Adrien stared at his parents with a raised eyebrow, unsure who would win this weird battle of wills. They seemed equally matched, neither willing to back down before the other. Still, he couldn't see his father letting a live tree into the house.

Gabriel's brow furrowed as he tried to decide how long he should hold his position. He was going to lose this, he knew, based solely on his lack of motivation to continue arguing about it. They could be doing more productive things right now. Like actually decorating. "Fine. But I want to have nothing to do with it. If you can keep the pine needles off the floor, I won't fight you on this in the future."

Adrien's fist clenched. Another fight his mother had won that he probably never could have... Did his father even care about his opinion half the time? It didn't seem like it.

Iris grinned. She won! Iris was actually shocked. She opened her mouth to say something, but she noticed Adrien clenched his fist. Concerned filled her eyes. "Is there something wrong, Adrien?"

Adrien quickly loosened his grip and shook his head, giving her his best model smile. "Nothing's wrong. We should get back to decorating. Are there any boxes I can carry out of here?"

Gabriel studied his son's expression. Working with models for decades was enough for him to know Adrien was holding something back. He crossed his arms but stayed quiet. Adrien was unlikely to confide in him if he pushed, but Iris could probably get it out of him.

Iris stared at her son. He was giving her a fake smile. She placed her one hand on her hip. "Don't lie to your mother. Something is clearly bothering you. Now tell me the truth."

Adrien swallowed, biting back a curse. He'd momentarily forgotten his mother was also a model. "It's nothing important. I was just.. amazed at how you were able to change father's mind so easily," he answered, trying to be as calm and neutral as possible. "I would have never been able to convince him to get a live tree."

Gabriel bit his lip as his analytical mind caught the words between the lines. So, Adrien was mad because he was more likely to give in to Iris than him.

Iris stared at her son. She could tell he was holding back his emotions. She needed to make sure a fight didn't break out. So Iris just shook her head and walked over to the boys.

She smacked Gabriel on the back of the head. Iris then looked at her son. "That's because you don't know how to handle your father. You need to fight fire with fire." Iris gave her son a wink.

Adrien raised an eyebrow as his father rubbed the back of his head. "Fire with fire? That always seems to end poorly," he said, not sure he understood how her fighting with his father was different from him fighting with his father other than the fact his fights with his father typically ended with anger or resentment on one or both of their parts.

Iris sighed. He didn't get it. "Stubborness! Adrien fight likes these are fought through stubbornness! Sheer will power! It just happens I'm a pro and I'll teach you my ways." Iris gave him a grin.

Adrien glanced at his father as he mulled this information over. He could be stubborn if he wanted to, but apparently his stubbornness wasn't the type his mother was talking about. "Sure. Teach me all of your secrets," he said with a small smile.

Gabriel frowned. "Don't teach him how to undermine our authority," he protested, though half-heartedly.  He hated the idea of teaching Adrien how to win disagreements with him, but it might be necessary to help Adrien feel better about their relationship.

Iris slightly pushed on Gabriel's arm. "Oh lighten up! I'll teach him boundaries."

She then turned around. Iris walked back over to the boxes. "Since we're getting a live tree well have to wait a bit. But we can put up the other decorations in the mean time." She grabbed a box and handed it to Adrien. "Take this downstairs to the living room." She then handed Gabriel a box as well. "This goes to the living room." She turned around back to the boxes. "Go ahead. I'll meet you two in a bit."

"Oh good. As long as there are boundaries," Gabriel said with a smirk as she went over to the boxes. Adrien took his box and quickly headed to his assigned room, leaving them alone. "Teach him to use his stubbornness well. He takes after you, so he should pick it up quickly." With that, he took his box to the living room.

Iris chuckled to herself after Gabriel left. Of course she would set boundaries. She glanced back at the door. The boys had a prefect opportunity to bond together since she sent them to the living room. So Iris decided to take her time going through the boxes.

Adrien was unpacking his box when his father arrived with the second box. He hadn't really registered where his father's box was going (even if it made sense they would all go to the same room). He looked up as his father set the second box nearby. They both laid the decorations in their boxes out into organized piles, neither talking at first.
 
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you'd be upset about me for agreeing to a live tree," his father said, finally breaking the silence between them.
 
"I'm not mad about the tree," Adrien protested as he sorted the decorations, not looking up from the box.
 
He felt his father’s critical gaze on his shoulder, and his father sighed in frustration. "Okay. I'm sorry we never got a live tree when your mother wasn’t around. Even though I knew you wanted one."
 
Adrien stopped unpacking and stood while turning to his father. “The tree is not an issue. It would have been nice to have a live one in the past, but that’s not why I’m upset,” he said, his fists clenched again. Did his father not get it, or was he trying to get him to elaborate? Based on his father’s quiet stare, it was the latter.
 
Adrien bit his lip, wondering if now was the time to open this can of worms. Finally, he groaned and continued. “All this time, you were mourning that mom was gone, and I understood that. It hurt that you closed yourself off, but I understood and tried my best to make you happy again. And now, mom’s back and you’re instantly ten times happier and more agreeable. It’s like nothing I did mattered. Like you only ever cared about me when mom was home!”
 
He didn’t realize how worked up he sounded until his father flinched at his words, as if he’d stabbed him. His father furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to answer before shutting it again. Adrien could almost see the gears turning as his father desperately tried to think of something to say.
 
“Adrien, I didn’t mean…” he sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “You’re right. I’ve been a terrible father.” His father paused, and Adrien stared at him, wondering if he was going to elaborate further. He was actually surprised when his father did continue, “I should have been there for you. Rather than helping you move on, I became obsessed with finding your mother. I thought I could make you happy if she came back. But all that did was make you miserable...”
 
Adrien blinked. His father had never shown him this level of emotion. At least, not in the past six years. A nagging voice in the back of his mind reminded him that his father never had loving parents. That he was still learning to be a good parent when he became a single father.
 
Adrien felt some of the tension leave him. “I just wish you would listen to me more. It felt like whenever we saw each other, you were reprimanding me for something. And the only way I could ever get you to listen was if I brought mom into it, and then that would upset you.”
 
His father nodded in acknowledgment. “I’m sorry, Adrien. I wish I could have done better.”

Iris was still going through boxes. They actually owned a lot of Christmas decorations. It was her favorite holiday of course. Over the years she had to slowly buy new decorations so Gabriel wouldn't notice. Despite her attempts he found out and would go on rant about how their current set of decorations were fine and they didn't need more. She was trying her best find the decorations that weren't used during their last Christmas a family. She didn't want to spark anything. The boxes she gave Adrien and Gabriel were decorations used since her first Christmas with Gabriel. They haven't been used since Adrien was two. So they were safe use and she was digging for the rest of them.

She stumbled across the box that had their stockings. She made one for each of them. Iris sighed as she stared at Adrien's. It was of course made for a child. She set the box aside and went through more. Eventually found the rest of old decorations. She grabbed as many boxes she could. Even the stockings.

Iris left the room and slowly made her way to living room. She walked and stood in the doorway. "Could one of you grabbed some of these boxes? They're actually heavy.."

Adrien nodded in acknowledgment of his father's apology. Neither got a chance to continue the conversation when his mother appeared carrying more boxes than she could handle. Both he and his father rushed to help her, both taking a box.

"You really shouldn't take that many boxes. I'm sure some of these decorations are fragile," Gabriel said as he took the box and placed it near the others.