Hey, all!

Yes, almost all of my stories are in Danny Phantom fandom, and a couple times now in Young Justice. But, I have something to admit: I'm a closet hopeless romantic, and I am a total sap for the love square antics of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. So, here you go, a nice helping of friendship and bonding, a dash of hurt/comfort, and the thirst of romance.

If you follow me for the DP/YJ fics, don't worry; another one is coming in literally 2 minutes, and my account is still primarily Danny Phantom/Young Justice-focused (and, sometime soon, MCU Spider-Man, but sssshhhhh ;) ). If you're here just for the Miraculous: I have a couple more ideas drafted, and we'll see when they come to fruition, but no promises!

General Notes:

"This is dialogue."

"This is alternative dialogue, meaning whispered or spoken from a distance such as on the phone."

'This is thought.'

This and THIS and *this* are emphasis. The *this* emphasis is more along the lines of the snarky or sarcastic.

[This is digital text, such as notifications on a computer or smartphone.]

I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

SNACK EMERGENCY

Nino hadn't expected to see anyone in the quiet cafeteria when he walked through the doors at the end of the school day. A distant ruckus came from the kitchen where the staff was still cleaning up after lunch. Daylight streamed in through the large wall of windows and bathed the predominantly vacant tables and potted plants in golden warmth. A diluted stream of street noise wafted in from a distant open window.

The self-aspiring DJ had merely come in search of his forgotten phone charger, but instead he found a forgotten boy. The cascading sun highlighted a halo of blond hair that Nino—and most of France—would recognize anywhere.

Adrien Agreste sat at a table at the center of the room. He had melted into his chair with his chin on his folded forearms. Adrien stared longingly at something red sitting before him, as if it were the key to his future happiness. Nino hesitated slightly when Adrien showed no signs of realizing his friend had entered the room, but ultimately his curiosity and brotherly instincts drove the DJ to approach the model. Once he was finally close enough to identify the red object—well, imagine Nino's surprise when it appeared an apple had replaced Ladybug's spot in his friend's heart.

"Uh…bro?" Nino asked hesitantly.

Adrien finally managed to tear his eyes away from the object of his fascination. He couldn't quite bear to move any other muscles. "Hey, Nino," he mumbled, jaw unable to enunciate properly because of his position.

"What are you doing?" Nino asked.

"Waiting for 5:12pm."

"Oh," Nino answered with an understanding nod. Pursing his lips upon realizing that wasn't an answer, Nino woke his phone to check the time. "Well, it's 5:03 now," he said, puzzled.

Adrien seemed to brighten. "Really?" He sat up and looked at the clock above the doors. "Oh, thank god that clock is slow…"

Nino looked over, seeing it was indeed a couple minutes behind. "What happens at 5:12?"

"At 5:12, I can start eating my snack so I have the least hunger pain at 5:20 when fencing practice starts."

Nino shuddered at how much desire went into Adrien's words. "Uh, dude, are you alright? You know, like…in the head?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Adrien assured with a smile. But it wasn't just any smile; Nino recognized it from seeing that smile multiple times in the Gabriel brand's advertisements, red carpet photos from exclusive events and even when Chloe overtly flirted with the boy.

"You're model-smiling," Nino accused and plopped down across from his friend. "You know that doesn't work on your best bro. What gives?"

Adrien sighed. "Father thinks I'm putting on too much weight, so he restricted my caloric intake. This is the only snack I'm allowed this afternoon till dinner, and I have fencing practice first, so I was saving it for the last possible minute so I don't crash during a match."

Nino's jaw dropped. "What? Too much weight? You?!" He glanced down at the black undershirt pulled taught across Adrien's chest and then at the white jacket's sleeves straining against Adrien's lean but powerful biceps. "No homo, bro, but you couldn't be more 'goals' if you tried. Daddy-o has lost his mind if he thinks you're getting fat."

