Adrien jumped back down into his room silently. He'd had to take the long way back to the bakery to avoid being seen, although it had still been close a couple of times. He quickly washed and dressed in clean clothing, carefully replacing his disguise before descending to the store to find an atypical rush in the bakery for this time on a Saturday.

"Oh! Jean Luc!" Tom called, catching sight of his protégée, "Perfect timing, son! We're getting swamped, and I have a huge order that's being picked up in an hour that I need to get ready! Could you please start a batch of croissants? We're almost out."

The younger man saluted him cheerily. "Sure thing, sir- uh, Tom," he corrected himself, getting straight to work. He pulled out his ingredients and utensils, letting himself get lost in the familiarity of baking.

It took quite a while, but in the time it took Adrien to finish his croissants, prepare several loaves of bread to bake, and frost a few dozen cupcakes, the rush had died down somewhat. He checked his phone, seeing Marinette had texted him a few minutes ago.

Marinette: Be there in 15. See you then

He smiled and his heart skipped a beat. He was glad she'd decided to come; he'd been a little worried she'd back out again. Though he couldn't exactly tell her parents she was coming, so they likely didn't know to expect her anyway.

At that moment, Sabine staggered to the back to take a seat for a bit, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for your help, dear," she said, helping herself to a glass of water. "We really appreciate it, especially since we were supposed to have given you the day off. I promise, you can have a real day off tomorrow."

Adrien smiled. "It's no trouble, Sabine," he assured her. His smile turned to a look of trepidation as she opened her mouth, a devious look flashing across her face. She was going to ask about his date…and he hadn't made up a cover story for himself yet. Just as she began to speak, a musical voice sounded brightly from the doorway.

"Good afternoon, Maman. Do you need any help?"

Sabine spun around in shock, then hurried to embrace her daughter.

"I'm so glad to see you, dear!" She cried, pulling the younger woman into a hug, which Marinette happily returned.

Adrien was sure his relief was written all over his face. "Thank you," he mouthed to Marinette behind her mother's back as she was pulled into a tight hug. Marinette quirked an eyebrow questioningly. "Later," he mouthed again, shaking his head subtly. She gave him a barely perceptible nod, pulling back from her mother, who pointed to Adrien.

"You remember Jean Luc, of course?" Sabine watched happily as Marinette gave him a shy smile.

"Nice to see you again, sir," Marinette said, extending her hand for him to shake. Adrien shot her a secret smirk before bowing low over her hand pretentiously.

"Milady," he greeted formally, kissing the back of her proffered hand. When he resumed his position, he had to fight to keep a straight face when he found that Marinette had gone scarlet. He found it even more difficult when he noticed Sabine watching her daughter with the utmost curiosity. Marinette seemed to shake herself, then turned to her mother, clearing her throat.

"S-so. What can I do to help?" She asked, struggling to regain her composure. Thankfully, Sabine let it go, consulting their list.

"If you two want to start on the pastries to go on the croquembouche for tomorrow's order, that would be fantastic," she suggested. "It's supposed to be one of the most enormous ones we've done in a long while. Why don't you make a quadruple batch? That should give us enough."

The Miraculous duo dutifully took out their supplies as Sabine finished checking the list once more. Marinette waited until her mother had left the room before fixing Adrien with a very stern glare.

"What on earth was that, Kitty?" She hissed as she rolled up the sleeves of her sweater. "I told you- she notices everything. You know she's probably going to bring it up later. We were supposed to be keeping it casual!"

Adrien put on a haughty, posh voice. "My dear lady, that was casual," he smirked.

"I'd hate to see what formal looks like, then," she grumbled, though there was no bite to her words. He snorted. "Now. Do you want to make the custard or the puffs?"

"Doesn't batter to me," he smirked again. Marinette rolled her eyes and moved to the stove to begin the custard.

"By the way, what were you thanking me for when I got here?" she asked curiously, turning back to him as they worked.

"Um…your mother was about to ask me for a play-by-play of my 'date' last night," he said, cheeks turning pink, though he gave her a crooked smile. "I didn't really feel like explaining that I'd met up with a certain gorgeous superhero instead," he breathed in her ear as he passed by her on his way to gather his ingredients, relishing in the sight of her once-again blushing face.

