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Adrien walked into the atelier grinning like a fool. Nathalie watched the teen as he strode into the room holding a movie in one hand and Nathalie's favorite blanket in the other. She raised a brow at him as he placed the movie on her desk.
"We're having a mandatory family movie night." He announced before turning to his father who stood at his podium. Gabriel glanced up at his son and saw how determined he looked.
"Depends on the movie." Gabriel said figuring that no matter how much he pushed his son was not going to budge. Adrien held up the movie for his father to see.
"Steve Jobs. I know what you're thinking. It is going to be some boring bio pic. My friend assured me it wasn't. Kate Winslet won two awards for best supporting actress in this." Adrien said walking over to him. "Please Father. You and Nathalie have been working late all week. It's Friday night and we haven't done anything as a family in ages." The younger Agreste was laying it on thick. Nathalie turned off her computer and plugged in her tablet before walking over to stand beside Adrien. She took the blanket from his other arm and held it to her chest.
"I think a movie night is an excellent idea, Adrien." Nathalie said coming to Adrien's aid. "He is right, Gabriel. We have been working late into the night all week. Why don't we take a break and watch a movie?" Nathalie told him looking up at him. They made eye contact for a brief moment before Nathalie tore her gaze from him and looked down at Adrien. Gabriel sighed and turned off his monitor before walking over to two of them.
"I suppose I can watch a movie. It's been awhile since I have watched a movie that didn't have your mother in it." He told his son putting a hand on his shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze.
Adrien wrapped his arms around his father's waist for a quick hug before going up to the screening room in the west wing of the house. Nathalie looked up at her boss and grinned.
"I'm glad you agreed to this sir. It has made Adrien's day. Maybe even his week." Nathalie confessed as the two walked side by side to the screening room. Gabriel looked down at his assistant and shrugged.
"I figured I wasn't going to win that argument. Especially once you went to Adrien's aid. I was outnumbered. I have been asking so much from you lately, so this could also be like a thank you I suppose." He admitted as the turned down the hall towards the west wing. The smell of popcorn filled the hallway as they neared the screening room. Nathalie gave her boss a small smile.
"I have been getting a lot of thank you's from you these last few months." She pointed out slightly teasing him as she did. He stayed quiet a moment. There was no doubt in her mind that he was fact checking what she told him.
"I suppose I have been thanking you quite a bit." Gabriel agreed. "You have been the only person who has constantly stood by me through everything. I know I am a bit unbearable at times. I can not even begin to imagine how much you wished you had a normal life." He confessed to her making her purse her lip and shake her head.
"I don't want normal. Normal is boring. My life was bland and gray before I started working for you nearly twenty years ago. Now, my life is more colorful and interesting. It was a bit repetitive once everything happened with Emilie, but these last few months have been full of adrenaline infused adventures on the road to your ultimate goal. I am just glad to be along for the ride, Gabriel." She grinned seeing a small smile on his face. "I quite enjoy yelling at Audrey Bourgeois from time to time as well." She added with a small chuckle. Gabriel let out a chuckle as well.
"You enjoy it too much sometimes it seems." He said stopping at the doorway to let Nathalie walk into the screening room first.
"I won't argue with you about that." She replied. Adrien had already picked out their seats and gotten the popcorn popped, buttered, and salted. Nathalie went over to one of the cabinets in the back of the room. "Adrien, where are the M&M's at?" She asked him looking through the cabinets. Adrien held up a bag.
"We only had peanut butter left. Marinette ate all of the original." Adrien commented. She walked over and sat down beside Adrien.
"Thank you for grabbing them. So Marinette ate all of my M&M's huh?" She asked him raising an eyebrow at the teen. He nodded then blushed.
"I may have helped her finish them off." He said shyly. Nathalie let out an over dramatic gasp before ruffling his golden locks.
"Betrayed by the boy I have practically helped raise. I am offended." She fake scolded him. Adrien chuckled and handed her the bag of peanut butter M&M's. "Thank you, Adrien." She said sincerely this time.
"You're welcome, Nathalie." He unfolded the blanket that Nathalie had been holding and laid it on both of their laps. Gabriel walked over to the two of them and sat on the other side of Nathalie. He handed her a bottle of water and Adrien a Dr. Pepper. Adrien grinned at the bottle in his hand.
