Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a planner. It was what made her such a great Ladybug.
She could plan anything. A new design for a competition, surprise parties and gifts for family and friends, how to use a random Lucky Charm object, anything. Just give her a goal, the right tools, and enough time to make a plan and she could do it. No problems.
Sometimes it only took seconds for her to make a plan. That came in very handy when she had a five minute time limit to fight an akuma or trying to figure out how to fit all of her academic, fashion, superhero, and social commitments into 24 hours when someone asked her for a last-minute favour.
Sometimes it took a few days. Her best designs came from this careful and methodical planning, when she could truly examine every single detail and make it perfect.
Sometimes it took months, like the surprise 20th anniversary party she was throwing for her parents in two weeks time. They still had no clue what was going to happen and thought that the only celebration they were going to have was a meal out at La Grande Paris.
Sometimes it took only minutes to plan but days to deal with the fallout.
"Tikki, this is such a bad idea! Why did I do this?"
Like right now.
The tiny goddess of creation held back a smile and just continued to smile encouragingly at her chosen. "Marinette…"
"I am an idiot for ever thinking this could work!"
"Marinette…"
"I mean, secret identities are secret for a reason. A good reason. An important one!"
"Marinette!"
"Why did I ever…"
"MARINETTE!"
The unusually sharp tone from her kwami stopped the secret superhero in her tracks.
Tikki took the opportunity to float up in front of Marinette's face, hoping to stop her from starting pacing again. It was fine when they were in her room and the worst that could happen was that she would knock her knee of her chaise, but right now they were on her balcony. With how clumsy her chosen could be at times she felt that the extra caution was necessary.
She smiled, hoping to put Marinette more at ease. "Marinette, relax. It will be fine."
"How can you say that Tikki?" she wailed, running a hand through her hair which was hanging loose this evening. "I could be about to expose my identity to Chat Noir! My secret identity! This is huge! This is freak-out worthy!"
"You haven't revealed yourself to anyone so far. And you won't tonight. All you're going to do is flag him down on patrol and give him some pastries to thank him for saving Uncle Cheng. See? Simple!"
Since the first competition had been sabotaged and immediately followed by an akuma attack, the organisers of the chef competition had decided to reschedule it. This had delayed Uncle Cheng's return to China while he booked himself another flight and so Marinette has been able to enjoy several more days with her enlarged family. It had been so wonderful. Uncle Cheng had baked with Tom and taught Sabine a few more family recipes and gone on a tour of Paris with Marinette. They had watched films and played games and had an amazing time together.
Every minute of that week made Marinette so glad to have finally met her uncle. Every minute had also made her so incredibly grateful to her feline partner in heroics. She couldn't have beaten Kung Food and saved Uncle Cheng without him.
Marinette wanted to tell him that. She needed to tell him how grateful she was to have him as her partner. The only problem with that was if she told him as Ladybug he would learn her identity and throw months of secrecy out of the window, wreck their working relationship, their teamwork would fail completely, Hawkmoth would get their miraculous, and Paris would be doomed, and...
"Marinette!"
She snapped out of her spiralling thoughts to meet Tikki's amused face.
"Marinette I think this is a wonderful idea!"
"You do?"
"Yes!"
Since she couldn't tell Chat as Ladybug she obviously had to tell him as Marinette. The easiest way to do that was to flag him down on patrol. Then it was just a case of thanking him and presenting him with a gift of pastries to show her appreciation.
Simple.
"Tikki!"
Or not.
Marinette resumed her pacing again. She began mumbling her worries and articulating her thoughts of fear and discovery and disaster and Tikki tuned them out.
She truly loved Marinette. Really, she did. But oh boy her chosen had one heck of a rambling issue. She could repeat herself ten times without realising it.
Tikki had heard it all before.
Marinette was worried that she would miss Chat on his patrol tonight. So the second her bakery shift was over she had rushed to her balcony and not moved from there since. She was worried that she would do or say something to make Chat realise who she really was and ruin everything. So she had rehearsed what she was going to say for hours. She was worried that something about her appearance would give her away. So she had changed her hairstyle for today.
She was just plain worried.
