Fic: Your Flavor [2/3]
Mar. 9th, 2020 11:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soc_puppetFandom: Miraculous Ladybug
Summary: When the Dupain-Cheng Bakery starts selling cookies themed after the local Miraculous users, Cat Noir is delighted—right up until he realizes that, because the cookies are only based on publicly known identities, one of his favorite superheroes will inevitably be left out. To fix the problem, he goes straight to the source, and one of the only other people who knows this particular superhero even exists.
AO3 link: Chapter Two
Wordcount: 1001
Ships: Gen (with hints of Marichat and Ladrien)
Notes: Credit tonorakwami, ![[tumblr.com profile]](https://www.tumblr.com/favicon.ico)
ghostlyhamburger, and ![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
incredibleflan for helping come up with the Multimouse cookie flavor!
Fic: Your Flavor
At 18h the next week, Marinette set up to do her homework on her balcony and wait for Cat Noir, a box of cookies at her side. She'd started brainstorming cookie ideas the morning after his previous visit, and, after some trial and error, had finally landed on something she thought both tasted good and represented her other superhero alter-ego.
She'd thought briefly about including her parents in the process, but eventually decided against the idea. While it would have been nice to reveal at least one superhero identity to her parents, and a good low-stakes way to test the waters for if she ever had to reveal her identity to them as Ladybug, it was still too dangerous for them to know—and if she tried to come out as a superhero they'd never even heard of, even with Cat Noir backing her up, the whole thing might lead to them accidentally connecting dots that were all too correct for her liking.
Then there was the possibility that they'd have gone overboard in their enthusiasm, redecorating the bakery in a Multimouse theme and gushing about their new favorite superhero to anyone who would listen—or at least making sure that the Multimouse cookies were part of the regular lineup, complete with explanation. Marinette could easily imagine Lila finding out from there and, without a trace of irony, suggesting that Marinette had made the whole thing up for attention.
Really, Marinette decided, it was easier just to come up with the flavor on her own. She glanced at the box on her right; there were easily two dozen cookies in there, waiting to be whisked away by her partner, and she really did like the flavor she'd eventually settled on. Surely he wouldn't miss just one or two...
"Princess!"
"ACK—!" Marinette flailed in surprise, almost falling out of her chair before Cat Noir caught her hand and pulled her up out of it. She glared at him, taking her hand back. "I swear, you're worse than Adrien," she grumbled, blushing slightly.
"Ah, my a-paw-logies, Marinette," he said, grinning. He looked from her to the table she'd been sitting at. "By any chance, would those be my cookies in that box there?"
She rolled her eyes. "All yours," she told him, sliding the box closer. "Why don't you take a look and tell me what you think? Maybe try one while you're at it."
Cat loosened the lid and peered inside. "Oooooh! They're so cute! It's purr-fect!" He pulled one out and turned it over in his claws. "Are those... Oreo chunks in there?"
Marinette nodded. "Cookies and cream seemed like a good match for Multimouse's grays, and the fact that it's lots of little cookies that make up a bigger cookie worked really well, too. Conceptually, I mean. And the dough itself is plum blossom flavored."
He blinked at her, his eyebrows going up. "Not strawberry? I thought that would be a natural fit."
"I thought about it," Marinette confessed. "I really do love strawberry cookies, but Ladybug's are already strawberry flavor." And having nearly identical cookies to Ladybug would be skirting entirely too close to an identity reveal for her liking—not that she could tell him that. "Plum blossom flavor works as a nod to my Chinese heritage, and it's a little harder to find around here, a little more rare."
"That makes sense," Cat said, nodding. "Plus, you deserve to have your own unique flavor of cookie. I may love Ladybug, but you're just as special in a lot of ways, Marinette, and you deserve to stand out." He broke a piece off of the cookie, popped it in his mouth, and closed his eyes to savor the taste, completely missing Marinette's face turning bright red. She barely managed to get it down to a light blush by the time he finished chewing and opened his eyes again. "These are great! I'll have to save one for Ladybug to try, and one for her to give to the rat kwami; I'll bet they'd love to taste them."
"Welcome you! I mean, you're welcome!" Marinette replied, still fighting her blush. "And... thanks for asking for them. It was nice, remembering being Multimouse and coming up with a flavor to represent her—me—us? Ugh! You know what I mean."
Cat laughed. "Entirely too well! Now, how much do I owe you for these? I took a glance at your parents' pricing scheme, and it looks like there's about two dozen in here—"
"Oh no, you don't," Marinette interrupted. "Don't think I don't know about how you keep talking up my parents' bakery whenever you get a chance! And, whenever you stop by for a cookie, we always find an envelope stuffed with twice the cost shoved in the mailbox by the end of the day, no matter how often we tell you that they're on the house! You're taking these ones for free if I have to shove them down your suit and drop-kick you off the roof to do it!"
He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win! I'll take the cookies without paying." He winked. "Can't have my favorite baker getting akumatized over this, after all!"
"Good!" She shoved the box into his empty arms, then dusted her hands off. "Now, scat! Not that it wasn't nice to see you, but I've got homework to finish."
Still laughing, Cat Noir tucked the box of cookies under one arm and vaulted off into the city. Marinette smiled after him a moment longer before turning back to her homework; she hadn't been kidding about needing to finish it.
