If Marinette Dupain-Cheng wanted to make it to school on time, she would have needed to wake up fifteen minutes earlier to make sure those croissants and macaroons she haphazardly juggled up the stairs to her room were baked in time. And she might have done so, if she had gotten to bed at a decent hour, but after helping Alya with her latest blog post and chasing down the akumatized Dr. Faucher (then known as "The Antibody" who spent the night spreading the hiccups across the streets of Paris), she didn't get to bed till almost twelve o'clock. Waking up only five hours later would have been a challenge by itself, but she had another horrid nightmare, and was only able to fall asleep seven minutes before her first alarm went off. She didn't get up until the twelfth.
"Marinette, what are you doing with all those—" her mother asked as Marinette barely caught the cascading croissants.
"Oh, just snacks for class!" Marinette sheepishly giggled as she slammed the door closed. Hovering around her room were a host of hungry kwamis.
"You're going to be—" her mother began.
"I know, I know!" Marinette called down as the kwamis descended on the pastries.
"Food!" exclaimed Orkikko as she grabbed a macaroon.
"They're so fluffy!" said Daizzi, snuggling a croissant.
"I would have prefered a salad," said Kaalki, poking her breakfast.
"Marinette—" started Tikki, but Marinette cut her off as she shoved two red and black spotted compacts into her bag.
"Fluff, Barkk, let's go! Come on, Tikki—we're already late!" she said as she grabbed her bag, ran through the door and tripped down the stairs.
As they ran through the streets of Paris, Marinette fought back yawn after yawn.
"Why did you bring the dog and the rabbit miraculous?" asked Tikki, peaking out of Marinette's purse.
"I can't call on Alya and the others, since Hawkmoth knows their identities, but I can't help thinking we may need allies at some point, and without Master Fu to show up when we need him, I figured it was safer to have a miraculous or two around, just in case."
"But that still doesn't help if there's no one else able to wield them," Tikki pointed out.
"We'll just have to figure it out if the time comes," replied Marinette as she ran through the school gate.
"Miss Dupain-Cheng, this is the third time in two weeks you have been late to class," said Miss Bustier as Marinette slipped into the classroom, too distracted to notice the other person standing at the front of the class with her teacher. A few giggles and snickers escaped the other students.
"I'm sorry, Miss Bustier," she replied, ashamed.
"Take your seat, please," she replied. Marinette climbed the steps and collapsed next to Alya.
"Girl, you look awful," said Alya, noticing the dark circles under Marinette's eyes. Marinette groaned.
"As I was saying before Miss Dupain-Cheng decided to grace us with her presence, we have a new exchange student joining us." Miss Bustier motioned to the young man standing next to her. "May I introduce Mr. Dáyīng LuCheng, visiting us here from Tibet."
The student stepped forward. "Thank you, Miss Bustier—I'm actually from China, I was just living in Tibet for—um, well, a while." Everyone in the classroom leaned in hard to get a good look at the attendee, then turned and looked at Marinette as her jaw dropped.
"He looks just like you!" whispered Alya.
"N-no, he doesn't!" Marinette insisted. "He's got…" Similar height, check. Heart-shaped face, check. Cheery disposition, check. Blue-black hair—even pulled back in a little tail—check. "Brown eyes! See? Nothing like me!"
"Dáyīng, would you take a seat by Ivan, behind Marinette?" asked Miss Bustier. As Dáyīng took his seat behind Marinette, she groaned quietly again. Now everyone would be able to compare them without even craning their necks. "Now, if you could pull out your homework for history…"
"Aagghh!" groaned Marinette again.
"Did you forget that, too?" asked Alya. "Here, just look on with me." She winked at her friend, and Marinette smiled sheepishly.
"Where would I be without you?"
"Ha, failing life, probably!" Alya replied.
Gabriel Agreste stood before the opened painting of his wife, sifting through the translated scans of the Miracle Book on Master Fu's tablet.
