Hello, guys, I'm back again with this fic!
Let me warn you that one of the scenes in this chapter might be a bit disturbing or triggering for some people. But it's not that bad, so I don't think you need a warning. It's just a precaution, you get what I mean? :x
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Also, let's reply some reviews now:
- duusuu: Same here! I've been looking for GabeNath fics since the finale but it's sooo hard to find ugh! As for why Emilie acted suspiciously, I thought I dropped a huge hint in the last chapter already but I guess not a lot of people caught it? Let's see if this chapter can give you more explanation!
- Reminiscent Lullaby: To be honest, I wish for that so many times and not just for this show. Some of the topics they explore have such wide potential if aimed for older audience. But alas, this show managed to go this far because of its wide target market so I find myself accepting the fact for now. This is what fanfictions exist for, am I right? ;)
- Norakwami: I'm sorry but I'm so distracted by your username (also the fact that kwami IS derived from kami that is in Noragami, this name is simply genius!) And I have no idea what you think I'm doing with the Peacock but let's see if your guess is correct in this chapter!
- Little Miss Thinker: A very long review as usual, buddy. The email notif couldn't even contain the entirety of your review. First of all, yes, I really enjoy writing Adrien in this story. If you want me to put it bluntly, he serves as a matchmaker in this story but I love writing his bond with Nathalie as much as I wish there were more of it in the show. As for Duusuu, I simply didn't want to write her dialogues because we still don't know how she talks for now so I just make her as mysterious as possible for the sake of the story's atmosphere, too, hehehe.
If I could, I'd try to find the time to doodle some scenes from this fanfic and post it on my instagram account :)
- x yaomomo x: Yes, my friend came up with most of the theories and as I started writing the story, it kept getting darker oof! Halfway through, I was simply affected by my current read (which is a thriller novel) :"D
- purpledragon6: I figured Nathalie is loyal to Gabriel because of this theory I found in the fandom that I should not mention now but will be explored in this story! Keep a look out ;)
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Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS LADYBUG
Protector
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Chapter 3
Ghost
When Gabriel flung the door open in such a hurry, slipping his tie off in one swift motion to reveal the Miraculous underneath, Nathalie looked up from her computer to see what it was about.
"A man just lost his job and custody to his six-year-old. Let's go, Nathalie." He was heading steadily to his secret elevator.
"No."
Gabriel stopped and frowned at her. "What do you mean, no?"
"Today is Adrien's birthday. Be there for him instead of in your lair orchestrating chaos," Nathalie demanded and then realized she forgot to add, "sir." A side effect of being the one in control as their supervillain personas.
Gabriel checked the calendar and made a face.
"It will not take long," he insisted.
"Adrien will return from school in thirty minutes."
"Perhaps time pressure will do wonders to improve our performance today."
Nathalie gave him a pensive look. She'd always hated arguing with him because he could be the most unreasonable man on the planet sometimes. It was bad enough that he didn't personally choose a present for his son, but he wanted to miss the day, too? Not on her watch. And she knew exactly what would make him surrender.
"I don't—" Nathalie didn't finish her sentence but instead, started coughing. It began soft and then escalated within seconds. She stole a glance at her boss and realized her plan was working.
"I see you have yet to recover from our last attempt." He tried to sound neutral but she could practically touch the worry hidden beneath. His usually perfect posture was sloppy like he was holding back from rushing to her side and giving her back a couple of pats. How predictable. "Very well, we shall take a break for today."
It had been four days since they forged alliance, and there had only been one Akumatization during. It worked quite well, as the Akuma, with the help of his Protector, had managed to trap both superheroes in a cage after they had used their powers. The cage was displayed at the TV station, broadcast to the whole city, ready to reveal the true identity of their superheroes with the Akuma as the emcee. Both Hawkmoth and Mayura were elated and so close to their goal when both heroes' Miraculouses beeped dangerously, but they had overlooked the tiny little detail that was Ladybug's lucky charm item, hidden inside her fist. It was a little bobby pin that helped both superheroes escape the cage.
The Ladyblog was bombarded with comments on how close the last Akuma had gotten, something which both supervillains took a blooming pride of.
