A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for the long, long wait! I can't stress enough how guilty I feel for not updating this, especially since I find the future chapters I wrote so cute (you know that feeling when you just want to skip ahead a few chapters and not write the in-between parts? Yeah...) Ugh! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little chapter, be reading you soon!
Let me know what you think! :)
Enjoy!
Chapter 5
"Bonjour!" the friendly couple greeted back.
The shorter woman stood behind the cash register as the man disappeared back into the kitchen, a handful of dough held in his hands. "What would you like to order?"
Adrien's hand rested on his badge hidden by his jacket. The slip of paper felt like it was burning up in his pocket, but his friendly smile remained as he walked up to the counter, gaze scanning the assorted sweets and pastries lined up aesthetically pleasing.
A chuckle passed his lips when he straightened, "Honestly, it's so difficult choosing something from the best bakery in all of Paris." He smiled in embarrassment at the older woman who laughed.
"Why thank you very much, would you perhaps like some butter or chocolate croissants? My husband just took out a fresh batch from the oven." And sure enough, a steaming platter of golden-brown croissants was already making it's way onto the front. Carried by none other than a proud-looking baker, who winked at him with a friendly smile as he set the platter down and disappeared back into the kitchen.
Adrien laughed, genuinely amused by the pair despite the nature of his visit. "Well, if you don't mind two croissants, please."
"Butter or chocolate?"
Adrien rubbed his chin, green gaze locked onto the delicacies and his stomach flared up at the prospect of eating any of them, 'I'm on duty but…'
The man cleared his throat, smiling. "…Butter please for both." He was already taking out his wallet when the two croissants were steaming on the plate, along with the coffee machine working in the background. Probably for the woman herself, it was still early, after all.
Adrien gratefully took his order and sat at one of the many free tables, the sweet smell of baked goods filling his senses from all around.
"She's a suspect."
Adrien froze, mid-way in taking his first bite out of the mouth-watering pastry.
"Do you have any evidence denying it?"
The blond's mouth pulled into a dark frown, gaze narrowed as the croissant dropped back to the plate. Wayhem's words replaying in his mind.
"It could be an act!"
He was ripped out of his thoughts by the dark-haired woman placing a steaming mug of coffee in front of him, "Your coffee, sir."
Adrien blinked, glancing from the coffee to the kind woman, "I'm sorry I didn't order any coffee, mademoiselle."
The Chinese woman smiled kindly, "It's on the house, we usually serve a beverage for our customers. It's still early and I'm sure you'll need the caffeine for your shift."
The blond quirked a confused brow, until the woman motioned towards something at his midsection.
It was his badge, on full display thanks to jacket falling away to the sides. He quickly tucked his badge away farther up his belt, clearing his throat again. "Apologies, I'm…off duty at the moment."
The older women nodded, smiling. "That's alright officer, you just enjoy your break."
Adrien smiled, nodding his thanks before she turned around to tend to other things behind the counter.
Finally.
It was time.
The still steaming croissant was inching closer and closer towards his mouth, a burning fire already settling into the pit of his stomach at the very real thought of finally eating the delicious pastry.
When he bit into it at long last, Adrien's senses were overwhelmed with a sweet, savory explosion, the crunchy outside mixing with the softness from the inside. He washed it down with the warm coffee, sweetness accompanied by mild bitterness.
Adrien turned around in his chair to flash a bright smile at the woman placing more goods on display, "This is delicious! My greatest compliments to the chef."
She giggled, bowing in gratitude, "Thank you, officer, that's very kind of you."
He waved casually, "Off duty I'm no officer."
She nodded, a warm, motherly smile on her lips, "I hope your coffee isn't too sweet, Marinette always liked to drink milder coffee in the morning to start her day, she was never a morning person." Another giggle, this one speaking volumes of fond memories.
Adrien perked up at the name, attention successfully shifted, mouth still taking another small bite out of his breakfast. "Marinette? Oh your co-worker?" he feigned ignorance, which by all accounts he should be having to the woman.
