The hazards of being a bakers daughter# adrianette & ladynoir

Happy girl

"Yeah?" she asked. She watched him closely, a small glimmer of something small and warm flickering in her chest. He seemed almost ... nervous. Was she making Adrien nervous? She barely dared to consider the possibility.

"Well," Adrien pushed on, not quite meeting her eyes, "since I'm such a Tramp—"

Marinette's heart stopped. "Oh god, Adrien," she said hurriedly, before he could go any further. Had the floor suddenly vanished? Because she felt as though she was pitching forward into pure nothingness. "I'm sorry, okay?" she assured him earnestly. "I didn't mean it as an insult, really, I—"

Suddenly, for some incomprehensible reason, Adrien burst out laughing. Marinette watched in shock as Adrien shook his head and his laughter slowly died down. "Really, it's fine," he assured her.

Marinette bit her lip, still feeling unsure. She hadn't thought at all before making that comment—really, she had still been in such a state of shock that she had just blurted out the first words that came into her head.

Adrien caught her gaze and gave her a reassuring smile. "The more I've thought about it, the funnier it's become."

She hesitated. He seemed to be telling the truth... But then again, Adrien was such a nice person—surely even if she had hurt his feelings, he wouldn't tell her. Feeling miserable, Marinette decided that she would never, ever make another comment about Chat's flirtatious tendencies.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Adrien continued. She noticed that he glanced away again, and her stomach did a little backflip. "Since I'm such a Tramp, maybe I could take you to get a spaghetti dinner sometime, hm?"

Marinette's entire body short-circuited, her feet stopping mid-step, her mind going completely blank. Had ... had Adrien just asked her out on a date? Adrien Agreste? Charming, sweet talking Chat Noir?

Not a date, her mind quickly pointed out the moment it started working again. He never called it a date.

Oh, who was she kidding? A spaghetti dinner purposely intended in the fashion of Lady and the Tramp? He was so asking her on a date.

How was she even supposed to respond to something like this? She was half surprised she hadn't melted into a pile of goo on the tiled floor. She was going to start stuttering again, wasn't she? She—

Marinette glanced up to find Adrien watching her anxiously, one hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Slowly, slowly she felt her frozen nerves thaw. She hadn't been wrong—he was nervous.

Of course he is, silly! her brain chided. He's asking someone out! That someone just happened to be ... well, her.

He wanted to go on a date with her.

Her stomach broke into a million tiny butterflies, but for once the tickling sensation they left behind didn't overpower her. It was just there, a small echo in the background. She felt a small smile creeping onto her lips as she started walking again. "You know," she told him thoughtfully, "I think that'd be nice."

Relief broke visibly across his face, and Marinette felt another surge of pleasant disbelief. She had spent so long pining after him that watching Adrien experience the same uneasiness somehow made him seem more ... human.

Of course he is, she told herself. Yet she couldn't help but admit how much easier she felt knowing he was having some of the same doubts.

"Alright, cool," Adrien told her, a goofy grin spreading across his cheeks. Somehow, the expression made him look only that much dreamier. "When are you free?" he added as they walked into the classroom.

"Let me check my calendar." She reached to grab her phone from her purse.

"If you want," Adrien said hurriedly, not quite meeting her eyes again, "I could just give you my number and you can text me what works best."