Chapter Text
Marinette hummed as she wiped off the counter, sweeping crumbs into her hand. Today had been a slow one in the bakery.
Hawkmoth's latest akuma had weather powers that had caused Paris to get cold and drizzly. Even after the akuma had been defeated, the weather persisted.
She turned to look out the bakery window to watch the gray clouds as they brought more rain. She bit her lip, dumping the crumbs into the trash can under the register. Chat Noir didn’t look like he was doing too well earlier. Marinette knew Chat wasn’t too fond of the rain, but today it really showed. Earlier that morning, he looked close to fleeing every time a raindrop landed on his face. Even with the akuma present, he seemed to be unable to give them the time of day. She smiled as she thought of his pout as they fist bumped.
He’d looked like a drowned rat.
The bell above the front door chimed, bringing her gaze to the man entering the bakery. He was bundled up tightly, a hat pulled low over his ears and a scarf covering the lower part of his face. The man looked like he was freezing even with his coat pulled snug around him.
Then, she realized she had been just standing there, staring at him. She flushed, clearing her throat. “Bonjour, welcome to Dupain-Cheng Bakery! What can I get you today?”
The man looked momentarily surprised at being addressed but mumbled out a little, “Uhh…”
She smiled, “Would you like a minute to look over the menu?”
“Uh…” he quickly scanned the menu.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Chat’s eyes were actually green. If so, she mused, they’d probably be as bright as this man’s eyes.
“Do you have anything with cheese?” the man asked, turning toward her as he seemed to give up looking over the menu.
She smiled, “Of course! We have Quiche aux Fromage, Cheese Fougasse, Grahn de Fromage, and Pain au Fromage. If you wait ten more minutes, we also have Baguette Fromage.”
“Um,” he paused a moment before nodding and said, “I’ll go with a Quiche aux Fromage if that’s alright.”
“Absolutely,” she smiled again, typing it into the register before looking up. “Anything else for you?”
He shook his head before saying, “Actually, do you have any hot chocolate?”
She frowned, “Sadly, we’re out of our Chocolat Chaud, but we do have Chocolat Chaud Noir.”
“That’d be perfect,” he smiled gently.
“Alright. Anything else?”
He shook his head.
“For here or to go?”
He scowled, looking outside as a crack of thunder echoed, “For here.”
She hid her smile as she typed on the register again, “Alrighty, let’s see. Your total will show up on the screen below. Will it be cash or card today?”
The man fished out his wallet, counting out some bills before handing the money over. She quickly counted out his change, returning the money to him.
Before the man could go far, Marinette piped up, “Oh, sir!”
“Hm?” the man paused.
“If you’d like to warm up a bit, the heater is pointed over at this table.” Marinette pointed out one of the tables along the far side of the room.
The man lifted his face out of his scarf just enough to see his genuine smile of gratitude. He quickly moved in the direction she had pointed, burrowing down into his coat as soon as he was seated under the heating vent.
Marinette hummed to herself as she made her way into the back, making the hot chocolate the man had ordered, topping it with whipped cream. She paused a moment before laughing to herself. She took the cocoa powder and carefully sprinkled it on top of the whipped cream. Satisfied, Marinette brought the Chocolat Chaud Noir up front so she could grab and plate one of the quiches in the warming displays.
Once she had them up front though, she realized she hadn’t gotten a name for the order. She paused awkwardly for a moment before deciding it would be far less embarrassing to just bring it to the man herself.
As Marinette approached the table, she almost dropped the plate when she noticed the man watching her. Blushing, she said, “Sorry, here’s your hot chocolate and quiche!”
“Thank you,” the man said, immediately cupping his hands around the mug before laughing. “Is this a cat?”
Marinette laughed along nervously, ducking her head, “For Chat Noir.”
The man halted a little before his eyes lit up in amusement, “You like Chat Noir?”
“Of course! But I always put a cat or ladybug on the drinks when there’s another akuma fight won.”
The man pouted, looking down at his drink, “Why not a ladybug?”
