Adrien arose bright and early and began his day, setting out a few pieces of cheese for the still-sleeping Kwami as he made his way to the shower.

He returned 15 minutes later; a towel wrapped around his waist.

Adrien began to hum a merry tune as he laid out his clothes, since he had started to rebel he found that he quite liked the all-black ensemble he wore. Today he had decided on a short sleeve black shirt, black trousers, and a nice light black pullover sweater.

Pulling on his shoes once he was dressed he ran his fingers through his hair to give it the just-out-of-bed look he now favored, and that he knew Mari loved. He knew she especially loved running her own fingers through it and making it messier.

Chuckling to himself he grabbed his backpack and made his way downstairs for breakfast.

When he arrived he was surprised to see his father and Nathalie waiting for him at the table.

"Father, Nathalie," he said with a nod of his head in their direction.

They only nodded back as he thanked the staff for the meal they placed before him as he sat down.

Taking his silverware and napkin he began to eat, waiting for the others to start the conversation. When it became obvious they were not, he did.

"Father," Adrien asked between bites as he washed his meal down with orange juice. "What plans do you have for the summer line?"

Needless to say, Gabriel and Nathalie were both taken aback by this, especially since Adrien had never shown an interest in fashion.

"I have a few ideas for some summery pantsuits and more casual wear at the moment."

"I'd like to see your ideas when I get home from school," Adrien said as he continued to eat.

"Adrien," Nathalie began slowly, not wanting to draw the ire of her new boss, "you've never shown an interest in fashion before, what happened?"

"Correction," he replied as he lifted a hand and took a sip to clear his throat. "I have never shown an interest in design, as you both know I am utter rubbish at it. However, the business of fashion is something I know very well, you have been grooming me to take over the company eventually after all, Father. As such, I have an interest in what designs are going to be produced by my company and want to make sure only the best will be used. Of course, given your talent, Father, I have no doubt anything you design will be perfect and will wow on the runways."

Adrien paused to let his companions absorb his comment and to eat a bit more, he still had school after all.

"However, I do have one request," he started even as he saw a flinch from his tablemates, "I would like to see more swimwear added to the line this year. Most of our fashion has catered to business and luxury-minded clients. There is an entire untapped market of swim and beachwear that we haven't even begun to address. I know other brands have already been in the market for a while, and if we are to stay competitive we will need to branch out to those markets and carve a piece off for ourselves."

"That's," Nathalie said as she pondered his comment, "not a bad idea. Gucci has been marketing bags and clothing for the beachgoer for years. We've never tried because it was beneath the brand, however, if we released it as the launch line from the Adrien brand we can market it more to a younger crowd. What do you think Gabriel?"

Gabriel could only stare at his son, shocked by the insight and business sense he displayed, it took a moment for her words to register.

"Umm, yes, a good idea. The more markets the more consumers we can reach."

"Good, I'm glad you agree, Father, which is why I would like you to design the first line of swimwear for my personal brand."

"Me?" Gabriel replied in more shock. "Why me? Why not have another designer or Ms. Dupain-Cheng do it?"

Having finished his meal, Adrien set down his silverware and gave his father his full attention.

"Several reasons; first, Mari is not aware of the brand changes at this time, but she will be once the press release hits the news later this morning. Second, I want my personal line to be perfect. The only designer, other than Mari, whom I would trust to give me the perfect initial designs is you, Father. You may not be the best father in the world, but as a designer, there is none better, and I would be honored if you would design my launch line of swim and beachwear."

Gabriel just stared at his son; his icy glare was gone as he processed Adrien's request. He'd wanted to do a beachwear line for years but didn't want to dilute his brand. Now, he had the option to be able to let all his wildest designs out and not have them reflect poorly upon the brand as a whole.

For the first time in a long time, Gabriel Agreste let a small smile slip onto his lips.

"It would be an honor to design them," he replied.

"Great," Adrien replied with a beaming smile, "we'll talk more about designs when I get home. For now, I'm off to school. Will you be available for dinner?"

Gabriel nodded, feeling a sense of happiness wash over him for the first time in a very long time.

"Both of you?" Adrien asked as he directed this comment to Nathalie, the personal assistant that had become almost like a second mother to him, well third, after Sabine of course.

Nathalie, even though she was shocked, managed to nod a reply.

Adrien's smile grew even brighter if that were possible.

"Great, I'll be bringing a guest. It'll be nice to have a family dinner together."

With that, he disappeared out the door and to the waiting sedan that would take him to school.

