On Point
Post Gala Interview
By Rena Rouge
EXCLUSIVE!
Following the Agreste Christmas Gala, we will be having the chance for a rare interview with Gabriel Agreste. The famed choreographer will be telling all about the trials and tribulations of running one of the world's most famous dance schools, along with the continuous top class performances from the company. There will also be a chance to question Gabriel on his son's original choreography and the future of his legacy. All will be revealed soon.
*****
The usual nerves that came with time spent in Gabriel Agreste's office seemed to have evaporated, and all Adrien could feel now was annoyance that his father had stopped him from running to Marinette, or shoving his contract up Gabriel's ass.
He was done. Well and truly done – with the school, the company and his father. As far as he was concerned he wasn't an Agreste anymore. He didn't want to be. The name meant nothing to him anymore, and he was sure it never would again. Adrien had rung his lawyer as soon as he left the studio to check over the contracts one more time – it was so tightly wound Adrien was almost sure the unravelling was going to be one hell of a spectacle, and he couldn't wait to begin.
The ins and outs had been circled and highlighted, and there were more revision notes on it than his textbooks for his baccalaureate exams. They had his escape plan set out and unfortunately they'd have to move faster than expected
"Are we done now? I have things to do." Adrien stood leaning against the door, step one was to play aloof, to make sure Gabriel couldn't see he was getting under Adrien's skin. It was hard but one flashback to Marinette's defeated face and his strength built, he was doing this for her.
"Things?" Gabriel asked. "Like what? Wasting your time with that girl?! What the hell have you two been doing all this time? You were meant to be rehearsing, not swanning off to sleep with her. Sometimes I wonder where your mind wanders off to."
What had they been doing? Adrien could have laughed, long and hard. Apart from the hours and hours they were putting in both in and out of the studio, it was simple; they had been living.
They had been sharing memories and creating new ones. They had had fun, he'd learned to love dance again, he'd learned to love life again. She had been an angel when he'd needed one the most, his silver lining, and his future, and as far as he was concerned, the end of the gala would be the end of any relationship he had with his father and this company.
On his journey from the studio to his father's office he began to think about how to play this, because as juvenile as this was now, it had become a game — and Gabriel Agreste never lost a game. His father still treated him like a child, and for years he'd succumbed to it, it had made his life easy and his father happy. But not anymore. Time had passed and he was done. His own happiness was just as equal to Gabriel's.
"Try all you want to knock her down, father, but you know, as clear as I do, the reason you're not putting her on stage is for what she represents."
"Represents? And what would that be Adrien? The inability to complete a routine."
Adrien laughed, really laughed, right in his father's face. "I've seen you watching her, father. You look at her the way I did when I first saw her on that first day of training. You know, as well as I do, that she dances exactly like my mother. She's fluent in so many styles and you can see that coming through with each and every move she performs. Yes, it hurt me too the first time I saw her, but I never would have gone as far as ruining her future because people would compare them and see she is better."
"How dare you!" Gabriel shot up, slamming his hands down on the table and causing the photo of his mother to fall down. The act of vandalism only added more fuel onto the fire.
"How dare you! You really seem to have some sort of God complex. It's not up to you who succeeds in this world, father." Pulling his phone aggressively from his pocket, Adrien tapped around a few times, satisfied as he heard the email alert coming from his father's phone.
"What is this?" Gabriel snatched his phone up and opened the app, his jaw clenching as his eyes flickered from side to side.
"It's my resignation from the company."
Gabriel laughed bitterly. "You really think you can just quit."
Shaking his head, Adrien couldn't stop the smirk stretching across his lips. Oh, how the tables had turned.
"I'm not quitting, I'm following my contract and the terms of employment you have all your employees sign. Two weeks and I'm out of your hair."
Gabriel's nose flared and Adrien had to hold himself together, he'd checked this over and over again and had a damn good lawyer on it to make sure that when the time came everything was accurate and true. He just hadn't expected that that time to be now.
Tapping around on his computer, Adrien was quite sure his father was searching for his contract. Most likely trying to find the clause which would make him stay; a tight ring around him where once again he could order Adrien around to be his little puppet.
"Oh, and if you read my gala contract correctly, the one you signed the day we agreed I would dance with Marinette, you'll see if she doesn't perform in the gala you could be, no sorry, you will be sued for breach of contract."
He never thought he'd seen his father as pale as this, and he loved it. Gabriel was losing control, and, more importantly, he was losing him. Victory had never felt sweeter.
