What happens when 30+ Miraculous Ladybug fans all watch the origins episodes together? Among a lot of other things, at least one of them blows off her homework to go write this.
Marinette would always be the last one to acknowledge any of Adrien's imperfections. Simply because there were none! Between his kindness and intelligence and patience and… and yes, his looks, he was absolutely perfect! Except…
Well, even she couldn't deny he always smelled like cheese.
It was… weird… to say the least. For a while she thought maybe she was imagining it. Or smelling herself. Because there was no way that Adrien Agreste, part time fashion model, son of the top designers in Paris, who seemed to take a shower every time he was in danger and advertised for perfume… smelled like cheese.
Stinky cheese.
But no matter how many showers she herself took, the smell always came when she was around him. And only when she was around him. When Alya finally mentioned it herself, she knew that she wasn't crazy. Adrien smelled like cheese. Maybe that was why he took showers all the time. Only it didn't help very much. Even his room, the few times she visited, smelled like it. She was frankly baffled, but it wouldn't stop her from loving him!
She'd just keep a lot of air fresheners in their house when they were living together with their children and hamster.
It certainly wouldn't stop her from making a fool out herself every time she was around him. Which was why she was practically glowing with pride when classes were cancelled after an akuma attack and she managed to – without stuttering! – invite him over to her house for snacks. Along with Alya and Nino, but Adrien was coming to her house! Again! Not into her room this time, though, so she didn't have to worry about the pictures on her walls.
"You're free to help yourself to any of the croissants or cookies," Sabine said kindly as she finished welcoming them and turned back to caring for the bakery. Marinette led them through the bakery to their living room, hoping that she seemed calm and collected despite how fast her heart was hammering anyway in her chest. It was ridiculous. She had just faced down and defeated a crazed sci-fi nerd that wanted to abduct everyone and turn them into aliens without even blinking! But having Adrien in her house had her nearly hyperventilating.
"Sweet!" Nina said, immediately grabbing two cookies off a plate on the counter when he saw them. Ayla smiled and grabbed one as well, but Adrian didn't reach for the plate.
"Are-are you not hungry?" Marinette asked, cursing herself when she started stuttering again.
"Oh. Thank you Marinette," he said absent mindedly taking a cookie. He didn't eat it however, just frowned at his bag and muttering "I could have sworn I had some."
"Is there something that you need?"
He looked up at her and blinked in surprise. "What? Oh no! I'm fine thank you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes-OW!"
"Adrien?"
His hand had flown to his chest automatically, but when he saw the way she was looking at him he blushed and moved the hand to the back of his neck. "Perhaps… You wouldn't happen to have any cheese would you?"
Marinette blinked. "Cheese?"
"Yeah, cheese. Um. Camembert if you have it, but anything will do."
"You want me to get you cheese?"
He blushed even brighter, but nodded.
Trying not to frown at him, she disappeared into the kitchen to check the fridge for some cheese. They didn't have any camembert, but she grabbed a couple of different kinds to see which one he would like best. Maybe the reason he always smelled like cheese was just because he ate it all the time. That honestly surprised her though, she wouldn't think his dietitian would approve of that kind of diet.
He was still a little flushed when she returned carrying the selection. He gratefully accepted them, blushing even harder at the confused look on her face. Oh no! She made him embarrassed. She opened her mouth to apologize but he quickly blurted out,
"It's a comfort food!"
She frowned. "What?"
"The cheese. It's a… Uh. Comfort food. When I'm… Stressed. And that akuma attack I uh, well I got turned into an alien which was why I wasn't around and that was really disconcerting. I usually keep some on me but apparently I don't have any today-"
"So that's why you always smell like cheese!" She blurted without even thinking about it. If anything that made him turn and even brighter shade of red.
"Yeah…"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean— I'm sorry! You don't need to be embarrassed— I mean you're perfect— I don't mind— I mean— I keep cookies in my purse!"
He laughed awkwardly, one hand in the back of his neck, the other holding the plate of cheeses.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I almost always have a cookie on me," she began to gush, happy he didn't immediately call her on being a freak. "Chocolate chip. My dad makes the best ones. I would hate it if there was an akuma attack and I didn't have any." More for Tikki's sake than hers, but it was a way she could sympathize. And it was true! She always tried to keep cookies on hand for Tikki if they had to transform in a place that wasn't a party or hotel.
He laughed again, but this time it seemed far more genuine. "I'm glad I'm not the only one that does something like that. I just wish it was something a little more inconspicuous then camembert."
He smiled and Marinette felt her heart melting. "Do you have a bathroom?"
