Oh the things Gabriel Agreste would do for his wife. After leaving the gallery, he drove himself across town. He normally wouldn't be caught dead in the neighborhood he found himself in, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
After parking the car outside of a run-down building, he got out and walked into one of the stores. The inside of the building wasn't much better than the outside. The store was tiny, made even smaller by the large amount of dusty items overflowing on the shelves.
An old man was sitting behind the counter and looked up as Gabriel entered. "Good afternoon," he said.
Gabriel walked over to him. "I heard that you make keys here."
"You heard correctly, Mister...?"
"How long would it take to make one from an impression?"
The old man grinned. "Let me take a look, make sure it's good enough."
Gabriel reached into his jacket and pulled out a small rectangular case. After handing it over, the old man popped it open to reveal a piece of clay with the impression of a key inside.
He nodded. "Looks like you got a good one here."
Gabriel almost smiled. He was relieved that it was usable, considering how little time he had in the hallway of Adrien's apartment.
"How many do you need?" the old man continued.
"Just one."
"Alright, just one key..." he said before trailing off. He looked Gabriel up and down, noticing his expensive suit. "That'll be a hundred euros."
He scowled. "That seems like a lot of money for one key."
"But it's worth every cent. Especially if you want to keep this between us." The man smiled, revealing a mouth with no teeth left.
Gabriel sighed. "How long will it take?"
"About forty minutes."
"Make it in thirty, and I'll pay you double."
His eyes sparkled. "What did you say your name was?"
Gabriel glared at him. "I didn't."
The old man nodded and stood up. "I'll be back shortly, Sir." He ran to the back office as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.
************************************
"What do you think, Maman?" Marinette asked as she came out of the changing room. It was the eighth dress that she tried on. She felt her heart skip a beat when she first caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Hopefully her mother would like it as much as she did.
Sabine started tearing up again seeing her daughter walk back to the platform. "Oh sweetie, you look absolutely beautiful!"
"Stunning," Nathalie added with a huge smile.
Marinette smiled back. "I think this is it."
Sabine wiped her eyes with a tissue and sniffled. "I agree, sweetie. Definitely this one."
"Do you want to look at any more dresses, or do you want to stop here?" Mrs Rousseau asked Marinette.
"I don't need to try on any more. This is the one."
"Wonderful," the woman replied. "I'm sure that Mr Agreste will be quite pleased with your choice."
Sabine got up and hugged her daughter. "I need to get a few pictures to show your father. He's going to be crying like a baby when he sees you in this dress."
"Make sure that Adrien doesn't see them though. I want him to be surprised."
"Of course not. I will guard them with my life!" she declared. Then she tilted her head and tucked some hair behind Marinette's ear. "Adrien is going to fall in love with you all over again when he sees you wearing this dress on your wedding day."
"Maman, you're going to make me cry!"
"I'm sorry, but it's true. I just hope that he knows how lucky he is to have you."
"He does, Mrs Cheng," Nathalie answered for her. "It's very obvious that Adrien already knows."
"I'm glad. Alright now, let me get some pictures of you." She stepped back and took out her phone, snapping a few shots.
"Well we still have a little more time," Mrs Rousseau said. "Would you like to pick out any accessories? We could take a look at veils and shoes."
"Oh, uh..." Marinette stammered. "I don't think..."
"It's all included as a part of your gift," Nathalie interrupted. "Anything you want, it's yours."
Marinette smiled, her heart full of gratitude. "Thank you Nathalie."
"We even have some jewelry if you want to take a look," Mrs Rousseau added.
She held back a laugh. "I think I'm all set in the jewelry department."
************************************
Gabriel wanted to go home and soak himself in Lysol after being in that store, but he had to go back to the gallery. At least he had accomplished his task.
He found the women sitting in the chairs talking. "And how did it go?" he asked, approaching them.
"Superbly well," Mrs Rousseau answered, standing up. "Marinette selected her dress, veil and shoes, and I've already filled out the order form."
"Excellent. I trust that you'll be able to expedite this order?"
"Yes of course Mr Agreste. I will personally make sure that it arrives in time."
"Thank you Mrs Rousseau," Marinette said. "And thank you Mr Agreste for the lovely wedding gift."
"Yes, thank you so much," Sabine repeated. "I think Adrien will be very happy with what she chose."
"There's no doubt in my mind that he will be," Gabriel replied.
Sabine turned to her daughter. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I need to go. Your father is probably drowning at the bakery without me there."
"It's okay, Maman. I'll call you later."
The two stood up and hugged. Sabine said her goodbyes as she left.
"Well, Adrien should be here soon for his fitting," Gabriel said to Mrs Rousseau.
"And what about you, Mr Agreste? Will you be ordering a new suit as well? After all, your son doesn't get married everyday!"
He took a moment to think. "Yes, I suppose that I should."
"How wonderful," she replied. "I'll put your order in when Adrien selects his."
Marinette's phone chimed. After checking the message, she smiled. "Adrien's here," she said to them. "I'll tell him that he can come in." She quickly typed a message back and put her phone away.
A minute later Adrien came through the door. He went straight to Marinette and grabbed both of her hands with his. "How did it go?" he asked.
"It was great. I picked a dress," she responded, smiling.
He squeezed her hands. "I'm sure it's beautiful. But not as beautiful as you, of course." Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers.
"Aww, they are the cutest couple," Mrs Rousseau murmured to Gabriel. "You must be so happy that Adrien found someone like her."
"Ecstatic," he deadpanned. "Now, let's get started with this."
She nodded. "Adrien," she said, walking over to him. "I'm Mrs Rousseau, let's get you measured and find you a suit."
