A/N in advance: Hey guys, welcome to my newest story. A few things I noticed in Ephemeral: I felt like the characters weren't acting like themselves, the ending wasn't satisfying for most viewers, Gabriel knowing his son's identity from just with one word confused many people (including me), and there was a lot more thought and emotion in the characters that could have been looked into, so I decided to give my own take here.

An extra note/warning: This story follows the sentimonster theory. I don't know if I fully believe in this theory. I'm just using it for this specific fanfic. I don't know why I even have to say this, but please relax and stop commenting on it. If you don't believe it, just ignore it or consider it an AU. Or don't read. PS: this is an Adrinette story but it contains moments of Lukanette. Everyone has their own opinions but please stop saying bad things about my story in the reviews just because it follows a specific AU. Thanks to those who are being respectful. :)

"Emilie. Everything I have done, I have done for you. But I… I don't know if I'm doing the right thing, Emilie, and honestly-" the old man's voice broke. "I don't know what to do anymore. I have to stay strong for you, and for Adrien." Tears burned his eyes as he, in a rare show of emotion, sat down next to his wife and leaned his head against the cryogenic pod where he tried to imagine she was simply sleeping.

Nathalie stood in the upper part of the Agreste mansion, watching him on a security camera. It was stupid how she wasn't allowed in his repository but she had security footage linking directly onto her IPad. Gabriel would be very angry if he found out. She wouldn't usually watch something so private, and she didn't want to interrupt, but Gabriel Agreste had responsibilities, and she absolutely refused to place those or poor Adrien- or even herself- again. She cared for the boy, she really did. What had she ever seen in this man in the first place? True, the fact that he would do anything for his wife was very sweet, but the way he was going about it was all wrong. If he could just wake up and see that she was right there for him, she always had been, things would be different. Instead, he stupidly clung to his fantasies and his crazy obsession with Ladybug and Chat Noir. And things had only gotten worse since she had gotten sick and couldn't be Mayura anymore. Most of the time, it was like she didn't exist. If only she could tell Gabriel how she really felt.

Trying to focus on the task at hand, she dialed his number on her IPad. After a second, he answered. "Sir," she said, struggling to keep her stern, calm demeanor. "It's time to leave."

Without another word, he simply hung up. Nathalie watched him walk away on her IPad's security footage. She sighed. Someday, that man would get some sense smacked into him, and he would deserve it.

In the car, Gabriel watched his son with care and adoration. It was rare for the fashion designer to leave the house, and even rarer for the two of them to leave together. It was an important occasion, and Gabriel knew that Adrien had to have been hurting just as much. But Emilie had always been the more emotional of the two. He could barely handle and rarely showed his own emotions, much less the emotions of his son. What should he do? Ask him if he was okay? Put his arm around him? He didn't know, so he chose to do nothing.

Suddenly, the brooch on his necklace flashed, giving him a headache. What now? He resisted the urge to groan- he was a calm, collected adult, and his face would show absolutely nothing else. In his mind, he tried to tune out the negative emotions. This was his one chance to leave the house and bond with his son. The opportunity was too important to pass up. The negative emotions didn't appear to have any particular malice, but they crept into his mind anyway- that's how distracted he was. It was that fool Bob Roth again, whining about some unimportant money problems. How someone so rich could care so much about money yet be so immature and babyish about it, Gabriel had no idea. But he didn't feel like he was in any mood to go to the conference, and maybe a quick akumatization would take his mind off things. However immature he was, Bob Roth would make a good villain- he was already a good villain, with or without akumatization. He had money and power, and that was all he needed. Maybe this could be his chance to get Emilie back.

"Adrien, I'm not feeling well enough. You must represent me today," he said sternly, without meeting his son's eyes.

The boy looked disappointed, but not entirely surprised. "But Father, you're launching your hundredth collection tonight! You're the one the journalists want to interview, not me," he excused. His tone made Gabriel consider what he was doing. He was a teenage boy who just wanted to spend time with his father. But Gabriel was in no mood for this disobedience, so without thinking, he twisted his ring.

"Adrien, I am your father, and I am giving you the responsibility to attend this press conference," he snapped boldly. "Under no circumstances will you leave that room until it's finished. All I'm asking is that you honor my work and the memory of your mother. Do we have an agreement?" He made that an official command to his sentimonster.

"Yes, father," Adrien mumbled, slumping back into his seat. The hurt in his voice was clear, and it bothered Gabriel very much for some reason. He did not want to hurt his son.

Gabriel asked the driver to pull over, and he obeyed very quickly. Thankfully, they were not too far from the mansion, so he could simply walk back to his lair. Maybe the fresh air would clear his head.

On the way back to the house, he pondered about Adrien. Sentimonsters were not supposed to disobey their masters. But Adrien was not just a regular sentimonster. Over time, he had developed his own feelings and experiences. He was part human, and had bits of both Gabriel and Emilie in him. That's why the former could hardly bear looking at Adrien. He reminded Gabriel too much of his wife.

Nathalie would be very frustrated with him, he knew, for leaving this responsibility to Adrien again. It was not always clear to Gabriel where she felt or where she stood, but it was clear that she cared for Adrien, possibly more than he did, though he would never admit to that.

Back to Adrien, he was doing this whole thing so his son could be happy again. But was he helping his son? At times, he felt like he was just hurting Adrien by isolating him. Gabriel massaged his temples. He knew Adrien did not appreciate the lessons, being homeschooled, and even distance between them. There was always a certain chill when they were near each other, and they barely had meals together anymore. They barely even communicated. Yet Gabriel could not do it any other way, because he would not let something bad happen to his son, not again.

As he neared the mansion, he checked in on his old friend Bob. His negative emotions were still going strong. Man, that guy was pathetic. Not only was he too negative, but he was simply a jerk. His problem was that he had lost a penny in the sewers- that was a stupid reason to get akumatized and even Gabriel knew it.

Gabriel had the gates opened for him by Nathalie, who was waiting for him by the door. "Gabriel, what on-?"

He gently shoved her out of the way and marched on past her. "No time. There's a strong negative emotion." Okay, that was a lie. It was pretty dim by now. But it was strong enough to distract Gabriel from his current issues, and that was the only solution he knew: run from your problems.

The hairs on the back of Nathalie's neck stood up. Before she could stop herself, she snapped, "Are you serious, Gabriel? What about Adrien? Are you really that pathetic?"

Gabriel froze, his face dark. "Yes, Nathalie," he said softly after a pause. "I am that pathetic. Because I would do anything for Emilie."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I made some updates to split up chapters by POV so they make more sense. Might include more shorter chapters. As always I don't own Miraculous or the characters. Remember to read and review! :)