Chapter Two: Croissants
Set directly after 'Rogercop'. The akuma took so long to defeat, Ladybug and Chat Noir both skipped lunch! It's just as well that in the confusion, Marinette's papa left the tray of croissants in the classroom, where two hungry heroes find it upon their return...
Chat Noir leapt onto the roof of Francoise-Dupont College.
Usually, he might do an unnecessary somersault on his way there, just for its own sake. Without anyone watching and no need to impress, he simply savoured the ease of movement, the freedom of feeling the wind rush through his hair. Today, however, couldn't be bothered with the extra effort.
The empty basketball court beneath him, however, proved too tempting to ignore. He extended his staff through the basket and shimmied down, thinking 'slam dunk!' to himself as he slid through the hoop. That was good; he'd have to remember that one, in case he and his Lady were ever near a-
"Goodness, what a day - I'm not at all sorry that it's over!"
Chat Noir froze as a voice suddenly spoke somewhere nearby. He tensed all over; even his tail stuck out straight behind him. This was bad, and completely unexpected - he hadn't counted on anyone else being at school this late! He recovered quickly, darting for cover behind the stairwell that led to the upper floor, just as two sets of feet began to come down it.
"I'm positively aching all over! I suppose it's some small blessing that the pavement outside the College is cleaner than it has ever been-"
Chat recognized the voice of Mrs Mendeleiev, his science teacher; looking through the slats of the stairs, he could see the hem of her white lab coat swishing behind her as she passed him. That's right, she'd gotten handcuffed by Rogercop, forced to pick up litter outside the school - she had even put some on top of him when the villain had knocked him into the garbage bin! Chat quirked a sideways smile at the memory. Mendeleiev taught his favourite subject, so he didn't hold a grudge - besides, it wasn't like she'd had any control over her own actions!
She spoke again, to someone walking beside her. "You must be very tired too, Mr Haprèle."
"Right you are, ma'am," a man's voice replied. Chat Noir gave a jolt. He had seen Mr Haprèle, the school groundskeeper, perform his mime routine twice before - one of those times as an akuma - so it was a bit odd to actually hear him speak out loud! "I like to think that I keep reasonably fit, but I've never run so many laps in my life - I'm exhausted!"
The two adults laughed companionably together, united by their shared misfortunes. Chat Noir grinned along with them. The civilians of Paris were a pretty plucky bunch!
"I hope the headmaster considers upping security measures after this incident," Mr Haprèle went on. "I tried to stop the villain from entering the school, but on my own there wasn't much I could-"
"Oh, I quite agree with you!" Mrs Mendeleiev interjected, in a brisk tone. "As a school, it is our responsibility to keep our students safe as possible during these alarming incidents! I spoke with Ms Bustier recently, she supports my idea of implementing a safe-room somewhere within the school grounds. She thinks the library is the ideal place - she and her students took cover there during the first attack. I just came from seeing with the librarians; they said it was perfectly quiet in there all afternoon, they saw hide nor hair of the intruder. I plan on seeing Mr Damocles tomorrow morning, and I will make sure he knows that-"
Her voice trailed off as the pair left the school's entrance. Chat Noir chuckled to himself - trust Mendeleiev to pressure their conservative headmaster into taking action! Still, he hoped they wouldn't put up security cameras, or post guards along the school perimeter. The last think he needed was more Gorillas dogging his every step - especially when Chat Noir was needed across town and he needed to sneak out!
Speaking of sneaking, he might as well drop his transformation. His Miraculous beeped, telling him he only had two minutes left anyway. Besides, he didn't want to get caught here in costume - Chat Noir had no logical reason to be in school, but Adrien Agreste did!
He reverted back to himself, holding out his hand to catch Plagg as he emerged from his ring. The kwami flopped down heavily, uttering a slight groan. He looked up pleadingly at his Miraculous-holder, the lids over his green eyes drooping with exhaustion. "I'm hungry," he half-heartedly complained.
Usually, Adrien would just roll his eyes at Plagg's constant whingeing. This time, however, he fully commiserated - he was starving himself! He and Ladybug had been kept busy for the better part of the day; Lieutenant Roger had been infected by the akuma mid-morning, and this was the first chance he'd had to take a proper breather. He'd missed two breaks and lunch - no wonder he was ravenous! Though he was used to eating on the run with his busy schedule, he usually followed a strict eating regime that was strategically planned to spread his nutritional intake throughout the day. He already knew, from other times he had skipped out, that he keenly felt the effects when he missed even one of his meals.
The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, however, was not purely caused by hunger; he was dismayed to see the setting sun through the classroom windows. "At least that's all you have to worry about," he groused to his kwami, who had draped himself weakly across his palm. "Nathalie will be putting my head on a platter and serving it to Father if he's noticed how long I've been gone!"
