AN: Okay since this is no longer a one-shot, I discovered (thanks, Keyseeker) that I need to clarify where this fic stands canonically. Most of my fics I actually ignore season three, but obviously I can't do that entirely here since we're post-Chameleon.

So … This fic takes place shortly after Chameleon, and obviously we're now AU because of the reveal, but it takes into account season three up until and including Startrain. (Whether I'll get as far as events in those episodes actually occurring, I have no idea.) However Kwami Buster onwards is NOT taken into account. So no worries about our heroes having to give up their Miraculouses, or future Hawk Moth, or any Cat Blanc stuff. None of that exists here!

And for the record, I'm a fan of Gabriel and Nathalie and a supporter of the redemption arc. Whether this fic will go there or not, I don't know. Still improvising here!

Chapter Three: Just Keep Intimidating

"Do you have any idea how lonely Adrien gets, Mr Agreste?" Marinette blurted out.

Gabriel Agreste blinked at the abrupt change of subject. "I'm sorry?"

"You'd better be. He spends most of his time shut up in this house, not allowed to leave except for school and classes. I get that you want to protect him, but all too often you cross the line between keeping him safe and keeping him a prisoner. He hardly ever complains because he's used to it, it's his norm; but that doesn't mean it's right or best for him. People need social interaction, sir. He hates being so isolated; you may not mean to, but you hurt him so much by doing that to him."

"He told you this?"

"He doesn't have to. We can all see it a mile off. Which makes me wonder why you can't." Marinette paused. "No, actually I know why you can't. Because while you keep him physically close, you keep him emotionally distant. You don't give him any quality time, or make him feel like he can approach you. I understand that you're a busy man, but surely you can spare some time to spend with him, instead of always palming him off on your staff. It would make him feel so much better to at least know you're trying. Instead there's this massive wall between you and it's growing bigger every day. And wrapping him in cotton wool isn't the answer. You know what happens to people when they're wrapped in too much cotton wool, Mr Agreste? They suffocate."

There was a long, long silence once she finally stopped talking, wondering if she had completely blown it. Mr Agreste was still staring at her, no recognisable reaction on his face except extreme surprise.

Finally he broke eye contact, removing his glasses and polishing them. "I see you care deeply for my son," he finally said, quite quietly.

"Yes, I do."

"Hmm. Most of his fans desire him because he's handsome and famous." He replaced his glasses and looked back at Marinette. "But not you."

"I'd love him just as much if no-one had heard of him and he had a face like a gorilla's butt."

Mr Agreste's mouth twitched. "So I assume your intentions towards him are of the … more long-term variety."

"The forever kind of long-term," she agreed. "The 'till death do us part' kind of long-term." For a moment she thought something weird flickered in Mr Agreste's eyes at the 'death do us part' bit, but a second later she was sure she had imagined it. "The 'married with three kids and a hamster' kind of long term."

"I see. And what do you imagine Adrien would be doing, other than helping you look after three kids and a hamster?"

"Whatever makes him happy. Whether that's modelling, or his music, or tap dancing in the street." Marinette tried not to giggle as she remembered him actually doing that as Cat Noir. "I'm sure you have your own grand ideas about what Adrien should do with his life, sir, but he's his own person who deserves to make his own decisions. Even if you think they're the wrong ones. Maybe I don't meet your high standards; maybe none of his friends do. But we all love Adrien and want what's best for him."

Silence fell for a long moment as he gazed at her thoughtfully. "Tell me, does Adrien share your very specific vision of your future?"

"Well, I don't know if he wants the same number of kids and a hamster, but I know he wants to spent the future with me. We should probably work out the details after we've been a couple for more than a few hours."

Again, Mr Agreste's mouth twitched, and Marinette dared wonder if he was actually amused by her words. Whether or not that was a good thing, however, remained to be seen.

"I will allow your relationship with Adrien," he said finally. "But I have conditions."

"So do I," Marinette said before she knew what she was saying.

His eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

"I already told you, Mr Agreste, that there are areas of your relationship with Adrien—well, the whole thing, really—that you need to work on." Marinette folded her arms decisively. "So if you really want him to be happy, then I expect you to be willing to do so."

She received a speechless gape in return.

"I expect you to choose presents for Adrien yourself and put thought and care into them. I expect you to make it up to him whenever your work gets in the way of spending time with him. I expect you to find time to actually tell him you love him, because to my knowledge he's never heard that from you. I expect you to consider Adrien's feelings and consult with him when making decisions for his protection or whatever, and if necessary reach a compromise you're both happy with. I expect you to be more open to suggestions from other people who care about him on what's best for him and what he needs to be emotionally healthy. I expect you to try, Mr Agreste. I expect you to want to be a better parent and be willing to learn."

It was impossible to work out what he was thinking, but for some reason she couldn't explain, she thought her words might actually be getting through to him.

"And this isn't just about Adrien," Marinette continued boldly. "Assuming that our future progresses as we both hope it does, then one day I guess I'll be your daughter-in-law." The expression on his face was suddenly beyond laughable. "And I may as well make this clear now so there are no surprises in the future, so you can't possibly have any reason to withdraw your approval of us later on."

"I'm listening."

"I expect you to learn not to be such a control freak, so that when he's an adult, you don't make him feel like he has to do everything you want him to rather than what he wants, in order to keep you happy; because that's not healthy—it's not healthy now—and you can't regulate his life decisions forever. I expect by the time he and I are married for you to have let go and let him have his own life. Assuming you take on board everything I've said, I'm hopeful the two of you will have a much better relationship by then than you have now; and if, as I think, you really do love him, then I can't see any reason why you wouldn't want that."

"I do love him," Mr Agreste said quietly.

"Good. So we're in agreement."

He still looked a bit stunned, but didn't disagree.

"I haven't finished," Marinette continued. "Our future children." He raised his eyebrows. "I don't expect you to be perfect, but I expect you to make an effort. I expect you to actually have a relationship with them, not be this distant figure they hardly ever see and barely know. You will respect that Adrien and I are their parents, and therefore our decisions are the ones that go; and while we'll be open to advice, at the end of the day we'll be the ones making the decisions we feel are best for them. You will do your very best to be present at every single special occasion; and I won't accept any excuses, only the most valid, out-of-your-control reasons. Every Christmas and birthday, every school play and concert, every fencing meet or whatever interests they end up pursuing, regardless of whether they meet your approval or not. You have been absent from the important things in Adrien's life for way too long and I won't stand for you treating your grandchildren the same way. I want them to have a grandfather they can actually have a good relationship with, someone they will love and look forward to spending time with. And I know Adrien would want that too."

Once again, the room was dead silent once she had finished.

"So what were your conditions, Mr Agreste?" Marinette asked, almost sweetly.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Er …"

In the next room, Adrien was trying desperately to resist the temptation to listen at the door. His father and Marinette's voices were muffled, so he couldn't work out what they were saying, but they sounded quite heated.

If he were alone, he probably would have listened, but Nathalie was there. While he wasn't entirely sure she would stop him, he didn't want her to mention to Gabriel later that he had overheard whatever was going on in there.

"Thanks for letting me tell him myself," he said finally to break the awkward silence.

Nathalie nodded. "Do you love her, Adrien?"

"Completely and utterly," he said with no hesitation. He thought about adding "I'd die for her," but stopped himself just in time, thinking that might not have the right effect.

Her expression softened. "I very much hope she can win your father over."

"So do I. She's so wonderful; and if anyone can, she can; but … Father's so stubborn."

"He is," Nathalie agreed. "And overprotective. But he does have a heart, Adrien."

"He has a funny way of showing it sometimes," Adrien muttered.

Nathalie sighed. "I know."

There was an awkward pause.

"So … how did the two of you …?"