"No, my daughter. She moved out a few years ago, she was always a bit of a clutz you must know." She covered her mouth with her hand, giggles escaping her. "She never could carry a platter full of cookies without at least a few dropping to the floor, but she was a good baker, just like her papa." She gave a side glance to the back of the kitchen, obviously getting the same returned, for her eyes softened even further.
Adrien took a gulp of the warm concoction in his hand, mind filing away information. "She sounds charming, your daughter, I mean."
He remembered the episode in the morning, the kitchen scene where both of them got a scare and her jittery, ditzy reactions made sense.
"Oh she is. Always such a sweetheart, not to mention as busy as a bee, working on her designs and everything!" the mother gushed proudly, making Adrien's lips curl into a smile.
"Designs?" Adrien drank his coffee, raising a brow in interest.
The woman nodded. "Yes, she is a designer and has her own art and design studio. She may not be as famous as Mr. Agreste of course, but she is- are you alright?"
Adrien was coughing violently into his hand, the woman rushing forward to hand him a spare napkin, the blond quickly wiping his mouth and taking a breath to compose himself.
"I-I'm sorry, pardon me!" he held up a hand, residue coughs still wracking his body from before. Quickly taking a big bite out of his croissant, Adrien chewed quickly. "Um, your-your daughter sounds lovely." Adrien filed away all and any information for later, ignoring the pitter patter of his heart. "You mentioned her being a designer? So, she…doesn't have any affiliations with any sort of other…dealings?" he coughed, taking a larger gulp of his coffee.
Marinette's mother rose an eyebrow. "Well, she does get contracts often and commissions from models to design for them." And suddenly, a small knowing smile crossed her lips. "Would you perhaps like to meet her once? I'm sure I can call her and arrange for her to be here, she hasn't called in a while, living alone as she is but I'm sure meeting such a young handsome man like yourself will bring a bit more liveliness in this quaint bakery again."
She winked and Adrien's mind reeled, identifying the wink and tone as all mothers used to imply their daughters meet a potential suitor.
Wait.
Adrien coughed again and the woman quickly rushed to give him another napkin.
Once he was back inside his car, Adrien leaned back against the headrest, hands running down his face.
With reddened cheeks, Adrien killed the engine and drove back to the direction of the precinct, mind still replaying the lovely, if not eccentric conversations he'd had in the bakery.
The situation had worsened when Marinette's father, as Adrien learned was Tom, had gotten involved, happily suggesting how his daughter was a shy lovely woman with the kindest heart in all of France.
'You're on duty, get yourself under control, Agreste!'
Hands tightening on the steering wheel, Adrien pulled over to stop, taking out a small notepad he kept stored in the compartment.
He listed all the things he'd managed to find out about the suspect.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng
26 years old
Likes cats, designing clothes, sewing, helping others, baking
Master's degree in fashion design
Owns fashion and art studio
Co-workers: Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Juleka Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, Marc Anciel
Clients: Unknown, suspected models from the region
Parents: Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng
Adrien sighed, tapping his forehead with the rim of the notepad.
There were still many points missing. Of course, he didn't make it seem like he was actually interrogating her parents, he'd asked questions expected of someone with interest in…their daughter.
Adrien groaned, running a hand through his hair before catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror.
His hair was a mess.
Taking out a small comb he kept in the compartment above, Adrien quickly ran it through his hair a few times, combing it to the side so it didn't look like his bedhead anymore.
Nino kept suggesting to use hair gel, but old habits, no matter how detested, died hard.
Adrien opened his wallet, flipping open a small case and spotting the side of a well-tailored white suit, a red and white patterned tie and red pants along with the grey slicked back hair.
Averting his gaze, Adrien quickly closed his wallet and killed the engine, face focused as he drove back towards the precinct.
His knuckles were white on the steering wheel, but the officer paid it no mind.
The silence over dinner almost seemed a welcome reprieve.
Except for the noises of cutlery, the two women only sparingly exchanged words. Since they sat down to eat, they hadn't uttered a word.
Marinette was hyper focused on her food, vegetables, a garlic-smelling spicy sauce and noodles. She noted the captain must have skills in cooking, it had actually tasted good, contrary to her first impression of the woman.
