The Princess and Her Criminal

A Match Made At the Bakery (2k Special) (Thanks!)

(This happened after the Sleepover but before the whole quitting operation) 

Marinette locked the door leading to the upstairs of the bakery aka the house-like part of the building and the back door, placing the keys in her handbag, and getting ready to lock the front door. "Are all the doors closed?" Adrien nodded. "You sure, kitty~" the teenage boy covered his face as blood rushed to his face. Marinette chuckled, "You know what to do," Adrien took his phone, out still a bit flustered as he dialed Nino's number. "Adrien?" a voice emerged from the digital device and the boy placed it on speaker. "Y-yeah, Nino. It's me," he glanced over to his princess who was listening while making a few checkups on the house windows and doors. "Are you busy?" he turned back towards the phone. "Nah dude, what's up?" Adrien sighed, "Remember when you said we should hang out?" A gasp echoed through the phone. "You wanna hang out, dude?!"  Adrien scoffed, "Why are you so surprised?!" Nino laughed as he replied, "It's just you've been so busy with your old man's missions, you were like a cat in a cage." Marinette muffled a laugh and Adrien glared at her. "Just meet me at the bakery..." "Which one? There's like a ton of bakeries in Paris." Adrien sighed, refusing to reply to Nino. "Seriously, dude. I'm not joking, which bakery?" Adrien facepalmed before replying to the teen on the other side phone. "Why are you so stupid? Dupain-Cheng Bakery, obviously! Where else would I wanna meet up?" Nino already knew Adrien would be rolling his eyes. "Whatever, dude. I'll be there in ten," Nino says. "Ok good, see you soon!" Adrien disconnected the call, hearing Nino mumble something, "Him and his girlfriend," was all Adrien made out. "Okay, he'll be here in 10," The boy spun around to face Marinette. The girl smiled playfully, "I know, I have ears, you know," Adrien rolled his eyes, walking up behind his princess. "Your turn," he wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling into her neck. "H-hey! That tick-tickles" Marinette said between giggles. Adrien stopped, but his arms remained, as he claimed his princess. Marinette dialed her ombre-haired friend, waiting for her to pick up. "Hey Al," Marinette greeted. "Hey, girl! What you up to?" Adrien pouted, nudging Mari, wanting to hear the conversation. Marinette turned the speaker on. "Nothing too important. Can you come over?" Alya's squealed over the phone, causing Adrien to let go of Mari, so he can prevent turning deaf. Imagine if it was in person... "Is it about-" Marinette's eyes widened. "YES!" She didn't want her kitty bragging about anything. "Oh~ See you soon, girl. I'll be there in fifteen minutes!" The call disconnected. "Is your hearing okay?" Marinette chuckled, "I'm used to it, kitty," she patted his head. "Now go outside and wait for Nino, don't stand directly in front of the bakery, and don't let Alya see you," Marinette pushed the confused boy outside. "What, Nino is going to be here before Alya," Marinette sighed. "No, Alya is going to be here first, trust me." Trust her? Doesn't she know that ten minutes is less than fifteen? Adrien didn't understand but did as he was told. Five minutes passed and Alya was knocking on the door. "Girl! I'm here! Open up!" Adrien watched from a distance, finally understanding what Mari meant. "Coming!" Marinette opened the door. "Sooo, what's the tea?" Marinette stepped aside allowing Alya to enter and signaling Adrien that he can come wait in front of the bakery, now. Adrien walked over, whilst Marinette kept Alya busy. "Why is it so dark in here? Where's the switch?" Alya placed her hands in front of her feeling her way around the bakery. "Sorry, here," Marinette flicked the switch, revealing a well-decorated bakery. "Wow!" Alya watched in awe. Is this why Mari wanted her there? Did she need advice on a date with Adrien? Was it going to be in the Bakery? How romantic! Questions flooded Alya's mind until she finally spoke up. "Is this for a date?" Marinette paused before replying. "Well...I guess you can say so," Alya squealed in delight, "You want advice!" Marinette blushed at the thought of if this was for her and Adrien. "I knew it!" Alya exclaimed as she inspected Marinette's tomato face. "W-what?!" the brunette chuckled as she stared at her best friend's embarrassed expression. Alya sat down, waited for her friend to calm down. A knock echoed throughout the room. "Are you expecting anyone? Is it Adrien~?" Alya teased. "Actually yes, it is Adrien..." Alya's eyes widened. "What? The date's now?" Marinette nodded. "Then why am I still here?! Girl, you two have to be alone!" Alya shot up from her seat. "Plus, I don't want to be the third wheel..." Alya