They carefully began adding the ingredients, mixing and stirring with the greatest concentration. Just as Adrien was shoving the first puffs into the oven, Tom appeared in the doorway.

"Hey, Lucky Bug! I didn't know you were here," he said, scooping Marinette up in a bone-crushing hug. "Are you staying a while?" He asked her hopefully. When Marinette nodded, he looked relieved. "Thank goodness. Are you two already working on something?"

Marinette shook her head. "The first batch of pastries for the croquembouche are in the oven, and there are quite a few more after that, so we're just waiting until they're ready for filling, which is also done. You need us to help with something?"

Tom nodded. "I have an order for ten loaves of bread at closing. I just finished mixing up the dough. Can you two be in charge of kneading?" They answered affirmatively, Adrien setting an alarm on his phone for the already-baking pastries. Tom turned back to Adrien. "Son, can you teach Marinette the new technique we've been using? She hasn't been in to help since we discovered it."

"Yes sir- uh, Tom," he replied, leading Marinette to where the bread dough was waiting for them, each of them grabbing a ball of dough and carrying it back to the counter. Adrien, knowing he was probably hugely under-qualified to teach the daughter of a baker anything about kneading bread, tried his best to hide his nervousness.

"Ok Mari, let's see what you've got. Show me what you're used to doing," he said, trying to sound confident. She picked up the ball of dough expertly, folding it in half toward her body and then pushing the whole thing away. The movement was reminiscent of the tide; a calm, relaxing movement.

"Ok, perfect. Now, the new technique we've been using is more like this." He picked up his own dough, throwing it firmly against the countertop. Using alternate hands, he pushed the dough in a roughly circular motion, moving in a diagonal direction across his body. Marinette watched for a couple of beats, making sure she understood exactly what she was being asked to do, then attempted to copy his movement. He let her practice a bit as he continued with his own work, then stopped for a moment to watch her.

"That's good," he praised her. "Really close. You just need to use a bit more pressure. Like this." He moved around behind her, setting his large hands on top of her smaller ones, showing her about the kind of force he normally used with the dough and helping her smooth her movements.

It was then that he noticed how close he was to her. He was practically holding her in his arms. Her back was pressed against his chest as he reached around her. He noticed that she was warm, and her hair smelled like flowers.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered out, pulling him back to the present. He moved so he could see her face; it was very red. He reluctantly let go of her and moved back to his own lump of dough. He supposed he should be thankful that no one had seen them. It would be hard to explain why she'd let him that close barely knowing him, after all. But he couldn't help but want to hold her in his arms again.

He cast about for a distraction, finding one in the form of his phone alarm reminding him to check the puffs in the oven. He removed them carefully, replacing them with another pan of the same puffs, setting another alarm, and deftly setting the finished puffs on the cooling rack before returning to his bread. He observed Marinette again, finding her kneading movement much more steady and strong than it had been previously. "Bien joue," he said softly. She shot him a bright smile; he'd give anything to see that smile more often.

"Hey, what do you say we play a game?" He asked her. "We can take turns asking questions and we'll both answer, ok?" She looked at him doubtfully. "Come on, we don't have to ask anything super nosy or personal. Here, I'll start. Favorite color?"

"Pink," she answered without having to consider. "The kind like a pink carnation, not like…hot pink or neon or whatever. You?"

"Blue," he answered automatically. "Like your eyes. Gorgeous," he breathed dreamily before he could stop himself. She blushed again, looking pleased. "Ok, your turn."

She thought for a moment. "Favorite music group or artist?"

Adrien's brow furrowed in thought. "I don't really know," he said. "I haven't really spent much time listening to music since I…since I got here." He looked at her meaningfully, and knew that she understood that he meant, 'since I lost my memories.' "I've heard some of Jagged Stone's music, that's pretty good, I guess. Not that I have much to compare it to."

