Cupid's Canvas《Marinette Dupain-Cheng》

˚₊· Her Thoughts

˚₊·

A BLANKET OF WHITE COVERED THE PARK, like the layers of frosting on a cake. The layers seemed to add up as more snow fell to the ground. Any thought or memory of what the ground looked like before was completely erased. It was great.

As Marinette walked down the streets of Paris, the icy air threatened to numb her fingertips. However, she didn't even notice.

Claire walked next to her, rambling on and on about one of her favorite groups. Marinette didn't really remember the name, she just knew it reminded her of cake. Claire's face lighting up made her forget about the snow falling all around her.

"I love Seulgi's voice. She sounds like a fairy, it's amazing. My favorite is when she--" Claire stopped, a light blush rising to their face. "I'm ranting, right? Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine," Marinette said. "I like when you get excited about the little things. I think it's cute."

Claire's eyes widened a bit, and she looked down nervously before meeting her gaze again. "Thanks, Marinette," she said with a smile.

The way she said her name, how gentle her voice sounded, filled Marinette's stomach with butterflies. Her conversation with Adrien from the day before suddenly replayed in her brain.

"You like them, don't you?"

Maybe I do...

"Marinette?"

When Marinette snapped out of it, Claire was looking at her, waiting for an answer.

"Hm? Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Nothing, silly. You were just zoning out," Claire said. She raised an eyebrow as the two of them approached a crosswalk. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"Um, nothing," Marinette said quickly, starting to play with her ribbons. They walked in silence for a bit, the bustle of the city making up for a lack of conversation. Eventually, she sighed. "Actually," she started, hesitating, "I was thinking of something."

Claire smiled. "You were thinking? Woah. That's...insane."

"Claire!" Marinette playfully shoved them to the side.

"Sorry, sorry," Claire said between laughs. "What is it?"

Marinette stopped walking, and Claire did the same.

Just do it! her brain yelled. Don't even think about it. Just--

"Would you want to go on a date with me?"

The question left her mouth before she could stop it. But it was out now, and she didn't want to take it back.

Claire stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape. After a moment, she blinked. "Wait, really?"

Marinette's heart sank. Was she about to be rejected? But she continued anyway.

"Really, really." She toyed with the end of her ribbon before continuing. "If you're interested, I'd like to take you on a date."

There was a pause. But it only lasted seconds before Claire's surprise turned into a smile. "Yeah, of course," she said with a laugh. Her laugh was light and airy and overall adorable.

Marinette's thoughts were running wild, it was hard to keep track of them all. Either way, she knew the familiar feeling of her heart racing. The butterflies inside flapped faster than ever.

"Seriously?" she said, still in disbelief.

"Seriously!" Before she could say another word, Claire threw her arms around her, hugging her.

Marinette felt herself lose her balance, and with a short scream, the two of them fell in a heap onto the snow. The confused looks they received from passersby didn't even affect them in the slightest.

"Are you okay?" they asked at the same time. "Yeah, are you?"

Claire looked away nervously, but she was smiling.

"I'm fine." She turned back to Marinette, the red faded from her face. "So, it's a date?"

Marinette stood up, then helped her off the ground. "Yep. Yeah. Totally. "

Calm down!

Breath in, breath out.

She took Claire's hand and the two of them continued down the lane. "It's a date."