Although, Nathalie was reduced to a coughing mess again once detransformed, and Gabriel had to carry her out of the lair again. Nathalie suggested they did something to overcome the particular shortcoming. Perhaps readying a wheelchair in the lair. The aesthetic would be ruined but at least it would be more efficient. But Gabriel insisted he didn't mind carrying her once or twice a week to pay her back for the help. After that, they had a discussion over coffee about making sure Ladybug used her Lucky Charm and didn't keep the item next time, before then moving on to the spring line planning.
"Have you been taking your pills regularly?" Gabriel asked but walked towards his designing tab instead of looking at her, trying to sound as indifferent as possible.
"I have, sir."
He responded with an impassive hum as his hand started moving on the screen of his tab, likely to start designing, if not just for show. They stayed like that for a while; Gabriel designing and Nathalie making appointments for him through her computer. Before long, they heard the car pulled over in the front yard and they knew Adrien was home.
Nathalie looked up from the screen and Gabriel was already looking at her. They nodded at each other before heading out of the office to greet the boy, Nathalie behind Gabriel.
They were already standing under the staircase when Adrien opened the door inside. He looked a little bit surprised seeing them there because although it was not rare, it was not an everyday occurrence either.
"Hello, Father." Adrien nodded at Gabriel, who nodded in return. Then he faced the woman beside him with a wide smile. "Hello, Nathalie!" he cheered before running up to her, hugging her and kissing her on the cheek.
"Hello, Adrien." The woman looked down at him with a ghost of a smile. "Your lunch is waiting for you in the dining hall. Your Father and I will be there shortly."
"Okay," he said, bobbing his head up and down before heading to the dining room.
Nathalie looked at Gabriel, who gave her a look of disbelief. "What was that all about?" he asked.
Since their trip to Versailles, Nathalie and Adrien had continued to grow closer. Whenever Nathalie would ride along to send Adrien to school or pick him up, they would have a little conversation in the car about how their day went. About Adrien's classmates' antics. About an event organizer that couldn't do his job. About the 'A' Adrien got in physics class. About that one client Nathalie couldn't stand. Sometimes laughing together when they talked about Gabriel's bad habits, but not before making the Gorilla swore secrecy. Whenever the boy left the car for school or when get on the car after, he would give her a kiss.
"A greeting, sir. Are you envious?" Nathalie tried to suppress the smirk that was beginning to form.
Gabriel huffed mockingly, hands behind his back. "I am not so insecure as to feel threatened by such a young boy."
Nathalie paused then raised a brow quizzically. What? "I mean, of me. Because… Adrien is your son, and he is supposed to be greeting you with a kiss, not me."
There was an awkward silence between them when Gabriel took too long to respond. Nathalie casted a look at him and he not-so-casually looked away. When thirty seconds passed in silence, Nathalie decided to take over the conversation again.
"Dining hall, sir?"
"Fine by me."
And they headed to join Adrien in the dining hall.
It was nothing grand. There was no cake. No confetti or colorful decorations, just the usual dining hall. It was the usual chef-cooked lunch but with his Father actually present. The soupe à l'oignon gratinée tasted more scrumptious than usual with another person actually in the table. And although Adrien felt the urge to invite Nathalie to join them, he let the woman stand by the table and watch them eat as usual.
The birthday lunch went by with little talking. The Father and son had a talk about how school went. How friends were. How classes went. How modelling went. And yet how his Father managed to turn such normalcy into a tedious interview-like nightmare was beyond him. Even so, he appreciated his presence.
Adrien was about to leave the table after polite excusal when his Father stopped him.
"Sit down, Adrien."
And he did as told. What he didn't expect was his Father signaling Nathalie to produce a gift from behind her. He had noticed the woman had disappeared for a moment during lunch but he actually thought she was visiting the ladies' room.
Nathalie approached him and handed him the gift, just a little bigger than an open palm, wrapped in white paper with gold glitters and tied with golden ribbon. Adrien believed his jaw was hanging all the way Nathalie walked towards him, his eyes fixated on the gift.
When the gift was placed on where his soupe à l'oignon gratinée used to be, Adrien still couldn't believe it.
"Is this from you, Father?" He looked at the man with a face of pure happiness and disbelief. "For me?"
