It started with a dirty plate.

Sabine had been telling her daughter to bring down the dishes from her room for three days, and while Marinette was a good, loving, kind, and mostly obedient kid, she was also a bit of a slob. Sabine knew her daughter had good intentions, but… Well…

Any parent of any teenager can tell you. No matter how many times you ask, there will always be one errant dish left behind.

So it was no surprise that Sabine was rummaging through her daughter's room on a Wednesday afternoon with a cup with God knows what in the bottom of it in her hand as she looked for more offending dishes.

"Mari, for God's sake," Sabine muttered as she scooted some dirty clothes out of the way and checked a shelf. She would never deliberately try to search her daughter's room and violate her privacy. Her own mother had cured her of that, thank you very much. Also, she knew that the top left drawer of her dresser was, um, her private place. Sabine had made the mistake of being helpful and putting shirts away only once and afterwards vowed never to open a drawer again, lest she find anything else. Still, she did see this as an opportunity to somewhat get to know her child a little better.

She looked at the massive collection of Adrien pictures on her wall, desk, notebooks, and everywhere else, and sighed. "She's going to have to say something to him someday," she muttered. "She's going to run out of wall space if she doesn't."

Sabine noticed a pile of clothes near Marinette's closet and went to shuffle them into her hamper when her phone went off. The telltale Akuma Alert siren.

Sabine sat the cup down and took out her phone to investigate. She always felt a chill go down her spine when one of these happened. Each time, she prayed it wouldn't be one of Marinette's classmates or friends, or worse yet, Marinette.

Sabine watched as the newscast focused on Ladybug and Chat Noir swinging into action against what looked like a big game hunter riding the back of a gigantic, robot elephant. The akuma was shooting at them with what looked like an over-sized blunderbuss and screaming, but both heroes were too fast to be hit.

Sabine was so distracted that she didn't notice when she slid open Marinette's closet and missed the clothing bin completely. Instead, she bumped a small, red and black jewelry case that was nestled on the floor, right beside said hamper.

A compartment slid open.

Sabine watched as the newscaster described what was happening.

'It appears that Big Game Hunter has taken out… Yes, it appears to be an energy net! He's thrown it and… Yes, folks, it appears that Chat Noir is down. The hero of Paris has been taken out by this deadly akuma. Can Ladybug handle this menace alone?'

Sabine sucked in a sharp breath. The poor boy had screamed when that electric net had hit him, and it looked like he was out cold. She gripped the phone as a wave of anxious worry washed over her.

"Get up," she murmured. "Come on, please don't be hurt. Oh! Ladybug, please be careful!"

Sabine was hunched over her phone, staring intently at the screen. She watched as Ladybug tried to dodge a shot but didn't quite make it. The blast skinned her arm, and Ladybug went down hard, grabbing her arm and wincing from the pain.

"No!" Sabine said, worried. She didn't know why, but something about the heroine resonated strongly with her. There was something about her that brought out a motherly instinct. She just couldn't put her finger on what, though.

"Please get up, Ladybug," Sabine said.

"Shucks, ya think she's hurt?" A voice with a thick, southern drawl asked.

Sabine nodded. "The blast got her arm anAAAAAWHAT THE HELL!?"

Sabine spun around in shock and fell over.

There, floating about where she had been standing, was a tiny black and white… Thing.

Sabine scurried backwards, her eyes ready to bulge out of her head. "Whaaaat are you? How did you get in here? Why are you in my daughter's room?"

Now, a word on kwamis.

Most kwamis understand the need for discretion. Some abide by it fully, while others bend the rules when things are at their most dire.

And a few, a very, very, scant few, are just so Goddamn stupid that they don't care.

"Well, howdy, ma'am!" The kwami said, smiling. "Y'all don't need ta get in a tizzy. My name's Ziggy, and I'm a kwami!"

Sabine stared mutely at the flying creature. Ziggy, undaunted, flew a little closer. "Ya done let me out of the miraculous box over yonder. Ya must'a opened my drawer out of plumb luck, I reckon."

Sabine's eyes went from the flying rodent to the small jewelry box on the floor by the clothing hamper. "What?" She asked.

"I'm a kwami," Ziggy said, proudly. He puffed out his chest. "I'm in the service of yer kin, Miss Marinette. She's our Guardian, yesserie, Bob."

Sabine stared. "What?"

"Why, she's the Guardian of all us miraculous," Ziggy said. He noticed the look of confusion on Sabine's face. "Um, ya did know yer lil' girl is our keeper, didn'tcha?"

Somewhere amid the shock, Sabine's mind locked on to one key word the flying creature had said.

Miraculous.

Sabine looked again at the red and black box and for the first time, truly registered the coloring and pattern.

"Oh, my God."

She picked up her phone and looked again. Ladybug was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding the blasts from Big Game Hunter. The camera zoomed in on her face, and Sabine didn't just see a look of panic and frustration.

For the first time, like a veil had been lifted, she saw someone that she knew.

"My little girl?" She said in a whisper. "She's hurt." Sabine looked at Ziggy and in a panicked voice, she said, "She's hurt! She's in trouble!"

