Chapter Text
Sunlight poured into the dark tinted windows of an exquisite black limo which was racing through the busy Parisian streets. The rays of white hitting his face and glaring onto his head, teenager Adrien Agreste cupped his hands over his eyes, wincing as he tried to block out the sun from reflecting onto the black screen on the car-seat in front of him. Sunshine. Adrien hated sunshine.
‘Adrien, I would like to see you in my office immediately.’
The school day had just ended, and thank goodness for that- but Adrien stared at the black tablet in front of him, which had just flickered into life in front of him. Adrien raised his brown eyebrows in curiosity. He locked eyes in the rear view mirror with Gorilla, a beast of a man who was as tall as a real ape, yet had the heart of an angel. Gorilla looked just as surprised as Adrien did, raising his eyebrows into the rear-view mirror, eyes pleading silently, an action that Adrien would only understand. Adrien shrugged at the two waiting figures in front of him, and replied shortly.
‘Sure, as soon as I get to the house.’
Adrien clicked off. Neutrality was a skill that Adrien had perfected and almost mastered in the past couple of weeks. He was at no level like Felix, but he was improving. Adrien shook his head. Whatever. This meeting was going to be interesting, that was for sure. His ever-tightening schedule, filled to the brim with Mandarin, fencing and photoshoots was never-ending, and with his… friends…school… Well, life did need some sprucing up.
Silence filled the car, and all that was heard was the zooming of engines outside and the occasional horn. Truth be told, Adrien was terrified. He hadn’t talked to Gabriel for ages, and the last meal was just a foggy mass of memories, nearly forgotten from his brain. The last time they had spoken was… when Felix had come to the mansion. But that was ages ago, during the black and white ball, and Adrien wasn’t sure if he was ready to see Gabriel’s middle aged eyes crinkle in the fury that made his hair stick up. Adrien stared at the ominous cream brick wall looking down on him as it zoomed past, covered by specks of green leaves. He didn’t think this was going to go well. Unfortunately, Adrien had to be hopeful for this meeting. That was all he could be now. A hopeful thought, filled with happiness and reassurance, intruded his mind. Maybe it will go better than he thought…
Adrien slammed the black door behind him, racing over the steps as he darted towards his father’s door. Breathlessly, he knocked, and rocked backwards and forwards, waiting for the order to be let in. A few moments passed, and Adrien felt like an idiot. Why did he rush? His father obviously wasn’t going to be there. Adrien was about to turn around and leave, when a toneless ‘Enter’ reverberated through the door, making Adrien stop. He laid his hand on the door handle, pushing it open slowly. He peered round, eyes landing on a tall figure leaning over a white tablet, his features grim. Creases lined Gabriel’s forehead and his face had gone rather thin. Eyes remaining hard, his mouth followed suit, a hard line permanently across his face. His pale suit was immaculate and radiated perfection as always, Adrien felt that it looked rather dull and boring, and even though Gabriel was supposed to be a fashion designer, he always resembled a candy-cane. Adrien closed the door softly behind him, looking towards the figure in red and white in the far corner. He stifled a laugh under his breath, yet Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up quickly, angling down at the sight, silencing Adrien immediately.
‘You… wanted to see me Father?’ The words came out hesitantly, quietly, and all excitement that Adrien had felt was gone. He fiddled with the silver ring that flashed beams of white across the room, creating sparkles. This room, just like the rest of the mansion, was cold and unwelcoming, and Adrien felt nothing but doom as he looked at the black and white tiles decorating his mother’s study. The picture of his mother bore into his head while Adrien’s eyes remained trained onto the ground. Gabriel… Why was he looking at Adrien like that? Adrien hadn’t done anything wrong, yet something just felt wrong, like he was about to be reprimanded again. Like he always was. Adrien couldn’t keep the intruding voice out of his head as he drew in onto himself, pinching the soft parts of his hands, watching as his skin grew paler before reverting back to a cream peach. Adrien shuffled closer to Gabriel, despite his mind screaming that he should run, that Gabriel was mad.
‘Adrien, I will not beat the bush around here. I am highly disappointed in you.’ Gabriel’s mouth that had uttered the same words countless of times pierced Adrien’s heart and he felt a rise of anger bubble in him. You don’t know shit father.
Adrien imagined that his feelings were buried under the ground, never to be seen again as he stared at the ground wordlessly, fidgeting his ring with two fingers. Now’s not the time, brain. Adrien couldn’t help but laugh internally at how stupid he was. Of course, Gabriel was mad at him, when was he ever not mad at him? Who wouldn’t be when their child was Chat Noir, embodiment of bad luck-
‘Your performance in school has lowered significantly, and your piano and Mandarin results are simply awful!’
