Revealed and Switched
Chapter 8: Marinette Part 4
7:30
Marinette glared at the clock. She was supposed to meet Adrien at eight. If she left now, she would be too early. As Ladybug, it would take her approximately eight minutes. That left her twenty-two minutes to wait.
"I'm going to check my make-up again," Marinette informed Tikki, rushing to the bathroom.
"You're make-up is fine," Tikki said, giggling, pulling on the girl's hair. "Besides, most of its going to be hidden under your mask."
"Not my lip gloss," Marinette said. "And it always wears off quickly."
"Because you keep biting your lip."
"Maybe I should take a purse with me to carry some extra? Or maybe I should do my hair differently? What do you think of this outfit?" Marinette knew she was ranting, but she couldn't stop. She couldn't calm down. How could she when she was going on a date with Adrien?
"You're outfit is wonderful, even though Adrien isn't going to see it," Tikki said, rolling her eyes. "Marinette, quit freaking out. If you're just going to stress yourself out, leave right now."
Marinette squished her cheeks with her hands. "But if I go now, I'll be twenty minutes early. What if Adrien is getting dressed or is still in the shower? That would totally be inappropriate. He'll think I'm a pervert!"
Tikki laughed so hard, she fell out of the air. "Stop overthinking things. Chances are, Adrien is just as nervous. He's probably completely ready and waiting for you."
The clock read 7:35.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a little early. I could go slow so I don't get all sweaty," Marinette decided tentatively. Grabbing her purse for Tikki to hide in, she went downstairs to the delicious aromas of freshly baked goods. Her parents had been up for hours baking their trade.
"Good morning. You're up early for a weekend," her mother chimed. "I don't suppose that's an indication you're going to spend the day with your dear parents."
Marinette smiled, knowing the Chinese woman was teasing. "No, I'm actually going to the library to study. Got a big test coming up."
"You'll need brain food, then. Have some croissants or a Danish," her father pressed.
Although her stomach was empty, the butterflies that pounded inside of her made her queasy. "Ah, no thanks. I'll grab a smoothie on the way," she quickly lied, which made the butterflies flap more furious. Somehow, lying to her parents about going to meet a boy was worse than lying about her being Ladybug.
She rushed out, nearly colliding with a few customers coming into the shop, racing down the street to a spot she occasionally used to transform into Ladybug discretely. Luckily, the streets were empty.
As Ladybug, she kept catching herself sprinting along the rooftops. She was so used to running at full speed that she wasn't sure how to travel slow as a superhero. When she arrived at the Agreste mansion, her heart was working faster than what a brief run would make it pump. She felt as if she were in a roller coaster as it slowly ascended before dropping in that first freefall. Could this really be happening? Was she really going to go through with having a date with Adrien?
Before she could change her mind, she swung over to Adrien's window and knocked. The announcement wasn't needed; he was already watching for her, ready to unlatch the window.
"You're early," he said, his voice friendly. As he offered her a hand down, she blushed at his touch.
"Early? Really? Maybe by a few minutes, I guess," she ranted, feeling as if she had to respond. "I mean, I can find your house easily. It's not that far away. But not that we live super close. My parents totally can't afford this neighborhood. I wish we could. I walk here all the time, and the houses are beautiful. I mean, I'm not here all the time. It's not like I come here to stalk you or anything. Just when it's convenient. You know, running errands and stuff." Her face just kept getting warmer and warmer the more she spoke. Perhaps it wasn't too late for her to swing out of there and go home to bury her humiliation in a pile of blankets.
"Wow, you make punctuality sound guilty," Adrien said with an amused smirk.
The comment was supposed to lighten the mood, but it only added to Ladybug's embarrassment. Why couldn't she say the right things around Adrien? Where was her usual Ladybug confident? Before she realized it, she had her face covered by her hands and slightly turned away from the young man.
"Hey, come on. I've teased you way worse than that as Cat Noir." Adrien took her hands in his, opening her fingers like a door so he could look into her eyes. "It's odd to see a shy Ladybug."
The smile and wide green eyes staring into her melted her insides. His voice was gentle, friendly, but at the same time, she could hear Cat Noir's playful tone. Two sides of the same coin. How was it that his two egos were complete opposites but at the same time complimentary?
Ladybug fought against her nature to erupt into a stuttering mess at his touch. "Yes, I agree. It is odd. I'm usually not like this, at least, not as Ladybug." Sadness wiped away her embarrassment. Not wanting Adrien to know that his comment stung her, she straightened up and stepped away as if wanting to explore his room. "So, what are we doing on our d-d-date?" She cursed herself for tongue stumbling over the last word.
