Another Chance

11

“Nathalie.”

“Yes?” She absentmindedly answered. She’d been aloof since their Talk. Gabriel thought now that perhaps he’d pushed Nathalie too far. That Adrien was right, and Nathalie did indeed tend to agree with whatever idiocy his brain concocted but this time he might have pushed too far even for her.

“Which one of these do you prefer?” He lifted two paper sheets for her to see and she came out from her kitchen to see what he was referring to. 

As soon as she took both sheets from Gabriel he began explaining, “I designed both, but I can’t decide between these two.”

“These two?” She sat beside him, and he continued.

“Yes, there were others initially, but they were more like the old you. These two are more your style now.”

She pouted an “Oh,” and stared at the two designs. The first one was a 14K white gold band adorned with gorgeous leaf and flower accents with two lines of rubies a round cut ruby center stone to finish off the design. The second was a more delicate vine of metal leaves and diamond flowers with a round cut amethyst on top and butterfly made of diamonds and aquamarines on one side only, as it was flying towards the purple rock. It was truly beautiful, and the meaning wasn’t lost either.

“The first reminded me of you because it’s sturdy but still delicate.” He said as if his inspiration wasn’t already obvious, except the delicate part. And that certainly wasn’t the first word she would have ever picked to describe herself. It was interesting that he thought of her like that. “And red really is your color, and the other one…well, the other one speaks for itself.”

“I…she seemed mesmerized. Gabriel knew that none of the rings enclosed exactly who she was, but he had tried to make so that each one of them captured an aspect of Nathalie that he admired. A nuance of her personality. Of her history. Their history. Perhaps the love he knew she once felt for him and that he was set bringing back to the surface again.

“They both symbolize the aspects of you that I cherish the most.” He offered, trying to bring her back from the fog she seemed lost in.

“They’re both lovely, Gabriel.” Was that a glint in her eye?

“So, which one do you prefer?” He nervously asked.

“I…I don’t know. They’re both pieces of art. I think…the blue butterfly is more delicate and along with the amethyst, it symbolizes us? Maybe tells our story better?”

“I agree. No more dark butterflies, Nathalie. Just a blue one.” Gabriel said as he changed his position to kneel in front of her, took the chosen ring from his pocket, and said, “Nathalie Sancoeur, would you grant me the honor of becoming my wife?”

She stared down at him. “Gabriel, what are you doing?”

“Asking you to marry me properly. I don’t think that asking you after our son broke his arm was very romantic and I told you already; I don’t want to rob you of anything more in life.”

“Oh, Gabriel.” And her eyes were truly shining now.

“So…I’m not that young, Nathalie. My knees will kill me if you don’t answer soon.” But he was just being playful to make her smile. He could wait on his knees for as long as she needed.

“Yes. You know I will.” She gave him her right hand and he gently took it to slid the blue butterfly to its temporary   home. In two more days, they’d be husband and wife.

He was frozen in place. The proposal had been successful, but it wasn’t perfect yet. He had kissed Nathalie the night before, and he didn’t want that one time to be their only time. He wanted to kiss her whenever. He wanted to kiss her now. No proposal was complete without a kiss.

“I’m going to…” He said, extending his hand to place his palm on her cheek and then nervously taking it back. “May I?”

“You may.” It came out like a whisper. She seemed unsure. Perhaps she was making an effort to be comfortable with his attention. He felt like an idiot. But he kissed her anyway. Just briefly. Then he gave her a soft smile and got to his feet.

“I... Well, I didn’t know which ring you’d choose, so, I told them to make both.” he reached in his pocket and pulled out the other ring box, “This one will have to be meant as a wedding gift then.”

“Gabriel. You don’t have to keep giving me things. I told you already that you’re not robbing me of anything. You never pressured me to marry you. It was my decision, and I won’t go back on it.”

“It’s not that, Nathalie.” Of course, it was, and Gabriel hoped Nathalie wouldn’t see the lie in his words because they weren’t completely false either. “It’s only what you deserve. I mean, who else would put up with me?” he smirked showed her the ruby leaf ring.

