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Chapter 2: How Disastrous Can This Get?

"So how about this! I come in and say, 'How do you do this fine night, Mr. Agreste? Or wait, how about good evening because you know, something simple. Oh, or I can say, G'day govna so I can sound like I'm smart?" Marinette said, brainstorming some greetings.

"Or you could say a simple hello? Just be yourself, Marinette." Adrien chuckled. Marinette and Adrien came up to Agreste manor. Adrien's used to seeing the tall white building he calls home. However, the fact that he was about to go through something fairly new scared him a bit. Dark clouds began to come over the mansion as if a thunderstorm was about to rain over Paris. It just screamed that they were in for a weird night. Adrien turned his head to Marinette, seeing her swallow her own spit in fear.

"So...you ready?" He asked her. Marinette took a breath, about to speak until a camera came up above them.

"AH!" They exclaimed simultaneously.

"Adrien, your father is waiting for you in the entryway." Nathalie said through the camera's speakers. Adrien and Marinette blankly stared at it.

"Thanks Nathalie." Adrien chuckled nervously. The gate began to open, allowing them to enter. They turned their heads to look at each other. Fear showed in their eyes. "Let's um...head in, I guess." He told her before walking with Marinette through the gateway into the property. "Huh…" Adrien uttered under his breath.

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just realized this is the first time you're going into my house without the costume." He said.

"Actually, it's not the first time. I might have confronted your dad on multiple occasions." She told him. Adrien gasped.

"Wait, when was that?" Adrien asked her.

"Oh uh...remember the book you found in your dad's safe?" Marinette asked him. Adrien nodded. "Well, I heard from Chloe that you weren't coming back to school because you 'lost' the book. The truth is I had it because Lila stole it so I took it back and...well I gave it back to your father and convinced him to let you come back to school." Marinette explained with a smile. Adrien was touched by what she did.

"Ohhhh! I was wondering how he got the book back. That's so thoughtful of you!" Adrien replied before taking her hand. She looked down at his hand grasping hers before looking back up to face him, biting her lip. "We got this, Marinette." He told her. She nodded with confidence before walking towards the large doors, leading to the tall entryway. They walked into the mansion, looking up at the brightly lit chandelier above them. They could smell foods of all kinds; meats, pastries, and many more delectable meals. Everything in the house looked newly cleaned and polished, making the mansion look as pristine as a royal palace.

"It looks like the maids worked hard today." Adrien said. Marinette turned to look at him.

"I cannot believe your family has maids." She told him. Adrien shrugged.

"Well, I don't exactly agree with maids but-" Adrien replied before being interrupted by a tall man walking down the stairs.

"Hello, Adrien...Marinette, it's a pleasure to see you." Gabriel said. Marinette and Adrien looked up, watching him take his time.

"Hi, father." Adrien said with a smile.

"The pleasure is all mine, good sir." Marinette said. She began to curtsy before Adrien gently elbowed her, begging her not to do that. She froze and stood up, stiff as a bone. Gabriel took a second, noticing her well-made outfit.

"The apparel you're wearing is very tasteful, Marinette. I wouldn't expect anything more from the girl who made Adrien's hat for the charity campaign." He told Marinette as she looked at her outfit for a second with a smile.

"Wow. thank you, sir!" Marinette replied.

"May I ask where you found it?" Gabriel asked sternly. Adrien decided to get into the conversation.

"She actually made it, father."

"Well I must say, I am impressed, Marinette. You're going to make a fine fashion designer someday." Gabriel said, nodding. Marinette couldn't believe that Gabriel said that to her. Hearing those words from a world-renown fashion designer was a dream come true. She was living her best life at the moment. To the left of them, the dining room door opened to reveal a butler.

"Dinner is ready, sir." He told them. Gabriel, without saying anything, walked towards the door. Marinette began to follow until Adrien gently grabbed her shoulder, slowing her down a little

"Did you really almost curtsy?" Adrien asked her, kind of amused as they walked over to the door.

"Zip it." Marinette chuckled. Adrien rolled his eyes, amused before going through the door with her, revealing a long table. In the middle of it revealed a cornucopia dressed in Swarovski crystals. It was glistening so much that Marinette squinted. In the cornucopia lay faux fruit and flowers in colors of purple, green, and a cream white. Marinette had to hand it to the person who made it. They really know how to make something so simple look so beautiful.

Adrien pulled a chair out for Marinette; one that wasn't next to Gabriel, just to make her feel a little less nervous. Once he pushed in her chair he sat in between her and Gabriel. Marinette noticed Gabriel watching Adrien's moves carefully, almost as if he was making sure Marinette was being treated like a princess. Gabriel sat down and looked at the two of them.

