Miracle Queen

Chapter 1

"Are you sure, Nathalie?  I don't think you should use the miraculous again for a while..."

Nathalie takes his hand.  Gabriel'd noticed she'd been doing that more.

"I'm sure, sir."  She tells him, "Besides, how long do you think we'll be able to wait?"

Gabriel lets out a long sigh and deflates back into the couch him and his assistant are snuggled up in together.

"Gabriel...your plans to get back Emilie can't wait for me to get better every time I use the miraculous."  Nathalie says as she curls impossibly further into him.

They were still in their work clothes, just slightly undone.  Nathalie's blazer was folded over the arm of the chair, and Gabriel's vest and jacket were beside it, along with his ascot.

He sighs again.

Silence looms over them.

"How are you really feeling right now, Nathalie?"  He pauses, "Please be honest, dear."

Nathalie takes a breath, "Exhausted, but it's...manageable."  She stops, then starts again, "I feel better than I did this morning..."

"Is that why you were so late to work?"  Gabriel asks, and she curls into an even smaller ball.

"Sorry..."

Gabriel rubs her shoulder with his hand, which was already resting there, "Nathalie, I don't care if you're late to work—if you feel like you need to rest, you always can."  He tells her, "I need you to get better, and you need you to get better."

Nathalie moves her head off of his shoulder just enough to look at his face, "You're akumatizing Chloè tomorrow."  Nathalie says with the most dead serious face.  "Now.  Do you want to continue looking for a movie?"  She asks with soft smile, a sparkle in her eyes.

Gabriel can tell she just wants to change the subject, so he nods and starts going through all of the streaming platforms he has.