"Oh, right," Adrien said, rushing over to a pile of clothing on his couch and, before Ladybug could react, he had pulled a green hoodie over her head, plopped a hat on her crown and place a large set of thick-rimmed glasses on her face.
"Okay, this is officially the weirdest date I've been on," Ladybug said, omitting the fact that it was the first date she'd ever gone on.
"Well, the whole point of this date is for me to get to know the girl behind the mask, right?" Adrien started to explain. "So, this is your disguise. Sorry, I don't have any girl clothes. Maybe next time, I could sneak into my father's studio and grab some. For now, this will do."
"So…I'm in a disguise in a disguise," Ladybug said with a laugh. "Kind of redundant."
"It was either this or you unmask yourself first, but I didn't think you'd feel comfortable with that." Adrien looked away, seeming embarrassed. "Anyway, this way, you can feel like yourself without revealing who you are."
Ladybug gave him a halfway frown but then spotted herself in a mirror. She looked like Ladybug still—albeit in a sad attempt to go incognito—but then she noticed what kind of hat Adrien had placed on her head. It was the derby hat she had made. Was this a hint that he may know her secret? Or perhaps it was a coincidence? Either way, he had kept her hat. That made her heart flutter.
"Great idea," she told Adrien, pulling the glasses off. "But I don't wear glasses. These are going to bug me." She tossed them onto the coffee table.
"Alright. You're ready for our date, but I'm not." Adrien then pulled out a cheap black mask and a headband with black cat ears to put on. "Ta da."
It wasn't until then that Ladybug realized that Adrien was wearing all black. She was so distracted that she hadn't noticed his unusual wardrobe choice. But now, with the accessories, he looked like Adrien in a bad Cat Noir costume.
She snorted, twisting her mouth to prevent from laughing hard. "Okay, why?" she asked, wondering about his logic.
"You weren't embarrassed or shy when I was just Cat Noir," Adrien said, spreading his arms to finish his explanation.
"Then why not just be Cat Noir. Why the costume?" Ladybug asked.
"Well…there may not be anyone else in the house right now with my father and Natalie gone, but my bodyguard is still outside. If he were to come in a check on me…"
"…You'd rather he think you're some sort of obsessed Cat Noir fan rather than the real McCoy," Ladybug finished with a laugh. "Imagine if your fans saw you like this. Or Chloe."
"You know Chloe?"
Ladybug froze in mid-laugh. She hadn't meant that to slip. But if there was one thing she was good at, it was pulling half-truths out of thin air. "Uh…yeah, of course. What kind of Adrien fan would I be if I didn't know that the mayor's daughter has a personal connection to you?" She laughed nervously.
"I guess that's true," Adrien said, nodding his head. "But you do know that the rumors aren't true? She's not my girlfriend. We're just really close."
Ladybug sighed with relief that Adrien bought her excuse, but a tinge of guilt lingered. After all, she wasn't lying to protect the secret of the Miraculous but for her own benefit. Somehow this was different. But she didn't want Adrien to find out about who she was, at least not now. Maybe with time…
"Hey, your costume isn't complete," Ladybug realized, distracting herself from her guilty thoughts. "Where's your bell?"
Adrien's face sagged with irritation, all Cat Noir now. "The costume's bell actually rings, so I'm definitely not wearing it. Although…" He moved closer, smiling. "If you really want me to…"
Ladybug wanted to laugh because it was Cat Noir, but Marinette wanted to blush because Adrien said it. In the end, she did both. "Okay, silly kitty. Let's get this date started," she said, trying to cover up how much she liked that cheesy line. "I'm guessing we're not going to the movies or anything dressed as we are. So what do you have planned for us?"
"First off, M'lady, as any good host makes sure to keep his guests properly refreshed with food and drink. I thought that we would start with a brunch."
At the mention of sustenance, Ladybug's stomach gurgled, reminding her that she had skipped breakfast. "That sounds great."
Adrien offered his arm, and Ladybug took it. Even with cheap mask and floppy ears, he looked and acted so much like Cat Noir that she didn't blush when she laid her hands on his bicep.
His plan is working. I don't feel like such an idiot around him.
As they walked, Ladybug took a look at the Agrestes' home. She had been in Adrien's home a few times, but it was either on a mission as Ladybug or that one time she snuck in to sign his birthday card, each occasion didn't allow her to appreciate the grandeur and beauty of the décor. While it was lovely and tastefully done, it was cold and immaculate much like a museum or art gallery.
Ladybug liked looking at the house, but she couldn't imagine living there. Her home was smaller, more crowded, but it was familiar and cozy. Did Adrien like his house? She wondered, considering that his room was nothing like the rest of the mansion.
