Disclaimer: I don't own MLB. Also, I've only written for this fandom a handful of times, so I'm kind of nervous about posting this. Especially cos fluff isn't my strongest point. But I wanted to try anyway. Thanks for reading!

Lovesquare Fluff Week Day 1: I like the way your hand fits in mine. / Adrienette

Marinette knew going out with her classmates was a bad idea.

She'd known it was a bad idea, and yet she still played along. Let Alya drag her out of her bedroom and force her to pick out clothes, even though she knew that Lila would be here and she definitely didn't want to leave her house for an event if Lila—deceitful, manipulative, awful-excuse-for-a-human-being Lila—was involved.

But darn it, Alya seemed so excited, and Marinette didn't have the heart to dampen her spirits. And the rest of her friends were thrilled, too, to spend the day outside when it was so warm and sunny and there was no school. Even Adrien was here! So Marinette swallowed her pride and did her best to ignore Lila. Instead, she was directing her attention toward the people who were more worth her time.

Currently, Rose was walking hand-in-hand with Juleka as she went on about some song ideas for the Kitty Section. They'd just stopped for ice cream when she asked Marinette and Adrien for their opinions.

(Theirs. Not Lila's. The thought made Marinette feel warm inside. Maybe this wasn't so bad, after all.)

"I think that's a great theme for a song," Marinette said with a kind smile.

"I can't wait to see what the end product will be," Adrien added.

A pleased blush crossed Rose's cheeks, and she said, "Oh, you really think so?"

"Would I lie to you?" Marinette asked, eyes shining. "Of course I think so."

Rose beamed like a ray that belonged to the sun. She continued to gush happily about the rest of her ideas as she ate her ice cream, looking more and more excited as Nino and Alya chimed in their praise as well.

Naturally, though, all fun, good things had to come to an end.

"Marinette, watch out! An akuma!"

Marinette froze mid-step, but that was a mistake. Immediately she was thrown off balance and she let out a startled yelp as her body went crashing down the staircase.

Luckily for her, there were only two steps left. Unluckily for her, it still hurt when she hit the cement, her knees scraping against the pavement. The ice cream cone in her hand smeared against her shirt as her hands flew out to stop her face from colliding painfully with the ground. Only after she was done tripping over thin air did she realize that the voice that had called out to her had been none other than Lila Rossi.

She did that on purpose, flitted through her mind instantly as she winced in pain. Of course she did. Goodness, I am such an idiot.

"Marinette!"

Footsteps echoed behind her and one hand rested on her back. The next thing she knew, Adrien was kneeling next to her, and Alya was looking at her in concern.

"Are you ok?" Adrien asked, the question coming out all in one breath. Before she could even respond, he was vigilantly helping her to her feet, taking her hand delicately into his own. He studied her skinned palm with open worry, and that was enough to make her forget the pain immediately. "You're hurt."

All possible responses she could have said to him left her brain immediately as she became hyperaware of Adrien's skin touching hers. He was holding her hand. Hers! She flushed hotly, mouth opening and closing, but no words were released.

"Marinette. Girl." Alya's fingers moved up her back, now ghosting against her right shoulder. "Are you ok?"

"Huh? O-oh! Um... I'm f-fine," she stuttered, giggling nervously when she realized multiple people were awaiting her response. "I'm fine, you guys. R-really. I'm used to tripping all the time, remember? Clumsy me."

Alya's face softened into a gentle, teasing smile. "I suppose."

Adrien, however, looked reluctant to let it go. He took her other hand, turning it over to examine it. "Are you sure? Your hands are bleeding."

(Oh, dear. Now he was holding both of her hands. Both!)

Alya squeezed her shoulder, grounding her into reality. Marinette jumped and blurted, "Um, no! I mean! Yes, I'm sure. Really. I-it's not a big deal."

Wrong. It was a big deal. Because she'd fallen in public, in front of a lot of her friends—in front of Adrien—and even though it happened all the time because she was clumsy, it didn't make her any less embarrassed. Her blush deepened, crawling to her ears and down her neck, as she realized that her ice cream was painted over one of her favorite tops. It probably wouldn't stain, but it was humiliating to know that she'd have to walk around like this for the remainder of their walk.

A glance up showed her that Lila was scowling on the top of the stairs like she'd just smelled something awful. As soon as their eyes met, however, the scowl disappeared and she hurried to paint on a look of false concern, practiced to perfection.

"Oh, Marinette, I'm so sorry. I really thought—"

"That was a really dirty trick, Lila."

But it wasn't Marinette who said it. The words came from Adrien, and when Marinette whirled back around to face him, her eyes widened. Adrien was giving Lila the frostiest look she'd ever seen.

Lila blinked, pretending to look hurt. "It wasn't a trick—"

But Adrien was already putting his attention back on Marinette. "We should get you cleaned up."

"Right," Rose quipped, making her way down the steps. "The bakery's not that far from here, maybe a couple of blocks. We could walk you back home."

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette saw that Lila was glaring at her again. Obviously, she didn't like how the attention had shifted back on her in a matter of seconds. Nor did she seem to like that no one had immediately came to her defense when Adrien had called her out.

"Maybe I'll take you there if that's ok?" Adrien offered, the ice in his eyes long gone. "And we can catch up with you guys in a little bit? I need to phone Nathalie anyway and check-in."

Marinette's jaw dropped, eyes bulging in shock. She caught the way Alya's eyes sparkled. The way Rose smiled. Then Nino said, "For sure, dude. Take care of our Mari. Let us know when you're ready and we'll swing by the bakery."

"Deal," Adrien said. He tugged on Marinette's hand. "Is that ok with you?"

Right. Her hand. He was still holding her hand, although very tenderly, like he was afraid to make her wounds worse. And he was speaking to her. Directly to her. And oh, wait, he had asked her a question. "S-sure! I mean, i-if you don't mind? Really, I—I can walk by myself. It's no big deal!"

"Non-sense," Alya said with a wide grin, patting her shoulder again before gently sending her off. "He'll make sure you make it back in one piece."

"And I don't mind at all," Adrien said warmly.

Her face felt so hot that it was a wonder nobody asked her if she was feverish. "Um... o-ok."

"Great! See you guys in a bit," Alya said with a knowing wink.

And then Adrien was guiding her away. Her knees throbbed as they walked, but Marinette was more conscious of her racing heart, of the soft weight of Adrien's palm on her own. She had to admit, she liked the way it felt to be holding Adrien Agreste's hand, but it also wasn't good for her heart.

"Uh, A-Adrien?"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking back at her. Then he followed her gaze, eyes popping as he realized where she was looking. Her hand felt oddly cold when he pulled away from her. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize. I was just worried about you. That was a nasty tumble."

"I... I'm honestly used to it," she squeaked. "I promise I'm fine!"

"I'm sorry Lila did that to you."

She winced, looking away. When she spoke again, her voice was lower than before: "I should have expected it. I think... I think it made her mad that nobody was paying attention to her."

Adrien frowned. "That was no excuse for her to cause you to trip."

"Well... still. Thank you for what you said for Lila, and for helping me up," Marinette said. "I—I appreciate it. A lot, actually."

"It was the least I could do," Adrien replied. "I really do hope you're ok."

She looked up at him, seeing the sincerity glistening in his eyes. He was genuinely worried about her. He'd stood up against Lila without hesitation and offered to walk her home to make sure her wounds didn't get infected. Her stomach fluttered at the situation really hit her. The pain in her knees and hands, the stain on her shirt... it didn't seem so bad when she realized that Lila's plan to publicly humiliate her ultimately backfired.

Oh, she was more than ok.