Marinette walked into the bakery, greeting the part-timer behind the counter, squeezing her way past and up the stairs into the house above. Once she had showered and freshened up, she came back down to the storefront, donned an apron, and took over at the counter, sending her grateful staff home early for the day.
Today, the bakery would close early. All Marinette had to do was make sure it was all clean and ready for tomorrow, and if any customers came in while she was doing so, then she supposed she could sell them a croissant or some bread or something. No one ever came at the end of the day anyway. Who would want day old bread?
She swept and mopped and loaded away the flour ingredients and when that was all finally finished, she flipped the door sign to closed and shut off the lights. At last. That entire time, all she could think about was how tonight would go. She was almost giddy. She thought she'd be scared of letting someone in after all these years, but actually, this was the most fun she'd had in such a long time. It helped that she had already been close to him. She and Adrien had a sort of natural rhythm that it was surprisingly easy to fall back into.
She waited patiently behind the counter, chuckling at the thoughts she was having. All the ways she could mess with him before she made her big reveal.
"Oh, of course I know Ladybug! I'm her!" she said to herself, pantomiming a dramatic revealing gesture.
"Nice to see you again so soon, Adrien. What do I mean? Well, you see..." The woman made a whooshing noise with her mouth. "I'm Ladybug."
She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window nearby. She was smiling. How embarrassing. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself. Just a few hours ago, she had been angry with him. And before that, ready to attack him. How had so much changed in so little time? Did Adrien truly have that kind of sway over her, still? Or was this part of her always there, yearning to be let loose?
She drummed her fingers impatiently against the counter for a few minutes longer, until at last, there was a knock at the door. There he was, on the other side of the glass, waving awkwardly. She shot up from the counter, realized how eager she must have seemed, and took a deep breath. Calmly, she paced over to the door, and carefully, she unlocked it, letting the cool air in as it swung open.
"Long time no see!" Adrien greeted. Marinette stifled a laugh and hugged him, which took him slightly by surprise.
"Oh my gosh, so good to see you." Marinette sang, squeezing him tightly. He hugged her back, awkwardly.
"You l-look great!" she commented, pulling away from him. He smiled.
"You look good too! I like the new hair. Short suits you," he complimented, stepping inside. The woman ushered him in, taking his coat and hanging it by the door for him. She jogged lightly over to the counter and began to put some coffee on, but her guest interrupted her.
"Uh, I brought this." He produced a bottle of merlot from a paper sack under his arm. "Normally, I'm more of a white wine guy, but I had a craving for red today. I hope that's okay."
Marinette looked down at the wine in his arm, flushed slightly for a reason she couldn't quite identify, and smiled. "Red is, uh, m-my favorite color."
The two of them proceeded up the stairs to the condo above, and Marinette insisted he sit in the living room and make himself comfortable while she went digging for the wine glasses. She knew she had them somewhere, but so rarely were they used that she had forgotten which cabinet they were stored in. Of course, she did her best to keep Adrien from discovering that fact.
"You have a lovely home, Marinette," Adrien called, looking around the living room. It was neat and cozy, but there was something off about it. So much displayed evidence of neglect. Photographs on the walls, their frames caked in dust. A television with an outdated game console plugged into it. Magazines and newspapers stacked carefully next to the sofa, all displaying dates from long ago. Each with a notice of an imminently expiring subscription. It was more like a model home than one which was lived in.
"Oh, thank you!" she called back from halfway inside one of her kitchen drawers. Where did she leave the bottle opener? "It's been a while since I've had guests."
"I can see that," Adrien muttered to himself quietly, observing a clock on the wall that had not been adjusted for when daylight savings time had come to an end months ago. He watched Marinette retreat from the kitchen with two glasses in her hand and carefully sit across from him, sliding a glass across the table. He smiled and lifted it, waiting for her to toast.
"Old friends?" she suggested.
"And renewed friendships," he said, clinking his glass against hers with a charming smile. They both drank heartily from the cup. It was a perfectly acceptable wine. Nothing fine. After all, it was a merlot. Adrien wretched slightly.
"Kind of fruity." He coughed. Marinette narrowed her eyes at him. Tasted like wine to her. He stared back, confused. "Should have gotten something pricier."