Personally, Tikki didn't see the issue. Ladybug was usually the one to patrol near Collége Françoise-Dupont, but they had swapped routes for tonight only so that Marinette could have plenty of opportunity to catch the cat while he ran the rooftops. It was going to be ridiculously easy to flag him down, say a quick thank you, and hand him a bakery box. They might make a little small talk but then Chat would leave and everything would return to normal.
Simple.
Tikki really liked this plan. She much preferred it to having Ladybug just blurt it out to him when they were on patrol because she couldn't hide her gratitude any more. There would be no coming back from that disaster.
Not that she told Marinette that's what she was thinking. The last thing that girl needed was another worry.
"Marinette, breathe! In…and out…and in… and out… there you go."
"Thanks Tikki."
The little goddess grinned. "I know you're worried, and you're not wrong to be so cautious. But, instead of focussing on the negatives, why don't you think of all the positive things that could come out of this?"
"Positives?"
"Just think how happy Chat Noir will be. Recognition for his good deeds and a gift of, in my totally unbiased opinion, the best pastries in all of Paris. He'll be so happy and he'll bring that happiness into your next patrols and battles. His concentration will be better. Your partnership can only grow stronger. And who knows," she added with a mischievous grin, "he might eve stop punning!"
Marinette laughed. "I wish!"
"Maybe that last one just was a little far fetched." Tikki giggled too. "But as well as Chat, think how happy this will make you. You put so much love into all the gifts and surprises you make. You love seeing the joy on their faces when they open something you made just for them. You love to give gifts and treats to your friends. This is no different to any of the other times you've done something special for others."
"Thanks Tikki. I needed to hear that."
"You'll also need luck. Here he comes!"
With a giggle the tiny god flew straight through the balcony floor to hide in Marinette's room while her chosen failed about on the rooftop in a last minute panic. It was far too late to back out now though. She took a deep breath and then called for her partner.
"CHAT NOIR!"
Chat Noir had been out on patrol every night this week because Adrien Agreste was Restricted.
He couldn't believe he was being punished for being unlucky enough to be caught up in an akuma attack... but then again Plagg was the embodiment of Destruction and Misfortune so maybe he could believe it. Either way he was being punished because of the Kung Food attack earlier in the week.
Nathalie had been sympathetic when she had informed him of his punishment, which was probably why it was so mild, but she wasn't going to help him get out of it.
"I'm sorry Adrien but for the next week you are Restricted. You may only speak to your friends regarding school, and any outings you wish to go on must have prior approval from your father. You have to be home at the time specified, and you must go everywhere with your bodyguard. Do you understand?"
"I understand what the punishment is, but not why I have it. I told you I was going to talk with Cheng Sifu and you said that was acceptable."
"From what you told us we assumed you would be staying in the home of your Chinese friend."
"Half-Chinese," he corrected. Marinette was proud of both sides of her heritage.
Nathalie ignored him. "Instead of remaining there, where you were safe, you went out with her uncle and walked straight into an akuma attack without your bodyguard. You did not inform us of any of this and mistakenly thought that was an acceptable scenario. Your judgement in these cases cannot be trusted and thus the punishment stands. I will give you half an hour to inform your friends about your punishment and then I will return for your phone. If you need it this week for your school work then you may come and find me in my office and I will give it to you. Your calls and texts will be monitored to ensure you are only communicating with your peers for school matters."
"Yes Nathalie."
He gave in. It was easier that arguing the point that, since Cheng Sifu was only in Paris for the competition at la Grande Paris, then of course he would accompany Marinette and her uncle to the hotel. Though of course that would be deemed back-talking or insubordination, rather that him explaining that he had made them aware of his destination, and undoubtedly result in a harsher punishment.
Thus Adrien's restriction began. Nino was incensed on his behalf, Chloé threatened to get her father involved, and Alya and Marinette were both incredibly guilty over their part in it. He had just enough time before his phone was taken to inform Alya that he didn't blame either of them for this and that he had had a wonderful time with Marinette and her uncle, this punishment was just because he didn't tell them he was going to la Grande Paris, and to pass that onto Marinette for him.
He really needed to get her number one of these days.
