The hazards of being a bakers daughter# adrianette & ladynoir

Is it her or not

Adrien choked back a whimper, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest. Somehow he managed to keep a straight face.

"Besides," she continued, "this year it's especially busy because he's decided to start offering Christmas cookies. You know, as a way to set himself apart from the other bakeries. It's neat to learn about all the different cookies from around the world, but the added work is exhausting."

"Christmas cookies, huh?" Alya asked. "Don't they do that in Germany?"

"They do it all over the place, apparently," Marinette explained. "Different countries are known for their different types. There are Russian tea balls, and German pfeffernusse, and of course gingerbread."

"Mmm," Alya hummed happily, looking wistfully toward the ceiling. "I've had gingerbread cookies before. Those things are delicious."

"No, no," Nino said, leaning closer to Alya as he shook his head. "Snicker doodles. Now that's where it's at."

Adrien listened with half an ear while Alya and Nino debated the various benefits of each cookie, all while studying Marinette from the corner of his eye.

Marinette was just a girl from his class, albeit it a completely adorable one. As the school year had progressed, he had gotten to spend more time with both her and Alya, and he had never noticed anything... out of the ordinary about her. Especially now that she seemed to have overcome most of her initial shyness. She couldn't be Ladybug.... Could she?

Of course, she did have black hair, and she even had blue eyes.

Get real, Adrien, he scolded himself. Shy, bumbling Marinette? Even with her having loosened up somewhat in recent months, he couldn't deny that Marinette had a tendency to be clumsy—the exact opposite of Ladybug. It was pretty hard to picture her as the confident, assured superhero.

Is it really? a voice whispered in the back of his mind. You act pretty differently yourself when you're Chat Noir. Adrien firmly shooed that thought away.

"What about you, Adrien?"

Adrien started, turning around to find Marinette watching him curiously.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment and feeling silly. Smooth. He doubted that Marinette would ever look at him and assume he could be someone as cool as Chat Noir.

She shot him a sympathetic grin. "I was just wondering if you have a favorite type of cookie."

"Not really." He shrugged. "My dad's not a huge fan of treats, so I haven't tried all that many."

"A life without cookies?" Alya asked in horror.

Beside her, Nino shook his head, dolefully placing a hand on Adrien's shoulder. "I'm tell you guys, this is the childhood my poor Adrien has been subjected to."

Adrien playfully shook Nino off, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Jeez, Nino. You make me sound deprived or something."

"Well yeah, man!" Nino replied emphatically. "Deprived of cookies!"

The girls giggled, but a moment later Alya asked Marinette about some show from last night, changing the conversation. Adrien gladly turned away. There was no need to get worked up about a little flour. It had to be a coincidence. There was no way Ladybug could have been sitting right behind him all this time without him realizing.

Right?

Hope you enjoy the suspicion....