A/N: Ah, feels good to get this first chapter out (although I won't be adding to this story for a while). If you're here from ABOI, welcome back everyone! If not, welcome to KIT, the second book in my weird All Because of Ice-cream trilogy! If you're confused by this I suggest reading the mess of words that is ABOI - it fills in some lovely context about KIT. BUT, I'm also making KIT kinda separate so that it makes sense as a stand alone. Saves reading the dumpster-fire that is ABOI.
I'd also like to mention that chapter two won't be posted for a while because I need to knock down my WIP story list. Think of this as a placeholder, a sign that KIT will happen but not in the near present. Hopefully it will have a second chapter by March, but we'll have to wait and see for that. (Currently I have 11 stories waiting in the WIP queue).
All that aside, enjoy the first chapter everyone! Feel free to leave a review, favourite or follow. My little author's heart will race every time I get an email about it.
Till next time,
Drama :)
Summary: One way to introduce your wonderful girlfriend to your father? Invite her to lunch. Only, that lunch turns out to ruin the rest of your lives, your two alter egos now tasked with taking down your psycho, grieving father after being shown the dead body of your missing mother. Or: when Gabriel Agreste decides to show Adrien the true fate of his mother (Sequel to ABOI).
Chapter One: Lunch
Marinette
Rocking anxiously on her heels, hands tucked behind her back, Marinette couldn't help but feel like an anxious wreck as she eyed the infamous security system to the Agreste Mansion's front gate. Last time she had been here - awkwardly recalled as Adrien's birthday, uncomfortably spluttering out something about a gift to Nathalie - that dreaded security system had been a royal pain to deal with. Pressure always made Marinette into a sweaty, garbling mess. Add in the cold and cryptic stare of Gabriel Agreste's assistant and she could be sent into straight panic mode.
That was why, even though she loved Adrien Agreste to bits, Marinette always liked to avoid coming to his home. Navigating the pesky security system, as well as his stony father and his equally icy assistant, had always been key motivators as to why Marinette tried to place a distance between herself and the mansion - at least when she was left to face them alone.
But, alas, today was one of those days where Marinette Dupain-Cheng would have to face her greatest enemy: ringing that stupid bell and talking to Nathalie over the intercom. Two simple actions. Less than five minutes of awkward garbling and sweaty hands.
But could Marinette really do it?
For Adrien, she'd have to. To not let him down, to try and make his day and make an effort to get along with his father, Marinette would have face her greatest enemy. Even if a huge part of her wanted to just call him on her phone, explain in a teeny-tiny voice that she was just too nervous for this and he should totally come and get her, pick her up and cuddle her all the way up the front drive. Yeah a huge part of her wanted that cuddle. But a huge part of her also wanted to prove her independence to Gabriel.
Sighing, Marinette decided that using the intercom would have to be her way in. To prove herself, to show that she was not intimidated by Gabriel Agreste and his flashy technology (even though she totally was), Marinette would have to face his security system. Head on.
Ringing the bell had been easy enough. Touching a button never was a hard feat - even when she was a child. For a few moments, Marinette could find herself feeling proud, saying to herself that this time it wasn't too bad. Facing the security system, pressing that button, was like ringing the buzzer for Alya's or knocking the door for Nino's: as easy as a walking along a paved street. At least it was until Nathalie appeared, professional, straight and cool as she stared at the young woman.
"Ah, Marinette," Marinette could have sworn that her heart jumped out of her chest when the gates buzzed, dramatically swinging open. Was this a sign? Was this the universe telling her to turn back, call Adrien with some lame excuse and guilt-trip him into reassuring her for the rest of the afternoon? Probably. Oh, most likely. But, for Adrien, she ignored it and took one mechanical step forward, getting closer to the mansion.
Never before had Marinette been invited over in this sort of context. Whenever she did visit Adrien at the mansion she tended to be with Alya and Nino or with some other kind of friend that was tagging along. Usually they would have some kind of project to do, or would be planning a surprise for their fellow classmates. Normally, if they were just hanging out, they wouldn't even be here. Adrien always took every opportunity he could to escape his home.
