Milk & Cookies || MariChat & Adrienette

T w e l v e

The next day, the bluenette woke up and assumed it was around noon, breaking her streak of waking up early. She yawned and stretched, politely greeted by her loving parents.

"Did you miss us so much that you slept on the couch?" Her father teased from the kitchen area.

Marinette looked around, wondering where the feline was. She figured he left and couldn't be more relieved that he left before her parents got home.

"I-I guess so," she was still trying to process her surroundings, since she just woke up. "How was your mini vacation, Papa?"

"It went swell," her mother chimed in with a cheery voice. "It was so romantic, but who am I to judge? You would probably get sick of seeing us being all lovey dovey."

Marinette rolled her eyes and got up from the couch. "Oh Maman, you always think that way about everything I do. I would never get sick of you two, especially you two being romantic and loving to each other!"

Her parents chuckled and went and continued working on preparing the pastries for today. When Marinette was about to work on the pastries as well, the door opened, with Adrien walking through it.

"Good morning, Marinette! Do you have any milk and cookies ready for today's business?" He asked, quite cheerfully. She shook her head, stating that she had only just woke up not too long ago, and to ask her parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, do you need any assistance with preparing the pastries?" He asked, willing to help her parents.

They shook their heads as well, her father stating, "We have most of them prepared, but thank you for your generosity, you have such a kind heart, Adrien."

He felt a sense of warmness that filled a seemingly empty space in his heart, feeling his face get warm as well. The four of them heard the bakery door open, turning around to see who it was.

"Lila." The bluenette commented with a frown.

"Lila?" The blond haired model asked, confused.

"Adrien!" She exclaimed, hugging him from behind, Marinette exchanging disgusted looks with Adrien.

"H-Hey, Lila!" He tried to exclaim in return to match her tone, trying to get her to avoid insulting Marinette.

"How's my sweet Adrien?" That slightly rang a bell in the boy's head; it sounded familiar to Volpina's cooing tone last night.

No, it couldn't be her, he thought, shaking his head slightly to clear his mind. "I'm fine for today, just hanging out at my favorite bakery, how about you?"

"Oh Adrien, I've been having the best day ever! I got to see you, that's how!" She continued to exclaim.

"O-Oh really, huh?" He attempted to maintain his calm and collective aura, but it wasn't apparent to Lila.

"Of course! Aww, you're so flustered too, how cute!" Lila tugged at Adrien's cheeks. His annoyance grew stronger for the girl, but he did his best not to display it. Tom and Sabine exchanged slightly concerned looks, but continued to watch the three teens and their interactions.

Marinette tapped on the counter, pointing at the entrance of the bakery. "The door is right there sweetheart, why don't you do yourself a favor and walk out of it? You're probably scaring our customers away."

Sabine nearly stormed over there to lecture her daughter on how to be properly nice to a lady, but Tom stopped her, shaking his head. "Just wait, honey," he replied, looking at the three teens again.

"Excuse me, Princess," Lila let out a little "hmph," looking at Adrien with the most precious eyes she could give. "Don't you agree she's trying to act like an extravagant and spoiled brat, when clearly she doesn't deserve the title?"

"Lila, I know you hate Marinette, but you shouldn't invade my personal space like that constantly when I'm talking to her." He frowned, whipping his head away from her gaze, giving Marinette a soft smile.

"I can't believe you!" Lila sniffled, storming out of the bakery instead. Sabine had understood what Tom was holding her back for, sighing in disappointment as she had expected better from the brunette.

"Immature much?" Sabine facepalmed, but smiled at the two teens remaining in the bakery. "Anyways, let's get business booming, shall we?"

They exchanged glances again, shrugged, and rearranged the pastries on the countertops. After they accomplished that task, they moved to the display cases, and so forth. Once they finished every task imaginable, they were free to exit the bakery. They strolled down the park again, with Adrien's mind being filled with thoughts.

"Well, what's on your mind, Adrien?" Marinette asked, tilting her head to the side to look him in the eyes. "Do you mind telling me, or is it personal?"

"Oh!" Adrien shook his head, smiling and recovering himself. "It's not really anything at all, in fact, it's nothing! Don't worry about it, alright, Mari?"

Marinette only became more suspicious, but she didn't wish to invade his privacy like Lila did. Wait, Chat is my boyfriend, why am I so worried about what Adrien thinks of me? Hell, I should just do whatever I want! Well, I should still respect his personal space.. she contemplated for a while.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, just please say something if you feel this way." Adrien bowed and she snapped from her thoughts.

"Oh no, no, no! It's okay, I was just in my thoughts too!" Marinette seemingly became flustered, but not over him is what he guessed.

He chuckled, tapping his head with his pointer finger. "Great minds think alike, right?"

She giggled, smiling in reply. "Yep, they sure do!"

The two of them went to André's Ice Cream Cart to get some ice cream. They weren't particularly thinking about the romance aspect of the flavors, but more or less, they were just hungry.

"Here's green for the eyes," André began, putting the first scoop of ice cream on Marinette's waffle cone. "Yellow for the hair, and last but not least," he paused, taking the last scoop of ice cream. "Black for the clothing."

"And for you, my good sir," he took Adrien's waffle cone, putting the first scoop of ice cream on top of it. "You will have blue for the eyes and navy blue for her hair," he paused again, placing the last scoop of ice cream on top of his two other scoops. "Lastly, you'll have red for her cherry lips."

They looked up at each other, flustered, realizing that the descriptions matched their significant other.

I love Marinette AND Ladybug? I don't love Ladybug and I'm positive she doesn't love me back anymore, so how is this possible? Adrien thought, quietly thanking André and walking off with Marinette.

I love Adrien AND Chat Noir? I'm already dating Chat and I love him very much, but why Adrien? My crush faded out for him so long ago and I'm positive his is starting to fade out for me too.. so, how? Her thoughts processed as well.

How is it possible I can love Marinette as Adrien and Chat Noir?

—How is it possible I can love Adrien and Chat Noir as just Marinette?