They passed through a long hallway, turning into a pair of swinging doors and entering a kitchen that her father would probably drool over. The state of the art appliances were a combination of black and stainless steel. The countertops were high quality granite and gleamed. Everything was in its place and had been scrubbed down. Or was it because nobody had ever used the kitchen?
"First things first, M'lady. I'm going to make you breakfast," Adrien said, presenting the kitchen with a quick turn and a bow.
"Oh, really…" Ladybug said with a wry grin. "Have you ever cooked anything?"
"In Home Ec., we made cookies." Adrien waved his phone. "I found a few recipes online. How hard can it be?"
"I'll add those to Cat Noir's famous last words," Ladybug said. "Perhaps I could help?"
"Nope," Adrien denied, pulling out flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. "I'm doing this all for you." He blew her a kiss.
"Soooo, I'm to stand here and watch you make breakfast." Ladybug leaned her elbows against the counter, cupping her face. "Fuuuuun."
"There's some fruit in the fridge to go with the croissants I'm making."
"Why does it feel like I'm being patronized?" Ladybug replied sarcastically, making her way to the large refrigerator. When she opened the door, she gazed at the contents in surprise. There was little on the shelves besides a bag of grapes and two containers of strawberries and raspberries.
I guess the kitchen doesn't get used at all.
As she carried the fruit to the sink, she wondered what kind of meals Adrien and his father ate. Perhaps they ordered out a lot, and home-cooking was a rarity, completely opposite of her family. Her parents were amazing bakers but pastries and bread weren't the only things they made. They were good cooks, too, especially her mother who learned from her uncle.
She thought about Adrien as she rinsed off the fruit and arranged it on a platter in a visually pleasing way. It took her less than five minutes. As she carried the platter back to the island counter where Adrien labored, she laughed.
Adrien had pulled his Cat Noir gloves off and was elbow deep in croissant dough. Flour dusted his face and his clothes. He moved his fingers clumsily as he kneaded the dough.
"That's a cute look for you," Ladybug said. "All you need is an apron."
Adrien looked up and smiled. "So, you think I'm cute, M'lady?" He winked.
Ladybug had almost forgotten she was talking to her long-time crush, overlooking that it wasn't Cat Noir in the kitchen. She had just called Adrien cute. And he winked at her. Her face burned hot enough to bake the dough Adrien was squashing with his palms.
She needed something to distract herself. "You need to use more butter," she said, concentrating on the croissants. "It makes them light and flakey. Otherwise, you might as well just make rolls." She itched to get her hands on the dough. It would take her only a few minutes to finish the job.
Adrien added more butter, but as he kneaded the dough again, it was like he was trying to compress it. Light and fluffy? They'll be lucky if the croissants don't turn out to be as hard as rocks.
"Hey, I got this," he told her as if knowing how worried she was. "If I knead any help, I'll ask."
Ladybug gave a teasing groan. "Oh, you went for so long without saying a horrible pun, I thought you were going for a record."
"That was the record," Adrien said. "What is a baker's favorite song?"
She knew this one. It was a big hit with her dad. "Please don't say it."
"Dough rei me. What did the bread say on his date?"
She wasn't going to encourage him.
"I loaf you. How did the bread break up with his date."
No, she wasn't going to react.
"You deserve butter than this."
Oh, so terrible.
"Yeah, that one was a little stale. But I thought I was on a roll."
"If I laugh, will you please stop," Ladybug said.
"It's the yeast I can do."
She chortled while shaking her head. "Just because you're Adrien Agreste, doesn't make you funnier."
He gave her a sweet, innocent smile that had too much Cat Noir in it to be enchanting. Then he went back to attacking the croissant dough.
Ladybug contemplated stepping in even if she had to force Adrien away from the poor, defenseless dough, but she decided against it. She didn't want to see Cat Noir's pout on Adrien's face. Instead, she picked up a strawberry and bit into it. Once she swallowed, she asked, "So, do you enjoy school? What's your favorite subject?"
"I love school. This is my first year in public school," Adrien said, his palms pounding into the dough as if it had been akumatized. "Before that, I had private tutors, either college students trying to earn food money or retired professors. Besides Chloe, I hadn't met anyone my own age except other models. So, I guess I'd have to say that my favorite thing about school is making friends and talking to everyone in my class."
Ladybug tried not to dwell on how lonely Adrien must have been before joining her class this year. While modeling and having private tutors sounded good and fancy to her, what was it like to only have Chloe as a friend?