Today, though, Marinette was here. With Adrien. With his father. Probably for an extended amount of time, all sat at a table, making small talk. In any other scenario just like this, she would have overheated from anxiety. In this exact scenario she was so terrified, so worried, that she couldn't even freeze - instead she was all action with no thought.
Gabriel Agreste. Adrien Agreste. Lunch. With her - Adrien's girlfriend! Oh god, Adrien's girlfriend! She was Adrien's girlfriend... So what did that mean about Gabriel?
There were many things that Marinette both admired and disliked about Gabriel Agreste. One of his most amazing qualities was most definitely his ambition and pride, his determination to achieve his goals no matter the cost. But, on the other side, Marinette also could see how that ambition and drive harmed Adrien. Years of isolation, years of neglect and frostiness and loneliness had left Adrien as an afterthought - an extension to Gabriel's legacy.
Overall, it was no secret that most of Adrien's friends did not like how his father treated him. No doubt Gabriel was aware of Marinette's very vocal thoughts on it all. But hopefully - hopefully - that would not skew how wonderful she could be. She didn't want today to end terribly.
"Hey," Once she was up those stone steps, Adrien had more or less thrown open his front door. Excited and energetic, much like an overly ecstatic puppy, he instantly perked up upon seeing her, almost as if the drab and grey atmosphere of the mansion had been sucked away by her presence alone. With the way he had hugged her, it might as well have been. Even without words Marinette could sense that much effortlessly.
"Hey," Her voice was a quiet and timid thing as she hugged him back, balancing on her tiptoes because she simply didn't want to let go yet. Whenever she was nervous, close to tipping over the edge, Adrien kept her stable. "Sorry I'm a bit late. Dad insisted that I bring some of his newest recipe along."
"Score!" Somehow, that seemed to improve his mood even more. Not that Tom Dupain's baked goods had ever failed at brightening up Adrien's day. Whenever he came to the bakery - especially in the days when Marinette had needed help carrying her school bag around - he was always first in line for one of her father's newest experiments. "I'm totally you're dad's favourite son."
"You're not his son," Sighing, Marinette couldn't help but smile as she passed him the bag of baked treasures. Tapping him on the nose, she teased, "He said he loves you like a son."
"Which is why I'm the favourite."
"Uh hum!"
Almost as if the other was made of fire, the two instantly split apart. Back to her awkward and bumbling state, Marinette was red-cheeked as she toyed with her empty hands, sourly missing the feeling of the paper handles pressed into her palms. Adrien, better adapted to navigating such scenarios, seemed almost as ease. Almost. To those paying attention, his own anxiety could be noticed by the slight cringe to his smile.
Stood before them both was Nathalie, professional and crisp in her perfectly ironed black suit. All of her dark hair had been slicked back into its usual bun, the red streak in the front standing out like a red flare against the night sky. Amplifying the effect of her icy blue eyes were the lenses of her rectangular glasses. Behind those glasses, overall, was a face that pinched with an unreadable stoniness that unnerved Marinette to no end.
How had Adrien survived growing up around such cold and frigid people? How exactly did he turn out so lovely and warm and welcoming?
Even now, having done nothing wrong, Marinette couldn't help but feel like she had just committed a huge crime. One huge crime that was slapped right across her face, just as incriminating as a killer caught with blood on their hands.
"Your father is waiting, Adrien," Nathalie spoke, her voice more or less echoing around the empty foyer of the mansion. In her hands was a tablet, most likely to keep the tightly-packed schedule smoothly ticking over with Gabriel's temporary absence. "And do try to keep yourself behaved."
"Right," Adrien had nodded when Nathalie turned away, most likely to lurk in the shadows once more and ensure that order remained. Ever since Marinette had known Adrien that was all Nathalie seemed to do: lurk and enforce and lurk some more. Part of the woman's presence had always been unnerving for Marinette, uncomfortable and itching and prodding. Not at all bothered by Nathalie's abrupt interruption, Adrien was her complete opposite.
