I read Sinfulpapillon's ficlet Empathy over on AO3 and had a mighty need to write from Gabe's POV.

Caught

"I apologise for my lateness, but I was not expecting to have to be here in person," Gabriel said in lieu of a greeting as he entered Principal Damocles office without knocking, "I was analysing the result of my latest work. What have I missed?"

Taking in his surroundings for the first time, he noted Adrien and one of his female classmates sitting in the two chairs which sat directly in front of the Principal's desk. The girl (which he realised was that infatuated fan of his son's which had admitted to taking his book earlier in the year) kept glancing uncomfortably between the two snickering adults he presumed were her parents sitting next to her and Adrien himself.

The boy appeared quite uncomfortable too, but the thing which caught his attention the most was Nathalie. Standing off to one side of the room, her tablet which she had tried to use to video call him into the discussion clamped tightly against her chest, her shoulders were shaking in silent laughter and her was mouth twisted as she unsuccessfully attempted to keep a straight face.

He cocked an eyebrow at the lack of her usual stoic demeanour and moved to sit in the empty seat beside Adrien, who kept his head low and refused to look at him.

"Clearly, I have missed something. Can someone reveal to me what is going on?"

To Gabriel's shock, Adrien whined. Actually whined.

"Ah yes, Mr Agreste, glad you could make it," said the Principal, looking slightly embarrassed himself, "As I'm sure you're aware we have very strict policies on how students can, um, fraternise with one another on school grounds-" the young girl threw her face into her hands at his words, "-and I'm afraid your son and Miss Dupain-Cheng here were caught in direct violation of them."

The large man sitting beside the girl, Mr Dupain-Cheng it seemed, gave a loud hoot of laughter as both teens sunk lower in their seats, faces warming in sheer humiliation.

"Furthermore," continued Principal Damocles, "They then attempted to lie about their reasons for being found in a cramped janitor's closet together over lunch."

"I see," said Gabriel, eyeing Adrien with intrigue.

"Marinette and I were trying to hide from the akuma," he mumbled, uncomfortable under his scrutiny,

"There was a window. So we could escape if it came after us," Marinette added from behind her hands.

"The akuma?" he asked sceptically, "I thought it only got close to the school right before it was stopped."

"It did," laughed Mr Dupain-Cheng, glancing at him over the top of his grinning wife's head, "we saw Ladybug and Chat Noir finish the fight in front of the bakery."

"Just in time too," added Mrs Dupain-Cheng, "From all the beeping, it sounded like they were about to lose the secret in secret identity."

"Not to mention-" Gabriel's eyes snapped back to the Principal again- "the mentioned window is too high for anyone to get in or out through. The janitor found them inside and he had been nearby the door for over ten minutes. He assures me they did not go in while he was there so they must have already been inside..."

"Which is sometime before there would have been any perceived danger," Gabriel finished for him.

"Father, I-"

"Adrien," he interrupted, "I sincerely hope this was not just some frivolous act of rebellion."

"What? No! We-"

"I am only going to ask this once," he said, noticing that the Dupain-Cheng girl had finally emerged from behind her hands to watch the discussion with fascination, "Do you like this girl?"

He watched with a smirk as the boy's eyes widened exponentially and he whipped his head around to make eye contact with her. Marinette's face darkened the longer he stared but she seemed determined not to look away.

"Yes," Adrien finally answered, his voice trembling a little with the intensity of the emotions behind his words.

Once again, the renowned fashion designer observed the teenage girl sitting next to his son as she let out a small squeak before taking a deep breath and showing a shy smile.

"Good. In that case, Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, my son and I would like to invite you and your daughter to join us for dinner this evening."

"That would be wonderful Mr Agreste," Marinette's mother said, "Though, please call us Tom and Sabine. We'll bring something for dessert."

Gabriel nodded. "Come along Adrien," he said as he rose from his chair.

"Ah, the topic of punishment-" Principal Damocles began.

"Can most effectively be dealt with at home, I believe," Gabriel said before he strode from the room, Adrien and Nathalie towing along behind him. As they walked he could hear the Dupain-Chengs saying their goodbyes to a stuttering Principal Damocles, who was clearly at a loss as to how to regain control of the situation.

"When we return home, ensure your room is clean and tidy," he said to the boy now trotting to catch up to his longer strides so he could walk beside him, "After all I'm sure it's a much more preferable place to entertain Miss Dupain-Cheng than a janitor's closet, is it not?"

It case it wasn't obvious, the two of them were caught immediately after finding out their identities, so they have had no time to discuss it or the fact that they're actually in love with one another.