"You can really tell the difference?" she asked. Adrien shrugged.
"I drink nice wines."
Marinette scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I think it tastes perfect."
"Marinette, how have you been? I feel like things have been weird since…" Adrien began enthusiastically, but quickly ran out of steam. The smile on his face slowly shrank into a look of cold contemplation. Rather than finish his sentence, he simply vaguely gestured around the room.
"Well, you left Paris not long after all that. But so did most people. We were done with high school, right? That's what you do." Marinette sighed, rubbing her arm uncomfortably. There was an elephant in the room that she had just pointed to, but did not address. And now Adrien was staring at it too.
"But not you?" Adrien asked, beholding the elephant. Marinette coughed uncomfortably.
"I had this, uh, this bakery to take care of. And you know." She trailed off. Adrien raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He wasn't buying it.
"I'm sure you had your reasons, whatever they are," he concluded, not prying. It seemed rude to pry already, given they had just reunited. He leaned in to change the subject. "I had the brand to think about."
"Yeah, of course. London treating you good?"
"I would like to move the offices back to Paris, because I like it here, right? And it's such a pain to go through customs every time I want to take the train in." Adrien explained with practice, like he had pitched this to a thousand suits in boardrooms before. "But it's not so easy. London is full of stuffy people that make up my stuffy board of investors and they'd rather stay in the fog."
"So it's not treating you good?"
"It's fine, but it lacks something. It's not where my heart is. I like France, and I love Paris."
She smiled gently. "It's good to hear that. I was worried you'd turned your back on Paris after, you know."
"After?" he asked aloud. She nodded, and the sudden realization struck him. "Oh, that? That had nothing to do with Paris. That was all just Gabriel. It happened here, but it could have happened anywhere.
"Besides." He held up his finger to proudly display his ring. "I have connections here."
Marinette clapped her hands over her mouth and gasped dramatically. "Adrien!"
"What?"
"You're engaged?" she asked. He furrowed his brow at her and she laughed. Adrien flashed a sarcastic smile.
"You almost had me there," he admitted. "You know what this is."
"Come on, of course I do. I once had the, uh…" she began, pretending to strain her memory. "The mouse one? I think?"
"Oh, yeah, you were Multimouse! Oh, that costume looked great on you." Adrien reminisced. She blushed.
"It looked better on Polymouse," she confessed. Mylene Haprele had used the miraculous very rarely since that first time, but every time she had, she made an impression. Now she was off doing humanitarian work. Marinette had lost touch with her, just like all her other friends. Why bother putting in the work? "Unfortunately, I screwed up that first time and I never got to use one again."
"You want to try this one?" Adrien offered. Marinette scowled seriously for a just a moment. Absolutely not. Was he just going to loan that thing out to anyone who wanted to try it? Maybe she was wrong to let him keep it after all. Adrien looked down at the ring, closed his fist, and shook his head.
"Actually, Ladybug would be livid. Sorry, Marinette."
Marinette sighed and relaxed. "That's alright, it's all yours. Besides, it's not like I'm completely inexperienced with these things."
Adrien looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well, you see, I know more than you might think," she teased. He smiled innocently.
"Yeah?"
"Of course, you see, actually, I'm—"
The phone rang. She groaned in slight annoyance. It was the phone downstairs in the bakery. The one for the business, that customers could call to place orders. She looked at Adrien, debating whether she should just ignore it.
"You need to get that?" the man asked.
"It's probably some customer calling to ask why we're closed or something annoying like that," Marinette mused, waving her hand dismissively. "We closed up early today."
"I mean, I don't mind. Wouldn't want you to get a bad review or something," he replied. Marinette rolled her eyes. She didn't mind bad reviews; they were all wrong anyway. But if he said he didn't mind. The big reveal could wait until she told this person on the phone to go away.
"I'll be back in a minute," Marinette promised, taking a swig of her wine and rising from the table. Adrien watched her go with a gentle nod, and she proceeded down the stairway into the empty bakery. With the lights off and the room completely quiet, it had an almost eerie vibe to it. The phone rang once more until she snatched it off the hook.
"Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie," she answered, impatiently, forgoing any of the platitudes she would normally use when dealing with a customer.
"H-Hello?"
"Yes, Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, may I ask who's calling?"
