Chapter Thirty Four – Tempest

Adrien shifts his weight from foot to foot anxiously and bites his lip, clutching the books in his arms to his chest tightly as if they're a shield. He doesn't usually show his anxiety when he's interacting with his father, but something about having Marinette with him tends to make him feel more open.

Marinette, for her part, is standing stock–still, her gaze somewhere between the floor and Gabriel, her hands clasped together in front of her almost respectfully. The only sign of her anxiety under Gabriel's intense gaze is the slight quiver of her lip. When he looks down at her hands he sees that they're also shaking slightly, only noticeable because he's standing right next to her, and without really thinking about it he shifts the books to one arm and puts the other hand on the small of her back. She jumps slightly at the contact and her eyes flick to his, and he gives her a soft, reassuring smile that has her relaxing somewhat under his touch.

"Adrien?" Gabriel asks, reminding him that he asked him a question. Surprisingly he doesn't feel as annoyed as he normally would if he was being ignored.

He recognises the look on his son's face. It's the same look he wore so often over the years with Emilie. He also remembers what it was like to be young and in love, and it makes him pause, take it in. Not for the first time he realises that his son is less of a child and more of a man. In a few more years he'll be going to university and (hopefully) start thinking seriously about taking over the company when Gabriel retires. He's already begun looking into changing the company name from Gabriel to Agreste, that way it's more inclusive to whoever Adrien decides to spend the rest of his life with. He only hopes that they won't use him for his fame and money and will have some fashion or designer sense.

Miss Tsurugi is a fine choice for the moment; the business agreement he has with Ms Tsurugi has allowed the children to navigate towards each other, and he still believes that putting the two of them together has not only made their business ties stronger quicker, but also kept the two of them out of trouble with the media. It wouldn't be good for the Agreste name if Adrien was continually being photographed with different girls; it's better for there to just be the one so the press has less to talk about. Besides, at fifteen it is normal to be in some kind of a romantic relationship, and with the extra paparazzi following his son nowadays, sales have increased and he hopes in time Adrien will stop receiving crude letters from fans that Gabriel has Nathalie put on file and hide away to protect his son's innocence and ensure there is evidence if, heaven forbid, something tragic happens.

Miss Dupain–Cheng, on the other hand, has always alluded him. Not only has he been unable to akumatise her on several occasions, she is also a fan of both his work and his son. She is also the person Adrien talks most about – according to Nathalie, at least – and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he has a crush on the girl. Gabriel's almost confused as to why the two of them have never dated, but he puts it down to his son's obliviousness and naïveté in relation to his peers. Emilie did always say that they couldn't home school Adrien for forever, and eventually he would need to mix with some more children his age who weren't Miss Bourgeois in order for him to be successful in life regarding social cues and future relationships.

Miss Dupain–Cheng is the kind of girl he would eventually like his son to end up with; fashion sense, love of design, level–headed, not to mention attractive to the point of being photogenic. He's sure the press would have a field day with the two of them. Perhaps he should mention to Nathalie that Adrien should bring her over more often? His business deal with Ms Tsurugi is almost set in stone for the next few years, so there's no need for the children to spend as much time together, and if Adrien continues to have no interest in the company or running it (he already knows the boy's fashion sense is almost non–existent, and don't even get him started on his drawing skills), then perhaps Miss Dupain–Cheng would be an acceptable choice. If she could only gain some self–confidence, that is.

"Um," Adrien says, pulling Gabriel out of his thoughts. "We're working on a literature assignment together. On the Tempest. It's due on Monday." Adrien glances at the girl beside him again and Gabriel raises an eyebrow at the look they share before Adrien looks back at him with a confidence he doesn't see too often. "I invited Marinette over for lunch and we are now going to my room to work on the assignment there. We've been given the rest of the school day off to work on it. Nathalie will be checking up on us periodically."

Gabriel feels Adrien could almost add an 'and I'll keep the door open so you know we won't do anything inappropriate', but with how big the house is they could invite an entire marching band over and Gabriel wouldn't be able to hear anything from his office. He's glad Nathalie thought to mention that she'll be hanging around; he probably would've indirectly told them to do whatever they wanted without noticing if it were up to him.

