Pack

The heat room door looked just like the rest of the mansion's doors, with the exception of a small window near the door knob. Just as M. Agreste had said, it looked large enough to fit a tray of food through. M. Agreste slid the cover of the window open and called, softly, “Adrien, are you decent?”

“I have a housecoat on,” came the raspy reply. Marinette felt her heart race at the thought of why his voice sounded like that, at the lewd thoughts that ran through her mind…

Stop! Bad Mari! she thought to herself, shaking her head. This dress doesn’t hide boners well! “Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is here,” M. Agreste was saying. “Do you want to speak with her?”

“Yes, please.”

At M. Agreste’s ushering, Marinette stepped up and crouched so she could peek into the heat room. It looked like an extremely posh bedroom, from what she could see, and she averted her eyes before they lingered on the white stains on the bedspread too long. The smell of an Omega in heat hit her full force, rendering all effort she made to hide her arousal null and void, and she could only pray it was tucked well enough away that it wasn’t immediately obvious. “Hi, Adrien,” she said, letting a fond tone enter her voice. If there was one thing she could control around an Omega, it was her voice. “How are you doing?”

She saw the green of Adrien’s eyes as he sat down to see her. “I’m okay,” he rasped.

She leveled a look at him. “No, you’re not. Not physically, anyway.”

His eyes looked sheepish, if that was possible. “I can never get anything past you, can I? Yeah, I feel awful. I hope I don’t offend you, but I didn’t even know you were an Alpha. What was it like when you presented? ”

Marinette let herself laugh at the unfairness. “Nothing nearly as dramatic as yours, I assure you. I was only eight, so I got to skip the ordeal that is puberty, and all I did was get super competitive. I actually beat Kim at swimming, believe it or not.”

He snorted. “Really?”

“Yeah. I bring it up when he’s annoying me.”

He laughed at that, the sound still thin. “I haven’t seen that.”

She smirked, making sure the expression reached to her eyes. “He doesn’t want people to be reminded, so he tries not to annoy me often.” She let the mirth leave her eyes after that. “So I hear you told your dad about our little deal.”

The skin she could see turned red. “He told you about that, huh?”

“Yes. And we’ll talk more about that after your heat. Until then, you just need to worry about yourself, okay?”

He made a grumbling noise. “But it’s so boring in here.”

“You’ll survive, I’m sure.” Tentatively, she stuck her hand into the slot, and found herself delighted when Adrien’s fingers brushed her own. “A few more days and you’ll be somewhat back to normal.” His skin began to heat--a sign the next wave was almost upon them. “I gotta go now, okay?”

“Can you come back and visit again?” he asked, voice desperate, and she couldn’t tell if it was because of his next wave or because he actually wanted her there, and that made her a little frustrated. “Please?”

“You’ll have to talk to your father about that. I only came today because he asked for me.”

“What?” His tone of voice suggested he hadn’t any idea his father wanted to speak to her. She could somewhat see the wheels turning, but all cogent thought was being quickly overrun by his hormones.

M. Agreste placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “You’re welcome to come again and visit while he’s in heat. Your self control is remarkable,” he added, almost as an afterthought. “Nevertheless, Adrien, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng does need to leave. I’d rather not push the boundaries of her control, no matter how admirable. It’s not entirely fair to her, after all.”

Adrien whined in a way that made Marinette’s skin tingle, which was not a good sign. “I’ll come by tomorrow after school, Adrien, okay? I promise.”

“Okay,” he said after a moment, voice full of childlike simplicity. He was gone. “You smell good.”

“Thank you.” She stood up and let Gabriel resume his place near the slot. He spoke to his son in hushed tones before sliding the cover shut once more.

When he was done with that, he turned back to Marinette. “I’ll have Nathalie escort you out, now, if you don’t mind. You can take the car back to your parents’ bakery if you like.”

“Oh, yes, that would be nice.” While she only lived a few blocks away, it seemed rude to pass up the invitation. Plus, she knew from experience that walking with a boner was not comfortable. “So, you’re alright with me coming back tomorrow?”

His face was unreadable as he replied, “I might have you for a daughter-in-law someday. I might as well get used to having you around.”

Marinette flushed beet red and escaped after Nathalie.

The bell above the door dinged cheerily as Marinette stepped into the bakery, taking in the comforting scent of fresh bread and sugar. “Thank you for bringing me home, Mme. Sancoeur,” she said to the woman who was, for some reason, following her in. Her mother was manning the register, and she looked both surprised and confused that she was home early and had a grown woman along with her.

