Adrien (Aaron) will be having a major life milestone here and at the end things get really intense. I'm sure no one saw this coming at all, but it's important for a big jump in the relationship between our favorite idiots.=^-^=
Ch. 16 - Chat With A View
It was Sunday, and the bakery was closed. They didn't have any special orders placed so Tom and Sabine decided to simply take the day and maybe do some extra cleaning later. The Christmas season would no doubt leave them very little time to do so anyway. "Good morning, Aaron." Sabine greeted to the young man as he sat down at the table.
"Morning, Mrs. Sabine."
"Up early again, I see. Doing anything today?" She wondered. She already knew he was an early riser, but it was only 7 am. He would usually sleep another hour or so when he could.
"I might, but I'm waiting for Nino to call me back."
"Going out, son?" Tom wondered as well as he entered the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
"Probably. Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you both about this for a few days."
Tom and Sabine traded glances. The incident from Friday was still fresh in their minds especially Tom's. He felt bad for even suspecting Aaron would do anything to Marinette. His fatherly instinct had him getting all worked up much like years ago with Chat Noir. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine, I was just thinking… I want to get an apartment."
"Now, Aaron, if this is because of Friday-"
"No, Tom, this has nothing to do with it." It had been slightly awkward the rest of that night until Tom finally worked himself to apologize for assuming things. "You were just being a dad, right? It's fine. This is something I've been thinking about for a few weeks actually. While I'm really grateful to both of you for letting me rent here, I really think I shouldn't be relying on you so much, you know? While I pay for the room, and work, you both still provide so much like meals. I need to be out on my own."
Tom set his cup down and crossed his arms. "Are you sure about this, Aaron? Apartments are expensive especially in the city area. You don't plan to leave the city do you?"
"No, and it would be nice to find a place nearby so I don't have to commute far for work."
"Oh, so you're not quitting?" Tom asked with a relieved tone.
"No! I still need a job." He assured back looking a little nervous that Tom took it that way.
"But, Aaron, can you afford an apartment yet? I know you said you were saving up, but I don't think you realize how expensive this area can be."
"Oh, I know, but I suppose I'm not actually going to be on my own either. Nino and I were planning to get an apartment together to be honest. He's been in a dorm since he moved out, but couldn't afford an apartment either."
"Son, I see where you want to be more independent, but you really shouldn't go out for an apartment until you have a solid financial situation. Living paycheck to paycheck is a risky situation to be in." Tom warned hoping to stem any impulsive teenage decisions.
"I understand that, and I wouldn't even be considering this if I didn't have the money." He glanced off to Marinette's trap door across the room. It wasn't that he was trying to hide anything, but he'd rather her not just walk into this conversation out of nowhere. He wanted to tell her too once he was sure. "You both remember how I told you I did work for my father, right?"
It had been a bit of an emotional conversation all those months ago, but they remembered. "So he paid you?"
"Yeah, and it went into a bank account he set up for it. When I left I didn't take any bank cards with me because if I'd used them he'd be able to track me. He has access to it since he was the one who set it up after all. Anyway, I went out Friday to meet with an old friend of mine who helped me transfer my money into a new account he can't see. She's one of the few people in the city who I can safely say my father couldn't touch. She is the mayor's daughter after all." He chuckled.
"You know Chloe Bourgeois?" Sabine asked in a surprised tone.
"Yeah, though we're not particularly close to be honest. She was just someone I knew I could trust to help me out with a problem and she knows my father is… Difficult." He emphasized so he wouldn't go any further into his description. "My savings added to what I earn now should be plenty solid financial standing. I never really used the money much before so what I was able to save is actually pretty substantial, though not something I'll even attempt living off of."
Sabine still looked worried. "If you're absolutely sure… I suppose we can't stop you, but…"
"I'm wondering how Marinette will feel about that." Tom finished for her.
"Yeah… I will tell her though." The ravenette agreed.
