A date, a relationship?

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug, either Love O2O and the novel.

Marinette and Adrien walked to the restaurant that the blond had mentioned. It was midday and the sun was shining just above their heads, but the weather was pleasant.

Marinette didn't doubt that Adrien was ChatNoir, or that ChatNoir was Adrien, but her surprise at such revelation still didn't allow her to feel comfortable. The two walked side by side in the same direction with the same passing speed; however, among them, there was a remarkable distance of at least five feet. The blue-haired girl, with her eyes glued to the floor, looked sideways at the blond. In those three seconds, she noticed that the young Agreste maintained a neutral expression. She couldn't know if he was happy, upset or worried. She also didn't know if he was surprised to meet her. How did he recognize her so fast? Surely he thought she was Ladybug because she was the only woman nearby... But why does she seem to be the only one nervous?

Marinette watches him secretly and looks more at the facial features of the blond: radiant skin like the sun, a pronounced jaw and the tufts of hair that flew perfectly by the light breeze made him look like a model taken from a magazine.

The blond, on the other hand, was aware of Marinette's not-so-subtle looks. Although he tried to keep a serious expression, he couldn't make a slight smile on his face disappear since the moment of the encounter.

In less than fifteen minutes they reached the restaurant chosen by Adrien and sat at one of the tables by the window. Even though it was still a little early for lunch, there were a few tables occupied in the large place and only the background music was heard. In front of both, right in the middle of the table, different oriental dishes had been served by the owner of the restaurant.

"I've known the madam since I was a child," Adrien explained when the owner walked away after serving them kindly. "I came here to eat with my family several times, and every time I don't want to eat in the cafeteria I come here."

Marinette feels more relaxed when she hears the little stories from him. For a while she has been with the head of the phrase 'ChatNoir is Adrien Agreste, Adrien is ChatNoir', and she didn't know how to talk to him as she usually did by chat.

"The food looks delicious, I don't doubt the taste either."

Adrien smiles with her response and the two begin to serve. Marinette also notices the slight smell of medicinal herbs that comes from the bowl of soup requested by Adrien.

"Does the food have medicinal herbs?"

"In this soup, yes. My father is forcing me to drink medicinal broth all month due to the accident."

She simply nods while eating what has been served. "Professor Agreste? I've had classes with him."

"Did you ever fall asleep?"

Marinette is surprised by the question. The teacher's classes were known to be somewhat boring, but definitely, nobody dared to sleep in his class.

"No... although his classes are very academic, they are pretty good..."

"I also take his classes." Adrien smiles at her "You don't need to force yourself to say good things about his classes."

"Oh, true! Once I sat next to you in one of his classes."

"I know."

Marinette this time is confused 'I know?' What does he mean by that?

Before she could ask, Adrien has again served another portion on her plate. The two exchange glances and eat in a comforting silence.

Some dishes later, the two young adults have full stomachs when Adrien's phone starts ringing. With an apology, the blond answers without leaving the table.

"Yes?"

"Adrien, aren't you coming to the game?"

"Isn't it at five?" Adrien had seen the time recently and it wasn't past three.

"Come now, the public wants to see the warm-up exercises. The rest of the team is here." Nino tells him and Adrien notices the voices of the audience in the background. The blond has not stopped looking at Marinette throughout the call and smiles when answering the cell phone.

"I can't now, I'm busy."

"Busy? But if we didn't have more work today."

"I'm on a date."

"..."

"A DATE?!"

On the other side of the phone, Nino had shouted which won a slap by the turquoise-haired man next to him. "Don't shout at me in the ear!" Nino looks at the place where they are, the gymnasium full of people waiting to watch the game, and lowers his tone until he reaches the whisper. "Did Adrien just said that he's on a date?!"

Returning to the restaurant, Marinette, who had obviously heard the whole conversation, was shocked to hear the word quote referring to them; to her, to both, Adrien and Marinette...

Her body tensed, her back was straighter than normal and she could feel the heat of her body rise to the tip of her ears. Had she heard correctly? Were they on a date? She suspected it but having confirmed it so naturally took her by surprise. And that he looked so calm... not counting the slight mischievous smile on his lips...

No Marinette! You must be strong! You can't let him get everything he wants so easy.

Of course, it was easier to think than to do it. In the end, Marinette simply looked away to avoid meeting those green eyes.

"A date? Ha, of course. Bring her then." Nino replies after a few seconds.

