Chapter 8

On the morning of the next day, Adrien was taken to the fencing competition he had promised to attend. He didn't say goodbye to Nathalie when he got out of the car with his fencing mask in one hand and his saber in the other. Nathalie saw Marinette waiting for him at the school entrance, it was the perfect opportunity to make amends for what she did.

"Marinette" she called out.

The girl stopped in surprise.

"We can talk alone? it will only be a moment."

Marinette nodded, not understanding what was happening. She got in the car so she could speak without anyone listening.

"I just wanted to tell you that I was the one who passed off your gift, the scarf, as a gift from Mr. Agreste for Adrien's birthday. And I am sincerely very sorry for what I did. I just hope you can forgive me.

Marinette opened her mouth in surprise. She was silent for a few minutes without knowing what to say.

"Miss Sancoeur, I don't know what to say. But I'm glad you are telling me the truth, of course I forgive you."

That took a load off Nathalie. Marinette was already leaving to go see the fencing competition when Gabriel's assistant stopped her.

"But why didn't you tell Adrien the truth?" Nathalie asked, intrigued.

"I didn't feel able to, he seemed so happy knowing that the gift was from his father. I didn't want to take away that happiness from him."

With that she got out of the car. Now Nathalie had a certain appreciation for the girl, for caring so much about Adrien.

She returned to the mansion to continue her work.

Adrien did very well in his fencing competition. Although he got in second place to Kagami, he couldn't help but feel proud of her. They already fixed their problems and just decided to be friends. At the end of the competition, they gave him a red bouquet of flowers.

Marinette came over to talk to both of them.

"You both were amazing."

Kagami and Adrien smiled at him. After Kagami was taken home, Marinette and Adrien waited on the stairs. Marinette decided to mention what Nathalie told her, because she already suspected that Adrien noticed about the scarf. She told him everything that happened before entering the school.

"Nathalie apologized to me. She seemed really sorry for what happened."

Adrien looked at the bouquet he was holding in his arms for a moment and then he looked back to Marinette.

"I guess she's doing things right now."

The gorilla came to pick him up in the car. Marinette said goodbye to him. When he got to the mansion, she saw that Nathalie was waiting for him at the entrance again. With a smile he came out of it with her bouquet and offered it to her.

"For you, Nathalie. Thanks for telling Marinette the truth."

She took the bouquet with both hands. It was Adrien's way of saying I forgive you. While Nathalie left the bouquet in the atelier and returned to help Adrien with his fencing equipment, Gabriel stepped up the stairs and went straight to the atelier. Adrien was about to get his attention, but his father just passed by him. Adrien looked at the ground defeated. Nathalie didn't like this at all. That would be the last time Gabriel would ignore his son.

"Go to your room Adrien."

Nathalie entered the atelier quickly. She saw Gabriel in front of the painting, his fingers forming the pattern to enter the lair. This time she wasn't going to let him do it.

"Mr. Agreste. Why did you ignore Adrien? He worked very hard to achieve good results in the fencing competition"

"That doesn't matter now ... There is someone with very strong feelings of anger that I must akumatize."

That was the last straw. How could Gabriel not realize what was happening to his son. Most of all, someone like Adrien who was too good for this world.

"You don't care about his wellbeing, Gabriel!"

"How dare you!" Gabriel exclaimed furiously, turning around and facing her.

It was the first time he had heard her refer to him by his own name in such a haughty way. That only made his anger grow.

"No one tells me how to raise my son, you are not his mother, you are only my assistant and you don't have to meddle in matters that do not concern you."

That was beyond Nathalie's patience. She approached him, and raised her hand and with all the strength she had, she gave him a strong slap that echoed throughout the room. Time stopped for a moment. Nathalie was furious. She didn't clearly think about what she was doing until it was too late. Although, in those moments she did not regret it.

Nathalie's hand was marked on his face.

This caused Gabriel to be in a bad mood all day. And the fact that his assistant didn't want to speak to him made it even worse. The atmosphere was very tense, since they were both in their worst mood about Adrien. But that could not prevent them from fulfilling their tasks for Gabriel's.

After a while in which Nathalie was trying to get involved in her work, she heard the tone of her cell phone. It was from a very important number, specifically from the organizers of the event in Vienna. She left the atelier to answer the call.

"Good afternoon, Gabriel Agreste's assistant speaking, Nathalie Sancoeur."

"Good afternoon Miss Sancoeur. I'm sorry to call at this time, but it seems pertinent to contact you. There was an issue with some of the designs that were sent to us for your accommodation and it appears that some of the models are behind schedule. And not only that, but the firm has decided that it is not going to pay us.

Nathalie was already beginning to feel the stress increasing. She grabbed the rub on her nose

"Since when do you have this problem?"

"A week ago."