Adrien looked up slightly, and shuffled closer towards the almost comedic scene, where Gabriel had a look of horror masking his face as he pointed dramatically at the tablet screen. His school report, along with images from his latest photoshoot was on the screen, revealed for the whole world to see. He sucked in air and bit his lips, and repeated the motions again as his heart raced. Adrien stared at the French until his eyes burned, forcing himself to remain quiet. Ah. Merde . His class had taken their ‘Le Brevet’ a couple of weeks ago, in the lead up to the job workshop that would take place in a couple of months' time. Adrien knew that he hadn’t done as well as he would have liked, but come on, seriously? It wasn’t his fault that he lost sleep as Chat Noir and other things, and it’s not like he didn’t try! An overall score of 13 wasn’t that bad, was it? 20’s were barely given out, and Adrien knew that he wasn’t stupid.
‘Adrien.’
Stop blaming others. Who was he kidding? An average of 13 was awful, and Max got an average 20 apparently, and he didn’t even study! Adrien glanced over his latest photos from the photo shoot, and his mouth wrinkled in disgust. Who the hell did he think he was? Stupid, blond, awful looking cheap blond- ‘Adrien!’
Adrien snapped out of his trance, blinking rapidly, eyes darting back to the shoes of his seemingly furious father. Adrien pinched himself. He zoned out, he deserved to be hurt. ‘Adrien, look at me.’ Adrien hesitantly looked at Gabriel. His eyes widened. He tried to bring up his strong wall of not-caring, his wall of support, his wall of neutrality, yet it was burned down to a crisp as he eyed Gabriel crossing his arms, face alive with the fire of controlled rage.
‘This is despicable! I let you go to school, I let you have friends-’
Adrien couldn’t help but to reply. ‘They’re not really my friends…’ he muttered under his breath, tugging at his black striped t-shirt. He didn’t want to even speak of them. He didn't want to think about them. Gabriel didn’t seem to hear him, tone growing past it’s danger point and more calm, yet deadly by the second.
‘Do not interrupt me! Do not behave like an insolent child Adrien! Talking back and obviously not paying attention must be the exact reasons why you failed!’
Failed. A failure.
‘Tell me Adrien, are these good results for the most important exam you took in all of collège? Are they?’ Gabriel stabbed a finger at the screen, then diverted it to the miniature blond’s face. Gabriel’s foot tapped repeatedly on the ground as he glared at Adrien, whose blood had leaked out of his face and remained puce. Adrien felt his heart constricting, and the room around him felt fuzzy. Trying to focus, brain reeling, he stared at the colourful electronic screen again, trying to make the situation positive. Gotcha. His brain latched onto a number, and before he could stop himself, Adrien found himself muttering under his breath.
‘At least I got a 19 in Science.’
Gabriel stared at Adrien in silence, as the teenage boy admired the floor, taking in it’s black and white patterns. He wouldn’t look at Gabriel, he wouldn't. If he pretended that everything was fine, if he pretended that everything was fine… Porcelain face. Unlike Adrien who was trying to remain calm, an expression of pure unadulterated anger morphed into Gabriel’s face, all hints of white drained away, leaving a light shade of mauve. Adrien stepped backwards, teeth grinding into teeth as he locked his mouth shut, yet his eyes widened to be as large as saucers as Gabriel started to smile. The smile held no warmth; it was dangerous and cold. Shivers ran down Adrien’s back.
‘Oh?’ Gabriel started, his authoritarian tone slipping into Adrien’s ears like snow on a cold day. ‘So, getting a 19 in a useless subject,’ Adrien glared at Gabriel- Science wasn’t useless- ‘is considered good, even though you got 11’s and 13’s on others?’
Adrien scratched the sides of his arms, remaining mute. He couldn’t feel. He shouldn’t. Porcelain face.
‘You are an idiotic, immature child, and how dare you taint the Agreste name by showcasing this ridiculous behaviour-’
His breaths came out in short, rapid intervals, and he tried to calm down, but he couldn’t hear, everything was terrifying, he managed to fuck up, again-
‘-your mother would be extremely disappointed in you if she was here, pathetic, lazy child-’
Millions of thoughts raced around in Adrien’s mind as he stared right at Gabriel’s face. Anger bubbled inside of him, as he clenched his fists at his sides. Despite his mind screaming for him to shut up, to stay quiet, the words escaping his treacherous mouth held no semblance of stopping like lava erupting from a volcano. How dare he bring up his mother? His mother? His mother who was dead, gone, buried…‘You don’t get to talk to me like that Father,’ Adrien said, glaring at the reflections in Gabriel’s glasses. No more high road . Adrien wasn’t a coward .
Was he?
