Surprise! I updated a bit faster because of the comments on chapter 11. So this is a very short time skip. I imagine y'all will hate me after this first section but I am a tease and everyone should know that by now! Anyway, on with the show! They're dating full swing, but all fluffy like.=^-^=

Ch. 12 - Copy Chat


Aaron waited outside the classroom while scrolling through his phone. He'd taken up watching his fan feed. Whatever his father did to get Felix to be his stand in must have really been working. They'd been churning out sightings and photo spreads by the truckload. There was even a story he had a secret girlfriend. "I guess I can be replaced…" He muttered with a sigh. The scrape of chairs caught his attention and he glanced to the door. A few seconds later the first students started to come out. Aaron picked up the bag he'd brought and looked for his favorite designer in the crowd. "Mari!" He waved when he spotted her.

She instantly became alert and turned to him. "Aaron? What are you doing here?" She had a blush as she strode over.

"Well, Tom let me get off early because there weren't as many customers. Then I helped your mom make us lunch." He held up the bag to show her. "Now, where should we eat? You should have at least an hour before your next class."

Marinette checked her phone. Classes had been going only a couple of weeks so she was still getting her times down. "Um… Well, it's not cold out yet so do you want to eat in the courtyard right behind this building? If you want to eat inside we can go to the galley or upstairs since I'm pretty sure there's a common area."

"Outside sounds perfect." He answered and took her hand. Marinette blushed and started to pull him along. She was getting used to the other girls who took notice of Aaron. He'd walked her to campus a few times when he wasn't on the morning shift. It was the attention itself that still flustered her, with most of it being from Aaron. It didn't take a month into their relationship for her to realize he was the devoted type. While he paid attention to other girls it wasn't in any truly flirtatious way. He was just being nice, much like he was to her in college and chatting her up on her balcony. Even at this moment with at least three other attractive girls watching him as she pulled him along, she knew he was looking solely at her.

They headed for the benches lining a few trees before Marinette realized she'd forgotten something. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot! I was going to ask Mr. Delmas about our projects today."

Aaron raised a brow. "But classes just started didn't they? You're already working on a project?"

"Yes, but I'm actually just planning for the final project. All the class projects will add up to it." She looked between him and the building. Leaving him out here all of a sudden would be rude, but she didn't want to miss her chance. The first part was due next week.

"Go ahead, Mari. I can wait a few minutes. It's a nice day." Aaron gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then took a seat on the bench. "I'll be right here when you get back." Which will only be a lie if Hawkmoth decides to butt in. It had only happened twice in the last month, but it had interfered with his and Ladybug's reveal. Funny enough, it happed the very day of their night patrol. In the end though, he wasn't too broken up about it and was even the one who suggested they postpone. He didn't really need to know who Ladybug was at this point. He had Marinette, and knowing his partner's identity wouldn't change that.

"If you're sure? I mean… It should only take a few minutes."

"Yeah, go ahead." He waved her along. She smiled at him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek in return.

"Thank you, Aaron."

"If you wanna thank me, I'd love a real kiss when you get back." He called as she ran back to the building. He could see her move her head like she was rolling her eyes.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself." That had the ravenette nearly falling off the bench.

He turned to spy Chloe of all people walking over while staring at her phone. "C-Chloe?"

"Uh-huh, glad you remember me… What was it again? Allen?"

"Aaron." He corrected but with no irritation. He simply smiled at her with an accepting expression.

"Whatever..." She glanced at him and then to the building she saw Marinette enter. "That was Dupain-Cheng wasn't it?" There wasn't a doubt in her mind.

"Yeah, you remember her from college, right?"

"And lycee, but whatever…" She paused before looking back to her phone. "You're dating her?"

"Hmm? Yeah…" He admitted with a blush. It irked the blonde in a way she didn't want to admit.

"She know who you really are?"

"N-no… I uh… It's less complicated if she doesn't, you know?" Chloe only rolled her eyes at him. The fact Adrien was rich and in her social class was the biggest advantage she had over the little baker girl, aside from her gorgeous body of course. "By the way, Chloe, are you taking university classes?"

