Hedgehogs Dilemma

Meet me at the Balcony

After a long wait and many preparations that had cost Nathalie hours of her life, the time for the big gala had finally come.
Nathalie herself didn't think too much of these events anymore.
Especially not since her boss had revealed to her that he had secretly kept an eye on her alter ego.
The memories alone sent shivers down Nathalie's spine.

It had happened on a normal day. An Akuma, weaker than usual, as the woman thought, had roamed the city.
Dutiful as she was, she had stepped in to put an end to it as Mayura. And just when she was done doing the dirty work, she spotted Gabriel.
He was standing on the corner of the street a few yards from his mansion, which in itself was a step forward for him. After all, he wasn't known to think it was important to leave home ever since his wife's death. Only in the most pressing of emergencies, or for meetings that absolutely could not be held via video call, would he be seen outside his home.


Yet here he was. Standing there. And calling out to her. Even waved a little while doing so.
Which made her want to roll her eyes before she jumped down to meet him.

"Monsieur Agreste, right?" she greeted him. Gabriel confirmed this with a quick nod, "What can I do for you?"

Confidently, the man took a step closer to the woman to put even less distance between the two, and the woman reflexively raised her head slightly.
Along with other traits she had altered to better conceal her true identity, she was also quite a bit taller when she was Mayura.
But she still had to look up at Gabriel so that she could look into his eyes.

"I would like to invite you to my upcoming gala. I'm sure with you there it would be an unforgettable event. The guests, who came from all parts of the world, would certainly be excited to meet the heroine of Paris. Who knows. With so many suitors, it might even cause the Akuma rate to go down. What do you say?"

The woman raised an eyebrow in confusion. He couldn't be serious. Thank god she was able to hide most of her emotions behind her mask so he would have no idea of the thoughts that were running through her mind at that moment.
The woman retreated a few steps to turn away slightly and cross her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm not an attraction monsieur. My job is to protect the city, not to smile tiredly over sparkling Prosecco and to pretend interest."

This cold rebuff seemed to surprise the man.
He stared at her in amazement with his mouth half open.

'What did he expect? that I just agree? It's bad enough going through that as Nathalie. So I'd happily do without the extra attention.'
"If that's all, I'll leave now. It was my pleasure."

she said and looked away only to be surprised by Gabriel's firm grip on her arm. Which made her head snap back to him.
She couldn't explain it, but his grip sent a chill down her spine.

"I beg you! Please" Gabriel pleaded, "I don't think you're an attraction in any way. I just want you to think about it. I'd be delighted to see you at the party!" he added. "I just want to bring people in Paris closer to their heroine. An event this big, like the one I'm going to host would be perfect for that."

'Yes, you make a big fuss. I have to agree with you.'
Mayura resolutely watched as the man took a step back, but didn't let go of her hand. Which made her sigh.

"I'll think about it..." she spoke, which immediately made the man smile again. "But! Don't see that as a promise on my part," she admonished him and stroked his arms from her.

"Of course! Thank you!"

Finally escaping the conversation, the woman gave a quick nod before making her way across the rooftops. It was a lie. Her decision was made and she certainly wouldn't think about it again. But what else could she have said?



The memories of this event made Nathalie close her eyes for a moment before examining herself in the mirror again.
For Gabriel's gala, she had decided on a burgundy shirt, to which she wore a black vest with a small pocket in which she could stow Duusu and her Miraculous.
Her hair, which she usually wore in a bun, was now pinned up to show off the golden earrings that Nathalie wore in combination with her golden chain.
The look was rounded off by her make-up, which she always chose, only this time her eyeshadow was reddish instead of bluish to better match the style she had chosen.
Satisfied, the woman nodded to herself in the mirror. She agreed with her decisions.

"So you will go as Nathalie?" asked Duusu, who had placed herself near the mirror and watched her owner.

"I never promised him to come as Mayura."

"He will be expecting Mayura."

"That's his problem. He pushed himself on me. Besides, I never promised."

She replied reaching for the tablet she had placed on the table next to her "Besides, I have far more important things to do this evening than playing hero attraction. It would also be too flashy to appear as Mayura. It could jeopardize my identity ."






