Turning A Monster Into A Man

Thirteen

"Mother." Gabriel greeted as she gave him kisses on both sides of his cheeks. No matter how tall he was or how old he was she treated him like her little baby boy. One of the many reasons that Gabriel refused to put his parents through any interviews or photos. He was not fond of embarrassment nor had the humility for it.

Adrien looked relieved that he could pass on the burden of his grandparents. He knew Felix had to feel the same way although he did not show it. Felix had learned to hide expressions well. A talent most likely a coping mechanism for his whirlwind of a childhood.

Gabriel gave his father a firm handshake. "Father." "What brings the unexpected visit?"

"Your mother."

Gabriel let out a small sigh as Charmaine Agreste was quite loud with her opinions and would not waver. If she wished for it, it would be done.

"She's here for a lot of reasons. Who knows what goes on in that head of her's?"

Gabriel did not want to be there. It was evident that he wanted to be somewhere else with someone else. But he had to exchange pleasantries and engage in light conversation. What son would dismiss his own parents? Certainly not one with manners bludgeoned into his head.

Marinette passed the dining room holding sparkling water as Gabriel refused to have any unhealthy drinks in the manor. She also held a small bag of flamin' hot cheetos. A bag that she had stolen from Adrien's secret stash as Gabriel's rule for drinks was the same for food.

Adrien would buy them from the vending machines from his school and sneak them into the manor. Putting them in all sorts of hiding places as Gabriel insisted that regular checks be done in both the bedrooms and the kitchen.  Gabriel had to make sure his sons were maintaining their strict diet to better themselves and the brand. Inturn the game commenced of hiding treats throughout the land.

'Should I say hello? Maybe not. I got to figure out what I'm going to say to ChatNoir. "I'm sorry I am banging the enemy in exchange for Paris's safety. But he's hot and rich so it's going far better than I thought." That sounds a bit crude. Maybe something subtle like "I magically escaped, cause you know I'm Ladybug that just what I do."'

"Mari!" Adrien called as he spotted her before she had a chance to slip away. "Those are mine." He attempted to take the bright orange bag away from her.

"Yeah but I'm snacky and I don't want to make anything."

Adrien looked at her quizzically. "We have a chef?"

Marinette smacked her lips forgetting that there was a personal chef at the Agrestes beck and call. "Well unfortunately for you, I found these first. And I get seniority."

"You're not that much older than me." He smiled, enjoying the playfulness of the moment.

"Then how bout the fact I'm prettier than you?"  She knew that was not true but she couldn't resist teasing him.

"Oh really? So, which one of us gets paid for their looks?"

"Well, that's certainly debatable." Marinette was under Gabriel's employment and was occasionally given a gift. Bouquet of flowers, a date night out disguised as a business meeting, a back rub that often led down a bumping road. Many things that could be used as payment instead of just bland bills.

Adrien shivered trying to dismiss the double meaning of the word. He did not want to  know what awful, disgusting, gross things that his father did to Marinette. He wanted to pretend that Marinette was just a roommate. That she wasn't in a romantic relationship with his father, that she still had an effect on Felix. It was like she enchanted the Agreste men with some sort of spell.