miraculous Christmas special

chapter 6

It was now the Christmas holidays and things took a little bit of a turn, because Nathalie had caught a cold.
 
"Mr Agreste, please stop fussing. It's only a cold."
 
"I can't help it," he admitted, handing Nathalie a new box of tissues.
 
"You know perfectly well I have been fully recovered from using the peacock Miraculous for months." And he had hidden it to stop her using it again, after she'd collapsed while trying two weeks after Heroes' Day. "You've got to stop having a panic attack whenever I get a sniffle."
 
"I do not have a panic attack," Gabriel insisted.
 
"You definitely do, even Adrien's noticed."
 
"I know." He paused while Nathalie blew her nose. "It's today that Adrien's friends are coming over, isn't it?"
 
"You know perfectly well it is. You're only asking for the purpose of having an excuse for staying in this room a few moments longer," Nathalie teased.
 
"If you want me to leave, I'll leave."
 
Whilst she couldn't say that having Gabriel Agreste see her while she was sporting a red runny nose, tangled hair, crumpled pyjamas and dark shadows under her eyes from not having enough sleep, and smelling of vapour rub, was appealing, she privately rather enjoyed the attention. He could be surprisingly sweet when he was worried about her. Though enjoying it made her feel a little guilty.
 
Before Nathalie could figure out how to respond, there was a knock on her bedroom door.
 
"Come in," she called, grateful for the interruption.
 
Adrien pushed the door fully open. "Oh, wow. I was going to ask if you were feeling any better this morning Nathalie, but you look terrible."
 
"Thank you, Adrien," she said drily.
 
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that! Just …" He hesitated awkwardly. "Well, my friends are coming over today, and I was kind of hoping you'd be well … I mean, I was hoping you were feeling better anyway, but...."
 
"It's alright, I understand," Nathalie said, smiling at him. "And you don't need to cancel on my account; it's a big enough house I can avoid contaminating them all."
 
"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed anyway.
 
"Have a good time with your friends; don't worry about me." Nathalie glanced at Gabriel, who had remained quiet during that exchange. "And I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, so your father has no excuse for not spending time with you."
 
Gabriel frowned at her, and she gave him a fierce look back. At least she hoped it was fierce. The red nose probably lessened the effect.
 
"Do you feel up to joining us?" Adrien asked hopefully.
 
"I could, and I would love to, but I really don't want to give everyone this cold over Christmas...."
 
"I already checked with my friends and they're happy to see you anyway," he said quickly.
 
Nathalie blinked in surprise. "They are?"
 
"Yep. So … will you come down?"
 
"Oh, all right. If they're happy to be around someone contagious."
 
"Great! Thanks, Nathalie!" Adrien gave her a quick hug, startling her a little. "I know they'll all like you."
 
Nathalie was warmed by his compliment and wasn't sure how to respond except hug him back, whilst trying not to breathe germs all over him. "Thank you, Adrien."
 
The moment was broken by Gabriel's phone ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. "I have to take this."
 
"Father, you promised you'd spend time with us today!" Adrien protested, sounding quite alarmed.
 
"And I will. I have some calls to take today, but not very many, and none should take very long. I promise I'll make plenty of time to spend with you and your friends, Adrien."
 
"Okay," he said, sounding relieved. "Thanks, Father."