Nathalie and Phoebus emerged from under the bench at the sound of the door closing.

"Urgh… We have to get to the Court of Miracles, before daybreak. If Frollo gets there first…" The ex-soldier frowned. "Are you coming with us?"

Nathalie nodded, but then realised that he was talking to Quasi, and not her. She stood back a little, letting the plot-significant conversation occur.

"I can't," The bell ringer replied, unable to meet the other man's eyes.

"I thought you were Esmeralda's friend."

"Frollo's my master, I can't disobey him again." He turned away.

"She stood up for you! You have a funny way of showing gratitude," Phoebus said bitterly.

The three stood in tense silence, before the soldier spoke again.

"Well, I'm not going to sit by and let Frollo massacre innocent people. You do what you think is right."

As the blonde made to leave, Nathalie stopped him, mouthing 'wait for us' and pointing to Quasi, who wasn't facing either of them. Phoebus raised an eyebrow, but glanced from her to the redhead, and nodded, leaving without a word.

Finally, Quasimodo turned, and saw Nathalie, (and unbeknownst to her, the gargoyles) looking at him expectantly.

"What?" The bell ringer said, frustration in his voice. "What am I supposed to do? Go out there and rescue the girl from the – from the jaws of death, and the whole town will cheer like I'm some kind of hero? She already has her knight in shining armour, and it's not me!"

Nathalie didn't say a word, but her expression didn't change. She crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one side of her body.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Frollo was right. Frollo was right about everything. I'm tired of trying to be something that I'm not."

Quasi looked at her apologetically, speaking in a resigned voice. "Look, I appreciate what you've done for me, and I've appreciated your company all through today. But it's time we stopped pretending."

Nathalie frowned in confusion. This wasn't what was meant to happen – he should have gone after Phoebus by now. Convincing him should be easy! After all, he decided on his own in the original.

"We each have our place in this world, and my place is alone, up here," He continued, not meeting her eyes. "Go home, Nathalie. Just go home."

It was as if someone had stabbed her. Shock and sadness welled up inside her chest. Indignation and hurt- it all swelled in her heart, along another emotion that she never thought she'd feel towards this man – anger.

"So, that's it?" She snapped tersely, quietly, at first, until her voice slowly rose. "You just completely dismiss me, like I'm some sort of stray dog that followed you home?!"

Nathalie stopped herself, and she seethed, crossing her arms.

He looked away, visibly tired. "Nathalie, please. You're not helping."

She turned her back, making to leave, but something caught her eye.

The Asian girl spotted Quasi's cloak on the floorboards nearby, and stopped. It was the same one that she had woken up with – the one that had been shoulders while she slept. Nathalie bent down, picking it up and holding the rough fabric between her fingers.

Glancing back, she saw Quasimodo staring at the two broken figures resting on the floorboards, tracing the lines of his palm with one hand. They locked eyes for a moment.

"You're right," Nathalie said, finally. "I'm not helping – arguing never helps."

She held the cloak out to him, giving him an expectant smile. "Come on. There are more important issues to take care of, at the moment."

From Quasi's point of view, her exact expression and pose was exactly like the other night, when Nathalie offered her strange food to him at their first meeting.

Blue-green eyes darted from the cloak to her, and he sighed. "I must be out of my mind," He said, taking the offered clothing.

"Hey," She said, giving him a grin and a shrug. "One more thing we have in common!"

Despite the situation, Quasi couldn't help but smile a little at that. They both made their way down the cathedral, Nathalie clinging to him and thinking of various activities she'd get up to in the modern world, pointedly ignoring the massive distance between them and the ground below.


In hindsight, Nathalie didn't know why she let Quasi sneak up on poor Phoebus when the ex-soldier was waiting, standing alone outside the cathedral and looking impatient.

"Phoebus!"

"Gah!"

But damn it all, it was funny.

"Shh! We're going with you."

"Glad you changed your mind," Phoebus said, subtly glancing at Nathalie.

"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for Esmeralda," Quasi said, unaware.

Welp, obviously someone had a few jealousy issues to sort out. Nathalie discreetly rubbed the back of her neck, tuning out of the conversation. The heartbreak was over and done with – why was she still feeling that weird pang?

Nathalie stood awkwardly while the two pondered the woven necklace that Esmeralda had given Quasimodo. It was no use spoiling anything – these guys had to figure it out on their own.

The redhead's face had lit up in understanding. "'When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand'… It's the city!"

Nathalie smiled proudly. Quasi was a smart guy, he was. He didn't get enough credit for that, in her opinion.

Then, the two men quickly dissolved into arguing, and the smile slipped off her face and one eyelid twitched. Oh, come on.

"Um... Hey, guys?"

They ignored her.

"Phoebus? Quasi?"

They still went – arguing for more than the movie had let them.

"Guys- C'mon. Quasi, what did I say about arguing? That was literally ten seconds ago. Guys?"

This was all getting very old, very fast. Finally, Nathalie thought of her brother, and what he used to do to people who annoyed him. Taking two fingers in each hand and curling them, she jabbed both arguing parties in the sides with her knuckles, making them jump with a jolt and exclaim in surprise. Both parties turned towards her, rubbing their ribs.

"Alright, now that I have your attention," She said in a no-nonsense tone. "We're all twenty or older, right?"

"…You're twenty?" Quasi asked quietly, words escaping his lips before he new he had said them.

"I'm twenty-two!" Nathalie said, throwing her hands in the air in frustration at both men's disbelieving expressions. "Its… It's the freckles, isn't it? Anyway…"

"We're all mature adults," The Asian girl continued. "So we will settle this like mature adults. We have to find a certain lady, remember?"

The ex soldier sighed, and nodded. "She's right," He said to Quasi. "If you say it's a map, fine, it's a map. If we're going to find Esmeralda, then we're going to have to work together."

He patted the bell ringer on the back. "Truce?"

Quasi nodded. "Well, okay," He said, hitting Phoebus in the back rather unnecessarily hard, eliciting a wince from the other man.

"Sorry," The redhead murmured.

"…No you're not."

Nathalie couldn't help but grin and roll her eyes at their antics.


A/N: So. University exams. They're a thing. But I'm back for a bit!

I hope that little argument wasn't too OOC, I just went by how irritable Quasi seemed after the whole episode with Frollo, and let the writing take it from there. I mean, the poor guy has been going through a lot, and Nathalie's presence changes things a little bit.

My Nanay (mother) once told me that it's best for a couple to have their first argument as early as possible in the relationship, because they'd be able to see if they can solve it easily and peacefully. If so, that means that it's likely that the relationship would go smoothly, as both parties are good at handling disputes with each other. So, I thought I might borrow a bit of her wisdom, haha!

(Also, I had to make a joke about how we Asian folks tend to be older than we look. I'm nineteen and people still demand to see my I.D.! I still look like a school student, and it gets frustrating sometimes.)

Anyway, my updating will be a little bit slower, since I'm not in a rush anymore. On the bright side, you won't be bombarded with chapter after chapter. OTL Still, stay tuned, guys! :)