Marinette laughed as she moved back toward the counter, “Just between you and me, Chat Noir definitely gave more in the fight this morning. The poor guy does not like the rain one bit.”
As Marinette made it back to the counter, she couldn’t help but smile as she remembered the look on Chat’s face when the rain didn’t stop, even after the akuma was defeated.
“Aw, Chaton!” she laughed. “Don’t look so heartbroken. The sun will be out before you know it.”
Chat pouted, crouching further under the low overhang he found as soon as the akuma victim had been helped. His ring beeped again. He scowled at the last paw pad blinking at him.
“It’s okay,” Ladybug flicked his bell before moving to the edge of the roof, pulling her yo-yo off her hip. “I’ll bring treats for you next time!”
“Coming through!”
Marinette looked behind her and watched as her dad bustled through the back doors, hands full of trays with the fresh baguettes.
“Monsieur Dupain, you’ve finally decided to join us out here in the real world! How do you fair, good sir?” Marinette grinned at him teasingly.
Tom laughs loudly, sliding the tray into one of the empty displays. “How do I fair? Now that I know how much my presence has been missed, I’d say I’m fairing quite well.”
Marinette playfully bumps into him, “Is there anything you need help with before I go?”
“No, you run along. You’ve done plenty. Thank you for stepping in to help us out. I don’t know if we could’ve done it without you.” Tom pulled her over to him, hugging her tightly and placed a light kiss on her forehead.
“Thanks for reaching out and letting me,” she looked up at him.
He ruffled her hair before turning around to find his apron, “You say hi to your friends for me!”
Marinette smiled as she took off her own apron and grabbed her purse from below the counter, “I will, promise. Love you!”
“Love you, too!”
She pushed through the doors back into the kitchen, heading over to the back computer to clock out while she softly called out, “Tikki?”
Tikki popped her head through the wall, glancing back toward the front of the bakery before zipping over to Marinette’s purse.
“You okay?” Marinette asked.
Tikki just smiled fondly, “Yeah, just thinking.”
“About?”
“Just that if you don’t get running now, you’ll definitely be late.”
“Late?” Marinette fumbled with her jacket. “Late for what?”
Tikki stared at her for a few seconds, “Class?”
Marinette blinked and looked at her phone. 1:54 pm.
“Shoot, my portfolio!”
Not even two seconds later, the doors to the stairwell were flung open, Marinette flying upstairs to grab her things for the class that started in six minutes.
Adrien curled his fingers tighter around his hot chocolate. His entire being felt chilled. He hated being cold.
As Plagg took another huge bite of the quiche, he glanced back at the counter to see a giant of a man. Adrien couldn’t help but be grateful the man wasn’t here when he first arrived. He probably wouldn’t have been able to order anything with how intimidated he felt at just the sight of the man.
He’d have to count his blessings to have had the blue-eyed girl take his order…and decorated his hot chocolate with a cocoa powder cat. Adrien couldn’t see the giant doing that for him.
Thunder cracked outside.
He frowned, “Plagg, how much time do you still need?”
“Don’t ask me stupid questions. I haven’t even finished my quiche.”
Adrien flicked at Plagg’s ear teasingly, “You know what I mean. Father’s gonna be furious that I’m late.”
Plagg scoffed, “Your father is gonna have to deal. You got stranded on the other side of the city because of an akuma attack.”
“Plagg,” Adrien said, “Are you forgetting the fact that I wasn’t even supposed to be outside today? I don’t have a good excuse as to why I was out, not even mentioning the fact that I was far enough out to get caught up with the akuma fight.”
“Well, your father’s a—”
“Everything alright, Sir?”
Plagg flew through the table as Adrien looked up, startled. The giant had quietly made his way over to their table without either of them noticing.
Laughing nervously, Adrien moved his hand up to his ear as if he were talking to someone through an earpiece, “Sorry, uh, Felix. I’m gonna need to call you back later,” he paused as if listening to someone on the other end before saying, “Uh-huh, bye.”
