"Almost Like A Family" (Miraculous Gabenath)

Chapter VII

Date night came. Nathalie and the mysterious stranger had an appointment at an exclusive restaurant. Gabriel decided to hide his identity for now. He combined the miraculous of a butterfly, a fox and a bee and pretended to be one of New York's superheroes. When Nathalie was leaving, he asked her where she was going to let her know he cared about her.
-I'm going out on a date. I haven't been anywhere for a long time.
-I understand, but please take care of yourself. - he replied, and then the woman left. Then he quickly transformed and arrived there before her.

The first meeting seemed quite awkward. First of all, Nathalie was very surprised that she was invited by a superhero and not an ordinary man, which is what she initially expected. After some time, they found a common language. Secondly, Gabriel had to be very careful with his words at first. He never had to hide his identity with Nathalie and felt very comfortable with her. After all, she was the only person who knew all his secrets. After some time, they became good friends. Of course, both Gabriel and his new identity were extremely nice to Nathalie, and Nathalie felt a little torn about it. She knew her secret admirer had feelings for her. But her feelings for Gabriel kept growing and she couldn't stop it. After some time, she simply admitted to herself that she still loved Gabriel very much and that she couldn't love anyone other than him. She knew she couldn't hang out with her new friend anymore because she thought she was only giving him hope. But how could she tell him straight to his face that she loved someone else? She was afraid of hurting him and felt miserable about it, but she knew she had to do it.

She finally made up her mind. Just then, her mysterious friend took her to the cinema. As he walked her home along a dark street at night, she gathered courage and said in a quiet voice:
-I have to tell you something...
-Listen, what's going on? -I... we... can't see each other anymore...
-But why?
-Because... I... I love someone else! I'm sorry if I offended you, but I felt you needed to know the truth...
-May I know who?
-This... no, I can't tell this to anyone... I'm sorry!
After these words, there was a moment of silence. Gabriel was the first to speak.
-If you love someone else, it's okay. I want you to be happy. I'm glad you were honest with me and told me that. I really appreciate that.
-Really? You are not angry? - she asked, surprised.
-Not everything is alright. - he smiled slightly and then walked Nathalie home. After this meeting, their contact broke off.

When Gabriel returned home, he sat in an armchair and began to think.
-She loves someone else... I wish it was about me... it would be wonderful... but no matter who she loves, I know one thing: I love her and I want her to be happy. That's what I care about. However, when the assistant returned home, she lay down on the bed and also started thinking.
-I can't live like this anymore, I can't suppress it. I love him, I love him and I have to admit it. So what? When he loves Emilie... even though I have the impression that he has been so loving towards me for a long time... he has changed... it doesn't matter... no matter who he loves, I know that I have a really strong love for him feeling and I will do everything for him, I want him to be happy, if he is happy with Emilie and he will never love me, then it's too bad... I will help him get these miraculous, I want him to be happy... I love him...

For the next few days, everything went well. Gabriel and Nathalie began to get closer, and the man turned into Hawk Moth less often. Mainly because he wanted to focus more on Nathalie right now. The woman hadn't used the peacock's miraculous yet, so she felt fine. This also meant that Gabriel didn't have to fight for the miraculous to heal her, something he had been thinking about lately. Hawk Moth's fewer attacks surprised everyone. Both the inhabitants of Paris, Ladybug and Chat Noir, but also Nathalie herself. However, he didn't stop doing it completely, he was afraid that Nathalie would then start to suspect something about his feelings for her.

The next day, the assistant received a very unusual text message from one of her colleagues. This news made her partly happy, but also worried.