Author's note: Once more, I'd like to thank you for the reviews.

/

A piercing scream echoes through the Agreste mansion.

It's one of terror rather than pain and instantly recognized by the inhabitants. Nathalie sits upright in the armchair. Adrien however, remains unbothered. She turns to him. It's impossible that he hasn't heard. He's just choosing to ignore it, as he does an increasing number of things. The woman stirs however, aware that it signals the beginnings of trouble for the two of them and that she's going to need his assistance if she's going to bring things under control. Right now, he's a bit reticent to give it. Not because it's her… It's the other parties that are involved that's the problem.

To ensure that he's in a slightly better mood than he probably otherwise would be, Nathalie takes care to add somewhat bemused tone to her voice when she declares:

"Sounds like your father found the dog."

Sure enough, there's loud barking coming from the next room. She's not too sure how or when Macaroon got out but it's probably no bad thing, the dog will have been going mad by itself. She knows he's harmless and likely just playing but the mutt remains a large animal and frankly, she's not strong enough to pull him back by herself.

Despite her unspoken request, Adrien remains firmly rooted where he is, seemingly burying himself a little bit further in his book. Plagg is resting on the table nearby. He takes no interest in what his partner is reading but rather has literature of his own, a magazine specializing in cheese. Nathalie wouldn't have thought that there was such an abundance on the subject but these past few years, she's been proven wrong. When after a few more moments, he's fails to acknowledge her. The woman lets out a sigh. She moves to stand next to the couch, being so close as to look down at him and ensure that she cannot be ignored.

"Come on." Her words are spoken gently but firmly.

Reluctantly, he gets up. He doesn't need much more coaxing than that. He follows her silently. Almost as soon as they leave what has become the sanctity of the lounge, they are confronted by the issue. The door to Gabriel's study is open. That's where the barking is coming from. They approach steadily and peer inside.

Next to her, Adrien snorts, struggling to avoid bursting out with laughter. She doesn't bother to scold him, biting down on her lower lip herself to avoid any unfortunate sounds of amusement slipping out.

Gabriel stands atop his desk, attempting to find his way into the dead center so as to be as far away as possible from the dog. Macaroon doesn't understand. He thinks the strange man is playing. That much is apparent from the speed at which the animal's tail is wagging. It barks loudly, bouncing around excitedly. As the man tries his best to climb an invisible ladder in the hopes of being able to gain just another few inches between himself and the creature which assails him. Emilie is there too. She stands back however. Evidently reluctant to get anywhere near her son's dog.

Eventually, the man's eyes fall upon the new arrivals. It's with a certain tone of panicked desperation that he calls out:

"Nathalie, what is this?"

"A dog, sir." Is all that she can think to respond, earning an audible snicker from Adrien.

"I can see that! Why is it in the house?"

"He lives here."

With a nudge, she's able to convince Adrien to go over and regain control of the situation. He pats the dog, kneeling down next to him so as to slip his hands around its collar and ensure that it can no longer trouble his father.

For all that, the man doesn't climb down from his island. Instead, he stays put eyeing the dog as if it's a savage beast which could spring back into life at any moment and maul him. Adrien pays him no attention, struggling to avoid being given a face licking by the over-friendly mutt. After a few moments however, it's towards the person he holds responsible for allowing the creature into the building into the first place that he turns his attention:

"I thought I made it abundantly clear there were to be no animals inside the house!"

Upon saying that, Gabriel seems to abruptly rediscover where he is and just what he's doing. He shakes his head, staring down at the desk he now stands on. Slowly and with a great deal less confidence and urgency that he had initially climbed up. Emilie approaches, offering him a hand down which he refuses. Those long arms and legs of his seem to be more of a hindrance than an asset when it comes to climbing and his shoes aren't exactly designed for indoor exploration either. After a bit of fumbling, he's back down on the same level as them. He straightens his suit and tie.

Flustered, it's clear that in his mind, his dignity is in tatters.

The man clears his throat, attempting to regain some composure.