"You didn't answer my question," Ladybug said, eating the rest of the strawberry. "What's your favorite subject?"
Adrien pulled out a rolling pin and attacked the dough in quick, rough strokes. "All of them."
"That's cheating," Ladybug said with a smirk. "You have to pick one."
Adrien blew out a lungful of air slowly as if thinking. "Probably math."
Ladybug stuck out her tongue. "Yuck. How can you like math?"
Adrien shrugged. "It's simple and easy."
"Yeah, if you're in the first grade."
"No, think about it. You're given a problem and there is only just one, solid answer. There's no memorization needed. No essays. No gray areas. Just one answer. Easy Peasy. What about you? What's your favorite subject?"
She considered this, mostly wondering if this would give her secret away. "It's a toss-up between writing and art." Before she could think of a new question, Adrien beat her to it.
"What do you like to do? Besides school?" he asked as he carved triangles in the dough, rolled the pieces and placed them on a baking sheet. They looked sad for croissants, lop-sided and squished.
She shook her head. If she said she liked to design clothing, would he know she was Marinette? This was Paris, after all. How many teenage girls out there dreamed of being a clothing designer?
Instead, she said, "I like listening to music and hanging with my friends."
"What's your favorite band?"
"Jagged Stone. I'm a huge fan."
"As I recall, he's a huge fan of you, too," Adrien said with a wink. "You know, I have a friend who actually designed his newest CD cover."
Ladybug blinked as her mind tried to process how she was supposed to react to that. He was talking about Marinette. Shouldn't she be acting surprised? Or happy? Maybe a mixture of both?
"That's really cool," she said, trying to sound natural. Should she ask about Marinette? Would that be pushing things? "Is she from your school?"
"Yeah, in my class," Adrien said, putting the tray into the oven before turning on the heat.
Ladybug itched to correct him. He needed to preheat the oven first. And the croissants were spaced too closely together. But now was her chance to know what Adrien thought of Marinette.
She sent out a line, hoping to catch something. "She must be an amazing artist to catch Jagged Stone's eye." It was hard to not act too interested.
"It couldn't have happened to a better person," Adrien said, setting the timer. "Well, now all we need to do is wait. What do you want to do for ten minutes exactly?"
Ladybug matched his grin but not for the same reason. Those croissants won't be ready in ten minutes. She wished she could ask more about what he thought of Marinette, but it would be weird to go back to that subject. Instead she continued the questioning game by asking, "What about you? What does the world-famous Adrien Agreste do in his spare time when he's not going to school, modeling, or saving the world?"
"Who says I have spare time?" Adrien asked, hands on hips, his smile Cat Noir-style teasing. "Do I have to be absolutely purrrr-fect for you?"
Ladybug grimaced. "Back to cat puns. Did you run out of baking ones?"
"No need to get catty. I'm just being my a-furr-able self."
"Don't you start. You have to have at least one hobby?" Ladybug said, leaning against the counter.
Adrien tapped his lip. The flour on his finger tip dusted his skin. "Hmmm. I play the piano, but that is in my bio, so you already know that. What else… Oh, I like logic grid puzzles."
"Logic grid puzzles? Like sudoku?"
"Kind of. It's where you're given a list of hints, and you have to figure out the puzzle. For example, one will list five different people who live in five different cities and each have a different car with a different color. Through the clues, you have to figure out who lives where, which car they have and what color each car is."
"Yeah, I think we had to do one of those in math last year," Ladybug recalled, scrunching her nose. The assignment was challenging, but she wouldn't have called it fun.
"There are tons of puzzles on the Internet. Sometimes, if I have to wait around, I'll find one on my phone and work it out in my notebook. It passes the time," Adrien said. He jumped up to sit on the counter. "It makes me feel like Sherlock Holmes working on a problem, going through the process of elimination until I find the right answer."
At one point, Marinette had kept a list of things she knew about Adrien Agreste in her journal. She kept adding to it every once in a while, but only a little at a time. In this one morning, she could have tripled the list. The more she knew about Adrien, the more she loved him.
Their conversation started out with taking turns asking questions then became more relaxed, talking as if they didn't have this secret between them. Ladybug was so happy and comfortable that she forgot she was wearing a mask and a superhero suit, and after a while, Adrien and Cat Noir blended into one, someone that made her blush and roll her eyes all at the same time. They would have talked the day away if an alarm didn't go off.
But not the alarm they expected.
It was a wonder they didn't smell the smoke seeping out of the oven before the smoke detector did. As fast as two super-powered teens could act, Ladybug had grabbed the oven mitts and pulled out the baking sheet, coughing as a cloud billowed into her face, and Adrien opened a window and turned on a ventilation fan to clear away the toxic smell.