So for that week Adrien hadn't been allowed to go anywhere but school. All of his extra lessons had been cancelled, save for his piano and Chinese lessons which usually took place at home. He had spoken to Nino twice regarding their homework, both times on speakerphone with Nathalie listening to his conversation and ending it when they began to stray to more social topics. His friends had been outraged when he was able to speak with them at school.
It bothered him to be so cut off but there was one silver lining to this whole thing. Adrien Agreste might be Restricted, but Chat Noir certainly wasn't. The black clad superheroes had escaped as often as he could just to get out of that place, but tonight was different.
Tonight he was out doing something for Ladybug.
She usually patrolled near Collége Françoise-Dupont a few times a week to keep an eye on staff and students there–something that he thought was a very wise precaution given the number of his classmates who had been akumatised–but there was something going on in her civilian life that meant she couldn't patrol there tonight. So she asked if he could cover for her.
He was more than willing to do so which was why, the second he had transformed, he had leapt out of his window and headed straight for the school.
A cursory inspection showed nothing amiss, and all of the staff had already left for the day. Everything seemed to be shut up tightly. He did a few circuits of the rest of the arrondissement, passing briefly over Notre Dame and into the neighbouring arrondissements, before deciding that the area was safe and he could tell his Lady that her patrol route was secure. Plus it was getting late and it was about time he headed home. Plagg would no doubt be craving a wheel or two of his beloved stinky cheese.
He did not expect the shout that stopped him in his tracks before he even reached the Agreste Mansion.
"CHAT NOIR!"
He skidded to a halt on a rooftop and looked down at the streets below. Everyone was walking around as normal, there was no sign of danger, and no one even seemed like they had seen the superhero let alone shouted his name.
"Chat! Here!"
There, on a neighbouring roof, waving him over... was Marinette?
She didn't look scared, or worried, or akumatised, so he had no clue why she would be waving him down. As far as he was aware she, like most of Paris, preferred Ladybug. Or at least he assumed so based upon the conversations he had overheard Alya having with her.
This was odd. Why would she want to talk to Chat Noir?
He knew her fairly well as Adrien - she was shy but growing more confident, prone to bouts of stammering and clumsiness, kind, clever, and amazingly resourceful, and best of all she was opening up and becoming better friends with him - but his interactions with her as Chat Noir had been completely professional.
Well, ok, only mostly professional.
The first time Marinette had spoken to Chat Noir had been when Puppeteer had turned Alya back into Lady Wifi. She had only explained what was happening that there were more dolls at her home, then given him her address and he had left.
He had been less professional during their second meeting. In fact when he had arrived at her home he'd flirted and teased her a little, calling her Princess, and turn in her into a flustered fan, before they had arranged how he would protect her during her date with Evillustrator. He'd also shown off for her when he saved her from Gamer.
So, yeah, not totally professional, but he still couldn't see his behaviour being a reason she would call him over to her home like this.
Well now he was definitely curious. And you know what they say about cats and curiosity...
A few leaps and a mid-air tumble had him landing precisely on one of her balcony railings. "Hello there, Purr-incess!"
She had smiled warmly at him when he had landed, but it faltered somewhat at his greeting. Now she looked more bemused than anything.
"Princess? Still Going with that nickname, huh?" she cocked her head to one side, trying to figure him out, and her loose hair danced about her shoulders.
The fashion side of him couldn't help but notice that hair-down was a good look for her, even paired with her flour-dusted bakery uniform.
He winked in response to her question. "This cat's consistent. How can I help you, Princess?"
"Help? Oh, I... I'm, well I wanted to, that is... I mean…" her babble halted suddenly as she stared at the empty table on her balcony and she groaned. "Ah, I forgot!"
"Forgot? Forgot what?"
She bit her lip, thinking, then nodded and looked at him. "Please, just wait right here for a minute. Please?"
Marinette waited until he had agreed before she turned around and jumped through a small window hatch and disappeared into her room. His cat ears could hear her run down some steps and across the floor before, with a startled squeak, she hit the floor with a thud and an oof.
He could just about hear her muttering about a stupid chair and that's going to bruise. Chat had to hold back a chuckle, her clumsiness was actually quite endearing at times.
