It's the Little Things That Count - Gabenath Drabbles

Day 30: Overwhelm

"Plagg, claws out!"

The moment she heard those words from Adrien's mouth, Nathalie's blood chilled.

No.

That's impossible.

Adrien was Cat Noir.

The boy who she'd seen as a son for so long was also the boy she'd been fighting.

She backed against the wall outside of his room, sliding to the floor. Overwhelming despair crashed down on her, her eyes blinded by panic.

Nathalie covered her face to keep from crying out.

What was she supposed to do?

If she told Gabriel, he might use the information against his son and try to steal his Miraculous from him.

If she didn't . . . she would be forced to watch the two people she cared for most fight each other, never knowing who was behind the other's mask. If things went badly enough, they could even kill-

That's when it hit her; Cat Noir had cataclysmed Monarch. Adrien had cataclysmed his father. If Gabriel couldn't figure out how to fix it, Adrien would be the cause of his father's eventual death.

And he could've very well killed her, she realized, the day she'd destroyed the sentimonster identical to Ladybug. She still regretted that, especially after seeing Cat Noir's reaction. No, Adrien's reaction. And now that she knew he'd been in love with Ladybug, it made everything worse. She'd forced him to watch the girl he loved die in front of him.

What kind of person was she?

Nathalie tried to take deep breaths, but all she could manage were quick gasps.

"Nathalie?" Adrien crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

How long had she been sitting there?

She met his gaze. "You're-"

His eyes widened. "You heard me, didn't you? I forgot to close my door completely . . ."

"Tell me I'm dreaming, Adrien."

She could tell he wanted to lie, but instead, he sighed. "No, you're not dreaming. I'm Cat Noir. I'm sorry, Nathalie, I couldn't tell you. No one's supposed to know, not even Ladybug." Horror flashed across his face. "Please don't tell my dad."

"I won't." Not with the chance that Gabriel would use it against him.

He tried to smile, but it quickly crumbled. "As soon as Monarch's been defeated, I won't have to hide anymore. And I'm fine, I promise. Everything's okay." He shifted closer, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Everything's okay," he repeated, more to himself than to her.

But she didn't believe him. She couldn't, not when his father was the villain he had to defeat.

Footsteps sounded, coming up the stairs, and a moment later, Gabriel came around the corner. "Nathalie? Adrien?" he asked in surprise, quickly coming to them. "Are you okay?"

Adrien stood up. "I'll go," he said. "Don't worry about me, Dad, I'm fine. Just help her."

Gabriel turned his concerned eyes from Adrien to her as his son moved away, giving her one more pleading look.

"Nathalie?" Gabriel prompted gently, hesitantly moving closer and kneeling. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

She shook her head, pressing a hand to her forehead.

He watched her helplessly. "Then how can I help-?"

Nathalie sighed shakily, slumping forward. Her head fell against his chest. She wished she could silently communicate everything to him, so he'd stop being Monarch.

But that was a fool's dream.

He rested his cheek on top of her head. "You can tell me anything, you know. Even if you're still mad at me."