It's then that he fixes Macaroon. The way he looks at the animal, it's as if he's never seen a dog before. I's a clear that he's disgusted by it's presence. Adrien pays the man little attention, too occupied with trying to contain his pet's excitement.

"What even is it?" The man asks after a brief period of contemplation.

"I don't know..." Adrien confesses giving the rather oblivious creature a belly rub. "They weren't too sure back at the shelter. They were pretty sure he has some Great Dane and Mastiff in him."

The man's upper lip curls, clearly revolted. Already, Nathalie can tell that they're going to be in for something of a struggle. Gabriel might, MIGHT, have tolerated a small, well-behaved purebred dog with a decent pedigree. Something like a poodle or a well-groomed spaniel.

Macaroon is a large, drooling, clumsy, excitable and -if Nathalie's completely honest – somewhat stupid mutt. Everything that the man would despise and would prove to be irresistible to Adrien. Even now, he fixes the creature with abject horror as it continues to look up at him, tail wagging a mile a minute and periodically barking. It took her long enough to get used to the boisterous animal. So Gabriel, who's never owned a dog to the best of her knowledge, is going to struggle even more to get his head around the fact that the canine lives here.

"He was abandoned as a pup." Adrien continues his eyes focused solely on the dog as opposed to his father. "Tied up and left by the roadside near Saint-Germain..."

Nathalie can't help but wince internally as Adrien recounts his dog's life story. She finds herself thinking back to the boy's youth and how he's missed the point completely. Gabriel couldn't care less who the dog's mother was, where it had come from and who its previous owners had been. He doesn't want the creature in the house. His jaw is clenched tightly, a clear sign that he's struggling with his temper.

Instinct taking over, she steps forwards. Giving Gabriel a look which means "let me handle this". It's one that she hasn't had to deliver in quite some time, not since she was under his employ. Hopefully, he still understands the silent language which had once been so frequent and commonplace between the two of them. Without waiting to ensure that he does, she turns to Adrien. Still seemingly blissfully unaware of what's going on around him.

"Why don't you take Macaroon out for a bit? Let him stretch his legs? He's been cooped up a bit too much recently."

Adrien looks a bit puzzled. His brow creases as he fixes her. As usual though, he doesn't debate matters. The teen keeps a hold on the dog's collar, leading him on and taking him out of the room. Emilie considers him for a moment before following her son. No doubt, she intends to have a word with him. Nathalie lets her leave and trusts the young man to deal with the issue. She has another, perhaps more serious matter to deal with.

It's been a long time since she last found herself alone in the presence of Gabriel. A lot of things have changed since then. She tries her best to push all of the history, pain, fear and shame to some hidden part of her where she can ignore them until she feels strong enough to deal with them. She's not too sure when, if ever that will be but right now, she has to concentrate and keep her business face on. If Gabriel's going to be staying here – because she fails to see just how they can chase him out – she knows that she's going to have to begin to get her head around cohabitation once more. That means an end to hostilities and actually dealing with issues as and when they arise as opposed to the, admittedly more appealing prospect, of hiding from them.

There's anger behind the man's eyes, a familiar look that he would give her whenever something displeased him and he expected her to do something about the matter. She stands with her back straight, as cool and detached a demeanor as she can muster given the current situation. Gabriel's a man who searches for weakness constantly. He can spot it a mile off and home in on it accordingly. As such, her defenses have to be both made out of iron and without so much as a crack in them that he can exploit. Almost all of that is achieved by raising a facade of indifference but seriousness. It's something that she hasn't been forced to resort to in a good few years now and can only hope that she isn't out of practice.

"I want that beast out of the house!" He demands his voice low.

"There's no way Adrien's going to accept that." Nathalie informs the man plainly.

"According to Emilie, he listens to you." There's almost an accusation behind his tone.

"He loves that dog, Mr. Agreste!"