"Master.. are you sure that this will be such a good idea?" Nooroo asked cautiously.

The villa was already fully prepared. Under the watchful eye of Nooroo, Gabriel reviewed the last steps on his tablet. It would be at least an hour before the first guests started to arrive. Gabriel only expected that Nathalie would show up soon to go over the planning of the gala with him again. This also ensured that everything would run smoothly.

"The plan is perfect Nooroo" Gabriel spoke sharply without taking his eyes off the small device in his hands.

Yet he could feel the kwami's piercing gaze to the point that he did look up. ".. Spit it out, Nooroo. What bothers you?"

"Nothing.." the kwami mumbled hastily until Gabriel looked away from him again. "I'm just thinking..."

"And here I was thinking it was nothing.." Gabriel interrupted him annoyed"

"I am just saying, master. That maybe you should reconsider the plan"

Gabriel couldn't help but roll his eyes and put the tablet aside in annoyance to give the kwami his full attention. "What don't you like about the plan?"

"I just think he has too many gaps.."

A soft sigh escaped the fashion king as he put the tablet aside to get out a small notebook in which he had written small sticky notes with highly detailed stick figures to explain his plan step by step to Nooroo again.

"Look, we're luring Mayura to the gala here. After a while, I'll use some pretext to ask her to accompany me onto the balcony, away from the guests, away from the party."'

"But wouldn't that be striking?"

"Nathalie will take care of the situation. As soon as she notices that I'm gone, she'll take charge anyway. She'll think of something,"

Gabriel continued while turning to the next page of the notebook. "So we're standing there on the balcony. And when I give you the signal, you're going to fly through her, grab the Miraculous, and then we have the trinket and Mayura's true identity! We confront her, strike, and win! The So the plan is perfect in every way!" Gabriel announced confidently, as he always was.

Which in Nooroo continued to trigger only an oppressive feeling of uneasiness. Gabriel cleared his throat once and decided not to pay any further attention to his little kwami.

"The guests will be coming soon. Get ready Nooroo. Today is going to be a big day."







As expected from Gabriel's guests, they all arrived at the large mansion at almost the same time.
Many came alone, some with company, and a few had to cancel because the schedule had changed spontaneously.

Gabriel himself personally received every one of his guests, greeted them with a handshake, and made a quick comment. All thanks to the woman who stood behind him and repeatedly provided him with quick information about his guests.
So it didn't escape her notice that her boss seemed more than obvious to distort himself after a certain guest, who, however, didn't show up.
But being subtle had never been Gabriel's forte if you would ask her.
With a blink of an eye, Nathalie turned away from Gabriel and looked at the next guest, who had just entered the villa, to be able to quickly whisper something in her boss's ear so that he could greet them as well.



The first three-quarters of an hour passed until all guests were greeted and provided with drinks and food.
Satisfied, Nathalie pulled back with a glass of sparkling wine in her hand observing what was happening around her.
Gabriel himself got involved in the conversations with his guests and occasionally engaged in friendly small talk.
Yet Nathalie could watch him again and again as he curiously turned to the door in the great hall in which they were, whenever someone opened it.

'Cute. He thinks Mayura will show up the woman thought and grinned while taking another sip from her glass.
Nathalie wasn't introverted, at least that's what she would say about herself. But she felt a little out of place at such events.

Now that all the guests had arrived, all she had to do was make sure everything was still going smoothly and pretend she was having at least a little fun with it. She was allowed to drink a glass or two. But mostly it was Gabriel's task to entertain his guest. It was only when something happened that she would have to intervene.
So again and again, she looked across the room at the faces of many guests and let small grapes, which she had stolen from the buffet, disappear into her bag.

"It's so boring..." she breathed softly so that only her little friend could hear her.

"Would you like to transform?" Duusu asked her quietly, slightly sticking her head out of her pocket. The soft chewing noises from her pocket then stopped for a brief moment. From the angle, the woman could see the half-eaten grape.

"So he gets what he wants? Why should I"

"But it sure would be fun. You could suddenly appear like a magician and do a little sentishow."