She pulled his hand closer to make it easy to appreciate the ring. She took it from his hand and slid it on her middle finger, besides the butterfly, and studied both. “The red one really is more like me. But the purple and blue one represents us better. I think I made a good choice.”

---

The ceremony would be held at their new home since the house had a small internal garden.  It wasn’t tiny, but it wasn’t a match for the mansion’s either. Still, the landscaping team had done a terrific job and it would be symbolic to inaugurate the house and this new stage of their lives at the same moment.

The ceremony would be at 11 am and in the name of discretion, the only people invited were the ones already in on it. Which meant only Nathalie’s friends, Adrien and Marinette, and the celebrant. Then they’d fly to Florence since Nathalie’d said she’d like to visit museums, and since Florence was more visited for its architecture than fashion, hopefully, they could freely roam around the city just as they did in Toulouse.

The ceremony would be very simple and quick, but still beautiful because Nathalie had chosen several purple and blue orchids. It was clear though that she favored the Phalaenopsis, Dendrobiums, and Cattleyas, as he found some of those ornamenting the living room and their bedroom.

Gabriel thought orchids reflected Nathalie’s personality quite well, as they were plants that thrived with so little. They could endure lengthy periods of dryness and the lack of direct sunlight. Still, their leaves were thick and soft had water inside. Just like Nathalie. Resilient, and beautiful.

She had told him she’d feel ridiculous in white. That she’d prefer to forsake a wedding dress for a pearl or sand suit, which Gabriel thought was absurd. This could be a marriage of convenience but he still loved her and he still was a designer. No bride of his was going to wear anything less than a handmade original Gabriel. He’d let her have full reign of everything else, but this.

And she’d agreed. As long as he kept in mind that she wasn’t a young girl anymore.  That she was a mature woman with a child.

It was a good thing he had taken this matter from her hands, as now he found himself breathless. Nathalie was beautiful. The pearl dress was long and with a fluid skirt and a well-adjusted bodice. It had a cape of the same color that looked like a capelet in the front and covered Nathalie’s breast and lengthened over her arms in a flowy way. It was simple and elegant like the wind.
Gabriel was wearing a beige suit with a white shirt and a burgundy tie. And Bastien was wearing the same color scheme as his father, but with a little bow tie instead and he only wore burgundy suspenders over his shirt, which Gabriel was having a very hard time trying to accept were not going to remain the right place throughout the whole ceremony. Both men had their hair gelled and parted to the side.  

Adrien and Marinette were also wearing pastel complementary tones. He’d known he could trust Marinette’s taste and talent.

He’d been unsure about Adrien’s behavior at the ceremony and what he would say to Nathalie when they were both alone, but it seemed time (and maybe Marinette) had helped him see things with more kindness and perhaps a little faith that Gabriel would make things right this time even if his decisions could seem backward to a spectator

It meant a lot to see Adrien of all people standing beside Nathalie and delivering her to him. Adrien was so tall beside his fiancée. Nathalie’s head was just under his son’s chin and that was with her wearing heels.

“Take care of her, dad.” Then Adrien kissed her cheek and went to stand by his girlfriend.

It didn’t seem real to be standing by Nathalie’s side in the presence of their children getting married when he thought about all the time he’d spent trying to revive Emilie while sacrificing Nathalie and Adrien in the process. How he’d mistreated her and abused her love and loyalty and yet she was still here. Agreeing to bind her life forever to his. It made him want to cry. But here she was, beautiful, smiling and looking so regal wearing the dress he’d designed for her with this precise moment in mind, with her hair loosely tied in a bun with some loose strands falling around her face.

Yes, regal was a good way to describe her. She held herself with her chin up and the dignity of a queen.

Out of the blue, he realized that they’d never kissed in front of anyone before.

She smiled and behaved as if they’ve been doing it for a long time anyway, probably for Inès and Dion’s benefit, but it was still nice. Their first kiss as a married couple wasn’t like their first kiss, nor even like the one he’d given her when he gave her the ring, but it’d been a good kiss. He would have other chances to do better.

