Thank you to DragonGirl8234 for betaing! Written for Day 4: Cafe of Marichat May.
Chat sighed, it had been fifteen minutes of waiting and still no sign of Ladybug. He was beginning to wonder if he should start patrolling on his own when the warm scent of fresh pastries wafted over him.
He followed his nose to find Ladybug swinging onto the rooftop. "I'm sorry I'm late!" She apologized right away. "But I come bearing gifts," She held up a box of Dupain-Cheng pastries.
Chat narrowed his eyes at her. "Are there any croissants in there?"
In response, she flipped the lid open. "What am I? An amateur?" She scoffed, revealing croissants, pain au chocolats, and rows of chocolate chip cookies.
Chat grabbed a cookie and moaned in pleasure as he ate them. "These are still warm, how do you get them so fresh?"
Ladybug smirked at him. "It's a secret," she hummed, taking the chance to bite into a croissant. He stuck out his tongue at her making her snort. Unfortunately, that made Ladybug begin to cough.
Chat reacted quickly, patting her on the back to make her feel better. "You okay, LB?"
"I'm fine," she coughed before taking in a deep breath. "Croissant went down the wrong pipe, is all."
Chat Noir shook his head at Ladybug. "You have to be more careful when you eat," he tutted, wagging his finger at her. Ladybug rolled his eyes, making him put a hand on his hip. "I'm serious, Bugaboo! If you choke, where will Paris be?"
"Don't tell me you've become the responsible one," Ladybug shuddered in mock horror. "Paris is already doomed." They took one look at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles.
"Oh, I really needed that," Ladybug sighed, wiping a tear away. "Thanks, Chaton." He winked and bowed to her. "Let's get to patrol?" She asked and he nodded before letting out a yawn.
"Pastries are delicious but what we really need is some coffee to get through these patrols."
"Hey, I just bring the pastries. You want coffee so bad, you can bring us some coffee next time," Ladybug shrugged.
Chat blinked at her before brightening. "Hey! That's not a bad idea, Bug. I'll bring you coffee from the best coffee shop in Paris!" He declared.
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "I'm going to hold you to that," she promised. "Now can we please get to our patrol?" Chat made a sweeping gesture indicating for her to go first and he'd follow.
Just before Ladybug readied her yoyo to leave the rooftop, she turned back to say one last thing. "Oh, I take my coffee with a shot of vanilla. Just so you know." She smiled, before leading them throughout the city.
He grinned as he vaulted after her. Chat loved learning more about his Lady and he couldn't wait to impress her with his findings.
Adrien paced the floor of his room. "Okay, I have the best coffee shops narrowed down according to about ten."
"How do you know they're the best?" Plagg asked snidely, whilst inhaling his cheese. He only stopped to haul more Camembert out of the fridge.
Adrien wrinkled his nose at the smell. "I consulted about fifteen different coffee blogs and they all agree on the top three but I want to check the others just for satisfaction's sake."
Plagg rolled his eyes at him. "You don't understand, Plagg. Ladybug is counting on me to get her the best coffee Paris has to offer. This is my chance to show her I have good taste!"
"And how do you expect to figure out which coffee shop is the best from looking up reviews on the Internet?"
"I don't," Adrien grinned. "Obviously, the best way to decide which coffee shop has the best coffee is by tasting them myself."
"And how do you expect to do that without leaving your room?" Plagg snarked.
At that Adrien chuckled. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked. I'm not. Plagg! Claws Out!" Adrien called for his transformation, ignoring Plagg's wails of complaint. Chat Noir slipped out of his window, using his baton as a GPS while vaulting away from Agreste Mansion as quickly as possible.
He found himself on an unfamiliar street of Paris and was trying to read the GPS instructions when a pigeon smacked into him, making him lose his balance.
His baton pole teetered downwards and he was crashing towards the ground. Thinking quickly, he just managed to roll into a somersault and ended up crashing into a girl rather than cold, hard cement.
Chat groaned as he pulled himself up only to find Marinette pinned beneath him. He yelped quickly moving off of her and offering a hand to help her up.
"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Chat fretted, he didn't want to have caused Marinette to get hurt. She began brushing herself off but looked relatively fine, so Chat heaved a sigh of relief.
"Chat Noir, what were you doing?" She asked, groaning as she stood up. "Is there an akuma nearby?"
"Marinette! Good to see you!" He greeted hoping to distract her. It didn't work, instead, Marinette gave him an unimpressed look, silently demanding to hear answers.
He sighed giving in. "You can't tell Ladybug, okay?" He pleaded and her face softened. When Marinette nodded, Chat Noir launched into his story about how he had to find the absolute best coffee shop in Paris for Ladybug.
"If I can deliver, she'll be one step closer to falling in love with me!" He concluded happily, completely missing the way Marinette bit her lip anxiously.
"Maybe you shouldn't get your hopes up?" Marinette said, hesitantly making Chat crash back down to Earth. He sighed.
"You're right, but sometimes it's nice to just hold on to hope, you know what I mean?"
"Too well," Marinette grumbled, making Chat blink in surprise.
"Marinette? Are things alright with you?"
Marinette looked startled as if she had completely forgotten he was there. She waved her hands in front of her face, giving him a forced smile. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm totally fine. So, what's the plan with the coffee shops?"
Chat gave her a look which he hoped said that he knew she was trying to distract him but he was choosing to go with it. "Here, I have a list," Chat showed Marinette proudly.
