Stuck In A Bakery (With You), Chapter 60
One week later...
[Join Video Conference]
Marinette hovered the cursor over the button, knowing that there was definitely going to be some kind of interesting reaction on the way... then clicked it. As her good friends' faces appeared on her monitor, she nearly spat out a mouthful of her drink as she hooted with laughter.
"Well, hello, dahling," Alya drawled... with she and her friends all wearing sunglasses and gaudy costume jewelry and holding up drinks with little paper umbrellas in them. "Since you've gone high fashion model on us, we thought that we ought to follow suit!"
Juleka gazed upwards, feigning disinterest. "Hollywood is calling me, is it not?" she deadpanned... and then all of the girls busted up laughing, as they removed their impromptu costume accessories.
"St-stop!" cackled Marinette, helplessly. "You got me, you got me! But that barely even counted as modeling! All I did was walk around town with Adrien while they took his picture, and I happened to be with him at the time."
"While wearing Agreste's new casual summer line, and looking amazing in it, I might add," Rose beamed, "and with 'Hi! We're in love!' written all over both of your faces. I am just so excited for you!"
In response to the cavalcade of questions, Marinette relayed the details. No, she didn't get to keep most of the clothes, but they did let her pick out and keep one favorite. Yes, she had makeup on, but not as much of it as she thought they'd have to cake onto her; Adrien even helped her with one little touch, as he understood so well what showed up well on camera and what didn't! No, she didn't know yet if she'd want to do it again; yes, they did mention that if this campaign received strong positive response from the public, she might be invited back for more.
"It felt really strange to have people fussing over me like that," Marinette admitted.
"Other than Adrien," Alya prompted her.
"I'm still getting used to that, too," she grinned. "Though that was an addiction for me from his very first smile."
"You two have been a perfect match all year long. It's like somebody up there arranged things just so that it would finally happen," Mylène declared. "And I couldn't be happier for both of you!"
"Do you think that Chloé knows about you two yet?" wondered Rose.
"Have you heard an ear-piercing shriek from across town yet?" giggled Marinette. "I haven't talked to her since that class conference call we had, so... I don't know what she knows."
"I would imagine," said Juleka, "that one look at those pictures and even she would admit defeat. I mean, you two are just... the way that you look at each other in them! Even with your mouths and noses covered, those eyes tell quite a story."
"Did anyone have to separate you two, or hurl a bucket of cold water at you to pry you two apart?" grinned Alya.
"N-no! Adrien was a perfect gentleman on the set. He could tell that I was really nervous, so he walked me through the whole process like a total professional," Marinette replied.
She watched all of her friends raise an eyebrow at that response. "...What?" she asked them, knowingly.
"On the set," Mylène noted. "You chose your words carefully."
"Well, I can't tell you girls everything..." purred Marinette, drawing another round of laughter from all.
"Oh, yes, you can!" was the general response to that.
Alone in his atelier... or mostly alone, at least... Gabriel Agreste stood silently before the portrait of his wife, as was his wont on many such afternoons.
"Master?" a small voice piped up, hesitantly.
"You may speak, Nooroo. We are by ourselves," Gabriel directed him.
"If I may make an observation..." Nooroo ventured, "the atmosphere in this house seems... remarkably improved lately. Everyone seems much happier than had been the previous norm."
"And should we not be?" asked Gabriel. "My son is home, safe and healthy and happy. The business has weathered the storm-to-date, and is beginning to rebound. What might have been a series of catastrophes has resolved in a quite reasonable state."
"Well, yes," agreed Nooroo. "Adrien has a most definite glow about him now... one that is quite understandable. But you... if I may say so, Master, I am aware that you had plans in motion concerning Kagami Tsurugi and your son. You are not normally so calm, let alone pleasant to be around, when one of your plans is thwarted."
Gabriel gave Nooroo a bemused look. "I will not argue with you about that," he smiled, "as it is difficult for me to deny." He began pacing around the room casually, considering his explanation.