"Please, Aaron, I don't need university."

"True…" He admitted considering she was richer than his father. "So what are you doing here?"

"Sabrina is a hospitality major. I'm just waiting out a class she has with some old geezer who isn't worth my time." Adrien chuckled. If he remembered Chloe speak that meant it was an old guy who didn't like her attitude. While professors didn't always mind when guests sat in on classes, they didn't want to deal with outrageous ones. It was one of the biggest things that made university so different. You paid to be there, but teachers didn't have to put up with the stuff lycee and college teachers did. You didn't want to listen, you didn't have to be there, and they wouldn't let you stay either. "So… What about you?" She asked with surprising interest.

"Me? Well, I can't really afford university. I just came to have lunch with Marinette."

"I see…" Now that she thought about it, did he have plans for university before? It just always seemed he was doing whatever was next on his father's list, and never really deciding anything on his own. He looked much happier this way if she was being honest.

"Yeah, I'm just working for right now. Maybe when I have some savings I'll look into it, but I'm not even sure what I'd want to go to university for." His father always made plans, and didn't really care what Adrien thought about them. Making his own plans just… fell by the wayside at some point.

"Well, it's not like you need to anyway." She waved off. "I wouldn't mind letting you come stay with me and you'd never have to work."

Adrien choked on his breath at the offer. It wasn't like he was offended, it was just very bold. "Chloe… I mean, I appreciate the offer, I really do, but I couldn't. Honestly, I like working, and I like staying with Marinette's family." And his father would find him in a heartbeat if he stayed with Chloe. Her father and his were 'friends' for lack of a better word.

Chloe stared at him wide eyed. "Did you just say you were staying with Dupain-Cheng!?"

The ravenette blushed at his realization. He'd unintentionally revealed where he was staying to Chloe, but he was sure she wouldn't give him away now. "Oh… Um, yeah. I'm renting their guest room, and working at the bakery."

"Shut up!" She responded still in shock over the whole thing. Of course! That was how Marinette got the upper hand!

"Chloe? I mean, yeah its surprising, but please don't worry about it. I'm fine, and the Dupain-Chengs have been really good to me. They gave me a place to sleep before they even knew anything about me. They even gave me a job when I didn't know the first thing about baking."

"So sleeping with their daughter has nothing to do with it?" The blonde brazenly asked without hesitation.

"No! Damn, Chloe, no." He countered finally looking a little angry. "We're not… I mean… We only recently started dating. My job has nothing to do with me dating Marinette." He crossed his arms. He remembered how Chloe used to be with him. She'd hang all over him, and declare they'd get married in the future when they were really young. "I'm just living a normal life now, with a normal job. Marinette loves me for just the way I am now."

Chloe cut her eyes at him for a short moment. If Marinette really didn't know he was Adrien, and still wanted to date him… Well… Maybe she'd let it go. She was too much of a goody two shoes to go after a guy for his money or position anyway. "Fine, whatever…" She flipped her ponytail behind her shoulders. "Add me." She quickly held her phone in his face. "Use whatever name you're going by now."

"Chloe?" Her disposition changed so drastically. She had been irritated just a moment ago, but now she was calm. It was like how she was at the club that night.

"Hurry up, I'm not going to wait all day."

"Oh, uh… Sure." He quickly set to adding his new contact info to her phone.

"Aaron the baker boy." She read out with an eye roll. That was very Adrien of him with his terrible sense of humor.

"You'll remember it better, I bet." He declared with a small smile.

"Doubt it." She scoffed and sent him a text so he could add her later. "Call me when this baker stuff doesn't work out or… You need help." She added at the end with a minor blush.

"Thanks, Chloe. I will." She pouted at his amused expression and turned on her heel to leave. Aaron found her expression so endearing though. She tried so hard not to sound like she cared. Considering her life though, caring had a tendency to hurt her in the end especially when it came to her mother.

"Oh, and Aaron," She called from a few more feet away.

"Yeah, Chloe?"

"Happy birthday." She congratulated before continuing on.

He raised a brow and checked his phone. "Wow… Time really flies."