"Hey, hi. Uh. Is this Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"
"Yes?" Marinette was confused. The voice on the phone was familiar, but it also sounded somewhat nervous. "Who is this?'
"Oh, wow, great. Uh. Hi. Hey. Hey there Marinette."
"Who is calling?" The woman insisted, impatiently. She was becoming slightly nervous.
"Yeah, sorry. Uh. This is Adrien."
"What?"
"This is Adrien Agreste."
Marinette said nothing.
"Marinette?" The man calling himself Adrien asked.
"What is this? Is this a prank call?" she asked.
"What? No. Hey, listen, I'm in Paris."
Marinette remained silent.
"I'm in Paris, and I wanted to let you know something. You still there?"
"This isn't funny, whoever this is," Marinette scolded. She was becoming increasingly annoyed.
"Hey, no what? I'm not trying to be funny. I'm serious, please. Uh. Hear me out."
"Adrien is here," Marinette hissed. "So who is this?"
There was silence on the other line, then a gasp.
"Oh, shit. Hey. Shit, hey, Marinette. So."
There was more silence.
"Shit!" the man on the phone exclaimed. He sounded farther away, like he had moved the phone away from himself. "Hey, there's a bakery on 12 rue Gotlib. Get there now."
"I'm hanging up now," Marinette replied.
"No, wait, wait, Marinette, wait. You're in danger."
She stopped.
"Do you remember my cousin, Felix?"
"What?"
"Felix. He looks like me, remember? We're like almost identical."
Marinette remained silent. A sort of cold sweat was starting to form on her forehead.
"How do I know this is Adrien?" she asked. He sighed, and there was silence for a moment.
"Oh!" He began. "You remember the hat you made for me? It had a pigeon feather. I'm allergic to pigeon feathers! But if you ask Felix, I'm sure he won't know."
Marinette swallowed uncomfortably.
"Not enough? Uh. Okay. Shit. What's something only I would know… Oh! I talked to you. On your roof. You remember? You read to me that love confession you were practicing. For the guy you liked."
"Oh my god," Marinette uttered.
"Yeah! Except I was Chat Noir when you did that, but uh, you know."
Marinette felt her heart suddenly race. Her mouth was dry and hands shook. This was Adrien. Calling her on the phone. Which meant the man in her house, the man she had given the ring to, must be someone else.
"Listen to me, Marinette, I'm like, thirty minutes away. Keep Felix there for me, if you can."
She did not respond.
"I saw the news that Chat Noir is back, and basically, I think that idiot is impersonating me again."
Cautiously, Marinette tiptoed over to the base of the stairwell, where, despite her nerves, she managed to look up to the top of the stairs. The man was there, standing on the top step, looking down and smiling innocently. He waved casually. She gasped.
"Oh wow, yes!" she exclaimed into the phone, feigning excitement and joviality. "Yeah, he's here right now!"
"Okay, just uh, keep him there while I get there. Uh. But not if you're in danger. If you have to go, go."
"What? No! Of course you can come over. Any time!" she said, straining herself to sound as happy as possible.
"Oh, shit, he's uh, he's right there, huh?"
"Oh my gosh, yes! We're having drinks as we speak!"
"Okay. Hey. I'll be there in a few. I'm running. Er. Driving. Stay safe, that guy is tricky."
"Oh, it'll be awesome to see you! Get here soon, okay?"
She hung the phone up back on the hook and looked back up the stairs. He had taken several steps down, and was about halfway to her now, still wearing that innocent smile. She waved nervously.
"Who was that?" he asked, descending the rest of the stairs. Marinette crossed the bakery so that the counter was between the two of them and pretended like she was trying to dust leftover flour off a shelf. She couldn't disguise her anxious body language. The sweating. The shaking. Maybe it was best to just keep her distance.
"Uh, Nino. Th-That was Nino," she answered. Surprised, the man grinned.
"Oh, wow! I haven't seen him in a little while!" The man exclaimed. "He coming over?"
"Oh, he's—" she began, words catching themselves in her throat as the man took a step forward to lean against the counter. "He'd like to, yeah. I mean, he's on his way."
"Wow, it'll be great to see him."
There was a silence that grew increasingly awkward between them. Marinette took a deep breath.
