“Um…” Marinette stared at Adrien uncertainly, unsure of how to reply. “I…”

“Yes?” He stepped closer, his grin widening.

“IhaveacrushonyousoIusedtocutoutyourpicturesandputhemonmywallbutItookthemdownwhenwebecamefriends,” she blurted in one breath, gasping by the end of the sentence. Adrien tilted his head at her, frowning.

“Wait, say that again, slowly. I didn’t hear what you said.”

Marinette’s blushed at the thought of saying that again, “No way, nuh-uh. I am not saying that again." His frown deepened.

“Marinette, please?” he pleaded. She shook her head, stepping away.

“No.” She repeated, taking another step back.

“Why?”

“Why?” she repeated, slightly vexed that he would ask her to do such an embarrassing thing “Because it’s embarrassing, that’s why!”

“Why would it be embarrassing?” he asked cluelessly, mirroring her movements and stepping forward. Her back hit a wall and she glanced at it and then looked at Adrien nervously.

“Y-You’re way too naive, you know that?” she questioned rhetorically under her breath.

“What? How am I naive?” He protested.

“Because you don’t realize that I have a-”

“Marinette, dinner’s ready! Will your friend be joining us?” Sabine’s voice called out as her head appeared at the top of the stairs. She stopped at the sight of them. “Oh! I’m sorry for interrupting, please continue.” she apologized, giggling slightly, and went to close the trapdoor. Marinette and Adrien stared at the closed entrance silently.

“W-wait!” Marinette scrambled and ran away from him, realizing how they must’ve looked with Adrien advancing on her while she was backed into a wall. “We’re coming!” Her face flamed. Adrien went after her, wondering what she was going to say.

Her parents looked up as they entered the dining room, Tom was already sitting while Sabine was setting the last plate. They both looked deceptively calm.

“Oh, the lovebirds are finally here,” Tom calmly said, a small quirk on the edge of his mouth betraying him.

“What happened to your ankle, Adrien?” Sabine asked curiously.

“Oh, it wasn’t as bad as I thought, thank you for asking,” Adrien politely replied. He looked at the table his mouth, watering. Each person had their own plate of beef bourguignon, with a small bowl of French onion soup on the side as well as a plate of simple Caesar salad. In the center was a plate of more beef bourguignon, bread, cheese, and some fruits. “It looks delicious,” he complimented.

“It’s the yeast I could do,” Tom said off-handedly. The teenagers both turned to look at him, Adrien in delight while Marinette let out a small groan. “Aw, Marinette, don’t rye,” he continued.

“Yeah, Marinette,” Adrien started with a grin, “don’t be so bleu.”

“No, not you too, Adrien,” Marinette sat down and promptly banged her head on the table.

“Now, now, Marinette, naan of that,” Adrien gently scolded.

“Oh, I like this guy,” Tom said with a grin.

“Crust me, I’m on a roll,” Adrien joked. Marinette groaned again and looked at her mom pleadingly.

“Let’s stop with the puns,” Sabine laughed, “Marinette’s feta-p with you guys.”

"Mom!" Marinette groaned, looking at her parents imploringly. "Please stop."

“Fine,” Tom relented with a chuckle and stood up, extending his hand to Adrien, “I’m Tom, nice to meet you.”

Adrien shook his hand with a smile, “I’m Adrien, likewise.”

Tom shook his hand, grinning broadly. “Handsome, funny, and polite,” He winked at Marinette, “You’ve got yourself quite a catch, Mari.” She blushed and stammered that they weren’t dating. Adrien simply smiled and sat down. They began to eat.

“It’s delicious,” Adrien commented.

“And he has good taste,” Tom looked impressed. “Don’t let him go, Marinette. He’s one in a million.”

“I said we’re not dating!” Marinette exclaimed, her blush turning darker.

“Yet,” Sabine added, smiling. Marinette slumped into her chair, muttering darkly. The others laughed and launched into a cheerful discussion about random things. Sabine started the story of how they first met, but was cut off by Tom. Then, Tom started a childhood story about Marinette, but was quickly silenced by a silent glare. Soon enough, the puns started again, Marinette cheering up enough to actually say a few. As the minutes ticked by, they finished their dinner.

“That was brie-licious,” Adrien sighed contently, resting his hand on his stomach.

“There’s still dessert,” Sabine reminded him, heading into the kitchen.

“I don’t think I can eat another bite, thoug-” he stopped, drawn to the smell of warm, delicious chocolate chip cookies.

“Are you sure?” Tom asked with a knowing smile.

“...I can manage a few bites.” Sabine put down the plate and his mouth watered. “Or more,” he added. He picked one up and took a bite. A sound akin to a moan came, and he closed his eyes in delight. “This is amazing.” He opened his eyes and sat up, a joking grin on his face, “Can I marry whoever made this?”

“I think that can be arranged,” Tom and Sabine mentioned at the same time. Adrien paused.

“Wait, what?” he asked, confused.

“Marinette,” Tom started, ignoring him, “your answer?” She blushed and murmured something unintelligible.

“Wait, you didn’t make this?” Adrien directed his question to Tom and Sabine.

“Nope! Our lovely daughter did.”

“O-oh,” he glanced at Marinette. She caught his eye and they both turned away, blushing. The parents grinned silently.

“W-well it’s getting late and Adrien should probably go home,” Marinette stammered, getting up so quickly that her chair fell with a clatter.

“Y-yeah,” Adrien agreed. He started walking out after saying good-bye to Sabine and Tom. Marinette grabbed a few cookies and followed, picking up a paper bag as they passed the counter and dropping them inside. As the door closed behind them, they looked at each mutely.

“S-sorry about them,” Marinette murmured as she handed him the bag.

“It’s okay,” Adrien scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Thanks for the cookies.”

“No problem, thanks for coming,” Marinette replied. A beat of silence passed.

“...the offer still stands, you know,” Adrien said, grinning.

“W-what?!” Marinette looked at him in shock, before seeing he was joking. She laughed. “Get out of here, you,” she pushed him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he called, walking away.

They both smiled secretly, a light, happy blush on their cheeks.