Ziggy looked at the footage on the phone and whistled. "Wow Whee! That there's a fancy magic talky glass, yes sir. Ain't seen one o' those before, no ma'am. I mean, Merlin's was a big ole cauldron. Nothin' handheld about a cauldron, no ma'am."

Sabine closed her eyes and took a breath to compose herself. "You," she said. "You said your name is… Ziggy?"

Ziggy nodded and tipped an imaginary hat. "Ma'am."

Sabine looked at the screen and then back to Ziggy. "Can you help her?"

Ziggy looked at the action taking place and shook his head. "Nope."

Sabine deflated a bit. A wave of helplessness washed over her.

"…But I can help you help her."

Sabine perked up.

"How?"

Ziggy smiled.

Ladybug was crouched behind a chimney and seriously questioning her life choices.

The wound on her arm was screaming at her, but she couldn't tend to that at the moment. She glanced over the bricks of the chimney at Big Game Hunter who was a couple of buildings back. His robotic elephant apparently came with rocket legs because of course it fucking did, and now they were flying over the streets of Paris. Hanging helpless in a net beside them, completely passed out, was her partner.

"Okay," Marinette said with a determined nod. "This could be better, but who am I to complain? Time to get serious. Lucky Charm!" She threw her yoyo into the air. A lasso came down in her hands.

She stared at it and blinked. "Huh," she said. "Not the most useless lucky charm, but…" She looked around. Nothing was standing out to her.

"Dang it," she muttered. "Okay, maybe if I wait for him to go by me, I can get him with the lasso, pull him off the elephant, and then…

But Marinette never got to finish that particular thought.

The chimney she was hiding behind exploded as an energy beam slammed into it. Ladybug rolled with the force of the blast, but it still left her ears ringing. This wasn't good.

"How?!" She yelled. She thought she had been fairly well hidden, but then she glanced down to the television crews filming from the street and she cursed under her breath.

"Of course," she said. "If Hawkmoth is watching, then they knew where I was. Thanks, Nadja."

Marinette made a mental note that if she lived, she was charging Nadja double for babysitting from here on out.

Ladybug looked up to see the end of a ridiculously long rifle pointed directly at her head. Big Game Hunter adjusted his hunter's cap and twirled his excessively long mustache as he took aim.

"Pity you weren't better prey. Ah well. That's a good girl, now," he said in a thick English accent.

Marinette froze. There was nowhere left to run. She braced herself and…

"YOU BASTARD!" A black and white streak slammed into Big Game Hunter, knocking him off his saddle and throwing him across the street and through a brick wall. The shockwave of his impact shattered every window in that building and set off several car alarms on the street below.

Ladybug looked up in shock.

Standing atop the saddle of the amok elephant was an adult in a black and white, skintight outfit. Her face was covered by a mask, and there were two curled horns coming out of her hair. The look on her face alone was enough to melt lead.

The new mystery hero leapt down to where Ladybug was laying and instantly helped her up. Ladybug accepted the help and stood, confused, as this newcomer dusted her off and proceeded to check her over.

"Are you okay? How is your arm? Did he hurt you? Can you walk? Did he get you?"

Ladybug put out her hands to stop the new hero and smiled. "Um, I'm fine? Thank you? I'm not sure who you are, but yeah, thank you very much. You showed up just in time. Who are you?"

The new hero eyed Ladybug for a moment. "I… Think we should talk about that afterwards." She looked to the robot elephant and saw Chat still tethered to its side. "Can you free your little friend?" She looked to the building and cracked her knuckles. "While you do that, the adults need to have a talk."

Before Marinette could respond, our mysterious hero leapt towards where Big Game Hunter had landed. Marinette cringed as she heard the telltale sound of a beating take place.

Quickly, she flung her yoyo at the net holding Chat Noir. The net dislodged and Chat fell helplessly towards the street below. Ladybug wasted no time. She swung out and caught him mid-fall but hissed from the pain in her arm as she did so. As a result, she mistimed her landing and they both took a tumble into the rooftop she was aiming for.

Chat awoke on impact. "Meouch!" He said, rubbing his head. "A bit of a rough landing, wasn't it, My Lady?"

Ladybug stood and shot him a quick glance. "Glad to see you're still with us," she said. She turned to the building where Big Game Hunter had been and winced as she heard begging.

"Please!" He cried out in his thick, British accent. "Madame, please relent! I yield!"

"You think you can hurt my kid?!" Sabine screamed as she repeatedly punched him in the face. Each hit was so powerful that a miniature shockwave was emanating from her blows. "You think you can shoot at a helpless child! What is wrong with you?!"

She was honestly punching him too hard for him to answer.

Sabine only stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She swung around to see Ladybug standing there with a nervous expression on her face. "Um, Ma'am? Maybe you should let us take it from here." Ladybug bent down and checked to make sure the akuma was still alive. Not knowing what else to do, she patted him on the head. "Um, you'll be okay in a second, Sir." She then picked up the rifle and snapped it in two. With a flick of her yoyo, Sabine watched as she caught the purple butterfly that flew out and deakumatized it in a quick second.

"There," she said to Sabine. "No need for any more violence."

"Um, Bugaboo?" Chat asked, pointing. "What about the amok?"

Ladybug turned to see the robot elephant careening around wildly, its trunk slamming into buildings and shattering windows as it roared.

