Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 45
Slowly, one foot after the other, Marinette strode down the stairs. She wasn't trying to hide from or sneak up on anyone ; she was pretty sure that the conversations that followed would be awkward, but they needed to happen, so best to get them over with.
With the cover story that she'd told Chat Noir replaying in her mind, she started out by peeking into Adrien's room, which Adrien was not in. He could be downstairs, Marinette pondered. On the main floor, or down in the bakery with Mama and Papa. Or...
...Or he could be doing what I'D probably be doing if HE had disappeared.
She pulled out her phone and sent a message:
[Marinette] Hi! Where are you right now?
A response came quickly:
[Adrien] I'm just down the street from your house. Where are YOU?
[Marinette] I'm in the house, in my room, heading downstairs. You weren't out searching for me, were you?
[Adrien] What do you think? Of course I am.
[Marinette] I am _so sorry_. Please come back - I have a crazy story to tell, and I'd rather tell you and my parents together.
[Adrien] On my way.
The main floor was empty, as Marinette expected. As she descended to the bakery, the first thing she saw was her mother's face laser-focused on the stairwell as she heard the approaching footsteps.
"Oh, Tom!" she called into the bakery's kitchen, snarkily. "Look who decided to stop by this afternoon!"
Tom looked out at Sabine, then at Marinette. "Hmmph," he grunted, dropping what he was doing and striding out to them quickly. He stood in front of Marinette, looking her up and down. "You're okay? You're not hurt, or in trouble, or anything?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine. Of course I'm fine," Marinette replied, sheepishly. "I didn't mean to worry anyone."
"And not answering your phone for hours is how you do that?" glared Tom, letting his frustration out now that Marinette's well-being was clear. "Can you explain yourself, Marinette?"
The front door opened and Adrien hustled inside. His face lit up when he saw Marinette, but he didn't speak as he moved to her side. Sabine moved to the front door, locked it and flipped the sign on it to CLOSED.
"She can explain herself," stated Sabine, simply. "And she's about to."
The four of them moved into the kitchen, where a small table and chairs provided a place for them to gather comfortably.
"Mama, Papa... Adrien..." began Marinette. "There's something that I need to tell you, that you'll need to know for the rest of this story to make any sense. Adrien, you know the first part of what I'm about to say already. I think that you're the only other one who does."
"What kind of secrets are you keeping from us, Marinette?" frowned Sabine, not looking happy.
"Not very many. I don't like hiding things from you," apologized Marinette, seeing that her father looked just as concerned. "But this one is something that if I do tell you, when I tell you now... you have to promise that it stays in this room. No friends, no family, no Facebook. Can you promise me that?"
Sabine looked at Tom, questioningly.
"You're telling us the truth, with what you're saying next?" Tom asked. "Not that I would ever expect you to lie to us."
"As much as I can say," Marinette replied.
"Then go ahead."
"Okay. Wow. Um..." stammered Marinette. "The two of you know what a Miraculous is, right?"
Adrien stayed quiet through most of the subsequent conversation. Partly because this was clearly an emotional moment for Marinette's parents... and partly to focus on exactly what was being said.
What Marinette had told him and what Ladybug had told him did seem to match up. And, well... as honest as both of them prided themselves on being, the idea of either one lying seemed absurd. Especially to him!
But something wasn't lining up quite right in his mind.
He couldn't quite put his finger on precisely what, though, and as he listened to Marinette explaining rapidly how she'd been given a Miraculous and become Multimouse once before, and it was supposed to have been a one-time thing, but she got the call to come and help Ladybug today and then things had gone magically wacky and she was physically drained and she fell asleep on a roof and there was absolutely no fighting of Akumas involved today and then Chat Noir was there and she was so sorry that she wasn't able to call and this wasn't going to become a habit...
...it did sound consistent with what Chat had seen and heard. Strange by the standards of everything else; Marinette vanishing for hours, setting off burglar alarms, seeming somewhat evasive around Chat Noir? Ladybug not asking him to help in the first place, bailing on Marinette, leaving her stranded? Bizarre. But take away the impossible and one must consider what improbables remain, as Sherlock Holmes had once put it.
It also sounded like he had covered for his own secret well enough, and that Marinette remained unaware of his dual lifestyle. That much was right with the world.
It wouldn't be... horrible if Marinette knew, would it? Adrien allowed himself to wonder. Obviously, Ladybug trusts her implicitly. She is honest, she is brave, she is someone whom I could trust with a big secret and know that it would never come out. The way that the two of us have been dating lately... imagine if I could carry her everywhere in Paris that a hero could reach!
But I would need to clear that with Ladybug first. Partners should communicate better than we do sometimes. And since Ladybug is the Guardian now, too... yeah, that's not a decision that I should make on my own.
Focus, Adrien, he told himself. This is important.
He continued to listen, as Marinette and her parents bounced questions back and forth. For a couple who just found out that their daughter occasionally puts on magical spandex and fights evil armed with a jumprope... they're taking it surprisingly well, he smiled. Better than my father would, I'm sure.
I'm... still not sure about what I'm hearing, though. Ladybug is more of a Girl Detective than I am a Boy one, but I have my hunches, too. I don't know that she's lying... I don't want to even think that she would be. But... maybe this isn't the whole truth?
But what else could there be to tell?
I just feel uneasy... and I wish that I knew why.
"Adrien?" asked Tom, during a pause. "You've been pretty quiet through this."
"I... I knew that Marinette had been Multimouse once before. She'd confided that to me," Adrien admitted. "And Ladybug gave me a different Miraculous once, too-"
"That's not what I meant, son," Tom said, gently. "If Marinette trusted you with that secret... I can see why she would, and I'm not holding that against you at all. What I meant was... is there anything that you need to ask Marinette about today, about all this?"
