Dear Bugaboo

The Arrival

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Sabine had finally relaxed her stiff muscles from her recent interaction.

For some reason, she found it quite hard to keep a facade on and felt it wear her down over the years. Her wrinkles were getting wrinkles and a few strands of grey were starting to show. Luckily, she had recently been drinking some tea and meditated to calm her stressed nerves.

It was helping but the stressful situation would sometimes break through her walls and get to her.

The main thing keeping Sabine going was the happy smile on Marinette's face. Sabine would keep as many secrets under lock and key just for the sake of the teen's happiness. She would even take it to her grave if worse comes to worst.

Yet...this secret wasn't just for Marinette's sake either...

The tolling of the bakery's bell snapped Sabine out of her thoughts and let a small smile grace her lips when seeing Marinette. Always so joyful and innocent, never having a care in the world. A cheery girl that gave Sabine a burst of energy in the morning...but also kept her awake at night.

   The Chinese woman's breath was caught short and felt the blood drain from her face when noticing the other teen entering.

The very teen of her most recent worries and stress.

"Hey, mom!" Marinette chirped a greeting before sheepishly asking, "Can I ask you of a favor, please?"

"Wh-What is it, dear?" Sabine stuttered, feeling sweat coating her brow and trying to look natural.

"My new friend, Kagami, here was here not too long ago with an order of cookies. Those supposed cookies may or may not have been accidentally broken by my clumsy doing. So, I was wondering if you possibly have another batch hopefully done and ready to go," Marinette explained, scratching the back of her neck.

Sabine couldn't help but roll her eyes and shake her head. She loved this bubbly girl to death but sometimes, she could be so absolutely clumsy!

"Fortunately, I do," the bluenette woman responded, digging the box out from behind the counter and handing it to Marinette.

"Thank you, mom! I'll help in the bakery to make up for this," Marinette said. Sabine waved it off, "It was just an accident. You go get some rest. I'm sure you're exhausted from your exams."

The younger bluenette gave her mother another big smile before handing the box over to Kagami, "Again, sorry about that."

"It's alright. Thank you for getting me some new ones. That was very generous of you," Kagami replied in a sort of monotonous voice, securing the box in her arms, "Now, I've got to get going or I'll be late. I hope we can meet each other again sometime, Marinette."

With that, the Japanese teen exited the bakery. Sabine sighed, shoulders slouching in relief once Kagami was gone.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" the aspiring fashion designer asked. Sabine nodded, "It's okay. You don't need to help. Why don't you go get some rest or finish up that dress of yours?"

   "You really are the best mom ever," the young bluenette chirped, giving the elder woman a tight hug before heading to her bedroom.

   Sabine's smile wavered into a grimace, watching the teen head up the stairs.

   "Yeah...best mom ever..."

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   Nathalie watched as Adrien was starting to slowly get his appetite back. Sure, it was in small portions but it was better than nothing.

   She had called Adrien's fencing teacher earlier to tell him that the blonde would not be coming to practice. Luckily, the man had completely understood (having seen a blog about the lair situation).

   Adrien slurped a strand of noodle into his mouth and was about to take another scoop from the steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup.

   He grabbed a saltine cracker on a napkin next to the bowl, hovering it over the dish. The teen placed the scoop of noodles onto the cracker before grabbing another cracker, placing it on top to form a sandwich.

   As Adrien took a bite of the makeshift sandwich, he wondered how the red cat and Plagg were doing living with the Gorilla. The ex-model could only rely on his bodyguard to take care of the cats (seeing that there was literally no one else to take care of them without Nathalie noticing).

   "The red cat is probably being a blessed angel while Plagg the vain of George's existence," the blonde thought, chewing his food, "Besides, he loves cats...at least...I think he does."

   Emerald green orbs moved to look at Nathalie, who was washing some dishes. Adrien wished he could do something nice for her for all that she has done for him. Adrien wouldn't know where he would be without Nathalie.

"Are we going to do anything today?" The blonde asked, mouth full of noodles and crackers. The woman glanced back for what felt like the nth time before thinking over the question.

"I have an interview today around four. Besides that, not that I know of. Is there something you want to do today?" Nathalie asked. Adrien thought over the question for a moment. He wasn't sure what there was to do considering the only places he has ever been were strictly for work (which meant they were pretty boring).

The only fun place he liked was the park and most recently, the bakery.

"Uh...I honestly...don't know," Adrien responded, "I've never really been anywhere unless it was for work."

Nathalie considers this for a moment, feeling her stomach drop in guilt. She immediately knew she would have to change that and give the boy a lot more freedom than his father had. Obviously, she would have to show the teen around Paris before sending him out on his own.

Nathalie hummed, trying to think of some fun places that regular teens did in their free time. There were many things she could think off the top of her head but one of them stuck out the most.

"How about we go to the movie theater?" Nathalie suggested. Adrien perked up, his mood instantly changing to a much brighter one.

   "Yes! I've always wanted to go to one of those! I can't believe I forgot movie theaters existed!" Adrien rambled, excitedly. He cleared his throat once realizing his sudden outburst and gave a toothy smile, "I mean—yeah! That would be great."

   Nathalie blinked in astonishment before shaking her head, trying to hold in the laughter bubbling up her throat.

   "How about this," the woman began, "After my interview, we can go out for supper then catch a movie. How does that sound?"

   Adrien held in his enthusiasm, gibbly answering, "Perfect."

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