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'It was a beautiful day for a wedding’, Sabine Cheng thought as she stood off to the side of the dance floor watching her Bao-bei, her precious little flower, dance her first dance in the arms of her new husband.
She was so proud of her daughter for finally achieving all the dreams she had held so dear as a child.
Not many children knew at 14, exactly what they wanted in life. But her Bao-bei had always been a special girl.
Even before she came into the world, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was miraculous.
Pregnancy had always been a challenge for the women in her family, and Sabine had been no different. There had been many heartbreaks along the way, and it had been a strong debate with many doctors if she and Tom could even have children at all.
In the end the pair had resigned themselves to simply focusing on their bakery. And then a miracle happened; a treasure: her Bao-bei.
It was a rough pregnancy, there were many times that Tom barely slept, between taking care of her and doing all the cooking and running the bakery all by himself. Sabine had been quickly ordered to bed confinement not halfway into her second trimester.
Then finally, it was a balmy summer Wednesday when Sabine finally went into labor. Tom was supposed to be buried in the kitchen frantically prepping for all the celebration items to be sold for La Fête Nationale later that next week.
It was a terrible struggle, and in the end Sabine had been told that she would not be able to have any more children; but she was blessed with a miraculous 3.72Kg bundle of joy.
Ha. Miraculous. What an ironic word choice.
Long before magic first came to Paris, Sabine and Tom had always called Marinette their Miracle.
And when magic made its debut to Paris and the rest of the world, her Bao-Bei became even more miraculous.
The best kept secret in Paris, the secret that a mad man would terrorize the city for years in his attempts to find out… it didn't last even 2 days in the eyes of a mother.
Marinette might have fooled the whole city, her friends, even most of her family. But she could never fool her mother.
It was with both terror and pride that she would watch her daughter go into fight after fight against Hawkmoth. As the years went on and the battles became more complex, that terror would only serve to increase.
It was a nightmare in many ways. How does a mother with no magical powers protect her beloved daughter from a powerful magical terrorist? That was a question she never would have thought she'd need to answer when she was pregnant…
Sure, she tried her best to help behind the scenes: She had cut back on asking Marinette to help with the larger majority of the bakery tasks. She would excuse the frequent tardy reports from the school. She even deflected Tom's attention from their daughter's “extra curricular” activities more than once.
But there was only so much she could do. She couldn't go out there and fight to protect her miracle. She couldn't even let Marinette know that she knew. Ladybug's dedication to secrecy was legendary, and so was Marinette's tendency to anxiety attack.
Sabine knew there was no solution to informing her daughter of her knowledge that wouldn't devolve into massive panic and more mental trauma than Sabine would ever want to inflict.
In the end, Sabine knew she just had to have faith in her daughter. Faith that she had raised such a strong willed, miraculous woman; that the whole world knew of her Bao-Bei's deeds, if not her identity.
The only saving grace was that Marinette would never be fighting alone, Ladybug would always have her Chat Noir.
The song ended and everyone at the reception applauded for the happy couple, though they did not separate. They were much too busy being lost staring into each others eyes. Communicating in that way they had just about always done from their first battle and forever onward.
Yes, now and forever more, Ladybug would have her Chat Noir.
That was a secret that Sabine had not intended to find out.
Of course she was curious about the hero. Wanting to know more about the young boy, barely a teenager much less a man, who had consistently protected her daughter time and time again. Pledging oaths of loyalty and love the entire time. Watching out for her little miracle, usually to his own detriment and safety.
People constantly accused Chat Noir of being a flirt. Of not taking his job and duty as a hero seriously. Of being too busy trying to crack jokes than actually fighting.
These people had obviously never read any superhero comics.
As a child, Sabine had extensively traveled the world with her parents. One of the only solace a young Sabine had was comics. American Superhero Stories, Japanese Manga, and of course the Donghua of her homeland.
She would retreat into a world of heroes and villains, bombastic action and heart-rending romance. Outlandish personalities left, right and center.
Personalities that were blatantly apparent and reflected in the young feline hero of Paris.
The constant playfulness and joking of Spiderman and Sun Wukong. The cockiness and straight bravado of any mainstream Shonen protagonist. The flirtations of Black Cat or Catwoman.
There was no doubt in Sabine's mind that the young bright eyed savior of Paris was channeling these characteristics when he was transformed. He was too over the top, too bombastic to not be at least partially a caricature of what he thought a hero should be.
Though, for all the sheer amount of personality, there were many attributes that still showed true. Bravery, selflessness, and an utter devotion to her daughter. It was unsurprising that Sabine would be curious about the boy under the mask.
She already knew the identity of one of the Heroes of Paris through the sheer happenstance that it was her daughter. The odds were minuscule that she would ever interact with Chat personally, civilian or otherwise.
But then Weredad happened.
It was incredibly difficult trying to keep both daughter and husband focused on the situation at hand and not to look any closer into the reasons for the dinner.
The easiest solution was to keep both daughter and father together and to be the one to personally entertain their guest in the meanwhile. What this meant was that, for the first time, Sabine Cheng got to interact personally with the other Hero of Paris.
Chat Noir was nothing like he seemed in the newsreels of the fights. There wasn’t a brash bold and cocky teenager behind that mask. Instead he was polite, quiet, almost timid in his efforts to be a respectful guest for what certainly was an uncomfortable situation for the young man.
Sure he tried to be his usual cocky self, but even his claims that “After all, I’m awesome in so many ways, even I could fall in love with myself” fell utterly flat to the knowing ears of a mother.