"Not right this minute," replied Adrien. "I mean... I'm glad you're back safely, Marinette, and I didn't mind going out and looking for you. I can hardly blame you for not answering your phone if you were asleep, can I?" he smiled. "But I would like to talk with you later, if you don't mind. Maybe another talk up on your balcony tonight?"
"I would like that very much," Marinette answered. "And I will tell you anything that you want to know."
"It's a date, then. Do you mind if I go up and freshen up for a few minutes?" asked Adrien. "I'll be right back. Then your bathroom is yours again."
"Go for it," smiled Marinette.
Adrien headed for the stairs, and Sabine went out into the front room of the bakery to reopen the shop. As Marinette made to stand up, her father gestured for her to stay right where she was.
"...Papa?" she asked, hesitantly.
"Marinette... I am only going to ask this one time," Tom grumbled. "So I will trust you to give me a straight answer on this, right now."
"...I will," Marinette replied, preparing herself for anything.
"That boy," began Tom, gesturing upstairs where Adrien had gone, "is absolutely crazy about you. I know a boy in love when I see one. He would do absolutely anything for you, and so far, I have truly enjoyed having him staying here."
"Obviously... me, too," agreed Marinette. "But?"
"But I am not a fool. I hear those *TH-BMMP!*s on my roof late at night sometimes. I know who it is who comes to see you there... a boy whom you said you were in love with once, as I recall," declared Tom. "It didn't work out that way back then, but that was a while ago, and feelings can change. Now, I don't know how serious you and Adrien are yet, but I am going to say this; if you are snuggling him and running around with Chat Noir on the sly, you will break that boy's heart in ten places. That is not what you are doing... is it?"
Marinette stared back like a deer in headlights. "You... you think that Chat... and I..." she sputtered.
"I don't know. That is why I am asking," Tom repeated. "Well?"
"Papa... no!" Marinette gasped, still reeling. "No, that's not it at all! Chat Noir and I are close friends. That's all that we ever have been," she insisted. "That's all that either one of us wants to be. And that other time, when I... overreacted... we talked that out after it happened. We're fine, I swear!"
"Says the girl who disappears mysteriously for hours, has a superboy bring her home, and tells me that she's on their super-team now. Just coincidence, hmmm?" Tom cross-examined. "That wasn't a little gift for a sweetheart on the side?"
"I am not on their super-team as Multimouse. I helped Ladybug once - she was the one who gave me the Miraculous - and I was shocked out of my shoes when she asked me again today," stammered Marinette. "I don't know if I'll ever have it again."
Please, Papa, let this rest... she fretted. I don't want to lie to you, ever, if I don't absolutely have to! But if you catch me in a lie, that would crush both of us.
"And you are not involved with Chat Noir that way," rumbled Tom.
"I promise you, I am not. I've told Adrien that I love him... that I'm in love with him... and I meant it. And I still do," Marinette declared. "Chat is more like... um... In a different world, one that Adrien wasn't part of, could I see giving Chat a chance that way? Could he fall for me then? Maybe? I don't know for sure. But in this world, he has a girlfriend... and I have Adrien. I kind of have Adrien."
She sighed, "We are still figuring that out between us. Kagami deserves a chance to speak her peace in person, to try and get back what she had, and I've insisted that she gets that chance when the time comes. But she's the only third party that I know of in this situation. Adrien knows that Chat and I are just friends... just like I know that he's friends with Ladybug... and he knows that my heart lies with him."
Tom studied her with a father's eye. "...I believe you," he noted. "That, and I like to think that I raised you better than to treat him carelessly."
"I am very glad that you did," Marinette smiled with some relief. "I wouldn't hurt Adrien for anything in the world."
"And you will try not to have any more disappearing acts like today's?" Tom added.
"I didn't mean for today's to happen. I was kind of out cold," evaded Marinette. "I will try harder, though, to keep everyone informed."
"All right, then. Come here," gestured Tom, and wrapped Marinette up in a big hug when she approached him. "If anything ever happened to you... this old, big heart of mine would just shatter," he declared. "So let's not test my blood pressure again any time soon, okay?"
"Papa... I love you so much," shuddered Marinette. "I'll do my very best."
On the way out of the kitchen, Marinette got Sabine's attention. "Do you want to talk things out with me some more, too?" she asked her mother.
"I'm... not sure what I think just yet," Sabine stated. "I think I'm still processing this. I'm not so much angry as... well, startled. When I do get my thoughts together, you'll sit down with me?"
"Just ask," smiled Marinette. "I'll be happy to, Mama."
Two down, Marinette breathed to herself as she headed up the stairs. I just dug myself at least one hole, probably more than one, but I couldn't think of any other way out of that. If I keep the Mouse in the Miracle Box and off of the news, that should minimize questions going forward about that.
And now the even trickier part...
Up in her room, Marinette found Adrien waiting for her, having finished up in the bathroom.
"Hey," she said, moving to him. "I am so, so, so sorry that I put you through that today. Are you sure that you're all right with me?"
"You're here," Adrien replied. "You're safe and sound. That's all I needed to know."
"I didn't mean to scare you or them. But we did an awful lot of good today," Marinette noted. "And I'm glad that we did."
"Me, too. And if Ladybug came to me and said 'I need your help,' I would've come running, too," admitted Adrien. "But we don't have to talk it all out this minute. I can see that you're exhausted, and you'll probably want a shower and a change of clothes. How about I'll go down and help your parents finish up in the bakery, and we'll talk about things later? Nothing bad, I promise."
"That sounds perfect. Thank you for understanding," breathed Marinette. "It has been an unbelievable day so far."
As Adrien headed downstairs, Marinette allowed herself to exhale fully at least, having dodged a full salvo of parental bullets. Somehow, though... she thought, I don't think that unbelievable day is quite over yet.