muttered under her breath before looking up at her best friend. "Don't worry, you won't be a third wheel," Marinette chuckled as she opened the door. "Dude, did you hear that?" Nino looked around. "Nope, I didn't hear anything. Did you sleep well?" Nino sighed, "It was probably nothing..." Adrien smirked. "So where are we going?" Adrien smiled at Nino. "Nowhere, "Huh? Stop joking 'round, dude. You said we were hanging out!" Adrien tilted his head to the right. "I did?" Nino stared at Adrien. What was going on, is he okay? "Yes, you did..." The door opened behind Adrien and Marinette stood aside opening the door. "Sorry bro, I meant, you have a date at the bakery," Adrien grabbed Nino's hand, pushing him inside the building. "Wha-" Marinette exited the doorway leaving the two confused teens inside. "Enjoy the date, Alya!" Marinette said as she pulled the door in. "Bye Nino, we'll be back in roughly two hours!" Marinette locked the door, placing the keys in her pockets. "C'mon, let's go." The blonde walked off leading the way towards his base. "Not bad," Marinette looked around as she entered. "So what now?" Marinette grinned, pulling her phone out of her bag. "Go get some snacks, I'll be setting something up," Adrien nodded as he made his way to the kitchen. Where are they going to watch a movie? She did say set up and walk to the tv... maybe? He smiled at the thought, popping some corn, just in case. Meanwhile, a certain bluenette was busy connecting her phone to the tv. "Perfect!" She thought. Adrien walked into the living room with the snacks and the two teens sat down on the couch, cuddling together. "So what are we watching? A romance film?" Adrien curiously enquired. "Something like that," Marinette switched her phone on, mirroring the video onto the screen. Why would she need her phone to play the movie? Adrien brushed it off as nothing, that is until two certain teens and a bakery appeared on the screen. "Wait?! You...you set a camera up?!" Marinette nodded. "What? I wanna see what happens," Adrien stared at the girl in his arms as she set a two-hour alarm. Marinette turned the volume up and the two teens turned their attention to the screen. "How'd you get sound?" Adrien asked. "I know a little about spying, you know," She really is amazing... "And then I got trapped here...with you," Alya looked down blushing. "What about you?" She looked up at the nervous teen in front of her. "Uh... Adrien said he wanted to hang out and we were gonna meet up in front of the bakery, then pushed me in here and Mari locked the door..." The two teens nervously chuckled. "So what do you want to do?" Nino finally broke the awkward silence. "What do you mean?" Nino nervously chuckled. "We're in a BAKERY!" Nino raised an eyebrow. "Let's bake!" Nino smiled, "Do you even know how to?" Marinette jumped off the couch. "What's wrong, princess?" Marinette held her head with her hands. "She's gonna burn down the bakery!" Alya shook her head 'no', "but Mari's been teaching me!" Nino sighed, folding his hands as a no. "Yes! Go, Nino! Please, don't let her destroy my precious kitchen!" Adrien chuckled admiring his girlfriend. "Pleeeeaaaaassssssseeeeeee?" Alya begged. "Ugh...fine," Nino replied causing Marinette to fall to her knees whispering the words, "my kitchen, my precious," repeatedly. Adrien stood up, rubbing the blunette's back in a way to comfort her. "Yay! Now Mari has a recipe book, let's look for it!" Nino nodded and the two teens began looking for the book. "Ha! They'll never find it!" Adrien raised a brow, "And why's that?" Marinette nervously laughed, "I uh...accidentally threw it in a fire when I tripped..." Adrien smiled at the girl, shaking his head from side to side. About twenty minutes passed and Adrien and Marinette were cuddling up on the couch observing their best friends. "I found something!" Nino exclaimed, showing Alya. "Hmm....it's not Mari's..." She flipped through it before continuing, "but it's a recipe book!" She hugged Nino in delight, leaving the poor boy flustered. "Come on! Let's make cupcakes!" Alya turned to the page and left the book on the counter. "According to the book, we'll need one and flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar (preferably granulated), salt... wait why do we need salt?" Nino shrugged and Alya continued reading. "Oblivously to enhance the taste of the other ingredients!" Marinette said, folding her arms and mumbling to herself. "Look, it's working!" Adrien pointed to the screen and Marinette's mood swang. The two teens in the bakery were gathering the ingredients, occasionally giving glances at one another. When they were finished they begun mixing in the ingredients and following the instructions. "What is she doing?"Adrien asked. "Making a mess..."
