Chapter 10; A Day at the Bakery

Alya was surprised to find that Marinette had gotten herself up when her alarm went off at six. She could smell coffee, and as she got out of bed she saw Marinette walk into the room wearing a bathrobe and carrying a steaming cup.

"Shower's all yours, and I've made coffee, oh and herbal tea," Marinette informed her hostess, "We leave in half an hour."

Alya was about to ask why so early, then realized that Marinette would have to be there for the morning's delivery. She grabbed some clothes from her dresser then headed for the bathroom to shower and dress. By then she felt she would be awake enough for coffee.

Landing on the balcony above Marinette's room, both girls dropped their transformation then dropped down from the sky light, then quickly downstairs to the bakery.

Marinette opened the side door and saw that the morning's delivery hadn't come yet, so she went back inside. "I'll get the ovens heating then check to see where we stand,"

"Right," Alya said, then smiled as she looked out the front windows. She turned as she heard Marinette mumbling to herself as she looked over a clipboard.

"Well, we're lucky with the breads," she said aloud as she looked at the second page on the clipboard, "They must have gotten. . . ." she began but trailed off when she saw the front of the bakery filled with her classmates. "Ummm, hi,"

"Yo, dudette, you didn't think weld make you do all this by yourself did ya?" Nino asked. "Alya, and myself came by to lock up, and, well the gang followed us, so we cleaned the place up."

"As usual, the leftover breads and pastries were brought to the homeless shelters for distribution, and the displays, counters and tables were cleaned and the floor swept and mopped." Alya listed.

"So we all decided to lend a hand," Juleka said softly.

"So what do we do?" Rose asked.

Marinette walked out from behind the counter and stood in the midst of her friends. "I didn't expect this," she said as she slowly turned and looked at her friends. She tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat, and had to try twice before she could speak again. "I. . . I than. . . thank you all, for myself and on behalf of my parents."

Alix walked over and put her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Nothing to worry about, we've got your back, just like you've had ours if we've needed help.

Marinette found she couldn't speak at that moment, and also found herself in the middle of a huge group hug.

"Okay, Marinette may not have planned for this but I have," Alya said when the hug broke up. "Juleka, Rose, cake prep and decorating," she read from a list, "Alix, Mylene table customers, and wipe downs. Nathan, Kim, dish washing, Max, Nino, pastries, Marinette as you probably know is in overall charge, I'm next. If you have any questions ask one of us."

"I'll be handling cupcake prep and decorating," Marinette said, "Alya please prep the register. Ivan do you know how to knead bread?"

"Sure I've watched my mom plenty of times.?"

"Good, I'll get someone to give you a hand when I can."

Adrien had informed Nathalie of his plans for today after he had spoken to his father last night. To say Gabriel Agrest wasn't happy about his sons actions was an understatement.

"Where do you think you're going?" His voice said from behind Adrien as he reached for the doorknob of the front door.

"As I told you last night, to help a friend who is having a rough time."

"And I told you last night that I forbid you to leave this house today, you showed a lack of control yesterday, and I don't want you running around, causing damage to my brand."

Adrien sighed in annoyance, "You're not keeping me here, Father."

"Nathalie, take him in hand!"

Obeying that command, Nathalie stepped over to Adrien.

"Don't do this Nathalie, just let me go." Adrien said in a warning tone.

"You must listen to your father," she said and grabbed his shoulder.

Adrien grabbed her hand and stepped even closer to her, twisting the arm and bringing the hand down then around, neatly flipping Nathalie onto her back.

"Che sa," he said, still holding the hand, his right hand raised to strike. He looked up when he heard a loud snap from the door. A look to the top of the stairs showed Gabriel holding a remote control. He released Nathalie's hand and threw a spin kick at the door, his foot impacting exactly between the knobs. By the sound of the crack he heard, he knew he had shattered the normal lock, but the fact that the doors didn't swing open told him that his father had triggered the security locks. Cracks at the top and bottom of both doors proved him right.

"Release the locks, Father, I'm leaving."

"No you aren't.

Adrien caught movement out of the corner of his eye and saw Gorilla lumbering toward him. He stood his ground until the last possible moment, then stepped aside with the grace of a matador. Unable to stop, the big man slammed into the doors which could not withstand the impact. Quickly going through the now open doors, Adrien then crossed the yard and headed for the service gate. Grabbing a large can that he knew was full of metal, he tossed it onto the driveway before the gate.

The magnetic coil under the pavement recorded the presence of the metal and obediently opened the gate and Adrien was soon sprinting down the sidewalk. He ducked into the first alley he came too.

