Second Chances

chicken parmesan -------->chp43

Hiring Sabrina was proving to be a fantastic choice. She worked hard to regain his trust as well as doing everything she could to prove her worth as an assistant. She communicated well with Nathalie, was very good about keeping things organized, and doing such an overall fantastic job that he didn't know why he didn't think about hiring an assistant sooner.

Probably because it wouldn't have been Sabrina.

"This is the last of the paperwork that needs your signature," she said, handing him a small stack of paper. "And that's all that needs handled today."

"You, Sabrina, are amazing," Adrien said, taking the stack.

She grinned. "Thank you."

Once that was signed, Adrien checked the clock. He grinned. He'd get to go home early, meaning he got to spend more time with Marinette and Emma.

He packed up for the evening. "Thank you again for everything, Sabrina," he said. "You are making work so much easier."

She grinned. "I'm glad. Thank you for taking the chance on me."

"You were once my friend, too," he said. "Not as close as you and Chloe, but enough that I would consider you a friend."

Sabrina stared at him long and hard. "Can I ask something of you?"

He nodded.

She wrung her hands together nervously. "Can, someday, I meet Emma?"

The question caught him slightly off guard. But this was Sabrina, the woman that, if Chloe were still alive, would likely be Emma's "Auntie". At the very least, this was the woman that was by Chloe's side when Emma was born. "Okay," he said. "You can come over for dinner sometime. Are you free next week?"

Sabrina blinked a few times. "Uh, yeah. Does Wednesday work?"

"No," he quickly said, surprising Sabrina.

"Oh," she said, not able to look at him.

Adrien sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry," he said. "I... Um... I'm seeing someone, and Wednesdays are date nights."

Sabrina turned back to him, clearly surprised. "Oh. I'm glad for you," she said. "How long?"

"Not long," he admitted. He took a breath. "Not even two months."

Sabrina's brow furrowed. "Oh," she commented, but Adrien could hear the uncertainty in her tone loud and clear.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Well... it's... complicated."

Sabrina quirked an eyebrow.

"The woman I'm seeing," he continued. "It's... It's Marinette. And, obviously, with her being a widow, things are going slow, but at the same time, they're going really well, and... yeah."

Sabrina stared at him a while before slowly breaking into a smile. "Marinette?"

Adrien nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm happy for you," she said. "Marinette's the kind that sticks around even when things get hard. You deserve that."

Adrien smiled. "Thank you."