A Perfect Match for Adrien Agreste

Gabriel

The atelier was so quiet you could discern the drop of a pin as Gabriel and Natalie stood in silence looking at the beautiful rendition of the late Emilie Agreste. "What are you planning, sir?" Natalie finally broke the silence, unable to wait a moment longer before her schedule would interrupt their meeting.

"Hmm?" Gabriel turned his eyes to Natalie then turned back to his wife, forefinger and thumb on this chin.

"We need to be sure about mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I believe she is Ladybug, but if we are wrong, we take the risk of exposing ourselves prematurely."

"I understand sir, but what about Adrien?" Natalie turned her body to face her employer at the question.

"Adrien is either lying to us, completely oblivious, or truly smitten with mlle. Dupain-Cheng. I however believe he knows, and she has somehow wrapped him around her finger. Ladybug is a cunning she devil, after all. Call Lila into the office please. I have a task for her that will test my suspicions for both Adrien and his new love interest," Gabriel finally moved behind his desk, lifting his head to acknowledge that Natalie was facing him.

"Of course, sir, right away."

Pulling the oversized, tanned leather executive chair toward him, Gabriel lowered himself to sit. A thick blue folder set in his sight on the desk in front of him calling him to look further. Though he knew what information the folder entailed, he felt a strange pull to take another look to ensure he had not missed something that could be of importance. Opening the folder, hundreds of pictures of Ladybug and Marinette fell from their places.

His battle with Ladybug over the last five years had been the most frustrating time of this life. Fortunately, his son had helped an old man when he tried running away to public school all those years ago and ended up with the Black Cat Miraculous, but Adrien was beginning to give up and want to move forward with his life.

Not only that Adrien was beginning to ruin more plans that getting the miraculous. Gabriel groaned at the thought of how hard he had worked with Madam Tsurugi for such a long while to ensure his company would be successful in the future. Part of that plan was that Adrien was to be betrothed to someone of his station and that person was mlle. Kagami Tsurugi.

Placing his finger and thumb on the bridge of his nose, Gabriel grunted at the situation he was in. There was reason Kagami was here. She met the criteria for the show, but it was also for her to win and begin the process toward combining families and companies. Adrien had specific instructions to follow. He was already friends with Kagami, and they knew what Hawkmoth and Chat Noir were working for. Adrien knew he was to continue choosing Kagami until the end, though he wasn't aware of the exact reason why just yet. Even if plan was to find Ladybug and take her miraculous, it hadn't been his only reasoning behind the show. It was time for Adrien to become a true heir to Gabriel. He was trying to persuade him gently through this process as he searched for Ladybug as well.

But now this Marinette character was ruining his plans, whether she happened to be Ladybug or not. Gabriel was aware of his son's behavior and could tell since the beginning of this competition that Adrien was smitten with her. A groan left him once again, he was so tired of people foiling his plans, and this time they weren't only regarding the miraculous.

Adrien was sleeping with her. He knew that much. He couldn't let either of the Tsurugi women find out or this would become an even greater issue than it currently was. He needed to figure out if Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug and if not.

He needed her off of this show and away from his son as soon as possible. If she was Ladybug, he must get her earrings, which would call for her to stay until he could steal the miraculous. If not, he needed her out of the way soon. He also had to make sure Adrien wasn't defecting. He required a test for them both.

Finally examining the images again, he could see the two women had similar hair, the eyes were the same, and the body shape and size similar. However, the miraculous changed the user to ensure that others would not be able to recognize them. That was why he couldn't be completely sure.

He knew from the intel Adrien had obtained that the two definitely shared the same color hair, but the eyes, although blue in the pictures could be any color the wielder wished. Holding the images side by side, this head began to hurt. He was aware that the miraculous magic was attempting to quell his thoughts and distract him from the truth. He wouldn't let it win. He was suddenly interrupted by a knock sounding from the large wood doors to his office, Natalie popping her head through a crack to request entrance.

"Come-in, I assume you have mlle. Rossi with you?"

Followed by the young woman sporting long blue-black hair and hazel eyes, Natalie confirmed her presence. "Good, Lila, thank you for coming on such short notice," Gabriel stated from his seat, not moving to give any further welcome. "Yes, sir. I heard you are in need of my services today?" A sickly-sweet voice spilled from the lips of the girl in front of him.

"I need Cherise today. You will be modeling with Adrien and mlle. Dupain-Cheng today. I need her akumatized." A wicked smile found its way to the girl's lips as she looked between the stoic faces of both Gabriel and Natalie as she removed the wig from her head and contacts from her eyes, leaving her with short brown hair and glowing golden eyes.

"It would be my pleasure, sir."