"Madame Tsurugi is a means to an end," he began. "A valuable end, but not an entirely essential one for my purposes. And the daughter is a useful tool in retaining the mother's favor. It would be convenient for me to arrange things so that my son and her daughter become close companions, and perhaps more... and so I have. One might expect that this classmate stepping in between them would trouble me."
"Which I did expect. Please, continue?" asked Nooroo.
"Marinette... interests me. In ways in which I did not anticipate," mused Gabriel. "I did not lie to her when I told her that she had caught my eye. Naturally, anyone with whom Adrien wishes to spend time is worthy of some critical appraisal; I cannot say that all of his choices therein have met with my approval. But this girl is... a bit different."
"Consider," he continued. "Marinette is slowly honing her inherent talent for fashion design, but I could fling a paperweight out the window and hit a dozen like young women from here. So, what sets her apart? From what I have heard from Nathalie and what I have seen firsthand, there are many valuable intangibles to consider."
"For one... she has impressive poise and strength of will for one so young," Gabriel noted. "I deliberately challenged her when I called Adrien after the recent incident in the park; she responded maturely and rationally, rather than panicking as most would have, and as I expected. I recall the day on which she returned my Book of Lore to me; her nervousness was obvious, but she went out on quite a limb for a young man to whom, at that time, she was simply a friend. She is also one of the few who have been face-to-face with one of my Akumas and willed it away; no small feat, that."
Nooroo flinched slightly at "my Book of Lore," but said nothing.
"And yet... the iron fist is paired with a velvet glove, and if anything, a lack of a prominent ego," Gabriel continued. "She seems genuinely taken by my son's character... and not by his money or his father's influence. Refreshing, that! I had to persuade her to take her place by Adrien's side in this week's photoshoot, for example; if I dangled that bait in front of almost any other Parisian girl, they would have snatched it up without hesitation. If I had not mentioned Mademoiselle Rossi as a substitute - five seconds snooping around in that little harpy's head, and the enmity between the two was unmistakable - I do not think that she would have accepted it, in the end! And she and her family requested no compensation for Adrien's extended stay at their residence; it was enough for them to have done good by him."
Gabriel chuckled and added, "Of course, I could have argued that they got free kitchen labor from Adrien... but he made it clear to us that it was voluntary on his part. His mother coming out in him, assuredly."
"No wonder that Adrien is so captivated by her," Nooroo said.
"And his heart is no easy target to capture," replied Gabriel. "Many other girls have tried to turn his head and failed, like that ghastly Bourgeois child. And yet... once again, Marinette could have used the unique circumstances to simply win Adrien's affections and rejoice in her triumph over Kagami, but that, too, seems foreign to her nature. Marinette threaded that needle so deftly - how, I have no idea - that from what I am told, both she and Adrien remain in Kagami's good graces, and Marinette actually encouraged Adrien to continue to spend social time with Kagami."
"So what are your intentions for them?" asked Nooroo, drawing a quizzical look from Gabriel. "I am merely curious, Master," he backpedaled.
"My intentions..." declared Gabriel, "are to watch and wait. Adrien is happy; let him remain happy. The young ladies, as well. Should things happen to change that, I will take action so as not to allow Adrien to be overly distracted. And as Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng further establishes her worthiness of my attention... my attention will be given."
Nooroo shuddered a little bit at his tone. It sounded like a compliment... but one that could turn on a dime and become ominous, coming from Gabriel's mind.
"So!" Gabriel intoned, standing before the portrait once more. "The studio has reopened. The streets are full of people once more, albeit spaced carefully and masked. My son is home and safe; what passes for normal in Paris is rapidly returning. And I suppose that you know what that means."
"Me? I don't think that I... um... oh, no," worried Nooroo.
"But of course," grinned Gabriel, reaching out to push hidden buttons on the portrait. "My work with you is far from complete."
As the platform carried him down to his lair, Gabriel called out, "Nooroo... Darkwings rise!"
"So... what have you all been up to lately?" Marinette asked the group. "I can't be the only one who's had an interesting week."
"Well, I did have an unexpected visitor yesterd... oop!" giggled Rose, stopping herself short.
"Wait, what?" Alya wondered aloud.