"Thank you, Father. We ready to start the movie?" Adrien asked setting his drink on the carpet next to his sneakers. Nathalie kicked off her heels and tucked her legs underneath of herself before shedding her blazer putting it on the back of her seat. Gabriel rested the blanket in his lap and nodded. Adrien grabbed the remote and clicked play starting the movie. Nathalie opened up her bag of peanut M&M's and poured a few into her hand. She popped them into her mouth and chewed quietly focusing in on the movie.
As the trio watched the movie, they each noted how specific relationships in the movie related to them. All three of them took note at how close Steve Jobs and Joanna Hoffman were. She was referred to as his "work wife" at least once in the film. The way Joanna was concerned about Steve's business strategy was much like how in control Nathalie was over Gabriel Brand. Adrien noted how Steve Jobs was much like his father and how he treated his daughter during some parts of the movie. Gabriel found both relationships much like his own with both Nathalie and Adrien.
As the movie progressed, the trio found out how similar these relationships were to their own. It got to one of the last scenes of the movie. Joanna and Steve were in arguing about Steve's daughter, Lisa. Joanna started shoving stacks of papers off of a table as she demanded that he go make things right with his daughter who he was angry with at the time.
"Fix it, Steve. Fix it or I quit how about that? I quit and you never see me again how about that?" Joanna demanded aggravated at how stubborn her boss was being. Nathalie fidgeted a bit under the blanket and glanced over at Gabriel who was staring at the screen wanting to know how the conversation panned out.
"Tell me what's wrong with you this morning." The concern in Steve's voice made Nathalie turn back to the screen to watch the two adults on screen. The look on Joanna's face an expression of pain. Nathalie knew that kind of pain all too well. She felt it nearly every single time Gabriel brought up Emilie or started arguing with her.
"What's been wrong with me for nineteen years." Joanna breathed in shakily and continued. "I have been a witness and I tell you I have been complicit." Nathalie took in a sharp breath feeling what was going to come out of Joanna's mouth as she looked at the floor away from Steve before getting the courage to look over at him again. "I love you, Steve. You know how much. I love that you don't care how much money a person makes. You care what they make. But what you make isn't supposed to be the best part of you. When you're a father, that's what's supposed to be the best part of you. And it has caused me two decades of agony, Steve, that it is for you the worst." Joanna let out a breath of relief and shook her head teary eyed. "It's a little thing. It's a very small thing." She sniffled and drew a breath in. "Fix it. Fix it now. Or you can contact me at my new job-" Joanna paused and brought her hand up to her nose sniffling again before she turned away from him. "Working anywhere I want." Nathalie shuddered and Adrien paused the movie. He turned to Nathalie concerned.
"Nathalie, are you alright?" He asked moving closer to her under the blanket. She nodded and hugged the teenager to her when he was close enough to her. He hugged her back and looked up at her. "You're crying, Nat." Adrien pointed out to her. Gabriel shifted under the blanket and handed her his handkerchief from his breast pocket.
"Here, Nathalie." Gabriel offered it to her. She took it and lifted up her glasses to pat under her eyes.
"I'm sorry. It was just so moving." Nathalie told them before handing Gabriel back his handkerchief. Gabriel nodded in agreement. Adrien rested his head on Nathalie's shoulder.
"Well she did win a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for this performance." Adrien commented making Nathalie smile.
"As she should. Let's finish the movie now shall we?" She asked the both of them. Adrien nodded and pressed play so the movie could resume. They watched as the two adults continued their back and forth over Steve's daughter and they learned that Steve had threatened not to pay for his daughter's tuition because of his ex selling the house he had bought for her and his daughter to live in. That was why Joanna was so mad because her boss was just going to throw his daughter off the deep end and not pay for her Harvard education. Nathalie found herself running her fingers through Adrien's hair as they watched the movie's ending unfold. They watched as Steve Jobs admitted to his daughter that he was "poorly made". Gabriel related to the line on another level. He thought of all the times he had been absent or hard on Adrien. He realized as he sat there going over all of his short comings that Nathalie was always there to comfort his son. Not Emilie like he had always thought throughout the years. Gabriel reached under the blanket searching for her free hand before he found it resting next to her leg while her other hand carded through Adrien's hair. She glanced over at him and turned her hand over lacing her fingers with his giving his hand a gentle squeeze.
