A/N: AU in which Adrien has never had anything from Marinette's bakery.

Sweet Temptation

Adrien Agreste didn't ask for many things in his life.

He was spoiled, yes, but it wasn't like he asked for all those things. His father gave them to him so the blond wouldn't want to leave, which failed miserably, of course.

Adrien thought going to school was his top wish, his most desired goal. When he accomplished it, he vowed to himself to never ask for anything from his father again. He had the one thing he wanted most, he wasn't going to screw it up by asking for something else.

Until now.

The model has gradually noticed that everyone in his class has had a taste of Marinette's bakery pastries at some point. And all agreed that they were delicious, even Chloe. Everyone had them, except him.

Due to his career, sweets were a rarity for him. He loved them and counted his blessings when he could have them, but now he wanted to go to Marinette's bakery and try something. To see what the hype was all about, to finally be able to add something in the conversations about the treats.

He thought he finally had his chance when he went to Marinette's house to train for the big gaming competition. He remembered the golden croissants and warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies just sitting there waiting to be eaten, but Marinette refused all of them. He wanted to scream, or maybe cry, but he had to keep up his golden boy routine.

After all, how would Marinette react if she witnessed him throwing a temper tantrum over sweets? She'd probably think he was the most immature 15-year old in Paris.

He eventually asked Nathalie, and even his father, if he could go to the bakery and buy something. But each time they denied him, saying how it would mess up his perfectly-balanced diet.

The heck with the diet! He was getting a pastry, even if it killed him.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Plagg drawled in between bites of Camembert. "They're just pastries."

Adrien glared at his kwami and pointed at the smelly stuff currently being devoured. "And that's just cheese."

Plagg huffed. "It's not just cheese! Camembert is everything good in this world!"

"So are those pastries right now," Adrien growled lowly. He was sitting on his couch, with a hand propped underneath his chin in thought. Just how could he get one of those croissants? Or cookies? Or macarons?

There was no way Adrien could try to sneak in the bakery and buy something. The Gorilla transported him everywhere, and watched until he made it safely inside his destination. He supposed he could ask Marinette for some, but he didn't want her to feel that he used her for sweets. He treasured the girl's friendship, he didn't want anything to ruin it.

Adrien was blocked on all ends.

Wait.

The blond's eyes brightened.

That's it!

Adrien couldn't get anything, but Chat Noir could! Chat Noir could do anything he wanted.

"I got it, Plagg." Adrien grinned. "I can just swing by as Chat Noir and ask for something. Surely one of Paris's superheroes deserves a treat, right?"

Plagg swallowed the latest bite of cheese and eyed his Chosen with uncertainty. "Uh, Adrien-"

"It'll be easy! I'll just go in, politely request something, pay for it, and be on my way!"

"Adrien-"

"But I can't just waltz in there in broad daylight..."

"Kid-"

"I can visit Marinette on her balcony! It'll be easy for Chat Noir to get up there. But do you think she'd be mad if I tried that? Do you think it would invade her privacy?"

"Listen-"

"No, of course not. She likes Chat Noir, we've talked a few times. I don't think she'd mind if I'm there. And it's perfectly dark out, I can go visit her right now!"

"Adrien, listen-"

"Plagg, claws out!"

The rest of Plagg's argument was sucked away along with himself in Adrien's ring. In a matter of seconds, the mischievous feline hero took the place of the quiet model.

Chat Noir grabbed his wallet then raced to the bathroom, threw open the window, and used his baton to leave the mansion. He was soon sprinting across the rooftops, intent on finding Marinette's bakery. It was only about ten o'clock, surely she'd still be awake. The glow of the moon and the Eiffel Tower were right behind him as he vaulted across the buildings.

When the bakery came into view, and he saw soft light coming out of one of the top windows, he smiled. That was Marinette's room, and since the light was on, she had to be awake.

Chat Noir landed softly on the balcony. Taking a few steps, he met with the glass panel trapdoor and lightly tapped on it to try to get her attention.

It wasn't long until he heard the soft patter of footsteps. He stepped away to allow her room to emerge, placing himself against the railing, the picture of casual.

He saw a pale arm move the glass cover aside, then a head of black hair, and finally her face. Marinette was the nicest girl he knew and undoubtedly cute as well, he might've tried to pursue her if he wasn't already in love with Ladybug.

"Chat Noir?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?" After her question she hauled herself out to the balcony. She stood and crossed her arms together, giving him a suspicious look.

Chat smirked. "Don't worry, Purrincess, I won't sink my claws in you." He blushed as he realized how that sentence could be taken. Luckily, Marinette didn't seem to understand. In fact, she only rolled her eyes.

He cleared his throat and continued. "This will only take a second."

A corner of her mouth lifted playfully. "One."

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Ha. Ha," he deadpanned, but couldn't help the amused grin that settled on his features. Why couldn't Marinette be like this in school? Well, he knew she was, but not around him, anyway. He often wondered if he did something to make her dislike him, he thought the gum incident was well behind them.

But he wasn't here to burden his thoughts about his lack of growing friendship between himself and Marinette.

"Princess, I was wondering if I could maybe have something from the bakery?" He asked, giving her a wide, hopeful smile.