There was the sound of something being moved, then her feet on the stairs again, and her head poked through the window hatch as she gently angled a large cardboard box through the gap. His curiosity was piqued once more when she smiled and handed him the gift.
"Here. This is for you."
Well, he just couldn't pass up this purrfect joking opportunity. "A box!" he gasped in over-exaggerated delight, startling a laugh out of Marinette as he did. "How did you know I love boxes? Or is this a just cat stereotype?"
"No, it's…I mean, thank you."
"Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that?"
"Gah!"
Now this was the Marinette he was used to seeing in school. Stuttery and easily flustered when her words just wouldn't come out right. He felt a small twinge of guilt that his joking may have contributed to getting her so wound up. But she took a deep breath and held the box out to him again.
"You won't know this, but that akuma at the start of the week, Kung Food? He was my uncle. I wanted to thank you for saving him, for bringing him back to us, and so I got you these," she opened the box for him then and he was amazed and ensnared by the delightful sight within. There must have been one of everything that her family bakery made in there. It looked divine. She smiled at him again. "Thank you, Chat Noir."
"Oh, wow, Princess, I…"
For once, he didn't know what to say. He'd never been thanked for anything before, and certainly not with something as amazing as hand-picked box of the best pastries in all of Paris. He took it from her and stared at the exquisitely crafted pastries in awe. Was he supposed to just say thank you and take them home? Should he start eating them now? Savoury or sweet first?
Evidently, his unusual response worried Marinette. She had started worrying her lip and then wringing her hands the longer he was silent for, before she burst out into a long babble.
"I hope it's ok, I mean, I know it isn't much really, but I had no idea what kind of things that you liked or whether you preferred sweet or savoury, so I just picked a little of everything. There's five flavours of macaron, a raspberry, a lemon tart, two croissants, a handful of gougères, an individual quiche lorraine, a pain au lait, pain au chocolat, pain au fromage, a hazelnut millefeuille, oh and a new herb and cheese bread that we've been trialling, it's got some good reviews so far… not that I gave you that to try and get a review from you, honest, I just thought you might like it."
"I…"
"Oh god you're allergic aren't you!" she shrieked, covering her mouth with both hands as she stared at him in horror. "Oh no, I didn't mean… I didn't know, I… I'm not trying to poison you I swear, I just wanted to say thank you, but I'll make you anything you want, just tell me what your favourite thing is and I'll go and make you one now, I know all our bakery recipes, it won't take long at all, and I…"
"Princess!"
He gently set the box down on the little table on her balcony and reached out and grabbed her shoulders. She was so upset by the thought that she had given him a treat he couldn't eat. He was touched by her kindness. The gentle touch to her shoulders, as well as the soft smile on his face, broke Marinette out of her ramble.
"I am not allergic and most definitely not offended. These look amazing and I'm sure they're going to taste even better. I'm honoured to get such a gift."
"You… are?"
"Yes."
"Oh," Marinette started to smile at that and he grinned right back at her. "Oh, that's good. Good, I'm glad. That's really good."
He chuckled. "It's great, Princess. Thank you."
"Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that?" she smirked, throwing his earlier words right back at him.
"Princess, you joked!" he laughed. He really liked Sassy-Marinette. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gestured grandly at the box of treat. "This is amazing, pastries and jokes. What a night!" he grinned and she giggled. "So what is everything again?"
They both knelt by her little table. Chat eagerly opened the box and watched avidly as Marinette pointed out each on of the little delicacies to him.
"So, here we have out famous macarons with buttercream filling, in lemon, raspberry, chocolate, coffee, and caramel flavours. We do lemon, coffee, and raspberry all the time, as well as pistachio and vanilla, but the chocolate and caramel ones are our special flavour of the month. They sell out so fast I had to snag these first thing this morning to make sure you got some."
Well he had to try those now, didn't he? He went for the warm amber-brown coloured macaron first, the one she had pointed out as being caramel flavoured, and ate it whole. It took every ounce of self-control not to moan at the exquisite flavours.
"This is the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!"
Marinette giggle at that. He quickly devoured the chocolate one too and this time he did let a little whimper out. Perfection! Just perfection!
