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When Marinette's gym class holds a partnered obstacle course race, she can't help but worry. This really isn't the kind of exercise her heart needs…
One Obstacle at a Time
Marinette had a love-hate relationship with gym class, and in all honesty it wasn't fair. As a normal girl she was clumsy, and even she lost count of how many times she tripped going up the stairs, but gym class was a rare place where she managed not to fall on her face consistently. Her physical fitness had always been good, but now that she was a superhero in her spare time, Marinette's physical fitness had improved by leaps and bounds. Clumsiness was still the bane of her existence (right up there with Hawkmoth), but that clumsiness didn't stop her from being the fastest runner in the class or one of the strongest kids, period. Not that anyone would believe her or even knew. Nervous about the questions that would come her way if Marinette truly showed off, she had always been sure to hang out in about the middle of the pack when it came to her class. Not the best and certainly not the worst Marinette was usually content with her placement, but sometimes the desire to show off came around to bite her in the butt. That desire had led her to the little dilemma she now faced. Paris was having one of its "Get up and exercise!" campaigns and some genius had got the bright idea that all the schools needed to test their students to see how fit they all were. Some chose running tests or strength tests, her school had chosen an obstacle course. Most of the class groaned loudly when they walked in and saw the confounding monster-like obstacle course looming over the gym.
"Oh man, I think they're trying to kill us," Alya moaned.
Marinette didn't think it looked too bad, but then again she was used to vaulting chimneys and swinging off a wire multiple stories up. Maybe her opinion was a little more biased than most.
"Do you think there's going to be a time limit?" Marinette quavered, her voice a little higher than normal from excitement.
From her perspective the course looked fairly easy and straightforward. If she gave it her all she could probably get the best time! If she got the best time then Adrien would surely notice her and maybe he would be so impressed that he would ask her out on a date!
"Oh girl, don't fret. Chloe won't do well and I doubt Max will be able to complete this mess either," Alya hummed, patting Marinette on the back since she thought Marinette was nervous, not excited. "You would have to be a superhero to get through this thing easily."
Alya's words threw an icy-cold bucket of practicality right into the middle of her fantasy. "Oh… you really think it's that bad?" Marinette asked, her dreams of impressing Adrien being pushed to the side for fear of her identity as Ladybug being exposed. Thinking about it from Alya's perspective, Marinette realized it would look like a borderline miracle if she ran the course like she knew she could.
"I don't think the course looks that bad. In fact, I think you'll do perfectly fine, Marinette!" Adrien spoke up right beside Marinette making her jump and squeak in surprise.
"Dude, you're nuts! I'm with Alya. You would have to be a superhero or mad fit with some serious luck to get through that nightmare," Nino scoffed. "I heard from one of the other classes this is going to be a partnered race on top of being outrageously difficult. Only like, three teams finished it within the original time Coach gave. He had to change the whole grading scale because of it!"
"You're just being pessimistic," Adrien grumbled, but there was a thoughtful look in his eyes as he looked the course over again. After all, if everyone thought the course was super difficult he wouldn't want to show off and make people think he was really Chat Noir, "What do you think about the course, Marinette?"
For a moment Adrien wasn't sure she was going to speak since her face had become a lovely shade of pink, but then she managed to say, "I-I think it's g-going to be a challenge. We'll have to work together. N-not that I'm saying we'll be partners! I mean we m-might be, but probably not!"
Adrien laughed. "I wouldn't mind being your partner, Marinette! You seem to be pretty good at planning your way out of stuff, so your skills will probably be invaluable out there!"
Marinette squeaked and Alya grinned, a wicked plan already forming in her mind. "Well, then, I think-" Alya started only to be interrupted by the Coach.
"Alright! Everyone gather around!" The Coach called waving the class towards them. "The main obstacle course is a partnered event. On each obstacle is a button the two of you must press in order to move on to the next, and there are mats under everything so don't worry about getting hurt if you fall off. For the most part you will need to rely on your partner to get through certain obstacles and pairs have already been chosen. Instead of trying to match strengths we chose pairs according to how familiar you are with one another. Hopefully this will increase the likelihood of you finishing the course together."
They started calling of pairs and everyone quickly realized what they had done when Sabrina and Chloe were called as a partnered pair. Nino and Adrien were called, then Marinette and Alya which made Marinette sigh in relief.
"It's ok, Marinette. This means you can totally impress him with your skills while he watches!" Alya offered, thinking her sigh was one of disappointment.
