It was a cool, sunny early fall day in Paris, and Adrien Agreste was jogging down the street with his girlfriend, Kagami Tsurugi, who was confused about the whole state of affairs:

"Why the big hurry, Adrien?"

"Hey, I just wanna make sure we're on time for our reservation!"

"And what's this reservation you keep speaking of?"

"A new crêperie opened up near Marinette's bakery and I wanted to give it a try!"

"But what's so special about this place that you wanted to invite me over?"

"Kagami, today is National Pancake Day!"

"National Pancake Day? That sounds made-up."

"Believe me, it's real; I looked it up."

"OK, I believe you, but I still think this is a strange holiday."

Soon enough, Adrien and Kagami reached the place in question, the Café Nostromo. Inside, it was thoroughly modern, with a granite countertop for the bar and white tables and chairs. A waitress – a tall blonde – awaited them as soon as they entered.

"Can I help you two?"

"Yes, I had a reservation for two under the name Adrien."

"Right this way."

The waitress led Adrien and Kagami to a table halfway between the door and the bar, where their utensils and menus awaited them.

"Can I start you two off with something to drink?" asked the waitress.

"I'll have a lemonade, please," said Adrien.

"I'll have a café au lait, please," said Kagami.

The waitress left to get their drinks. Kagami threw in her two cents on the matter:

"I'll admit, this is a nice place, but I still think the occasion is unusual. Why are you so intent on celebrating?"

Adrien smiled. "Why not? I always enjoy spending time with my dear cherry blossom!"

Kagami smiled, blushed and averted her gaze. "Oh, of course…"

"I know, I'm a bit much at times, but really, I wouldn't drag you into anything I wasn't willing to go through myself!"

Kagami refocused her gaze on Adrien. "That's really sweet of you."

"Oh, thank you! I just wanted this to be a good thing for both of us, you know?"

Kagami nodded. Soon, the waitress came back with their drinks. Adrien's lemonade was actually a carbonated lemon-flavored beverage similar to Sprite or 7-Up, as opposed to the cloudier juice-based drink popular in the US.

"Thank you!" said Adrien and Kagami.

"You're welcome! Are we all set to order?"

Adrien took a quick look at the menu. "I'll have the crêpes toutons, please."

Kagami pored through the menu for a bit longer than Adrien, which got her the notice of the waitress:

"Is everything OK, Miss?"

"Yes, I was having a little trouble deciding. I'll have the crêpes polonaises, please."

The waitress took their menus and left to get their orders.

"I know, it's tough going to a new place," said Adrien. "Everything looked so good here."

"But how did you know what to order?"

"I looked up the menu online beforehand."

Kagami stroked her chin. "A most interesting tactic. I wonder why I hadn't thought of that."

Adrien reached across the table and touched Kagami's hand. "It's OK. I'll gladly help out wherever I can!"

Kagami smiled. "Thank you again, Adrien."

"Adrien! Kagami! Never expected to see you two here!"

Adrien and Kagami turned to see what familiar female voice had addressed them.

"Hey Marinette!" Adrien waved at Marinette Dupain-Cheng. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was taking a break from helping out at the bakery, plus I was looking for a good excuse to hang out with Luka!"

"Interesting," said Kagami. "How did you know about this place as well?"

"Well, I couldn't help but notice it seeing as how it was right near the bakery, so I came here on opening day!"

"Fascinating that you knew about this place before us. Is the food good here?"

Marinette gave a thumbs up. "Very!"

"That's very encouraging."

"Well, I wish I could stay and chat more, but I think I just saw our waitress come by with our food! Bug out!"

"You too!"

Adrien and Kagami waved at Marinette as she headed back to her table. Shortly thereafter, the waitress returned with Adrien and Kagami's food.

"Thank you!" said Adrien and Kagami.

"You're welcome!"

Adrien and Kagami dug in. Adrien's crêpes toutons were a type of crêpe made from fried bread dough, originating in Newfoundland, while Kagami's crêpes polonaises were a type of crêpe rolled up with Nutella and sliced bananas. Kagami nodded as she took the first bite.

"Until I had this, I never thought that chocolate and bananas could go so well together. As a matter of fact, this could become one of my new favorite foods."

Adrien swallowed. "Glad you like it! I was actually thinking that we should come back here someday."

"We should. After what I'm tasting, I'm looking forward to celebrating National Pancake Day with you again."

Adrien smiled. Every day that he got to share something new with Kagami, he could feel the iron grip of Gabriel loosening that much more.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.