Adrien watched as Steve started acting more like how a father should and less like a business man. At least when he was with his daughter that is. It reminded him of the day that he had tried to sneak out to watch Solitude because he was afraid his father would have told him no, but ended up watching the movie with him after everything had happened that day. He saw two father's trying to fix their mistakes. It gave him a warm feeling within his chest knowing that his father did try to be a good dad. He just had a hard time figuring out what being a good dad was.
Once the movie was done and the credits started rolling. Adrien yawned and slowly got up stretching as he did so. Nathalie moved her arm that was under the blanket letting go of Gabriel's hand before she stood up with the blanket folding it back up. She placed it in the basket near the screen. She turned back to go grab her blazer to find Gabriel folding it neatly before handing it off to her gently.
"Thank you, sir." She said softly trying to hide the fact that her cheeks were heating up. Gabriel nodded and smiled a bit seeing her blushing.
"You are welcome. Why don't you and Adrien head upstairs to bed and I will clean up in here." He suggested. Nathalie looked at him slightly confused before wrapping an arm around Adrien's shoulders nodding as she led him out of the room and back towards the atrium. Gabriel stood in the screening room alone. He grabbed the empty cardboard popcorn bucket and the empty drinks before throwing them away in the trash near the door as he walked out of the room.
Gabriel found himself in the atelier and staring at his wife's portrait. That scene of Joanna expressing what was wrong with her to Steve had shaken him up a little. It shook him up even more when he saw how that scene affected Nathalie. She had been moved to tears among other things. He could feel her looking at him and he could still hear how some specific lines had her inhaling sharply. When he had heard Joanna confessing to Steve that she loved him, he could feel her emotions swirling around him. He could feel her agony, her worry, her pain, and her love. He had felt it all hit him at once as Joanna said those three words to Steve. He knew she loved him. He had felt it before when she was telling him about the translated miraculous book on the Guardian's tablet. He stared into Emilie's still green painted eyes seeking guidance or scolding.
"Oh Emilie. I don't know what to do. I am fully realizing my feelings towards Nathalie, and I am worried that I have taken things too far trying to get you back. I have neglected our son and left him in Nathalie's hands. She has been more of a parent to him than either of us have ever been to him. You were always gone and I was always distant focused on my work, while you left us to go off and play with magic." He could feel the frustration boiling up within him. "You were never around. You'd leave with little explanation. I would have to try and balance work and Adrien since you were gone. I could never fully leave the house for work because I didn't want Adrien to think that both of his parents abandoned him." Gabriel pushed up his glasses resting them on top of his head as he rubbed his face upset. "Then you managed to put yourself in this coma leaving me alone to try and learn how to parent our son on my own.." He shook his head.
"No, I wasn't on my own. I had Nathalie. I have always had Nathalie. Even when you were out playing with your magic like a little girl without any responsibilities. I let you manipulate my life from the day we met. I love you, my dear, but you made my life so much harder than it needed to be. Especially the last three years of my life. You turned me into a villain over a promise that you forced me to keep by waving our damn rings in my face. Our whole relationship was built on you wanting to always be the center of attention and for you to always be living this lavished life. You didn't know me before I became famous. You just saw Gabriel Agreste Gabriel Brand. You never saw me as just Gabriel Agreste. All of these extravagant things were to keep you happy and even then you were never satisfied. I don't even understand why I am standing here talking to you when all you have done is hurt me, our son, and yourself all to be the center of attention. You put yourself into that coma. I am done playing the villain to bring you back just so that I can go back to Gabriel Agreste the husband that gets walked all over." He said wiping his hands on his vest.
"I will not be wasting my life away over something that was when I can make something new. Something better. Something true. Something real." He said before turning away from the portrait. "I am done being an injured butterfly under your heel. I want to be my own person again." He added sternly as he walked over to the atelier doors closing them behind him. Gabriel placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and went up to his room.