This is not going to please Gabriel she thought. It was just at the time when she least wanted to see or deal with her boss.

She entered the atelier again and opened the door. She handed the phone to Gabriel.

"It is important. And you will not like it."

He took it. It only took a few minutes for Gabriel Agreste to explode.

"What!? But how is it possible? I told them that if there was any problem to let me know immediately, why did they wait so long!? No, that is unacceptable. I'll do it myself." Gabriel ended the call just then and took the phone to Nathalie.

He put the phone down on Nathalie's desk with some abruptness, which broke Nathalie's concentration.

"Get ready because we're going to Vienna today."

She stood up abruptly.

"What about Adrien?"

"His bodyguard will take care of him; he has done it before."

Nathalie was about to reply, but then she thought it was not a good idea to fan the flame. She took her cell phone and asked Gabriel's personnel to get the plane ready. The time was worth it because, although they could go by train, it would take too long and that was not convenient.

She packed the first clothes she saw from her drawer into her suitcase. Gabriel left at the same time as her with his luggage ready.

They got out to where the car was, packed their luggage, and climbed into the back. The gorilla who was ready led them to Gabriel's personal airport. They would have to wait about thirty minutes to get on the plane. Nathalie received a call on her phone. It was Adrien.

"Hi Nathalie, where are you?"

"At your father's private airport. I'm sorry I didn't warn you, but it was all too sudden" she said sadly.

"Don't worry Nathalie I understand. So, my bodyguard will stay?"

"He will take care of you while we're gone and take you to Vienna when the day comes. Okay?"

"What about you?" Adrien asked curiously.

"We will go to Vienna to settle some things. We will call you as soon as we can."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"Great then I'll wait for the call. Goodbye Nathalie, have a good trip" At that moment the tone of hanging up the phone was heard.

Nathalie and Gabriel got on the plane. Before leaving Paris, Nathalie made reservations for their rooms at the only hotel she could get at the moment while they managed to mobilize to the one they would use for fashion week, which was somewhat far from Vienna's main airport.

As they traveled, they both remained in a rather awkward silence. When they arrived, they would go to the hotel they had booked for that night and she would call Adrien to see if he was okay.

After two hours of flight and another 10 minutes of travel in their private car they arrived at the hotel. As soon as they entered, they went to the reception where they were served by a man in a hotel uniform.

"Good afternoon, sir, miss. How can I help you?"

"We're here for the two-room reservation" Nathalie announced.

The clerk in charge checked her computer.

"I'm sorry to inform you that we only have one room left tonight."

"But how is it possible? My assistant booked two rooms" Gabriel said furiously.

"We're sorry, it looks like there was a typing error in the system, but I assure you that the one we have left is the best room in the hotel."

He could feel the fear in that employee. It was a pity that he was not in Paris, because he could be a good Akuma. Doing that would only raise suspicions so he discarded that plan.

Gabriel groaned under his breath.

"I suppose there is no option."

They were taken with their luggage to the elevator. They reached the top floor of the building and were led to their room.

The suite they booked was quite spacious. It had a double bed, an elegant armchair in front of it, which was arranged so it was in front of the TV and a coffee table.

"You'll sleep in the bed; it wouldn't be convenient if you hurt your back" Nathalie said as she unpacked some of her things.

"Nonsense, Nathalie. With one night that I sleep on the couch it won't hurt."

Nathalie called Adrien as she promised to inform him that she was fine and to find out how she was doing. After ending the conversation and getting Gabriel to talk to Adrien, she put her laptop on the coffee table. He turned it on and started working on it, sorting out and coordinating things with the show's organization while Gabriel sorted things out regarding the designs, so he was away for a few hours and then came back a bit calmer and without frowning like a while ago. Without a word he entered the bathroom to take a necessary bath.

Nathalie continued with her work. She leaned back for a moment in the chair she was sitting in, leaving the computer on the coffee table, falling asleep on the spot. When leaving the bathroom, after the shower, Gabriel found her asleep on the couch in a very uncomfortable position for her. He shook his head at her stubbornness. He gently lifted her from the sofa into his arms and laid her on the bed. He removed her glasses and placed them on the nightstand.

He took off her heels and took the sheets and covered her with them. He thought that maybe she would sleep uncomfortable with her hair tied up so he let her hair down. It fell on her pillow, spreading all over the surface. He changed his clothes to his pajamas. He decided that he would listen to Nathalie and not sleep on the couch. The last time he did it, that didn't turn out well. He settled on the bed with his back to Nathalie, to respect her space.

Nathalie woke up not recognizing exactly where she was. She felt too comfortable for where she had sat to work. Feeling around her a bit, she realized that she was on the bed of the suite.

With her limited view, she managed to make out the digital clock in the room. With a lot of effort, she tried to recognize the time. It was 2 in the morning.