Smiling he turned to Marinette and laced her hand with his, "This way, Marinette."
"Oh, ok," Blinking, the young woman could only follow his direction as they disappeared into an area of the mansion she hadn't been within before.
Even though she had known Adrien ever since they were thirteen, Marinette had seen little of the Agreste mansion. Most of the time, if she did visit, the most she would see was the main hall and Adrien's room - two places that would make sense to see if you were simply a classmate working on a project. Only once had she seen the kitchen, when she and Adrien had sneaked their way in, determined to make some cookies for Alya. Everything else was a mystery; at least, it was until now.
Despite being mostly empty and modernist, along the walls, every now and then, there would be a picture. Most of the time they were of Adrien, either with his father or, even more rarely, his mother. In those pictures he seemed to be a lot happier. Smiling came quite easily to him in those pictures, matching with the kind smile his mother seemed to wear as she hugged him close. However, those pictures were few and far between. Most of them, the majority, featured an austere Gabriel and an equally as resigned Adrien.
Never before had Marinette actually seen the sheer contrast between the before and after. Like most private people, Gabriel Agreste didn't show much about life before grief and Adrien had to follow that mold.
Now, though, Marinette could see the little traces of what had been. Once upon a time, Gabriel had been someone who Adrien could rely on. Once upon a time, he had been present, had been there, to support his son. But that version of him had died the moment Adrien's mother had, shriveled and crumbled like a dried grape in the sun. All family pictures after her disappearance were bleak and dull and grey.
"Sorry about Nathalie," Adrien spoke first, falling into his usual habit of covering for his father, his frosty assistant. Scratching at the back of his head, the model sighed, "She's been a little strange lately."
"That might be my fault..." Biting her lip, Marinette rubbed at her arm, immediately feeling guilt spark in her gut. Part of her had been waiting for something like this to happen - fate usually liked to bite her in the ass for being careless. This time was surely no different.
Last week she had been a little too lazy with her grand escape from the mansion. Ladybug had been a little too careless with her meant-to-be-covert escape. That meant-to-be-covert escape resulted in Marinette locking gazes with a stunned Nathalie, face painted red as a strawberry as she gave an awkward wave and smile, dashing swiftly around the corner.
Of course, such a blunder was meant to be a secret. Too ashamed to bring it up, Marinette had simply avoided telling Adrien about the time Nathalie had caught her sneaking out of the Agreste mansion. She'd thought it would simply be a one-time thing, one awkward blunder to add to Marinette's catalog of countless awkward blunders. Alas, Marinette Dupain-Cheng could never be so lucky; it just had to come back to bite her in the ass.
"Why?" Adrien couldn't help but voice his curiosity, raising an equally confused and inquisitive brow. "Did you panic-spew again?"
Panic-spew? It had been a while since verbal diarrhea had been an issue for Marinette when it came to Nathalie. Quite the while. No, that was a tiny blip in comparison to how large of a mistake she had made a week ago.
"Well," Taking in a deep breath, Marinette could feel herself wincing as the words escaped her lips. "She might have caught me sneaking out the other day."
"So that's why my father wants to have lunch today!" Epiphany seemed to strike Adrien in the face of her gloom, his gorgeous features lighting up with clarity as he snapped his thumb and index finger together. Like a scientist who had finally solved a complex theorem, a mathematician who had cracked an impossible equation, he looked relived and accomplished with his conclusion - the complete opposite of Marinette's horror.
"Huh?" Eyes wide, jaw agape, Marinette couldn't help but make her shock obvious. Blatant. Blinking as she stopped in her tracks, the young woman failed to process what she had just heard.
Adrien, seemingly unaffected, simply shrugged as he casually explained, "He's been acting really strange lately," Not a beat was missed as Marinette came back to life, peering at him curiously, "Like really strange for him. And he suggested inviting you to lunch because he has something to discuss with us. He said it was important."
