A/N

After saying how I was managing a chapter each week, this one took almost three.

I am sorry for the delay.

Good news: It is longer than usual.

Chapter 6: Lactose Intolerance

"Plagg? You up?"

"Mmm."

"Plagg? Are you up?"

"No."

"Great. Plagg, I don't know what to do."

"How about shutting up and letting me sleep?"

Plagg tried to snuggle deeper into the pillow. Maybe if he gets in deeper under the pillow it will block out Adrien's whining.

"She is so wonderful and amazing, I have to do something about her. I can't leave things as they are."

No such luck. He was sure Adrien's whine would penetrate a 5-foot soundproof wall. These few feathers, as comfortable as they were, were no match against Adrien's unconventional weapon of sleep destruction. How did he get stuck with such a whiner? He remembered eighteen-year-olds being more mature than this. Then again, he couldn't remember any human males being mature, ever.

"Do you even know who you are talking about? Because I am not sure." Plagg gave up on sleep.

"Eh? What do you mean? Ladybug, of course."

Plagg flew out from under the pillow to hover over Adrien's head, staring at the dumbfounded boy.

"Of course? All your whining about blue-eyed girls sounds the same to me, how am I supposed to differentiate?"

"What? Oh! Marinette. Don't be ridiculous. You know I am worried about Ladybug."

"Worried. Lovesick. Ladybug, Marinette. I can't keep up. When do we eat?" Plagg flew to the bookshelf and through some books.

I am sure I stashed some Camembert behind one of these books.

"You know what. I'm thinking I might have preferred it when you were not talking to me." Adrien threw at him from across the room.

Finding no cheese, Plagg flew back to Adrien and gave him a long stare.

"And there I was hoping you will learn from me and stop talking. But no." Plagg elongated the 'no' in exasperation. "You have to go on and on. 'Oh my Ladybug, what do I do?', 'Marinette, when did she become so beautiful?', 'my love bug, how I miss what we had!', 'Mari is so amazing!', 'my lady, why is she mean to me?', Blah! Get me some cheese and everything will work out."

Plagg dived into the drawer looking for any crumbs he might have left when he hid some cheese there yesterday. Finding nothing, he flew out to end up face to face with Adrien. The hurt in his eyes was too much for Plagg to bear.

"Listen, Kid." Plagg slowed down to reassure the boy, "You are right. Something is not right with Ladybug and I can't figure out what it is. But stop stressing about it constantly and try to relax. We will figure it out and solve it."

"You were not so relaxed the last two days. Hiding away and barely talking to me." Adrien retorted.

Plagg did not want to think about it. He wanted cheese and Ladybug made him feel he will lose his appetite. Well, not really. But it was unpleasant to even consider he might lose it.

With a loud humph, Plagg flew under the bed, checking every corner. No Cheese. He needed a distraction.

Ladybug hasn't hit him in over two thousand years. Excluding times their charges were training or competing. He had challenged Tikki many times in history boasting his charge was better but she would almost always brush him off. Even those few times her charge was also competitive and would take on the challenge, those fights, as physical as they got, carried no animosity.

"What have you done will all my cheese? You wake me up in the middle of the night and leave me to starve to death." It was Plagg's turn to whine.

"Middle of the night?" Adrien chortled. "The sun has been up for over an hour. I did not touch your cheese, you probably ate it all."

Foosball!

Plagg darted into the foosball table. There it was, lying between the boards, away from anyone's reach, a stinky piece of cheese. Even more stinky than usual. He wasted no time in gobbling up the whole wedge.

"Blah!" Plagg barreled out of the table, letting out a powerful belch. "That was horrible. How long was that in there? Are you trying to kill me?"

Adrien looked back and forth from Plagg to the foosball table. "That explains why my table has been stinking so much. I thought you were sleeping there so it smelled of you."

Plagg's day was not starting well. His gut was emanating strange noises.

Ladybug did apologize for hitting them, claiming it for an accident. He believed that she regretted her action. Nevertheless, at the time he felt the anger in her punch. That, he hasn't felt in thousands of years. The last time did not end well.

He needed to speak to Tikki.

"When are we going to your new girlfriend?"

"Marinette isn't my girlfriend." Adrien protested.

"Really? Then how did you know exactly who I was referring too?"

