Chapter 3: Ice Cream

8 years prior

It was Adrien's seventh summer and quite a few photographers were already enamored with his smile. Many called him cute while others loved how mild-mannered he was. He was well-known among the child modeling sphere for never throwing tantrums and always willing to please. He believed going to photoshoots was fun and loved how happy the pictures made his parents.

He also loved his mother's tradition of taking him out for ice cream after almost every photoshoot. Sometimes they tried new places, but, usually, they went to the same shop. Every time they went, the owner welcomed them happily and would always ask how they were doing.

The first time the woman named Jackie had asked him directly, though, Adrien had immediately become shy and hid behind his mother's skirt. He was normally not shy around a lot of new people, but the plump woman acted so differently than everyone else that he didn't know what to make of her. As time wore on, though, he grew more comfortable with the attention from the friendly woman. He even learned to ask her how she were doing and occasionally joke with her as well.

It was usually just the two of them. Even at such a young age, Adrien understood his father's need to be busy, but, when he did take time out to spend with them, it always made his son happy. So, when Gabriel had been waiting for them in the car after his most recent photoshoot one Sunday afternoon, Adrien had been beyond ecstatic.

"Papa!" He exclaimed as his short legs carried him towards the town car where his father sat, waiting. "What're you doing here?!"

"I finished my work early so I thought that I would surprise you two." Gabriel did not smile as widely as his son and wife did, but there was a small grin that softened his face.

Besides, Adrien's smile was certainly large enough to make up for it.

"That's so sweet," Adrien's mother, Elianna Agreste, said with a gentle smile. "Richard," she called as she shut the door behind her. "We'll be going to the same place as usual!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The chauffeur said with a happy wave before pulling away from the curb and out into traffic.

"And just what this 'usual' place, " Gabriel asked in feigned ignorance.

"An ice cream parlor!" Adrien called out happily. "Maman and I go after almost every photoshoot. You'll get to meet Jackie!" Gabriel looked at his wife in amusement when Adrien began bouncing on his seat in excitement.

"And what is the name of this establishment?" The young boy scrunched up his face in confusion at the sound of such a big and confusing word.

"Establishment is another word for a place of business. Your father is asking for the name of the ice cream parlor," Elianna explained patiently. Adrien mouthed the word to himself a few times before answering his father.

"Le Lapin Bleu! They have the best ice cream in all of Paris!"

"Oh, do they now? I suppose that I'll have to be the judge of that." Elianna rolled her eyes as their son frowned at his father.

It was obvious from a young age that Adrien held his father's opinion in a rather high regard. Elianna saw it as rather endearing, but there were moments, such as this one, where she worried that her husband did not understand how much sway his opinion had over their young son. For example she knew that, if he were to say something negative about the ice cream parlor, her young and impressionable son would find it difficult to return in the future. Before she could voice such an opinion, though, the car came to a stop in front of what was, presumably the shop.

"We're here!" Adrien shouted, his nervous consideration gone in a flash. He fumbled with his seat belt for a few minutes before his mother reached over to undo the contraption for him. As soon as he was free, he made to open the door, but his father's stern voice stopped him.

"There are a lot of people out there, you need to wait for the chauffeur to open the door."

"Yes, Papa," Adrien said with a dejected sigh. The moment that the door opened, though, Adrien sprung from the car and ran into the ice cream parlor. His father sighed heavily as he almost barreled into at least three people in the process.

"He's just excited to spend time with you," Elianna said quietly as she placed a gentle hand on his.

"Don't be too hard on him today, alright?" She then exited the car before he did. He was not far behind. Once he was standing, he offered his arm to his wife which she took gladly.

"I know," Gabriel said in exasperation as he continued the conversation. "I just wish he would do it with less energy." The woman laughed at him as they approached the shop.