"Well…uh…thanks?" Adrien leaned back in his seat. "But Father is afraid I'm transitioning from a lean to an athletic build, and 'athletic doesn't sell as well,' apparently," he finished with a grumble. He tried to reign in the bitterness threatening to take over in his starving state. "It's only been three days and I feel like I'm dying. He doesn't even realize how active I am during the day because of—of…things. But it's for the family business, so it's all okay…right?"

"And you're telling me you're supposed to survive a strenuous fencing practice on…an apple?"

Adrien nodded solemnly.

Nino frowned and sent a quick text.

*Ding*

Marinette thumped her heavy history textbook onto her desk. She immediately abandoned any intention of starting her homework—though there was little to none to begin with—and chirped in surprise when she saw it was from Nino.

Nino: [Snack emergency. Bring anything energy dense to cafeteria ASAP trust me k thx]

" 'Snack emergency?' I wonder what Nino means?" Tikki mused.

"I don't know," Marinette huffed but instantly brightened. "But I can't possibly work on history homework when a friend is in need!"

"Marinette…" Tikki reprimanded.

Marinette was already halfway down the steps to the living room. "Are you coming or not?"

Tikki merely rolled her eyes and darted into Marinette's open purse. The teen ran downstairs, arranged an assortment of goodies of varying degrees of 'healthiness' inside a patisserie box and rushed across the street to the school.

Marinette observed the fencing instructor and a few team members laying out some mats as she entered the school courtyard. Only a handful of students milled about the school grounds otherwise, most gravitating to the library. Largely ignored, Marinette mounted the steps to the top floor of the building and entered the cafeteria.

"Okay, Nino, I'm here!" Marinette called triumphantly. She opened the patisserie box and inventoried its contents, using the bright blue of Nino's t-shirt in the periphery of her vision to guide her to the correct table. "I grabbed a few different things to choose from since you didn't specify. I got croissants, a fruit tart…oh, and some healthier stuff like that American paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe Maman tried which uses 85% cacao chocolate and almond flour and coconut sugar instead of-"

The rest of her explanation died in her throat when she reached the table and finally looked up. Marinette froze in place with owl-wide eyes and a slack jaw, the pastry box lid still held part way open, when she locked eyes with Adrien's longing gaze. The two of them resembled statues while Nino looked between them in amusement.

"Thanks, Mari," Nino said to shatter the mounting tension, seeing as the pair were apparently incapable of doing so themselves. His words startled Marinette and she nearly dropped the box, but she slammed the lid shut and crushed it protectively against her chest before it could fall.

"H-hey, Adrien, I didn't expect to see you here," Marinette croaked and smiled awkwardly.

"Hhh-" was all Adrien could manage in reply, now unable to tear his eyes from the pastry box in Marinette's hands. Nino wondered how it was possible to hear someone salivating.

"I'm glad you came, dudette," Nino said and took the box from Marinette's hands. He placed it between himself and the fencing model before opening the lid as if it were a treasure chest. "Ooooo man, these look amazing!" he complimented. Nino leaned in close and inhaled deeply, shooting Marinette a bright smile before looking back at Adrien.

Adrien's eyes still hadn't left the box.

"So, um, wha-wh-what was the emergency?" Marinette asked.

"Adrien's pop won't let him eat because he's put on weight. Muscle weight," Nino clarified.

Marinette scoffed and nonchalantly waved a hand at Nino as she sat next to him across from Adrien. "Pff, please, as if Adrien could get any hotter- I MEAN, as if he'd need to…bother. Losing weight. Because he's so perfectly fit already. Right? He's almost god-like already- THAT IS—oh, my god, his dad is crazy.… Right? Heh heh…"

"Right," Nino agreed with a snort he couldn't quite suppress. "So all my man Adrien can have till dinner, despite going through a long, exhausting fencing session, is an apple. When all he had for lunch was a freaking leaf of romaine lettuce!"

"There was a cherry tomato, too," Adrien muttered absently.