Adrien hesitated, quickly sorting through the memories and censoring the superhero identity stuff in favour of a simpler version of the story. Marinette coming to comfort him after what Lila had said, and him realising she felt the same way about him than he did her … yes, that would do.

"Well, it started with us all talking about our favourite movies …"

Marinette opened the door, and saw Adrien sitting talking with Nathalie, who looked quite angry for some reason. She quickly schooled her expression to be more neutral as she saw her, and stood up. "How did it go?"

"Er … well, he's happy for us to date."

Adrien beamed. "He is? Yes! I knew you could win him over, Marinette!"

"You sound quite relieved nevertheless," she teased, drawing up to him.

"Well … maybe I was a bit worried," Adrien admitted. "That's not a reflection on you at all, though."

"I know. Anyway, it's all okay. Though he has set some conditions."

Adrien frowned. "Conditions?"

"Nothing bad. Just, you know, sticking to curfew, bodyguard, stuff like that."

"That was an awfully long conversation for just going over ground rules," Nathalie said, in a tone which made Marinette sure she suspected a lot more had been discussed.

"Other subjects may have come up," she said vaguely.

"Oh? Like what?" Adrien asked.

"Well … er … your dad's lousy parenting …"

"What?" he gasped, and Nathalie choked.

"You're the one who told me to be honest!" Marinette said to her.

"Sheesh, Marinette, what did you say to him?"

"Basically, everything I and the rest of your friends have wanted to say to him for the last few months."

Adrien groaned. "I can hardly believe you're still breathing! Let alone that he actually approved us dating?"

"Apparently I proved to him that I'm not after you because you're a famous model." She kissed his cheek, and he blushed. Aw, she would never get used to that. "And on a completely unrelated note, he's made a resolution to have dinner with you at least four times a week, let you attend at least one social thing a week (three in the holidays), and he's coming to see you in the school talent show next Friday."

And when you turn fifteen, you're getting a surprise birthday party, she silently added.

Nathalie raised her eyebrows. "Goodness," she said, sounding very impressed.

"Wow," Adrien said, sounding just as much so. "Marinette, you do realise that apart from my mom, you and Nathalie are the only two people who have ever been able to get my father to change his mind about something like that?"

"Um … no, I didn't." Marinette looked at Nathalie. "Thanks for the tip."

"You're welcome. Oh, Adrien, here's your phone back." She handed him his phone, then looked between them. "Is Marinette staying for a while, or do you two have other plans?"

"Er, I think it might be a good idea to give Mr Agreste some space from me for the rest of the day."

"And we do have other plans," Adrien agreed, taking her hand. "I promised her ice cream at Andre's."

"Ice cream?" Nathalie glanced out of the window. "Are you sure? It looks like it's going to start storming again soon."

"Oh," Adrien said, sounding disappointed.

"We could go to my house instead," Marinette suggested. "Only fair you get to meet my parents now."

"They're not going to interrogate me, are they?"

"Not like that. My dad is a very different kind of intimidating."

Adrien raised his eyebrows. "Er, what kind of intimidating?"

"You'll see."

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and they all looked over to see Mr Agreste had appeared. "Nathalie, could I have a word?"

Marinette gulped, wondering if this was about Adrien's birthday present.

"I wonder what that's about," Adrien said, frowning slightly after Nathalie had followed her boss from the room.

"Er …" She cast her mind around quickly for a change of subject. "Yeah, um … there's someone else we need to talk to. Master Fu," she said in a low voice.

Adrien paused. "Oh. Right. We know our secret identities now … Do you think he'll be upset?"

"I don't know, but whatever his reaction, we shouldn't put it off." Marinette took out her phone and selected the turtle icon in her contacts.

"I hear congratulations are in order," Nathalie said after closing the door behind her.

"They're dating, not engaged," Gabriel said quickly, though he couldn't help silently adding yet. He shook himself and remembered what he had actually intended to talk to her about.