Her expression changed to one of disbelief. She blinked twice.

"I-I'll pay, of course!" He added hurriedly. "Don't think I'm a freeloader or anything, I have money. I'm an honest cat, cat's honor!" He raised a hand to illustrate the vow.

At first, Marinette stared. Her lips twitched, until finally she burst into a flurry of giggles.

He stared, wondering what he did that warranted her laughter.

"You come here in the middle of the night," she spoke in between giggles, "just to ask for a pastry?"

Chat nodded, looking down at the ground. His ears drooped along with his tail. "Yes."

Marinette's giggles subsided as she took in her partner's gloomy appearance. "Alright, Kitty, I'll get you something."

The blond looked up, confused and hopeful that she wasn't kidding.

"Anything for one of Paris's superheroes, right?" She grinned and winked.

He felt his lips slide into a grin of his own. "Right."

He straightened and flexed an arm. "Saving people all the time can seriously work up an appetite. I thank you for your kindness, Princess."

As Chat reached for the zipped up pocket for his wallet, Marinette called him out to stop.

"Consider this as a thank you for all you've done for Paris." With that last remark, she crept back down to her room.

He almost pumped a fist in the air. This was it. At last, he was going to taste one of those pastries! Finally!

It wasn't long before she came back, with a plate and a single, chocolate éclair sitting atop. His mouth almost watered at the sight.

"Here you go, Kitty." She smiled and presented the treat to him.

He took it eagerly in his gloved hand, pausing before he put it in his mouth. He wanted to savor the victorious moment.

In front of him, Marinette rose a puzzled eyebrow. Why was he just holding it over his mouth like that?

He grinned sheepishly and didn't waste another second to put it in his mouth.

He was expecting chocolatey wonder, delicious cream...

But he didn't get that. Not at all.

He frowned as he slowly chewed on the soft treat, tossing the food around with his tongue. It tasted bland, there was nothing at all. If he didn't know he had a chocolate éclair in his mouth, he would've said he had a piece of cardboard in there, instead.

He swallowed in utter confusion. What was wrong? Why couldn't he taste anything? He had chocolate before, he remembered it didn't taste like that.

Marinette frowned at his expression, looking just a bit embarrassed. "I-you didn't like it? I can get you something else-"

"No, no!" He protested, holding out his hands. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Marinette's feelings, especially for a treat that was probably amazing. But he just had to have a freakish tongue and not be able to taste it.

"It was great, Princess! I loved it."

She didn't look convinced. "Chat-"

"It was great, I promise." He gave her a bright smile, hoping to deter her doubt. "Any favor from you is amazing, Princess." He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but he'd kick himself later if she had doubt in her or her parents' baking skills.

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "You're sure?"

"Positive! Sorry, it's just I haven't had anything sweet in awhile, so-I-it just took a minute to get used to."

Gradually, the corners of her mouth lifted into a small smile. "It's okay. I'm sorry for not believing you."

"It's purrfectly okay." He smirked roguishly and took her hand in his, giving it a warm, affectionate kiss. "I better be going, I promised I wouldn't keep you here for long. Good night, Princess."

He released her hand and hopped to the railing. Giving her a two-finger salute in parting, he leaped off the building, using his baton to get to the ground then to the top of the school, where he then ran back to his house.

When he made it back to his bathroom window, he jumped inside and released his transformation. While Plagg flew out of the ring, grumbling complaints of being interrupted from his Camembert, Adrien felt it safe to unleash his frustration.

"What happened, Plagg? I couldn't taste it at all! Éclairs don't taste like that." Adrien screwed up his lips in disgust. "Like, like cardboard!"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Maybe if you bothered to listen to me, you would know why."

Adrien narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What do you mean?"

"As I was trying to tell you before, when you kept cutting me off..." The kwami glared at him. "Cats can't taste sweet things."

Adrien looked at him, the gears slowly turning in his mind. "Wait. You mean-"

"Yes. As Chat Noir, you have a lot of feline qualities. And that includes not being able to taste anything sweet. Whether it's chocolate, icing, or just plain sugar, it will all taste like cardboard."

"Are you kidding me?!" Adrien screeched, gripping his golden locks in frustration. "Plagg! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried, but you wouldn't listen!" Plagg argued. "This is ridiculous. I'm going to finish my Camembert." With that careless retort, the little chaos god floated away to his meal.

Adrien sulked as he walked to the couch, watching Plagg as he ate.

"Does this mean Adrien can't taste sweet things either?" He asked, depressed. He didn't know how long he would have to work as Chat Noir, it could be years before he could taste anything sweet again.

"Nope," Plagg answered, not bothering to look at his Chosen. "You're completely normal as Adrien. You could've just taken the pastry home and have eaten it now."

Adrien leaned back, face delicately blank. His left eye twitched.

Plagg swallowed a bite of cheese, slowly turning around when he noticed the blond's silence. "Adrien?"

The model snapped out of his daze and grabbed a pillow, burying his face into it to muffle the furious, enraged, frustrated scream.

Plagg shrugged and turned back to devour more cheese.

He'll be okay.

A/N: I was looking up random cat facts for inspiration, when I see that cats can't taste sweet things. I got an idea and this happened ;)