It's the Little Things That Count - Gabenath Drabbles

Day 12: Almost

Nathalie remembered the day when Gabriel had almost given up, right after akumatizing Audrey. If he'd stuck with his decision, maybe he could've saved them all from so much pain.

Recently, there'd been more "almost" moments.

Gabriel had almost succeeded in using the time Miraculous to bring Emilie back.

Nathalie had almost decided to stay mad at him after he failed.

He'd almost driven himself to the brink of insanity but had saved himself before it was too late.

And today, perhaps the most surprising of all, he'd almost kissed her.

It hadn't started as a romantic moment; in fact, the two had been in the kitchen preparing a Saturday morning breakfast for Adrien. She'd been standing by the counter, a bag of sugar in her hands, and he'd reached around her to grab a plate from an upper cabinet. Rather than moving out of the way, she'd stayed there, for whatever reason. This had left their faces inches apart when he'd looked back down.

And she'd seen how he'd tilted his head and leaned closer, eyes closing.

Then Adrien had come in and Gabriel had moved away before he could see.

Now, Nathalie was left to recover from their almost-kiss.

She knew her face was red as she sat down at the island, frustrated that he could so easily pretend that nothing had happened. Maybe in his mind, nothing had.

The rest of the breakfast went as normal. As usual, Marinette was the main topic on Adrien's mind.

Afterward, Nathalie went to follow after the boy but Gabriel took her wrist, pulling her back into the kitchen.

Before she could say anything, he kissed her, this time without interruptions.

"Were really you going to leave as if nothing happened?" he asked a few seconds later, drawing away.

Still flustered, she took a moment to reply. "You seemed ready to do the same thing just a moment ago."

"I thought it was better not to be interrupted. Would you have rather had Adrien walk in on us?"

She smiled, shaking her head. "No, I suppose not. But you did send me some mixed messages."

He looked apologetic. "I'll admit my timing isn't the best." "It could use some work," she agreed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "But you made up for it."