In another Adrienette/Marichat AU, Marinette is an average witch trying to live a happy life. Problem is, she lives in a shifter community within Paris and she's made herself a very strict dating rule: NO SHIFTERS OR WERE-BEASTS! As far as she's concerned, her fated soulmate had better be a wizard or warlock. Humans would be a last resort. No shifters or were-beasts, no exceptions!
Then her love life seems to start looking up when she meets a dashing young man named Adrien. But is he what he seems?
As usual with my stories, this is going up on a trial basis (I'm new the whole shifter/paranormal thing, so be patient with me), and there will be songs with and without modified lyrics strewn in.
A small boutique in Paris was pictured. The sign above the shop said, "MDC Spellbinding Fashions" and it looked very busy inside.
Around the tastefully-decorated interior of the boutique (using mostly neutral colors with some pink splashed in on occasion), several clothing pieces were on hangers or shelves. Each set of shelves or round rack had a certain label on top, such as luck spells, confidence boosters, protection spells, etc.
A bell rang, indicating that someone came inside the shop.
"Welcome to MDC's Spellbinding Fashions! How can I help you?" A young woman from behind a counter said.
She had fair skin, blue eyes, dark hair cut short, and a light dusting of freckles on her face. She was wearing a red and black suit (the jacket was a double-breasted blazer in red and the shirt underneath was black), and she was wearing a red skirt with black spots on it, black nylon stockings, and red flat shoes. She was wearing a ladybug pendant necklace and black stud earrings.
Marinette looked at the door and saw a fully-grown red fox sitting at the small "doggie door" inside the shop. There was a fox tail necklace around its neck.
"Hi, Alya!" She said to the fox.
It slowly changed into a woman slightly taller than the shopkeeper, tan skin tone, wavy dark red hair, hazel eyes behind glasses, a beauty mark above her eyebrow, and wearing orange flannel and blue jeans.
"Hey, Marinette," Alya said to the woman as she approached the counter. "How's business today?"
"Fine." Marinette said as she rang a customer up for a beret with a relaxation charm sigil sewn in. As the customer left, Marinette looked at Alya with a firm expression.
"But Alya, remember what I said about coming in here while in fox form during business hours?" Marinette said in a scolding, almost motherly tone.
"I know that's a rule, girl, but I can't help it! I gotta stretch my fox legs before I see you." Alya said.
The girls laughed.
"Excuse me, I'd like to buy this." Another woman said as she came to the counter, carrying a scarf that had a fertility booster spell.
"Yes," Marinette responded as she tended to the customer. Once the lady checked out and left, Marinette turned back to Alya. "Alya, you know I made that "come, stay, and leave in human form" rule for a reason."
"I know, I know. We can't have some random human calling animal control here because they mistook me for a realfox... Or so you say." Alya said to her.
"What do you mean "or so I say", Alya?" Marinette asked as she went to the floor of the store and started walking around, taking stock.
"You knowwhat I mean, girl," Alya said, crossing her arms while watching Marinette reorganize one of the shelves, rotating the merchandise. "Don't deny it."
Marinette sighed before saying, "Maybe you're right..."
"Girl, I knowI'm right." Alya sighed.
Marinette went quiet as she adjusted the sign before moving aside for the customers. She asked Alya, "How about a girls' night tonight?"
"Sorry girl, but no-can do," Alya said as they went back to the counter. "Myléne's pregnancy is really taking its toll on her, and Ivan's being a doting husband as always. Zoé's got that location shoot out in Perpignan; Rose and Juleka are doing that fundraiser for the children's hospital; Alix is fully-booked helping out at the museum tonight."
"And what about you?" Marinette asked.
"My work is sending me undercover at one of the mayor's villas," Alya spat. "The goal is to investigate any of the well-founded claims of corruption and breaking several federal laws just to indulge his wife and Chloé."
