Miraculous Moments [Miraculous LadyBug Fanfic]

"May I have this dance?"

They both held their hands, as if the ghost of the other was still there.

———

Nino watched in the sitting room as Adrien walk passed the sitting room as he tuned his instrument. His hands were folded back and his strides were slow. His heart dropped as he left behind his music and attended his friend, he breathed in and out for a moment before he left. He needed to do this for Alya's sake. "Adrien, I wanted to ask you a question."

He stopped in his walk and looked curious. "Yes?"

"Alya . . . " His heart swelled at her name. "She has been telling me about Marinette . . . and after thinking on it for a while."

"What about Marinette?" Adrien asked.

"Alya has been telling me that Marinette has been . . . Seeing me favorably or what ever that means," he said with a nervous laugh. Why those words she asked for him to say, he would not know, but they struck a cord in Adrien. His back snapped and his face fizzled to a frown. Just as Alya predicted. "I was wondering if you could, I am not fully sure what, but if she sees me favorable, then that must mean she would like to spend sometime with me, yes?"

Adrien was frozen in time, but shook his head free and looked away from him coldly. "I . . . Suppose it does." he agreed, though through hard teeth.

"Would you mind sharing her favorite activities with me? So I could come to know her a bit better." Nino said.

He looked unsure, but his saddened countenance let him say, "I would have to say that a walk in the garden is a favorite of hers. She also likes to play elevens and draw."

"And dancing too?" Nino asked with pretend excitement.

His friend stilled. "What?"

"She seems to really like dancing." Nino said. "And playing the violin. Perhaps we could duet on the strings as you and Alya dance, and vice versa when we dance, but with you and Aly on the piano-forte."

Adrien shook his head, throwing a forced laugh. "No, no." he said. "She does not really enjoy dancing, not all that much. It was just practice we do for events, really. She finds it tiering. And violin was just something she picked up for Father, like I did for piano."

Nino frowned instead of smiling, hiding his smug face. "I thought you picked up Piano for your mother."

He gulped and said. "That is was I meant. To say."

Nino nodded, fully satisfied. "Then thank you for your help. I will be sure to win favor with Marinette and take her on a few walks I suppose." He rubbed his neck as he turned to walk away. Alya's last commands stayed on his tongue, unsure what the man would do if he said the follow-up, "However, after such a small connection, I do not think she would take my hand." Instead, he just pestered him occasionally the next few weeks as the girls were away.

and Adrien stayed in contact with lettes, becoming routine for him. From the moment he received a letter, he would drop most of everything and hide away in his study to spend the rest of the night writing a perfect response to whatever she wrote and sent it straight in the morning. It would take three days, but they always came in a solid pattern, suggesting she would similarly drop all activities to write him back and sent it right after him. It was eerie how he began to make sure to make special events planned around the days he expected his letters, similar to how he did so when ever his lady was acting up during the month.

He was in his study one night when Nino didn't hear vigorous scratching and pen strokes. He peeked in to see him staring at the letter, pen in his other hand, shaking. Nino walked in to see his friend let out a shaky breath as he let go of the papers and let them drop on his desk. His hand ran through his head and he gave a spare glance to his friend. On his desk was a rough portrait sketch of Marinette smiling gently at him, along with one of Alya. His fingers flinched at it, but he kept his body still. "Adrien? Are you alright?"