"I can see why your bakery has its reputation."
She beamed at that. "We're good at what we do, and my Baba is very generous with free samples. He knows how good word of mouth is for our business. Every year I go to school with a huge box of macarons on the first day to share with my friends."
"Really?"
For a second he was confused. He didn't remember Marinette bringing macarons for everyone at the start of the year. Then it hit him. He'd never actually made it on the first day thanks to Nathalie and the Gorilla pulling him away from school. He had missed these heavenly treats by one stinking day!
He really was unlucky.
She was thankfully oblivious to his inner musings. "Baba says there's no better way to make a friend than with a macaron. Anyway, we also have…"
"Aha!"
"Gah!" Marinette shrieked and threw herself backwards from the window hatch where her mother had just emerged. She hissed as she caught her elbow against the corner of the table. "Mama?"
Sabine smiled. "I came to speak with you, my darling, and I thought I heard talking up here. Chat Noir, what brings you to our home?"
"I did Mama." Marinette pointed at the bakery box.
"Ah, so that's why you've been bringing half the bakery up to your room this week."
"This week?"
Marinette nodded, absently rubbing at her bruised elbow. "I've been trying to catch you and Ladybug for a few nights now. I was lucky to flag you down tonight but Ladybug is just too fast for me to catch."
"Then I will be sure to tell her the next time I see her. These are too meow-vellous not to share," he grinned and nibbled at the lemon macaron. Oh, god, that was even better!
Marinette smiled then turned to her mother for a further explanation. "I wanted to thank them for saving Uncle Cheng."
"I see. Well, let me add my thanks to my daughter's then, Chat Noir. From now on you and Ladybug will never have to pay for anything from our bakery. In fact, if you ever need anything else from us, anything at all, then we will be there for you."
"All of us," Marinette promised. "Baba included."
"Yes, even my husband," Sabine confirmed. She reached over and squeezed her daughter's hand then before moving back to the window hatch. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go and help him close up for the night, I only came up here to speak to my daughter."
"Mama?"
"You have a bakery shift in the morning, my darling. Make sure you set your alarm," Sabine smiled but gave Marinette a look which had her daughter blushing furiously.
"I will, mama. I'll do that right now in fact," she grabbed her phone out of her pocket and started tapping away.
Sabine smiled at that and nodded before turning to face Chat Noir with a warm smile. "Thank you once again, Chat Noir. It was nice to see you. Good night."
She leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead, and Marinette leaned into her in a half hug and bussed her cheek, before carefully climbing back through the window hatch and closing it securely behind her.
Marinette was still setting alarm after alarm on her phone and Chat couldn't help but think that was a good thing. He didn't want her to see the look of jealous longing or the look of guilt on his face. She had such caring parents, even when they were punishing her it was obvious that they loved her. He could help the envy that coursed through him. If only his father could be like that.
Still, he felt guilty for putting her in this position.
"Hey princess?" he asked. She made a go ahead sound but didn't look away from her phone. "I'm sorry."
Her head snapped up quicker than he thought possible and she looked at him in concern. "What? Why?"
"I didn't mean for you to get into trouble by giving me these amazing gifts."
"What? Oh. OH!" her phone fell onto the table, forgotten, as she reached over and placed a hand on his arm. "Oh, no, Chat, I'm not in trouble. At all. Mama wasn't telling me off for giving these to you."
"Really?"
"Yes, I paw-mise."
He barked out a laugh at that. "Princess, you punned!"
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," she blushed and looked away, a small smile playing on her lips. "I am not a pun lover. You just looked like you needed to hear one." She gave his arm a comforting squeeze before pulling her hand back and checking she hadn't damaged her phone when she dropped it.
"So, you're definitely not in trouble?"
He had to double check that. He needed to be absolutely certain that she wasn't just trying to make him feel better. These pastries were one of, if not the, nicest and kindest gifts he had ever been given. The thought she put into choosing and boxing them for him, as well as the fact that she'd been trying to track down him and Ladybug since they had saved her uncle… well, he couldn't help but feel a rush of warmth towards her. She was an amazing friend.
She just smiled at him and he felt the relief course through him.
