"Almost Like A Family" (Miraculous Gabenath)

Chapter VI

For most people, Valentine's Day, the day of love, is associated with showing love, spending time with your significant other, lollipops and heart-shaped gingerbreads, and generally pleasant experiences. Unfortunately for Gabriel and Nathalie, this day was going to be even more awkward than other days. On this occasion, the designer decided to buy a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates for his crush. However, he was afraid to hand them to Nathalie in person, so he came up with a plan. The gift was supposed to be delivered by courier, but on the note who it was from he did not sign his name but "Your Secret Admirer". When the woman received the gift, she couldn't believe her eyes. She spent the whole day wondering who this gift could be from. Of course, she also took Gabriel into account, but then she came to the conclusion that if it had been from him, he would have dropped the gift off in her room instead of making plans with the courier. The woman wasn't sure what to think about it. She didn't want to have a secret admirer, she just wanted Gabriel to return her feelings.
-No, I'm done with it. - she tried to convince herself. - Besides, if Gabriel cared about me, he would definitely buy me something. I know perfectly well that he still misses Emilie. - Even though the woman had come to terms with the fact that the object of her desires was in love with another woman, it still hurt her. - Hmm... maybe I should open myself up to new possibilities. I will meet this secret admirer and go on a date with him.
As she decided, so she did. She looked on the Internet to find out which post office in their city the package was sent from, then went there and left a letter just for him. As for Gabriel, Nathalie had a gift for him, but she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to give it to him. After all, Valentine's Day is a day of love, but that didn't rule out the fact that she could give him a gift as a friend. On the other hand, she was of the opinion that she had not received anything from him and did not know whether it was appropriate. She finally decided to give him a gift. It was a small wooden heart with a rhyme engraved on it. It didn't seem like a big deal, but it was enough to make Gabriel blush twice as bright as usual. He took the gift from her with trembling hands and said stammering:
-Um...t-t-thank you... N-Nathalie...
-I wanted to give you a small gesture of friendship. I hope you like it. AND! And I would forget! - the woman put her hand into her pocket and took out two miraculouses. - After all, during my last fight with Ladybug, I took it from her. Sorry, I forgot about them... - she handed the boss the jewelry and then smiled gently. Gabriel stood surprised by her behavior and didn't know what to say. After all, when the woman left, he thought to himself: she is so wonderful... it's a pity that I'm just a friend to her...
At that moment, the man received a notification from the post office about the letter that Nathalie had left there for her "secret admirer" . There was a meeting proposal and her phone number. Gabriel was very happy, but after a while he got worried and started wondering: should he go as normal as Gabriel or disguise himself somehow? After all, Nathalie wasn't expecting him but some other man. So he decided to use the butterfly, fox and bee miraculous and pretend to be some hero from elsewhere.

However, after leaving Gabriel's office, Nathalie thought to herself:
-He looked lovely when he took this gift from me. I hope he likes it. In a minute! I wasn't supposed to think about him. I need to focus on myself instead of constantly thinking about him. - Then the woman got the message. It was a reply to her letter. The "secret admirer" confirmed that he wants to meet at the restaurant tomorrow evening. Nathalie was very happy. - It's time to open up to new acquaintances and not keep living with old feelings.