The sun stood alone in the blue sky of Paris. The wind was blowing the brown leaves over the streets and made them dance wonderful Pirouettes. The Pigeons were cooing all over the monumental places of the city, making the city sound alive at all times. There was no second with silence in the capital and tourists were streaming all over the streets, trying to find the best places for photos.
Between this busy being a black limousine was roaming between the high, old buildings. In the back sat two persons who stayed silently most, until the woman suddenly spoke. "The plane will land in three hours", Nathalie broke the silence and looked up from her tablet. On it was the flight number of the Agreste private jet and its estimated landing time. She scrolled through the information of the flight, just to be meted again with the name of a single passenger. The woman sighed silently and looked up at the man sitting opposite of her.
Gabriels gaze was looking out the window. His features were sharp and clear as ever. Nothing moved in his, nearly cold, face besides one single muscle of his jaw which clenched. The man didn't move his head, while talking to his assistant. "Ill be working. Don't let her interrupt me." "Of course", was the only answer the woman gave before she continued to scroll through her emails.
The car was making its way through the beautiful city and drove at a moderate speed, up to the Agreste Mansion. It passed the Metal gates that had opened with a silent creak, which made Nathalie add a point to her "to do- List". Once the car stopped in front of the white stone stairs, they both exited the car and walked up to the front door next to each other, no one saying a word. The atmosphere was even more pressing than normally, when Gabriel turned away from Nathalie silently and walked up to his office. "No one interrupts me.", then the high black doors fell into their lock and Nathalie was left alone in the foyer of the villa. The loud sound echoed for ay few seconds before dying out in the high hall.
After Nathalie stood around for a few seconds, on where to take herself, because her desk stood in the office, she went into the dining room and sat down in front of the fire place. She sat down in one of the big fluffy chairs that Emelie had put down years ago, but they got barely used in the last year. No fire was cracking in the place anymore and the room became more a formality, than something that gets used. She turned on her tablet again and looked through her new wave of emails. Time flew by and Nathalie arranged quite a few other things for Gabriel, when the notification popped up, that the plane would land in an hour. Nathalie called out for the Bodyguard of the house and sent him off to pick up the passenger.
Again the door closed with a loud bang, because no man of this house was apparently able to close doors silently. Nathalie sighed and leaned back a bit further into her chair. She let her thoughts walk away from work for a few minutes. There was no special thought she seeked but one thought pushed its way into the center of her mind. She needed Gabriel to talk to the girl. Talk about their past and even more important, their future. Nathalie did what she could to settle the tension between these two but there was no victory for her yet. They were both stubborn and both didn't wanted to be the first to break the spell of silence. Nathalie thought about the times, she told the girl to call her father, to listen to him explain and try to make up for it. She never called him and even if she did, Nathalie couldn't tell if Gabriel would say the right things to her. He didn't want to and even though he'd never admit it, it was because he was scared. He is scared of being rejected by someone who was once his whole world. It was a sad Spirale of thoughts that her mind when down, but it was also the realist she had felt for a chance of change, They hadn't seen each other for an eternity and they both had a long time to think about how they'd approach this subject, so maybe they'd both would understand the meaning of them getting along. It was one of the subjects that separated Nathalie and Gabriel.
Nathalie didn't realize how long she stared into the empty fireplace. But the loud sound of luggage being dropped onto the floor broke her out of her thoughts and had her nearly jump out of the chair. The sound echoed, just like the banging of the doors before, trough the high halls of the house. The woman sucked in a breath, before she collected her thoughts and pulled her clothes into a presentable state, before she went out to the Foyer, to greet the guest. She opened the door silently and looked into the hall. There she stood.
Genevieves blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, just a few strands framed her face and she wore a long black coat, parted with black gloves, which she pulled off her hands, by pulling out her point finger first and then up to her pinky. Nathalie stopped for a few seconds and just watched. The girl looked like the perfect mixture of her parents and yet she had the formal and cold vibe of her father. Her gaze traveled around the foyer, up to Adriens door before she caught a glimpse of Nathalie, who stepped out into the room and walked a few steps up to her.
Nathalie was able to watch her eyes change from her distant, cold being into a warm gaze and a smile spread across her pink lips. She saw how her shoulders sank slightly and her head tilted to the side. Without them saying a word, Nathalie opened her arms for a hug. In a split second the younger girl stepped up to her and wrapped her arms around the woman.
They stayed silent and took in the warmth of the other. Genevieves head rested on her shoulder, while her breathing slowed slightly. Nathalie felt her heartbeat fastening. It felt like the world stopped and it was just the two of them. If Nathalie was honest, she loved the girl like her own. She has watched her grow up and she has helped the girl through the hardest time of her life. She packed her stuff, for her moving to America, with her and she hugged her one last time, before she boarded the plane. Nathalie had been with her for most of her big steps in life yet so it felt good to finally hug her again.
They parted after some time, that's when Genevieve looked up at Nathalie again, a soft smile on her lips. "Look at you, all grown up.", she said softly and pointed up and down Genevieves body. The girl laughed softly and nodded. "It happens quit a lot to Teenagers, I've heard.". She answered the woman and they both shared a short laugh. They both seemed way more relaxed now, like their heartbreaking past never happened.
They just looked at each other and enjoyed them being together again. "Is my room still empty, so I can put my bags there?". Genevieve asked calmly and pointed at her two big bags, which were filled for her stay. Nathalie nodded and took one of the bags, while Genevieve snatched the second one before her, so they carried one each. Just like a few years okay, they went up the stairs and to the right side, down a hallway and at the end of it was a door on the right side. The women walked up to it and Nathalie took out a bunch of keys out of her pocket and with one small, black one, she unlocked the high door. Genevieve looked quite interested to see what's behind the cold wood. She hadn't been in this room for years and to hear, that it was still there made her smile a bit.
The door opened with a loud creak and opened the view into the room. Nothing had changed. Her bed was still made, the picture of her family on her nightstand, her big book shelves in the wall on the right and her chair still pushed neatly under the table with her pc on it. Genevieve sucked in a breath, while she walked past Nathalie into the room. It looked like she never left. The bag was put on the bed by her, before she walked up to the small sofa in front of her television. On it stood a small vase and in it a fresh bouquet with roses and orchids. Carefully Genevieve stretched out her hand and her fingers glided over the blossom of the flowers.
Nathalie watched her smiling softly. "I kept them fresh", the woman just said, what made the blonde look up at her and there were tears shimmering in her eyes. "Thank you", she whispered before looking around further. The older woman but the Second suitcase next to the other. "I'll let your father know that you're here. Take your time, I'll come back.", she said softly before stepping out and closing the door carefully behind her.
It would all play out fine. Nathalie was sure about that. It'll take some time, but she would make this all right. She'd fix that broken family once again.
Chapter Management