Marinette scooped the macaroons and leftover chocolate croissants from this morning onto a large plate.
"Macaroons are fresh from this morning, and are you okay with croissants this late?" Marinette cautiously asked. Adrien nodded. He was okay with anything as long as they stayed in the baked heat of her bakery.
"Good, or else we would have thrown them away. Here, take them," she said handing him the plate. "I'll make some hot chocolate."
Adrien, much to his disappointment, began drooling over the sight of such treasured pastries. His stomach growled and the smell wafted into his deepest dreams. He frowned at his bodily betrayal.
"Mind sneaking me a few?" Came a questioning voice. Adrien hurriedly glanced around and cupped Plagg around his hands.
From the distance, Tikki let out a sigh at their indiscretion and peered closely at Plagg and Adrien.
"I'll give you one macaroon, but you have to stay hidden for the rest of the night," he said.
"Alright, alright," Plagg complained. Adrien tossed two macaroons into his pocket and watched as his kwami dived in headfirst. Just in time too, as Marinette walked in with two steaming cups of hot chocolate topped with luscious whipped ream, cocoa powder and a candy cane.
"Carry the plate, and we can eat in my room," she said, without a single stutter. Adrien wondered why he was hesitant on coming in the first place. Just by looking at the cups warming Marinette's pale hands, he knew not even his superhero self could resist such a treat.
Meanwhile, Marinette was just happy she was understandable. She was so focused on making the most perfect swirls and searching for the candy canes her dad uses as toppings that she forgot to check where Tikki was. In addition to that, she rehearsed her lines repeatedly over the boiling pot before remembering to tell her parents she had a guest over.
They seemed weirdly delighted when she told them who it was.
Leading Adrien up the stairs, Marinette suddenly stopped as a dark realization came to her. Adrien bumped into her, and although deep in a blushing mess, Marinette found the strength to turn around.
"W-wait h-here just one hour. Er, no. I mean, one second. Please?" she begged. Darn, and I was on a roll too. Adrien nodded with a confused expression dotting his eyes and Marinette dashed upstairs. Plagg was about to come out when Adrien shoved him down, not wanting to risk her quick return. He was beginning to wonder when her timid self would return, and now that it has, he was somewhat feeling more secure.
Marinette dashed across her room removing every picture of Adrien she could find.
"I'll take care of the ceiling ones," whispered a tiny voice.
Turning around, Marinette found Tikki dropping a myriad of magazine cut-outs.
"Where did you come from?" She asked.
"Outside. Don't worry, no one saw me," she said. "I started removing the photos as soon as Adrien left."
Marinette reminded herself to make Tikki a cookie feast after this because without her, she would have escorted Adrien into her own funeral.
"Here's one, here's another, and another and another. Wow Marinette, you really are go big or go home."
Marinette sighed. Why does she do this to herself? One would think she would have learned after he played video games with her last time.
Finally, the last picture was stuffed into her drawers while the rest was folded in her closet.
Sitting down, she took a deep breath and calmly prepared herself.
"Marinette," Tikki said. "What about Adrien?"
"One second," she replied, taking an exaggerated breath before coming out.
Adrien had finally forced Plagg back into his pocket when Marinette finally returned.
"S-sorry for keeping you," she said. Breath, Marinette. Now is not the time to be nervous. "My room was pretty messy," she smiled.
"No problem!" Adrien cheered, walking into her room.
The first thing he noticed slapped him in the face like a punch delivered by an akuma. It is exactly the same as it was the last time he came. He's not sure why, but that shocked him. As if, something was missing from it. He shrugged away his shallow thoughts, and carefully placed the plate onto her desk next to the hot chocolates.
"Thanks for inviting me Marinette," he said. "But you really didn't have to."
Marinette smiled and was ready to hide behind her chair. "Don't be ridiculous Adrien, you're always welcome here," she proudly said. "Now what do you want to do? There's tv, I have movies if you want. Or I can beat you in Ultimate Mecha Strike III again."
Adrien laughed. He started to feel better, and probably felt taken aback by the comfort her smile brought her. Nevertheless, he began to feel less regret for accepting her invitation. She really was a good friend.
Looking around her room and admiring the subtle color choice of pink, she spotted her gaming set. "Why don't I try to redeem myself?" He suggested.
Marinette nodded and popped in the game. Adrien took a long chug of the hot chocolate and felt ecstasy empower his emotions. It was a sweet mix of mint and chocolate with whipped cream spotting his nose.
"Adrien, wait-"
That was until he started choking and tears began falling from his eyes.
"It's still hot!" Marinette screeched before rushing to find some napkins. Adrien burst out laughing over his tears of pain and the burnt taste of his tastebuds. Marinette rushed at him with napkins and threw a cup of iced water into his hands. He didn't have enough time to process how short her trip to the kitchen was before he chugged the water down his scorched throat.
"Thanks, Marinette," he said through cracked laughter.
It was pain, sure. But it was a homely type. And so, while Marinette was frantic over her friends red face and numb tongue, Adrien couldn't help but realize that this was the happiest he has been all week. His tastebuds would never likely return but this wasn't the pain he felt when he was too slow in the face of an akuma, or when his father again decided to not to have dinner with him. He welcomed it, and he welcomed the fun and warm feeling that soared in his stomach. The hot chocolate did wonders to him, but he was sure it was something else.
If only he could put his finger on it.