The next morning, Marinette discovered not an envelope of money on her balcony table, but instead a waterproof bag containing several yards of high-end fabric in pink, white, gray, and black. Inside the bundle was a square of paper with a black paw print drawn on it. "Well played, Cat Noir," Marinette said. "Well played."
—TBC—
Summary: When the Dupain-Cheng Bakery starts selling cookies themed after the local Miraculous users, Cat Noir is delighted—right up until he realizes that, because the cookies are only based on publicly known identities, one of his favorite superheroes will inevitably be left out. To fix the problem, he goes straight to the source, and one of the only other people who knows this particular superhero even exists.
AO3 link: Chapter Two
Wordcount: 1001
Ships: Gen (with hints of Marichat and Ladrien)
Notes: Credit to
norakwami, Fic: Your Flavor
At 18h the next week, Marinette set up to do her homework on her balcony and wait for Cat Noir, a box of cookies at her side. She'd started brainstorming cookie ideas the morning after his previous visit, and, after some trial and error, had finally landed on something she thought both tasted good and represented her other superhero alter-ego.
She'd thought briefly about including her parents in the process, but eventually decided against the idea. While it would have been nice to reveal at least one superhero identity to her parents, and a good low-stakes way to test the waters for if she ever had to reveal her identity to them as Ladybug, it was still too dangerous for them to know—and if she tried to come out as a superhero they'd never even heard of, even with Cat Noir backing her up, the whole thing might lead to them accidentally connecting dots that were all too correct for her liking.
Then there was the possibility that they'd have gone overboard in their enthusiasm, redecorating the bakery in a Multimouse theme and gushing about their new favorite superhero to anyone who would listen—or at least making sure that the Multimouse cookies were part of the regular lineup, complete with explanation. Marinette could easily imagine Lila finding out from there and, without a trace of irony, suggesting that Marinette had made the whole thing up for attention.
Really, Marinette decided, it was easier just to come up with the flavor on her own. She glanced at the box on her right; there were easily two dozen cookies in there, waiting to be whisked away by her partner, and she really did like the flavor she'd eventually settled on. Surely he wouldn't miss just one or two...
"Princess!"
"ACK—!" Marinette flailed in surprise, almost falling out of her chair before Cat Noir caught her hand and pulled her up out of it. She glared at him, taking her hand back. "I swear, you're worse than Adrien," she grumbled, blushing slightly.
"Ah, my a-paw-logies, Marinette," he said, grinning. He looked from her to the table she'd been sitting at. "By any chance, would those be my cookies in that box there?"
She rolled her eyes. "All yours," she told him, sliding the box closer. "Why don't you take a look and tell me what you think? Maybe try one while you're at it."
Cat loosened the lid and peered inside. "Oooooh! They're so cute! It's purr-fect!" He pulled one out and turned it over in his claws. "Are those... Oreo chunks in there?"
Marinette nodded. "Cookies and cream seemed like a good match for Multimouse's grays, and the fact that it's lots of little cookies that make up a bigger cookie worked really well, too. Conceptually, I mean. And the dough itself is plum blossom flavored."
He blinked at her, his eyebrows going up. "Not strawberry? I thought that would be a natural fit."
"I thought about it," Marinette confessed. "I really do love strawberry cookies, but Ladybug's are already strawberry flavor." And having nearly identical cookies to Ladybug would be skirting entirely too close to an identity reveal for her liking—not that she could tell him that. "Plum blossom flavor works as a nod to my Chinese heritage, and it's a little harder to find around here, a little more rare."
"That makes sense," Cat said, nodding. "Plus, you deserve to have your own unique flavor of cookie. I may love Ladybug, but you're just as special in a lot of ways, Marinette, and you deserve to stand out." He broke a piece off of the cookie, popped it in his mouth, and closed his eyes to savor the taste, completely missing Marinette's face turning bright red. She barely managed to get it down to a light blush by the time he finished chewing and opened his eyes again. "These are great! I'll have to save one for Ladybug to try, and one for her to give to the rat kwami; I'll bet they'd love to taste them."
"Welcome you! I mean, you're welcome!" Marinette replied, still fighting her blush. "And... thanks for asking for them. It was nice, remembering being Multimouse and coming up with a flavor to represent her—me—us? Ugh! You know what I mean."
Cat laughed. "Entirely too well! Now, how much do I owe you for these? I took a glance at your parents' pricing scheme, and it looks like there's about two dozen in here—"
"Oh no, you don't," Marinette interrupted. "Don't think I don't know about how you keep talking up my parents' bakery whenever you get a chance! And, whenever you stop by for a cookie, we always find an envelope stuffed with twice the cost shoved in the mailbox by the end of the day, no matter how often we tell you that they're on the house! You're taking these ones for free if I have to shove them down your suit and drop-kick you off the roof to do it!"
He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win! I'll take the cookies without paying." He winked. "Can't have my favorite baker getting akumatized over this, after all!"
"Good!" She shoved the box into his empty arms, then dusted her hands off. "Now, scat! Not that it wasn't nice to see you, but I've got homework to finish."
Still laughing, Cat Noir tucked the box of cookies under one arm and vaulted off into the city. Marinette smiled after him a moment longer before turning back to her homework; she hadn't been kidding about needing to finish it.
The next morning, Marinette discovered not an envelope of money on her balcony table, but instead a waterproof bag containing several yards of high-end fabric in pink, white, gray, and black. Inside the bundle was a square of paper with a black paw print drawn on it. "Well played, Cat Noir," Marinette said. "Well played."
—TBC—
