Day 7: Sweet Tooth - Liv Maddics
Lol I don't even know anymore.
Marinette was working at the cashier at her parent's bakery one morning when she heard the door open.
Ding!
She looked up to see… Adrien?! In her bakery?
No. She must be dreaming.
Marinette rubbed her eyes and looked again.
He was still there. Still there!
The blond was walking into the bakery nonchalantly - as if it was a NORMAL occurrence to have the model walking into Marinette's house! How was he so calm? Marinette's heart was beating like 100 times a second right now… - and went to stand near the counter, staring at Marinette.
"Um, can I you h-help? I mean - I can you help? No, I mean don't help I MEAN c-can I help y-you?" Marinette tripped and stumbled through her sentence, wincing at every mistake.
Why can't I just talk to him? I'm so stupid...
Adrien chuckled loudly, startling Marinette out of her depressing train of thought.
"Thanks, Marinette, but I'm good." He then proceeded to stare at her.
"O-Okay then? Well, l-let me know if you anything need. I mean need anything! Okay?" Marinette smiled sweetly at the model, concealing her confusion. Adrien smiled right back.
"I will," he assured. He then fell silent once more. Marinette awkwardly turned back to the register, ready for any new customers.
And he was still there.
She tried really hard to ignore him. Tried not to feel his eyes on her back, his presence a mere 5 feet away. But she just couldn't! She felt so awkward. Why was he even here?
"So, uh, no… photoshoots or anything today?" Marinette tried to break the ice. Adrien shook his head, still grinning.
"Nope."
"So, you have free time right now?"
"Yep."
"Oh, um, great," she nodded, trying to sound casual but miserably failing. Why was she so bad at this?
Finally Adrien straightened up.
"Well, thanks Marinette! Bye!" He waved as he walked out of the bakery. Marinette stared after him.
What the heck just happened?
Adrien hummed as he walked into the bakery the next day. He had the best plan ever to let Marinette know that he liked her and he couldn't wait! He walked in, relieved that she was working at the register again. As he walked in, she looked up, a light blush suddenly covering her features. Adrien smiled.
Oh yeah, this was going to be so much fun.
"Adrien? Um, h-hi again! Did you need anything?" Adrien smiled once again, shaking his head.
"Nope," he popped the 'p', "Nothing at all dear Marinette. I'm good!"
"Ooooh-kay then," Marinette tried to smile nicely but it came as more of a grimace. A small smirk appeared on Adrien's face for half a second before he straightened it out into a sweet, innocent face.
"Carry on," Adrien smiled, gesturing to the register. So Marinette did.
These visits repeated for a while. Finally, one day, Marinette kindly offered Adrien a free croissant. The blond straightened up, overjoyed.
"For me?" Adrien's voice was wary and unconfident.
"For you," Marinette confirmed. The model took the treat gratefully, eating it slowly, as if savoring it, a look of pure bliss. Marinette smirked.
So that's why he's doing this? Well, two can play at that game.
From then on, Marinette simply gifted Adrien with a free pastry when he started his creepy (well, Adrien couldn't be creepy if he tried, but the looks that would be creepy on anyone else) staring at Marinette. She was excited to finally figure out why he was there - and with the added bonus of making him happy! - and could finally rest without worrying about if something was wrong with Adrien.
Until one day.
She offered him a pastry and he politely accepted it, quickly eating it before staring at Marinette, just as he had done when he originally started his little ` trips into the bakery.
Well.
Marinette was more than a little concerned.
What had happened, that had changed things?
She'd have to find out, and fast.
A week later, and nothing had changed. Marinette was desperate. Why was Adrien acting so weirdly? She followed him around at school, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She'd checked with Nino, and nothing seemed to have changed at his home (if you could even call it that…).
So why was he acting so weird?
"Tikki, I don't know what to do," Marinette complained to her kwami one night. "Adrien is… just… being so… weird! And, like, you know, he's Adrien, and I love him despite his strange quirks, but… what if he's unhappy or something? I don't know, but I'm kind of worried about him. And I don't know what to do or how to find out! Help!" Her kwami looked at her in sympathy.
"I'm really sorry, Marinette, he's being quite strange. I'm not sure why he'd do this, but you could maybe ask your parents?"
This, of course, was a complete lie. She'd heard from Plagg exactly what the ridiculous dork's plan was, and exactly what he wanted the outcome to be, and while at first she'd wanted to strangle them both, she'd thought about it, and it was actually quite funny. And sweet. And… something she wouldn't mind seeing.
"Okay, I'll ask my parents," Marinette exclaimed, oblivious to Tikki zoning out on her. "Maybe they can help!" And with that, she got up and ran to her parents' room.
Marinette exhaled as she walked out of her parents' room. That had not gone well at all. She loved her parents, but sometimes they could be really annoying.
Like, really annoying.
After she'd explained the situation, they'd simply laughed and teased her about Adrien having a crush on her - to which Marinette felt a strong blush coming up - and told her not to worry, these were just the things that puberty could do to some people (which definitely did not help the blush that she feared might be permanent now). When Marinette rolled her eyes and asked them to get serious, they assured her that they actually had no idea what was going on and maybe she should ask him herself.
Ha. As if.
Actually…
Marinette gasped.
She should ask him herself!
Full of laughter that she didn't think of it sooner, Marinette went up to bed, vowing to herself that she would ask him tomorrow.
"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien grinned as he walked into the bakery.
"Hey, Adrien," Marinette smiled. "Croissant?"
"Yes, please!" As Adrien was eating his croissant, Marinette sprung the question.
"So, Adrien, um… lately you've been acting a bit… strange. Care to explain?" A shadow of a smirk appeared on the model's face before straightening out again.
"Strange? How so?" Marinette blushed.
"Well, you keep coming to the bakery, even though I know you have a busy schedule, and… well… you always… er… stare at me while you're here, and it's just kind of strange." Adrien nodded.
"Ah, that. Well, Mari, I guess I just have a bit of a sweet tooth," he replied cheekily. Marinette opened her mouth to respond - she could give him treats whenever he wanted! But why must he stare? - when he continued, biting into a croissant.
"But the pastries are a nice bonus," he winked.
Did he?
He did.
Behind her, she heard her parents burst into laughter.
She just stared.