Miraculous One Shot Compilation

Jealous

A/n - I know a lot of the fandom are fans of Jealous!Adrien, so the title is probably a bit exciting, but that's not what this is. Hopefully you like it anyway.

The only thing Adrien could be completely sure of when it came to his dad was the fact that he would never learn to predict the man. All his life he consistently got turned down on requests to spent time with his father - so it was rather surprising to hear him tell a client on the phone that no, they couldn't talk about it in person because he was going to be a chaperone on his son's class camping trip. Up until that point, Adrien hadn't gotten a straight answer about whether  or not he was allowed to go on the trip, let alone his father coming along. The man on the other end of the line must be highly annoying in order to be able to  influence Gabriel to be a parent rather than to make another business deal.

Marinette's parents, on the other hand, were constantly getting involved in their daughter's class activities. They saw the camping trip as a reason to close the bakery for the weekend and see to it that the kids enjoyed themselves as a reward for doing so well on their exams the previous week. That's how Tom and Sabine ended up sitting with Gabriel during the bus ride to and from the camping site, not to mention having occasional run-ins with him while they were there.

The trip was a disappointment of sorts for Adrien. He had a good time with his classmates, but he'd been hoping that his father coming along on the trip would allow them to spend some quality time together. They didn't. While they were camping, Adrien hardly got to see his father any more than he did at home. Gabriel always stayed off to himself, or with the other adults.

It wasn't until the school bus had dropped them off back at school and they were in their own private limousine that Adrien got a chance to talk to his father. He'd noticed that his father was unusually talkative with a certain family. "You're jealous of Tom, aren't you?"

"Of Tom Dupain?" Gabriel looked up quizzically from his laptop. "Why on earth would I be jealous of Tom?"

"Oh, I don't know," Adrien shrugged. "It's just that nearly every time I saw you, you were watching Tom and Sabine. You also seemed to want to talk to them a lot more than you usually do."

"Adrien. What could Tom possibly have that I would want? I have a very successful business, a nice home, and enough savings that I could live comfortably for the rest of my life if I retired today. Over all, I have a much higher standard of living than he does. Sure, he owns his own business, but a bakery is messy work and doesn't allow for much money once all the bills have been paid. Believe me, I have no reason to be jealous."

"But Tom didn't scare away his wife."

Gabriel shut his laptop and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "So that's what this is about... your mother?" He stayed in silence a few moments more, his deepened breathing betraying his emotional pain. "I did love her, Adrien. I still do, it's just - I've never been very good at expressing my feelings, and your mother lacks the ability to perceive what isn't spoken. I made the mistake of believing that she would automatically know how I felt without me telling her. Words are cheap - you know that, don't you, Adrien?"

Adrien somewhat knew what his father was talking about. He couldn't remember his father ever telling him he loved him, but he knew he did. Even while he was discontented with his life, he could feel his father's love in giving him everything he thought the boy should want: a good private education; a solid foundation for a career; and plenty of opportunity to withdraw from energy-draining social interactions. It was everything that Gabriel had wanted as a boy and couldn't have, but in trying to give his son the world, he took it away.

The other part of Adrien saw what his mother saw. Words weren't cheap to him. Even though he did possess (to a degree) this ability that his mother didn't - the ability to know unspoken feelings - they were still more alive and true to his senses when he heard them put into words. A quiet house without the sounds of joyful conversation was more lonesome to him than it was restful. He craved the interaction his father thought he was sparing him from, and his mother must have been the same way. She needed affection, just like her son needed it, but she failed to see that love was already there, so she went searching for it - that's what Adrien chose to believe. As much as the idea tore at his heart, it was better than the possibility that she was gone not of her own free will.

"Do you know where she is?" Adrien asked his father.

"Maybe," Gabriel sighed. "I have an idea, but I haven't been able to confirm it. Don't worry, Adrien. I'm searching for a way to bring your mother home."

They spent the rest of the ride in silence until they made it back to their house. Once they were standing on the sidewalk between their car and house, Adrien felt it necessary to reach out again. "Father?"

Gabriel turned to look at his son with an expression that said, 'What do you want?' but his face softened as Adrien threw his arms around his father and held him tight. Gabriel closed his own arms around his son and tried as best he could to convey a father's love. After all, they were a family, and nothing was going to change that.

"I suppose," Gabriel sighed, "that Tom could be richer than he looks?"