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As soon as the pesky little heroes were gone, Gabriel took his chance to transform back into Hawkmoth and make his escape. As he jumped between rooftops, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in his stomach.
Nathalie had used the peacock miraculous to save him. The damaged miraculous.
Was she ok? Had it affected her? Was he making a big fuss over nothing? All he could do was wonder what she was doing right now and hope nothing bad happened.
Maybe he was just overreacting and he would return home to her waiting for him in his office. The feeling that the exact opposite was possible as well taunted him from the back of his mind. He needed to get to her.
Soon enough he reached his lair and detransformed. What he saw before him made his heart drop. There was Nathalie curled up in a ball in the center of the room, that stupid pin clipped onto her blazer. As he neared her, she coughed several times.
“Nathalie. God what did you do?”
He fell to the ground and scooped her up in his arms, practically holding her like she would disappear in a puff of smoke if he let her go.
“Sir...you escaped,” she said weakly.
He eased up on his grip on her, but only to gently caress her cheek. Despite his calm mask he was sporting, inside his emotions ranged from anger to despair to guilt over putting her in this situation.
“I told you,” he tried to keep his anger in check. “Never use the peacock miraculous.”
“I didn't have a choice, sir. I had to save you,” she said right before a violent cough.
“I don’t care. The miraculous is damaged and what you did was extremely dangerous!”
“I want to help you, no matter the price.”
She met his gaze as he stared down at her in awe. Her bright blue eyes put him in a trance like they always did. What had he done to deserve this woman who was willing to go this far for him? To risk her own life for him? It was impossible to fathom such a thing.
“Thank you, Nathalie, but what you did was foolish. Look at you! We’re lucky that the damage to you was only minor. What if it had hurt you further? What if it had…” he trailed off. No don’t think about that.
“Killed me?” she finished for him. “That would never happen, but even so...I would be ok with it.”
“No! Don’t say that.”
She coughed again and he pulled her back into his chest. With a sigh, she let her rest her head on him.
“Nathalie...besides Adrien, you are all I have left. You’re one of the most important things in my life. If I lost you...hell I have no idea what I would do.”
“I had no idea you thought about me that way and I appreciate it, but I cannot accept. I’m your secretary and nothing more.”
“My dear, I know you haven't forgotten about the powers of my own miraculous. You can remain as expressionless as you want, but I know how you feel deep inside.”
“It doesn’t matter what I feel. You have a wife and if it means you'll be happy, then I will do anything I can to get her back. She was my friend too and I miss her just like you.”
“I know you miss her. I know. But…”
“There are no ‘buts’ Gabriel.”
He looked down at her in his arms and couldn’t help but smile. She thankfully didn’t protest as he ran a hand down her soft hair and cupped her face. He absentmindedly moved his thumb along her cheek, taking in her gorgeous features.
“There might be a few in this case.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but the words never made it out. His lips were on hers in a second and despite her earlier denials, she kissed him back all the same. When he pulled away she sighed deeply. The content look on her face was a welcome sight as she relaxed once more in his arms.
“Nat, don't do that again. Please. You mean everything to me.”
“As do you, but I can’t just sit back and let them stop your plans. We’ve worked so h-hard.”
The falter in her voice brought him back to reality and he suddenly remembered where they currently were. The best thing to do, he decided, was to let her spend the night in a guest bedroom so he could keep her close. He couldn't bare to let her go home in her current state.
“Shhh,” he soothed her. “We’ll talk about this in the morning.”
Gabriel clutched her to his chest as if she were fragile glass and walked over to the elevator. Adrien was no doubt at his picnic, so he had no fear of being seen while carrying her through the many hallways of the mansion.
Once she was in bed, he took great care to make sure she was comfy. Her shoes had been set near the bed and her blazer was neatly folded on a nearby chair. The pins were already coming out of her usually immaculate bun, when he took them out. He watched her long dark hair fall down her back in amazement.
“You should wear it down more often,” he quipped.
“It’s not professional,” she managed to smile.
“Then we may just have to change the dress code for you.”
She laid back and relaxed her head on the feather pillow. Silk sheets and a thick comforter enveloped her in warmth and security, but it was nothing compared to his arms. Her vision went with her glasses when he took them off and set them on the table next to the bed.
“Nathalie.”
“Hmm,” she was already falling asleep.
“Thank you for today. I’m glad I can trust you and it’s a welcome feeling to know that someone always has your back.”
“I would do it again every single time.”
Staying until she was in a deep slumber, he couldn’t help but watch as her chest eventually started rising and falling evenly. A sense of relief was cut short by her body jerking. Even in her sleep she coughed quietly. And there was that stab of guilt in his stomach again.
With one last look at her peaceful face, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead and bid her goodnight. As he left the room though, something caught his eye. He turned and saw the peacock miraculous shining in a sliver of moonlight that had breached the curtains.
He glanced back at his sleeping secretary and scowled before plucking the pin off her jacket. How could a little brooch cause this much damage?
“No need to wonder,” he said to no one in particular. “This will not be used again. She’s too important to lose.”
And with that he pocketed the cursed jewelry and left the room. Ladybug and all of her friends would pay for what they did to her.
He would see to that personally.