Inspired By: 'you're on the street corner handing out brochures for something i really honestly couldn't care less about but holy shit i want to run my fingers through your hair so i guess i could fake some interest' from dailyau on tumblr

When Marinette was getting close to the cafe where she was meeting Alya for their weekly lunch, she started to see flyers on the ground and sticking out of bins. The further she went, the more she saw, though some were actually staying in people's hands, which was nice - made for less waste and litter which always made the walk more enjoyable. And less hazardous, but she preferred not to dwell on that.

By now she was getting curious but the words she was catching on the papers weren't particularly exciting so she wasn't too invested...

Well, nevermind, she had apparently thought too soon, because now she most definitely was interested and was more than willing to be late for lunch (again) to find out about the guy handing out the flyers… The Issue! The issue, not the guy… yeah, that was it.

Standing at the intersection was one of the most unfairly attractive people she had ever seen. The sun seemed to be drawn specifically to his hair, weaving itself into the strands themselves and doing the absolute most to make it shine like threads of gold. Marinette tried very hard to beat the thought of 'I really honestly couldn't care any less about whatever you are petitioning for, but Holy Shit I want to run my fingers through your hair so I guess I can fake some interest…' into quiet submission, though she was immediately unsuccessful once his too green eyes made contact with her own and seemed to light up all the more.

'I will fake as much interest as I have to if there is even the slightest chance you could be interested in me instead of your papers…' which immediately brought a blush racing across her cheeks. Actually, it made the one she developed upon mutual eye contact much darker, but she was also going to add that to her list of things she was ignoring right now. She would much rather focus on the way the breeze winding its way through this particular Parisian street was making the beautiful mess of hair dance and was playing with it, fluffing it, the way she so wished that she was doing herself.

When he drew closer and held out a flyer out to her she unconsciously accepted it as she made eye contact with him again and she could only focus on the way those bright eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled at her and began talking. She vaguely heard him talk about the importance of diversity and nodded along, not actually hearing anything with the way her brain was barely able to function with the hair, the eyes, and screaming at her to kiss those eye crinkles.

Her daydreams about giggling over coffee, holding hands, and cuddling together shattered when she heard him ask, "Do you have an interest in a particular field?" All while giving her the most beautiful smile that her heart skipped a whole measure.

Wait… field? What field? The lavender fields she wants to play tag with him in, until they are so exhausted they collapse on top of each other and end up kissing amongst the flowers… those fields? And she can't think, because he just tilted his head at her like a cat and it is too cute and she's having trouble breathing because the light keeps hitting his eyes, his hair, and highlights the angles of his face and now he's asking if she's okay and how could she possibly be okay when she cannot function around this man. But, at the same time, how can she not be okay when he is looking at her like that and holding on to her shoulder out of concern and is giving her a reason to breathe just by being here…

"-lle… Mademoiselle… are you okay? Can you hear me? Mada-"

He cut himself off when Marinette finally sucks in a big breath of air, finally returning from anxiety-induced retreat. He almost undoes all her progress when he sighs in relief and smiles at her again, but instead she clutches both her heart and his hand which is still on her shoulder (it is currently on her ignoring list, but only for now because she will most definitely be telling Alya all about later) and tries to stay calm and in-the-moment.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to overwhelm you. I know picking a major can be scary but you don't have to rush! You have plenty of time, but please keep the flyer and consider a STEM field, like I said, this is a campaign to increase diversity and representation in across science and technology fields!"

Marinette's head snapped up in mild horror, how old did he…. "Um… sorry, but I'm 23 and I've already graduated with my Licence and am nearly finished with my Master's in Fashion Design. I did take some engineering courses though… and I'm sorry I got caught up in my head like that, I hadn't been paying attention and then you asked and, oh gosh I'm sorry..."

It was the beautiful man's turn to blush, which only a tiny part of Marinette's mind was screaming about (that was a lie but shhh, she's ignoring that too - the list just keeps growing), and he looked sheepish about his assumption.

"Well, I guess I owe you another apology then. I'm almost finished here since I'm almost out of flyers if you would be interested in getting some lunch, my treat."

Marinette wished she could ignore the way her cheeks were flushed a deep pink with how smooth and sweet he was, but this was just too much for her willpower to avoid acknowledging. She steeled herself and maintained eye contact with him, "I'm afraid I already have lunch plans but I will settle for your number and maybe a raincheck on that lunch…"

By the time she was done she was basically squeaking out the words and they were both blushing a bright red, not making eye contact. But even still he held out his hand towards her and she had to think about whether he was asking for her phone or her hand (in marriage) before shaking herself out of it and unlocking her phone and handing it over with a beaming smile, "Oh, right, I'm Marinette by the way."

She almost started squealing when she saw how soft his face went when she smiled and then how his eyes lit up when she said her name, and really tried her best not to do the same exact thing when he returned her phone with, "That is a lovely name, Marinette, so it clearly matches you well... I'm Adrien and am really looking forward to setting up a lunch date with you."

She didn't succeed because w o w. But she did keep the screaming in until after she waved goodbye with a promise to text him and had rounded a corner because she was still late for lunch. Then she did a happy, celebratory dance while screaming (sort-of quietly) before skipping the rest of the way to the cafe, not realizing that Adrien had dashed over when he heard her scream. And that he was now supporting himself against the building at the corner, clutching at his own heart, which was trying to beat its way out of his chest to join her because she was Too! Cute!

He was sooo looking forward to her text…

I could potentially continue this if I get inspired but for now it is marked as complete.