Marinette neatened Nino's bowtie for him. She was back in the outfit she'd built for the new year's party, but added tights for extra warmth. It was cold out there for the time of the month. Nino was in a suit. A neat, navy blue suit, with a white shirt and a scarlet bowtie that he wasn't incredibly comfortable wearing, which was why Marinette was making it neat for him. He linked his arm through hers, and they carried on wandering down the street.

"Are you going to tell me where were going yet?" She asked.

"No, but I can tell you were absurdly over dressed," Nino chuckled.

Marinette frowned. She felt uneasy now. "Why?"

"For fun. Plus if you feel like everyone's staring at you all the time anyway, why not give them something to stare at?" Nino smiled.

"That goes against everything I believe in," Marinette said.

"Well for what it's worth, you're beautiful, and people should be staring," Nino said, seriously.

Marinette felt a warmth in her stomach when he said that, but she felt the need to shoot him down. "I disagree."

"You can't disagree with me giving you a compliment!" He frowned.

"I can, and I did," she smirked.

Nino blinked at her in surprise, and couldn't help being a little lost for words. Then she grinned, and he realised she was teasing him. He smirked. If she kept this up, she wouldn't need many more practice dates. Nino glanced up the street. This walk felt familiar, but she wasn't entirely certain why. Nino stopped walking outside of the gates, and Marinette had to turn back to see why.

"We're here," he grinned.

Marinette glanced up at the gate. She frowned. "This is our..."

"Elementary school? Yeah. This is our date," he declared.

Marinette's frown deepened. "This is a terrible date."

Nino's shoulders deflated. "Aw come on we haven't even started!"

"You took me to a school as a date. There's nothing romantic or cosy or whisk-me-off-my-feet about a school!" Marinette said.

"Give it a chance Mari! He's trying!" Tikki urged.

Marinette glanced back up at the gate. Then she glanced back at Nino. He held out his hand to her and smiled, encouragingly. Marinette sighed, but smiled, and took his hand.

Nino beamed. "You won't regret this."

"I disagree," she grinned.

Nino chuckled warmly. Maybe they wouldn't need many more dates. Marinette disagreed with that too. She could flirt with these idiots without a care, but Adrien? Adrien was a model. She couldn't talk around him. She needed more flirting practice, even if it was just Nino.

"You're gonna love this," Nino grinned.

She wrinkled her nose dubiously. The playground was empty. All the kids had gone home. Only Nino and Marinette were going in. It wasn't a convincing date from the outside, but she soon changed her mind.

Once they took a step into their old school playground, Marinette was hit with that familiar touch of nostalgia. Everything that had changed over the years meant nothing. She recognised the hopscotch painted on the ground, and the lines that were painted into courts to play on immediately, and was thrown back to the days they formed a conga line and pretended to be trains on painted tracks. She lost count of how many times she had fallen down and scraped up her knees, and cried at the pain. Marinette had slipped her blood, sweat and tears on this playground. Images of her shrunken self and Nino and Juleka and Rose and Ivan were racing around them, like ghostly figures still haunting the playground. They raced around, screaming with laughter as they chased one another down. Those giggles echoed around Marinette's head, and her chest welled with affection.

Nino smiled warmly as she gazed around, shocked by how much smaller everything was now. "Do you agree with me now?"

She smiled up at him. "Can we go inside?"

Nino grinned at her. He yanked his hat down further to hide his face, and dragged her forward to slip in through the front door, so reception wouldn't see them. Once they slipped through the second doors, into the corridor, Marinette felt the thrill of sneaking in, and couldn't help giggling. Nino laughed back as they dashed down the corridor they were never allowed to run in before.

Marinette creaked a blue door with a bluebird painted on it, open gently. She glanced quickly around the empty classroom. No one was there to tell them off, so she snuck in quickly, and Nino dashed in after her. He shut the door behind them gently, to try and escape the glare of the caretaker. Marinette found her old seat at the back corner of the room, and took the seat. She yelped as it was further down than she expected. Nino grinned at her. Tikki giggled. Marinette smiled.

