Adrien smiled, inwardly cringing as he realized she wanted him to volunteer the information about his conversation with his father without her asking.  It put him in a terrible predicament where she was going to be mad at him no matter what he decided to answer.

"It's going well," he said, deciding omission was still a better option than telling her he failed at talking to his father yet again.

Plagg's eyes narrowed into exasperated slits as he was forced to think of the argument from earlier.  "Of course I heard it.  He had it on speaker phone, and I would have been able to hear even if it wasn't," he muttered grouchily.  Adrien's attitude earlier had put him I a bad mood.  

"I might explode if Adrien continues being so stupid. I've never had a miraculous wielded who could hold such long grudges, and that's saying something considering how bad some of the other Chat Noirs have been."

Marinette frowned. So she had to get his answer out of him. "So how did your talk with your dad go?"

Tikki tried not to giggle. Plagg being concern about an owner was cute. "Well Marinette is fed up with Adrien's behaviour. I think she's going to push him now, but I'm thinking she's going over board." She inched closer to Plagg. "So have you talked to Adrien about it?"

Adrien bit his lip, fidgeting slightly as he tried to look more confident in his answer than he was. "It went well..?" It was more of a question than a statement. "They were patrolling. That's all," he added as an after thought. 

Plagg crossed his arms, still irritated. "Of course I've talked to him. He's being super stubborn about this, to the point that trying to point out he's wrong makes him double down and refuse to listen. I don't know what's going on in that thick skull of his, but there seems to be some kind of mental block keeping him from working through it."

Marinette crossed her arms. "I don't believe you." 

Tikki sighed. "Well maybe Marinette can help?" She leaned back on her paws. "Or maybe his mother's return will help." She looked at Plagg straight in the eyes. "Which could very soon. I believe Peacock is Adrien's mother."

"Come on, Marinette.  Why do you have to be so invested in this now?  I'm sorry I bothered you last night.  You don't have to keep pushing this. He told me they've been patrolling a lot.  That's all," Adrien retorted.  He didn't want to talk about this anymore.  He could handle his own family problems.

Meanwhile, Gabriel stood quietly near the door to his office. He could just make out their conversation thanks to his office being in close proximity to the front door.  His eyes narrowed. His son had been out alone the night before and probably saw him and Peacock talking. No wonder Adrien was asking questions this morning.

Plagg stared at Tikki and shook his head. "You're joking, right? What makes you think that?"

Marinette stomp her foot and moved toward him. "I'm pushing because you need to stop acting like a brat! Do you realize your issues would be solved if you would just talk to your dad! There's no reason to waste energy and hold a grudge and act bitter!"

"Because during the fight with the dragon, Adrien felt the way Peacock was holding felt familiar. Also Gabriel and Peacock? I highly doubt he would cheat on his wife after all the effort he put in to bring her back," Tikki explained.

Anger boiled through him, his heart pounding fast in his chest. She just didn't get it. "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, I don't want to talk to him!? That I've finally realized he's treated me like crap for the longest time, and I'm done?! Why should I make up with the person who might as well have abandoned me when I was 13 and then broke me down so he could use me to terrorize an entire city just last year?!"

He could feel himself shaking as he finally put words to the feelings swirling inside his mind. All this time he'd told himself he wanted to make up with his father. That he would when he was ready. But not even he realized that he'd bottled so much up to reach such a point.

Gabriel tensed from inside his office. He didn't need Lycca's help to pick up on the pain hidden beneath the anger in Adrien's voice. This was all his fault... 

Plagg's tail twitched as he thought this over. It made a lot of sense... "Hmph. If she is, his family must be cursed. His mother gets sealed in a magic item, his father meets a twisted kwami who helps him attack Paris, and he ends up fighting his father to protect Paris. It's been a long time for so many miraculouses to be in one family.."

"But you're not done, Adrien! I know you! You don't give up on people regardless how they treat you!" Marinette bit her lip to fight back tears. She just shook her head and turned away. "Or at least I thought I knew you. I'm going home.."