"Don't you think it is odd, Natalie, that all of the current miraculous holders are children?" he asked as his assistant stepped up behind him.
"Quite, sir," she replied.
"I've always thought it was odd that Master Fu entrusted the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous to two teenagers, but it astounds me that the rest of the miraculous holders would also be children. Besides that, most of them seemed familiar. Obviously, there was Kagami Tsurugi, but where would I have seen the others?"
"You mean aside from when you akumatized them?" Natalie asked. "That would be because four of the six were members of Adrien's class."
"Really?" he said, placing the tablet in the safe, and pushing the picture back into its place. "Perhaps Master Fu had some sort of connection with Collège Françoise Dupont. If so, it is possible that Ladybug or Cat Noir also attend." He grinned to himself. "If Ladybug is now the Miraculous Guardian, she would only give the other miraculous to people she trusts, which would likely be other students. With that many superheroes in one place, it is only a matter of time before one of them slips up."
As soon as class was over, everyone crowded around Dáyīng.
"Ni hao," said Adrien, holding out his hand. Dáyīng took it in a good shake. "Wo shi Adrien."
"Ni hao," replied Dáyīng. "Your Chinese is really good!"
"I don't often get a chance to practice it for real," Adrien said, scratching the back of his head.
"I didn't know you have a brother, Marinette," said Mylene. Dáyīng gave Marinette a funny look.
"I don't!" Marinette insisted. "His last name's LuCheng, not Dupain-Cheng. I've never met him in my life!"
"Are you sure you're not related?" asked Alya, leaning in to study Dáyīng's face. He leaned back and chuckled.
"I don't think so," he said. "As Miss Marinette said, we've never met before."
"Hey, Dáyīng, we're all going down to the park to play frisbee; wanna come?" asked Nino.
"The park? To play frisbee?" cut in Chloe, drawing out the word so that it sat awkwardly in the room. "You really want to waste your time with that, Dáyīng? You'd have way more fun if you came over to my house; I'm having a pool party on my rooftop, and you just have to see my view of Paris from the poolside. It's exquisite."
"A pool party?" exclaimed Sabrina.
"Really?" asked Alya, cocking an eyebrow. "And who all did you invite?"
"Dáyīng, obviously," Chloe huffed. "And Adrien, of course. The rest of you are going to pretend to be dogs chasing frisbees at the park. No one else here has enough class to hang out with me."
"What about me? Can I come?" asked Sabrina, practically jumping out of her cardigan.
"Yeah, I guess," Chloe dismissed her.
"Actually, Kagami and I are going to meet up to practice for our fencing tournament," Adrien interjected. "Sorry, but I can't go to either one." Nino's face fell, and so did Marinette's, though no one else noticed.
"Bummer, man," said Nino.
"Thank you, Chloe, but Nino invited me first. Perhaps I can visit another time?" said Dáyīng, giving her a friendly smile.
"Ugh, if you're interested in hanging out with them, then you're not worth my time," Chloe said, storming to the door. "Come on, Sabria; I need someone to rub suntan lotion on my back." Sabrina scurred out the door after her.
"Thanks for inviting me," Dáyīng said to Nino as Adrien followed Chloe out the door.
"No probs, my man!" Nino said with a grin. "I've been trying to get an ultimate frisbee team going for a while now, and this is the perfect time to educate everyone on what an awesome sport it is!"
"And I would totally be there, too—if I didn't have swim team right now!" said Kim as he rushed out the door, too. Nino peeved at his back as the door shut behind him.
"What about you, Marinette?" asked Alya. "Are you coming?"
Tikki peaked up out of Marinette's purse and caught her eye. She knew she had homework to catch up on, research on the miraculous spellbook to do, chores waiting at the bakery, hours of sleep to catch up on...and there was always the chance that Paris would need Ladybug. She glanced out the window at the sunny sky, and back at Tikki, who smiled encouragingly.
"Yeah, for a little bit, at least," she said with a weary smile, and she followed her friends out the door.
Gripping her ringing phone, Lila slipped from the classroom and behind the stairs into a shadow.