"We saw all of that first-hand during school," Marinette said while sorting everything by spell, using telekinesis. "You have plenty of recordings and pieces from back then, and you can use that to supplement what you find tonight."
"Great idea!" Alya said. "Now, on the subject of dates..."
"Alya..." Marinette began in a warning tone.
"Girl, it's been years," Alya sighed. "You can't let one love story gone wrong ruin your love life forever."
"But what if it's a repeat performance, Alya?" Marinette asked.
"What if it isn't?" Alya responded. "You never know until you try. Besides, remember what my grandmother says: life's not waiting for the storm to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain."
"I really don't have time for that, Alya..." Marinette said as she put everything down in the right place.
"Then maketime for it." Alya insisted.
Marinette sighed before turning to Alya and said, "I can't, Alya... How am I supposed to know who or whatI'm getting involved with?"
Alya gave her friend a sad look.
That evening, Marinette was walking the streets, having wrapped up a delivery. The client was a bride who wanted a "happy, lifelong marriage" spell in her dress. While Marinette herself advised that while the spell would help, the couple would have to really work together to keep their marriage happy.
She looked up and saw the full moon in the sky. She gave it a smile before her face turned a bit anxious when she heard the howling of a wolf or some other animal off in the distance. Full moons were a basic guarantee that were-beasts of all sorts would be out and about at night.
Contrary to human belief, were-beasts weren't limited to transforming during full moons. In fact, a full moon didn't so much trigger/enable the transformation as it did strengthen and/or speed them tenfold when in beast form. Otherwise, like shifters, they would just shift back and forth at will, even in broad daylight.
While people shifting into animals or humanoid beasts in public was normal in shifter/magical communities such as where Marinette lived, this wasn't a universal thing. Truthfully, the paranormal/magical world had only been outed to humanity around the world in the past thirty years. While this is a long time by human standards, the majority of magical creatures have muchlonger lifespans. For example, dragons and dragon shifters were known to live for centuries, sometimes even over a millennia. Other species, like vampires, were immortal while reproducing sexually, and they could still turn a human into a vampire with a bite if they so desired. Magic users lived thrice as long as the average human did, too.
Prior to what the paranormal community called "The Great Coming Out", any shifters, were-beasts, magical creatures, and magic users that lived among humanity in non-magic settlements were forced to hide their powers. It was easy for witches, wizards and warlocks to do this since they didn't take any form other than human (unless they had to use a spell to transform or something). Other species, not so much. That said, there were hidden paranormal community towns and cities in remote areas around the world where all magical, paranormal beings could go about their business, do their magic, shift, fly, whatever they wanted without fear of persecution. It was theirnormal in those communities. For obvious reasons, they had reservations about telling human newcomers/outsiders about the magical parts of their community culture. Those paranormal communities and towns still exist to the present day.
Once the Great Coming Out transpired, this changed for both better andworse. On the negative side, fear and hate-driven persecution turned out to be a well-founded concern. Much like many humans in minority groups, several paranormal species had become the victims of fear and hate crimes, and they were scared of getting killed, or having their paranormal-majority towns and settlements be destroyed. Ironically, there wasa positive outcome to it as well: it brought humans and magic creatures closer because of shared experiences. As a result, they started creating organizations to combat hate towards all populations, human or paranormal.
Another positive thing was that it brought about a hugeamount of positive changes on behalf of the environment on a global scale. Humans started cooperating with fairies and mermaids in restoring all sorts of habitats (rainforests, tundras) and cleaning up the planet's waterways. They also began coming together to make sure humans could get the resources they needed while being fair, ethical, and sustainable to both humans and magical creatures.
Everyone started working together to create communities, towns, and cities where these differences were embraced, celebrated, and normalized. While everyone agreed progress was being made, there was still a lot of work to do.
