Dabble in Drabbles 22: Hearth and Home
For TidePoolAngel, marichat25, and NogitsuneStiles, three lovelies' prompts fit together like pieces in a puzzle.
Summary: Sabine feels something suspicious going on with Marinette when the cookie stock starts dwindling down.
Strange, Sabine mused as she looked at the cookie and croissants. She was sure that there were 13 batches of the snack, but there were only twelve batches on the kitchen counter.
"Marinette," Sabine called up to her daughter, "Did you get a plate of cookies again?"
Marinette opened her trapdoor and gave a sheepish look at her mother, her eyes showing guilt. "Sorry, maman, I was hungry."
Sabine raised an eyebrow. "Next time, make sure to tell me okay?"
"Yes, maman." Marinette nodded quickly and shut her door. Sabine stared back, and then shook her head. Her daughter was a growing girl. Of course she would get hungry.
But then again, this was the third time it happened in the week alone. And there were 20 chocolate chip cookies in one batch along with 15 croissants.
That wasn't the only thing that was strange as well.
For some time now, it sounded like her daughter was talking to someone upstairs in her room. Other times, it sounded like she was talking to a clock, and sometimes, she sounded like she was talking to a cat. But the voices were muffled by the floor, so Sabine wasn't so sure.
With a frown, she decided to sneak upstairs and towards her daughter's bedroom. Pausing a moment outside, she thought she could hear muffled voices.
"Seriously, kitty. Don't they feed you in your house?"
"If you were a superhero, princess, how are you going to explain to your family that you require 3 times the amount of food for each meal?"
"I live in a bakery…Don't tell me that's the reason why you come here."
It sounded like the kitten had said something amusing or infuriation, because Sabine could imagine Marinette rolling her eyes as she let out a huff of amusement.
Contemplating whether or not she should intrude in her daughter's privacy, Sabine shrugged. Whatever she was hiding, it couldn't be that bad, right?
And so, Sabine Dupain-Cheng opened the hatch door.
Everybody froze.
Marinette's eyes widened and cheeks reddened as her eyes flickered at her mom and then at Chat Noir, who was having a staring contest with Sabine, a cookie dangling halfway through his mouth.
Sabine, on the other hand, just gaped at the superhero that abruptly shoved the cookie in his mouth, stood up from his chair, dusted off the crumbs from his suit and bowed hastily at her.
Well, at least he had manners.
But that still didn't explain the scene before her. Why was Paris's feline superhero in her daughter's bedroom at night? Was there another akuma attack? Was Marinette in danger? Why was he here?
Just as Chat Noir was going to explain himself, Sabine looked at her daughter and narrowed her eyes. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, care to explain this?"
Her daughter gulped, knowing that tone of voice. That was the 'you-re-in-trouble-young-lady' voice that moms seem to be able to pull off.
Marinette twiddled her fingers. "I- uhh-"
"It was me!" Chat Noir blurted out. Two pairs of eyes looked at him. He said to Sabine, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, for intruding in your daughter's bedroom. I know it's inappropriate and I should've known better. It's not Marinette's fault. She was kind enough to keep me company. I'm sorry I kept it a secret and-"
Suddenly, his stomach growled out loudly. Chat's cheeks reddened as Marinette tried to hide her giggles. "I-I'm sorry-"
"Have you eaten yet?"
Chat Noir and Marinette gaped at her, but Sabine just smiled. "Why don't you come down and join us for dinner? I'll go down and tell Tom we're having another member in the dinner table."
He exchanged looks with Marinette. She just smiled at him and he looked back at Sabine, emotions swirling inside him. "I-If that's okay with you."
Sabine smiled. "Both of you two wash up and join us downstairs."
On the way down towards the kitchen, she called out to her husband, "Tom, add one more plate on the table please."
Tom looked up from his cooking. "Do we have a visitor?"
"We have another addition to the family." Sabine said with a smile as she set the warm dumplings on the table.
A few minutes later, the two kids came down the stairs, Chat Noir trailing shyly behind Marinette, his tail tucked between his legs. Marinette slid in one side of the table and Chat Noir sat down beside her. His eyes widened at the amount of food in front of him.
Various dishes from both French and Chinese cuisine lined up, filling almost every inch of the table. It wasn't that he didn't have plenty to eat; the reason why he was surprised was because of how warm the dishes were. There was something special, something homey about the food and the easy-going atmosphere on the table that sent a pang of nostalgia within him.
Sabine watched the superhero from the corner of her eye. He looked young, around her daughter's age. To think that he fought those dreadful akumas and was constantly put in danger made her want to keep him safe. She noticed his bony frame, how his knuckles jutted out of his hands, and frowned. He was a growing boy. And adding his superhero work, his body must've been using more energy than normal.
Chat Noir watched in surprise as Sabine piled more food on his plate. When he gave her a look of puzzlement, she said, "Eat a lot. You're a growing boy as well as a superhero. You cannot fight with an empty stomach."
He smiled gratefully as he accepted it and wolfed down his food.
A soft smile graced her features as she watched the young boy exchange puns with her husband, sending her daughter shaking her head in horror at their cringe-worthy lines. The way he laughed, the way he held himself in check when he thinks of what to say next, Sabine noticed all of it. Call it a mother's intuition, but it seemed like underneath his superhero façade, he was just a normal boy in need of a family.
"Thank you for everything." Chat Noir said softly as he stood in the center of the bakery. The night had grown late, what's with all the talking and bonding with Marinette's parents, he felt right at home. "I don't know how to thank you enough."
Sabine walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his frame. He stiffened and then relaxed, sinking in her embrace. She said, "You're welcome back any time."
"I – I am?" He said, surprised.
"You're family now."
There was a pause and then Chat Noir hugged her tighter, his voice barely audible. "Thank you."
As the three members of the Dupain-Cheng family watched the feline superhero bound away into the night, Sabine said, "You're grounded young lady."
Marinette's mouth hung open. "Maman!"
"For keeping him a secret."
"But we didn't do anything bad." She protested, her red cheeks betraying her. Sabine raised an eyebrow at this, but decided not to comment at it. Her daughter was smart. She didn't need to be told a second time.
"We're proud of you." Sabine said. The young girl tilted her head in confusion but her mother didn't elaborate. "Keep being his friend, Háizi."
Marinette nodded.
After that, Chat Noir would drop by the bakery at night and have dinner with the Dupain-Chengs. Sometimes, they would invite him to dinner. Although he came and went as he pleased, each time he visited, he stayed a little bit longer, grew a little bit fonder of the family, and grew a little more reluctant to go home.
And when, one morning, Adrien had come in the bakery to help Marinette bring their class's project materials to school, Sabine just smiled at him and said, "You come tonight for dinner. I'm cooking your favorite Chinese dishes."
Adrien looked at her in shock. She winked.
He smiled. "Yes, ma'am."
Now I'm hungry. I'm craving for noodles. Hot noodles with soup, some hot dumplings, iced lemon tea, and – I should stop now.
Thank you for reading! This was fun to write from a mother's perspective. I hope you all liked it!
See ya'll next time!