"I think you made the right decision, sir. Marinette seems a sweet girl. And Adrien is clearly absolutely smitten with her."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it goes both ways. She was very …" Gabriel paused, searching for the right word. "… specific about her feelings for him."

"Really?"

He knew from her tone that it was not actually a surprise, and wondered what she had said to Marinette before the meeting. "Yes. Very bluntly honest."

That was putting it mildly. Marinette Dupain-Cheng had let him have it with both barrels. Gabriel thought the last time he had been that intimidated by a teenager, he had been the same age himself. Fortunately he didn't think he had let it show.

"I see. Good for her."

"Yes." He paused. "The thing is, she did bring up something which I should ask you about."

"Oh?"

"I understand that the present she intended to give to Adrien for his birthday, was somehow mistaken for being from me." He arched an eyebrow at Nathalie, whose eyes widened.

"Oh. Er … d-did she tell Adrien?"

"No. And she stated she has no plans to do so. Apparently he was delighted to think it was from me, and she doesn't want to disappoint him." Gabriel fixed his assistant with a sharp frown. "I don't suppose you could shed any light on how this misunderstanding occurred, Nathalie?"

She sighed. "On Adrien's birthday, Marinette dropped off a gift for him, shortly before you … asked if I had got him a present from you. I … didn't remember you having asked me to before, and … I panicked."

"You told Adrien that Marinette's scarf was from me."

"Yes, sir."

"Why did you not simply go out and get him something?"

Nathalie fixed Gabriel with a surprisingly hard look. "Because that would have required leaving Adrien to eat lunch alone on his birthday, Mr Agreste. Which I didn't want to do. Nor did I want to have to tell him that his father had either not got him a present, or asked me to and that I had forgotten. I knew any of the above would hurt him." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "And as it happened, because of the Bubbler, he had lunch alone on his birthday anyway."

The accusation was impossible to miss, and a long, very tense silence fell between them.

"I … will not akumatize anyone on Adrien's birthday again," Gabriel finally relented.

"Especially not friends of his who only wanted to do something kind for him," Nathalie added.

"Er … yes. I mean … no, I won't."

Her expression softened slightly. "Marinette really got through to you, didn't she?"

"You put her up to that, didn't you?"

"All I did was advise her to be honest. The rest was all her."

"Well, it worked," Gabriel admitted. "There are some … changes I need to make."

Nathalie nodded slowly, frowning again. "Talking of honesty … did you by any chance sense any negative emotions from Lila Rossi earlier today?"

Gabriel blinked, completely taken aback. "Yes, actually. She's been very emotional for most of the day, but you know I've been tied up with work I couldn't delegate. It's been quite frustrating having to wait; I was planning to seize the opportunity once Marinette had left. How did you know?"

"Adrien told me about something that happened this morning between the two of them. And … well, you're not going to like it …"

Lila checked her text again.

We need to talk.

She didn't know why she had come to the meeting place Adrien had specified. What more did he want to say? Adrien was the forgiving type, but she was certain this was beyond even him.

One little miscalculation, and everything had been ruined. Usually Lila planned her stories with care, but from time to time had simply grabbed an opportunity. And now she'd had the horrible misfortune of picking the wrong person to lie about.

How the hell was I supposed to know she was his mom?

If she transferred to a new school (Lila was already formulating an argument to present to her mother why it was necessary), then she would be more careful. At the very least do an internet search before opening her mouth.

She turned as she heard the car pull up behind her. The back window rolled down, and her eyes widened in surprise as it revealed not Adrien, but his father.

"Get in, Miss Rossi," Gabriel Agreste said shortly.

She did, hesitating as she realised he was alone in the back. "Where's Adrien?"

"He did not send you that text. You are not the only one with the ability to deceive."

A cold chill went down her spine as the car pulled off, and Lila was suddenly very aware of the fact that no-one knew where she was.

"S-sir? What do you want?"

He didn't look at her, face set in grim determination as he stared straight ahead. "Adrien told Nathalie what you said about his mother."

