The bakery was busy as Marinette walked through the door, the bell jingling above her head.
"Did you get the eggs?" her father glanced up from the pastries he was icing.
"Yes, papa." The bag sat down with a soft thunk on the counter beside him. "Louis told me to tell you that they're having a sale on milk and butter next week. He said he would save some just for you." The man nodded and reached up a hand to brush flour from his forehead, his hands working feverishly to paint delicate flowers on the tops of each of the baked goods.
"I'm going to change and I'll be back down to help"
The stairs squeaked under her feet. The aged railing was rough under her fingers as she made her way up to her bedroom. She discarded her shirt and leggings , slipping into a tank top and cloth shorts. It was sunny outside. Marinette had barely noticed the seasons slipping by. It was early summer, and in Paris, it felt that way. The young woman glanced out the window, pushing it open and hoping to let in as much fresh air as possible.
It had been almost two weeks since Cat Noir had kissed her. Nothing else had happened because it had been late after all. Yet she could still smell him, and the taste of him refused to leave her lips.
"Marinette? Would you mind coming downstairs to help? We just got an order in and your father will need help." Her mothers' voice floated through the floorboards.
"Yeah Mom I'm on my way" she replied and turned away from the window that somehow now held so many memories. He had only been back once and hadn't stayed for more than a few moments to check up on her. Not once had his hands touched her or her lips been pressed against his. She found herself longing for him to be next to her, satisfying an empty feeling that only left when he chased it off.
The hours ticked by while the family of three worked. The customers began dwindling, the shelves picked almost clean of sweets and baked bread. Sabine stood at the counter while counting the money in the drawer while her daughter and husband wiped down and cleaned the tiny kitchen. "Well, today was wonderful. Thank you for all your help Marinette. Go ahead and go upstairs. I can handle the rest." Tom beamed at her, turning away without leaving room for protest.
The sun was beginning to set when Marinette finally made it out onto her balcony. The warm breeze was welcome after being in a stuffy bakery. Her hands' reached up, removing the ponytail and letting her hair drape down her back like a thick, dark curtain. She didn't know why she missed the mangy cat so much. Why did he get to her so much when she knew that she cared for someone else?
Because the person you've been rejecting him for doesn't love you
She cursed at the nagging voice in the back of her mind. It was right though, perhaps that's why she didn't like it. Adrien was everything she dreamed of. Smart, witty, confident, sweet. But he barely looked her way. Cat Noir was all the things Adrien was. The only difference was that Cat reciprocated those long-held feelings. At least she thought he did.
She looked forward to his far and few between visits. She looked forward to his stupid cat puns and the goofy grin that spread over his face when they conversed about everyday mundane life. Especially when he talked about his friends and his kwami, Plagg. She didn't want for him to have this strong pull on her. But he did. He was intriguing, she could at least admit that.
She sat on the lounge chair for what felt like hours as she watched the sun dip behind the buildings and the stars fanning across the sky. She loved the quiet, even if it was a little lonely at times. She savored the not so chaotic moments that she had to herself. The moments not spent in a crowded bakery or on the streets of Paris fighting those who had allowed negative emotions to consume them. She glanced at her watch, standing up. She had to go on patrol tonight even though she desperately wanted to stay home and wait for the green-eyed cat to make a short but much-welcomed appearance.
She took the long way this time, delaying the eventual long and lonesome hours she would spend watching and waiting for anything interesting to happen. She couldn't help the way her mind wandered off once more. There was nothing else to do but think. No books or emerald-eyed boys to keep her entertained.
She stopped finally on a covered ledge and allowed herself to sink to the floor, crossing her legs and simply waiting.
She had to remind herself. Cat Noir had kissed Marinette. Not Ladybug. He had technically wrapped those strong arms around Marinette's waist. Not hers. Her chin rested against her palm as her shift drifted so slowly along. She wanted something. Something she wasn't quite ready to admit yet.
But possibly, just maybe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had fallen for Cat Noir. It was as simple as that. She had been distancing herself from the unobtainable boy that had been witness to so many screw-ups. She was comfortable with Cat in a way she had never been with Adrien. She could be herself around him and not stutter or even worse, fall. She could be Marinette. Not just the clumsy girl that had sat behind him in class or the one that once made him a scarf that he didn't know was from her. She compared the two over and over again in her head. She listed the things Cat Noir had done, and Adrien hadn't.
The realization dawned on her slowly, the thought interrupted by someone clearing their voice. She turned to look over her shoulder, eyeing the fashionably late feline companion she had overlooked all these years. It took five years.
But Marinette had a crush on Cat Noir.
And she was positively screwed.