Looking up at the man again, he watched the giant’s expression shift to an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I just couldn’t help but overhear. Do you need a ride somewhere?”
Adrien started shaking his head when he felt Plagg pinch him. He swatted Plagg away from his leg, smiling at the man. “Sorry, I don’t want to bother anyone. I’ve just never been in this area before and with the akuma, I got lost. If I could just get some directions, that would be fantastic.”
The giant was already shaking his head but asked, “Where are you trying to go?”
“Uh,” Adrien’s mind raced. He couldn’t give out his home address. That couldn’t be anything but disastrous. But he couldn’t think of anything that would actually be close. “Uh, the Trocadéro?”
The giant raised an eyebrow, “If you’re sure. That’s about a half hour drive from here.”
Adrien winced. That wasn’t ideal.
“Just give me a moment,” the man said before disappearing into the back of the bakery.
Plagg snickered from under the table, “You’re so directionally challenged, it’s hilarious.”
“Oh hush,” Adrien pouted. “I’ve never walked the streets. I’ve only ever had to navigate the city from the rooftops and do just fine there.”
“Excuses, excuses,” Plagg flew up to his spot inside Adrien’s coat. “You and I both know you’re bad at directions.”
He opened his mouth to respond when the door behind the counter swung open again. Adrien looked over to see a short woman bustling out into the bakery followed closely by the giant.
“Oh, Tom,” the woman gently smacked the man’s arm. “You didn’t tell me he looked like he’s freezing!” The woman pulled Adrien out of his seat, tugging his coat and scarf more securely around him.
“Uh,” Adrien mumbled dumbly. “Madame...?”
“Oh, none of that now,” the woman tutted. “Just call me Sabine.”
The man, Tom apparently, came over with a to-go box and cup, “Here, let’s get these taken care of for you.”
And in the space of not very long, Adrien found himself thoroughly confused as the to-go box and cup were placed in his hands before he was ushered off into the back of the bakery.
“Wait, where are we going?” Adrien asked belatedly.
Tom pushed him through the back door, into a kitchen. “Sabine is driving you! Her driving is much better than mine,” he said with a laugh, bending down to place a kiss on the short woman’s lips.
Adrien blushed, quickly looking away.
“Come along, dear, let’s get you on your way,” Sabine gently tugged his arm, leading him out of the kitchen and into their car.
Soon after that, Adrien found himself sitting awkwardly in the passenger seat of the lady’s car, hands awkwardly holding onto what was left of the quiche and his hot chocolate. Awkwardly being awkward. At least Plagg was having fun. He could feel the little kwami snickering in his coat. Things could be worse, he supposed. He could feel the heated air on his face, which was nice.
He still couldn’t really feel his nose.
Adrien licked his lips, “Sorry for the bother.”
Sabine tutted, shaking her head, “None of that. It’s my pleasure to help you get to where you need to be.”
Adrien still felt sorry. And awkward. It felt uncomfortably wrong to be in the front seat of a car.
“Now,” Sabine said, glancing over at him as she merged into the lane beside them, “how are you? Do you need the heat turned up at all?”
He blushed, “No, I’m okay, thank you.”
The car fell into silence, save for the quiet classical music playing over the car speakers. He actually quite liked the piece that was playing and made a mental note to find his sheet music to practice it again. But maybe not today as he missed his piano practice and was fairly certain that was the least of his worries right now.
As the drive continued in silence he wondered if he should say something. At a loss of what to do, Adrien sipped at his hot chocolate instead, shoving back his panic. Plagg poked his head out of the coat, enough to pointedly look at him, then Sabine, before ducking back into the warmth of his coat.
“So, how long have you worked at the bakery?” he asked uncomfortably.
Sabine smiled, “About 27 years. Tom, my husband, and I opened the bakery soon after we got married.” She laughed a little, “I was horrible at baking when I started out! I’ve definitely gotten better over the years, but still prefer cooking.”