Plagg cracked open the eyes he had closed in a food-deprived daze, gazing up with a glimmer of concern. However, all he said was: "Please give me some cheese before you go to your fate."
This time, Adrien did roll his eyes - typical Plagg! "I've got some in my schoolbag. You can feast on it while I check how many missed calls I've got - and how dead I can expect to be very soon." He was glad he had put his phone on silent, and hoped that Nino had left his schoolbag where it was; the last thing he needed was awkward questions from his best friend about why all his things reeked of camembert!
Clutching his kwami in hand, he headed for the classroom. A few seconds later, a red blur hurtled across the deserted courtyard - and it certainly wasn't a stray basketball.
Ladybug landed onto the roof of Francoise-Dupont College.
Normally, she might take a second to admire the view of her city, watching dusk's encroaching shadows change the sky into a vivid banner of bright orange and sombre violet. Today, however, she didn't have the time to spare. In fact, the diminishing sunlight would have filled her with dread, if she hadn't been distracted by her disappearing spots.
She dropped over the edge of the roof and swung herself onto the school's upper mezzanine. She only just cleared the railing in time; as her feet hit the ground, her Miraculous beeped and her costume vanished in a burst of rosy light. She had to scramble to catch her kwami, managing to cushion Tikki's fall with her cupped hands as she materialized from her earrings.
"Are you okay, Tikki?" she asked concernedly. She had never stayed in her transformed state for so long - nor seen her kwami so weak afterwards!
"I'm alright, Marinette," Tikki said faintly, managing to lift her head off the girl's palm long enough to give her a reassuring smile. "Just a bit tired... and hungry..."
Marinette winced in sympathy - she was famished herself! In class that morning, she hadn't had a chance to help herself to one of her papa's croissants before she dumped them on the floor; and then the akuma attack had kept her busy all through both lunch and afternoon breaks. Her parents and Alya must have been wondering where she was for ages...
Forgetting her own worries momentarily, she opened her purse. "Here, I've got some cookies stashed for you." She carefully lowered the kwami into her purse, where several choc-chip biscuits were waiting.
Tikki gratefully seized a cookie, then paused, looking anxiously at her Miraculous-holder. "Do you want one, Marinette? You haven't eaten all day, either."
Marinette bit her lip. It was very tempting, but... "No thanks, you need it more than me; I'll last until I get home. Besides, I should answer my missed calls before I think about anything else. I'm sure everyone is freaking out over where I've been; Papa was at school for Career Day, so when I disappeared, he must've..."
She trailed off, cringing as she pulled her phone out of her purse, taking care not to jostle Tikki. She unlocked the keypad and grimaced. Her homescreen was full of missed calls from both the bakery and papa's mobile, as well as multiple messages from Alya. She tackled the texts first, scrolling through them while she gave herself time to think up a plausible excuse for where she'd been.
A - where'd u go? ma is taking us all to the grand for lunch, come along - what til u try her cooking!
Marinette resisted the urge to moan out loud. She had been busting a gut against the akuma, while everyone else got treated to lunch?! How much more unfair could it get!
A - hey, where r u? reply or i'll think the akuma got u!
She sucked in her breath guiltily. That message had been sent hours ago...
A - mari? hello? plz reply, just wanna know ur ok!
A - is adrien with u? he's missing 2 & bustier is freakin out!
Marinette froze, her insides turning cold. Adrien was missing? Where could he have gone?! She vaguely remembered him leaving the room just after Chloe had accused her of stealing; since she'd been distracted and he'd been waiting on a call from his father all morning, she hadn't paid it much mind at the time. Had the akuma gotten him, kept him handcuffed somewhere at school all this time? If so, he should be free by now; she had just caught a glimpse of Mrs Mendeleiev and Mr Haprèle out in the street on her way here. Perhaps he had just gone home? His bodyguard was pretty protective of him; maybe he'd been picked up from school as soon as the news got out that-
The phone in her hand shuddered, derailing her train of thought; looking down, she saw that a call was coming through from the bakery. Gritting her teeth and trying to prepare what she'd say as best she could, she hit 'answer'.
"Hello, Papa? Yes, it's me, I'm fine, I... I know, sorry, I would've called, but... I didn't mean to worry you or Maman, I just... I, uh, snuck out of the classroom after the akuma came in, thought I could get away and go for help, but he caught me in the library and because I was talking, he put these glowy cuffs on me to keep me quiet, so I couldn't... I know, I would've sent a text, but I was cuffed to the wall and my phone was out of reach, so... Yeah, I'm fine, I wasn't... Yes, I heard from Alya, I'll text her... At school, I just have to get my things, then I'll... No, it's fine, I don't blame you for forgetting! What? The croissants...? Yes, I'll get them too, then... No, I can walk home by myself, it's not that dark yet... Okay, see you soon... Love you too, bye!"