Gabriel walked into his room and got out his pajamas for the night. He pulled out a matching dark gray cotton set. He changed into them and put his clothes from that day in the hamper in his bathroom. He brushed out his hair feeling it relax each time the brush went through his hair. He looked at himself in the mirror a moment and saw a man who once had so much to look forward to. Now he wasn't sure what he had in life other than his business, his son, and he hoped Nathalie. He exited the bathroom grabbing his robe on the way out. He turned off the bathroom light and tugged on his robe as he walked out of his bedroom door in need of tea to help him go to sleep.
He made his way into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway seeing Nathalie already making tea. His assistant was in her violet robe and matching slippers. Her hair was down falling past her shoulders near where her shoulder blades ended on her back. He closed the kitchen door behind him getting her to look up from filling up the tea kettle. She jumped and let a loud gasp.
"Good grief, Gabriel. You scared me. I thought you were already in bed asleep." She said placing a hand over her heart. He walked over and took the tea kettle from her.
"I am so sorry, Nathalie. I wasn't expecting you to be in here. I had just come down to make myself some tea." He explained to her as he turned on the burner on the stove he had set the tea kettle on. She went to go say something before she covered her mouth. He knew what was about to happen. She started coughing. Her body quaking with each cough. It sounded like if she coughed any harder that she'd have one of her lungs in her hand. Her legs started shaking growing weak from holding her up. They gave out on her after another venomous cough, but she didn't feel her knees hit the ground. She felt his arms wrapped around her middle to keep her up. He held her protectively rubbing her back to try and soothe her as she leaned all of her weight onto him. Once her coughing fit ended, she dropped her head onto his collarbone and relaxed into him.
"I'm alright, sir. Don't worry about me." She said to him lifting her head up to look into his eyes. He shook his head not believing her.
"No, you are not alright. This is all my fault. I pulled you into this mess. I am so sorry. I wish you never had gotten involved. You shouldn't be sick like this. All you have ever done is help me, and yet you are the sick one. It is just not right." He stated upset with himself for letting it go on for this long. Nathalie lifted a hand up to his cheek getting his attention.
"Everything I have done since I started working for you has been to make you happy, Gabriel. You and Adrien both. I became Mayura to save you not Emilie." She explained to him. "I have seen you go through so much even before Emilie got sick." Gabriel leaned into her touch placing his hand over her's.
"You do too much. I am starting to realize that more. Don't you ever feel the need to get away from everything? From me?" He questioned her. Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
"It would take a lot to chase me away. If magic hasn't done it, I think you just might be stuck with me till you get sick of me." She told him a small smile gracing her features. Gabriel wanted to say something in return, but he was interrupted by the tea kettle screaming to life. The two adults pulled away from each other's grasp. Nathalie grabbed two chamomile tea bags while Gabriel got two mugs down from the cupboard. He sat them down on the counter and poured the water into each of their mugs. Nathalie placed the teabags in their mugs. Gabriel gently held the string to the teabag in his right hand. He took in a deep breath then let out a small sigh.
"Nathalie?" He asked bobbing the teabag up and down in his mug. She looked up at him as she hugged herself waiting on her tea to steep.
"Yes, s-Gabriel?" She replied Gabriel had requested in the past few weeks to stop calling him sir so much, especially in private. Gabriel set his tea bag back into his mug and turned to her.
"Do I treat you poorly?" He asked the concern in his voice evident. Nathalie pursed her lips and looked up into his blue-gray eyes.
"Is this about that scene I had cried at?" She asked him. He shrugged at her even though he knew that scene was the reason why he was thinking about it in the first place.
"Kind of. I don't know. While we were watching that movie, the relationship between the two of them reminded me of our's in so many ways. I am concerned that I treat you poorly." He said honestly. Nathalie shook her head and rested her hand on his gently as it rested on the counter top.
"I thought the relationship was a lot like our own too. To be quite honest, it was a bit worry some to me. To think that other people are out there in our positions like this." She admitted before removing her teabag placing it in the trash can beside her. "As for how you treat me, I feel slightly underappreciated if I am being honest with you. You used to just walk all over me, especially when Emilie started getting sick and your patience was becoming thin. You have never treated me bad though. We have had our share of arguments in the past, but I never could dream of being anywhere else, but by your side until the end." She said with a small shy grin. "I have told you before and I will tell you again. I will do anything for you. No matter the cost." He could feel the sentiment in her voice as she repeated the vow she had pledged to him time and time again.
