Gabriel was oddly impressed by the way Miss Dupain-Cheng carried herself and proved her derby hat design to be hers. After that, he took an interest in Marinette and more particularly her designs. Adrien wasn't quite the heir to the empire he wanted. Marinette Dupain-Cheng on the other hand showed promising talent. That and with the obvious crush she had on his son, she would make the perfect person to take over his company when he could no longer run it.
Gabriel becomes more lenient when it comes to inviting the blunette girl over. He observes as if she is a science experiment instead of an actual human girl. It's a little odd because Gabriel Agreste was never good at science but he takes notes of how she acts, things he thinks to himself he'll have to fix later. He's interested in her designs, he critiques them freely, which would be enough for Marinette, but he helps her fix them too.
Marinette grows older and closer with the whole Agreste family. At 18, Gabriel makes Nathalie form an internship-type program just for Marinette. Nathalie talks with Marinette about her schedule and together they formulate a schedule for Marinette when she can come in and speak about her latest designs with the famous fashion designer. Though their conversations don't always stay on the same topic. Sometimes Gabriel talks about his own future designs, other times he questions her relationship with his son. No matter what they discuss, Marinette considers herself lucky to not be considered a waste of time, energy, or space by Gabriel Agreste.
"What are your intentions with my son?" Gabriel asks the now-adult woman.
"We've been dating for two years now and now you ask me?" Marinette says back, "my intentions are the same as anyone in a relationship. I love him, I want our lives to be together."
"So you'd be willing to marry my son?"
"Yes?" Marinette's voice comes as a question although that would be a dream.
"And if you were me and you wanted to confess your love to your assistant what would you do?"
Marinette squeals and the painfully high-pitched tone reminds him of Duusu.
"Take her out somewhere special to the both of you! Or a place where she wants to go!"
"Would you mind helping me create a design for her for the night we go out? I want it to be memorable for her."
Marinette smiles and agrees, Gabriel opens up his sketch pad to show her some of the ideas he has thought of already.
Nathalie comes in and is shocked when the designers both immediately slam their sketchbooks shut as if this was some type of plan. Gabriel stands up and immediately turns off his monitor. The screen hadn't been facing the assistant, to begin with, so she was confused by the hast to shut it down.
"Is everything alright in here?" she asks.
"Of course!" Marinette answers right away.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Gabriel asks.
"Okay..." Nathalie says and nods slowly, "I was going to ask if you two wanted tea or biscuits."
"No, we're good Nathalie, in fact, we were going to take a quick break outside right now. If you could get the collection agreement sorted out with Audrey that would be great. If you have extra time after that contact Tomoe and make sure she is aware that our agreement with her is coming to an end."
"Yes, sir," Nathalie agrees.
"Wouldn't it be nicer if you gave her a smaller workload?" Marinette suggests.
"That was less, if I do any less the company is going to fall apart."
"Have you ever thought about giving her some help?" Marinette tries again.
"She is a stubborn, workaholic, it doesn't matter if she's sick or anything. She could be on her deathbed and I guarantee she would still beg for the tablet so she could work," Gabriel said, knowing he could guarantee that since he had seen her do it, "she'll probably do more than I told her to anyway."
Marinette huffs, "well, do you have any idea where you want to take her?"
"I was thinking about Spain, some of her family is Spanish but she's never been."
"That's perfect!" Marinette exclaims.
Nathalie grabs Marinette's arm before she leaves, for the night. Nathalie is figuring out what's going on and she is figuring it out now. She knows her boss has secrets, but from her, no.
"What were you two doing in there? You two acted like you were committing a crime, you can't get arrested for a fashion crime."
"It's something he wants to keep secret, is all," Marinette told her.
Nathalie takes a step closer to Marinette, of course, she would give the same pathetic answer she had already received from Gabriel.
"What kind of secret?" Nathalie asks.
"If I told you, that would ruin the whole point of ever having a secret."
Nathalie shakes her head, "You have dinner with Adrien tomorrow," she says giving up.
"Thank you, Nathalie," Marinette says before leaving.
Nathalie sees the way Marinette smirks just a little as she leaves, Marinette definitely knows something and Nathalie wishes she could figure out what.
The few days Nathalie and Gabriel are gone are very relaxed for both Marinette and Adrien. Though they spent a lot of time speculating what was going on in Spain. An online news article that had a picture of the pair kissing made it easy to infer that they were having a good trip.
"Marinette," Adrien's voice comes timidly.
"Yes?" Marinette replies.
"I suppose my father has talked about what he wants from you, for us."
"A little, I suppose, he was never too clear about exactly what he wants, but I think I know well enough what it entails."
"You turned 18 just over a month ago, I feel guilty asking you to marry me but that's what my father wants. He, actually," Adrien starts to stutter, not sure how to explain this, "he gave me the ring he wants me to propose to you with."
