Gabriel's Return

Parenting Issues

Marinette's face was almost purple from the just experienced embarrassment, while she sat there on the rim of the bed waiting for her boyfriend to return from the bathroom.

Emilie kept looking at her in amusement as she was fidgeting with a short thread on her shirt, trying to keep herself distracted somehow, her feet tapping quickly on the wooden floor.

"Would you please calm down, sweetheart? I heard quite a bit of your conversation, before I came into the room and I know, that you were doing the right thing and didn't give in. And I also can tell, that you kept Adrien in control of himself, which made me think about something, though I wouldn't think, you used them, but...do you have the rings?", she asked her carefully then.

Marinette though shook her head and quickly told her:

"I had them both, but I gave them to Adrien, so he can take his life into his own hands, without anyone controlling him!"

Her voice sounded angry at the end and she let the blond woman see it on her expression too, that she blamed her as well, for doing so.

Emilie smirked at the teenager's reaction and will to fight for her son's rights and told her calmly:

"I never used it the way, you think I did and neither did Gabriel, at least until I got really sick. The only times, we used our control over Adrien was, when he was really small and would for example run away from us and get himself into any danger, like falling down the stairs or things toddlers do. I know, other parents have to handle that in a different way, but as long as we were just protecting him....."

The woman looked old and sad when she sighed and tried to smile again.

"Are you alright?", the girl asked her shyly and she nodded.

"Yeah, just exhausted. Mentally and physically. But it's okay for now. I want to be there for my son and for Nathalie. I hope, you can keep a secret? Good! I know, that Gabriel loved me and would have done everything for me, but..."

"But?", Marinette pryed.

"But Nathalie was different from the very second she first became our guide for our search through the Himalaya. She was barely sixteen back then, her knowledge and her intelligence beyond everything imaginable, while she was rather bad when it came to social skills, especially emotional connections or simply sitting together, joking, laughing, things you certainly do with your friends. right?", the actress wondered and the girl nodded. "Nathalie was so quiet most of the time, I sometimes thought, she wasn't able to speak at all. Her uncle had raised her after her parents died and he was an archaeologist, who traveled a lot, from one excavation site to the next, making her live most of her teenage life in tents or trailers. There the only people, she spoke with and who kept her company, were academics, professors and doctors with high IQs and a huge knowledge, so she did what they suggested, she spent all her time with learning and observing. Nathalie speaks at least five languages fluently, she can navigate through the jungle without a compass or any other technology, she is skilled in several martial arts, can tell you everything about the history of our planet, back until aeons before the dinosaurs and probably a thousand things more. But she was barely capable to talk about anything, that wasn't science related or at least brought her new skills. In the beginning, she and Gabriel searched mostly alone, he was the only one, she seemed to connect a little with and maybe I saw it then already. Nathalie was his soulmate and he was hers. And maybe that's why I just accepted her, started to love her, like I loved him. And also maybe that's why she started opening up to me and we became close friends!"

"Just close friends? It certainly looked like more earlier!", came from the half chinese now, but with a wink and a grin.

"You're right, there has always been a little more. We only kissed and exchanged a few touches, but it's obviously noticeable, that our connection goes deeper than just being friends. I mean, if even Adrien could tell....!", Emilie took a deep breath, after pouring her heart to her son's girlfriend, "I'm sorry, you certainly didn't want to hear all of that, just..."