Marinette slapped both of her hands over her mouth, wondering why she would say that as her reaction. It was wildly inappropriate and she knew she should've thought about what to actually say before the opportunity came. The coffee pot dinged to inform the two of them that the pot was finished brewing, but Marinette found herself unable to move to pour herself a cup.
"Sorry," Chat said quietly when Marinette didn't say anything. He put the whisk attachment into the sink and ran a hand through his hair, landing it on the back of his neck. "I should've waited to say anything until after you've had some coffee in you. I know you're not the best with serious things before you've had any caffeine." She watched, wordlessly, as a blush grew across his cheeks and down his neck.
"It's caffine," Marinette managed to say quietly, silent enough that he was certain he wouldn't have heard her if he didn't have enhanced senses from his Miraculous. "I actually like you too, I like you a latte. I think it would mocha me really happy to go out with you." A matching blush spread across her cheeks.
He could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest as she spoke. He could barely believe she had agreed to go out with him, but she did. She agreed to go out with him and he was so thrilled by the chance she was willing to give him. He wanted to hug her, or kiss her head, but she was still holding the bowl of ingredients and he didn't want to mess anything up.
'Words can't espresso how happy I am to hear you say that, princess," he replied, shoulders relaxing a little, for what felt like the first time all day. He picked up the coffee pot and poured a mug for each of them, already knowing how Marinette took her coffee. He set the pot back down and moved to the cabinet and the fridge.
He put some sugar into each of their cups, more into his than she took in hers. He shook the small carton of half and half before pouring some into each of their cups, again adding more into his than he added to hers. "I really feel like the cat who got the cream." She rolled her eyes at him as a fond smile overtook her features.
Marinette couldn't help but to let a small giggle escape her lips in response to Chat's pun. "Just make sure you don't put together any public grande gestures. We don't need anyone coming after me just because we know each other." She finished folding the first bowl of ingredients together and put down the bowl.
Now that her hands were empty, Chat wasn't sure what to do. He still wanted to give her affection, but he didn't know if he missed his chance. He didn't have time to think it through very much longer because Marinette seemed to slide across the floor and wrapped her arms around his torso. He was surprised briefly, but wrapped his arms around her.
The top of her head barely came up to his chin and he couldn't help but to think about how perfect she felt in his arms. It wasn't the first time he'd had that thought, but it was one of his favorite things to think about. A smile bloomed on his face and he couldn't help the wave of calm that rushed over him in the moments he held her.
"That's a purrtty tall order," he said in response, giving her a small squeeze. She knew that he was probably right, but she also knew her partner. He wouldn't do anything beyond what she was comfortable with. If there was any hesitation from her in response to him, he would back off immediately.
"Maybe, if you need to, you can venti with Ladybug about the woes of being a hero," she jokingly suggested before she stepped back out of his arms. When they separated, they both felt more energized than they would have by drinking the coffee that was now starting to cool down on the counter next to them.
Marinette picked up the next bowl and began folding together the meringue and dry ingredients. Her movements were deliberate and that wasn't something that Adrien thought he had ever noticed before. She didn't move robotically, but she moved like she had a specific goal in mind and he couldn't help but become entranced by her.
"I'm sure I could if I needed to, but I think I would rather just spend time talking to the brewtiful purrincess that I have right next to me," he told her sincerely. "Now, though, I want to know how you're coffeeling about this, I don't want to overstep and come across looking like a doppio."
She couldn't help the shocked look that came across her face at just how many puns he was able to squeeze into the last few sentences. She knew it shouldn't have surprised her at that point, after all, they had been punning back and forth with each other for weeks, but there was no way that he came armed with these puns, right?
"I think that it would be a good idea to finish grinding out the rest of these macarons, then maybe we could pick up some lunch from the Café around the corner and bring it back here. I heard that they're supposed to be wonderful, plus I think they might even have a few specials named after Paris' favorite cat." She gently poked him, clearly indicating that she was talking about him.
"If you want an affogato," he began, "we're already in a bakery, you can easily have either one you'd want. A cat or a cake." They both knew that was a stretch at best, but neither of them minded how terrible the pun was when they were having fun just spending time together, joking around.
"A lunch sounds like a great idea, though," he assured quickly after. "I have some civilian stuff to take care of later today that I can't risk being café au late for. If you want, I can grab lunch while you're finishing up mixing the batters?" She finished folding together the second bowl and leaned up on her toes.
She placed the briefest, softest kiss onto his cheek. He could barely feel it and wasn't even sure he'd believed that it happened if he hadn't seen it for himself. "Or," she began in offering, "we can finish our coffee here while I work, then we can grab lunch in a little while so I can keep talking to you while I work."
"That sounds like an absolutely purrfect plan, princess," he responded with a smile. His hand instinctively raised to his cheek where he covered the spot where her lips had met his skin a few moments before. He went around to sit on the stool at the counter where he couldn't be in her way and couldn't help the huge smile that exploded on his face, stretching from ear-to-ear.
The two of them spent the rest of the macaron process talking and smiling. Chat consistently offered to help, but after the third offer, the two agreed that Marinette should teach him how to bake something easier before he learned to make macarons. He did, however, help her by consistently refilling her cup of coffee when she finished it, earning a kiss on the cheek each time.
caffeine/fine, lot, make, express, cream, grande, pretty tall, vent, beautiful, princess, feeling, dope, grinding, café, gato (cat in Spanish, gâteau is cake in French), café au laît/late, perfect