"What do you want?" Gabriel suddenly asked, taking the defeat for the sure thing it was.
"If you want me to perform and not suddenly have an injury, Marinette performs as well. She deserves the opportunity to showcase her talent."
Gabriel began to mess around on his table, picking up and replacing objects before restacking a pile of paper.
"She won't perform the duet, but I will allow her to take part in the corps de ballet. Marie has been trying to dance on a twisted ankle, I'm sure she'd appreciate the rest."
No shit, Sherlock!
This time his father's audacity didn't even make him blink. How could his mother ever have loved this man? Was it genuine love, or was it a dance bond formed between two exceptional dancers, because right now Adrien wasn't sure how such a lovely, kind woman could be with such a horrible, arrogant asshole.
"Fine," Adrien said, turning and opening the door, before swiftly turning back. "Just one more thing. If you go back on your word I already have an interview with Rena Rouge ready to post online. Consider your options father, and think about your moves – if you make the wrong one I'll have you out of the game for good."
Scrambling out of the room as quickly as possible, Adrien rounded the corner and collapsed back against the wall, completely out of breath and on the verge of a heart attack. He'd just gone head to head with his father and survived to tell the tale... Well, he was still alive at the moment at least. Nobody needed to know about his threat then run tactics.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself off the wall and headed over to the staircase. He needed to burn off some of his pent up energy. As he reached the bottom of the stairwell and exited into the lobby, he dropped his bag to place on his coat. Grabbing his phone, Adrien found Nino in his contacts and fired off a quick message. He had an idea, one which was insane and slightly 'playground'; but one which might actually work... he just needed a team to help him and he was certain once Marinette was mentioned everyone would be ready to jump in.
Thirty minutes later, he was entering the dorm room with Nino behind him. As he'd walked through the streets piecing his plan together, it became clearer and clearer, and he was almost certain it would work, especially when he saw the amount of dancers in the lounge area waiting for him.
Zoé, Chloé, Kim (with a leg in plaster), Marc, Rose, Alya and, of course, Nino, all sat around waiting and listening, Alya looking the best she had in days.
"Where's Marinette?" Adrien asked, eager to get the show on the road. They only had one day to put it together and everyone needed to be clear on their own parts – especially getting Marinette to the venue and to perform.
"She's in her room, with Luka."
Adrien looked down the hallway before turning back to his... friends? They were his friends weren't they! Originally they had been Marinette's, but he'd created relationships with them too and they were all looking to him — trusting and attentive. They were waiting for him to guide them and help him, regardless of his last name.
"I have a plan," he said, before coughing to clear his throat, all eyes in the room on him. "But Marinette can't know everything, can I trust you?"
He began to explain to them animatedly, hands flying everywhere as he ironed out the creases and gained ideas from his friends. They were quick to pull this together, and he was positive it would work. Now he just had to explain to Marinette that she still should perform and pray she would agree.
*****
When Marinette got angry, she got emotional and right now she was positively fuming, the tears flowing effortlessly down her face agreeing with her current aggression!
Gabriel had embarrassed her in front of the entire team, from the dancers down to the costume designers, he'd belittled her and shut Adrien down, and her heart hurt for her boyfriend. He'd done everything Gabriel has asked and more. They'd been working solidly for a month, and he'd been working on his duet with Lila as much as he could in his spare time, along with training and working at the studio. He was golden, and yet his father took advantage time and time again. She really hated Gabriel Agreste, and as much as she loved Adrien, the thought of having the ballet dream killer as her father in law was something she never wanted to consider.
She hated leaving Adrien there, to fight for himself, he'd never done it before and she was slightly worried his father would be able to twist his arm to go his way once more. She needed to believe in him, believe that he was strong, that he could start to free himself from his father's commanding ways. He'd come a long way over the past month, it would have been such a shame for him to go back. He deserved so much more.
Luka followed her into her bedroom, the others staying in the lounge. She knew she was in a horrible mood and the last thing she wanted to do was ruin her final night here because she called Rose a bitch or something.
"Marinette," Luka said, trying to block her way to her closet. "Just wait for Adrien to get here, please. I'm sure he'll speak to his father and sort it out."
She was sure he would try, but she knew Gabriel now. She knew what an asshole he could be. Adrien had nothing to hold over his father, yet Gabriel knew the powers in his hands. Adrien's whole future was in Gabriel's hands dangling from a string like a carrot for a donkey. Adrien would have to do every single thing Gabriel wanted to finally live his own life, and it slightly worried her that even then he would have some sort of hold over him.