"You don't think it's a sex talk, do you?" Marinette frowned, shivering at just the thought of enduring such an awkward encounter. Gabriel Agreste had never seemed like the type to care about the small milestones like girlfriends or birthdays or first days at school. No, he had never seemed like that sort of dad. But big things, things that could ruin his prized brand baby, were things he did care about. Things like a possible scandal popping up in the tabloids.
Honestly, Marinette wouldn't blame him for thinking down that route. With how popular Adrien was, how many young women who vied for an ounce of his attention, the fashion mogul had a right to feel overprotective in that regard. One wrong move was all it would take; one tiny cell could start a whole new life. One baby Agreste would definitely flip Gabriel's entire fashion empire plans on its gigantic head.
"I really hope not," Adrien also frowned, seeming to wince at the thought. No doubt he too knew how awkward that would be, his stoic, monotonous father explaining the birds and bees. "That would be... really weird."
"No offense Adrien but your dad is really weird," Marinette responded, blunt and straight to the point with her words. "I don't think he can get any weirder."
"You're right," Nodding, Adrien seemed to agree. Yet there appeared to be some sort of thought within his eyes, a resolve that Marinette recognised as his own guarded optimism. "But I promise he'll be on his best behaviour."
"I trust you, minou," Smiling as she squeezed his hand within hers, Marinette voiced her reassurance. "You don't need to promise."
Because she had turned up today for him - not for his hermit of a father. Adrien Agreste would always be a lot more important.
Adrien
Three of them sat at the table today. Not one, not two, but three of them. Much more than the usual lone figure, poking at the plate of expensive gourmet food made only by the best staff money could possibly buy. Much more lively than the solitary boy who had lived out the majority of his teens at that table, wondering just when his father would finally join him for dinner. Three of them were around it today. One constant visitor and two new arrivals.
Sat close together, Adrien wasn't unused to Marinette being more or less glued to his hip. Whenever they were around each other - be it as superheroes or plain civilians - they both always found excuses to end up in the other's orbit. Today wasn't much different. Even with the third wheel - Adrien's father and the most crisp and austere human being on earth.
Gabriel Agreste. Fashion mogul, famed designer and definitely not a new face to either young adult. Almost like an oppressive force, his presence had the ability to make the entire room feel like it had jumped down a few degrees. Calm and professional and cool, he hadn't even dropped his austere act around his son; Gabriel had never dropped that front ever since Adrien's mother had gone missing all those years ago.
Nerves couldn't be helped when it came to being around his father. Being around his father had always made Adrien quite nervous and uncertain. Being around his father was like playing a game of four-dimensional chess, guessing what move the other was going to make.
Something as simple as lunch could never be something as simple as just lunch. Even now, years away from being thirteen, Adrien could remember exactly how he'd felt, waiting in his father's office, anticipating the latest bout of scolding. Moments like these were only created to lull Adrien into a false sense of security. Talking to him, getting to know him, was something his father only did when it suited him - when Adrien's behaviour affected the brand.
Maybe that was why he wasn't all too surprised when the first thing his father mentioned was something about fashion. Everything about him had to be about the brand.
"So," Clearing his throat, the older man seemed to be deep within thought as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Frigid grey eyes fixed onto his latest target, "I hear that Marinette is a designer."
"Yes," Careful with his words, Adrien nodded. This conversation could go one of two ways; right now he had the power to dictate whether it ended well or completely horribly. "And she's really good at it."
"Although I'm not as great as you!" Chuckling nervously, a blush spread across her freckled nose as Marinette flashed her famous cringe-smile - a sign of her own tangled nerves. Focusing on the reaction of the older man she added, "I just have a huge passion for it."
Even though he knew what she was doing (carefully building up a defense), Adrien couldn't help but frown a little at Marinette's casual dismissal. What she said wasn't a lie. Designing was a passion of hers, something she liked to do. But it seemed, like him, she would bury all shreds of hope she held within herself in order to keep his father happy. Like him, Marinette walked on fine eggshells around Gabriel Agreste.
Even if you thought you held control, he was the one directing the conversation. Everything he said mattered; what you said was simply a response or prompt - nothing special compared to his own rare acknowledgment of them.
