MariChat May Days 26, 27, & 29: The Stray, Baking, and The Argument. Marinette and Chat Noir are baking cookies, and have a mild disagreement. The resolution is unexpected.

I'm back, guys! And playing catch up. I managed to incorporate three prompts into this one update, so woohoo for that!

For anyone who is curious, my grandmother passed late Friday night, and I spent the weekend with my family. I am grieving her loss, but I am relieved that she's at peace now. I am dedicating this chapter to her, she who loved to cook and bake and care for the people around her.

"Now, we just have to wait for them to bake." Marinette set the timer on the stove with a flourish, and turned to see Chat Noir regarding her with interest. "It'll only take about 8 minutes, so I'm going to get started on clean up."

"Only 8 minutes, really?"

"Well, it depends on the recipe," she shrugged, beginning to run hot water into the sink. "But cookies don't usually take very long."

"Huh." He shifted his gaze to the oven. "I never knew that there was so much chemistry in baking."

"Do you want to watch?"

He looked surprised. "Can I?"

Smiling, she dried her hands and crossed back to the oven, flipping a switch on the panel to turn on the oven light and giggling at the delight on his face as he crouched in front of the oven. She went back to the sink, and began washing up the bowls and measuring spoons they'd dirtied. "I guess it is kind of cool, the way all of the different ingredients come together. Tweaking the quantity of one thing, or changing the temperature of another, or even the order in which things are added can really change the way the cookies turn out."

Chat nodded, watching in rapt fascination as the cookies puffed up in the oven. "It's really just chemistry." Marinette giggled again, and he looked back at her in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"You. You're such a dork."

He stood, looking highly offended. "Excuse me, I am a nerd, thank you very much!"

"Dork." She nodded decisively, hands still in the soapy water. "Definitely a dork."

"No, I am an anime-watching, video-game-playing, science-loving nerd." He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Oh, well, that's too bad." Marinette placed the last bowl on the drying rack, and toweled off her hands, leaning into the corner by the sink. "Because these cookies are only for dorks."

Chat sputtered. "But I helped make those!"

"Sorry, we've got a strict 'dorks only' policy when it comes to stray cats." She shrugged helplessly. "House rules."

"I see." He wandered over to lean thoughtfully against the counter next to her, and smiled shyly. "What if I wasn't a stray cat anymore? I could be a lost boy, instead."

She straightened in surprise, and darted a nervous glance at her parents, who were engrossed with the TV in the living room. "But, my parents, they don't know—"

"Yes we do, dear," Sabine chimed in without taking her eyes from the screen, and both teens whirled in shock. "We've just been waiting for him to be ready to share it with us himself."

"What?" Marinette shrieked.

"I—er, what?" stammered a flustered Chat Noir at the same time. "You know who I am?"

"Of course, Adrien." Tom paused the TV with a chuckle at their flabbergasted expressions, and Sabine flashed him a grateful smile. "We figured it out the night that you tried to make hot cocoa for Marinette."

The oven timer began to beep, but it didn't seem to register for either of them. They just stood at the counter with identical expressions of shock.

Sabine smiled knowingly, and gestured for Tom to un-pause their movie. "Marinette dear, your cookies are going to burn."

Marinette shrieked again, and ran for the oven mitts.