Project: Halloween 2017

In the Hand of Fate

Alya patted the girl's head, "Hey, you'll get there. You just need to take baby-steps." She thought about it, "How about... you ask him for his number."

"His number? But I already have that. I got it from you."

"Adrien doesn't know that," Alya winked and got up. "Okay, Adrien, you've done enough damage. It's my turn to kick Nino's butt."

"Dude, not cool!"

"Have at it," Adrien handed her the controller.

Marinette's heart stopped as she realized her crush was coming her way. Her body spasmed as it couldn't decide whether it wanted to run or stay. In the end, her indecisiveness was her downfall.

"Thanks for inviting us, Marinette. I'm having a great time." His face was radiant like the sun. She felt like she would melt under the warmth. "...Marinette?"

She blinked as she realized she was staring again, "Ah! That's great! You're having a great time so that's great! You're great! Everything's great! Great! Yay!"

Her gaze drifted past him, towards Alya who mouthed, 'Baby-steps.'

Marinette took a deep breath, steeled herself, and looked straight at the cookie tray for bravery. In the center of the sweets stood the serpent-like body of a jade dragon. Her mom had left it there, telling Marinette it was a good luck charm. The woman had then shot a knowing smile at Adrien which he thankfully didn't see. Marinette was so embarrassed by what her mom was insinuating that she practically shoved the woman out of the room, making sure to quickly thank her and ask her to please not come back. Now, she hoped that little green dragon did have some magic. Marinette knew luck was real, but she was only lucky as Ladybug. How could a normal girl do this?

"Um, Adrien, I was wondering. M-m-maybe, next time, I don't have to invite everyone through Alya." Her eyes followed the dragon to the silver tray, she followed the silver tray to his arm, she followed his arm to his face. He was patiently listening with that same glowing smile full of understanding and happiness, "Maybe... I could invite you if I... had..." she gulped, "Nino's number!"

His eyebrow arched up, "Nino's number?"

Marinette forced a smile and gritted her teeth as her subconscious started kicking her repeatedly, "Yeah, you know, to make getting a hold of him a bit smoother."

"Sure..." he returned the smile, one more believable than hers, and pulled out his phone.

"Dudes, check it out!" Nino slammed what looked like a brick onto the table. Alya stood behind him giving Marinette a wordless apology. "I found these under the cabinet. I think they're like sparrow cards or something."

"They're called Tarot cards, Nino," Alya corrected while grabbing his shoulders, "Now stop trying to avoid losing to a girl and get back to the game."

Adrien shuffled through the cards, their designs were intricate and mysterious. Each held a single word along with the miniature paintings. Marinette could tell they were old. The edges were frayed and bent, but the imagery was still vibrant. She vaguely remembered her dad rifling through this deck many years ago, "I think these belong to my dad... What are they doing in my room?"

"You can use them to predict the future, right?" Nino asked, "Let's totally do that!"

Adrien nodded, "Yeah, that sounds like fun."

Relief washed over Marinette. Now she had more time to work up the courage to ask Adrien. She gave Alya a desperate look.

Alya sighed, "Fine."

A quick online search was all Alya needed in order to figure out how to do a supposedly proper card reading. As proper as a Google search could find. Although, she admitted, the ceremony was much more complicated than she originally thought. Snacks were pushed to the table edges and everybody watched as she placed several cards face down to form an odd shape. "The Hand of Fate," Alya called it, "Constantly moving, taking us along for the ride. Who we doing?"