AN: This anthology borrows a lot structurally from "The Woman out of the Fridge," in that I'm going to publish chapters in batches between the main stories. This first batch will only have 3 chapters.
The early morning sunlight streaming through the bedroom window slowly roused Sabrina out of a deep sleep, the warmth and light so reminiscent of Angola that for a moment she thought she was once again in the tent she had shared with Chloe. Her dreams had been plagued with images of Max – Max being crushed beneath the Tarasque's paw, Max landing in front of her and transforming into Pegasus, Max holding her close as she wept for relief in the bed beside him. Everything over the last week had felt like a blissful dream. The blanket covering her felt warm and soft, almost like waking up in a cloud. Nothing could make this moment more perfect. With a sigh, she fumbled around behind her, feeling around for Max. Her heart stopped; her eyes shot wide open: she was alone in the bed.
Had it all been a dream?
The rich aroma of coffee wafting to her off the nightstand drew her attention to the mug sitting only a few centimeters from her head, beside the still-sleeping Nooroo. With a groan, Sabrina sat up in the bed, finding her glasses and rolling her stiff neck. As she sipped her coffee, she rested her head against the headboard, looking around at the room with some interest. Last week, the desk had been covered with books and assignments from their last interrupted school term; now the papers had all been thrown out and replaced with a full term's-worth of computer science and physics textbooks, as well as two computers charging. One of the walls bore an Ultimate Mecha Strike poster; the other showed a new Clara Nightingale poster that Sabrina had picked up when the bookstore down the street reopened. In all, the bedroom felt so much more like home now than it had a week ago.
But something was still missing.
Slowly, with a groan, Sabrina got up out of the bed, pulled on her robe, slipped Nooroo into one of the pockets, and padded down the short hallway toward the kitchen, where she could hear the quiet sounds of voices speaking. Max stood in front of the counter, Kaalki hovering in front of him with a half-eaten apple in her paws. Quietly, Sabrina wrapped her arms around Max from behind, resting her cheek against his shoulder, and let out a contented sigh. She could feel the warmth and contentment in his emotions as he turned around in her arms to return her hug, running his fingers through her hair.
"Good morning," he whispered into her ear.
A shiver ran down her spine. "Good morning," she murmured back, pressing a kiss to his lips.
After a few moments, Max pulled away from her and placed a plate in her hands, gesturing toward the kitchen table. Letting out a breath, Sabrina sat down and started eating the simple scrambled eggs Max had made, along with one of the croissants she had bought yesterday. Kaalki and Nooroo sat in the middle of the table, sharing a bowl of fruit salad. The four of them ate in silence for several minutes before Max cleared his throat and Sabrina looked up curiously, sensing the waves of nervousness pouring off of him. "What's wrong?"
Max grimaced. "I am meeting with the developer today," he announced. "They think they can make the latest version of Super Akuma Battle compatible with their platform, at the cost of approximately a couple thousand Euros of additional coding."
"That's great!" Sabrina reached across the table and took his hand, squeezing encouragingly. "So what's the problem? Nervous that it will be too expensive?"
"Partly," he admitted, nodding. "But in my business account I still have enough set aside to cover 40-60% of the cost, and the latest sales figures suggest that sales will increase over the next month, especially once we enter the American market. Even without taking funds out of my personal account, I will be able to pay for the coding without trouble" He frowned. "But that is not it. I think… I just wonder if this is the best use of my time."
She hummed. "Are you still enjoying it? Working on your game, I mean."
He nodded fervently, giving her an eager grin as his eyes lit up. "Absolutely! It is exciting to figure out how to adapt new characters into the existing program and brainstorm new adventures and formats to integrate into it. I have found that I am good at it. People enjoy playing it – there is even a league starting over the summer!"
"Then of course it's the best use of your time!"
He pursed his lips. "But after the Tarasque… should I really be working on this? Would it not be a better use of my time to focus more on developing the Heroes of Paris' capabilities? What if the next Tarasque appears and we are unprepared?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You are doing both, though," she pointed out. "And the game – at least in part – funds the Heroes of Paris. The ideas for new equipment don't just come all the time, do they?" He shook his head. "So the two aren't really an either/or. And you can't prepare for every unknown threat…"
He hummed, relief and amusement in his face, a lightness in his emotions. "I suppose you are correct as usual," he observed, squeezing her hand. "Thank you."
Sabrina smiled back warmly before catching a glimpse of the clock on the stove. "Oh! I need to get going!" She jumped to her feet, cramming the last of her croissant into her mouth.
Max's eyes shot open wide in surprise before he glanced at the clock. "Of course. I will see you this evening!" he called after her.
Sabrina gave him a quick wave as she hit the button to activate the portable portal he had installed inside the hall closet. A small screen lit up, showing the dark interior of her bedroom, just before a light came on and the portal opened. Quickly she hopped through the portal, pulled fresh clothes out of her dresser, and slipped into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, she walked into the kitchen, where her parents were sitting at the table, her father reading the newspaper while her mother looked at something on her phone.