Marinette shot Alya a nervous grin, "You do know I trip going both up the stairs and down them, right?!"
Alya laughed and patted Marinette on the back as they moved to watch the first group go through. Kim and Alix ran first, and to no one's surprise they did rather well until they both started to show off. Once that started to happen they fell out of sync and more often than not knocked each other off the obstacles. The Coach shook his head at the two of them as they squabbled over the finish line and simply called the next group. It was Chloe and Sabrina, the two of them didn't even make it through half the course before Chloe screeched something about her nails and calling Daddy before storming out completely. Sabrina quickly followed her mistress but Marinette was actually a little impressed that Chloe had at least tried.
"I think if we take it nice and slow we can do most of the stuff easily," Marinette said to Alya who raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Really?" Alya pressed, wondering where Marinette's sudden boost of confidence came from.
Marinette nodded, "You have good balance and I'm pretty strong from working in the bakery so we should be able to manage just fine. We don't really need speed to do this, we just have to work together and we're experts at that!"
That made Alya smile and she patted Marinette on the back. "Girl, you are the most optimistic person I know! Oh, look! Adrien and Nino are going!"
The boys had been called while they were chatting and Alya turned her phone on to catch the whole thing. They did really well, although Marinette could tell that Adrien was really the one doing most of the work. At one point Adrien lifted Nino like he was weightless, much to the dark boy's surprise, and at another he leaped to the top of a wall like it was nothing to knock a rope ladder down so Nino could follow. He seemed to get a little tired by the end but the two finished with the best time and moved back over to the girls who were ready to congratulate them.
"Dude, did you have to pick me up though?!" Nino demanded.
Adrien looked a little sheepish "Sorry, I was in the moment and I warned you!"
"Saying 'GOING UP!' is not a warning, man," Nino complained.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry," He muttered, unable to say that if he'd been working with Ladybug they really would have blown everyone away. Unfortunately, Ladybug wasn't here, but Adrien was curious to see just how fast he could do the course alone. Maybe he could try later tonight when no one was around. He had actually been taking the course slowly, counting in his head an appropriate number of seconds to balance out their time since they had moved through the first few obstacles far too fast with his strength and agility. Even still they finished with the best time, although it was only two seconds better than Alix and Kim. There had been a few spots on the course where he had wanted to show off, and leaping up the wall had probably been a little over the top. No one looked all that impressed or stunned at the few acrobatics he had pulled so it seemed like he was safe. Ladybug would have been pissed if he fell under suspicion of being a superhero because he showed off a little too much on an obstacle course.
The team made up of Rose and Juleka were up next so they quieted down to see how well they did. While their team work was excellent, their strength was a lost cause, keeping them from completing two obstacles and forcing the teacher to tell them to go around. Max ran with Nathaniel which was an odd combination in Marinette's eyes, but they did surprisingly well, even if they did get thrown off some of the obstacles since their teamwork was severely lacking. The girls were called next and after demanding that Nino tape them with her phone, they moved up to the line with the boys calling, "Good Luck!" at their backs.
"Wow, so Adrien's really fit, huh?" Alya hummed.
Marinette nodded. "He does do fencing and stuff, and he has to stay in shape due to modeling, so I'm not really surprised. You should have seen him the other day fighting! He was incredible!"
A mischievous smile graced Alya's lips. "Hey, you want to try and beat their time? I'll bet we could!"
Marinette giggled. "Let's take it one obstacle at a time."
It truth she wanted to beat the boys, and she wanted to impress Adrien. But she also didn't want to call into question her sudden ability to perform incredible stunts. Some of the teams had gotten close to the lead times, and now that she had seen several groups, Marinette had a decent idea of how long each obstacle should take. She would have to count in her head since Alya would get suspicious if she counted out loud but Marinette wasn't too worried. Alya would be the one in the lead and that would help keep their time down, too.
"GO!" the Coach yelled from the sidelines and Alya was off like a shot, catching Marinette flat-footed.