Marinette frowned at his list. "The first three are okay but I know for a fact that the last three use extremely bitter beans, number five isn't the most sanitary, four and six always mess up the amount of sugar, and seven...I don't even know what to tell you about seven."
Chat's jaw dropped. "But I checked with fifteen coffee blogs before making this list!"
"I know which blogs you're talking about, those people know nothing about good coffee. You might as well just go to the local Starbucks because none of these are the best," Marinette scoffed.
Chat crossed his arms across his chest defensively, trying his best not to pout. "Then where do I get the best coffee in Paris?"
Marinette gave him a side glance. "Weren't you supposed to do this yourself?"
"Princess, paw-lease! I'll do anything but please help me!" Chat dropped to his knees making Marinette jump back in shock. He was not above begging. "Help me!"
"Okay, okay! Just get up and I'll help you!" Marinette hissed, as the other passers-by gave them strange looks.
"Really?" Chat asked, giving her his best kitten eyes.
"Yes," Marinette got out through gritted teeth.
Chat leapt back to his feet with a triumphant grin, ignoring the way Marinette was scowling at him. "Then let's go! You already know where the best coffee is, don't you? I trust your judgment completely!"
When Marinette looked reluctant, Chat frowned at her. "You promised you would help. No take backs!"
"You're a child," she muttered, as she began to walk off. Chat sighed dejectedly when Marinette turned around and gave him a questioning look. "Are you coming?"
He perked up and ran behind her. "Always, Princess!"
He couldn't wait to see where Marinette claimed to have the best coffee in all of Paris. Chat could privately admit to himself he was a little skeptical, especially when the streets became a little narrower, but he didn't dare voice his doubt. It could offend Marinette, causing her to change her mind about helping him, and then where would he be?
"We're here," Marinette announced. Chat Noir looked at the drab door with a half working sign and then looked back at Marinette. She rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me like that! You can't judge until you've tasted their coffee."
"Okay," he hummed. "But just so you know, I'm a coffee snob."
"Yeah, me too. And a bigger one than you considering your list was from bad blogs." Chat Noir flushed at her completely fair assessment, unable to defend himself. "Now let's go," she said practically dragging him into the shop. The shop workers knew her by name and greeted her enthusiastically, so it was clear that Marinette visited often.
"I'll have a vanilla latte and he'll have a–," Marinette paused and turned to Chat Noir to ask his order.
"Hazelnut mocha," Chat ordered, his eyes sweeping the shop. It was actually quite cozy with the warm lighting and the couches. It was quiet, thanks to a lack of customers bustling in and out as well.
"I like to come here and study. Not many people know about this shop so no posting about it," Marinette warned.
"Mum's the word," Chat promised. It definitely did seem like a nice place to finish schoolwork.
He wondered if there was any chance he could get Marinette to tell him about this place as Adrien. It would be nice to study with friends without the threat of fangirls. He was lost in these thoughts when the barista called them to say their drinks were ready.
Marinette paid and grabbed the drinks before Chat Noir could protest. "The moment of truth," she smiled, pressing his coffee into his hands. Silently promising himself to get her something to thank her for her help, Chat took a small sip.
His eyes widened in awe and he immediately took another sip of the delicious coffee.
"I told you it was the best coffee in Paris," Marinette said smugly.
"I sincerely apawlogize, Princess. I will never doubt you again and I cannot espresso how grateful I am to you fur bringing me here."
"You sure Ladybug will like it?" Marinette teased.
Chat nodded solemnly. "She'll like it a latte. Seriously, thank you, Marinette. If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to ask."
Marinette gave him an assessing look. "I might hold you to that."
"I want you to," he confirmed, smiling at her softly. "Would you like a ride home?"
Marinette shook her head. "Thanks, but I'll head home on my own in a little while."
Chat took her hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss on it. "I'll see you around." Making sure he had the address to the shop inputted in his baton, he gave Marinette a wave before vaulting away.
Holding a coffee carrier, Chat anxiously waited for Ladybug to show up for patrol. He turned around expectantly when he heard the tell-tale thump signaling her landing.
She grinned at him, a box of pastries in hand. "So, did you find the best coffee shop in Paris?"
"Of course I did, M'Lady! Would I ever break a promise to you?" Chat asked, acting affronted. Ladybug snorted at him, settling down on the rooftop. He sat down next to her and pulled out her, thankfully still hot, coffee from the coffee carrier.
"What did you get me?" She wondered out loud as she accepted the drink from him.
"A vanilla latte," he announced, missing the way she nearly choked on the drink and turned to stare at him. "So, what do you think?" He stared out at the Paris skyline, too worried about her reaction to look at her.
"It's wonderful coffee, Chaton. Thank you for finding it," Ladybug murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.
"I'm glad I was able to mocha you happy, but I'm afraid I can't take all the credit." Chat leaned on Ladybug's shoulder as he spoke. "You see, I didn't find this coffee on my own. I was out searching and I ran into that girl, Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Do you remember her? She took me to the most amazing coffee shop in Paris. Marinette is such an awesome girl, I'm sorry to say I would have failed without her."
Chat turned to find Ladybug staring at him, she looked strangely touched. "Ladybug?" He questioned, tilting his head trying to read her expression and make sense of it. Unfortunately, that was when she snapped out of it.
"I'll have to thank her for helping you then! Come on, let's eat and get a move on. We still have a patrol to do, after all."
They clinked their cups together, enjoying each other's company and the tasty treats.