Chapter Text

Part 4

Nathalie blinked, and tried to get a grasp of her environment. Everything was dark, and cold, but familiar. His hands were grasping her shoulders.

“Are you alright, Nat?” His thumbs ran in small circles. “I-”

She threw herself away from him, her face twisted with rage. Anger that he could not sense. She let out a huff, and forced herself to relax her face, “Was that wise? Sending an akuma after me? What the hell possessed you?”

Hawkmoth frowned, “I was just akumatizing him. I didn’t realize that it was you until it was too late. In case you couldn’t tell, I was trying to find you while that was happening.”

“YOU COULD’VE JUST CALLED!” She fired back, “You could’ve de-transformed, called me, verified my location, transformed, teleported near me, and then put me somewhere safe. Was that difficult? Was a six-step process too complicated for you?”

“You’re being unfair.” He pointed out. “I was-”

“What?” Her voice was light, like a knife in a silk sheath, “Trying to rescue me and be the hero? Do you realize that Chat Noir and Ladybug witnessed that entire ordeal? What is A-What are theysupposed to think about that? What if they think we’re somehow affiliated? What do I tell them, Hawkmoth?”

He exhaled, and de-transformed. Gabriel glared at her, and pulled out his phone, checking messages. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the children don’t tell anyone.“ He announced.

"They’ll tell the police, Gabriel.”

“They’re children. They think they can handle all of this themselves.” He smiled to himself, “I’m sure you could manage two teenage superheroes. Perhaps you’ve done it before?”

Nathalie sighed, and glanced around, looking for some sort of-was there no door? Wow, there was no door. Right, teleportation. “I can’t leave, can I?”

He wiped his glasses, “Not yet. I have to make an appearance at the mansion and be highly concerned.”

After transforming (Nooroo was very sympathetic), Gabriel disappeared. Nathalie made sure that her phone was turned off, and waited.

XXX

Gabriel was in his office when Ladybug and Chat Noir burst in. His hands were behind his back, clenched at the children. Previously, they had escorted his employee home, and they had most likely booked it back to the mansion.

The boy looked rather panicked. Ladybug sniffed, “Mr. Agreste, have you seen Ms. Sancoeur?”

Smiling, he shook his head. “No, I’m afraid not. I’ve tasked my entire security team on finding her.” He had in fact, done that. Gabriel had spent the past forty-five minutes panicking over her sudden predicament. “They’ve yet to turn anything up, unfortunately.”

The cat’s frown deepened, “Uh, sir, would you know of her being connected to Hawkmoth in any way?”

“Ah.” Gabriel inhaled, sucking in a breath, “I wouldn’t. If you’d like, there’s security footage of the front lawn, if you’d like to review-”

“YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED?”

Chat’s voice cut in. He was completely baffled.

Frowning slightly, Gabriel went on, “Yes, sir. From the window-”

“AND YOU DIDN’T HELP HER? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?” The boy immediately blanched, “Uh, I mean, um, excuse me. I’m sorry, Mr. Agreste.”

“It’s best to leave the saving to the superheroes, isn’t it?” He ignored the child’s outburst. “Or, supervillians, in this case. I do have a son to think about.”

Ladybug cleared her throat, her earrings catching in the sunlight. “In that case, I’ll inform the authorities, and they can assist us on the case.”

Gabriel’s jaw dropped, and he recovered his expression quickly enough, but both teenagers looked shocked at his display of emotion. “I’m s-surprised, I’m sorry. I’ll have to request that you don’t involve the authorities.” His voice didn’t portray the absolute panic. “I-I would do anything to protect Nathalie Sancoeur.” He blinked rapidly, and swallowed hard, “That includes her reputation.”

The boy’s lips pursed, “And you think telling the police that she’s missing would ruin her reputation?”

He shot the boy a glare that made the cat draw his ears back. “Speaking from experience, her reputation will not be ruined over being simply missing.” He let the silence weigh down as the children understood his meaning. They both paled, and he went on. “Hawkmoth kidnapped her. The police and press will overanalyze the actions of an insane terrorist and assume that my assist-a personal friend of mine-is connected to him beyond being an innocent victim.”

Ladybug placed a hand over her heart and promised, “We’ll make sure that that’s not the case.”

She had so much passion. It made Gabriel’s migraine increasingly worse. He kept trying to read them, naturally, and their miraculous prevented it.

“You overestimate humanity.” He replied, “Please, if you both could wait. My security team will work on finding her as well. If her phone turns on, we will find her, I promise.”

That wasn’t enough for the boy. Children overestimated humanity, and yet, if they were raised a certain way, would always assume the worst. “Time isn’t on her time. He could kill her.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose, “That won’t happen, Chat Noir.”

“How do you know?” Ladybug pressed her lips into a thin line, “How are you so sure of her safety?”

The man rolled his eyes, “Hawkmoth showed up on my lawn, purified the akuma that was targetting her, and kidnapped her. For some reason, he’s placed some sort of value in her. The three of us can wait until that value becomes known before dragging Nathalie into the spotlight.”