"I do the opening-shift in the bakery with Mama and Baba every Wednesday since I only have a half day in school. She was just reminding me to set plenty of alarms this week. I have a terrible habit of forgetting to set them, or turning them off and sleeping in because I stayed up late working on some sewing projects." Marinette was blushing a bright red by the end of her little ramble, but her smile stayed in place.
"Well thank you. For all of this. Really."
She nodded. "Let me know which ones are your favourite, I'll make sure we always have some for you. You're welcome to swing by and get them whenever you want."
Chat was stunned once more. "I… I wouldn't want to impose." Did her generosity know no bounds?
"You won't. You aren't."
"It isn't fair to make something just for me when I can't come round all the time," he put up a half-hearted protest. Quite frankly the thought that he could transform and come here for a sweet treat whenever he wanted was almost too tempting to refuse. But he had had social politeness driven into him from birth, he knew what an imposition this would be on Marinette and her parents. "Between my civilian life and patrols and akumas and hundreds of other things I don't know how often I'll be able to visit."
"It can be as infrequent or as often as you want it to be."
He officially had carte blanche to visit for pastries whenever he wanted. This was the happiest day of his life.
"Princess, you are going to make me a fat cat! However shall I fit into this suit then?"
"You'll find a way," she grinned.
"I suppose the akuma battles and patrols will be exercise enough. Plus, I did promise to be the knight to my fair Princess, so I can't stray from her side for too long, can I?" he smirked and then winked at her, spurprised to see the faint pink dusting her cheeks.
"So, you'll come back?"
"Purr-omise!"
He remembered what she had said to him just then and decided to do the same. He snatched up the bright pink raspberry macaron and snapped it in half, offering the larger one to her. Her bright smile was delightful.
"I always keep my word with my fur-iends."
She snorted at the pun. "Friends huh?" she teased, taking the half macaron from him and nibbling at it. "I like the sound of that, and not just because this is my favourite." He winked at her and they both laughed.
The church bells chimed the hour just then and both of them knew that this pleasant little moment between friends was over. They were both in school tomorrow, and Marinette would be working in the bakery. It was time to turn in for the night.
"Until next time, ma Princesse."
He took her hand and kissed it, forgetting for a moment that she wasn't his Lady, but delighting in the pink blush that sprang to her cheeks at the gesture. She stammered a goodbye to him even as he took out his baton and vaulted off of her balcony, while cradling the box of treats to his chest like a precious treasure.
Marinette waved Chat off as he vaulted over the Parisian rooftops. He stopped a few streets over and turned back to face her, waving and giving her his trademark salute, before leaping high and doing a barrel roll as he disappeared out of sight. She laughed. He was so dramatic sometimes.
Tikki landed on her shoulder once Chat was fully out of sight. "You're surprisingly happy considering nothing went as planned."
Marinette laughed at that. Tikki was sure right about that!
She hadn't planned on forgetting the pastries, she hadn't planned having a minor freak out when she thought he was allergic to it all, she hadn't planned that Chat would have to calm her down, she hadn't planned on her mother appearing and extending an open invitation to their home, and she certainly hadn't planned their heart to heart where they ended as friends.
"No," she murmured, still staring out across Paris in the direction her cat had run. "No, nothing went as planned, but it was so much better."
"I'm so happy for you Marinette."
"Really? Why?"
"You made a plan and went through with it, even though you were so worried about possible risks, and when things happened that you hadn't accounted for you still forged ahead. A few months ago you would never have had the self-confidence to do this. I'm proud of how much you've grown."
She blushed and reached a hand up to cuddle Tikki to her. "Thank you."
Tikki nuzzled her cheek. "You're very welcome, Marinette. Now it's time for bed. Remember what your mother said."
"I've set plenty of alarms. Don't worry."
She climbed back through the hatch and locked it behind her. At Tikki prompting she packed her school bag and set out her bakery uniform and clothes to wear tomorrow before going through her bedtime routine.
She was brushing her hair out when a thought occurred to her. "Hey, Tikki?"
"Yesh Mawinedd?" She answered with a mouthful of cookie.
