Another Chance

8

“Gabriel, come quick. There’s been an accident.” Even over the phone, he could tell that her breathing was difficult. Ragged.  

His grip on his phone tightened, now he was finding it difficult to breathe too. “Nathalie, what happened?”
“Bastien...” Then Nathalie stopped talking, her words swallowed by wheezing, and his mind was flooded with images of losing her and Bastien so soon after he’d found them.

After hearing people rumbling far away someone else took over her phone and said, “Are you her husband?”

“No, we’re not married, what’s happened to her and my son?”

“Oh, at least you’re the boy’s father. It looks like he broke his arm, we’re going to do an x-ray now.”

“What about Nathalie?”

“I think she’s having a panic attack.”

“She has asthma.”

“Good to know. We have to go now, sir.”
----

“Hi, I’m here for Nathalie and Bastien Sancoeur.”

“You’re family?”

“Yes.” He wasn’t lying, he was Bastien’s family at least.

“They’re in the A&E.

---

“Nathalie.” Gabriel was finally able to breathe again now that he saw her. Are you alright? What happened?”

“I don’t know exactly.” She said ignoring his first question completely. “Bastien was watching TV and I went to the bathroom. The next thing I hear is glass breaking and him crying. When I got to the kitchen he was on the floor and the cookie jar was broken, so I think he tried to grab it and fell with it from the counter.”

“And how is he?”

“He was in a lot of pain. He was medicated for that, but he appears to have broken his arm. They sent him to x-ray and soon we’ll know. I’m sorry I panicked. I shouldn’t have called you like that. I’m sorry I freaked you out.”

“No, no. It’s ok. How are you?

“I panicked. I…I’m sorry to give you a fright like that.” She put her head in her hands and said, “God you must think I’m so stupid. Getting you down here to just sit in A&E with me, when he’s fine.”

“Nathalie,” he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she rested her head against him, “don’t be silly. I’m glad you called me. He’s my son too. I should be here for this.”

“But,” she said, “it was all over nothing. I should be able to handle this myself. I did manage this type of thing myself when it was Adrien.”

“That’s because I was a terrible father to Adrien. I don’t want to be for Bastien. I want to do better. I should be here for this type of thing.”

They sat there, waiting in silence, one leaning on the other until someone called “Bastien Sancoeur’s parents.” And they both immediately got up.

“How is he?” Nathalie asked followed by Gabriel wanting to know “Where’s my son?”

“One question at a time, Mr. Sancoeur. Your son is fine. A nurse is bringing him here. He broke his arm, but the fracture is only partial, so we won’t need surgery or a cast, a sling will suffice. This is his prescription.” he said, giving it to Gabriel. “As soon as he comes through the door you can take him home.”

As soon as the doctor left, a nurse came in holding Bastien’s right hand. His left arm was secured in front of his chest by a bandage. Nathalie immediately ran to him and placed her hands over both sides of his face.

“Are you ok, honey? Does your arm hurt?”

“No.”

“Ok, let’s go home.” And to the nurse, “Thank you.”

“Is he asleep?” Gabriel asked.

“Yes. He was tired.” Nathalie, also looking tired, sank on the sofa. “I’m sorry to have frightened you.”

“Nathalie,” said Gabriel as he closed their distance and hugged her by the shoulders. She leaned on him, accepting his support, “You don’t have to keep saying that. I want to be here. It would’ve bothered me if you hadn’t called.”

She gave him a small smile and a “Thank you. It’s good not to be alone anymore.”

He smiled too and then calmly said, “Nathalie, I want Bastien to be an Agreste.”

She was silent for a minute and Gabriel thought she might have not heard him but then she switched to her side and looked up to him. Her head was still on his chest when she spoke, “I thought you might want that. What did  you tell them in the hospital to get them to let you in?”

“Just that I was the father. They didn’t ask for any identification.”

“We should file a complaint.”

He could tell she was just saying it for the sake of it, so he answered, “we should.”

After a brief pause, “Nathalie?”

“Hum?”

“Would you think I’m crazy if I asked you to marry me?”

That made her sit up, her facial expression making it clear out that she did indeed consider him crazy. “Why would you even suggest that?”

“Well,” he exhaled, “I’ve been thinking about this whole situation, and I’d like you to be taken care of in case something happened to me. And, also, it would make it easier for me to make decisions in your stead in case something happened to you. And I suppose it would make it easier with custody issues as well and with the change of Bastien’s name. I don’t know exactly how this would work. I’ll put my lawyers on this particular matter as soon as you give me the green light.”

