Chapter Text
So come on, get higher, loosen my lips
Faith and desire and the swing of your hips
Just pull me down hard
And drown me in love
~Come On Get Higher~
A string of multicolored Christmas lights reflected their soft glow onto the large windows of the grand mansion. An enormous pine tree stood proudly by the marble stairs, decorated with gleaming ornaments and boughs of holly. Flurries of snowflakes blew in the harsh wind, and icicles hung from the rooftops of Paris. The news reported the month of December to be the coldest on record, with temperatures dropping into the negatives. Luckily for Gabriel Agreste, he never left his home unless absolutely necessary. He spent countless hours on his tablet drawing original fashion pieces, enduring video call meetings about future events, and marketing his products to maximize profits. The months blurred into another, and as his company flourished, the distance between him and his son grew into a gaping chasm. He knew he needed to slow down and spend time with Adrien, but work seemed to be the only task keeping him grounded. The funeral for his wife, Emilie, had been barely over one year ago.
Ever since they’d acquired the mysterious jewels all those years ago, Emilie’s natural knack for curiosity led her to continue research on the peacock miraculous―regardless of the toll on her health. The more she utilized the broken magic, the worse she became. Her coughing fits increased at an alarming rate, and her physical strength dwindled by the day. Despite Gabriel’s efforts to dissuade her from using it, she insisted that magic and science were meant to coexist; she just hadn’t discovered how yet.
Eventually, her body couldn’t take it anymore and she quickly became bedridden. Gabriel sought out the most highly acclaimed doctors and medical professionals in the world, begging for a cure. None of them had a solution―after all, how could they? Her illness baffled them, for they couldn’t decipher what, exactly, had gone wrong. Emilie had been a healthy, vibrant woman in her thirties, and suddenly falling ill with no discernible cause provided more questions than answers. Backed into a corner, Gabriel was forced to play dumb and pretend as though he was just as blinded as the doctors.
Her demise―though inevitable―withered away the shred of hope he’d been clinging to for her recovery. He remembered the funeral as though it’d happened days prior: the slate gray clouds looming in the sky, Adrien’s bloodshot emerald eyes, the words of the pastor falling on deaf ears. They’d decided against an open casket, and instead they stared listlessly at the polished mahogany coffin adorned with an array of flowers. Everyone around him suffocated the air with their gut-wrenching sobs, and yet, Gabriel’s shock prevented him from properly grieving. All he could do was grip his son’s shoulder as Adrien’s body trembled like a leaf. Their entire world had collapsed around them, and Gabriel didn’t know how to live without his dear Emilie. However, from that day forward, he resolved to stop the use of the miraculous; it’d caused him far too much pain.
As time passed, the only way he found to cope was to drown himself in his company. He tasked his assistant, Natalie, with giving Adrien extracurriculars as a means for distraction. Becoming a workaholic had saved Gabriel from turning to the aged whiskey in the liquor cabinet, and so he reasoned Adrien would also do well with more activities to preoccupy himself with. How wrong he’d been.
Their relationship, slowly at first, began to rip at the seams. It started with their sole interaction being their evening meals, and eventually, they went days without uttering a single word to each other. Whenever he did see Adrien, the young boy averted his gaze from him, merely offering a curt greeting. It didn’t take long for him to replace informality with stiff acknowledgment. They rarely expressed familial affection through the form of hugs, or anything of the sort.
In an attempt to liven up Adrien’s life, he decided to enroll him into the local public school, Françoise Dupont Middle School. To Gabriel’s amazement, the experience seemed to greatly boost Adrien’s spirits, and his son even began opening up―but only ever to Natalie. He appeared to view her as a motherly figure, and Gabriel frequently spotted Adrien in the garden spending time with his assistant. He once caught snippets of their conversation, and noticed Adrien speaking about a girl he liked in his class. When he approached the two and tried asking about it, Adrien mumbled something about his father not being interested and created an excuse to leave.
Natalie must have noticed Gabriel’s visible disappointment, and assured him that his son just needed more time. The kindness in her bespectacled blue eyes startled him, and something unexpected stirred in his chest. It was easy to dismiss the feeling when he’d been touch starved for months on end, and the loss of his wife felt agonizingly raw, open and exposed like a bleeding wound. During those early days, any sign of comfort was like a balm to the heart, if only temporarily easing the suffering. Despite his best efforts, Gabriel found his view of Natalie changing over the course of those long weeks.
By entertaining thoughts of another woman, he believed he was defiling Emilie’s memory, and that was the last thing on earth he wanted to do. Each moment where Natalie’s hand strayed on his longer than necessary, or where his gaze lingered on the curves of her slim figure, the guilt was normally enough to clear his head. He despised how his heart leapt in his chest when Natalie uttered his name, or how he noticed the concentrated expression she wore while she typed emails on the computer. He’d always known she was an attractive woman, but ever faithful to his wife, he never considered his assistant as more than what she was: an asset to the company. Perhaps it was the way she treated Adrien with utmost respect and genuine interest in his life, or Natalie’s unwavering support during their darkest hour that made him realize he’d fallen for her.