“But—”

“Speculation and rumors will get you nowhere, miss.” He insisted. “I will not see Nathalie Sancoeur dragged through the press.”

Chat Noir was nodding as well. “We’re in agreement, sir.”

XXX

Adrien was twisting his ring around his finger. He had joined his father for dinner that night, and Gabriel had reassured him that Nathalie would be home soon.

It was a stark contrast between what he had told Chat Noir. The man who appeared before the boy now was cool, unconcerned, as usual. To Chat Noir, Gabriel was impassioned, hell, it could be argued that Gabriel Agreste liked Nathalie Sancoeur.

After that, he had searched the whole city, as his father’s assistant wasn’t there to actually check up on him. He had found nothing, and then, on a whim, he went to the balcony of her apartment. His claw easily picked the lock, and the door swung open.

“Ms. Sancoeur?” He called inside, peering into the bookish apartment. The carpet gave way to his boots as he glanced around, hoping to find a sign of her. He glanced down at the sofa, and exhaled. She had not returned.

Adrien was about to leave the apartment when he heard the lock turning. His eye’s widened, and in an instant, he was inside Nathalie’s bedroom, his back against a wall. He realized too late that he could’ve just left through the balcony door, which he had left wide open.

What was shocking, however, was that there were two people in the apartment.

“Did you leave your balcony door open?”

Father? The boy recognized his voice immediately. What was he doing there?

Nathalie, he could hear, was walking across the flat, and closing the door, and locking it. “No. That’s odd.”

“One of the children probably broke in, to look for clues.” He told her, “They’ve been at it for most of the evening.”

“I’m fairly used to miraculous users breaking into my apartment.” She replied, her voice cold.

Adrien had never heard her use that tone with him. Sure, he knew that she probably ‘had words’ with him over certain things. He had never been privy to their private conversations in the past.

Gabriel chuckled, and the boy heard fabric creasing, of him going to her. He could hear the smile in his tone, “Why are you being so harsh? I came through the front door this time.”

“You ruined my afternoon, Gabriel. You’re not getting points by going through the door.” She answered, her tone washing up onto slight warmth.

They’re flirting, oh my god, they’re flirting. Adrien felt his mind turn a thousand stones over trying to understand what had changed between the two of them. Had he not noticed or were they that good at hiding it from him?

“Be reasonable.”

“Reasonable?” Her voice hitched up an octave, “Okay, Hawkmoth.”

And then, Adrien’s mouth went dry.

His father sniffed, “I don’t know what you’re referring to. I’ve always been reasonable as a supervillain.”

There it was. The boy’s fist went to his mouth, and he bit down on the leathery texture of his glove. He wanted to scream. He planted his feet in the ground.

Just wait for Father to leave, then talk to Nathalie afterwards. There has to be some explanation.

“Did you hear something?” Gabriel murmured.

Chat’s eyes felt like they would burst out of their sockets. No, no, no, no, no this can’t be happening, I’m so—

“Probably the neighbors upstairs.” Nathalie replied, slowly. “Uh. Hey. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, okay? I’m tired.”

Gabriel swallowed, “You’re sure?”

He heard them kiss, feeling his heart sinking.

“Believe me, Gabriel, I’ve had enough of you today.”

There was a pause, Chat Noir wanted to gag. “That’s sad, I haven’t gotten my fill of you. I’m starved, Nath—”

“Then starve.” She told the boy’s father, “Seriously, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Soon, Gabriel was out of the apartment. There was a second, and Chat Noir let himself breathe out. 

“You can come out now, Adrien.”

Part 5

For a second, Adrien was so still he could’ve been mistaken for a doll. Then, Nathalie was in the bedroom.

“Adrien.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, and that jolted him out of his solidarity.

He flinched away from her, and let his transformation go, “M-my…My father.” The words came out in a fractal, trailing off into an unimaginable infinity. The boy had broken.

She swallowed so hard he almost thought a marble had dropped. “I can explain everything.”

And so, the woman sat the boy down, gave him a cup of tea, and let out a heavy breath once he had gathered himself. “Do you remember Sleeping Beauty?”

Nodding, he looked up, and brought the cup to his dry lips. “I do.” He murmured.

“Well, I was the one who purified that akuma.”

As the boy was raised to be polite, he did not spit out his drink, but his eyes widened, and he had to force down a good amount of hot liquid. His tongue burnt. “It was you?”

Nathalie leaned back in her chair, “A lot happened, but, in that akuma I figured out everyone’s identities and it kept turning out to be a dream and—”

Her breath caught in her throat. She was in disbelief that she was finally revealing all of this to Adrien, of all people.

“Nathalie?”

“I’m fine.” She held a hand up. “No one in Paris remembers those dreams. You’re all very lucky.”

“What happened?”

The woman’s shoulder’s straightened, “Every time I got a happy ending, the dream reset. I’m not sure why the akuma worked this way, but one dream lasted nine months and…you build a life, you know?”

“With my father.”

She gave him a slow nod. “Yes.”

The boy exhaled, “And you did that, knowing he was Hawkmoth?”

“He gave up his miraculous both times. And the third time, I realized none of it was real and stealing it from him wasn’t an issue.” Nathalie brushed away a stray piece of hair from her forehead. “I never intended to hurt you.”