Then the celebrant finally introduced them and Mr. and Mrs. Agreste and that was it. They were married.

Inès was telling Adrien and Marinette that if they needed any help with Bastien they should call them when Dion approached him and extended me his hand.

“Congratulations on your wedding, Gabriel.”

“Thank you.”

“I know I don’t have any right to tell you anything given we barely know each other, but I’m asking you to take care of her. Treat her right. She’s a great woman who’s been through a lot. She deserves to be happy.”

“And I know you have no reason to trust what I say, and I couldn’t care less about what you think about me, but you’ve been there for Nathalie when I couldn’t be, and I appreciate that. Be sure that I will take care of her. You don’t have to worry about that”

“Good. Good. Then we’re leaving so you two can enjoy your honeymoon.”

---
Something inside her had changed. Being called Mrs. Agreste by the concierge had shaken something in her. A mix of pride and nervousness. An awkwardness she couldn’t shake off. This feeling was exacerbated by Gabriel’s firm and oh so gentle guiding touch on the small of her back at almost all times.

Gabriel had never been overly touchy with her before aside from when she’d been Mayura and that alone needed several sessions of psychiatric analysis to get to the bottom of.

After their reunion and under a completely new set of rules, their new situation had allowed that they’d be more open with each other. It was very different from when she’d been afraid to let her opinions known because she was just his assistant. Even after their relationship had changed from a purely working one to friendship too, the weight of the power Gabriel had over her had always hovered above her head.

She’d had space to present arguments against his ideas, but never the strength to insist more forcefully if necessary.

That had changed when they were reunited in Toulouse. There, Nathalie had chosen to be without him and she could choose to remain that way if she wanted or deemed it necessary. She’d chosen to prioritize someone else over him in her life. She was allowed to disagree, to tell him he’d hurt her. To tell him what he did wrong and to demand of him to be or to do what Bastien needed. To set new rules and boundaries for their relationship.

In turn, Gabriel had been in a different mindset and in their time apart had found the resolution to his main issues regarding Emilie and Adrien, and therefore was also more open and oddly enough more prone to physical displays of affection.

It was an interesting change of pace. It was nice. Nathalie liked it. A lot.

Gabriel had been falling into the habit of holding her by the shoulders when they walked and standing closer than he had even before their fall out when they’d been at their best. Sometimes even keeping her closer by her waist.

She also loved to fall asleep near him. Even when they weren’t cuddling, she could still feel the heat of his body radiating under the covers, hear the soft snores he’d sometimes let out, and, eventually, the way he seemed to instinctively seek her out at night.

She’d felt warm and cherished and could almost pretend they were together in more ways than the truth. And now they were. Almost.

Their hotel suite was bigger than Nathalie’s old house and with all that space, it didn’t escape her that there was only one bed and Gabriel must have sensed her discomfort because she heard him say from behind her, “I thought you wouldn’t mind since we’re going to sleep together at home.” She heard him say.

Sleep together and at home. Those two things together in the same sentence where Gabriel and she were the subjects of it was making her brain slower and her knees weak. She was sure she was blushing just as furiously as Gabriel.

“I don’t.” They were both clearly nervous.

The way down to the hotel restaurant was made in silence and occasionally Gabriel’s hands would find her the small of her back or her waist and she’d almost berate herself for enjoying his hand right at that spot because of the way his hands covered her side so completely because both, her waist was slim as she’d tried to stay fit and because of how big his hands were.

She could tell that his touch was lighter now. More tentative. It was oddly comforting to know that he felt awkward about their new status too.

--

“Are you tired?” Gabriel asked after some time of them lounging in the living room of their suite.  After they had dinner they’d gone for a short walk on the street, which was quite pleasant and refreshing. But now with each minute, they were closer to bedtime breathing was more difficult.

“It’s ok. Humm…I think you should use the bathroom first since you’re faster than I am.”