"Mr. Agreste?" she answered. "How wonderful to hear from you!"
"Lila, I have an assignment for you," said Gabriel. "My latest line is inspired by Ladybug and Cat Noir, and I have reason to believe one or both may be attending your school."
"What? Ladybug? Why would you want to do a fashion line about her?" said Lila, rolling her eyes. "I mean…"
"I want you to investigate and see if you can find out anything. I would love nothing more than to have her model for my new line's premiere exhibit in Milan."
"Mr. Agreste, your taste is far too sophisticated for that cliche bug; after all, everyone is into her right now, and spots are—" Lila responded.
"And if either of them does turn out to be a student, I would like you to make sure you keep my son Adrien from becoming too friendly with either of them. They may be superheroes, but heroes have a tendency to attract danger, and I will not have my son's life put in jeopardy."
"But how—" started Lila.
"And if you are able to find anything, I might be able to arrange for you to join us for the premiere yourself."
"If Cat Noir or Ladybug are attending Collège Françoise Dupont, I'll make sure they're the biggest celebrities at school!" Lila assured Gabriel.
"See that you do."
"Don't you want to play?" asked Tikki as she peeked out of Marinette's purse. On the green across from the concrete stairs where Marinette sat, Nino, Alya, Rose, Ivan, Dáyīng, Juleka, Max, and Mylene ran back and forth, tossing a bright blue frisbee between them and laughing.
"Yeah, but I think with as tired as I am, I'd be an even bigger clutz than normal," Marinette said with a smile. "I'm just happy watching them have a good time!"
"You need to be getting more sleep, Marinette," Tikki reprimanded. "What will Ladybug do if Hawkmoth attacks?"
"How am I supposed to get any sleep with villains showing up everywhere, homework to do, friends to help, and Adrien…" she sighed. "Adrien. And Luka."
"Did someone say my name?" Luka leaned over Marinette's head, filling her field of vision, and Tikki dove back into the bag just before he could catch sight of her.
"Luka!" Marinette exclaimed, blushing. "What are you doing here?"
"Juleka said everyone was coming over to play frisbee, and I thought I might stop by to see if you were here, too. It seems like I haven't seen you for a while."
"Yeah, I've been a little busy," said Marinette sheepishly.
"You look tired," Luka said as he sat next to her.
"Really? Do I look that bad?" groaned Marinette.
"No, you just look relaxed," he replied. Marinette grinned.
"Maybe...it's because you're here," she said. He smiled down at her, and for a brief moment, she was lost in his deep blue eyes, so kind and gentle, but a different sort of gengle from Adrien's fresh green— She shook herself and looked up to see Alya walking towards them.
"Hey Marinette, I gotta go," she said, waving her phone. "Mom needs me to pick up some things from the store and watch the girls."
"Already? We only got here ten minutes ago," Marinette said. Alya shrugged.
"It is what it is. I'll catch you later!" she called as she walked away.
Out on the field, Ivan stumbled, and Rose hopped frantically on one foot. Luka and Marinette watched as Ivan swooped Rose off her feet and ran from the field, followed by Juleka and Mylene, leaving Nino with Max and Dáyīng on the field.
"I think it's broken!" cried Rose.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" repeated Ivan as they ran past Marianette and Luka.
"Yep, definitely broken!" said Mylene as they disappeared around the corner.
Out on the field, Nino's face fell. "I guess this wasn't a great day to hang out. Not even my best friend could come," he said.
Dáyīng shrugged. "We can still play," he said, getting ready to catch the frisbee from Max.
"Well, actually, I do need to check up on Markov; I automated his update this morning, but I just received a message that it was interrupted, and I need to make sure there were no significant errors. My apologizes, Nino!" Max said as he tossed the frisbee to Nino and headed off the field. Nino clenched his fist.
