Written for Day 13: Flowershop of Marichat May.
Marinette was taken aback when she heard a furious pounding on her roof. Exchanging glances with Tikki, Marinette slowly climbed her bed with her math textbook in hand. She pushed the balcony hatch open ready to smack the book in the intruder's face when she came face to face with Chat Noir.
"Chat? What are you doing here?" She blinked at him owlishly as she lowered her arm. He'd leaped back in surprise but moved closer to her again.
"Marinette! I need your help!"
"M-my help?" For a moment, she was utterly lost. Then her face drained. "Is there a supervillain on the loose?" Then she paused, suddenly suspicious. "Why are you coming to me for help instead of Ladybug?"
Her heart was hammering in her chest. If he'd figured out her secret identity somehow...Marinette didn't know what she would do. She couldn't lose Tikki!
"N-no, there's no supervillain!" Chat clarified, waving his hands to dispel her worries. Marinette sagged with relief, her anxious thoughts dissipating.
She frowned at him instead. "Then, why do you need my help?"
"For our garden!" He spoke so matter-of-factly, Marinette had to take a moment to figure out what he was talking about.
"The rose garden? In the park?" He elaborated when Marinette still seemed a little confused. As understanding dawned on her, Chat looked a little offended. "Does our garden mean so little to you that you could barely remember it?"
"No, of course not. I just hadn't realized you'd want to share it with me," Marinette confessed.
"We planted the roses together, that makes it ours," Chat told her firmly. "And it needs help!" He looked terribly upset. Marinette automatically shifted gears into her planning mode, nodding at Chat to tell her what exactly was the problem.
"The roses are dying!" He wailed. "The leaves are turning yellow and the few roses that do grow; wilt and die way too quickly!"
Marinette's brows furrowed. "They get enough water?" She checked.
Chat Noir nodded earnestly as she hummed to herself. "The roses were planted in a good section of the park, so there's plenty of sunlight. What fertilizer do you use?"
Chat simply blinked at her. "Fertilizer?" He echoed.
"Don't tell me you don't use fertilizer!" Marinette said aghast.
"I didn't know I was supposed to!" He panicked. "Can we fix this?" Chat's big eyes looked into her and she noticed his bottom lip quivering. The garden was for his late mother, of course, he would be protective of it.
She sighed. "Of course, we can. Meet me at the entrance of the bakery."
"At the entrance? Why?" Chat sounded puzzled.
"I have to get a few things and let my parents know I'm heading out. I'll be right there!" Marinette promised, scrambling to grab her purse and gardening booklet. "Let's go, Tikki!" Her kwami zoomed into her purse.
"It's really nice of you to help Chat Noir like this," Tikki observed.
Marinette gave her a soft smile. "He's willing to share something so important to him with me, Tikki. How could I not?"
She rushed downstairs, waving at her parents as she headed out the door. Once outside, Marinette glanced around looking for where Chat Noir had gone off to.
"There you are," he dropped down from the roof, causing Marinette to let out a startled shriek. "Sorry!" He apologized, throwing his hands up. "I didn't mean to scare you."
As Marinette took in deep breaths to calm her pounding heart, she also took in his contrite expression. With a sigh, she let it go. "Give me your baton," she ordered.
He looked curious but obeyed instantly. Squinting at his baton, Marinette opened the GPS function and inputted an address. "We need to go here," she handed the baton back to Chat.
Taking his baton back, Chat took a moment to study the map before scooping Marinette up. She squawked in surprise, her arms naturally looping around his neck and she tightened her legs around his waist, to keep herself from falling. "We'll be taking the express pathway," he had the audacity to wink at her when she tilted her head back to glare at him.
Before Marinette could protest, he was vaulting away. Within moments, they were standing in front of Marinette's favourite flower shop.
"So, what are we doing here?" Chat asked as he set Marinette back on the ground.
"Maybe a bit of warning next time?" She frowned at him.
He nodded. "I pawmise," he said with one hand raised while the other was on his heart.
She narrowed her eyes at him but forced herself to move on. "We're here so we can buy some fertilizer and mulch to make sure the roses grow strong and healthy."
"Mulch?" Chat tilted his head at her.
"I'll explain everything," Marinette sighed. "Let's go." She led the way into the shop while giving him sidelong looks. "I thought you would have researched before starting the garden."
"I did!" Chat agreed while tapping on his baton to let out some of his anxious energy. "I just wasn't very successful." Marinette fondly rolled her eyes at him before grabbing his hand and walking up to the store counter.
"Hi! How may I help you today?" The saleswoman perked up when she saw them. Seeing Chat Noir had her appearing quite excited but she remained professional while speaking to them.