She wore make-up on her face, light blue eyeshadow and the like, kept her nails well-manicured but on the shorter end. The woman seemed to be of the 'no nonsense' kind and yet there was something there that Marinette sensed was…different.
She had no idea how the next phone call would prove her correct.
The ringing of a phone blared loudly in the room like an alarm and Plagg hissed from his spot on the pillow. Captain Bourgeois spared the cat no mind, steps swift and precise as she fished out her phone from her bag.
"Captain Bourgeois here." She answered with a curt, clipped tone, all professional, no weakness.
Marinette didn't dare turn her head to look at her, too afraid to be caught red-handed, instead, she continued to eat her food.
Then, she noticed the barest, most subtle changes in the blonde's voice. "Yes…please give her to me." Several seconds passed until Marinette heard a shrill scream through the phone. The captain didn't seem unsettled by the sound, so Marinette tried not to let her heart jump out of her throat.
Was that another suspect? Had someone been injured? Was it a criminal? A colleague? Why was there screaming? Who was on the phone? Why was the woman so calm?
If Marinette had turned her head, she would've seen the smallest of smiles grace Chloe Bourgeois lips. "Are you okay?" the curtness and icy chill was gone, replaced by something much more…human-sounding.
Marinette didn't dare say it was gentleness.
"Don't worry, I'll be home soon." Several more seconds passed and the call ended.
Marinette sat frozen still, feeling like a fish circled by a great white shark as the blonde captain walked around the table to get to her seat again.
Once seated and eating, Marinette forgot to chew the food in her mouth, until a sharp voice promptly reminded her of it: "Chew your food Miss Dupain-Cheng."
There it was, the icy chill again.
Captain Bourgeois didn't look at her while eating from her own plate, but Marinette nearly choked at the command, furiously chewing the food to bits before swallowing thickly. "Y-Yes!"
The high pitched response left her lips in a panicked hurry and Marinette didn't look up once from her plate again.
Several more minutes passed until the police woman spoke again. "For your information, since you seem to be dying internally, that had been my daughter on the phone."
The fork in the dark-haired woman's hand froze and the chain rattled when her hand spasmed reflexively. "Y-You have a d-daughter?!"
How?!
How could…how could someone like her have children?
Those poor kids!
Marinette's eyes went bugeyed and the captain in front of her laughed haughtily, waving her hand. "Of course I do." As if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Marinette nearly choked.
"B-But…w-why are you telling me this?"
She was still a suspect wasn't she? While Marinette would never do anything to harm children, the police woman didn't know her, she knew protocol, surely she didn't just tell anyone about her having a daughter-
"Because, according to your background, you've watched over children before as an assistant in schools and kindergartens, correct? I can only assume they weren't foolish in choosing you to watch over the safety of many children." She continued eating, as if not even holding a conversation at all, while Marinette was sweating buckets.
She fidgeted with her fingers, shifting her weight on the chair and sliding her feet on the floor. "T-That's, um…t-that's nice of you to-"
Sudden laughter cut her off and Marinette blinked in surprise when the captain lifted her fork to point at her, a haughty look on her face. "Oh, you should've seen your face, Miss Dupain-Cheng, how gullible of you to believe I would truly reveal any sort of private information about myself to a suspect." She laughed, wiping the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "Utterly ridiculous."
Marinette's cheeks tinged red in embarrassment, her bottom lip jutting out at the charade the woman had thrown just to make fun of her.
Of course, how could she have believed the ice queen to even entertain the thought of having children? No child would ever be happy having her as a mother, Marinette was happy that wasn't the case.
Seething in silence over the humiliation, Marinette stabbed her fork into a sliced carrot and chewed.
It was late in the afternoon when Adrien Agreste finally came home from work and captain Bourgeois left.
The two fellow officers conversed quietly at the doorway, too low for Marinette to understand, all she caught was a genuine 'thank you so much Chloe' from officer Agreste, along with a quick kiss on the cheek, before the woman finally left the apartment.
Once the door was locked and closed, Marinette leaned her head back against the soft cushioning of the couch and sighed heavily in relief.
What a day.
