AN: Chapter prompt: Secret Admirer

Chapter Three: Primed

Nathalie set her morning coffee down on her desk, and paused in surprise.

A red envelope sat on her keyboard, her name on the front in Gabriel's handwriting. She looked around, but couldn't see him.

Strange. He left her notes on occasion, but usually just on post-its. What could this be about?

She opened the envelope in curiosity, bringing out a piece of cream writing paper.

My dearest Nathalie—

She yelped and dropped it in shock. What?

You are a very special person. I am lucky to have you in my life. You are my best friend and I treasure that, but I wish for more. Instead of a Pal-entine, will you be my Valentine?

It was signed only with three kisses.

Slightly awkwardly expressed emotion with a cheesy pun? It read like something he might write. But certainly not to her! If it hadn't been for her actual name on it, she would have assumed it was an old love letter he had written to his wife. But there was no way "Emilie" could be misread as "Nathalie", especially not in his fancy handwriting.

Wait a moment …

Nathalie held the letter up to the light and examined the writing very closely.

It looked like Gabriel's. But there was something not quite right about it, which she couldn't put her finger on …

Aha! There. The kisses were wrong. They had been written as most people wrote "x", as just two crossing lines. Gabriel, being the theatrical type he was, curled the ends of his Xs. Whoever had faked this—otherwise very impressively—had clearly not had access to any examples of him having written that letter.

Nathalie couldn't help feeling disappointed, though she knew she shouldn't be. She tried to put her emotions aside and focus on who could have written such a letter. Obviously someone who knew Gabriel well, but she couldn't think of anyone who had that kind of skill to fake his handwriting within that category.

"Morning, Nathalie," Adrien's voice said brightly.

She jumped, and quickly pushed the letter out of sight. "Morning, Adrien." Not quickly enough, though.

"What's that?" he asked. "An early Valentine?"

"Er …" Nathalie cleared her throat. "No. No, nothing like that. Just some … correspondence from … an old friend."

"Uh-huh." He clearly didn't believe her, and a suspicion started to grow in her mind. "While we're on the subject, do you have any plans for Valentine's Day?"

Nathalie almost laughed. "No, Adrien, I don't. Do you?"

"Me? Um, no. None at all. Not in the least."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Positive," he insisted, but she knew him well enough to know he was lying.

Maybe he had finally realised he and Miss Dupain-Cheng were head over heels for each other. Well, it was about time. She decided not to push things by asking more questions; the relationship was probably very new and they weren't ready to tell people yet.

"Ah, well," she said, pretending to believe him. "Maybe next year. Hadn't you better be getting ready for school?"

Once he had gone, Nathalie stared after him, now puzzled.

Adrien couldn't be responsible for the letter … could he? She was positive he couldn't have written it himself—but Marinette was certainly talented enough.

The question was why. It couldn't be a prank; this wasn't Adrien's style. The only reason she could think of was if … if he was trying to set her up with his father.

Oh, Adrien, she thought with a groan. If that's your plan, you're going to be very disappointed.

She had to admit, she was touched at the thought. But also worried. This could backfire spectacularly.

Nathalie was halfway out of her seat, a mind to warn Gabriel what his son might be up to … then sat back down again.

He'll probably overreact. Once Adrien sees it didn't work, he should realise it's not going to. There's no need to make their relationship worse by telling Gabriel. Besides, it would be incredibly embarrassing for him as well. And … there's every chance that if this becomes a discussion, he could figure out how much I wish it were possible.

No … she wouldn't say anything.

Gabriel was making his way downstairs when he heard his son speak.

"… have any plans for Valentine's Day?"

Nathalie answered, "No, Adrien, I don't. Do you?"

"Me? Um, no. None at all. Not in the least."

"Really?"

"Positive."

"Ah, well. Maybe next year. Hadn't you better be getting ready for school?"

Gabriel wasn't sure why he had paused to listen, and shook himself.

He had forgotten that Valentine's Day was coming up. Last year he had dealt with the ordeal by looking for, and then akumatizing, a victim. For some reason, the thought of spending another February the fourteenth apart from Emilie didn't feel as traumatic this time.

He must have become desensitised to the romantic holiday.

Adrien had disappeared, and Nathalie appeared to be in a world of her own. Gabriel cleared his throat.

She jumped, quite violently. "Mr Agreste! Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"That's alright." He paused. "I thought I heard Adrien mention Valentine's Day."

For some reason, she blushed. "Er … yes, he mentioned it. Why?"

Gabriel hastily searched around for an excuse. "Well, if you need any time off for anything—"

"No," she said very quickly. "No, I don't have anything planned."

For some reason he had the urge to reply "Good," and stopped himself quickly. Where had that come from? Nathalie deserved a love life as much as anyone.

"Right," Gabriel said, now feeling very awkward and confused at his own inner thoughts. "Well, if that changes, let me know."

"Yes, sir."

TBC …