Adrien Agreste couldn't help but stare at Marinette Dupain-Cheng as if seeing her for the first time. When had she gotten so pretty? Or had she always been that pretty and he simply hadn't noticed?
He had been exiting his car, after arriving at school, to see Marinette standing at the base of the outdoor steps laughing at something Alya said. He could't help but be struck immobile. The sun shone brightly, making it look like she had a glowing aura about her, and made her loose blue hair glow as it flowed almost to her butt.
In the last 4 years he had been going to school here, he marveled at how much Mari had grown up. No more pig tails brushing her shoulders, no more awkward stuttering when she talked to him, and she had become a lot less clumsy. She actually had become quiet graceful as she got older. She let her hair grow out, and preferred to let it flow freely in gentle waves, but had kept the bangs that swept across her forehead.
She still designed her own clothes, and had slowly gravitated towards wearing more dresses and skirts instead of pants or capris, which accentuated her gorgeous legs.
Thank You summer!
Today, she had on a pale pink dress with thick straps over her shoulders, cinched waist, and the skirt flaring to her knees. As her dress moved with the gentle breeze, he could see red ruffled fabric peeking out from under her skirt, matching the red embroidery design that ran up one side of her skirt.
He must have been staring for awhile, because he was pulled out of his thoughts by small tapping on his chest and a harshly whispered "psst" from the front pocket of his jacket.
Glacing down, he saw Plagg, his kwami, staring up at him with exasperated eyes and a frown on his face.
"Are you just gonna stand out here gawking all day or what?" Plagg questions.
Blushing a bit, Adrien looked around to see if anyone had noticed his preoccupation. Not seeing anyone staring at him, he breathed a sigh of relief and drew his shoulders back to confidently continue walking towards the school, taking him right past where Marinette and Alya were still talking.
He couldn't help but glance her way as he walked just a couple feet away from her, and caught her vanilla scent. While he knows it's probably just from living in the bakery, he can't help but find it a totally Marinette scent, and it's mesmerizing.
Just as he's about to pass by her, Marinette looked over at him and gave him a huge smile.
"Good Morning Adrien," she said in a breathy voice, that just made his heart stutter in his chest.
"Morning Marinette," he responds finally, after pulling his thoughts back to earth. " Wow Marinette, that dress looks great on you! Is it a new creation of yours?"
"That's exactly what I told her!" pipes up Alya. "But she's too humble for her own good!"
"Stop, Alya," Marinette tried to shush her friend, bringing a hand to cover one of her cheeks as a small blush bloomed on her face.
"Alya is right! You are too humble." he quickly agreed. Her blush made her look so adorable, and he wonders, if he asked her on a date, what she'd say.
As he continued into the school and to class, his mind wandered. It wasn't like he hadn't ever noticed her in the past, but it had been fleeting. Simply a here and there thing. Nothing that stuck.
Until now.
For the longest time, he had been in love with Ladybug. And while he still was, there had been a point where he had had to admit to himself that perhaps pining after her had been a little childish of him. She didn't seem to view Chat Noir as any more than a friend, even after 4 years. And it's not like he wouldn't wait for her- because he totally would-- it was more that, should he?! She obviously wasn't expecting him to. If she did, you'd think she'd lead him along just a bit to keep him interested. But she didn't. Her thoughts about it always remained the same. And while they had had a few conversations about it, where she admitted she felt something there, it wasn't the same as what he felt for her. And he could accept that.
Through their conversations, he knew she was in the same situation over someone else, and had also come to terms with it, but that didn't mean she would make him her second fiddle, so to speak. And he admired that she was able to tell him that.
She had also admitted that she viewed being Ladybug as her other self. Not like Chat Noir, who felt like Adrien was his second self. He could be free as Chat Noir. No expectations from the public, or his father. No image to maintain. He could just be himself. His real self.
Despite their revelations, and that it didn't bring them together, they would always share a bond. Being superheroes together did that to you. But it didn't have to be romantic.
It had just taken him awhile to realize that.
That had been a year ago. A year of friendly banter and innocent flirting, which they both knew wouldn't go anywhere, but was just so much a part of thier dynamic to just drop it.
And it wasn't like he wasn't looking during that time. Ok, not actively. But Ladybug had just stumbled upon him one day. He was kind of hopeful that the next one would too. He was a firm believer that if you forced it, it took longer.
So he hadn't looked. No dating every woman who showed an interest, no picturing himself with women to see if he could picture themselves together in 5 years, and certainly not allowing others to set him up with friends. When it happened, he'd know.
