Made For Each Other [On Hold]

Chapter 2 - Adrien

I stood in front of Marinette Dupain-Cheng and I almost laughed. Had someone told me seven years ago that I would be standing in the office of one of the leading fashion designers of Paris with this question on my mind that will either make her say yes or laugh at me, I would have told them they were crazy.

I scrubbed a hand through my hair. It really was getting quite long now but I just couldn't find the time to get it cut.

I wonder if she'd prefer it if I cut it short. Or would she want me to keep my hair like this? I thought to myself before I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. Now was really not the time.

I turned my focus back to the woman sitting behind a desk with the gorgeous view of the Eiffel Tower glittering in the background. There wasn't really much to compare. One was completely beautiful, stunning and captivatingly gorgeous, and the other was a bit of cheap metal in the middle of Paris.

I blinked. Where had that come from? Not that it wasn't true, she really looked amazing in that coral and peach dress that could have only been her design; no one else was that talented.

She sat behind her desk that seemed to be entirely covered in half-sketches and blank papers, gazing up at me with wide-eyes and cheeks tinged with red.

Damn! I swore silently to myself. Did I say something wrong? Is she going to think I'm a creep now, especially after what happened with that jerk?

"Sor-" I started to apologise but was cut off by her stuttering. "A-A-Ad-"

I ducked my head and she blushed even more.

"Sorry," I took a deep breath and held it. "I was wondering if you wanted to go to lunch with me?"

If it was possible, her cheeks became another shade of red altogether and I widened my eyes as I realised what I had just asked her.

"Not like that!" I flapped a hand in front of me and rubbed the back of my neck with my other hand. Oh, God, this is so embarrassing! "I'm not asking you out, I promise, I just thought you might want to get away from your work and everything else. I mean, I understand if you don't want to, especially after how things just ended with your boyfriend, I mean ex-boyfriend, sorry, but I just thought that maybe lunch with a friend would help...?"

Shut up, Adrien, shut up! Stop rambling, you idiot!

"Oh, no! You're amazing, I mean, that's amazing! An amazing idea!" Marinette blushed furiously and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

I grinned at her again and turned to the closest elevator (she has two elevators!) and held out my elbow like the gentleman my mother had taught me to be. "My lady? Shall we go?"

She giggled, her scarlet cheeks less inflamed, and grabbed her purse before walking over, taking my offered arm. As we waited for the elevator, a thought flitted through my mind. Wait, did she say I was amazing?

~~~

We walked along the sidewalk, chatting about our lives and how different they were to seven years ago. When we reached our quaint destination, I held the door open for her and she smiled at me. I walked in and a myriad of scents overwhelmed me. This place was full of memories that I couldn't help but smile over. The waiter spotted me from the far side of the cafe and waved me over. Marinette and I walked over to meet him where he showed us to our table by a window that looked out onto a beautiful garden.

As we were sitting down he stated. "Phones off, please."

He walked away and Marinette turned to me, confusion written across her face so I replied to her unasked question. "This manager of this cafe really really hates journalists and so he has a policy that if you come here, you have to have your phones off. A lot of celebrities like coming here just to get away from the media because the manager won't let anyone with a camera within ten metres of this place. I used to come here a lot with my parents and I thought that might be what you needed after all the attention you've been getting lately."