Marinette was of the generation that benefited from these changes. Witches, wizards, and warlocks in general were considered the link species between paranormal and human. Since they faced issues that both sides experienced, they were often called upon for diplomatic purposes. In fact, a lot of magic users, like her friend Myléne (who had dreams of becoming the mayor of Paris), worked in government and politics on behalf of both.
Marinette heard something that sounded like footsteps or rustling, but she didn't pay any attention. She had a few self-defense spells in the back of her mind to use in case she was attacked. These days, any random groper or assailant would definitelyregret trying to attack and rape a magic-user. The would-be attacker would get something a lotmore detrimental than pepper spray to the face and getting arrested.
Marinette heard another howl from a distance, and saw the moon was getting higher. She sighed and started picking up the pace, looking around to make sure she wasn't missing her home.
She didn't see a shadow in an alley, but she heard hurried footsteps ahead of her. She slammed into someone, bounced to the ground, and some of her items scattered around the ground.
"I'm sosorry! I didn't see you there." Marinette said to them as she started gathering up her items and putting them back in her bag. She slung it over her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it," The person responded. "I wasn't watching where I was going, either."
When Marinette sat up and she looked at the person she bumped into, she was surprised. He was a young Adonis around her age, with sunshine-colored hair, wearing well-designed, but casual clothes, including a white button-down over a black shirt and blue jeans. He seemed to be a fair-skinned youth, though the cover of night made it hard to tell. He was rubbing his body in the places where it hurt the most, and he seemed like he was dizzy from the impact. When he opened his eyes, she saw they were a bright, Peridot green. He glanced at her, did a double-take, and he kept looking at her as if he'd never seen a woman before. His eyes seemed to go wider for a second or two, and something was there for half of that before settling down, and his mouth started to grow into a small smile.
Marinette blushed at the sight of him, her heart fluttered for a split-second, and she gave a smile. But for some reason, she felt like squirming with him staring at her like that.
"I, um..." Marinette began as he stood up and approached.
"Here, let me help you." He said as he held his hand out to her.
"Thank you." Marinette said as she took his hand.
She felt something course through her, like a bolt of lightning in the sky had hit her, causing her heart to skip a beat. She looked at the man before her, who was giving her a smile that seemed a bit shy and goofy at the same time. He yanked her up and she stumbled into his arms. Marinette felt the hardness of his chest, and her face went even darker. She jumped away before clearing her throat.
"Again, I'm sorry for crushing- bumping! Bumping into you," Marinette said, stuttering on her words. "I was in a hung- hurry!"
"I was in a hurry, too," He admitted, still holding her hand, and examining it for some reason. "I think we're bothresponsible for this little bump."
Marinette laughed at this and subtly took her hand away, before saying, "Um... Thanks for helping me up, but I need to get home."
"I can accompany you," He said to her in a hurried manner. "I mean... If you want."
Marinette looked at him before saying, "Okay."
The young man held his arm out in offering. Marinette looked at him for a brief second, and he looked like he was trying to act all suave and charming. In response, she blushed before taking his arm and he started walking her home. She caught the scent of clean, airy cologne on him, and she began to feel dizzy again. She started looking at his profile and he seemed to be even more handsome with the moonlight shining on him. Her heart throbbed.
"See something you like?" He teased.
Marinette pulled a guilty, uncomfortable face before saying, "Ah, er, yeah, you - the moon!Yeah, it's a beautiful moon out tonight!"
He looked up to the sky for a brief second, saying, "Yeah, the full moon isbeautiful, especially with a clear sky."
"Y-Yeah..." Marinette blushed. "A... Er... Yes."
A bit of awkward silence dragged on. She looked down before wondering to herself, 'WHAT is going on?! Why am I acting like such an idiot with this guy?'
Her thoughts were racing when he broke the silence by asking her, "What's your name?"
She looked up to him and saw he was giving her a casual, friendly smile. It set her at ease.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," She said to him. "What about you?"
"Adrien," He introduced, but his voice sounded a little deflated. "So, what are you doing out this late at night?"
