Marinette and Adrien stand cowardly in his father's office. The wet sketchbook and its ripped pages sit on his desk and she hangs her head low as he looks through them. She cringes as the running colors stain his fingers and wishes more than anything she were somewhere else.
"These aren't quite what I was expecting," Gabriel admits, dropping a page and rubbing his hand on a handkerchief. "A little more dry, maybe."
Adrien steps forward. "Father, you can't blame Marinette. This morning she was almost hit by a car and she dropped all her things," He defends. "You have to understand."
"I understand completely, Adrien." Gabriel's focus turns on the sketchbook and he grabs the ruined pages, laying them down on a clear scanner. The two teenagers watch in confused awe as images of Marinette's designs appear on the computer screen, her sketches back in original form and full color. Brand new, almost.
"Woah! How did you do that?" Marinette asks, impressed.
"There's a lot of things I can do, Miss Dupain-Cheng." Gabriel scrolls through the pictures on the screen, pausing to think on some. His facial expression never changes and Marinette can't tell if he loves or hates them. Adrien notices the worry growing on her face and reaches a sly hand over to grab and squeeze her hand. She smiles. Gabriel swipes the images away and turns towards them. "Your work is far impressive. It's a shame I'm not able to see your sketches in person."
"I-I can sketch them again. It won't be the exact same-"
Gabriel raises a hand and she stops talking. "That won't be necessary, but I will have your sketchbook sent out and restored. Your pages will be good as new in a few weeks."
"Oh," She whispers. "Thank you."
"As for the internship..." Gabriel straightens his back and stares down at the girl. "It's as good as yours, if you still want it."
Marinette's eyes widen. "Really?"
He nods. "Yes. You are far more talented than the other candidates, and while they were punctual, they were not as exceptional as you are. I'd be honored to have you working for the Agreste brand."
"Ohh! Thank you! Thank you!"
Marinette steps forward to hug his father, but Adrien grabs her jacket and pulls her back and whispers, "He's not a touchy person."
"Right," She whispers back, embarrassed.
"I hope you can start Monday morning after school?" Gabriel asks and she nods. "Please speak with my assistant Natalie before you leave. She'll give you your schedule and explain what's expected here."
"You don't have any idea how happy I am, Mr. Agreste," Marinette starts with a grateful smile. "I can't thank you enough for giving me this opportunity."
He shakes his head. "No need, Miss Dupain-Cheng. The pleasure's all mine." He faces his son. "Adrien, I need to speak with you privately while your friend sees Natalie."
Adrien was expecting this. "Yes, Father."
Marinette leaves and closes the door behind her.
Gabriel turns away from his son and stares out the window. "Your name is in the headlines again, Adrien, but for all the wrong reasons, one I never would've expected."
"I know-"
"So you're Cat Noir." He finally looks at his son. "Right under my nose the entire time. I had no idea."
"I'm pretty good at keeping secrets," Adrien unwilling admits. "And sneaking out." His father frowns. "Forget that last part."
"Being a superhero is very dangerous, Adrien."
Adrien knew a lecture was coming, but he didn't expect it to go like this. "Don't worry, Father. I've got the whole superhero thing down. You could say I'm an expert."
"Still, you have to understand my shock. This news is..." He stares down at his ring. "Surprising." Nervous now, Adrien shoves his hands into his pockets, and rocks back and forth on his heels. "What of your partner, Ladybug?" He asks. "What does she have to say about all this?"
"I actually haven't spoken with her yet. I'm going to meet her tonight."
Gabriel frowns again. "Hmm..."
"That is, if I have your permission, of course."
His father turns around, muttering, "What do you need my permission for, Adrien? You've already decided you're old enough to make your own decisions, come and go as you please."
"Father-"
Gabriel raises his hand again. "We'll speak of this later, Adrien. For now escort your friend home."
Adrien sighs. "Yes, Father." He leaves the office and finds Marinette and Natalie talking in the dining room.
Natalie hands Marinette a folder of papers. "This is your schedule for the next six months. Everyday Monday through Friday after school you'll come here from four to eight pm. Some days you'll be with Mr. Agreste, myself, or Adrien."
"Adrien?" Marinette questions.
He steps forward. "Yeah, I offered to model your designs." She looks over and stares at her friend. "You're gonna need to see how they look on people. Think of me as your own personal mannequin."
Marinette remembers what Adrien said- about hating modeling- and wonders why he would do that for her.
"Dinner will be provided, just let the chef know beforehand what you want," Natalie continues. "Adrien's driver will escort you to and from your house. Weekends are your free days to focus on school and to have time with your friends. There are a few mandatory-attended events coming up, but we'll discuss that when we get to it."
She blinks. "Wow. That's a lot of information."
"There's more." Natalie flips through the stack of papers. "Mr. Agreste will cover all costs for any supplies, fabrics, sketchpads, pencils, and anything else you may need. Over the next six months you'll be creating new designs for the brand and Mr. Agreste will approve or deny if it be used. Any designs picked, you will receive an eighty-percent incentive of all costs and the other twenty-percent will go towards a college fund you can use when available in the future."
"Wait, for real?" Marinette asks, feeling too good to be true. "If he likes my designs, he'll pay me?"
Natalie nods. "Not only that, Adrien will model them and they'll go straight to production."
"I can't believe it."
Adrien stares closely at Natalie, suspicious. This sounds a lot for just an internship, but decides against saying anything to spare Marinette's feelings.
"Do you have any questions, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"
"There's so many bells ringing in my head I don't know what to ask."
Natalie smiles. "We appreciate your enthusiasm. See you Monday."
Marinette waves. "Thank you!" She walks out to the car with Adrien. "Isn't this exciting?! I can't feel my cheeks because I'm smiling so much."
"So exciting." Adrien glances towards the house. Something doesn't feel right.
Natalie stands beside Gabriel and they watch the two teenagers climb in the car and leave. "Everything's going to plan, sir. She's really enthusiastic about this internship."
"What internship?" Gabriel asks, chuckling. "I knew that pathetic bug would fall for those extra perks."
"How do you plan to get her miraculous, sir?"
A smirk grows on his face. "Everything is so simple now, Natalie. After the situation this morning with Adrien, him being Cat Noir is the greatest thing to happen."
Natalie faces her boss. "Do you think Adrien's aware his classmate is Ladybug?"
Gabriel squints at the car as it passes through the front gates. "I'm not sure yet. It's too soon to tell, but I want them close by under my watch and protection. I can't have anything happen to them while I wait for the perfect moment to snatch their jewelry."
Natalie checks something off her tablet. "Step one is completed. Shall we begin step two, sir?"
"Right away, Natalie."
"As you wish, sir. How are you going to get Adrien to fall in love with his classmate?"
"I already know of Miss Dupain-Cheng's feelings for my son. After all this time they'll be spending together thanks to this fake internship, it won't be long until my son is under her charm. When the time is right, I'll unveil my plans to my son and there's no doubt in my mind that he won't help. Once Adrien and Marinette are together, he'll be able to convince her to give up her miraculous to bring his mother back." Gabriel turns and faces Natalie with a wicked grin. "Quite simple, really."