"Do you want to get married?" Marinette asks.
"No, I mean, yes, just not now, you know? We're both still teenagers."
"I doubt if we get engaged we could postpone the wedding for over three years, could we?"
Adrien lets out a small breath, "no, probably not."
"Maybe if you say you want to propose two Christmases from now in Italy or something and then we can suggest an autumn or winter wedding so it is postponed until we're both 21?" Marinette suggests.
Adrien laughs a little bit, the statement reminding him vaguely of Nathalie, who he is almost certain knows his schedule, two years from now.
"What?" Marinette asks, thinking her plan was better than the no ideas that Adrien was coming up with.
"It just reminded me of Nathalie, the way you would plan that whole scene out so far in advance."
"I guess," Marinette agrees and lets herself laugh a bit too.
"I just don't want this to be his father's decision, I want this to be our decision," Marinette complains to Alya over the phone.
"Did you think there was anything wrong with the fact that Nino and I got married after we graduated?" Alya asks in turn.
"No, but you guys have been inseparable from the start. Adrien and I have hardly been dating for two years."
"All I'm saying is I wouldn't be complaining that Mr. Agreste is encouraging you and Adrien to get married, he's giving you his blessing already!"
"She just doesn't understand," Adrien tells Nino.
"That's because you haven't even told her the full truth," Nino tells him, "that would be the first step."
"I just don't want to ruin her experience, she was so excited when she first got the 'internship', you should have seen the way her face lit up like a child on their birthday. Remember when Alya first got her column in the Paris news, that's how happy Marinette was. I don't want to ruin that for her."
"You love her, don't you, dude?"
"Of course, I do."
"Then the best you can do is be honest," Nino tells him, "she'll appreciate that more in the end."
"Marinette," Adrien's voice was soft again, it was time she knew.
"They're coming back today, did you want to do something for them before they get back?"
"No," Adrien shakes his head, he forgot that was today, "but there's something I need to tell you before they get back."
"What is it, Adrien?" Marinette asked, it sounded serious.
"My father, he... He hired you to take over his company," Adrien tells her.
"He did? That's fantastic!" Marinette exclaims because that sounds like wonderful news to her.
"That's why he wants us to get married because an Agreste needs to inherit his empire."
"Then why does he want us to get married right away? I mean he doesn't have to give me the company as soon as we are married."
"He's trying to pawn it off to someone, I don't know why he chose you or why he wants to get rid of it but there is definitely something going on."
*Meanwhile in Spain*
"Are you sure you want to go through with that plan, sir? Isn't this all a bit risky?"
"We're alone Nath, you don't have to call me sir. Besides, the press already has their story that we are dating."
"It would mean more if we hadn't been dating for a year," Nathalie said, rolling her eyes.
"Anyway," Gabriel said, "it's best for Adrien. Once Marinette marries Adrien and takes control of the company then almost all our finances are settled. We have enough where we can start a new life."
"Are you sure Spain is far enough?"
"No, I was only planning to stay here for a year at the most. If we make enough money here, I was thinking we could travel to Canada."
"And you're positive you want to do this?" Nathalie confirms again because she understands if he wants to back out.
"I love you, Nathalie. Our past made us who we are but I think it's better to put it behind us. Don't you think we're lucky Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't come looking for us?"
"They don't have any leads on us," Nathalie points out, "it's not as if they could ransack every home in Paris looking for the miraculous. I'm by your side, Gabriel, if you want to run away from this, I'm coming with you."
Despite Gabriel's overwhelming persistence, Marinette and Adrien stick to their plan and do not get married until both of them are twenty-one. It doesn't feel natural when they were forced to plan such an important day the awkward way they were and had so far in advance.
Much to Marinette's objection, Gabriel gives the company to her as soon as her last name is Agreste Dupain-Cheng. He would have preferred her to fully take on the Agreste name but if she wanted the struggle of that last name, he wasn't going to fight her. The name Agreste by itself is a large one to live up to.
Marinette Agreste Dupain-Cheng did make a well-known name for herself in the fashion world. Even before inheriting the Agreste company most designers knew her designs well from items that were debuted in Gabriel's collections. Now, by herself, for the most part, she was truly able to prove that she could hold her own.
A day after, Gabriel and Nathalie announced they were taking a trip to the Philippines and quite possibly India. They insisted they were places that the couple always wanted to see and they didn't know how long they would be away. Marinette and Adrien bid them a fair well as they left for their destination.
That night, as Adrien and Marinette were watching a movie, an emergency broadcast came through altering the pair that Hawkmoth and Mayura were spotted again in Paris. This shocked both of them, for one the villainous duo hadn't been seen in years and now they weren't even causing any sort of chaos. It felt suspicious now, but what choice did they have?
