Gabriel stared at her, realizing he'd been too harsh while not wanting to stand down. This fight wasn't worth the trouble, but anxiety gripped his thoughts with no sign of letting go. And her telling him to leave did not help in the slightest. Tension hung in the air as neither of them spoke. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and turned towards the door. He left the kitchen without a word, going to his office to think. 

Adrien abandoned his spot as soon as it seemed like the argument was done and made it back to his homework just in time for his father to walk through the living room without realizing they were being watched. He let out a relieved breath once he was sure he was safe and tried to go back to his homework.

Iris stood there for a few minutes. She felt her mind racing. She was so confused about Gabriel's behavior. Sure their enemies were dangerous, but should they really change their lives? At least in the day time when Paris was the most active?

She eventually remembered about Adrien and getting them tea. She finished making the tea and grabbed them some cookies and placed them onto the plate. Iris returned to the dinning room and sat adjacent to Adrien. "How's homework?" Iris grabbed one of the cups of tea. She wondered if Adrien heard their fight.

Adrien smiled at his mother and grabbed one of the cookies from the plate. "It's going well," he answered before taking a bite of the cookie. He wondered if he should bring up the fight he'd been eavesdropping on. He didn't really want to admit he was listening, but this was a time he understood his father better than she did, and he might be able to help..

He swallowed and took the other tea cup, bringing it up to take a sip. "Thanks for the tea," he said. He placed the cup back onto the table.

Iris just smiled at him and took a sip of her tea. She felt awkwardness in the air. So Iris just grabbed her sketch book that she grabbed earlier. She opened it up and started to draw. She really didn't know what to say to her son.

Adrien raised an eyebrow. He had expected his mother to bring up some kind of conversation. He looked down at his homework and worked out a few problems before looking up again. His eyes traveled from her sketchbook to her face before inwardly sighing. "So.. You and father were pretty angry at each other, huh?"

Iris paused in the middle of her sketching. She looked up at her son and let out a sigh. "I guess heard it, huh?" She put her pencil down. "Yeah I guess we are. What do you think of this?" Might as well get his opinion. "Is it silly for me to text him constantly about my whereabouts?"

Adrien leaned back in his chair, his gaze elevating to the ceiling as he thought about it. He was a minor, so his father's constant over-protectiveness had made sense to him; annoying as it was. His mother, however, was an adult. In normal circumstances, his father trying to make her tell him when she left the house would be extremely controlling and potentially abusive. But these weren't normal circumstances, so...

He looked away from the ceiling back to his mother. "It is, but..." He bit his lip as he considered how far into his father's mind he would interpret. Some of this should come from his parents communicating. "Father has become very overprotective since you disappeared. He really wants to be sure we're all safe. It might ease his mind if you text him like he asks; at least for a little while.. Then, maybe he'll realize there's nothing to worry about."

Iris frowned. She never thought about her disappearance playing into things. She then felt annoyed. "If that's the case then he should have just told me instead of yelling at me." Iris started to play with her pencil.

Adrien shrugged, lightly tapping the table with the eraser on his pencil. "Agreed. But we both know how good he is at communicating his thoughts and feelings," he said. He placed his pencil on the table and took another bite of the cookie. "Leave him alone for a bit. You might be able to get him to talk once he's cooled down."

"I guess." Iris looked back down at her sketch. She really didn't know what to say to Gabriel at the moment. She was more upset that he yelled at her. Sure they have yelled at each other in the past, but this time it felt different. And she wasn't sure why.

Adrien frowned. She didn't seem convinced, but he wasn't sure there was anything he could say to help. He turned back to his homework so she could think about it more.

Gabriel paced restlessly around his office. Why couldn't she understand? He shouldn't have to spell it out for her! He just wanted her to be safe! Was that too much to ask?  He was so busy pacing, he didn't even pay attention to the kwami flying out of his pocket.

"Calm down, Gabe. You're not the one who should be getting upset here," Lycca said as he landed on the shoulder of one of the mannequins.

Gabriel stopped at his disapproving voice and looked at him. "And why can't I be upset that she won't listen to a word I say?" He retorted stubbornly.

"I don't know. Maybe because you're the one being unreasonable," Lycca answered.

Gabriel crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at his kwami. "I'm not being unreasonable."

"You're pouting like a child," Lycca said, defiantly, "and controlling too. Maybe you should think about the fact that women don't like to have to tell men every single detail of their lives."

Gabriel continued to glare at Lycca but said nothing. He was not being controlling. He just wanted to know that she was safe. He bit his lip. "Is it really too much to ask that I know she's safe?"