"I set the timer. Why didn't it go off?" Adrien asked between coughs, waving a towel to move the smoke out the window.
Ladybug looked at the timer on the oven and laughed. "You set it for ten hours, not minutes," she said, showing that the croissants had been baking for over thirty minutes.
Adrien slapped his forehead. "I'm sorry, M'lady. I guess I'm not that good of a chef as I thought. Let me make it up—" He didn't get far into his next sentence, stopping as a voice called his name and the silver kitchen doors swung open.
"Adrien, the smoke alarm went off? Is everything alright?"
Quick reflexes worked faster than her brain. Even before Ladybug comprehended that Adrien's father had entered the room, she had dropped to the floor, the island the only thing between her and Gabriel Agreste.
"Father!"
"There seems to be no fire. Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah. I just burnt some croissants," Adrien answered. "Everything is fine. What are you doing back home?"
Ladybug couldn't see the elder Agreste, but she had a clear view of Adrien's expression, a mixture of worry and false nonchalance.
"I forgot some swatches. Are you alone? I thought I saw someone else—What are you wearing?"
There was a pregnant pause as Adrien lowered his eyebrows, thinking, before realizing his choice of wardrobe. He quickly pulled off the mask and kitty ears. "Oh…uh…this is…I can explain." He glanced down at Ladybug for a microsecond before fixating on his father, looking pale.
"Nightingale!" Adrien exclaimed, probably louder than intended. "Yeah, you know the music video I was in. At first, she wanted me to wear a Cat Noir costume. Well, some of the kids from school saw me, and they want to put on a play…about Ladybug and Cat Noir."
"And you're in the role of Cat Noir?"
Ladybug wished she could see Gabriel's face at that moment. Was he shocked? Happy? Confused?
"Maybe. They haven't had auditions yet. I haven't decided," Adrien said, looking more relaxed. "I don't really think I fit the role well. I was thinking of trying for the part of Hawkmoth."
She had to cover her mouth there. A fit of laughter threatened to bubble up her throat.
"Hmmm. Just so that it doesn't interfere with your schedule." There was a pair of footsteps before Gabriel added, "You might want to rethink the Cat Noir role. It…fits you. Somehow."
More footsteps, then the sound of the doors swinging.
Adrien leaned against the island, head hanging. After a minute, he caught Ladybug's eyes.
She couldn't handle it any more. She let the tickle in her belly out, laughing so hard, her ribs hurt as if she ran five miles.
Adrien, laughing as well, slid to the floor, his back against the cabinets, sounding more relieved than humored. "I can't believe that just happened."
"What? That your father almost caught me with his son in the kitchen making croissants or the fact that he now things you have some sort of cat fetish?" Ladybug said, chuckling.
"Thank goodness I wasn't wearing the bell."
That sent them both in a fit of giggles.
Ladybug didn't realize she was tilting to one side until her head came to rest against something solid. She turned, finding herself almost cheek to cheek with Adrien, his blond hair tickling her forehead. Their eyes met, and all she could see was that emerald green. Long, light eyelashes started to close, and she realized that he was coming closer. At least, one small part of his face was coming closer.
Standing up quickly, she hit her head against the over-hanging lip of the counter. She cried out and held onto the bump forming from her skull.
"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, still on the floor.
"Yeah, it's nothing," she replied, trying not to cry.
Why did I just do that? she asked herself, nursing her aching head. Adrien just tried to kiss me. His lips would have been on mine. Haven't I been dreaming of that moment for months?! Why did I pull away? She regretted it, but it had been a knee-jerk reaction, something her body decided to do without thinking things through. It happened too fast, too suddenly. It surprised her.
I just hope that Adrien doesn't get the wrong idea.
"Well, breakfast is ruined," Adrien said, acting as if the whole "not kissing" incident didn't happen. He stood up and glared down at the burnt lumps of dough. "I'm sorry, M'lady. You'll have to wait a little while longer. I'll order something for us. I know the perfect place."
Maybe it's for the best, Ladybug thought as she gazed at the ruined croissants. First attempts leave the appetite wanting less.
"You'll love this bakery. They make the best of everything in Paris," Adrien said, holding his phone to his ear. "In fact, it's owned by the parents of one of my classmates."
That perked Ladybug up. At least her mom and dad would be getting a little more business from her date. "And while we wait, you can sample my own culinary skills," she said, presenting the platter of fruit. And to make him feel better about the burnt pastries, she added, "They are berry good."
Adrien looked surprised at what just came out of her mouth, then he smiled. "M'lady, your words have captured my heart."