Marinette had met Gabriel Agreste before. That was a given. The derby hat competition was a good example of an occasion of a chance where she had gotten the rare opportunity to speak to Paris's most famous fashion designer. The main reason for her doing so had been her defending her design from Chloe's plagiarism, so she wasn't entirely certain that it counted.

She'd met him as Ladybug. Then again, she wasn't entirely certain if that counted either. Talking to someone when you're trying to save their life seems like a pretty basic stage. When faced with mortality, everyone was equal, despite every other protest from anyone else, so did it honestly count as some sort of social interaction? Not to mention, she was behind a mask at that point. When she was able to hide behind her Ladybug persona, Marinette was about five times as confident as she was normally.

Meeting someone behind a mask was very different to meeting someone without one. And honestly felt a lot more intimidating.

As least, that was how Marinette felt when she finally came face to face with Adrien's father. She'd fought Akuma's, criminals, even Chat Noir, through no choice of her own of course, but there was something about the tall, spectacle wearing designer that made her shiver up close. Could it be that it was because she had admired his work for so long, and this was like meeting a hero? Perhaps it was down to how he seemed to look down on her from the end of his nose, or because he was standing atop a large flight of stairs, while she and Adrien were right at the bottom of them. Or maybe it was because he didn't smile, and didn't look like he had in about five to eight years.

"Hello." He was sternly spoken. There was no trace of friendliness, welcoming, or as little as intrigue to his voice. He was cold. During the derby contest, he'd at least some impress with her skills as a designer. Here, there was none of that. He very nearly sounded bored.

Adrien knew Marinette and Gabriel knew one another, however little that actually was. He went through with introductions, since it was expected of him. "Uh, Father, this is Marinette. The uh, the girl I told you about."

"I can see that, Adrien." His father acknowledged matter-of-factly as he walked down the ridiculously long set of stairs that connected the first two floors. Gabriel didn't mock his son with his tone, nor did he embellish or joke. He spoke like he was stating a mere fact. While not inaccurate, Marinette couldn't help but feel his response had been blunt at best, and curt and a tad rude at worst.

While she had seen Adrien's house before, interior and exterior, she had never really acknowledged it, since each of her trips there had been brief, and normally tinted with a hint of danger. It was enormous, there wasn't any way to question or deny that. This really was the life of luxury, and it amazed her when Adrien told her how cold Gabriel was. Perhaps she had possessed this unconscious perception that anyone who could provide their child with this sort of life must have done so out of love for their child. Or maybe she just hadn't wanted to accept that her most idolised designer was the kind of person who could be like that. Yes he was serious, and strict... But...

It shocked her when she felt that same coldness coming from Gabriel right now. It made the entire foyer feel like a freezer. She couldn't feel a spot of warmth to the designers words.

The middle aged man stood on the steps just one up from Marinette, where he could look down on her better, not that he needed help in being taller than her. He seemed to scowl for a second, inspecting her and the blue clothing she wore. He himself looked like he was headed out to a business meeting with work associates, in a smart pressed grey suit. Where Adrien and Marinette were semi - formal, Gabriel was fully formal, complete with a tie, and his suit buttoned up.

"A pleasure." He extended a hand for the blue haired girl to shake. She wasn't surprised by how firm his grip was. "Adrien has spoken very highly of you."

Marinette could swear she could feel Adrien blushing from behind her.


It ended up being three solid hours of tense anxiety, for both Marinette and Adrien. For a man who showed little to no emotion, Gabriel seemed to have a talent for cold intimidation, even though it was pretty obvious this wasn't an intentional.

He was just a natural at this.

Neither of the young heroes could figure out if that made it easier or harder to feel intimidated. Adrien was used to this sort of attitude, sure, but he had rarely spent enough time around his father over the past few years to really get a feel for it.

Yet somehow, to her amazement, Marinette was managing to not make an idiot of herself, and Gabriel was acting civilised. He wasn't being dismissive, nor was he being rude. He engaged in polite conversation. He would ask Marinette a question that wasn't too outlandish or personal. Common questions, like how she and Adrien knew one another, and what sorts of things she did as hobbies. Once he learned of her passion for fashion, he inquired as to her dress. Upon learning that she had made it, he had bestowed a compliment onto her.

Marinette had seemed to want to avoid asking questions, mostly content to just answer what was thrown her way, but once the topic of fashion had been brought up, she hadn't been able to help herself asking a truck load of questions, and to her surprise, Gabriel seemed more than happy to oblige with answers as quickly as Marinette could come up with them.

Dinner itself had only lasted a single hour. The remaining two were spent in a manner more similar to that of a formal party. Sure, there were drinks, and conversation, and the occasional laugh, but it was clear everyone that was here wanted something. Information. Approval. Acceptance. They were just more polite about it.

"This has been a lovely meeting, but I'm afraid I need to attend to some work." Gabriel announced, at exactly 10PM, clearly having planned to be gone by this time. "Adrien, your chauffeur is still available to drop you both off at Marinette's house whenever you decide to leave." It wasn't too clear if that was directed at Marinette or to Adrien. "A word?" That one was definitely for Adrien.

His throat went dry, but he nodded obediently. If his throat had just gone dry, God knew what Marinette was feeling at this exact moment. He placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, obviously tensed up by the sudden exit Gabriel had announced. "I'll be back in a second, Mari."

She nodded. Had she done something wrong? She had thought she had been doing an okay job at not making herself seem like an idiot.