Marinette responded, "I just finished up a delivery and I'm on my way back. But I can ask the same question to you."
"Oh, um, I..." He stammered, looking a bit nervous. "I was visiting a... A friend and I... I lost track of time."
"I know how that feels," Marinette said, laughing. "When I hang out with my friends, I have so much fun that I end up forgetting the time and then I'm later than usual getting home."
"Speaking of home, where is it for you?" Adrien asked, looking Marinette in the eyes.
"It should be coming up right now - here it is!" Marinette said as she pointed out her storefront.
Adrien looked it over before saying, "Cute shop."
"Thank you!" Marinette said. "And thank you for walking me home."
"You're welcome, Marinette." He said as he took her hand and kissed it.
She blushed, her heart pounded, and she felt her body temperature go up. If a traditional thermometer was pictured, the reading was so far off the chart that the top part of the glass piece shattered.
Her heart hadn't swollen up like that in a long time.
"I'll see you around?" He asked her as he let go of her hand. She pulled it close to her heart.
"I'd like that," Marinette responded, blushing in response. "Feel free to stop by whenever you want or can."
Adrien smiled back before saying, "Thank you. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"
"That sounds great," Marinette said as she unlocked the door and went inside. "See you tomorrow, you hands- er, helpful guy."
She mentally face-palmed while thinking, 'UGH, "You helpful guy"?! I'm so stupid!'
Adrien chuckled before responding, "Yeah."
Once Marinette shut the door and was sure she was out of his line of sight, she ran to the back of the shop before opening the door to the stairs that led to her upstairs apartment. She couldn't help but feel a bit giddy about Adrien. A handsome young man like that who helped walk her home, and then wanted to come by and visit the following day? She couldn't help but feel lucky.
'Be still, my beating heart! It's her!'
Those were the first thoughts he had when he laid eyes on her.
He'd found her. His destiny. His mate. They say love comes when you least expect it, and he definitelywasn't expecting to find his destined soulmate on a night run. Every full moon, he would go out running as his were-cat self in places were were-beasts were the primary inhabitants. His love for going out for runs at night whenever he wanted to made him feel much freer. And on a full moon, it felt even more liberating.
Adrien was the future alpha of his clan of werecat (specifically black panthers). He wasn't fond of the implications of that future. Ever since childhood, it'd been drilled into his head that he had to fulfill certain expectations, especially regarding mating. It was expected that he would mate with a future alpha female from another clan and reproduce with her.
His father once tried setting him up with a fox shifter named Lila Rossi, who came from a family of diplomats. She was as cunning as her species came, and seemednice, but his inner were-cat was flat-out repulsedby the girl, especiallyher fox. And it didn't take long for Adrien to find out that vixen's true colors (a sociopath who lied with every breath and made people's lives hellif they tried to expose the truth), thus turning off both man and werecat. When he reported his findings to his father, he immediatelyused his power and connections to get rid of the entire Rossi clan.
Adrien later tried going out with a dragon named Kagami Tsurugi, who came from a similar social and familial situation as he did. Unfortunately, his inner werecat and her inner dragon wanted nothing to do with each other despite the fledgling human attraction between them. Needless to say, his father was disappointed at the failed union, but he conceded the point when Adrien argued that both destiny and the literal beast within had the final say with mating (and if both human and beast sides agreed, you definitelydidn't argue). If the union wasn't meant to be, then that was that, and no one,not even Gabriel Agreste, had the power to change it.
That particular evening, his father was on his case again and he needed to get out and get away from it for a few hours. Adrien shifted into his werecat form, he ran around the rooftops, roared at the moon, and anything that he needed to do to get his frustrations out. When he decided he'd had enough, and made to go home, he jumped off the roof into an alley, changed back into human form (making sure to ditch his ripped clothes and change into new ones), and ran out of there. Since he wasn't paying attention, he didn't see anyone else nearby and ran into the poor woman, even with his heightened feline senses.
