Caught In A Storm

Chapter VII

Nino spent the day alterning between eating, taking naps and throwing a ball against a wall. Adrien on the other hand, mostly stayed next to her side, observing her small hands making and forming doughs she would be using to bake bread in a few hours. It was fascinating how her small, lithe fingers formed such beautiful creations from so many basic ingredients. She smiled as she saw his interest in what she was doing, his curiosity clearly showing in his eyes. She was forming a small loaf of bread under his watchful gaze.

"D-do you want to try?" she asked him after having already formed more than ten baguettes. 

He looked up from her hands to her bluebell eyes, his breath catching in his throat as he looked directly into her bluebell eyes. Adrien could bet on the fact that her eyes were the most beautiful of the planet, even the Universe. He had never seen such an intense blue colour, even the blue sky or the clear ocean couldn't compare to her intense azure eyes. He nodded enthusiastically at her, erasing the doubt that was rising in her expression. She smiled at him, giving him a few tips before he started.

At first he tried to imitate her movements he had seen her use. He struggled at first, but Marinette always stayed by his side and tried to lead him in the right direction, so he would stop squishing the dough like didn't make fun of him at all, but she would giggle when he groaned at how difficult actually the task was. It looked so simple when she was doing it, but once he had to do it, the dough didn't seem to do what he wanted.

He liked hearing her giggle. It was cute how she would try to hide behind her hand, as if to not insult him. Once she deemed his try-out to be over, she took the dough from his hands and put it back on the table. She took his hand in a moment of courage, guiding them to form the treat. Their faces and hands warmed instantly at the contact, but neither of them let go. She shot him a quick glance, only to find him already staring at her. Both quickly looked away blushing bright red, concentrating on the task before them. Once they finished, Adrien squeezed her hand that was still resting on his as a thank you. She smiled fondly, though a blush was ravishing her cheeks once again.

She continued on her side, while Adrien did his best on his own. He was a little ashamed of the results, but she encouraged him, telling him her firsts looked worse than his. He helped her transport the formed doughs to the oven. The silence came again between the two. She continued on other things, aware that Adrien was still watching her. She had no idea if he wanted to learn a few more things, but he didn't seem to come from their cast, so maybe he didn't have a real interest in what she was doing. Why would he? But what he did next surprised her.

"Could you maybe...teach me how to do that?" he asked as she was forming cutting a cake and putting whipped cream between the parts, forming the cake again afterwards. Her eyes widened at the question. She gave him an unsure look.

"Would you like to know more? We could actually start by baking a cake... it's a bit more... simple?" The end sounded like a question, she didn't want to upset him by his skills. But he simply chuckled at her answer.

"Well, I think the professional is right here. Maybe I need something easy at first... but if you don't have the time I completely understand, I mean I am holding you back in your work, just tell I'll stop or help or do anything, I didn't mean to force you to teach me, it just looks so great, em I mean wonderful when I watch you do it, I just kinda wanted to try but if you don't want it's okay, and I'm rambling now, am I? I'm so sorry, I'm going to close my mouth now..."

To his surprise she burst out laughing, and Adrien was sure it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. She didn't know herself how she managed to stop laughing, but she quickly started laughing again as she saw his fake pout. She laughed, feeling completely at ease with him now. She never felt that way before with... well strangers, but he never had felt like a stranger... that's one of the reasons she had been a little scared of him. She was scared because she wasn't the least bit scared of him, and she didn't understand this feeling at all.

"Nono. Don't worry. We have all the time in the world. We are going to be snowed in for a few days, so I won't be able to sell much anyways. We might as well teach you a few things." Her smile was infectious, he couldn't hold himself from grinning.

"So, first. What do you already know about baking or cooking?" she looked at him expectantly. Adrien froze and his eyes widened. He did not expect that question.

"Umm...well, not much. Like I know... nothing?" He fiddled with his fingers, waiting nervously for her to answer. Marinette remained quiet, not knowing how or even what to answer. Why did he want to learn, even if he obviously came from a much higher cast.

"Alright!" She hoped she didn't sound too surprised. "We can start with something simple." She smiled at him gently.