Getting out of the hospital was hard. Not only was Gabriel extremely anxious because he did not speak with the doctor yet about his son's condition, but because there were a bunch of paparazzi waiting on the parking lot. The moment he put a foot out of the doors of the of the urgencies area, Gorilla had to cover up Gabriel so they would not take pictures of him, especially since his clothes were covered in blood. That did not stop the paparazzi for getting what they want, and the most famous designer of Paris felt ashamed, everyone discovered that he failed as a father.
Then the questions started to hit.
"Is it true that you hit your son?" First question.
"Why are you covered in blood?" And the second one.
"How does it feel to be worst father of the day according to twitter?" Another one.
"Is this related to your wife's death?" Yet another one. This one felt like a knife in the heart of a broken widow.
"I heard he tried to kill himself, is it true?" I do not know… Gabriel thought
"Did you exploit your son for money?" Please stop… Gabriel barely whisper.
"Is he in the ICU?" screamed another one.
The questions kept coming, and they were sharp. It felt like an eternity getting to the car, but as fast as they could, Gorilla and Gabriel got inside and without thinking about it twice, the bodyguard started driving to get a broken man to his house.
Gorilla could only feel sorry for the man that was in the backseat of the automobile; yet he was worried for the child laying in a hospital bed who he saw as his own son. All of a sudden, he started to remember how he got his job and Adrien became the most beautiful part of his life. A happy little boy, with a mischievous smile, always looking for him so they could play anything to escape the boredom. That happy boy that became a teenager in the blink of an eye, someone who experience the death of his mother the very moment that he started to discover himself, and how the father of this boy neglected him because he was not able to stop grieving for the loss of his wife. He could not think in anything but the realization that the teenager who always tried to be strong for everyone around him was just a broken child. Gorilla felt guilty, because his job as a bodyguard was not fulfilled, because he failed to protect the kid he viewed as his son; Gorilla felt like he did not do enough for the youngest Agreste.
Gabriel was a mess, in the whole sense of the word. He was tired, worried, smelly, dirty, his eyes were swollen, he had a headache and he felt like the biggest father failure that could exist. He was so focused to obtain the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir, so he, Emilie and Adrien could be the happy family they once were, and completely neglected the only person he was trying to protect. His son looked so small, pale and broken in that white hospital bed, surrounded by machines, with his wrist covered in stiches. And it was his fault. Paparazzi did not wait to show up in order to have something to talk about in the next morning show and they definitely would not forgive the biggest scandal that the one and only Gabriel Agreste starred, even if that meant exposing his 14 years old son in the worst moment of his life. Some paparazzi questions were as harsh as they could get; he never, ever, hit Adrien (Chat Blanc is another timeline and he does not know that Adrien is CN so it does not count), he always asked Adrien if he wanted to model, he made him learn Chinese for his own good, it was Emilie who encouraged their son to play the piano and he loved fencing; he thought his child enjoyed everything he did, and if you asked him, the only activity he would force Adrien to do was learning another language, something many parents did so their kids would have a future with more opportunities. But then it clicked, Gabriel connected the dots which were right in front of him; Adrien was trying to be the perfect son so Gabriel would not worry about him, Adrien was trying as hard as he could to be strong enough for himself and his father. This was Gabriel's job, and he could not accomplish it. Gabriel most important roll was not being Hawk Moth, nor a designer, it was being a father, and he failed.
'Maybe this would have never happened if Emilie was here'
When they finally arrived home, the vibes were awkward. Another other bunch of stupid paparazzi where in the entrance of his manor asking the same questions he heard in the hospital. When they finally got inside the house, Gabriel broke down. As the door closed, he fell on his knees. Gorilla decided to leave him alone for a moment, as he sensed it was the wisest thing to do. Gabriel started crying, getting out every emotion he had been hiding since his wife passed; he almost loses the person he loves the most in this entire world.
With the little strength he had, Gabriel stood up and went to his bedroom, took some clean clothes out of his closet and went to the bathroom. When he saw himself in the mirror, he could not help but go to the toilet and throw up. His white pyjamas were covered in Adrien's blood. His only child cut his own wrists and almost bleeds to death.
'My son tried to attempt suicide' Gabriel thought as he was empting his stomach.
After a few minutes, Gabriel decided to get into the shower and try to relax a little. He needed to be strong for what was about to come. Not only he would have to be there for Adrien in every single step for his recovery, but he will also have to face the media, the lies and the truths. Most importantly, priorities might need to be reorganized. There was no time to sleep, in fact, he would not be able to sleep with the images he had of his son last night.
Gabriel Agreste now has one goal in mind: to be a good father.
He then got dressed, got out of the bathroom and sat in his bed, staring at the butterfly miraculous which was sitting on his desk. Gabriel stood up and got out of his bedroom, thinking about how he was going to balance being Hawk Moth and a better father. He started walking to Adrien's room, and when he entered he noticed how it was all cleaned, like if nothing happened.
'Nathalie must have arranged the cleaning' Gabriel said to himself.
Even though, no matter how clean the room might be, the only image in Gabriel's head right now was the one of his child, lying down on his bathroom floor, covered in blood. He sat in Adrien's bed, and it made him shiver.
If Emilie was here, she would know what to do, in fact, maybe Adrien would have never tried to do what he did; maybe Adrien would enjoy every activity; maybe Adrien would have never model just to make his father happy; maybe he would just be a happy rebellious teenager like every kid his age.
'Adrien needs Emilie to be fine'
If Gabriel is going to be a good father, he will have to be present in his son's life and manage to bring his mother back.
This is for Adrien's own good and happiness.