She used her time alone to gather her courage to pick a silver semi-fitted camisole made of silk with a white lace intricate pattern applied to the V neck and the bottom hem, shorts just below her buttocks, and, of course, a matching silver robe.

Gabriel emerged from the bathroom smelling of body lotion and toothpaste. He wore just the bottoms of a black pajama set and as soon as he saw her, he asked, “would it bother you if I forwent the shirt? I don’t usually wear it at home.”

It was a white lie. And she was sure he knew she could see through it because Gabriel had always slept with a full set. She’d woken him enough times in the past to know that. Surely, he remembered that.

“No problem. We have to learn how to be comfortable around each other wearing less.” She answered, feigning nonchalance and pretending to believe him for his sake.

Gabriel was already in bed when she exited the bathroom. She was nervous. Gabriel had already seen her wearing less than was appropriate when she was ill and it had been awkward at the beginning, but he had always been a gentleman and tried not to look more than was necessary and never let his touch linger. And every time they shared a bed back then, but for the one time that had landed them in this situation, they’d been in dire predicaments, whether it was another health scare or his despair over Emilie.

Physical intimacy had never been on the table before. It was now. And Gabriel was shirtless. Waiting for her on their bed. On their wedding night.

Gabriel’s eyes never left her during her walk to their bed. She’d never felt as exposed and self-conscious as she did at the moment that she slipped her robe off to put it on a chair by the window. She had her back to him, but she could still feel his eyes caressing her skin.

She could feel the resistance of the air as she approached her side of the bed and lay beside him, very much in the same position he was, with her back on the headboard.

“Do you...” He said.

“Are we...” She spoke.

“Should we...” Him again.

Then, Gabriel softly smiled and shortened the distance between them embracing her by the shoulders. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. We don’t have to do absolutely anything if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that. I do want to but...we’ve gone from friends to a married couple with only a few kisses in between and now we’re here...”

“I understand. I have an idea. Why don’t we lie down and just talk? There are things I think I should know about my wife.” He smirked and there was definitely a twinkle in his eyes.

Gabriel was the only man that could manage to calm her and make those damn butterflies in her stomach go wilder at the same time. Damn him. She let out a small laugh at the absurdity of the situation and said, “Ok, what do you want to know?”

“How old were you when you fell in love for the first time?” He asked and settled on his side looking up at her and smiling.

She perked up at Gabriel’s curiosity about such a sweet period of her life. “I was fourteen.” And she laid on her side facing him and smiling as she remembered the sweet memories of her youth.

“And who was the lucky boy?”

“Man.”

“What!” His eyes popped out of their orbits. 

“He wasn’t a boy. He was a man.” She said smirking.

“Were you a naughty girl, Nathalie?” He asked and she laughed.

“Not at all. I was just a silly teenager in love.” The smile persisted on her lips.

“And who was he?”

“Na, na. You have to reciprocate first.” And she knew she had his interest piqued.

“I was fifteen and she was a cousin my age.”

“Did you date her?”

“Reciprocation, Nath.”

“Nath?” She said with a raised brow.

“You dislike it?”

“Quite the opposite. And you’d be the only person to call me that.” He seemed proud of that and she thought it cute, “and he was my teacher who didn’t acknowledge me beyond encouraging one of his best students. I wasn’t very attractive to boys then.” She said wrinkling her nose quite dismissive of herself.

“Well, that certainly changed. You wouldn’t believe the number of men I had to stare down since we arrived in this city.”

She raised an eyebrow, half in surprise at how naturally this confession rolled out of his mouth and half because it was the first time, he’d acknowledged that he found her pretty and that he felt territorial. She hated jealous men, but she couldn’t help but feel appreciated.

“Was she your first kiss?”

“Yes.”

“How was it?”

“Terrible. I didn’t know what to do and she did, which made me even more nervous.” Nathalie laughed at that. It was hard to imagine a teenage Gabriel and more so an insecure Gabriel.

