Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 57
As the Hornet, Kagami stared at her transformed self, admiring her imagination come to vivid life.
"I'm going to take that as a 'yes,'" Ladybug beamed.
"Absolutely. I am... I may spend half the night trying to come to terms with all of this..." she admitted, "but I am humbled that I mean this much to you. To both of you."
"You do," declared Adrien. "And that's not going to change, even if... other things do."
Hornet walked over to Adrien, locking eyes with him. "Adrien... do not beat yourself up over this," she insisted. "I am thinking of it this way for the moment... I thought that I was coming between a boy and a girl who had fallen for each other. The people I was actually coming between were Ladybug and Chat Noir."
"It wasn't, er... quite like that before tonight..." Marinette mumbled.
"But it was. You simply did not know that," argued Kagami. "Whether I will be fighting by your side like this... Pollen, buzz off."
In a flash, she became Kagami once more, looking thoughtful. "Can we talk about those magic words, Pollen?" she asked. "They seem a trifle... rude to you."
"I am not one to take offense," Pollen replied, calmly. "But we can discuss that later this evening."
"Agreed. So whether I am the Hornet, or I am Kagami... I am myself," she reasoned. "Just as you are yourselves in either form. The grand romance that I had in mind may not come to pass..." she added, with a wistful glance at Adrien, "but I feel like I have gained a place in your lives that is... greater than that. And just what that is... we will figure out together."
Marinette stepped forward... as did Adrien... and a long three-way hug followed.
On their way home, Chat and Ladybug stopped on a rooftop and caught their breath.
"Are you okay with all of that, that we just did?" asked Chat.
"Are you?" worried Ladybug.
"I think so. My stomach feels like it's this big right now," Chat replied, holding up a clenched fist, "and we all have a long way to go, but..."
"You do," Ladybug said, walking closer to him. "We just spun her whole world around in ten different ways. You two deserve time to talk about this without my standing there next to you... and I won't let you get away without doing that."
"I have every intention of that, believe me. Even if I don't know quite how to say what needs saying," admitted Chat.
"Did I flinch when she kissed you tonight?" asked Ladybug.
"Not... much?" said Chat.
"Because I am not going to be that kind of friend to her. I really don't think that I need to hover, because if I know you... you know whom you're coming home to afterwards," she smiled. "If you're affectionate with her, that won't threaten me the way that you might worry about."
"And I intend on being honest and up front with you, always," Chat replied. "Father will have me spending time with Kagami. I want to spend time with Kagami. And there are going to be emotions there... and if you really don't mind, maybe some snuggles... but I do know whom I'm in love with."
Ladybug leaned in for a kiss... then remembered that she and Chat both had built-in masks on as part of their costumes. With a laugh, she said, "I cannot wait until we don't have these in the way any more."
"Then why don't we go home," suggested Chat, his green eyes sparkling, "where we can get a little more comfortable?"
"That sounds good," she smiled. "Though I'll warn you... there are so many makeout spots in Paris that only two heroes can reach..."
"Yeah. I wonder where the Hornet will take me for that?" mused Chat... then ducked away, laughing.
"Come on, you," grinned Ladybug. "Let's get home."
Ladybug and Chat Noir landed in the alley near Marinette's house, peeking out briefly to make sure that they had been unobserved. Once more, they stood in a comfortable embrace, face-to-face.
"Claws in!"
"Spots off!"
The white flashes flared brightly once more.
"I could get used to this," Marinette beamed, mirroring what Chat had said not long before.
"You mean this?"
He leaned in close, planting a soft kiss onto Marinette's waiting mouth, one that lingered for a little while.
"That... would be it, yes."
The grinning teens replaced their cloth masks and headed for the bakery's back door.
"We're back!" called Marinette as they entered.
"And no police escort. Well done," her mother congratulated her, tongue-in-cheek. "How did it go?"
"Very well," replied Adrien. "Surprisingly well, even. Or perhaps we were all too happy to see each other to let too much drama creep in."
"We walked around a nearby school campus together for a while," Marinette explained. "We caught up on a lot of things."
"So she's seen the two of you... bonded the way that you are now," mused Sabine. "Sometimes that hits harder than simply knowing that it's true. How did she react?"
"Well... we're still figuring that out, of course. She kissed him... because I told her to," said Marinette, "and then we all kind of watched how we all reacted to that. This isn't a one-talk-and-everything's-settled kind of situation."
"I was so terrified that I was going to break Kagami's heart... or hurt Marinette, or the friendship that they have together," worried Adrien. "So far... I think that we're on the right track."
"I do hope that it stays that way," smiled Sabine. "Do you two have anything else in mind for tonight? Your father already went up to bed, but I'm up for something simple."
"I was thinking about a movie night?" suggested Marinette. "Something light and funny."
"I don't know if I'll make it through a full movie," Sabine said, "but I could start something with you. Adrien, do you want to do the honors?"
"I'll give it a shot," Adrien declared, accepting the TV remote and scanning through the listings.
The three of them got through two episodes of a comedy series that Adrien suggested and that Marinette had heard of, which was entertaining enough to keep their interest but not quite enough to keep Sabine awake.
"Hmmph! I'm nodding off," she noted near the end of the second. "I think that I'll leave you kids to it for now."
