Marinette grinned down at her phone. Alya noticed the movement and smiled. "Girl, it has been months! All you do is message that boy, will you please go out with him already?"

The two girls were lying on the floor in Marinette's room, a now empty plate of macarons in front of them. Alya had been spending a suspicious amount of time at Marinette's place, and Marinette wasn't sure it was entirely for her company, although Alya always denied her accusations.

"Ok," Marinette said.

Alya did a double take. "Wait really? He doesn't even have your phone number yet! Oh girl, it is about time!"

Marinette frowned. Alya wasn't wrong, her and Adrien had been communicating strictly through Facebook messenger. "Yeah… um… how do I ask someone out?"

At this point in their friendship, Alya knew better than to laugh. Marinette needed more confidence, not for her best friend to laugh at her. Even if the scared look on her face was adorably hilarious. "Well at this point, you must know him better than anyone. So, what does he like to do? Ask him to go get coffee with you, or maybe to a movie or something."

"But Alya… he's Adrien. He's a model! Coffee or a movie… that must be so boring for him! He's always travelling or going to movie premiers or some fancy party somewhere…" Marinette looked lost.

"Maybe he would be glad if the world slowed down a little bit," Alya suggested gently.

Marinette bit her lip as she thought about it. Adrien was a bit of a dork… he liked to play video games and started almost every conversation with some sort of cheesy pick up line. Alya picked up on Marinette's nervous habit and continued, "Think about it girl. You're always busy, and when life is go go go, it's nice to take a break and just chill out for a while right?" Marinette nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Adrien has fun when he's out being a model, but sometimes you just need to stop and let the world go by without running frantically to keep up."

Marinette nodded again. "You're probably right. Thanks Alya," she grinned.

Alya grinned back. "Anything for my best girl! I've gotta run now though, so text me the deets later!" She gave Marinette a knowing look. Marinette agreed, grateful that Alya recognized her need to do this alone. Once she was out of sight, she turned her attention back to her phone.

Marinette: Hey, I have a question.

Adrien: What's up buttercup?

Marinette grinned at his immediate response. She never had to wait long to hear from him, unless he was at a shoot. "I can do this, I can do this," she whispered to herself. She had gotten a lot more confident over the past three months that she and Adrien had been talking. She no longer threw her phone when he replied, and it didn't take her hours to come up with a response to any of Adrien's pickup lines. Taking a deep breath, she typed out another message before she could change her mind.

Marinette: Do you want coffee?

Marinette: I mean, do you want to go. Get coffee. With me.

Marinette: Do you want to go get coffee with me?

Marinette was convinced that the thirty seconds he took to reply were the worst thirty seconds of her life. Even over a messaging service she was still able to stutter and embarrass herself.

Adrien: I would love to go get coffee with you Marinette :)

Marinette squealed and threw her phone across the room. Ok, so maybe she hadn't quite broken that habit yet. Crawling across the floor, she picked up the phone and shot off a text to Alya.

Marinette: !

Alya, Partner in Crime: !

Alya, Partner in Crime: I'm so proud of you :)

Alya, Partner in Crime: My little bby is all grown up

Marinette grinned and switched back to her messages with Adrien. It occurred to her that they hadn't picked a date, time, or place, and that those were probably important details. She suggested a little coffee shop in the heart of Paris and waited to see what his response would be.

xxx

Marinette paced back and forth, torn between going in and turning around and running for her life. She was across the street from the coffee shop, and if she didn't make up her mind soon, she was going to be late for her date with Adrien. Her mind screamed at the word 'date'. Marinette had been frantic all morning, rushing around to get ready and comparing the pros and cons of every piece of clothing she owned with Alya, while the other girl laughed and stuffed her face with macarons. But somehow with her best friend's help, Marinette had arrived at the café early. And now, she was going to be late, even though she was already there. Suddenly her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out, almost dropping it in the process as her hands shook.

Alya, Partner in Crime: You're going to have an amazing time, get in there!

Marinette looked around the street, but didn't see anyone.

Marinette: Are you watching me?

Alya, Partner in Crime: No, I just know you too well

Alya, Partner in Crime: Now go!

Marinette opened the picture she received. It was a selfie of Alya giving her a thumbs up. She grinned, put her phone back in her pocket, and walked across the street into the café.

To her dismay, she didn't see Adrien inside. She pulled out her phone to double check the time and the location but this was what they had agreed on. Nervously, she found a table near the window and sat down. She was typing out a panic message to Alya when she heard a voice next to her.

"Excuse me, don't I know you?"

Marinette looked up, and smiled when she Adrien standing there.

"Ah that's right, you're the girl with the beautiful smile," he grinned. "Sorry I'm late. It doesn't look like you ordered yet, can I get you something?"

