Title: Shifting Oceans
Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug, Bleach
Characters: Gabriel, Nathalia mostly
Chapter: 14
Word Count: 1681
Warnings: nothing
Beta: ToxicAngel13 on AO3
AN: So…who else landed a 3 week flu after shit going down with their parent?
Just me?
Yeah, I got sick and I'm talking sleeping all the time and taking cold meds kind of sick okay? It was not a happy time for me. But I'm mostly better now.
Enjoy.
Gabriel smiled at his son as he, Marinette and Ichigo sat around with their friends, talking out the logistics of informing the possible future users of the Miraculous and who would hold what. Ichigo was writing down the notes and was throwing out his own suggestions about who would match where, the kwami all floating about, enjoying some freedom. Pollen was happily cuddling with Roaar on Juleka's lap as the young girl pet them both gently. Nooroo, Duusuu and Tikki were all playing cards for very tiny cookies that Ichigo had apparently made for them in a fit of insomnia. Plagg was bugging Sass while the rest of the kwami's were all adding in their own thoughts about who would work best with who.
Nathalie stepped up to stand beside him in the doorway of the open and airy living room, chuckling softly at the controlled chaos of the group. "They all look so happy," she said softly, stroking a hand over the Peacock Miraculous that sat on her chest. Gabriel hummed, nodding his head.
"That they do. It's rather amazing what actual friends can do for a person, isn't it?" he asked softly. "And letting go of the past helps."
"She is in at rest finally after so much pain. We both know that," Nathalie stated. She placed a hand on his arm, giving him a sympathetic look. "She did what she really shouldn't have done, ignored all the warnings, and used the Miraculous for her own reasons. We have both learned better and our life long punishment is to help Marinette and all future holders until the day that we leave this world."
"Which, from what we have read in the book, will be for a very long time. I believe the exact wording was that the longer that you use a Miraculous, the more your life span is expanded," Gabriel sighed. "Young Ichigo there was able to give me a translated copy of the book and I was able to give Marinette the original. It seems as if she has started to learn how to translate it from the Guardian that had given her the Ladybug Miraulous. A Master Fu. The Guardian's at the temple have also been sending her learning material to work through when she is not doing her school work or her fashion work," he said.
"It's good to know that she's enjoying her internship and has figured out how to balance everything finally. Especially since she does not have people demanding her attention. I really do not want to see her burn out over all of this," Nathalie said. She shook her head as Pollen started to chase after Plagg, buzzing and demanding that he give her honeycomb back before she had a new mangy cat rug. Chloe sighed and reached out to snag Plagg out of the air, taking the honeycomb and handed him over to Adrien, who just looked amused. "It's good to seem them to be teenagers though. I can't help but wonder what she would have said about your decision to allow Adrien to choose his own friends."
Gabriel frowned slightly before slumping. "I fear that her thoughts had influenced mine to much in a lot of ways. She was born of money, and going for an acting career was, while something she wanted, wasn't much of a job to her. It was a hobby. Modeling for me was something she enjoyed to. Again, as more of a hobby. There are times that I think that she started to date me because I was making designs that were winning awards even in my first year of the Rose Academy. I find it easier to look back now and see the truth to our past then I have before. It...It does hurt to think that she would have found those that Adrien likes to be under him. Never mind the fact that they like him with or without his money. Her journals were very telling."
"You're not going to tell Adrien yet, are you? Not until you think he's ready," Nathalie stated, Gabriel shaking his head.
"No, it's not time to I think. If he does ask about his mother, I will tell him. I will not deny him access to her journals any more since I have had time to truly read through them. And now with our Miraculous use out to those who need to know, there is no need to hide the fact. But I will not bring it up yet," Gabriel stated. He smiled as Ichigo handed Marinette the list and she nodded once she had read over it. Chloe pulled out her phone and started to send out text messages, most likely telling everyone to meet in a few weeks at the hotel conference room.
That would give them time to have a news conference to tell Paris about what would be happening with Papillion and Mayura from then on, and their punishments as chosen by the Guardians.
"It's amazing just how much can change when someone finally breaks their silence and tells the truth of a situation," Nathalia said, shaking her head. "Can you imagine what would have happened if Marinette hadn't told Adrien about what Lila had done to her and said to her? I shudder at that thought."
"I fear that we both would have gone down an even darker path. And Adrien would have been made to deal with Lila Rossi even more, most likely sending him farther away from us since we would have been forcing him to work with her no matter how much he didn't want to," Gabriel sighed. "It would have been a very dark time and one that I'm glad that we will never see," he stated. He shuddered as he placed a hand over the one that still rested on his arm. "How are you feeling now that Marinette has used the healing balms with you?" he asked.
"Much better. There are no lingering side effects as far as we can tell, but I am to be under care watch just because we are not sure if there will be any long term ones," she said softly. She tilted her head up towards him. "And I'm to soak using the special oils and bath bombs once a week for the rest of the year. Thank you for paying for those bills."
Gabriel snorted and gave her a small smile. "I helped to cause the hurt that you went through using the broken Peacock miraculous. The very least I can do to try to make it up to you was to pay off your bills for you," he said as he turned and left the group behind. They would be fine without them hovering around them.
Ichigo smiled into his cup of tea, sharing a smug look with Chloe.
"What are your plans now?" Nathalie asked as they walked into Gabriel's smaller, cozier study that had been set up while they had been in Tibet. It was more of a library set up so that he could decompress after dealing with the aspects of his business, but it was quickly becoming a quiet place for them to spend time talking. And to be truthful with each other.
"I think I will start with finishing moving on like I had before all of this had happened. I think that burying Emily for real has helped me to heal that part that was clinging to a dying dream," he mused. He shook his head with a small smile. "Knowing that she was to far gone even to be saved safely, even before she passed, just meant that I had to face the truth that I knew deep in my heart. There really was no way that I was going to get my wish without losing something else that was just as important."
"I hate to think it, but from what I've read, it's likely that the wish would have wiped out our memories of whoever was taken by the wish," Nathalie said. Gabriel looked at her in surprise. "Sado allowed me to borrow one of the books that came from the Seireitei, and it was about the various wishes from before. Every person that survived their wish wrote down what they were wishing for and everyone who was in their life before they made their wish. Sealed it into place because it used that special ink. Then they wrote everyone who was in their life after," she said. "The smaller wishes? The ones that were usually for someone to get better from a deadly illness, made out of desperation, they always forgot the person who had been taken in replacement. They were usually siblings, children, aunts, uncles, or their own parents. They were also left with a hollow filling in them after the wish had been made."
"Do you think that the wish would have taken Adrien from me? Or you perhaps?" Gabriel asked, sounding horrified at the thought. He cared deeply for Nathalie, and had cared for her along with his wife when she had still lived. To think that he would have lost either Adrien or Nathalie without ever remembering them was a horrifying thought to have. He reached out and pulled her into a hug, the woman squeaking in surprise as she was clung to, surrounded by Gabriel's uniquely sweetly spicy scent. "I am so very glad that didn't happen. Since now, I can ask if you would like to go out to dinner with me sometime soon. Just us. As a date."
Nathalie pulled back to stare up at him, eyes wide as she stared at him, studying his face and eyes. She smiled, blushing slightly before nodding. "That sounds absolutely lovely. Yes, Gabriel, I would love that. Just us. And perhaps something simple?" she suggested, he chuckled as they sat down on the loveseat to talk with each other about things.
They had learned a few things with Gabriel's relationship with Emily now that they had time to look back over things after all.