"Tell her sooner rather than later, Aaron. It's a big step, and she should be prepared." It would mean they wouldn't see each other as often and there might be days where they don't see each other at all. Their relationship would need to be adjusted to adapt to the change. "Also, is there any way we could convince you to wait until the New Year?" Tom asked next looking surprisingly peaceable. "It will probably be hard to find an apartment right now with Christmas coming, and the bakery will be very busy. It'll be less stressful to wait at this point."
Aaron nodded. "Yeah, Nino mentioned something about finishing his own lease. The dorm's renewal is coming up next month so I definitely won't be leaving right away." Though if the perfect place came up he wasn't so sure he'd turn it down. "At this point we're just looking around."
Nino looked so proud of himself as he pat Adrien on the back and looked on at the building. Nino had texted him half an hour ago to meet here, but he didn't expect it was for an apartment. "You're serious?"
"Yeah."
"This is the place?"
"Yup."
"Two bed rooms, a kitchen and two blocks from the bakery?"
"Everything on your wish list, dude." The DJ beamed as he pulled his friend to go in with him.
"But I only told you we can go looking for an apartment Friday afternoon. How did you find this place two days later?"
"Cause I'm just that good, dude." The darker man bragged. "And Alya may have had a hand in the search."
"Now that makes sense." Adrien nodded since Alya was a journalist. If anyone can find results quickly it was her.
"Anyway, this place is perfect I swear…"
"I'm sensing a 'but' in there." The ravenette countered as they approached the manager's desk in the lobby.
"Just a small one, and it's more for me than you." Nino then rang the bell for service.
An older man with a thin frame came out from down the hall. He didn't look like he was terribly friendly, but not mean either. "Yes? Can I help you?"
"Yeah, Mr. Bueno?"
"Speaking." He snapped back.
"I'm Nino, and this is Aaron. I called yesterday, remember?"
The older man looked curious for a moment before a grin snapped to his face. "Ah! You are here to see the apartment, yes? Perfect, I just finished dusting it out!" He clapped his hands together and looked over the other young man. "It will be perfect for you two I just know it."
Adrien gave Nino a side glance. "Um… Okay?"
"Come, I'll take you up right now." He looked through a lock box under his desk and held up a key labeled 3A. "It's like I said on the phone, third floor with two good rooms, and the kitchen was renovated just two years ago. The roof has an access door at the end of the hall, and is shared between the four units." He turned back. "It's rarely used though in case you want a romantic night together." He winked.
"Uh, Nino… This guy might have the wrong idea about us." Adrien whispered.
"We'll correct him later, dude." The DJ assured with a forced smile. They took the stairs since the elevator was undergoing maintenance. Apparently that was one of the reasons the apartment was still available since no one wanted to deal with stairs and moving.
"Here we are." The manager opened it and Adrien was immediately hit by a very familiar smell.
"It smells like cheese in here…"
"Y-yes… It's nice right?" Mr. Bueno asked back with an obviously forced smile.
"Relax, Mr. Bueno, I knew about that before calling you." Nino informed with a mellow attitude.
"You did? But you said this would be perfect for you? No one wants cheese smelling apartment!" He suddenly grew cranky and balled his fists.
"So this is that thing you mentioned, huh?" The ravenette asked as he looked around the quaint space. It was a pretty good size all things considered.
"Yeah, but I remembered how your room tended to smell like cheese so I figured it wouldn't matter to you."
"What about you?" He asked back.
Nino shrugged. "Honestly, it never really bothered me. Alya on the other hand… Well, I'm sure we can do something to make it better somehow."
Adrien looked around in interest. He could feel Plagg shaking in his jacket pocket, probably over the smell. He must be in heaven. "The rooms look pretty good."
"Right? About the same as what you have back at the bakery, and you don't really have a whole lot of stuff anyway." Nino then pointed to the bathroom. "The only bathroom has a shower and no tub, but it's not an issue for me."
"I've never been big on baths." The other man agreed.
"And did you see the kitchen? It's got a pretty nice oven so you could bake things… if you wanted." Nino insinuated.
Adrien didn't seem to notice at all as he opened the appliance. "It looks underused aside from that burned spot on the bottom."
