Father was there for dinner.
Father smiled at him.
Father invited him to a hug.
Adrien sprinted towards Gabriel, locking his arms around his father's waist. Although Adrien was getting much taller, Gabriel towered over him. Gabriel held him for a prolonged while, gently stroking his hair.
'I... uh... son' Gabriel cleared his throat. 'I have to apologize... for being so distant within past year...'
Adrien nodded, unsure what he could say. The apology sounded like too little, too late. And at the same time, he still craved his father's touch and attention.
'So... I am sorry that I was so focused on my own loss of Emilie that... that I made you lose us both' he continued. 'I have asked Nathalie to move some of my meetings and alter your schedule so that we... we can spend more time together... if you want it, that is... or... or you can spend more time with your friends. While I was worried about bad influence of some of them may have on you... I fully neglected the possibility that some of them may have a good influence on you.'
Adrien trembled. He could hardly believe that his father just admitted to being wrong. And he wanted to spend more time together too? It was almost too good to be true.
'Father... I...' Adrien choked on his words and broke down, crying. There was just too much emotions built up in him, and although he was trying to keep himself together and avoid akumatization, there was only so much he could take. Gabriel held him tightly, trying to comfort him to the best of his - admittedly limited - abilities. Awkwardly, he just let Adrien cry. When he stopped, Gabriel gently led him to the table.
At first they both dined in relative silence, still unsure of how to resume their broken relationship. But then Gabriel remembered some of Nathalie's tips.
'I am proud of how well you do in school' he said. Adrien nodded, quite stiffly. So that thread was dropped.
'I know you'd like to limit your photoshoots, and did I hear that you wanted to give up on some of extracurriculars? Which ones?'
'I... I have to think about it' Adrien mumbled. Was there a shape-shifting akuma that somehow replaced his father? Like Chameleon?
He then shuddered at the thought of an akuma kissing his father.
Gabriel nodded at him.
'I'll tell Nathalie whenever you decide' he said. He hesitated. He swallowed. Well, third time is a charm.
'So... you made some friends at school... any girl you're interested in?' he asked, trying to sound encouraging.
Adrien stared at him wide-eyed, his jaw clenched tightly, his hands clutching the cutlery.
'No' he said. He himself was surprised at how cold he could sound.
A/N: Thank you for favorites, follows and reviews. Talk to your parents; they are people too.