Gabriel and Nathalie shared a look, both surprised not only at the business acumen of Adrien but also by the sheer joy he was radiating at the thought of dinner as a family. Both were amazed as to how something as simple as dinner together could make Adrien so happy, perhaps they should have done it a long time ago. It's funny that it took Gabriel losing his company to realize how much joy such a simple thing could bring his son. Nathalie had to look away for a few seconds as she realized that she had been included among those Adrien considered family, maybe, just maybe she could become a real part of the family in the future. Of course, that all depended on Gabriel, she knew they could never truly be a family so long as the man held onto the past and Emilie. Sadly, she also knew that his continued use of the Butterfly miraculous would continue to drive a wedge further between father and son. Her use of the Peacock miraculous would destroy whatever fledgling relationship she had with the boy as well. With a renewed sense of purpose, Nathalie found herself with a new task; to protect the small family that she was now a part of, to convince Gabriel to change his ways, and to be there for Adrien in whatever fashion he needed her.

With that new purpose, she drew a breath and composed herself, after all, there was no time like the present.

"Gabriel," she began as she looked at the designer, a small smile still present on his face, "we need to talk…"

.o.0.o.

"… Adrien Agreste, model, and son of fashion designer Gabriel Agreste has launched his own fashion brand under the newly rebranded Agreste brand. Sources close to the company tell us that…"

Adrien rolled his eyes as he walked into the classroom and heard the reporter jabbering on about his new venture. While not all details were made public, no one else needed to know about the change in ownership, Nathalie had done a remarkable job with the PR aspect of the new branding.

Making his way to the top row he ignored the looks of his classmates as the reporter continued to talk from Alya's phone.

Setting his bag down he looked at his watch and waited, a smile growing on his face as the clock ticked closer to the start of class.

"A wedge says she's late," Plagg whispered into Adrien's ear from where he floated behind his head.

"Two says she's early," Adrien whispered back, hearing Plagg snort as he dove for cover in Adrien's bag. The model just rolled his eyes as he pulled his books from the bag, eyes on the door and the clock as it ticked closer to the start of school.

A few minutes before the bell was to ring Marinette quietly pulled the door open and slipped inside. Adrien nudged his bag and smirked as Plagg popped his head out. The Kwami rolled his eyes before retreating into the bag again.

Adrien watched her slowly climb the steps, he could tell she was tired, the dark circles under her eyes and the massive yawn were dead giveaways. Her downcast eyes were studying each step as she climbed them, no doubt looking for a pitfall set by Lila. Thankfully she made it to the top without any incident, setting her bag on the floor next to his and smiling as Plagg phased through his bag and into hers to see Tikki.

"Good morning, my Lady," he whispered as she took her seat, they still needed to discuss how they were going to reveal their relationship, they'd only made tentative plans the night before. For now, they had agreed not to change their outward appearance as friends, after all, nothing had changed in that regard, they were still best friends.

"Good morning, kitty," she replied with a smile and a yawn.

"I hope you weren't up too late because of me," he told her with genuine concern.

"Yes, and no," she replied as she pulled her books and a travel mug of coffee from her bag. "While I couldn't stop thinking about what you told me all night, a commission for Jagged kept me up."

"Right," Adrien added, "he has a show here in a few weeks, and I already got us tickets for it."

Marinette smiled at him.

"I hope they are good seats; it wouldn't do for Jagged's official designer and honorary niece to be in the cheap seats."

"Meow-ch," he replied as a hand went to his chest in mock shock, "You wound me, Princess, as if I wouldn't get you the best seats I could."

Marinette laughed at his face, they both knew she was joking, but both were enjoying letting parts of their superhero personas out.

As they both laughed over the joke, Lila entered the room with all the fanfare of a royal, minus the trumpets.

With a sigh, Adrien just crossed his arms and wondered what lies the Italian was spouting now.

"Did you hear that Jagged Stone is going to be doing a concert here?"

Marinette sighed as the words reached her, wondering what lie Lila was about to tell about the rocker.

"10 macarons says she's claiming he's coming because of her," Adrien whispered.

"No deal," Marinette replied as she folded her arms on the desk and buried her head in them, fighting the urge to cuddle up against Adrien. "I never bet on a sure thing."

Adrien smirked at her reply.

"He's coming at my insistence," Lila said as she sat on her desk next to Alya, "he said he's going to get me front-row passes as thanks for saving his kitten."

A muffled told you so came from the girl beside Adrien, eliciting a smirk.

The sycophants around Lila all gave the expected praise extolling her wonders and thanking her for bringing their favorite rocker to town.

As he watched, he saw her eyes turn to him and a malicious glow entered them, her mouth opened, and more lies came out.

