Parenting...

The fact that Gabriel Agreste had called for an "informal dinner" that evening to discuss matters of a less political and romantic nature allowed everyone to remain in their casual attire. It was so rare for Marinette to see Adrien in something less formal since their time together was made with fancy dress, or sparring attire. After bathing, and getting into her typical dress, the young woman approached the foyer with a small smile as Adrien stood there in the same outfit she had first seen him in when he came to the bakery.

'Months removed, and with so much having happened, how is it that seeing Adrien in such an outfit causes such a reaction from me?' Marinette could feel warmth spread through her lower abdomen with her legs going weak at the smile he flashed her. When she was close, her eyes narrowed in a sultry stare as she looked at him. "A smile that good should be considered a deadly weapon."

"Oh?" Adrien asked, gently taking her hands in his.

Her smile widened as she giggled. "No wonder you were sought after by the princess," she felt his hands grip hers a little tighter, "you could distract any and all females with that perfect grin."

Reaching up, he lightly caressed the side of her face. "I don't think there's much call for a weapon of mass distraction yet." Leaning in, he gave her a light peck on the lips.

"I don't know," Marinette cooed, "because it definitely worked on me."

Adrien chuckled, his arms wrapping her up in a hug. Resting his cheek on top of her head, he barely noted that they were facing the same direction when his father entered with Nathalie on his arm. "It looks like they're at it again." The latter smiled at the sight of the teenager's.

"Amateurs." Gabriel remarked with a smile. "Shall we show them how to really show affection, my dear?" He barely saw her bite her lower lip, those eyes going slim and sultry before he captured her lips in a passionate embrace. Marinette and Adrien watched as Nathalie was dipped backward, her arms wrapped around the elder Agreste's back. When he brought her back up, and they separated, it was only for a few seconds before the baron twirled her around until his lover had her back against his front. Hands clasped each other, fingers interlaced, as they crossed over the woman's body, his cheek pressed against hers.

"How was the kiss, Nathalie?" Marinette asked as she pulled away from Adrien ever so slightly.

The wistful look on the older woman's face never changed as she spoke dreamily. "Sorry, but who's Nathalie?" Adrien smiled at her, a slight chuckle issuing from his mouth.

"When you can cause Marinette to have that reaction, then you'll know you've given her a real kiss, son." the lop-sided smirk that mirrored Adrien's own caused the young woman to shiver.

Looking down, he smiled at his betrothed. "Want to try that, Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"Your smile already makes me weak in the knees," she practically purred, "and now you want to give me a kiss that's going to make me lose all of my resolve?" Reaching up, she lightly caressed his face. "How about just before our wedding night, because something tells me that the moment you kiss me like that... we're not going to stop at just a kiss."

"God knows we didn't." Nathalie breathed out as her mind came back to the present. Pressing her lips to Gabriel's, she brought his hands down to rub against her abdomen. It was still too early to show, but she loved how he would hold her like this when they slept. Looking over at Marinette, she smiled. "I'm proud of you both for keeping to the betrothal requirements."

"We both are." Gabriel remarked. "You have greatly impressed me, Lady Dupain-Cheng."

"Thank you, Baron Agreste." Marinette blushed at the praise. "I'm just happy that you have accepted me and my family so readily."

Gabriel looked at her, his face going unreadable for several seconds before he spoke. "That is something I wish to discuss during dinner." When the doors opened to reveal Sabine and Tom, he gave the pair a broad smile. "Welcome back, Mr. Dupain, and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"Sorry that we're late." Tom remarked. "We had to talk to a couple of militiamen."

Nathalie smiled. "Are they finally going to do something about Vixen?"

Sabine stepped forward, gently taking Nathalie's hands in her own small ones. "No. They were asking if we had seen Phillipe Dubois." Gabriel could feel the woman start trembling against him. When he saw her reaction, the older Agreste looked at Marinette's mother. "He was helping us to put out a search for Vixen." she answered his unasked question. "His wife apparently asked the militia where he was, and they found him in an alley earlier tonight." Sabine looked at Nathalie. "I'm so sorry."

