Giving in?

Emotional

"Gabriel, I can't, I....just let go of me, please!", she almost sobbed now.

"I'll let go, if you finally believe me and start to trust me! Do you think, you can do that?"

Gabriel was desperate. Holding her soft and warm, still naked body so close, made him remember, what they did last night and he hoped, that the situation wouldn't get any worse, but he also recalled the akumatized's thoughts about the liquid and knew, that after the first twenty four hours, she would really be in a heat, similar to a cat or a dog, her body controlled by one thing only, to mate and procreate by doing so. And that's why he needed her to believe and trust him. Just in case, he wouldn't be able to stop, before he released inside of her, the next time.

Nathalie nodded and he loosened his grip, but kept her in his arms.

"Can you just believe me, when I say, that I love you and therefore want to be with you?", he asked her once more. "Come on, love, at least give me the chance to prove it to you!"

"What is it, that you aren't telling me, Gabriel?", Nathalie now asked, "because you too urgently want to prove to me, that you are not under the control of anything but yourself!", the woman asked him now.

Gabriel sighed deeply, then nodded.

"Can I please do something very important first? Can I just kiss you?", he pleaded and hesitantly his loved one gave in.

Smiling lovingly, he cupped her cheek with his right hand, while his left was on her lower back, holding her gently against him. And then he leant in and placed his lips tenderly on hers, one short peck, then another, and one more, to cup her lower lip in between his right after, feeling her slowly reciprocate the soft caressing.

They parted their lips without one of them trying to deepen it and even Nathalie was smiling now.

"That was....nice!", she slowly admitted and trustfully nuzzled her face into his chest.

"Yeah!", he agreed, "very! Come on, you're getting cold. Let me wrap you into your blanket, okay?"

They left the bathroom together and the designer grabbed a blanket from her closet, so she would get a little bit warmer, as she really seemed to feel cold and rubbed her arms with her hands.

"Thank you!", Nathalie sighed contently.

To overcome the sudden awkwardness, Gabriel carefully asked:

"When did you get hurt so very much, that you started to keep all emotions locked up so deep inside of you, Nathalie? I know, it's most likely something you don't like to talk about, but...."

Pulling the soft layer tighter around her shoulders, the sat down on the rim of her bed and sighed, then patted the space beside her.

"Can you imagine, being born with the name Sancoeur, which is bad enough for a child, once the other kids figure out the meaning of it and start making fun of her. Now think about the child's parents, being even crueler and calling her Nathalie Sancoeur, meaning somehow: born without a heart. I could have overcome this, if there hadn't been the other issue, that my parents were very old fashioned and strict and didn't let me out very often. And even if they did, I was always dressed like an old spinster. A pair of cotton pants, a blouse in a bright colour, always buttoned up to the top button, flat slippers in black or grey and of course, at least a vest over the blouse, so nobody would be able to see my underwear! Don't get me wrong, I had kind and loving parents, but sending me to school like that, quickly turned me into an outsider. You see this?", she pointed at the pink strand on the left side of her head, "I did this, when I was eighteen. Finally being old enough to go with the others on the field trip just before our graduation, I made a friend in the little village in England, where we were staying. Though she was already twenty four, we got along very well and when she suggested to dye my hair, well, I am still having it, right?"

Gabriel now smirked and asked her teasingly:

"Did you have a crush on her?"

Blushing the young woman shrugged.

"I don't know! I never had any friends, Gabriel. I never thought about it that way. I was just happy, to have girl talks and all the stuff, I missed out on. We stayed in contact after I came back home, I started university and did trips to learn more about the things I studied, while she fell in love and got married. Then she suddenly called me after years of just sending texts and asked me to work for her and her husband. And just like that, I helped the two of you find those damn jewels and caused the only friend, I ever had, to die!", she finally finished, tears brimming her eyes.

Gabriel laid to fingers on her jaw, to make her look at him, then brushed the loose hair, especially the pink strand from her face behind her ear, croaking:

"You have this because of Emilie? I..."

He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, then gently laid his hand on the side of her neck, his thumb caressing her cheek, when he pulled her closer and started to kiss her to give them both the comfort, they needed right now.

With a deep sigh, they parted after some time, Nathalie looking at his face now, summoning:

"Well, if you add to all those things, that I was wearing glasses and didn't look like a female until I was almost sixteen, you can imagine, that I got hurt many times and built a wall around every single feeling, didn't even allow myself to feel anything! So, humour me! What is it, you haven't told me about my actual situation?"

"Well, just a small thing, I forgot to mention, yet nothing you didn't know at all. I've told you, that your state will become worse, I just recalled a detail, meaning, that you would after those first twenty four hours start to.....well, how do I say.......get into some kind of heat, like....", he broke off, looking at her with concern.

"Like a dog? Or more like a cat? I would prefer the cat-style, because dogs, well, I'm not really into the connecting and not being able to part for up to an hour!", she said cynically, but a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

The designer gave her a puzzled look.

"Did you just joke about it? Really?", he blurted out.

Nathalie though laughed now.

"Well, as I can't change anything at the situation itself, I can as well cope by making fun of it, right?", she mused.

Gabriel shook his head, then grabbed her hands and made her fall backwards, pinning her arms to the mattress, to hover above her very closely, his eyes making contact with hers, when he whispered:

"I really love you, Nathalie. Especially when you're like that. And as you're just now still in control of your urges, would you like me to spoil you a little bit?"

"What? You...oh Gabriel, please stop that. You are going to make it worse, if you do something I like. Last night, I even had to keep myself from thinking about the things, you could do. I really like, what you're doing, but...."

He smiled and stopped his attacks at her neck, but placed a soft kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Okay, I understand. I just thought you would like to see me, coveting you without any magic too!"

"Oh, I like to see that! Very much even. Just...", she took a deep breath.

"I know, you don't want to feel the way, you did, before you have to, if you can't avoid it, right?"

"Right!"