Chapter Text
Marc was running as fast as he could. When he saw what was going down in the courtyard he knew it could only spell trouble, and he hated how often he was right.
His sneakers squeaked against the metal steps as he frantically climbed down and over to Marinette, who was standing still looking shocked as she stared at Ms. Kurtzberg dragging Nathaniel away by his wrist.
“Marinette!” Marc called to her as he finally caught up, stopping to catch his breath for a second. “What happened?!” His head frantically turned around to look for any sign or symptom of a logical situation.
“I… I don't know, I was trying to make it better but…” Marinette muttered softly, her hands reaching upwards to nervously rub her earrings.
Marc swiveled his head back to where Nathaniel was, his stomach dropping in pure terror.
Nathaniel was being dragged away by his mother, struggling vehemently against her firm grip on his wrist while Marc could do nothing but watch.
Tears pickled Marc's eyes as he tried to no avail to blink them away, blood thrummed in his ears so loud he couldn't even hear the soft fluttering of pitch black wings.
—-
“Forgive my intrusion, but I felt the ache of a heart breaking…”
—-----
Nathaniel only spotted the Akuma once it was too late. Just when he thought the day couldn't get worse, the butterfly fluttered into frame and landed on the side of Nath's best friend's choker, absorbing itself into the dark satin fabric fastened around his neck.
There was a brief pause where all the world seemed to stop.
Everything went silent, nobody moved and Marc's face looked calm and at peace, his eyes closed and his lips gently pursed.
And in the next second, that all left. Marinette let out a surprised yelp from behind Marc and immediately turned heel and ran as ever familiar dark bubbles began to envelop the boy.
“MARC!” Nathaniel felt himself scream, finally being able to pull himself out of his mother's grasp using the intense surge of adrenaline that had suddenly coursed through his veins. He felt himself begin to run forward before he quickly stopped himself.
“Unless I call upon you, do not intervene with an Akumatized villain.”
Nathaniel hissed a curse under his breath before turning heel to face his mother who had an almost similar expression of shock and fear.
She suddenly swallowed and looked down at Nathaniel, a new determined look in her eye.
“We need to leave.” She said with conviction before grabbing Nathaniel once more, this time much gentler and by the hand. She gave his hand a strange comforting squeeze before bursting into a jog and dragging Nathaniel with her.
“...Don't worry about your….” His mother paused for a second and bit her bottom lip as they both ran through the street, her high heels clicking against the brick street tiles loudly. “...Friend, Nathaniel. Ladybug will handle it and he'll be just fine.” She looked down at him as she said this, a small look of a smoothies blend of sadness, regret and pity on her face.
Suddenly she took a sharp turn and dragged them both into an empty building. Taking a quick look around Nathaniel deduced it was just a small bookstore that must've been cleared out when the Akuma alert went off.
It made sense. When the alerts go off most people rush to go hide in their homes, but the Kurtzbergs live too far away to have that luxury.
Nathaniel wanted heavily as they came to a stop inside the store and he rather quickly plopped down on the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest as he sat there.
His mother still stood, facing away and silent.
Silence wasn't new to them.
As he grew older, Nathaniel found it was harder to speak to his mother. It was often easier to say nothing.
When he began drawing comics he said nothing and just carried his sketch pad back up to his room, ignoring the unreadable look his mother sent his way as he did.
The first time he brought Marc home neither of them said a thing. He just spared his mother a single glance and she did the same before returning to her work.
Even when he worked with the resistance, when he got attacked by Akumas time and time again they still said nothing to each other.
What was there to say?
Nathaniel heard his mom breathe in a sharp breath before turning back to face him, another classic unreadable expression on her face. She paused awkwardly for a second before sitting down right next to him, an act he honestly didn't expect from her.
“Mom, your... skirt…. Won't it get dirty?”
Shirel let out a dry scoff.
“As if I could possibly care about that right now.”
Shirel paused after saying that, a flicker of regret in her eyes as if she didn't mean for that to sound so harsh.
“I am sorry, Nathaniel.” Shirel let out a dry humorless laugh.
“I really am the worst mother, aren't I?”
Nathaniel lifted his head to look at her, surprise in his eyes.
“No, mom of course not-”
Shirel shook her head, quickly silencing Nathaniel.
“Don't defend me, Nathaniel.” She let out a quick breathless sigh, her eyes looking straight ahead as if she was lost in thought.
“I thought all this time I was protecting you. That if you could just try hard enough to fake it… You could be safe.”
Shirel shook her head, tears trickling the edges of her eyes.
“I'm no fool, Nathaniel. I knew the second you brought that boy home you really loved him.”
Nathaniel's mouth opened but didn't say anything, he felt surprised yet nothing at the same time like this conversation was some inevitable event the same as the sun exploding.
“And… And I was scared!” Shirel's hands came out in front of her, motioning widely as she choked out her words.
“I wasn't afraid of you liking a boy… I had a feeling all along it's just that…”
Shirel let out a small choked sound and looked away from Nathaniel, as if she couldn't bear to gaze at him. Not out of the disappointment he thought he had in her but because of her own disappointment with herself.
“This world is so cruel, Nathaniel…. And you aren't.”
Shirel turned back towards him, tears streaming down her face and staining her glasses.
She slowly lifted a hand up to gently cup Nathaniel's cheek.
“You are so kind, Nathaniel. All you want is to create comics and make people happy… And all you want is to be in love with that boy…”
Shirel sniffled.
“And there's so many people who hate you just for that and…
“I thought that… I just had to try to protect you from them. I had to give you an easier life.”
Shirel withdrew her hand and buried her face in her hands.
“And now look at me… Getting your best friend Akumatized because of my stupid actions…”
Nathaniel tentatively reached a hand out like he desperately wanted to touch her, to say something, anything.
Nathaniel suddenly surged forward, wrapping his arms around his mother in a tight hug. It felt like he was a little kid again. He could just imagine it; he scratched his knee while playing with Alix and ran back to his mom crying. She'd hold him close and gently hum to him until the pleasant vibrations calmed him down.
“It's okay, mama.” Nathaniel whispered
“Its okay.”