Nino jogged to a spot on the carpet that took up quarter of the room, and threw his arms out wide. "Remember what to happened here?"

Marinette looked up, and smirked. "Yeah. Ivan peed himself and you said it was you even though everyone could see his trousers were wet!"

Nino's arms fell to his sides. "I made a friend for life."

"You found a goalkeeper for your team," Marinette countered.

"He was a good friend though," Nino countered.

"He's a good boyfriend now by all accounts," Marinette said.

"Aren't I a good boyfriend?"

"I'll ask Alya."

"I'm an excellent boyfriend. I do all the ridiculous things she asks me too, even dating her best friend too."

"Yeah, Alya's a weird one," Marinette smiled and Tikki giggled.

Nino beamed affectionately. "I love her with all my heart."

"Good because if you ever hurt it you'll regret it," Marinette warned.

"That's fair," Nino nodded.

In a moments silence there was a tick-tick-tick of the clock on the wall. That stubborn ticking had driven all of them insane during each of the multiples test that they did at the end of each week. Now though, it made them smile.

"There's no Squiggle anymore," Nino noted.

Marinette looked up in surprise. There was an empty space on the table by the wall, which had been there specifically to hold up the hamster cage. It had taken months to earn enough good behaviour points to win that hamster. It had taken weeks more to agree on a name for the poor thing.

"He was old. Maybe he died," she said.

"Maybe we could ask her."

Nino nodded towards their old teacher who was heading this way across the playground. They could see her through the windows in the back of the classrooms. She was harsh and tough and strict, and Marinette was still a little scared of her.

"Oh no she's coming this way! Come on!"

Marinette leapt to her feet and darted over to where Nino stood. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the corridor before the teacher could come in and find them in the classroom. Running made her skirt flap around her knees, and she was more relieved to have put on tights, for her dignity. Nino was laughing again as they ran out into the corridor.

Nino's ghostly images appeared here in the corridor as he ran out. Imaginary figures of himself and some boys who didn't follow him to his new school, ran rings around each other in the corridor, laughing carelessly at bad jokes that were hilarious then and repeated to death and beyond. Along the entire wall of the narrow corridor they were standing in, there was a long line of pegs. It stretched on forever, in repeated patterns of each of the four big colours. Red then blue than yellow then green. His eyes travelled along the pegs, searching for the one that he had been given. It was dark blue and he had chipped it accidentally. The paint started peeling away after the chip, so he picked them off. It was the one peg in the entire corridor that had no colour. He beamed when he found it, although this time it had a new name tag pinned on top.

"NINO! COME LOOK!" Marinette called excitedly.

Nino came hurrying over. She was standing beside the old trophy case, which was all glass and lined with the brightest lights to make the polished silver trophies inside glint. Inside, there was a framed photo of a group of boys that included Ivan and Nino. Their hair was messy and they were red and sweaty and they were beaming with pride. It sat at the bottom of a shining silver cup with red and yellow ribbons tied to the handles. Nino gasped, and smiled slowly.

"I can't believe they kept that," he smiled.

"I can," Marinette grinned. "You won by two whole goals, and you put your heart and soul into it. It was amazing."

Nino laughed brightly and grinned at her. "You have no idea how sports work do you?"

Marinette chuckled and slipped her hand into his. Nino linked his arm around her shoulders to pull her head against his shoulder. Nino followed her gaze. She was looking at a picture of herself and Luka. His arms were wrapped around her, and his head was on her shoulder, and she was captured mid laugh, so her eyes sparkled with warmth. They had entered a nationwide conversation together, where they had to work as a team to complete a bunch of activities, including fetching a beanbag from one end of an obstacle course to the other, blindfolded, which almost got them expelled, because she fell off the balance board and hurt herself, so he carried her the rest of the way through the course. The committee decided that it showed loyalty, and dedication, which were valued in teamwork equal to communication. They won. Out of all the pairs and all the teams in all of France, they worked together best.

Until he left.

Nino squeezed her gently as if he could read her mind. "Adrien isn't going anywhere."

"Unless his father decides that he wants to move from Paris to Milan or London or Tokyo and spend more time on the catwalk," she sighed.

