Back to Back 2

Reversion

The two stared at each other for a minute before Marinette spoke.

"M... Mr Agreste," she stuttered, her heart pounding in her ears. "H... how nice to see you again."

Gabriel didn't reply. He simply narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her.

"A... Adrien tells me that you've been traveling."

Still no reply. More narrowing.

She forced a smile through clenched teeth. "Well, if you'll excuse me. I need to..."

"Did you forget something?" Adrien interrupted, pushing the ajar door open. "Or did you change your..."

There was a sudden silence when he discovered the reason why she didn't close the door. Staring up at Gabriel, he was at a loss for words.

After a tense few seconds, Marinette finally broke the stalemate. "Well, it's getting late, and I need to head home now. Adrien, I'll see you at school on Monday."

He looked over at her and started nodding voraciously. "Yes, school. Of course, I'll see you at school. And uh, we should be done with that school project now. So uh, thanks for coming over so we could finish that school project for school. I'll bring that school project to school on Monday."

Internally cringing at his not-so-convincing lie, Marinette resisted the urge to facepalm. Instead, she just nodded back. "Okay." And she made her way down the stairs and through the gate, knowing that she was being watched the whole time.

Once she disappeared around the corner, Gabriel looked at Adrien again.

He reluctantly looked back. "What are you doing here?" he asked quietly. "You know the arrangement."

"Isn't it obvious?" Gabriel replied, finally speaking. "I'm here to see your aunt."

Adrien exhaled in aggravation. After a moment of debate, he turned and went inside the house.

Felix was still in the foyer, and his eyes grew wide when he saw his cousin leading Gabriel into the house. The sound of the door shutting behind them echoed around the room for a minute. Then Felix spoke. "Well, well, well," he murmured. "Look what the cat dragged in."

Both Adrien and Gabriel were unamused by the quip and responded with some fierce glares.

So Felix continued. "What's he doing here?" he asked, addressing Adrien.

"He's here to see Amelie," Adrien said, moving farther into the room.

At the answer, Gabriel stopped and frowned. "Actually, I'm here to see..."

"Gabriel!" a voice suddenly shouted.

Startled, every head turned toward the dining room.

"What a pleasant surprise!" Emilie continued, moving into the foyer. "How are you, Gabriel? It's been too long!"

"What is he doing here, Mom?" Felix asked.

She made her way right up to them. "Well, he's here to see you, of course! Both of you!"

Confused, Adrien scrunched his brow. "He said he was here to see you, Amelie."

"Amelie?" Gabriel repeated, equally confused. "Why are you..."

"Well, he just means that I invited him!" Emilie interrupted, not letting Gabriel ruin the charade. Then she turned to her husband. "Where's Emilie?" she asked, staring at him with purpose. "She couldn't make the trip?"

Now Gabriel's confusion surpassed all of theirs. "What do you..."

She had to interrupt again. "Oh, that's right. She's sick. No wonder she wanted to stay in London."