𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐁𝐲 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 (𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐡)

chapter 8

"Here," Nathalie said, handing Gabriel a mug with coffee. On it were the words "World's Greatest Dad". It was an old birthday gift from Gorilla. The two had changed out of their formal attire and sat in the dark watching the midnight news. A ticking clock and the voice of Nadja Chamack were the only sounds filling the room.

This just in: Ladybug and Chat Noir have just defeated another akumatized villain!
Even this ferocious foe was not enough to stop our valiant masked heroes! Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir for saving Paris once again. This is Nadja Chamack signing off, and remember, don't be bemused, it's just the news!"

Gabriel hadn't akumatized anyone earlier in the day, so after he got home he decided he'd akumatize someone since it had been too peaceful lately. Unsurprisingly, his akuma had been defeated once more.

Nathalie didn't even attempt to encourage Gabriel as she knew he would just focus on the negative anyways. He was always too hard on himself.

"I was thinking..." Gabriel started, "if I really want to defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir I need to put more effort into it." His voice was low so that only Nathalie could hear him. "I need to spend a lot more of my time focusing on being Hawkmoth. Adrien is getting older, so I can have him step up in his responsibility with the brand. Of course I'll continue working and designing, but I'll just take a bit of a step back."

"Are you sure?" Nathalie said, "I just don't want you to spend too much time worrying about the miraculous. If you spend more time being Hawkmoth, wouldn't that put more stress on you?"

"No Nathalie, I'll be alright."

"Know that I'll always be there to help you as Mayura... if you don't have me working, that is."

"About that... I don't want you using the peacock miraculous right now." Gabriel said, pausing.

Nathalie was surprised that he said that. Was her help not good enough? Did he have someone better in mind? Nathalie was almost back at a hundred percent and she was nowhere near as sick as she formerly was. She would show old symptoms every now and then, but nothing that would keep her from being Mayura now. She couldn't understand his reasoning behind the decision.

"Why is that?" She responded, worried.

"Because I worked fine alone. I'll be stronger as Shadowmoth anyway. This will allow you to focus on your job more since I'll be taking a step back. Don't worry about being Mayura."

Nathalie was upset with his cold response. Maybe Mayura was useless to him after all. Maybe I was just holding him back from achieving greater things, she thought.
Nathalie just nodded in response, turning back to look at the tv.

"Speaking of Adrien, I'm going to go speak to him," Gabriel said, "If he's still awake I'll tell him about his increased role in being an ambassador of this brand."

Gabriel walked off and Nathalie sighed, sinking into the couch. She was very tired after all the events of the long and hectic day.

Gabriel's POV

The tall man walked up the stairs to his son's room. As he walked, he reflected on his conversation with Nathalie.

I shouldn't have said it to her like that. She probably thinks I don't want her around, he thought. In reality though, Gabriel wouldn't know what to do with himself if it wasn't for Nathalie's company. His true intention behind taking back the peacock miraculous was to protect her. He didn't want her to get hurt going up against such strong foes. He had already seen her hurt before after using the previously broken miraculous, and he didn't want to see her like that again. He began to care about her more and more each day, and he wanted to put her safety over his. He just didn't know how to talk to her. It seemed like he was constantly pushing away the people closest to him because of his words, or lack thereof. Ever since Emilie died he had a cold demeanor and didn't interact well with anyone. How could I ever get closer to Nathalie if I keep hurting her, he thought.

As he approached Adrien's room he heard a loud thud, followed by a flashing light that he could see in the dark hall. He sped up his pace as he went to investigate.

"Adrien?! Are you alright?" He said, walking up to the doorframe.

The room was completely dark, but as he looked up he noticed that one of the window panels was open.

"I'm right here, father." The blonde-haired boy said, turning on a standing lamp to illuminate the room. "And yeah, I'm okay, why?"

"For one you should be sleeping...not making such a racket"

"Yeah, I'm heading to bed now."

"What was all that noise anyway?"

"I was just doing a new trick on the skateboard ramp."

"Then why is the window open?" Gabriel's tone became stern.

"Father, I..."

"No, don't even fix your mouth to lie to me." Gabriel walked closer to Adrien and looked down at him. "You shouldn't be going anywhere without my permission!" He said, raising his voice. "I allow you to go to school and spend time with those friends of yours, and now you're sneaking out of my house at midnight doing god knows what! You don't understand that I'm trying to do what's best for you!" Gabriel's face was red with anger as he barked at him.

"What's best for me? You don't even know me!" Adrien retorted with newfound courage. "You have all these stupid rules that you expect me to follow regardless of how I feel! You don't care about how anyone feels because you're so selfish! Just because mom died doesn't give you an excuse to act like a dick all the time!"

Adrien paused, taking in the weight of his words. Gabriel just stared at him, frozen. He didn't even know how to react. The whole situation was just too overwhelming. Gabriel began to respond, but was cut off by Adrien.

"I don't even want to know what you have to say." Adrien said in anguish. His voice wasn't angry now, but it held deep sadness. It reminded Gabriel of his conversation on the way to the house with Nathalie just hours before.

Adrien ran out of the room and Gabriel just slid to the ground and sat there with his head against the wall.