a/n: I was having a tough time with day 2's prompt, so I went ahead and did day 3. I'll switch them around on the chapter index when I get day 2 written. :) Enjoy.

Lovesquarefluffweek Day 3: Flowers / Adrienette

Adrien listened idly to his two friends chatter amongst themselves while they waited for Marinette to try the dress Alya had picked out for her. It was Marinette's turn to pick where they went today, and she'd chosen her favorite boutique. It was a little small, and there was only one exit to use should he run into any obsessive fans, or worse—an akuma. But at the very least, the Gorilla was with them. And he was having a good time, no matter where he went. He was just lucky he was able to come at all.

But Marinette's timing was perfect. It was an hour where the boutique wasn't that busy—there were only a few customers, save the group of four—so they were good to go. And she'd seemed so happy about being able to come here, which made sense because Adrien knew how much she adored fashion. It was cool that they were taking turns.

"Hey, Marinette," Alya called suddenly. "Are you ok? Do you need help?"

There was a quick pause. Then, from behind the door of the dressing room: "Um... maybe? I can't... I can't reach the zipper."

"Alright, I'm coming," Alya said, laughing as she stood and made her way in.

Nino scooted closer to him, filling the now vacant spot, and asked, "Where are we going next? It's almost your turn, dude."

Adrien was silent for a moment, thoughtful. Today was going by so fast, which happened every weekend, but still. And it was fairly warm out, so maybe... "We could get some ice cream?"

"Oooh, nice choice," Nino said. "I heard André's cart is somewhere by the Louvre today. That's not too far from here."

"Really? That's a real treat."

Nino gave him a deadpan look, but it melted in seconds, eyes crinkling as he started laughing. "You're gonna kill me with all these puns, you know that?"

Adrien gave him his best cheeky, Chat-Noir grin. "You love my puns."

"Sure, dude," Nino said, still chuckling.

Alya came out a second later, grinning wide, and Adrien blinked in confusion. His brows knitted together, but before he could say a word, she whispered quickly, "Mari looks great. Be honest! But I gotta warn you, she's still a little self-conscious, so don't say anything that could ruin her confidence."

Nino tipped his cap. "For sure."

"Alright," Adrien whispered back, his smile returning. Hurt Marinette? He'd never want to do that. Not on purpose, anyway.

"Ready?" Marinette called, sounding timid and unsure.

"Ready," Alya chirped.

Adrien straightened his spine, giving his full attention to the girl who was going to come out any second now. While she was still a little timid around him, Marinette was still his friend, and he wanted to show her that she had no reason to be nervous around him. Besides, Marinette was a very pretty girl. He was sure she could pull off anything. She could—

Adrien's breath left him the moment she stepped out.

Because there she stood in an off-the-shoulder summer dress, the fabric patterned with flowers, cutting off mid-thigh. The blue really brought out her eyes, he realized, and the weather outside was perfect for her to wear it. Cloudless and sunny, with just enough wind that it wasn't too hot. It hugged her in all the right places, the way a dress should, and the more he stared, the hotter his face became.

This dress was made for Marinette and Marinette alone.

"Wow, Mari," Nino praised. "You look gr—"

Beautiful, Adrien thought before he could stop himself.

Marinette went impossibly still, cheeks blooming with color, and it was then that Adrien realized he'd spoken out loud. His own cheeks flamed, and he hurried to backtrack, to fix things before they got incredibly awkward, but it was the truth, and Alya had said to be honest.

"O-oh," Marinette said faintly, looking down and fiddling with her fingers. "Th-thank you, Adrien..."

Oh, no. Had he made her nervous? He hadn't meant to! He really hadn't!

Nino slung an arm around Adrien's shoulder. "My bro is right. You look fantastic! Don't you think, Alya?"

"Of course," Alya said, sounding incredibly happy. "Wait! Marinette, hold still. I'd like to add one more thing..."

She dashed off somewhere, but Adrien was still staring, open-mouthed, at a gorgeous Marinette. She really did pull that dress off in a way no one could. His heart pounded, pounded, pounded as he struggled to remember how to transfer the words in his brain to his mouth.

"Alright, I got it," Alya said, pulling him once again from her thoughts. "I saw this at the front of the store when we walked in. Put it in your hair!"

She ran up to Marinette like it was urgent matters, handing her a small clip with a synthetic blue flower attached to it. Marinette just stared at it, and then Alya rolled her eyes and tucked it right above her right ear.

"Perfect," Alya declared.

Marinette reached up to touch it self-consciously and then turned to Nino and Adrien as if for their opinion. Or rather—she'd looked directly at Adrien, eyes still a little timid.

"Perfect," he echoed dazedly without even thinking, and Plagg was probably struggling not to laugh from in his shirt pocket, and his brain kept repeating, She's just a friend. She's just a friend. She's just a friend.

Except... his heart was on the verge of exploding. And she was stunning, and was it just him, or was Marinette wearing make-up today? How had he not noticed? Adrien was a model. He was familiar with make-up, and it was the first time he noticed her eyeshadow and eyeliner.

"Yeah?" Marinette gave him this tiny little smile and it was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. "Should... should I get it?"

"Absolutely!"

Adrien winced internally. Goodness, he was making a fool of himself, wasn't he?

"I mean... yeah, you should," he corrected as fast as he could, trying his best to soften his expression. To tone down the heat growing and growing in his cheeks. But his mouth just kept moving. "You should totally buy it. You look amazing in it."

Then her entire face lit up, eyes widening just a tiny bit, and he'd never seen anyone more beautiful at this moment.

He heard a muffled snort in his shirt and he prayed no one else paid attention to it. Plagg was going to let him have it when he got home.