"From what I've seen," Gabriel continued, acting as if such his own recognition was nothing major. Just another typical thing from another typical day. Not at all something rare and unexpected and definitely not noticed. "Your work is excellent," Frowning a little, the man paused as he folded his hands resting his chin upon them, "Would you consider interning at Agreste fashion?"
"Would I..." Beside Adrien, Marinette was frozen. Buffering. Not a single action could be processed by her brain as she gawked at Gabriel, turned to Adrien, turned back to Gabriel, and blinked. "I... I'd love to! But- "
"There's no buts when it comes to family," Smiling - no, laughing - Gabriel seemed to be amused by her reaction as sat across from them.
From his seat, Adrien couldn't help but feel confused, lost and also really skeptical of what was going on. Acting like this was never a usual behaviour for his father - not since his mother died. The last time he had ever cracked a genuine smile around Adrien had been almost seven years ago, marked by the beginning of his mother's mystery illness and his father's increasing reclusive nature. Ever since then, Gabriel Agreste had been all stone and severity. Being human, acting human, was something he lost years ago.
Now, though, he seemed to be doing a pretty good job at acting human. Giving up time for his son, genuinely showing an interest in Marinette - and by extension Adrien, his father was breaking all of his usual rules. None of his normal behaviour patterns followed this path.
So why was he deviating from them? Why was Gabriel Agreste suddenly acting so... so fatherly?
As if to answer the questions brewing within Adrien's brain, Nathalie came onto the room, her steps silent despite the slight heel to her shoes. Holding the infamous tablet in her hands, she had a severe look in her eyes as she approached the table. No doubt this marked the beginning of the end of the conversation; something more important would conveniently make its way into the room, demand Adrien's father's attention.
All the pieces were there to suggest as much: Nathalie, the tablet, Gabriel turning his attention to her. But, when Nathalie stopped by his side, passed the tablet into his hands, Adrien couldn't help but feel surprised by the expression that sat upon his father's face.
"A call for you, Mr Agreste," Nathalie explained, nodding toward the tablet that was now in his hands. "There's something that the investors would like to discuss with you about the latest launch."
"Tell them I am occupied and will take it later," Passing back the tablet, Gabriel stunned not one, not two, but all three other people within the room. It was a good thing that they hadn't started eating yet because Adrien would have definitely choked on it. Was he hearing thins correctly? Was his father mentally sane? He never passed up work! Not even when his own son was clearly crying out for his attention.
"I'm attending to important matters," Continuing on as if his announcement was nothing major, the designer was calm and collected as he smoothed out his necktie. "I'll get back to them later. If it is urgent, then request they send an email and I'll read through it once I'm finished here."
"Yes, Sir," Nodding, Nathalie immediately scurried away, looking quite shaken up and uncertain as she left.
Unable to grasp what had happened himself, Adrien was reduced to a stunned, silent figure. Eyes wide - but not wide enough to give away his surprise - he looked at his father with a mind that couldn't decipher exactly what his angle was in all of this. What exactly did he want to gain from this? What exactly was his aim through doing this, through making Adrien believe once again that he was truly trying to care?
Honestly, as he sat there, trying to figure out the cryptic puzzle that his father was, Adrien couldn't come up with anything. At all. Instead, just like Marinette, he was reduced to silent shock - his face saying it all in the presence of his silence.
"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Clearing his throat, Gabriel Agreste brought all attention back to himself once more. Sharing eye contact with both young adults, he grew a familiar expression that they had seen many times upon his face. "I have a favour to ask of you both."
"A favour?" Blinking, Adrien slowly came back to life. Frowning, he couldn't hide the crinkle to his brow, the blatant concern that raised at just the idea of Marinette becoming involved with whatever shenanigans his father had planned for the future. Never good ever came from doing favours for his father - whether they were voluntary or forced in their delivery.
Favours to Gabriel Agreste were always favours that ended up being more strenuous on the other party. There was near-no benefit for them. There was no true gain. Andre Bourgeois had learned that the difficult way, his campaigns sponsored by Gabriel himself always ending with some sort of scandal or mass protest. Before anyone else, Adrien's father would always place himself first; even if he knew that saving his own skin was the wrong thing to do.