"My chefs prepared the most exquisite food we have here so I hope you find it to your taste." Gabriel told Marinette. Adrien has had all of this before so there was no reason for his father to tell him. Three butlers came around with covered dishes, placing them in front of the three of them along with a glass of water. Marinette was very eager to lift the cover off of it. She reached her hand out before Adrien took his hand and gently grabbed hers, pushing it down to her lap. He smiled and shook his head, hinting for Marinette to wait.

They lifted the covers, revealing plates filled with different types of food; bluefin tuna, wagyu beef, a side of la bonnotte potatoes, and other things that Marinette couldn't name. Marinette had never seen so much food in front of her face before. To think it was all just for the three of them made her a little bit dizzy. She looked around, feeling like one of the luckiest girls in the world. Something suddenly caught her eye; caviar. When in her life has she ever seen caviar?!

"Caviar...Adrien that's caviar!" Marinette whispered loudly as she grabbed his arm, hopping in her seat. Seeing caviar on her plate made her feel like royalty. Adrien nodded.

"Yeah, dad has it every month for dinner. I don't like it that much but you can give it a try."

"Did you say...every month? Wow. You guys are rich." Marinette said quietly, trying to make sure Gabriel didn't hear. Adrien watched Marinette take a spoonful of the caviar and put it in her mouth. She was amazed by the taste of it. She didn't have to say anything for Adrien to know that she loved it. He took the caviar off his plate and put it on hers.

"Mmm...thanks!" Marinette said with a mouth full of food.

"Um, Marinette? You're supposed to put that on top of bread." Adrien told her. Marinette stopped chewing, looking like a chipmunk with her cheeks stuffed with food. She noticed Gabriel looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She was starting to realize how un-ladylike she was being at the moment. She took a drink of her water and swallowed the caviar before taking her napkin and delicately patting her mouth dry. She cleared her throat.

"So uh...Mr. Agreste-" Marinette said.

"Please, call me Gabriel. We don't have to be too formal now, do we?" Gabriel said as he began cutting the chicken on his plate. Adrien thought it was weird that his father was telling Marinette to call him by his first name. He never tells anyone to do that.

"Sorry, Mr A-" Marinette cleared her throat once again. "I mean, Gabriel...sorry I just never thought I would be calling you by your first na-" Marinette looked at Adrien, seeing him biting his lip. That was a hint that she should move on to another topic. She gently placed her hands on the table before picking up her fork and knife. "So, anything new in the fashion industry?" Marinette asked as she cut a pea from her table. The knife completely missed the pea and it flew right off of her plate, rolling onto the floor. She gave the pea a blank stare, slowly moving her eyes to Gabriel, who was staring at her with a raised eyebrow. He drank a bit of water.

"No. Other than getting a request to design a piece for Jagged Stone, not much."

"You're designing a piece for Jagged Stone? That's awesome!"

"You believe creating clothing for a man with an appalling taste in music is, as you say...awesome?"

"Well, I...um." Marinette said, finding this whole dinner so uncomfortable. She had no idea what to talk about other than fashion. Plus, the fact that Adrien's father hates Jagged Stone's music really takes the cake. Gabriel is very secretive so she didn't know much about him other than the fact that he's a fashion designer and...well...that he doesn't like Jagged Stone's music. She tried to say something, hoping that Adrien would get into the conversation and help her out. She opened her mouth to speak.

"So, father…" Adrien began saying. Marinette gave a very quiet sigh of relief.

"How are your grades, son? I trust that you are doing well in your studies." Gabriel said, interrupting him. Adrien's face turned sour. Marinette couldn't believe that he doesn't let his own son talk. It's only fair for a father to bond with his son and hear him out at least. Adrien let out a sigh and looked down.

"They're good." Adrien said sadly.

"Good." Gabriel replied. Marinette couldn't believe how awful this dinner was going. It didn't even feel like dinner at all. It felt like a business meeting.

Time went by...and the dinner was still awkward. Gabriel turned his head to Marinette.

"So what are your intentions with my son?" Gabriel asked Marinette. Adrien started choking on his water. Marinette stared at him blankly.

"My...intentions?" Marinette questioned him.

"That is what I asked." Gabriel said.

"Well, I was thinking of talking with you about the dowry after dessert." Marinette said. Adrien spit out his tuna and quickly looked over at her as his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Gabriel stopped drinking his water midway and glared. Marinette's joke didn't work in the least. "Heh...that was...that was a joke." She said as she blushed, a little embarrassed.

