Until Next Time, My Lady

His Confession

Adrien walked into the living room to find Marinette and her parents laughing about her disappearing act from the day before. She obviously didn't notice him walk in due to her excitement; so he smiled as he watched her from behind. She was so pleased with herself for alluding him; and apparently, telling her parents was additional icing on the cake.

"He was so mad at me, mama," she giggled. "I ducked out of sight and hid in my laundry basket."

"Your laundry basket?" Tom laughed.

"Why, of course," Marinette insisted. "I can fit and I honestly thought it would be the first place he'd look."

Adrien rolled his eyes, stepped forward and grabbed her by the hips. She squeaked and jumped away in surprise. "You're right. I totally thought my twenty-five-year-old best friend would stow herself away in a laundry basket," he chuckled. "You really got me there, Mari."

He watched as her mother's eyes softened at him calling out her daughter. Tom started chuckling to himself in his chair as Marinette's face started to turn red in embarrassment.

"How long have you been standing there?" She stammered.

"Long enough to see how proud you are for being able to hide from me," he smirked.

Marinette's mouth hung open. Sabine smiled and went back to doing her sudoku puzzle. She personally loved when Adrien would make her daughter squirm. The blush and astonishment that would come over her daughter's face brought back many fond memories. Tom would always tease her in front of her family, and it seemed as though Adrien loved doing it to Marinette as well.

Adrien laughed and walked past them into the kitchen. He knew Sabine had laid all the ingredients and equipment out on the counter for them about twenty minutes before they'd arrived. He grabbed a mixing bowl and started to hand mix the bread flour, yeast, salt, and water together. Marinette was still standing in the middle of the living room in awe at him.

"Sweetheart, you might want to go help him in the kitchen before he burns it down," Tom smirked, as he went back to reading his newspaper.

"But I haven't even turned on the oven yet!" Adrien protested.

"I don't think that'd matter," Marinette giggled. "You burned water the last time you tried to cook by yourself."

She flipped on the radio as she walked past it into the kitchen. The end of Jagged Stone's new hit single, 'Don't Take All Night,' echoed through the sound system. Marinette poured herself a cup of coffee, then looked over at the mixing bowl and cringed. Adrien was making a mess of the crust. He needed to add some more flour. His hands were covered in a watery flour disaster that by now should've been formed into a decent dough. Marinette rolled her eyes as she caught his gaze and gave him a mischievous smirk. She ducked under his arms to get between him and the counter. He yelped in surprise at her quickness.

"What are you doing, Marinette?!" He exclaimed.

"Making sure we don't have a soupy crust for our pissaladière!" She laughed. "Here." She poured a little more flour into the bowl and took his hands in hers.

Adrien stiffened for a short moment as she entwined her fingers into his. This wasn't the first time she'd shown him how to bake or cook with her hands. However, it was just the first time they'd done something this close since Nino spilled her past secrets to him. He couldn't help but think of all the possibilities of what could've been. Perhaps her love could've healed his broken heart. If that was the case, he would've been over Ladybug years ago. Maybe their friendship wouldn't have existed because of a nasty break up and he wouldn't be here with her now. Was this the only possible way he'd have her in his life?