"It's two years old, dude." The DJ countered and leaned on the counter. "So what do you think, hmm? Isn't this the best?"
The baker looked at him skeptically. "Well I wouldn't know, Nino, this is the only place we've looked at."
"But it's perfect! One shot!" He exclaimed back. "And the other options Alya found were pretty sad. Also, the closest place that fits all those things you wanted is five blocks down and almost double the price." He added with a confident smirk.
"I also wasn't really planning to actually move until January." Adrien stated next.
"But first come, first serve, dude."
The manager cleared his throat. "You boys, you really like the apartment, eh?"
"Don't listen to him, it's perfect." Nino answered for them both.
"Nino!"
"Shush."
"Well, I have been getting the occasional offer, but everyone complains for the smell. They want a discount, or some such garbage." He waved his hand at the idea. "Anyway, if you pay the full rent then I'll hold it for you. This place has been empty for 8 months, and I can't afford to give people discounts." Mr. Bueno grumbled a bit at the end. "Sound good?"
Adrien looked at Nino. "Honestly, it does have everything I asked for, but I'm worried about taking the first thing. We haven't even looked."
"Dude, I'm going to go ahead and let you in on this, but I have been looking at apartments since September when Bentley decided planting whip cream in everyone's underwear drawers was a funny idea, okay? Dorm life is cool and all, but I'd much rather live by myself or someone I know who won't pull crap like that." Even if he did spend the whole day doing everyone's laundry to make up for it. "You've done the basic research into the prices in the area so you know this one is average all things considered, and I'll promise you that cheaper places come at a cost. Plus, he's gonna hold it for us." Nino redirected while gesturing to the manager. "We can wait until January just like you want, and you won't have to stress about finding a place anymore."
"I… I guess."
"Plus I bet you can see Marinette's balcony from here." He whispered in a tease. "Mr. Bueno, I want to give my bro a night to think about it. He's new to the renting scene. Give him that, and I'm positive you'll be getting a nice call tomorrow about this place."
Mr. Bueno shrugged. "So long as I get full rent, then I can live with that. I'm tired of coming in this smelly apartment for no reason." Adrien just rolled his eyes at the man. If it smelled like cheese there had to be a reason. As someone who has had to deal with a cheese hoarder, he knew from experience. That also made him wonder what the last tenant was like to have a place smelling like this.
"Thanks for coming with me, Aaron." Marinette held her small bag tight while the man carried a large plastic bag at his side. "It would've been much harder to take that home myself."
"Sure, I mean, I never mind helping you carry things, Mari. It's something I know I can do without messing up."
The designer looked at him with a furrowed brow. "You're good at plenty of things, Aaron."
"After many mess ups I've gotten better." He agreed thinking back to his cooking troubles and shopping inexperience.
"But everyone needs practice. No one is just good at something right away. Its just that some people need a little more practice with certain things. There's nothing wrong with that."
"True I guess…" He trailed off in thought. Marinette was good at so many things he just couldn't picture her being bad at any of them either.
"What's wrong?" She asked noting his tone.
"Nothing's wrong." He quickly countered.
"Aaron." She called with a slight warning tone. "Didn't you just get on me about keeping problems to myself?"
He blushed and raised a hand to the back of his head. "I suppose, but you already know about my problem. I want to be able to do more common things on my own."
The designer giggled and took his free hand in hers. "I don't really see that being a very big problem anymore. You've already just about mastered all the bakery staples, and my maman always asks you to help her with dinner instead of me now."
"I think that's because I always begged to help her first." He admitted with a slight blush. "Though… I'm not saying any of this because I'm worried about cooking though. I know I've gotten better at those. It's because…" He cut out wondering what the best way to say it was. He didn't want her jumping to the wrong conclusion before he could fully explain. "I'm doing something… New." He took a glance at the woman holding his hand.
"New… So did you find a place already?" She looked up to him with a genuine smile though he could feel a hint of reluctance too.
"Huh?"
"An apartment. You were looking around for one right?"