"I know, right?" said Tikki. She then floated up in the air. "Well there's only one way to check. Ask Lycca." She floated near the door and motion Plagg to follow her.

Adrien's eyes widened and he quickly reached for her hand and gently grabbed it. "Please don't leave... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you for trying to help.."

Sorrow and guilt flooded every part of Lycca's senses and he looked up from the candy bar he'd been eating to see Gabriel leaning against the door, his face buried in his arms. He frowned and flew to his master, all the while sensing the sea of emotions both inside the room and out in the entryway.

"Hey, Gabe. Why don't you come away from that door? Eavesdropping is never a good idea," he murmured, patting his master's shoulder. He had been too absorbed in his candy to listen to what the kids were talking about, but it couldn't have been good with the way Gabriel was acting.

Gabriel didn't respond at first, and Lycca bit his lip before landing on his master's shoulder. If only he could do something to help. After all, he'd never admitted that everything Gabriel blamed himself for was actually his fault...

Plagg nodded reluctantly and floated to Tikki's side. "He'll probably be in Gabriel's office."

She turned to face him. "No I yelled first." She paused for a moment. "I meant every word I said." Marinette paused again. "And I want a better explanation from your father." She still was going to push.

Tikki noticed Plagg's reluctance. "Adrien isn't the only one who can hold a grudge. Come on let's go." They left the room and flew down to Gabriel's office. Tikki noticed Marinette and Adrien standing in the entry way, but she ignored them. They went into the office and Tikki then quickly pulled them out of there after seeing Gabriel. She could tell it wasn't a good time for them to see Lycca.

Adrien sighed and nodded, seeing no point in trying to sway her. He knew her too well to think that she would change her mind now that she was committed to something. He'd just have to endure her pushing until there was a better option.

"Let's go to my room," he murmured. "It'll be nicer than arguing in the entryway."

Plagg only had a second to take in the office before Tikki pulled him out of it and back into the hallway. But that was enough to notice something had happened. Something that he assumed involved a certain blond miraculous holder who currently had an attitude problem. "Well, that was a dead end. Now what?"

Lycca bit his lip as he tried to decide what to do.  Gabriel hadn't moved or responded to him, but his emotions were strong enough that Lycca slumped on his shoulder as he was bombarded by the negative feelings. "Gabe.. Please listen to me. You need to move away from the door."

Gabriel still didn't answer, so Lycca said nothing more and just waited. Finally, they heard movement outside the door, and his master looked up from his spot, leaning against the door, and sighed. "I think I want to lay down," he said. They waited another moment before he cracked the door just a bit to make sure the kids were gone. With that he headed straight to his room.

Marinette just nodded her head and they went upstairs. Once they were inside his room, Marinette sat down on the couch. She place the bag of cookies on her lap. She was still upset about of all of this. She was trying to figure out how to get through to Adrien's thick skull.

Before Tikki could say anything she grabbed Plagg and they hid behind a plant. Gabriel and Lycca then passed them. She watched them as they walked away before turning to Plagg. "Something happened. I guess we'll just have to talk to Lycca later. We should have all night. I think Marinette wanted to stay until dinner."

Adrien sat down next to her, eyeing the cookies but unsure what to say. The air felt heavy and awkward between them, and he knew it was his fault. His eyes fell on the cookies in her lap. Would it be wrong to ask for one when she was mad at them?

"Those look delicious.." He murmured.

"Here," said Marinette. She handed him the bag. "They're were made today." She leaned into the cushion. She was wondering if she should just go home. The mood was ruined.

"Thank you," he said, taking one of the cookies from the bag. This was a disaster. He needed something that would lighten the mood... His eyes scanned the room as if looking for anything that would save it. Of course! She wanted to play DDR. He finished the cookie and placed the rest on the arm of the couch.  

"What about a game of DDR?" He asked.

Meanwhile, Gabriel stared at the ceiling from his bed. He had meant to take some type of nap or something similar to try and avoid thinking about the conversation he'd heard, but now he couldn't sleep.

He didn't think as he reached for his phone and opened his text thread with Iris. Hey. Are you busy right now?