Carly the Llama: I'm terrible, I know. Thanks for commenting so regularly. c:
Chapter 24: Another Man's Son
Chat's grunt caught in his throat. Were it not for the narrow lance of steel jutting through his gut he would have crumbled to his knees. As it was, however, he simply slumped forward and groped weakly at a lapel of the purple suit jacket before him in an effort to retain some illusion of control over the situation. Saliva pooled at his lower lip as his mouth hung open in muted shock, the secretions spilling down his front when he choked for another breath only to have pain cut his gasp short and render him breathless still. The clatter of his baton striking tile sounded in the background of his mind as vertigo sent his head and torso swiveling forward until he collapsed fully against Hawkmoth's chest with a soft grunt. The villain balked backward in a visceral reaction of disgust when he noticed a transfer of blood to his own suit. Slipping away in tandem, the blade exited the teen's abdomen leaving the leather clad boy to drop listlessly to the floor.
Looking between the blonde to the blood on his weapon, the man tried to recall how he had actually managed to land a strike on the agile hero in the first place. The teen in question released a wet cough followed by a belch of red, further adding to the growing puddle beneath him. Hawkmoth flinched. He hadn't meant to injure the boy so severely. Knock him about, sure. Scare the living daylights out of him? Certainly. He needed to obtain the Miraculous after all… but even in his darkest dreams he didn't ever intend to actually kill his adversary. The hero's state, however, grew increasingly grim as the crimson pool expanded. Stooping down, he noticed for the first time how similar in age the boy appeared to be when compared to Adrien. Behind the mask, the blonde boy was just that: a child. A child who certainly had a parent who loved him, as he did his own son. . . his gut churned violently at the thought. This boy would surely die from his current state and leave some man bereft of his son. If that ever happened to him- to Adrien- he could never live with himself.
His brow furrowed with guilt and a shiver of mounting dread coursed through Gabriel as he watched the teen rattle with shallow, irregular breath, eyes fluttering as he fought to remain conscious. With trepidation the masked man hovered a hand over the wound, debating how much time the boy had until he bled out. Considering where they were in relation to the nearest hospital, the boy likely didn't have enough time. A ray of light glinted off the black ring on the boy's nearby hand, reminding the man he had yet to take the miraculous. He reached for it, hesitating as it occurred to him that it was probably only due to its magic that the boy had yet to stop breathing. He reluctantly withdrew, hastily recoiling before he could change his mind. Instead, he caught a butterfly from the air and trapped it gently between his palms, muttering before letting it go. The white butterfly retreated slightly and Gabriel released his transformation. A confused Nooroo rematerialized but Gabriel disregarded the kwami's unasked question and returned his attention to the teen at his knees when the butterfly touched down on his cravat. White light transformed Gabriel's white and red outfit completely white with an equally colorless mask to cover his face. Transformation complete, his steel gray eyes darted from the boy back to his newly white gloved hands. What was he doing?
His hand paused over the shuddering form of the boy- the boy who constantly got between him and his desire to return his wife to the realm of the living. This boy was just one person. An individual that had no connection to him personally outside of the costume, so why didn't he just take the miraculous and forget about the teen? He'd have one less hero to deal with and be one jewel closer to attaining his goal. Reaching to the ring again, his hand flinched back in miserable reluctance. Why was it so hard? With all that he had already sacrificed of his humanity to come as far as he had, one more tally to his list of misdeeds was hardly earth shattering. But the repulsion stopped him yet again. The image of Adrien flashing over the shape of the black clad hero nearly sent the man over and onto his back when the boy let out a wet choke. Bile churned his gut as Gabriel gripped the boy's shoulder with careful urgency and turned him onto his side. Allowing the injured teen's mouth the drain of the pooling blood, the blonde let out a couple of weak coughs in quick succession to paint the floor with a deeper red. Gabriel grimaced. It was absurd that he felt so compelled to help the kid. His doubts, however, were immediately put on hold when the teen vomited once more only to then fall morbidly still.
Gabriel's cry of alarm fell short as his hands impulsively darted to cover both sides of the wound. Even through the layers of leather, the boy seemed to siphon any heat Gabriel had to offer. The silver haired man shivered involuntarily at the deathly chill and bit his bottom lip in an effort to concentrate. Running his fingertips in circles, he traced along the edges of the open skin as his white light appeared to bring the damaged tissues back together. The warm light passed into the wound and worked its way outward. Laceration closed, the quick minute it took to heal the wound felt to Gabriel like he had spent an eternity focusing on the boy's abdomen. Sweat rolled down Gabriel's mask and along his jaw as he looked the boy over again to ensure the wound was completely sealed. His hand instinctively traveled up the boy's chest and rested at his sternum, but upon being unable to feel any sign of life, he quickly put his fingers to the base of the boy's neck and checked for a pulse. Letting out a muted sigh of relief when the weak thud of the teen's heartbeat relayed through his touch, a thrill ran down the man's spine when the blonde's shallow breath brushed the hair by the man's ear. The boy was alive.
Uncharacteristically enthusiastic, the silver haired man glanced up victoriously at Nooroo who hovered overhead. The violet kwami smiled softly at him, still unsure where this sudden humanity sparked from but glad for the change all the same, regardless how temporary it might prove to be. But true to form, Gabriel's smile faded abruptly as sight of the ring met his peripheral again, a shadow passing over his masked features as he gazed upon it. Surely the teen didn't need it now. The power of the butterfly miraculous had brought the boy into stability after all. Nooroo hesitantly called out to him, managing to stay Gabriel's hand for the moment as the kwami cautioned him that the boy might yet die. The man frowned at the small being whom normally he would simply disagree with and move on, but as perplexing as it was, the words to defend his intentions wouldn't come. His brow knit in frustration when a green light broke his attention away from the kwami and Gabriel found himself gazing upon his own son, laying where the cat boy had been not a moment sooner.
The older male froze at the revelation, as if paused mid speech as he noted the small black cat that had appeared alongside the teen. After that brief moment if hesitation, the man dove at the boy, hastily cradling the blonde into his arms. Blood from the floor had already seeped into the boy's clothing and coated his uncovered arms. Still matted tresses of reddened gold were plastered against the boy's pale face, making his usually thin frame appear as far from healthy as seemed physically possible. Adrien's complexion was positively ghastly. His chest barely seemed to rise and fall with each ghost of a breath he took, and his lips had lost all color apart from the red that remained crusted on them. Gabriel's mouth tightened as its corners fell heavily downward. Surroundings blurred into bright fog as he tore out of the observatory and back into the mansion. Tears which he never cried now marred all detail as they poured down his face. However, despite his lack if vision, Gabriel's feet didn't miss a beat. There was too much at stake to falter now. His power may have prevented Adrien from dying minutes ago, but the blonde was still in an extremely precarious state. There was nothing left that Gabriel could do except transfer his son's care to professionals with the right equipment. Nathalie's name tore from his lips as he came crashing to his knees on the tile of the entryway when his strength failed him. Sounds in the background of his mind indicated that his assistant had responded to his summon, but Adrien was all he could think about. His son whom he had nearly killed, saved, then possibly might have killed again- the son that could still die. He was supposed to be another man's son, not his. Anyone else's boy, anyone's but his. But the fact remained that the boy he decided to save, was in fact, Adrien.
A/N: Thanks as always for reading and commenting. I'll try and update within a shorter time frame than this last month.