Chapter Text
It has been two years since the disappearance of French actress, activist and philanthropist Emilie Agreste (Graham de Vanily). The details regarding the incident are foggy, the only thing known for sure being that she disappeared while on her second trip to Tibet.
The disappearance of Emilie Agreste has given way to a large scandal as fashion mogul husband Gabriel Agreste, the last person to see Emilie Agreste before her disappearance, has been accused of orchestrating the incident in the first place. Following this the Papillon brand has reported a major sale’s plummet. Mister Agreste has denied all accusations and has also been found not guilty in his trial.
Gabriel was standing on the sidewalk with his wife. The whole journey to the airport had been sunny, just like it was supposed to be for an early morning summer day, however the weather had quickly changed, rain starting to pour down. Now Gabriel was looking down at his shoes, noticing with scorn that they were falling victim to the rainwater that slicked the pavement. His gaze was brought up by the musical sound of Em’s giggling, his smile turning with a frown when the happy tune ended with the discordant noise of dry coughing.
“Are you sure about leaving in this condition?” his concerned voice coming out with a softness reserved for few.
“I’ll be fine Gabe! No amount of coughing and dizziness will stop me from giving a helping wing to the people.” her voice radiating confidence despite its weakness.
“I know but maybe you could reschedule and go when you’re feeling better.”
“If I start rescheduling then I will never be able to keep on top of my other responsibilities.”
Gabriel made a face, his concerned eyes big as plates, something she jokingly called “baby doll eyes”. Em sighed in what seemed to be defeat but her smile said otherwise.
”Here.” she said, giving him her peacock brooch, an accessory she never took off, wearing it even when she went to sleep.
“Now you know that I will make it back.”
Gabriel gently took Em’s precious brooch and placed it in his suit jacket’s interior pocket.
“Make sure to phone me and Adrien when you arrive. You know how he gets.”
“I know.” she said turning back to gather her suitcase.
Gabriel turned away and made for the car as the rain got louder. Before he could enter his car however he heard a frightened shout from his wife. Afraid of what had happened Gabriel turned and tried to run toward the scream but was unable to as his feet wouldn’t budge. He looked down horrified by the sight of a pair of hands made out of water that were pulling him downward. Gabriel struggled to no avail as he was sinking in a giant puddle, more hands grabbing onto him and pulling until ice cold water swallowed his legs, then his torso then —
Gabriel sat up in his bed, drenched in cold sweat and gasping for air. He was holding his dizzy head into his hands, trying to calm his breathing.
This is the 4th time this week. He bitterly thought to himself. He turned his head towards the digital alarm clock on his nightstand, the red numbers practically taunting him. 4:40. He sinks his head back into his hands rubbing at his eyes and massaging his temples.
No more sleep tonight.
Gabriel slid out of bed, putting on his slippers, robe and glasses as he made his way towards his bathroom. Once there and in front of the mirror he had a realization : he looked horrible. His mussed light blonde hair had a few white strands, he had dark bags under his eyes and his chin had a lot more stubble than he cared to keep.
Maybe it’s a good thing that I got up early. he thought cynically This mess will take some time to fix… Especially the bags.
After he was done (without the stubble and with a long relaxing bath) he looked at the time. 6:00. Deciding to postpone breakfast, he put on some less conspicuous clothes and went out for a walk.
Author’s notes :
- It begins! I started to write this fic before watching the full season three finally. Boy was that a mistake! It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, it’s just that my ship was hurt.
- If you haven’t noticed I’ll say it here, the timeline is slightly changed.
- I also shifted all the events of my story one year in the future, so everyone is one year older.
- Yes I now that the English dub says they are in the 10th grade, but in the French dub they are in troisieme(9th grade). I follow the French dub on this one and say that the events of this story take place a year after cannon, in the 10th grade.
- The personalities of all characters have small alterations because they are older as well as from the other changes I made to cannon.
- New note! If you noticed, this work is part of a series. That's because there will be a collection of shorts running alongside with the main fic.
- This fic will be updated every Sunday with a chapter, or there will be a short.