Gabriel tapped his chin, thinking very deeply. He inspected the summer casual outfit Marinette had placed on Adrien. It complimented him very well, she thought.

She was impatiently waiting for the reaction to appear on Gabriel's face. Her heart was beating rapidly.

"I like it," he finally said, causing Marinette to exhale a sigh of relief. Gabriel circled around his son, taking note of every detail of the outfit. "It is simple, but trendy. Well done."

"Thank you so much," Marinette said happily. To be honest, she wasn't sure Gabriel would like it. She was glad she took the risk and changed it up a little.

"That's all for now," Gabriel nodded. "I feel I understand where you're coming from."

Adrien walked over to Marinette and gave her a quick wink. She almost passed out.

"We'll take a quick break and then jump back into things," Gabriel said, looking between her and Adrien. He turned around, walked down the hallway and into another room.

"Great job, Marinette," Adrien smiled. "You've definitely impressed my father."

"You have no idea how nervous I was," Marinette said quietly, smiling. "But thank you."

"If anything, I'd say this internship may last a bit longer based on how much my father likes your style."

"Maybe, unless I ruin things in the worst way possible," Marinette laughed. She walked over to the couch and sat down, remaining calm and collected.

Adrien leaned up against the wall across from her, crossing his arms. "That could never happen," he said confidently, flashing her another toothy grin.

"I-I don't know," Marinette stuttered, starting to feel the debilitating effects of the signature Agreste smile. "You of all people should know I am the most clumsiest person in the world."

"Really? I've never noticed," Adrien grinned sarcastically.

Marinette had never wanted to harm a hair on Adrien's body before, but for some reason, she did now. Maybe it was because of that sarcasm in his voice? Or the cheeky grin plastered on his face?

Adrien noticed Marinette was thinking hard, and he internally panicked. He was so comfortable around Marinette that he accidently started to act like Chat Noir! Tone it down, he thought to himself.

"So," Adrien quickly said, uncrossing his arms. He needed to change the subject. "You don't have any questions about this internship at all?"

"Actually," Marinette replied, standing up. She crossed her arms and put on her best detective look. "I heard your father say something about strictly staying in this room. Why?"

"Oh," Adrien said. He looked down the hallway. "He probably means that his employees are busy working in the other rooms and doesn't want us to disturb them."

"Oh," Marinette blinked. "That's probably it. I was just curious."

Gabriel suddenly appeared from the end of the hallway and walked back into the lounge room.

"Ready to begin the next part of your internship?" Gabriel asked Marinette.

"Uh, sure," Marinette smiled.

Gabriel glanced to Adrien. "You may change back into your regular clothes."

Adrien nodded, glancing to Marinette. "Be back in a few." He then jogged away.

"So, now you are going to design an actual outfit for me," Gabriel stated, turning around and grabbing a clipboard off the desk. He flipped through the pages. The pages held many of Gabriel's infamous designs. He stopped at the blank page on top of the other papers. "This is your canvas. Design something trendy for me." He handed her the clipboard along with a pencil. He then crossed his arms behind his back, giving her a stern look. "I trust that you will be responsible with the possession of my designs, Miss. Marinette."

"Of course," Marinette said confidently.

"Good luck," he nodded to her.

"Thanks," she replied as Gabriel walked away. Staring at the clipboard in her hands, her mind drew a complete blank. Knowing that, in her hands, were all of Gabriel's priceless designs astonished her. Suddenly, it was as if all of her design ideas had vanished from her brain. The nervousness was definitely getting to her.

She attempted to retrieve some of her lost ideas by looking around at her surroundings; surely something would jog her memory. Her eyes darted to the leaves outside. They rustled ferociously with the wind. Sure looked cold...

A scarf!

Marinette began scribbling excitedly on the paper, smiling as she did so. She now remembered that she had wanted to design a thick scarf with a trendy bow attached to it and-

"How's it going?" Adrien quietly asked from behind her, giving her a mini heart attack. He placed his hands on her shoulders as if to warn her he was there.

"U-uh, well-" Marinette stuttered. Her eyes glanced to the paper. The scarf was a rough sketch, but it had many intricate details.

Adrien pointed to the design, widening his eyes. He was hovering closely above Marinette's right shoulder. She felt like she was gonna pass out.

"That's really good," Adrien complimented.

Marinette could feel his warm breath on her neck as he spoke these words. In turn, she couldn't form hers.

"T-Thanks y-you," Marinette stammered, her heart racing.

Adrien quickly backed away. "Sorry I kinda snuck up on you like that," he laughed. "You looked like you were really into your design. I didn't wanna ruin the moment."

