Gabriel knew he hated Félix. And no, he wasn't being dramatic. It was the fully concluded truth from years of shit delivered from his nephew. How the guy hadn't pissed anyone off enough to have his nose broken a couple of times was beyond him. He only had to look at Félix and he wanted to shove his head down the toilet and flush it.

But right now, as he stood in a white suit with 'FASHIONATOR' written on the pocket, he wanted to transform into his villainous self and send an akuma solely after the kid.

To add to the fun of the evening, he now seemed to be considered 'one of the gang', a role he'd never wanted and begrudgingly accepted.

"Looking good, my man."

He wasn't a man, and he most definitely wasn't Tony Dupain's man. He was a fully fledged gentleman of the highest order—thank you very much. And these people acting like he was 'on the level' with them were really starting to piss him off.

"You too." Gabriel responded in the politest way he could, refraining from giving Tom a two-fingered 'salute'.

The guy walked up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder with enough force to almost send him down into the floor below. He made a mental note to contact Nathalie later. He'd need a chiropractor to straighten him out — and a private detective to see if Tony was actually trying to kill him. Maybe he should sleep with one eye open tonight.

Félix's idea was that they all dress like characters from Top Gun, each with their own call names. He studied Tony's pocket: Doughboy, of course.

"So, are you ready for tonight? I'm looking forward to the famed Gabriel Agreste getting merry." Tony's laughter shook the room.

Merry, indeed.

He wanted to be merry anywhere but here — yet he'd made the promise to Nathalie he would come, especially after the embarrassment he'd caused at the engagement party. And the seating plan. And the wedding dress. It seemed each 'event' while they were here was him paying off another of his debts. After the wedding, he was well and truly done!

A knock rattled the door, Tony moving and answering it, slamming his feet together and saluting. "Yes, Sir," Tony said, Gabriel turning and noticing his son standing at the door.

Call name: 'CATWALK'

Gabriel shouldn't have been surprised. Félix hated him. Of course he would give Adrien a call name that indicated his rival and made fun of Adrien's modelling. He could only hope and pray that tonight came with an opportunity to push Félix into the canal.

Adrien laughed and stepped into their room, coming to sit on one of the beds. "You both look amazing. This was such a great idea."

"I think I could be the next Maverick, don't you think?" Tony attempted to 'catwalk' across the room, Gabriel wanting to stick his leg out and tripping the guy up.

"I feel the need..."

"The need for speed!"

Tony and Adrien started laughing, Gabriel wondering why on Earth they would want to take drugs. Is this what Marinette and her meddling family had gotten Adrien into? Hard drugs! He knew she was a bad influence. He turned his attention, ready to confront the pair — ready to stop this wedding.

"You look amazing, Pops." Adrien's nickname for Tony sent a shiver down Gabriel's spine again. How dare they be so friendly?

Tony guffawed like the Gruffalo before crossing his arms over his chest. "How about you, Son? Stand up, let's have a good look."

Son! Tony was talking like he wasn't even in the room with them. Instead it was father son bonding between Luke Skydancer and Chewbungle.

Dramatically, Adrien stood and turned around. Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a number of pictures.

Tony laughed louder as Adrien began to model between each shutter sound. Seriously, who had their phone on loud these days?

"Has anyone sent a picture to Marinette?" Tony asked.

Adrien shook his head. "Not yet. She's with the girls at a spa and I don't want to interrupt."

"Oh, my boy! I'm sure she wouldn't mind being interrupted by this." Tony tapped around on his phone, a smug smile stretching across his lips.

"You ready, Father?"

As if remembering Tony wasn't the only person in this room, Adrien came to stand alongside Gabriel. He looked in the mirror at himself and Adrien side by side. It was amazing how tall his son had grown, and how broad he was now compared to his frame in his youth. He was a strapping boy—or should he say man?

Where the hell had all the years gone?

"You look more like your mother every day." Gabriel suddenly felt a wave of emotions overtake him, only to intensify as Adrien turned and took him in his arms.

"I wish she could be here for all this. She would have loved Marinette."

Gabriel gulped, his heart aching in his chest. "Yes, she would have."

And he hated the fact he wasn't lying.

*****

Keith walked them from their hotel, past Birmingham City Hall and into the bustling nightlife of Chamberlain Square.

