Just The Beginning

Part 1

Adrien and Marinette walked along the nature trails at Champ de Mars happily, the sun shining down on the couple and their intertwined hands. They both smiled as they remembered when they had first came to this park four months ago, that was the day that they had decided to officially begin dating. That wasn't all that was special about today, for it was also the day that marked six months of Chat Noir and Ladybug knowing each other's identities. They didn't actually want to reveal themselves just yet, but being trapped inside of a locked basement after they had both used their superpowers didn't end as they'd liked it to. Although the two had acted differently around each other in the beginning, after a few days they had gotten used to each other and had learned to love both sides of one another. 

Marinette gazed at the scenery around her in awe. Many of the trees in the park had changed from their usual leafy green to a variety of oranges, yellows, and reds, leaving Marinette to look at the trees' beauty happily. "Today is such a perfect day; the scenery is amazing and the temperature is just right. Isn't the view amazing?" Feeling confident around his lady, Adrien smirked and decided to let his inner Chat Noir out for a while. "You're right, you do look purr-fect today, m'lady." Marinette smiled and blushed, but then she decided to try something else. "Hmm, letting the Chat out of the bag, are we?" 

The couple laughed at their puns and sat down and the closest park bench. "So, kitty, when are Alya and Nino meeting us? Didn't they say five?" Marinette asked, pulling out her phone to check the time. "It's seven-thirty, Adrien. Do you think that they're okay?" Adrien put his arms around Marinette and raised her head to meet his. "Marinette, relax, I'm sure they're fine. If anything, they're late because they're behind that bush over there, watching us," he said, pointing towards a shrub behind the bench they were sitting on.

The couple watched the plant behind them with great interest as it moved slightly, and then a nervous Nino stood up and was pulled back down harshly by Alya's hand. "Nino! Get down, they might see you. They're already onto us," Alya's voice said, coming from the shrub that Nino popped up from. Adrien and Marinette looked at each other and laughed whilst loud arguing came from the bush. Adrien slowly crept behind the hiding couple and signaled for Marinette to be quiet, to which she nodded. Once Adrien was behind the shrub, he snuck up behind the arguing two and tapped both of their shoulders, yelling, "Gotcha!"

The stalking duo jumped and then scowled at Adrien and Marinette, who were laughing so hard they were crying. "Hey, no fair, we didn't know we were being stalked!" Nino yelled dramatically, throwing his hands up into the air. "Wow, the stalkers were being stalked, how ironic," Marinette said, rolling her eyes. Adrien smirked at his lady, knowing his jokingly ways were beginning to rub off on her. Marinette saw Adrien's smirk and hit herself with her hand, understanding that she had probably made some sort of pun or joke again. Ever since she had been hanging around Adrien more frequently, his constant jokes and flirts had been ever so slowly rubbing off on her, making her almost as punny as Chat Noir himself. 

Nino and Alya just stood there, giving their friends strange glances. Marinette and Adrien noticed their stares and glanced nervously at each other. They had decided that they wouldn't tell their friends their alternate identities until they thought the time was right, if that time ever came. After a few long moments of awkward silence, Marinette finally tried to change the subject. "So . . . how long were you guys watching us?" 

Alya just smiled mischievously at her best friend. "That's for us to know and you two to never find out." Adrien rolled his eyes and said, "And that basically means that you stalked our entire date, didn't you?" Nino and Alya just stood there awkwardly, knowing that what their friends had suspected was true. "No, dudes, we were . . . uh, getting something to eat before?" Nino said, trying to sound confident, but making his statement sound like a question.