Indecision is Hurtful

Chapter Twelve

Plagg rolled his eyes at the exchange in front of him, crossing his tiny arms.

"You're being overdramatic."

Adrien glared daggers at him before silently snapping, "Have I ever mentioned that she was the one who recommended and bought your favorite cheese collection?," he whisper-shouted.

"She... She bought my favorite camembert? M-Miss Nathalieeeee!" He rushed over, hugging her waist earning dumbfounded looks from everyone except for Nathalie who found it rather adorable.

"N-Nathalie... I missed you so so much. I won't let anything like that happen to you-!" He admitted as he clung to her frame, saying rather incoherent words amidst his sobs.

Nathalie's heart fell, the boy's actions both startling and warming her immensely. She whispered sweet words of reassurance in his ear and cooed the kwamis as to assuage their pain. She scooped them up in a warm hug thinking that it was absolutely necessary- which fortunately worked in calming them down. Adrien eventually let go despite his quivering facade, fresh tears still cognizable.

"A-are you still in pain, Nathalie? D-do you feel like p-passing o-out? D-do you... D-do you feel-"

Adrien jerked to wake from his slightly macabre reverie as he noticed how Nathalie gripped her forehead, her pain being evident by the way she clenched her eyes shut and her eyebrows furrowing in frustration. Adrien's panic arose, his hands shaking as he took a hold of her arms.

Duusu winced, "Adrien please stop thinking of these thoughts! It's hurting her in more ways than you think. Be subtle when you express your emotions outwardly when you're of closer proximity to Miss Nathalie. It's triggering dark memories and we don't want that to happen just yet!" Duusu whisper-shouted in his ear.

His chest rose and fell, steadying himself and his emotions. Yes, it had been difficult to channel his immense despair- his prior restrained depression creeping back up at the back of his mind similar to what Gabriel had experienced. His' wasn't the worst kind of despair (unlike his father's) though- in spite of trauma still perched at his chest- because unlike him, he had every single day with Marinette alleviating the pain and aroused hope unbeknownst to his knowledge. Adrien had Marinette and Nathalie was the only person he'd ever seen Gabriel let in his life since the start. And he knew very well that losing her too traumatized the fashion designer gravely.

So, through tears, he wiped off the thought and focused on the present. Nathalie was with them once more. That's all that mattered. The rest... Well, they'd figure that out along the way.

The shift of his demeanor to a happier state caused Nathalie's head to slowly discard the light-headedness she felt. It wasn't as bad as Hawkmoth's or Gabriel's effect on her so she was able to manage and confirm to Adrien that she was well.

For Adrien though, those dizzy spells were not a great memory.

However, the empath kwamis were relaxed knowing Adrien's fear was eradicated- for the time being. If it wasn't, his hysteria would trigger Nathalie to weaken and none of them would want to see her utterly hurt.

"I'm sorry. Just a recurring dizzy spell," She stood with Adrien by her side. At least he was aware.

"So... Adrien... You... You're Chat Noir?" She asked as she sat patiently while Adrien got ready.

She should have gone back to the atelier by now and assure Gabriel but Adrien's... identity... was just too compelling. She suddenly had remembered Ladybug and who she was. Clearly, Marinette had been great company to her too- in more ways than one. She remembers- despite only remembering fragments and miniscule pieces- being quite maternal to the two lovers.