When he looked up, he was only planning to apologize and go on his way. But as was inherent in all were-beasts, all it took was one look at her, one pound of his heart, one shine in his eyes, and one smitten yowl from his inner panther, and he was a goner. This woman... He recognized her scent and her face upon first glance, his heart pounded at the sight of her, and her voice was like flute/violin music in a ballet. She was so beautiful that at first, he mistook her for a swan maiden. But her scent was rich with the sexy-sweet perfume of magic that only witches had. For his destined soulmate to be a witch... His father would have a conniption, but Adrien didn't care.
When he opened the door to the Agreste mansion, he came in with a goofy smile before quietly shutting it.
"Yo! Adrien, you're back." Another man said as he came into the mansion foyer.
He was about Adrien's height, with tan skin, golden eyes behind glasses, a red hat, and wearing very casual clothing, including a turtle bracelet. Nino Lahiffe, his best friend. Nino himself wasn't a were-beast, or even a shifter. He was actually a wizard that specialized in protection magic and had a turtle motif and familiar.
"Hi, Nino." Adrien said as he leaned up against the door.
"Dude, you okay?" Nino asked as he waved his hand in front of Adrien's face.
Adrien didn't answer. Instead, he thought of Marinette, her beauty, and how adorkable she was.
"Adrien, seriously, whatis going on?" Nino asked, beginning to get worried.
"I found her..." Adrien murmured.
"Her? Her who?" Nino questioned, once again snapping his fingers in front of Adrien's face. "Dude, speak sensibly!"
"The mother of my future were-kitties." Adrien said with a casual shrug.
Nino gave a confused expression, but it soon melted into a smile before grabbing Adrien by the shoulder and saying, "You met your fated mate?!"
Adrien gave a nod and said, "Yeah. I'm going to see her at her shop tomorrow."
"Dude, that's great!" Nino said. "Is she...?"
"She is." Adrien said with a confirming nod.
"It's gotta be fate, dude!" Nino laughed. "And your old man was giving you a hard time about mating earlier. This is perfect!"
"I know it is. It's absolutely purr-fect." Adrien said. Nino groaned at the pun.
Adrien heaved a wistful sigh as he put his hand against his chest. His heart was still pounding as he thought of his sweet witch holding his arm as he walked her home. The sensation of her skin on his lips was fresh in his mind, too. Once he was done, those moments would continue until death do they part.
The following morning at the boutique, Marinette was preparing to open for business.
"Girl, this is amazing!" Alya said. "He's coming today, right?"
"Yeah." Marinette said as she was wiping down the counter. She'd told Alya everything.
"From what you said, he sounds like quitethe gentleman," Alya said in a teasing tone. "Walking you home after bumping into you, kissing your hand... And youcertainly didn't object to touching him."
"But I acted like a completeidiot last night! I stuttered on my words and my brain froze up!" Marinette said as she put the rag away and took out the glass cleaner for the windows.
"That clearly didn't turn him off if he's coming by today," Alya insisted back. "I think he may likeyou."
Marinette paused in her cleaning and blushed before saying, "A-Alya, that's ridiculous! We only just met last night."
"Marinette, you know that's bullcrap. Love at first sight isa thing for us paranormal folk." Alya said, rolling her eyes.
Marinette continued wiping the window, saying, "I knowit is. I'm not gonna lie, he's attractive and I wanna see him again."
"Then what's stopping you, girl? Other than the obvious?" Alya asked.
She sagged a bit. It wasn't a big secret that Marinette had... issues... With getting romantically-involved with shifters and were-beasts. The last time she dated a shifter, she was certainthat he was her fated soulmate. Sadly, it ended in a breakup that was humiliating for her and shattered her heart almost beyond repair. She didn't want to deal with that pain ever again.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the privilege of staying single. Mating/dating culture within magic users wasn't much different from humans (unless said human wound up getting fated to a paranormal - thatwas when things could get complicated). However, magic users had to find their true love/soulmate before they hit thirty-five years old, otherwise their aging would accelerate and nothing they could do would be able to stop it. They would die within fifteen years. To put it in perspective, a witch that was chronologically in her late thirties would actually be, biologically/physically, in her early sixties, possibly older.
