He knew what to do. It was simple. Just take the words from his brain and transfer them to his mouth. Besides, Ladybug was one of the smartest people he knew. She was sure to have some insight. Before his metric of anxiety could grow any stronger, he hurled the query at her.

"Ladybug, how do I ask a girl out on a date?"

She flashed her teeth, grinning in response. "Aww, Chat-Noir," She sing-songed. "Who's the lucky gal who tickles your fancy?" Her index finger scratched her chin, causing him to flinch.

He responded with a scowl to deter her smugness. "I am not telling you. I just need advice. Like, should I buy her flowers or jewelry? Day or night? You know, that kind of stuff."

Ladybug brought her hand to her chin in contemplation. "Mmm...a ring. Definitely a ring."

"How much?" He asked as he scribbled the idea down on a pad he kept stashed in his suit.

"At least five hundred Euros. I'd go for two thousand if I were you."

"Two thousand?" A somewhat startling figure.

His query was met with a chortle. "Well, you want to impress this girl, right?"

A deep sigh. "I do. She's smart, beautiful…" The correct verbiage that could properly encapsulate what he thought of her evaded him.

"Aww, what a sweet, innocent boy you are."

"Anyway, should I invite her to somewhere really romantic or just kind of spring it on her all spontaneous and stuff?"

Now she was rubbing the entirety of her chin with her hand. "Invite her somewhere fancy. And I mean really fancy. Dazzlingly fancy."

That could be trouble. Adrien knew a ton of restaurants, but which would appeal to his crush's sensibilities was a mystery beyond the scope of his comprehension.

"Oh!" Ladybug was up in a face, with an accusing finger mere inches from his eyes. "This is the most important tip. If you don't follow this exactly as I put it, you will be rejected. Got it?" Now his heart was being hurled through space. He was too stunned to stop Ladybug from yanking the pad and pencil from his hands. What could she possibly be writing? The possibilities drove him berserk.

"Alright. There you go." She shoved the pad into his chest. And there, in massive, bold letters read:

BE NATURAL, DUNCE

Adrien's eyes darted from the pad to Ladybug's sleek smile. "What is this supposed to mean?"

Now she was laughing. Was she trying to drive him up a wall? "It means you don't need expensive rings to ask a girl out. Just say what's in your heart, as cheesy as that sounds."

That gave him more than a modicum of hope. That seemed more her style. "Really?"

"Yes. Although you can't go wrong with flowers. Get something that smells nice. Like lilacs."

Marinette had quite a day. It was Friday, she had gotten a ninety-six on her Chemistry midterm, and the weather was positively gorgeous. As she made her way to freedom, she mused that nothing could possibly make this day any better with the possible exception of-

"Marinette?"

Adrien. Was he was trying to get her attention.?"Goh, hey-lo to you, Adrien," He was. "Pleasure to see-yahhhh." Her heart came to a grinding halt: he was holding flowers. The sensation of the bouquet smelled amazing. She was almost certain they were-

Lilacs.

She had a number of objections.

"I was wondering if maybe you would want to," He swallowed. "Go out with me sometime. It would really make happy if you did me the honor." With flushed cheeks, he held out the flowers as a concession to win her approval.

Not far off, Alya and Nino were, as they always were, intensely bickering.

"You are wrong. Palindromic Racecar's last album was filler city. They haven't made anything half-decent since-" Nino's critique was interrupted by Alya placing her back hand on his chest and pointing to something in the distance with the other. Her expression looked as if she had spotted a group of extraterrestrials having a rave with the Lochness Monster. "What? What's going o-" Once he looked over, he became afflicted by the same condition. The two were utterly speechless at the sight.

"So, I'll pick you up for dinner tonight at seven?"

Marinette could only respond by biting her lip and nodding furiously.

At that moment, Nino and Alya both exploded.