All The Way

A Toothless Grin, A Suit, and A Panic Attack

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."