"We're looking for fertilizer and mulch for rose bushes." She turned back to Chat Noir. "Did you say some flowers had appeared?"
He nodded, looking a little distracted at all the flowers around them. "We'll also need several stakes then."
The saleswoman nodded. "Your rose bushes will thank you. It's nice to see young people taking an interest in gardening," she remarked. "Alright, so inorganic mulch," she scanned the shelves underneath the counter.
"Is it a large garden?"
"No! It's the small one in the park, I don't know if you've seen it," Marinette began to clarify but the saleswoman's eyes lit up.
"Oh! I heard about that! I love knowing the rumors were true," she exclaimed. "Okay, so that's what, five bushes?" She pulled out a large bag of inorganic mulch. "That should be plenty, but feel free to come back if you need more."
"A high nitrogen fertilizer would be best," the saleswoman explained, bringing out yet another bag. "Say, do you kids already have the rose feed?"
Chat stared blankly at her but Marinette gasped. "Oh! No, we don't. I forgot all about the feed."
"No worries, I'm just glad you're aware that they're different things. I get a lot of customers thinking they only need one or the other. I would recommend alfalfa. One cup now, one cup after pruning, and one cup after the spring flush. Think you can remember all that?"
Marinette nodded before Chat could even react. "I'll help with everything," she promised him, making him smile at her in relief.
"Last bud not least: the stakes," the saleswoman began as she took them to another part of the store.
"You're a punner?" Chat asked in delight.
"You stand around flowers all day and not want to make a pun or two," she dared him. "I take it you approve of my punning?" Chat grinned at her in response and nodded; he appreciated anyone who could make a good pun and this woman was taking the time to help him out with something that was important to him.
Marinette resolved to make a few more puns as Ladybug if that was all it took to make her Kitty happy.
"If you have five bushes, then four stakes should be plenty. Do either of you have any experience with stakes?"
Marinette volunteered, so the saleswoman handed them to her. As they paid for their purchases, the saleswoman smiled at them. "Thanks, kids, you guys really made my daisy."
"Thanks a bunch for helping us out," Chat threw back as they picked up the heavy bags and headed out the door.
Chat vaulted away with the bags before Marinette could even suggest walking. She sighed, resigning herself to waiting for him to appear again.
"He's just trying to be helpful," Tikki put in before Marinette could complain too much.
"I know, Tikki. It would just be nice if he'd at least talk with me first instead of making decisions all by himself."
She patted her purse to let Tikki know to hide again as she saw Chat coming closer. He landed and held out his hand to her. "Well, Princess? You ready?"
"Only so we can help the roses faster," she told him, looping her arms around his neck as he held on to her waist. Then they were soaring over the rooftops, wind blowing Marinette's hair backwards until she was set firmly on the ground again, next to the little rose garden.
They took a moment to take their supplies out of the bag and get set up.
"Feed, fertilizer, and then mulch," Marinette told him. "You can start by giving them a very small amount of feed and I'll do the staking."
Chat nodded solemnly, carefully measuring out a cup of alfalfa feed while Marinette expertly put in the stakes and tied the stalks of the bushes to them. She was careful to not get pricked by the thorns and soon enough all of the roses had adequate support.
"It's looking great," Chat gushed.
"Not done yet," Marinette reminded him, handing him the fertilizer. "Pour some fertilizer on and I'll add the mulch."
It was long and tiring work, but both enjoyed themselves. It was easier to garden when a friend was keeping you company. Once they were done with the fun part, they had to clean up as well. They gathered their supplies putting it all back in the large paper bag they had been given with their purchases.
Chat stored the remaining stuff next to a large rock. "I'll take it back home with me," he explained. "But it's easier to store it here for now." Marinette nodded in full agreement.
Finally finished, they collapsed next to each other onto the grass, using each other as support for their aching backs.
"That was exhausting," Chat panted.
"More than fighting supervillains?" Marinette joked, but she was tired too. Gardening in the sun took a lot out of you.
"How about we get cleaned up and go get some ice cream to cool down?" Chat suggested. "We can walk this time," he offered.
Marinette laughed. Chat being considerate now erased all of her previous complaints. It was nice to know that he paid attention to her as well.
"With Andre right over there? Yeah, a little walk works," impulsively, Marinette grabbed Chat's hand.
He glanced down before his eyes flitted up to meet hers. Whatever he saw, caused a smile to break out on his face, and then he was tugging her along towards Andre's cart. All Marinette could do was smile back while her heart pounded just a little bit faster than usual.
I hope you all enjoyed the little gardening lesson! It was by no means comprehensive but it is a good start for taking care of your roses.
Thanks for reading!