"Down the hall," she said dreamily. He smiled again and walked past her down the hall. It was only once he had closed the door behind him that Marinette's purse shook slightly and she remembered the starving kwami. Under the pretense of getting glasses of water, she moved behind the counter so it could hide her slipping Tikki some extra cookies, all the while wondering if there was any way for her to bring Adrien some cheese at school without being too awkward about it.
"Welcome back, m'lady," Chat Noir said as he took a fighting stance. Ladybug landed lightly beside him, taking up a matching position.
"Did you figure out where the akuma is?" she asked, springing out of the way of an oversized broom.
"I'm pretty sure it's in his keys. They're the only part of him that isn't a part of the uniform, but he hasn't taken them off. And have I ever mentioned how you always sweep me away?"
"Time for jokes later, Chat. Let's try this again; Lucky Charm!"
She threw her yoyo into the air, hoping for a better result than the last time. It was her second time attempting to use her Lucky Charm facing this particular akuma. Which wasn't to say that the Lucky Charm didn't work. The Lucky Charm had, as always, anticipated her needs before she even knew what was going on. Unfortunately in this case, her need had been getting citizens out of danger rather than actually capturing the then unidentified enchanted item.
"A spray bottle?"
Chat, who had landed beside her, instead of making a joke, merely made a face at her. "Don't point that thing at me."
Ladybug glanced around the surrounding area before the gears finally all clicked into place. "I'll distract him, you get the keys!"
She sprinted across the broken pavement as Chat shouted his signature 'Cataclysm!', launching herself into the air in time to avoid the swinging broom and spray The Janitor directly in the face with the foul chemical. He spluttered and howled, distracted just long enough for Chat to grab the keys and watch them disintegrate in his hand.
The black butterfly emerged from his opened fist and in less than a minute, the akuma was cleansed and Paris was returned to its original form.
Ladybug and Chat Noir bumped their first together, Chat quickly pulling away to bow. "I must say, m'lady, you clean up nicely." She laughed, despite rolling her eyes, while he just grinned at her in his signature feline way. "You really did manage to transform back quickly," he continued jauntily. "I was expecting to have to hold my own longer than that."
Ladybug shrugged. "I always keep cookies in my purse for my kwami when I'm a civilian just for situations like this. We aren't always fighting in a hotel where cookies are available."
"I know exactly what you mean, Ladybug. At least your kwami eats cookies. No one will question that. It's a lot more inconspicuous than the camembert I carry around all day for my kwami." He pulled a face that she laughed at, this time without eye rolling, but… admittedly a fair share of hesitation. That statement seemed far too familiar. He obviously didn't catch the trepidation, though, because his eyes lit up for having made her laugh.
"I'm serious though, I smell like cheese all the time! It's embarrassing! And I know people recognize it because one time after a battle I asked a girl for cheese for Plagg and she said 'Oh so that's why you always smell like cheese.' It was mortifying, my—Lady? Is everything alright?"
The first beep of her earrings gave her the warning that her transformation was beginning to wear off, but she honestly didn't register it. Nor did Chat, who was probably wondering why her jaw probably seemed to have disconnected from her head. He put a hand on her shoulder, looking around to check and make sure they were alone. The janitor who had only recently been destroying the streets of Paris instead of cleaning them had run off, probably just glad that Miraculous Ladybug had taken care of the mess so he didn't have to.
"Ladybug, is something wrong?"
"A-Adrien?"
He froze.
"A-a-adrien? Who-who's Adrien? Is he behind me?" He turned around, checking over both of his shoulders. "There's no one there, Ladybug, let alone an Adrien. If you think you saw Adrien Agreste, I'm sure it was just one of his posters—"
"Chat— You're Adrien! It's not a comfort food, it's for your kwami! That's why you always smell like cheese!"
"Ladybug how did you—" He stopped himself half way though his own question. The dots were suddenly connecting a rapid pace. The hair, the eyes, the smell, the absences.
"You always keep cookies in your purse," he said breathed. "Marinette?"
Their Miraculouses beeped in unison this time. She moved to run away, but he caught her elbow. "Meet me outside that café right there in ten minutes. I think we have a lot to talk about, Marinette."
She flushed bright red but nodded so he let her go and they ran off separate ways. Adrien had never been so relieved to let a transformation go. He waited a few minutes to emerge from his alley just to make sure no one would make the connection between Chat Noir and Adrien before slinking out and hurrying over to the café he had pointed out earlier.
A minute later a bright red Marinette Dupain-Cheng approached him. He smiled at her, for the first time really allowed the excitement to settle in.
"So. Cheese?"