"I'm going to ask her." Adrien covers the phone's microphone with his free hand and addresses her. "Do you want to go to our last game? It seems that it will start earlier."

Without trusting how her voice sounds at the moment, she only nods with her head twice. After that Adrien confirms to his friends that they are going, he hangs up and tells her that they still have time, so they don't have to hurry to eat. When it seems that Adrien has finished eating, he tells her that he is going to pick up the bicycle from his house that is nearby and get to the university faster. Although she doesn't find the road to campus too long, she prefers to ride a bicycle without having to bump into anyone. What would people think if they see the two of them walking together all the way to the gymnasium? She can't imagine the number of photos and gossip that would circulate in the forum.

Adrien didn't take more than ten minutes to arrive with the bicycle, just at the moment that Marinette leaves the toilet. By that time, she hadn't thought much about the bike until Adrien told her to sit in the back.

"Oh, are you going to take me to the gym or the campus door?" Marinette tells her a little worried before approaching the bicycle.

Without thinking twice, the blond answers "To the gymnasium" as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Ah, yes, of course, but..." Alya would be laughing out loud at her, why had she started stuttering right now? She hadn't done it for years and now it had returned just by seeing the blonde or hearing him speak. How is he and ChatNoir the same person? "It's just... I don't want people to misunderstand this situation."

"Misunderstand what?"

Marinette no longer knew if he was doing it on purpose or didn't realize the shock it would cause if people see them together. "Let them think we are..." Unable to finish the sentence, Marinette chooses to make a heart with her hands and immediately regrets her decision making. MARINETTE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! "... in that kind of relationship."

Adrien enjoying the scene responds with the same calm. "Since when are we not in that kind of relationship?"

Oh. Okay. Since when we are not... in that kind of relationship?! I indeed like the idea of that but no, I don't want it to start like this!

Marinette had remained motionless like a stone for the thousandth time in the day and was trying to return her breathing to normal.

If I accept, his ego will rise, but if I don't accept, wouldn't it be me who loses? If I accept I lose, but if I don't I also lose... what should I do? Should I ignore it? Yes! I'll do like if I haven't heard and I will let him take me on the bicycle to the back of the gymnasium and I'll run before he can tell me otherwise.

With so much smiling, Adrien felt his cheeks slightly sore. He wanted to know how she would react with such a statement that even he was surprised at his words, although he felt no regret at seeing the slight blush on Marinette's face. Her eyes moved from side to side avoiding him and it seemed that her thoughts were somewhere else. Getting the idea of what the blue-haired might be thinking, decides to speak again.

"My bicycle skills are good. I won't let you fall."

Marinette is startled with that off-topic information. He was obviously playing with her, but she wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily...

"You have an expression of fear on your face, don't worry too much."

Ok, he won for now. But her plan to run away was still standing! Without saying more, she approached the bicycle and sat in the back taking care of her skirt while sitting. Adrien looked forward and started the traject.

Not only did Marinette feel some glances on her while they were closer to the campus, but her hands were glued to her lap to avoid an incident due to the wind. Why did she agree to wear a skirt? It's because of this reason that she doesn't usually use them...

Before arriving, Adrien stopped by one of the convenience stores and asked if her friends were going to be with her too. Had he seen them together before? Marinette replies that they are probably already there and Adrien decides to enter the store while she offers to take care of the bike.

Not many minutes later, Adrien exits the store with a bag full of snacks and a bottle of water.

"It's for you and your friends. Can you hold it on the road?" Adrien indicates holding the bag, although it wasn't necessary because she had planned to help him from the beginning, but who would say that he was going to buy all that for them?

Back on the road, Marinette notices that with the bag in her lap the wind is no longer a problem with her clothes and she wonders if Adrien had noticed her discomfort and if that's why he had stopped. Although she couldn't think much because once on campus, all eyes were on them and she could only slightly hide her face with the boy's back who said nothing.

Why did she think it was better to ride the bike? That position looked more compromising than if they had only walked together. She didn't even see it necessary to go by bicycle, they would arrive early anyway. With a glimpse, she saw the blonde's face with an expression that seemed like he was enjoying the attention.

It was at that moment that she realized. Had Adrien planned this from the beginning? Take her to a place a little off the campus near her home to pick up her bike and take her back? Adrien wasn't one of those who liked to get attention, but he had decided to return on a bike with a girl. To be more specific, with her. The person who a few minutes ago had told her that they were already in "a certain relationship." Now he was really enjoying it while watching her blush.

