Chapter 2 – They Know
After Adrien's awkward departure, Marinette was left to stumble home, barely standing upright as she entered the bakery. Tom rushed to her side, while Sabine ran in from the back room.
"Marinette, what happened?" asked Sabine in a tone of worried, which all of a sudden disappeared as Marinette's face altered to match her mind in Cloud Nine. Instead, a knowing smile had tugged at the corner of her lips. Tom was confused, which wasn't uncommon when his wife and daughter had moments like these. 'Women…', he thought as he went back to refreshing the stock, chuckling to himself all the same.
Marinette's dreamy visage hadn't rubbed off, even while her mum practically dragged her up the stairs and into the main room, starting on some tea. Occasionally glancing at her daughter, Sabine giggled as her daughter hadn't come back from dreamland yet. There was love in her eyes, her smile was irreplaceable, so innocent. Only when Sabine placed a plate of assorted pastries in front of her, did Marinette snap out of it. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she asked:
"How long this time?"
"Around…" Sabine giggled before starting again, "half an hour." Her giggles had turned into heavy laughter as Marinette pouted, before joining her mother in a fit of laughter. After they had calmed down, Sabine interrogated Marinette, needing to know what Agreste did this time. When Marinette showed her the letter, she was quite taken aback, but glad all the same. Remembering their bet, Sabine texted Tom saying he needed to cough up 10 euros.
"Okay, maman. You heard my story, now how was your day today?"
"Great, actually! Business is booming, as always, and thank the Lord for that."
Marinette landed on her bed with a thump and squealed. "Tikki, Adrien loves me! Sure, it's taken a while, but his letter explained everything!" Tikki hovered over and read the letter as her chosen was dancing on her bed.
It all started when Alya and Nino came over to study. Marinette couldn't attend, as the bakery had a busy schedule. Adrien had to admit, he was a bit disappointed, as she always managed to lighten every mood, and even laughed at his puns (believe me, that is an accomplishment). Nevertheless, he had to study unless he wanted to get pulled out of school again. It had only been a measly week since Christmas holidays and there were already exams.
"How is there exams already?!" exclaimed Nino as he flicked through a Biology textbook. "What even is osmoregulation? Biology is too confusing, I give up…"
That pulled a snort out of Adrien. Alya rolled her eyes (she was trying so hard not to laugh) and dug into the textbook in front of her. Adrien decided that had better get on with it as well, so he buried his face into a History textbook.
The bakery was brimming with people and the constant hum of customers, as Marinette was at the counter, welcoming the guests (as always) with a big smile.
"Enjoy your pain du chocolat, Mrs Chamak. Au revoir!"
'I could be at Adrien's house right now' thought Marinette. 'I'll pay a visit after my shifts ends.' She peered at the clock before attending to a now long line of customers, forcing a smile.
Alya and Nino were laughing. Adrien looked up, confused.
"What's up?"
"Oh, nothing," Alya had been informed of this gossip by her boyfriend and couldn't wait for him to spill the tea.
"What about her? Is she coming? Is she ok? What happened?" Adrien panicked for a moment before taking a deep breath. She knew. Nino told her. He was supposed to be his best friend. There was no point hiding it now.
"Fine. You got me. I'm conflicted! I love Ladybug but I'm also starting to find Marinette cute! She's sweet, kind, pretty, amazing…. Alya, help meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" By the end of his rambling, Adrien was practically clinging to Alya's leg like a 5-year-old. Alya chuckled, before peeling him off.
"Listen. I've waited for this for a long time, too long to count. It's been a year since Marinette has been crushing on you, and it's about time, gosh…."
His eyes widened as Alya spoke. Had he really been that oblivious?