I want to apologize for not writing in a long time! I really am sorry and I don't have an excuse for it :( I go through periods of time where I'll just feel really sad and unmotivated, sometimes for a day or for a month, it really depends. I shouldn't have let it get in the way of my writing for you guys and I'm so sorry. When I logged back in and saw the reviews you guys had given me I almost felt like crying. You are all so sweet and I love you! Hearing your words of encouragement has made me feel so much better and it's nice knowing there are people who enjoy my work :) so to make up for lost time, I am going to upload so many chapters this week for you! Thank you!
A couple hours had passed and the rain was starting to let up, leaving a beautiful rainbow over Paris. They were all looking out over the city on Marinette's balcony, the cat sat on the edge drinking from a bowl of warm milk, and Mari was quickly sketching in her notebook. Alya was sneaking pictures of her friend and was laughing every time she got caught, Nino and Adrien were casually chatting about Adrien's visit in NY, and Adrien couldn't stop himself from taking glances at Marinette every once in awhile. He was watching how she would stare out into the city with such concentration, trying to find whatever bit of inspiration she could find. He swears he's seen that look somewhere before, but he couldn't place it.
"Marinette! Would your friends like to try this new brownie recipe!" Her father called up from the bottom of the ladder in a sing song voice and smiled when all the friends yelled in excitement. Alya and Nino hurried down and Adrien was about to follow when he noticed Mari still sketching.
"Marinette?" She didn't answer and once again stared at the city.
"Mari?" He chuckled to himself at her concentration and went up to put a hand on her shoulder.
"WAHH- ah no!" Mari jumped up and lost her hold on her notebook and tried to reach out for it before it fell off the balcony, but before she could grab it a hand quickly grabbed it and placed it in hers.
"A-ah uh Adrien, haha, thank you." She didn't expect him to have such fast reflexes, he was like a cat. 'Haha I should name the kitten Adrien'.
"It's alright haha sorry for startling you. What were you drawing?" He said while leaning on the balcony with his elbow.
Marinette blushed and showed him the page. He was expecting a clothing design, but instead it was a beautiful drawing of Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The rainbow was just over it and everything looked sparkly due to the rain.
"Wow Marinette! This is beautiful! I knew you could draw designs, but not like this!" He smiled at her and held up the notebook to compare it to the view and was amazed at how exact it was.
"Haha, ah thank you."
She blushed and they made eye contact for a few moments.
"Marinette! Adrien! Are you coming? I'll eat them all!" Tom yelled from the ladder once again and Marinette blushed hard and grabbed the kitten, going down to meet her father.
Adrien chuckled and brought the drawing back down and followed her. Before he left the room, he tossed the notebook on her bed and it opened up on a different design.
'Hm?' Adrien walked over out of curiosity because he did truly love her designs and picked up the notebook. His eyes widened from shock and he closed the notebook and rushed down the stairs.
'Why does she have a design of a scarf? MY scarf?'
He decided not to think about it and stuffed his face with brownies and milk for now. They were all sitting at a table by the window watching the rain sprinkle down over the street. The kitten was sat on Mari's lap purring softly as Mari sat listening to Nino and Alya come up with theories about how Ladybug had gotten into the school that night.
'Hm...I guess I should come up with an excuse for that in case she asks me. Maybe say there was a vent opening? That might work.'
Adrien found himself looking at Mari as she was concentrating hard on something. He watched as Marinette got up and walked over to her parents. She placed the kitten on the counter and everyone laughed as her dad put icing on her face, she looked surprised for a moment, but quickly retaliated while Tom got her mom also. Adrien smiled warmly at the scene and wished he had a family like that.
"Yo dude! Nathalie texted me asking where you were, how does she even have my number bro? Creepy." Nino, showed him the message and quickly grabbed his phone. He was so distracted that he didn't realize he had so many messages from her. He was allowed to go home and she wanted to know where to pick him up. He quickly sent his apologies and the address to Mari's bakery. Even though it was getting late, he didn't want to leave. He felt so… at home. He got up and leaned on the display case next to Mari and her parents.
"I still think you should call the kitten Chat Noir."