Now it was her turn to exhale and smile sadly.

“Gabriel, as I told you before, I don’t need your money. I guess it was too much to hope for that we’d settled that matter on your first day here. It’s enough for me that if something should happen to me, you’d get Bastien’s custody. But since we’re already on this topic, I’d like to talk to you about the new house.”

“What about it?”

“I’d like to participate in its acquisition. Financially.”

“But that’s ridiculous, you know I don’t need your help in this, and you’ve already agreed to move out of your home to accommodate me in your life, it’s not fair that you also have to pay for it.”

“I don’t feel comfortable with you paying for my living arrangements, Gabriel. I’d feel as if I was taking advantage of you.”

“If anything, it’s the other way around, Nathalie. Consider this as the three years of child support I that I never paid.”

“You didn’t even...” but Gabriel abruptly interrupted her by saying “Oh, please, you’re just being stubborn. You know I’m right!”

The frown on her forehead was slowly undoing itself along with the pressure on her lips until she finally said, “you are. Ok, you can buy the house.”

“Good.” He said pulling her back to him, “and you get to pick the house since you’re the one being dislodged.”

“I’ll pick a few and you help me decide on each one, ok?

“Ok.”


Emilie was right about him. He was a wimp that couldn’t stop whining if caught something as simple as the flu. Nathalie had stood tall and proud through all her magical illness while still managing to be his rock and Bastien went on with his life playing as if he didn’t have a fissured arm. Even discounting the pain because of the painkillers, the doctor had prescribed, his son remained a case for further scientific investigation.


Gabriel raised his index finger to shut Andrea up before answering his phone.

“Hi, Gabriel. It’s me.” Nathalie said.

“I know.” He said as a gentle smile formed on his face.

“So, I’m sorry I forgot to ask you this the last time you were here. I wanted to know how’s your schedule for this evening?”

“Why, do you need me to do anything?” Andrea was already looking at him impatiently.

“Yes, but only if you’re not too busy at 4 pm.”

“Just a minute, Nathalie.” Then he asked his assistant, “What am I  doing at 4 this afternoon?”

“Just one meeting at 4:30, sir. But it’s not urgent.”

“Transfer it to tomorrow, then. Preferably in the morning.”

“Of course, sir.”

Putting his phone to his ear again he said, “I’m free.”

“Can you take Bastien to his swimming class today then? I would, since I forgot to ask you, but things at work are a little frantic. Could you take him?”

“Of course. I  volunteered for this Nathalie. This is my job now too.”

He heard the smile in her voice when she said “Ok. Don’t forget your swimming costume. You’ll need to go in with him.”

“W-what?”

“Can’t go back now, daddy.” Oh, now was that a giggle?
“I don’t remember you being so mean, Nathalie.” Then he reconsidered and, “Not to me at least.”

“That’s because you paid my salary, sir.”

“Sir?”

“I was suddenly nostalgic.”

“I missed when you left, but I much prefer the way things are now.”

Then he heard an “Aham” from the other side of his desk coming from a half-amused half annoyed assistant so, he cut the talk short.

“I have to go but don’t worry. I’ll be there.” And he hung up.

“You’ve been happier since Miss Sancoeur came back to your life, sir.”

Surprisingly, he wasn’t bothered by her comment and that small smile never left the corner of his mouth.


The moment they put their feet on the street Gabriel could tell Bastien felt something was different. A feeling he could recognize because too because it was the same thing he was experiencing. It was new and exciting to be out together just the two of them. No Nathalie around. Just him and his son.


He was surprised to find Dion at the pool and even more so when he discovered that apparently, he was the instructor. Then he got annoyed because Bastien had relinquished his hand and went running to the man. But then he heard his son’s  high-pitched voice say, “Hey, Uncle Dion. I came with my dad! Can you believe it?!”

“No, I can’t believe it!” Dion’s tone is playful with Bastien, but Gabriel, ass a busInèssman and a former super-villain whose major weapon was to recognize and manipulate the emotions of others, could tell that his own warInèss of the man was mutual.

“Hello, Dion.” Said Gabriel nodding, but it seemed that Dion didn't know how to take a hint and offered him a hand instead of nodding back, and Gabriel had no other option but to take it.