Nathalie was the one who ordered it specifically and in truth, Gabriel had no idea where she got it from, but Adrien didn't need to know. Gabriel nodded at his son.
In excitement, Adrien started unwrapping the gift paper, putting extra care as to not ruin it so he could fold it again later and keep it in his drawer. There was a white box inside and he swore he almost jumped when he saw what was inside. It was a sky blue beanie hat that looked hand-knitted. "It's a matching set with my scarf!" he exclaimed, jumping in his seat a bit. "Thank you, Father!"
Gabriel nodded and showed his son a small smile. "Happy birthday, Adrien."
Adrien was smiling so widely and his eyes were misty from the happiness overload. He got up from his seat and threw his Father a hug, ignoring how tensed he made the man feel. He was thankful that his Father patted his back a couple of times before he let go.
Before Adrien could even think of going back to school, Nathalie approached him with a smaller gift, an envelope of some sort, simply white and wax-stamped with the Agreste family crest. "From me, Adrien."
Adrien's eyes widened as well as his smile. "What? No way. You too, Nathalie?"
She nodded. "Happy birthday, Adrien."
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe this." He took the envelope from her before engulfing her into a hug, too. "Thank you so much, Nathalie!"
Adrien was absolutely electrified when he saw the four Jagged Stone concert tickets for the weekend, produced from the envelope. He involuntarily gasped. It took him so much convincing to his Father last time he went to a concert and he was not allowed to go out with his friends for another month after that. Going to a concert was easily in the top three in the list of grounded-afterwards.
"Am I really allowed to go?" Adrien asked, then snapped his head at his Father, who looked relunctant but hummed in affirmation anyway.
"And you are not grounded after the concert," Nathalie added. Adrien nearly wanted to cry and hug her again right there and then but he had school to go back to in ten minutes so he held back.
"I'll tell my friends about it. They're going to be so excited! I mean, Marinette loves Jagged Stone!" he exclaimed, the last one more to himself.
Adrien fussed over his birthday presents for another five minutes before he really had to return to school. He placed the beanie hat in his room and held the concert tickets tightly in his hand when he ran out again. Before going out of the house, he gave both adults a quick peck on the cheek then bid them goodbye.
"Congratulations, sir, you've received your kiss," Nathalie said when the boy was gone.
Gabriel only scowled at her. "Now, I think the man who lost his job and custody to his daughter is still upset about it. Shall we go?" he offered.
"Right after you, sir."
Eyes.
Coal-black eyes.
Nathalie held her breath. The peacock-like god and her seemed to have switched sizes. She felt small and insignificant under her piercing gaze. The kwami's mouth opened to mutter something but all Nathalie could hear was a combination of voices and screaming. She could barely make out what the voices were saying.
Sometimes it was, "Come back."
Sometimes it was, "Don't leave."
Sometimes it was, "I need you."
Sometimes it was, "You need me."
And then they were died out in the end by horrifying screaming and wailing.
Sometimes flashes of images came and went. The wide sky. Green fields. Mountains. Fog. Houses on a slope. All of them places she had never seen or been to before.
Then, screaming. More screaming. Pleas to stop.
She suddenly couldn't tell if it was Duuusu or herself who was screaming and begging someone to stop. Who? Stop what?
"Nathalie," Gabriel's voice pulled her out of her trance.
She snapped her head up to look at him. She was sitting on the couch with him kneeling before her, shooting her with a concerned look. Before she could think of saying anything, memories started rushing back. They had just been in the lair a second ago, controlling an Akuma and his Protector from the distance. At least she felt like it was a second ago. Nathalie remembered up to when Ladybug returned with an ally, Rena Rouge, to back the superheroes up. After that, everything was a blur.
"You collapsed before we concluded the battle," Gabriel said, as if continuing her halted memory. "I should not have forced you today. You have not fully recovered." He held her hand so gently she could barely feel his skin.
She was trying to compose herself enough to say something in return, but the words were caught in her throat and she broke into a coughing fit. A real one, this time.
"Don't force yourself to talk. Please, take more rest."
Nathalie nodded, then froze. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. Behind Gabriel, she saw an existence that wasn't supposed to be there. It stood no taller than Gabriel's full height. The man didn't seem to realize it was there, so it must be a hallucination. Yet she couldn't tear her eyes off it.
