Work Text:
It was coming along great. Nathaniel set his pencil down and checked the sketch of the new character from a few angles. He checked the details of the clothing against the texture references he had next to him, and double checking that the motif was still woven into the design in some way. The new antagonist for their next comic was reaching the final design stages, and he was so excited to show it to Marc.
He heard a creak in the floor and his hand instinctly reached for a large folder on his desk. It was only when it was halfway lifted up that he remembered that he didn't have to hide this now.
He was allowed to work on his comics at home.
There was a knock on his door, and almost immediately after the door started opening.
"Nathaniel? Are you busy?"
"No, I can put this down." Nathaniel turned around in his chair as Shirel stepped inside.
She stayed at the door, looking over his desk. Her expression was different than usual; not the scrutinising stare she always had. It was like she was actively trying to change what her face was showing.
"I finished my history assignment first, and I did most of my maths homework with the study group," Nathaniel reached over to show the homework he had completed prior to starting on the character sketches. He was still used to justifying his work to her.
"Will you be finishing the rest of the worksheets when Marc comes over tomorrow?"
"Yes. That's the first thing we're doing."
"Good. I'm... I'm glad."
Her eyes still continued to flick over the various resources spread over Nathaniel's desk. Her mask slipped as her breath came out in a quick exhale; a stifled sigh.
The concern must have shown on Nathaniel's face, because immediately his mother shook her head.
"I'm not upset. Not about this. I... I'm learning to support all your passions," she spoke in a very measured voice. There was a pause, and Shirel crossed the room to sit down at the foot of Nathaniel's bed.
"I'm worried that not everyone else will support you the same way."
That was the second time he'd heard his mother speaking in such a vulnerable way, since that apology. He got up from his chair to sit down on his bed beside his mother.
"My first job was mechanical drafting. I was given rough sketches and blueprints to copy, and I refined them. With precision, with speed, fixing any errors they made. It was work I could do and it paid well."
Her eyes closed and she gripped something in her hand. Likely the magical charm that Ladybug had given her.
"I wanted more than that. I wanted to create and design. So I did. And I was told that... I wasn't meant for it."
"Mom..."
He'd never heard that about her. For all his life, Nathaniel had this invincible mother who was revered in her industry. He placed his hand over his mother's, feeling the tension in her closed fist.
"They didn't give me a shred of respect. Perhaps it was because I was new, or because I was the only woman in that office," she spoke bitterly, remembering everything that she experienced years ago.
"No matter what their reason, it took me years before I found someone who took me and my designs seriously."
Shirel looked out the window at the view of the city. Her eyes closed with another sigh, before lowering to settle on her son again.
"That's why I pushed you the way I did. I know how unforgiving it can be working in a creative field. I wanted you to have some form of foundation, a base career you could fall back on if you needed it."
She opened her hand, looking down at the charm she had barely put down since the day she was enthralled by the new supervillain in Paris.
"It didn't occur to me that I had become like my critics back then. By wanting you to be realistic, I had become a detractor."
Nathaniel leaned into his mother's side. It was becoming clearer where all her harshness about his comics had come from. Shirel in turn moved to wrap her arms around her son.
"You put your heart into your work. And you're stubborn enough to keep trying even when people say you shouldn't. You do have what it takes to succeed. But I didn't believe in you. And I'm sorry."
"Mom... you already made things right." Nathaniel stood up from the hug, going to collect the copy of Sun-Heart and Rain-Piercer from his desk.
"There are a lot of things we could have done better. I don't want to keep looking back on it. I want to think about how to make things better now."
Shirel got back on her feet with a small smirk.
"You never used to be excited about the future."
"Maybe Marc's a good influence on me after all."
There was a short chuckle from his mother.
"Speaking of the future, I'm attending a seminar in a few weeks. It's about advancements in 3D modelling and projection software for use in architecture. I know normally I would force you to attend with me, but this time it's just an invitation. You don't have to come if you don't want to."
She smiled, fully expecting to be going alone to the talk that evening.
"Thanks, mom. I think I would like to go to that." Nathaniel was looking over at his desk, which made him miss the surprise on his mother's face.
"It would be useful for scene planning, and getting references for buildings easily."
Looking back to his mother, he was delighted to see a knowing smile on her face.
"Of course. You do put a lot of care in your work." Her eyes were on the comic in his hands as she said that, but returned to his face after that.
"I'll let you get back to it. Dinner will be in an hour."
"Okay. I love you, mom."
"I love you too, Nathaniel."
Shirel left the room and softly closed the door, and Nathaniel sat back down in his chair, opening the comic that had allowed the two to find some common ground and accept each other.