"What is this I sense?" said Hawkmoth, a flurry of butterflies scattering as the dome opened to his layer. "An abandoned friend, the grief of rejection, as everyone making excuses to break their commitments!" He released a dark akuma from his hand, and it lifted out the dome. "Fly, my little Akuma, and evilize him!"
The black butterfly landed on the frisbee in Nino's hand, and Hawkmoth's shadow fell over his face.
"Frizbane, I give you the power to freeze whoever stands in your path!"
"This sounds like the same power as—"
"Don't argue; I am your master now! Use it to bring me Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculous!"
"Yes, Hawkmoth," replied Nino, now Frizbane. An oozing black cloud spread over his body, and when it dissipated, Frizbane stood in a bright blue leotard, his dark skin stained green, and a giant blue frisbee strapped to his back.
Screams erupted across the park as joggers and children and couples and dog walkers scattered in every direction. Dáyīng stepped back. "N-Nino?"
"Ugh, why is it always Nino?" muttered Marinette as she jumped up.
"Marinette!" yelled Luka as they jumped up, and he reached to take her arm. She squirmed out of his reach.
"I've gotta go to the bathroom!" called Marinette as she darted away from him.
"At a time like this?" Luka asked in the chaos.
Frizbane took the giant frisbee from his back, and with a mighty toss he threw it at the running park patrons. Each one that it hit bounced it to another, then another, and when Frizbane raised his hand, the frisbee flew back to him. He let out a horrid laugh.
"Now no one can run away from my game!" he hollered with glee.
From behind the park bathrooms, Marinette opened her back, and Tikki flew out.
"Are you sure you have the strength for this right now?" Tikki asked.
"I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Marinette replied. "Tikki, spots on!"
With a flick of her wrist and a twirl, Marinette transformed into Ladybug, the spotted heroine. She grabbed out her Bugphone, and called the Cat.
"I'm off taking a catnap, but leave me a message and I'll be back!" sang the voicemail.
"Cat Noir, we need you down at the park, now!"
Adrien Agreste parried a blow from the red garbed fencer. Back and forth they danced on the mats, each trading ground with the other. But when the fencers on the bench exclaimed in surprise at something on their phones, Adrien glanced away for a fractioned second, and his opponent tagged his chest and moved in close.
"Distracted," Kagami said from behind her mask. Adrien lifted his mask and grinned.
"You've gotten even faster, Kagami," he replied.
"My sister is at the park this afternoon!" said one of the other fencers, looking over someone else's shoulder at their phone. "She's in danger!"
"The...math exam tomorrow! I totally forgot," Adrien said, pulling off his helmet. "I'd better run."
"What about the movie after practice?" Kagami asked as she took off her mask.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'll have to take a raincheck for the movie. Tomorrow night, perhaps?" he said as he ran to the locker room.
"Don't you need to wait for your escort?" she called through the door, her brows furrowed. Adrien threw open his locker and grabbed his bag.
"Uh, yeah, he's...meeting me at the park and taking me from there." Adrien ran through the door and past Kagami.
"But the park is—"
"Sorry, I gotta go!" Adrien waved as he ran out the side door. When they were clear from stray eyes, Plagg jumped from his bag.
"You kinda suck at lying, you know," he said.
"It wasn't a lie; the math exam tomorrow did slip my mind. Plagg, claws out!" As soon as Adrien had transformed into Cat Noir, his staff beeped. He clicked the button, and the screen popped up.
"You have one new message," it stated, and it played Ladybug's plea.
"Aw, it's nice to be wanted," he said as he took off running.
Ladybug repelled the giant frisbee with her spinning yo-yo just in time to save a fleeing child and herself.
"Everyone can stay and play now! No one should break their commitments," yelled Frizbane. "Now, where are those so-called friends of mine?"
"You're not gonna freeze anyone else!" Ladybug shouted back as she charged the villain. Frizbane threw the frisbee, but Ladybug dodged and it went flying off behind her. She moved to grab Frizbane, but he eluded grab after grab. His evil smile widened as his frisbee flew back towards him, Ladybug unaware that she was in its path—
A flash of black and steel, and with a swing of his staff, Cat Noir sent the frisbee flying.
