Ladybug landed in alley near her home since her parents knew she was out. Which reminded her she still needed to go to the door with her mother. Ladybug sighed. There was no way she could go back to the store. The reporters would be there and work crews cleaning up the mess (since she didn't use her magic) from the fight. Ladybug detransformed.

"That was interesting," said Tikki.

"What the monster itself or the fact it just stood there watching Adrien fighting with his dad?" Marinette annoyed.

"Marinette, don't let get to you. They have a lot of issues to work out..."

"I know, Tikki, but they need to deal with that outside of the battle field," Marinette said still annoyed. She waved her hands around. "Paris is counting on us! I bet their fight got recorded and the media is slamming us as we speak."

Tikki frowned. "Marinette, we are not stars so who cares what they say."

"It's not about the fame! It's about Paris's trust in us! If they see our teammate dynamic falling apart then they won't trust us protecting them."

"True."

Marinette then walked out of the alley. She was heading back home. "I have to do something about this.."

"Like what?" Tikki quickly got into Marinette's purse. She looked up at her own with curiosity.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something.."

Iris looked at him angrily. "Why? I have a right to be upset about all of this!" She stared him down for a moment before grabbing her phone out of her pants pocket. She went into her photo albums and pulled up a photo. "Look at this!" She then showed him a picture. It was a picture of him and Adrien when he was a child. The picture was of them collecting sea shells on a beach. "I want to this see this again! But judging by that fight.." Iris looked back at the picture. "I never will.."

"Then go to him!" Iris pointed her finger in the air. "Don't waste your time with me!" She moved further away from him. Gabriel didn't budge. "I said go!!"

Gabriel gave her a reluctant look. He didn't consider trying to talk to her a waste of time, and leaving her in this upset state felt very wrong. "Fine.. But please don't stay up here if your only reason for being in here is to hide from me. I'd rather you were somewhere more comfortable."

He stood and slowly exited the attic. Adrien's door wasn't that far down the hall. He walked just as slowly to his son's bedroom as he had when leaving the attic. He wished he could understand what happened to cause today's fight. Or, rather, what caused them to continue fighting rather than battling the pirate monster like they were supposed to. Things had been so calm and non-aggressive at home, so why did that peace not extend to the one place where they needed to be a team more than anywhere else?

He stopped outside of Adrien's door, still deep in thought. His eyes widened as a thought crossed his mind. Was it specifically because they were in battle? Maybe... Only one way to find out.

He knocked on the door and entered when Adrien answered. Adrien sat at his desk on the internet while Plagg sat on the fussball table gobbling down some Camembert. They stared at each other in silence for a moment before they both spoke almost in perfect unison:

"Adrien, I'm sorry I..."
"Father, I didn't mean to..."

They both stopped and stared at each other again. Gabriel waited a moment before walking over to sit on the bed, Adrien's gaze on him the entire time. Once he was sitting, Gabriel let out a sigh indicating he was about to speak (so they wouldn't talk over each other again). "Adrien, I'm sorry I got in the way of your attack. It was a reflex... I just... All I could think about was how easily one attack could put you straight back in the hospital..."

Adrien nodded and turned his computer chair so they were facing each other as they spoke. "Yeah... You were right. An aerial attack on a swordsman probably wasn't the best move... I didn't mean to start a fight about it, though.. I was just frustrated. I mean... I like to think that I'm a competent member of the team, after all. And it felt like you don't think so..."

"Recklessness and competence are two different things. You are competent, and you know what you're doing. You just need to improve your instincts so you get the same thing done without being so reckless," Gabriel answered. Adrien's response would be the perfect indicator of whether his theory was right. If his son lashed out about this criticism, then they were back at square one. If not, then fixing things in their civilian lives would never help fix their relationship and teamwork in their superhero lives. He'd need to work even harder.

Adrien shrugged noncommittally and shrugged. "If you say so."

Gabriel had to focus hard to keep a grin from his face. This conversation had just given him an idea. An idea that would hopefully work to fix this at the root of the problem. He just had to get some things ready first.

Iris was still sitting on the floor in the attic. She was flipping through the photos on her phone. She let out a heavy sigh. She should probably go check on them. Iris got up and left the attic. Once back on the second floor, Iris went to Adrien's room. The door was open and she heard no talking. Fear set in. Iris stepped in. "Everything okay now...?"

Adrien spun in his computer chair to look in his mother's direction. "Yes," he answered. He heard his father stand up behind him. "We figured things out. I'm sorry for upsetting you.."

Gabriel walked past Adrien and stopped near the door. "We'll do our best not to let things get to that point again."

"Alright," she said. Relief washed over. She turned away from them. "I'm going to bed." Iris walked away and headed into her room. She opened the door and walked into the room. Iris then closed the door and got ready for bed.

