I'm Sorry I Still Love You (Gabenath)

Chapter Three

Cat Noir moved through the long corridors of the gloomy prison. The scent was musty and dull, the lack of sunlight made it difficult to see even with the power of his miraculous. The place felt stuffy, warm, and unpleasant. Not a single drift of fresh air seemed to circulate through any part of that place, and the thought of Gabriel Agreste living there caused his guts to cramp in pain.

"We'll bring him out", the guard told the hero.

Cat Noir nodded as he took a seat in the nearly empty visiting room.

His gloved hand rubbed roughly and anxiously over the wooden table in front of him, and he was sure that if his fingers weren't protected by the fine leather of his suit, a splinter would have entered causing a tender ache at the very tip of his sweaty fingers. The need for answers was what made him set foot into that horrible place. So gloomy, so quiet, so full of hopelessness. And despite his own desperate need for answers, Adrien wasn't capable of meeting up with his father as himself, so he sat there as Cat Noir instead. It'd be the only way in which the words would leave his throat, the only way he'd be able to speak without breaking down. The tears, the anger, and the bitterness were nearly indescribable. Still, it was so difficult to understand how one could continue to love the person who has been the cause of such pain and suffering.

The cat ears over his head began to twitch from the noises coming feet away from him. He couldn't see anyone, but the voices were loud as they were clear.

It was the guard's voice. "You won't go out, Agreste?" The man asked cruelly.

"If it's Nathalie Sancoeur, I won't go out." It was his father's voice, which sounded through the impeccable hearing the miraculous provided for him.

"It's not her." The guard responded. "It's the hero of Paris, Cat Noir."

Seconds later, Cat Noir watched his own father enter the visiting room accompanied by the guard. He was shackled, he wore a prison uniform, and his face was covered with facial hair. He took a seat, clearly surprised by his visit.

"How do you feel now that you're here?" Was the first question the boy asked.

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. "How is anyone who's locked in here supposed to feel?" Gabriel thought it was sort of an obvious question, but he answered anyway. "Away from the world, treated terribly, and all alone. Not good, obviously."

Cat Noir rolled his eyes to his words. "Are you seeking my pity with that response?"

"No, I'm just telling the truth, that's all."

"Truth." Cat Noir repeated. "I think your son would've liked to hear the truth, don't you think?"

"My son isn't your business."

Cat Noir was stunned by Gabriel's defensive behavior, but that didn't stop him from saying what he wanted to say. "I've talked to him, you know."

The expression on Gabriel's face changed. He'd heard through Nathalie his son wasn't doing well, but it's different coming from the hero.

"He feels betrayed, he wants to know why. Why did you do this, why did you decide to leave him alone to fend for himself? He really needed you, and you've left him all alone."

"My son is not alone, he has Nathalie-"

"No!" Cat Noir snapped. "He needed you. You're his father, his family. His mother had died, and you were all he had left. How could you do this to him?"

Gabriel felt confused by the passionate manner in which Cat Noir expressed himself about it all. Then he recalled his strange reaction on the day he was unmasked. Cat Noir was so sensitive to his identity reveal, his stomach failed him, and vomited to the sight. A memory which has always made Gabriel shiver.