"Do you really? If I remember right, someone is always suggesting toys and games that rile him up more than anything else can."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm sure you don't," Elianna said with a laugh. As the entered the shop, decorated with old-fashioned looking blue bunnies, the couple found their son talking excitedly to the cashier who was nodding patiently. As the bell dinged above them, the plump woman looked up and smiled brightly at the pair.

"Gabriel! It's been so long!"

"Hello, Jacqueline," The man in question said stiffly as the woman came from behind the counter to approach the two. "I see that the shop is as…" He took in decorations that were various shades of blue as well as the fact that there were currently no customers before continuing, "quaint as ever."

"And I can see that you're just as stiff as ever. Just how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jackie?"

"Too many I'm afraid," Elianna said with a smile as the women embraced in greeting.

"You've been here before?" Adrien asked father with wide eyes as he rejoined his parents.

"What, you mean to tell me that the two of you haven't told little Adrien here about how you met?" Both adults immediately flushed and looked away from the long-time friend. Gabriel was the first to regain his composure and he immediately pierced the woman with an annoyed glance.

"I do not believe that Adrien needs to hear that story."

"Oh, humbug!" Jackie cried as she threw her hands up. "Suit yourself, Gabby, but I do believe that he should hear that story someday. It is quite adorable and I don't think he should be deprived of such."

"Jackie," Elianna said in a placating manner, "We just believe that he should be a bit… older when he hears about that story. He is only seven you know."

"Yeah, yeah," Jackie said with a huff. After a moment she reached down and tousled Adrien's hair, effectively causing the poor boy to yelp out an indignant cry of the shopkeeper's name. "He is a bit young I suppose. Anyways, what can I get for the three of you?"

"What kind of ice cream would you like, Adrien?" Elianna asked as she gently led her son towards the counter as the shopkeeper returned to her station. He took a moment to look at all of the options in a meticulous manner before pointing to a tub in the back that was a bright green with flecks of chocolate strewn throughout.

"Can I have mint?"

"Looks as though it was mint to be Gabriel," Jackie said with a knowing glint in her bright blue eyes. Adrien looked at her in confusion while his father attempted to keep his anger in check. The small child looked between the owner and his father before biting his lip in nervousness.

"Yes, dear," Elianna said with a small laugh. "Mint sounds wonderful. I'll have the same."

Jackie ignored Gabriel's attempt to order something different. "Would the three of you like your mint ice cream in a cone or a cup?"

"Jacqueline you know-"

"Sorry, no 'Jacqueline's are working here today! Now, Adrien, would you like a cup or a cone?"

"A cone?" He asked as he turned to his father in uncertainty. He didn't quite understand why his father was getting so upset, but the young boy really enjoyed cones and hoped that his preferred method of eating wouldn't upset his papa.

He never liked upsetting his papa.

"Alright, little buddy. Three mint chocolate chip ice cream cones coming right up!" Gabriel ground his teeth at the cheeky owner in an attempt to not say something scathing, taking no notice of his son's perceptiveness. Adrien shrank a little as he picked up on his father's upset nature. He considered changing his order when his mother gently placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to soothe his tightly-wound nerves.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," his mother said comfortingly. "Your Papa and Jackie just don't always get along."

"Well, it's more like your father doesn't have a sense of humor," Jackie said with a wink as she leaned down to hand the child his treat first. "Here you go." Adrien hesitated for a moment, but then took the treat and began eating it. With every lick his unease began fading. The owner then served Elianna, but paused when she arrived at Gabriel who had crossed his arms.

"Here's your cone, sir."

The designer simply gave her a pointed look.

"Gabriel," Elianna said exasperatedly from where she had begun to direct their son to a booth in the back of the shop. "Do you really have to do this every time?"

"She hasn't rung up our order. Before I can accept that cone I need a receipt."

Adrien tilted his head in confusion. "Why does Papa need a receipt? Jackie always-"

"Don't worry Adrien darling!" Jackie said in a high voice. "I'll-"

"Be ringing us up."

