Author's Note: This is a drabble inspired by Nattikay'scomic "Oh crap, Adrien must really like this girl" and Steamshipper's post over tumblr.

Mild spoiler to Gorizilla, basically only the part from summary. I can never resist a "just a friend" trope! Have fun ;)

Adrien's Friend

The ending credits of Solitude rolled just in time for Gabriel to get back to reality and remember, there was one more thing he should talk about, before he and Adrien returned to their scheduled appointments.

It was, however, quite an awkward topic, one that he specifically hoped to have Emilie around for. Alas his efforts in bringing her back were still fruitless, so it was all on him now.

He cleared his throat and looked at the boy beside him.

'So son,' he was aiming for a casual small talk, despite the fact that it had never been his forte. That was why the next line came out a little bit stiff, 'what is this about a girlfriend…?'

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, like he always did when he was uncomfortable. Gabriel smirked inwardly, somehow comforted by the fact that this wasn't one-sided awkwardness.

'Oh, you mean Marinette?' the boy asked with forced innocency, and Gabriel suddenly got a very bad feeling about it. He suspected where this might go even before he had come to Adrien's room, but now that his son's body language seemed to confirm his suspicions, he felt the panic rising from the pit of his stomach.

'She is just a good friend,' Adrien continued, probably unaware of that delicate blush covering his cheeks and a bit glassy look in his eyes.

At this point Gabriel zoned out just for a second, getting back to that very embarrassing moment 20 years prior, when he was asked a similar question, and with all his obliviousness and honesty he announced to the whole Paris, that Mademoiselle Emilie Launder wasn't his girlfriend at all, just a very good friend.

A very good friend that he had been spending every second of his free time with. That he liked to have around when he was working. That he asked for opinions on every matter important to him. That he made gifts for, with and without suitable occasion. That had to patiently wait another two years for his obliviousness to dispel and for him to finally stop denying his feelings for her. It took another month for them to get engaged, two to get married, and before he noticed, he was designing a collection of fashionable rompers for his son.

Well, shit. Gabriel thought, and it summed up this situation pretty well. At that moment the panic reached his ears, setting off all the alarm bells and sirens. His heart started hammering wildly in his chest, and the rush of blood shot straight to his brain. Was this how strokes started?

'Father?' Adrien's voice managed to break through his shock. 'Are you okay?'

'Yes, um, yes,' he took a calming breath and fished for a proper reply. 'She looks… '

Quick Gabe, think of something not suggesting and not threatening, maybe this isn't what it looks like.

'She looks… nice?' he squeaked.

Damn, Gabe, you're asking him or what?!

Adrien's face dissolved into the most dopey grin Gabriel had ever seen. 'Oh, she's very nice. She's amazing really!'With that the boy took a deep breath and… launched into a monologue about the greatness of his friend.

When Gabriel finally emerged from his room half an hour later, enlightened as to many fantastic qualities and a few quirks of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng, he had only so much strength left in him to summon his assistant.

'Nathalie,' he drawled, his voice weak and tired, 'please have the PR team prepare a dementi about those photos of Adrien and the girl.'

She shot him a puzzled look. 'So she's not his girlfriend?' she asked hesitantly.

He let out a sigh. 'If my son is anything like me, we should probably make reservations on a decent wedding venue,' he grumbled.

'Sir,' she started, 'he's fourteen.'

'Exactly,' was all the reply he could give.

AN: As always, I'm curious what you think! Check out my fics and visit me on perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com , where I post and reblog miraculous stuff.