Adrien rushed down the street, but he didn't have to go far before he heard what sounded like the quiet sound of crying coming from around a corner. He felt a pang in his chest as he saw it was Marinette. Why was she crying?

"Marinette? You okay, what's wrong?" The blonde haired boy quickly made his way over, kneeling down beside her with an expression of concern etched into his face.

She looked away, her cheeks turning a soft red from embarrassment at herself.

"I-i'm fine, sorry...its...something I can't really talk about. Lila's just...getting on my nerves." Marinette knew that was the truth, already Lila was causing trouble and making Marinette's stay hell before her coronation.

"I get it, Lila's...kind of a jerk and it gets on my nerves how much she lies about things." He plopped himself beside Marinette, who took all the courage she had left in her to rest her head on his shoulder, glancing up to gauge his reaction.

He simply smiled, shifting slightly to the side and putting his arms around Marinette, pulling her close into a hug, with her head resting on his chest.

The bluenette's cheeks brightened.

"I assumed you could use a hug. Does that help cheer you up?" He questioned lightly, messing with her hair a bit as she nodded her head.

"Thanks a lot, Adrien. It's really sweet of you." She managed to speak softly as she let out a gentle sigh.

"Anything for a friend Mari. Everyone needs a hug sometime and I know you'd do it for me." He assured the bluenette who averted her eyes, sighing quietly.

"A-adrien...can I ask you something?" She looked up after a moment, her bluebell eyes meeting his green one's as he nodded his head.

"Ask away!"

"Well, um, say there was guy that I liked for a while now. He's a really good friend, but, he has a lot of girl's that really like him too and...im kind of afraid of telling him because no matter how obvious I seem to be, he doesn't seem to notice or is pretending not to and only sees you as a friend. What...would you do if you were me?" Marinette questioned, hoping Adrien's cluelessness ran through and he didn't realise that she was talking about him and luckily it seemed to rain through as they broke from the hug and Adrien placed his hands on Marinette's upper arm.

"Marinette, I'd say...find an opportunity for you to both be alone and just tell him how you feel about him. If he doesn't accept your feelings then he's an idiot who doesn't deserve you so don't let it bring you down. You're so beautiful Mari and talented and just one of the most caring and sweet people I've ever met and any guy would be lucky to have you as a girlfriend."

Marinette couldn't help but laugh a bit at the irony of it all and hugged him.

"Do um, do you have a crush on anyone Adrien?" The girl looked up at him and tilted her head.

"Well, don't tell anyone, but I really like Ladybug. She's really talented and determined, sweet, pretty...just like you." He gently booped her nose before shifting and getting ready to get up.

"Come on, are you ready to head back? Or do you wanna maybe get some ice cream? On me?"

"Ice cream sounds good. I don't want to be around Lila..." Marinette admitted before Adrien scooped her up in his arms and she yelped, wrapping her arms around him as he held her bridal style in his arms.

"Then ice cream you shall get Princess." Adrien, your Chat is showing. Marinette blushed brightly and laughed.

"I-i mean! Sorry- That was weird, I just wanted to make you smile!" He laughed a bit, his pale cheeks turning a light pink with embarrassment.

"It's fine! You almost sounded like Chat for a minute there." She admitted as Adrien set her down.

"Really? How?" He decided to play dumb as they began walking.

"Chat always calls me princess so I guess it reminded me of him." Marinette looked down, a soft smile on her face as she thought of her black-clad superhero friend and felt her cheeks heat up. Wait what?

"Oh? Do I have competition for you Marinette?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Alya's your competition. That's my number one bestie!" Marinette grinned, working up her courage and holding Adrien's hand gently.

"I'm hurt pri- Mari!" He placed his other hand on his chest. "At least tell me I'm on your best friends list?"

"Don't worry, you're at least number-" Marinette pretended to list off a bunch of names in her head before the two of them bursted out laughing.

Ice Cream Parlour/Karaoke Bar: 1:59 pm

While the original goal was for them to go to the ice cream parlour, the pair had taken their time, enjoying just chatting together and ended up going into a couple other stores.

Marinette had gotten some clothes, which Adrien had insisted on paying for when she went to buy it, saying that today, he would be treating her like a princess.