Lila had guessed he'd found out, but still felt the blood drain from her face. "Sir, I swear, I never meant—I had no idea he was talking about his mom!"

"That is not the point. Your story could have severely hurt him, and the only reason it didn't was because he believes something tragic happened to her." He suddenly fixed Lila with a glare so fierce, she wished he was still looking straight ahead. "I wanted to tell you personally that if you ever do or say anything that could hurt Adrien again, regardless of whether or not you meant it to, you will severely regret it."

Lila waited for the car to stop, but it didn't. She glanced at the driver. It wasn't Adrien's bodyguard as usual; it was the aforementioned secretary. For some reason this felt foreboding.

"Um … wh-where are we going?"

He did not answer her question. "Miss Rossi, your relationship, in any sense, with my son is over. You are not to go near him again. You are not to talk about him or to him, and the same goes for his friends, because when they are hurt so is he. You are toxic and I will not have your poison harming my family."

"I understand, Mr Agreste."

"I'm not sure you do. You have been akumatized … how many times?"

"Er …" Lila said, taken aback at the question.

"Four, as I understand it. And you have a deep hatred of Ladybug which has made you valuable to Hawk Moth."

"I'm not sure I understand—Wait, how do you know?"

"I am very well informed, Miss Rossi. Especially about the people around my son. I want to make one thing absolutely clear. Should you be akumatized again, no matter what Hawk Moth wants of you, Adrien and his friends are off limits. You cannot use that as an excuse with me." His eyes sent icy daggers of fear through her. "You will find I can be a much more dangerous enemy than Hawk Moth."

Before she could register the movement, his hand had crept around her throat and started to squeeze.

Lila choked, struggling to draw breath, and grasped weakly at his strong fingers, trying to pull them off. They were immovable. He wasn't blocking her airways, but it hurt. She saw Nathalie glance in the mirror but merely look away, showing no sign of mercy.

Mr Agreste finally let go. "Is that absolutely clear?"

"Y-yes, s-sir," Lila gasped, massaging her throat.

"Now you are going to get out, and you are going to tell your parents about every single lie you have told. If I find you have missed any out, I will tell them myself."

They stopped, and Lila saw they were outside her home. She had never been so relieved to be able to get out of a car. She would take being grounded for the rest of her life over spending one more second in that man's company.

"This is your only warning," Gabriel Agreste said darkly, before closing the door again. The car pulled away.

Lila braced herself, and approached her front door.

"Don't dawdle on the way home," Gabriel said to Nathalie, settling back in his seat, satisfied and in anticipation. "I will not miss this opportunity."

"Of course, Mr Agreste."

He could already feel Lila's anger and frustration, but once her parents found out everything, it was bound to increase. Her next akumatization would be her most powerful form yet.

"Do you think she's afraid enough to leave Adrien alone?" Nathalie asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. "She might have thought you were bluffing."

"She didn't. I can tell." Gabriel looked back at his assistant. "Do you think it was too big a risk?"

"As long as you left no visible mark on her—"

"I didn't." He had been very careful not to.

"—and she's convinced that you really would hurt her if she hurt Adrien again—"

"Which I will. And she is."

"—then no. Even if she tries to tell someone you attacked her, no-one is going to believe her now."

Gabriel nodded. That had been the plan. His Miraculous glowed as Lila's emotions suddenly spiked. "Faster, Nathalie. I mean … Catalyst."

To Be Continued …

Author's Note: Thanks to phantombullets240 for your idea; it's what turned this into a multi-chapter fic.

I initially drafted the penultimate scene with Gabriel ending his deal with Lila, then remembered it hadn't happened yet in canon. Which is a shame because it would have been so much more tense. But I'm happy with the rewrite.

Part of the scene between Marinette and Gabriel was inspired by a conversation from Monster In Law, but it's been years since I've seen the film so I'm not sure how close it is to the original.

I have a plan for the next chapter, but action isn't my strong point, so it might take a little longer than the others to write!