MariChat: Chat Out Of The Bag

An Emotional Confrontation

The ride to Adrien's home was totally silent. Not a word from anyone. Not a peep. No one even seemed to move, excluding the driver. Not the usual driver, Gorilla, that Adrien had nicknamed him, was there. This was a driver Adrien didn't think he had seen before. Nor was Nathalie, which was surprising. She would normally be here, if only out of compulsion. Perhaps she had a day off today.

And then there was Gabriel, sat up front, not even looking like he was breathing.

In his jacket's pocket, Adrien clutched hold of his fathers phone. What he had seen on there... The link he had made... He didn't want it to be real. He wanted to believe that deep down, his father wasn't a bad person. He had always wanted to believe that. He was cold... But that didn't make him a bad person, right?

Were it not for the fact that Marinette had hold of his other hand, the tension may have broken the young model. Her warm skin comforted the teenage model as they were driven into the beasts lair.

He already knew for a fact that Gabriel didn't approve of Marinette. He didn't even need to see his fathers face to come to that conclusion. Didn't matter to him who she was or what reason he had. She was a negative influence on him. That's what Gabriel thought.

But if he felt that way... Why had he even allowed Marinette in the car? Maybe he thought it easier than arguing with his son in the streets. There was already enough focus on them as it was.

They continued like this, totally void of conversation for the entire ride. Looking out of his window, Adrien was able to see small groups of people, mostly families, interacting in typically normal ways. Fathers, sons and daughters being able to laugh in the way a regular family would be able to. They didn't know how lucky they were.

He felt Marinette's hand tighten around his. He mentally thanked her for that.

Once Adrien's house was into their sight, Adrien felt an odd sense of calm wash over him. This was his home, where he was born and where he was raised. The familiarity of his home helped him to relax. It had been some time since he had been here. It was a place he belonged. Just being here gave him that feeling of security.

He almost had to remind himself, that this place had also been like a prison.

Designed to keep him in.

"Adrien."

They had walked into Gabriel's office in complete silence, and the fashion designer had sat down at his desk, in front of a large, painted portrait of Adrien's mother. On Gabriel's desk, was very little to indicate any sort of personality that the man might have had. Nothing but a computer, which he has pushed to the corner to see his son and Marinette clearer, and papers. There was a black glasses case, which was left open, the actual glasses on the middle-aged man's face. Other than that, the desk was bare. Gabriel sat back in his black, leather chair, and place his hands together, which rested upon the surface of his work space.

"Father."

The two had exchanged their normal introductions. Marinette was surprised at how coldly they seemed to speak to one another. They sounded more like an employee and his boss rather than a father and his son. She kept her composure however, standing up tall and stiff, like she was about to break into a salute at any moment. Adrien was more relaxed, but he still kept his posture upright.

Gabriel's cold blue eyes shot, and focused directly on Marinette. Like he was trying to disintegrate her with some sort of optic laser beams. Marinette was frozen in place. This was her role model. Someone she had admired for a long, long time, someone she had wanted to become like.

Also, it was potentially Hawkmoth. She wasn't sure which one of those she found more intimidating.

"This is Marinette. My girlfriend." Adrien said when he realized his father was staring at his girlfriend. He put on a slight edge to his voice, almost defensive. He had no issues establishing that this was the person he loved. Even if his father disapproved.