"I-It's okay," she said, quickly turning around to meet his gaze. Unfortunately, this action was a mistake.

She spun too fast and ended up hitting her arm on the table beside her, causing the clipboard full of papers to fall out of her hands and crash to the ground. An explosion of papers filled the room. Gabriel's important designs had been strewn all across the floor.

"No!" Marinette exclaimed. She held her face in distress. "I'm such a klutz!"

Adrien sprang into action. He bent down and began picking up the papers. "It's okay, Marinette. We all make mistakes." He flashed her a soft smile and her heart melted.

But her heart quickly froze.

"What happened here?" Gabriel's stern voice boomed.

Marinette quickly spun around, her face etched in shame. "I'm sorry, Monsieur."

"You did this, Miss. Marinette?" Gabriel asked. Even thought his face was void of emotion, Marinette could still hear the anger in his words.

Marinette opened her mouth to speak when Adrien stepped in.

"No, father. I did," he stated, standing up with a pile of papers in his hands.

Marinette's heart shattered. He couldn't do this!

"No, Monsieur-" she protested, but Adrien cut her off again.

"I was meddling while she was trying to design. I accidentally bumped into her. It's all my fault," he said, very convincingly. His voice was devoid of emotion. "I'm sorry."

Marinette couldn't speak. She was frozen in shock.

"Well, young man. I'm very disappointed in you. You know better," Gabriel said, shaking his head. "Clean this mess up and then we will talk later." He walked away down the hallway, hands crossed behind his back.

Adrien knelt down and continued picking up the papers.

Marinette quickly joined him. "You didn't have to do that," she whispered.

"Yes I did," Adrien replied, forcing a smile.

"No," she replied firmly. "This isn't right. I shouldn't have let you take the blame."

"Marinette, I care about you. I don't want your chances of being my father's intern ruined because of a silly accident."

Marinette's heart skipped a beat. "..And I don't want you and your father's relationship to be tarnished."

"Its fine. It's been tarnished for a long time..."

Marinette's eyes began to water. There was a deeper problem here. "Adrien..."

"Its okay," Adrien said, forcing another smile. He gathered a pile of papers and began straightening them out. Marinette followed these instructions.

"No, it's not okay," she whispered, staring at the ground.

She immediately stood up and jogged out of the lounge room and down the hallway. Adrien called out to her as she ran away, but she ignored him. She needed to make this right.

"Monsieur Agreste!" she yelled, her voice echoing down the long hallway. "I need to talk to you!"

She traveled to the other side of the building. She thought she remembered Gabriel saying something around this side of the building... but she couldn't remember.

"Monsieur!" she yelled again. "It's important!"

She was met with another connecting hallway. However, this one seemed much more dark and eerie.

Marinette scanned for any open doors. She then came across a door that had a white sign on it that read, DO NOT ENTER.

"Monsieur?" she asked, knocking on the door. "I need-"

The door slowly creaked open. It was very dark inside, almost a dark purple tint, and Marinette could see Monsieur Agreste's face appear through the door crack. He quickly opened the door all the way and then stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him.

"I thought I told you not to roam on this side of the building," Gabriel inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"R-Right," Marinette suddenly remembered. She then furrowed her brows and spoke confidently. "But I need to talk to you. Adrien was not the one who made the mess. I did."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," Marinette replied confidently. "It was an accident, sir, and I completely understand if you're going to end my internship."

"That's outrageous. I wouldn't end my internship with you over an accident," Gabriel said. He began to rub his chin thoughtfully. "In fact, you remind me of someone..."

"Ah, nevermind," Gabriel then stated. "Thank you for your honesty, Marinette. I assume Adrien was just trying to protect you which is admirable as well, I suppose." He checked the wall clock. "Looks like our time together is over."

"Oh, I didn't even notice," Marinette laughed.

"Very well, then. Thank you for coming," Gabriel said, showing Marinette to the door.

"Thank you for giving me such an amazing opportunity," Marinette nodded.

Gabriel opened the door for her and she made her way out.

"Wait! Marinette!" Adrien called out to her as she was leaving.

She turned around and met his gaze. He walked up to her and smiled, a faint blush on his cheeks. Her confidence and determination reminded him of someone, too... "Thanks," he whispered sincerely.

Marinette internally squealed with excitement. "No problem," she replied. She waved once more and exited the building, wanting to scream with happiness! The day hadn't turned out so bad after all.

Alya and a taxi were waiting for her on the street. "So, how'd it go?" the brunette asked her.

Marinette just smiled a toothy grin in response.