Unbroken

Chapter 5

Gabriel drummed his fingers on his desk. Last weeks akuma had again been a dismal failure. Gabriel rubbed his temples trying to ease the throbbing. He could feel another migraine coming on. He'd been plagued by them all week, confining himself between his bedroom and home office. They had been coming more frequently, especially when he used the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous together. Nooroo had warned him against prolonged use of combining the miraculous, but like a gambler, he believed the next time, the next akuma, the next hit would be the one to do it.

If Gabriel was being honest, he was feeling discontented with his Hawk Moth activities. His last akuma victim was a disgruntled scientist. Scientists always made for risky akumas, especially with his enhanced powers, and Gabriel didn't pretend to understand the complex chemical compounds they concocted, but they were usually quite ingenious in their approach to getting the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous. Alas, it appeared Ladybug's little pet cat was himself more intelligent than Gabriel had given him credit for, solving the equation and disarming the akuma. It was interesting to watch really, not that Gabriel liked admitting that. Maybe he was just losing his touch.

Gabriel also wasn't stupid. Something had changed in the dynamic of the two heroes, and he had noticed it evolve over the last few months, but most especially over the last few weeks. Ladybug was still very much in charge, but she gave Chat Noir a lot more input. They also seemed to have been watching out for each other more. There was something else though, a tenderness between them. It was disarming, but it could also be useful. Gabriel was under no doubt that there was a less than professional relationship going on between those two, although nothing had been seen or reported publicly. He could feel the emotions though at every akuma fight. It was almost palpable in the air around them. Nooroo had told him that there was an unbreakable bond between the Ladybug and Black Cat. Gabriel needed a way to use that to his advantage, to separate the two somehow. He had already managed to make Ladybug hesitant to use other heroes so it was easier in a way to deal with just the two of them, but on the flip side it had made them closer and stronger together.

Standing up he opened the safe behind Emilie's portrait, placing the peacock miraculous back inside. He needed a break to rethink his strategy. Nathalie had surrendered the peacock Miraculous over two years ago now. Although he had fixed the miraculous, Nathalie had continued to suffer bouts of residual illness brought on from using it when it was broken. It was less frequent now, but made transforming risky. Out of control sentimonsters was always a risk, and one Nathalie wasn't willing to take, not any more. Maybe the crazy peacock kwami's overly sensitive nature had rubbed off on her, but things were not what they used to be. He had briefly considered giving the Peacock miraculous to Lila Rossi, but soon determined that would be a bad idea. The girl was far too unpredictable. No, he needed to find a different use for her.

He sat back into his desk chair. All he had wanted was for Adrien to marry that damn Tsurugi girl so he could push a merger. Was that really so difficult to ask? Why couldn't Adrien just do as he was told! With Adrien out of Paris it would be one less thing Gabriel would have to think about. On top of that Gabriel again had Amelie breathing down his neck wanting an inquiry into Emilie's disappearance. He still couldn't fathom why Emilie had left her share of the company to her sister and not her own son, but he would be damned he let Amelie's brat Félix get his teeth into his company. He was going to get this merger.

Deep in thought, he missed the fact that Nathalie had entered the room until he heard her cough. "I have the proofs from the last photoshoot and Miss Rossi lodged another complaint." Nathalie stated, handing the proofs over to her boss. Gabriel stood up and took the folder, pacing the room as he flicked through the pictures. He was pleased with the results. Eloise had been a great acquisition and Adrien seemed to have gotten along with her well enough. Lila was always on point, despite throwing another tantrum.