Marinette was genuinely scared that she would never find her soulmate, and suffer that fate to die young. And after what happened, that fear felt more real.
Trying to forget about her heartbreak, she went back to the store floor and started reorganizing the racks. "Another day, another batch of clothes that give people a magical boost of luck!"
"Girl, sewing magic spells into your clothes to help people was a genius move!" Alya added.
"But I've alwayssewed magic spells into the clothes I make - I just decided to turn it into a business. Sure, putting magic into my own personal clothes didn't help my clumsiness, but at least it made me more confident in myself." Marinette said.
"Yeah, especially in school. I always told you you should've cast a karma spell on Chloé, since she's human." Alya agreed.
"Oh, please. If the roles were reversed, she would've easily done that to me out of sheer pettiness." Marinette laughed.
"But once you conjured up that magical fireball in front of her face and bluffed about cursing her to be bald for life, she backed off." Alya laughed in agreement.
"Her dad may be the mayor, but magic can defeat politics any day of the week. Besides, Zoé would've pitied her and asked me to reverse the magic if I really didgo that far." Marinette laughed.
"But Chloé would've had it coming, don't you think?" Alya insisted.
"True, but the best revenge is success and forgetting all about the troublemakers that did you wrong." Marinette said.
"Fair enough." Alya said.
Marinette turned the closed sign to open on the shop window. She snapped her fingers and the flowers in the window boxes bloomed in an instant.
"I lovewhen you do that, girl." Alya laughed.
"Thanks, Alya." Marinette said as she opened the doors and let the customers come in.
Soon, it was closer to noontime, and thus things were calming down for lunch. Outside, Adrien was strutting down the street like he was dancing to a song, humming to it, too.
When he saw the shop again, he smiled as he watched Marinette working in the shop, using her magic to help with her tasks. He caught sight of the flowers in the flower boxes and he got an idea. He went straight for the nearest flower shop.
Back in the shop, Marinette and Alya decided to take lunch break together. They were eating some home-cooked soup in a bread bowl that Marinette enchanted with some happiness spells for them.
"This is the bomb, girl!" Alya said as she swallowed a bite.
"Thanks. Being the daughter of bakers doesn't hurt my culinary skills," Marinette laughed. "I remember whenever I got home after a rough day, I would beg my parents for chocolate chip cookies with anti-bullying protection spells just to help me deal with Chloé, Lila, and Sabrina day in and day out."
"I'm sorry I didn't believe you about Lila at first, Marinette," Alya confessed. "I thought you were jealous, but then you threw in a combined truth/karma spell on the sly and outed her. That woman gave our entire fox shifter species a bad name."
"The best apology is changed behavior," Marinette said to her, waving it off. "But that's water under the bridge now. Anyway, if my parents could bake spells into their goods and teach me how to do the same, I thought why not pay this forward?"
"Definitely," Alya agreed as she ate more of the soup. "This happiness spell is giving me a happy belly!"
Marinette laughed in response to the joke as she ate her own meal.
The bell above the door rang. Alya sat up straight, almost as if she were a bit anxious, meanwhile Marinette turned to the door and smiled.
There was Adrien, one hand behind his back, smiling at Marinette, and his free hand on the door frame.
"Oh! Adrien!" Marinette said as she stood up and walked over to him. Her face was pink. "Great to sex - er, seeyou again!"
Marinette covered her mouth, her face turning from pink to red.
Adrien chuckled before saying, "Nice to see you again too, Marinette."
"I'm glad that you kiss - er, came by! Thanks for walking me home last night." Marinette said.