"Ya know, kid, that wasn't the smoothest exit you could have made," Plagg said as he floated out from under Adrien's shirt.

"I figure it's time I quit letting my father run my life. Claws out!"

Moving with the speed of Chat Noir on the rooftops he reached the bakery very quickly.

"Claws in," he said then knocked on the door. Just as his transformation finished dropping, the door opened. "Morning, Princess."

"Adrien!" Marinette cried and threw herself into his arms.

"Hey, whats up?" he asked his mind processing her face before she buried it in his chest. "Princess, why have you been crying?" he asked remembering seeing that her eyes were slightly puffy and red. "It's not your father, is it? He hasn't taken a turn for the worse, has he?"

"They were happy tears, Chat," Alya said as she walked up. "You coming in or are you going to stand out there all day?"

"Give us a minute, okay?" Adrien said, "Somethings off about her." he said, voicing a feeling he had. He looked over at Alya when she gasped.

"Right, I'll leave you two alone, and keep the others away," she said. "He needs to know, Marinette." she added and went inside.

"I need to know what, Princess?"

When she didn't reply, Adrien backed up a bit then hooked his thumb and index finger under her chin and brought her gaze up to his face. He grew more concerned when she kept her eyes averted, refusing to look him in the eye.

"I don't want to tell you," she said in a small voice.

Adrien led her into the building then up the stairs to the living area and they sat on the couch.

"Tell me," he urged gently, "Please, Milady."

Marinette took a ragged breath. "I had trouble sleeping last night, and he took advantage."

Adrien thought for a moment. "He?"

"Hawk Moth." she said, "He offered me the power to get revenge on the ones responsible for my parents being in the hospital. He tried to akumatize me."

"Tried? He didn't succeed? Tikki helped you?"

Marinette shook her head, "No, she was inside sleeping and I was out on the balcony. I was looking out over the city, and at a photograph of myself, Gina, and my parents. I was feeling sad that they were in the hospital, and down on myself because I failed to protect them." she paused and looked up at him, and he almost cried at the haunted, fearful look in her eyes, "Adrien, it was terrible! He was in my head, talking to me, offering me power to do whatever I wanted. He never got to the point of saying it, but underneath the promise of the power was the condition of finding Ladybug and Chat Noir and taking their miraculous to him. I guess his intrusion into my mind pushed me past my limits, and I can still picture myself shoving him away from me, and out of my head."

Adrien reached out and drew her to him, holding her close as he felt her trembling. "You're safe now, Princess. Alya, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"Nor will we," Plagg said, floating up to face level with both Tikki and Trixx.

"I will not fail you again, Mistress," Tikki said.

Marinette reached out and Tikki landed on her hand, She brought her kwami close and gently kissed her on the head. "I liked it better when you called me Marinette, and you did not fail me. In fact you're not being with me saved exposure of my identity." she smiled when Tikki's face took on it's normal happy look, then she turned to Adrien. "And before you ask, I was in no condition to call you. According to Alya I kinda freaked out and ended up leading her on a merry chase across the city rooftops. To be honest after I kicked him out of my mind, I don't remember anything until I woke up about five thirty this morning."

Adrien sighed, as Marinette snuggled against him again, and he simply sat there holding her. After he felt her relax against him, he also relaxed reveling in the feeling of having her close.

"Oh, and in addition to you, Alya and the kwamis, there would be a lot of other help as well," she said, looking up at him. "The entire class is down in the bakery getting it ready to open."

Adrien blinked, "Shouldn't we be getting down there to help?"

"I want some alone time with you first."

"Hey, who am I to argue about that?" he chuckled, realizing that with all that was going on that she would need that time with him. "You know, I told you before when I fell for you, when did you fall for me?"

Well, not at first," she replied, "You were friends with Chloe, and I jumped to the wrong conclusions about the gum." She thought for a moment, "Remember that pep talk you gave me, at the Eiffel tower when Officer Roger reminded me on how I failed to capture the akuma from Stoneheart the first time?"

"Hey, you just seemed to need a confidence boost,"

"And you gave it to me, when I needed it the most. That's when I fell for Chat Noir, but I couldn't let you know because we're heroes, we couldn't get too close, and I wasn't sure you returned those feelings."

"How about me as Adrien?"

"Actually it was when we laughed, after I accidentally closed that umbrella on myself," she said, "You tried to hide it, but I could see that you had a good heart, but you were lonely, and all you wanted was a friend."

Adrien sighed, "And for so long, I kidded myself that that was all you were to me, then we had that talk on that roof where I had set up that surprise for Ladybug."

