"How well do you know my son and what is your relationship with him?"

Marinette sputtered her drink while Adrien choked on his food at Gabriel's question.

"Mo - Monsieur Agreste, I-I'm - "

"Père!" the blond exclaimed violently. "Marinette is my friend and she's here to deliver my homework!"

"If that's the case, then why is she here for dinner?" he asked coolly.

Both teenagers, as well as Nathalie and the chef, looked at bustling leaves and heavy downpours outside the windows. As if on cue, the lightning immediately flashed on the glass, followed by a rumbling thunder.

The pig-tailed girl slowly rose up from her seat. "I - It's alright, Adrien. I - I can ma - manage to go home - "

"No, you can't. I already called your parents that you will be staying here until the weather subsides," Adrien reached for her backpack before she could grab it, then gave his father a steely glare. "Père!"

The man took a sip of his tea and sighed "Go back to your seat, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I was only asking about Adrien's welfare, not telling you to leave."

"O - oh, Okay," she sat down meekly with slumped shoulders.

"Same goes to you, Adrien. You may now drop her bag and wipe that angry face of yours. I have no plans sending her home with this kind of nasty weather."

"Oui," his son bowed his head glumly as he returned to his seat obediently.

Marinette wasn't supposed to stay for dinner.

Adrien has been pulled out from their afternoon class that day for an emergency photo shoot. There was a slight alteration in the jacket design, and since the promotional ads were scheduled to be released tomorrow morning, the Marketing Team had to re-shoot the models and rush the production.

The photo shoot ended around seven, so Marinette being the class president, was obliged to give Adrien his homework that will be due the next day. She wasn't expecting that the blond was at home and that she'll be caught in the storm before she could leave the premise.

And Adrien, being a good friend, invited her to stay for dinner.

"Apologies for my son's extreme outburst," the tycoon said nonchalantly. "He took not only his mother's features but also her brash attitude."

Adrien blushed profusely while Marinette did not make any comments.

"As I was saying a while ago," Gabriel went on. "How well do you know Adrien?'

The girl dropped her gaze at the untouched cutlery then chewed her lower lip. "A - Adrien is my classmate since the beginning of the school year. He - he sits in front of me, and he - he's a good friend."

"A good friend, huh. A good friend who happened to be his accomplice whenever he runs away from home?"

"Père! Leave Marinette to this! I was the one who dragged her to the theater - "

Adrien almost bit his tongue when his father held up a hand, telling him to shut up. "I'm not done talking here, Adrien. And I don't like you hissing at me. Now, Mlle. Marinette Dupain-Cheng...can I just call you Marinette?"

She nodded briskly.

"Marinette, were you the one who organized a Christmas visit for my son after he ran away from home?"

She glanced at her friend for a second then answered "Oui."

"And if my memory serves right, were you the one who won my bowler hat contest that was held at my son's school?"

"You - you are co - correct, Mo - Monsieur Agre - "

"Gabriel," he interjected firmly. "Just call me, Gabriel."

She blushed. "O - Okay, Monsieur Gabriel."

The man pursed a smile. "I'll let you slide on the 'Monsieur'. Also, you don't need to be afraid of me, Marinette. You don't have a Miraculous that I could steal there, do you?"

The pig-tailed girl clenched her fists around the strap of her pouch that was hidden under the table. She didn't flinch when she met her icy orbs, and was able to hide her mortification by feigning ignorance.

Gabriel averted his gaze to look at the fuming blond boy "How about you, Adrien? How well do you know this lady?"

"Just enough to know that she's an amazing, talented and sweet kind of girl. A girl that deserves to be treated like a Princess." he responded promptly then stood up. "Now if you may excuse me, I need to send this lady home now since the rain already stopped. I made a promise that she'll be back before her curfew. Let's go, Marinette."

Marinette made a short bow gesture to the adults then followed the blond in silence.

Gabriel eyed how his son whispered something in her pierced ear and how he reached for her hand and held it gently as they exited the room.

"Nathalie?"

His bespectacled secretary emerged from his side. "Yes, Sir?"

"Are you sure that those two are still not dating?" the fashion tycoon asked.

"As far as I can tell," she muttered, adjusting her glasses. "They're not seeing anyone at this moment."

"Too bad." he frowned. "I like her."

Nathalie's brow perked up. "You're giving Mlle. Dupain-Cheng your own seal of approval?"

"Why not? She has all the traits I want for a daughter," he shrugged casually then reclined his back to his seat. "My son is just too dim-witted to realize his obliviousness."

"Must be in the genes, Sir."

.

.

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Bonus: "Marieur, Je suis le Papillion. I have felt your agony of seeing star-crossed lovers that are too blind to see what's in front of them. You have my sympathies on that for I have experienced one myself. Now if you give me the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous, I will grant your utmost wish to connect the red string of fate to...wait a dang minute, Adrien and Marinette?!"