"Yes," Nodding, Gabriel confirmed his words. Pushing away from the table, he came to a smooth and almost robotic stand. "But before we can move forward, I have to show you both something first."
Following his father, Adrien couldn't help but feel the dread and anxiety twisting within his gut. Even when Marinette had flashed him a reassuring smile, squeezing his hand in hers, all Adrien could feel was dread, a horrible sense of foreboding anxiety. If his father wanted something from him then it couldn't be something good - it was never something good. But with the abrupt announcement and the strange behaviour, Adrien's senses were on high alert.
Something was up. Something ominous and foreboding and definitely not expected.
"Something strange is happening," Voice almost a whisper, Marinette grabbed Adrien's attention as they followed his father around the almost maze-like halls of the mansion. Around his hand, her grip was tight - a small tell to her gathering nerves that were no doubt hinging on entering panic mode.
None of this was probably assuring for Marinette - heck, Adrien was feeling unnerved and he was used to his father's strange behaviour! Obvious, blatant, there was something going on behind the scenes in Gabriel Agreste's mind. Bleeding into his behaviour, changing his normal patterns, this thing was making him act strange. This thing - whatever it was - had caused his sudden need to meet Marinette, his sudden interest in Adrien.
Even with so little of the truth laid out to him, Adrien could tell that his father wanted something from him and Marinette. There was something, something he wanted, that had driven him to this point today. Whether that thing was good or bad was the true question plaguing Adrien's mind.
"I'd love to say that you're wrong," Focusing on his father's figure, as perfect and pristine as always, Adrien couldn't help but grimace. "But I know him too well to think otherwise. He's up to something."
"You don't think he's planning something horrible, right?" Matching his grimace, Marinette frowned as she also focused on the older Agreste. Up ahead, he had stopped, waiting for them at the door to his infamous study. Words weren't needed for Adrien to communicate what that room usually meant. With how long she had known him for, Marinette already knew what it meant.
"Honestly," Releasing a sigh, Adrien tried to clear his mind of all stormy thoughts, of all the unpleasant memories associated with that one room. "When it comes to my father, everything's a mystery."
Nothing else could be shared after that. With Gabriel waiting, raising a curious brow in their direction, both Adrien and Marinette knew that they had a spectator. Every word would be heard by him, used for further onslaught if that was his intentions today. For them, in this moment, it was better to remain relatively silent and polite. Just like a court of law, anything they said could and would probably be used against them.
"I'm going to show you both why I've been so isolated recently," His hand fixed to the doorknob, Gabriel opened up the pathway into his study. "But you must keep this a secret."
Yep, the alarm bells were definitely ringing in Adrien's skull. Stood in his father's study, watching as his father approached the age-old portrait of his mother, the blonde knew something major was about to occur. Call it a sixth sense - almost like that weird tingle that all superheroes seemed to get. That sense, powerful and potent and prominent, made hairs raise on the back of his neck as his father placed a hand on the portrait's frame.
Golden and perfect, that portrait had remained on his father's wall ever since Adrien could remember. Since his mother had been a fan of Gustav Klimt, his father had gotten it as an anniversary gift - something to cheer her up when the sickness began to sink in. But it had always been on that wall; it had always been over the secret vault that Adrien's father had yet to tell him about.
Today, though, the vault didn't seem to be the secret Gabriel was revealing. Smoothly, the designer's fingers rested over three buttons - ones that Adrien had never seen before. Only the vault had been revealed to him, hiding away the book that Ladybug had lost as well as other strange items. But it seemed his mother's portrait hid more than just the vault; his father had been using it to hide all of his large and physical secrets. Apparently, that also included an entire secret room.
"I'd suggest that you both stand there," Nodding toward a spot in the room, now outlined with a thin black circle, Gabriel spoke. His fingers still hovered over the buttons. "Once I push these, the window of time to act is short."