Now she was completely sure that he was ChatNoir.

Adrien is ChatNoir and ChatNoir is Adrien... and I really like it.

When they reached the back of the gym, Marinette got off quickly and before the blond said something, she thanked him and told him that she would go find her friends. "I'll write to you when I connect to the game tonight."

With that said, she ran away leaving an Adrien with an expression of adoration on his face.

"Mari! Here! We save you a place." Alya calls her waving one of her arms so she could locate her. The seats in the gymnasium were in bleachers with the stairs on the sides and in the center, dividing the seats into two groups. Her group of friends was sitting in the group on the right in one of the rows of the center and gave her space next to the middle stairs. She also noticed that it was the last free place and that almost the entire audience consisted of girls. What stood out most was that all were more styled than normal and the smell of different perfumes numbed her nose. Good thing she decided not to wear anything, pleased with the smell of the soap she used in the shower that morning.

"Marinette! Look how lively the place is." Rose who was sitting between Alya and Chloè told her as she looked around. "Many beauties have come today."

"Beauties?"

"Yes." This time Chloè responds. "There is Mireille Caquet, the beauty of the journalism faculty; Ondine, the beauty of the sports department and many others. If you turn your gaze a little towards the other stands there's also Lila Rossi."

"Besides, now that you have just arrived, there's also the beauty of our faculty." Alya annoyed her by gently poking her with the elbow. "But look how dressed up she is. We wouldn't have listened to you and bought that red dress. Although our Mari is still prettier."

Marinette turned secretly to see Lila who was in the other group of stands also on the sidelines of the middle stairs but a few rows behind, next to her friend Colette. She was wearing a flowered black dress with bare shoulders. Compared to the other girls, the fact that Lila came from a wealthy family was not a secret, and it showed by the great brands of clothing and accessories she used every day. Marinette recognized the logo of major brands in both her bag and her dress.

She had dressed thinking about standing out.

Marinette returned her sight to the court and watched as all the guys did the warm-ups, although Adrien seemed not yet ready.

"I still think that the photos they used for the beauty contest were unfair. I have thousands of photos of Marinette in pajamas that look better than the contest." Rose said no matter the people around her.

"For me, it was Lila or Colette thing," Chloè said while looking at her face with her phone camera. "Also, her photo is more retouched than the ads for acne lotions."

To avoid embarrassment, Marinette lifts the bag of snacks that Adrien gave her and passes it to her friends. "Stop spreading more rumors. Shut up and eat."

Her friends quickly put the issue aside and began to see everything in the bag. "Wow Marinette, have you won the lottery? There are all kinds of snacks… I remembered when you brought those macarons from one of your father's patisseries."

"I guess you did well in the interview?"

"…something like that."

Her friends stared at her.

"Let's say it was confusing at first, but the end was unexpected."

"Well, who cares about the start if it ends well?" Chloè tells her as she opens one of the packages with her mouth drooling. "I've wanted to try this brand of honey cookies for a long time."

Alya turns to her as well while opening another package "Oh Marinette, the most important thing now is that they have confirmed that Adrien will be here. Did you know?"

Of course. You are eating the snacks he bought right now, not counting that we came together on his bike. Marinette thought, but she only returned the smile to her friend.

"You see? I told you she would come. "

Colette whispered to Lila in her ear as they watched Marinette sit a few steps below them.

"Although you don't have to worry about anything, you look much better than her."

Lila just straightened up more in her seat while watching the blue-haired girl with a look of superiority.

No one would beat Lila Rossi.

Sitting in her place, Marinette hears some screams that were increasing rapidly and she turned to see Adrien enter through one of the doors of the gymnasium. The way he walked so carelessly could be confused with a model and his sportswear was designed just for him.

The blond was quickly surrounded by his fans while other interested girls but with more control or proud stayed in their places. Some like her and Lila. The blond just looked around without paying much attention to the mess he had created and set his eyes on the benches until he stopped looking at some point. The girls in the stands began to whisper among them gossiping who the prince would look at.

Marinette was the only one who noticed the intensity of his gaze that was all set on her.

Author notes:

So... this is my comeback since October, sorry for the delay. With that mentioned, welcome to the second part of this fic! Thanks for waiting, I hope this chapter has reached your expectations (or at least a little). Don't worry, the next chapter won't take as long as this one. Thanks for reading!

Twitter: Little_Rain0048

-LR