Adrien thought back to the last time he had ever tried to make anything. A memory of black smoke filling the kitchen as his mother’s laughter rang in his ears.
He surprised himself by asking, “How did you get better?”
“Time,” she looked at him with a weirdly soft expression, “Time and lots of practice.”
He frowned, “What if you don’t have the space or stuff?”
“Honey, you can always come over and help us. We’re always trying new recipes and need unbiased opinions on them.”
Adrien flushed as he realized how he must have sounded, “Sorry! You don’t have to do that; it was a stupid question—”
“Hey,” Sabine cut him off with a frown. “No. It was a genuine question and you are more than welcome to help or hang out anytime.”
Ducking his head, he murmured, “Thank you.”
The car fell quiet again as they made it closer to the museum and its gardens.
Adrien pondered on the invitation Sabine had extended. Oh, how he’d love to take her up on the offer. But his father would never allow it. Not in a million years. It was nice to think about though. If it was as cozy in the kitchen as it was in the front of the bakery, then that could easily become one of his new favorite places. It didn’t matter though. He wouldn’t be back.
They drove the rest of the drive with the music being the only sound and he found that as soon as they arrived at the Trocadéro, he felt reluctant to leave the car. He liked it in here…it also probably didn’t help that it was still raining.
“Here we are,” Sabine smiled. “Adrien, please stay safe.”
He nodded, unbuckling, “Thank you so much for the ride. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. Anytime.” She handed him a card with a phone number scrawled on it, “Please reach out if you need anything.”
Adrien opened the door and stepped out into the rain, already cringing at the droplets that made it past his scarf. “I will,” he lied before closing the door and watching as Sabine drove away.
Plagg’s muffled voice startled Adrien, “Are you gonna take her up on that?”
“No.” Adrien huffed, turning the card over. The card had a picture of a bag of flour, labeled “Flour Power”. He grinned. “It was super sweet, but you know Father would never allow it.”
Plagg grunted, muttering too quietly for Adrien to hear.
“Come on. I need you to finish your food before we get back. I can’t have it when we get home.”
Plagg continued his muttering as he flew into the to-go box with his food. “Home my butt. More like a penitentiary.”
Adrien frowned but made no comment. Plagg didn't like his father, that wasn’t new. But especially in recent months, he moved from dislike to barely tolerating the man. It’d become a recurring conversation.
As they walked, Adrien sipped at his drink, thinking of the cat on the whipped cream.
The akuma attack that morning had put him in a bad mood, he could recognize that. But to be fair, he got completely drenched by the rain clouds and ever since becoming Chat Noir, he’d come to detest being out in the rain. Even after the akuma was defeated, the weather persisted. Of course they just had to get stuck on the opposite side of the city when Adrien had to detransform. It was only at that point that they realized he didn’t have any food on him. Naturally. Plagg complained for forty minutes about being hungry while Adrien trudged through the streets, looking for anywhere that would have food and be open so soon after the akuma attack.
Fortuitously, he’d stumbled upon the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and didn’t think twice about booking it inside to escape the rain.
His father was probably livid. Adrien was supposed to be home. He had a full day scheduled with his online courses, fittings, and sitting in on meetings with his father. Needless to say, Adrien’s absence was clear as day. But his phone had died when he tried calling Natalie and was, therefore, stuck. At least his phone wasn’t pinging left and right.
Once they’d made it to the park closest to his home, Adrien threw away the empty cup and container as Plagg flew back into his coat.
It wasn’t long before they approached the mansion's gate and Adrien had to pause to take in a deep breath before buzzing the intercom. The camera turned toward his face and the gate opened without a word.
The walk up to the front doors was heavy.
He made it to the foot of the stairs when the front doors swung open unprompted and his body guard was upon him in seconds, dragging him inside and up the next flight of stairs, past all the cold empty rooms until they arrived at his father’s office.
He put his shaking hands in his coat pockets as Gorilla knocked firmly on the tall door.
“Enter.” Gabriel commanded.
With nowhere else to go, he sighed and twisted the handle, entering the room.