Her father looked up as she entered, and smiled. "Good morning, sweetheart," he called, gesturing toward the coffeepot. "How did you sleep last night? I was just about to come in and wake you up – you have to be there by 8, right?"
She nodded, pouring coffee into her travel mug. "Adrien said they can be pretty flexible about times, but I want to make a good impression." She frowned, staring into her mug, and swallowed hard, the old guilt bubbling back up to the surface. "I need to make a good impression. After–after what happened…"
Her mother stood up from the table and walked across to her, wrapping her arms tightly around her. "It's all right, Sabrina, dear," she whispered quietly. "You know that I forgive you for what you did – you were under so much stress then! I–I wish I had known sooner; if I'd realized that Max was–"
"But the thing is… he wasn't." Sabrina sniffled. "I–I think that almost makes it worse: I did all of that – turned on my friends, betrayed my Kwami – and Max was still alive."
Her father nodded sympathetically, a twinge of guilt entering his emotions. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "If we had been able to, we would have let you know we were okay right away. But every form of communication we tried was down; commercial cell towers are only just coming back online next week."
Sabrina's shoulders slumped. Her parents were so kind and understanding. But after what she had done, did she really deserve her parents' forgiveness? Did she really deserve this chance to regain Marinette's trust? Did she even – her hand drifted to the brooch pinned to her chest – did she even deserve to still hold her miraculous? Nooroo's wings rustled comfortingly in her pocket.
"Shouldn't you be…?" Her father gently interrupted her musings. "You don't want to be late."
Sabrina jumped, looking down at her watch. "No, I don't!" she agreed, hurriedly shoving a lid onto her coffee and rushing for the door.
"Don't you want some breakfast?" her mother called as Sabrina opened the door.
"No, thanks!" she called back, pushing back a twinge of guilt. "I'll, um, I'll pick something up on the way!"
Sabrina jogged down the sidewalk, her coffee jostling in her hand, in the direction of the Agreste Charity Rehab Center she had been assigned. When the Ministry of National Education had announced their policy for the interrupted school year – specifically that they would not require final-year lycée students with passing grades to make up any missed time – she had been relieved, assuming that meant no more early mornings. Of course, that policy had only applied to lycée; her counseling classes at Descartes still expected her to complete all of her assignments but the end of the extended term, and Marinette had "suggested" that her new practicum as a counselor for the Agreste Charity start as soon as possible. But aside from the early mornings, that suited Sabrina just fine. After what she had done, she didn't deserve the opportunity to earn back Marinette's trust… but she wouldn't throw it away when it was offered.
Plus, this would look really good with the University.
Stopping in front of the rehab center, Sabrina swallowed nervously before she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Despite the chaos and devastation that the Tarasque had caused, this particular center had come through it relatively unscathed, though it still had the telltale smell of fresh paint. The entryway had been decorated warmly, with a pair of planters in the windows and comfortable chairs and loveseats along the walls for people to sit and wait. Paintings decorated two of the walls; in the corner of one were the initials "N.K." Two hallways led away from the reception area – one had signs for bathrooms, while the other led to a half-dozen rooms. An "Exit" sign hung above another doorway, through which Sabrina could see a flight of stairs next to the emergency exit. The woman behind the reception desk looked up at her in surprise, and set aside her book and folded her hands on the desk.
"What can I do for you, dear?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
Sabrina cleared her throat. In her blouse pocket, she could feel Nooroo's wings fluttering; she steeled herself and met the woman's gaze. "Hi," she began awkwardly. "My name is Sabrina Raincomprix. I'm the new intern counselor?"
The woman hummed and glanced down at something on her computer screen. "'Mlle Raincomprix'… Ah, yes! I have been expecting you; you seem a bit young to be a university student," she observed, passing Sabrina a folder.
Sabrina gave her an easy smile as she removed the badge from the folder and clipped it to her front. "I only just graduated from lycée," she explained. "But I've been taking classes through Paris Descartes University all year to get a head start on my program. I'm excited to apply what I've learned!" She suppressed a giggle: applying her lessons had not been a problem this year; she had already been applying the year's lessons with the Heroes of Paris, especially in helping her "Therapy Girls"!
"Well, your first clients are already waiting in the counseling room for you," the receptionist informed her, pointing down the hallway. "Second door on the right."
Sabrina nodded as she headed down the hallway. "Thank you." The room was easy enough to find, situated between the director's office and what appeared to be a classroom. She paused just outside, her hand on the doorknob, as she felt the familiar emotions coming from inside the room. Glancing down into her pocket, she found Nooroo looking up at her with wide eyes and nodding his head encouragingly toward the door. Swallowing back her nervousness, Sabrina pushed the door open. "Adrien, Marinette," she greeted them, even before stepping inside. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Marinette stood up immediately and gave Sabrina a quick hug before sitting back down next to Adrien at the small round table in the middle of the room. "Well, we thought we should come in and support you here on your first day!"