Following his father, Adrien wondered the exact same questions, albeit with a slightly tighter chest from the ball of air he was holding in. They didn't go far, just out of the room, around into the corridor, and down a couple of meters. It didn't take a genius to figure out Gabriel wanted to talk about Marinette.

"Well... You met her, father." Adrien muttered, worry in his voice fairly evident.

"Indeed I have." His father said, his hands now behind his back and standing tall, once again. This had been one of the only times in years Adrien had ever seen him relax even a bit, but now that it was the two of them again, he went straight back to being uptight and formal. Adrien sometimes wondered, did Gabriel even see him as a son, or some sort of business associate?

"Well?..." The model just wanted to get the answer out of the way. So he knew where he stood with his father. So he knew that it was pointless to try and convince him otherwise. So he knew just what kind of -

"I approve."

"Say what now?" Adrien questioned before his brain even caught up and responded to what he had just been told purely on instinct.

"The girl is smart, has some clear talents, and is very obviously confident in herself. And it would appear that your grades and modelling have not suffered at all as a result of her being a part of your life. It seems you have a better eye than expected."

Was that a compliment just now? His father had actually complimented him for once?

"Of course, should those become a problem, I will take steps to prevent you from going out with her until they are back up to standard. Agreed?"

That was fair. That was more than fair. That was exceptionally lenient for his father. If his grades slipped, Gabriel normally would just forbid Adrien from seeing her ever again. But his wording, 'until they are back up to standard', it indicated that his father actually cared about this. That he wanted this to work for his son... There were a lot of questions but... Not wanting to push his luck any further, Adrien nodded quickly and smiled. "Yes, father! Thank you!"


"You know something, I think my father really likes you."

To say the evening had been anything less than a success would be a complete lie, Adrien thought to himself. It couldn't have gone better. His father approved... It made everything so much less stressful between the two of them, not even beginning to mention how much of a relief it was to Adrien and Marinette.

"You think?..." Marinette asked, hopeful.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Just a feeling." Adrien smirked to himself. He was in such a good mood right now, it couldn't even begin to be described in words.

"A feeling from where?" Marinette questioned, prying for an answer from her clearly amused boyfriend.

"Places."

"Come on, Adrien!"

"It came from somewhere, I can promise you that much."

"You... Jerk." The blue haired girl sighed, resting her head on his shoulder and smiling. She could get the information out of him some way. Maybe have Ladybug pay him a visit, and see if he felt like being a bit more loose-lipped then.

Their Kwami had left them, going God knew where at this time. Not that it mattered too much. Plagg knew the score when it came to avoiding Adrien's father, so he could keep an eye out for Tikki just as much as he could keep an eye out for himself. They just had to be especially careful, but as much as he and his cat Kwami fought, Adrien did trust Plagg.

"So... What happens now?" He asked the designer leaning on him, her eyes closed, simply just enjoying the moment that they were able to share right now.

"I guess we just... Keep doing what we've been doing."

"You mean fighting Akuma, risking our lives every other day, getting the crap beaten out of us, and live in constant stress that someday the entire city will learn about who we really are and that Hawkmoth will come jumping in through the window brandishing a scythe to beat us to death with?"

"Yeah. That. Plus dating on the side."

Adrien smirked once more, and wrapped his arm around Marinette's shoulder, his hand just brushing against the side of her neck, so it lightly tickled her. "Sounds like a fun plan."

"Doesn't it?" Marinette tilted her head ever so slightly so she could feel Adrien's hand on her skin.

This careless motion just happened to cause both the cat and ladybug Miraculouses to touch - Just for a second. And in that second, a bright light enveloped the room, which both of them immediately recognized as the messages the Miraculouses gave one another about their Soul Mates. Neither had received a message in such a long time, they had almost forgotten about this feature.

When their eyes were able to readjust, they found a brand new poem, a final poem, casted upon Adrien's wall. And upon reading it, both of them smiled. "Yeah. It does." Adrien chuckled, before he leaned in to kiss his lady to end the night.

'Though conflict, trials, and fights hard fought,

Through fears all is done for naught,

Your Links lost, and reestablished,

Fears of love hath been demolished,

And yet, both stand, here and now,

In face of troubles of disavow.

A Link is but a special thing,

With tears of pain that love may bring,

Through it's endless stand through all of time,

Throughout any hardship, or any crime,

Your Soul Mate stands with you on this floor

Now, and forever more.'


And so ends Soul Link. 34 chapters... Really odd number to end this story on, but I'm not willing to beat a horse to death to keep this story going. So this is it guys. I'm proud of this story, and I achieved what I wanted to achieve with it ^_^ So As I move into the future, regardless of what I write, be it ending up being RWBY, My Hero Academia, Pokemon, or more Miraculous, I can look back and say that I'm pleased with the story I provided you guys with here today.

Now that its over, I'd love to know what you thought about it. You guys have been amazing throughout this story, you've been so understanding, so patient, and fully supportive of what I've done with the work. The reviews I got were just the motivation that I needed to continue writing this when I began to worry about it becoming stale and started to lose the will to write any further. You guys helped make this story what it is, so thank you all so much ^_^.

All Miraculous focus will now be going onto my Superpowers/Traits AU, which you should be sure to check out. OC's are accepted, and the reception, while a lot smaller, has bee incredibly awesome to and I'm enjoying every second I spend writing it. As of the time of writing, we're moving onto a training exercise, which promises to be exciting : 3 Hope to see you there maybe ^_^

I hope you did enjoy the story, and I'll see you in whatever it is I do indeed decide to write next - See ya guys!