Heart to heart with Gabriel in the previous chapter, how precious. See, he's not all that bad! I would also like to keep this as season 2 spoiler free as possible, and as of writing this (November 13), I've only watched the first three episodes, so let's keep the rest of the episodes as hush hush! Thanks again for all your support!

Chapter 7: Vis-à-vis

I'm late, I'm late, I'm so late! Marinette internally screamed. Her mother had specifically told her to come home at 17:00, but as always, she was caught up in her dream world of colors and fabrics and had spent a good hour after school had ended sifting through different yarn at the local fabric store to find the perfect shade of green to match Adrien's eyes. Sure, she still had all those other gifts she had to give him, but when the designing bug bit, Marinette was helpless to stop her hands from creating. It wasn't a complete waste of time, however, and she left the store with a soft cotton blend yarn that would make for a good pair of mittens.

Her feet slapped the pavement as she made a mad dash towards her home, weaving in between pedestrians and only stopping to catch her breath when the crosswalk signal turned red. A buzzing in her purse startled Marinette, and she winced when her mother's contact photo showed on the screen along with the time. 17:15.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Maman! I'm just a block from home; I'll be there soon!" Marinette immediately said when she answered the call.

"Oh, Marinette, and I reminded you this morning, too. What are we going to do with you?" Sabine said. However, her tone held its usual lightness, and Marinette knew she wasn't truly in trouble.

"Maman, you never told me why I had to be home by then, so of course I'm going to forget!" Marinette whined, crossing the street and taking her time making her way home.

"It's not polite to keep guests waiting, that's all I'm going to say, dear. Hurry home now," Sabine replied, disconnecting the call abruptly.

"Maman? Guests? Who-? Oh, great," Marinette said. Another minute of walking, and she arrived home, readjusting her purchase and pulling open the front door of the bakery.

Her father greeted her, saying, "Oh, Marinette, you're finally home. Now I can close early, and we can head upstairs."

Marinette was confused. "Close up early? Maman was talking about guests, what's she talking about, Papa?"

"Oh, you'll find out very soon, dear. Now flip over the sign, and we'll make our way upstairs," Tom said.

It didn't take much longer to stow away the unsold baked goods and to close the store, and soon, the two were heading upstairs to their home. Before opening the door, Marinette heard the calming voice of her mother and a deeper, sterner sounding voice. The guests, Marinette guessed.

"After you, Marinette," Tom said, gesturing to the door.

"Eh, okay…" Marinette twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door, saying, "Maman, I'm home. You said something about guests-" Her jaw couldn't have hit the floor harder when she saw who was in her living room.

"Okay, Plagg, how do I look?" Adrien turned towards his cat showing off his outfit-a simple t-shirt with a button up and his favorite blue jeans. "Casual, but not too casual, right?" Plagg opened one eye and gave him an uncaring "meow" before getting more comfortable in bed to continue snoozing. "Oh, you're no help, Plagg! I have to look good for my first-second?- meeting with Marinette!" It had been difficult to keep the meeting a secret ever since his father had arranged for them to have dinner at the Dupain-Cheng's. His mother may have said more than once that he couldn't lie to save his life, and it proved just as difficult to keep this surprise from Marinette for a whole week. As far as he knew, Marinette was the only one kept in the dark, and he couldn't wait to see her reaction when they arrived at afternoon. Adrien's heart was thumping in his chest at the prospect of being able to be with Marinette again. Sure, they talked every day, but seeing each other truly face to face was a whole other experience.

A knock at his door alerted him of his father's presence. "Adrien, are you ready?"

Adrien trotted to his bedroom door and eagerly yanked it open. "Yes, Father! I'm ready! I can't wait for you to meet Marinette!"

Gabriel gave a small, knowing smile at his son's enthusiasm. This dinner was certainly a good idea, and the joy his son's soulmate brought to him was worth more than a thousand clothing designs.

