21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

Lucky Us

By: Princess Kitty1

Chapter 21

LadybugRE: Summer4 hours ago

Good morning, Chat Noir.

I know what you're thinking: "What's Ladybug doing up early on a Sunday?"

I had every intention of sleeping in.

My anxiety had other plans.

It sat on my chest and hollered THE DESIGN COMPETITION FINALISTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK until I got out of bed and tried to drown it with coffee.

Only now I've had three cups of coffee, I'm a jittery mess, and my anxiety is even worse than before.

Go figure.

x.x.x

Adrien looked at himself in the mirror: dress shirt, dark jeans, nice shoes. Easy. Sensible. Innocent enough to keep Marinette from killing him, maybe. He resisted the temptation to sweep his hair into a choir boy 'do and stepped out of the bathroom just as Plagg walked in from the hallway. Adrien crossed his arms.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the traitor," he said. Plagg ignored his scornful tone and rubbed himself against Adrien's legs. "Oh now you want to cuddle, huh? You spend all night with Father and then think you can just waltz in and demand affection from me?"

Plagg chirped at him. Adrien stooped over and gave him a vigorous rub-down. "You're lucky I love you so much," he grumbled. He placed a kiss on the top of Plagg's head and straightened again.

Ladybug wasn't the only one who'd been woken up by anxiety. The moment Adrien opened his eyes that morning, he'd been assaulted by doubt. No one would argue that bringing a girl's favorite celebrity to her home was an awesome birthday present, but was it an appropriate gift for someone he'd known for just about a month? Even Chloe's diamond ring suggestion had started to sound good after a while.

But it was too late. Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling-Stone would be at the bakery at two o'clock, and Adrien had to make it there before them to give Marinette at least a little bit of warning. What if she was still in her pajamas? Would Marinette hang out with him in her pajamas? What kind of pajamas did she wear, anyway? She must have looked cute in pajamas…

Adrien shook his head free of the thought and left his room. In the foyer, he encountered Gabriel.

"Heading out?" his father asked.

"Yes. I have a, uh, meeting this afternoon," Adrien said in his best attempt at nonchalance.

Gabriel's slow blink could have rivaled Plagg's. "Then I won't keep you," he said. "But we should get together for dinner soon. I'd like to hear about the design competition."

Just a few weeks ago, Adrien would have suspected that his father only wanted to talk about the competition so he could feel pleased with himself at having swamped his own son with work. But hearing those words now, spoken mildly and with a tone of genuine interest, Adrien felt reassured. "How about tonight?" he asked. "This meeting shouldn't take more than a couple hours."

Gabriel seemed surprised, but he nodded. "Tonight, then."

"Great." Adrien gestured to the door. "I need to…"

"Right," Gabriel said.

Adrien hurried down the foyer steps. He had ten minutes to get to Marinette's place before Jagged Stone did, and it took about ten minutes to get there.

"Adrien."

He paused at the door and looked back at his father. "Yes?"

"Have a nice day," Gabriel said.

Adrien smiled at him. "You too."

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: SummerJust now

Are you nervous? Excited? Nervously excited? Excitedly nervous? Because I am nervously excited for you! I have no doubt in my mind that you will make the finals, buginette, and I'm not just saying that.

Is Jittery Ladybug anything like Drunk Ladybug? Because Drunk Ladybug is a hoot.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: SummerJust now

I am nervously nervous.

But at least the jitters have died down.

Now I'm just awake.

Wide awake.

I think my third eye is open.

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: SummerJust now

What do you see with your third eye?

x.x.x

LadybugRE: SummerJust now

A black cat and a ladybug meeting in person for the first time.

…but that could be years from now. :-)

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: SummerJust now

You're hiss-terical.

x.x.x

Marinette stood back and admired her beautiful creation. The cake was three layers high, wrapped in meticulously smooth frosting that started off white at the top and ended in a pastel orange at the bottom. Her parents had trained her in the art of gradient frosting shortly after she started working at the bakery, and it was, without a doubt, one of her sharpest skills. On top of the cake she'd created three large frosting roses: orange, peach, and red.