At the time, Plagg had told him how that was ridiculous thinking! But now, he was glad he had followed his ridiculous thoughts on the matter.
And as soon as he was alone to do so, he would shove it in Plagg's face that it had worked. Because yes, just 10 minutes ago, outside the school, it had happened.
When he looked at Marinette, it had just clicked.
Did it seem wierd that it clicked 4 years after knowing her? Maybe a little, he could admit to himself.
Was that going to stop him?! Hell no!
"What's got you so pensive?" Plagg whispers from his spot.
Settling down at his desk in the almost full classroom, Adrien looks at his puzzled Kwami and gives a smirk.
Whispering back, he tells Plagg, "As soon as I get the chance, I'm going to ask Marinette out."
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"Adrien was totally checking you out!" Alya exclaimed excitedly to Marinette as soon as said boy had entered the school, pumping a fist into the air.
"Stop it Alya!" Marinette admonished, trying to pull Alyas hand down to her sides again.
Looking around to be sure nobody heard, Marinette scolds her friend.
Marinette had given up a long time ago on Adrien ever liking her. Not that he didn't like her, they were actually really good friends! But not LIKE her like her! Which was fine. Really. It had been unhealthy how much she had obsessed over him before. Not that he wasn't still the greatest boy - man- she had ever known.
Because boy, had Adrien ever grown to be oh so handsome! Those 3 kids she used to fantasize about would have been adorable with his genetics!!
But that was neither here nor there.
She was over it. Him.
Absolutely!
Or so she would continue to tell herself.
Letting go of that dream had made it possible for Marinette to function normally around him. No More stuttering, or mixing her words. Now they could just be friends. Normally. Without her coming across as an insane person.
Most of the time.
Because while she may have gotten less clumsy with age, let's face it, she couldn't get away from it entirely. That would be too merciful.
"He was not! We are just friends. Hasn't he said so a million times in the past?!"
"Girl, I hear what your saying, but i know what I saw! No, this is not me trying to keep a dead horse alive, I really DID see him staring at you like you were a glass of water and he'd just been stumbling around in the desert for a month!!"
Mariette choked on her spit at Alya's analogy.
But it made her pause, and with a thoughtful expression, Marinette pondered it for a few seconds, before discarding it.
She was NOT going to get sucked back in. No. More dreaming. No more wishing. No more scheming. She had only just managed to pull herself out of the void that was Adrien. And she wasnt willing to throw herself back in without better proof.
She could wait. If it was true.
" Naw, your being ridiculous. I don't see it." she told her friend. "Now let's go before we're late."
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The lunch bell had just rang and Mariette was putting her books away into her bag when Adrien got his shot.
It was now or never, because he was sure if he waited any longer, he'd lose his nerve.
Standing up from his own seat, he slung his bag over his shoulder, and turned towards Marinette. He couldn't help the nervous butterflies that continued to flutter in his belly.
What if she said no? What if she didn't like him like that? What if she laughed at him? Or worse, what if she said yes?!
No!! Think positive!
"Hey Matinette," Adrien said softly, with a warm smile on his face.
Startled, Marinette looked up from her bag.
"Oh, hi Adrien! Not going home for lunch today?"
"oh, uh, no." he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, a nervous gesture he hadn't ever outgrown. " I was wondering if you wanted to do something together sometime?"
If it was possible, her smile got even brighter. "Absolutely! I'd love that! Is Nino joining you? Should I invite Alya?! Or wait, did Nino invite her already!? Oh, it's been awhile since we've all done something together!!" clapping her hands together in glee, she continued, "It's like, with knowing this is our last year here, there's so much more to DO!"
Looking sheepish, "Ya, uh, I mean if you want To go with Alya and Nino sometime too, that'd be good too, but I was kind of just thinking of just you and me?" he came across as uncertain, and a small blush marred his cheeks. "Like a, uh, like a date." he finished in a rush.
Marinettes eyes slowly get wide, and she looked confused for a second.
"A date?? With me?!?" she exclaimed, incredulous. She glanced around the room, just to see if maybe there was someone else in the room that he was talking to.
But nope. Just Marinette.
"Ya." he confirmed, with more conviction than when he asked originally.
With wide eyes, she slowly nods her head. Then, realizing she should say something, "Ya. I mean yes! I'd love to Adrien."
Then, as a few more seconds passed, it seemed like it finally sinks in, and the most beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
He was such a goner.
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"WHAT?!?!" Alya screamed in my ear as she grabbed both my arms and started shaking me.