Marinette’s face swam into his mind. He was going to prove it today. Adrien held his ground as Gabriel closed the gap between them. How could Gabriel even begin to say all that- that he was lazy?! Nathalie had overloaded Adrien with a full schedule each day, filled with piano lessons, fencing, modelling and Mandarin lessons. There had been no input of when to study for his upcoming homework and tests, yet there was still one hour of freedom for him each day. But even with that one hour, he still ended up having to study after dinner until around 12 pm. With his nightly patrols from 2-4 am, waking up at 6:30 to get ready for school, Adrien would only have an hour of sleep at most. But of course, how could Gabriel even know that? How could he know about Adrien sitting in bed till the morning, unable to sleep? How could he know that he was trying! How could he remember when he didn’t even have a meal with his own son?
‘What did you just say to me?’
Adrien knew that he was treading dangerous waters, playing with a fire that could never be tamed. ‘I-’ Adrien stopped, biting the inside of his cheek as he swallowed a lump in his throat. What would happen if he dared to say something? He would come out scorched than ever before, but the years of pain on his chest had to explode. He had to say something! Adrien cleared his throat and started again, his voice crystal clear.
‘I said that you don’t get to talk to me like that Father, especially if this is what you’re actually talking about!’ Adrien’s voice shook with betrayal as his face contorted into a scowl. It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but fuck that, he finally said something! Plagg would be so proud.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes as his mouth curled into a sneer. ‘What kind of ridiculous thing are you hinting towards, Adrien? ’ Gabriel spat out Adrien’s name, venom lacing his tone, not daring to believe that Adrien to actually speak back.
‘You don’t even care about why my grades are suffering, you didn’t even show up at all to check on me in the past couple of months except in a stupid glass screen-’
‘Adrien, that is an absolute exaggeration , I asked you how you were after the end of your relationship with Kagami, and you said that you were fine! Your incompetence is of no fault of mine!’
Adrien's mouth dropped slightly, hands shaking at his sides as he remembered the disastrous break up with Kagami. Water crept into the corner of his eye.
‘I don’t date people like you, Adrien. We both lie; I lie to be with you, but you?’ Kagami sent daggers into Adrien’s heart. ‘You lie because you’re a coward.’ Before Kagami turned away, and stalked off into the night, she muttered, pale lips forming into loathing and distaste.
‘Just like Lila.’
Adrien pinched his arm, and decided to carry on. ‘But all you cared about was your stupid goddamn name, and how I ruined a potential ally with Kagami! You only asked me because Gorilla told you that I was crying.’ Adrien’s voice cracked and rose to an unprecedented height, ‘Why do you only care when I break? Why don’t you care?’ Adrien’s hands clenched into fists, his nails piercing into his hands. He couldn’t show weakness. He just couldn’t.
Porcelain face.
‘Hold your tongue this instant!’ He faced Adrien, breathing heavily, as if he had just fought a never-ending battle. ‘Can’t you see that all I do is for you-?’ Gabriel growled, slamming a fist against the glass of his screen, before he was cut off.
‘No!’ Adrien shouted, hands flying out. ‘I won’t! You can’t tell me to hold my bloody tongue, you can’t tell me that mother would be so disappointed in me, because guess what?’ Adrien smirked. She would be disappointed in you! Whose the person who didn’t even send out a search party when she went missing, you didn’t even care about me, and all you cared about was your stupid brand, and your fucking na-’
‘Adrien!’ Gabriel shouted. ‘What did I say about swearing? I am your father, and you are to respect me-’
Adrien snickered at his father’s useless taunts, rolling his eyes. He was burning, so he might as well freaking enjoy it. When was the last time he felt this exhilaration, like he was on top of the earth, powerful? When was he ever able to let loose the secrets that acted as demons, poisoning his mind like a deadly disease? All the years of bitterness and resentment climbed up onto him, leaking, oozing, rushing out as if his thoughts were a waterfall.
‘Respect?’ Adrien mocked sarcastically, folding his arms. ‘Respect?!’ Adrien threw out his arms to the side, the epitome of incredulity. ‘Respect the man who doesn't even care, the man who left me in an assistant's care the moment the so-called ‘love of your life’ went missing?! Respect the man who-’
He was cut short as Gabriel held Adrien roughly by the shoulders, his tall shadow imposing onto Adrien’s small figure. Gabriel’s nails dug into the white cloth of his undershirt, and Adrien felt drained by the sudden pain. Adrien was forced against the wall, right next to his mother’s painting, pinned forcefully. Blood roared in Adrien’s ears, and the confidence that he felt while fighting akumas faded and died away, leaving a feeling of vulnerability washing over him. The red hot anger blurring his vision and rationality was gone. What the hell did he just do?! Lips trembling, eyes wide in terror, Adrien was left frightened in a way that he had never felt before. Gabriel had never, ever resorted to being physical before now. Why now? Adrien caught the reflection of his face in the now black screen, a shock of dishevelled blond strands falling into a face that was the human incarnation of fear. His legs shook beneath him, threatening to buckle.
Adrien gasped in terror as a hand reached towards his cheek.