Replacement

Reckless

After making sure, that the sleigh was real and wouldn't soon vanish into thin air, Gabriel helped Nathalie get up and into the seat.

There he laid his arm around her and pulled her taut, to keep her warm in the by now icy winter night.

"I love it, Gabriel!", she whispered, "and I love you a lot!"

Then she looked at the young heroine, who sat with her boyfriend on the other seat and thanked her with a beaming smile.

"It was my pleasure. And by the way, aren't we all enjoying this just now?", was the girl's response.

The older couple nodded in agreement.

"I am just a little scared, that Nathalie might catch a cold or something, if we stay out here for too long!", Gabriel told them anxiously.

The pregnant, young woman gave him an annoyed glare.

"I think, I will be fine, taking a sleigh ride in the first snow for some time, darling. Just relax. It's not as if we were being reckless and covering each other with snow until we're all wet! Don't ruin that for me, please!"

"I wouldn't dare, my love!", he cooed and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

While they were still enjoying their little ride, the people of Paris had noticed and many of them seemed utterly angered about their behaviour. Though having forgiven them for the things, they had done, they still didn't want them to show off their connection to Ladybug and their new found love in the open, as if it had never happened.

Obviously the jealousy and greed they were feeling, kept them from just being happy for the new couple and the child they were expecting.

There had been a handful of articles, suspecting Gabriel to have knocked up his assistant, yet until this day, there weren't a lot.

When they noticed the people around them, shouting and cussing, Nathalie's eyes started to fill with tears.

Adrien, who had transformed into ChatNoir, before he too had taken his seat inside of the sleigh, noticed first and whispered quietly into the young heroine's ear, while pointing with his head at his soon to be stepmother:

"I think, it's time to get back home!"

Following his gaze, Ladybug nodded and a moment later, they rode through the open iron gate into the yard of the Agreste mansion, where the coach soon vanished, after calling:

"Miraculous Ladybug!"

The swarm of tiny Ladybugs though, didn't appear at all, as they weren't needed to repair anything.

When Gabriel laid his arm around Nathalie's waist to walk her up the stairs and inside, she eventually couldn't hold back any longer and began to sob. As soon as the door was shut behind them, she clang onto him desperately, stammering apologies, while crying into the fabric of his coat.

"Th-this is a-a-all my f-fault! I shouldn't h-have stopped h-h-hiding the pregnancy a-a-already! N-Now they're hating us e-e-even more!"

"Well, just let them, I don't care and I am sure, neither does father!", Adrien hissed angrily, "you're doing such a special and selfless thing for us, Nath! They should all rather take you as an example instead of judging you! And once this baby will be born, we will show her or him to all of Paris and then I will ask them, if they are really so pathetic and desperate in their own live, that they can't even be happy for us, to be a family at last! And I think, you look very pretty, when you're showing your belly, so stop regretting that, okay?"

"My son is absolutely right, my love! Don't let them get to you! You suffered for so long, you deserve every single treat and every second of bliss! And now, let me help you out of this coat and let's all have a look at our dinner and if there is anything, we can still enjoy after being outside for so long! Alright?", Gabriel added soothingly.

Nathalie slowly calmed down and gave them a lopsided smile.

"I know, that you're both right, but it still feels, as if it was my fault. I just felt so happy and even a bit proud, that the bump was visible by now. I 'wanted' people to see, without thinking about the consequences!"

"And that's what you should do, Nathalie! Don't let them keep you from enjoying having a baby, yeah?", Marinette now hummed and squeezed the older woman's hand encouragingly.

The former assistant sighed and nodded, then let her fiance help her to walk back to the dining table and sit down on her chair.

"Thank you, darling!", she said lovingly, then sniffled again.

The still worried man bent down to kiss her gently.

"I should still be the one, thanking you, my dear. For everything you did and for even, after all I did and how many times, I screwed up and hurt you, still loving me! I wished, I could show you my love anew with each day that passes. And Marinette was correct! You should be more than proud, to let people see, that you're carrying our child! And this little person inside of you, will be just as proud, to have you as his or her mother!", he praised.

"Stop it, you're just making me cry again! But I love you for saying it anyway! But now I would like to feed this baby", she tenderly rubbed her belly, as she said that and looked down with a blissful smile.

Gabriel knelt down next to her and pressed his lips right beside her hand, then got back to his feet with a grin.

"I can't wait for you, to get bigger", he teased and made her smirk.

"Yeah and I can't wait to see, how you will handle, carrying me around then!", she gave back, then seemed to remember something:

"Marinette? I almost forgot, but the snow is getting so much, I really don't want to let you walk back home. Would you like to spend the night?"

"In a guest room!", Gabriel added after taking a look at Adrien's beaming smile.

The girl agreed.

"That would be very nice, thank you Nathalie! I will just text my mum and tell her!"