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Adrien had never really thought of baking as a particularly relaxing activity. So much could go wrong that it actually looked rather stressful from the outside.
Baking with Marinette, in particular, sounded like a recipe for disaster, no pun intended. She usually obsessed over all the details and wanted everything to be done in her way and the result to be perfect. He had imagined that a session in the kitchen would end up with them screaming at each other and probably burning something in the meantime.
To his surprise, it had turned out to be exactly the opposite. They worked well together once they put aside their differences and translated the hard-earned balance between them on the battlefield into a dance with aprons and mixers. It was nothing new after all. Marinette gave orders and delegated tasks and Adrien did what she wanted of him.
Now it was something they loved doing together so it was no surprise when they decided to prepare for the school pre-Christmas gathering with another baking session in the Dupain-Cheng household. Tom observed their preparations with amusement, but he had long learned to trust them. After all, they hadn't managed to set the house on fire yet. He'd also put his seal of approval on their previous creations so he knew that they weren't going to poison their classmates. So once they started on the real work, he left them alone.
They had decided on muffins with Christmas decoration this time. They did three separate batches of vanilla, dark chocolate and red velvet, so that they could cover pretty much everyone's taste. Now they were busy with decorating them.
The fondant icing in different colours helped bring their ideas to life. There was red and white for mini Santas, green for sprigs of mistletoe and Christmas trees, brown for reindeers and black for small details, like eyes.
It was no surprise that Marinette was a pro at this. She had been helping her parents her whole life. But most importantly she had the creativity and attention to detail that resulted in muffins Adrien would rather look at than eat.
His main contribution had been mixing the batter earlier and taking the muffins in and out of the oven. After that, he had mostly watched her do her magic in silence and awe.
"Can you busy yourself out there with something for a bit?" She asked suddenly, looking rather cagey for no reason at all.
Adrien was rather taken aback. She usually didn't mind him watching as long as he didn't get in her way.
"Aren't we ready?" He looked at the decorated muffins lined in trays.
"Almost," she huffed. "I just need a few minutes to myself. How about you try decorating this one?" She handed him a red velvet muffin.
"Is it a spare one I can eat?" He grinned in delight.
"If you're good," she snorted.
"I'll be good," he said readily, taking the muffin and turning his back to her.
However, when he was trying to think of a way to decorate it, he couldn't think of anything. They had pretty much exhausted the Christmas variations. Then he saw some scraps of black fondant lying around and he had an idea. This didn't need to be about Christmas. He was going to make what he loved the most.
They worked in silence for a few minutes before Marinette called to him.
"Are you ready, kitty?"
"Yes," he smiled at his creation. He wasn't going to eat this one after all. This was going to be a present for her. He couldn't wait to see her expression when she saw it.
"Ok. Come here then."
He turned around and saw her take a step back from the counter. There was a sole chocolate muffin there but it was nothing like the ones she had decorated before that.
"M'lady," he gasped as he took in the black ears sticking out, the white whiskers and pink nose and the heart-shaped eyes. "This is adorable!"
"It's for you," she said proudly. "It is you, actually," she added with a giggle.
"It is me," he laughed. "Heart-shaped eyes included."
"I had to. Although they are also because I love you very much," she said softly, leaning in to kiss him. He kissed her back but he was a bit distracted and she felt it.
"What is it? You're free to eat it, don't worry," she reassured him.
"No, it's not that. I... also have something for you." He moved away to show her his muffin.
"Oh my God," she exclaimed. "Adrien!"
"It's not as good as yours," he said quickly. The circles were uneven and well, you had to know what it was to guess. At least she managed to do that.
"You made a ladybug muffin!"
"It's my most favourite thing in the whole world," he smiled dreamily at her.
"Aw! You're so sweet," she cooed. "You deserve another kiss." She took a step closer and wrapped her arms around him.
"I love you," he whispered when she pulled him closer. "Thank you for the muffin."
"Thank you. And I love you more," she said against his lips.
He wanted to protest but then she kissed him and he kind of forgot about it for a bit. This time he wasn't worried about her reaction to his surprise so he could enjoy the kiss. And it was a wonderful chocolate-flavoured kiss. The truth was that he was content with kissing her, he didn't even crave that muffin that much.
"I love you more," he still said when they came up for air.
"Mmm. We'll see about that," Marinette hummed, reaching behind him for the muffin. Even before she could take a bite, he had taken the black cat one and was sinking his teeth into it.
"So good," he groaned as he swallowed.
"Red velvet is my new favourite," Marinette gave him a happy smile. "You did great."
"At least you're not marking my decoration."
"It's tasty, that's what matters the most. But it's also cute," she booped his nose. "Well, not as cute as you."
"Meow."
Their lips met in another sugary kiss.
"Eat up before my parents come up. They already wonder about my strange obsession with black cats, they don't need to see this," she shook her head. He didn't need to be told twice. He wolfed down the muffin in two more bites.
"What about them wondering about my ladybug obsession?" he looked pointedly at the muffin in her hand.
"No worries," she flashed him a smile before taking another bite.
"We're the best team," he lifted his hand for a fist bump and Marinette met him halfway.
"We are," she agreed, looking at the fruit of their labour.
"And it really doesn't matter who loves the other one more," he said casually. "But it's me."
"We're not having this argument again!" She groaned. "I thought that I was a step ahead this time but you..."
"You're not leaving me behind," he said firmly. Before she could protest, he kissed her again and felt her relax against him.
At the end of the day, they were both the winners.