Adrien turned bright pink. The color suited him. This boy was just so oblivious. He thought his over-the-top feelings for Ladybug was how love feels, so he dismissed his deep affections for Marinette as 'friendly'. It was very rewarding yesterday, seeing his ignorance crack under Marinette's smile. Now these foolish kids can start to behave out of costume the way they have been pretending in costume. Then he can eat his cheese in peace without all this tension.

He must speak to Tikki.

"Now go get me some Camembert or I will start singing about you kids, a tree and a spelling bee."

"You are so childish," Adrien accused. That did not stop him from getting up and heading to the kitchen.

Plagg used the opportunity to get hold of Adrien's phone and add a few hearts to Marinette's contact number.

School is so boring. Why did these people have to spend so much time learning so many things which will make absolutely no difference in their lives? Plagg remembered the days when his charge would apprentice to some useful profession. He would do actual work creating real products. What do they want with all these essays and tests? They can't use them for anything. They can't eat them. What is the whole point?

There was one good thing about school. Adrien spent most of the day sitting still. This allowed Plagg to enjoy many hours of good sleep in Adrien's very comfortable pocket. Much better than being bounced around during some sport, like fencing.

Tikki once told him she enjoyed the history classes the most, catching up on events she missed while dormant, or hearing a hindsight analysis of an event she lived through. Plagg sometimes enjoyed those lessons too because he found it hilarious how they had some facts completely wrong. He should know, he was there.

"You cleared out your schedule this afternoon?" Nino didn't even bother with a 'good morning'.

"Yes. I don't understand why you are hyped about this. I'm just tutoring her." Adrien was still oblivious.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it was the fact that it took me almost an hour yesterday to get you to focus on my new tracks."

"Oh, that? I just never realized she was so..." Adrien's ears bloomed magenta. "So… So bad at physics."

This kid was seriously hopeless. Plagg swallowed a groan, wishing he could come out and tell Adrien a few things about girls and physics, and chemistry.

"Physic, yes," Nino smirked.

Plagg stopped following the conversation as they walked to class. He was slightly anxious to speak to Tikki and solve this problem. Not liking this feeling, he wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. At long last, they had physics where Marinette sat a few seats behind. Flying down under Adrien's clothes and then through the seat, Plagg made his way to the back making sure he was out of sight. He lost track of which row she was sitting in. Peeking through a seat he found Rose and Juleka concentrating towards the teacher. He's gone too far. Checking another seat he found kids he never bothered to learn their names. If he carried on like this someone would spot him. Frustrated he flew around in circles trying to find a pink pair of legs. She always wore pink, didn't she?

"You ready for your date today?" he heard right above him.

Plagg recognized the high pitch screech that followed. It was a 'Marinette reacting to Adrien' sound. He has watched this girl jump into burning buildings to pull out people without any hesitation. Mention Adrien and she falls apart. He might find human males immature, but human girls were beyond comprehension.

"It isn't a date," Marinette stern whisper came from above. "He is simply helping me with some physics. Nothing more."

"So you not excited? Not at all?"

"Excited? How can I be excited? I am too busy freaking out." Yes, that was undeniably the Dupain-Cheng girl.

Plagg nudged his head through the seat glancing up at the two girls holding their heads close together.

"I thought it was simply a teaching session." Alya's smile seemed wicked from Plagg's perspective.

"It is, I can't get the look he had yesterday out of my head. It was .. just…" Marinette let out a long sigh. Plagg wanted to throw up. Human teenage girls.

Spotting Marinette's bag Plagg dove straight for it.

"Tikki?" He whispered as he passed through layers of fabric.

She did not answer. Nor was she even there. All he found were a bunch of girls stuff he didn't want to touch. Where was Tikki? She didn't come with her to school? What if there was an akuma attack? That is unlike Tikki. Maybe they had a fight. The way Ladybug was behaving he could believe it.

"I saw you spoke to Nino between classes. More than usual. That is new." Marinette was shifting the conversation to Alya. Plagg noticed she was always uncomfortable getting too much attention. Even as Ladybug.

"We did. Nothing out of the ordinary. To be honest, mostly about you and Adrien. It was different though. He wasn't constantly looking around worried Cheriss will show up. He was more relaxed. It was nice."

"Don't get your hopes up please, he is being friendly while enjoying his new freedom."

Marinette seemed worried. Plagg couldn't figure out about what.

"Yes. She loosened his chain. I hope it is not loose enough for him to hang himself on it."

