My Good Friend (a miraculous ladybug story)

Chapter 10: Half Baked

Gabriel Agreste stood at his large window, looking out to the front of his house. His wife's abandoned garden was in full bloom. His son and his son's friend were eating a picnic in the grass. She had tripped and knocked over one of their drinks making him laugh so hard that juice came out of his nose. His son continued to laugh as he offered napkins to clean up. It was so frivolous, so unlike him. Gabriel frowned and spun the wedding ring on his finger.

"Natalie," he called.

His assistant came in from outside the hall with furrowed brows. "Yes sir?"

"How would you describe my son's relationship with the baker girl?" He asked in a monotonous voice.

Natalie's expression grew even more confused. "I would say it is going very well, sir. The two seem to enjoy each other's company. She seems to have a good impact on your son as well. He has visibly shown more expressions of general happiness."

The lines on his forehead deepened. He watched as his son started to put away some of the items. The girl looked at him with eyes full of adoration. He knew that look, he'd had that same look with his wife years ago. He knew the pure love and devotion that a look like that could hold.

"The power of a miraculous is strong, Natalie, some more than others. Did you know even when not transformed, I find myself feeling other people's emotions throughout the day?"

"I did not sir. That makes some sense I suppose." She pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose with a gulp.

"It's one of the many quirks the entity has on their holder. It pushes the characteristics it holds on to them." He turned away from the pair and turned to his assistant with a calculative look. "A relationship like theirs could hold powerful emotions, don't you think Natalie?" He said absentmindedly.

Natalie eyed her boss warily. "I suppose it could sir."

She saw a mad glint appear in his eye. "Do me a favor and schedule a meeting with Miss Rossi for this Friday. We need to discuss exactly what will happen at their photoshoot this weekend."

"Sir, are you planning on using Miss Rossi again for your goal? I thought we agreed she's outgrown her usefulness" Natalie asked, a hint of worry lacing her voice.

"There may be use of her talents yet. She's always been good at drawing out strong emotions. My son's connection with the girl, it's exactly what I need to create something strong. Something that might finally defeat that bug and cat."

"But sir, this is your son. I think you should reconsider." She urged.

"It is precisely because it is my son that I am considering this. He'll understand once everything is said and done. I'm doing this for him, for her, for all of us. He'll forgive me once I get their miraculous." He said with the ghost of a smirk on his features.

"Sir, I really think that we could think of something else. This seems entirely–" Natalie started to rebuttal.

Gabriel cut her off. "That's enough Natalie, I do not need your input on this. Get me Lila Rossi at once. I'll meet with her tomorrow. We need to act soon."

Natalie sucked in a breath before typing on her tablet. "Of course, sir. I'll set it up for tomorrow morning."

She looked out the window to see the blond boy blissfully unaware of what was to happen. She frowned, hoping he was enjoying the fleeting moment of happiness. She rubbed her eye before turning away and beginning to message Miss Rossi.

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Adrien wrapped the small box on his desk with a smile. He had asked Natalie to help pick out something nice for Marinette's birthday. It was only a few days away and he was excited. It was a pair of silver ladybug earrings that he thought would look cute. He had called her their "everyday ladybug" and felt like this was the right match for her. He'd also gotten her some new embroidery thread she had mentioned she wanted for some projects she was working on.