"Sorry for the wait, Aaron!" Marinette called a minute later from the building with her class.

Aaron turned to her and waved. "No problem, Marinette. Now how about that kiss?"


Tom watched the news on the couch with a grave expression. There was a big story about a man attacking university girls in the last two weeks and this was the third incident. While it wasn't Marinette's campus, he was still worried for his daughter's safety. "Hun, what time does Marinette get out of class today?"

Sabine walked into the living room while wiping her hands with a towel. "She has her late class tonight so 7."

That didn't sit well with him. The days were getting shorter and 7 pm was darker than he'd like. "Is Aaron here?"

"Just finished mopping the bakery floor, boss." The ravenette announced as he walked past the room. The bakery closed half an hour ago.

"Good, after you get cleaned up, I want you to go walk Marinette home from her class."

Aaron walked back to them with a washcloth to get flour from his face. "Walk her home? Is this about that creep that was attacking girls? Did they have an incident at Marinette's university?" He worried.

"Yes, and no there wasn't. I just want to be careful though."

Aaron nodded at the man's serious expression. "Sure, no problem, Tom. Her class ends in…. an hour right?"

"That's right and the sun is already going down, Aaron, so be careful." Sabine warned with obvious worry of her own.

"Of course." He responded and headed back to his room to finish getting cleaned up. He had time to grab a quick shower and make sure all the flour was out of his hair before he picked her up. Once he was ready to go, he checked the time on his phone. "I should make it with time to spare." The campus was a short trip on the subway. Using this particular public transportation was something he had done several times, so it made him feel more confident since he didn't need Marinette to explain it to him. At this time of day it was pretty crowded what with people heading home. When he arrived on campus it was darker than he expected. The sunset was a glow to the west and stars could even be seen. "Let's see… Which building was her class in again?" He looked through his phone at the text she'd sent him with the schedule. All the art majors were spread out over a number of buildings on campus and that included fashion.

"Over here, kid." Plagg pointed out looking at a campus map hanging on a bulletin board. "It's that one there." The building was just behind the board.

"Thanks, Plagg." He strolled over while waving to a campus security officer.

"Excuse me, son, can I see your student ID?" The officer asked giving him a calm tone in the request.

Aaron was a little surprised since he hadn't been carded yet. "Oh uh… I'm not a student here, sir. I'm picking up my girlfriend who is."

The officer didn't look very happy at that news, but he didn't get confrontational. "Then let me see your ID, please." Aaron handed it over and he took a good long look. "Alright Mr… Bassett. What time does your girlfriend's class end?"

"7. She's taking a class for her fashion degree. I'm pretty sure it's that building." He pointed where Plagg had directed him.

"Alright then, let me escort you there." He gave him a serious look and the ravenette didn't want to argue. This feeling was a first though. He'd never had someone treat him like a suspicious person before. He had always been so recognizable that no matter where he went no one was suspicious of him. Then again, he didn't go very many places back when he was Adrien Agreste either.

He guided him to the classroom on the second floor where the security guard waited with him on the benches in the hall. It was a very awkward 10 minutes before the classroom door finally opened. Aaron remained seated, not making any moves until Marinette shuffled out. "Mari!" He waved as she pulled out her phone.

"Aaron? What are you doing back here?"

He stepped up to the young woman. "Your dad saw another incident on the news today, and we were worried about you walking home by yourself." He informed.

Marinette blushed thinking about how she was just going to swing home as Ladybug. That would be even safer than having a bodyguard really. "Oh, well that's fine. Um…" She noted the officer behind her boyfriend.

"Excuse me miss, just campus security." He smiled and pointed to his badge. "We've been on high alert with recent events. I'm glad you have a nice boyfriend who'll come all this way to walk you home though. You two have a good night." He then walked back to the stairs with a whistle.

"He thought I was suspicious." Aaron whispered with an amused expression.

Marinette giggled and nodded. "I remember getting an email about being careful leaving my late classes."


"Adrien, your father wishes to speak with you now that you've finished your shoot." Nathalie called as the blonde stepped off the set.

