Gabriel didn't get a chance to answered before Adrien interjected. "Didn't you hear, mom? We're supposed to look at the real menu," he said, crossing his arms and filling his voice with mock seriousness. He emphasized the word 'real' in an almost obnoxious fashion. 

Gabriel rolled his eyes and let out a theatrically heavy sigh of defeat. "Fine. I can see you two are very invested in dessert. I'll eat my real food and you two can fill up on sugar. We'll see which is superior later."

Adrien's eyes lit up, and Gabriel wondered if he had miscalculated his response. "You're on!" He said with a mischievous smirk while holding Gabriel's gaze.

Iris burst out laughing. "What? No! Let's eat dinner first, Adrien." She turned the page in her menu to the dinner section. "There's nothing wrong with thinking ahead, Gabe." She gave him a goofy smile.

Gabriel nodded, relieved for her intervention. The banter had gotten out of control. But it was nice to know Adrien was more than willing to push back after being stifled by their less than pleasant past relationship. He smiled and said, "It's funny you're the one who brought up planning first. That's usually my thing."

Adrien, however, sighed. "I wanted to see how far that could go," he said with a pout.

Gabriel crossed his arms and shook his head, hiding his amusement. "It's rude to test your boundaries at dinner, Adrien."

"Now now," said Iris. "He was just having fun." Iris then looked at her menu and spotted a dish that caught her. She smiled and put down her menu. "I'm going to have pasta." She lean back in her seat.

Adrien focused on the dinner portion of the menu. He scanned the entrees and quickly decided on what he wanted. Not long after, a waiter came and took their order. Once the waiter was gone, Adrien looked to his mother.

"So, what's the best way to pick out a tree?" he asked. Having never had a live tree, he wasn't sure what kind of criteria to go for. He just knew that live trees were nice to have.

Iris thought back to her childhood. She remembered her family getting live trees when she was a little girl. "Well you want to make sure the tree is nice and full. You also want to make sure it's not too tall for a living area. However we shouldn't have that problem with that since our house has high ceilings."

Adrien nodded and made sure to commit the criteria to memory. The conversation about the tree continued as they waited for their food. It was a nice dinner, but Adrien was already thinking ahead to the tree. This would be the first real Christmas they'd have since his mother disappeared.

After dinner they got in the car and headed to a tree lot to choose their new Christmas tree. They parked the car and got out. Adrien could tell his father was not thrilled. In contrast, Adrien looked in all directions, taking in the different trees on the lot. 

"Good evening!" A middle aged man said as he approached them. The man's gaze stayed on the three of them for just long enough to indicate he knew exactly who they were. "How can I help you tonight?"

Gabriel subconsciously crossed his arms. "We're looking for a tree," he said, as matter-of-fact as always. He didn't appreciate being stared at.

Iris nudge Gabriel with her elbow trying to get him to lighten up. She then looked at the man. "We're looking for a big tree. Our family room is big enough for one and we have high ceilings. "

The man smiled. "We have a good selection of tall trees over there." He then pointed in the direction of the trees. "Just let me know when you fine the one you like."

"Thank you," said Iris. She looked at Gabriel and Adrien. "Let's go." She moved forward.

Adrien and Gabriel followed Iris to the tall trees. Gabriel watched as they inspected different trees. He wasn't sure why they needed that level of inspection. They all looked the same to him. Plus, all he could think about was how many pine needles were going to carpet his floor by the end of the season.

"What about this one?" Adrien asked, pointing to a tree that looked pretty full to him.

Gabriel walked over to the tree and waited for Iris to look it over. This was really their tree. He didn't feel a need to be in on the decision making process.

Iris clapped her hands excitedly. "This is perfect!" She walked up closer to the tree. "It will look so pretty in our family room." She glanced at Gabriel. "What do you think?"

Gabriel shrugged, knowing his answer would probably disappoint her. "This is fine. To be honest, I don't really see a difference between all these trees. If it has the qualities you want, then we should get it."

Iris rolled her eyes. She looked at her son. "I guess that is a yes."  She then flagged down the guy who helped them earlier and they bought the tree. 

Once the tree was bought, the workers of the tree lot tied the tree to the roof of Gabriel's car. They then headed home. Iris leaned back in her seat. The evening was quite pleasant and no one bothered them. She looked at her family. "Tonight went smooth. No press."

Gabriel let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Thankfully. I was sure that tree salesman was going to call the press. He was eyeing us when we first talked to him."

Adrien shrugged. "Not everyone who knows who we are instantly thinks to call the press. He was probably just surprised to see you anywhere other than behind a screen." He bit his lip, realizing his words might be taken as an insult in his father's mind.

"That doesn't give him the right to stare," Gabriel muttered.

"People stare when you're famous or not," said Iris. "I sometimes stare at people." She gave Gabriel a comforting smile. She then look back at her son. "Shall we decorate the tree tonight?"

"Yes!" Adrien answered with a grin. The thought of waking up the next day and seeing a fully decorated tree as a centerpiece in the house was extremely exciting. He still couldn't even get over the idea it was a live tree. The novelty would probably wear off in a few days, but it was great for now.

Gabriel nodded. "It's better not to put things off," he answered. He paused for a moment before realizing how impersonal that sounded. "Plus, it will be a nice evening together."