She hung up and heaved a large sigh, slumping against the railing in exhaustion. That had been almost more effort than she could manage on an empty stomach!
"Good job, Marinette," Tikki said, poking her head out of the purse. A morsel of chocolate was stuck to her cheek; she clutched a large chunk of half-eaten cookie. "You did your best to undo your parents' worry!"
"At least I seem to be able to lie under pressure," Marinette grouched, slowly straightening up. "That excuse seemed to fool them, at least. I'll text Alya and tell her the same thing, then I'll-" She was interrupted then, by herself: her stomach gave an insistent rumble. Geez, she really was starving!
Tikki giggled sympathetically. "I do still have a cookie left, if you want it!"
The scent of chocolate and the sight of crumbs certainly was appealing; but Marinette shook her head resolutely, turning back to her phone. "No thanks, you go ahead and eat it. I'm going to text Alya, grab my things, and go home for dinner! Besides, Papa left the croissants from his talk in the classroom, he wants me to bring it home with me. Pretty convenient, huh? I reckon I could eat the whole tray right now - even if they have been on the floor!"
Girl and kwami laughed together as Marinette slowly walked towards the classroom, clutching her phone and trying to ignore her stomach's persistent grumbling.
Adrien stabbed at the screen of his phone with his thumb, ending the call with a loud groan.
Plagg ignored him; from the sounds of it, he was licking up every last particle of camembert from the bottom of his schoolbag. Adrien's things had been left where they were, to his great relief. If Gorilla had come looking for him, he mustn't have known where his classroom was; and obviously, his father hadn't been there, for Career Day or otherwise...
Over the phone, Nathalie had sternly lectured him for falling off the face of the earth for hours on end, but she had accepted his explanation that he had been hiding out at school until the coast was clear. The car was unavailable, collecting Gabriel Agreste from a late-afternoon fitting, so Adrien was free to walk himself home. Usually, he would have cherished having such freedom, or sagged in relief at not being in worse trouble. However, his first thought - a bitter one - was that his suspicions were confirmed: his father had never had any intention of turning up.
He scowled at his phone - then jumped at the sound of a loud grumble that seemingly echoed his thoughts exactly. He ruefully clutched his empty stomach. Perhaps hunger was making him even grouchier than he already was. For possibly the first time in his life, he actually missed having the car; he would have gladly welcomed some means of reaching his pantry as quickly as possible!
At the noise, two pointed black ears emerged from the flap of his bag. "Someone's hungry," Plagg observed, "besides me, of course!" He contentedly licked a stray crumb of camembert off one of his whiskers, then held up a very small wedge of it, offering it reluctantly to his boy. "Want some? Sounds like you could use it almost as much as I could!"
Adrien realized then what dire straits he was in: hungry as he was, the stinky cheese actually smelled appetizing! He shook his head before he was tempted to do the unthinkable. "I'll pass, thanks. We're heading straight home after this anyway, before Father gets back and sends out the cavalry. I must admit, though, I'm almost ready to take you up on-"
He stopped mid-sentence, staring at the front of the classroom with a rapt expression. Plagg, bewildered, followed his gaze.
At first, Adrien thought it was a figment of his imagination: a hallucination created for him by his food-deprived senses. Then he caught a whiff of buttery pastry coming from the teacher's desk, and realized that he wasn't seeing things. It was real: a large stack of croissants, laid out on a platter as if they had been personally prepared for him. The golden crescents seemed to gleam with an almost heavenly aura in the last rays of the setting sun. His mouth watered instantly; he had to swallow quickly, reeling a little at the sight. He quickly quashed the notion that it had sprung directly from his mind, pulled into existence by his desire for something of the kind - after all, Plagg was no genie, and despite his hungry thoughts, he hadn't wished for anything out loud!
He only then remembered that Marinette and her father had brought the tray in for Career Day; her family ran a bakery, and they had generously supplied samples for everyone. Adrien had left the room to call his father while Mr Dupain-Cheng was speaking, so he hadn't received one of the offered pastries himself. Though he was still disappointed that his father had bailed on him, this seemed to be some small form of karmic justice!
He approached the tray almost hesitantly, as if the vision might evaporate when he got too close. But no, it stayed put; he had to resist the urge to immediately snatch and start gorging.
"Not going to eat them all, are you?" Plagg asked with a sly chuckle, hovering close to check out what had so captured his attention.
Adrien gave him a sidelong glance; he was in no mood to put up with his kwami's teasing. "Since when are you interested in any food other than cheese?"
Plagg shrugged complacently. "These things might be nearly as good as camembert - they smell as rich, look about the same shape, and they're almost the right colour!"