"Jagged Stone is my favorite," she chimed in, taking a moment to examine her dough. "Just a second," she said, setting the finished dough aside to rise and leaving his side to grab another. She came back, setting her new lump on the counter before continuing. "I've been listening to Jagged Stone for years. Do you remember…well, I guess you hadn't…moved here yet," she said, casting him a meaningful glance, "but Jagged Stone was actually akumatized once," she said. "That was a pretty wild one. Ladybug and Chat Noir had to save that 'pop star'-" She held up her fingers in invisible quotation marks, "-XY, because he was going around calling Jagged Stone a has-been. As I'm sure you can guess, that didn't go over very well," she said dramatically, pausing as he took a minute to grab himself another ball of dough. "His crocodile turned into an enormous dragon and everything! It was absolutely insane!"

He listened, enthralled, as she animatedly told her story. "I saw the fan vids of that battle," he interjected. "It was pretty awesome." He chuckled before his expression turned confused.

"Why do you say that XY fellow is a 'pop star,' versus a real one?" He asked, mimicking her air-quotes. She grimaced. "Let me guess. He caused another akuma?"

"Yep," she said, popping the 'p' sound. "He and his talent-agent father stole someone's costume ideas and music and tried to pass them off as their own. One of the band members was really upset about the whole thing. Tried force XY's father to tell the truth and give their band a real chance to make it big."

Adrien opened his mouth to say something, when his alarm beeped again.

"I've got this one," Marinette insisted, dusting off her hands as she sauntered away to take care of the pastries. When she returned, Adrien spoke, resetting his phone.

"So…did they manage it? To get him to tell the truth?"

Marinette smiled mischievously. "No, the akuma didn't. But Ladybug and Chat Noir did," she winked at him. "I don't know all the particulars…" her face clearly told him she was pulling his leg, "but it seemed Ladybug tricked him into talking to her about his motives. He totally outed himself, and Chat filmed the whole thing unnoticed. On live television."

Adrien's jaw dropped. He'd done that? He'd done that? Marinette cast him a sideways glance, dissolving into a fit of giggles when she saw his expression. He recovered himself marginally and smirked.

"I thought things like that only happened in movies," he said, awe and amazement still lacing his voice. Marinette smirked back, and Adrien's stomach flipped as she whispered into his ear.

"Get used to it; you're basically living one, you know." He could only watch with a dazed expression as she walked away. She was going to be the death of him.

As the afternoon wore on, Marinette and Adrien had managed to finish kneading the bread, leaving it to rise while they assembled the remainder of the croquembouche. Once that was completed, they kept close watch on the loaves of bread as they baked, continuing their conversation. They kept up their game, which was punctuated with Marinette sharing stories about superhero battles.

By the time they finished their work, Marinette knew that Adrien's favorite kind of jam was marmalade, he didn't like tomatoes on his sandwiches but did on his salads, he wanted to visit Italy one day (he may have already, but he couldn't remember), and didn't have a favorite movie, since he had too many favorites to choose from.

In return, she'd told him that Chat was allergic to feathers, something that Adrien (thankfully) hadn't come into much contact with since he lost his memories, and that Chat had hated Christmas more than any other time of the year, though he'd never told her why. He'd always needed lot of extra cheering up over the holidays. Probably something to do with his mother, he reasoned.

They were just beginning to tidy up their work space when Tom and Sabine poked their heads in.

"Thanks so much for your help, you two," Tom boomed happily, seeing the finished loaves of bread already packaged and packed into a box for transport. "We never would have made it without you." He gathered the box in his arms, carefully hauling it out to the front, ready for pick-up.

The customer finally arrived to pick up the order, and the young duo quickly finished cleaning the bakery while Tom and Sabine chatted. They were just returning as Marinette turned to Adrien, fist extended. "Bien joue!" they chorused, as the elder couple watched with quiet amusement.

"Marinette, would you like to stay for dinner?" Sabine asked, looking hopeful.

"I'd love to, Maman," she replied, beaming.

Papillon made her way to the mayor's office. She'd been summoned to give an accounting of her activities as the new butterfly holder. Her stilettos clicked on the tiles as she walked.

She reached the door, pushing it open to find Nathalie sitting at her desk, making notes on a notepad.