Lycca sighed and shook his head. "Not necessarily, but it's bad in this case where she doesn't want to have to tell you every time she leaves the house. Not to mention the only reason you're doing this is because of anxiety. You really need to talk to her about that. She can help you."

Gabriel shook his head. "I don't want to make her deal with my anxiety. I'll figure it out without having to bring that up."

Iris let out a sigh and stood up. She felt too restless. She needed some air. "Adrien, I'm going for a walk. Tell your father for me." She then left the room and entered the foyer. She grabbed her coat from the coat closet and left the house. Iris turned to the right and walked down the street. Iris kept on walking until she hit the river.

She walked across a bridge and came to the stop in the middle. Iris leaned over the rail and looked down in the river. How was she going to face Gabriel? What would she say to him? She felt the over protectiveness was unnecessary. Nothing was going to make her disappear again.

Adrien wanted to protest, but his mother was already out the door. He sighed. This her leaving alone not going to help his father from being overprotective. In fact, it might make it worse.  He weighed whether or not he wanted to tell his father, but ultimately decided not telling him would do more harm than good. So, he headed to the office, hoping the coming conversation would not end badly.

Lycca let out a groan of frustration. "You need to let your feelings go and actually talk about them. Bottling them just makes everything worse, and I'm sure you'd much rather talk about them than deal with the consequences of Iris finding out the hard way."

"And what do you mean by that?" Gabriel asked.

Lycca didn't get the chance to answer as a knock sounded on the door. Gabriel looked away from his kwami. "Come in," he said.

Adrien entered. "Hey.. So, mom decided to take a walk."

The cold air was starting to get to Iris as she stood the bridge. She felt her body shivering. Iris debated about going home or continue her walk. The idea was not appealing. Adrien probably told Gabriel that she left by now. Knowing Gabriel he was probably out looking for her.

She pulled on her coat trying to make herself warmer. What if he yelled at her again? Especially that way. It scared her. Her disappearance messed him up. Iris wish he would open up about it. Iris continued her walk. She was feeling frustrated now. She could help him.

Iris walked for about 10 minutes until she came across a cafe. She decided to go inside to warm herself up. Iris took a seat in the back of the room. She sat down and placed her purse on the table. A waiter came by and she ordered a cup of a coffee.

After he left, Iris's purse opened up. It was Pain she remained sitting inside to hide herself. "You okay?"

"No," Iris whispered. "I don't think I can face him.."

"It will only get worse if you don't."

"I know. I hate confrontation. I only do it when I have to," said Iris.

"Well it's one of those times that you have too."

"I know. I just don't know what to say to him. He's being too controlling I get why he is, but that's no excuse."

Pain was about to say something, but the waiter came by with Iris's coffee. She waited until he walked away. "Then call him out and stand your ground. Tell him you'll only text him when you're going to be gone for hours."

"That sounds like a good compromise.." Iris took a sip of her coffee.

Gabriel stared at his son, his heart suddenly racing. She went for a walk? Alone? "Why didn't she tell me?" he asked, not realizing he'd asked out loud until he noticed Adrien's look.

"I don't know. Maybe because you yelled at her. She seemed really upset about it," Adrien answered, his voice filled with passive aggression. He bit his lip right after, as if realizing how confrontational he sounded, before continuing, "I mean, she doesn't realize how different you are. You might want to talk to her more."

Lycca brightened at his his statement, "Hey Gabe, it seems even your reckless kid can talk some sense!" The kwami earned a glare from both miraculous holders at this. He shrugged, "I don't know why either of you are mad. It's true."

"I'm going out," Gabriel said and headed toward the office door. Adrien followed him and went back to his schoolwork. 

Once outside, Gabriel motioned to the attic. "Go send the butterflies to look. We'll cover more ground that way." Lycca sighed and nodded.

Once the butterflies were sent out, Gabriel got in his car and started driving. Lycca sat in the passenger's seat, eyes closed, as he kept tabs on his butterflies. Occasionally, he would murmur directions that Gabriel would follow without question. 

Finally, they stopped at a cafe. Gabriel parked the car and hesitated as he noticed the crowd inside. "You sure she's in there?"

"Of course. Pierre would not lie to me," Lycca answered, pointing at the butterfly sitting on the windowsill.

Gabriel nodded and took a deep breath before entering the cafe. He thought he felt all eyes on him while he glanced around, looking for Iris. And he hated it. Why didn't she have to choose such a crowded place?

He found her a moment later and made his way to her table in the back of the cafe. "Hey," he murmured when he reached the table. "Can I sit here?" He felt like it was only fair to let her decide after he had yelled at her.