Homemade Gifts

Marinette prided herself in not caring about the looks of others. After all, beauty meant nothing if their heart was trash. They'd always just be a pig in lipstick.

Unfortunately, if they did have a good heart, Marinette discovered that she did care for their looks a little more than she would have cared to admit. Particularly when it came to a former model turned baker.

Which was why, much to her chagrin, she'd ended up losing the bet.

It was just a pair of glasses. A simple, functional accessory. However, with the frame he had, ones that held a dark green hue that accented his eyes and were square in form—somehow, a perfect match for his angular face—she couldn't help but to have stared a bit.

By the time she caught herself, Adrien was already grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

She hoped beyond all hope her cheeks hadn't colored, or at the very least, Adrien hadn't caught it.

And now, she was having to bite the bullet and watch an anime of his choosing. Honestly, it wasn't a bad loss.

Hopefully.

Depending on what he chose…

Oh, please don't be anything stupid.

Marinette finished her work, then clocked out, hurrying to go shower quickly before Adrien came over. Not that Adrien hadn't seen her covered in flour and looking like a hot mess already, but she'd rather be clean and comfy if she was going to have to suffer through her punishment for losing the bet. They had planned to meet at her house for the viewing. Adrien would bring over his computer and cables to hook it up to their tv so that he could easily access his anime accounts. He said it would be a piece of cake.

She threw on a comfy t-shirt and lounge pants, then she dried her hair. Once that was done, she went downstairs to begin preparing the dinner she'd prepped earlier that day.

Halfway through, a knock sounded on the door, signaling Adrien's arrival. She answered, only for her gaze to fall to the box in his hands. "What's that?"

One of his hands reached up to rub the back of his neck. "I wanted to bring some homemade food since I knew you'd be working all day. And I need to practice my cooking skills, anyway."

She smiled, taking the offered gift. "Thanks, but I actually started making something thinking that it was the least I could do since you were bringing everything over."

Adrien looked surprised for a moment before he chuckled. "We should have planned that better."

"Oh well. Left overs for days, right?" she said with a shrug, stepping aside to let him in.

"That's one way to look at it."

Commissions

"Can I ask a question?"

"I don't know? Can you?"

Adrien looked up from his computer screen to shoot a grinning Marinette a flat look. This was the fourth time he'd come over so they could continue the anime he'd chosen. He had known from Mr. Dupain that he and his daughter both loved video games, and henceforth, he'd chosen accordingly in hopes to get Marinette hooked.

He knew he'd succeeded when they binged the first four episodes the first day. He'd then hung it over her head that "why would he come back again? He'd won the bet, and she'd paid her price, so for what reason did he have to come over again?"

He had had fun teasing her, because her huffy, unamused expression was too darn endearing.

"Look," she'd said. "I just need to know what happens to Princess Bitch."

He'd snorted, trying and failing to withhold his laugh. "You don't get to call her that yet."

"Why not? You don't get to pull that level of manipulative bullshit, ruining the other person's life like that, and not be dubbed with the title 'Princess Bitch'."

"So…" he drawled out, teasingly. "Are you saying you care about this anime?"

She'd fallen silent, and he couldn't help but to laugh once more.

In the end, after more teasing on his part, he'd caved and said he'd come over again so they could finish it out.

Hence why he was here now.

"Haha, funny," Adrien deadpanned, turning back to his screen.

"Okay, okay. I'll be nice," she said a little too sweetly, placing two plates of food on the coffee table before plopping down on the couch. "What's on your mind?"

He took a second to log into his account before turning back to her. "I don't know if this is overstepping, but… are you happy working at your parents' bakery?"

Marinette froze, and for a moment, Adrien grew worried.

Thankfully, she seemed to take it well, although it was clear she was confused. "What brought that on?"

Adrien shrugged, looking at his screen again to select their anime of choice. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I feel like we're close enough to be friends. Right?"

Marinette didn't hesitate to nod. "Yeah, I would consider you one."

Adrien pushed aside the very happy feeling that blossomed in his chest. "I guess I'm just… curious… about you… as a friend, of course."

"No, I get it," she assured. "Now that you mention it, I guess I could say the same for you."

Adrien felt extra warm now. "So, do I get an answer to my question?"

Marinette paused, her expression falling as she bit her lip. "Only if you promise to keep it secret from my parents."

