Miraculous Raccoon [Completed]

Lunch at the Bakery

I'm exhausted all through my morning classes, barely able to keep myself propped up at my desk even with Raya pinching me to try and help. I'd had to stay up late to finish my homework and Raya's attempts to make me go stalk Tikki or Plagg, which I was able to refuse to do. Which is probably why Raya's pinching is more painful than necessary right now.
"Tris, are you okay?" Michael asks me after class as I stumble out the door. I yawn and nod.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell him.
"It looked like something kept biting you," Charon says from behind me, I turn and smile at him. I try to casually fix my birds nest of a hair style. Wasted effort.
"I had to keep pinching myself to stay awake," I admit. His mouth keeps the disapproving frown as he looks at me.
"Oh, there's two of them," Marinette's voice brushes into the conversation. Charon's frown deepens. Michael gives a dramatic sigh.
"Oh no! Another person has realized I'm related to this waste," he complains. I roll my eyes at him and smile at Marinette.
"There are! Twins?" Alya asks, standing beside Marinette.
"Yes, regrettably so, if you ask either of them for their opinion," I tell them. Alya laughs and Marinette gives an uncertain smile.
"Though Charon's her favorite," Michael adds with another dramatic sigh. I hit his arm and he laughs.
"Ignore him," I say. Alya and Marinette laugh at his antics. They really shouldn't encourage him.
"Are you guys heading home for lunch?" Marinette asks.
"That was the plan, yeah," I say.
"We were going to head to Marinette's parents bakery," Alya says. "If you want to come join us."
"That'd be great!" Michael agrees immediately.
"Oh, are you sure?" I ask, more hesitant.
"Of course! My parents love people coming over. And they're practicing a couple new recipes so I promised I'd bring some friends over," Marinette says.
"Okay then," I agree, looking back at Charon. "You're coming too, right?" I ask him. He still has his frown, but sighs silently.
"Yeah, I'll come," he gives in. I smile.
"Hey, Nino, Adrien, we're going to eat one of a kind pastries at Marinette's parents bakery. Are you guys coming, too?" Alya calls as the two guys walk on the other side of the room. Marinette freezes, shoulders stiff.
"Yeah, sounds awesome!" Nino agrees, jogging over to join our group. "Woah, I can see why Adrien got confused with you two," he says, taking in the twins.
"Yeah, I'd love to come over and try some," Adrien agrees, walking over at a normal pace and smiling at Marinette, who giggles.
"Oh the obliviousness," I say quietly to Raya as Adrien just continues smiling. I can feel my bag vibrate as she laughs.
The seven of us make a pretty big group heading down the street to Marinette's place. I try to pretend I don't travel this area several times a week, even though I'm on the sidewalk and not on the rooftops like normal. The bell at the front door of the bakery chimes as we walk in. Marinette's parents are friendly and ecstatic to have so many new people there to try their desserts. Once everyone gets a plate of the different things to try, we all settle in different places around the main floor of the house. Charon, Marinette, and I are sitting in comfortable silence as we eat our treats, watching the other half of the group. Michael is chatting animatedly with Alya, or arguing, I'm not sure, with Nino making comments on the side. Adrien listens, but becomes more uncomfortable with the conversation and drifts over to us.
"So, Charon," he starts hesitantly, "you're a fan of Mystique, right?"
"Of course," Charon says, his voice low.
"What do you think about White Fox?" Adrien asks. "I've heard a lot of different opinions about him."
"White Fox is the only one suitable for Mystique," Charon says flatly. Even I'm surprised by the bold statement.
"Why do you say that?" I ask around a mouthful of lemon macaroons.
"They have compatible energy," Charon says simply.
"Compatible energy?" Marinette repeats. Charon nods. "What does that mean? That they work well together?"
"Everyone has a type of energy they work on, like a frequency they function on," Charon says.
"Like a radio or a tv," I say, trying not to seem too enthusiastic to show I was following him. He nods at me. My cheeks warm.
"Everyone transmits a certain frequency, but they can also receive certain frequencies. When two people can receive the energy the other person transmits, they are compatible."
"How did you come up with this theory?" I ask, interested in hearing more. Charon shrugs. I glance at Adrien and Marinette. "So Mystique and White Fox are compatible. What about Ladybug and Chat Noir?"
Charon looks at me with the most serious expression I've ever seen him wear. His eyes intense as they look at me. I have trouble looking away. "They have perfect compatibility," he tells me.
"That's a good thing, right?" Adrien asks.
"That just means they make great partners, right?" Marinette asks at almost the same time. The two look at each other in confusion, then look away. Oh the awkward cuteness. I'm glad I asked that question.
"It could mean that they make great partners, but it could be more than that. Ladybug and Chat Noir have a literal yin and yang balance with each other. Any other person they ever try to form a partnership with, they will know that something is lacking," Charon explains. Adrien grins while Marinette frowns down at the floor, taking another bite of dessert.
"You sound very serious about all of this," I tell Charon. "Isn't this all just theorizing?"
"Right, you don't really have any proof?" Marinette asks.
"Well, I think they make a great team, so it seems pretty true to me," Adrien says.
"I mean, yeah, they make a great team," Marinette agrees quickly, with a nervous look at Adrien, "but to say they'd find other relationships lacking?"
"Just because two people have compatible energy, it doesn't mean they'll automatically end up together, right?" I ask Charon. "Compatible energy can be between family members or friends?" He nods slowly, frowning at me. He knows I'm up to something. I just smile at him.
"If there's someone you have compatible energy with, it means you work well together. If your energy is too similar to someone's, the worse things get. It causes more conflict."
"Like with you and Michael?" I point out. Charon's expression visibly darkens.
"Exactly," he agrees.
"But Tris has compatible energy with both of you, because you and your brother are so similar?" Adrien asks. Charon frowns at him.
"Yes, you can make that conclusion," he agrees.
"Which means you can be compatible with multiple people," I say. Good. White Fox is a good guy, but so is Charon. And Michael, of course.
"So how are you liking the pastries?" Marinette's mom comes in with a little notepad and a cute, sparkly teal pen to make notes with. We each take turns raving about the different pastries we ate, even Charon giving a grudging approval of the chocolate croissants, an opinion that Adrien seconds immediately.
"We better head back to school for afternoon classes," Alya says, checking the time on her phone. "Thanks for letting us all crash here for lunch!"
"Thank you," I pipe up.
Charon and Michael chorus a "thank you" as well, leading Charon to glare at the ground. I've never understood why he's so against being similar to Michael. Maybe his energy theory does have some value.
"Yes, thank you dudes!"
"Thanks mom," Marinette says.
"Yes, thank you very much," Adrien says.
"It was wonderful to have you," Marinette's mom says with a sweet smile. "Now you better hurry up! You don't want to be late!"
Marinette kisses her mom on the head with another "Thanks mom!" before catching up with the meandering group. Michael is getting along pretty well with Nino, excitedly talking about different music groups as Alya bounces back between their conversation and the nervous energy between Adrien and Marinette, so I hang back with Charon.