When she tried to get out of bed, she felt a pressure on her body, on her waist. The arm around her tightened more, imprisoning her. She felt a breath on her neck, calm. She felt around her until she felt a hand on her waist and the ring on it. It was Gabriel.

She didn't know when this happened, but apparently Gabriel carried her from the couch to the bed and left her there, with him lying next to her, or so she imagined. Nathalie was awake for a long time.

Gabriel woke up at six in the morning. He felt a slight tingle on his nose, as if something was bothering it. He opened his eyes slowly, to find that he was hugging Nathalie from her back. He quickly got out of bed, taking care that she didn't wake up. He ran his hands over his face trying to wipe the sleep out of his eyes. He didn't know when that happened.

She opened her eyes, suddenly. Apparently, she was not asleep as he thought.

"We won't talk about this" Gabriel stated as he packed his clothes into his suitcase so they could go to the next location on their journey.

"Don't worry sir, this will just stay between us" Nathalie said as she sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Get ready, because we're leaving as soon as we can to solve this whole problem."

With that they left for their designated hotel that was much better than the previous one and he and Nathalie had their own room. They verified that Adrien's was also set aside for the next night since at that time he would arrive at Vienna, brought by the Gorilla.

While all this was happening, Adrien remained in the mansion preparing his suitcases.

Plagg floated from side to side, happy.

"Cheer up, we won't have to go to school, there's nothing to worry about for a few days."

Adrien bit down on his lip, a little hesitant to ask.

"Plagg, don't you think my father and Nathalie have been acting a little weird lately?"

"I don't know what you mean" Plagg replied as he consumed one piece of his cheese.

"Well, I've never seen them so close, apart from the professional relationship they have."

"Well, I don't know, human relationships are strange, if so, then what would your relationship be with that girl with pigtails?" Plagg questioned, mischievously.

"Marinette? Well, I only see her as my friend, nothing more." Adrien just smiled.

"Then why would the relationship between your father and his assistant would be different?"

"Well, he didn't care so much about her before when she got sick, but now he cares a lot about her." He made a confused gesture. "Just like when my mother fell ill."

Plagg said nothing more. He knew that the issue with Adrien's mother was a sensitive topic for his wearer, so he preferred not to press on the matter.

At eight in the morning, Gabriel was ready to go. He was waiting for Nathalie who was getting ready in the bathroom. He wore a blue plaid shirt, red jeans, and his usual white shoes.

The trip to Vienna merited a change of look for Nathalie, since the temperature was somewhat warm there at that time of year. She changed out of her heels for red-soled Louboutins. A black pencil-style skirt that covered her knees plus a red blouse with two loose buttons.

She styled her hair into her usual bun. She changed her lipstick to a much stronger shade than she was wearing, a matte red that highlighted her outfit.

It was the first time that she dressed so casually, but at the same time so elegant, since she fulfilled the uniform demands of her boss. Gabriel, who was already at the door of her room, saw her up and down discreetly when she came out of the bathroom. It was the first time in many years that Nathalie had worn a skirt to work again. Gabriel had to admit that those clothes fitted her quite well. Although he thought that another hairstyle would have favored her.

They went to the facilities where the presentation gala and the fashion show would be held. After many discussions with the organizers and Gabriel yelling at some of his employees, they finally managed to organize everything.

Right after their lunch at the hotel, Adrien and the bodyguard arrived in Vienna. Nathalie went to greet them.

"Nathalie" Adrien ran to hug her "Wow! Why did you dress like that?"

"It's a little hot in here at this time of year, it's just to keep me cool."

The gorilla drove the car they rented during their stay in the country, taking them to the hotel. Gabriel was waiting for them in the waiting room. Adrien went to hug him and this time Gabriel accepted the gesture. After practicing a bit on the catwalk that would be used at the event and showing him what his dressing room would be, they returned to the hotel in order to have dinner so that Adrien could go to bed early and be well rested for the next day.

During dinner, Adrien chatted happily with Nathalie, even forgetting that his father was there with them. Gabriel only watched the scene. In a way, he felt hurt that he was so happy with other person than his mother, but on the other, in a way he was glad that his son trusted Nathalie as much as he it did. His angry feelings at Nathalie suddenly faded at this.

They both accompanied Adrien to his hotel room. They said good night to him. Then Nathalie went with Gabriel to his room to check over their itinerary for the entire event the next day. Nathalie noticed something that she wasn't there before when she first walked in. A rather large black suit rack hung to the side of the closet. She thought that was the outfit her boss would wear to the gala. When they finished, Gabriel got up to walk her to the door.

"Good night, Nathalie, I'll meet you early tomorrow."

"Good night, sir" she said as she closed the door behind her.

I promised myself I was going to update more frecuently, so here we are.