"But Gabby," she whined, "the ice cream is going to melt! And besides, it'll be wasted if you wait much longer. I'll ring you up as soon as I have a free hand, how about that?" The two adults stared at each other for long moments. It wasn't until ice cream began running down her hand that Gabriel finally reached for the cone with an annoyed sigh.

"Be sure to ring up all of the orders that the Agreste family has purchased," he said pointedly as he reached for a napkin to wipe off excess ice cream that had begun to drip down the side of the cone. He then began to make his way towards his family.

"You know as well as I do that they are all paid in f-"

"All of them. I won't leave until you have a receipt for me." He said over his shoulder before finishing the trek to where his family sat. He cautiously sat down, across from his wife and son, before beginning to eat his own cone. As he ate it as carefully as he could, he caught his wife's gaze and he could see her barely contained amusement.

He simply rolled his eyes.

"Do you like it Papa?" Adrien asked from where he sat beside Eliana. As Gabriel looked over his son critically. He could see a small amount of trepidation lingering in his wide green eyes. He let out a sigh and consciously forced himself to relax slightly in his seat as he continued to eat his dessert.

"Yes, Adrien. Thank you for suggesting it." The smile that broke across his young son's face gave the world-renowned designer pause. Adrien was known for smiling a lot, but there were sometimes when his happiness took his father by surprise. It normally was over the smallest of things, things that Gabriel couldn't comprehend how they could cause so much happiness, but they always seemed to warm a part of him that he could not name.

A few moments later Gabriel's attention was drawn to a small slip of receipt paper that was nonchalantly placed on the table. He took one look at the sheet of paper and let out an annoyed sigh as frustration filled him. It seemed as though he were about to stand to have a few words with the owner, who was conveniently already halfway back to the counter, but his wife's hand atop his stopped him.

"Let her do this," she said quietly. "You know she just-"

"You know I don't like owing others, Elianna."

"You don't owe her anything, Gabriel," she insisted, "if anything she-"

"Owes me nothing," he said testily. He looked up to watch the woman as she gave him a triumphant look before turning to work on cleaning up her workstation. Gabriel pursed his lips before a smirk crossed his face. "Though she deserves a tip wouldn't you agree?" His wife let out a resigned sigh as she withdrew her hand.

"Do you remember what happened the last time you did that? She slipped it right back in my purse the next time I was here." He shrugged noncommittally as he continued to work on his ice cream.

"You'll just need to be a bit more careful about who puts their hands in your purse." Elianna groaned into her hand as Adrien looked on curiously. He didn't quite understand why Jackie being nice to all of them was such a big deal so he worked on finishing his ice cream in contented silence. Not too much later the young child finished eating and sat as still as he possibly could as he waited for his parents to finish as well.

Which, for a seven-year-old who had been sitting for quite a while already, was quite difficult.

"Sit still, Adrien," Gabriel said sternly as Adrien kicked the booth for the fifth time in a row in an alternating pattern. Said boy immediately stopped and did his best to not start again.

The shopkeeper made an indignant noise. "You do realize that he's still really young, right?"

"Jacqueline," Gabriel said as he shot the woman an annoyed look. "I do not appreciate-"

"He's been sitting for hours on end for a camera and just had a lot of sugar. You would have a lot of energy to burn off too if you were his age," Jackie said with a stern glare, one hand planted firmly on her hip.

"Then, pray tell, how would you suggest that he rid himself of that energy?"

"By doing what he normally does: help me a little bit with the shop." The blonde man gave her a skeptical look. How on earth could a seven-year-old help out at an ice cream shop? He then turned to his wife in silent askance.

"It's not much. More often than not he's simply shadowing her as she works."

"Elianna is that really-"

"It's fine, Gabriel. Just watch and see." She smiled reassuringly before turning to Adrien with kind eyes. "Why don't you go on ahead and show your papa how helpful you can be?"