“I was sixteen,” she volunteered, “and he was actually my boyfriend but it didn’t last. I discovered we weren’t as exclusive as he’d made me initially believe.”

“Bastard!” He looked offended on her behalf and that made Nathalie want to reward him with a soft kiss on the lips.

“What was that for?” He asked pleasantly surprised.

“You. Trying to belatedly defend young me.” She answered sweetly. “So, who and how was your first time?”

“Well, I was seventeen, she was my neighbor, her name was Charlotte and she was a redhead.”

“You don’t have much of a type, do you?”

“I would have to disagree,” he said touching her streak, “I can definitely see a pattern here since she and the last woman I’ll ever have both have red as a signature color.”

Her surprise at his declaration must have shown on her face because he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to assume. I just said we don’t have to do anything and,” she kissed him.  She kissed him and he didn’t kiss back. For a second. Then he began to kiss her back fervently and all she could think about was the taste of his lips and how intent on devouring her they were. Reciprocation indeed.

And she wondered at how his hands and those long fingers could elicit such a ferocious response from her or how his soft bites made her want to dig her nails into his back until she got distracted by the soft shorter hair on the back of his head.

Perhaps Gabriel was being serious when they’d talked a couple of days ago. Perhaps, after that conversation, he’d started expecting more from their arrangement than a platonic friendship. But he said he wasn’t bothered by the idea, so maybe it was the other way around and he thought that she expected that, and he was just fine with obliging her. After all, she’d been the one to bring the topic up and if he hadn’t found the notion of them being intimate abhorrent, perhaps he’d thought that he could get something out of it too. She certainly couldn’t fault him for that, but that didn’t mean that he had any sort of romantic feelings for her.
Well, he did love her. She was certain of that. He just wasn’t in love with her. And that made all the difference to her. Suddenly, his kisses didn’t feel the same. She turned her face slightly to the left and Gabriel took the opportunity to nip on her neck. It was an amazing feeling but, “Gabriel, can we stop, please?”

It took him a moment to respond but when he did, “What?”

“Can we stop?”

“Why? Did I do anything wrong?” He asked with a husky voice and a mix of confusion, hope, and was that disappointment she could see on his face? She forced herself not to read too much in it, because of course he’d be disappointed. But what man wouldn’t? She shouldn't read too much into it.

“No. You’re doing everything right. You’re perfect. It’s just…You, Adrien, and Bastien are the only people I’ve actually loved through my entire adult life, and I don’t want to jeopardize that.”

“And you think by making love we’d be doing that?” He was making it more difficult for her because he used the words making love while she could still feel the weight of the lower half of his body over hers since he was supporting the weight of his torso with his arms and she could still feel his breath on her face and see the desire in his eyes.

It was all too confusing for her. She didn’t know where she stood now. How this would change their relationship. They were married now and for an outsider, that could seem like a big step, but the truth was that they’d lived together before. In separate rooms, of course. She’d known everything there was to know about Gabriel. And even though it’s quite true that he was a different man now, people can’t change the core of who they are, and she knew his core. Therefore, the only difference between their current arrangement and then was that now they’d sleep on the same bed and that they’d have to pretend to be in love when in public. That in itself was hard enough to deal with while still having to hide her true feeling from him.

Now, this physical aspect of their relationship was a completely new development and she had enough to adjust without Gabriel’s proximity juggling her emotions in all directions. Could she trust him with this? Was she setting herself up for more disillusionment?

“I don’t know.” She whispered. “I’m scared that we are.” Her heart felt constricted and faster at the same time and every beat hurt.

“We don’t have to do it now. We don’t have to do it ever, if you don’t want, Nathalie.”

“Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that, but I do want to, I’m just not ready for whatever’s going to happen to us after we do this” And she knew she was ruining her honeymoon. This should be their night. This should be a celebration of their love. Was it too much to ask for someone to love and to be loved in return?

She thought that his eyes were glistening, probably with frustration because of the pent-up energy, and sadness but she felt the latter was probably on her behalf. He’d always been the worst empath the world has ever seen, but Gabriel did care for her.