Sharing a glance with Marinette, Adrien signaled his own actions would mirror hers. She seemed to send the same message back as she nodded, stepping forward but not toward the circle. Instead she was approaching the reclusive designer himself. Anyone with eyes could see that she was hesitant to follow the strange man's instructions.
"Mr Agreste- "
"All questions will be answered in due time," Cutting her off, sharp and crisp and precise, Gabriel spared a fleeting glance at them both. Only, unlike usual, it was filled with something Adrien hadn't caught a glimpse of in years: desperation. "But first you have to see this. It will make everything else make sense."
None of them could think of any arguments to his words. All words dried up and his senses fried, Adrien couldn't think of much else to do but follow his father's instructions. And, unwilling to let him face the unknown alone, Marinette had effortlessly joined him. Frowning as she stared skeptically at Gabriel, her brain definitely trying to pick apart at his intentions, she was definitely letting her inner-Ladybug take over.
Sometimes - Adrien had noticed - it was a subconscious thing. Slipping into mannerisms gained by being a superhero were just natural mistakes that they both made. But ever since finding out the truth, who Ladybug was beneath the mask, he couldn't help but find it uncanny - ironic even. How the hell did they both not notice how similar they were to their alter ego?
Noticing the change in scenery wasn't an easy feat for Adrien. When his father's office had warped into some kind of elevator, framed with glass and filling with light the lower down they went, he had only noticed because of the stark brightness and Marinette's tense squeeze to his hand. Even though he could feel that he was moving, was heading somewhere unknown, Adrien just couldn't register it. Not at that moment.
One thing he did register was how open and bright this new place seemed to be. Completely opposite to the dreary mansion, this underground room was spacious and open and filled with natural, warm light. Golden - like pure beams of the sun itself - it streamed through the glass panels that were someplace overhead, lighting up the mossy ground and what was most definitely a catwalk stretching across a huge chasm.
Unlike the rest of the mansion, this place seemed lively. With white butterflies flitting about, drifting from flower to flower, it seemed like the complete opposite to what his father would have liked. Strict and draconian, Gabriel Agreste had never been the sort of man to take a liking to gardening or butterflies. That had all been Adrien's mother, her input when she had been around to make those changes.
But why was it here? Why was it here now? Why was his father showing Adrien this?
"Why are we here?" Her hand tight around Adrien's, Marinette did not look happy as she shot a glare towards Gabriel. Standing in front of him, blocking the pathway leading toward the metal catwalk, she seemed to be acting like a human wall as she confronted the stony patriarch. "I think you know as well as I do that bringing us down here isn't a good idea!"
"I think you know it's quite the opposite, Marinette," Calm and collected, Gabriel was unphased by her harsh snap as he stared ahead. Unseeing. Unmoving. Frozen in time, almost taken back to when he was a happier man, he wore something akin to a light smile as he bathed in the golden light of the chamber. "You know exactly why I brought you both down here. There is something that I need to be done and only you and Adrien can do it."
Blinking at his father's words, Adrien couldn't help but feel his stomach knot. Those words had only ever left his father's lips whenever he had something particularly sinister planned - usually involving some kind of manipulation or subtle blackmail. Needing Adrien for something often translated into him doing something to further the brand; making him feel special was a way of keeping him passive and placated.
But Marinette? Why would she need to be involved in whatever this weird project of his father's was? Why would she need to see this? Why would she be down here and feel so outraged just by being brought into this weird, obscure project?
There was something going on. Something even Marinette couldn't communicate to him. From her body language cues alone Adrien could tell that it was tied to whatever was across that catwalk, blocked by her fierce and tiny figure, and stared at by his father.
Bypassing Marinette as she began to fall into a tiny rant, poking an accusing finger right at Gabriel's face, Adrien made his way across the catwalk. Silently, it groaned, shifting just the slightest from his additional weight.
Just like some kind of gateway into a fairy tale realm, halfway along the catwalk, moss began to sprout across its railings, speckled with white butterflies that flitted in the air as he passed. That moss soon bloomed into small flowers - ones that Adrien recognised as daisies, flowers his mother had loved. New beginnings, she had told him oh-so-many times, daisies represented a fresh start, a new story to start from anew.