"Alya, don't be nasty." Marinette giggled.

She giggled! How can she punch him one day and then giggle the next? Talk about letting akumas run loose in Paris and then squeal about Adrien coming to her house.

What is going on here? Why wasn't Tikki at school?

Plagg made his way back to Adrien feeling worse than before. They were going to her house. He will corner Tikki and get to the bottom of this.

For the first time ever, Plagg was not sure who was more nervous, Adrien or himself. They were outside the school with Nino and Cheriss, waiting for Marinette and Alya. Cheriss was hanging off Nino as usual. Plagg missed Alya. She was way more fun than Cheriss, and funny too. Nino was an idiot. He was surrounded by idiotic teenage boys and hyper-excited teenage girls. He was getting too old for this.

"Hey guys," Alya was calling them as they approached.

"Great, you arrived," Nino called back.

There was an awkward silence where no-one said anything. Plagg poked Adrien in the ribs — hard.

"Ow. Em. Marinette, shall we go?" She must have nodded because they started walking. They walked to Marinette's house in complete silence, neither of them saying anything. Plagg debated poking Adrien again, for good measure.

They arrived at the bakery where there were some uncomfortable albeit friendly moments with her parents. They moved upstairs to her room where they both stood shuffling around, neither knowing what to do. This merited another poke.

"Ow."

"You ok?" Marinette's concern was obvious. That should jump start his brain.

"Yes, yes. Just...em… something I ate." Adrien patted his chest rather roughly, knocking Plagg. Accidentally? "I guess we should sit at your desk. Wow, is this where you do all your amazing designs? Can I take a look?"

"They are not completed or any good," Marinette hesitated, "but you can if you want, I just don't want to bore you."

"Bore me? Are you kidding? Your designs are always amazing. I would love to see how you come up with them." Adrien, paging through the papers on her desk, missed the sharp intake of breath. "This dress is amazing. You should design something for me. I would so model it. Dad will have a fit when I show up wearing someone else's designs. He would hire you even if only so he can claim I only wear his clothes."

This kid was beyond oblivious. He had no clue what he was doing to the poor girl. Plagg could practically hear Marinette hyperventilating. The fool continued scanning through her work, carelessly throwing her praise. Instead of teaching her physics he would be wiping a melted teenage girl from the floor.

"Physics." A soft squeal interrupted Adrien's blundering.

"Huh? Oh, yes. I… well..." He lost his momentum. "Books. We need some books."

Lame.

"I'll get them." Marinette rushed to the shelves crashing into the table. She put her hands to catch herself on the swivel chair only to have it glide away from her, pulling her off balance. Girl and chair crashed onto the floor.

"Marinette!" Adrien rushed forward leaning down to help. "Are you ok?"

Plagg, watching for just such an opportunity from Adrien's open jacket, flew out heading for the back of the room before anyone noticed.

Adrien held out his arm as support for Marinette. She held onto him, pulling herself up to a crouching position, bringing her face right up close to Adrien's. The two froze as their eyes met, remaining in that position for almost a minute.

"Physics," Adrien breathed so softly Plagg only heard because of his enhanced hearing.

The two pulled away so quickly, Marinette crushed down again. After much apologizing and half sentences, the two were sitting at the desk with open physics books.

"Where do you need help?" Adrien asked.

"Everywhere." Marinette sighed, then perked up. "In physics. I mean, I need help everywhere in physics. I understand nothing. It is all just a bundle of concepts which make no sense at all. I hear Mr. Belrose talk and it's like little worms sitting in my ears, eating up everything before it even gets to my brain. Those little leftover bits that they miss and make it to my brain are disconnected and incomplete, leaving me even more confused than when the lesson has started."

Adrien sat, his eyes following Marinette's flailing arms, with a warm smile on his face. Marinette realized and dropped her arms to her lap and her head lowered.

"I think we should start at the beginning, quickly get through the topics and see what you already understand and what you need help with. Once we know that we will see where to concentrate our efforts. Trust me, you know more than you think. All we need to do is tie those...disconnected, half-eaten bits together and you will be fine ."

Marinette's head snapped up to him. The smile he was giving her should dispel any thoughts she might have that he was making fun of her. With a sharp nod, the two looked down at the books.