“Can we at least stay like this? Cuddling?” He said softly.

“Yes. I’d like that a lot.”

Nathalie rested her head on Gabriel’s shoulder with her hands on his waist and stayed there just listening to him breathe. One of his hands softly caressed her hair. Both were trying to rein their urges back under control. She moved her leg over his, to find a better position, and her thigh accidentally touched him. Gabriel immediately flinched and tried to put more distance between them.

Oh, goodness.

Her respiration got ragged again.

She couldn’t believe what she was about to say.

She closed her eyes and, “Let me help you.”

As she extended her hand, Nathalie felt his body go rigid and all she could see, through the faint light of the lamp on his nightstand, were the muscles of Gabriel’s throat moving as he gulped.

---

Morning came and Gabriel was patiently waiting for his wife to wake up, spending his time looking at her beautiful face as she slept.

While he did, he reflected on why Nathalie had seemed so unsure of taking the next step. She did love him before; he was sure of that. When he was too consumed by the idea of Emilie. He’d hurt her badly enough to make her run and hide and now the thought of them being intimate must be making Nathalie’s alarms blare. He was already lucky that she’d forgiven him enough to consider marrying him, but Gabriel knew he still had a long way to convince her that he was worthy of this vote of confidence.

He gently put his hand on her chin and started to caress her face with his nose and kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth. When she started to move, he stopped and waited for her to open her eyes.

“Good morning.” He said softly and with a husky voice.

Nathalie tried a smile but then, “What are you?” That was when she looked around and then to him, his naked torso, then down to her in a strappy silver camisole and remembered where they were and why. “Oh.” She pouted and let herself relax on the mattress again.

“Are you hungry?” He asked.

“I am.”

Gabriel stretched his torso and arm over her face to reach the phone on her nightstand and called room service.

“I’m going to shower now.” And kissed her cheek.

---

The first thing he noticed as he leaned on the bathroom doorframe was that Nathalie had apparently decided that the best way to spend their short time in Florence was to lie lazily in bed. It was a beautiful sight, he couldn’t deny it. And Florence wouldn’t go anywhere. Truth be told, Gabriel wouldn’t mind if she wanted to stay the whole weekend locked together in this room.

The sight of her lazily stretching on the bed like a feline and messing up the sheet   that at this point were all bundled up around her legs, even more finally exposing her nightwear to the sunlight was stunning.

“What?” She caught him staring.

“Nothing.” He was sure he was blushing, “I was admiring you.” It amazed him how forward he was being with her now, but after last night he couldn’t help it and things like that just rolled out of his mouth without his permission. In his defense, he supposed that he was expected to behave like a husband sometimes, but now she was the one blushing.

Her gaze ran down his body and Gabriel thought it had been quite some time since he’d truly surprised Nathalie, and this time, there was no mistake about what he was seeing on her face now. Gabriel blamed that on the red cargo shorts he was wearing along with a simple V-neck t-shirt.

He had to focus. He had important things to tell her.

“Nathalie,” he said as he crossed the distance between them and sat beside her on her side of the bed. “I wanted to apologize for last night.”

Her blush deepened, descending through her neck, and she averted her eyes to the window.

He continued, “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You were amazing. It was…” he was having trouble not  looking like a lovestruck teen, “it was more than I ever expected would happen. I’m the one who should be ashamed for making you feel obliged to…take care of me. I feel like I forced you into a situation you weren’t prepared for.” She was still blushing but now she was at least looking at him. “Especially when I…well, we were playing reciprocation and it wasn’t that how our game ended.” Nathalie’s eyes were about to leave their orbits. “I’m really sorry. It wasn’t my intention to use you like that. I mean…”

“It’s ok, Gabriel. I understand. I’m not mad at you nor do I feel used.”

“Thank you.” And he reclined over her for a hug, to which she responded by embracing him by his waist. “After breakfast, do you want to do some sightseeing?”

“Yes. I’d love to visit Santa Maria del Fiore Basilica."