"I'm sure you all heard about Adrien getting his own brand by now, I talked with Gabriel about what he said the other day. Gabriel told me that it was all a misunderstanding and that all Adrien was getting was his own brand, not the company."

Murmurs from the mindless fools that surrounded Lila reached his ears, they were saying that that made more sense, that Adrien was too nice to do anything like that.

Marinette raised her head to glare at the Italian briefly before setting it back into her arms.

Adrien just smirked and kept his arms crossed, he wasn't going to bite into her lies, after all, he wanted her to tell as many lies about him and Mari as possible. He was recording every conversation with her and each lie just added to the slander suit he was building against her. His eyes turned to his phone which was face down and had been recording since the Italian girl had walked into the room. Hmm, he should probably get the lawyers to monitor her social feeds for any evidence for a libel suit as well.

Thankfully, Lila continued to push her luck with her lies.

"Gabriel also told me that Adrien's outburst about our engagement was all part of the plan to keep the media off our backs. He's still planning on giving us the company when we get married."

Adrien snickered as a growl issued from the lump that was Marinette, he placed a hand on her back to calm her. Instead of reacting to Lila's comment, which the Italian was expecting, he raised his voice slightly above normal to talk to the girl beside him.

"Hey Mari," he said louder than normal, his hand nudging her shoulder to get her attention, drawing the attention of their classmates.

"Hmmm," she replied as she raised her head and looked at him, tired eyes meeting his.

"Do you want to come over after class and study with me? We made a good team on that last math test, I thought we could tackle the history project together."

She caught the twinkle in his eyes as he fought a grin.

"Sure, that'd be great," she replied without a stutter as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. Her blouse pulled up to reveal a sliver of her stomach, unintentionally drawing Adrien's attention.

"G-great," Adrien replied as he felt his mouth go dry. "I'll pick you up after class and we'll head there. Don't forget your bag, it'd be a cat-astrophy if you left it and your work here. We might have to come back and look for it together and that would cut into our study time."

Marinette gave an inaudible 'eep' and put her arms down, a blush crossing her face when she noticed where his eyes had been.

"Adrien," Alya asked as she stood from her desk at the front of the room to look at him, anger on her face. "Why don't you ask your girlfriend to study with you instead of Mari?"

Now, Adrien had several options here; he could announce his relationship with Marinette and give Lila more ammunition to corrupt and use against Mari, he could just ignore the reporter and her question, or he could tell a version of the truth that still protected him and Mari. But then again, those options would be taking the high road, and Adrien was going so far off that road that it might as well not exist, so utter annihilation it is then.

"Because, Alya, Lila is not my girlfriend, just like I told you before, and I would much rather study with my very good friend Mari. Unlike you and Nino, I want to get studying done and learn something other than how deep down my partner's throat my tongue can go."

Alya and Nino blushed scarlet when he said this, all eyes turning to them as they struggled to deny the comments.

Unfortunately for Nino and Alya, Adrien wasn't done yet.

"Do you want to know the funny thing, Alya? I thought you and Mari were friends, after all, you are constantly saying she's your 'best friend', right? From where I'm standing you are not her best friend; you aren't even a friend. You and Nino are nothing to Mari now but classmates, especially since you were so eager to trample her yesterday. If this is how you treat your friends I think Mari and I would rather be your enemies, then we might actually be treated with more respect. Tell me, Alya, you claim to be a journalist, have you fact-checked anything Lila has told you, or are you just taking her word for it? If I remember correctly, you asked Mari to back up her claims with facts and then you ignored them when she did. Friends? You are nothing but hypocrites and deserve nothing from me or Mari."

Thankfully, Ms. Bustier walked in and began the class, preventing Adrien from being able to say anything more, he sat in his seat and glared at the reporter until she sat down again.

Reaching over he turned the voice recorder off on his phone and saved the recording, another exhibit down.

Once the rest of the class had turned to the front Marinette leaned over to him.

"Thank you for having my back, chaton," she whispered as she pretended to be getting a pencil from her bag. "You're the only person to stand up for me since Lila came."

"I always will, Princess," he replied as he turned a loving look in her direction before he sighed, "I think we can safely say that Alya and Nino no longer fall into the friend category."

"You're probably right," she said with a shrug as she answered back quietly. "But if they are that blind to the truth of all of Lila's lies, then I think we are better off without them. After all, who needs them when I have you as my best friend?"

Adrien shot her a radiant smile, it was true, they had been best friends as their superhero personas for years. It was only just recently that Adrien and Mari had advanced to that level and with the reveal from the night before that friendship was even stronger.

"You and me against the world," he whispered as he started copying the notes down.

.o.0.o.