"Heads up, Ladybug!" he said. "Hope you don't mind if I drop in!"
"Cat Noir, we need that frisbee—the akuma is in it! But be careful not to touch it; it can freeze you," said Ladybug as Frizbane fell back.
"I'm on it, Miss Bug!" said the cat as he bowed and took off after the projectile.
"We've got you cornered, Frizbane!" said Ladybug, a triumphant smile across her face.
Frizbaze growled. "I'm not just a one trick player," he retorted. He snapped his fingers, and every frozen person in the park jumped to attention. "It's time for tag! Get Ladybug and Cat Noir!" With a grin, he raised his hand again.
Cat Noir sped across the Parisian rooftops, leaping landing and vaulting after the disk. As it flew over Chloe's rooftop, Cat Noir barely managed to dodge the pool.
"Cat Noir?" exclaimed Chloe from her lounger, handing her drink back to Sabrina who tried to juggle it with the beach umbrella in her other hand.
"Sorry, you know cats and water!" he said as he took off again.
He closed in on the flying frisbee. It was ten feet out, 6 feet, two feet—
"Cataclysm!" yelled Cat Noir, but just as he was about to grab the disk, it turned wildly and flew over his head. He ducked in time, but careened into an air duct fan, which promptly shattered under his palm.
"I've gotta get better about landing on my feet," he muttered as he pulled himself up. "Plagg, claws in!" As Cat Noir returned to Adrien, Plagg spiraled from the ring and landed on Adrian's waiting palm.
"Ugh, I'm dying," complained Plagg.
"Good thing I thought ahead this time," said Adrien as he pulled a piece of camembert from his pocket. Just as he handed it to the famished Kwami, something moved through the corner of Adrien's eye, and he stepped into the shadow of a wall. Overhead, a dark gray figure leaped from building to building in the direction of the park. Adrien's eyes narrowed.
"Hope you're fueled! Plagg, claws out!"
"Where is that mangy stray?" growled Ladybug as she dodged two lunging, mind-controlled park goers. Think, Ladybug. You have the dog miraculous and the rabbit miraculous… She glanced around, but Alix hadn't come. I can't give it to Luka, and I hardly know Dáyīng. Overhead, the giant frisbee flew into the villain's hand. She rolled behind a thin tree.
"Ladybug," said Luka from up in its branches.
"Luka? What are you doing up there?" she asked.
"Looking for my friend Marianette, and for an opportunity to escape," he answered. "But if you need a hand, I'm more than happy to oblige."
"Thanks, Luka, but now that Hawkmoth knows your identity, I can't loan you a miraculous. It's too dangerous."
"Who said I needed a miraculous to help?" Luka asked. Ladybug grinned. Just beyond the tree, she noticed two dark figures crossing the skyline to the park.
"Then let's win this game!" she said. Throwing her yo-yo up into the air, she yelled, "Lucky Charm," and into her hand landed a long, thick, exercise band.
"Arm day?" asked Luka as he dropped from the tree. Ladybug looked up, registering the tree and Luka. Beyond, her eye caught the nearing Cat Noir, a pole with a sectioning chain, and in the distance, the soccer goal.
"Time for a workout!" she said as she jumped over and tied the end of the elastic through the loop holding the chain. She ran over in front of the tree, then handed the other end to Luka. "Luka, now!" she yelled as she jumped into the tree branches. Catching her intent, Luka took the end and ran as far back as he could, creating tension across the lean trunk and pulling it down.
"Cat Noir!" Ladybug called just as he was about to catch up to the gray, hooded figure. Cat Noir looked up from landing on the roof of the bathroom to watch Luka release the elastic, and let Ladybug fly across the field and over the crowd of sport zombees to land just in front of the soccer goal. The unknown figure slipped from view.
Frizbane let out a triumphant laugh. "Hold her down!" he ordered as he threw the frisbee right at Ladybug.