“Hello, Gabriel. The class is about to start.”


The water felt so refreshing and it was obvious that his son was having fun with him. Dion had just made them play games on the stairs of the pool until the children felt safe to go to their parents who should be just a little far away from the steps.

It was a whole new kind of pride he felt discovering that despite the brief time they’d known each other, Bastien trusted him implicitly. His son knew he wasn’t going to let him drown. He’d let Gabriel take him to the deepest part of the pool and that he felt safe in his father’s arms both warmed his heart and made him regret that he had forsaken these moments with Adrien in favor of first work and then Hawkmoth.

“Are you two coming out?” And a flash momentarily stunned him.

---

Nathalie had been seated on an orange plastic chair by the wall. She’d arrived while the lesson was still going and had decided to wait and watch them playing water games. Gabriel was four years older than when she’d resigned and somehow, right at this moment, he managed to look ten years younger. It’s been so long since she’d seen him so relaxed and playful. Actually, she didn’t think she’d ever seen him like this.

She saw that everyone minus Gabriel and Bastien was leaving the pool. It looked like, Bastien was having a lot of fun now that he’d apparently found an accomplice in disobeying her and going to the deepest half of the pool. She took her phone out and went to the border near where they were and said, “Are you two coming out?”

When they turned to face her, she took a picture and heard a mild complaint coming from her...the father of her child. She looked at the screen and they were both looking a little startled. “You’re not looking nice in this one. Smile.”

It was hard not to stare at him. All of him. And if she could be completely honest with herself (what was definitely a terrible idea right now) she was forcing her eyes away of some very particular places. Gabriel was wearing nothing more than striped red and white trunks with Gabriel’s logo on it.

She had already met his arms at the beach, thank you very much, but then they’ve had Adrien to keep Bastien busy so neither parent had had to actually display their figures in bathing suits. Now she could see he was lanky but muscular though not overly so. His chest and abdomen were both genuinely nice and she really liked his back and broad shoulders.

She was lucky Bastien came running to her and distracted her from Gabriel just long enough for her brain to start functioning again and for her to recompose herself. She didn1t need to look like a stupid teenager. She had her dignity to keep. She was a woman in her forties for goodness’ sake. She should be able to keep a hold of herself in the presence of a handsome man. She had worked for years in the fashion industry. She’d been used to being around models far more handsome than Gabriel and it had never been a problem before.

Yes. She could do this.

She. Could.

She…

“Nathalie.” She heard a muffled voice saying. “Nathalie.” A hand was wavering in front of her eyes. Oh, damn it!

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just spaced out. Got distracted with something.”

She saw Gabriel looking in the direction she’s been blankly staring. Coincidentally there was also a man in that exact spot. “Oh, I’m sorry. Do you know him?”

“No. No. I wasn’t looking at him. He was just there. I don’t even know him.” She felt the need to defend herself and then felt self-conscious about that need and oh, my gosh! She had become Marinette Dupain Cheng! And now she knew she must be red from her neck up.

If mortification could kill a person, she’d have overdosed by now. She had to save what was left of her dignity.

“So, how was your first day, Bas?”

Her son looked up at her in exasperation. “I just told you!”

She half smiled, knelt in front of her son, and said, “I’m sorry, baby. Mommy was distracted. So, what was the best part of your class?”

“Everything. And mom, dad took me to the adults' side!”

“He did, didn’t he? And were you afraid this time?”

“No. Because daddy is so big, I knew he wouldn’t let me drown.”

She looked up at Gabriel that had a seemingly permanent smile pasted to his face if the proud look was anything to go by, making it impossible for her not to smile back. But then the awareness that he was still standing there wearing so little hit again, making it impossible for her to concentrate so, she decided to look to the other side, just to see another mom staring at him.

Involuntarily, she narrowed her eyes.

Nathalie couldn’t fault the woman though. Gabriel wasn’t a man who you just missed. He was ridiculously tall and who in their right mind wore red and white striped trunks and looked good in them?

So, Nathalie was multitasking being a mom, trying to look at Gabriel’s face and only his face and dealing with a jealousy crisis, when Dion chose that precise moment to show up and help her focus elsewhere. She stood up and stepped forward to greet her friend only to be followed by Gabriel mirroring her movements and settling one arm on her waist.