"Oh yeah," she said. "We need to subdue it."

Ladybug reached for the lasso on her hip and then handed it to Sabine. "Um, new lady? You know how to use one of these?"

Sabine took the lasso and nodded. "I think I can figure it out."

"Good," Ladybug said. She took out her yoyo. "We get it from each side while Chat finds the amok." She reached up to her ear which was beeping. "And we need to hurry, as I'm about to transform."

The others nodded. Sabine watched as Ladybug leapt across the street to the building on the far side of the elephant and swung her yoyo towards its neck. She was amazed at the level of confidence emanating from her daughter. It was something she always knew had been there, but to see it? To be right there at it happened?

Sabine felt her chest swell with pride. "That's my girl," she said. She took the cue from Ladybug, twirled her lasso, and did caught the amok from the other side.

The elephant bucked and roared as Chat hopped onto its head. Looking around, there didn't seem to be too many places an amok could hide. It was just a giant robot elephant. No compartment, no steering wheel… But there was a saddle.

"Hmmm," Chat thought to himself as he reached out. "Cataclysm!"

The saddle dissolved and the amok stopped cold. Both ladies strained as they lowered the now not-working robot to the street.

Ladybug caught the feather and cleansed it as fast as she could. She jumped down to the street to meet her partner who was dusting off his hands and smiling broadly.

"Not too shabby," he said with a grin. "Of course, once I wasn't captured and all."

"Of course," Ladybug said with a smirk. She looked to Sabine, who had landed beside them. Sabine handed her the lasso, which Ladybug tossed into the air. With a cry of "Miraculous ladybugs!" Sabine watched as the damage was instantly repaired, and that included the wound on her daughter's arm.

Marinette put out her fist for both of them. "Pound it?"

Chat went to meet her, but Sabine took her arm in her hands and examined the area where the wound had been. "Are you okay?" She asked in her most concerned voice. "It looked so bad! Are you sure you're going to be all right? Any scarring? Anything?"

Marinette blushed a little and smiled. "Nope. The ladybugs do a real good job of cleaning up, and that includes injuries. We're fine."

Sabine looked at her daughter for a moment and bit her lip. She wanted to say a thousand things right then, but she wasn't sure if this was the appropriate time.

"Ahem."

Sabine turned her gaze towards the young man standing next to her daughter.

Strike that.

He was standing right next to her daughter.

"Hi," he said. He offered his hand. "I'm Chat Noir. And you are?"

Sabine eyed him and shook his hand. "We've met," she said in a voice that was not as polite as she had hoped.

Chat raised an eyebrow at that. "Um, really? I'm pretty sure I'd remember a new superhero."

Sabine blinked. 'Oh, right.' She remembered the whole costume thing. "I mean, I've met you before. As a civilian. Yes."

"Oh!" Chat smiled. "So, how do you know our little bugaboo?"

Ladybug blushed and shot him a glare. "Chat," she said in a warning tone.

He took her by the shoulder and gave her a squeeze. "You love me and you know it."

Ladybug shrugged him off. "Now is not the time, kitty."

'Kitty?' Sabine's eye twitched. 'She has a leather-clad boyfriend that she's kept from us, and she calls him KITTY?'

Sabine instantly had flashbacks to her honeymoon in Monte Carlo and the outfit Tom used to wear for their more… Enjoyable evenings.

Sabine hid her face with her hands and muttered, "Oh God. She's just like me." Her eyes went wide. "Oh no."

Marinette was about to ask what was wrong, but her eyes went wide as she heard her earrings beep again. "I have to go!" She said. "It was a pleasure meeting you! Bug out!"

Sabine watched as Marinette threw her yoyo and took off like lightning.

"Now, why would she act like that?" Sabine said to herself.

"She was about to change back," Chat said, also watching. "If we use our powers, we get five minutes. You're an adult though, so… Maybe not for you? I'm really not too clear on the rules."

Sabine eyed him. "How old are you?"

Chat flashed a nervous smile. "Um, old enough to know not to answer that?"

Sabine advanced on him. "You seem chummy with her. Are you two dating? What are your intentions towards her?"

Chat felt himself start to sweat. "Um, I don't know that I'm supposed to say anything to you about that. Especially since I really have no idea who you are."

Sabine growled.

"Well, look at that! I have to go. Thanks, bye!" Chat said as he grabbed his staff and shot out of there faster than he ever had before. Sabine watched him go and chuckled to herself.

"Sorry, kid. It's my job to give you a hard time." Sabine watched him go and then leapt off herself as the news crews approached.

"Ma'am?" Nadja called out as Sabine jumped to the rooftops in a single bound. She watched, awe-struck. "Tom, tell me you got that."

The cameraman, Tom, nodded and grinned. "Damn straight I did."

Marinette made it to her balcony with only seconds to spare. She transformed and let out a sigh of relief as she caught Tikki. "That was a little too close," she said.

Tikki agreed as Marinette slipped her a macaroon. "It sure was. Who do you think that new hero was?"

Marinette shrugged. "I'm not sure. Do you think she was a miraculous holder?"

Tikki thought on that. "She looked like she was using Ziggy, but that's impossible. I mean, Ziggy is in your room, and the only way someone would have access to him is if…"

Tikki froze as Marinette heard a sound behind her.

