I feel weird posting this one since it is oh so obviously autumn themed. I randomly found this one in my files and thought "this is cute maybe I should post it..."
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Miraculous Ladybug belongs to Thomas Astruc and ZAGToon. This is just a fanfic written by a fan.
It was another day where Marinette practically shoved her parents out the door, encouraging them to go to a restaurant for dinner so she could spend time with Luka. But today was a bit different as she and Luka were determined to turn all the apples they picked into pies.
Tom and Sabine ended up agreeing to another romantic dinner at a restaurant, but not before winking at Marinette and Luka and telling them not to have too much fun without them.
Marinette took this seriously though, for she had a vision. Well, first, they needed a nice dinner, and Luka insisted on helping since he didn't want his beautiful girlfriend to be acting like a mere housewife. And Luka was a great help making Chinese dinner with a French-style twist.
Marinette adored how her boyfriend loved eating Chinese noodles and bok choy. And with chopsticks too.
But once they were done with dinner, it didn't take long for Marinette and Luka to wash apples in the sink and admire the ruby shine on each apple. The two of them felt that this harvest, in particular, was extraordinary. And they couldn't help but imagine how delicious the apple pies would taste.
Luka grabbed a sharp knife, and Marinette insisted she help peel each apple, but he encouraged her to get the dough ready. Marinette didn't want him to peel every last apple, but she knew the sooner the dough was proofed, the sooner they would have pies, and Luka mentioned making the dough wasn't his forte.
Marinette skillfully mixed ingredients together to make balls of dough and waited for them to rise. Luka gently peeled each apple and made satisfying red apple ribbons. At one point, his hand slipped, and he hissed in pain from a small gash of blood on his thumb.
"Oh no!" Marinette cried.
Luka hissed one more time before waving his other hand. "I'm fine Marinette! I just need a bandage!"
He got off the stool he was sitting on and walked to the shelf where the first aid kit was sitting. But Marinette rushed over to grab the first aid kit herself and set it down. Before Luka could react, she took his hand and kissed the place where his thumb was cut.
Her act of love may have been overbearing, but it certainly healed his heartstrings. When she was done kissing his wound, she opened the first aid kit for a proper bandaid.
With his wound covered, Luka was ready to continue peeling apples. Marinette once again insisted she could help peel the rest, but Luka said she should chop the apples to put inside the pie crusts. Marinette looked at Luka's perfectly peeled apples and was eager to make them ready for the crusts. Luka gave her a bowl of peeled apples and gave her a gentle push back to the workstation.
Marinette tried to slice apples as quickly as a ninja and ended up embarrassed that the apple chunks didn't look very appetizing. But the apples would be covered in crusts and cooked until soft anyway. She seasoned the apple chunks with plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, and then Luka showed up with the rest of the peeled apples.
"Ready when you are Melody," Luka said.
Marinette got overly excited and showed Luka the design she had on her phone. She mentioned she was inspired by this adorable photo of a heart-shaped pie. Luka agreed that heart-shaped pie was aesthetically pleasing and would probably taste even more delicious.
Marinette lovingly cut dough into heart shapes hoping anyone who eats a pie would feel loved. Spiced apples were gently spooned on and covered with more dough. Luka cut slits with a knife and then skillfully covered each pie with egg wash.
Marinette was stunned. She wondered if her father was teaching Luka without her knowledge. He was undoubtedly showing similar skills as her father. But Marinette snapped out of it when Luka grabbed a tray of pies, and Marinette quickly ran to open the oven. Of course, Marinette also couldn't help but notice how skillfully Luka lifted a tray full of pies as well.
The two of them grinned triumphantly as their first batch of pies was baking, and the two of them decided to head to the living room to relax with a movie.
Marinette thought they were making too many pies and wondered how they would give them away. They should give some pies to Adrien and Kagami, Ivan and Mylene, Juleka and Rose, Alya and Nino, and extra for Anarka.
When the oven timer went off, the two of them quickly rushed to the kitchen and pulled out the tray, and Luka couldn't help but make an enthusiastically pleased hum. Marinette could not blame him because the steam from the pies fresh out of the oven filled the entire kitchen.
"These pies smell amazing Marinette!" Luka cried.
Marinette noticed Luka's ocean blue eyes were yearning to taste some freshly baked pie, but Marinette gave him a gentle shove.
"They need to cool first, Luka," Marinette said. "Let's watch another movie."
Marinette told him that they needed to cool like one of those delicious pies that cool by the window of a cottage in the woods for extra deliciousness. She also told him that when she was really little, she burned her hand trying to take a hot cookie off a baking sheet.
Luka felt that was fair. He enjoyed hearing Marinette's baking stories as he wrapped his arm around her, and they watched another movie.
But Marinette seemed to have a sixth sense for when pie was ready because she got off the couch without saying anything, and Luka promptly followed.