"He can wait a few minutes, Nathalie." The boy countered with an eye roll while turned away from her. "I need to make a call." She cleared her throat prompting him to roll his eyes again. "I mean, yes, Nathalie. I'll go see father right away." The older woman grumbled to herself as she followed her charge through the studio. Gabriel was waiting in his studio office, a place he'd been spending more time in since Adrien ran off.

"Sir?" Nathalie called with a knock.

"Come in."

"Uncle Gabe, you really need to remember I'm not sunshine boy. I'm doing this because I want too." Felix immediately started upon entering the office.

"I'm well aware of that, Felix." The designer snapped back quickly.

Felix turned to glare at Nathalie. "No, I don't think you do, but whatever." The young man shrugged and gave Gabriel a pompous look. "Now what did you want, uncle?"

Gabriel looked at him while struggling not to snap. Felix had always had an attitude, and loved to push his buttons. "Today is Adrien's birthday. You'll need to make some sort of public appearance to celebrate it. I've gone ahead and had Nathalie research a few options as well as arranged for company for you."

The blonde scoffed. "What? I don't even get to pick where I can have my birthday. Geez, how did Adrien live like this?" He chuckled. "I bet this is why he ran off too."

Gabriel growled and glared at the young man before reigning in his temper. Amalie would pull her son out of this deal in heartbeat if Felix even mentioned having a problem. "Adrien can't afford to do as he pleases due to his image, Felix. That is why everything is planned out."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that. Anyway, who's this company you've arranged for me?" He asked with air quotes.

"Nathalie."

"Yes sir, I've received confirmation that Ms. Rossi is indeed available tonight."

"Rossi?" Felix thought before it hit him. "Right, that Italian girl that loves to hang off me." He'd been pretty surprised during their first shoot together since he didn't think Adrien was in to anyone. Then again, he also got the distinct vibe he still wasn't and that Lila just didn't care about personal space. She was obviously the devious type.

"Is there a problem?" Gabriel asked almost daring his nephew to argue.

Felix waved it off. "With her? No, she'll do fine." He chuckled thinking about it. "Just fine."


Tom took out a pan of rolls right as Adrien slid in a new pan of dough. The kitchen was working like clockwork, and Aaron had finally started to mesh nicely. "Good job, son. Sabine wanted more of those up front."

"Of course, Tom." Aaron answered and closed the oven. He didn't even look before starting on another batch of dough.

"Son, I appreciate you focusing on your work, but…" Tom trailed off. It was always odd when Aaron used his name. It usually meant he was distracted, but he was working so well. Aaron didn't seem to notice Tom's worry as he worked.

"Hey, Tom, sorry I'm a little late." Edmond called as he entered the kitchen from the back door.

"I know, Edmond. I expect it. Just hurry and get ready so Aaron can finish his shift." The young man nodded and reached for a clean apron and rushed over to the sink. "Aaron, go ahead and leave that dough to Edmond. Take these rolls I pulled out a few minutes ago and restock the front. Then you'll be done for the day."

"On it, sir." The boy did have him a little worried. Then again, everyone was entitled to an off day every once in awhile.

Tom was sure if it was really something to worry about his daughter would help him work it out. He glanced towards the front where his daughter was manning the register. She would help them out when she could, and today she was covering a shift for Collette who had called out that morning. "Maman, I'm running low on change in the register."

"Coming, Marinette."

She closed the drawer and waved up the next customer. "Welcome to Tom and Sabine's."

"Yes, I'd like a dozen peach macarons, and… One of those bran muffins please."

"Of course. Will that be all?"

"Yes." She took his money before beginning to fill the order.

Sabine stepped up and added coins to the register while she was busy getting macarons. "Aaron's about to get off his shift. I'll take over once he does so the both of you can have some time." Sabine gave her daughter a smile.

"I'm okay, maman, really."

"I know, dear." She then stepped over to her daughter and started to whisper. "Tom says Aaron seems a little off. I think a day out with his lovely girlfriend will fix him right up." Marinette instantly blushed but didn't protest. She was starting to get used to how much her parents liked to tease.