"I don't find meddling with my son humorous, Miss. Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel said to her. Marinette began waving her hands about.

"I don't either, sir, I was just kidding." Marinette told him. He continued to glare at her, not finding her funny at all.

"I don't take that as a joke. I feel that with you being the reason that my son was akumatized, you might not have my son's best interests in mind."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Marinette asked a bit aggressively. Gabriel didn't even answer back. He glared at Marinette strongly as he stood up out of his chair. Marinette did the same. Adrien sat there looking back and forth at the two of them, scared of what was going to come out of this.

"I care more about your son than you think you know. Plus, you know I didn't mean for Adrien to get akumatized."

"I agree with her, father. You're being unfair." Adrien added as he stood up with them.

"I need to guarantee that my son won't get hurt again. He could have gotten killed." Gabriel said with a stern look.

"I'm sorry but you shouldn't be automatically assuming that I'm going to hurt Adrien again. Besides, I didn't mean to-" Marinette explained quite forcefully, defending herself. Gabriel scowled at her. Adrien was to the point of having a panic attack. He didn't like to see his father and girlfriend fight like this. Gabriel interrupted her.

"Then would you mind telling me what you did to upset my son and get him akumatized?" Gabriel asked her. Marinette grew silent. She had to keep that a secret. If she told him, it could lead to something disastrous, even though the dinner so far had turned into exactly that. She prepared herself.

"I...can't say." Marinette stated. Gabriel growled, wanting to know why she would keep the reason why Adrien was hurt from his own father. He grew even more furious by the second.

"How dare you keep that a secret from me! He's my son!" Gabriel exclaimed. Adrien was about to lose it.

"Father, it doesn't matter. I'm fine now. Let's just forget about it, please?" Adrien said calmly, trying to keep his cool.

"No, Adrien. It seems as if your 'girlfriend' here wants to be secretive. I will not allow it!" Gabriel said, glaring at an angered Marinette.

"Adrien's allowed to keep secrets! He's allowed to live a life of his own too, considering you don't let him live one at all!" Marinette yelled, not even caring about what she was saying anymore. Gabriel had taken it too far. Adrien stared at Marinette, seeing a whole new side of her come out. He never thought she'd say something so straight forward.

"How dare you...I am trying to keep him safe!" Gabriel growled, loudly.

"And when he goes to school one day and is in a situation he doesn't know how to handle because you sheltered him so much, who's fault will it be then?!" Marinette replied. Adrien couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the chair underneath him and slammed it onto the table, making the entire room grow silent.

"Can this all stop?!" Adrien screamed as he slammed the table with clenched fists. The chefs and butlers came in from the kitchen, wondering what just happened. Adrien's breath was heavy. His blood was boiling. He knew the dinner would be weird, but he never had expected it to get this heated so fast. "I just wanted a normal dinner! Is that too much to ask? Why can't you be kind instead of treating everyone like they're never good enough for your acceptance!? Why can't you just be a normal father for once!?" Gabriel and Marinette stared at Adrien, filled with rage. Tears were about to come down his face before he ran out, crying. As he ran out, Gabriel turned to face Marinette again. Marinette scowled at him. She ran the same direction, trying her hardest to catch up to Adrien. Gabriel watched her run out, wondering if he was part of the reason that Adrien was upset this whole time.

"Why can't you just be a normal father for once!?"

Gabriel thought of that sentence in his head. He began pondering his intentions for Adrien. Was he being too hard on him? He never considered the fact that Adrien wasn't living the life he wanted. Adrien's pointed it out to him many times. Had he listened though? Nathalie came over to him.

"Sir?" Nathalie said, wondering if he was okay.

"Get out…" Gabriel said quietly.

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't hear what you-" Nathalie added.

"I said get out! All of you!" Gabriel screamed at the top of his lungs as took a plate and threw it towards the waiters and waitresses. They all ducked their heads avoiding the plate before it hit the wall, breaking. Everyone hurried out of the dining room before he sat back down in his chair, placing his face into his palms, ashamed at what just transpired. His breath was heavy and he was on the verge of tears. He regretted everything that just happened.

"Adrien?" Marinette called out. She had no idea where he ran off to, considering how gigantic his home is. She kept walking around, looking in every corner and crevice of every room. She stepped into a room, seeing the artwork of a woman on the wall. It must have been about 15 or so feet tall. "Is this...his mom?"