She was going to bring a pie over for them to share, but since Luka followed her, Marinette asked if he wanted vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
It was a challenge for Luka to decide, but he mentioned some of his favorite things in life were pie and ice cream.
And the heart-shaped pie decorated with some vanilla ice cream made for an excellent dessert for a couple to share.
Marinette and Luka both broke off a piece with forks and tasted at the same time. Both of them moaned in approval, and Luka couldn't help but take more eager bites. Marinette simply smiled at him, pleased that she made some dessert that her boyfriend adored.
Luka kept on taking bites, but he stopped and looked at Marinette when he realized he was eating the entire pie.
"It tastes so good!" Luka said as he chewed what was left in his mouth.
Marinette grinned and wiped the corner of his lips. "I'm glad," she said sweetly.
Luka pushed the bowl to Marinette out of guilt. "You should eat the rest."
Marinette shook her head. "It's ok."
She took another fork full and fed it to Luka before turning back to the pies on the table.
"Do you want seconds, Luka?"
Luka turned his head and smiled.
"Yes, definitely!"
After they satisfied their stomachs, Luka and Marinette spent some quiet time with more movies until they heard the front door open.
"We're home!" Tom cried.
Marinette and Luka excitedly got off the couch.
"Oh my gosh, that smells wonderful!" Sabine cried.
Marinette and Luka walked into the kitchen, and Tom gave a pleased smile.
"Did you kids make all this?" Tom asked.
Marinette turned to Luka. "Luka is a natural."
Luka placed his hand on Marinette's shoulder. "But Marinette is the master."
Tom and Sabine coordinated with Sabine fetching a bowl from the cabinet and Tom grabbing two forks from the drawer.
"Are we allowed to taste some?" Tom said.
Marinette and Luka nodded together. "Of course!" Marinette cried.
Sabine also found the whipped cream from the fridge Marinette made and scooped some cream on top of the pie she and Tom were going to share.
Tom and Sabine lit up in approval with the first bite and tore through the apple pie enthusiastically.
"This is superb!" Tom said as he finished the rest with Sabine.
"This is absolutely delicious!" Sabine said before savoring the last bite.
Tom took a moment to wipe his face with a napkin. "Is there any way I can bribe you kids for some of these pies?"
Marinette gave a slightly offended gasp. "Papa! We need to give these pies to our friends!"
Tom took a look at the pile of heart-shaped pies on the counter. "Oh you two made too many apple pies. Enough for two bake sales."
Marinette already got to work covering the pies with cloths to keep them safe. Tom rushed over and placed his big hands on Luka's shoulders and, Luka wasn't sure how to respond.
"Luka, I am allowed to bribe you, right?" Tom said. "I can make you an absolutely to-die-for blueberry crumble. What do you say, son?"
Luka did indeed love blueberry crumble.
Marinette stopped in the middle of hiding the pies and turned to her father. "Papa, I can make Luka blueberry crumble!"
Tom removed his hands from Luka and grabbed his rolling pin. "Oh Marinette, you are still an apprentice. My blueberry crumble is world famous!"
While Tom was rambling, Luka rushed to Marinette's side and took her hand.
"With all due respect, sir, we were hoping to give these pies to our friends. But if Marinette and I go pick more apples, we could make more heart-shaped pies." He turned to smile down on her. "I had a lot of fun baking pies with Marinette."
Marinette automatically lit up like a red Christmas light. "Oh Luka!"
Tom set his rolling pin down with a defeated sigh. "Fine then. But those were some truly amazing pies made by two apprentices."
When all was said and done, Marinette and Luka headed back for the living room.
"Wait, I said don't have fun without us!" Tom cried.
Marinette and Luka turned back and stared in bewilderment.
"We wanted to play video games with you two," Sabine said.
Marinette and Luka sighed in unison.
"Alright!" Marinette cried.
"Sounds like fun," Luka said.
Movie marathons, heart-shaped pies for miles, and competitive video games with the people you love. What else could one ask for?
It's funny this story comes up because I have been absolutely homesick for San Francisco lately...Why is that relevant? Months ago my parents showed up in California unexpectedly and dragged me to the bay area against my will...But at least I got to be back in San Francisco again.
And there was lots of good food and my parents took me to Mel's Diner...A place I haven't been to since I was a kid. And it's still the same 50's style diner but now they serve green smoothies...
And I was already eating enough so I decided to get apple pie and...Well, that was literally the best apple pie in years. Like I literally discovered at that moment that I have suffered years of bad apple pie until now.
So yeah, I am yearning for San Francisco again...I miss connecting with other Asian people, Fisherman's Warth, and apple pie...
Anyways, thanks for listening to my story so I believe I will see all of you tomorrow I should sleep now!
Goodnight everyone!