Marinette giggled. Tikki was just far too cute! "Thanks for suggesting I add a few savouries to the box, but I'm curious why you were so insistent I add the gougères and cheese bread?"
"Shimpul," Tikki swallowed her cookie and laughed. "They're not for Chat Noir. They're for Plagg."
"Plagg? You mean Chat Noir's kwami?"
"That's him. He loves his cheese."
"So you wanted to make sure he got some. Tikki, that's so sweet!" she cooed.
"Plagg is my partner, just like Chat is yours. I'll see him again one day, but until then I can make sure that he gets the best cheese pastries in Paris whenever Chat comes by."
Marinette put her brush down and scooped her phone and kwami up. "You miss him, don't you?" She asked, a little sadly, as she climbed into her loft bed.
Tikki settled down on Marinette's cat pillow. "Of course I do, but we kwami have been around forever. A few years separation doesn't feel that same to us as it does to humans. Besides, sometimes I need a break from the smell!"
"I'm almost afraid to ask what you mean?"
"The smellier the cheese, the better in Plagg's opinion. If I know him then he'll insist on the finest, and smelliest, camembert."
Marinette pulled a face. "Poor Chat!"
"Yep."
"I'll make sure to save him some cheesy goodies whenever he comes round, I promise."
"Thank you, Marinette. Good night."
"Good night Tikki."
A few streets away, those cheesy goodies and the sweet treats were being examined eagerly by Adrien once he had landed in his room.
They all looked so good, so perfect, he didn't know where to start.
"So what's that?" Plagg floated over, his curiosity temporarily halting his usually insatiable appetite. He sniffed around the box then snarled when Adrien closed the lid again.
"A gift from Marinette for saving her uncle when he was akumatised."
"Her uncle?" Plagg frowned. Generally speaking he ignored what was going on around him when he was hiding in Adrien's bag - unless there was a chance for him to have some cheese. And with the Princess there usually was. So who was her Uncle? It came back to him quickly. "Wait, wasn't he that chef with the soup?"
"Yeah. It was an amazing soup!" Adrien sighed, recalling the taste of it It had truly been divine, and it was really nice of him to name it for his niece.
Plagg scoffed, sitting on the closed box. "Please, it didn't even have any cheese in it. It couldn't have been that good!"
"It was. In fact, everything her family makes is delicious!"
He still dreamed of that salmon quiche her parents had given him at the gaming tournament. That was heaven on a plate! That macaron he had had on Marinette's balcony was taste perfection, and their croissants looked even better that the one's his father's gourmet chef prepared for their breakfast each morning.
It was funny, in a way. He associated Marinette with fashion, but she was just as involved with food. "I guess food must run in her family then," Adrien mused. "She said she can make everything in their bakery, and her uncle taught her how to make his soup when he won the competition."
"It would be more impressive with cheese."
That was Plagg's answer to everything. Well, Adrien had luck on his side for once, as there were a few goodied in this bakery box that would help change the quarrelsome kwami's mind. He shoo'ed Plagg off the lid, ignoring the hiss that produced, and reach in for the herby cheesy break and a few of the gougeres that Marinette had pointed out.
"Well try this then and tell me it isn't amazing."
"What is it?" Plagg sniffed at it curiously, drawing closer as he obviously smelled his beloved cheese even if he couldn't see it.
Adrien pointed the out as Marinette had to him earlier. "These are gougères. Cheesy pastry bites. And this is cheese bread."
"Hn, well I guess I could give it a try…" Plagg considered the unusual cheesy treats, looking between them and his camembert cupboard, before shrugging and diving at the gougères Adrien held out for him.
He took a large bit of the first one and then promptly froze, his eyes wide.
Adrien started to get worried. Kwami could eat other things right? He wasn't limited to just plain cheese for his energy was he? What if they literally couldn't eat anything other than their food source and that was why he had frozen.
"Plagg? Are you alright?"
Adrien's voice seemed to help Plagg snap out of his daze. He bit the gougère in two, holding the second half delicately in his paws, while he chewed the rest slowly, moving it around his mouth and savouring and examining every crumb. He swallowed, licked his lips, and opened his mouth…
"Marry that girl! Marry her RIGHT NOW!"
"Plagg!"