Scrambling to catch up, Marinette immediately tripped over the edge of the foam mat and hit the ground. Titters filled the air and when Alya glanced back to see Marinette already on the floor, she just sighed. Cheeks pink with embarrassment, Marinette peeled herself from the mat and this time carefully navigated her way to the first obstacle. It was easy, a rope net was strung over a beam with two buttons at either end that you had to push at the same time. The buttons were a little less than a body's length apart and Alya was already halfway up the net. Clearly she was determined to get the best time in the class and Marinette felt very guilty about thinking of ways to slow them down. Even still, she climbed making sure her foot 'slipped' at least twice before hauling herself awkwardly over the top of the bar. Together they hit the buttons and Alya started scrambling down while Marinette grimaced. If she was on her own she would just jump and roll, but no, she had to climb down while making herself seem as uncoordinated as possible. The next two obstacles passed with little incident. One was a strength obstacle that Marinette could have easily done on her own, and the other was a thin beam stretched across a net. Marinette could have moved down the thing backwards on her hands with her eyes closed if she had wanted to, but instead she forced herself to stiffly wobble down its length, grasping at the middle button podium like it was a life line. It was annoying, borderline embarrassing, and the worst part was Alya kept shooting her encouraging smiles, like she knew she was doing her best! Making sure to return every smile, Marinette simply wanted to curl up and hide. At least no one in the class was making fun of her and she knew that she wasn't doing any worse than Julika had, or any worse than Mylene would probably do. Through the rest of the course Marinette kept repeating that thought as she slid down a pole to land on her butt when her legs didn't 'catch' her and accepted Alya's 'assistance' to cross the ever-widening beam jump where the widest gap was three feet. Three feet! She did 30 feet as Ladybug without batting an eye, and even as plain old Marinette she could do a good ten foot jump when flat footed. She could do even better coming off a sprint. Hell, she could probably clear the whole beam jump in two well-placed steps if she built up enough speed coming down off the slide. Shaking the idea right out of her head, Marinette nearly knocked herself off the wobbling disks she was crossing. Poor Alya grabbed her arm to keep her steady before shooting Marinette another gentle smile.
"Almost there, girl! We are killing this!" Alya crowed, making Marinette laugh dryly.
Oh if only she knew…
They did the last obstacle with no fumbles, although Marinette made sure to trip on the uneven footing coming across the finish line. Alya caught her so she didn't face plant and the Coach nodded to them seeming to be pleased with their time, "You girls did really well. Fourth place. Marinette, try to work on that coordination a little more?"
Somehow Marinette managed to nod, her cheeks red with embarrassment, although their Coach probably thought it was exertion. Alya patted her on the back as she led them back to where Nino and Adrien were standing.
"Girl, that was awesome! You only tripped like three times and neither of us fell off at all!" Alya crowed, seemingly pumped by their run. "I wish we could do it on our own, but the strength one and that weight balance one would be impossible without a partner."
Marinette nodded sheepishly, even though she wanted to tell Alya how the whole course was not only easy, but possible to do alone. They made it back to the boys and together they watched the rest of their class flop their way through the course. There were several impressive falls making Marinette's fumbles look like minor hiccups and she was glad she hadn't tried to sabotage her and Alya's run worse. Their fourth place held and Marinette was thrilled since it meant they got a passing grade, plus a small coupon for an ice cream cone. Whoever thought ice cream was a good reward for passing a fitness test was severely lacking few brain cells, but once again neither girl minded. Adrien and Nino each got a towel for first place.
There were a few minutes left of class once everyone finished the course, and for the most part everyone scattered to relax before their next class kicked off. Alya and Nino were combing through the footage Alya had compiled, 'ohhing' and 'ahhing' over each stumble or fall their classmates had made. Adrien seemed content to watch as well so Marinette slipped back to the course to look it over one more time.
Walking around and through each obstacle, Marinette compiled a perfect plan to make it through the whole thing. In fact, she was completely certain that she could make it through the whole course in under half the time Adrien and Nino had. The thought made her smile and legs tingle in a desire to put her plan into action. She was definitely going to have to come later tonight before the sun fully set and run this thing properly.
"Happy you're done with it?" Adrien asked, making Marinette squeal and jump.
Unfortunately, her foot came down half on and half off the foam mat making her tilt wildly, her skull heading for one of the few sharp edges on the course. Adrien moved shockingly fast, his hand shooting out to grab one of her windmilling arms as he somehow managed to get right behind her and yank her away from the dangerous edge. They teetered, Adrien holding her close as Marinette stared up at him with eyes blown wide.
"I-I… um… hi?" Marinette stuttered weakly, making Adrien chuckle.
"Sorry I scared you. I thought you heard me coming up."
Marinette shook her head, internally freaking out. Adrien had caught her, he was holding her in his arms and she could imagine just letting her head fall to his chest and curling against him and wouldn't that just be-
The bell shrilled out, making them jump apart.
