Between Us

A Helping Hand

Note: Thank you for waiting x

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Marinette was practically out of breath for the rest of the afternoon helping her parents with the bakery.

There had been an akuma attack in the early afternoon that caused her to make up some lame excuse while she was kneading dough. Something about Alya calling on the phone about something serious. Who were her parents to question crucial girl talk?

Then again, it sometimes blew her mind how her parents hadn't caught on that the famous red-suited heroine of Paris was living under their roof. To her advantage, they didn't question the lengthy time frame she had disappeared for to fight the akuma. She thanked the gods that this one wasn't too difficult for her to handle. Chat certainly enjoyed his time with his usual remarks and puns.

That was the thing. He had been very peppy for the past week. Marinette had asked if he got a shot of dopamine up his ass, but he merely waved her off with a grin and continued fighting alongside her. He was pretty quick to leave the scene too once everything had been fixed and dealt with.

She couldn't help but think at the time that maybe it had something to do with that girl he went on a date with. He hadn't talked about her since the first mention of her after that fight. Desperately, she wanted to ask for updates and if things were going well, but hesitance still lingered. Would it be stepping over a line? What if he slips something up to reveal his identity?

Would that be such a bad thing?

Yes. Of course it would be. They worked so hard for six years to keep their civilian identity concealed from each other. That shouldn't be thrown out the window for mere curiosity. What did Chat always say?

Curiosity killed the cat.

Then again, her curiosity at her sushi 'date' last week with Adrien seemed to have brought them closer. She was starting to feel like she was wrong about some things.

The high-pitched chime of the front door of the bakery could be heard all the way from the back as Marinette stood there rolling out dough with her dad around the corner working on the pastries.

"Marinette, can you help whoever walked in? I'm icing something right now," her father asked.

"Sure thing, Dad."

After brushing off the loose flour on her apron, she quickly started heading out of the kitchen and to the front counter to help the customer.

"Good afternoon, how can I help..." her voice trailed off as soon as she peered up from the register and who it was that walked in.

She should've expected it at this point, to be honest.

"Hey, Marinette," Adrien said with a smile. "You're working?"

Not knowing what to do with her body, she decided at the last minute to lean forward onto the counter using her hands to steady her. Though, it was kind of uncomfortable. "Yeah... it's been pretty busy today. We have a lot of mobile orders to go through. I've been in the back all day."

"I can tell," he teased as he gestured at her messy apron.

Peering down at the mess, she subconsciously started to wipe more flour off, but at this point, it was just smearing. She looked back up with a sheepish smile. "So, uh, what can I get you?"

"Oh, well, I didn't come here to buy anything."

She tilted her head to the side in slight confusion. "No?"

He continued. "No, I actually came in here to ask if you wanted to see the new Mecha movie with me. Nino was supposed to come, but he canceled last minute, so I have an extra ticket. I didn't know you were working, though."