Work Text:
When his phone rang and Gabriel saw his son's name on the screen, he picked up quickly while dropping his stylus. Once upon a time, he'd kept drawing during the call. No more.
"Adrien," he said and realised that he was smiling. It was something as simple as a phone call that could do that. Across the room, he saw the ghost of a smile on Nathalie's lips as well.
"Dad, I'm with Marinette. We want to have dinner together. So I will be late."
"Just be careful, ok?" Sometimes he had to compress a lot of words he couldn't say out loud into a simple expression but he knew that Adrien understood.
"We're always careful."
He should be less worried, knowing that his son and his girlfriend had superpowers on their side. But the truth was that he was too aware of just how much of a target for the Supreme they were because of that. So of course he was concerned. But they were not babies. He had to trust them to take care of themselves.
"Say hi to Marinette for me."
"Say hi to Nathalie for me."
Oh cheeky! It was hard to believe that Adrien was starting to turn the tables on him and tease him with comments like this.
It made Gabriel chuckle as he ended the call. Because of course Adrien knew that he was with Nathalie. They often worked late. But there wasn't more to it, was there?
"It's nice to see you and Adrien close again, sir," she said, unmistakable softness in her eyes. But he couldn't even focus on it.
"We've talked about this, Nathalie," he sighed. "Don't call me "sir". We've known each other for so many years. You're literally part of the family."
"But I'm still your assistant," she said defiantly.
"Yes but... "
"Anyway, this was about Adrien," she cut him off. "I can't help noticing that you approve of his relationship with miss Dupain-Cheng."
He felt himself smiling again. It was impossible to explain to her just how much of a good fit Marinette was for Adrien, especially without her knowing their backstory. How much she had helped him when still hadn't had his father to lean on. Her crucial role in helping them reconcile.
"She makes him happy. And Adrien deserves to be happy," he said simply.
"So do you."
There was once again this surprising gentleness in her tone. As if him actually reminding her that their relationship had never been just strictly professional had helped bring down her guard.
But it wasn't that easy to agree with her.
"I wasn't a good father to him, Nathalie," he shook his head. Regret still ran deep, even long after Adrien had reassured him that he understood, that they had both made mistakes. He should have been there for his son and instead he had taken it upon himself to save the world. While the truth was that Adrien was his whole world and he should have always been his priority. "If you hadn't been there for him..."
"I hardly did anything, apart from trying to keep his schedule," she shrugged. "And put up with his tantrums, of course."
"Still more than I did."
"What both of you went through was very hard. You just dealt with it in your own way."
"You're saying this as if you weren't grieving." Then again, she had always been selfless. Always putting her needs last. Which wasn't right. "We all loved Emilie and we all miss her."
She nodded slowly, not trying to hide the flash of pain in her eyes.
"She wanted you to be happy though and seeing you like this... this is what would have given her peace." Now her voice was thick with emotion and Gabriel felt equally moved by her words.
"I know," he said eventually. "But you deserve to be happy as well."
"I am," she said simply, holding his gaze for just a moment longer before looking away.
And this was it. They kept working for a while longer. Gabriel wasn't sure how many minutes passed. It was always easy to do this with Nathalie there. They had spent many days in companionable silence, just working together. It was nice. Neither of them was trying to fill the silence with mindless chatter. It felt comfortable to them to just be in the same space.
But after some time he stopped working and instead stole glances at her as she kept typing on her keyboard.
Maybe there was something Adrien had been trying to tell him for some time. Maybe it was more than teasing.
Because he felt deep down that this was the kind of presence he needed in his life. A calm and loyal partner to make life more bearable.
This would never mean that he would forget Emilie. It wasn't about that. But there was a place for more than one person in his heart. It was about letting himself be happy again. Just like Emilie would have wanted.
"I think we've worked enough today," he found himself saying. Nathalie looked up in surprise. "We can take a leaf out of Adrien's book and take it easy tonight," he added with a smile and she visibly relaxed.
"Ok. Then I'll see you tomorrow," she said, already shutting down her computer and standing up.
"Or you could have dinner with me."
It was almost eerie how the words got out of his mouth without his agreement. Yes, he did want this. But he normally wouldn't ask.
He could see the shock on Nathalie's face and her lips already trying to form the obligatory "sir". She caught herself though.
"Gabriel?" The change in inflection as she said his name was the only indication that this was a question.
It was normal for her to ask him for clarification. Or maybe he had misread the signs. Was it any surprise that he was bad at this?
"If you want to, of course," he amended quickly.
"I'm just surprised that you want," she said, now looking on the verge of amusement. He deserved to be laughed at. He could be incredibly slow sometimes.
"I think that we can use Adrien as inspiration in more way than one. Life is better in pairs."
By the time he said this, he had reached her desk and held his arm to her. She hesitated for a moment before hooking hers through it.
"This will need time to get used to," she said quietly.
"I know. But we're not in a hurry. We'll play it by ear and it might turn out to be easier than expected."
Their eyes met as they got out of his office and she nodded.
After all, it was just dinner. It wouldn't be much different from them spending time together for work. They didn't even need to talk. It wouldn't feel awkward, Gabriel was sure of that. They could enjoy the silence together.
And eventually, he would tell her everything. Why he was gone so often. Why his relationship with his son had changed in many ways. Why Marinette was much more than Adrien's girlfriend. How they were fighting to make their world better. He knew that he could trust her with their secrets.
She was already playing a role in this. She was helping him feel more optimistic and less alone. From what he had learned observing Adrien, this was the most important step forward. To have someone you wish to share this far from perfect world with.
Gabriel had been lucky before to experience this with Emilie. He would miss her until his last day. But life wasn't over for him and he wanted to make the most of it.