"You wanted to see me, Madame Mayor?" Lila said, her voice sickly sweet, tapping her purple brooch she hid beneath her yellow scarf. Nathalie looked up at her setting aside her pen.

"Yes, Papillon," she said. "Our plan is going perfectly. Ladybug hasn't been seen in days. I want you to begin pretending that Hawkmoth is gone. If Hawkmoth leaves once Ladybug does, it will be easier to place blame on her later."

"Madame Mayor, I think I have an idea of who she is," Papillon offered, her face twisting into a scowl at the thought. Natalie's expression turned calculating.

"Interesting," she mused. "How certain are you?"

Papillon shrugged. "No hard evidence, but there's too many similarities for it to be a coincidence. I was preparing to see if I can find out for sure."

Nathalie looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Excellent. Just make sure Hawkmoth isn't obviously linked to it. Now, here's what we do next…"

A couple days later, Marinette was sitting at her kitchen table, contentedly working on her homework. As she worked, her phone buzzed with a notification. She smiled as she opened the text.

Kitty: Whatcha doin?

Marinette could almost hear the tone of voice he used, the kind with a teasing lilt to it. She giggled and answered back.

Mari: My afternoon class got cancelled, so I'm just doing homework at my place. You?

Kitty: Got off work early.

Kitty: Want to check out the fencing scene with me? Might as well get it over with.

Marinette paused, taking stock of her homework. The exercises she was working on wouldn't be due until next week, and she was caught up with everything else.

Mari: Sure. I'll be there in about 15. Is that ok?

Kitty: Yep, see you then :)

Marinette walked quickly to the bakery. She was happy to know that Adrien wanted to hang out with her enough to invite her along. He likely could have gone to ask for a fencing assessment all on his own, after all.

As she walked the last couple of blocks, a sudden prickling feeling on the back of her neck disturbed her. She glanced around, trying to figure out what would have caused her unease. However, it was easy to forget once she arrived at the bakery. Adrien was waiting for her, along with her mother, who was running the register. Her heart warmed at the way her partner's eyes lit up when he caught sight of her, and her heart skipped a beat at the look he was giving her.

"Milady," he intoned as he bowed deeply over her hand. She rolled her eyes at him, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Come on, you," she said, being careful to omit his true name from her sentence as she pulled him by the hand back out the way she'd come.

"Have fun, dears," Sabine's voice floated out after them. They waved, Marinette a bit tersely and Adrien a cheery one, before making their way toward the school across the street.

As they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Marinette's unease returned. She turned to Adrien, who was frowning slightly.

"You feel that?" she asked quietly. He gave her a short nod.

"I thought I was just nervous, though," he admitted, glancing around warily. "Come on."

They quickened their pace a bit, finally losing the…whatever was causing their jitters, as they entered Marinette's old school, closing the door swiftly behind them. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief. As they walked further into the building, Adrien stared around in wonder.

"This…this feels familiar," he commented vaguely. Marinette smiled.

"It should," she quipped. "Every single person in my class besides me was akumatized at least once. Some of them twice. Many of the incidents happened right here. Even without going to school, you were probably here often enough as to have earned an honorary degree." She led him into the gym area, finding the afternoon's extracurricular fencing class just beginning.

Monsieur D'Argentcour made their way over to them.

"I'm sorry, Madame, Monsieur, but I must ask you to leave," he said stiffly. "Only students allowed, you see."

Marinette put on a winning smile, holding out a hand to the elder gentleman. "Monsieur, I know you are very busy, but my friend here wishes to be tested in fencing. I went to school here when I was younger, and I heard you are one of the best fencing instructors in Paris, so we came to you." D'Argentcour looked at them warily. "Please. We would be happy to wait until your class has ended for the day, if you are more comfortable with that," she offered, hoping he would oblige them. She chanced a glance at Adrien, but he was in another world, completely zoned out. Perhaps some of his memories were coming back, she thought.

The raven-haired girl returned her attention to the fencing master, who was clearly still considering them.

"Very well," he said finally, shaking her offered hand. "Young man, go into my office and get suited up." He indicated the direction they should go. "Then you can watch until class is over."