"B-bell...class next...try to see you… I mean… just…." Marinette fumbled as Adrien listened with a patient ear.
"Yeah, I guess we have to go get changed. Good job on the course today!" Adrien commented looking a little sad as he headed for the gym doors. He paused when Marinette seemed rooted to the spot. "You coming?"
Her cheeks darkened as she scrambled forwards, "Too… you… on the course done well. I-I mean-"
Adrien shot her a happy grin waving her over to him "Thanks, Marinette! Maybe next time we can try the obstacle course together! I still think you would be an excellent partner out there."
Marinette melted into a happy puddle and it was only when she got to her room several hours later that she managed to focus on anything.
"Are you finally back, Marinette?" Tiki asked, her tone close to scolding.
Marinette pouted at her kwami, "What do you mean 'back', Tiki? You've been with me all day. Although you missed the fun obstacle course we had to do in gym."
Tiki rolled her eyes but accepted the cookie Marinette gave her. "I watched you do the obstacle course. You performed admirably!"
Marinette collapsed onto her chaise, "You mean I sucked. I couldn't run the stupid thing like I know I could have, and then I had to make myself look so uncoordinated that even the Coach commented on it! At least Adrien seemed sorta impressed, although he's probably surprised when I walk three feet without tripping."
Tiki patted her chosen on the head knowing how hard it was for Marinette to restrain her true abilities all the time. Yes, the poor girl was naturally clumsy, but being Ladybug naturally combatted that clumsiness. It was only when Marinette got flustered that she fumbled anything nowadays.
"It's alright, Marinette. The course is behind you now and you even got fourth place! That's a job really well done!"
Sitting up Marinette glanced at her clock. "It may be behind me as a grade but I'm not done with the course just yet."
Tiki eyed her chosen feeling rather confused, but she wasn't really sure she wanted to know what Marinette was talking about. She would find out eventually so Tiki decided to simply enjoy her cookie and wait.
In the end, Marinette decided to sneak in after the school had closed, but before it went fully dark outside so that she could still see without turning on the lights. She supposed that the teachers or night guard wouldn't mind if they caught Ladybug trying out their obstacle course, (matter of fact they would probably be thrilled) but the whole point of this exercise was to allow her to run the damn thing as Marinette. Thankfully the upper windows to the gym were open so it was easy enough to slip inside and lower herself to the ground.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tiki asked cautiously as Marinette released her transformation.
Marinette sighed. "No, it probably isn't, but I always have to hide anything that can tie me to Ladybug and this course is something that I know I can do and...and...I don't know, Tiki. I just want to prove to myself at least that this is something that I can do. I mean, I did it with Alya today and I had to pretend to be a total flop since that's what everyone expected, but I know I'm fast enough and strong enough and for just once out of the suit I want to feel… graceful, maybe?"
Tiki gave Marinette a warm smile, moving over to cuddle her cheek. "I understand, Marinette. Just be careful, because some of those obstacles look a little dangerous."
Marinette chuckled, wrapping her hands around the kwami. "I'll be ok, Tiki. Even if I fall there are pads under everything. Plus I've already done it once so I know the best way through. I should only be a few minutes and then we'll be out of here."
"Alright, then," Tiki hummed. "I'll watch you from above and keep an eye on the front doors for you."
Marinette nodded, a carefree grin gracing her features as she walked with confidence over to the starting line. She was ready, she was actually excited to do this and as her toes brushed the line Marinette pulled the timer she brought from home out her pocket. Slowly she took a deep breath with her eyes closed settling herself into what she liked to call her 'Ladybug mode'.
"Ready… set… Go!" Marinette snapped her fingers, hitting the timer as she bolted off the starting mat.
