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Sabine poured boiling water into her little teapot. “Oolong or chai?”
Sabine’s visitor shrugged and waved his hand.
“Then let’s try something new; this herbal is supposed to be soothing.”
He grimaced and his shoulders tensed under his suit coat.
“Exactly. We both need it.” Sabine brought the teapot, cups and an assortment of pastries to the coffee table. “Have they arrived yet?”
Her visitor snorted, shook his head and waved at the laptop screen, where the Ladyblog was up and livestreaming.
“So, not yet.” That made sense. Marinette had only just left for school three minutes before the alert hit and Sabine’s guest arrived for the afternoon akuma. No doubt his charge had ditched at the light for him to get here so quickly-
Never mind. Sabine slid the tea bags into the stoneware teapot full of hot water. It was something of a game for the two of them- if one or both of the heroes weren’t on the scene by the time the pair started watching, then the tea could only steep until both heroes had engaged the monster-of-the-day. Sometimes, that meant barely-flavored hot water to drink, other times-
“Ah. There’s my girl.” Sabine tried to control the tremor in her voice. “No sign of yours yet.”
The man on the other side of the sofa drummed his fingers against his knee. Sabine reached over and patted them still.
“He’ll be there soon. Croissant?”
A shake of the head, and a wave at the other side of the tray.
Sabine nodded, and placed several petit-fours on a saucer, then put a slice of tarte tatin on her own plate. A glance at the screen showed Ladybug flying through the air- unusually, not in total control of her direction- before being caught by a blond in black. “Oh, there he is. Good catch.”
If her smile wobbled a little, her guest considerately declined to notice it as he accepted his plate and cup of tea. He gestured at the TV.
“Oh, not this time. Nadja’s out for a week due to laryngitis, and Alec- he tries, but he just doesn’t cover it the same way. I think he’s still working out how to be himself on air.” Sabine forced a bite of her tarte into her mouth, then set down her plate and picked up her cup. The smell of roses and lemon wafted up to her nose, and she inhaled deeply.
Onscreen, Chat Noir was clinging to the akuma’s back while Ladybug wrestled with a tentacled sentimonster. Sabine’s seatmate huffed and scowled, as Chat managed to kick away just before the akuma crushed the hero into a wall.
“Have you ever tried to teach your boy basic self-defense moves? I’ve noticed that he seems to rely on his baton as a sword instead of a proper staff.”
A narrowed set of eyes under a heavy brow glared at Sabine, and she held up her hand in a peace gesture. “Let me guess; his father wants him dependent and helpless, so he forbade you to teach him. And never mind that if anything happened to you, he would still need to get out of whatever trouble he was in.” She shook her head, as Ladybug launched the tentacle monster at the akuma, tangling them up in each other, and calling for her Lucky Charm.
Sabine didn’t see what fell into Ladybug’s hand, but her guest did; a wrinkled nose and baffled glance back at Sabine told her it was a strange one.
She shrugged. “I don’t know; she doesn’t get it from me.” Trading her teacup for her plate, Sabine absently cut another bite of the tarte as she watched the screen; her seatmate sat back with a snort and popped another petit four into his mouth.
One Cataclysmed chimney, a bowling ball, and two manhole covers later, the akuma was defeated and the amok cleansed. As a cloud of swirling magic ladybugs swept over the screen, Sabine finished her tea and stood up, breathing deeply to dismiss the last of her shakes. “Well, that’s that for another day. Would you like anything to take back with you?”
A shake of the head, and Sabine’s guest also stood. He bowed to his hostess, and headed for the door.
Sabine followed, and laid a hand on his arm. Her smile only wavered a little, she was pleased to note.
“Keep taking good care of him.” She patted the massive arm. “I’ll take care of mine.”
A solemn nod, and a smile of camaraderie- and her guest headed down the stairs.
“See you next akuma,” she whispered as Adrien’s bodyguard slipped out to the street.