Letting out a huff, Cat Noir vaulted to the ground and darted to the goal. Ladybug dodged the charging parkees who landed in the goal. Just as the frisbee was about to hit her, she lepted and twisted in the air, and the frisbee sailed past her into the goal. Just as it hit the net, Cat Noir landed on the frame, tipping the goal over.
"Cataclysm!" he called again, and reaching through the net, he grabbed the frisbee. The blue plastic fissured into rust, then crumbled to dust. The black akuma flew out, but Ladybug threw her yo-yo.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma!" she said as it flew towards the butterfly. "Time to de-evilize!" Her yo-yo opened and caught the bug in a flash of light, and with a triumphant "Gotchya!" she traced a light across the yo-yo. "Bye bye, little butterfly," she said as the purified akuma flitted away.
"Ladybug!" Luka called, running up to her with the elastic.
"Thanks, Luka!" she said, her cheeks blushing as she looked into his eyes. Cat Noir glanced between them. "Miraculous Ladybug!" the heroine called as she tossed the elastic into the air.
A flurry of ladybugs whisked across the park, righting everything wrong and damaged in the fight. The black ooze that had converted Nino into Frizbane resided, and Nino was left dazed on the grass.
"Pound it," said Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Luka.
"Why is it always Nino?" Cat Noir asked. Movement from the bathroom rooftop caught his eye again, but the beep from his ring indicated he had only a few moments left. "Could I borrow you for a moment, Miss Spots?" he asked, and he propelled himself with his staff up the roof then onto the next.
"Thank you for your help again, Luka," said Ladybug.
"Anytime, Ladybug," he replied, and she threw her yo-yo to a lamppost, and swung up to the rooftop.
"Ladybug and Cat Noir, I will keep you occupied until my search for your true identities is complete," said Hawkmoth from his layer. Natalie came in behind him. "You'll have no time to suspect my intentions."
"What is it?" Ladybug asked as she landed.
"I noticed someone else watching us while we fought Frizbane. Have you made any new allies recently?" he asked.
"No, and I can't share the other miraculous as Hawkmoth knows everyone's secret identities. What did they look like?"
"I couldn't catch their face, but they wore a gray hood with grey ears on it," said Cat Noir, touching the tips of his own cat ears.
"We'll just have to keep an eye out for them then," said Ladybug.
"Sounds like a plan, Miss Bug," he replied.
"So you really have given up that M'lady stuff?" she said, her lip curled in a smirk. Cat Noir shrugged awkwardly.
"You never seemed to like it," Cat Noir said. "Besides, I...have a girlfriend now."
"Ha, like I'd fall for that one again," said Ladybug, punching his shoulder.
"Cat's not pulling your tail this time," he said, grinning sheepishly. Ladybug's eyes went wide.
"Oh! Well, um, then, congratulations! She's a pretty lucky girl to have you," Ladybug replied. Her earing beeped as the second to last spot flashed. "I'll see you around, Kitty!" She threw yo-yo and swung away.
"Thanks, Bug-a...Ladybug," said Cat Noir, his eyes falling as she disappeared.
Back at the park, Marinette found Nino, Luka, and Dáyīng throwing the frisbee and laughing.
"Marinette, I'm glad you're alright!" said Luka as they paused their game.
"Oh, yeah, you know—bathrooms are always the safest place in an emergency!" she said with a grin.
"Good thing Ladybug got here fast," said Nino.
"Yes; I had heard a little about Paris's superheroes, but I am excited I got to see them myself," said Dáyīng. "Though, not so excited to be controlled by a villain."
"Sorry about that," said Nino, scratching his head. Dáyīng smiled.
"It is alright; it was a much more exciting first day of school than I expected!"
Luka handed the frisbee back to Nino. "Thanks for letting me play, too," he said. "Marinette, can I walk you home?" Marinette blushed and grinned.
"Of course!" she said as Luka took her hand.