She turned.

Standing there was the mysterious goat themed hero that she had just fought beside.

"Um, hi?" Marinette asked, now extremely nervous. 'Oh no, did she follow me? Did I just blow my cover? I should have stopped somewhere else! I should have gone inside as soon as I landed! Oh no. Oh no.'

The new hero stared at her in silence for a moment. Marinette watched as the newcomer looked from her to the skylight and sighed. "Makes sense," she said. She looked back to Marinette and said, "How do I detransform?"

Marinette blinked. She was so nervous she was shaking. "Um, excuse me? I don't know what you're talking about?"

Sabine was about to speak when Tikki floated out from around Marinette. Marinette's eyes went to the size of dinner plates.

"You're holding Ziggy?" Tikki asked. There was a note of sad resignation in her voice that Marinette had never heard before. It broke Marinette's heart because she knew what it meant.

Their covers were blown.

Before Sabine could answer, there was a flash of light and she was back to normal. Ziggy, exhausted from his first use in over 150 years, collapsed onto Marinette's deck chair.

"Sorry, ma'am. I just couldn't hold it anymore. S'been a while and I am plumb tuckered." He waved to Marinette. "Howdy, Master. Howdy Tikki."

Tikki gave a small wave. "Hi, Ziggy."

Marinette stared in shock at her mother.

Sabine stood with a look that Marinette knew all too well.

You know the look. You know the look. You can feel it right now, right through this story, can't you? I bet you can. That universal YOU ARE FUCKED look that parents only break out a handful of times as you are growing up. And remember that feeling you got in your stomach? That feeling like a frozen stone slamming into your gut and making you uncontrollably shudder while wanting to throw up and/or run for your life? The one where you want to burst out crying when they haven't even said anything because that look has actual physical properties to it?

Well then, you know exactly what our heroine was feeling.

"Mom?" Marinette choked out.

"Kitchen table," Sabine said. Her voice was low and even, which was another sign of how fucked things were.

"Now."

Marinette sat rigidly in her seat as her mother brought her a cocoa and sat it in front of her. She took a seat across from her daughter and set her own drink down.

"So."

Marinette tensed in her seat. She desperately hoped for an akuma attack, but Hawkmoth was anything but accommodating.

"How was school today?"

Marinette felt herself shaking in her seat and did her level best to stop. "It was fine," she choked out. "I got a 92 on my lit test."

Sabine nodded. "Good. I'm glad to hear it."

Sabine took a long sip from her cocoa.

So," she started. "Imagine my surprise when while cleaning your room, I discovered a magic flying goat monster," Sabine said, her eyes never even blinking. How do parents do that?

"My first thought was, why is there a goat monster in my daughter's room? I mean, as a parent of a teen, I'm prepared to find any number of things. Porn? A vibrator? Drugs? All possibilities, but I imagine I've raised you well enough that…"

She thought about the hundreds of pictures of Adrien all over her daughter's walls.

She thought about the drawer.

"…That drugs would at least be out of the picture. So, what do I find? Magic flying goat monsters. Marinette," she looked her daughter square in the eye. "Why are there magic flying goat monsters in your room?"

Marinette swallowed hard. For a brief moment, she tried to think of different ways to stretch the truth, or to at the very least cover, but…

She looked at Tikki, who was in the next room with Ziggy, working the remote to find something to watch on Netflix.

She let out a long sigh.

"It's because I'm Ladybug, and I am also as of last month the Guardian of all miraculous. Including Ziggy over there." Marinette said, completely defeated.

Sabine nodded. She took a breath, and Marinette could tell her mother was shaking with questions. "So you know," she said at last. "I did not go snooping. I bumped your case-thing while putting your clothes away and that, um, country gentleman came flying out."

Sabine was polite. She wouldn't say hillbilly. She was thinking it, sure, but say it? That just wasn't her.

Marinette cringed. "Sorry about that."

Sabine sighed and rubbed her head. "You should be. I think I peed a little. Look, okay. Fine. You're…" She gestured to Marinette. "You're a hero." She closed her eyes and nodded. "I can accept that. I can accept those," she pointed at the kwamis. "Your magical friend monster things. But what I can't accept is you not trusting me, Mari."

Marinette blinked. "Mom, I had to keep it a secret. It was for your protection, and…"

Sabine held up a hand. "Mari, I love you more than anything, but I don't give a shit what your logic was on this, okay? I'm your mother. I get that you're going to go and be your own person. Granted, I figured it meant you'd fight us on where to go to college and you'd run off with some boy to Italy to fashion school. I figured you'd throw us for a loop and it would end up being Luka, but your father is still team Adrien. Actually, we both are. Anyway. You're your own person. I understand that. I support that! But dear, you… You could have died today because you didn't trust anyone with your secret. Do you understand that?"

Marinette nodded. "I… I guess so."

There was a heavy silence in the room. Marinette looked up at her mother, and for a moment to Sabine, it looked like her daughter was five again. "Am I grounded?"

Sabine sighed. "Wouldn't do much good, would it? I mean, you could just transform and fly away, or whatever it is you do. No, you're not grounded."

Marinette breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks, mom."