At lunch that day the pair decided to forgo lunch in the courtyard and instead opted to go to the bakery.

Once they arrived they sat at a table in the back and laughed as Adrien played the recording of Lila's lies that she'd told that morning.

"Other than the stuff about your company, everything she's saying can be disproved with a simple internet search," Marinette said as she ate the sandwich Sabine had brought them.

Adrien had refused to take his sandwich until the elder Cheng had accepted his payment. Family or not, Adrien refused to not pay for his meal. Sabine sighed and took the Euros and placed them into the tip jar, shooting Adrien a smile as she did so. He had only laughed in response before turning his attention back to the smiling Marinette.

"A fact that people like Alya should have picked up on by now," he said with a shrug of helplessness.

"So what are you going to do about her lies about you and the company?"

"Well, I already sent the legal team a text telling them to start monitoring Lila's social accounts for anything we can use as evidence, so that's a start. I was thinking about bringing Nathalie in on the PR, to see how we can spin this. We decided to not fire Lila right away, instead, we are going to gather more concrete evidence against her. Father and Nathalie both want an air-tight case against her and not firing her helps to keep her close so we have some control over her movements."

"Very smart, kitty," Marinette said with a smile.

"I'm not just a pretty face, Mari," he replied as he leaned closer and smirked, "there's a brain in here too."

"Hmm," she replied as she too leaned closer, her eyes landing on his lips, her thoughts going to the idea of kissing him. "If you say so, pretty boy."

He didn't reply, he only moved closer to her lips, sharing the idea of a kiss with the person he loved.

The sound of angry hands hitting the table startled them out of their moment.

As one, their eyes turned to face the owner of those hands, Alya.

Adrien casually noted that Nino was standing silently behind her, trying to fade into the background.

"What the hell was that, Agreste," she snarled as the fire in her eyes grew.

"What was what," he asked as he casually put his phone away and took a bite of the pastry on the plate in front of him, eyes turning away from Alya as though she were insignificant. A handy trick he had learned from Gabriel.

"You know what," she spat as she glared down at the model, "that speech you gave before class started. What the hell was that?"

"Oh, that," he replied with a careless wave as he casually dismissed the speech and her at the same time. "That was just the truth, Alya, as a reporter I thought you might be familiar with it, but I guess I was wrong."

The reporter snarled and raised a hand to slap him, but it never made contact. Instead, a vice-like grip caught her wrist and held it there. The burning eyes turned toward Marinette as she prevented Alya from slapping Adrien, Marinette's eyes promising dire things had Alya's hand connected with Adrien's face.

The noise in the bakery died instantly and Tom came rushing out of the kitchen. He quickly ushered the teens into the back and up the stairs into the apartment before settling them onto separate couches.

"I don't know what is going on," he began as he stared at Alya, "but the bakery is not the place for it. If you want to talk you will do it here with Sabine watching, and if I know my wife she'll be here soon."

There was silence before he let out a sigh, the heated glare from Alya not having diminished one bit. Thankfully Sabine was as perceptive as always and had turned her duties over to the other cashier and hurried up to the apartment as fast as she could. Tom quickly filled her in on what had happened before he had to return to the kitchen downstairs.

Sabine didn't say a word but simply disappeared back down the stairs to return a moment later with Marinette and Adrien's sandwiches and bags which she set down in front of them. Once she had done that she settled into a chair nearby, ready to intervene if necessary.

Marinette just glared at Alya as the image of her raising her hand to Adrien repeated in her mind.

Adrien turned his indifferent stare from the couple sitting across from him to the girl beside him. He sighed and moved to kneel before her, capturing her chin with his hand and making her look at him.

"Mari," he said slowly as he held her chin and refused to let her return her glare to Alya.

"Mari, it's okay," he said as he leaned forward and placed his forehead to hers. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't," she replied in a soft voice as her glare melted as she took in the gentle contact of her secret boyfriend. "She tried to hurt you, I … I couldn't let her do that, not to you." She told him as tears began to form in her eyes.

He pulled her to him and just held her as the tears fell, Alya made to stand, the look of fury still on her face, but a warning look from Sabine stopped that.

No one moved for a minute or two as Adrien just held her. Soon, she was able to compose herself and form words again.

"After what happened the other night," she told him with a sniffle as she buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around him. "I couldn't stand the thought of anything hurting you again. I know a slap wouldn't hurt you much, it's silly, but I can't stand the thought of you injured now that I know. How many other times, Adrien, how many other times has it happened?"

Adrien just held her and rocked her gently as she spoke.

