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“Where are you going, Miss Zoe?” Armand, the butler asked.
“I’m heading to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, do you want me to get you anything?” For a second, she had also thought of adding in case anyone asks where I am, but backed out, knowing it was pointless. Nobody ever did.
“Also, there’s no need for the miss,” she added with a soft laugh.
“You’ve been going there a lot recently,” Armand pointed out. “Wouldn’t it be easier if I placed an order for the bakery weekly? I could have them delivered to your room,” the butler said, a wink of complicity in his face.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay. I like walking there myself. It’s the same road all the time, but there’s always something new to see.” It wasn’t a lie. She had been living in the city for quite a while now, but everytime she stepped outside, there was something new the place had to offer. The ephemerality of every moment was oddly comforting, reminiscent in a way of New York’s hectic everyday. There were only a few things that truly were static, but when had she had a lot to hold on to?
“Well, in that case, I suppose I’ll see you later. Take care!” Armand waved her off.
Zoe waved back with a smile. It was nice to have someone who was waiting for her to come back.
As she made the first turn around a corner of her journey, she recalled Armand's words. She had truly been visiting the bakery a lot as of lately, hadn't she? Zoe wasn't sure how often it was too much for a bakery. At least once a week, if not every few days. Marinette had already began learning her usual. A couple of croissants and a small box of whatever macarons they had in stock that day. Even her parents knew what to pull up whenever she entered the place.
Was that what people called being a "regular" at a store?
Some days, when she had no homework and the hotel felt both too spacious and too small for her to comfortably spend the evening after school, she had taken to the habit of sitting at the park, in the bench that was so close to the building it was practically facing the entrance. Those days, she caught herself staring at the people that came and went. Staring through the window, waving at Marinette every time they made eye contact. It was always quick, as Marinette was often busy.
Sometimes, the waving turned into a smile. Other times, it turned into sticking out her tongue, or making funny faces. Marinette always smiled, if not straight up laughed. Zoe remembered the first time she had done so, almost dropping the platter with a customer's bread out of mixed laughter and confusion. That day, she just gave up, knowing it would haunt her for the rest of the evening, and took a long, much needed break, inviting Zoe to join her.
Zoe wished Marinette wasn’t as busy nowadays. Most of the time, her friend didn’t even get the time to help out at the counter like before, let alone hanging out together in the afternoon. She rarely visited the Couffaine’s place, rarely hung out with the class or the girls from a while now. Zoe sighed. She saw Marinette almost everyday at school, so why was she missing her so badly? On the way to her parents’ bakery nonetheless. It had barely been a few hours since they had both left school for the day.
The sight of the front windows of the bakery caught her eye suddenly and made her stop. Apparently, she had been walking that same path so often she could do it almost automatically. Zoe rolled her eyes at her own distraction, and made her way inside, ready for a fresh pastry.
A gust of cool breeze made its way along with her as she opened the store’s door, making her suddenly realize just how much warmer it was inside. Of course, with all the ovens and the movement… It was to be expected, but it struck her surprisingly.
Ms. Cheng greeted her. “The usual, Zoe?” the woman asked with a smile. Zoe nodded. “Yes, please.”
“It's nice to see you again. No homework today?”
“Nope, I have the entire evening free,” Zoe replied, not dropping the smile.
“Wait, why don't you stay for a little longer then?
“Come in, she'll take a moment,” Sabine gestured for Zoe to follow her and headed towards the first flight of the stairs that led to the actual living part of the building. “Marinette, your friend’s here!”
Zoe giggled.
“Sorry to have you waiting, she takes… a while to come downstairs sometimes,” Sabine explained with an apologetic smile as they made their way up. “Marinette?”
“It's okay, don't worry. I don't mind waiting, but if she’s busy I could lea-”
Suddenly, a huge nose upstairs caught their attention, and a frantic figure appeared at the top of the stairs above.
“HIZOENOITSFINEIMHERESORRYTOKEEPYOUWAITINGI-”
In a matter of about five seconds, Marinette managed to trip over her own feet, place her weight on the very edge of the next step with enough expertise to keep herself from falling over, have a look of relief and proceed to trip again with the distraction it provided, then skip the rest of the flight of stairs to avoid hitting the floor.
“Hey, easy there!” Zoe chuckled as she extended a hand for her friend to hold on to.
Marinette blinked once as she processed the motion, grabbed it and pulled herself up.
“Careful, you don’t want to take her down with you, don’t you?” Sabine advised playfully.
“It’s okay, Ms. Cheng,” Zoe laughed again. “I could always pull both of us up.”
“I told you Maman, we need to get a railing for these stairs!” Marinette explained, flaunting her arms wildly as she spoke. The slightly baggy cardigan she was wearing made her motions even bigger, and her movement more deranged.
Ms. Cheng stared at her, eyes wide open as she suppressed a laugh. “Marinette, dear, we do have railing,” she said as she pointed towards it.
