Blondes and Bluenettes (Lukadrien and EmiNath) • Miraculous

Chapter 13 | true feelings

Adrien had been up in his room all day, playing piano. Although it wasn't because his father told him to this time, it was because he was practicing his song.

He wanted to get the vocals perfect for the recording he and Luka were doing next weekend. Luka assured him his voice was perfect, but he was still nervous about recording the vocals.

Muffled from the distance between his room and the kitchen downstairs where Nathalie stood, she could still make out a bit of what he was doing. Adrien told her about the song he made for the band, and she was eager to hear the finished thing.

"You're awake"

Nathalie's mood dropped a little, hearing Gabriel behind her. She'd grown to hate him... but she had to just keep playing along.

"Yeah, I'm feeling ok today" she replied.

Gabriel reached for a mug to make some coffee, looking as stern as ever.

"He's been playing piano all day, good to see he's finally taking it seriously" he said.

"I think he's always taken it seriously" Nathalie replied.

"If that was the case he'd be playing without me having to remind him"

He was never satisfied was he? Always such a cynical man...

"He's written a song for his band, he's putting his soul into it. Emilie would have loved it, it's the kind of thing she listened to" Nathalie said, in an attempt to at least try and have Gabriel be somewhat proud of his son.

"Hm. That band is taking up a lot of his time recently..." Gabriel muttered.

That's it? That's all he had to say? Typical. Nathalie bit her tongue, wanting to snap at him. They mixed their coffees the way they liked, an awkward silence hanging between them.

"He's got a real talent for writing. He gets it from Em..." Nathalie added.

"He gets a lot from her" Gabriel replied.

Well... he was her son. He got pretty much all her genes, he was created in her image. Sometimes it was hard to tell Gabriel was his father, he just looked way more like his mother.

"Maybe he could peruse a mus-"

Before Nathalie could continue, she had to steady herself on the counter as her vision got dizzy. Taking a moment to compose herself, she sighed.

"Still..?" Gabriel asked.

"They haven't stopped since I first used it" Nathalie replied.

There was another awkward silence. Nathalie cursed herself for offering to use the miraculous when it was broken, and Gabriel was just glad it wasn't him. In his power trip, he'd been finding it harder to care for others.

"Make sure he gets his actual piano work done too" Gabriel said, taking his coffee and leaving for his office again.

Nathalie just watched him leave in disbelief. No 'are you ok?', 'I'm sorry for letting you use the miraculous'. And not a single mention of the fact his son had written and composed a whole song? There was just no pleasing him, the more Gabriel lost himself to the miraculous the more insufferable he got.

"Emilie give me strength..." Nathalie muttered to herself, taking her coffee and heading back to to her room to finish some work.

Her room being on the second floor she was able to hear Adrien's song a bit better, and listened though the walls at the beautiful melody he'd created. She picked up a certain lyric about a boy with a guitar, and she knew immediately that was about Luka. She hoped to god Adrien managed to get Luka before he could slip away. She let Emilie slip away from her, she didn't want Adrien to make the same mistake.

Sitting back in her chair, she gazed over at the framed photo of her and Emile in their early 20s together on her desk.

"You know Em... you'd be crying in joy hearing your boys music"

Talking to Gabriel just reminded him that she still needed to break the news to Adrien in order to get the help she needed from Ladybug and Cat Noir. She wasn't sure if she could handle using the miraculous again, but she needed to at least one more time to get that help. The only thing stopping her from getting him out of this sick environment and essentially joining forces with Paris' heroes was the fact she was terrified of telling Adrien.

She just knew it would crush him. Especially when everything was going so well for him recently. She knew that Luka would be there to support him, but she didn't want to potentially ruin their relationship by putting too much strain on them. It was a complicated situation.

Maybe there was a way he could find out by accident? No. That would just make him see it as a betrayal and not trust her anymore. He needed to hear it from her, and get the assurance she was on his side.

But god, how do you just go up to someone and say "hey your abusive father is also the one that's been terrorising Paris this whole time, and I helped but now I hate him and I'm against him this time".

She sighed, putting her head on the desk on frustration and lightheadedness. Her necklace lay on the desk hanging off her neck, and she picked up the ruby charm, gazing at it longingly.

"God Emilie I wish you were here right now... maybe none of this would have happened..." she sighed.

Down the hall, Adriens music played. Through the walls Nathalie could hear it.

She didn't want to ruin his melody, but she feared she had to.