"Mari," he said as he placed a kiss on the crown of her head, "it is okay to be scared. What happened wasn't your fault, I was just doing my job, protecting you. The slap would not have hurt much, you're right, but you stopped it. That's all that matters, you stopped it and it didn't happen, as for any other times, we'll talk about it later."

He gently pulled her away to look into her eyes.

"You protected me, Princess, that's all that matters."

She gave him a watery smile before turning to look at her mother and the handkerchief she had held out.

Marinette smiled as she took it and wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

"Feeling better?" Adrien asked once she had composed herself.

Marinette nodded, he smiled in return and released her to sit next to him again. He sighed before his gaze hardened and he turned to Alya and Nino.

Marinette saw the look and was worried for a moment before she remembered the betrayal of the people before her. With that in mind, she sat back and watched as her kitty started to go feral on their former friends.

"So, do you mind telling me why you decided to interrupt the very nice lunch Mari and I were having to try and attack me? Which is considered attempted assault by the way."

"You know why," Alya hissed as her fists clenched.

"Everything I said this morning was the truth," he told the reporter.

"Bull," she hissed.

"Oh?" Adrien said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "What exactly did I say that was a lie?"

"You know what you said."

"Obviously, I don't," the model replied as he folded his hands into his lap. "Why don't you enlighten me, pretend I am as ignorant as the rest of the class."

Alya glared before she started to speak.

"You humiliated Nino and Me," she spat before being interrupted by Adrien.

"But nothing I said was a lie, though. Let me ask you this, how many times have you humiliated Mari or me with your words? How many times have you embarrassed her to the point she couldn't speak?"

"That's not the point," she said as she crossed her arms.

"Oh, but it is," Adrien began as he leaned forward, "it's just one example of a very one-sided relationship between you and Mari. But that's not important now, please keep going, how else did I lie?" He asked as he sat back.

"You lied about your relationship with Lila, about the engagement after Lycée."

Adrien gave a full belly laugh before he replied, his eyes shooting to the look on Sabine's face. He just shook his head as he began to talk.

"Alya, who do you think would know better about my relationships? Me or you? Don't answer that, it's rhetorical. Me, obviously. Given that, how is it that you are suddenly the expert on my love life when you never even asked me about it and just went along with whatever Lila said?"

"Why would she lie about that?" the reporter shot back.

Adrien thought about ignoring that question but decided he needed to get his jabs in where he could.

"She lied because she is a pathological liar, Alya," he said with a sigh before he cut off any reply the reporter could make and asked another question.

"So, your attack on me was based solely on the fact that I disagreed with what Lila was claiming about my love life?"

"No," Alya added, however, some of the heat was leaving as she slowly processed his words. "You said I wasn't a friend to Marinette."

"Well, you weren't," he replied, "when Lila got Mari expelled, did you do anything to stop it, or did you just go along with it because Mari was 'jealous' of Lila? When you all rushed to my desk to congratulate me on another one of Lila's lies regarding our non-existent relationship, the others knocked Mari to the floor and almost trampled her. Did you even show a single sign of worry for her?"

"She was fine," Alya tried to brush it off.

"There you go again, not showing even an ounce of the care you should be showing for your best friend. Tell me, Alya, how do you know, how do you know she wasn't hurt when you never even looked her way once when she was knocked down?" Adrien asked, keeping his voice calm and level despite the fury building inside him. That anger would not be good for anyone as he could either get akumatized or his emotions could get the better of him and he might manifest his Chat Noir powers accidentally. "I was the one who checked on her and helped her up, she could have been bleeding for all you knew, and you didn't show a single sign of caring. You were too focused on the story that Lila told you and nothing else."

"I..."

"You what, Alya? You realized that you aren't her friend? That you stopped being her friend when Lila showed up and started spouting garbage and lies that anyone with even one-quarter of a brain would realize made no sense? Even more, everything she's claiming can be debunked by a Google search. Hell, Mari knows Jagged Stone, you could have just asked her to talk to him about Lila's claims. He would have told you it was rubbish because he is allergic to fur and has never owned a cat. But you couldn't be bothered to even check that small little thing, could you Alya? I have a news flash for you, Alya, you aren't Mari's friend, you've just been deluding yourself into thinking that the relationship you once had was the same as before, even though you constantly take the side of a stranger over your supposed best friend. Even more, you accuse that friend of being jealous when there is absolutely no reason for her to be jealous."

Adrien paused to stare at her, his mind churning with more vicious things to say, but the one he settled on was the most devastating to the reporter.