"I should never have left him to go alone!" Nathalie reached up to her head, gripping her hair. "She killed him! God, I'm so stupid!" Turning to Gabriel she pressed her face against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"We told them about why he was at the bakery, and gave them the same information we initially gave Mr. Dubois," Tom added, "but we didn't have have much more to give them."

Holding his lover close, Gabriel placed his cheek on top of her head while Marinette and Adrien joined in the hug. Sabine and Tom stayed out of the group hug, with the latter rubbing his wife's back while they watched. "Do you want to cancel this dinner, Nathalie?" the elder Agreste asked. When she pulled away, he watched her shake her head. Reaching up, he wiped her cheeks of the tears.

"No. You said you had something important to discuss with the Dupain-Chengs." Nathalie shivered at the cold that penetrated her heart. "I'll be fine." He watched as she turned away, the pain and grief already radiating off of her. She felt his comforting touch as Gabriel held her close, her body caught between love and pain. 'Lila Rossi! I'm going to kill that bitch!' her mind screamed as she shook.

Eventually, they all retired to the dining room, with Gabriel urging the teens to tell him the entire story. He sat there, stoically, but would shift, glower, and clench his hands on the table when Adrien talked of Lila's attack on him. When it was Marinette's turn, she told him everything, from waking up until Vixen leaped through her window. When they were done, Nathalie spoke of her portion, of finding Phillipe and urging him to come with her to take down the children's statements. By the end of the tale, Baron Agreste felt sick to his stomach.

When the soup and salads appeared, Gabriel looked far more somber than most had ever seen. Upon their main course being brought out, and the servants dismissed from the dining room, the noble could no longer let himself stay silent. "I feel that I must apologize to you all." Closing his eyes, they watched him drop his chin toward his chest. "May god forgive me, because I fear I may have been instrumental in Lila Rossi becoming Vixen."

"What?!" Marinette and Adrien asked at the same time. Tom and Sabine just looked at each other before looking back at Gabriel, their eyes narrowed in anger. Nathalie had the greatest reaction, she nearly leaped out of her chair, her hands going to both the table and the back of her chair. That reaction hurt him far more than he ever wanted to admit, but he accepted it as part of his penance.

"Please try to understand that when my son came to me saying that he had fallen in love with the daughter of a baker," he shook his head, "I had one of three choices; I could either order him to marry Princess Bourgeois, potentially leading to a rift between us, humor him, and wait until the inevitable moment when he realized it was a passing fancy, or accept his decision, and offer my full support." He looked at the two teens. "Two of those options could be considered the same until the moment when my initial thoughts proved either right or wrong."

"Y-You had no intentions of letting it get this far, did you?" Adrien asked, aghast.

Gabriel shook his head. "I had seen nobles and aristocrats do the same things over the course of my life, and I feared you were falling into the habit of following your loins to wherever they pointed." He saw the blush on Adrien and Marinette's faces. "I was wrong, however, and I admitted to myself that I had acted, at first, appropriately by letting you both spend time together. It was because you had both kept true to the betrothal contract that I started to see everything differently."

"Do you now accept that Adrien and I truly love each other?" Marinette asked.

Nodding slowly, he closed his eyes as he continued. "I do, but it was my actions during your betrothal party that has led to such a conflict." When he opened them, he saw the stricken look on Marinette's face.

"I saw you talking to Lila Rossi." When she saw him nod the young woman's mouth dropped open.

Reaching up, he rubbed at his eyes with thumb and forefinger. "When she approached me, she asked how I was with the potential pairing of a noble and a peasant." He shook his head. "At first I thought nothing of her question, and said that it was potentially a passing fancy, but she seemed to not hear that I was going to keep my eye on your relationship." Sitting back, he sighed. "I think Lady Rossi and her daughter always intended to steal Adrien away before the wedding."

