Chapter Text
Kagami walked along the sidewalk, clutching the strap of her bag as she headed towards the Françoise Dupont High School for her fencing class. She hadn’t walked this side of the path before–she typically came from the other side due to the strict regime she followed–but she’d had other plans today and it required a bit of tweaking in her route.
However, just as she was about to turn the corner, a scent caught her attention. She halted, the smell of pastries and baked goods drawing her gaze to a bakery across the street.
“Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie”
Kagami’s mouth opened involuntarily, but she immediately shut it again as she realized–very embarrassingly–that she was salivating.
Everything just smelled so good. Kagami had eaten hardly any sweets in her life, priding herself on resisting temptation, but the scents from this bakery in particular were making it very hard for her to stay away.
Kagami shook her head, looking back toward the school.
She didn’t move. She checked her phone.
Fencing lessons started in ten minutes.
Kagami stared at her phone with a hard gaze, her hand tightening around it like it was the source of all her problems.
…Maybe a small detour wouldn’t hurt?
Kagami changed course, crossing the street to head towards the bakery. She looked around warily, hunching over slightly as if her mother could see her at any time.
Placing her hand against the bakery’s door, Kagami pulled and let herself inside. The smell of fresh sweets and bread practically overwhelmed her. She was already scolding herself for her lack of self-control, but it couldn’t be helped now.
“Ah, a new face!” a voice cheered.
Kagami stared. The source was a woman standing at the counter, eyeing Kagami with a smile. Kagami deduced that this must be Sabine.
“Ah. Hello,” Kagami greeted stiffly, unsure of how to act.
“Hello!” Sabine waved. There were no other people in the bakery currently (aside from two figures in the back that Kagami wasn’t focused on), so all of Sabine’s attention was on Kagami. “Do you see anything you like?”
Kagami eyed all everything lining the shelves. Honestly, it all looked good.
“…I can’t,” she finally said, more to herself than Sabine. “I have fencing class. I can’t be eating recklessly.”
“Nonsense!” Sabine waved dismissively. “Someone like you would certainly deserve a little treat now and then. Besides, we have lighter options for people such as yourself.”
Sabine turned. “Tom?”
The larger of the two figures in the back stepped forward, leaning down to Sabine’s level. “Hm?”
“What would you recommend for our lovely new customer?” Sabine gestured to Kagami. “Sugar-free, fat-free, light, and airy.”
Tom glanced over toward Kagami, staring her for a long time. It was as if he was reading her soul.
“Ah!” Tom’s face lit up. “I think we have just the thing!”
He went over to the shelves. Kagami noted that his apron was covered in flour and his cheerful demeanor had made her involuntarily relax her shoulders.
Sabine beckoned Kagami over to the register. “What’s your name, dear?”
“Ka–” Kagami hesitated. Giving her name out to a stranger seemed reckless, but there was something about Tom and Sabine that made her inherently trust them. “Kagami.”
Sabine opened her mouth, but a new yet familiar voice cut off anything she was about to say.
“Kagami?”
Kagami glanced over as the final figure made herself known. Marinette walked up, flour sprinkled throughout both her apron and pigtails.
Kagami’s grip on her bag’s strap tightened.
Tom gasped, turning to her. A small plate with a crepe was in his hands. “Are you friends with our daughter?”
Kagami stiffened, looking between Tom and Sabine. Certainly not! She hardly knew Marinette!
Before she could correct them, Tom gave her the plate.
He insisted, “You can have this on the house! Marinette’s friends eat free here!”
“I couldn’t,” Kagami said quietly, wholly overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting from Marinette’s parents.
She looked over at Marinette. There’s no way Marinette would allow this, right? Marinette was interested in Adrien and Kagami was friends with him.
However, Marinette smiled, looking between both of her parents as she stated, “Yeah, she’s a friend of mine.”
Kagami gaped, both surprised and confused. Why would Marinette–?
Marinette grabbed a small fork from the counter, stepping toward Kagami and placing it on the plate. Marinette stood so close to Kagami that her whispers went unheard by her parents.
“I’m sorry about the ice rink,” Marinette apologized softly. “I kept distracting Adrien. Please, you can have this for free. You work hard and you deserve it.”
Kagami eyed the plate with the tiny crepe. It was made with artificial sweetener and there were even fresh sliced strawberries to go with it.
Kagami’s eyes dimmed. Technically, it hadn’t been Marinette’s fault. Adrien had invited Marinette along in the first place.
And Adrien had been the one to keep racing off.
Taking the fork in her hand, Kagami cut a small piece of the crepe, lifting it with her fork. She stared at it, then Marinette, then finally placed the piece in her mouth.
Immediate flavor explosion. Kagami even let out a small noise; it tasted so amazing.
Kagami flushed and covered her mouth despite it being too late to muffle the sound. Tom and Sabine were staring at her with satisfied smiles, while Marinette looked at her with anticipation.
Kagami set her fork back down, swallowing before clearing her throat. Meeting Tom and Sabine’s gazes, she confirmed, “It’s very good.”
Then, she met Marinette’s gaze. “Thank you.”
Marinette beamed.
The atmosphere was cut into as Kagami’s phone began beeping at her. Kagami shifted her bag, noting that she only had a small amount of time to get to her fencing class.
Sabine raised a hand. “Oh! Do you have to be somewhere?” She shuffled underneath the counter. “Let me get you a box.”
Kagami handed the plate over to Sabine, who deposited the crepe carefully into the to-go box and replaced the steel fork with a plastic one.
Kagami gave Sabine a polite nod, then took the box and slipped it into her bag. She turned, heading for the door.
She could almost feel Tom smiling at her. “You can come here whenever you want, alright? You’re welcome to any of our food!”
Kagami’s hand lingered on the door, a hesitation she didn’t often have. She glanced back at them, fleetingly, then stared down at the floor.
“I’ll consider that.”
And with that, she left, their smiles being more vivid in her memory than even their food.