"You know," he said in a low voice as he sat back and put an arm around Marinette to comfort her, the young woman burying her face into Adrien's shoulder, so she didn't have to look at Alya, the full force of the betrayal too much to take. She had been fine earlier, but now that Alya had not only tried to assault Adrien but also was totally unrepentant about the way she'd been treating Marinette, well, it was just too much for the girl to take. "I think I'll contact Ladybug and Chat Noir and have them denounce the Ladyblog. Once they learn about all the lies that you have been believing from Lila and the fact that Lila is lying about being Ladybug's best friend, I'm sure they'll find another outlet for their interviews."

He paused for but a moment to stare at her in thought, as though an idea had just struck him.

"That's another thing, Alya, you never once stopped to ask Ladybug if Lila was, in fact, her best friend, did you? You've seen her in person tons of times since you posted that interview with Lila, why didn't you ask her to confirm it? I know why, don't bother answering, it's because you are so taken with the lies, that you want with all your heart to know the identity of Ladybug so much that you would eat up any story about someone knowing her true identity. Well, guess what Alya, I'm pretty certain you are the last person Ladybug wants to know her identity, after all, if you have no journalistic integrity and don't fact-check, what good are you as a reporter or a friend? Do you truly think you could keep her identity secret if she asked you to, or would you post it to the Ladyblog as soon as you learned it, potentially endangering her life and the lives of those around her? Think of this as a favor, Alya, by destroying the Ladyblog you'll be learning the hard truth that unless you check your facts like a reporter, you are nothing but a tabloid journalist and the Ladyblog is just a cheap tabloid rag."

He finally finished and caught the shocked look on her face, the one on Nino's face showed that he at least had taken the words to heart and was thinking about them. As for Alya, he wasn't sure what she was thinking right now, her entire mental state had shut down at his accusations and threats.

"Sabine," he finally said with a sigh, "can you please show them out? Mari and I are going to skip the rest of the day. I don't think we're in any state of mind to go back today."

"Of course, dear," she answered as she gestured the other couple out of the apartment and down the stairs. Once the door had closed he pulled Mari into his arms again and just held her as he peppered kisses all over her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a few moments of cuddles and kisses.

"No," she whispered into his chest as she buried her face into the material of his shirt. "I didn't want to believe that she truly wasn't my friend anymore. Deep down inside I had hoped it was just something temporary, but now, I just know it is over."

"I know, love," he told her as he held her and rocked her gently, placing kisses on the crown of her head. "I didn't want to believe it either, but after today I think it's safe to say that the friendship is over. She'll probably blab about us being in a relationship too, given how much I was holding you while they were here."

"If only that was the extent of our problems," came the muffled reply as she dried her tears on his shirt. "You were also kissing my head a few times."

Adrien smiled at the comment and pulled her away slightly to look into her blue eyes. He placed a gentle kiss on her nose before pulling her up and walking her to the dining room table. He sat her down and returned to the couch to retrieve their lunches just as Sabine was coming up the stairs.

She smiled when she saw the care Adrien was giving her daughter as he set her plate in front of her and moved to retrieve a cold soda from the refrigerator.

"I brought you some cake," Sabine said as she placed the slices of the marbled confection onto the table. "I know it's not much, but it'll help in a way."

Mari reached for her mother and pulled her into a loving embrace once she was close enough.

"Thank you, mama," she whispered. Sabine just rubbed her back until Marinette let her go.

"So, not to pry, but what are you both going to do about those two?" She asked as she gestured in the direction she'd taken Alya and Nino. "You both have told Tom and me so much about this Lila girl and how she'd twisted the class against you, and we all saw what she did when she got you expelled, but I didn't think it was this bad."

Adrien sighed as he fell into a chair next to Marinette, taking his sandwich in one hand he examined it before he spoke.

"That," and he gestured in the direction their former friends had gone, "was a very mild confrontation compared to others."

He continued to stare at the half-eaten sandwich in his hand, pieces of meat falling out as he waved it around. Of all the people in the world that he could trust, he felt that Sabine was one of the few he trusted explicitly. Unfortunately, he and Marinette could never share their superhero identities for everyone's safety, but he knew he could share his plans to deal with Lila.

"I've already set into motion legal proceedings against her on my and Mari's behalf, but in light of the conversation we just had, it might be time to include the others that Lila is lying about. I'll contact Nathalie to get in touch with the celebrities that Lila has been lying about and see if they want to get involved."

Putting the sandwich back onto the plate he put his head in his hands and rubbed his eyes.

"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but apparently it has."

"I know this is hard on you Adrien," Sabine said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "But I know you both will get through it and whatever you need to do to protect yourselves, Tom and I will be behind you both one hundred percent."

"Thank you, Sabine," he said as he looked at the older woman and smiled, "I wish my mother was here to meet you, I know she would have liked you very much."