He smiled at her. "Thank you." Then he looked back at Marinette. "Will you help me pick one?"
"You want me to stay?" she asked, surprised.
"Yes I want you to stay. I have to make sure that my suit is on caliber with your dress. And since I can't see it until the wedding, I need you here to help me out. Unless... you've changed your mind and I can see the dress now?" he added hopefully.
"Sorry," she replied, giving him a coy smile. "But I haven't changed my mind."
He put a pout on.
She laughed. "Go get measured."
After another quick squeeze, Adrien let go of Marinette's hands and went up to the platform.
"Why don't you sit down, Mr Agreste?" Mrs Rousseau suggested. "After all, we need the father of the groom to approve too."
Gabriel reluctantly sat down next to Nathalie while Mrs Rousseau started measuring him.
"So," the woman continued. "How did you two meet?"
Dead silence.
"We met at school," Marinette finally answered.
"How wonderful. And was it love at first sight?"
"Not exactly," she chuckled.
Mrs Rousseau laughed too. "I see. Well sometimes the most meaningful relationships start out a little complicated."
"I think 'complicated' is the perfect word for it," Adrien replied, smiling.
She smiled back as she finished her measurements. "So, did you have any particular style in mind?" she asked him.
"Whatever Marinette wants."
"Adrien!" his fiancée objected. "You can pick whichever one you want!"
"It doesn't matter to me. I just want you to be happy."
Marinette sighed. "No, I don't have any particular style in mind," she told Mrs Rousseau.
"Well why don't we try a few different options on him? Then we can see which one you both prefer," Mrs Rousseau offered.
They nodded as she went over to the suits and selected a few. Then she and Adrien made their way to the changing room.
An awkward silence filled the room as the three people waited for Adrien to return. Luckily they didn't have too long to wait. Adrien came out in a navy blue suit jacket with a black lapel, navy blue pants, a white shirt and a black bow tie.
Marinette smiled brightly at seeing him. "You look amazing!"
He went up to the platform to check himself in the mirrors. "Yeah, I like it too. What do you think Father, Nathalie?"
"Very nice," Nathalie said, nodding.
"Yes, I agree," Gabriel added.
"Well, this seems like a contender," Mrs Rousseau remarked. "Let's try something else now." She guided him back to the changing room.
Another silence.
Next, Adrien came out in a black suit with a dark gray shirt and a black skinny tie.
A bigger smile from Marinette. "You look so handsome. I like this one even more."
"I like the sound of that," he replied before looking in the mirrors.
"Marinette's right," Nathalie said. "You look great."
Gabriel just nodded.
"Alright, let's try the next one." They went to the changing room again.
"That one's my favorite so far," Nathalie whispered over to Marinette.
"Mine too," she whispered back.
"And I think it fits the style of your dress nicely."
Marinette nodded at her. "Definitely."
Adrien made his way to the platform again. Marinette turned her head to look at him, her face falling as her eyes landed on the suit. The jacket was white. The pants were white. The shirt was white. Even the bow tie was white.
And Marinette started hyperventilating.
"What do you think about this one?" he asked, checking his reflection. When she didn't respond after a moment, he turned towards her. "Mari..." he started to say but stopped at seeing her expression. He furrowed his brow. "Marinette?" he tried again, stepping towards her.
She quickly stood up, knocking her chair backwards, before backing away. She couldn't speak. All she could do was shake her head as the tears welled up in her eyes.
Adrien kept walking towards her. "What's wrong?" he asked, very concerned about her reaction.
She continued backing away and put her arms up in a defensive stance. "No," she whispered.
He blinked at her in confusion as he stopped. Then he saw that her gaze was locked on his suit. Looking down at all the white he finally understood. He looked back up at her. "It's just me," he pleaded.
The words did nothing to calm her. Her tears started falling as she continued moving away.
"It's me," he repeated, quickly taking off the suit jacket and dropping it to the floor. He stepped forward.
"No," she cried.
"It's okay," he said, continuing to approach her. He moved up and grabbed her hands. A whimper of fear escaped her lips as he wrapped her up. Her legs gave out and he guided her down so they were both kneeling. He wouldn't let go of her. "It's just me. I'm safe, I'm safe..." he kept repeating as he held onto her.
She was struggling to get away from his grasp. Finally he pushed her back so she could see him. "Look at me, Princess. My eyes are green. I'm okay," he cried. "My eyes are green."
Marinette finally looked up at him. She stopped struggling when she found the green.
Adrien felt her relax as they stared at each other. Her breath was slowly steadying. "Adrien?" she whispered.
He nodded. "It's me. I'm so sorry, don't be afraid Princess."
With a sniffle she nodded back. "I... I'm sorry," she choked out.
Now he shook his head. "Don't be sorry. I love you Marinette. I'm right here, and I'm safe."
She tried to compose herself. Glancing past Adrien she saw Mrs Rousseau and Nathalie with horrified looks on their faces. Gabriel had a confused scowl.
After wiping her face, she stood up with Adrien's help. Once on her feet, she looked at him. "I'm sorry, please excuse me," she whispered before turning and quickly making her way out of the room.
Adrien watched her go. Then he turned around and slowly walked back to Mrs Rousseau, picking up the discarded jacket on the way. "I'm sorry Mrs Rousseau, but I'm afraid that this suit won't work," he said.
She nodded as she took the jacket from him.
Gabriel stood up. "What was that about?"
Adrien stared down at the floor for a moment before glaring over at him. "Nothing."
A moment of silence passed. Then he turned and went back to the changing room to get dressed.