Indecision is Hurtful

Chapter Eleven

Gabriel smiled, not bothering to answer. He walked over to her placing a short lingering kiss on her forehead which left her seeing stars. She pursed her lips and looked up expectantly, still visibly confused but not entirely appalled as her digits fidgeted.

Gabriel mustered up the courage he needed and looked her in the eyes once more. He steadied his breathing, as he found the pink glimmer in her eyes again and the purple spreading in her sclera. Voices whispered uncertainties and threats in his head urging him to almost have another panic attack which would trigger Nathalie to do the same. But he didn't submerge into it. Instead, he held his ground and stared into her eyes.

Slowly, he watched as the pink finally replaced the blue in her eyes. Her sclera was conquered by purple and with that, the memories of Mayura fainting, being unconscious, and such constantly surfaced his mind. But he forced the thought out, pressing fear with what little mental strength he had. Slightly, he succeeded with the first stage as he smiled at how Mayura always took his breath away. The way she would gracefully fight efficiently even with those heels on her boots. And the way her signature lip purse in between a pout even when she was transformed stuck to her. He held on to that for a while right before memories of her in the high-tech incubator overwhelmed his train of thought. The moment the image came into his mind, he immediately averted her gaze.

From his earlier actions of accepting the threat that made itself evident on Nathalie's eyes, the said woman found her mind being filled by familiar vivid memories the same way it had happened earlier. This time, a clearer visage of Hawkmoth and Gabriel appearing clearly. She found herself standing behind Hawkmoth with an elegant fan and the matching peacock coattail spreading behind her, swaying at what little breeze that entered the butterfly-filled room through the gigantic window that would open at their will. Her body was a palette of different shades of purple along with some traces of pink and some blue highlights on her attire.

Mayura.

She remembered that name all of a sudden. The pink in her eyes was hard to miss and she suddenly felt a wash of nostalgia and regret pierce through her. She was snapped out of her daze when she felt Gabriel hold her hands.

"So... So you..." She breathed out, processing those memories.

"Did... Did you remember anything-"

"Why are you Hawkmoth?" She looked up at him, her lips pressed in a thin line.

"And who's Mayura? Why is she... So familiar?"

Gabriel's eyes widened, a hint of pride at his miniscule efforts of pushing aside his fear and eradicating the denial he had felt earlier which is now aiding in her memory retrieval. But he didn't want to pressure her so he needed to break it down piece by piece. Patience wasn't his expertise but for Nathalie who had done nothing but constantly sacrifice for others, he was willing to take on those immeasurable lengths for her to come back.

"Mayura... Mayura helped me a lot. She was the only person who stuck by me even at my worst."

Nathalie glanced down, crestfallen hearing how another woman has helped Gabriel in his adventures. But the events of last night- "My peahen" came tumbling in her mind once more. She let her fingers play with the hem of her suit jacket once more as she looked up.

"Last night," she mumbled. "Last night... You called me by a rather intriguing pet name."

"I did," he confirmed.

"Was I by any chance... Mayura?"

Gabriel held her gaze for a moment, now unafraid of the remnants of Mayura that would show in her eyes. The action made Nathalie's eyes widen as more memories came flooding in.