Even after all these years, his father still seemed to remember those things. Locked away, it seemed, beneath the dreary mansion - his own grave on earth ever since Adrien's mother had died - Gabriel Agreste kept all aspects of his life buried beneath his home. Restless and hollow, an empty echo of the man he once was, he appeared to be obsessed with keeping what little spark of life he had left. Small traces of Adrien's mother.
To an extent, Adrien could understand why his father would go to these lengths. Creating an entire secret room, trying to keep her alive through her memory, was a wonderful way to try and channel his grief.
But what he didn't expect was to find his mother on the other side of the catwalk.
"Mother..." Words could not escape Adrien as he stared at her, protected by a wall of glass, suspended in what must have been some kind of impossible - hell, maybe even illegal - way.
Time had not passed for her. Not a second seemed to have affected her since Adrien had last seen her alive. Perfect and pristine, her blonde hair was swept over her shoulder, still curled at the ends. Wrinkles and age had not touched her face in ways that it had pressed and pinched at his father's. Not even a single crease nor fold had found a way to imprint itself into her suit - the material still as smooth and seamless as Adrien had remembered it to be years ago.
Doubts didn't have to be there - not with the blaring, crushing truth displayed before Adrien's very own his. For the past four years, believing that his mother was well and truly gone, she had been down here, preserved, maybe even kept alive, by none other than his own father. Gabriel Agreste. Who had kept it secret from everyone.
"Adrien!" Scrambling over her own two feet, eyes wide and filled with panic as she left Gabriel in the dust, Marinette raced to his side. Anxiety played on her features, gnawing at her lip and furrowing her brows as she grew awkward and bumbling. Overly cautious. "I - You..."
Every word that filled the air felt like slush to him. All that filled his head was noise, but not good the kind. Grating, blaring and crashing, it was like a jumble of a million different things, tugging at his eardrums and ringing in his ears. Before his eyes Marinette was trying to explain something, frowning and gesticulating and repeating something important that must have been about what they should do next. In the background of her panic, his father remained, sticking to the shadows as his piercing blue-grey eyes stared right at him.
Without words, Adrien knew what his father was saying in that moment: your mother is here; she is alive; there is something only you can do to bring her back.
That something, tied to the heavy, itching silver of his miraculous, was something dangerous to do. Maybe that was what Marinette was warning about, her face pressed with anxiety as she looked at him with concerned, crinkling eyes. Pinching at her forehead, scrunching at her nose, all angles of this current situation led to it being seen as a bad one; using the wish now would not be a good idea, even with its noble intentions.
Nevertheless, Adrien could feel his father's stare. No words were uttered by no words were needed. Just the stare alone could make him feel pinned, make him feel crushed, by the pressure of his father's expectations. Especially since this moment, the chance to bring his mother back to life, had always been a wish he had wasted on a million pointless shooting stars.
Now, though, staring at the physical evidence, unable to fully process what was really going on, all Adrien felt was sick. Bubbling, churning, frothing bile that wanted burn its path through all his systems as he let it out into the world.
"We're leaving," Was all Adrien managed to say, eventually gaining some functionality as he dragged himself away from the glass coffin. As if it was nothing, he had brushed past his father, not even sparing a second glance at him. Honestly, Adrien couldn't stomach it.
"Just consider it," Gabriel spoke out, his voice a quiet echo within the vast halls of his chamber, his eternal shrine to his one true love. "Please."
As he and Marinette left the room behind, going up the creepy elevator once more, Adrien couldn't help but shiver. Never before in his life had his father ever begged him for anything. Never before had he ever said the word 'please' to his son. But, in that moment, a desperate and broken man, clinging onto his fraying string of hope, Gabriel Agreste had begged. Gabriel Agreste had pleaded with his son. And, in that moment, where his father had needed him most, Adrien had turned away.
Bringing back his mother, granting that wish, would never bring his father back to life. In the end, that was all Adrien had ever wanted, ever since his father buried his life along with his mother's death.