Emilie Agreste was smiling from ear to ear at her, all in her pure white dress and blonde curls by one side of her neck, mouthing something that she couldn't exactly make out. Her green eyes shone but soon she felt like they were black. It was a repetition of green and black blinks like they were broken Christmas lights.
"Nathalie? Are you in pain?" Gabriel asked, pushing himself up so he could lean closer to her.
Seeing his sudden movement, Nathalie involuntarily gasped and reacted by slapping his hand off hers and knocking him off with every single one of her limbs, making him tumble off, landing on his bottom and hitting his head against the corner of a wooden table. Only when he moaned in pain did it boil down to Nathalie what she had just done.
Don't touch me. Don't touch me. Don't touch me, the voice in her head howled. She ignored it and tried to get up to attend to her boss that she had literally just sent flying to the other side of the room.
"Sir—" the rest of her sentence died out in her throat when something else came out. It started as a choke. Then she found herself sitting on the floor not far before Gabriel, fighting off the growing whine originating from deep within her.
She rammed a hand against her mouth and shrunk, hoping it could stop the whine that had gradually rose into something no adult should be heard doing. But as though she was riding a hole-infested boat with dozens of holes and only two hands to cover them, something else oozed out when she was concentrating on keeping her voice down. Her eyes were wet. It felt so foreign because she had never cried so freely her whole life.
"Oh, dear Lord. Nathalie, are you alright?" Gabriel asked, crawling closer despite having one of his hands still massaging the back of his head that met the table. His heartbeat involuntarily accelerated when a certain god's cry resonated in his head.
Nathalie wasn't confident that nodding while whimpering and having her face drenched with raw tears would convince even a baby that she was alright. She didn't want to nod or shake her head. Cry. Cry. Cry, the voice in her head commanded, and it was impossible to fight.
When Gabriel cradled her in his arms, she was basically bawling. "I… I—" She felt so trapped. She wasn't even sad or frustrated. It was like something forced her to cry and she was unable to struggle free from the command. Like a marionette that couldn't snap off its own strings to break free, she was merely dancing under her puppetmaster's will. It was mentally draining.
Adrien descended the stairs, wondering what sound it was, but stopped when he saw his Father and Nathalie beside the staircase. He felt a pang in his heart when he made out her heartbreaking wails. He had never seen Nathalie so vulnerable and broken because she had always been a duty-bound, independent woman. When she shook his hand professionally on their first meeting when he was only ten. When she refused his hug because she was having the flu. When she stayed unfazed after his Father's stress meltdown from designs done wrong. Controlling her emotions had always been one of her best features.
Adrien caught his Father's attention when he slowly and quietly descended the stairs to approach them. However, the man shot him a look and shook his head. Adrien complied and ascended back to his own room with a heavy heart.
That night, Gabriel descended to his lair to have a talk with his kwami.
"Nooroo, what actually happened to the Peacock kwami?" he asked, straight to the point. Nathalie just now was basically the perfect impersonation of Duusu's haunting cry that he knew so well and he wouldn't believe anyone who tried to convince him that her meltdown wasn't related to that accursed kwami.
Nooroo fidgeted, his wings drooping. "Master, I…"
"I know she is different." Gabriel asserted again, hating the hesitation his kwami displayed. "She can't be normal. Not like that."
Nooroo shrunk under Gabriel's tone and the man felt a little remorseful. He didn't hate the little kwami, but whenever he looked at Nooroo, he was reminded of the other kwami who started all their current predicament. Having never met any other kwamis beside the two, Gabriel's impression of the little gods heavily relied on those he had met. Duusuu had left a stronger one.
"Forgive me for my outburst," he said and the purple kwami looked up at him again with hopeful eyes. Yet all he saw was the coal-black eyes Duusu showed him earlier today when Nathalie was about to transform. He tried to ignore the growing dread in his stomach. "I will appreciate it if you could give me a couple of leads. Facts I need to make decisions in the future in regards of Mayura," he said, trying to convince his kwami with a more rational way.
