Adrien paced nervously in his room, enough to cause a dent in the carpet. He was beyond just 'panic'. Panic was nothing compared to this. This was absolute terror, fear that could cause a hardened hero to sweat like a child, to cause a bear to whimper like a rabbit. To say that Adrien was 'panicking' was to say that the sun is hot, that water is wet, and that camembert stinks. Adrien was beyond cure, nearly pacing a hole to the core of the earth.
And just what was the cause of this horrific fear, this panic beyond panic?
Valentine's Day.
Last year had been far beyond a failure, and Adrien had no intention of repeating that, especially since he now knew who his lady was. He wanted to make this year memorable, and not because he was cursed by an akuma. He wanted this Valentine's to actually be good. No, he wanted it to be perfect. Because that's what Marinette deserved: perfection.
Adrien sighed to himself, repeating that idea. Marinette deserved perfection, and yet here she was, dating him. Just the thought of it alone sent a warm blast through his stomach and made his cheeks heat up. He needed to make this Valentine's amazing so she would continue dating him.
Of course, he knew she wasn't shallow. Far from it, of course, she was the most amazing person to ever-
Anyway, the point is she wouldn't judge him based on what he got her for Valentine's Day, she was just too nice for that. But still, he wanted to do something great to make her happy. He knew how much she liked romantic things like that, so he wanted to figure out something. But that was the problem: What?!
He knew she wouldn't like it if it was too over-the-top or expensive, she was too modest for stuff like that. Another amazing quality, by the way. But he wouldn't want to give her just some generic flowers or a teddy bear, he wanted it to be unique! This was their first Valentine's actually together, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste!
Adrien took another deep breath, finally stopping his pacing. He glanced around the room, trying to come up with some idea. His thought process paused for a moment when he got to his multi-set of computer monitors, all with different pictures of Marinette- some selfies of him with her, some pictures he took of her, and some of her as Ladybug. His personal favorite was the one on the center monitor, the selfie of them on their date over Christmas holiday to the street fair. They were sitting at the very top on a Ferris Wheel ride, and Marinette was grinning ear to ear, her nose bright red from the cold.
He smiled, remembering back to it, then eventually refocused himself on the task at hand. Which was hard, since Marinette was so distracting. And that was a bit of a problem, since he was trying to think of what to do for her, but he just kept on getting stuck on how great she was!
"Maybe just a simple date… But I could do that any time, I want this to be special…" Adrien sighed, smashing his face into the pillow as if that would help.
"Maybe something by the Tower? No, it'll be way too crowded… It has to be something close by, in case there's an akuma…" He reminded himself, but still held on to hope that he and his lady would have the whole day together.
"Just bring her some flowers and ask her what she wants to do!" A voice shouted from his desk, clearly muffled by some food shoved in his mouth.
"But Plagg," Adrien huffed, "I want it to be special! Like, a surprise! It's not a surprise if I ask her!"
"But it'll be exactly what she wants that way!" Plagg reminded defiantly, not actually caring that much but still enjoyed bothering Adrien.
Adrien sighed, actually thinking about it. Maybe he should just go visit- with a gift, of course- and get her opinion. That way, he would be able to do everything she wanted to do just for her…
"Actually… I think I will." Adrien nodded, grabbing his coat and shoving Plagg in the pocket before he could pull any more cheese into his already stinky pockets.
A few minutes later, Adrien waltzed into the bakery, a bouquet of orchets in hand.
The bakery was, of course, full. He was told that Valentine's Day was their busiest day of the year, with all the heart shaped pastries rushing out the door. Sabine saw him as he entered and waved him back behind the counter, as her way of allowing him in. Quietly, Adrien walked past her to the kitchen, greeted by the strong smell of cookies.
"Oh, hi Adrien!" Marinette smiled, waving with a hand full of dough. Her father was behind her, covering some already baked ones with pink and red icing.
"Hey Marinette!" Adrien smiled, his day already better by seeing her, "I got you these."
"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" Marinette cooed, but looked down at her hands after a moment, "My hands are a little messy, could you put them in my room for me?"
"Sure!"
A few moments later, Adrien returned to the same scene, Marinette working hard.
"I hate to take you away from the busy shop, but I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere for Valentine's Day and all?" He asked after a moment, kind of worried about taking her away.
"Oh, Adrien, I wish I could, but I don't think I could leave with this big of a crowd!" She replied remorsefully.
"Nonsense dear," Her father interrupted, "Go ahead, your mom and I can handle it!"
"You really can't, Papa," Marinette laughed, kicking him lightly from behind.
"W-Well, could I help with anything?" Adrien asked, fully aware of his lack of baking skills.
"Adrien, you're too sweet," Marinette giggled, "But I won't ask you to do manual labor when you just asked me on a date, silly!"
"No, no, I want to help!" Adrien shook his head, genuinely willing to help her out.
"Papa?"
"I'm more than happy to have some help with the icing!" Tom answered, stepping over to give Adrien some room as the counter.
Adrien grinned, and joined, with Tom showing him exactly how to do it.
Within minutes, the trio got into a rhythm together, working quickly to get these Valentine's cookies perfect. Adrien spent the better part of the next three hours in that kitchen with Marinette, and he realized something.
Just some date with extra flowers and candles isn't special. Marinette is what makes it special. Spending time with her is what makes it special. And you know what, if their Valentine's Day date every year is being squished in a kitchen baking cookies, then Adrien wouldn't have it any other way.