The net with the bar in the middle was a joke, one that she flipped over while hitting the two buttons on top at the same time. Her feet brushed the ends of the ropes as she sprang away backwards, twisting midair so she was facing the right way as she darted over to the weighted gate. Wrapping the cords in her hands she pulled hard, the gate lifting until the lights went on for her to continue. A grin was now firmly in place as she ran at the beam stretching out before her. Flipping onto her hands she moved rapidly down the beam backwards, hitting the button with her foot as she passed it. Sure she was showing off and probably slowing her time but it was so worth it to know that she really was capable of doing exactly what she thought she could do. At the wall she didn't even bother with the rope that hung down the center. Like Adrien had done, Marinette simply jumped, her hands hitting the top of the wall. Unlike Adrien she used the top of the wall like a spring board, flipping her body over the edge and hit the ground rolling. A carefree laugh slipped out of her as she flipped on top of the monkey bar-like-contraption she was supposed to swing under. Technically you could go above or below but no one had felt brave enough to try the upper levels. Marinette danced through it, sliding down the finishing pole before putting on a burst of speed. Like she had figured, Marinette cleared the beam jump in two well-placed jumps and bolted for the second to last obstacle. They were lilypad-like objects on springs that tilted and moved anytime you or your partner did. It wasn't really necessary but Marinette was on a roll, so instead of leaping like a normal person from one to another, she flipped throwing in a back handspring as she completely cleared the final pad. The final obstacle was the teeter-totter balance piece. You were supposed to have two people on either side of the foam brick to keep it from sliding too far one way or the other. The center was cut out with an exception for the braces that Marinette used as stepping stones before cartwheeling over the finish line.
"Done!" Marinette crowed, hitting the timer and squealing at the miniscule amount of time she had spent running the course.
"You did so well! I'm so impressed Marinette!" Tiki cheered, smashing herself to Marinette's cheek.
"Thanks, Tiki! I knew I could do it!" Marinette whooped spinning around half giddy, flushed with adrenaline until she caught sight of a very familiar form standing in the shadows of the locker room doorway.
Instantly all excitement fled, ice seemed to fill her veins, and a bubble of dread filled in her chest.
"Marinette?" Tiki hummed, totally confused by her sudden mood swing until she turned and saw the boy standing in the doorway.
Adrien stood there his jaw on the floor, along with his water bottle which he had dropped as he witnessed poetry in motion. That's how he would have described Marinette as she weaved through the obstacles like they were made of air. It was incredible, no, impossible, the way she had moved because he knew those moves, he mirrored them every time he donned his Chat Noir mask. Then the little red sprite had attached itself to Marinette's cheek and it was like all the air was sucked from him. He had just found his lady. The love of his life was the quiet, shy, stuttering girl who sat right freakin' behind him every day since he had started school. Adrien had a half a mind to back away, allow for processing while the other half wanted to run out and tackle her. Before he could do either, she had spun in a gloriously happy circle only to catch sight of him and stop completely dead.
"A-Adrien," Marinette gasped, her face going bone white as her hands rose to cover her mouth. The Kwami had taken cover the instant Marinette froze.
In that moment, Adrien knew that things could go several different ways and that his next words would tip the scales in either a good way or a downright bad one. There was even a good chance that Marinette would try to flee, and Adrien did not want to test how easily or fast he could catch a distraught Ladybug. He also didn't want to take the chance of an akumatized Ladybug since he knew that she was probably feeling the same swirl of emotional shock he was. She had just been discovered, by a civilian in her eyes, and it was then that Adrien knew he would have to add another shock to her night. She needed to know that he was Chat Noir because it wasn't fair for him to know who she was while she was in the dark about him.
"H-hey there, Purr-incess. If you wanted a real Chat-llenge you should have invited me!" Adrien called, forcing as much mirth and suave into the sentence as he could.
It came out a bit pitchy from shock, but it wasn't a bad delivery because Marinette's eyes widened so far that Adrien worried about them popping right out.
"Y-You…" Marinette managed and then she simply dropped to the mat making Adrien sprint to her side.
"Marinette?! Oh, geez, Marinette, are you ok?!" Adrien yelped, shaking her lightly as she gazed at him, wide-eyed and silent. "Oh, man, don't tell me I broke you! Alya will literally kill me if I broke you… say something, Marinette, please?"
She blinked slowly as if she were emerging from a heavy sleep, and then ever so softly whispered, "Chat?"
Adrien lifted one of her hands to his cheek, looking her dead in the eye, "Yes, My Lady?"
She squeaked and covered her face, "Ohmygod, Alya was right! You- he- Chat! In front of me! Literally!" A pitiful sound slipped out of her and Adrien couldn't help but laugh, making her peek between her fingers at him.
"Is it fair to say that's exactly what went through my head when I realized?"
Marinette allowed Adrien to pull her hands down, a pout forming on her face, "I knew I shouldn't have come… it was stupid and reckless and now I've ruined everything and it wasn't worth getting the best time on this stupid course!"
Ah… there it was, Adrien thought to himself. There was the self-doubt that pestered Adrien's every step, the same self-doubt that apparently followed his Lady, too.
"My Lady, Marinette…" Adrien tried when he saw her flinch at 'My Lady'.