"Going forward, you let me know."

Marinette froze. "Pardon?"

Sabine leaned in. "You. Let. Me. Know. If you run off to fight something, you let me know what you're up to, understand? I can't stop you. I know that. I remember being your age and what happens when you try to reign a young woman in when she's made up her mind. I just need to know… Honey, I need to know that you're safe. That's my rule going forward."

Marinette smiled as tears started to well up in her eyes. She had seen this conversation going a thousand ways.

She had never considered it would end with acceptance.

Marinette got up and quickly walked around the table to her mother. She wrapped her in a tight hug and said, "Thank you."

"I love you, sweetie." Sabine said.

They stayed like that for awhile. As they broke the hug, Marinette was grinning through her tears. "I never thought you'd be so understanding about all this."

Sabine shot her a look. "Oddly, what really concerns me in all this is something else. How safe are you?"

Marinette blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"That cat boy," Sabine said. "This whole time, you running around with him in those outfits, staying out late, doing God knows what? It's a bit concerning for a mother, dear."

"What?" Marinette asked, her brain not wanting to latch onto this part of the conversation.

"I know that you're… Well, you're a young woman, and that at your age, you may decide it's time to make some, um, choices with your body. I don't need details, but… Have you been safe?"

"What?" Marinette asked again, the blood now gone from her face.

"She wants ta know if yer sharin' a bedroll with yer rascal!" Ziggy called out.

"Ziggy!" Tikki snapped.

"Dammit," Marinette hid her face in her hands. "Thank you, Ziggy. No. No as in I am not doing anything. With anyone." Her head slammed into the table in front of her. "Especially not Chat Noir. Oh, my God. I need a shower, now."

"He just seemed so… Handsy with you," Sabine said, helpfully. "And your nicknames for each other? Bugaboo? Kitty?" She eyed her daughter. "You're sure there's nothing going on I should know about?"

Marinette felt herself turning beet red. "I can promise you that nothing is going on with anyone," she mumbled as she died a little inside. "Not a damn thing."

Bit more than she wanted to share right there, but this was a weird day.

Sabine sipped her cocoa as Marinette simmered.

"You know, your father used to call me kitty," she casually tossed out.

"Mom!" Marinette snapped, now redder than before.

"It was on our honeymoon," Sabine said as she smiled at the memory. "We were at a, well, an establishment in Monte Carlo." She blushed at the memory. "They had the most amazing costume pieces…"

"MOM PLEASE STOP NOW," Marinette begged. She put her fingers in her ears.

Sabine shrugged. "Well, just take care of yourself. Honestly, I had never thought that Adrien could be that forward, but apparently there's a lot I don't know about all of you."

Marinette's head shot up and she stumbled back. "A… Adrien? He… He's…"

Sabine saw the look on her daughter's face. "Oh. Oh honey, um, you mean he's not?"

Marinette looked at her mother, clearly confused.

"I mean," Sabine said. "You have pictures of him everywhere, and you run off with that cat boy at night, and the way he flirts heavily with you… Honey, I could have cut that tension with a knife. I just figured, you know…"

Marinette closed her eyes in relief. "Oh God. Mom, no. Tension? No! No, no, no. I have no idea who Chat Noir is. We keep our identities a secret. And like I said, despite his flirting, he's a friend. We're professional."

As a mother, Sabine gave a sigh of relief. As a woman, objectively, she questioned her daughter's tastes. I mean, leather-clad hero that risks his life for her, handed to her nightly on a silver platter…

Sabine shook her head. She could play wing woman later. She made a noncommittal noise at Marinette's assertions and leaned back, thinking. There was no way that young blonde wasn't Adrien. She would eat her baker's hat if he wasn't. After all, she had seen his face too many times to not recognize it when a simple piece of leather was covering it. Also, the poor boy had done a lot of modeling, and all of it was plastered throughout her home, courtesy of her obsessed daughter.

Sabine wondered if Marinette had ever stopped drooling over his October leather-inspired photo shoot that she kept under her pillow to ever notice the similarities.

"Really? You don't tell each other?" Sabine asked. "Why?"

Marinette shrugged. "It's a rule from the Guardian."

Sabine paused for a moment. "Um, sweetie? Isn't that you now?"

Marinette thought on that.

Sabine took off two hair clips and handed them to Marinette. "Those things in there, the, uh, kwamis? Do they live in that box?"

Marinette nodded. "It's, um, it's supposed to be bigger on the inside, from what I understand."

Sabine made a noise at that. "Hmmm. Do me a favor, dear. Don't tell your father any of this."

Marinette nodded. "I was hoping we could keep him out of this, actually. He's kinda protective."

Sabine nodded in understanding. "I think that's fair." She glanced over at the kwamis again. "So…"

"So?" Marinette asked.

"Who else knows?"

Marinette shook her head. "No one. There are other heroes, but they don't know who I am."

"But you know who they are?"

Marinette nodded.

Sabine thought on it for a moment. "I could guess, couldn't I?"

Marinette let out a nervous giggle. "Um, please don't? Their identities aren't for me to say."

"Fine, fine…" Sabine looked to Marinette and grinned. "Care to have a little fun?"

Marinette felt a wave of dread wash over her. She knew that there was a wide array of things her mother might consider "fun".