"Oh, no no no," Adrien protested, imposing himself between Plagg and the platter. He didn't care that he was acting almost as greedy as his kwami - even if there were more than enough pastries for them to share! "You've had your food already, it's my turn now. Besides, this whole incident happened because of you and your obsessive need for cheese - you don't deserve any of this!"
Plagg looked miffed, but tried to appear disinterested. "Eh, whatever. I'd rather not eat something that's been on the floor!"
The same thought momentarily crossed Adrien's mind; but then his stomach growled again, and he decided he honestly didn't care. He paused just once more with a croissant in his hand, raising it half towards his mouth before he questioned whether it was alright to eat something that didn't belong to him.
Well, they had been on the floor - they were probably destined to be thrown away because of it, so didn't that make them fair game? Telling himself he had earned it, he hesitated no longer - he snatched up the pastry and took a large bite out of it.
Mmmmmmm-!
Either he was really hungry, or the floor had done nothing to diminish the taste - it was absolute heaven!
He was so wrapped up in his gastronomic bliss, he didn't hear the door creak open.
Marinette huffed tiredly as she closed her message bank and locked her phone.
During the short walk to the classroom, she had sent Alya a message to let her know she was alive, immediately receiving a barrage of texts back. She had replied to them all as best she could; it had seemed to take slightly more concentration than she could spare!
Especially since her gut had been tying itself in knots, ever since she found out that Adrien was missing.
Alya was with her mother at the Grand Paris. According to her, Ms Bustier was still there, overseeing student pick-ups and making sure everyone was accounted for. Now that they had heard from Marinette, that only left Adrien...
She was slowly starting to panic, wondering if she should transform and go looking for him as soon as Tikki had finished off her cookies. She hadn't seen him in the school after Rogercop arrived, nor anywhere near town hall. Where was he? Was he trapped? Was he injured? Was he-
She slipped her phone back into her purse, pushed open the door to the classroom, glanced around the room - and instantly did a double-take.
Whoa, she must be even hungrier than she thought she was - the space in her stomach had obviously voided her brain! She could've sworn she saw Adrien leaning against the teacher's desk with her family's platter of pastries beside him, chiselled jaw working busily as he devoured a large croissant.
It was like her brain was subconsciously trying to give her everything that she currently craved! Why wasn't he wearing one of the latest swimsuits from the Agreste range, with tribal paint smeared across his torso and a cloud of glitter shimmering around him? If her weary body and overtaxed senses were going to show her some delirious fantasy, they might as well do it properly!
Since the impossible vision before her didn't waver or fade, she continued to stare at it in disbelief.
After a moment, Adrien looked around and noticed her. He stopped mid-chew.
He really hadn't counted on anyone else being left at school by now, so Marinette's presence took him completely by surprise - of all people, the owner of the croissant he'd just pilfered had caught him red-handed! She was staring at him in wide-eyed silence, and he realized how odd he must look - though really, was it that strange to see a teen supermodel eating a serve of sinful carbs like this? Still, he couldn't think of many ways to plausibly explain why he was at school after-hours, in the wake of an akuma attack, calmly eating a discarded croissant - even the truth seemed more than a little doubtful, and he certainly couldn't tell her that he was Chat Noir!
He really ought to do or say something; she was still staring at him as if he had grown two heads. He hastily swallowed, so he at least wouldn't talk to her with his mouth full.
"Uh, h-hi there," he said, giving her a lame little wave. He raised his voice slightly, warning Plagg to hide; a stealthy glance at his bag told him that the kwami seemed to have gotten the message. "I, er, I'm sorry to have taken this-" he held up the pastry "-but they were just sitting here, and I knew it was technically stealing, but I thought no one would miss it, so..."
"Oh! Oh, u-um..." Somehow, Marinette managed to spit out something that resembled a coherent syllable. Unless her hearing was also playing tricks on her, the fantasy-Adrien before her was actually the real one! Without taking her eyes off him, she felt for the strap of her purse, reaching down to snap the clasp shut before he could catch a glimpse of Tikki - it was lucky the kwami had already been out of sight! With her Ladybug identity safe and able to breathe relatively easy again, she focused back on Adrien. Something about his sheepish words and embarrassed grin prompted her to speak - he looked as unprepared for this encounter as she was, which was really saying something!
"T-that's fine... W-we, uh, brought them to share with everyone, so y-you're welcome to..."
"Really? Thanks!" He turned his attention back to his snack for a moment, taking a delicate nibble from the flaky pastry - since he had company, he'd best remember his manners! "Would you care to join me?" he asked, gesturing at the platter beside him as he gave a mischievous grin. The irony behind the fact that he was offering her own croissants to her wasn't lost on him; it seemed like as good a way as any to lighten the already-weird scenario!