“He loved you.”

“He did.”

“He still does!” Adrien looked up, everything dawning on him, “Nathalie, I—please take his miraculous.”

That shocked the woman. Her hand went immediately to the necklace, hidden under her blouse. “What?” No.

The boy sat back, “He won’t give it to you? I…”

Trailing off, Nathalie watched Adrien wallow in the news. It was concerning, how he deflected his feelings in favor of his mission as Chat Noir. The boy twisted the ring around his finger, and every sound seemed to distract him. He was nervous that Hawkmoth would return.

Adrien brought a knee to his chest. “Ladybug wants to put him in jail and I don’t think—I don’t want to lose my dad, Nathalie.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“If you’ve fixed it before, could you fix it again?”

XXX

Despite fear of a happy ending, Nathalie found herself in her living room a week later, past midnight, wearing a tank top and trousers, her hands behind her neck. She unclasped the chain on the necklace, and placed it on the coffee table.

She sat down, texted Gabriel, and poured out two glasses of red wine.

He did not appear right away, as she had hoped. Instead, she had to let him into her building, and he knocked on her door soon afterwards.

The woman ushered him in, and gaped at the small bouquet of flowers in his hands.

“You said you wanted to talk over wine.” He murmured, “I figured—flowers, you know?”

Nathalie knew well enough. She took the flowers into the kitchen, and searched around for a vase, if only to delay the inevitable. Her rising and falling sense of dread, the knowledge that he knew exactly how she felt. He politely ignored her shaking, her short breath, her flitting eyes. Nathalie was losing her cool.

Finding a vase was calming, wiping away the dust, listening to the water fill the glass. She cut the flowers, and when everything was primped, she placed the setting on her kitchen table, and wordlessly joined him. He looked out over the skyline as he cupped his glass of wine, his silhouette glowing against the city lights.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and that was relaxing. It was something she had done in the past, and she wanted to do again. Somehow, the feeling of his stiff suit, and his cologne, and just…him, seemed to put her more at ease.

“Can I ask you a question?” He murmured, “I mean, unless you want to stand here in silence, but you did say we’d talk.”

Nathalie frowned, though the core of her was warming up, “Yes, what is it?”

Gabriel, well, she couldn’t see him smile, but he was smiling, “What are you afraid of?”

That earned him a meaningful silence as Nathalie pondered: What was she afraid of? Was it the fear of a happy ending? Was it Gabriel, and Adrien, and the possibility of losing it all? Life had gone on and she was terrified to live and experience and yet, she had done that. Life had pushed her along, Gabriel had nudged at her until their situation could no longer be ignored.

She huffed. “I’m afraid that I’m going to lose everything again. I don’t want to lose you, or this, Gabriel.”

“You’re not going to lose me.” He chided her, "you have an uncanny way of holding on to everything you love.”

That froze the man. He moved away from her, and cleared his throat.

Gabriel clicked his tongue, “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t—I haven’t been able to read you for so long that it’s hard not to throw your feelings back at you. I know that’s no excuse but—”

“You care about me too, then.”

Again, the man’s jaw dropped, and she swore he forgot to breath as he stared at her. “Nathalie…” He breathed out her name. “I love you. I don’t want to hurt you. And I thought we’d talk about what happened today but it’s clear that that’s not the case. I mean, perhaps we will talk about that, but it’s not pressing.”

Nathalie let him trail off until he got to a stopping point. She replied, “Well, where do you want to go from here, if we love each other?”

His eyebrows raised. “What do you want to do?”

“It’s not just about me.”

The man smirked, “Clearly, but I’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen between us. I’m not about to ruin things with what I want.”

It occurred to Nathalie that her boss had most likely harbored feelings for her long before Sleeping Beauty had ever occurred. Now, she could only wonder to their extent, and if she had truly won his heart or if she had had it all along.

Not now. She crossed her arms, and Gabriel winced. Clearly, he had sensed her feelings of dread. “Your miraculous. That’s it.”

That did not shock him. In fact, what shocked him, was the second thing. “That’s it?” He echoed.

“Yes.”

“You don’t want more?” He scrutinized her as she came closer to him, undoing his scarf, and taking the brooch off of his vest. Gabriel did not protest this motion, instead, he protested her. The complete frustration emanated off the man, in one of the few moments where he showed his emotions.

Nathalie’s movements stuttered. “I want more.” She stated eventually, when the silence between them grew to heavy to bear.

“I could give you anything, and all you want is a magical brooch?”

She glanced away, “In my defense, the butterfly miraculous is limitless.” Clearly, he did not appreciate her sense of humor. “Let’s try this, okay? I’m not going to promise anything, but we can see if this works, okay?”

Gabriel placed his hands in his pockets, and she wondered if he was fidgeting under her gaze. “Do you want this to work?”

She didn’t have to nod, or reply. Gabriel knew exactly what she was feeling, even if those feelings felt small.

For the first time in a long, long time, Nathalie wanted things to work, and the world didn’t fall into pieces.

In fact, the world offered her another glass of wine.