Perhaps it was the wrong way to go about it but Adrien didn't know how to appeal to an emotionally shocked and probably soon-to-be very frazzled teenage girl. She needed time to process and so did he, but dammit, he wasn't ready to let her out of his sight. Not yet. So he went with his gut and appealed to her in a way that only Chat Noir could.
"Who's to say you're going to have the best time on the course?"
Marinette's eyes went wide and her mouth popped open a little. "I… you… what?!" she asked weakly.
Adrien shot her a grin, then pulled out a small timer that he had nicked from the kitchen at home, "I came to test my real skills on this thing too. Now that I've seen my competition, I'm ready to give it my all!"
"You're going to run it?" Marinette asked dumbly, not even realizing she was following as Adrien pulled her up to feet and gently tugged her to the starting line.
"Yep, I am," Adrien answered his whole body teeming with such nervousness he could swear he was vibrating.
Before Marinette could say another word or process how insane her night had just become, Adrien hit the button on his timer and bolted off the starting line. Watching Adrien move through the course was like watching smoke pool and flow. The obstacles didn't seem to exist for him as he wove his way through and Marinette realized that, like her, he was having a ball on the course. It was easy to place the cat ears on him right now with that wild grin and free floating hair falling everywhere. Adrien was Chat… He was her partner and Marinette could feel something deep inside her click into place. By the time Adrien finished with a triple backflip over the line, her total panic had been replaced with acceptance and a good dose of calm. At some point tonight she was still going to have a total meltdown, but right now, seeing the slightly worried but triumphant look in her partner's eyes had her legs moving all on their own.
"Was the triple backflip really necessary, Kitty?" Marinette asked, channeling her inner Ladybug.
Adrien's grin could have re-lit the sun. "Of course it was necessary! I had the most beautiful audience in the world! Besides, was walking on your hands backwards down the one beam really necessary?"
Marinette felt her face turn red, and it wasn't just from the beautiful comment. "I was challenging myself! A-and I didn't know you were here!"
Adrien chuckled, happy to note that Marinette seemed to be settling down before his very eyes. He had a feeling she was still going to spazz at some point. But hey! At least she was talking to him in coherent sentences!
"Hmm, speaking of challenges… what was your time on the course?" Adrien asked spying the little timer in her pocket.
"Um, why?" Marinette asked, instantly wary since she knew that look, that smile. It was usually just attached to a black leather mask and cat ears.
"Because! We should totally treat this as a competition! We both timed ourselves and now we should see who was faster! Oh and whoever loses should have to do something… I know how about buy ice cream?!" Adrien said holding his timer up so that she couldn't read the numbers on the face.
"W-wait! That's not really fair! I-I didn't know it was a competition!" Marinette cried not wanting to seem lacking.
Adrien laughed. "Neither did I till right this second! Let's just look. We can decide what to do later."
Marinette pouted, although she pulled her timer from her pocket, face down, "I'm not agreeing, but… fine, let's at least see how fast we were in comparison."
Together they flipped their timers over and stared at the number across the screens. Miraculously they were the exact same time and the two teens gaped for a long moment before bursting out laughing.
"Equal… we're equal…" Marinette giggled as she tried to catch her breath.
"Yeah, Princess, we really are," Adrien chortled beside her noticing how she didn't flinch at a nickname this time.
"So, what now?" Marinette asked a little breathlessly, wondering a million different things at once and not having the words to express them.
"Well, I'm up for ice cream but we still need to figure out who's paying," Adrien answered, even though he would never actually expect Marinette to pay for his ice cream. He was just stringing her along and hoping she'd say 'yes' to going out with him.
Marinette flushed a little and for a brief moment Adrien wondered if he had overstepped, or maybe he should have just asked her out properly. Then a steely look entered her eyes and made a shiver run down his spine.
"Very well, Hotstuff. I'm calling your challenge. We do the obstacle course together and loser has to buy ice cream."
Adrien's brain lost a little traction at the 'Hotstuff' comment, but somehow he managed to agree before following her back over to the start. Plagg and Tiki flew out before them, clearly self-appointing themselves as the referees.
"Ready?" they called as one, causing the teens to look over at each other.
Green met blue across the space and somehow they both knew that by the end of the course, they would be different. They would be just fine moving forward. They would be stronger as partners, as friends, and one day soon probably so much more. They shared a smile, the first of many and as the Kwami cried "GO!" they took those first running steps into the future… together.