Miraculous One Shot Compilation

Sweet Deal

"Aww, that's sweet." Ladybug's words were spoken in a sarcastic tone, but the blush leaking from beneath the rim of her mask betrayed the accuracy of Chat's flattery.

"Oh, is it now, my lady?" Chat knew he was sweet, and he had worked hard to get Ladybug to admit it. No way was he letting it get past him now! "Then you now owe me something sweet."

"Hmm," Ladybug put a finger to her lips, contemplating how she might get around him. Maybe she should just throw him a bone... Does that work with cats?... A fish? A sudden idea flashed through her mind, causing her to smile. "I think I can do that."

--

Chat was a little antsy the rest of the evening, waiting to see what kind of endearing statement he had won. It was coming, it was coming, it never came. Ladybug departed that evening without repaying the debt she had agreed to owe. Maybe she had forgotten? Or, maybe she was waiting for the perfect moment to surprise him with it. This was going to be fun!

--

The next time they met, Ladybug carried with her a small cardboard to-go box about the width of a person's head. "Here you go." She handed it to him, "I promised you something sweet."

Never had Chat suspected his lady would get him a present! What could it be? Perhaps a poem. Poetry would be good if she wanted to stand a chance competing against his displays to her, but would she go to that effort for him?

The lid was off in seconds, exposing some kind of breaded goodness. A swirl of jam nestled in the crevice created by the puff pastry. Chat's eyes shone like a kid's at Christmas. "Thank you! You're the best!" he praised her before devouring his gift. Soon he was sadly inspecting the box for crumbs. "I wish there were more where that came from."

"There is," Ladybug informed him. "You must have been sweet a dozen times over, so there's a dozen pastries coming your way. You just have to wait 'till tomorrow for the next one."

Chat stared in wonder at his partner; the pastry was good, but something else was more valuable. No one had treated him so well before she came into his life. "You're amazing, Ladybug."

--

For the following eleven days, Adrien savored the sweet anticipation of a treat, and for eleven nights, his alter ego savored one sweet treat per night. Ladybug never brought him the same kind twice. Fruity, chocolatey, gooey, flakey, each pastry its own new experience. Then, on the thirteenth night, disappointment. It was over, and Chat knew it. He would arrive to patrol and there would be nothing to satisfy his craving for confection, nor for affection. No warm gesture to let him pretend he was anyone special to her.

She surprised him. Her greeting hadn't changed, and neither had the unmarked cardboard to-go box in her hands. "Here you go!"

Chat's eyes lit up and he reached for it, but drew his hand back before he made contact. "My lady, it's the thirteenth one. You only promised me twelve."

Ladybug was silent a moment, a look of concentration on her face as she counted off something - presumably pastries - on her fingers. Once she had ticked off all ten digits - thumbs included - she started over again, and got a surprised look on her face as she touched the index finger of one hand to the middle finger of the other. "Huh, well, it's a baker's dozen! That's what you get when someone grows up in a bakery. We're trained to think of a dozen as thirteen. It's always better to give a little extra than to short someone on what they deserve."

"That's a nice mindset to have," Chat nodded approvingly. "If everyone thought that way then nice things would come around far more often."

He got a far-away look in his eye and a fond smile on his face. "I have a wonderful friend who grew up in a bakery. She's such a generous person! I wonder if her upbringing's had anything to do with that, or if it's just the way she is. Maybe a bit of both."

That's when Ladybug got just a tiny bit jealous. Chat's civilian friend sounded too much like her, and she didn't like it! To her, it felt like identity theft. She was the girl from the best bakery in Paris; she gave out goodies to all her friends, and this girl was encroaching on her territory!

"Have you ever tried her family's baking?" she challenged, willing him to say it tasted like sod.

Chat nodded enthusiastically. "Her dad makes killer pies!" Something twinged within Ladybug's memory. Herself - Marinette - , sitting on a park bench with Adrien Agreste, watching as he devoured a slice of her father's home-made savory pie. "I had no idea your dad made such killer pies!"

The identical wording was uncanny. This girl was to Chat as she was to Adrien. This friend of his might even like Chat. Ladybug was used to being the one that Chat praised, and now, she wasn't the only one. She was getting a strong urge to compete with this unknown girl.

"So, she's good at giving away her parents' wares. Is there anything else she can do?"

"Why, of course! There was this one time that I got invited over to her house and Marinette..." Chat looked like he'd swallowed the canary.

"... Mar-Marinette?" Ladybug whispered in a barely audible voice. "Then, if I'm she's me, you're..." She cracked a nervous smile, and suddenly found the need to brush a bit of hair out of her face. "I can't believe it! For months I couldn't even talk to you at school, unaware that we were..." she gestured to their miraculouses, to the city, to everything it meant for them to be superheroes, "...partners."

Chat was busy processing information much at the same rate that she was. As she hesitantly spoke, his face went from surprise, to confusion, to a mischievous smirk. "So," he rested his elbow on her shoulder, "where's my sweet prize?"

"What do you mean?" she asked him. "You ate the last one."

"I'm thinking you owe me more along the lines of a kiss - after all, pastries are my just desserts."