Paternity
"Dad, can you tell me about your dad?"
Gabriel hated these types of projects. Family trees.
Since Adrien decided to go to a public school, now he had to answer the stupid questions that Miss Bustier had asked to be done.
"Do you have a picture of him?"
Gabriel grunted and pointed to the closet. He absolutely loathed talking about his father.
"What did he do for a living?"
Gabriel scratched his cheek. "He's still alive ya know. Why don't you go ask him?"
"I don't know where he lives." Adrien frowned. "Besides, you're his son. You should know him very well."
Gabriel chuckled. "Your childhood is better than mine ok? Atleast I let you talk to me."
"Oh! Tell me more about how strict he was."
Gabriel didn't realize he had gone off on an angry rant about his father.
"He's always been Mr. Perfect. I couldn't mess up once before he threatened to eliminate me from any will or remove my little privileges."
"What were those priveleges?" Adrien looked up.
"Enjoying the breeze outside." Gabriel shrugged.
He stood up and began to walk away.
"Dad please don't do that. Tell me about your dad."
The grown Agreste grumbled and pulled out a picture of his family. "That's you. Who's the other two adults?"
"My parents."
"You look like your dad." Adrien chuckled.
"Unfortunately." Gabriel sighed.
"Why?"
"He hated me. He didn't wish for a son yet I still came around."
Adrien looked up from his notebook. "That bad?"
Gabriel closed his eyes. "What more do you even care to know?"
"Did he ever tell you how much you meant to him?" Adrien smiled softly.
Gabriel opened his eyes and looked at his son. "No." He chortled. "Me? Meaning something to him?"
"Dad don't be so negative. I'm sure deep down he does love you."
"Deep down where?" His voice cracked. "My father never ever told me I was worth even a euro to him."
Adrien heard a sniffle from the grown man and frowned.
"I am worth nothing to my dad, I just want him to care and love me and play catch with him." He whimpered.
Adrien didn't know how to react at his grown father crying about the lack of attention from his father. "Dad? Are you ok?"
Gabriel wiped his tears and cleared his throat. "Right. Sorry." He kept answering his questions and arrived at the final one.
"Ok last one. What's your favorite birthday present?"
Gabriel looked down. "We didn't celebrate my birthday."
"You've never had a party? No wonder you're a boring stick in the mud."
Gabriel looked down silently again. "My dad never let me go to parties or clubbing. He didn't even give me a shitty pen." He sighed. "My mom usually just made me a small cake for me and I would only eat a slice then... Well... Vomit it out since he wanted me to keep a perfect figure."
Adrien walked away. "I'm done hearing your lies."
Gabriel swallowed nervously. "Guess it's just a stupid paternity cycle that always fails..." He went back to work, knowing he'd never be the person anyone wanted him to be.