Mari laughed and he was shocked as she bravely put icing on his nose. He tried to get some icing but she had hid it behind her back and she quickly put more on his cheek. He faked a dramatic gasp and then broke out laughing. Alya secretly recorded the whole thing because it was so freaking cute, you would have done it also! Nino confirmed in his mind that yes, Adrien definitely likes Marinette.
"I still think that I should call the kitten anything but that." Mari smiled and patted herself on the back for not stuttering. Wait, that was her mom patting her on the back, but still, she also gave herself a mental pat.
"It looks like your ride is here Adrien." Her mom pulled him in a big hug and wiped the icing off his face with a napkin, then Tom gave him a huge hug as well.
"You're welcome anytime kiddo." They smiled at him fondly.
Adrien almost felt like tearing up, he gave Marinette a quick hug goodbye and said thank you to her parents. Mari stood there frantically blushing and watched him leave.
"I should ask Adrien to give me a ride, bye guys. Thanks for the grub!" Nino ran out and into the car and they drove away.
"Marinette, are you alright?"
"Ah, yes mom! Thank you guys for the brownies, they taste delicious I'm sure the customers will love it. Love you!" She pulled Alya upstairs and into her room.
"Tom?"
"Yes, my lovely Sabine?"
"Do you think our daughter is in love?"
"Oh, she has that same look in her eyes as you do when you look at me." They smiled and laughed at each other before cleaning up the mess.
"HE HUGGED YOU!"
"I KNOW!"
"OHMYGOD!"
"I'M NEVER WASHING THIS SHIRT AGAIN!"
Mari held her arms around herself and sighed contently at the memory. He was so warm, and the touch was so familiar to her. 'And he smelled so good! Like vanilla and… camembert?'
"Haha I'm so happy for you girl, I should leave though it's getting late and I have homework."
"Aww okay." Mari pulled Alya into a hug and watched her leave. '*sigh* Now it's time for homework.' She tried focusing on her physics but gave up and once again told Tikki all about her day with Adrien. She knew she was not going to be able to concentrate for now, so she decided to transform and head into the night.
It was really quiet in the car as Adrien and Nino sat there awkwardly in front of Nathalie. Nino kept thinking about how Adrien was acting around Marinette, and was convinced that he liked her. Now he just had to get Adrien to realize it.
"Yo, fun day today right?"
Adrien snapped out of his trance and smiled widely.
"Yeah! I love it there." Nathalie caught how happy he looked and smiled softly before returning to her phone.
"What did you love there?" Nino gave his friend a teasing look but he didn't seem to notice.
"Ah well the view and the food and her family…It feels like…It feels like a home."
Nino's expression grew sad as the car arrived at his house. "I know dog. It was nice. Let's go back tomorrow?"
"Definitely! Bye!" Adrien waved and quietly stared out the window again. He was already missing the warmth of her home. Nathalie looked up from her phone and sadly looked at Adrien. She felt bad for him, she couldn't imagine what it was like to be alone. She put down her phone for a moment and looked at him.
"Who is this girl?" Adrien looked up in surprise at her question and was worried about why she wanted to know.
"Ah, she's Marinette. She is in my class at school."
"That's interesting, are you friends?"
"Yes, we are."
"How was your day there?" This question really caught him off guard. He knows Nathalie is supposed to keep a professional relationship with him, but he was excited to tell her. He smiled widely at the memory of his day and Nathalie listened quietly with a small smile on her face until they arrived home.
About thirty minutes later, Adrien was laying on his bed and had given up trying to concentrate on his homework. He was waiting for Plagg to eat his camembert so he could head out and meet his lady. He was excited to see her and wanted to get to their spot early. His mind kept wondering back to how his day went and he smiled fondly at the hug he gave Marinette. 'Her touch is so familiar, where do I know it from, and she smelled nice. Like strawberries and...cookies? Well she lives in a bakery so that makes sense. Wait..I wonder if Chat can convince her to name the kitten after him, that would be funny. I wonder how lady is doing, I should really be out there early, I've missed her so much. I wonder if she would visit Mari with me. No, most likely not. I wonder if Mari is ok.'
"Ah! That was delicious!" Plagg spun around in the air and Adrien quickly stood up.
"I don't see how you could like such a smelly cheese. Plagg! Transform!" Adrien was excited to once again fly around Paris, and he couldn't wait to see his lady. Chat jumped out the window and into the city.