Alya: u free on friday afternoon?
Alya: i gotta go shopping
Mari: sure! i have time
Alya: nice B) lets go sometime after school then. i invited the others also
Mari: oo cool
And that was how Marinette found herself waiting at the mall alone, wearing a simple white dress of her own making and a pink cardigan (may or may not be to look cute for Lila).
She was thinking about the past couple of days and her interactions with Lila. The day of their second kiss, during lunch together, Lila had suddenly struck up conversation with Adrien about Gabriel Agreste's latest fashion line. Marinette then joined in and was able to talk more with Lila. Then when they went home, Lila had started to text Marinette and that time, she had begun to talk about video games, specifically Ultimate Mega Strike III. Marinette was glad that the topic was one she could also talk about, so the two of them were able to talk more. She had been surprised that Lila was so knowledgable on a fighting game, but she had dismissed that thought in favor of talking to her.
But after a couple of days she started getting a bit suspicious. Because she realized that every time that they spoke with each other, it was about Marinette or her interests. Somehow, Lila miraculously had all the same hobbies as her. Sometimes she would try to ask Lila about her, but she just managed to redirect the conversation to something else Marinette knew about. It was a bit frustrating, because Marinette wanted to learn more about Lila, but Lila seemed dead set on talking about fashion and games and art. And she was beginning to doubt the legitimacy of Lila's fondness for Gabriel Agreste's clothing.
Even Tikki had her suspicions, but she had only smiled when Marinette asked about it.
"Some things you need to figure out for yourself." Tikki had said playfully. "I think you'll get it pretty soon." Marinette thought that she had it down after only a little bit more of thinking.
Marinette liked that she was interacting more with Lila, but she didn't really have it in her to talk about the same exact things again. Furthermore, Lila also seemed bent on being the cool and flirty Lila, which Marinette could appreciate, but she also knew that that wasn't the real Lila. With Nino's help and words of wisdom from Alya, Marinette came to the conclusion that Lila was trying to impress her, or something of the sort. She wished Lila could drop the act; she had liked seeing Lila fumble with her words and she liked her honesty. On the other hand, she appreciated that Lila was trying so hard, and she didn't know how to bring up the issue to Lila. It would be weird.
"Marinette." Lila's cool voice came from behind her, and Marinette nearly jumped.
Even almost a week later, she felt her spirits rise when she looked at her girlfriend. A smile made its way to her face as she took a couple of steps to close their distance.
"Hey!" Marinette said cheerfully. She was still happy to see Lila, even if she had a facade on. Perhaps today Marinette would be able to break it down along with the help of Adrien, Nino and Alya. As she looked up at Lila's green eyes, her gaze fell and she suddenly pictured herself cupping Lila's face and bringing it down t-
Marinette had to turn away to hide her face and the obvious red that was beginning to tinge her cheeks.
"Still waiting on the other three, I guess." Lila said from behind Marinette.
"Yup." Marinette said, forcing herself to calm down. She and Lila had already kissed twice, but she was still nervous thinking about doing it again. Heck, she was a super heroine and she could barely hold Lila's hand without her body going into the fight or flight response. But she did her best.
Just then arms came around her, and Marinette's eyes widened as she registered Lila's chin coming to rest on her shoulder and her arms encircling her shoulders. And then half a second passed and Lila's body was pressed to Marinette's back.
Fight or flight! Fight or flight!
Marinette's body kicked in and started releasing tons of adrenaline into her system as she began to freeze up. Apparently she was neither fighting nor was she fleeing, because she was so shocked by the events that she couldn't even move. Which was kind of okay, because most of Marinette didn't want to move.
"Well, I don't mind it being just us two. You're especially beautiful today." Lila's breath gusted over her ear and Marinette felt a shiver run through her body as she processed what she just heard. Her face was redder than her Ladybug suit.
Just then, Marinette's phone vibrated, and she moved, robot-like, to take it out of her cardigan pocket.
Alya: my mom is making me stay home because a relative is visiting D: im sorry
No! Marinette stared down at the text in horror. And then Nino's name suddenly appeared at the top.
Nino: man im sorry but i think im sick
Nino: i dont think i can make it :'(
Marinette didn't move. She half expected Adrien to cancel on them next.
She expected right.
Adrien: ugh my dad planned an extra shoot for me today, i cant come :(
Marinette's phone came dangerously close to just falling out of her hand.
"What, is it Alya?" Lila asked as she moved from behind Marinette to next to her.
Marinette turned her head and gave Lila a withering look.
"She can't come." Marinette said, realizing the situation she was in.
"What about Nino and Adrien?" Lila's voice took on a slight edge of panic. Marinette hoped the expression on her face would be enough to convey the news.
All three of their friends had cancelled on them. And now it was just Marinette and Lila.
There was nothing they could call this outing but a date. It was now a date. They had never gone on a date before. They had never been out alone together sans the Volpina thing. Marinette's next thought was that Alya had probably planned this from the start. She looked up to see how Lila was handling the news.
Lila looked like she was about pass out.