"Are you serious?! Adrien asked you out?! On a DATE??!?" which was followed by more unintelligible screeching.
Marinette, having done most of this in the bathroom 10 minutes ago, was actually quiet calm while listening to Alya. Talking it over with Tikki had also helped to calm some of the nerves about it as well.
"Truthfully, when he asked me, I thought he meant the 4 of us should do something. Then he said no, he meant like a date." Marinette explained to her still squealing friend.
"Oh my God!!" Alya just couldn't stop!
"I know!!"
"I knew it!"
"I know! It was the first thing that went through my mind, that you had JUST told me that this morning!" Marinette gave a small squeel. I guess she hadn't worked it ALL out!
"So when are you going?? Where are you going? What are you gonna WEAR?!" Alya demanded!
"Well," Marinette started, lifting one finger. "First, we are going on Saturday, so we don't have to worry about school, and It gives Adrien time to make sure nothing gets scheduled for himself that day."
Marinette lifts a second finger. "Second, I have no idea where we are going. Adrien said he would surprise me. And third, he said he would let me know by Friday morning how I should dress."
Marinette was so excited talking about it with Alya, she felt like she was going to pop!! Maybe she should go back to the bathroom to squeel some more in private. Or to get another peptalk from Tikki.
" Why are you so surprised Mariette?" Tikki asked me.
"I don't know." she admitted. "It was just so out of the blue!"
"Your beautiful Marinette, it's no surprise he noticed! And it might seem out of the blue, but so what?! It just took him longer to realize that you are amazing! I told you, you just had to be yourself and he'd see you one day!"
"Your right! Who cares that he realized it after i had given up?! It's not like he noticed and I was taken or anything."
Looking at herself in the bathroom mirror, Marinette assessed herself. Long blue hair, full pink lips, bluebell eyes that showed her mother's Chinese decent. No make-up, as she never quiet got into that.
While she never thought of herself as anything special, she could admit, she did look pretty. She had just never thought of herself as being Agreste-level pretty. But perhaps that was shallow of her. Why did she assume she needed to be a model or something to be good enough for him?!
"Marinette, you know I'm going to demand details as this happens, right??" Alya spoke up, breaking Marinette out of her thoughts.
Giving her an 'are you serious?' look, Marinette scoffs, "Did you really think I expected anything less from me?!"
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Marinette was starting to panic.
Or, more acurratly, Marinette was FREAKING OUT!!
It was Saturday Morning, and Adrien was going to be by in an hour to pick her up. And she had NOTHING TO WEAR!!
Adrien message the day before hadn't been specific enough for Marinette.
Adrien-- Good morning Marinette. I know I'll see you in a bit at school, but I couldn't wait. As promised, the dress code for our date.Adrien-- Sorry, I needed a moment to pinch myself so I knew this was really happening and not a dream.Adrien-- So, (back to faking poised) dress code-- casual. Comfortable. Plan for the possibility of chilly weather (aka a sweater)Adrien-- And I should have you back home by 10pm. In case your parents were wondering.Adrien-- Marinette??Adrien-- You there??Marinette-- Yes, yes, so sorry!! Thanks. Just running late is all!!But in reality, Marinette had been squealing and doing a happy dance to Adrien's "pinch myself to make sure its really happening" comment.
That meant he was as excited and eager for this date as her!
Right?!
"Oh Tikki, I don't know what to wear!!" Marinette wailed, running her hands restlessly thru the hair at her temples.
"Don't worry Marinette, you have tons of clothes. Why don't you look through the pile on your bed again." her Kwami suggested.
Shaking her head, "No, that was my definate No pile."
"Right. So look through the pile on the chaise."
Glancing over at the chaise from her position in the center of her room, Marinette tried to remember if there was anything wrong with that pile. It had become hard to remember what pile was what. She just knew the bed was a no, hence why she threw them as far away from her as possible.
Was the chaise too casual clothes??
No, can't be. That blue top isn't too casual.
Was it the ok pile??
Oh jeez, why couldn't she remember what was what?!
Shaking her head to clear it, Marinette looked at what remained In her closet, to find it completely empty.
"GAH!!"
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Ultimately, with 3 minutes left to spare, Marinette decided on strapless dress in bright red that showed off her slim waist before flaring out. And finished it off with a white belt, white long sleeve bolero jacket that she folded over twice to become three quarter sleeve, and white ballet flats with little red bows over her toes.
She finished off by braiding her long hair over one shoulder and tying it with a red ribbon.
"Well Tikki, how do I look?" she asked, doing a small turn for her little red friend.