She was also a little worried about Aaron. He seemed fine this morning, but she hadn't really spoken to him since the morning rush hit. He'd normally find a moment or two to talk when moving product if Marinette was on shift. Marinette finished the older man's order quickly noting more customers coming through the door. It seemed a little odd with a sudden crowd, but for whatever reason they had yet to actually come in. "Is there a celebrity?"

Marinette turned as Aaron came from the back. "Huh? Maybe?" She half agreed as she watched him begin to replenish the bread baskets. "Are you okay today, Aaron?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." He turned to her. "Why?"

"Nothing… Oh, my Maman will be taking the register once you're done. Want to go out? It's a nice day."

He rearranged the bread as he responded. "Well…" To be honest he was just hoping for the day to end. His birthday had always been a disappointment, but this time it had him on edge. He was worried his father would suddenly appear from nowhere and drag him home however unrealistic that idea was.

"I hear the History museum still has that cat exhibit." She baited and saw him flinch.

"The… cat exhibit…" She giggled recalling him take an interest last week when they saw it on the news. "Um… Well, I do want to see it…" He began to falter. As much as he wanted his birthday to be over, it would be nice to have at least one where he wasn't disappointed. "Okay, sure. Let's go." The bell for the door chimed and Aaron glanced to see while heading back around the counter.

"Welcome to Tom and Sab- Adrien?" Marinette nearly squealed as the handsome blonde strolled in with his bodyguard at his back. Aaron's eyes went wide as he instantly recognized his cousin dressing like he usually did instead of prim and stuffy. It was like those times Felix switched places with him as kids.

"Good afternoon." He approached the counter and looked over the displays. "I heard this is one of the best bakeries in town."

"Yes um… Don't you remember?" She asked back in hidden disappointment.

"Hmm?" Felix looked at her finding her familiar. "Do I know you?" Marinette resisted the twist in her gut that question gave her.

"Adrien, why didn't you wait up for me?" Lila joined him at the counter and instantly latched onto his arm.

"Sorry, love, but you need to keep up the pace. My father has us on a schedule."

Marinette schooled her features in front of the Italian who'd already sworn to destroy her and she wouldn't give her an opening. Even as Lila squeezed Adrien's arm and gave her a superior smirk, Marinette kept composed. "What can I get you?"

"Well, it happens to be my birthday so I want something special."

"We have plenty of desserts to celebrate the occasion, Adrien." Marinette gestured to the case on the left. "And the cheesecake is on special; made half an hour ago." She glanced down at the box she had stashed under the counter. It was full of passion fruit macarons. It was more of a habit now, but she still made them thinking about giving them to Adrien. Earlier that morning, however, she'd decided against the idea. Not only were the odds of Adrien coming by slim, but it felt wrong now. She was dating Aaron, and he didn't deserve her heart wavering like that.

"Oh, Adrien, look. They have one with passion fruit."

Felix scoffed. "You can get some if you want. I'd rather have chocolate." He gestured to the chocolate glazed cheese cake. "Wrap me up three slices of that please, and…" He glanced at his appendage with a light eye roll. "And one of the passion fruit."

"Oh, thank you, Adrien."

He smirked with an expression Marinette found so… foreign. Adrien loved passion fruit, and that smile was… It actually sent a chill down her spine. "Hey, is there a problem, uh… What was your name again?"

"Oh, no problem." Marinette quickly got herself together and started putting the order together.

Sabine took the register to take the money. "I'll take over now, dear. Aaron's coming up."

Marinette hid the sigh of relief this made her feel. No doubt Sabine could sense the tense atmosphere. "Thanks, maman." She handed over her apron just in time for Aaron to arrive at the counter.

"Come on, princess. The museum awaits." He called trying not to make eye contact with his cousin for fear of being recognized.

"I need to get my-" She was cut off as Aaron dangled her bag.

"Any other requests?" He asked with a tease and took her hand.

"No, let's just go." She giggled and let him lead her through the front door. She didn't even notice the slight scowl Lila was giving her. Felix didn't miss it though and it, along with his sudden discovery had the young man grinning in amusement.


Aaron looked at some Egyptian cat statues with interest. With his alter ego being Chat Noir, and his love of cat puns, it was no wonder he liked cats. "I can't believe some of these are 2,000 years old."

