Chapter Text
During all of his career, Gabriel Agreste had received threats. In the beginning it was from rivals, usually meaningless threats in the spur of a moment that no one meant to go through with and that were taken back when the rage settled. Gabriel himself had, on occasion, threatened a rival when filled with wrath or devastation over a designing competition not going his way, and he knew that passionate people had a tendency to act, or speak, on impulses. And most of the time, the threats turned into apologies, because most people didn’t mean it. While he might have been cold-hearted concerning his career, he always apologized for his threats to others, because that’s something you simply do. He was above threatening others and not apologizing.
Gabriel was used to it. And as his name became more famous, more influential, he started receiving more serious, anonymous threats. In his own opinion, he handled those threats well, not letting them scare him and simply shrugging it off.
When he got married, he took things more seriously, as his wife started receiving threats. Gabriel’s first step was to hire a bodyguard for Adele, to ensure she would feel safe. Of course, she forced him to hire a bodyguard for himself too. He also started reporting each and every threat to the police, in case something happened to him or, God forbid, Adele.
When Adele announced that she was pregnant, Gabriel updated the house with a more advanced security system, and also hired a third bodyguard. By this time, Gabriel had already experienced several attempts on his life, and he felt the need to protect his wife and their unborn child at all costs.
When Adrien was three years old, someone tried to kidnap him for the first time. Gabriel and Adele were devastated, but also thankful that Michel, nicknamed Gorilla by the small child, had proved himself to be an excellent bodyguard and stopped the kidnapper just in time. Gabriel immediately appointed Michel as Adrien’s personal bodyguard, having the large man at Adrien’s side any time the child left home. He also decided that Adrien would be homeschooled at this point.
When Adele had disappeared, Gabriel had hired a private detective to find her, but to no avail. The private eye couldn’t tell if she had gone willingly or if someone else had done something to her, but since no demands for a ransom showed up, Gabriel assumed that she had left on her own accords. He increased security though, just to be sure nothing would happen to Adrien.
Despite Gabriel Agreste’s effort to keep his son safe, things went wrong.
Adrien had forgotten all about how he was almost kidnapped when he was three. Maybe it was for the best, regarding the boy’s mental health, but it made him quite naive. As long as he could remember, Adrien had thought it was very unnecessary for him to be guarded by Gorilla at all times. As far as he knew, nothing had ever happened to him, and not to his father either. It was true that his mother had disappeared, but Gabriel had informed Adrien that he believed it was her own choice, and that it seemed like nothing serious had happened to her. Adrien didn’t know of any threats his father received, which Gabriel had kept secret from his son, even as he was taken out of homeschooling. Adrien simply didn’t know how terrible humans could be, and never learnt that during school.
“Ugh, I’m going to be late!”
The blonde man was running towards the Eiffel tower with a croissant in his mouth. He had gotten up earlier than usual to sneak past his bodyguard. It didn’t matter to Gabriel Agreste that his son was 20 and living in his own apartment, he still forced the young man to keep Gorilla around, namely in the apartment next door, and to never go out without him. The bodyguard had far too good hearing, and when he was awake he always heard if Adrien headed out, even if he tried to leave through a window.
However, this morning Adrien had outsmarted his bodyguard, at the expense of not eating breakfast, so he had headed to the Dupain-Cheng bakery for a morning croissant, greeting his old classmate Marinette quickly before continuing on his journey. He had plans to meet with Nino at the Eiffel tower, and his detour to the bakery had made him late. Hence Adrien running like a madman.
Thankfully, he wasn’t too late when he had the foot of the monument, and also Nino, in sight. Adrien waved at Nino, and started making his way toward him. Well, I have to explain and apologize for being late. Should I tell him I stopped by Marinette’s? He always gets a bit weird when I talk about her… Maybe not.
Adrien was lost in thought and didn’t notice when a man in a hoodie started making his way toward the blonde. However, Nino noticed it. What is that guy doing? The musician started walking toward Adrien too. I have a weird feeling about him . The blonde man looked up at his friend, waving again, as the hooded guy had closed the distance between them substantially.
Why are you getting so close to Adrien? Nino, who was not quite as close to Adrien yet, started running, the weird feeling in his gut growing bigger. The blonde’s features showed confusion. Why is he running? What’s up with that look on his face? He didn’t see the stranger approaching from behind him. The hooded man reached Adrien a second before Nino, and pulled out a gun. If he had noticed the dark-haired man earlier, things might have turned out differently for Adrien, but as it were Nino, using his momentum from running, immediately tackled the gunman.
“DON’T YOU DARE YOU FUCK!” Nino screamed at the man as the gun got knocked away. Thank god I saw him .
All of his life, Adrien had never thought that things could happen to him. This changed everything, as he suddenly realized why his father was so persistent on keeping his son safe. That guy… He was going to shoot me? Adrien stared in disbelief at the stranger, as Nino pinned the man down and others started shouting. The man had his eyes on Adrien, cold and emotionless. Why? Why target me? Adrien was frozen, only able to watch as things unfolded in front of him. Someone made sure to kick the gun farther from the gunman, Nino was helped by some others to keep the guy restrained, and eventually the police arrived, followed by Gabriel Agreste.
He’s going to scold me for going out without Gorilla, Adrien thought to himself, still not quite sure what had happened. He was surprised to see his father run straight to him, and hug him tightly. He’s shaking… Is he crying? Suddenly, Adrien became very aware of what had just happened. I almost got shot. I almost got killed. Oh my god. Oh my god. The revelation, and the fear it brought, along with the state his father was in, caused Adrien to break down into tears, clinging tightly onto his father and burying his face on Gabriel’s shoulder. Normally, Adrien wouldn’t expect this kind of affection, especially not in public, but Adrien wasn’t normally almost killed. Instead, the Agrestes stood there, tightly hugging each other and crying, as the police officers arrested the hooded guy. Gabriel’s tears were of relief that his son wasn’t dead but also fear, Adrien’s tears were of shock and revelation. This is why he always insists on me having a bodyguard. This is what he fears.
“Ahem, monsieur Adrien Agreste?” A police officer spoke, but the father and son still stood there, embracing each other. The officer cleared his throat again. Gabriel pulled away from the hug, but kept his arm around Adrien’s shoulder, swiftly using the sleeve of his shirt to dry his cheeks.
“Monsieur Adrien Agreste, we need to bring you to the station for questioning. You can come with us too, monsieur Agreste.” The older Agreste nodded, and the Agrestes got into a police car along with Nino. Gabriel’s head was buzzing.
I need more than the police to ensure Adrien’s safety. I need a private eye. I need detective Ladybug.