Marinette had a little skip to her step as she walked down the sidewalk to the arcade. Adrien had asked her out a few months ago, and to her surprise, she'd said yes. She would be lying if she said she didn't find him attractive (hello, he is a model) but she hadn't realized he'd thought that about her. She smiled to herself, as she replayed that day in her head. The face he'd given her when she said yes— a shy smile, paired with a bright red blush. Then all of a sudden, she was brought out of her reverie by the sound of a little girl crying. Thinking nothing of it, she left her path, cautiously approaching the little girl.
"Are you all right, sweetie?" She asked, crouching in front of her.
"My ice-cream fell." She whined, pointing to it.
Marinette glanced over at it, the puddle of strawberry ice-cream continuing to melt away under the sun, then up to the lady next to it. She seemed tired, Marinette noted. The little girl, who seemed to be about 5, and the baby boy in the woman's arms seemed to be of no help to her sleep schedule. She stood up, and gently approached the woman, though was surprised when she spoke up first.
"I don't have enough money to by her another one." She said, and Marinette could hear the dejected tone in her voice.
Gently wiping a tear from the little girl's face, she turned to the mother.
"If it's all right with you, I'd be happy to buy her another one."
"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that, dearie." She said.
Marinette smiled kindly at her.
"It's all right, I'd be happy to."
"Please, Mama." The little girl urged, pulling on her mother's dress. "Pleeeease."
She sighed, and Marinette could tell she'd given in. "Oh, all right."
"Yay!" The little girl cheered.
Marinette walked up to Andre's stand, asking the little girl what flavor she wanted. "Strawberry." She'd said. "It's my favorite!"
Handing the happy little girl her ice cream cone, Marinette smiled at the mother.
"Have a great day!" She called, as she began continuing her walk to the arcade.
"Thank you!" The mother and daughter called back.
Marinette smiled to herself. It felt great, doing something nice for someone else. She hummed a little ditty, as she continued on her path. Soon enough, she encountered a little boy standing on his front lawn, jumping up, as if trying to climb the tree in front of him.
"Do you need any help?" She asked gently, smiling at the child.
She looked over at the tree, and for the first time noticed a cat sitting a top the highest branch. A black cat, she absently noted, with sparkling green eyes.
"My... My kitty's stuck up in the tree." He said quietly.
"Would you like some help getting him down?"
"Yes, please."
Marinette turned to face the tree, and mentally calculated how she'd get up there. She grabbed one of the lower branches, pulling herself up. Once she was situated, she slowly, carefully, stood up and reached her arms up to the cat, which he quickly jumped into. Petting its soft fur, she carefully climbed back down. Only when she was securely on the ground, did she carefully give the cat back to the little boy.
"Thank you, Miss." He said, smiling up at her, clutching his kitty in his arms.
"Of course." She replied, ruffling his hair.
Just then, his parents came running out.
"Lucus!" The father said worriedly. "You can't just run out of the house like that. We were worried sick!"
"Are you all right, sweetie?" His mother asked, wrapping her arms around him in a gentle hug.
"Mmhm. Kitty ran out of the house, so I had to find him. She got him." He said, pointing at Marinette.
Only then did the boy's parents notice her.
"Thank you." He said, smiling at her.
"Happy to help." With a smile, and a wave, she left.
On her way back, she took out her phone... And realized she was already a half hour late. Great, she thought, just great. She ran the rest of the way, and was honestly surprised to see Adrien standing outside waiting for her.
"Hey!" He said happily, giving her a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey." She replied, returning the gesture. "Sorry I'm late."
"It's okay." He said, putting his arm around her shoulders, leading her into the arcade. "I'm sure you have your reasons."
She smiled to herself. How lucky was she that she had such an amazing, understanding, boyfriend?
Of course, when she did tell him what happened, he simply said she'd done the right thing, and that's what mattered.