It made the girls heart flutter and they eventually made their way to the parlour, falling into a comfortable silence.

"Oh, they have a karaoke bar here too! That sounds like fun!" Adrien said as he ordered their ice cream.

"If you can actually sing that is, which I can't." Marinette said?simply.

"Aw come on! I really want to do it. After we eat, sing with me!" Adrien pleaded.

"Fine, fine.  Don't say I didn't warn you when I sound like a screeching cat."

Soon the duo got their ice cream and took a seat together, Marinette took out her phone and texted Alya, letting her know that she was okay and just out with Adrien.

They chatted for a bit and soon their ice cream was finished.

"Let's go sing." Adrien held his hand out to her, which she graciously took as they made their way towards the person running the karaoke.

They decided on a song and grabbed the microphones and Marinette couldn't help but feel nervous as she noticed eyes on them. Adrien squeezed her hand gently and she looked up at him.

"If you ever feel nervous, just pretend it's us two up here, okay?" He smiled sympathetically and Marinette couldn't help but thing about how that wouldn't help.

As the song began playing, Marinette started off, her eyes meeting his as they exchanged another smile. Adrien took over, singing rather confidently and Marinette's smile only grew wider.

For some reason, hearing Adrien sing, she couldn't help but be reminded of Chat. She had faint memories of hearing him sing when he had been akumatized and Adrien's voice sounded familiar, though she figured that was just her mind being weird.

Why was she thinking about Chat so much? Maybe she felt a little guilty for not telling him that she'd been going away? Though she'd been keeping an eye on the news and there hadn't seemed to be any akuma's since she'd left.

Pushing the thought out of her mind, Marinette continued to sing, harmonizing with Adrien during the chorus.

'Wow, I actually sound kind of good with him' the bluenette thought, and soon, the song had finished.

"That was a lot of fun!" Marinette grinned happily?and fist bumped him as they got off the stage. The pair were soon hand in hand again. 

"You guys make an adorable couple!" Commented a older woman, much to the embarrassment of the two teens who just exchanged a glance.

"Thanks auntie." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, responding to the woman in mandarin, a light smile on his face.

"We should head back, we both still need to get ready for dinner at the palace tonight." Marinette commented, her cheeks a soft pink.

"Yeah, let's go!" He swung their hands into the air and began walking back towards their hotel.

They walked in a somewhat comfortable silence, though neither of them could get what that woman had said out of their head.

Adrien couldn't help but wonder why he didn't correct her and why Marinette didn't either. He knew they were just friends, but he supposed he just found it sweet for the woman to think that.

As they walked, a male on the street approached Marinette, complimenting her and handing her a rose, much to the amusement of the bluenette who awkwardly shuffled closer to Adrien who grinned.

"Hey, Marinette. Remember how you were talking about that guy you like?" Adrien said after a while.

"Y-yeah? What about it?" Responded the bluenette as she looked up at him.

"I hope you get the confidence to ask him out. And if he doesn't accept, there's plenty of guys who like you too." He nudged her a bit, pointing out the flower that she'd been given.

"Here-" he gently took the flower from her and fixed it into her hair, grinning playfully.

"And if you ever need some help, you know you can always ask me."

Marinette linked her arm with his and they went back to holding hands.

"Thanks Adrien, you really are an amazing person." She sighed contently.

"It's kinda funny you know. I remember back when we first met, you didn't like me because of a misunderstanding." Adrien mused.

"Yeah, and then I completely embarrassed myself by closing your umbrella on my head." She said, frowning lightly.

"Hey! I'll have you know I thought you were really cute. It's not that bad, chin up." He assured her.

"You did?" Marinette felt her cheeks turn a bright red, almost as red as her ladybug suit.

"Yeah, honestly, I had a crush on you for a while. But, pretty much every guy did so I guess it's not too strange." He admitted and laughed.

Word Count: 1664
Status: Unedited
A/N: Yay! I actually managed to update without disappearing for three months. Uploads should be about once every week or two, though musical stuff is gonna keep me busy. Weekends are generally gonna be when I work on/upload, though I'm not gonna give myself a schedule that I'm not certain I can keep. That's it! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!
Stay safe you guys

XxxSunkistStarlightxxX

Signing Out