"Oh, my Nathalie. You have done so much for me over the last several years. I don't know how you have stayed with me this long." He confessed shaking his head. He felt her invade his bubble and wrap her arms around his waist gingerly.
"You and Adrien's happiness is the most important thing to me Gabriel. It always will be. I care for you both so deeply." She opened up to him. "I am always trying to constantly do better, so that the two of you feel happy. So you both feel..... loved." Nathalie continued on after hesitating a moment. Gabriel stood there looking down at Nathalie slightly surprised that she was actually admitting it to him.
"I could sense it." He told her.
"Gabriel, I know it isn't professional or ideal especially with Emilie being our main goal and all. I do love you though. As much as it hurts most of the time knowing that we won't ever be anything of that nature." She admitted as she took a sip of her tea. She held the mug close to her lips and let the warm liquid soothe her nearly raw throat.
"Goals can change, Nathalie. Especially ones you were never fully set on." He told her as he walked around her to the garbage with his mug in his hand. He dropped the teabag into the trash and turned back towards her. Nathalie looked up at him concerned as she set her mug down on the counter top.
"You're giving up on Emilie?" She asked worried. "But you promised her-" He sat his mug down and lifted a hand up to caress her cheek.
"Why would I try to bring back a woman that was so focused on playing with magic more than raising our son?" He asked her. "When I can have something better and more affectionate than my last relationship." He watched her eyes light up. Those big gorgeous blue eyes. He wished more than anything to escape from the world sometimes and just swim around in those pure blue pools.
"B-but Gabriel what about everything we have been working towards?" She questioned. "Don't get me wrong, I want more than anything to be with you romantically. This all feels like a fever dream though." He dropped his hand from her jaw and gave her a small pinch behind the elbow. "Ow!" She yanked her arm back and slapped his arm with her other hand. "What the hell was that for?" He rubbed the back of his neck feeling bad for pinching her.
"It was to show you you weren't dreaming." He answered her. Nathalie grabbed her tea and took a sip another sip of it. "I am done trying to bring back Emilie when all she cared about was her work and being the center of attention. I am done terrorizing Paris for her. I want to be a better father and I want you." He confessed to her trying to express his new found feelings as best as he could without coming off as his usual stoic and cold self. Nathalie looked at him in complete awe.
"Y-you want me?" She asked him before cursing herself in the back of her mind for stuttering. It made her some like some love struck teenager. Gabriel picked up his mug and took a small sip. She could tell he was contemplating what to say to her. She could hear the gears turning in his head. He placed his mug back down on the counter and shook his head.
"Not want. That's the wrong word choice. You are not something to want. You are something I desperately need in my life. I can live without Emilie. We probably would have been divorced by now with how things were playing out before she fell ill." He told her. Nathalie shifted on her feet and looked down at their slippers.
"Gaberiel, you are just saying that. You don't need me. You only think you do." She said shaking her head. He looped his index finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking up at him.
"You take care of Adrien better than I ever could. You are there for me in my darkest times. You are actually concerned about me and my well being as I am for your's. If you ever were to leave me, I would surely be lost and irreconcilable. You have been my most trusted confidant and one hell of an assistant. You basically run my company. You keep me going even when everything is falling apart around me. You mean everything to me. It has just taken me a bit to figure that out for sure. But one thing is for certain. I love you, Nathalie. More than I could ever even fathom." She bit her bottom lip trying to hold back the tears that had welled up in her eyes the more he had went on. She felt his arms snake around her hips as he drew her into him. She ran her hands up his robe and wrapped her arms around his neck. One hand continued up and carded through his hair.
"You sure you want to do this?" She asked him slowly pulling him down to meet her as she rose up onto the balls of her feet. "The media is going to be hell when they find out." She noticed the way he was looking at her. His usual hard expression replaced with a soft look. She could see the love in his eyes as he looked down at her attentively listening to her as she spoke.
"We'll release statements when the time comes. Legal is going to have a field day along with H.R." He lifted a hand up and moved that one rogue strand of hair that always managed to hang on her forehead and would sometimes obscure her line of vision. She let out a small hum.