While the duo was keeping each other occupied, Plagg searched most of the room, making sure he was always behind Marinette's back. He went through the drawers, the closet, by her bed, under the bed, in the bed, between her shoes, and in the shoe boxes. He even risked a dip into her vanity closet. As much as a part of him enjoyed watching the pair interact so well together, he wanted them to take a break and go away or something. That will allow him to search the rest of the room. He wished he could tell Adrien what he was up to so Adrien would find an excuse to take her downstairs. But he couldn't come up with a good story for searching Marinette's room. Stupid rules.

Sitting quietly on one of the support beams, Plagg watched the teenagers' playful banter below. Marinette often looked at Adrien with so much adoration it made Plagg sick, but mostly she concentrated on the work, taking it seriously as well as having some fun. From the little Plagg heard, she was making very good This was the Ladybug that he knew. How Adrien couldn't see it was beyond him. This was not the Ladybug which hit him a few days ago. Where was Tikki hiding? He must find her. Plagg sat looking down at his charge, frustrated and worried.

Once Adrien got into teaching mode things were moving more smoothly. He was in his element, explaining the subject with a passion and adding some flare to the lesson. When he tutored Nino, he would make up the most outrageous examples to illustrate the details of each section they would study. He found that it helped keep Nino interested.

Since they begun learning Marinette kept her eyes in the book, her nose crumpled and her eyelids half shut. Adrien couldn't quite place why that look was familiar. She would nod and say she understood, but never look up.

They have known each other for years, albeit they were not so close lately. This time was different though. He had a strong urge to get her to smile, to smile at him like she did yesterday. He did not comprehend why that smile made him feel differently, only that he liked it and wanted more. He wanted her to smile, not laugh at him for being ridiculous with his outrageous examples. So, at first, he kept the scenarios rather mild.

Until he got a giggle.

Marinette had her head down with her lips closed in a tight line. The pale pink highlight of her cheeks confirmed that he didn't imagine it. It seemed like a bubble escaped her sealed lips. He just had to get more.

At the next opportunity, Adrien increased the implausibility of the example. The subsequent giggle was louder and less controlled.

Let's see how she handles this.

He went into an elaborate example, which included astronauts, aliens, and a talking chimp.

"Now that is just plain ridiculous. " Marinette exclaimed giving him a pointed look.

"What? It's a real, honest example." Adrien gave the most innocent smile he could manage.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a slight curve of her lips, hinting how she was nevertheless, somewhat amused. The whole expression was so Ladybug like, Adrien could almost see the domino mask.

He most definitely wanted more of that.

While he was explaining the next section, she looked up several times and, sometimes, keeping eye contact while he was speaking. He was trying very hard not to get distracted by her piercing, blue eyes.

"So, let me see if I understand this concept correctly," Marinette stated, with a small twist in the corner of her mouth. She then proceeded to give an example, using his astronauts and aliens, replacing the chimp with a luminous hamster. Displaying that not only did she understand the subject they were learning, but she was able to also come up with as ludicrous situations as him.

Marinette sat looking at him expectantly, her lips quivering. He stared at her, somewhat stunned. He felt it coming, bubbling up from deep in his belly, climbing up his throat pressing against his lips. He could not hold back as the laughter burst out of him sending him into an uncontrolled fit. Marinette watched him warily, uncertainty written on her face.

"That….was….brilliant!" Adrien managed to get out between bursts of laughs. Marinette's face shone as she smiled, giggled and eventually joined him with full-blown laughter. They tried numerous times to control themselves, only to glance at each other and lose control again. There were tears coming down his eyes before he managed to get a hold of himself.

"Ok, ok. I think I can do this." Adrien took a few large breaths. "I believe you understand this topic perfectly."

"I believe I do," Marinette looked contemplative, "but I doubt they will ask about aliens in the test."

Adrien lost the control he had. Marinette calmly watched him, amused, while he was slowly regaining control of his laughter.

They eventually continued the lesson, challenging each other to more extreme examples leaving them both in stitches. Despite the numerous laughing fits and scenarios which were getting longer and more elaborative, they made good progress. This was due to how Marinette would catch on to each topic in a flash. It required Adrien explaining the information once, in his own words, often with some interesting example, and Marinette would understand.

"Nino was right," Marinette brought up out of nowhere. "You should teach us. I understand this so much better the way you explain it. Much better than the book or Mr. Belrose. Have you ever considered teaching?"

The question caught Adrien completely off guard. Tutoring was fun from the little experience he has had. Teaching for real. That is something he never dared even to consider.

