Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story

Chapter 8

Oh my god, Marinette thought, his dad is Hawkmoth.

One look at Adrien though, and she knew he hadn't come to that realization yet. She watched his face tumble through emotions. Elation that his mom was alive. Fear that she was apparently being held hostage. Anger that his father hadn't told him. Confusion as to why this man was talking about the recent akuma attacks with his father. Worry over the evident threat against his life the last line was meant as. And finally, shock as he put it all together.

"Mari," he looked over at her, but clearly was at a loss for words. "My father--He's-- He is--"

"I know, Adrien," she cut him off softly.

"I need to leave. I can't be in here." He dropped the letter and started to walk out of the room, not checking to see that she was following.

Marinette picked up the letter, taking a quick photo with her phone, and then slipped it back into the envelope and under the book where she had found it. Rushing out of the room she almost ran into Adrien's back. He had made it to the front door but seemed at a loss as to what to do next.

"I don't know where to go," he stated simple.

She linked her arm with his and pushed open the door.

"I have an idea, and lucky for you, they have chocolate croissants, the cure to any issue, I promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adrien allowed himself to be directed through Paris by Marinette, not really caring where they went, but drawing comfort from her proximity. She turned the corner and he found himself in front of her parent's bakery. He hesitated and Marinette turned to look at him expectantly.

"I don't know," he began. He wasn't in the best mood, and didn't want to seem rude to Marinette's parents. She just rolled her eyes and pulled him through the back door into the kitchen.

"What do you do when you're stressed? When you need to just let go of everything?" She asked knowingly.

Transform into a leather-clad cat-like creature with glowing green eyes and propel myself with a metal stick across the rooftops of Paris, he thought sarcastically but obviously didn't say it out loud. She smirked as if she almost could hear his thoughts. Instead of responding, he just shrugged.

"Well, I do this," she dumped a large sack of flour in front of him and spun around the kitchen pulling various ingredients from their hiding places like a perfectly executed ballet. She dropped an apron around his neck and began to tie her own on.

"Alright, pretty boy. Let's see if you can handle getting your hands dirty." She raised her eyebrow in an obvious challenge and he couldn't suppress the responding smile.

"Put me to work, boss."

"That's what I like to hear."

They then spent the next three hours measuring, mixing and kneading various types and flavors of the bread, and by the end, Adrien was gratefully exhausted. The careful measuring and instructions from Marinette kept him blessedly distracted from his current predicament, and flying puffs of flour and random balls of dough thrown at each other had his abdominal muscles sore from laughing so hard.

Finally, when all that was left to do was wait for the dough to rise, the duo sank to the floor, resting against the counter, exhausted and sufficiently covered in flour and bits of butter. Adrien rested his head against Marinette's shoulder without thought and almost instinctively, she began running her fingers through his hair. She stopped almost as soon as she started, but it was too late. The inkling that had been hovering just out of reach of Adrien's subconscious for the last week, suddenly came to the forefront of his mind.

He didn't react outwardly, but his mind was whirling in a flurry of motion.

Could it be?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette froze. Why did I do that?! She thought frantically, and laid her arm around Adrien's shoulders instead in what she hoped seemed a friendly gesture.

For her, this was her partner and friend of more than a year, but for Adrien, she was just a shy girl, with whom he only just recently had a coherent conversation. Marinette had forgotten herself. Working in the kitchen and bantering with him felt so natural, so right. He was her Chat, laughing at her and making horrible bread puns as they baked side by side, the perfect team as always.

"What do you knead next?" He had asked innocently.

"110 grams of butter," she responded, distractedly reading her father's sprawling handwriting on the recipe. "Thanks," she added when he handed it to her.

"It's the yeast I could do."

She stopped and looked up at his open face, before bursting into giggles. "Seriously? That's the best you can come up with?"

He shrugged and smiled good naturedly, until she threw a handful of flour at him, powdering his already light hair. He gaped.

"You're toast!" he yelled and shook his head like the cat he was, spraying a shower of flour in her direction and making her squeal.

"Are you done yet, pun-master?"

"What can I say, I'm on a roll." He winked.

No wonder she fell into an easy rhythm and familiar habits with him. He was so her Kitty. How had she never noticed before?

She was startled from her thoughts by a loud crash from somewhere off in the distance. Her phone buzzed almost a second later. It was Alya confirming her suspicions: Akuma attack. She looked over at Adrien, only to see that he had seen the text as well, and both of them were on their feet. Pausing to look at each other, Marinette spoke first.

"Uh, I should call Alya," she laughed nervously, "make sure she doesn't go running into the battlefield."

"Right," Adrien responded, looking at her peculiarly. "I should go anyway." He made no move towards the door.

Marinette waited another few precious seconds, wondering why he wasn't making a hasty retreat. For all he knew Ladybug was out there fighting alone.

"Ohhkay," she drew out, "I really should call Alya, so feel free to use the back door if you want." She impulsively gave him a quick hug and then darted up the stairs to her room. Quickly hopping out onto her balcony, she released Tikki from her purse.

"Getting a little cosy there with your boyfriend." She teased, smirking at the blushing teen.

"Tikki," she started to whine, but her kwami cut her off.

"I'm just teasing, Marinette. We should go." Marinette nodded.

"Tikki, spots on!"

Below, in the alleyway adjacent to her balcony, Adrien stared up, his suspicions confirmed. He transformed and dashed towards the battle scene, a smile lighting up his face.