"I won't let that happen without fight," Nino promised.

Marinette pressed harder against him. Nino leaned against her too. They stared at the trophies and the photos, and thought about how much Adrien had changed their lives. They had drifted apart since that age, but now they had Alya and Adrien, and each other to stitch them back together.

"I still miss him sometimes," Marinette admitted.

"I know dude. But at least we have each other, right?" He said.

She squeezed him back. "You were right. This is a great date."

For a moment or two she kept staring at Luka. Some small part of her was still caught up on him. Maybe it was that part of her that always ruined things with Adrien. Self-sabotage for the sake of Luka. Well he did promise he'd come back for her. But he was nine at the time. The naive hope of her eight-year-old self stubbornly clung to that promise. But it was time to give him up and let him go. He wasn't coming back. Adrien was there now. Adrien wasn't going to go anywhere. And if he ever did, at last she'd have Chat Noir. Chat would never leave. He couldn't. She and him were bound to Paris together until Hawkmoth was defeated. At least she always had him...

"Do you think they still have those pictures we drew?" Marinette asked.

Nino tilted his head and shrugged. "I dunno, let's go find out."

They took a step back and started turning towards the wall of art that the teachers put up to separate the students from the staff room.

"HEY! YOU TWO!"

Marinette caught her breath in her throat as a hauntingly familiar voice yelled down the corridor. She felt Nino's hand grip her wrist.

"LEG IT!" He yelled.

Marinette's heart beat fast as the two of them raced out of the building. They kept holding onto one another's hands as they ran through reception and into the playground. It'd been a long time since they had run on this playground together. Back then they had been chasing each other, but now they were side by side, partners in crime, running like hell to get out of there. No one was even chasing them, but every time one of them slowed, the other dragged them back into running, which meant they couldn't stop until they had run back past the bakery, and ended up at Notre Dame. Nino doubled over and panted heavily, like a dog that had run a mile. Marinette panted too, but she was fit from repeatedly saving Paris, so it wasn't so bad for her. She opened her bag and looked down at Tikki. Tikki looked like a can of coke that was just shaken up.

"You ok?" Marinette asked.

Tikki nodded as Nino groaned heavily and straightened his back, pulling off his bowtie so he could breath properly. "Yeah I'm good."

Marinette smirked. She glanced around for something to do now. Her gaze fell on a little independent music shop on the corner of the street. The window was full of musical instruments in different sizes.

"Hey, have you heard Jagged Stone's new album yet?" Marinette asked.

"I haven't had time," he sighed.

"Me neither. I haven't even got a copy. Think they sell it in there?"

"It's worth a look."

A little bell jingled as they went in, which swept them into a world of music immediately. A tape of classical melodies gave the shop a strangely magical feel that dusty smelling vinyl's lining the walls added to. It was only a small shop from the outside, but inside with was like a cave of wonders. Tikki gasped as she gazed around. There were musical instruments on the ceiling, hanging down on display above them. A keyboard was plugged in under the window with a sign that said, "try me". Tikki reached a hand out of Marinette's bag and pressed a key. Marinette jumped at the sudden, loud sound, and Nino turned to look at her. She quickly pressed another key, so he would think she'd done it, and not notice Tikki.

"CDs are over here," Nino said.

Marinette smiled and nodded. She followed him forward to a rack of CDs. They were right under the counter so the staff could keep an eye on them. Nino and Marinette flicked through until they found the latest Jagged Stone, and then bickered over who was paying for it.

Meanwhile, nobody had told Chat that he wouldn't be let on a date with Marinette until they were sure she was confident enough to handle herself, so he was busy setting up a date on her balcony. First he'd checked to see if she was in, and since she wasn't, he decides to surprise her. Although he needed help setting it all up, so now he was just Adrien. Plagg held up the end of the fairy lights that Adrien was weaving between the bars of the balcony.

"Do you really think Marinette needs to practice dating?" He asked.

"I don't know. But if she does and she was raised around people then I definitely do. I barely have practice dealing with people socially let alone romantically," Adrien said.

