"Maria! Go change!" She called looking at the girl's outfit.
Maria looked around before looking down and then back up.
"Why? I think I look fine." Maria said looking like a chicken about to be beheaded.
"Maria today is a nice family dinner. Go put on a nice dress. I am not having you in jeans." Rosario said. "Suzanna, come and help your daughter. I will tend to the beans!"
Suzanna walked out of the kitchen and took a look at the girl.
"Maria, listen to your grandmother and change your outfit." Suzanna said with a sigh.
Suzanna looked at her daughter and shook her head. How was she supposed to win the man's heart if she was gonna dress like she did when she was in high school? Really? That girl…
"Mom I look fine." Maria whined.
"No you don't." Suzanna said walking past the table of men. She caught sight of Mr. Agreste trying not to look at her daughter. He was failing miserably but she appreciated that he was at least trying. She looked to her brothers who were busy playing on their phones and shook her head.
"Mom!" Maria whined.
Suzanna didn't reply and instead she put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and spun her around pushing her back into her room ignoring her protests.
Suzanna closed the door behind them and looked at her girl.
"You're not going out in that." She said.
"Why not!" her blue eyed daughter asked with a huff.
"Mija. You want his eyes on you. Not on the floor," Suzanna said going to her close. "You have a bunch of nice dresses. Ooh you look so pretty in baby blue."
Suzanna took a good look at the dress. It was a knee length skater dress that had a square neckline and was missing fabric on the natural waist and found a pair of white heels to go with it.
"Put these on now." She ordered.
Maria frowned but didn't bother fighting her. Suzanna smiled and waited for her daughter to change. She looked at her stand and noted that she had quite a few expensive pairs of shoes but she figured that since her daughter worked for such a famous man she could afford it.
"Better?" She asked. Suzanna smiled.
"Much better." She replied forcing the girl to sit so she could fix her hair. Why was her daughter so tall? She was a good five inches bigger than her and it was such a bother sometimes.
"Why did I have to change?" Maria asked.
"Because if you want that man to look at you, you have to make him," Suzanna said. "I don't like him but I do want you to be happy."
"Really?" she heard the girl say.
"Yes. You look so cute when he's here that I can't actually bring myself to be mean to him. And he surprisingly doesn't give me that bad feeling I was expecting." Suzanna explained.
"Thanks mom." Her daughter said.
Maria was surprised when her mother rushed her out of her room as soon as she had finished. Her grandmother practically grabbed her and dragged her back into the kitchen.
"Serve Mr. Agreste and his son." The old woman commanded without so much as room for her to protest.
She sighed and began to arrange two plates hoping that neither of two were allergic to the various herbs and spices used in the meal because she did not want to have that day end with someone in the hospital. Her aunts bustled around her serving plates for their husbands and children.
It felt weird to be amongst them serving. Growing up, she had always been taught that the woman was the worker and the one who had to ensure that things ran smoothly. That serving was the duty of a wife and mother. Here she was, young and single and serving two people who probably only came out of sheer politeness, and yet somehow it felt right.
She smiled to herself as she finished serving the two before walking out with both plates. Adrien was sitting with her brothers and cousins chatting happily and Gabriel was immersed in a heavy debate with her uncles and grandfathers.
She set the plate in front of Adrien and patted his head as he thanked her. She walked to Gabriel and set his plate in front of him.
"Don't worry, the antidote is in your drink." She said with a giggle.
"Too bad the poison I gave you hasn't set in yet." He replied with a smirk.
"Oh know, what ever shall I do?" She replied with a roll of her eyes.
Her eyes darted to her grandmother and older brother standing in front of her flat screen. She could already feel death creeping on her. She quickly ran to the kitchen hoping to avoid her most certain death.
Aaron wanted to scream as his grandmother basically forced him to put on the one video both he and Maria needed forever destroyed. The video wasn't too bad. It was just the first confession of his gayness and Maria predicting her life twenty years ahead.
He watched in envy as his sister went to hide the kitchen. Theo was sitting happily with Adrien and the two were conversing while Arty translated for them and they were blissful in their ignorance. He wanted to die as his grandmother began to open her mouth.
"Everyone look at the tv! I forgot I had this cute video on me!" She yelled.
Oh death how sweet was thy embrace…. He thought.