"When she was attacking me, she said I had ruined everything." Marinette breathed out. "That's what she meant, wasn't it?"

Looking at Marinette, Gabriel nodded. "It's possible that when Adrien refused her, it caused her to go after you in retaliation. After all, without Chloe as a potential pairing, and you dead, who else would be worthy of my son?"

"Kagami," Adrien answered honestly, "or any other female in Paris, London, Spain, Portugal, or god willing anywhere else in the world." Shaking his head, he glared at his father. "I would rather wed a man than touch Lila Rossi in any way she wants." Closing his eyes, he sighed, letting out quite a bit of his anger and frustration. "Father," he felt his hand tremble around his knife, "I understand why you may have thought that way about my decision, but it was pretty damned stupid to tell someone like Lila that."

"I felt that voicing my opinion in my own home wasn't necessarily a bad thing, Adrien." Gabriel glared at his son, his voice taciturn. "Had I known what would've transpired after, indeed I would've kept my opinions to myself, but hindsight is always much clearer than when you look ahead." Shaking his head, he looked at the quartet across from him. "I swear to all of you, I thought that since her mother was a trustworthy member of the council, that her daughter should be given equal treatment. It was an error in judgment."

"As much as I want to agree with my daughter and your son," Tom admitted, "I have to agree with your logic during that situation." Everyone looked at him, some with their mouths agape. "You had no reason to believe that Marinette was interested in more than a physical relationship just from one or two meetings, just as we had no right to believe that Adrien wasn't interested in "sowing his oats" when he came to our bakery with you." Every female seemed to blush at that, "I'm impressed with how you handled such a situation without sacrificing anything, and yet offered the hope for a potential future."

"Thank you, Tom, but understand that I believe this house is no longer secure." Gabriel added. "I have witnessed Vixen leaving this very compound earlier today." Marinette and Adrien looked at each other, while Nathalie seemed to grip her knife a little tighter. "She was in the guise of my son's personal servant, Mylene. She has indeed gone with her beloved, Ivan, in order to meet his grandparents in Marseilles." Looking at the two pairs in front of him he sighed. "I was in the process of reading her letter when I saw that very young woman transform into Vixen."

"Could she know?" Marinette asked Adrien.

"It's possible. We didn't really discuss our plans in front of her, but Mylene is so quiet and unassuming that we generally overlook her presence." Adrien remarked. "Vixen may know about our plans, but she doesn't know everything."

"This could be a good thing." Nathalie offered. "Perhaps the prospects of facing off against a whole army of soldiers, or your family with Kagami will deter her."

Gabriel looked at the group with an eyebrow raised. "Do I dare to ask?"

"Lady Tsurugi heard about what Lila did, entering my room, and accosting me, before going after Marinette." Adrien stated. His father didn't even move, only clasped his hands tighter. "Upon hearing about this, she offered to stay with my betrothed, and be something of a bodyguard."

"Would you be able to put her up in your home?" Gabriel asked Tom and Sabine.

Sabine smiled. "We may not have much room, but we can offer her a comfortable place to rest, and all the food she could ever want."

Reaching up, Gabriel lightly rubbed at his chin. "Could it be possible for Marinette to stay at the Tsurugi compound? That place is a fortress, with only their lady-in-waiting allowed entrance." He looked at the worried face the lady in question wore. "Do you not believe you would be safe there from her machinations?"

"It's not me I would be worried about." Marinette countered. Turning to look at her parents, she saw the surprise in their eyes. "Maman and Papa also know about Lila. If she should attack them, with her abilities, she could easily overpower and hurt or even kill them." Dropping her head, she closed her eyes. "I don't know if I could live with myself if anything happened to them."

Turning to regard the Dupain-Chengs, Gabriel nodded. "I fully understand where you're coming from, Marinette, and I agree. Such a loss would be hard to get over, just from a friendship aspect. Being their child, I would rather prevent you losing a family in such a manner."

Marinette nodded. "Knowing what happened to Adrien's mother," she watched as Gabriel gave a wince, "I thank you for your kindness and consideration."