"Legal and H.R. won't be that big of an issue once you remind them who signs their checks at the end of the day." She reminded him as she continued pulling him down closer to her.
"You are right as usual." He said with a small smile. He moved his hand down to her cheek once that strand of hair was behind her ear. "Hawkmoth and Mayura are going to have to be put into retirement." He added. Nathalie nodded agreeing with him.
"I agree. They don't need to be looming over us any longer if there is no need for them anymore." She told him as she looked down at his lips briefly. "How are we going to tell Adrien about us?" She asked brushing her nose against his. Gabriel let out a light chuckle.
"He won't be an issue. He told me a year ago to basically date you. He jump started my thought process. He'll be happy to hear that I am with you." He assured her in a soft quiet tone as he inched closer to her.
"What a sweet young man he's becoming don't you think?" She asked him getting a nod in response.
"All thanks to you, my peahen." She blushed and rested her forehead against his.
"Just doing my job, my papillon." He ran a finger along her jaw gently.
"No, that is you loving my son like he is your's. One of the many things I have fallen in love with about you." He admitted as he lifted her mouth closer to his by moving her face by her chin.
"I love you, Gabriel." She whispered biting her bottom lip looking into his blue gray eyes.
"And I love you, Nathalie." He closed the gap between their lips and felt her melt into him as she kissed him back. The kiss was soft and passionate fueled by everything they had wanted to say to each other over the years, but couldn't. Nathalie's hands grasped the neck of his robe bringing him down closer to her. His hands rested onto her waist pulling her flush against him. The kiss slowly heated up just before they both pulled back to breathe.
"Gabriel, what about-" he shook his head.
"Sh. We'll take care of it tomorrow, but for tonight I just want to focus on you." He said stopping her from finishing her thought. Nathalie felt herself blushing as she nodded.
"Okay." She looked over at their mugs and then up at him. "Move into the sitting room?" She suggested with a warm smile. He pouted a bit at her looking like a sad puppy.
"But then I'd have to let you go." He said whining a bit. Nathalie raised a brow at him and chuckled.
"Is Gabriel Agreste the world renowned fashion designer pouting?" She asked him teasingly. He nodded as he continued pouting.
"I am. I just declared my love to you and you want me to let go of you to move into a different room." He said seriously. "I have been deprived of affectionate actions for far too long." Nathalie pecked his cheek lightly before wiggling out of his grasp grabbing her tea.
"The quicker you move the less deprived you will be." She said before walking out of the kitchen. Gabriel picked up his mug and followed her.
"You are a tease you know that?" He asked her sitting down beside her on the love seat. She sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I know, Gabriel. It's fun teasing you sometimes." He wrapped an arm around her waist and took a drink of his tea. "And would you look at that. You are holding me again. That wasn't so painful now was it?" She asked him.
"It was excruciating. Don't make me do it again." He requested resting his mug on his knee. Nathalie nodded and kissed his shoulder.
"You are so clingy. I love it." She told him giggling as she leaned up pressing a kiss onto his jawline. He smiled down at her and watched her lift her mug to her lips taking a drink.
"I suppose I am a bit clingy." He told her before taking a drink of his own tea. The two adults sat on the love seat drinking their tea till it was gone before they decided they were much too lazy and comfortable on the love seat to move. Gabriel wrapped a blanket around the both of them and kicked off his slippers. Nathalie yawned and burrowed into his side whining when he wiggled to get comfortable.
"Now who is the clingy one?" He asked her smirking. She lifted a hand up out from under the blanket and covered his mouth.
"Hush. I am tired and comfy." She told him before putting her hand back under the blanket. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and smiled down at her as she nuzzled her face into his chest. Gabriel took off her glasses and his own and placed them on the end table next to the love seat. He yawned and tried blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He stroked her hair and listened to her breathing even out. He let out a soft hum content with how his life was in that moment. He felt at peace for the first time in years sitting there on that love seat holding the woman he loved as she slept. He fell asleep with a small smile on his face knowing that he didn't need to bring back Emilie to be happy. He had Nathalie for that. He had always had her. It just took a forced movie night to fully figure that out.