"Whaaaaat did you have in mind?" Marinette asked, concerned.

Sabine smiled.

Marinette leaned against a smokestack and tried to catch her breath. Apparently, her mother's idea of fun this time meant running across the rooftops of Paris at a breakneck speed.

"See?" Sabine said as she landed beside her daughter. "I told you I'd get you to go jogging with me someday!" She took a bottle of water she had brought with her from her hip and downed half of it. "Wow, these abilities are amazing! And I feel like I've burned a thousand calories!" She looked at her daughter. "No wonder you're a rail."

Marinette rubbed the back of her head and blushed. "Mooom…"

Just then, Sabine spotted something on the horizon and waved. "Oh! There's your little friend!"

Marinette froze. "What?"

"Yoo-hoo!" Sabine called out. "Hello there! Hello? Chat Noir? Hellooooo!"

Marinette put her hand to her eyes. "Please stop."

Chat meanwhile had changed course and was on his way over. He landed with the grace of, well, a cat right beside them and nodded. "Ladies," he said with a grin. He looked to Sabine and suddenly felt nervous, but she was smiling warmly at him, so he let it go.

Marinette considered him for a moment. "Hey, I thought you would be home by now. Is something up?"

Chat looked off to the side and shrugged. "I just didn't want to go home just yet." He cleared his throat. "It's a beautiful day, after all, and, um, you know…"

Marinette nodded. She knew Chat's home life wasn't the best.

Sabine however felt something drop in her stomach.

"Chat Noir?" She asked in her best mother voice. "Is something the matter at home?"

Chat shook his head and put his hands out. "No ma'am. Things are just fine. Just fine."

Sabine leaned in. "Don't lie to me. What's going on that you won't go home?"

Chat started to sweat. He looked to Ladybug, but she had her arms crossed and her face in her hand. "Sorry," she groaned.

"Does your mother know you're out here doing this?" Sabine asked.

Chat's face dropped as Ladybug sucked in a sharp breath. While she didn't know a lot about his home life, she knew that his mother wasn't a part of it anymore.

"Um, no." Chat said in a small voice. "My mom isn't, um, she's…"

Ladybug put her hand on Sabine's arm and said, "She's not around anymore."

Sabine's eyes went wide. She stopped with her nagging instantly and swept Chat up in a tight hug. "You poor, poor boy. I'm so sorry! I wouldn't have pressed if I had known."

Sabine felt Chat melt in her hug. She wondered how long it had been since anyone had even hugged him at all.

And with that, she was 100% sure that she was right.

"So," she said as she pulled back. "Marrrrmy partner and I were about to go for a run. Would you maybe like to go with us? Burn some energy?"

Chat looked to Marinette and smiled. "If LB says its okay, then I'm down."

Ladybug smiled. "Of course. You're always welcome."

Sabine smiled. As they leapt off the roof, a plan started to form in her head.

The rest of the afternoon passed fairly uneventfully. Marinette was still floored that her mother had been so accepting of her lifestyle that she really didn't know what to do with herself. She had thought her mom would interfere, or maybe stop her, or worse yet, flat-out reject her.

Instead?

Marinette munched on a plate of macaroons that her mom had sent up for her and Tikki to enjoy.

"You know? This isn't so bad," Tikki asked. "And your mom is pretty cool, Marinette."

Marinette popped a cookie in her mouth and considered it. "Now that she knows, it feels like there's a lot less pressure on me, you know? Like I don't have to hide as much."

"And your mom can cover for you," Tikki offered. "When you're late for school or are having trouble, she can stand up for you now!"

Marinette smiled at that. "This does make things different. Good different. I think this could work out."

"Marinette!" Sabine called out. "Dinner!"

Marinette headed down, a smile plastered on her face.

That smile turned to one of frozen shock when she saw Adrien in her kitchen. He was taking a pot from Sabine and carefully holding it between a set of rooster oven mitts.

"Hey Marinette," Adrien said with a grin. "Good to see you!"

"Aaaaaaaadrien!" Marinette managed. Her smile was so tight that her teeth were in danger of cracking. "Hello there. Hi. You. You're in my home. Here. Now. Tonight. Why are you in my home? I mean, of course you're welcome in my home. You're welcome all over my home. I mean, you can come to my home anytime, I mean, our door is open for you, I mean…"

Sabine gave her daughter a nudge, which promptly shut her up. Sabine noticed her daughter's face was still contorting, and she smiled. "Adrien will be joining us for dinner, sweetie. Why don't you help him set the table?"

Marinette locked up.

"Dear? Set the table," Sabine said, her voice slightly firmer.

Tom walked in and nodded in slight confusion at the two teenagers as they carried items out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Um, dear?" He asked as Sabine kissed him on the cheek. "Do we have company tonight?"

Sabine nodded as she started mashing some butter, garlic, and milk into a pot of drained, soft potatoes. "Tonight and every night going forward."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Dear?"

"It occurred to me today while I was out for a jog with Mari," Sabine said. "Adrien is such a nice young man, but he doesn't have a mother, and his father is, well, detached. I spoke to his assistant, that Nathalie woman? And she agreed that Adrien would benefit from some positive family exposure. So, I made a deal with her. Adrien will tutor Marinette on math, and in return, we will provide him a nice, warm, family dinner."