The young boy looked anxious for a moment, but, after his mother gently prodded him again, he stood and went to the counter where Jackie stood expectantly. As he approached, Jackie opened the half-door to let him through. Once behind the counter she reached for a tiny blue bunny-patterned apron and secured it around him to protect his nice clothes.

"Alright, you ready?" Adrien nodded excitedly as he disappeared out of sight for a moment before returning with a small step stool that he set up where the ice cream was. He then carefully reached for a pair of gloves and stood there patiently waiting for a new customer to arrive.

"He does this every time?" Gabriel asked quietly as he finished his ice cream cone. His wife giggled lightly as she wiped her fingers with a napkin, having finished hers a few moments earlier.

"Almost. About the third time we came here, it was really busy and Adrien asked if he could help out. Jackie was a bit hesitant, but then set him on scooping and delivery duty. He did it so well that she'll let him do it every time that we come if he wants. The customers love it." The designer made a non-committal noise as the bell over the door chimed and a new customer, an elderly Chinese man wearing a very touristy Hawaiian shirt, hobbled into the shop using a cane for support. He watched as his son straightened to attention, scoop in hand, and waited for orders. Jackie turned from what she was doing and a bright smile breaking across her face as soon as she took in the sight of the new customer.

"Fu! It's so nice to see you. How have you been?"

The old man laughed good-naturedly. "As well as these old bones will let me. How about yourself?"

"Absolutely wonderful. Do you want your usual?" He paused or a moment before nodding.

"Yes, please."

"You go on ahead and take a seat and I'll have my little helper here bring it right out to you."

"How much do I owe you?" The man went to reach for his wallet, but Jackie waved a hand in front of her face dismissively.

"Don't worry about it. You know it's always free for you. Now go and sit already!" The man chuckled to himself as he shook his head.

"How do you even stay open?" Gabriel called to the owner as he watched the old Chinese man take a seat.

"I serve more than just friends you know," Jackie sniffed.

"Could have fooled me," the man commented.
Jackie rolled her eyes as she gestured for Adrien to step down and allow her to scoop the chocolate ice cream into a dish. "You know that I don't charge friends so stop trying to get your way."

The businesses man rolled his eyes before they moved from the owner to his son. He was now carefully making his way over to the old man with his order. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the elderly man smiling knowingly at his wife. He turned to his wife questioningly and almost missed her exasperated expression. She froze when she saw his inquiring gaze, but laughed dismissively shortly afterwards.

"I just know him from my waitressing days," she said in a placating manner. It seemed as though there was quite a bit more to the story, there certainly was no 'just' to the story, but he did not press. Whatever it was he would wait for privacy before asking about it more. Instead, he turned his eagle eyes to the man and watched him carefully.

Just because he was a friend of Jackie's didn't mean that he trusted the man.

"Thank you," The Fu said in a quiet tone as he accepted the small dish. "Though you do look a bit young to work here." Adrien, for once oblivious to his father's displeasure, giggled as he took a step back.

"I don't work here, mister! I'm just helping."

"Well then, Jackie should certainly hire you when you're older." Adrien's eyes widened comically at the compliment.

"Really?" the man nodded with a kind smile. The young boy turned to Jackie immediately, eyes large and pleading. He enjoyed posing for pictures, but it was always so much fun to work with Jackie. He didn't quite understand what a job really was, but if it was anything like this then he certainly wouldn't mind doing it in the future.

"That'll be up to your parents," Jackie said with a laugh. "But, if they say yes, and you're still interested, then I'll certainly consider it." Adrien rushed over to his parents, his customer forgotten, and immediately turned the full force of his pleading gaze on them. Both of which had drastically different reactions. Elianna smiled, greatly amused. Her husband, on the other hand, turned an annoyed eye to the owner.

He could hear his wife gently attempting to explain to her son that they would talk about it more later. He didn't know why she preferred to lie to the boy. They had both agreed that Adrien would not be working a job such as this if they could help it. Because, though Jackie was a friend of theirs, and his mother had worked here when she was younger, they wanted to provide for Adrien enough that it would never be necessary.