"Oh, that's, I-" Marinette didn't know how to respond. Unfortunately, at that moment, her stomach answered for her: it rumbled audibly.
There was no way he couldn't have heard it - it was far too loud! In an instant, her face had turned the same colour as her Miraculous suit. Adrien quirked a curious eyebrow at her, then laughed gently - at least he wasn't the only awkward one in this situation!
"Come, be my guest," he said, beckoning to her encouragingly.
"S-s-sure..." With a face that she was sure now bore sizzle-marks from the heat of her blush, she crossed the room and took a seat beside him, the plate of pastries lying between them. It would have been kinder to her madly-thumping heart to simply grab her school-stuff and slink away in mortification; but she couldn't do that without seeming to snub him!
Watching him abashedly out of the corner of her eye as he resumed his meal, she took a croissant of her own. As soon as she bit into it, she knew this was no illusion - she never would've dreamed up a pastry as stale as this! To be fair, the platter had been sitting in the hot, humid classroom all day long, not to mention having been dropped on the floor. The croissant wasn't terrible, by any means - especially considering how hungry she was! - but she knew her papa's best work, and this wasn't it; at least, not anymore. It was a shame, since he'd taken such care in preparing them, as a treat for her classmates! She wanted to make her excuses to Adrien, ashamed that he was judging her family's trade on such a sub-par sample; however, he was munching away with such enthusiasm, she didn't have the heart to speak up.
Adrien realized that he was being very rude - here he was, eating his school friend's food and practically ignoring her! Even if his gratified silence was a wordless compliment to her family's baking, he really should make some attempt at conversation. He hesitantly cleared his throat.
"So, did you hear about the latest akuma attack?"
"Y-yeah," Marinette stammered, caught trying to lick a flake of pastry from her lip before he could notice it. "I-I looked it up on my phone; the news said that Chat Noir and Ladybug took care of it. It's safe to go out now, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it is," Adrien replied carefully. It was surprisingly hard to talk about the latest incident without letting on that he knew more than he should! "I think the danger is past now. Er, that's why I'm here, to collect my school things; in the confusion earlier, I forgot to get..."
"Oh! R-right, me too!" Looking in the direction he had gestured as he spoke, Marinette saw his satchel sitting beside his desk, one place in front of her own schoolbag.
Wait, shouldn't she-
She suddenly remembered the urgency of Alya's text - while Ms Bustier was going frantic across town, Adrien was calmly sitting here beside her! Switching her croissant to her left hand, she reached for her phone. When she unlocked it, she found a new message from Alya, telling her that Ms Bustier had heard from Gabriel Agreste's assistant and Adrien was safe. Marinette could see that for herself! Relieved as she was, she was curious as to what he had been doing away from the rest of the class. If this was going to become a habit, Ladybug might have to keep special watch over him in future!
"W-where were you when the attack was happening?" she asked, proud that she was managing to make normal conversation with her crush - if discussing akuma attacks was a normal pastime in Paris these days!
Adrien's posture stiffened ever so slightly. Had Marinette noticed that he hadn't been with the others? He had already sent several reassuring texts to Nino, but he had hoped he wouldn't have to bluff his absence away in front of anyone else - he didn't have an excuse ready! He said the first thing that came into his head.
"Oh, I-I was at the school office. My father has regulations for my safety that I have to follow; as soon as something happens, I have to hide out in one of the back clerical rooms until the threat is over. I'd rather just stay with everyone else, but that's the protocol he set, and all the teachers enforce it; I don't want to go against my father, so..."
"Oh, I-I see..."
As a matter of fact, Marinette didn't see - if the teachers knew that Adrien had a private panic-room set aside for him, why had Ms Bustier been so worried about him? Did it mean she wasn't aware of this arrangement? But there had already been plenty of super-villains at the school since Adrien's arrival, so shouldn't she know the procedure by now? Surely she would carefully monitor such a prestigious student, so if he really had been safely hiding away-
Was he lying...?
Marinette frowned in confusion; she still felt too light-headed to puzzle this out now, but she was trying. She couldn't see why he might want to tell a fib like that, but his statement contradicted what she had heard from Alya - and she trusted her friend's reportage skills.
But if Adrien hadn't been in the school office, nor with everyone else, then where-?
Adrien was painfully aware that Marinette seemed less-than-convinced by his account of himself. He glanced sideways at her; as he watched, she looked down at her phone, then slipped it away again, frowning at her half-eaten croissant. Did she know something that proved he'd just told a lie? He honestly had no idea what the rest of the class had been doing; all Nino's texts had just berated him for wandering off on his own. Had he unwittingly given himself away?
Wanting to divert attention away from himself, he asked: "What about you? Weren't you with everyone else?"