"Not seriously. I enjoyed tutoring Nino and I'm having lots of fun teaching you. I don't see myself doing this for real. My father has already mapped out my career. I'm modeling now and for the foreseeable future. I'm going to do a business degree after school and at some point get involved in the business side of things."

"You enjoy the business side of the fashion industry?" Marinette asked.

"I haven't been involved enough to experience it. For now, I know nothing besides how to get my picture taken."

"He does not involve you at all?" Marinette's brows rose in surprise. "How does he expect you to be part of the business if he does not expose you to it?"

"I assume I'm not old enough for it yet."

"That's nonsense. My parents have been showing me the ropes down at the bakery since before I could walk. Where other kids did figure paintings, I have been icing cakes. As I got older I would help with the baking and more advanced decorating. The last few years I have also been doing stock-taking and following with my mother when she does the accounts. I cannot run the place by myself but I understand the different parts of the business. I will take on even more tasks when they open the new branch."

Adrien watched as Marinette listed her activities at the bakery, his jaw-dropping leaving him with a gaping mouth. They have known each other for years and there is so much about her he did not know.

"Oh, wow! That is very clever of them and impressive of you. I didn't know they were opening a new branch. When is it opening?"

"I'm not sure. They haven't yet finalized the location, then they will need to renovate and set it all up. Even if everything goes smoothly it would take at least another month or two."

"They so deserve it." Adrien was being honest, "This is the best bakery in the city. It is only natural they expand."

Adrien was sure this was the longest conversation they have ever had. He was astonished how versatile she was. Her designs were amazing, she knew to do all those things at the bakery, she was grasping everything he taught her at once, and she had the most exquisite bluebell eyes, he couldn't stop looking into.

"I am so happy for you," he said, out of breath, although he could not fathom why.

"Thank you." Marinette gulped looking down, her cheeks going pink as before. "We were talking about you," she said to the desk, "about you becoming a teacher."

What did he say that she stopped looking at him?

"I'm not becoming a teacher. My father will disown me. He might not have shown me anything about running his business, which, now you mention it, makes no sense. He always talks about how I need to be more organized, more punctual, more invested, and a whole other bunch of more's. He says it is because he does not want an incompetent son to inherit the business."

"Don't you have a choice?" She said, looking up at him to his delight. "You should do what you enjoy doing. Maybe you should continue modeling. I am sure you will be gorgeous no matter how old you get." Marinette's hands flew to cover her mouth. "I...I…" She returned to examining the floor.

"You are assuming that I enjoy modeling." Adrien continued as normal, ignoring her sudden stuttering.

"What?" He felt the wind against his face as her head shot back up. "You don't enjoy modeling? But… But… You have been doing it forever. And you look so good… I mean you are so good at it."

"Good at it? I don't know. I simply stand there and look pretty. I don't do anything special. I have no talents. So people like the way I look. What is so great about that? All I do is suffer through a strict diet and exercise routine so my father has a pretty face to put on his magazines. I achieve nothing that way. It does not help anyone, except my father."

Slightly embarrassed by his own outburst, it was Adrien's turn to study the floor. He was surprised that he laid all that out in the open. His feelings about his modeling career contradict his perceived persona. He keeps a tight lid on his opinion so it will not ruin his image. His father would kill him if he ruined his image.

Sitting here, with Marinette, it felt so natural to share with her what he really felt. He did not want to hide behind his fake image when he was with her. It was almost like he had his black mask on. Only he didn't. That was amazing in itself.

"I did not realize you thought that way." He looked up to see Marinette studying at him with red-tinged cheeks and glossy eyes. "Although, now that I think about it, I'm not surprised. Obviously, you would want to do something which helps people."

Obviously? How is it so obvious to her when it isn't to anyone else? He has attempted to do some charity work, selling it to his father as a way to improve his image. His father was against it, stating it was not safe for Adrien in the poorer areas. Eventually, he agreed to let him visit an orphanage. Besides his bodyguard and Natalie, he sent a cameraman. It felt more of impromptu photoshoot than charity work.

"I think this just proves you should consider a teaching degree." She interrupted his wondering. "You enjoy it. Your students will enjoy your teaching. I know I did. You are good at it, and it is very rewarding. You will help kids enjoy learning and get their education."