She snapped a few pictures with her phone—such an artistic cake needed to be captured for posterity—and sent one to Alya. Knowing her, she'd be screaming for Marinette to save her a slice.

If only she could send Chat Noir a photo, too. But that would divulge too much of what she did in her free time. He'd guess that she might be a baker by trade and visit every bakery in Paris looking for her. Of course, with her pretending she was still at work during the day, he'd assume she worked at a bakery on the other side of Paris, which would throw him off her trail for months.

She sighed. She'd been so tempted to send the meeting email without the second line. How would he have reacted to aloof and mysterious Ladybug suddenly wanting to put an end to the distance between them?

A rapid knock on the back door startled her. Marinette whipped off her apron and jogged over to answer it.

Adrien stood on her doorstep, hopping from one foot to the other. "Are they here yet?" he blurted out.

Marinette blinked. "Is who here yet?"

"Okay, good." Adrien stopped hopping, stepped into the entryway, and put both hands on her shoulders. "Marinette, I'm going to tell you something and you're going to listen and then, hopefully, you will neither freak out nor never forgive me."

The anxiety provoked by three cups of coffee ricocheted through Marinette's body like a runaway champagne cork. "I don't like where this is going…" she murmured.

Adrien took a deep breath. "On Friday, I—you have flour on your cheek."

"I do?"

He reached up and rubbed it away with his thumb. "Got it."

Heat rushed to Marinette's face. Her skin tingled where he'd touched her for several seconds after he'd removed his hand. She definitely needed to do something about that surplus of affection—maybe visit an animal shelter and cuddle with every animal they had.

Adrien looked over her shoulder and made a high-pitched noise.

Marinette looked as well.

A limo was parked in front of the bakery, passenger door open, and emerging from it was none other than Jagged Stone. Marinette watched, anxiety growing exponentially with every passing second, as Jagged extended a hand, which was accepted by his wife and manager, Penny Rolling-Stone. The two turned towards the bakery.

Marinette turned towards Adrien.

He crossed his arms, uncrossed them and put his hands on his hips, then crossed his arms again.

"Is that Jagged Stone?" Marinette asked, though she already knew the answer. Adrien's head bobbed up and down once. "Is he coming here? Like, right here? Right now?" Another nod. "Is there a specific reason that he's here at this particular moment?"

Adrien shrugged. "Happy birthday?"

Marinette started hyperventilating. "Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no."

"Don't freak out!" Adrien cried, though it was clearly too late for that. "Listen, he wanted to bring his wife here for their anniversary and he was very upset that the bakery's closed for the month so I told him I could talk to you—"

"But you didn't talk to me!" Marinette hissed. Mixed emotions threw her mind into a panic. Jagged Stone was here! She loved Jagged Stone! She was going to kill Adrien!

"Hold that thought," Adrien said, as if he'd seen the murder in her eyes. He drew himself up, put on a charming smile, and left the kitchen.

Marinette watched in disbelief as he walked to the bakery's front door, unlocked it as if he owned the place, and stood aside to let Jagged and Penny in. "Good afternoon," he said. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng is incredibly thrilled that you two are here. She's just putting the finishing touches on the presentation, and promises to join you shortly. Please, sit anywhere you like."

Marinette pressed her back against the wall and slowed her breathing. The reality of the situation sank in: Jagged Stone and Penny Rolling-Stone, two high profile customers, were in her parents' bakery, and though she hadn't expected any high-profile customers in the middle of her summer vacation—except Adrien, of course—she just happened to have a cake on hand. So when Adrien walked into the kitchen, she grabbed him by the sleeve and yanked him in front of her.

"Since you seem to know exactly what you're doing, I'm putting you to work," she said.

Adrien's eyes went wide, but he nodded.