As they walked, Gabriel couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Here he was, well into his forties, walking around like a reject from The White Company. But what made everything worse was the additional attention Adrien and his friends were pulling.

So far, a guy had walked into a door, a girl had fallen head first into a bin, and a group of teenagers had crashed into a secondary group walking in the opposite direction. Everyone seemed to have their phones out.

Adrien hadn't modelled in years, this being one of the main reasons why he wanted to stop, and now Gabriel understood. Even if his son wasn't bothered by all this unwanted attention, he was. This was horrible.

They headed past the library, through Symphony Hall and out onto the bustling Birmingham canal. In front of them was a wrought iron bridge which led to Brindley Place.

The area was heaving with groups on nights out. Those hitting the bars before the clubs, others dining pre-show at the Utilita Arena, and a few families carrying tired children after a fun-filled day at the Sea Life Centre.

There were people of all shapes and sizes, a vast array of clientele, from those dressed classy and sophisticated, to the women on their hen weekends, laughing wildly, wearing lingerie and feather boas. The girls spotted the boys and now there was a rather obnoxious amount of photo taking with the two groups, some of the girls being a little more friendly than desired.

Finally breaking free of the group, they headed up the staircase and onto the bridge. The noise was deafening as people moved around. The lights from the bars and restaurants lit the area, guiding them to their first destination.

The Alchemist.

Keith took them to a small doorway situated between two bars, conversing with the doorman, before leading them up a flight of stairs and into a bar which could only be described as Frankenstein's lair.

Unknown concoctions steamed from test tubes, shone in syringes and bubbled in measuring cylinders...and was that one in a hip flask?

Gabriel studied the venue, as Keith made his way to a server. It seemed they had a specific area reserved for the party. Thank goodness they weren't sitting with the riff-raff.

"This is so cool!" he heard Adrien say, the rest of the guys agreeing with him as they were led towards the back, Tony and Gabriel holding up the rear.

Once again, the group pulled attention from everyone they walked past. He supposed this was just something he would have to get used to.

An hour later, Gabriel was most certainly used to it—or at least he was used to the buzz in his head. He'd managed to ignore the group, instead sitting alone with just his tray of oyster cocktails to keep him company. Since they'd arrived, emo kid's dad had arrived, striking up a conversation with Tony and the two of them spending the night leaving him out...not that he cared.

Instead, he just surrounded himself with his liquid friends and messaged Nathalie, though the last message she'd sent him was rather abrupt. Two simple words. Piss off.

Adrien and Félix were currently at the bar, looking for their next round of drinks as two girls chatted alongside them.

"Whores," Gabriel scoffed, picking up his next shot and downing it in one, his gaze remaining firmly on his son and nephew.

"Gabey baby!" Great, that's all he needed now! Tony's pop-a-sauraus rex! He snorted a laugh to himself as he grabbed the last oyster shell and tipped the liquid into his mouth. It was bright blue and overly sweet. He had the desperate need to brush his teeth from the eight he'd already downed. He looked at his watch again, wondering when it would be a convenient time to fake a headache and head back to the hotel.

"Those girls won't leave him the damn alone," Gabriel said as Tony sat beside him.

"Don't worry about it," Tony said, placing his own beaker of some kind of bubbling liquid on the table in front.

"He's going to be married soon. He shouldn't be flirting with other women. This is all Félix's fault." The words came out like venom.

"Unfortunately for those women, they're stuck with a guy who is showing them many, many photos of his soon-to-be wife. I think they've tried to leave a couple of times but then Adrien got Félix to talk about Kagami."

Gabriel didn't know if he believed that. This was Félix, after all, and he was nothing more than a bastard. He continued to watch what was happening at the bar, the girls edging backwards as Adrien and Félix were actively messing with their phones. Finally, the girls made their break, looking pissed off. And who wouldn't be? The two boys were by far the best-looking in the bar. Good genes and all. And they'd just been blown off. Ha!

"You know, that first day Marinette brought Adrien around for that gaming competition," Tony said. "I knew it was something special. But now, looking at them, I think it was even greater than I expected."

In his slightly (very much) inebriated state, Gabriel couldn't help but nod in agreement, hating every bob of his head.

"He loves her so much. Sabine and I couldn't be more grateful that she met him. They have this magical bond, almost as though they were made for each other."