Tom looked in the dining room at the two of them. They were talking and laughing, and Marinette seemed to be absolutely glowing.

"Is that your only reason?" Tom asked, smiling a little.

Sabine smirked as she mashed the potatoes. "Say dear? How adventurous are you feeling tonight?"

"Adventurous?"

Sabine shrugged, her attention still on her potatoes. "Well, I was looking through the closet this afternoon, and I found some old outfits."

"Oh?"

Tom was standing behind Sabine as she leaned back into him a bit. "I found your old Batman suit."

Tom turned red. "…Oh."

Sabine giggled and spooned the potatoes into a bowl. "I thought that tonight, well, maybe you would like to play a bit?"

Tom stuttered and scratched the back of his head as he laughed a little. Sabine rubbed against him and purred as she walked by.

Tom, beet red and stuttering, followed.

As they sat down to dinner, Sabine noticed that Adrien looked happy, bemused, and even... Slightly uncomfortable? She realized that this was probably the first time in ages that the poor boy had been to anything resembling a family gathering.

Before her family could dig in, Sabine cleared her throat and said, "Adrien, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Would you care to say grace?"

Marinette and Tom blinked at that. They said grace, but usually on special occasions. Marinette quickly realized that tonight, this probably counted.

"Sure, Ms. Cheng," Adrien said with a smile. He cleared his throat and bowed his head.

"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Thank you for this meal, and thank you so much for allowing me to share it with this amazing family. Amen."

Marinette felt something flutter in her stomach as she quietly said, "Amen."

Later, after an incredible dinner (seriously, it was great. Sabine makes this meatloaf, and I know what you're thinking, but seriously. SERIOUSLY. It's just… Damn. She uses these breadcrumbs and a special kind of seasoning, and soy sauce. I know, right? Soy sauce? Who does that? Well, it just makes the flavor pop. It's juicy and delicious. If you ask her, she'll tell you she adds an extra egg, but really, it's the sauce. The next time you see her, ask her for the recipe. She'll share.) Marinette and Adrien headed up to her room to study.

Seriously, they did.

Marinette had already ran up ahead of time to remove her poster collection, so things were relatively safe. Also, after a large meal, she found it hard to feel panicked about being in her bedroom with her crush.

In fact, as he sat in her rolling chair and she slouched in her beanbag and they went over inverse operations, things felt… Nice.

"Hey, Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"Yes?" She looked up from her math.

"Did you really need help with your math?"

Marinette looked over the work and shrugged. "Science gets me, but I'm good with math. Why?"

Adrien shook his head and laughed. "Nathalie said I was being fed in exchange for tutoring lessons. But I have to say," he looked around. "This has been the best evening I've had in months."

"Really?" Marinette perked up.

Adrien nodded. "Really. Your home is so warm and inviting, and your parents are so kind. I'd forgotten what that feels like. And the food! I don't remember the last time I had anything like this. It was really great." He rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry if my being here surprised you."

Marinette turned slightly red and squirmed in her bean bag. "No, it was good. A good surprise. I like a good surprise. You know, you're, well, you're welcome here anytime you like. There's always a seat at our table, and mom always makes too much food."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Adrien said.

Marinette turned redder. "What if I asked you to come over?"

Adrien paused. "Asked?"

Marinette swallowed and nodded. "Would… You like to, um, have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

He smiled, and Marinette felt her hear melt. "I'd love that. Thank you, Marinette."

"I'd love youthat, that. That, too. I'd love that, too." Marinette agreed.

Smiling, they both went back to their homework.

Downstairs, as Sabine washed the dishes and shooed Tom off to bathe, she looked over at Tikki, who was munching on a macaroon and asked, "so, she really hasn't figured it out?"

Tikki shrugged. "She's completely clueless. It's kind of adorable, actually."

Sabine momentarily turned her attention to her phone, and a video that had recently been uploaded to the Ladyblog. The camera crew from before had caught some good shots of her, and Sabine, while not a terribly vain woman, was enjoying the fact that miraculous costumes tended to, well, refine one's physique.

"I look twenty," Sabine murmured and smiled. Oh yes. She would be borrowing Ziggy again soon.

Sabine then glanced over at the small, black kwami that was devouring the cheese that had been in the back of her fridge. "And Adrien hasn't figured it out, either?"

"Not a clue!" Plagg said as he gulped down another slice. "You could smack him in the face with the truth and he'd still blink and ask what was going on. Trust me, he's an idiot when it comes to the boss."

Tikki had considered playing dumb when Sabine had asked if Adrien happened to have a kwami as well, and if that kwami would like a snack. Tikki had started to push back, but then she was offered a massive plate of sweets and… Well, I mean, Sabine already knew, so it wasn't like Tikki was actually telling, right? Right?

Shut up. They're good pastries.

Sabine rinsed a plate and sighed. "It figures. It took Tom and me months to figure out we were in love with each other."

Plagg finished off the cheese plate he had been given and let out a tiny burp. "So, we're just gonna keep doing this until they figure it out for themselves?"

Sabine nodded. "That boy is never eating alone again, as far as I'm concerned."