"There's a cabinet by the staircase in which you will find decorations. Set a tablecloth, offer them something to drink, then grab the dessert plates and forks and wait for me here." And with that, Marinette ran out of the kitchen, up the staircase, and into the house. She yanked off her plain sneakers and socks and took the stairs two at a time to her room, where she proceeded to rip off the rest of her clothes, grab a dress out of her wardrobe, and throw it on. She tied her hair up into a bun on her way to the loft. Shoved open the hatch door to her balcony. Picked up a nearby pair of garden shears and snipped the biggest, most beautiful roses in her planter.

Then she dropped onto her bed, ran down the stairs, slipped into a pair of heels, spritzed herself with perfume, rode the rail into her kitchen, stole the vase from the fake flowers Adrien had gotten her, filled it with water, dunked the roses in, and ran out the front door.

By the time Marinette returned to the bakery kitchen, Adrien stood with the dessert plates and forks in hand. He did a doubletake when he saw her, clearly surprised at how fast she'd changed her clothes and acquired fresh flowers. "Follow me," Marinette said.

Spirit of the business owner, don't fail me now, she thought as she put on her winningest smile and marched forward.

"Monsieur Stone, Madame Stone!" she cried in her best imitation of her mother's you're-our-favorite-customer voice. "I'd heard from my friend Alya Cesaire that you enjoyed the desserts we sent you. It's a shame you couldn't make it back before the bakery closed." She set the flowers down in the center of the table and offered her hand to Penny first. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I am temporarily in charge of this bakery while my parents, Tom and Sabine, take care of a sick relative."

"Nice to meet you," Penny said with a warm smile. "Sorry for interrupting your vacation like this. Jagged couldn't stop talking about this place while he toured across Europe. I hope we haven't caused you too much trouble." She gave Jagged a pointed look.

Marinette offered her hand to him next. "Not at all. I'm only too happy to serve one of my favorite musicians. I grew up with your music, Monsieur Stone. It's an honor."

Jagged shook her hand enthusiastically. "You've got good taste, Ms. Cheng." He nodded in Adrien's direction. "I thought this guy might be pulling my leg when he said he could call in a favor."

Marinette merely smiled at this. "Will Monsieur Fang be joining us today?" she asked.

"Nah, Fang thinks romance is gross," Jagged said. "He can't stand being around us when we're celebrating our anniversary."

Marinette spent a moment trying to figure out how a crocodile conveyed its displeasure at romance. "How unfortunate," she said.

Jagged nodded. "We set him up with a Crocodile Dating Profile a while back, but the last girl broke his heart. He's been bitter ever since."

Marinette looked at Penny for verification. Penny merely shrugged with the tired expression of someone who'd come between a man and his crocodile and had to live with the consequences. "Well," Marinette said as Adrien set the dessert plates on the table, "we here at Tom and Sabine's condone celebrations of love both big and small. Adrien, would you be so kind as to bring out the cake?"

Adrien bowed and made his way back to the kitchen, his willing obedience almost persuading Marinette not to kill him after all. He returned with the cake on its stand and set it before the roses.

"It's gorgeous!" Penny cried.

Even Jagged looked impressed. "How'd you know orange was my Penny's favorite color?"

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng did say she was a big fan of yours," Adrien piped up, and gave Marinette a discreet wink as he handed her the cake knife.

Marinette narrowed her eyes to let him know he shouldn't push his luck just because she'd reconsidered murdering him. She cut two enormous cake slices for Jagged and Penny and safely transferred them to their plates. "We'll leave you to your celebration. Happy anniversary," she said, then jerked her head to the side to signal Adrien to start walking.

Halfway to the kitchen, Jagged screamed something about the cake in English and Penny made a noise of pure delight. Marinette smiled and forced herself not to look back.

The moment she and Adrien were in the kitchen, she whacked his shoulder. "That's for bringing a celebrity to my bakery without telling me!" she whispered.