"Uh-huh." Marinette answered as she looked over an informational plaque.

Aaron turned to her finding less than enthusiastic answer curious. "Mari?"

"Uh-huh." He crossed his arms and analyzed her. She wasn't reading the plaque if her far off gaze was any indication. She was obviously distracted. An idea quickly formed in his mind as he grinned at her. He slowly leaned down, gently turned her head to him, and kissed her right there on the spot. It was only a quick peck, but Marinette jolted from her thoughts. "A-Aaron! What are you doing!?"

He chuckled at her expression. "Sorry, princess, but you were looking like you were in need of a kiss from your prince." She rolled her eyes at his cheesy remark. "But anyway, Mari, are you okay? You looked really deep in thought."

"I was…" She crossed her arms and turned away.

"Care to share?" He peeked his head around hers playfully.

"No."

"Oh come on." Adrien tried again.

"No." She turned her head away again.

He peeked around the other side. "Purr-lease?" He batted his eyes along with the pun.

"Urgh!" Marinette groaned at the pun and shook her head. "It's not really all that interesting, and I… I don't want you to take it the wrong way."

"Hmm? Take it the wrong way?" That was an odd thing to say. "What were you thinking about? Another boy?" The designer flinched at the mention and Aaron frowned. "Wait… You were, weren't you?"

"Not like that okay?" She held her hands up in a defensive posture. "It's just… You remember Adrien from earlier?"

"Yeah…" He responded hoping his voice didn't sound off.

"Well…" She started and pushed some hair behind her ear. "He was kind of weird."

"What do you mean?"

"The way he spoke, and acted. Something just felt… different."

Aaron raised a brow at her. Did she somehow know that wasn't him but his cousin? "Well… You said its been awhile since you last spoke to him right? People change."

Marinette quickly shook her head. "No… It wasn't that kind of change, Aaron. He almost seemed like a different person, he even turned down the passion fruit cheesecake. Adrien always loved passion fruit anything."

He honestly did. It was one of the reasons he wanted to learn how to make macarons. If he could learn then maybe he could get Marinette to show him how to make that special recipe her parents mentioned. "So? Like I said, people change. You mentioned before that his dad was super controlling? I kind of know that feeling, you know?" She nodded recalling what he mentioned of his own home life. "I'm a little different than I was, especially from before I met you." He finished with a flirty smile.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh stop."

"Okay, but one more thing? Unlike Mr. Model Behavior, I still love passion fruit."

Marinette could tell that was him dropping some sort of hint. "So you want some passion fruit cheese cake?"

"Well, that would be nice, but your parents mentioned this macaron recipe I'd love to learn if-"

"Nope." She quickly shot down without hesitation.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Not going to happen." She reiterated.

"But… Are you still keeping it for Adrien?" He asked feeling jealous of himself. It was odd, but he could clearly tell it was jealousy.

Marinette turned back to him feeling a bit guilty. "While it was for him to begin with, that's not the reason I won't show you how to make them." She leaned on him affectionately. "I promised myself I'd take that recipe to the grave or pass it on to my daughter. It's not one I ever plan on having sold. That being said, I don't mind making you some from time to time. I just happen to have a batch from the other day if you want some when we get home."

"This day just gets better and better." The man beamed while hugging his girlfriend close.


"I jinxed myself this time." Chat Noir muttered as he chased after Hawk Moth's latest akuma. Fanatic was a purple ball of a villain with buttons and badges all over their person. Their power apparently makes whoever he hits become obsessed over the first thing they see or do.

"Chat Noir, keep focused!" Ladybug warned as the cat hero barely dodged the beam the akuma fired from a button on their chest.

"I know, Ladybug!" He used his staff to swing over a building to keep going. Ladybug was working on how she would use her lucky charm. It was a Wok and about the only thing she could think to use it for was to maybe reflect the beam back. The only problem was that hitting Fanatic with his own beam didn't do anything. "So, the akumatized object has to be one of those buttons, right?" Chat wondered as Ladybug swung his way.