"Okay! Thank you, Maman!" Adrien cried out with a small smile, not quite understanding what 'later' meant. He turned from his parents as the bell went off again as more customers entered.

Gabriel ground his teeth, but did not lash out. He could see the bright and hopeful look in his son's eyes as he helped Jackie out behind the counter. It annoyed him how both women were getting his son's hopes up for no reason. It would be so much kinder to the boy if he were told the truth and not allowed to have his hopes crushed later when the fantasy dispersed.

He hated getting his son's hopes up.

"Let him have his fun," Elianna said quietly as Adrien carefully placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a cone. "Besides the odds of him still wanting to do something like this in the future are very slim. We'll help him understand how important it is to have a good job when he's older, but for now it's best to let him dream as big as he can."

"I suppose," Gabriel responded as he looked down at his watch. He had not expected to stay at the shop for very long. He had made reservations at one of Elianna's favorite Italian restaurants as well as obtained tickets to a show that she had been wanting to see for a while. "We'll need to leave shortly."

"Oh we will?" Elianna gave him a coy smile. "And why would that be?"

"You'll find out soon enough," he said with a smirk as he turned his attention to where the final customer had retrieved their treat from his son. "Adrien? We need to leave soon." He watched as his son deflated before his eyes as he stepped off of the stool and began to take off his apron. It was obvious that he was struggling with the knot that Jackie had tied.

"Can you help me, Jackie?" Adrien asked as he turned his back to the shopkeeper. She immediately helped to untie the apron and carefully put it back on the rack. The bell rang again and a large group of teenagers noisily entered the shop. He turned to her worriedly. "Are you going to be able to handle it?"

Jackie smiled as she gently patted his head. "Don't worry about me. I'm a pro at this by now. You go on ahead and I'll see you some other time, alright?" Adrien nodded before rushing past the line of teens and over to his parents.

"Are you ready to go, sweetie?" Elianna asked as she stood from the booth to greet her son. He nodded and watched as his father stood as well. Gabriel looked at the busy counter and leaned over the table again, as if he were grabbing a napkin from the dispenser and slid a few bills under the device before taking a napkin in his hand and needlessly wiping them. He turned, righted his suit and then turned in the direction of the entrance.

Elianna took Adrien's hand before turning to where Jackie stood behind the counter. "See you again sometime soon!"

"Have a good day! And don't forget to come by more often!" The shopkeeper gave Gabriel a pointed look before returning to her current customer. She missed the roll of his eyes.

Gabriel opened the door for the two of them right as Adrien turned around. "Bye, Jackie!" She waved as he turned with his mother and headed through the door.

"There better not be money on that booth, Agreste," Jackie said pointedly as she began ringing up the third teen's order.

"You really should focus on your current customers, Jacqueline. Have a good day." He didn't look back as he allowed the door to shut on whatever would have been her reply.

"Papa?" Adrien asked from where he stood beside his mother, holding her hand, "Why did you hide money at the table?"

"I merely left a tip," he said with a smirk as he allowed the chauffeur open the door for the three of them.

"What's a tip? Adrien whispered to his mother as she buckled him into the seat.

"A tip is a small amount of money that you leave for a server," his mother explained as the car pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic.

"You usually leave a little for an okay server, a bit for a good server, and then a whole lot for a really good server."

"Jackie's a really good server. How much did Papa leave?"

Elianna sighed as she looked at her husband's self-satisfied face before responding.

"Far too much."

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! There isn't going to be a pattern per se to when chapters like this show up, but expect them to be interspersed with the other chapters. I've got quite the picture to weave for you guys and quite a bit more than what meets the eyes…

Also please let me know what you think of this chapter! I had some issues with formatting that I hope I overcame and that it became apparent pretty soon in that we were no longer in the present storyline. I

Anyways, thanks yet again and review to let me know what you thought!