"Great. From Personal Assistant to Part Time Entertainment Show."

Giggling, Duusu stuffed the rest of the small grape into her tummy before continuing. "Or you comfort him as yourself" she announced with a huge grin on her lips which caused Nathalie to growl a little. "I'm sure he could use it right now," she added.

"Hmph," she said softly, turning her head away to drain her glass in one gulp.

It bothered her that her kwami hadn't missed the looks she'd been giving Gabriel throughout the evening.

"For your information, I'm just doing my job here. I always have to be ready in case he beckons me over to discuss an important matter."

"Important matters? Like that he's lonely?"

"No something like - DUUSU!" Nathalie hissed at a volume that was just about acceptable so that no one would turn around and look at her questioningly.

Which of course made Duusu giggle again.
But as quickly as her cheerfulness had come, it was gone just as fast.

She scrambled a little way out of the bag so she could follow whatever with her eyes for a second before it disappeared. Nathalie only noticed when she put her glass aside. "Duusu!!" she hissed softly and tried to stuff the just visible kwami back into the bag, but it didn't move.

"...What is wrong?"

"Miss Nathalie, may I go away?"

"Pardon?..." she said, blinking questioningly at the kwami.

"I saw something, I have to follow it up. Please. It's important!"

It was the first time since she had met Duusu that she wanted to move away from her. Otherwise, she couldn't seem to get far enough into Nathalie's personal space. So it had to be serious.
Not that Nathalie would mind being separated from this little creature from time to time. "If you keep a low profile. Nobody can see you. And even less can anyone find out that you belong to me."

"Promised!" Duusu shouted quickly with a nod when, in line with this promise, the lights of the room were dimmed so that you could hardly see the man next to you.

"How fitting.." Nathalie commented, swinging her head to the side. "Take your chance. Go away. I'll see you when you get back from your little trip."

"I will be back soon!"

And just like that Duusu had disappeared through Nathalie's pocket and the next wall.
It was then that the huge spotlights were now directed onto the small platform on which Gabriel now stepped, armed with a microphone in his hand and a glass of champagne in the other thus attracting everyone's attention.

"Dear guests!" he began his little speech. "I am very pleased that so many of you were able to appear here today."

The man waved his hand to the side to purposefully point to the wide range of dishes he had prepared for his guests.

"You were already able to get to know the buffet. Please don't hesitate and grab and try everything you like. The chef did his best to make this evening as unforgettable as possible."

There was a short pause in which some of the guests laughed and some even clapped.
'Yeah, yeah. The best that money can buy.' thought the woman, who continued to watch the man from her little corner.'

"But that's not all. To make this evening as unforgettable as possible, we have also arranged a music band"

Loud applause suddenly rang through the room while Gabriel introduced the band of tonight with a grin.
'Yep. That's my cue to plunder the buffet,' the woman thought and opened her up to leave the space on the wall.


"Mademoiselle Sancoeur?" a voice suddenly sounded that made her stop abruptly and whirl around.

She hadn't noticed that someone had approached her, the sound of his voice sounding indescribably familiar to her.
With the little light that the room provided, probably to give the whole thing a slightly romantic touch, she could only make out his look when he was standing directly in front of her.
He was wearing a black and blue suit, with the matching snow-white button-down shirt, but no tie or anything.

His long black wild hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and hung down his back in an attempt to tame it, revealing his ear studded ears. He choose one earring on the right ear, yet whore three on his left ear.
Particularly striking was also a silver helix on the top of his right ear, which Nathalie was now beaming at.
With his shimmering green eyes, he looked down at the woman.

"Mr. Lee. Right?" she said.

"You remember me. I am glad."

He spoke those words with a smile on his lips and the oddly familiar sound that had struck Nathalie out of the blue was gone.
Surprised, she blinked at him a few times, which he couldn't miss.

"Oh? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's.." Nathalie paused and cleared her throat once "You just reminded me of an old friend of mine for a moment." 'You look alike. However, his voice is different.. and his eye color is wrong. Besides, it's been a long time...'