A few minutes' drive was all it took to get to the boulangerie, but suddenly Adrien seemed to have second thoughts. "What if they're really busy, Father? Maybe we can schedule to come in another time…" Adrien said, wiping his palms on his jeans to get rid of the sweat and the clamminess.

"Son, this is what you've wanted for months. Are you afraid to see Marinette?" Gabriel asked.

"No, that's not it!" Adrien exclaimed. "I just…what if her parents don't like me? What if they don't like me and forbid me to see her and then they'll take away her mirror and phone and I won't be able to talk to her and-"

To be honest, Gabriel had stopped listening to his son ramble about what ifs. Goodness, Adrien definitely took after his mother when it came to an overactive imagination, and it was times like this where he wished his wife would be able to support him and give Adrien the encouragement he needed. She was the parent who was good at pep talks.

Laying a hand on Adrien's shoulder, Gabriel stopped him midsentence. "Son, there is nothing to be nervous about. An Agreste man does what he can to make the best first impression, and if your descriptions about their daughter give any indication of her upbringing, they will adore you, as well."

Adrien brightened up, and Gabriel gave himself a mental pat on the back; he wasn't too bad at this pep talk thing.

At 17:00 on the dot, they stepped through the bakery door, a cheerful bell chiming their presence. Adrien took a moment to take in the shining glass display cases and the clean tile floors, a warm and comforting aura permeating the space.

"Good afternoon! Oh, you must be the Agrestes!" A booming voice called out. Adrien turned to see a bear of a man step out from behind the register, offering a hand to his father. "It's good to finally meet the Gabriel himself."

"Likewise, Tom," his father replied. Turning to him, he said, "This is my son, Adrien, though you might have guessed that already."

Adrien shyly held out a hand for Tom to shake, but the man bypassed that to give him what Marinette called "the famous bear hug."

"Ah, Adrien! Marinette has said so much about you! Sabine, come out and meet Gabriel and Adrien!" Tom called.

From the back room, Sabine emerged with a pleasant smile. "Good afternoon, Gabriel, Adrien. It's so nice to finally meet you two." Sabine shook his father's hand, and Adrien's heart warmed to receive another hug. His father was right, he didn't have anything to be afraid of! "Oh, you are much more handsome in person than those photos Marinette has of you, Adrien."

Adrien blushed at the thought of Marinette keeping photos of himself, but he wasn't an innocent person, either, because he kept candid shots of Marinette on his phone.

"Shall we head upstairs?" Sabine asked.

Adrien perked up. "Is Marinette waiting for us upstairs?"

"She isn't, actually. You may not be aware of it, but Marinette isn't the most punctual person in the world. In fact, I should give her a ring just in case she's forgotten," Sabine said. "I'm sorry to keep you two waiting. Perhaps if we had told her instead of keeping this as a surprise, Marinette would have made sure to come home by now."

"It's okay," Adrien said. "It's a quirk of hers that I like. She's scatterbrained, but really puts her focus on things important to her. Marinette is likely at the store buying materials, if I know her well. Besides, imagine her reaction when she sees us!"

Adrien couldn't help but listen in on Sabine's phone conversation with Marinette, and even though the speaker wasn't on, he recognized Marinette's frantic voice on the other side. Sabine winked at him when she mentioned "guests," and after the brief conversation, Sabine hung up the phone. "She's just around the corner, so let's head upstairs. This way, please."

Tom spoke up, "I'll stay down here and close the store while Marinette gets home. She'll likely have a lot of questions about our 'guests.'"

Nodding, Sabine led Adrien and his father towards the back of the store and up the stairwell. Unlocking the door to the residence, Sabine opened it to a very inviting and pink living space. Adrien took a guess that Marinette had some hand in their interior decorating, if her own pink bedroom was anything to go by.