"Uh, n-no, I-" She was glad she had already invented her version of events, though she still had to scramble in order to coherently recount her fictional ordeal to him. "I was trapped in the library! The akuma caught me trying to call for help; since I wasn't supposed to be talking in a quiet-study area, he put these weird cuffs on me that kept me there and forced me to stay silent. I was stuck there for hours - I only just got away!"
"R-really?" Adrien replied, managing to make himself sound vaguely commiserating. "That's no good..."
No, it really wasn't any good - as an excuse! When he had overheard Mrs Mendeleiev before, she had definitely said that the library had been completely safe the entire time. Had Marinette simply gone unnoticed, trapped and hidden behind a shelf or something? But if she had, the library staff should have seen her at some point, or the akuma - it had been pretty hard to miss! - so surely...
Had she just lied to him...?
He honestly didn't know what would induce Marinette to lie about something like this. He really didn't want to doubt his classmate - especially since she had so furiously accused him of lying when they had first met! - but he had Mrs Mendeleiev on the other side of the argument, and his science teacher was usually beyond reproach! So why...
If she hadn't been in the library, where had she been?
Marinette had been secretly hoping for at least some polite sympathy from Adrien; when she didn't get even that, she felt more than a little deflated. She had thought he was nicer than that, but... maybe he didn't believe her? Maybe she was too obviously fishing for reassurance? Maybe he thought she just wanted his attention? She didn't, she hastily told herself - she had come up with her story before she had run him - so why should he doubt her? Did he know something she didn't...?
A wary silence fell between them.
They quietly ate their croissants side by side. Then Marinette, noticing that he had just put the last fragment of his pastry in his mouth, seized the opportunity to turn their discussion back to food. "Hey, um, s-sorry about the croissant... I mean, they were pretty good this morning, but they've gone stale now, and I, er, dropped them on the floor earlier, s-so it probably wasn't very..."
Adrien turned on her in surprise, relieved that she had spoken first - but incredulous at her words. She had to be lying about this, surely! "You're kidding, right? I thought it tasted great - the best croissant I've had in a while!"
"R-r-really?" Marinette resisted the urge to ask him how many croissants he usually ate - not the best question for a professional model! Besides, it wasn't the point - he was finally being nice to her! Perhaps he'd simply been grouchy and hungry before. "O-our fresh-made ones are way better than this..."
"No way!" Adrien patted his stomach contentedly; the croissant he'd just eaten had hit the spot, taking most of the edge off his hunger. "They couldn't be much better than this - it was so good! Even if I wasn't absolutely starving right now, I would have been more than happy to get my 'mitts' on it!"
If he had been thinking clearly, he wouldn't have told such a Chat-like joke about mitts - he regretted it as soon as it left his lips.
But then, he reasoned, what was the harm in saying it? Even Mayor Bourgeoise and Chloe hadn't been there to see the oven-mitt Lucky Charm that Ladybug had used; the only other person there beside himself was Lieutenant Roger, and he hadn't remembered anything after he was released from the akuma's influence. So there was really no danger in saying-
The girl next to him chose precisely that moment to have a coughing fit - she had accidentally inhaled the last piece of her croissant.
"Marinette-! Are you...?"
Of all the extra lessons and after-school classes he was made to do, why were none of them a first-aid course! Since he didn't know the Heimlich-manoeuvre, he settled for gently thumping her on the back, while she spluttered and gasped for breath. After what seemed an age, she finally stopped coughing and sat up, wiping streaming eyes on the back of her hand.
"E-excuse me," she rasped, struggling to clear her throat. "I guess that quip was a little hard to swallow..."
As soon as she said it, she could have bitten her own tongue off. Why had she said that! Just because his half-hearted joke had been a bit like something Chat would say-! But then, how did he even know to make a joke about 'mitts'? No one else had been there to see her Lucky Charm, besides Chat Noir... but he certainly hadn't... had he...?
Adrien realized he was gaping at her. Did she just say-? He was unused to Marinette managing whole sentences in front of him, let alone coming up rejoinders to his puns - and that pun especially! That was the sort of response that Ladybug might-
They both stared at each other in shocked silence, minds whirling.
Realizing he couldn't just gaze blankly at her forever, Adrien attempted to speak; some vague thought about testing her had gradually formed in his mind.
"W-well, I'm glad these pastries were here - it's much better than at Town Hall! Can you believe they had a tea tray, but didn't offer anything to drink?"
Marinette was grateful that he was talking to her again - she had been sure the uneasy silence would go on indefinitely! "Y-yeah, that's a shame! Those poor, thirsty police officers outside could've used a..."
They both jolted upright, as if they had simultaneously received electric shocks.
Adrien shouldn't have known about the tea tray at the mayor's Town Hall office - the one from which Ladybug had borrowed an oven mitt to complete her Lucky Charm...
