A Miraculous Mermaid Tale

Chapter 8: The Port

After the sun had set, everyone made their way inside. Adrien decided to talk to his father again as soon as the others went to their rooms.

"Father, you told me you don't have feelings for Nathalie," he said, surprised by how easily the words came.

Gabriel blinked at him. "I don't."

"Then how do you explain-" Adrien gestured wildly with his arms, realizing he must've started imitating some of Marinette's mannerisms.

His father looked confused. "She had a dizzy spell if you remember. I steadied her."

"No, before that. You were going to kiss her."

Gabriel's expression darkened. "Adrien, we were dancing. I don't-"

"That's not what I saw," Adrien interrupted, crossing his arms. In the back of his mind, he knew he was making a mistake, but it was too late now. "Stop lying to yourself, Father! It's not fair to you or her." Or me, he added to himself. "After all this time, you're still stuck in the past!"

"This isn't the time or place for this conversation, Adrien." His father's tone sent chills down Adrien's spine. Gabriel turned his back, moving to leave the room. "You should go to your room."

"I'm sorry," Adrien called. "I just want us all to be happy."

Gabriel paused. "As do I," he replied without turning around. "We can discuss this later."

Adrien was left alone in the living room, save for Plagg slinking out of the shadows. "You okay?" the cat asked in a rare show of concern.

"Yeah."

Nathalie finally found the courage to look at her wound in the mirror. She stifled a gasp when she saw it; the mark had gotten larger and darker, creeping toward her neck and shoulders.

She would have to be more careful in choosing clothes that would conceal it.

Knowing she would be faced with more nightmares, Nathalie sank into her pillows. And so began her restless sleep, a much more usual occurrence now.

Gabriel barely stopped himself from knocking everything off his desk. He was angry, though most of it was focused on himself and not Adrien.

His son never talked back to him like that.

Why couldn't Adrien understand that he would never replace Emilie?
Sitting on his bed, Gabriel sighed heavily.

But a tiny voice in his head said that maybe he wouldn't be replacing her.

He quickly silenced it. It wasn't that he didn't care for Nathalie; he cared for her more than he wanted to admit, but his loyalty to Emilie stopped him from thinking anything beyond that.

What would Emilie want?

She'd want him and Adrien to be happy; that was the first thing to come to his mind. She'd want him to focus on the future, but according to Adrien, he was still stuck in the past.

Were they happy?

Adrien's words returned to him: "I've noticed how close you and Nathalie have become. You know I've always considered her to be a part of our family, so if she can make you happy again . . ."

She did make him happy. She also made him worry, but she always knew how to make him feel better.

"You were going to kiss her."