Between Us

Table for Two

Her eyes squinted shut, not quite sure if she ever felt so tiny before. She wasn't sure if it was how close the love of her life was to her or the alcohol that was making a tingling mask cover her face.

Heat flushed her cheeks as she felt the tips of his fingers gently graze her ear. That's when she gained the strength to open her eyes. Her shoulders fell. He had merely tucked a strand of her hair behind the flower.

"There. It was falling out," he said as he took a step away from her.

All shakiness fell away like a wash of water and she was able to breathe air again. "Oh. Thank you."

"Shall we go?" he asked, holding his arm out.

She accepted, snaking her hand into the crook of his arm, before making their way down the street. It was a similar path from the bar, but they had made a different turn.

Marinette wasn't sure what Adrien had planned, but she was confident she would enjoy it. After all, it was Adrien that was accompanying her. She could only guess what they were heading to do. Probably somewhere to eat. Or maybe he wanted to try out that new arcade that opened up? But why would that be a secret?

"You look beautiful, by the way," Adrien said, dragging her out of her own thoughts.

"What's with the sentiments? Going soft on me now?"

He smirked. "For you? I always have a soft spot."

Oh god, was the alcoholic buzz making her flirt? Were they flirting? No, they weren't flirting, she would never. She was just bantering with him. Just like she did with Chat Noir.

Gasp. Did alcohol make her confuse Adrien with Chat?

"I hope you came with an empty stomach because we are going to eat," Adrien said.

Ah, she knew it. She could honestly go for something to munch on. Anything savory sounded delightful at that moment.

"What are we eating?"

"That, I will not say."

"What a tease."

Just pretend he's Chat, she thought. It seems to be working.

He gave her a subtle glance. There was playfulness in his eyes and it made her wonder if she was doing well so far. She wasn't even completely sure why he wanted to hang out with her since this wasn't really a planned fake date. Though, it didn't hurt to just hang out with a friend.

"You seem a bit different tonight," Adrien said.

"Different? What do you mean different?"

He shrugged. "Not in a bad way, of course. But, I don't know. You always seem to have a very heavy filter on you, so I guess you can say you seem a bit looser? More relaxed."

She pursed her lips. "And... that's a good thing, right?"

"Definitely. You know, the main reason I asked you to hang out tonight is because, well, we rarely ever hang out by ourselves, you know? Alya or Nino are always tagging along. And I love both of them, but it's nice when it's just the two of us. Especially since we're playing a role to each other, I think it's a good thing we're spending time alone. Don't you feel that way too?"

Of course she felt the same way. There wasn't a time that she ever spent with Adrien that she regretted. Well, there were always moments when she embarrassed herself, but it was just those moments alone. Adrien had always been kind and, honestly, very fun to hang out with. Throughout the years, more layers were pulled back and she frequently started catching glimpses of different sides of him that she hadn't seen before and it only made her fall for him more. It didn't help her aching heart filled with unrequited love.