What went through her head just then was completely surreal, because her internal monologue started to behave like the narrator of a movie, talking to its viewers saying, “Now, dear audience, what could Nathalie do in this situation besides hug him back and let the freshness of his still wet body cool her off?” Because, of course, that was the most sensible course of action, wasn’t it?

Since no living soul from the audience disagreed, she let her arm snake around his back and let her hand platonically rest on his hips just as Bastien took Gabriel’s hand.

Nathalie wasn’t very sure how it happened but now she and Gabriel had dinner tomorrow with Dion and Inès.


That night Bastien was out like a light. He bathed, ate, brushed his teeth, and was fast asleep before the “once upon a time” line was finished.


She had just finished dressing in comfortable clothes when she heard Gabriel call her name.

“I’m in my room.”

When he opened her door, he also had bathed, changed, and now smelled like her body wash. He’d d brought his own brand of shampoo though. Overall, an incredibly good combination if her biased brain could say so.

Suddenly something switched inside her. Her heart pounded harder and faster, her mouth was drier, and she was having difficulty saying if she was blinking more or not blinking at all. All she knew was that what she did say after she saw him come out of the bathroom was a completely different thing from what she was intending to.

“I want to marry you.”

“W-What?”

Suddenly aware that her brain had bypassed all the trenches and fortifications she had carefully built she tried to justify herself without giving out too much. “I- hum, I’ve been thinking, and everything you said the other day makes sense. I mean, we should still talk about it…”

Gabriel must be thinking now that it’s a good thing that she doesn’t work for him anymore if her brain is impaired like this.

The fact was, Gabriel had not proposed a real marriage to her. He’d mentioned the fact that they had a son together, and that it would be easier to avert legal problems with decision-making regarding each other’s health, money, inheritance, etc. They weren’t in a relationship. They weren’t lovers. They just had a son together. That’s why Gabriel came today, to see Bastien. That’s why he comes every day.

With that in mind, she said, “There are some aspects of it that we should discuss though.”

Gabriel seemed to take her seriously, “Such as?”

“Well, I know we’re not together and that this is a merely convenient arrangement for us but…”

“But?”

“There’s still the fact that you might meet someone down  the line and Gabriel, I don’t want to be the last one to know.”

He sat by her side and took her face in his hands, “Nathalie, I would never cheat on you. I know this isn’t what you wanted, but you know I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep. I’d never ask you this if I thought we couldn’t pull it off.” Then something in his face changed as he added, “I mean, if you wanted to end it and divorce me, I won’t be difficult, I promise. I won’t stand in the way of true love if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Nathalie mentally facepalmed. She didn’t know if she should be angry or relieved by his obliviousness.

“No, no. I’m not worried about that. I’m not looking for that right now. Even if you weren’t here now, I’d still have Bastien, and he's my main concern now. So, a relationship is the last thing in my mind at the moment.” For someone concerned for her wellbeing and about making a fake marriage work, it didn’t seem that her response had assuaged his worries in the slightest and that made her think “Why are you looking at me like that? Are you having second thoughts?” She asked trying to fake nonchalance. “Do you think we shouldn’t anymore?”

“No. I’m just worried I’m robbing you of more than I already have.” He confessed as he took her hand and kept caressing the back of it with his thumb.

“You’re not robbing me of anything. I don’t think you ever did.”

He gave her a faint smile and said, “You’ve always been too forgiving for your own good.”

“I’m not saying we didn’t have our problems because we obviously did but…”

“I was our problem, Nathalie. I had a lot of time to reflect on everything I did and what my life was like, but now I’m   able to acknowledge that without being caught in a loop of guilt.”

She turned the hand he was holding so she could grasp it.

“I’m tired. Are you going to sleep here?” She said a little tired.

“It is late, but I can go home if you want some more time to digest this.”

“That’s not what I asked. I meant, are you going to sleep here?” she repeated her question but this time she padded the mattress. They had slept together before countless times. First when she was ill, then here in Toulouse when he’d accidentally fallen asleep on her bed or she had likewise fallen in his sofa bed, but tonight it felt different. It was the first time she was openly inviting him to her bed. To sleep. She reminded herself.

His lack of response got her worried though. “You don’t have to. It’s just that…”

“No, it’s ok. I want to, It’s just…it’s sinking in.”

“Yes. It is.”

She got up and went to the bathroom to change into a pair of clean pajamas. When she got back to the room, she saw he too had changed into the PJs she’d kept for him in the corner of one of her drawers. She turned the lights off and went to her side of the bed while he went to the other. Both just lay there on their backs looking at the ceiling until Nathalie broke the silence.