Sabrina returned the smile as she claimed the third seat at the table. "Not just first day, but first clients!" She giggled before quickly turning serious. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity," she told them earnestly. "I–I really appreciate it."
Adrien gave a firm nod. "Of course. You're our friend – nothing that happened in the past has changed that."
"Plus," Marinette admitted, flushing, "it's not like we have too many other counselors we can really talk too… especially about… certain things."
Sabrina stifled a chuckle at the embarrassment in Marinette's emotions. "I assume this has to do with your…" she tugged on her earlobe "… and not something more… personal?"
"Yeah," Adrien confirmed. He grimaced. "We never actually did any premarital counseling, and we want to start things off right–"
"–even if it's technically not premarital anymore," Marinette added, taking Adrien's hand and squeezing it. Sabrina fought back a blush as she picked up their emotions. "We don't have anything… 'sensitive'… to talk about…"
"But it's better to be safe than sorry," Sabrina finished, nodding. "I understand that. And given that the only other local counselor you can trust with that is, well–"
"Mom," supplied Adrien, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.
"–Emilie," continued Sabrina calmly, "it only makes sense to come to me. So… where should we begin?" Both Adrien and Marinette gave her a blank look. Sabrina frowned, thinking back on her classes. "What about finances? After all, most marital disagreements result from arguments over money."
Adrien laughed, though Sabrina picked up a hint of unease under the surface. "Do you think that's something we need to talk about? I mean, we're pretty well off financially…" Sabrina arched an eyebrow at him dubiously. He flushed. "Well, we are; that's about the only good thing to come out of Father," he grumbled.
Sabrina's eyebrows shot up as Marinette's breathing hitched and she grabbed Adrien's hand. "Kitty," she murmured softly, caressing his cheek. "That's not the only good thing to come from your father."
He scoffed. "What else is there? Hawk Moth? Losing our childhoods because we had to fight my crazy father? A broken family?" He frowned. "There's the business… but that's it."
"That's not 'it'." Marinette's mouth set in a thin line. "There's you."
He looked away.
Sabrina cleared her throat, focusing her empathy on both of them. Guilt, shame, even a hint of buried self-loathing from Adrien; confusion and worry from Marinette. Sabrina let out a breath. "Why do you think that's so bad?" she asked Adrien. "Why is it so bad that you came from your father?" Adrien stared down at the floor as the shame built within him. Sabrina coughed, pulling Adrien's eyes up to her. "Do you think you're not good enough?" Befuddlement from Adrien. "Are you afraid you will become him?"
Adrien froze. "Wouldn't you be worried about that?" he retorted.
Sabrina raised an eyebrow, forcing away the guilt that threatened a resurgence. "Considering what I did in Angola," she pointed out, "I'd say it's a bit late to 'worry' about that."
Adrien grimaced. "Sorry. But if it had been Marinette… I might have been right there with you. In the other timeline…" he swallowed "… it was me. I was the reason that timeline went bad. I was the one who murdered all our friends, because Marinette had been killed. That timeline will never be the same – because of me."
Sabrina nodded slowly in realization. "And so now you are afraid that you could become that other Adrien?"
He shrugged. "It's what happened to my father. After we returned from that universe, I promised myself I would never go there – and I don't think I will, not after seeing the damage that caused. But after fighting the Tarasque… I guess my resolve feels a little weak."
Marinette squeezed Adrien's hand. "I know what you're feeling," she told him. "I guess I can admit that I've wondered the same things, especially since the wedding. I don't ever want to do that; I don't ever want you to do it. But the fear is there."
Sabrina hummed pensively. "You both have the power in your hands to do something terrible – if you were to combine your miraculous," she began. They both nodded. "But you both feel very strongly that you don't want the other to do something so terrible in your name." Again they both nodded. Sabrina's mouth set in a thin line, and she pushed back her anxiety. "That's good – it's good that you're thinking about it. And it's good to be working on ways to keep that situation from happening, too. So perhaps you need to record messages to each other – messages on your miraculous that will play automatically if the other takes up that miraculous because you were killed." She furrowed her brows. "Is that even possible?" she wondered.
Tikki emerged from her accustomed place in Marinette's purse and bobbed her head. "Of course it's possible!" she assured them. "Several of my holders have done that – most of the time to tell a partner that they loved them. But you can easily leave each other messages."
"Does that sound workable?" asked Sabrina.
Slowly Marinette nodded. "I… I actually think so. I'll have to think about what I want to say, though."
Sabrina gave her a smile. "So I suppose that's your homework assignment for next week: write and record your messages to each other."
"I thought we were done with homework," Adrien complained halfheartedly.
Sabrina arched an eyebrow. "This homework is for life, so it's far more important than any other homework."