Dearly Despised, (I love you)

Glaciator (Part 1)

"I...." would. She most certainly would. "That's so thoughtful of you, but I... I can't. I already have plans with some friends."

Adding, 'and fake-boyfriend" just didn't sit right on the tongue. Plus, Chat somewhat knew about the nameless nuisance in her life, and he had one of his own too. They'd bond over having to deal with their civilian enemies often when a fight beside the lockers left her real up. So, she was never going to tell Chat—the love her of life, the skip between heartbeats, the greatest view in Paris—that she had deigned to fake-date her foe (for the sake of her identity, but still).

As Chat readied himself to leapt away, he winked. "Well, if your plans end early, come and join me."

She really, really wished the plans would.

"Adrien's dad isn't letting him go out."

Especially since Adrien never bothered showing.

Alya held her shoulders consolingly as she retold Nino's text, and now Marinette stood alone with four other people on the Trocadéro pavement, swallowing her scream.

She skipped a date-like evening with the man she'd die instantly for, for a fake date with the guy who made her want to instantly die, who never ended up showing, because, as it seemed, she wasn't a good enough excuse to escape his house for – although every other time he was fine with it! And she was his girlfriend! His fake girlfriend, but still. Didn't he care about how that looked? Not making an effort to sneak out for her even though he could at least try? Ugh. And he always gave her talk for not "acting" well enough. He'd be impossible to date in real life.

"So he's not coming?"

"Sorry, girl. I know it must be hard having a boyfriend you don't get to hang out with much outside of school." Oh, she saw him enough. "But it's still going to be so fun looking for André's magical ice cream. They say couples that eat ice cream at Andre's will stay in love forever." Alya stilled realising her mistake and rubbed the back of her neck. "I mean, that's just a rumour. I'm sure Adrien not being here won't affect anything."

Well, she wasn't going to stick around long for some bogus ice cream she'd have to traipse half of Paris for while fifth-wheeling Nino, Alya, Myléne, and Ivan.

Once they found the cart, she sadly received a peach and mint ice cream, and when the choruses of "your love will materialise" and "Andre's ice cream never fails" grated her ear, someone ran past and knocked her ice cream out of her hands. And that just about did it. She left with a grilling note hoping and praying she could catch Chat Noir in time.

Turns out, André was pretty sensitive about people calling his creations "just ice cream".

"She loves me... She loves me not... She loves me..."

Chat Noir's eyes shallowed upon the pale, merciless glow of the last candle he had to blow out.

Frankly, Adrien didn't even know he was supposed to be going out with his friends until Nino literally only remembered to tell him that evening – after the mental war he experienced preparing to ask Ladybug to a candlelit rooftop date the same night. Now it looked like he'd ditched Marinette and a premonition that she would not be happy with that came upon him. But he didn't spend a penny longer thinking about it.

He had asked Ladybug on a date—Well, a dinner. But if he played his cards right, the evening could fall somewhere between a hang-out and the best night of his life. Maybe he would confess. Maybe they would reveal their identities and get married. Maybe not. If all else, he just wanted to spend time with her. His stomach had been tying knots all afternoon.