"Yes… But how did you know?"
She raised a brow at him. "You told me."
"I did?"
"Back in August you said you were going to start looking around for a place once you saved up some money."
"Oh…" Did he?
"Is this what was bothering you the whole time at the store?" She wondered with an amused tone.
"Um… Yeah, kind of."
"Worrying over nothing, Aaron." She declared and leaned against his arm. She wished she could feel the warmth but his jacket was thick.
"I was worried you'd be upset I was trying to get away from you after Friday or something."
"Are you?" She asked which had him frantic in seconds.
"No, of course not!"
"Then you're fine. You know, it's perfectly normal to want to go out on your own. This time you can do it knowing you have people to support you."
He squeezed her hand tight at her words. "Thanks, Marinette." It was like a weight suddenly melted from his shoulders. She wasn't mad or trying to hold him back. Instead she was supporting him. She was the exact opposite of his father who never let him decide anything on his own.
"It's no problem, Aaron, that's what family is for." He felt his cheeks burn hotter. He really was a part of their family at this point, wasn't he? "So… How long until you move?"
"Oh uh… Well, I haven't called the landlord about actually taking the place yet. It was the first place Nino and I looked at and well…"
"You wanted to look around more?"
He nodded. "Though it does have everything I wanted… Well, aside from the cheese smell. Not really big on it, but it won't kill me."
"You wanted a place that smelled like cheese?" It was odd, but maybe it was a request from Plagg?
"No, I wanted two rooms, a working kitchen, and to be close to the bakery." He released her hand and pulled out his phone so he could show her the posting online. "This is it."
Marinette looked it over curiously. "Surprisingly cheap for all that, Aaron. Was anything else wrong?"
"The elevator in the building is broken too. The landlord has been trying to fill this unit for about 8 months and people keep insisting on a discount due to the smell."
"I guess that makes sense then. He couldn't afford to raise the prices even with all the people wanting to live in this part of the city." Certain sections of the city grew popular with trends.
"Right which is why the price stayed around average unlike that place down the street." The one that was double. "Anyway, I'll bring you by to show you, but I don't plan to move until January." He saw her let out a breath of relief upon hearing that.
"Good."
"Are you going to miss me being so close?" He wondered half in tease and half in seriousness.
"Not at all." She deadpanned which made him miss a step. She giggled at his reaction and took back his hand. "Of course I'll miss you, silly kitty." She pulled him down to kiss his cheek. "But you'll be right down the street and it's not like we won't see each other often. You work under where I live after all."
Aaron smirked at her and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky you're cute or I might not take that joke so well." He released her hand and placed his over her shoulders instead to bring her closer. "But I know I'll miss being close to you. I won't be able to come up to your room just to cuddle." She grinned at that. He would certainly find a way, she was sure, especially once he knew who she was. When was she going to tell him again? They were going to do the reveal before until Hawkmoth came back, but they could still do it. Maybe when he moves out? It would need to happen by then for sure. The longer this reveal was one sided the harder it would be when the time came. "Mari?"
She popped out of her thoughts. "Hmm?"
"Nothing, you just got really quiet."
"Oh… I was just thinking about something."
"About?" He quickly asked.
"Well… I imagine it will be harder at first but… Well… I'm sure we'll find ways to have late night cuddles even when you move out."
He smirked to himself as he imagined leaping to her terrace as Chat Noir. It would be awesome if she could know about his hero persona. What would Ladybug say to him telling at least Marinette? Then again, they haven't even revealed themselves to each other so… Yeah, it might be a stretch. "I'll brain storm on it."
"Let me know what you come up with before you try any, okay? I'd rather you not suddenly appear on my terrace." Which she meant as 'no Chat Noir visits' but in a much subtler way.
"Oh? You wouldn't want me to suddenly Whisker you away?"
She giggled at the bad cat pun. "No whiskering away, please."
"How about once you graduate?" Adrien asked with a more hesitant tone. "Could I whisker you away then?"
Marinette was about to quip back before what he'd really asked hit her. "Um… Well… It's a bit early to be thinking about that, don't you think?"