Sabine was needless to say taken aback by his comment, he had only ever spoken of his mother in passing. Knowing that the boy felt that she and his mother would be friends was a glowing testament to how he felt about her.

Wrapping her arms around him she pulled him into a hug, reaching one arm out to drag a now laughing Marinette into it.

Eventually, Sabine released them both and stepped back, smiling.

"I called the school and told them you will both be out for the rest of the day. Your principal said he'd make sure your homework was all gathered for you tomorrow. Well, I must get back to the bakery, let me know if you need anything."

With that Sabine turned and moved down the stairs, brushing a tear from her eyes as she did so.

The young couple watched her go, small smiles on their faces.

"Well," Adrien began as he turned to face the love of his life, "shall we finish lunch?"

Marinette just giggled and reached for her sandwich.

.o.0.o.

Several hours later the Sedan pulled up in front of the Agreste mansion, the door opening a moment later as the Gorilla opened it for his charges.

"Thank you," Adrien said as he slid out before offering his hand to Marinette. She smiled as she took it and allowed him to help her from the car. She too thanked the bodyguard before heading up the steps to the front doors which opened at their arrival.

"Adrien," Nathalie said as she stood before the young man, "Mrs. Cheng called and informed us of the situation at lunch. I'll make sure that your homework is acquired should you decide to remain home for a few days. Ms. Dupain-Cheng, that offer goes for you as well, you are a very welcome guest in this house. Gabriel wanted me to extend an open invitation to Ms. Dupain-Cheng to come and go whenever she likes, within reason of course. He also wanted me to inform you that should you both desire it a tutor can be made available to help with any lessons you may need if you decide to remain out of school anytime in the foreseeable future."

"T-thank you," Marinette managed to get out through the shock at seeing the change in the normally aloof personal assistant.

Adrien smiled at the change in Nathalie, before, she had been hidebound and inflexible, now, she was much more open to changes. He supposed the rather abrupt way in which he took over the company might have opened her eyes, or at least allowed her to not be as worried about her image since she worked for him now.

"Thank you, Nathalie, we may take you up on that offer," he told her as they entered the house and made their way toward the dining room. "Is dinner almost ready?"

"It is," she replied, "your father is already seated and waiting. I take it that Ms. Dupain-Cheng is our special guest for the evening. Have you spoken to her about the new business dealings?"

"She is the guest, yes. I have spoken to her about a few of the changes, but not all, I was thinking we could all discuss them over dinner. I have an announcement to make to you and Father as well."

"Of course," the assistant said as she opened the door to the dining room for the young man and his lady. They all entered to see Gabriel seated with his tablet in front of him, sipping on a glass of red wine.

"Hello, Father," Adrien said as he led Marinette to the chair next to his before pulling it out and seating her before taking his chair. As he sat he noticed a tablet placed next to him, no doubt with the designs and documents he needed to look over.

As the staff began to bring out the meal, Adrien took a moment to glance around the table and smile. He had all the most important people in his life at one table for a family dinner. Nothing in the world could make him happier right now.

Soon the sound of silverware on porcelain was the only sound as the four enjoyed their meal in an awkward but companionable silence.

Once the main course had been removed and dessert and coffee were brought out Gabriel tried to start the small talk, something he was not used to.

"So, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I mean Marinette," he corrected himself as he fidgeted with his napkin, the shift in the power dynamic had left him a little frazzled and he was still trying to find his balance. "I heard you had some trouble during lunch today."

Marinette, taken aback by being addressed directly, lowered her spoon and swallowed the bite of sorbet she had taken.

"We did," she admitted as she lowered her head a bit, "a former friend of ours got into our faces about some things that Adrien had said earlier in class."

At Gabriel's look the young man explained.

"If you recall, Father, I sent Nathalie a message about the incident earlier."

"Oh yes," Gabriel replied as he placed his spoon down as well, "the PR issue we need to address."

"Yes, that one," Adrien said with a sigh, "Lila is getting to be rather troublesome. I recorded her lies, so we should be able to use those in the case. The legal team is scouring her social media for anything that we can use as libel, the slander is already taken care of. Nathalie, how do you want to address the PR aspect?"

"Regarding her specific lies about an engagement to you, at this time there is nothing to be done as we have nothing to refute the claims. The comments regarding the company and the direct communication with Gabriel are being addressed by the legal team, they find it greatly inappropriate that she would claim such a personal relationship with someone of Gabriel's age and position."

Adrien snorted as his father looked affronted by the comment on his age, Marinette even giggled.

"Well, we will let legal handle that aspect. What would we need to be able to refute the relationship claim?"