"Good." He nods once but doesn't move to return to his office. The children don't move either, seemingly waiting for permission before doing so, and Miss Dupain–Cheng smooths down the front of her dress in a nervous–tick sort of way. Immediately Gabriel's head fills with ideas and he finds himself moving down the stairs towards them without realising. "Miss Dupain–Cheng," He starts, coming to a stop on the landing in front of them. There's enough room between them that he could almost imagine that they're in his office and standing on either side of his desk, conducting an interview. "Did you make your dress?"

Marinette blinks in surprise and looks down at herself as if to check he means the dress she's wearing and not some other dress that's hovering beside her by magic. "Um, yes, I did, Mr Agreste." She swallows nervously and meets his eye for a moment before focusing her gaze just over his shoulder. There's something about his eyes that always causes a shiver to go down her spine and her to immediately feel ten degrees colder.

Adrien glances between the two of them curiously, but Gabriel ignores it.

"Do you make most of your clothes?" He questions now.

He resists the urge to circle the girl to see the dress from all angles. He reminds himself that she is a child and not one of his models; not only would that make her uncomfortable, she probably wouldn't know to keep standing still and instead try to turn around with him. He also tries not to study the dress too intensely, as that could also be misleading and lead to even more discomfort.

"S–Some of them." She clutches the fabric of the skirt in her fist anxiously before releasing it, leaving the fabric slightly wrinkled.

Gabriel's eyes flick to Adrien's, his look telling him to take her hand as she clearly needs some kind of support to hold onto and he'd make a fine one, but Adrien just looks at him blankly before returning his gaze to Marinette, shifting the hand on the small of her back slightly.

"I don't have the time or the fabric to make all of my clothes." She finishes, meeting his gaze again before glancing away.

Gabriel hums in acknowledgment. "But you made your dress?" He reiterates and she nods. "Do you have the original design for it still?"

She nods again. "It's in my sketch book, which is at home."

"I thought you took that with you everywhere?" Adrien asks before Gabriel can ask for her to bring it in to show him. Adrien tilts his head at Marinette and his hand shifts further around her to the curve of her waist, drawing her closer to him.

Marinette's eyes flick back to Gabriel's, nervous to be standing so close to Adrien with his arm around her while standing in front of his father, before focusing back on Adrien, trying to convey to him that perhaps he should let her go in case his father gets mad at him. Or her.

"Not so much recently." Her voice comes out quiet and Gabriel steps forward to hear her better.

"Why not?" Adrien asks and Marinette swallows nervously, before shrugging. He frowns in concern and flicks his eyes to his father. They widen in surprise when he realises how close he is to them, and he almost takes an instinctive step back.

"Your assignment is due on Monday?" Gabriel asks, not taking his eyes from Marinette's. She nods while Adrien replies with a quiet, 'Yes'. "And you will be working on it over the weekend?"

Marinette's eyes flick to Adrien's in a silent question and he smiles, tightening his arm around her in what he hopes is a supportive way. "Yes, Father."

Gabriel raises an eyebrow at the interaction between the two, as well as the obvious release of tension in the girl as she relaxes into Adrien's hold, who in turn has begun stroking his thumb up and down against the fabric on her waist absentmindedly.

"Excellent. Bring your sketchbook with you. I would like to look over your designs. Please." He adds as an afterthought, reminding himself again that she's just a child and probably wouldn't respond well to him demanding she do something.

Marinette looks at Gabriel with wide eyes, the words 'I don't really design anymore' on the tip of her tongue, but she lets them dissolve, and instead simply nods. She finds it strange that he wants to see her sketchbook, but perhaps he's doing it as a favour to Adrien. Maybe he asked his father to look at her designs in the hope it may make her feel better? That thought leaves her head, however, when she looks back at Adrien and takes in his bewildered expression.

"Good." He regards the two of them before nodding once and turning around, making his way back up the stairs. "I will send Adrien's driver to pick you up at ten o'clock."

She starts to protest, saying she can walk here just fine, but he disappears into his office before she can form a proper sentence. She looks back at Adrien to see him mouthing 'what the fuck?' and she giggles slightly, making him jump in surprise and look back at her.

He grins sheepishly and scratches the back of his neck. "So? Tempest?"