"Do you think Ladybug is still out there?" Adrien asks his wife carefully.
"I don't know. Chat Noir has to be though, right?"
"I, umm, have to use the washroom!" Adrien blurts out and quickly runs out of the room.
"How are you going to explain your disappearance to Adrien?" Tikki asks her.
"I'll think of something later," Marinette insists, "right now, Paris needs us. Tikki, spots on!"
Ladybug lands a fair distance away from Hawkmoth and Mayura and a split second later Chat Noir is beside her.
"Nice to see you again, m'lady," Chat smirks.
"Quit it, kitty, I'm married now," Ladybug tells him. She feels bad as a small frown crosses his face, he surely hadn't been waiting all these years for her, had he?
Chat Noir brushes the statement off, he is too, "What do you think they're up to?"
"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out," Ladybug says as the villains step near them.
Ladybug starts swinging her yo-yo in a defensive manner and Chat is in a ready position with his staff. The two aren't sure what is going to happen and are surprised to see them both reach for their brooches. Their facades fall and reveal Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur.
"We're running away, today, if you could keep our identities a secret, we would appreciate it," Gabriel says, handing his miraculous over to Ladybug.
"Wait!" Chat Noir says, but he isn't too sure what to say after that.
"Don't you have a company to run, who will do that if you run away?" Ladybug asks, fully knowing the answer is her alternate identity.
"You must've seen the news that my son recently married Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she was trained to be the heiress of my company since she was 15," Gabriel explains to the superheroes.
"You had developed this plan 6 years ago?" Ladybug asked.
"Not quite, I knew I would need someone besides Adrien to inherit my company though I didn't give up being Hawkmoth until I fell in love with Nathalie and that's when we started developing the plan."
"But you and her made headlines three years ago, you haven't akumatized someone for four and a half years though?" Chat Noir points out.
"The media doesn't have to know everything about our lives," Nathalie tells him.
"Just stay," Ladybug encourages them.
"We have no reason to," Gabriel says, shaking his head at Ladybug's odd persistence.
"What about your grandchildren?" Ladybug blurts out, "Marinette is pregnant!"
"Wait what?" Chat Noir gasps, "She never told me she was pregnant."
"Why would she tell you?" Gabriel asks.
"Me and her are good friends, I'll let you know," Ladybug tells them.
"So, she told you, before she told anyone else in our family?" Nathalie clarifies.
"Okay, I don't care what kind of stunt this is. Nathalie and I have made our decision to leave and we'll be leaving tonight," Gabriel tells them.
"Wait!" Ladybug says as they turn to leave, "spots off."
"Marinette?" The other three gasp.
"Surprise?" Marinette says, lightly.
"Claws in," Chat Noir's identity falls to reveal Adrien.
"Adrien?" Everyone gasps again.
"So you're actually pregnant?" Adrien asks Marinette and Marinette nods in response.
They both turn back to Gabriel and Nathalie.
"We can't force you to stay here, but I think your grandchildren would like to get to know you," Marinette tells them.
Nathalie turns to Gabriel, ultimately it's his choice, something they both know.
"Sticking around doesn't seem so bad," Gabriel finally says.
Nathalie gives a small smile. She knows Gabriel needs his family, more than he is willing to admit.
"I'm proud of you," Nathalie whispers.
"I love you," Gabriel whispers back and she hopes that he didn't just make this decision for her.
Marinette is glad that Gabriel decided to stay around in Paris, the company is basically in his hands again when she goes on maternity leave. She is also glad because her sons, her beautiful twin boys, adore him and while Gabriel is awkward at first, he loves his grandsons.
Three years later, he loves his granddaughter too, even though it's clear she prefers her grandma. Gabriel tries to teach them about the art of fashion young, hoping that Marinette won't be in a similar position that he was in. Neither Hugo nor Luis show much talent in the artistry department but Hugo is very athletic and Luis is very smart. Emma is the little artist of the family, and picking up organization tips from her grandma Nathalie, they know her assistant won't be worked to death.
Gabriel was constantly trying to make amends for what he had done as Hawkmoth. Nathalie tried to make up for being Mayura too. After learning the truth of why they had done it all, they were forgiven. This assured Nathalie that the odds the younger couple was ever going to turn them in were slim to none. Though, perhaps they had never been horrible people, maybe they were only misguided, each by their own greed. Heroes had their moments too, all was forgiven as they never truly hurt anyone.
Gabriel was very glad they decided to stay in Paris and was proud of his chosen heiress. An A-D.C. Prodigy as some called her, probably because Agreste Dupain-Cheng was way too long of a last name, but because she was a true prodigy, someone with pure talent and a valued work ethic.