"Thank you again for making time to visit us, Mr. Agreste. Marinette will be ecstatic to finally meet you two," Sabine said, offering the two a seat on the couch and a cup of steaming tea. Adrien guessed that she made the pot just before they arrived, judging from the temperature of the liquid.

"It is our pleasure, Sabine. Soulmates have been a very big part of Adrien's life, and this first meeting will undoubtedly be the start of something new," Gabriel replied, politely sipping on the tea.

The two adults continued to engage in small talk, but Adrien couldn't help but fidget in his seat. He didn't want to seem rude, so he continued to sip on the tea, glancing at the front door every few seconds as if willing Marinette to appear.

"Adrien," Sabine called to him. He turned towards the woman and was embarrassed to see a smirk on her face. "A watched pot doesn't boil, as they say."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm just nervous," Adrien said, setting his tea and saucer on the coffee table.

"As expected, it is your first time seeing Marinette in person," Gabriel said. "Perhaps…"

At that moment, the door knob jiggled, and a voice called out, "Maman, I'm home. You said something about guests-"

Adrien stood up from his seat and turned towards the front door. Later, he would retell the tale of a magical moment when their eyes met, Marinette's blue eyes growing comically wide as she dropped a bag of supplies and practically leapt at Adrien. Of course, Adrien caught her, hands around her waist as he staggered to accommodate her.

"Adrien!" Marinette cried, arms around his neck and almost in tears, though her wide smile was definitely a testament to how she was feeling at the moment. "How are you here right now?"

Adrien chuckled and tightened his hold on Marinette. "Surprise? So, this is what happened after I talked to my father about you last week!"

"And you kept this a secret from me this whole time! But I'm so happy to see you, Adrien," Marinette said. She rubbed her face into his neck, forgetting where they were now, and even though he reveled in the intimacy, Adrien realized what it must look like to their parents. Looking up, he wasn't surprised to see Tom and Sabine cooing and Sabine holding up her cell phone to catch the moment. His own father was having difficulty keeping a smile off his face and raised an eyebrow at him.

Gabriel cleared his throat and Marinette finally realized what she was doing, jumping away from Adrien and covering her red cheeks with her hands. "Miss Dupain-Cheng, it is a pleasure to finally meet the girl who has captured Adrien's attention and affections. Gabriel Agreste," his father said, offering her a hand to shake. Marinette was momentarily stunned and merely stared at her idol's hand until Adrien nudged her with his shoulder, reanimating her.

"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Agreste! I've looked up to you for so long, and for you to be the father of my soulmate-why, I've never felt luckier!" Marinette explained, enthusiastically shaking his hand.

"And I, you. I believe that you are a fellow designer, and I look forward to seeing your progress towards this career," Gabriel said.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Marinette answered, vigorously nodding her head.

"Now that we're all acquainted, shall we go on to supper?" Sabine asked.

Dinner was a warm affair, and Adrien didn't have to guess that the liveliness was putting his father in a good mood. Like himself, perhaps his father also missed the feeling of a family dinner, and only one more thing could have made it perfect-his mother. Afterwards, the dishes were put into the sink to be washed later, and Marinette took Adrien by the arm to pull him aside.

"Adrien, are you staying for long?" Marinette asked. She hoped to spend some time with him, but it would have been selfish to ask him to stay longer than Gabriel had wanted them to. Gabriel noticed the two teens and said, "We adults have some things to discuss, so you two are more than welcome to talk in your room, Marinette."

"Thank you, Father!" Adrien said, and as if he already knew where her room was (of course he knew), he led Marinette up the stairs, and her trapdoor slammed down in their excitement to get away from their parents.

Sabine watched on fondly and said, "I believe this is the start of something beautiful."

"Indeed, and while they connect, I didn't lie, because we do have things to discuss, Tom, Sabine," Gabriel said, taking a seat on the sofa.

"Oh, yes, we do. While their futures are their own, as parents, we can't help but want to make sure they are as happy as possible," Sabine said. "So we bend fate as we can…"