"You look great Marinette!" Tikki cried enthusiastically.
"And don't worry," Marinette started to say with a smile, "I covered my purse in white to match. So you still have your usual cookie filled hiding spot."
"Yay" Tikki cried, as she zipped excitedly around her chosen head, before finally settling inside the open purse being slung over Marinette's head and shoulder.
Closing her purse with a gentle click, Marinette gazed at herself critically in her mirror. She had opted out of make-up, as usual, and instead just applied a coat of lip gloss.
It always seemed to take so long to apply make-up. And for a girl who is usually running late, anything unnecessary you can cut out, IS cut out!!
So there went that.
And styling her hair.
As much as she would love to curl it, or do pretty updos she's seen in magazines, she simply didn't have time!!
At 10 on the nose, Marinette's mother, Sabine, hollered up the stairs at her that Adrien had arrived.
Punctual. As always.
Perhaps she would have to ask him for tips.
"Coming," she called back, sliding her phone in beside Tikki.
As she descended her stairs, she got her first glimpse of Adrien. The first thing she saw was the small bunch of pink tulips clutched in front of him.
He brought me flowers, she thought, and her heart melted a bit.
Don't panic, she told herself. You got this.
Next was his sky blue dress shirt with the top button undone and the long sleeves folded over a couple times, tucked into a pair of black jeans. He had a pair of black dressy shoes on and a midnight blue leather-like jacket folded over one arm. His hair was in his usual side sweep, a style he hadn't changed since she had met him. Though, he did wear it a bit shorter these days.
She knew the moment he spotted her, because his eyes seemed to light up as they met hers, and his smile got even bigger.
"Wow Mari. You look absolutely beautiful."
With a small blush, she responded, "Thank you Adrien, you look pretty dashing yourself."
Had she really just said dashing?! Who says dashing?! Her, apparently.
Don't panic, she reminded herself.
Oh, let's be honest, don't let him see how much your panicking!!
Slow and steady. Slow and steady. You will not trip or stutter if you are slow and steady. We've been doing SO well this last year and a bit, don't blow it now.
With her little pep talk finished, Marinette took a deep breath, and smiled warmly up at Adrien.
"Those Tulips are gorgeous Adrien. Are they for me?!"
Good, that's good. Nice and normal. See, I knew I could do this.
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Adrien blushed, having been caught staring.
"Yes, sorry! These are for you Marinette." He held them out for her to take, and their hands brushed, and he couldnt ignore how his hand tingled when they did.
Was this normal?? He didn't remember it happening before? Is it just because I see her in a different way now??
God, he sure hoped so. He wanted to feel it again. And he wanted Marinette to feel it with him too.
"Oh they are beautiful!" Sabine gushed. "Let me take them for you Marinette. I'll put them in a vase for you."
"Thanks Mama," she said, gently handing them to her mother.
"So, gonna give me a hint as to your plan for the day?" Marinette asked him.
With a shake of his head, "Nope!"
With a huge smile, he added, " It's a surprise!"
With a grin plastered on her face, and a slight eye roll, Marinette glanced back at her mother.
"Well be off, and Adrien says we should be back by 10!"
"Oh, don't worry dear. If your having a good time, stay out a bit later. No need to rush back. And if you happen to be out past 4am, just shoot one of us a text so we aren't worried when your not here when we get up."
"Mama!!" Marinette whisper-yelled.
Sabine just laughed and shoo-Ed them out the door.
"Oh my God, that was absolutely embarrassing!!" Marinette furiously whispered to me.
I couldn't help but laugh at how mortified she seemed.
"It's alright Marinette," he said gently, taking one of her hands in his, "It could have been worse. As I was leaving the house, Natalie figured she should remind me about the birds and the bees, and how I should always be 'safe'. And yes, she even used the air quotes when she said safe!" Adrien explained, feeling embarrassed all over again just repeating it!
As they started to walk down the stairs to the outside door, Marinette laughed and continued," What do they think is gonna happen?! It's only our first date!"
Feeling pleased that she hadn't yet tried to pull her hand away from his yet, Adrien marvelled at how tiny it felt in his. Although, Adrien did have almost a foot more in height than Mari now.
Even so, it was like it was a perfect fit.
I suppose I should say a bit about this story! Aged up a bit. Obviously! Lol.
I had originally intended a one shot, but there was too much, so Now it'll be a few chapters long.
I cannot say how long it'll be before I add a chapter, sorry. I have 3 kids under 7, so it gets pretty hectic over here and I can't always snag time to write! But I will get there!!
Thanks for reading!