"Yeah, totally," he promised, smile falling from his face. "Cat's honor."

Marinette sighed. "I… I am happy," she said. "Really. It's not an issue of me being happy here. But running my parents' bakery wasn't my dream, you know?"

With the episode loading, Adrien decided to take a seat next to Marinette. "What was your dream?"

"I wanted to be a fashion designer."

That came as a surprise to Adrien. "Really? What stopped you?"

"Chloe."

Somehow… that answer shouldn't have surprised him. "Chloe?"

"She got her mom to block me from going to any fashion or design school."

"She what?!"

"Shhh!" Marinette shushed, finger over his lips. "Not so loud."

Adrien felt his face heat at her touch. "Er…sorry."

She then took her finger away, and Adrien tried not to think about why he was disappointed. "Chloe did that?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. "How? And how'd you know?"

"Um…" She suddenly turned sheepish, and that spitfire edge he'd come to love diminished a bit. It made her look younger and sweeter. He didn't mind that change. "Well, due to the methods used to acquire such information, I must refrain from answering that. Just know I trust my source and the information that was found."

Adrien sighed. Honestly, even if he wanted to come to Chloe's defense, he couldn't. She ran in a pretty elite crowd and had some powerful connections. If she wanted to block someone from entering a fashion school, she could. And since Adrien knew her well enough to know she wouldn't be above such tricks, Adrien accepted Marinette's word as truth.

Besides, he knew Marinette well enough by now to know she hated liars. He doubted she'd lie about this.

"So, have you thought about applying outside the country?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I just… didn't. It felt too overwhelming."

"So, what about skipping the education entirely? Find a niche and start your own business taking commissions or what not?"

Marinette paused, her eyes glazing over a moment as she thought. "I… it's an idea that's come up before."

"So, what's stopping you?" Adrien asked. "Even if you got an education later, you'd at least have a reputation you're building up now."

Again, Marinette was silent. "You know…" she began, her tone softer and more earnest than he'd ever heard before. It felt raw. Open. And that did something to his heart.

Protect her. The words popped up in his head, and his heart clenched onto them before he could even realize it. But all he could do at the moment was listen. So he would.

"I decided I'd step back and do a lot of thinking."

"About?"

She sighed. "It's easy to say 'I love fashion so I want to be a designer'. It's easy to have those dreams. It's easy to think that your hobby can become your profession. But the easy stuff isn't all the fashion world consists of. It's a competitive world filled with both nice people and people like Audrey Bourgeois. It's filled with more than fashion, and when faced with the reality that I'd been barred from fashion college because one person in the industry had that much power, I had to do some reflecting. If I accept fashion as my career, I get to step foot into that world. And I had to face the question of 'am I ready and willing to accept that?'"

When Marinette came to a pause, Adrien stopped to think of his response. "Honestly, as someone who comes from that world, I completely understand your feelings. I've seen the good, and I've seen the bad. I've watched people succeed and climb the latter, and I've watched people crash and burn. And I think there's such a fine line between the two."

"See, that just feels validating," Marinette said, small smile on her face. "I understand that that is basically every job field. I understand some are better than others. But with what I've seen from the fashion world… I don't know. I don't know if I'm as adamant about it as I was when I was in high school."

Adrien sighed. "I don't understand what it's like to have a passion," he admitted. "I've never had one, so this might not mean anything coming from me, but I think… it would be better to keep your passion a hobby… if the profession will burn you out. Because then you're not just loosing your profession, but the hobby meant to bring you joy."

Marinette was silent for a minute, and Adrien thought he'd said something wrong. But that tension in his chest eased hen a small smile crept up on her lips. "That's good advice," she finally said. "I'll keep that in mind."

Adrien reached out to pat her shoulder, surprising her a moment. When she turned to him, eyes wide and clear once again, he gave her a smile. "I'll be rooting for you. And if there's anything I can help you with, I'd be happy to assist."

Slowly, her small smile grew. "Thanks," she said, her voice surprisingly sweet. But she soon turned away, and Adrien pulled his hand back. "So, um… fair's fair," she started up again. "Are you happy working here?"

Adrien didn't hesitate to nod. "Honestly, it's hard work, but it's something that I chose, for once. This is something I myself am doing. I don't want to say the novelty of doing this hasn't worn off yet, but it feels… worthwhile."