She climbed into bed and curled up under the covers. Iris leaned over and turned off the lamp that was on her night stand. She then laid on her side for a few minutes before turning onto her back. Iris felt restless. The fight still bothering her despite what they said. What if it happened again? Iris sat up, but instead of turning on the lamp. Iris reached for her phone. She pulled up that beach photo and stared it.

She really should let Gabriel take care of things. Seeing how it was his fault. Quite frankly she was fed up with everything and tired of arguing with Gabriel. However Iris knew she couldn't let Gabriel take full control. She needed to help. So Iris sent the picture to Adrien via text message. After it sent, Iris put the phone back down on the night stand and laid back down. She then closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Gabriel watched Iris leave and looked back at Adrien. "Would you like to talk about anything else?" He asked. He didn't expect Adrien would wan to talk about anything else. The only other important thing they needed to talk about was something he doubted Adrien would want to talk about right before bed. But just in case...

Adrien shook his head. "I don't think so..." He paused for a moment and Gabriel wondered it the topic really might be breached tonight. But Adrien just sighed. "I just don't understand why we can talk like this and then argue so terribly on the battlefield.."

Gabriel shrugged and answered, "It's different talking when it's calm and trying to communicate during battle. Battles move too quickly, and misunderstandings happen. It wouldn't go so poorly if we were in better sync with each other." He didn't mention his true hypothesis. That would come when the attic was ready.

Adrien mulled this over for a moment. "Makes sense.. But that makes it sound like we'll never be able to fix it..."

"We will. It'll just take time." Gabriel was about to end the conversation when he heard a buzz from Adrien's desk. Adrien picked his phone up and looked at it, his gaze locked onto the screen for longer than Gabriel expected. He raised an eyebrow when the expression on Adrien's face turned somewhat sad and sentimental. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah. I was just looking at this picture mom sent me." His son turned the phone around so he could see. 

Gabriel paused and then nodded. "Your mother showed me that picture earlier."

"It's the last vacation we took together, right?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah. It was a nice trip. Your mother tried to get me to go farther into the water, but I declined," Gabriel said.

"Because you hate fun?" Adrien asked with a grin. He was joking around. A good sign.

"That, and I don't want be in the same water as a bunch of random sea creatures," he answered, disgust filling his voice as he mentioned the animals that could swim up and bite him.

Adrien laughed, dropping his phone in his lap as he tried to regain his composure. "You mean to tell me, the great Gabriel Agreste is scared of a few little fish?"

Gabriel shook his head and gave his son an unamused look. "I never said I was afraid of them. I just don't like them in my personal space."

This explanation got an even louder laugh from Adrien. "Fish... don't have... personal... space!" He exclaimed between laughs. He took a moment to calm himself. "Next time we go to the beach, you're getting in."

There was a pause as they both registered what Adrien had said. The idea of a beach vacation hadn't crossed Gabriel's mind. After a moment, Gabriel smiled. "You'll have to make me," he said.

Adrien stared at him as if trying to figure out what game he was playing. After the initial shock wore off, his son smirked. "Sure. Between mom and me, I'm sure we can get you in that water."

The next morning Iris woke up and found herself in Gabriel's arms. She was surprised to see him still in bed since it was a worked day. Even still asleep! Iris smiled. Maybe he finally remembered their old routine. She laid still for a few minutes. Should she enjoy this moment or wake him? Wake him for being an idiot last night.

Iris reached for his hair and started to play with it. She gently pulled on his hair and eventually twisted her fingers in it. "Gabe, it's time to get up."

Gabriel kept his eyes closed, trying to bring her closer in his embrace. His subconscious nagged at the back of his mind, reminding him he needed to get up for work, but he ignored it. The day before had been so full of stress that he'd been exhausted by the time he was done talking to Adrien. This morning was one of the rare times in his life that he would rather stay in bed for a little longer.

He stayed quiet as he laid there, interested in what she would do to try and wake him.

Iris let out a small laugh. He was being difficult. She could let him win, but that would be boring. So she decided not to play nice. Iris stopped playing with his hair. She then put her finger and her mouth and gave him wet willy.

Gabriel cringed and gently pushed her away with a frown. "Of all the ways to ruin the moment, you had to choose that one?" He asked as he sat up and locked gazes with her. "You know how much I hate that."

Iris sat up and chuckled. "Sorry." She then stuck her tongue out at him. "That's what you get for yesterday." Iris then flung the covers back and got out of bed. She then walked over to her dresser and started to get ready for the day.

Gabriel shook his head and sighed. "I consider that a cruel and unusual punishment," he said, only half joking. "Considering, Adrien and I have worked out yesterday's issue. Plus, I think I've figured something out that might help fix our relationship quicker than our current pace."

Iris turned her head back at him. "Really!?" She stopped what she was doing and sat back down on the bed. "Tell me!" She was very curious about Gabriel's plan. It filled her heart with hope again.