"You heard Gabriel! I can't put Adrien at risk by staying here longer than needed."
Gently moving Luka out the way, she opened her closet's door and pulled out her suitcase, dragging it to her bed and throwing it on top of the covers.
"Just wait, please, Adrien said he would be here soon and I trust he'll get over as quickly as he can. Trust him."
"I trust him more than anything, but I can't be like his father. I can't tie him down. If he dances with Lila and it looks good, which it will, he'll finally be free. He'll finally be –"
"No he won't," Luka whispered, coming to stand in front of her, his hands placed on her shoulders. "No, he won't Marinette. Until he breaks free and tells his father how he really feels, Gabriel will always be there demanding more and more. Adrien's different to what I expected, more so recently, and I think that's because of you Marinette. He wants to do what's right for you, not himself. He won't stand by and let his father dictate to him when it comes to you."
"You seem sure about that," Marinette said, a slight pull at the corners of her lips.
"He'd be an idiot not to."
Marinette knocked Luka's hands away before heading to her cupboards. "I'll be heading home for Christmas anyway, so I may as well just pack a couple of things, just in case."
Luka sat down on her bed and smiled. "Just in case."
Marinette moved around him in silence, oddly calm being in her room with him and not feeling at all pressured.
"You and Zoé looked amazing today," she said, breaking the silence.
"Thanks." He looked as uncomfortable as Zoé had. He had no reason for it though, everything was fine... better than fine.
"Is everything going well?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
Marinette sighed, placing the clothing from her arms into her suitcase and sitting in front of Luka. "You spoke to me about Adrien, let me speak about Zoé with you."
He reached out and grabbed a cuddly toy from where it was sitting on her pillow, twisting and turning it around in his hands.
"I still feel bad about what happened, Marinette. I made so many mistakes with you, I still feel bad, I know Zoé does too."
She took the teddy from his hands stroked over the fluffy tummy, before throwing it at his face. "Stop being an idiot, Luka."
"What?" he shrieked, grabbing the teddy and throwing it back.
Marinette laughed – a lot! Suddenly everything seemed funny, from the way she was sneaking around Gabriel's mansion, to the night spent skating under the moon with Adrien. They'd walked in so happy and carefree, excited to finally show their piece and for Alya to safely pass the costume inspection... how unexpected the day had turned out!
She started to laugh, harder and harder, until the laughter turned into heart broken sobs. This was her fault, everything had been her fault and now she was being thrown out and would forever be the loser she knew she was. Luka came to stand beside her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his body. He ran a hand through her hair and cradled her, not too dissimilar to what Adrien had earlier in the studio.
They stayed that way for a while, Luka trying to soothe her with words of understanding and support, but it wasn't enough. It didn't feel right. It wasn't the support she needed.
The tears continued to fall as she felt herself be moved. Someone else had entered the room and as she fell into the newcomer's arms, she knew exactly who it was.
"I'll leave you to it."
Luka's voice followed him out the room, leaving her alone settled in Adrien's arms. He walked them over to her bed, positioning her down and on his lap.
Marinette's tears streamed down her face, her worry palpable as she sat cuddled into his lap, grabbing hold of his jumper to ground herself. The room was filled with tension, the weight of her perceived mistakes pressing heavy on her thoughts and feelings.
Adrien held her gently, whispering words of reassurance, trying to mend the fractures in her composure. He didn't sound right, the thickness in his words almost a guarantee that something else had happened, that his father had once again meddled in Adrien's life. She felt echoes of uncertainties cast shadows on their relationship – on whether it would continue to be allowed or if he was here to strike the final blow.
He cupped her chin and gently tilted it up. His green eyes misted, yet held something else within them. Something warm and tender. He traced soft kisses down the paths of tears on her cheeks, an action speaking volumes of his concern for her – her heart hinting to something else too.
Within that intimate moment, the warmth of his touch served as a balm on her emotional wounds – a tender reminder that they could overcome this. That the story wasn't ending yet.
"It's going to be okay, Shortcake. There's just one last thing I need to ask of you," Adrien's whispered voice lulled her. The calm in which he spoke came from strength and certainty.
"Anything," she said, her eyes closing and her head falling to his shoulder.
"I need you to dance one last time, and I need you to dance with everything that's inside your heart."