"I'd be very surprised if it wasn't, but talk about a needle in a haystack." The beam appeared to shoot from a different badge every time.

"Well, purr-hapse we could just grab them one at a time to see? Unless you have a way to get them all off without ending up stuck doing yo-yo tricks."

Ladybug let out a sigh at the idea. Who knew how long it would take them to find the right badge, and yo-yo tricks would be better than what happened to Mr. Ramier. The spotted hero looked over the scene as fanatic, quite literally, bounced their way and finally noticed something highlight with her Ladybug vision. "Actually, Chat Noir, I think I do have an idea."

Chat's ears perked up and Ladybug began to explain. The Wok was for reflecting something, but not Fanatic's beams. Chat would have to break open a fire hydrant and then use the Wok to aim the water at the akuma. Ladybug would gather up all the badges that were knocked off so that Chat could destroy them all at once. "Ready?"

"Catch, Chat!" She tossed him the Wok as soon as Fanatic got close and Chat used his staff to break the valve off the side of the hydrant. He next positioned the Wok holding it firmly before redirecting the water at his foe. "Nice work, Chat Noir." Ladybug praised as she watched a few of the badges fly off while the akuma tried to block the water with their arms. The plan was going very well, though even Ladybug didn't plan for what happened next. The akuma fell back and rolled right into a subway entrance where they become stuck due to their inflated body. Chat nearly dropped the pan at the odd occurrence. "Nice shot, kitty."

"Thanks?" Though he wasn't trying to aim them anywhere. He kept up the pressure so Ladybug could approach the akuma without worry. About 10 minutes and a mountain of badges later had Ladybug purifying the akuma and letting her miraculous cure sweep the streets.


Sabine cleaned up the kitchen, and Aaron joined her to dry the dishes as she washed them. He seemed less anxious now. "You didn't eat as much for dinner, are you feeling okay?" She asked voicing her lingering concern.

"I fine, Mrs. Sabine, really." "Yes, maman, he porked out on macarons earlier." Marinette chimed in while passing through.

Aaron blushed at her tattle. "You're the one who gave them to me…"

Sabine shook her head. "Honestly, you two."

"She said I could have as many as I wanted, and they were really good." He tried to defend though rather poorly.

"Well, I suppose it's not bad every once in awhile, but don't make it a habit." The mother relented knowing Aaron was having some issue earlier in the day. If macarons were all he needed to fix it, she'd leave it be.

"I know, Mrs. Sabine, I'm sorry to leave any of your food uneaten. I promise to make sure the leftovers don't go to waste." He assured and rubbed his stomach.

"I don't doubt that, Aaron." Sabine agreed with a chuckle. Having a teenage boy in the house was certainly different than a teenage girl especially when it came to keeping food in the fridge. On the bright side, however, it kept Tom from snacking as often before bed. "Your metabolism is something to envy."

"Its only because your food is really good that I eat so much. Honestly, I'd love to be able to cook more."

"Right, Marinette did mention you doing a lot of help making meals while we were gone. I'd be happy to teach you a few recipes if you'd like." The mother offered and placed the last dish for him to dry.

"Sure, especially the ones Marinette likes." He clarified with an innocent smile. Sabine chuckled at his words. "Of course." Marinette sure was lucky to find such a handsome and hardworking boyfriend. Honestly, it's amazing how this young man quite literally fell from the sky a little over three months ago. It's hard to fathom but maybe being lady luck had something to do with it after all.


And Felix makes an in person debut! I've never really used him before so this will be interesting, no? I'm open for suggestions on how he can be used, though I write this fic several chapters in advance. (I might tweek something based on a suggestion though) And they've been dating for about a month so far. Of course her parents were happy to find that out upon returning. Tom was especially excited because he really likes Aaron. (I imagine every father likes the idea of their daughter having a boyfriend like them. LOL) Also, Chloe. She's not as into the pairing as I've portrayed her before, but I still like her. (Hate her in Soul Crusher though. Urg, her character development just... evaporated.)=^-^=

Thank you for reading, and I appreciate your feedback. Also, any guesses on how Felix will play into our couple's growing relationship?=^-^=