Nathalie feels it necessary to stress that much to him, so that he knows just what's at stake. Adrien forms attachments easily but they're often strong ones. As a result, the assistant isn't one to throw the word "love" around carelessly. So when she does use it, he knows that she's deadly serious. That being said, she's far from convinced that the emotional appeal will have any effect on the hard man. It wouldn't be the first time that he's overlooked his son's feelings in favor of his own designs and desires.

Instead however, it's towards her, the grown responsible adult notionally in charge, that he turns:

"What possessed you to let him have it?!" Adrien had asked for a dog as a child. It was one of the few things that he'd always been turned down.

"He needed the dog."

Adrien had been broken. That much had become clear within the first few days of Hawk Moth's defeat. Whilst if she was honest, the symptoms had been present for a while before then, manifesting less severely as "Dylan". If Nathalie had been able to turn a blind eye to them or at the very least fool herself into thinking that they weren't that bad, they would get better with time, once he'd gotten his head around his current situation. It had been as naive an assumption as it had been incorrect. He'd gotten worse. Loneliness, confusion and betrayal combine together to form anger, a rage she'd seen unleashed against his father and later against the world as a whole.

It had been her suggestion to get the creature in the first place. Lost, she'd taken to doing some research to try and find some way of making things better for him and alleviating the worst of the symptoms. Emotional support dogs was one of things that had been turned up. She'd found herself thinking back to her grandmother's old shepherd and how the teen had enjoyed spending time with it, a few moments patting the gentle and slowing creature always seemed to be enough to soothe whatever troubles were afflicting him. Desperate and at a loss, she'd proposed it. Adrien had accepted, albeit more cautious than she would have thought, much to her disappointment.

She had been expecting/hoping for him to find something of a more sensible size and temperament, like a Jack Russel but as soon as Adrien had spotted on the large dopey, doe-eyed mutt with it's tail wagging a mile a minute and a scar around his neck from where he'd been tied up, she'd known that there was no way they were going home without him. If like knew like, then they also might have attracted one another. Whatever the case, the teen had formed a strong bond with the dog and she didn't even want to contemplate the potential repercussions of separating them.

"He can get another more manageable-" Gabriel begins the anger in his voice slowly giving way.

"You can't just replace a dog like that!" She informs him remaining calm but inside, her frustration at the man's lack of empathy is growing. "Adrien loves him."

The man purses his lips, a sure sign that he's running out of patience with this discussion. Living in China, he must have had everything more or less the way that he wanted, Nathalie reasons. With the exception of returning to Paris, which granted was a serious restriction of his freedoms, there had been nobody around to question or contradict him. Now, he found himself back home but with a son who resented him to an extent that he no longer wanted to hear anything that he had to say and an assistant who was willing to speak her mind.

Outside, some raised voices can be heard. It's Adrien and his mother. They seemed to have gotten into a heated discussion about something. Nathalie struggles with the urge to roll her eyes. She seems to spend her days going from one issue to another without any respite in between. It's beginning to fray her nerves, it had to be said.

Gabriel heads towards the door, a look on his face which expresses a will to put an end to this. His former assistant lets out a sigh and takes a step forwards, moving to block him. If she can't appeal to his better nature then she resolves to using logic the only way that she can. The woman intends to remind him just what's at stake here:

"Sir, I'm warning you. Take the dog away and any chance you have of rebuilding your relationship with Adrien will disappear."

That gets him to stop whilst the voices outside gradually grow louder.

He turns back to face her. She doesn't shy away from the harsh look that the man delivers. It's a challenge of sorts. To avert her gaze would be to back down. Instead, she stands firm letting him know that she's as serious as she is truthful. Despite everything, she assumes that Gabriel must want to reconnect with his son. He's not very good at it but he wouldn't be putting up with the boy's current attitude if some part of him didn't want to at the very least try to go back to being a normal family. That's why she stands firm, keen to let him know just what this path will lead him to and more importantly what he stands to lose and destroy.

"Is it really worth it?"