"Are you serious? You really think so." He looked into her eyes, searching and finding no mockery. He couldn't believe she was talking about him, Adrien him. Chat Noir helped people. As Chat he was able to do good. As Adrien he was useless.

"Adrien. I enjoyed this lesson more than any physics lesson I've ever had. Not only was it fun, I but I have also learned more today than months of physics classes. You are a very good teacher. Even if you can be a bit of a doofus with your examples." She gave a small chuckle.

"Well, even so." It sounded so great when she said it, but he wouldn't get his hopes up. He must face reality. "My father would never allow it. It does not fit well with his plans."

"Those are his plans. Don't make his plans yours. You have your own life. As much as I love my parents and the bakery, I plan to do a degree in design. I want to be a designer. I will help my parents as much as I can, but my future is not in the bakery. My parents know that and are behind me all the way."

"I want your parents." Adrien joked, although, inside, he knew it was true. He wished he had parents like Marinette's.

"The way they were gushing over you earlier today, I'm sure they would be willing to adopt you. I will download the forms for them to sign and you can move in the Monday after next."

Adrien snorted. He has heard Marinette's witty comments before, but never when he was part of the conversation. She was funny, smart, talented, witty and quite pretty, beautiful really. She could give Ladybug a run for her money. The two of them together would be a sight to behold. He was getting dizzy just imagining it.

His phone buzzed. He regretfully looked away from her eyes and checked his phone.

"Shoot!" Adrien jumped out of the seat. "My driver is already downstairs. I was supposed to wait for him outside as we need to rush to a photoshoot. I got distracted talking to you and lost track of the time. It was fun learning with you and I enjoyed talking to you. We should do this again. I'm sorry, but I have to rush before I get in trouble. Remember the father we spoke about and his plans for me? I'm not ready to go against him. I would rather make it there on time." He was already standing by the trapdoor, one arm pulling it open. "I will seriously think on what you said."

Marinette was still sitting, watching him leave in shock. He understood why. A minute ago they were sitting there, having a deep and personal conversation, and now it looked like he was running away.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled at her.

With that, he went down through the trapdoor, the few flights of stairs, gave a quick goodbye to her parents without stopping, got out the door and into the waiting car. They were off.

Yes, it felt like he was running away. To some extent he was, it was too much. This afternoon Marinette learned a fairly good amount of physics. Adrien learned a fairly good amount about Marinette.

One thing stood out; she was even more amazing than he ever gave her credit for.

There were no customers in the bakery when Alya walked in. Sabine was busy at the till, counting out the cash left from the day's transactions. Tom was pulling pastries off the shelves into boxes humming some tune Alya did not recognize. It was almost closing time.

"Hi Tom, hi Sabine," Alya greeted Marinette's parents. She loved them. They were the coolest parents she ever met. She has many fond memories of staying over for meals and sleepovers at the Dupain-Cheng household. "I'm assuming Marinette's home. Is Adrien still here?"

"You just missed him," Sabine updated her. "He left around twenty minutes ago."

"Flew past like the wind late to some photoshoot," added Tom. "He was very polite about it. Apologized for rushing out and thanked us for our hospitality. Like we did anything. Marinette forbade us from going upstairs. She also forbade us from getting any wild ideas and, I quote, 'no hopes up getting'." Tom wiggled his finger in Alya's face, lowered his eyelids and tucked in his lips. It was a pretty good impersonation of Marinette's 'stern' look.

"As long as she set the record straight," Alya said with a laugh. "I'll go upstairs and see how she survived her tutoring adventure."

"Go right up," Sabine mentioned with her arm. "We have heard nothing since the cute boy left."

"Thank you," Alya called out as she strolled into their home, seeking Marinette. She crossed the main bedroom, up to the vacant kitchen and living room where she has spent many hours of her life hanging out with Marinette. Wanting to surprise Marinette, she tiptoed up the steep stairs to Marinette's room and nudged open the trap door which served as the door to the attic bedroom.

Alya looked over the rim and was startled to find Marinette sitting in her chair by the computer, her eyes directed on her. She stumbled from shock and had to catch herself from tumbling back down the stairs. She gave a sheepish smile, ready to apologize for trying to sneak in when she realized something was wrong. Marinette's facial expression has not altered. She was still staring at her, but she never reacted to her in the slightest.

Alya climbed the rest of the way into the room closing the door behind her. Even though she was now standing in the room, Marinette was still looking at the trap door. Alya walked over to stand by the desk and study Marinette. She waved her hands in front of her eyes and poked at her cheeks. Getting no reaction, she sat in the other chair, elbow on the desk, resting her head in her palm.