“It wasn’t a problem, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Mme. Sancoeur replied. “M. Agreste has expressed interest in this bakery in the past. While I’m here, I’m going to buy some pastries and bring them back to him. They might make Adrien feel better, after all.”

“Oh, Adrien?” her mother said, interjecting herself rather forcefully into the conversation. “He’s such a sweet boy. He’s always so polite when he comes to visit. How is he holding up?”

“As well as anyone in his situation can, I suppose,” was Mme. Sancoeur’s terse response.

“Ah, Mama, I don’t have to go to school today,” Marinette said lamely. “I was invited to Adrien’s house and Mme. Sancoeur brought me back home. Is it alright if I go visit Adrien tomorrow after school, too?”

Her father emerged from the kitchen. She knew he’d heard everything from the look on his face. “Mari, I know you’re worried, but being around an Omega in heat, even with your self control, is a risk, especially if you’re not going to court him.”

“About that…” Marinette started.

She was interrupted by Mme. Sancoeur. “Your daughter has already made an offer of courtship towards Adrien, and M. Agreste has accepted.”

Her parents went silent for a split second before her father began to sputter and her mother’s eyes widened. “Marinette,” she gasped, sounding scandalised, “why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn't think he’d remember, honestly!” Marinette said in her defense. Then she remembered Mme. Sancoeur and her “sneaky” spying habits. “I mean, I was serious about the offer, but I didn’t think it would be acted upon so quickly, since I made it while he was in heat. He was panicking, you know, and I was trying to get him to sit still for once in his life, and it just kind of… came out?” Keep digging, Mari, her brain said, cruelly. “I fully intend to make good on the offer if and when Adrien chooses to accept after his heat is gone and his mind is clear,” she finished awkwardly, staring holes in the shop front’s hardwood floor.

What followed was, probably, the longest and most mortifying silence in Marinette’s eighteen years of life as each of the three adults stared at her.

Thankfully, Mme. Sancoeur broke it by asking after Adrien’s favorite treats, and Marinette happily leapt over the counter to gather up the croissants and macarons he favored. She wrapped them up herself and tied a nice bow on it. “Y-you can consider it my first courting gift?” she suggested.

Mme. Sancoeur regarded the box and nodded. “An excellent thought. M. Agreste will be pleased.” She took the pastry box carefully and nodded to her parents. “It was a pleasure meeting you, M. and Mme. Dupain-Cheng. I trust we will be seeing more of each other in the near future.” With a brisk turn, she exited the bakery and stepped into the Gorilla’s waiting car before zooming off.

Marinette gulped as her parents turned their gazes on her. Oh, man, I’m in for it now.

When she was finally allowed to collapse an hour later, Marinette was regretting ever having met Adrien Agreste. “I never needed to know that much about my parents,” she whined mournfully to Tikki, who was sat upon her desk, giggling wildly. “I mean, I get that they’re trying to help, but I just need courting gift ideas, not sex tips from my parents. Oh, God, I’m never gonna be able to get that image out of my head.”

“If you didn’t want them to embarrass you, you should have told them what you did last night,” Tikki pointed out, and Marinette sighed, because of course she was right. This was her parent’s version of revenge for being left in the dark. If she’d just asked for courting tips the previous night, that’s exactly what she would have gotten.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket on pure instinct and winced when she saw her notifications. Eleven texts and two missed calls from Alya.

[mari im so sorry]

[mari please]

[i didnt mean to make you angry you know that right]

[dammit mari answer your phone so i can apologize]

[ill do whatever you want girl]

[mari please call me back]

[is adrien ok]

[man im a peice of shit]

[why didnt i ask sooner]

[hes okay right]

[mari please answer me]

Marinette felt the guilt that previously eluded her flush over her in waves. Hurriedly, she typed out a response.

[im sorry i freaked out back at school]

[i shouldnt have yelled like that]

[THANK GOD]

[no mari you did nothing wrong i was a bitch]

[i should have trusted you more you were right]

[adriens doing ok. hes eating and drinking and thats as good as itll get until his heat passes]

[thats good to hear]

[what happened at his house anyway?????]

Marinette laughed a little. At least we’re back to normal, she thought as her fingers flew over the screen of her phone.

[nothing i can tell you during lunch break]

[come over after school?]

[i have to watch my sisters]

[do you mind if they tag along?]

[i dont make all these dolls to play with them by myself do i?]