"Hey, so that ring!" Marinette cried, pointing to it on his hand. He looked down at it and nodded. "Pretty cool to have that back!"
She had to try.
"Yeah, it feels like being reunited with a part of me that I had lost, you know?" The man said.
She wretched. How naturally the lies came from his mouth. It was effortless.
"You sure I can't give it a try?" Marinette asked, stepping reluctantly closer. The man looked up at her, wearing a look of concern.
"I don't know. I only just got it back. And if Ladybug found out, she'd kill me," he mused. She stepped closer. She had to get that ring back.
"Come on, please? For me?" she pleaded. It felt pathetic, but it was the low she had to stoop to. The man took a confident step forward.
"Why?" he asked. She paused, swallowing. "You want this ring that bad?"
"I mean, I d-don't want it," she began, stammering along the way. "I just w-want to t-try it."
"Seems a little desperate, Marinette." He mocked. "That call with Nino really changed your whole perspective on things, I bet."
"I don't…" She swallowed her words hard.
"If I give you this ring, are you gonna hand it off to 'Nino' when he gets here?" The man asked. She averted her eyes. The man took another step forward, and she felt very small.
"You ought to know by now that I can read you like an open book. You wear your heart on your sleeve." he asked, malice dripping from his words like venom off a snake's fang. "You'd think you would have learned by now."
"Felix," Marinette whispered. The man dragged his hand across his hair, sweeping it back, and sighed deeply.
"You think you can trick me, Marinette? You think I can't tell when someone is lying to me?" Felix taunted, stepping ever closer. "You aren't good enough to trick me. You know that. You're Marinette, you've never been smart enough for that."
Marinette took a step back. Felix removed the glasses he was wearing, as he never really needed them to see, and tossed them to the ground. "You people, on the other hand, God! You fall for it every time, I don't even need to try! All I have to do is turn on the wet works, play the victim, and you eat it out of the palm of my hand."
"Why are you here?" Marinette asked, dreading the answer. He scoffed in response.
"Not because I wanted to see you, that's for sure," Felix sneered. "Why would anyone visit a sad, lonely thing like you? Better to keep you locked up in here where you can't embarrass yourself.
"The only reason I came here tonight is because it's what Adrien would have done. I needed to make this whole thing convincing. A paper trail, basically." Felix explained. He saw no harm in divulging the details of his plan to her. "I never thought you'd actually call me. Just leaving a note at your place should have been enough, but of course, you couldn't resist calling up your old crush."
Marinette whimpered weakly.
"You know, it's sad. Here we are, ten years later, and you're still making puppy dog eyes at a person you've barely ever spoken to." Felix mused, leaning against the counter. "I mean look at you. Sitting here, in the same house you grew up in, doing the same thing you've always done. Have you even considered how pathetic this all looks? You haven't changed a bit. You were a scared, unsightly little rodent then, and you're a scared, unsightly little rodent now."
Marinette lunged at him. She raised a hand to hit him, but she wasn't really sure if that was her goal, or what she would do when she got to him. She just wanted to hurt him.
But she never got the chance. Felix smoothly stepped aside, grabbing her arm and clutching it tightly. He rolled his eyes.
"I need you to tell Adrien something when he gets here." He whispered, placing a cold hand under her chin and lifting her gaze to his. His eyes were nothing like they had been. There was no joy or excitement or warmth left. Only darkness. Only distance.
"I want you to tell him that I'm going to take what little he has left. And I want you to make sure you tell him that there's nothing he can do to stop me. Never has been."
He let Marinette go and she backed away. With a flash of light, he transformed into Chat Noir.
"Once I get those earrings off Ladybug, maybe I'll come calling again." He hissed. Marinette gritted her teeth. He didn't know. He hadn't pieced that part together yet. She could use that.
"Now, if you'll excuse me."
Casually, Felix pushed her to one side, unlocked the door, and strolled out into the snow, leaving Marinette alone in the dark.
Author's Note: ...Surprise!
Anyway, I realized I forgot to mark this as complete when I uploaded it. This story will continue in a separate fic, which will be uploaded at a later date. I'm about halfway done with it as of today (3/28/22) so... soon? Anyway, keep an eye out for it under the name "One Step Forward".
And hey, thanks for sticking with me.