Chapter 22

                                    

                                          
Epiloge pt 2
Adrien
He landed back in his room, glancing at his alarm clock as he detransformed. He had been at Marinette's for close to an hour. Maybe no one had come to check on him. He grinned at Plagg, before jogging over to his bedroom door. He unlocked it, heading down the stairs. Natalie wasn't at her desk, and his father's office door was open. He peeked inside, his stomach twisting at the state the room was in. The entire floor was littered with shattered statues, destroyed paintings and even a few ripped pieces of fabric. The only thing in the entire room that was untouched was the painting of his mother.
"Father?"
There was no answer, so he decided to search his father's room. Again, empty. They wouldn't have just left, right? They would have cared enough to stay. Wouldn't they?
"Natalie?" He called, his voice echoing in the seemingly empty mansion.
 He heard a clicking of heels, and he turned with a smile to look at Natalie. She stared at him as if she had seen a ghost, which is probably what it felt like to her.
"Marinette Du-pain Cheng is my soulmate. Figured it out last minute. Have you seen father?"
She blinked, shaking her head as she pulled him into a hug.
"I... I think perhaps he's in the garden."
He pulled away from her, giving her another comforting smile before racing down the stairs. Luckily, his father was in the garden. 
(Ngl guys, the first thing that popped into my head almost immediately was that hawkie would be in his office completely transformed and that it would be a reveal moment, but I didn't have the energy nor creativity to continue with that. But it would have been a hard blow to our baby.)
He took a deep breath, fixing his posture.
"Father? I found my soulmate."
He turned, his eyes wide with an emotion Adrien simply couldn't process seeing on his father's face. Love. And relief. Proof that he cared. That he cared enough to stop trying to hide his emotions behind a cold, dead expression. Gabriel wrapped him in a hug, his entire frame trembling.
"Father?" He questioned, quite unused to such affectionate acts from the man he had cowered from most of his life.
"I was so alone." His father whispered, and the warmth in Adrien's chest immediately vanished.
 His father wasn't worried about him. He was worried about being alone. Of having no one in his life except for his assistant. He pulled away, forcing himself to remain expressionless.
"Im... I'm so relieved you're alright." Gabriel sighed, running a hand through his hair to fix its disheveled state.
 Adrien clenched his jaw, managing a nod.
"Well? Who is she?"
He almost didn't want to tell him. It wasn't his business, and he honestly didn't want Marinette to have to deal with a man like Gabriel. But he was still his father.
"Marinette Du-pain Cheng. Do you remember her?"
His father smiled, another thing Adrien wasn't used to.
"The aspiring designer. I remember. She'll make a wonderful addition to the business someday."
Adrien wanted to snap at that point. He didn't want Marinette working with his father. She could create her own business, and it would be even greater than Gabriel's. But that was Marinette's choice, not his. He couldn't answer for her, so he decided to say nothing. At least he approved of her.