"I tried—"

She threw her arms around his neck, silencing whatever excuse he had prepared. "And this is for the incredible gift," she murmured into his shirt. She didn't dare look at him, but she felt the tension leave his body before he returned her embrace with a gentle squeeze. To hell with it; her surplus of affection demanded she let herself enjoy this, and who was she to say no? Adrien had given her the opportunity to meet Jagged Stone and get on his good side. She pulled away from him with a nervous smile. "Your friends must hate you at Christmas."

Adrien blushed at that—or had he already been blushing? "I don't spoil them all the time."

"Right, just on Christmas and birthdays," Marinette said, and poked him in the ribs with her elbow. "Seriously, thank you so much." She couldn't wait to tell her parents. Her mother had been excited enough when Marinette told her Jagged Stone liked the samples she'd sent him last month.

Adrien smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm glad you're happy," he said.

A small voice that sounded suspiciously like Chloe Bourgeois whispered in Marinette's ear:

He's depressed.

Marinette took a step back, her excitement fading. Was Adrien hiding something from her? He'd been strange since he came back from Chateau Margaux. More reserved. A little sad. But before she could ask, he nodded towards the doorway. "You should get back out there," he said. "They must be craving another slice."

"Right," Marinette said, and steeled herself for round two of customer interaction. If there was something wrong with Adrien, she'd get it out of him later. For now, she had a celebrity couple to impress.

x.x.x

By the time Jagged and Penny left—with multiple reassurances that they would come back during their next stop in Paris—Marinette felt ready to pass out. Her three cups of coffee had worn off, leaving her exhausted and wondering if the events of the afternoon had truly transpired. It wasn't until her phone began blowing up with notifications that she was forced to accept it: not only had Jagged Stone been in her bakery, he'd Tweeted his endorsement to his millions of followers. The bakery's Twitter account was getting slammed.

Marinette sat across from Adrien at his favorite table, a hand draped over her forehead like a swooning actress. "What's going to happen when this place reopens?" she murmured.

Adrien dug his fork into his slice of cake without a care in the world. "You hire more employees to help you with the influx of customers until your parents come back."

"What if we don't live up to their expectations?"

"Not going to happen," he said.

"What if they think our desserts are overrated? What if they don't come back?" Marinette's eyes widened. "What if they do come back and we're stuck with more customers than we can handle and this place turns into an overcrowded sty and no one wants to come because the lines are always backed up to the door?"

"Marinette."

She closed her eyes. "Sorry."

Adrien chuckled around a mouthful of cake. "You really do know how to panic over everything, don't you?" he asked.

"I'm a professional worrier." Marinette leaned forward and winced at the ache in her temple. She needed more coffee. "I can't believe you brought Jagged Stone here," she said. Her phone let off a series of chimes. Adrien pointed to it.

"If you need proof, there it is," he said.

She knew she ought to turn the phone off, but she'd be upset if she missed an email from Chat Noir. She switched it to silent instead. "Guess I'd better stick a Help Wanted sign in the window," she said, then tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, you didn't do so bad today…"

"No way," Adrien cut in before she could complete her sentence. "I only eat the food. If I tried to prepare it, it'd be an unmitigated disaster."

Marinette laughed. "If a teenager like Manon can do this job, then so can you. Minimal baking involved. All you'd have to do is stand up front and look pretty." She rested her chin in her hands. "And besides, it'd be good for business. A famous supermodel serving pastries? The line would wrap around the block."

Adrien shook his head sadly. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you started wanting me for my looks," he said. While Marinette rolled her eyes, he leaned forward and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. It vibrated in his hand. "Text from Nino," he explained. "He wants a slice of the cake."

"I'll have Alya bring it to him tomorrow," Marinette said, her gaze automatically following Adrien's phone as he lowered it to the table and—

Her body went cold.

A strange weightless feeling settled in her chest.

"Still playing matchmaker after we've been found out?" Adrien asked.

