~Her mum calls me love, her dad calls me son~ //Steal My Girl by One Direction//
This post was inspired by that^^ line from Steal My Girl and the Weredad episode.
So, Adrien has a free day for the first time in forever and he kinda doesn't know what to do. Nino and Alya have a date after school, Kitty Section has rehearsal, Kim has swimming, Max is meeting with video game developers, and it seems like everyone else is busy too. Adrien is disappointed, but tells Nathalie he has plans with friends anyways. He really just wants to wander around Paris and enjoy himself.
At the end of the day Adrien looks left and right, trying to figure out where to go first. That's when the Dupain-Cheng bakery catches his eye.
When Adrien arrives at the Dupain-Cheng bakery Marinette has an apron on and is mixing something in a bowl. Tom is taking something out of the oven and Sabine is helping customers. Marinette spots Adrien and waves hello.
"Hello, Marinette. What are you making?" Asks Adrien as he peaks in the bowl.
"M-macaroons." She replies.
"You can make some too if you'd like." Says Sabine from the counter.
"Really?" Adrien's eyes widen.
"Yes, we'd love another set of hands!" Tom says enthusiastically.
"Is that okay with you?" Adrien asks Marinette. She smiles and hands him an apron.
Tom excitedly sets out all the ingredients and instructs Adrien. Adrien gets super flustered and embarrassed when he shatters the egg shell in the bowl while cracking it. He's surprised when just Sabine smiles and Tom helps get out more ingredients. He's absolutely shocked when Tom patiently helps him pipe the macaroons, even though Adrien is terrible at it. Sabine even puts them in the oven for him.
While the cookies bake they clean up them go play video games. Adrien is surprised more than once as he sees the Dupain-Cheng family laugh, affectionately shove and trash talk each other. To him, it's astounding how comfortable they are with each other and how loving their dynamic is.
When the oven timer goes off the group heads downstairs to take Adrien and Marinette's macaroons out. Marinette's are perfect round circles, symmetrical little domes. Adrien's are less then elegant, they're vastly uneven and a few failed to rise. He's disappointed and worried the family will laugh at him. Instead they point out the upsides and how good they actually are for a beginner. They hype him up and cheer him on as he pipes the insides.
When Adrien's finished, Tom pats him on the back and says, "Good job, son." Adrien's eyes widen once again. He'd never heard anyone say that to him, let alone his own dad.
Sabine takes a bite of one of his macaroons and tells him, "They're really quite good, love."
Adrien leaves the Dupain-Cheng bakery with a box of the macaroons he made and a blissful feeling. Right when he gets home he gives the box to Nathalie so his father can have one. Nathalie returns a couple minutes later and hands Adrien the box.
"Did he try one? What'd he think?" Adrien asks excitedly.
"He thought they were... delicious."
Adrien's heart deflates. "He didn't try one, did he?"
Nathalie sighs, knowing she can't lie to Adrien about this. "No, he didn't, but I did. They were really good."
Adrien can't hide his disappointment as he sadly thanks Nathalie and goes to practice his piano.
The next day at school Marinette comes up to him and asks if he'd want to come over and bake again with them. Today, they are making quiche. Adrien enthusiastically agrees and finds that the Dupain-Chengs are just as patient and encouraging as the day before. Soon, it's like another part of his schedule. Everyday he goes to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and they bake with him. Sometimes he can only stay for a half hour, sometimes four hours. At first he brings his creations home for his father to try, but he gives up on that. Gabriel never once samples anything Adrien makes.
After about a month of Adrien baking with Marinette and her family, Adrien is offered a part time job at the bakery. It took a lot of convincing from Adrien and Nathalie but his father finally agrees. Soon, working at the Dupain-Cheng bakery is the best part of his day, even rivaling being Chat Noir.
Adrien eventually realizes why he likes working at the bakery so much - it's because he found a family there. Tom is enthusiastic, cheerful and always has time for Adrien while never ignoring Marinette. Sabine is kind, patient and extremely wise. Marinette is now Adrien's best friend (sorry Nino) and she barely stammers at all around him. Sure, she's still clumsy but that's just Marinette.
Adrien learned what it felt like to be a part of a fierce, fun and loving family. He returned to his father's house with a smile and he was the happiest Nathalie had ever seen him. Not to mention, Plagg was more than happy to have plenty of bread to go with his cheese. He hardly notices how distant his father is, although he does realize that his father only addresses his as Adrien. It was different at Marrinette's. 'Her mum calls me love, her dad calls me son.' He thinks with a smile. He feels more and more at home in the bakery and though he still loves his father it was different being at the house. And deep down, Adrien knows that if a supervillain had the ability to look at him at know where his home was, it would lead to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery and the kind family that called him their own.