“Oh…” The girl’s arms lowered softly. “Uh… I… didn’t see it?”
Zoe decided it was best to let go of the perfect setup for a joke about how she had been around for much less time and she could in fact remember the railing’s existence.
Out of nowhere, Marinette turned towards her friend. “Wait, are you staying or just dropping by and I accidentally wrecked your entire schedule for the evening?”
“Actually, I have the evening free, so I thought I’d just come for a snack, but your mom suggested I stay, so no worries.”
The sound of a small bell crept up from downstairs unexpectedly.
“Oops, I think I'll have to leave you girls. Just make sure to not stay too late, Zoe! I’d hate to make you walk home in the dark.”
“I won’t, Ms. Cheng!” Zoe assured as the woman walked downstairs.
“So… Wanna come upstairs?” Marinette asked.
“Sure!”
“Sorry, I tripped and made a biiit of a mess right before going down before,” Marinette announced. “Just let me clear the way in a minute…”
As soon as she opened the door to the apartment, Zoe realized the warning was no joke. There was laundry spilled everywhere as though it had fallen from the trap door to Marinette’s room, which based on the girl’s expression, it probably had.
“Wait, are you okay? Didn’t hurt yourself or anything?” Zoe asked, concerned. What kind of fall could have created such a mess? She knew her friend was clumsy beyond repair, but falling down almost a floor and dragging a basket of clean laundry with her… It was a bit much, even for Marinette.
“Nope, just hit my leg a little with the stairs. The laundry cushioned my fall,” she explained with an embarrassed smirk, looking down as she put a shirt back in the basket.. Was it Zoe’s imagination, the reds of the sunset’s sunlight coming through the window, or was Marinette a little flushed?
“Hey, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Zoe laughed softly. “I’m just glad you’re not hurt. Badly, at least. Here, let me help you,” she said as she leaned down to begin picking up clothes.
“If you say so…”
Together, they finished picking up the laundry and a few other things that had somehow been knocked down as well in comfortable silence, until it was too dark for any of them to properly see what they were doing. As Marinette turned on the light, the realization hit her.
“Wait, it’s already getting dark! You should get going- I mean, not that I want you out of here, but since you told Maman you would leave before dark… She has a point, you know, you could get lost, or someone could try to rob you and we have no idea where Ladybug is so she could take a while to get to you if you needed it, —although if you really really needed her I guess she could always walk you home so you don’t get lost?— ANYWAYS! You get what I mean?”
Marinette’s expression was one of such chaotic bewilderment Zoe couldn’t help but laugh in good faith.
“Hey, what’s so funny?” she asked lightheartedly.
“Nothing,” Zoe replied, doing her best to repress another chuckle. “I don’t think I’ll get lost, but better be safe than sorry.”
“Then let’s go downstairs! After you,” she said as she opened the door. “Wait, you’re not carrying your usual bread, aren’t you? Let me grab you something from the bakery quickly.”
Zoe realised she had completely forgotten the original point of her visit as she walked down. “No, it’s fine, I don’t mind-”
“Who would I be if I made you go home without something for dinner? I’ll be back in just a second,” Marinette excused herself, and quickly came back with a small bag with the bakery’s logo on it. “These ones are on the house. For… the chaos back there. Your usuals, plus a small extra.”
Zoe peeked inside. A fresh, buttery croissant, a small box of macarons, and a square pastry she didn’t recognize. She held the bag closer to her face for a better look, and the smell hit her.
“Apples?”
“Apple turnover. We’ve only had them for a few months but they’re some of our best-sellers, so I figured you might like it.” Marinette paused for a moment, thinking. “Actually, do you remember the day we met? When I dropped those apples on you? I think those were for our first batch.”
Zoe suddenly felt her heart pulsing and her blood flowing faster and faster. A thought crossed her mind, a realization. It dawned on her swiftly.
She was in love with Marinette. And she was blushing. If the heat in her face was any indication, wildly.
“Wait, you’re flushing. Is the air from the bakery’s entrance making you cold?” Before Zoe had a chance to even think of something to say, Marinette offered her cardigan. “Here, if we’re still inside and you’re cold, you’re gonna be freezing out there. Just give it back tomorrow at school, or drop by, or… remind me to go to your place to get it because I’ll probably forget about it.”
Zoe took it with a smile, still unable to utter a word. The sweater was warm, and soft, and…
Just like her. Just like Marinette.
“Hey, you’re spacing out, you sure you can walk home?”
She snapped back to reality. “Sure, I was just uh- a little distracted. Thank you for the bread. And- the sweater.”
“Anytime! See you tomorrow at school!”
“See you!”
The air outside was indeed much cooler than before. Zoe held the paper bag close to her, hoping it would somehow retain the bread’s warmth. She couldn’t wait to get home to try that apple turnover. Or for the next day, for that matter.