"Good night, Mrs. Cheng," Adrien replied. "We'll see you in the morning... and we'll try not to fall asleep here this time."
"Sometimes asleep is safer," Sabine parried, with a wink to her daughter who had a Did she just SAY that? look on her face. "And I'm sure you two have things to talk about, too. So, until tomorrow?"
"Good night, Mama," said Marinette. "Pleasant dreams."
Once her mother was upstairs and the two of them heard the bedroom door close, Adrien turned to Marinette. "So," he grinned. "We're alone at last. No masks, no costumes, no parents watching us for a while. And we even have Kagami's blessing, it seems."
"It does," Marinette agreed, with shining eyes. "Whatever shall we do to pass the time?"
A tiny voice piped up, "Yeah. What are we gonna do tonight?"
Adrien's face went from hopeful anticipation to mild annoyance. "Hello, Plagg," he opined, without turning his head. "What's up?"
"Well, we're all one big happy family now, right?" Plagg grinned, settling down atop the sofa. "Roll the movie, guys. Did you bring out any snacks?"
"I hadn't," said Marinette. "Though I suppose that I'll have to add cheese to our shopping list, now that I know that you're here."
Tikki floated down by Marinette's side. "I wouldn't mind a little entertainment... if we are invited," she noted. "Plagg, they just might have things in mind other than watching movies."
"Well, that could be entertaining, too," Plagg replied. "Though I am a little surprised that they'd want us to watch that-"
"Hey!" yelped Adrien.
"I don't recall saying that," echoed Marinette.
"It's not as if we've never seen that kind of thing before," Tikki mumbled. "Not that we're asking for a front-row seat if it happens."
"No one is putting on a performance tonight. Or tomorrow," Marinette declared. "Which both of you ought to have known already! I am just fine with putting a movie on and just cuddling... and if things do get romantic, they get romantic."
"I do have a movie in mind, if you're up for it," said Adrien. "It's one that I didn't want to recommend while your mom was here, since some of the language in it is kind of salty... but it's supposed to be really good."
"What kind of movie is it?" asked Tikki.
"It's kind of a... well... zombie-horror-comedy-documentary-parody," Adrien replied. "In Japanese, with subtitles."
"A what now?" asked Plagg, flatly.
"I don't want to say too much. It's best to go in without spoilers," explained Adrien. "But it's a zombie movie, but not a gooey-gory one. It's more about the people in it than anything else."
"I'm fine with that if you are," Marinette decided. She stretched out across Adrien's lap, facing the TV. "I'm not the biggest horror movie fan, but I'll trust your judgment."
"It's more of a comedy than anything else," Adrien assured her. "With a lot of twists."
Plagg patted the cushion next to him. "C'mon, Tikki. Let's follow their lead."
Tikki stared back at him. "You're kidding, right?" she grinned. "I think I'm fine right here."
"Suit yourself."
With everyone in place, Adrien punched up the movie and hit Play.
To Plagg's surprise... everyone there gave the whole movie their full attention. (To his further surprise, he really liked it.)
"You'll have to remember that one self-defense move the mother used," joked Tikki. "Next time that an Akuma grabs you... *pom!*"
"Haha!" giggled Marinette. "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind! Adrien, that was such a good idea... that movie was amazing."
"I'm very glad that you liked it," Adrien smiled. "Your turn to pick next, if you have the energy?"
"I'm... I'll pick one, sure," fluttered Marinette. "But we might not watch this next movie as closely."
"Psst!" hissed Tikki in Plagg's direction. "C'mon. Let's go hang out upstairs for a little while."
"Hmmm?" grunted Plagg. "What are you... ohhh. I gotcha."
The Kwamis floated up through the ceiling, leaving the teens alone on the couch once more.
"Seems like we did this once already tonight," Adrien quipped.
Without a word, Marinette leaned in and kissed him, clinging to him gently, each kiss followed by another just as soft.
After the initial rush, Adrien opened his eyes as they cuddled close, forehead-to-forehead. "I like this movie, too," he noted.
"I hoped you would," Marinette breathed. "And it's still only in the first act."
"Something on your mind?" wondered Adrien. "I mean, I'm not complaining at all, obviously... but tonight, you just seem... inspired."
"I was just thinking about a lot of things," Marinette explained. "How perfect this feels. How we might not get too many more chances for moments like this soon, like we'd talked about this morning. Maybe your father will let us spend time together like this... but like you said, maybe he won't once you've gone home."
"It's hard to picture that without a stream of interruptions, at least," Adrien agreed. "Nathalie making sure that everything remains proper."
"And you'll always be welcome here, of course... but will they let you stay over very often?" wondered Marinette. "Or a million reasons why they'll need to keep you there, bright and early in the morning?"
"It's going to be a challenge. I'm sure that it is. I mean, we'll get to scandalize our school at regular intervals... at least when we get back to school..." considered Adrien.
"But we're here now."
Marinette's voice was soft... but quite insistent. She looked deeply into his eyes and added, "And I don't want any of it to go to waste."
Adrien melted where he sat.
"In that case..." he told her as he pulled her closer, "maybe we ought to ignore that TV for a while."
"What TV?" asked Marinette.