"You're more than welcome," Adrien said. "I have a present for you."
"You do?" Marinette asked.
He nodded before pulling something out from behind him. He presented Marinette with a bouquet of pink roses that had sprigs of baby's breath and was wrapped in white floral paper, tied with a pink ribbon.
"Aw! I lovepink roses! How did you know they're my favorite?!" Marinette asked as she took the flowers into her hands, put them to her face, and smelled their sweet perfume.
"Just a lucky guess." Adrien replied as he watched her with an affectionate smile.
Alya was watching Adrien out of her peripheral vision, her eyes a bitnarrow with something. Adrien noticed before looking over at Alya.
"Oh, who's your friend?" Adrien asked.
"Oh, where are my manners?" Marinette said, pulling the flowers away from her face. "This is my BFF, Alya Césaire."
Adrien paused, as if recognizing the name, but he smiled and said, "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Alya."
"Likewise." Alya said pensively.
"You're perfect - I mean, your timingis perfect!" Marinette stammered. "Alya and I are having lunch. We're having happiness-spelled soup in bread bowls. You should join us."
"I'd love to." Adrien said.
She snapped her fingers, and the flowers were soon in a vase of water on the table. She also conjured up another place setting at the table for Adrien.
"Please, sit." Marinette said as she went back to the table.
Alya kept her eyes on Adrien, as he sat down. He kept his eyes on Marinette as he started eating his soup.
"Wow, this is delicious!" Adrien said. "You're quite the enchantingchef."
He winked at her. Marinette stifled a laugh at this, meanwhile Alya was still looking at Adrien as if something was wrong.
"Your shop is just as cute on the inside as it is outside," Adrien said to Marinette. "You must've put in so much work."
"Yeah," Marinette laughed. "It took a while without magic, but I got it done."
"You should see more of her pieces!" Alya said, feeling a little more comfortable. "She's very talented!"
"I don't doubt it, but I reallywanna see it." Adrien laughed as he flashed Marinette a charming smolder. She blushed.
"I can strip - ACK! I can do a private fashion show for the two of us after work today?" Marinette suggested, her tongue tying itself into knots again.
"Great idea." Adrien agreed. Marinette breathed a subtle sigh of relief.
The rest of their lunch consisted of Marinette casting furtive, shy glances at Adrien, trying not to sound like a complete idiot around him, and blushing. Every time he spoke to her, Marinette's heart went into overdrive and she couldn't help but get lost in his eyes.
Once customers started lining up out the door again, Adrien took his leave.
"See you later tonight for your fashion show, Marinette?" Adrien said, holding her hand in his own.
"Yes." Marinette confirmed, and once again, Adrien brought his hand up to his lips and kissed them. She once again went red in the face as she gave a goofy smile.
Adrien chuckled at the sight before walking away. Marinette sighed wistfully before shaking her head and saying, "No! No! Bad Marinette, bad! You gotta get back to work. It's unprofessional to be swooning over a man in the middle of a work day."
She turned on her heel and went back inside. She noticed Alya was a bit on edge, and she asked, "Alya? You okay?"
"I'm fine," Alya said. "I guess that happiness spell hasn't kicked in quite yet. I gotta get going. I need to shift to get dirt on Mayor Bourgeois! Who knows? This may be Myléne's in as future mayor."
Marinette shrugged before saying, "Maybe. Go and get what you need for the report. See you tomorrow."
"I will." Alya said as she stepped out of the store.
Marinette went back to serving the customers inside.
Okay! That's it for chapter one! Like I said, I really don't know what I'm doing, and it may take a while before the next chapter's up because I'm not overly-familiar with this genre. I've only read one or two romance novels about it. I'm sort of making things up as I go (and reading some shifter romances while I'm at it), but I hope you can be patient with me.
Keep the comments and kudos coming! Otherwise I won't be motivated to write.
And also... RIP Betty White, Sidney Poitier, and most recently, Bob Saget.