Gabriel snorted. "What? Like Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Damn he must be drunk to think about those two pests. He wondered what they were doing at the moment. He was sure they wouldn't be drinking drinks out of a boot.

Talking about a boot, that was the next drink he was soooo ordering. It was all pretty and villain staff purple. He felt his eyes spark from the idea.

"Maybe. It would make sense now, thinking about it."

Tony's random statement hit him hard in the face. Gabriel sat silently for a moment, looking at his son at the bar. He had two straws shoved up his nose and was clapping like a seal. Gabriel burst out laughing. "My son! As Chat Noir! Could you imagine! He'd be too worried about messing up his hair."

Tony started to laugh, the two men getting louder and louder, pulling attention not only from their group but also from those around them. Gabriel had never heard anything so ridiculous in all his life. He wiped under his eye, removing the moisture there and wiping it on his trouser leg. He hadn't laughed like that since...since...

The tears of joy suddenly transformed into tears of sorrow. He sobbed uncontrollably.

"Hey, it's okay. Here." A tissue was pushed into his hand and he placed it against his nose, blowing it hard. He handed the tissue back to Tony, who threw it onto the table.

"You okay now?" Tony asked.

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, sorry about that. I just wished Émilie was here to see it all. She would have loved to get caught up in all this wedding crap."

"You know she'd be proud of you both, right? Especially Adrien. It couldn't have been easy for you both when she... What I'm trying to say is Adrien is amazing. He's kind, caring and considerate, and I know he makes Marinette feel like she's a princess. He's such a great boy, and I want to thank you for bringing him up to be perfect for our little lady. I know I would just crumble if anything happened to Sabine, but you carried on, bringing your boy up to be a true gentleman. That shows a lot of strength, Gabe."

It took a lot to affect Gabriel Agreste. He'd been described as a man made of stone numerous times, but tonight, hearing those words kicked him straight in the heart.

"Thank you, Tom."

He guessed the big guy might have had a little too much to drink, as suddenly he was flat out on the floor.

Tom had had a wonderful night. He'd chatted and drank, then danced and drank a little more, and by the time they had left the club, he was very much ready to crash in his hotel bed. The only issue...Gabriel Agreste.

He couldn't help but replay time and time again the moment Gabe had stopped calling him Tony and instead called him by his real name. It had knocked him for six, sending him right from his seat and onto the floor. It had only taken Adrien a couple of seconds to be by his side, lifting him up and helping him back onto his seat. Goodness, that kid had some hidden strength.

He was a hero...which only added another reason he couldn't sleep. When Gabe had come up with the whole Ladybug and Chat Noir idea, it had run circles in his head. He could totally see it. They were both courageous, bright people and worked incredibly as a pair. It made sense...too much sense.

He'd found himself studying Adrien for the rest of the night, the flashing lights and over consumption of alcohol only making it seem more and more likely as he visualised a black cat mask over his eyes.

A pin had been stuck in the idea and he was definitely coming back to it later...if he remembered, that was. But right now, he needed to figure out a way to block Gabe's ramblings. It seemed the zombie experience had taken on a whole new meaning to him.

Suddenly, the famed fashion designer started to talk in his sleep. "I can offer you everything you ever dreamed of. That flashy rolling pin and plastic baking tray."

Tom winced. If Gabriel thought he could use a plastic baking tray in the oven, there was a whole other set of issues.

"Not enough? Well, what else would you like? A Gabriel design apron? Oven gloves? Chef's hat?"

Tom chuckled. Maybe he should have a hat. He could imagine he had Remy hidden under there. The customers would love that.

"Oh, I know! A moustache net!"

Now there was an idea. Tom rolled over, looking into the darkness in the direction of Gabriel's bed, the designer continuing his rambling.

From what Tom could piece together, Gabriel wanted to create a team, and he was desperate for Tom to be a leading member. He must have been rambling in his sleep for at least an hour, going on and on about how good it would be for him. Tom had kept himself together for the most part. However, around ten minutes ago, he couldn't help but place his phone on record—and he was so glad he did. The final words out of Gabe's mouth had him laughing so hard, he was sure he'd woken the whole of the hotel floor.

"All you need to do is come to the dark side, brother... We have galette!"