"You are now part of this family, Marinette." Gabriel countered. "Regardless of my previously held misconceptions, that has been made abundantly clear the more you spend time with both of us. I will protect you and your family, as I would my own son." Narrowing his eyes, the elder Agreste added "I will also be speaking to her mother about her daughter's actions against you, Adrien."

"What I'm worried about is that Lady Rossi will simply dismiss the accusations, or accuse me of lying." Shaking his head, he felt Marinette wrap an arm around his back. "I don't think Lila sees me as her equal, but as an object for her to use. When she touched me it felt like she was convinced I had no right to refuse her advances." Looking straight at his father, Adrien's eyes hardened. "That's not a belief someone is born with, father, that is learned."

Closing his eyes, Gabriel rubbed at them. "I can only speak to Lady Rossi, Adrien." Shaking his head, he felt Nathalie grip his thigh under the table. "The council has only just started to agree on what should be done for Paris, and Lady Rossi is instrumental in these plans," he looked at the lady beside him. "I'm not going to let her, or her daughter get away with accosting my son," he then looked at the blond across from him, "but understand that if I start anything that will fracture the council now, Paris may never recover, and we might as well just hand over all of France to England."

Everyone at the table grew quiet, with Marinette holding onto Adrien, and Nathalie glaring at Gabriel. "The best we can hope for," Tom remarked, "is that Ladybird Beetle and Black Cat can find her, and take Lila down."

Gabriel nodded "Unfortunately, I fear you are correct, Tom." Looking at the majority of the table, he sighed. "Lila has shown an affinity for combat, and isn't shy about taking a life." Taking his beloved's hand in his own, he continued. "The only chance we have is that she can be found, and removed as quietly as possible."

"What if her mother is protecting her?" Adrien asked.

"Then she is unfit to hold her area." Gabriel answered. "I can have the rest of the council help to remove her, but again it would have to be done quietly." He then shook his head. "If the militia know that Lila is Vixen, then Zoe will not keep her in the manor house, which means she'll be mobile."

Nathalie nodded. "Unfortunately, that means she will be harder to track, but more vulnerable when she's finally found."

"It doesn't matter where she hides," Gabriel countered, "when Lila is found, she will be taken down either by the militia, or by Ladybird Beetle and Black Cat. Either way, her time making trouble for our families is measured in days."

Marinette looked at Gabriel across the table. "I hope you're right, Baron Agreste."

oOo

A dainty hand reached up to rap upon the wooden door. "I'm coming." The door opened to reveal Anarka in her dressing gown, looking into a pair of green eyes. "Lady Rossi? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for coming at this late hour, but," she shook her head, "I wanted to express my most humble condolences to the loss of Luka." Her chin and lip quivered as she reached up to wipe away the tears that streaked down her face. "I know I should've come sooner, but my mother didn't know he and I were... familiar with each other."

"Did you and Luka have... a relationship?" Anarka asked.

Lila nodded, "A very brief one." Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly. "I... was rejected by someone I thought I was in love with, and he... saw me on the street, crying my eyes out, and offered me a chance to compose myself before heading back home." She shook her head. "I know I shouldn't have, but we stayed up for hours talking, with me crying and raging against the one that hurt me... and Luka was so kind, so understanding, I... I kissed him."

Blinking at her, Anarka's mouth dropped open. "He never said anything."

"He... told me it was a mistake. That I shouldn't have done that, but... I didn't care, and I tried to show him how much he meant to me." She looked down with a blush. "I loved him, and it nearly killed me to hear that he was gone." Anarka stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Lila. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" she cried, her tears soaking the older woman's dressing gown.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here for you dear." Anarka soothed, "Come in, you're freezing." Giving the young woman a gentle pull, she walked her into the dock-side home. "I'll put on a bit of tea, and we can talk all about it if you want."

"Thank you, Lady Couffaine." Lila breathed. "You have such a loving, tender heart."