"You... too?" asked Juleka, nervously. "Oh, wow!"
"Whoops! We're not supposed to talk about it," Rose replied, looking embarrassed.
"No... we're not!" Juleka blurted back.
"What are you two talking about?" demanded Alya.
"They're talking about not talking about something, silly," Marinette smiled, innocently.
"Fine. What are you two not talking about, then?" Alya parried. "Who visited you?"
"I don't know who it was. It was that unexpected," Rose replied, trying it out loud to see if it might work. "Maybe it didn't even happen."
"Uh-huh," smirked Alya. "I'm buying that."
Marinette sent a knowing grin her way. "Well, you all know about my unexpected visitor; he's all that we've been talking about lately!" she laughed. "Alya, what have you and Nino been up to? If we should know?"
"Oh... the usual. Mostly just hanging out together, now that we can again," Alya said. "Not all of us have a live-in cuddle buddy."
"How are you coping with the withdrawal from that, by the way?" Juleka asked. "After having Adrien at your house for weeks..."
"I'm not going to say that it isn't tough sometimes," mused Marinette, "but it had to happen. We tuck each other in over the phone every night now; it's not quite the same."
"I bet," sympathized Rose. "Now you have to get past his father to get your hands on him."
"You know..." Marinette replied to that, looking thoughtful. "I thought that that might be a pretty big problem, but so far... it really hasn't. I've even been invited over for dinner this weekend."
"As in with his father, too?" marveled Alya. "So he really likes you?"
"It's... kind of too early to tell," said Marinette. "From the way that Adrien's talked about him, he's not sure that his father really likes anyone or anything any more. So if all of a sudden, I was the apple of his eye..."
"...you'd almost be kind of worried," suggested Juleka.
"Yeah," smiled Marinette. "Kind of."
In a small, somewhat decrepit basement on the south side of Paris, four people stared daggers at each other.
"Look! I just don't see the point in this right now," the tallest one argued. "I can't sing well with this mask on, and I'm not taking it off."
"I don't want you to take it off!" the blonde girl yelped. "I'm not happy about it, either; I sound kind of muffled... but what is it that you want us to do? We've put too much time and effort into this band to give up now."
"Oh, I don't want to give up," the smaller man said. "Which is why I called this practice session. It's been weeks since we've been able to do this, and if we're rusty, how are we going to get any more paying gigs?"
"Here we go again," mumbled the brunette girl. "It always comes down to money, money, money. Who is it that you think we're going to play for? The bars, the restaurants, the concert halls are still under restrictions."
"Knowing me, knowing you, we're always going to go in circles like this," the tall one grumbled. "This tribute band was a great idea at first, and when we won that Battle of the Bands..."
"Oh, that the-winner-takes-it-all purse was so nice," the brunette remembered. "But it's not why we do this, is it? It's about the music."
"You really like this stuff?" marveled the small man. "I just thought that it was... well... trendy these days. I'm really more into metal."
"Mamma mia," the blonde grumbled. "Look, can we just... you three, come over here and let's see if we can still hit some kind of harmony with these masks on."
The four of them huddled around the mic stand, each touching it lightly with an outstretched hand. The blonde counted off, "Five, six, seven, eight..."
...and the Akuma chose that moment to turn it a brilliant, pulsating purple.
"Greetings, er..." a deep voice intoned, faltering slightly. "Good lord, there are four of you. I... am Hawkmoth," it declared. "I sense a disharmony amongst you, replacing the tight bonds that knit together any successful musical act. This pandemic has robbed you of your joy, your passion, your livelihood; you have no place to play, and no audience to hear. Well... I can do something about that. With the power that I shall grant you... all of Paris will know your names and hear your music."
"...Really?" the brunette gasped.
"Really," Hawkmoth replied. "And all I need from you is one... small... favor. Use your combined might to relieve Ladybug and Chat Noir of their Miraculous, and bring them to me... and today, France; tomorrow, the world. Do you accept my gift, my little songbirds?"
As one, their eyes glowed as their bodies transformed.
"I do, I do, I do, I do, I do," they replied as one.