Plagg looked up at the ceiling. "And we're just gonna keep sending them up there to spend some quality time together until they snap?"

Sabine smiled. "Well, I wouldn't want to meddle in my daughter's love life, but…"

Tikki laughed. "Please! She's the worst!"

Plagg nodded. "So is he!"

Sabine laughed at that.

Ziggy drifted in. "That dinner smelled mighty nice, Miss Sabine. Ya got any extra?"

Sabine nodded towards the fridge. "There's plenty of leftovers. Help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do," Ziggy said as she drifted towards his dinner.

While Sabine didn't see herself as a hero, she did know a thing or two about being a mom.

"Ziggy!" Plagg shouted. "No, that's the good cheese! Back off!"

She knew that her daughter was a good person, and that she was capable of making good choices.

"It's mine now, ya varmint!" Ziggy snapped back as he zipped out of the fridge with a cheese wedge in his tiny hands.

And if Adrien was her choice, and if he was also willing to risk his life daily for her without question?

Well.

"Plagg, just let him have it. When was the last time he even had cheese?" Tikki said.

"Stay out of this, sugarcube!" Plagg snapped back as he took off after Ziggy.

She supposed she could help in her own, special way.

Much, much later that evening.

Marinette found herself once again swinging across the rooftops of Paris. She normally didn't go out this much in one day, but she was still giddy from Adrien coming over.

Also, from the fact that he was coming over again tomorrow.

Also, he had hugged her when he left!

Marinette was sailing through the air, both literally and figuratively. Today had been a great day.

She came to rest on her favorite beam on the Eiffel Tower and was surprised to see Chat Noir sitting there already, looking at the city lights.

"Chat?" Marinette asked, concerned. "Is everything alright? You haven't been out this entire time, have you?"

Chat looked over at her and smiled. "No, no, I went home. In fact, I've had the best evening I can remember in a long, long time."

"Oh?" Marinette asked as she sat down next to him.

Chat nodded. "I was invited to a friend's house for dinner. Her mom invited me and it was, well, it was the best evening I could have hoped for."

Marinette raised her eyebrows at that. "Oh? A friend, you say? That happens to be a girl?"

Chat blushed. "We're just really good friends. Kind of like you are with me."

She smiled at that. "I'm just teasing you, kitty."

He smiled back. "I know. She's really something, though. And her family is nice, too. They make me feel welcome in a way I haven't since... Well, I haven't felt that way in a long, long time. And they can cook!"

Marinette looked over at him. "Oh?"

Chat nodded. "That was, hands down, the best meat loaf I've ever had. And those macaroons! They put a lot of love into their meals. It's weird, you know? I had forgotten what it was like to be around a family that cared about one another. Seeing all of them together… It made me a little jealous, I guess."

Marinette had barely heard anything Chat had said. Her breathing was coming in short, sharp gasps and the blood had drained from her face.

The coincidence was rather huge, wasn't it?

What had her mom said earlier that day?

Something, something, Chat Noir is Adrien, something?

Marinette looked over at her partner.

Really, really looked.

She looked at his blonde hair. His green eyes.

Her brain momentarily fluttered to a certain October fashion spread he had done last year.

"Oh," She whispered.

She felt her heart stop.

"Bugaboo?" Chat asked as he looked over and saw her face. "Hey, is everything alright?"

Marinette blinked back to real life for a second and nodded. "Um, yeah. Yeah. So… This, um, this girl, is she nice?"

Chat smiled. "Yeah. She's kind and sweet, and really smart. I think you'd like her. I think you'd like her a lot."

Marinette blushed heavily.

"Is she pretty?"

Now it was Chat's turn to blush. "Um, would I be in trouble if I said yes?"

She playfully elbowed him. "You're fine, Chat. Honestly."

Chat nodded. "Then yeah. Honestly? She's beautiful. I mean, she's just got this glow to her, you know? Kind of like the world is just right when she's around. It's hard to explain."

Whelp, that settled it.

Marinette leaned on his shoulder, which surprised him, but he wasn't complaining. He put an arm around her and asked, "So, who was that newcomer? Was she from the future or something?"

Marinette shook her head. "Nope. Just my mom."

Chat coughed and choked on air, which is a thing people do. Don't judge.

"Your mom?! That lady was your mother?!"

Marinette nodded and giggled. "Hey, after you have dinner with this girl who is a friend tomorrow and the two of you hang out? There's something I want to talk to you about." She thought about it and blushed. "A new Guardian rule."

"Oh?" He asked, smiling. He never even picked up on the fact that he hadn't mentioned hanging out to her. "And what would that be, Madame Guardian?"

She leaned over and kissed him.

Nothing big, nothing grand or fancy. Just a soft, short kiss on the lips.

"I'll tell you tomorrow, kitty."

Chat blushed heavily as his synaptic nerves stopped firing.

"Uhhhh… O… Okay?"

"Enjoy your dinner," Marinette said with a wink and she cast out her yoyo and swung away into the night.

Tomorrow, she would sit in class and watch him stew all day long.

Tomorrow evening, she would have a wonderful dinner with him and her family.

And afterwards?

Well, the Guardian was the one who decided who kept their identity secret, weren't they?

And after all, she was the Guardian...