"Yes." Adrien said from the other side of the room. Marinette turned, hearing his voice. He was sitting on the floor near a window, completely distraught. She hesitated for a moment before walking over to him.

"Um...Adrien...I-" Marinette said, a little scared to speak. Adrien raised his hand up, stopping her from talking. She gasped, worried that he was going to yell at her.

"Don't worry. I'm not mad at you." Adrien said.

"Oh." Marinette replied, absolutely relieved.

"It's just my father. He doesn't know when to stop talking. He had no right to treat you that way." He groaned. Marinette walked over and sat next to him, close to where she could comfort him.

"Agreed. I still think he loves you and all, but there's a fine line." Marinette explained.

"I just…" Adrien took a breath. "I remember when things were better when my mom was still around." Adrien said as he rested his head on his knees, sighing. "My dad wasn't like this a year ago. He was a much better person...a happier person, especially." Marinette stayed silent, letting him get out all of his emotions. Adrien got up before walking over to the artwork of his mother. He bit his lip, trying to hold the tears in. "I want mom back." Adrien said under his breath with a shaky voice. Marinette walked over to him. She reached her arms out, offering a hug to him. He quickly took it, holding her tight.

"I'm sorry all this happened. Maybe I, uh...shouldn't have said anything."

"Don't say sorry. I've been too afraid to say something because well...he's my father. He's always had this feeling of superiority. He needed to hear the truth for once in his life. " Adrien said before Plagg came out of his shirt pocket.

"Yeah, your dad was being really immature. He didn't even let you have dessert yet!" Plagg said.

"Plagg, that's not helping." Tikki said as she peeked out of Marinette's purse.

"Fine! Then we'll talk about how there was no camembert. I was expecting more out of a millionaire." Plagg replied before Tikki turned to Marinette and Adrien.

"I don't even know why I'm surprised." Tikki told them. Marinette and Adrien looked at each other and smiled, amused at Plagg's stomach talking instead of his brain. As they embraced, he looked at the painting. He suddenly noticed something odd about it.

"Hey, what the…"

"What's wrong?" Marinette wondered, observing the painting herself. He began pointing to specific, small, shapes that covered the painting

"Right here...wait, and here. It's almost like these parts are pushed in. Is the painting damaged?" Adrien said, biting his lip.

"I don't know. All paintings get damaged at some point, I would think." Marinette replied.

"There's more to this painting than you think. There's a safe behind it. It's where I found that book my father's been keeping." Adrien explained to her as he looked closely at the pushed in parts of the painting. Marinette gasped.

"Oh yeah, I remembering opening this!" Plagg added.

"It was more like breaking and entering but, yeah, he opened it."

"Really? Wait, do you mean the spell book?" Marinette asked before Adrien nodded. "My question is, why would your father have that book?" Marinette wondered.

"I don't know. I mean, we ruled out my father being Hawkmoth." Adrien said.

"Yeah, because he was turned into the Collector. So...what can it be then?" Marinette asked. Tikki went closer to the painting and examined the pushed in parts of the painting.

"The painting isn't damaged." Tikki said to them.

"Huh?" They all responded.

"They're buttons! I think you're supposed to push them in all at once." Tikki said, taking out a pipe from out of nowhere and blowing into it. "It's elementary, dear Watson." Bubbles came out of it. Marinette blankly stared. "Um...wrong time?...okay." Tikki said as she made the pipe disappear. Tikki moved out of the way. Adrien came closer to the painting. He thought for a moment, then took his fingers and pushed the four damaged areas of the painting. Marinette and Adrien suddenly heard gears turning. The floor suddenly started to descend underneath them. They both gasped, looking beneath them. Adrien and Marinette suddenly grabbed a hold of each other. They started going through a lit up tunnel system. It was pretty tight.

"Um, Adrien?" Marinette poked him.

"Yeah?"

"Did I ever mention that I'm slightly claustrophobic?" Marinette said as she dug her face into his shoulder, not wanting to look around her and make her claustrophobia worse. They continued to descend before they stopped. A glass barrier formed around them. They were suddenly moving backwards.

"Huh..." Tikki said

"Well, this screams Charlie and the Chocolate Factory now, doesn't it?" Plagg said.

"How do you know about that movie?" Adrien asked him.

"Listen, I've lived for thousands of years. I've seen more entertainment than you ever will in your lifetime." Plagg told them. They were suddenly halted. The platform began moving back up, lifting for a minute until they were brought to a large room, filled with white butterflies.

"Where are we?" Marinette asked.

CHAPTER 3 COMING SOON!