Marinette shouldn't have known about all the battered and bruised policemen outside Town Hall - the ones Chat Noir had single-handedly defeated in order to provide a distraction...
They stared at each other again in stunned silence, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Pieces of a wholly unanticipated puzzle began to fall between them, forming an unlikely picture that was suddenly all too obvious...
At last, a voice piped up: "Are you going to eat that, or just ogle each other like stunned mullets? If you don't want the rest of those pastries, some of us are still hungry, you know..."
Both of them whipped around to find the source of this wry comment; Marinette bit back a yelp, while Adrien smothered a groan. Plagg was floating in mid-air, a foot away from the tray of croissants.
"What?" he asked his Miraculous-holder, glaring grumpily at him. "You're not eating them any time soon, and I don't like to see a waste of perfectly good-"
"Plagg, you idiot!" Adrien turned, taken unawares, as another voice came from somewhere near Marinette. At first he thought her purse had broken and something was falling out the bottom of it; then he realized that a second kwami was phasing through it, flitting over to face Plagg. "You can't just blurt out something like that! They've both had quite a shock, and you're not helping by-"
"Not like we can do anything to help them get over it any quicker," Plagg retorted. "And I'm sick of hiding - there's food out here!"
"Haven't you had enough already?" Adrien asked, silently begging his kwami to stop being quite so blasé about all this - Marinette looked like she was about to pitch over backwards! "I had enough cheese in that bag for you t-"
"Hey, I worked up an appetite today!" Plagg argued right back. "It was me helping you drag your tail-bearing butt around, and I wasn't made to maintain your transformation for hours on end! After the day I've had, it'll take more than an itty bit of camembert to rebuild my strength!"
"...is that true, Tikki?" Marinette found her voice at last; Plagg and Adrien turned to watch her as she gave her kwami her full attention.
Tikki sheepishly rubbed her paws together. "W-well, today was a little bit trying... though Plagg always exaggerates-"
"I do not!" the subject in question protested.
"You do too," Adrien countered with a smirk, glad to be getting his revenge.
Plagg gave a frustrated sigh. "Look, can we have some or not? You guys still seem to have plenty, so-"
"Uh, s-sure, erm... Plagg, is it?" Marinette shakily gestured towards the tray of pastries. "Feel free to help yourself..."
Plagg regarded her with a gratified glimmer of interest - heh, this girl wasn't half-bad!
"Don't tell him that," Adrien groaned, "he'll lick the platter clean!" As if to illustrate his point, Plagg zipped toward the tray and promptly buried himself in its contents; muffled chomping noises came from under the pile of croissants, along with a comment that sounded like "These would go well with cheese!"
Tikki shook her head ruefully - he hadn't changed a bit! She looked round in surprise when she noticed another croissant hovering beside her. Adrien had thoughtfully snatched a pastry away from Plagg's grasp, and was offering it to her. "Would you like one as well, Miss...er, Tikki?"
She glanced up at him appraisingly - he really was such a nice boy! "Thank you very much, Adrien." She took the croissant from him and settled on the edge of the platter to enjoy it, taking care to keep it out of Plagg's reach. Adrien didn't see it, but as she floated past, she gave Marinette an approving wink.
"How about you?" Adrien hastily grabbed two more croissants while he could - they were going fast! "Would you care for another one... my Lady?"
He held the pastry out to Marinette. She gazed at him unspeakingly for almost a minute, looking at him as if she had only just remembered who he was - or realized who he was. She slowly took in the appealing smile on his face. He watched her hopefully, waiting for her to take it all in, as he was still struggling to do; waiting for her to simply roll her eyes at his antics and accept him, like she always did...
The croissant left his hand. "Thanks, Chaton," she said, with a coy smile.
He didn't need a mask to recognize her - not now. Neither did she - that goofy grin on his face was all him.
"Cheers, Ladybug!" he declared, with an impish smirk, raising his pastry in salute. "To another well-cleansed akuma!"
"Cheers, Chat Noir!" she replied, following his example, one eyebrow raised in amusement. "To two heroes so dedicated, they are willing to skip their lunch-break!"
"Here, here!"
They both chuckled, then touched their croissants together, as if they were clinking glasses.
"Bien joue!"
It was so similar to their usual fist-bump, the words came naturally. Neither of them really had any need for more proof, but this certainly confirmed it - without a doubt! Smiling companionably at one another, with no more traces of uncertainty or nervousness between them, they both bit into their croissants with renewed gusto, table-manners excused - they both knew full-well how ravenous the other must feel!
Tikki had already finished her own pastry; she watched the pair fondly as she whisked another away from Plagg, who was showing no signs of slowing down.
"You ate how many?!"
Adrien stared in disbelief. He and Marinette had been munching their pastries, happily discussing the day's akuma - and a few previous ones - in between bites. He had turned around to get them each another croissant, only to find nothing but stray crumbs left on the platter.