"That's when I learned that your feelings for her were real. God it was so confusing! Chat Noir was pining for Ladybug, and I was pining for Adrien, and as Ladybug was having feeling for Chat as well. And you had to be so perfect," she added, poking him in the ribs.

"Hey, stop that,"

"Ooooo, are we ticklish, Kitty?"

"Princess," he warned, "Don't. . . doooh ohhh hahahah," he protested then burst out laughing as Marinette rose up over him, pushing him back onto the couch as she dug her fingers in just below his ribs. A moment later she gave a surprised yelp as he returned the favor.

"Ah ha, gotcha!" he exulted as he managed to twist, and Marinette found herself looking up at him. In seconds he stopped tickling as she reached up and entwined her fingers in his hair.

"Mari?"

"I want to apologize for at the hospital last night," she said softly, drawing a confused look from him, "Let's just say that things were a bit one sided between us."

"Which I have no problem with," he assured her.

"But what you did felt so good. . . made me feel so good, and I didn't return the favor." she looked up into his eyes, "That isn't right."

Marinette felt her heart flutter when he smiled down at her, giving her a look that she had seen him only give her.

"Making you feel good is enough for me, like I said last night." he said softly, then inhaled sharply as she trailed one of her hands down from his shoulder, along his ribs to his stomach, raking lightly with her nails.

"That feel good, mon amour? She asked softly.

Both were surprised when a sound came from deep in his chest that was surprisingly like a purr. A sound that deepened when she slid her hands underneath the bottom of his shirt and fanned her fingers over his chest.

"Oh, Mari," he breathed as her fingers made random designs over his skin. After a moment she slid her hands back out and framed his face, then gently pulled him down for a kiss.

Adrien was certain that his heart was going to burst out of his chest as he felt her soft lips against his. His eyes flew open when he felt the tip of her tongue trail over his lips. Taking advantage of his gasp of surprise, her tongue slid into his mouth, teasing his tongue to respond.

After a few moments they broke the kiss choosing to breathe instead.

Adrien felt Marinette shift her position, and he found that they were both on their side, facing each other.

"I know I've looked forward to it for a while now, but I never realized how comforting simply laying here looking into your eyes is," Marinette said brushing her fingertips over his cheek. "If it wasn't for Alya, and more importantly you, I would be a total disaster right now. You two are my rock, my anchor, helping me stay sane, and focused."

"I have a little confession to make," Adrien said, reveling in the softness of her hand on his cheek, "And I need to tell you before you come to the mansion for our formal presentation."

"Presentation?"

Adrien sighed, knowing this might not go well. "You know who my father is. The great Gabriel Agrest, a major player in the fashion industry. As you saw, being involved with me carries a certain amount of. . . celebrity. My being a model for his line doesn't help. That said, I had to talk with myself father and Nathalie to draft a small press release, stating that we were dating. Late next week, my father expects us both at the mansion for a more formal presentation to the press, then dinner."

"Me. . . talking in front of. . . reporters?"

Adrien saw the panic creeping into her eyes. "I tried, Mari, I really did, but he won't budge on this. He figures that if you can't be strong enough for this you don't deserve to be my girlfriend."

"And what do you think?"

No matter what, you are my girlfriend, nothing will change that, but. . .."

"but what?"

"I kinda see his point. By being my girlfriend you tie yourself to the Agrest name, and with your interest in design, it can give the wrong impression, plus it will keep the regular press off our backs. They'll run the story after the presentation and leave us alone."

"There's a not regular press?"

"Yeah, they're usually called the paparazzi. For a week or two they will be our shadows. I just hope you think I'm worth it." he said.

"That could make things difficult for Chat Noir and Ladybug," she said, "But yes I think, no I know you're worth it." she added, then kissed him. "What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

"Right," he said, then plunged on. "If we go to Gabriel Fashions, some of the staff may make some comments about other models, female models that I have dated," he said, making air quotes when he said the word dated. "I had to present a certain image, so there were certain times I showed a female model around the offices, even let myself get photographed with them at events, but I swear to you it was all an act. You are honestly the first girl I've been romantically involved with." he grinned sheepishly, "That's one of the reasons why I want to take this slow. I'm not certain of what I'm doing."

Marinette chuckled, which in turn made Adrien chuckle, and they hugged each other tightly. "You just keep doing what you have been, and I'll let you know if you do anything wrong," she said, then sighed sadly. "Much as I'd love to stay up here with you, we'd better get down there. I want to make sure everything is on track and you're going to be helping Ivan working the bread."

Seeing as he was on the outside, Adrien stood first then helped Marinette to her feet. He turned to head to the stairs, but found that she held his hand.

"One more kiss?" she asked.

"As you wish, Milady." he said and pulled her close for a kiss.