"Right, but, that's you. This is Marinette were talking about. Who could she possibly fall for that she can't talk to?" Plagg asked.

"I don't know, but she must really like them if they affect her that bad," Adrien said.

"She can barely talk to you most of the time."

"You're right. Maybe she doesn't like that that much then."

Plagg facepalmed dramatically. There was no use trying to spell things out for Adrien, he'd just pronounce it wrong. Adrien plugged the lights into a plug on the wall under a blue weather cover. Immediately the flower shaped light bulbs gleamed in a rainbow. Paris was covered in these little lightbulbs that were still mostly around from Christmas. Still they sparkled with a kind of magic in the already dying daylight that made Adrien smile.

"This is going to be amazing."

Plagg glanced up at the make shift shelter that he had built by binding fabric he had found in the room over the top of the balcony railings, and laying her duvet on the floor underneath it, to make a makeshift den. The fairy lights were the only lights in the den, and if it weren't for the extra fabric around the edges of the den, a cold wind would blow right through them. It looked... snug. They'd have to stick close together to stay warm, and probably bundle up in the duvet, but it was a nice idea.

"I don't think she's going to be comfortable with this," Plagg declared.

Adrien frowned at him. "Why not? Everyone likes blanket forts."

"Yeah, inside. Its cold out here!" Plagg argued.

Adrien bit his lip and felt a shiver course through him. "Maybe I can..."

Adrien reached down onto the bed from the skylight and pulled her plush toy up onto the balcony. He pushed it against the back railings to try and make a wind blocker. He hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe I should just take it inside," he said.

They heard Marinette's voice before they ever heard her footsteps.

"Let me grab my laptop, it's on my bed."

"Too late!" Plagg muttered.

"Hey where's your duvet?" Another voice asked.

"She's not alone!" Plagg gasped.

Adrien panicked. If she wasn't alone, he didn't want to have to explain himself to a stranger.

"Transform me, quick!"

The green flash caught Marinette's eye. Curiously she pushed open the skylight, and peered her head through like a meerkat. She blinked in surprise at the fort before her. She wasn't thrilled by the fact it was made from her fashion fabrics, but the fairy lights flashing inside were cute.

"Hey Nino, come look what Alya made!"

Chat Noir felt a flick of jealousy that Alya was getting the credit for all his work. He glanced down from the shadows of the higher roof and frowned as Nino climbed onto the balcony to stand beside her. She was out with Nino? Logically he could have guessed that, since he and Nino were technically both working on dates for Marinette, but they could have told him she was with Nino. He'd put so much effort into that fort, and now he wasn't even going to get the chance to be part of it.

"She's outdone herself. This is awesome," Marinette said.

"She's awesome. But it's cold out here, shall we bring it in?" Nino asked.

Plagg gave a smug snort. Chat rolled his eyes. Marinette tilted her head at the fort, and smiled softly.

"She made it with a lot of care and thought. It looks cosy. Maybe we should give it a go. If we get cold there's a duvet," Marinette said.

"You sure? It's warm in there," Nino said.

"Think about it Nino. You and me in a blanket fort listening to jagged stone under the stars. What could be better?"

Chat scowled in outrage. Nino promised to come and listen to the new album with him! Now he was going to sell him out for a date in his fort with his girl?!

Outrageous.

"Alright, let's do it," Nino shrugged.

Chats scowl deepened when he saw Nino and Marinette huddled in the duvet together with the laptop, in the den. With the Eiffel tower lights flicking into life, and stars beginning to appear in the darkening sky, the city of love appeared well named. Marinette shuffled closer to Nino as the music came pouring out from the laptop balanced on his knee. Marinette leaned her head against Nino as they watched the lyrics scroll across the screen. This was like their own home-made music festival. She loved it.

Chat's tail flicked enviously. That was supposed to be him she cuddled up against like that. Chat wasn't going to stay around here to be insulted like this. He crept along the shadows to the edge of the roof, and leapt to the next roof over. He abandoned them with their date in his fort. Plagg sighed. Now he was going to have to listen to Adrien rant about Marinette as well as ladybug, when he knew they were one person. There wasn't enough cheese in the world to make it worth this.