When Lila had said she wouldn't mind it just being her and Marinette, she had been lying. And now, with her words a terrible prophecy that had come true, Lila was about to lie herself down on the ground, fold her hands together and bid farewell. She had already taken a hard blow by hugging Marinette from behind. How she kept her composure, she didn't know. She didn't think she had it in her to do anything like that again. But now she was going to be with Marinette. At the mall. Alone. Together.
On a date.
Lila was one hundred percent unprepared for this development. She felt like she needed to temporarily excuse herself from the situation and go freak out inside a bathroom stall. There was no way she could keep it together for the whole afternoon. It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with Marinette; on the contrary, she loved it. But she was also worried she was going to act dumb and embarrass both of them, or she may overheat from blushing and die of heat stroke. Marinette's power over her was too much. Also, they might run out of conversation topics especially after she had already exhausted her supply of knowledge about some things that Marinette likes.
Then she realized Marinette was looking at her with worry in her expression, and she coughed lightly before flashing a model-like smile.
"My words still stand." She managed to say, pulling back on her mask. And for some reason, Marinette's face seemed to fall the slightest bit. Lila was momentarily taken aback, but on closer inspection Marinette was wearing a shy smile.
"Then I guess i-it's a date." Marinette responded, and Lila felt her own face heat up again. Marinette stuttered! Lila was making her nervous, she assumed. But it was yet again another double-sided blow, because Marinette ducked her head a bit and looked so dang cute that Lila had to look away again so her parasympathetic system could kick in and calm her body (don't mind me, I recently took my AP test for psychology :V).
"Lucky for us." Lila said in response. First thing's first. She composed herself and took several breaths, and then reached over to hold Marinette's hand. "Where to?"
"Y-you want me to pick?" Marinette said, suddenly flustered.
"Of course. I'd follow you anywhere." Lila answered and moved marginally closer, and then promptly died of embarrassment on the inside. Marinette's mouth fell slightly open in surprise, and then it closed.
"Then…" She said, looking off at the stores, "I uh, I think we should get something matching." Marinette finished, her voice wavering as she turned several shades redder. Lila barely managed to contain herself as glee suddenly rushed through her body, nearly making her dizzy.
"Like what?" She asked, for clarification. Marinette tightened her grip.
"You know, like phone charms… or necklaces." Marinette said, and then she was walking ahead and tugging Lila along. Lila was very much in favor of this idea, and she let herself be pulled.
For some reason, Adrien had come to the mall decked out in some sort of secret agent costume.
"Dude, what are you wearing?" Alya asked, almost in disbelief at what she saw before her eyes.
"Isn't this a secret mission? I thought you said we should be disguised." Adrien asked, looking down at his black sweater and jeans. He even had on a scarf to cover the bottom of his face, like a ninja. Nino shrugged. He was wearing a different colored t-shirt and hat then he normally did, and that was the extent of his disguise.
"I didn't mean wear your sketchiest outfit possible, Adrien." Alya sighed, shaking her head. She'd just done enough so that she wasn't recognizable as Alya from afar, and had her hair up in a bun. She also was wearing a casual outfit that she was fairly certain Marinette hadn't seen her wear yet. In the end, she realized, she might have to take the poor boy shopping so that he wasn't looking like he was about to rob a bank before they watched over Lila and Marinette. But on closer inspection, the outfit kind of reminded her of Chat Noir. "Although, you kind of look like Chat Noir in that." She laughed, and then turned to look at the mall map display.
"Really?" Adrien inquired, laughing nervously. "I mean, I guess we're both cool and handsome but we're not that similar. We are definitely not the same person. Nope. Hah."
"Chill, dude." Nino said, patting Adrien on the back. "Are you nervous about your first ninja mission?" He said while chuckling.
Adrien would have elbowed him if he wasn't such a nice guy, and Alya would have noticed the hint if she was not busy scoping out the stores to see where Adrien could get himself some normal clothes.
Marinette was feeling several emotions, such as the following: happiness, giddiness, nervousness, and a mix of betrayal and appreciation. The first three were because of the Lila, and the last could be credited to Alya. She was partly horrified that Alya had put her in this situation all alone, but she also knew Alya did her best as Marinette's wingwoman. To be honest, she probably wouldn't even have had the nerve to ask Lila out on a date, so there was more appreciation.
She had ended up dragging Lila to a cute little clothing store that routinely had a rack of really adorable accessories, including phone charms. Marinette liked the idea of having something to match with Lila, and she was also thinking of using her creativity later to make Lila a bracelet or something later.
"Wow." Lila said as they entered the store. It really was a nice store with pastel walls and upbeat music, and Marinette frequently purchased little things here or there to use in her own creations.
"They have um… couple jewelry over here." Marinette said, and her voice went briefly lower when she mentioned the jewelry. It was still kind of embarrassing to say. Lila followed her to a big display rack, the kind that could rotate.
Marinette was a bit romantic and she wanted something cheesy like halves of a heart, but she was worried Lila might not like something like that. She spun one of the display racks, searching out a suitable candidate when her eyes fell upon one of the cutest sets of couple jewelry she had ever seen.