Gabriel was slightly amused. The video itself was 20 years old at most but the whole of it was very entertaining. He caught sight of a three year old version of a certain young woman who had disappeared.
She still had the same angry face he noted but what made it hilarious was that she had an old magazine with his face plastered on it. He didn't realize how international those shots were.
"LEMA!" He heard the baby version of Maria yell. "WHY DO YOU HAVE PICTURES OF MY HUSBAND ON YOUR WALL."
"Oh my god, AJ, are you hearing your daughter!" The woman on the screen said with a laugh.
"It's not funny! He's mine so stop!" the child ranted.
Gabriel covered his mouth to stifle a laugh. He noted that Miss Balboa was watching from the side trying to hide her embarrassment. He wouldn't harass her too much about it, but it certainly was a nice amount of ammunition for later.
Maria sat down next to Gabriel and almost let out a yelp when she realized she was in front of her Godmother. She gave a weak smile as she grabbed some soda and quickly began eating as means of avoiding conversation.
She looked to her young cousin. The six year old boy was obviously not pleased to be seated in front of her boss. She was glad that her father, uncles, and grandfathers had taken to man almost immediately.
She noted that every once in a while Gabriel would take a deep breath trying to hide a hiss of pain. She looked to her cousin and the boy was obviously amused.
"Rudy…" she warned.
"Yeah?" the child chirped with an innocent smile.
"Don't be kicking people at the table." She said with a glare.
"I'm not doing that." He replied giving a glare to Gabriel who was very good at pretending he wasn't listening.
"I'm not gonna buy you ice cream." She said.
"I don't care." He replied poking at his food. Maria frowned. She didn't know why the kid was acting up. Normally Rudy was a little dear with her and usually listened to her. His sudden rebellion was making her worry.
Suzanna smiled as she watched her daughter and the man. While the man had initially come off as awkward, it was interesting to see that he seemed less tense. She watched as the two joked with her husband and the other men and bickered like her in-laws.
The man didn't seem too bad. She figured the death of his wife must've worked a pretty number on both him and his son. She knew losing a parent and a spouse was a hard thing. She could still remember her own mother's death.
She had been 13 when her mother had died and within that year she had no choice but to move to a new country and learn a new language. Death was always a hard thing to move on from. Her father had married again when she was 19 and that too ended tragically.
She noted that the man had a bit of a staring problem. When Maria wasn't looking the man would watch her out of the corner of his eye and frankly it was the most adorable thing ever. It looks like stars where in his eyes when he thought no one was looking.
His son was also a precious thing. She could see why her daughter was so adamant on spoiling the boy. He seemed so genuinely kind and all the girls had taken to him almost instantly. She could hear her nieces talking about how they all wanted to be the boy's mother.
She looked to her husband who gave her his trademark smirk before taking a sip of his drink.
"You know what would make this whole shindig even better?" He began. "We should go to the roof and dance a bit. I got the speaker."
"Ugh dad. We don't need to do that." Maria said with a groan.
"Why, don't wanna impress your future husband?" AJ teased.
"Dad! I was three!" She cried indignantly. She was as red as a tomato. It was so cute. Mr. Agreste had to hide his laugh she noted. "Boss! Stop laughing."
He failed at hiding his laughter. She watched as they switched languages for second. Whatever he said was obviously taunting but enough to get her daughter to turn away and turn even redder.
"I think dancing is a great idea, Mija, stop ruining our fun." Suzanna said.
"Ugh, fine. But I'm not dancing." Maria muttered.
Maria frowned as they were all on the roof. She watched as everyone strung along to music. She wound up sitting next to Gabriel who was just as un-amused as she was. She watched as her cousins basically took turns trying to teach Adrien to dance to bachata music.
"Adrien must be having a field day." She commented.
"He's not particularly adverse to this type of attention. He actually hates when people ask for him to sign things." Gabriel said.
"Aah, wait until he realizes that they're all trying to mother him." Maria said with a snort.
"He'll probably want to buy them all something or take them somewhere nice to show appreciation." Gabriel said.
"That's precious." Maria said. She listened to the familiar strum of guitars. She knew this song. It was always one of her favorites. "Dance with me."
"what?" He replied looking at her suspiciously.
"I really like this song and honestly it always puts me in a mood to dance," She explained standing up. "Plus you're the only guy tall enough for me to dance with."
