After school, Marinette went right home. She didn't stop until she reached her room, only greeting her parents in passing. With no homework and about an hour to kill, she headed straight for her sewing machine and continued working on a project she started several days ago.
She really hadn't had much time to let herself process Chat Noir's reveal, but she thought it was best left that way for now. Until she did, she was going to try her best to pretend that she still didn't know, and treat them like two separate people.
About twenty minutes after returning home, she heard her mother calling her name.
"Marinette! You have visitors!"
She walked down her narrow staircase to greet whoever these visitors were, and saw Adrien and Kagami standing in the living room with a bag of pastries from the bakery.
"Oh, hey guys," she greeted timidly, hesitating at the foot of the steps.
"We stopped by because Adrien and I are going sightseeing around Paris, and were wondering if you'd like to join us?"
Marinette raised her eyebrow and glanced over at Adrien. He seemed surprised by her offer and rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed...uncomfortable? Maybe he wanted to go out with just Kagami.
"Thank you so much for the invite, but I'm afraid I have other plans," she looked away from Adrien's direction. "I'm meeting Luka soon."
Adrien's head darted towards Marinette immediately. "You're meeting Luka?"
"Yeah, he entered a skating competition, but his partner had to cancel. I'm just filling in," she shrugged it off with a laugh. "I'm about to leave, but you guys are free to come to the rink with me and check it out."
He stood there with his brows furrowed, his heart beginning to lurch in his chest, not saying a word.
"That would be interesting to see, don't you think, Adrien?" Kagami elbowed him gently in the ribs after a moment when he didn't reply.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, that'd be cool."
"Alright, let me just get my skates then," she gestured up towards her room before she climbed the stairs.
Kagami shot Adrien a look.
"What?" he asked.
She crossed her arms and sucked in a breath, as if she was about to say something. Then she let out a deep sigh. "Nevermind."
The walk to the ice rink was fairly quiet. When there was any chatting at all, Kagami was asking Marinette questions, trying to get to know her better.
"Here we are," Marinette smiled when they reached the rink. "Since neither of you are dressed for it, you probably shouldn't stay too long. It gets pretty chilly in there."
Luka saw movement in his peripheral vision as his skates grazed upon the ice. He froze on the spot and gave the biggest toothy grin when he confirmed Marinette had arrived.
"Marinette!" he called, his feet taking him towards her.
She smiled at the sound her name. "Hey Luka!"
"I see you brought some visitors! What's up, Adrien?" he held out his hand for a handshake.
"Luka," he greeted pleasantly, shaking Luka's hand. "Marinette told us you've entered a competition."
"I did. Marinette offered to be my partner for it after my original partner backed out."
"Ah, that's definitely Marinette. She's always there to help out when you need it," he shot Marinette a proud grin. She laughed nervously and looked down at the floor.
"She is pretty wonderful," Luka gave Marinette the same look Adrien had. He noticed there seemed to be something in the air. Adrien couldn't quite figure it out, but it was something between Marinette and Luka and he wasn't sure if he liked it. "Anyway, you're free to join us on the ice for a while before we start," he offered Kagami and Adrien.
"Sounds great!" Kagami exclaimed, already on her way to grab a pair of skates.
Adrien opened his mouth to call after her, but instead let out a sigh. "Sure," he said. Then he watched Luka join Marinette back on the ice.
"Come on, Adrien!" Kagami called him over as she tied one of her skates to her foot. "You'll need a pair of skates."
When they joined Marinette and Luka on the ice, Kagami was skating around like a pro. Adrien on the other hand, not so much. It was made especially worse, because his attention wasn't focused on keeping his balance, but instead he was focused what was going on a few feet away from him.
He heard Marinette's amused giggles and Luka's light chuckles echoing around the rink as they danced around the frozen room.
Adrien liked Luka. He really did. And yet, something in him kept telling him he needed to be careful around him. Marinette was always so kind and helpful to everyone when they needed her. But today he wished she hadn't been so kind to offer Luka her aid.
"Adrien?" Kagami skated up next to him when he stumbled over his skates. "Are you okay? I can help you if you need it."
"Oh, that's okay. I'm good, but thank you," he brought his attention back to the skating pair. Kagami's eyes followed his gaze.
"Marinette's just as you said," started Kagami, noticing his focus never left them. She sighed and pulled him towards Luka and Marinette. "Marinette, I need you to do me a favor," she called over, almost demanding. "Help him stay on his feet? Thanks." Kagami then subtly motioned for Luka to join her. He looked at Marinette for approval. She gave him a half-shrug.
"Okay," he agreed, skating to the other side of the rink with her, leaving Marinette and Adrien alone.
"Hey," Adrien greeted awkwardly. He had no idea what to say and that was the only normal thing he could think of.
She giggled. "Hi. So by Kagami's request, I take it you don't do well on ice?"
He shook his head. "I...manage. I don't think I was meant to spend time on frozen surfaces. But at least I'm able to stay relatively upright while on it now. If I don't move much."
Marinette laughed again. "Where's the fun in that if you don't glide around? Here," she took his left arm and draped it over her shoulders. She put her right arm around his back. Marinette began to skate slowly, guiding Adrien along. "You need to get used to the feeling of being on the ice on skates. Once you've mastered that, and work on keeping your balance, you'll be good to go."
He turned to Marinette, her eyes set on the ice ahead. She hadn't noticed his expression became soft and warm as he looked at her, or that he stared at her for a few moments too long. This girl with him was just like Ladybug in so many ways. Always willing to help people out, even if it meant going out of her way to do so. Even if it meant a world of trouble. That was what he loved so much about Ladybug; her kind and selfless heart. Marinette seemed to have one, too.
Ladybug's words from earlier went through his mind.
"You're my friend, my best friend, and I want what's best for you. Right now, that just isn't me."
"One day, maybe you'll fall for me, as me, and we can be together. But until then, open your eyes to what's around you, okay?"
He could feel his heart begin to race in his chest. The feeling made him nervous, so nervous in fact, that he stopped paying attention to his feet. He began losing his balance, his skates sliding uncontrollably from under him. Marinette tried keeping him on his feet, but instead they both fell down onto the frozen floor. Adrien landed awkwardly on her, and he heard her groan in pain. He gasped and held himself off her her as quickly as he could.
"Are you hurt?" his eyebrows knit together, his tone riddled with concern and desperation.
"I don't think so," she breathed. "Just a bit sore. I'll be okay," she insisted. Then she made the mistake of looking into his green eyes, hovering mere inches above hers. Her breath caught in her throat.
Adrien wordlessly examined her face, her eyes, the freckles on her nose and cheeks….
"Uhh," Marinette swallowed. "Need help getting up?"
He scrambled off of her and onto his knees. Marinette got to her feet and helped him to his. They heard the sound of sharp blades cutting through the ice. Luka and Kagami were rushing over after witnessing their fall.
"Are you guys okay?" The two asked simultaneously.
"We're fine," Marinette replied with a smile.
Luka sighed with relief. "I think we should get back to practicing, Marinette."
"Okay," she agreed with a nod. "You two have fun sight-seeing," she smiled genuinely at Adrien, then Kagami.
"My lady," Luka held out his hand for her. After a nervous glance at Adrien, who seemed a bit unnerved by his choice of nickname, Marinette took his hand and skated away.
Adrien balled his hands into fists. That was his line. Well, pretty much. And of course that's not what he called Marinette but...it still got under his skin that he used it.
"We should leave them to their practice," Kagami said as she headed off of the ice. "And you owe me a tour of Paris!"
With one last irritated look back, Adrien let out a huff and stumbled out of the rink to join Kagami.