"Well, the easiest method would be if you were already in a relationship at the time she made them, we could then release an announcement. However, since she did not write her claims, just an announcement would suffice with no details necessary."

"What would an announcement like that look like?" Adrien asked as he glanced at Marinette.

"A simple announcement that you have a girlfriend and have decided to make the nature of your relationship public, it is up to you and whatever young lady you are dating if you want to divulge her name or not," Nathalie replied as she scrolled through her tablet to find the documents she needed for the business dealings she was going to bring up next.

"Let's suppose," Adrien began slowly as his eyes moved from Marinette to his father, "that I were in a relationship and had promised the girl that we would get married after Lycée, how would that change things?"

"Well," Nathalie started to answer as she absently scrolled for the documents, Gabriel on the other hand sat up rigid in his seat as his eyes went wide. "A marriage announcement would be handled similarly, given the length of time you specified there would be no need for a formal announcement other than that you are in a relationship currently. As the date you specified gets closer, a formal announcement of your engagement can be made to the media."

"I see," Adrien replied as he sat back and thought, Gabriel leaned forward slightly to try and read his son's expression.

"You are already in a relationship and made that promise, haven't you, this isn't just a hypothetical situation is it?" Gabriel asked as he sat back and took a sip of his coffee.

Adrien gave a small chuckle.

"No, it isn't," he replied as he took Marinette's hand in his own. "That was the announcement I had."

"For how long?" Gabriel asked as he set his cup down, a happiness he hadn't felt in years crawling into his heart.

"Technically, since last night," Adrien replied with a laugh, "but we both realized we've been in love with each other for years but neither of us could confess to the other. All this mess with Lila eventually pushed me to admit my feelings and she told me hers."

"When you say years, how long do you mean?" Nathalie asked from her tablet, still searching for the documents Marinette would need to sign for the Mari brand.

"In Mari's case, since we first met, the same for me," Adrien admitted with a blush as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

"We may be able to spin this to counter the lies Ms. Rossi has been telling," Nathalie said as she looked up from the tablet. "I'll have the PR department coordinate with legal and see what we can do. But for now, we have another matter to deal with."

She handed Adrien the tablet and watched as his smile grew before he placed the tablet on the table and turned to Marinette.

"So, Mari," he began as he held her hand and smiled, "how would you like to come to work for me at Agreste and get your own fashion line?"

"I…" the bluenette began as her brain stopped working, "er…"

Adrien laughed as he leaned over and kissed her cheek, drawing a blush from her.

"Remember when the news said I was getting my own line of clothes? Well, I set up a few other new lines as well, I'm going to have one for promising new talent to showcase their designs. I also created a line just for you, Mari, so you can have your own line to design how you want to."

"Adrien," the girl began as tears formed in her eyes, it was the dream she had always wanted but didn't know if it would ever happen. Now, this sweet, kind, loving boy was using his company to not only give her a chance but others who may not otherwise have a chance to make it in the industry. "I… I don't know what to say."

"Say yes, Mari," he told her as he kissed her knuckles. "I may be able to run the business side of the company, but I'll never be able to handle the design element. That's why I want to do this for you, to give you a chance to shine like I know you can, but also, I want the woman I marry to be able to tackle the design side. My father worked too hard for me to try to do it and destroy what he worked so hard to build. Mari, I want you to be my partner, not just my wife, but my partner in all things including running this company for us, and our children."

Tears came to her eyes as she nodded, leaping from her seat to wrap Adrien in her arms. Adrien smiled as he held her, just letting her cry in joy.

Once she had settled down he sat her back in her chair and slid the tablet over to her. Once she had stopped crying Nathalie began to explain the language of the contract and all the details. Once Marinette fully understood, especially the anonymity part which may be a moot point given the name of the line, she happily signed all the required documents.

Nathalie smiled as she read over the documents to make sure they were all in order, finding that they were she put the tablet away and picked up her coffee.

"Now that that's out of the way," Gabriel began as he pulled up his tablet and passed it to Adrien, "I have some initial designs for your line."

Adrien gratefully accepted the tablet and began to swipe through the designs, he commented about the elements he could recognize from modeling and Marinette added her own comments as a designer.

Gabriel could only smile slightly as he watched them, their interactions reminding him so much of himself and Emilie. At the thought of his wife, his expression turned sad, but when he looked in Nathalie's direction a small smile grew upon his face once again. The memory of the conversation they had rang through his mind even as his hand rose to subtly touch where the Peacock miraculous had once rested.

Yes, he thought as he paid attention as Marinette explained some of the various design elements that Adrien didn't know, Nathalie is right, it's time to move on and embrace what I do have and leave the past behind.