A knock at the door startled him from his thoughts. Glancing down at the tablet, Gabriel realized he’d been too wrapped up in his own mind to make progress on the newest fashion line. He resigned himself to the fact that continuing to work was pointless, and so he set aside his stylus before switching off the tablet.
“You may enter,” he called, relieved at the steady inflection of his voice.
The tall, ebony doors of his office swung open to reveal Natalie herself. She held her tablet in hand, with her usual serious attitude. Her deep purple suit and crimson turtleneck remained wrinkle-free, and to any outsider, she would appear calm and collected. Gabriel had come to learn her subtle quirks and tells, and judging by the crease in her brow, he knew it was an act.
“Is something the matter?”
Natalie shifted from one foot to the other. “I just came to inform you that Adrien wanted permission to go to a Christmas party tomorrow night. I believe it will be with his friend Nino Lahiffe. What should I tell him, sir?”
“Please, we’ve gone over this. Call me Gabriel.”
“...Of course, Gabriel.”
“Tell him he may go.”
She moved to leave when the words stumbled from his mouth without warning.
“Wait!” When she flinched at the urgency in his tone, he hurried to correct himself. “You seem troubled.”
A shaky sigh escaped her lips. “I’m nervous.”
“Nervous about what?”
“I need to tell you that I―I..uh…” She trailed off, fidgeting with her tablet in a gesture quite unlike her. A moment later, she shook her head in an emphatic movement. “Nevermind, sir. It’s not my place.”
Gabriel’s long legs strode across the room in mere seconds, and he couldn’t resist gently cupping her arms with his hands. “Tell me.”
Heart thudding in his chest, he wondered if she felt the same way he did. If affection spread in her chest whenever they talked or if she also amused blissful fantasies of loving embraces and heated encounters. None of it made sense, but he admitted he liked the whirlwind romance of it all.
“I’m in love with you, Gabriel. I know I shouldn’t be, especially considering how hard things have been on you and Adrien lately. We’ve been friends for a long time, and selfishly, I want more. But I understand if this is―”
His palms came to rest on either side of her face, and a pink blush erupted across her cheeks. She looked beautiful.
“After the passing of Emilie, I didn’t think I could ever move forward. And yet, you’ve made me feel alive again. I want to be a more diligent father and someone who deserves you. Will you have me?”
With unbridled enthusiasm, Natalie answered by closing the gap between them and planting her lips onto his. Her mouth was softer than he thought possible, and tasted faintly of bitter coffee laced with sugar. Gratifying tingles traveled throughout his body as he deepened the kiss, and he tangled his fingers into the silken strands of her dark hair. He snagged her bottom lip between his, relishing in the soft moan escaping her mouth. In turn, Natalie placed her hands on his chest; just her touch alone left him utterly intoxicated. When they pulled apart for air, Gabriel noticed a sprig of mistletoe dangling above them. He chuckled against her mouth, and wordlessly pointed to the doorframe. Natalie smiled at the greenery, standing so close to him that their eyelashes lightly brushed together.
“Please, let me kiss you again,” he whispered, his hands coming to rest on her waist. “I love you.”
She merely nodded, and that was all he needed to lose himself in her once more. His fingers wandered to the buttons of her jacket, and he longed to relieve her of it. To his pleasant surprise, Natalie’s hands were already working on slipping off his silver vest; it took but a moment for the offending fabric to drop on the floor. Within a few minutes, he’d been stripped down to his collared shirt and slacks, while her jacket was tossed aside. Gabriel briefly stroked the bare skin of her hip just above her pants, and immediately drew his hands back. There was no reason to believe she’d want him to stop or that he’d gone too far, but nonetheless, an apology slipped out.
“I’m sorry―”
“Don’t be, Gabriel. I want you to continue.”
To assuage his concerns, Natalie gently guided his hands to the hem of her sweater and slipped it over her head. Soon, the garment was gathered by her ankles, revealing the creamy skin so often hidden away. His heart stuttered in his chest as he watched her bosom swell with labored breathing, and he bit back an audible gulp. It didn’t help matters that the inky lace bra she wore contrasted wonderfully against the peach undertones of her skin. Pushing aside his nerves, he finished unbuttoning his shirt and let it fall off his arms. Natalie appeared mesmerized as she stared, her fingertips tracing a line from his chest to his hips. Craning her neck, she peppered kisses along his jawline and collarbone, leaving lipstick stains behind. He gasped at the contact and goosebumps rose along his entire body.
She pressed her lips again to his, and they found themselves locked in another passionate kiss. Feeling brave, Gabriel lifted her into his arms and laughed at her soft giggles, before placing her onto the spare desk in his office. Every inch of him felt alight with joy and desire, and his adoration for the incredible woman embracing him grew tenfold. The frigid cold of the world faded away, and the pair basked in the warmth of their newfound love.