Adrien had perfected sneaking in and out of his room after so many secret excursions, but sneaking in and out of the fencing studio to meet his guard was another story. While he managed to slip into the changing room unnoticed, he heard a throat clear as he made his way across the floor to the entrance.
"Homework?" Kagami asked, coming up behind him.
"Uh, yeah! I had just forgotten something in my locker," he replied with a chuckle. Kagami tilted her head, as if she was unsure of accepting his excuse. "I'm sorry about earlier, and the movie. I think I'll be OK with that exam...would you like to stop by the bakery and get a pastry?"
At this, Kagami smiled. "I'm not sure what I would get," she said.
"If Marinette's there, I'm sure she could help you pick something out," he said as they walked out the door together.
Marinette laid back down, sprawled across her bed, while Tikki nibbled a macaroon.
"It's great you and Luka and Cat Noir were able to take care of Frizbane without using another Miraculous," said Tikki between mouthfuls.
"What kind of person do you think would go out with Cat Noir?" Marinette asked, her arm draped across her forehead.
"Why? Does it bother you?" Tikki asked.
"What? No! He's a nice guy, but his jokes are so annoying, I can't imagine who would want to go out with him!"
"I think you might be a little jealous," giggled Tikki.
"Of course not! Besides, Luka was awesome today! He doesn't even need superpowers to be brave and calm," she said, dreamily grinning from ear to ear.
"Do you like Luka better than Adrien then?" asked Tikki.
"Marinette," her mom's voice rang up the ladder before Marinette could answer. "You have friends from school here!"
"Oh! Coming!" Marinette replied as Tikki slipped into her shirt and she bolted down the ladders. "Maybe it's Luka!"
"He just dropped you off, and doesn't go to your school—" Tikki pointed out.
"Or maybe it's—" She reached the bakery, and Adrien and Kagami looked up at her and smiled.
"Adrien!" grinned Marinette awkwardly. "Hi Adrien, Kagami!"
"Hi Marinette!" exclaimed Adrien. "I was just telling Kagami that you'd know what kind of pastry would suit her best." Kagami blushed.
"I don't usually come to places like this," Kagami explained.
"We have a lovely chocolate croissant!" Mr. Dupain volunteered.
"What do you think, Marinette?" asked Kagami.
"Um…" Marinette glanced up and down the display cabinets. "You would probably enjoy that," she said, "or…" She took a set of tongs from the counter, and pulled out a small, shell shaped cake. "Maybe one of these madeleines would be a better balance." She placed the madeleine in a paper bag, grabbed a napkin, and handed them to her with a kind but forced smile. "Just a little touch of orange." Kagami received it with a genuine smile.
"That sounds perfect!" Adrien said. "What about me?" Marinette away and scratched her head.
"Well—um, we have croissants—" she answered, but a pale pink macaroon in the case caught her eye. She took the tongs and placed the treat in another baggie. "Here," she said, handing it to him. He looked in.
"Is that—"
"Passionfruit," Mr. Dupain said. "It was Marinette's idea. She was making just one every Sunday, so I suggest we stock them, and they've been a hit."
"I love passionfruit," said Adrien. "Thank you, Marinette! These were perfect."
As Adrien and Kagami walked out the door, Marinette slumped against the counter and sighed.
"Everything alright, dear?" asked Mr. Dupain.
"Uh, yeah!" exclaimed Marinette. "I just wasn't expecting my friends to stop by. I'm going to go finish studying for that math test tomorrow."
As she hurried up the ladders, Tikki flew back out of her jacket.
"Are you ok, Marinette?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said, looking at the pictures of Adrien on her wall. "I guess I don't really need these any more." She walked around the room and took them down, one by one, then slipped them into a drawer on her desk.
"What do you think, Tikki? Should I get some pictures of Luka?" Marinette joked.
"I think you should decorate your room however you want!" Tikki said with a smile. Marinette smiled back, and her eye caught one last picture, framed and sitting by her sewing machine. She picked it up, but then set it back down.
"Inspiration is inspiration, after all!" she said as she grabbed her math book and sat down to study.