He prodded his over-stuffed kwami with one ring-clad finger. Since all Plagg did was moan feebly, Tikki helpfully piped up, daintily finishing the last flake of her second pastry as she did so. "I think he had about eight... or maybe nine..."
"Nine?!"
"One for each life," Plagg muttered, clutching his aching sides. Tikki shook her head, but didn't look at all surprised. Marinette was laughing unrestrainedly, tears in her eyes again. Adrien shot her a long-suffering look.
"Makes it easy to believe he could mistake Chloe's bracelet for a wheel of cheese, doesn't it?" he said, lifting Plagg up by the tip of his tail; he dangled weakly.
Marinette abruptly stopped giggling. "He did what?" she asked, eyes flaring angrily at the tiny cat. Adrien ruthlessly held Plagg up in front of her face so she could glare directly at him. Plagg cringed.
"Uh... sorry for tripping you earlier?" he attempted meekly.
Adrien took pity on him, lowering him back into his schoolbag before Marinette could unleash her full fury on him. There where times when even he was scared of Ladybug!
"I need to be getting back," he said, not bothering to check the time; he knew it was true regardless. His father would be getting home any minute-!
Marinette looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. "M-me too!" She had promised to be home soon ages ago - her parents would be sending out a search party soon if she didn't hurry!
While she stowed Tikki safely inside her purse, Adrien took the empty tray for her; she protested and swatted his arm when she saw what he was doing, but he simply laughed and dashed ahead of her, both of them laughing.
Who knew so much could change over a simple shared croissant! There was something to be said for the old adage about breaking bread bringing people closer together...
They parted ways a block from the school. Evening was properly turning into night by now. The surrounding buildings were spires of light against the darkened sky, and they caught a glimpse of the lit Eiffel Tower between rooftops. He reluctantly handed her the tray; much as he would have loved to walk her home, he really had to be back as soon as possible.
"Um, w-we should probably meet up again," she said, with a sudden return of shyness. "T-to talk things over properly. I still haven't..."
"Y-yeah, me too..." His head was still spinning - and not just because of low blood-sugar levels. He really wanted to go over everything with her, sort out who they were as partners... and besides being partners... He didn't want to rush her, though...
"Are you free... l-later tonight, maybe...?"
He raised his head to goggle at her so quickly, he felt like he had whiplash. She blushed at his obvious surprise - but she wasn't really nervous, to her own amazement. She had pictured herself asking Adrien out multiple times, and compared to what she had imagined, this was... different. This was more like meeting Chat Noir for patrol; and as much as she worshipped the ground Adrien walked on, it was simply too hard for her to get flustered around her silly Minou. Of course, this really wasn't going to be just some routine patrol, but... well, she would worry about those implications later - perhaps after dinner.
"I-I was thinking that I'd like to sort this out before school tomorrow," she explained - how were they supposed to get through the day if they didn't, with a secret this huge hanging over them all through class! - "And, um... my dad always makes the last batch of croissants at the bakery for us, so they are really fresh for us to have in the evening. I could bring some, if you... if y-you want to see how good they really are..."
He gazed ecstatically at her, almost dumbfounded. He couldn't believe his luck - he knew he loved this girl for so many reasons, but this was just...!
"Yeah, that would be great!" She dimpled adorably at his undisguised eagerness. "I can do that tonight! N-not that I want to rob you of any more croissants, but..."
She chuckled. "I'm always happy to feed a hungry kitty, Minou. I can bring sweet pastries, the ones Tikki likes best; and we do make some cheese ones, but Plagg won't-"
"I could probably manage it," a conspiratorial whisper said from within Adrien's bag, making them both laugh.
"I'm up for it," said Adrien, in what felt like the greatest understatement of his life. Night-time rendezvous with my Lady - and fresh pastries?! He was sure his broad grin could have lit up several city blocks! "Where should we-?"
"A rooftop somewhere, I guess? I'll have to sneak out, so..."
"Yeah, me too! Um, how about... that roof, over there?"
He pointed to a tall chimney, just a few houses ahead. She glanced up at it, and smiled, as if she recognized it. He knew she was thinking the same thing as him. That was where he had used his staff to span the street like a tightrope; she had come flying out of nowhere and collided with him, the very first time they had met...
"Sounds great," she said, with a bright smile and a nod.
"Sounds purr-fect!" he corrected her, smirking unashamedly.
She tossed her head and eyed him reproachfully, in a very Ladybug-like manner. He gave her a very Chat-ish wink.
"Well, then - it's a date, my Lady!" he said, sweeping her a gallant bow.
She tried to look non-plussed, but her smile - and her slight flush - gave her away. "If you say so, Chaton."