"So," she said after a minute. "It went that well?"

"I distracted him," Marinette whispered.

"Seems you are the one who's distracted. Care to explain?"

"He was distracted talking to me and lost track of the time. I made him late to a photoshoot because I distracted him. His very important, incredibly amazing, life as a model was pushed aside because he was talking to me."

"I see."

"Alya?"

"Yes?"

"Am I dead?"

"I don't believe you are. Why?"

"Because this must be heaven."

"Oh, No. Not at all. Just wait until he kisses you. Then your soul will jump out of you and head straight to heaven."

All this time Marinette continued to stare at the trap door, her expression not changing, only her lips moving. Even now, nothing changed, except that her face was now bright red.

"Are you planning on staring at the door forever?"

"I can still see the smile he gave me as he was leaving. I do not want to forget it."

"Were you like this?" Alya cried. "Staring at him the whole time he was here?"

"No. I couldn't even look at him, except when I couldn't look away. I concentrated in the book so I would not get distracted from learning. Then he started talking about aliens and chimps so I brought up a hamster and a hippo. I'm sure there was squirrel mentioned, but I don't remember who brought it. Then his father ruined his career as a teacher so he had to remain a model and a businessman although he knows nothing about business. I will miss not seeing his beautiful photos and I won't have what to put on my wall, but I know he will be happy helping kids with their education."

Alya was fascinated that even though Marinette's arms were everywhere while she talked and even her facial expressions were taking part in her very detailed if nonsensical speech, she still kept her eyes glued to the door.

"I have an idea," Alya put her hand on Marinette shoulder. "From the tiny bits I followed I understand that you actually managed to have a conversion with Adrien. I that is nothing short of a miracle. How about you face me instead of the door so we can talk about our costumes for Alix's party? Then we can plan how we can get Adrien to give you many more smiles, in person. They are even better than the memory etched into the back of your skull."

Marinette pouted, eyes still on the trap door.

"You promise?"

"I do." Alya tried hard not to giggle. "I bought the costumes for the party, but you have to work your magic over them. I know your size so I got the closest thing they had. You still need to adjust them to make them fit perfectly."

"Okay," Marinette responded though she has not looked away from the door yet.

"Remember," Alya prompted. "You promised me you will wear what I got without complaining."

"I said I would wear it, I never said I won't complain about it."

"Fine," Alya sighed. "I will take what I can, it will be so worth it. You will look stunning. Adrien will not know what hit him."

She pulled out the costume from her bag and held it up.

"The door is not going anywhere. Look over here and see what I got you."

Marinette dragged her eyes away from the door to examine what Alya held.

Tom and Sabine completed locking up the bakery. It has been a good day. They were both looking forward to opening a new branch even though that gave them a fair amount of anxiety. They will be investing a hefty sum of money in setting up the place, having to take a bank loan to cover the costs. It was a risky albeit confident move. Some of their products were already being sold in a few convenience stores on the other side of town. Opening a branch will increase the sales and allow them to sell fresh pastries for a more satisfied customer. All that with a higher profit margin. It made sense.

There were still many things to plan. Marinette has been a great help. They would raise possible issues and she always had great ideas, many of which they were planning on implementing. They were very proud of their daughter.

The bakers walked through the door into their house heading up to the kitchen to start with supper. They were only a few steps up towards the first floor when the house vibrated from the thunderous voice.

"Alya! No way in hell!"

A/N

Next chapter: Maribug salad

You can stop reading now. I'm just going to rumble on why I'm late in posting this chapter.

In fact, I'm going to post every two or three weeks from now on.

I tried to keep up with a chapter a week but it is too difficult.

I have also been spending much more time editing the chapter, I hope it made a difference.

As I write the story I find I need to add more content so it doesn't feel like a movie montage.

The original story structure had Adrien coming to Marionette's house already in chapter 4.

I still hope the story will be done by chapter 15/16.

But as the story progresses there are more things I have to cover that I didn't plan on in the beginning (like the whole "where is Tikki" thread, which will continue in the next chapter. )

In conclusion, expect a slower chapter schedule. I have full intention in seeing this story till the end.

P.S. I am going to the US on a business trip for the next 3 weeks. I don't know how that will affect the schedule.