Marinette brightened, shooting the older gentleman a friendly smile. "Thank you, sir!" she said happily, pulling Adrien with her towards the master's office.

Adrien was freaking out a little by the time he'd gathered the adult-sized fencing gear from the master's office, putting it on carefully. He emerged from the room, feeling slightly nauseous, to find Marinette waiting for him. He hoped he wouldn't make a complete fool of himself, especially since his Lady was there to watch. She greeted him with a bright smile, but he was unable to return it.

"What's wrong?" she asked, worry lacing her tone as she checked him over. He attempted to wave her off.

"I'm fine, Bugaboo, just a little nervous," he said, but when she took his hand, he nearly squeezed hers to death. She laughed softly.

"A little, huh?" she teased, trying to put him at ease. He smiled weakly. "Don't worry, Chaton," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "You'll do fine."

"Just don't overthink it," Plagg said softly from his spot in Marinette's hair. "Go with your gut, kid. Remember, you took down an akuma with no powers and only an ancient sword for a weapon. You got this."

"Thanks, you guys," Adrien said, allowing Marinette to lead him to a bench on the side of the gym. He kept a tight hold on his partner's hand, but soon lost himself in watching the students practice. By the time the lesson was over, he was feeling much more confident, enough of his memories coming back to him to let him relax slightly. Once the students had gone, he stood and approached the master fencer.

"Alright young man, what sword do you prefer?" D'Argentcour asked him. Adrien considered his answer.

"Let's go with sabers," he said finally. D'Argentcour raised his eyebrows.

"Not a beginner, eh? Alright, sir. Let's see what you can do. Do you prefer the electronic score keeper, or the old-fashioned way?"

"How about no wires, please?" he answered. That would give him more of the range of movement he was used to as Chat.

The master's gaze flitted to Marinette. "Maybe your charming companion would consent to be our referee?" Adrien turned his gaze to his raven-haired friend, having a silent conversation with her before she rose and joined them.

"I don't know anything about fencing, Monsieur," she demurred. "But I'll be glad to help if I can."

"Good," he replied. He quickly explained Marinette's job to her, then reviewed the rules for Adrien. Then the two gentlemen took their places, pulling their masks over their faces.

"Pret?" Marinette called. "Allez!"

Adrien immediately jumped into action, feinting to one side, then lunging. D'Argentcour caught his saber with his own, parrying the attack. Adrien was agile and light on his feet, moving quickly outside the specified area. D'Argentcour seemed to welcome the challenge. The first bout ended after another volley of attacks with D'Argentcour finally landing the blow to Adrien's arm.

The second bout started differently, with Adrien waiting for D'Argentcour to make the first move. He ducked out of the way, then caught D'Argentcour in the chest with his sword. Now they were one and one.

The third bout saw both combatants lunging at the same time. Adrien parried the blow and danced out of reach, then lunged again, forcing his foe to retreat. His feet moved faster than he remembered them ever having done before. He spun and ducked, dodged and parried, until finally his ferocity caused the master to lose his footing. Adrien ended the bout with a flourish, his saber tip on his opponent's chest, then offered his hand. D'Argentcour took it, getting slowly to his feet.

"Good match, young sir," he complimented the secret superhero. "It's been a while since I had a challenge like that. Not since young Agreste went missing," he added, though Adrien couldn't be sure if he'd intended for them to hear, so kept his face carefully neutral. "Best fencer I've ever trained." The elder gentleman shook himself from his thoughts, shaking Adrien's hand. "I'd be honored to have you return, Monsieur…?"

"Chapain," Adrien offered. "And sure, I'd love to come back and train with you, sir," he added enthusiastically. "I'd be happy to help with your classes, too, if you need an assistant."

"Wonderful!" D'Argentcour clapped the younger man on the back. "Now…your young lady is waiting," he said with a wink.

"Oh, she's not my…" Adrien said, but then stopped. He could admit to himself that he liked the way that sounded. As Marinette bounced over to him and wrapped him in a bear hug (or, as much of one as such a petite person her size could give), he decided yes- he definitely wanted that. For her to be, "his young lady". For real.