Marinette looked at the screen, practically begging Nino to save her 'precious' kitchen. "Uh...Alya, I don't think that what they mean by 'beating the mixture'..." Alya questioningly looked at Nino. "What you mean?" Nino sighed, he didn't know how to bake either but he saw Mari do it once or twice. "I think it's like this," he handed her a beater, held her wrist from behind, and moved her hand in a circular motion. "This is how Mari does it, not literally punching the mixture. "Oh...heh, sorry." Pink tainted the faces of Nino and Alya as they enjoyed being so close to one another without totally freaking out. "Yes!" Adrien and Marinette exclaimed, Marinette no longer minded the mess in the kitchen, as long as they don't burn it down, it would totally be worth it. Adrien on the other hand was glad Nino made the move, he knew his best friend, and he knew how much Nino had been fascinating over Alya. About an hour had passed, the kitchen was completely trashed, Nino and Alya were covered in flour and the cupcakes were in the oven, Adrien had calmed Marinette down a bit and now she's just glad those two as having a good time. Ding!Ding! Ding! "Oh, the time's up! I'll get the cupcakes!" Alya sighed. "I told you, we didn't need a timer... I would've known when it was ready!" Alya whined as Nino took the cupcakes out of the oven. "Mmm! Smells good!" Nino showed Alya the cupcakes and the two of them begun icing them (they made the icing during the one-hour timeskip). "Ooo, those look good!" Adrien drooled. "Put your tongue back in your mouth, did you not see when they were making that? It's going to taste awful...but I gotta give them credit, the kitchen isn't burnt down and the icing was done well compared to the cupcake mixture..." Adrien opened his mouth to question it but closed it deciding not to say anything.  Alya and Nino took a cupcake each and bit it at the same time, almost spitting it out right after. "Told you," Marinette said wrapping her arms around Adrien. "I guess you're the expert, you'd know," Adrien chuckled, diverting his focus once again on the television. Alya threw away the cupcakes that she and Nino tried and placed the rest on the table. "Hey uh..." Nino nervously began speaking as he looked at the brunette in front of him. "Y-yes, Nino?" the boy nervously rubbed his neck before speaking up, avoiding eye contact. "Um... I know we kissed before and I said I liked you..." Alya's face turned red at the reminder of the sleepover. "Y-yeah? What a-about it?"  Alya asked also avoiding any sort of eye contact. "Um...I want you to know, even if you don't accept it-" Adrien jumped up, "Yes! It's happening, he's confessing!" Marinette pulled Adrien back down. "Shh! I wanna witness it too, you know!" Adrien nervously chuckled before apologizing. "I like you too!" Alya squealed, jumping up and down and Marinette shot a death glare at Adrien for making her miss the part. Adrien gulped, terrified of his own girlfriend. "Really?! Well, will you be my girlfriend?" Alya pulled Nino down by his collar and kissed him. "Of course, silly!" She answered after breaking the kissing. "Well, that was qu-" Adrien was cut off by a squeal from Marinette. No wonder she was immune to Alya's squeal... "That's my girl!" Marinette proudly said. "So do you wanna-" The two-hour alarm rang, echoing throughout the room. "Ugh! I missed what he said...oh, well..." Marinette disconnected her phone from the television and both Adrien and Marinette left and made their way to release the two lovebirds from inside the bakery. After only a few minutes, Adrien and Marinette arrived, opening the door to see their best friends. "So how was it?" Marinette asked, waiting for their answer. "It was...fine," Alya said starring at her shoes. "You look flustered, Nino... maybe we should leave you and your girlfriend alone," Adrien glanced at Mari and Nino took it as a tease. "Actually, she is now, dude!" Marinette sighed. "About time!" The four of us let out a laugh. "By the way, as a 'thank you' for helping us get together, we made you guys, cupcakes. Sorry about the mess, I'll help you clean up," Adrien's eyes widen as he looked at his princess. "Uh...IS MY KITCHEN ALRIGHT?!" Alya giggled. "The same reaction I expected, don't worry, your kitchen isn't burnt down..." Alya rolled her eyes. "But it is a bit messy, we can help you clean it up," Nino suggested. "What? No! You two lovebirds go have some fun together, we'll deal with it!" Marinette shoved the two out the door locking it behind her. "You're a good actress, purrincess," Adrien complimented. "Thanks, kitty, I kinda wanna know what it tastes like..." They both curiously took a bite and Adrien rushed to the sink, spitting it out and washing his mouth. "Yuck!" he gobbled done some juice attempting to replace the taste. Marinette threw the cupcakes away, giggling at Adrien's reaction. "How are you okay with this?!" He asked. "I've tasted worst," She poured a liquid into two glasses and handed one to Adrien, "Here, it'll help with the taste." They both drank the liquid and Adrien sighed in relief, not even questioning the thick dark red substance he just consumed. "C'mon, help me clean this mess up," Marinette tossed a broom towards Adrien, which he caught, and they began cleaning the bakery up.