"Oh my god, that does NOT make it better, bro!" Nino exclaimed and crossed his arms. "So anyway, I texted you to bring me a snack because I can't take this anymore and *I* am sooo hungry. Adrien, dude, which one do you want?"

Adrien finally seemed to snap out of his stupor and sat up, trying to distance himself from the temptation. "What? Nino, no, I can't-"

"Adrien."

The suffering model went silent.

"Which. One."

Adrien winced and covered his face with his hands. His right eye peeked through two fingers and locked onto one of the 'American' health cookies Marinette had been describing. "If I had to take one—which I won't—those almond flour ones sounded kinda interesting…" he almost whispered.

With a smug grin on his face, Nino made a show of withdrawing a cookie and breaking it in half. He put one half in his mouth and moaned with pleasure. "Oh, girl, these are delicious! And they sound so protein- and fiber-rich and good for you and all that crap! I think I'll have one. Hey, Adrien, want to try a bite?"

Nino held out the other half in front of Adrien. The blond cringed.

"You're not taking one so it's not cheating because they were never served to you," Nino emphasized. "It's just…a *sample.*"

Adrien looked between his two friends, Nino brimming with mischief and Marinette blushing profusely. She gulped and very slightly nodded her head.

"Just a sample, right?" Adrien said. "Just- just a bite wouldn't hurt, since it's so healthy…"

Nino and Marinette held their breaths as Adrien tentatively reached across the table to take the piece Nino was offering. He slowly brought it to his face and inhaled deeply, taking in the rich scent of its overall wholesome ingredients. Adrien delicately placed it on his tongue, and his whole body melted in delight.

"Uuhhmuhgaaawwwd," Adrien moaned with closed eyes. When he opened them, his head lolled to face Marinette, meeting her gaze with a look of blissful adoration. "This is one of the best cookies I've ever had in my life. It's so delicious."

"You're delicious," Marinette replied breathily before gasping and shaking her head. "No! It- you're- I'm glad you think it's delicious…is what I meant to say."

"Pathetic," Nino whispered so only she could hear. She momentarily glared at him before returning her attention to Adrien, who appeared to have attained nirvana. Aloud, Nino said, "I think I'll have another one. Hey, bro, do you think I should try a bite of the other one of those and make sure it's just as good?"

"Yeah, and I think you also need to make sure the croissants are as good as they were last week." Upon seeing Nino's smirk and Marinette's glee, he added, "Wouldn't want Paris' best bakery to start going downhill, would we?"

"No we wouldn't," Nino said. "Thanks again, Mari. I don't think *I* could have survived without a snack just now."

"Yes. Thank you Marinette," Adrien said sincerely. "Y-you know…for helping Nino."

Marinette's response was more blubbered than spoken.

Nino raised his fist. "Coming in clutch as always, dudette."

Marinette composed herself enough to complete the fistbump.

"I think I see some more—some regular snack emergencies in the future," Nino joked, eyeing Adrien.

Marinette's eyebrow quirked up until she caught Nino's drift. With a smirk, she replied, "I'm always happy to help a friend."

Anyone got some water? I think Marinette's a little...*thirsty.*

Those cookies are an actual recipe I've made, by the way. They don't taste good for you; they actually just taste good, trust me. I have a major sweet tooth and chocolate addiction which is very difficult to appease when I'm losing weight. So, when I was just coming off of a super strict 4-week period, I had to maintain my new weight for 3+ weeks to reset my body's memory weight, and I found this recipe and was able to enjoy it [relatively] guilt-free. The richness of the wholesome ingredients easily replace (not substitute, that's too weak and excuse-y; they REPLACE) the pure butteriness and sweetness of a classic chocolate chip cookie.

You can find the recipe here: www . /the-best-paleo-chocolate-chunk-cookies/ (after deleting spaces and an actual ".")

As always, I love hearing your feedback and reactions! Now go make some cookies :)

Waiting for 5:12pm,

hiimian