Half Way

A Pulsing Vein, Opposite Conversations and A Beautiful Heart

Adrien walked Marinette down the stairs to the foyer, his arm around her shoulder. When they reached the door he gave her a big hug. "You don't have to leave, you know."

"I know," she said, pulling away. "I'm just so embarrassed. Plus, my hair still smells like onions."

"I don't mind," he said softly, leaning in towards her.

She smiled. "You're a good liar," she whispered before kissing him.

Adrien quickly put his hand to her face and deepened the kiss. Marinette pressed herself up against him as their interaction heated up. They both completely lost themselves in the moment.

In fact, they were so preoccupied that neither of them heard the footsteps that approached. Gabriel cleared his throat loudly when he was right in front of them.

It was hard to tell who was more embarrassed as they jumped apart. Adrien put his hand to the back of his neck and Marinette blushed furiously. Neither of them would meet Gabriel's stare when they turned towards him. "It seems as if you're leaving Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Yes Mr Agreste," she squeaked out.

"I think that's a good idea. But you'll have to come over another day for dinner. Hopefully it will be slightly less eventful than this one."

All Marinette could do was nod. She was still too embarrassed to look him in the eyes.

"Adrien, say goodnight to your girlfriend," Gabriel continued.

He turned towards her. "Goodnight Marinette."

"Have a pleasant evening Miss Dupain-Cheng."

"Thank you," she said before hurrying out the door.

Once they were alone Gabriel looked at his son. "You and Marinette seem... close."

"Yeah, isn't she wonderful?" he sighed happily, keeping his eyes on the door where Marinette disappeared.

"She's a fine young lady," his father replied, looking at the door as well.

Adrien smiled brightly at him. "You seem to like her."

"I do like her," he responded, his face stoic.

Adrien smiled even brighter. "I'm really glad that you feel that way. I mean, she's probably going to end up being your daughter-in-law someday."

At hearing those words, Gabriel spun his head around to look at him. "What?" he demanded.

"Your daughter-in-law. Obviously we're way too young to get married right now, but eventually I'm sure we will."

A vein started pulsating out of the side of Gabriel's forehead. "Don't be absurd Adrien! This is nothing more than a little crush. You can't possibly think that the two of you would ever get married."

His face fell. "Of course I think we'll get married. I'm in love with her."

"You... this... absolutely not..." Gabriel stuttered before he regained his composure. He took a deep breath. "You're not in love with this girl, you don't even understand what love is. She's just a baker's daughter, for goodness sake. You're never going to marry someone like her, so get these ridiculous ideas out of your head immediately!"

Adrien then watched as his father turned and stormed off to his study.

He remained in the foyer, stunned. So his father really didn't like Marinette after all. But it didn't make any sense.

His father was the one who originally invited her over to the house. Although he didn't seem happy about it at first, he was so excited the morning of their first meeting. Then he got her not one, but two presents. Really nice presents. Then he kept insisting that she come over for dinner. Plus, he was always so nice to her, and he was never nice to anyone.