Marinette nodded. "Have you considered other paths or what you want to do for the future? Or do you see this being long term?"

Adrien shrugged. "I don't know, yet," he said. "Honestly, this whole 'I'm my own person and on my own' thing still hasn't fully caught up to me yet. I feel like I'm still playing pretend. It's… weird." He turned back to her, forcing a smile. "Hazard of growing up super sheltered, I guess."

Marinette hummed. "Well, I think you know Papa will love having you around as long as you plan to stay."

He smiled, a genuine grin this time. "Yeah, I know. And you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you mind having Asshole Agreste around?"

Her expression changed from shock to irritation. "Are you really gonna dredge up that old nickname? No, wait!" Her brow furrowed in a mix of anger and confusion. "Where did you even hear that? I never called you that here!"

He grinned a little wider than he'd thought he would. "Chloe."

Marinette growled.

He couldn't help but laugh.

"You know I don't think of you like that anymore, right?"

He couldn't help teasing her a bit more. "I don't know. Do I?"

Marinette glowered at him, and he burst into laughter again.

With a growl, she turned away, crossing her arms with a huff. "Just turn on the anime again. I need to see Princess Bitch get her comeuppance."

Adrien laughed. "We're only on episode fourteen. You still don't get to call her that yet."

"Why?" she cried. "What's gonna happen in the next few episodes that changes? Does she get worse? And if so, how? She's already about as low as she can go. Like, almost past Chloe-level."

He shook his head. "Nevermind. Just wait and see."

Baking Lessons

Marinette felt like she was up to her ears in information.

After her talk with Adrien, she decided that she should do her research on the fashion industry as much as she could. But she also knew to take everything with a grain of salt. Only once she felt prepared enough would she make a decision on her future.

On one hand, it was satisfying to pick up her dreams again, dust them off, and put plans to them. On the other, it was overwhelming, and more did once did Adrien's warning of "don't burn out your passion" cross her mind.

It was well into the afternoon that she realized a break might be in order and food would be beneficial.

She headed down into kitchen, only to startle at the unfamiliar face there.

"Um… what are you doing in my house?"

Adrien glanced over his shoulder to look at her, then shot her a smile. "Your parents asked me to. They each had their break and said you hadn't been down all day. So now it's my turn for a break, and they asked if I'd take a minute to make sure you ate."

Marinette looked at the sandwich on the plate he extended towards her. After staring at it a moment, she realized she should take it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Busy?"

"Yeah. I… kinda forgot the last time I was so engrossed in something that I forgot to eat like this."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Um… I decided to dig into researching the fashion industry."

Adrien turned back around, glancing at her with surprise. "Oh? How's it going?"

Marinette's lips pursed in thought. "Up and down. Every other article seems to pull me the opposite direction."

"Fair," he said with a nod. "Which way are you leaning now?"

"The 'This is bullshit. Why do I want to be in this hellish industry?' direction."

A lopsided grin flashed across Adrien's face. "I feel that on a personal level."

"I'm sure you do," she muttered, walking over to the table to have a seat. "But enough of me griping. You? Have you thought of your future at all since our talk?"

He grabbed a paper bag on the counter, pulling out a tupperware container with a sandwich of his own inside. "Not really."

"Not really?" she probed, pointing at the seat directly across from her.

He took the hint and took a seat. "I haven't given much thought to anything beyond the baking lessons your father has been giving me. I mean, maybe one day I'll go to school for something, but I've really decided to give myself a full year of this before committing to anything. Let me learn how to be an adult on my own first before I move forward, you know? It's easier to start running when your feet are solidly under you."

"Understandable," Marinette said. "But just so you know, I'm going to hold you to that, now."

"Oh?"

"Yup. I'd like you to know you have six months, three weeks, and five days remaining before you have to make a decision."

Adrien froze, sandwich halfway to his mouth.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle.

"Is that a legit number or one you just threw out."

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"I think that when it comes to you, I don't always know what's going on in that pretty head of yours."

She giggled, feeling a little too giddy for her liking. She played it off with a wink. "Got to keep you on your toes somehow."

Adrien scoffed. "Don't worry about that," he dismissed with a charming smile that she hated to admit could knock her off her feet if she were standing. "You already do."

A/N: Bonus points to whoever can guess the anime ;D