Emotional Support [Complete]

Gabriel smiled sadly at her loyalty, pressing a kiss to Marinette's temple. "Thank you, Mari. But," he grabbed Laurent's card, handing it to her, "for the sake of your future, it's best to know all your options."

Marinette looked up to him in confusion. "Gabe..."

"Just in case, okay?"--Marinette nodded-- "Now, you kids are free to go. Have fun tonight, alright?"

Marinette bounced with excitement before rising to her toes and kissing Gabriel's cheek. "Thank you!" She pulled Adrien along. "Come on, chéri! Food!"

"Oooh, yes!"

Gabriel smiled as the two ran off into the sea of people. Then, he found a hand on his shoulder belonging to his own date.

"Why did you do that, Gabriel?"

The Agreste turned to her with fear in his eyes. "I'm Gabriel Agreste, possibly the most catastrophic failure of a father up until last week. I'm not taking any chances with Marinette's future. Even if I screw up again, at least she'll..."

Nathalie grabbed two glasses of champagne of the silver tray a caterer was carrying around. 

"What are you doing?"

"We'll you're talking some crazy negative language that I do not understand, and you look like a man who could use a drink." Nathalie smiled mischievously, shaking the light colored liquid gently around the glass. "Wine time."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "You know we have to stay sober, right?"

"Why?" Nathalie shrugged. "We're not driving tonight."

Gabriel shook his head. "What about our kids?"

Nathalie blinked. "Pfft. Our kids."

Gabriel's cheeks darkened. "I said that, didn't I?"

Nathalie nodded. "Yes, you did!"

The Agreste reddened further and face palmed himself. "Yes, you know what? Our kids. Because we both take care of them. And Marinette calls me dad and Adrien sees you as his mother. And we're dating now. So, yeah, our kids, okay?"

Nathalie giggled. "Aw, I haven't seen you this red since Emilie. Cute."

Gabriel laughed at himself. It was true. He was no better than Adrien with Marinette. The man exhaled his blush away and shook his head.

"I'll take that drink now."

"Oh, you were actually going to drink?" Nathalie giggled nervously as she held two empty glasses. "I'll find you one."

Gabriel blinked as she walked off into the crowd, trying to find another caterer or alcohol of any sort. She came back a few minutes later with another pair of glasses.

"Look what I found!" She exclaimed. "Italian red wine. I am a happy girl."

Gabriel shook his head and accepted the glass. "Don't drink too much, Nathalie."

The dark-haired woman laughed and tapped her glass against his. "Cheers." She drank. "Don't worry, Gabriel. You remember all the parties in college?"

Gabriel nodded. "How could I forget? You had the highest alcohol tolerance I've ever seen. How you were still able to function for class the next day was beyond me."

"What can I say? Just because I was a good student didn't mean I didn't know how to have a good time," Nathalie said, acting completely sober. "It's just been a while since I've been stress free and happy, you know? It's always been something like Adrien is depressed, I'm in love with my best friend's husband, work, Mayura. I am just glad to have one night of some peace and fun."