Marinette's eyes remained glued to his phone.

To the picture of Plagg set as his wallpaper.

"Marinette?"

The same picture Chat Noir had sent her weeks ago.

She tapped on his phone. Forced herself to smile. "Is this your cat?" she asked.

Adrien stared at her. "Yeah." He frowned. "You… knew I had a cat, right?"

"You told me you were a cat person. You never said you had a cat." She lifted her gaze, the smile fixed on her face, and looked at him. Really looked at him.

Adrien's mouth fell open. "Oh my God." He pulled his phone back toward him and began navigating screens. "I can't believe I never told you about Plagg."

Marinette's heart throbbed.

Adrien pushed the phone back in her direction and she found herself confronted with an entire gallery of Plagg. Pictures she'd seen. Pictures she hadn't seen. She tapped on the first one and flipped through the album just to be polite. Her mind had stopped processing information.

Plagg was Adrien's cat.

"Maybe it's a good thing I didn't tell you about him because I am one hundred percent one of those weird, gushing pet parents. If I had a plastic photo holder in my wallet, it'd be full of pictures of him," Adrien said. "He's my baby. I've had him since I was fifteen."

"That long, huh?" Marinette murmured.

"Father got him for me after my mother died." Adrien shook his head. "I spoiled him rotten for the first few years so now he's a total brat."

Marinette handed the phone back to him. "You're lucky," she said. "I wish I could have a pet."

"When you're a famous fashion designer and no longer living above a bakery, you can have all the hamsters you want," Adrien said with a smile. He checked the time on his phone. "Now, as much as I'd love to hang out for the rest of the afternoon, I promised my father we'd have dinner tonight."

"Oh sure, leave me with all the dishes," Marinette complained.

Adrien stood from the table. "I'll make it up to you, princess."

She waved him off. "Don't worry about it. The birthday present more than makes up for a couple of dirty dishes." She stood up and walked him to the door though it was only two steps away. Her face hurt from smiling. "See you Tuesday?"

"Tuesday," Adrien confirmed.

Marinette watched him walk away.

She closed and locked the bakery door. Picked up the dishes. Carried them to the sink. Washed them carefully. Dried them. Put the tablecloth back in the cabinet. Grabbed her phone.

She walked up the stairs and through the front door but she couldn't bring herself to take a step further. She leaned back against the door. Opened Chat Noir's latest email and stared at it.

You're hiss-terical.

Her hands were shaking.

A dozen scenarios crossed her mind. Half a dozen wild hopes. Half a dozen doubts.

Because the fact of the matter was that anyone could pretend to be Adrien Agreste with a few stolen photos and the mask of anonymity.

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng just wasn't that lucky.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: SummerJust now

Have you ever lied to me?

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: SummerJust now

Yes.

A few weeks ago, when I wrote you that poem and I said it took me half an hour to come up with the last line? I lied. It took me five minutes. (But my heart was completely in it.)

x.x.x

LadybugRE: SummerJust now

Haha.

Listen, I'm going to be super busy for a while.

I may not be able to email you at all.

Talk to you later?

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: SummerJust now

Oh… yeah, sure! I'll miss you, though.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: SummerDraft

I'll miss you too.

x.x.x

Marinette's trembling thumb hovered over the send button.

She closed the email app and shut off her phone.

To Be Continued

A/N: Today is this story's one year anniversary. Happy birthday, Lucky Us! What could be more fitting than an anniversary, a birthday present, and an unexpected reveal? If you follow me on Tumblr, you're probably kicking yourself for not reading further into "There are some things in life you just can't prepare for." Unless you're me. Because I've been preparing for this scene for, well, a year.

Behold! The third of the five horsemen of the Lucky Us apocalypse. We have roughly seven chapters and two more horsemen to go. Did you think I was going to make this easy for them? You know nothing, Jon Snow.

Next Time: Alya finally gets dragged into the loop of stupidity.