"Just a Friend?" Book 1 of "Secrets Unraveled" Trilogy (MLB FanFic) |COMPLETED|

Chpt 12: Adrien stays to dinner. Yes, Plagg, there will be bread. And cheese.

Adrien rang the doorbell and Marinette tried to calmly answer it.  Like Cat.  Should be fine, she said to herself.  Adrien greeted her and came in. 

"Mom, we're heading up to my room to work on the project!" she called. 

"Would you like to take a snack with you?" came the response. 

Marinette was about to say no, when Adrien interrupted her thought.  "Maybe a small snack?  You wouldn't let me try hardly anything your parents brought up to your room last time when we were practicing for the video game competition, but everything smelled so good!"  He smiled at her. 

She blushed and told her mom they would come by and get something.  She led him into the kitchen and her mom handed her a tray of snacks. 

"I can take that," said Adrien, brushing Marinette's hands as he took the tray from her.  A little zap went through them.  At least Marinette thought she felt a zap.  Disappointingly, she didn't think Adrien seemed to notice. 

"Thanks, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!"  He had to stop himself from heading off to Marinette's room, since he wasn't supposed to be familiar with the house.  Marinette headed up the stairs with him following behind.  They reached her room and he waited for her to let him know where to set the tray down.  She indicated he put it on the chaise. 

"So, what, er, um."  This wasn't going well!  "Like Cat," she muttered to herself.  Adrien gave a start and looked at her strangely.  

She took a breath and tried again.  "Do you want to start with the snack?" she asked.  Phew!  She got out a sentence, she thought to herself. 

Adrien looked at her, trying to decide whether what she had said meant she knew he was Cat Noir.  He didn't think so, as Marinette seemed to just be calmly waiting for his reply, so he answered her question with "Yes, please."  They sat on the floor near the chaise and worked their way through the tray.  "This food is so good- you're parents are amazing!" he said as he scarfed down some little tarts. 

"Thanks!  So, should we then, um, start on the project?  We can work at my desk."  She stood up and walked over to her desk and then pulled up the document on her computer and set out her reference books.  Adrien followed her over there and started to get out his materials.  She turned toward Adrien to pull out a chair for him, tripped on the chair leg, and fell against his chest.  He caught her about the waist and set her back on her feet. 

Marinette turned bright red and said "Sorry! Thanks! I'll just sit down now."  She felt so embarrassed. "I'll be less dangerous here,"  she muttered.  Adrien barely kept from laughing- only a slight smile escaped.  He knew she got so embarrassed about her clumsiness, but it really was pretty cute.

They spent the next hour working on the project and made a lot of progress.  He was again surprised how focused and organized Marinette was while she worked.  She had really taken charge and had a lot of good thoughts about what they needed to do.  She wasn't awkward at all when it came to her school work.  He didn't see this side of her very often, at least around him.  Around Cat Noir, on the other hand, she seemed in total control of herself.  He was kind of sorry that he, as Adrien, caused her to lose her focus at times.

An alarm sounded on his phone and he turned it off.  "I guess I need to get going.  Off to eat dinner by myself."  He started to put his books away.  He wasn't exactly sure why he said anything.  Ok, if he was telling the truth, he did know why he said it.  But, he didn't want sympathy, he wanted company.  He hoped Marinette understood what he was implying.

"You eat by yourself?" she asked with a sympathetic gaze.  She was silent for a moment when he didn't reply before asking "Would you like to stay for dinner?"