Gabriel's expression hardens for a moment. His mouth is open just enough for Nathalie to think that some manner of a scolding might be coming her way, that he might be about to remind her of her place and to never speak to him in such a way ever again. After a few seconds however, he relaxes, letting out a sigh. It's impossible for the man's gaze not to travel over to the photos which still, after all these years, adorn the walls. It's an Adrien from another time. Perhaps not carefree, although some of them date back to the days before his mother had disappeared. At any rate, he's smiling and there isn't a trace of rage to be seen behind his eyes.

It's a far cry from the yelling that they can still hear coming from the other side of the door.

The anger is gone from the father as he contemplates everything that had been lost and what might never be again if he isn't careful. He faces her once more.

"Tell him to keep that slobbering mutt away from me!"

The request is a simple one but Nathalie is going to count this as a victory. It gives her some hope for the future.

Together, they venture outside. It takes only a few seconds for both of them to twig that this is about Macaroon. To Nathalie it isn't much of a surprise, she can tell that Emilie isn't all that fond of the creature either. If she's been quiet up to now, it's no doubt out of an eagerness to please her son. Now that his father has raised some objections as well, it would seem that she feels emboldened. Whatever has been said or suggested, it's warped Adrien into a state. His anger is, for the first time, directed towards his mother.

The assistant doesn't wait to get both sides of the story or to understand matters any more than she already does. Instead, she steps forwards. Gabriel seems to be on the same wavelength as she is. It's imperative for them to put an end to this before something is said or done that will lead to some regrets. Adrien's gaze does soften when he spots her and Emilie calms down just a little bit when her husband comes over to her side. Still, there's enough tension for Nathalie to think that separating the two for a little while might still be best.

After a few seconds however, the young man somehow becomes both calmer and more distressed. The adrenaline drops and he is almost fearful. Sometimes, despite the fact that he's approaching adulthood, he can seem almost childish to her. The reason behind his sudden panic becomes obvious a few moments later:

"We're not getting rid of Macaroon!"

"No. Of course not." She assures him as calmly as possible.

"Since when do you get any say with what happens in this house?!" Emilie snaps at her from behind Gabriel who is doing his best to try and shepherd her away. "You're staff!"

"Don't you talk to her like that!" Adrien's anger is different, lower and more dangerous for being contained.

"She isn't your mother!"

The comment honestly doesn't hurt Nathalie that much. Emilie is Adrien's mother. Nothing will change that. The lad however reacts as if he'd just been punched in the face. He tenses up and for a moment, the woman fears the worst that he might be about to start shouting or lash out. She's known him to do it before. Instead however, after a few moments, his face clouds over and instead, its a certain spite or malice which makes its way into his eyes.

Through clenched teeth, he speaks in a growl but still one that's loud enough for all to hear:

"Well I wish that she was!"

Emilie tenses up abruptly. Her eyes widen staring at her son in disbelief. Adrien doesn't look away or even show the faintest glimmer of regret, letting her know he believed every word of it. Nathalie herself is somewhat horrified. At the time, it overwhelms anything else that she might feel. He's never made a statement like that before. After a few moments, he turns back towards her. Is he looking for some form of recognition or a sign of approval?

She can give him neither. Instead, she just gawks at him.

It doesn't appear to register. Still holding onto his dog's collar, he exits the building heading out into the garden, leaving the mansion behind him as if a tornado had just passed through. Nathalie feels heat rise to her cheeks, embarrassed and unsettled. She tries not to look at Emilie but its impossible. There are some tears behind her eyes. She's been hurt. Gabriel, a little more composed, is attempting to coax her out of the room, get her somewhere more private where she can open up a little. For a moment though, the two women's gaze meets. One lost, the other scorned.

Unable to bear it any longer, Nathalie excuses herself. She feels no triumph or satisfaction. Instead, there's a lump in the pit of her stomach. There are some things that can never be taken back and some wounds which are cut so deeply that they will struggle to heal. Safe in her room, she feels the few certainties that she had drift away from her and her plans begin to crumble.