Marinette sincerely hoped she would never see the blonde woman again, or at least that she not be put in charge to watch over her again.
Even Plagg had kept his distance away from her, only walking towards his food bowl when the woman walked away from it, even sniffing it cautiously, as if expecting her to poison him.
Marinette wouldn't be entirely too sure she wouldn't attempt it either.
At least officer Agreste was here, he was a blond Marinette felt far more comfortable with.
With a small, tired smile Marinette greeted the officer in the living room, with Plagg lounging on her lap contently.
"I hope she was nice to you." He smiled, a genuine, kind smile, the polar opposite of the witch that just left the house.
Marinette forced on a smile, trembling and thin, all teeth showing. "Yeah….she was…nice."
And in that moment, Plagg released something akin to a yowl or the most human groan Marinette ever heard and she couldn't help but snort in amusement.
It was night by the time captain Chloe Bourgeois arrived home.
She unlocked her door, armed with not one but three keyholes, a different key for each lock until the thick door finally granted her entry.
The house was warm and filled with a sweet scent, and as soon as her feet hit the soft surface of the carpet on the floor, a weight crashed into her legs.
The previously icy aura of the blonde vanished immediately, replaced by the warmest smile ever seen on her face, the hard lines disappearing, icy blue eyes filled with love and kindness.
She bent down to pick up the small figure with large blue eyes, small chubby hands grabbing at her hair and face.
Chloe laughed, nuzzling her daughter and kissing her forehead and cheek, one arm supporting her bottom while the other balanced her back, rubbing soothing circles on the warm body tenderly. "I'm home!"
An orange haired head shot out from the kitchen, sea green eyes softening at the sight of her friend. "Welcome home, you're late."
Chloe steadied the small bundle of squealing gurgles and wiggling limbs on her hip, walking towards the kitchen.
It was warm, almost humid, but the sweet smell that filled the area made Chloe's head spin. "Open a window, it's too stuffy in here, Aline will suffocate." She patted her daughter's back again, smiling when she burped.
Her friend rushed to open a window and Chloe took the time to peek beneath the cloth covering the pie. It was some sort of fruity pie, slices of mangoes or a similar fruit littering its smooth baked surface. "I see you were busy today, Sabrina."
The other woman laughed, taking Aline from the captain and sitting her back in her high chair, so she sat at the table with her mother. "It wasn't too bad. How was work?"
"Busy." Was her only explanation while Chloe took out two plates and a knife, walking towards the table and cutting the pie in slices.
Aline made grabby hands towards the pie, but Chloe gently wagged her finger and bopped her nose playfully. "No, no, no, you are getting fruit, young lady." Sabrina smiled and made to cut up small pieces of bananas for Aline to eat.
Once everything was cut and set, the two women sat down at the table, Chloe handing Sabrina her own plate with two slices. "You really didn't have to Chloe, I have to get going anyway."
The blonde shook her head, fork digging into the soft fluffy texture. "Don't be ridiculous and eat."
With a soft, knowing smile, Sabrina ate her fill, the two friends casually talking about their day.
Chloe every so often played with Aline, softly stroking her growing blonde head and fixing the saliva and bits of banana stuck to her chin.
Sabrina leaned her chin on one hand, watching the heartwarming interactions. "She missed you."
The answer was immediate. "And I missed her." Chloe glanced towards her friend and sighed. "I'm sorry about earlier, I was with a suspect."
Sabrina giggled. "No worries, I figured. I'm sorry I called, she started hiccupping for too long so I got worried."
Chloe snorted softly, shaking her head. "It's fine, I'm not mad you called or anything. She must've swallowed to quickly and tried to breathe at the same time, since she's not an infant anymore, she lost that ability." Chloe gently pinched her daughter's cheek, Aline immediately grasping her mother's finger and laughing.
"Thanks for watching over her." The soft confession made Sabrina laugh.
"Of course, you know I'm always here."
Chloe smiled, watching her daughter eat, but Sabrina knew her attention was on both. "Thank you."
"Always."
Thanks for reading! (And I'm so sorry for the long wait, I'll try to update faster) What did you think so far?