Nooroo looked convinced and decided to tell the story, albeit reluctantly. "Duusu, she… she works with emotions," he started, "Out of all kwamis, one could even say she has the most sensitive heart; a sweet little one. She also affects people's emotions, especially her user's. Back when she wasn't this way, her power brought forth so much peace and happiness."
Nooroo reminisced the blue kwami who drew everyone in with her radiance. How she would burst with joy and shared the emotion with their brothers and sisters in the Miracle Box. When she was happy, everybody was, too.
Gabriel raised a brow, unable to believe that it was the same kwami that haunted his wife's dreams for years and left such huge, dark mark on his own soul. "So, what changed?" he inquired.
Nooroo's face darkened. "Both of us were stolen, separated from the other kwamis and the Guardian," he said. "It is vital for the Miraculouses to be guarded by at least one Guardian, because us kwamis have very limited knowledge of our own biology and therefore cannot heal ourselves when we're down with illness or know how to power up."
Gabriel nodded, catching on the logic. "Continue."
Fiddling with his paws, Nooroo then added, "These people who stole us… performed some sort of observation on us."
Raising a brow, Gabriel echoed, "Observation?"
Nooroo nodded. "As you must already know, Master, both me and Duusu's power involve requiring a host to apply our powers to, unlike other kwamis'. I have no proof to say this but… I believe our kidnappers knew it beforehand and specifically stole us."
"Nooroo, what are you trying to imply?"
There was pure fear in the kwami's voice as he hugged his little body. "They… they used our powers against each other, controlling each other, to learn the limit." His eyes looked like he was seeing the experience replayed before him. "It appeared Duusu's Miraculous had been a bit damaged when it was stolen, but the experiment broke her further."
Gabriel suddenly remembered Tibet. When he first found the jewelries that changed his life forever. When his younger, more gullible self thought they were the most exquisite and unique thing he'd ever seen and that he needed to have them. When his wife insisted they bought the brooches as souvenirs. When he complied because he, too, was entranced by their beauty. Oh, how much easier would life have been if they never went to that life-changing Tibet trip.
"What can we do to fix her?" Gabriel asked, returning to the present.
"We can't," Nooroo said with a level of confidence that never existed in him before. "We have to take her to a Guardian. He will know how to fix the Miraculous, and only then can Duusu be healed."
Adrien was nibbling on his plain croissant and cheese while telling Nathalie about how excited Marinette was for the Jagged Stone concert this weekend when Gabriel stormed into the room, looking around shortly before he stopped.
"Nathalie," he called.
"Yes, sir?"
"Come with me. I have something to discuss with you."
Nathalie casted a look at Adrien who returned it with a shrug. "Understood, sir," she said, leaving the boy to eat his lunch alone.
Gabriel walked out of the dining room across the main hall and into his office. Nathalie following religiously behind him. "We are having some rearrangements," he said once the door was closed.
"On the spring line?"
"On our other particular activity."
"Oh, that." There was a mild surprise in Nathalie's face and she lowered her voice as though somebody could hear them. "What do you have in mind?"
Gabriel hummed. "We shall reduce the frequency for now because another priority to pursue has emerged."
"And that is?" Nathalie pushed.
"I can't tell you now. Let's just say I have your best interests in mind."
Nathalie's lips twisted in dissatisfaction. "Am I supposed to just shut up and be flattered?"
Gabriel frowned when he picked up on something. "Casually dropping the "sir" now, are we?" Nathalie seemed to only realize, as she had her both her brows raised. "I may let you take the lead in our other activity but here at work, I am still your boss. Do not let it get over your head."
"Of course." Nathalie put a deliberate long pause before adding, "Sir."
Little did they know that Adrien had been eavesdropping on their conversation from behind the door, gawking at what he was hearing.
Uh-oh? Adrien heard? But how did he interpret that conversation? ;)
Again, I'm just writing out the interesting theory my friend (kisugreen on instagram) and I talked about one night. Many of them are probably too dark to be canon but hey, it's a fanfiction! Let's just enjoy it for what it's worth ;)
Also, I will take three days for the next chapter this time because I'm kind of stuck with the last chapter (halfway done, though) and I found soooo many GabeNath fics at AO3 so I'm binge-reading them for inspiration. See you guys soon!