What had caught Sabine’s attention was the way he politely and kindly let down Marinette, the way he exited the bakery, reluctant and yet still attempting to be courteous and respectful.
Once you add in the green eyes and blond hair…
It was Familiar… Too Familiar…
That thought brought about such a headache to Sabine. Even now she still remembers the pain. It was such a biting stinging sensation right around the temples.
This was also very familiar. This one Sabine had experienced before, nearly two years before. So she knew what triggered it. She was getting close to breaking the magic. She knew Chat enough to recognize him!
HE WAS ….
And then, at that singular moment, right on the cusp of a solution; Sabine saw the Akuma flutter into the bakery and land on the rose in her husband's hand.
Suddenly her headache had become the least of her worries.
“What a beautiful dance. Everyone give it up for Mr. and Mrs. Agreste!”
The voice of Adrien's Best Man came over the speakers, startling Sabine from her memories.
“And now it’s time for the Mother-Son dance. By the request of the Groom, will the Mother of the Bride please come to the Dance Floor?”
That was her cue. This was her chance. This was going to be a moment where she could take advantage of her secret knowledge and get away with it.
As she approached the dance floor, she looked to the left and saw Marinette sitting at the head table, looking so incredibly happy and radiant. Most importantly, she was safe and whole.
And the man to thank for this was standing there on the dance floor.
He was in black and emerald, and it was completely unsurprising. While Marinette had proceeded with the wedding dress she had designed far before she had even met Adrien. There was no denying to Sabine's knowing eyes that Adrien’s suit was easily chosen to represent his heroic self.
Chat Noir was free in a sense that Adrien had never been while growing up, Chat was a part of Adrien, as much as the arm attached to his shoulder. That Chat was represented here, no doubt meant he was portraying his truest self on this most important of days.
As she came up to her new son-in-law, she could see the pure happiness and peace radiating out from him. This was the culmination of his dreams, just as Marinette’s dreams had been getting into ESMOD and launching her career as she always knew she would. That his dreams were of having a true family who fully loved and supported him said much of his childhood.
But that was neither here nor there. Right now she had a special dance with a special man.
With a bow and flourish that was 100% his alter ego, Adrien held out his hand.
“May I have the pleasure of this dance Madam?”
Making her own curtsy with a warm smile on her face, Sabine stepped up and into her new son's arms and they paused to look to the stage, where Jagged Stone had stepped up to the microphone.
“Now most of you all would think I was here solely for my adopted niece, but this song is actually personally requested by our dear mother of the bride, who had helped me craft this beauty. It’s not my usual rock and roll style, but I could never turn down a favor for such an awesome lass.”
As the boy leaves and goes off to war, a mother begins to plant,
Special seeds in the ground that will lead him home, at a time in which she can’t,
From these seed the flowers will grow,
and as the dusk becomes the night,
The petals will glow and will lead the way home,
These are Mother’s Moonlight.
As they danced, Adrien looked curiously at his dancing partner. “I didn’t know you knew Jagged Stone so well Sabine.”
Sabine grinned in a secret smile. “Well you don’t let just any random adult pseudo-adopt your daughter without personally knowing him first.” She chuckled, “I actually knew Jagged long before he ever hit it big, we’re old friends from University.”
“I had long suspected he was the father of the twins when Marinette first made friends with Juleka in Collège. I just didn’t realize that he wasn't aware of that fact. After he connected with Marinette and later found out the truth, he came to me to ask for advice on how to deal with Rose. He wanted to thank her for being there for Juleka when he couldn’t, and it reminded me of an old folk tale in my childhood.”
The years go past, the boy becomes man, the war is finally won.
The nights get darker and the mother has passed, the garden her daughter shall now tend on.
From these seed the flowers will grow,
and as the dusk becomes the night,
The petals will glow and will lead the way home,
These are Mother’s Moonlight.
“I love old folk tales, so much meaning and memories that are held in the words of each one.” Adrien said with a bright grin.
Sabine merely smiled and continued. ‘ Got you’ she thought.
“The story is about a boy who has gone off to defend his country, leaving behind his love and her family. And so the Mother, in faith of his return, plants a garden on their balcony, full of magical flowers that glow in the darkest of nights. As the war passes the mother is no longer there, and the daughter has taken up the duties to tend to the garden in the dearest hope that her love will return. There was much challenge and strife along the way, but the warrior eventually finds his way back to his love, following the glowing light of the balcony’s flowers back to her home.”
Adrien sniffs, a tear to his eye. “I don’t know why, but something about the story resonated with me. Thank you for sharing it, and thank you for this dance. I should probably get back to my wife; there’s still plenty left to do tonight. I’m sorry for tearing up there. Thank you for letting me into your wonderful family, and I hope I can be someone Marinette deserves.”
Sabine puts her hand on his shoulder, an action she vividly remembers mirroring many years ago in the moment that the magic broke and she clearly saw behind the mask for the first time.
Looking once more into a pair of emerald eyes that still remind her of a warrior, she smiles.
“I have faith in you Adrien Agreste. You’re a good person. Never apologize for your feelings. You’re already the husband that my daughter deserves.”
Adrien smiles back and nods his head. “Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng” He then turns and walks back to his wife; her beloved Bao-bei.
As the reception breaks into applause, and Jagged finishes singing his song; Sabine Cheng smiles the all-knowing smile that all mothers have, and whispers to herself: “Good Luck, Chat Noir.”
The day has dawned and the family has grown,
to the mother’s spirits delight,
Within the daughters bouquet, the flowers glow on…
These are Mothers Moonlight.