[ill steal day-old cookies and we can have a tea party while i spill you another kind of tea]

[why must you torture me this way]

[retribution for literally everything annoying youve ever done]

She flipped her phone back onto silent and flipped to a new page in her sketchbook. If M. Agreste was going to talk to a designer friend about helping her make underwear, she wanted to have more than one preliminary sketch to go off of.

She was so zoned into her sketching that she jumped when Alya’s knock fell upon the trap door that led to the loft. Her best friend’s head poked through the opening, smile a bit more sheepish than usual, and Marinette flipped her sketchbook shut. “Come on in,” she said, and Alya wasted no time doing just that. Her four younger sisters scrambled after her, looking shy and a little wary. “Hey, you guys,” Marinette greeted, waving at them. “Let me just run down and get some cookies. What do you want to drink?”

She dashed down the stairs after getting the orders and climbed them again a little more carefully. When she re-entered her room, she found the four younger girls already playing with her Ladybug, Chat Noir, and akuma dolls. They accepted the plate of cookies and their juice and milk while Marinette led Alya up and onto her balcony with their own cookies and two glasses of soda. “So,” Alya said when they were settled into the patio chairs. “What’s up?”

“I may or may not be courting Adrien Agreste?”

Alya’s jaw dropped. Like, it was gone, at an alarming rate at that. Before she could let loose a scream to wake the dead, Marinette ran her through the events of the past two days. She left all the details in, knowing Alya would be able to tell right away if she was leaving something out. “...and I think I solidified it when I called the croissants and macarons my first courting gift. God, Alya, what have I done?”

Alya took a minute to process it. Not that Marinette could blame her; a tale like this was an odd one to be spun. When she was done considering everything, she said, “So, I’m invited to the wedding, right?”

“Alya.”

“I’m serious, Mari. Why aren’t you more excited? You’ve been lusting after him since you thought he was a Beta. If his father agrees to everything and Adrien accepts, you’re, like, set for life. Your very own happy ending.”

“But what if he’s only doing it because he doesn’t want to be saddled with some creepy male Alpha? What if I’m the only one emotionally invested in this relationship? I couldn’t take that, Alya, I just couldn’t.” Marinette made sure to keep her eyes wide open to avoid any tears. “I mean, how would you feel if you and Nino were in this situation?”

“We’d talk about it, like adults, before we came to a decision.” Alya’s wise eyes caught Marinette’s through her glasses. “Mari, girl, even if he doesn’t love you yet, he trusts you enough to sit with him in a heat, and that’s a big deal. And I wasn’t kidding yesterday when I said anyone would be lucky to have you for an Alpha.” Alya set her glass down on a table and reached to put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “And if he does anything to hurt my precious Alpha baby, I’ll kill him, so he knows he better behave.”

“Because nothing says ‘form a lifelong bond with me and carry and birth my children’ like a death threat.”

“Girl, please, everything will turn out fine. You’ll get your man, mark my words.”

Marinette groaned as she looked over the list of courting gifts she’d spent the better part of the evening after Alya’s departure compiling.

1. Food - croissants/macarons ✓
2. Comfort -
3. Clothing -
4. Protection -
5. Monetary Wealth -

“This is hopeless!” she whined to Tikki, throwing her pen against the wall of her room. “I can’t provide for him! His family’s rich and he has everything he could ever want! What was I thinking?”

Tikki crooned at her and flew to sit on her hand, staring down at the sheet of paper. “These are the same gifts people have been giving for millennia, Marinette. The only concrete ones are food, clothing, and wealth; it’s not a hard thing. You already gave him sweets, and you can make him anything he’d ever want to wear. And I know you have a jar full of change in your closet for spending money. There’s no stipulation for how much money you have to give him; just monetary wealth. It’s purposefully open-ended.”

Marinette fell silent before groaning and slamming her head on the desk. “You’re right, of course. How are you so smart?”

“I’m a god that’s been around since before mankind, dear. I’ve learned a few things in my time.”

Marinette retrieved her pen and scribbled on the page some more.

1. Food - croissants/macarons ✓
2. Comfort - sitting w/ him through his heat
3. Clothing -
4. Protection - keeping other alphas away
5. Monetary Wealth -

“It’s… progress, I guess?” she sighed.

She was almost relieved when she heard the screams floating up into her room from the streets. She quickly transformed and leapt from her balcony. She only just barely checked herself from running a tad too fast, too eager--without Chat around to take the fall for her, she couldn’t afford to be as reckless as usual.

Until she found the akuma and, with it, another Miraculous, who had its small form restrained in her arms.

“Volpina?” she nearly snarled at the fox-clad heroine.