Going out shopping for a birthday present doesn’t usually result in purchasing an engagement ring.

At least that was what Nino had thought, so why was his best friend staring down at one?

Who knew that offering Adrien Agreste a bite of her lunch would lead one Marinette Dupain-Cheng into a series of events that would change her life forever.

Or the spice fic that nobody really asked for. Or maybe they did?

This story came into being because of a wild conversation that was held on The Miraculous Fanworks Discord Server @miraculousfanworks involving the topic of spice tolerance (or a lack thereof) some members have. It then snowballed from there, and I wound up volunteering to make this one-shot happen.

Special thanks to Taylor for being an absolute ROCKSTAR of a Beta Reader!

“Wow, your lunch looks really good, Marinette,” Adrien said as he sat down at their usual lunch table. He had a garden salad with what looked like bland grilled chicken topped with oil and vinegar in his hands, but his eyes looked like they could devour the dark-haired girl’s lunch all on their own.

“O-oh,” Marinette stammered, clearly a little flustered, though the blond didn’t know why. “Y-you thank… I mean, thank you, Adrien. It’s just some chicken and penne arrabbiata,” she explained shyly, her cheeks taking on a rosy hue. “Would you like to try some?”

“May I?” The blond asked eagerly, his green eyes widening at his good friend’s generosity. He was never allowed to try other people's dishes, as he was told that it was impolite to ask, and with his strict diet due to modeling, this kind of thing was nearly always verboten.

“Of course!” The designer exclaimed, already stabbing her unused fork into a plump piece of the poultry that was covered in the red sauce, making sure to spear a few penne noodles to go along with it. “I’m always happy to share!”

She had an extra fork in her lunch bag, so she wasn’t too put out about not using the utensil that she now offered to the object of her affections.

Adrien took the fork into his hand carefully so as not to drop it. “Thank you, Marinette,” he gratefully smiled before he took the bite of food into his mouth.

Moments after the morsel passed between the model’s perfect peach-colored lips, his eyes began to tear up. His complexion began to slowly turn the color of the chili peppers that were probably hidden within the spicy sauce, causing his dark-haired friend to frown in worry.

“Adrien? Are you okay?”

A sinister grin bloomed on the young man’s face as he answered, “You’ve got a deal, Hawkmoth. Time to put on the greatest show the world’s ever seen.”