“Do you think we should share a room?”

“What?” He sounded surprised.

“I’m sorry.” She turned her head to face him. “I know this isn’t going to be a real marriage but, I was thinking if Bastien should see his parents sleeping apart. He should have a model of a happy marriage at home, shouldn’t he? Plus, it would be hard to explain to a three-year-old what a marriage of convenience is.”

She heard him exhale heavily and, “I think we should.”

“You do?”

“Aham.”

After another awkward moment of both laying on the bed appreciating the flatness of the ceiling Nathalie looked at Gabriel in the dark again and whispered, “I love you, you know?”

“I know.” He whispered back. Then he took her hand again and turned to her side to face her “And I love you too. That’s why I know we can do this.”

“Alright, then.” She turned and mirrored his position, clasping his hand between both of hers and feeling he do the same. “Good night.”


“When are we going to tell people?”

“Perhaps we have some more things figured out first.”

“Such as?”

“Such as what kind of wedding do you want to have? Am I going to move in here or are you going to go back to Paris?”

“You know I don’t want to go back but…if it would make it easier on you maybe we should consider it.”

“No. You were right about keeping Bastien away from the spotlight. I was thinking that perhaps I should go back to working mostly from home. I could hire an assistant that lived here.”

“I don’t want a stranger in our house. They could find out the nature of our marriage and this could turn into a scandal.” She considered, “Maybe I could assist you?”

He smirked. “It would be like old times.”

She smiled back. “So, now we need an even bigger house.”

“I don’t want a house as big as the mansion though. If we’re aiming toward discretion, it should be something less extravagant. Cozier.”

“Agreed.”

He smiled at her again as he said, “See, we can do this.”


“Gabriel, what are we going to tell Adrien? We’re jumping from being friends to being a married couple with none of the usual things in between. He’ll be suspicious something isn’t right. I don’t want to lie or hide things from him but…”

“I understand…I hadn’t mentioned it but I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. Everything doesn’t have to be a lie. We could spend time together. We could go out. Have dates.”

“We could.” And a small smile appeared on her lips. “I’d like that.”

He smiled back, realizing that Nathalie was involuntarily giving him a chance to properly court her. To do things right. “You never told me what kind of wedding you want?”

He could tell that she had thought about it because she was too quick to answer. “Well, even if I was an extravagant person, I’d still choose something small and discreet, since we’re trying not to warn the press.”

“Ok.” Then after a moment, he decided to ask, “Do you want to go somewhere afterward?” It was all or nothing now.

“What? You mean a honeymoon?” Pop-eyed.

Her shock told him that he might be going a little too fast too soon. “Well, not a honeymoon per se but we could still go somewhere nice. You’re already agreeing to marry me. I don’t want to rob you of anything else in your life. I want this to be perfect for you, Nathalie.”

She clasped the hand he kept on his thigh and told him, “I told you that you aren’t robbing me of anything. If anything, you’re giving me something I probably would never have.”

“If I may say so, I’m glad that it’s me.” He spoke shyly.

“Yeah…you’ve always been demanding. Never learned how to share.” She replied.

He smiled at her quip. “So, where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know.” She answered now seriously considering the question. “It would have to be a quick trip because of Bastien, so somewhere nearby. No beaches, please. I’d rather go to a place with a good nightlife, plays, and restaurants or go to the country and visit a castle, walk around a small city and just relax.” Then, as an afterthought, she added, “We’d have to find someone to babysit.”

“We could ask Adrien to do that. He’d probably enlist Marinette to help him. Bastien would be in good hands”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to hide this from Bastien for a long time. Even a small wedding is still a lot of work. He could overhear something and tell Adrien in one of their calls.”

He could feel his body tense and his jaw clench. His head was suddenly heavy. “Ok. Adrien first. No phone calls.” Her posture was stiffer too. She must be worried about what Adrien would think of them. Of her. “I think it’d be better if I break the news in Paris. I don’t know how he’ll  react.”

“Do you think he would disapprove of us? That he’d think we’ve been lying to him?”

“No. I mean…he could but that’s not going to be the problem and no, he doesn’t disapprove of us. Or of you, for that matter. You heard what he said, you and I getting married was his teenage dream second only to Ladybug. I think he’ll disapprove of me.”