He remained silent for a moment. "Yeah… Sorry to put you on the spot."
"Don't apologize, Aaron." She countered with a shy tone and leaned on him as they walked. "I doubt I would mind though…" She ended with a mutter.
He looked at her in surprise, but didn't voice the excitement it gave him. Instead he held her closer. "How about some cocoa when we get back?"
"Yes, definitely." She agreed and they spent the rest of their commute in a peaceful quiet enjoying each other's company.
Tom stirred awake in the early morning hours of a typical Monday. Something had been bothering him since the previous day and it finally dawned on him what it was. "The cash drop." He stated to himself in a whisper. How could he forget something so important? The security company would be coming at 5am sharp for their weekly cash deposit to the bank. Carrying it themselves would be far too dangerous considering the money involved would be all store profits for the week.
"Hmm? What's wrong, dear?" Sabine asked with a yawn while turning over to see her husband.
"I forgot to get the cash drop ready."
She looked at the clock and yawned again. "It's fine, Tom. You can just prepare it when you get up in an hour."
"I'd rather go ahead and do it so it won't cut into the morning prep time."
"I'm sure Aaron would be more than happy to wake up and help you." She argued while leaned up on her elbow.
"Probably, but his shift isn't supposed to start until noon so I'd rather not wake him up if I don't have too. I'll just go and do it and it will be fine." He assured and got up from the bed.
Sabine just shook her head and lay back down. "Suit yourself, dear, but please don't forget to disarm the alarm before you open the safe. You don't want to wake up the whole street."
"I know." He responded and began getting his suspenders on before heading into the bathroom to get ready. About half an hour later and the large man was headed downstairs to the bakery. The early hours were just a part of his daily routine so getting up a little early didn't really faze him especially considering they hadn't done any major orders the previous day. "All that time and I couldn't remember the cash drop." He chuckled to himself.
He was just reaching for the door to the bakery kitchen when he heard what he thought were voices. That couldn't be though since the bakery was locked up tight and none of his employees would be here this early in the morning even if they could get in. He placed his ear up to the door but only heard silence. "It's just early…" He muttered at the quiet response. The lock tumbled with its usual clink and he stepped into the kitchen area. Nothing appeared out of place and it was just how he left it the previous night.
The safe was right next to the large fridge which was in the back corner of the kitchen. It was a multi lock safe that required both a pass code and a key to open, and that was just the deposit side. In order to do the drop all he had to do was make sure that the cashbox for each day's earnings was accounted for. So long as everything was in place once he closed the safe and re-entered the code, the boxes would immediately drop their contents to the bottom of the safe for quick retrieval. Tom wouldn't even have to touch the money though it wasn't to say he could. The security company that transported it was the only one with a key to the withdraw section of the safe. The entire process was quick and easy, but it had to be done before the drop or it would mess up the pickup schedule for the armored car service. Tom had just finished checking that each box was inside before he heard a clang from behind him and looked up. He then felt a weight on his head and a click soon after. "Alright, old man, easy." A deep and quiet voice ordered.
Tom froze and slowly started to raise his hands. He was completely awake, and so it was easy to understand what his situation was. "I'm unarmed." He responded without any sudden moves.
"Good, and you know what we want right?" He heard a bag rustling before he saw one tossed beside him. "The money isn't worth your life. Put it all in that bag without a struggle and you won't be hurt."
"My apologies, but I can't do that." Tom tried to reason but felt the gun pressed harder on his head. "Our safe isn't the kind that I can withdraw from. It can only be opened by the security service we use."
"Scoot over, old man." Tom leaned on his arm as he was roughly pushed aside. A large man dressed in dark heavy clothes and a clown mask kneeled down in his place. "Oi… I hate these."
"Can you get it open?"
"Yeah, but it'll take a sec and we'll need this guy to type the code in first. That'll release the cash and I can get the other lock open with my tools."