Gabriel stood up and said, "Only because you acknowledged that you're tiny."
"I'm only tiny compared to you." She said grabbing his hand and leading him to where the others were dancing.
She smiled and placed his hand where her skin was showing and he immediately began to regret his decision. What if he did something creepy on accident? She showed no signs of being discomforted by his hand being there so he said nothing. She put one hand on his shoulder and took his other.
"Move your foot front." She said. He nodded and did so.
Surprisingly it was rather easy. She ordered his foot movement for only a bit before he got the hang of it. Two step forwards, one step back, one step to the left, one to the right, spin Maria, repeat. It was a natural movement. It was strange to have her so close, chests pressed together, his arm around her waist feeling the movement of her hips; all of it was so surreal.
"Who knew you could dance." He taunted.
"I can dance very well, you're a fast learner." She countered.
~That only for a kiss one could fall in love,
without the need to speak only with cupid targeting an arrow to the lips…~
Dancing with him was the most natural thing she had ever done. In some ways it was like work. They moved around each other but kept so close that nothing could come between them. His hands set the bare pieces of her skin on fire with how close they were.
She wondered how many songs they hand danced before he decided it was time for him and Adrien to leave.
"Go walk them to their car." Her grandmother said. Of course, she had too because it was bad manners not to.
Adrien probably walked faster than either had expected or maybe they were just walking slowly. She walked behind trying to remember him as he was in that moment. It felt so unreal but at the same time it had been the most real thing.
Her eyes kept on his back not realizing that she had missed a step. She let out a loud shriek half expecting to fall on him. But it never came. Instead she found herself with her back against the wall of the stairway with both her hands pinned to the side.
Gabriel's glass had fallen she noted and then she looked him in the eye.
Gabriel looked into Maria's eyes. They were so blue and alluring like the ocean. They were slowly sucking him in… god how he wanted to drown in her eyes and never return. He wanted to be suffocated in her essence.
Maria could almost feel her feet give up. She wanted to collapse into him. His gaze was destroying every inch of her and she could not help but let him. She wanted him to ruin her in every way possible. She licked her lips looking at him.
She wanted to beg to him to do what he could in that moment to her. To steal what he could from her. She wanted to give anything to him as long as he would take it.
Her mouth was calling to him even though it was closed. He wondered if she would let him take everything he could in that moment. He wanted all she could give and right now that was her mouth. He leaned forward and prayed that she would not run.
His mouth brushed hers softly and he looked at her face. Her eyes were hooded and expectant as if she had desired more than that of a simple brush of lips. He complied with her expectancy and this time pressed his lips upon hers with a gentle force.
She was surprised when she felt his lips on hers again. This time it was much more forceful… forceful enough to drive her wild. His mouth worked wonders on hers teaching her how to move to his rhythm. It was like their dance, slowly heating up with each movement, each move becoming more and move in sync.
He was surprised at her response and wondered how far she would let him go with her mouth? He licked her lips which caused her to gasp softly. He took that moment to slip his tongue into her mouth and taste her. She responded eagerly with her own tongue.
He pulled away and rested his head on her shoulder before placing a few kisses on her neck.
"You shouldn't make it a habit to kiss employees." He heard her say between her gasps.
"You shouldn't make a habit of kissing your employer." She heard him respond in a husky voice.
She frowned and kept her eyes shut savoring the warmth of his presence.
"I suppose I shouldn't read much into this?" she asked.
"And I suppose I shouldn't either." He replied.
The two split away knowing that soon people would become suspicious of them. They walked away both thinking the same thing.
Dear god, please don't realize how much I want you….
AAAAAAAAAAAAH so thank ptolomeia for the first kiss in this chapter.
incentivess for the table kicking and also big shot out to her because she's drawn me some really pretty art and of course skynetta for her art (you two spoil me 3)
thank maricurious for having gabriel and maria fall to their backs.
and a big shout out to lastroseofspring for suggesting a food fight but sadly it could not fit
and of course thank you fullmetalpotterhead for helping me find a song.
aaaaaaaaaaaah if anyone is wondering what song they were dancing to it was "Solo Por Un Beso" by Aventura and I placed a translated bit in the middle of pov changes between Gabriel and Maria while they were dancing
Well time to go write the chapter for 12 strokes
see you all here again for the start of hell month :D