"Okay, you heard him, old man." The other man tapped his head with the muzzle of the gun. "And no funny business either." Tom slowly nodded and was allowed back over to the safe to type in the code. He wasn't completely sure that he would get out of this as unharmed as they said, but he much rather them take the money and go. There was no reason to cause a commotion and have Sabine or Marinette wake up and come down. "The hell?"
"What's wrong?"
"There's a silent alarm going off!" The robber beside him declared and lifted his crowbar to the baker. "What did we say about funny business!?" Tom quickly covered his head with his arm before the metal weapon could land but he still fell to the side from the impact.
"Damn! How long do we have?"
"We should have just enough. Keep him from making any moves until I can get this cash."
His partner chuckled. "Right, we'll shoot him after. Sorry, man, but we warned you." Tom was mentally cursing himself at his own mistake and at the sharp pain in his arm from the crowbar.
"Bingo." He heard before the safe locks pulled out and the robber began to shovel it into the bag. The partner whistled at the amount. "You weren't kidding about this being the best bakery around here."
"Right?"
The larger of the two was straightening out the bag to finish filling it before he turned to the gunman. "Hey, go ahead and- Shit, behind you!" He shouted just in time for his partner to be slammed from behind with an iron baking sheet. He reflexively pulled the gun trigger before it was slung across the bakery floor. "Krieger!"
Aaron next tossed the baking sheet at the larger of the two before grabbing a prep cart full of dough batches and pushing it towards the perspective thief. "Get the hell away from him!" A loud clatter bounced around the room as the pans on each level of the cart shifted and slid out with their contents.
"Fuck!" Aaron turned to see the first man getting up and pulling out a knife. "You think you're some kind of hero, kid?" He lunged at the young baker but Aaron knew how to handle himself even without his miraculous suit. He dodged and swung for the man's gut. It would have been effective had the other man not recovered and thrown a pan of his own. "Fuck off, kid!" He growled and grabbed the bag. Aaron stumbled back and hit the counter harder than he'd have liked but he was able to stop himself from falling.
"Shit… Forget them. We need to move!" The smaller of the two agreed and backed out of the kitchen area just behind his partner as to make sure the young ravenette didn't give chase.
Adrien glared at them as they went and silently cursed himself for not bringing Plagg down with him when he came down. He'd had a bad feeling, and yet he still didn't want to deal with Plagg's whining. He'd arrived just in time to see Tom on the floor with a gun pointed at him and reacted. "Mr. Tom!" He called as soon as he heard them exit the store front. "Tom, are you okay?"
The larger baker groaned at moving his arm but nodded. "I'll be fine, Aaron." He sat up and cradled his injured arm as he looked around. "Did they both leave?"
"Yeah, they seemed to be in a hurry."
Tom let out a sigh. "That makes sense. I forgot to disarm the silent alarm for the safe so the police should be well on their way."
Aaron looked over his injured arm. "They didn't shoot you did they?" He'd heard the bullet hit metal when it was fired, but it was possible he just didn't hear the initial shooting before he arrived.
"No, just hit me when they noticed the alarm." He chuckled. "And Sabine had even reminded me when I woke up too…" It nearly cost him his life.
"Okay, can you stand? It would be better to get you out of this huge mess. Sorry, by the way." He apologized as he looked around the mess himself.
"Son, don't apologize for saving me." Tom scolded as he allowed the young man to help him up. "A little ruined dough, and a few dented pans is a small price to pay."
OMG they were robbed! Well, mostly. The robbers didn't get all the money, but they got quite a bit of it. Somehow I doubt the bakery will be open later. Anyway, I'm sure you can take a guess at how this is going to go down when Marinette finds out what happened?=^-^=
Also, while it might seem fast paced for Adrien to be thinking of Marinette in his future, I subscribe to the "He's always loved her and not noticed" school of thinking. Plus, he's a true romantic and doesn't see himself with anyone but who he loves at this moment. I'm trying to give Adrien some serious growth so when I do another skip it won't feel odd, you know? Please feel free to give me your opinions on his characterization. =^-^=
Anyway, thank you for reading! Comments are greatly appreciated.=^-^=