"I um… hi! It's ok, I was actually early for something, for once in my life, I'm usually late but I-" Marinette blushed. "Uhm… a peppermint mocha?" It was the first coherent thing that popped into her head.

"Sure thing," Adrien flashed her another model-worthy smile and went to stand in line. Marinette felt her heart flutter. Get it together! A voice that sounded suspiciously like Alya sounded in her head. Adrien returned a few minutes later with her drink.

"Are you not getting anything?" Marinette asked with a frown.

"Nah, you're my cup of tea," Adrien said with a wink. Then his face fell a little bit. "Um but really, there's a show coming up, and I don't need the extra calories."

Marinette's frown grew deeper. "I'm sorry, we could have gone somewhere else, I didn't know…"

Adrien cut her off with another smile, this one more genuine. "It really is ok Marinette, I was just so excited to actually spend time with you that I didn't care where it was. We could be washing dishes at your parent's bakery and I would be ok with it."

"M-m-me?" Marinette squeaked out.

"Yes you," Adrien laughed. "We've been talking for a couple months now and… you seem really cool, and I wanted to actually hang out with you in person. It doesn't really matter where." Marinette just stared at him blankly. He rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "I honestly wanted to ask you out for a while now, but I was scared you would say no…"

"What?!" Marinette yelped. Blushing furiously she added, "Why on earth would I ever say no?"

Adrien looked away. "Well you're just so… you, ya know?" Marinette cocked an eyebrow at him, silently willing him to continue before she had to ask. She didn't know if she was up to that task just yet. "You're so normal, but at the same time you're the exact opposite." He made eye contact with the girl and realized she was still confused. Sighing, he continued again. "Marinette… You're always telling me about these awesome things that you're doing, and I always wish I could join you."

"Awesome things? You're the one who's always going important places and meeting important people! I just sketch in my notebook and do homework, and I go window shopping with Alya because neither of us can afford to spend actual money on actual things." Marinette was entirely confused now. Had he mixed her up with someone else?

"Exactly!" Adrien beamed at her. "I guess…" he shrugged as his face fell. "I never really got a chance to be a normal kid, you know? It was always some event or another, 'Oh go here Adrien', 'Oh, wear that Adrien'. I never got a chance to do what I wanted to do, it was always what other people wanted. You have the freedom to decide when to do your homework, or when to go hang out with your friends. I know you have responsibilities too, but you have an actual choice in the matter."

Marinette took in his sad look. Alya was right. "Well… you can come do my homework any time you want," she suggested, only half kidding. Thankfully it had the effect that she wanted, and she could feel the tension leave the boy sitting across from her.

"Honestly, I would really like that Marinette." After a pause, he added, "Your homework isn't the only reason I like you though."

Marinette's mind sputtered over the fact that Adrien just said he liked her, so it took her a minute to form a coherent response.

"Yeah?"

Inwardly she groaned. That was the stupidest thing you could have said.

Adrien seemed unphased by her awkwardness. He was probably used to people being awkward around him in general. "Yeah, Marinette. You're… well first of all, you've got an amazing smile and I love the color of your eyes. But more than that, you've never failed to make me laugh, even after one of my longest days. And you're always there for me. Which… isn't actually something I've ever been able to say before, unless you count my bodyguard I guess. You're incredibly kind, and selfless! All of those times you told me that you were helping your parents in the bakery, or helping Alya with her siblings, or Nino with setting up his sound systems, you're always volunteering your time to help other people. This is technically the first time we've officially met in person, and I feel like I've known you forever," he looked at her earnestly. Marinette marveled at how young he looked in that moment.

"Adrien I-" Marinette was interrupted by Adrien's cell phone. He checked the caller ID and winced.

"I'm really sorry Marinette, I have to take this," he said as he stood up. He left the café to stand on the sidewalk out front.

Marinette just about melted into a puddle of goo. Adrien really thought those things about her? Marinette found it hard to believe. But Adrien had never lied to her before, and he had no reason to start now… Her gaze drifted out the window, and she could see that the phone conversation wasn't going well. Adrien had a dark look on his face, but as she was watching, it suddenly disappeared. His face was left completely neutral, which was even more jarring to see.

He hung up and reentered the café. "I… I'm really sorry Marinette, but I have to go, last minute show stuff and..." He shuffled his feet, looking down.

Marinette felt her heart drop, but she smiled anyway. "Hey," she said softly. Adrien looked up at her. "It's ok, I get it. But… next time you have to come over and do my homework and eat macarons, alright?"

Adrien smiled softly. "I would really like that. I'll message you later?" Marinette nodded dumbly and he turned to walk out.

"Thank you for the coffee!" Marinette blurted as he was halfway to the door.

Adrien smiled over his shoulder. "It was absolutely my pleasure," he winked at her.

Once he had left, Marinette let out a huge sigh and tried to process what had just happened. Marinette was almost impressed that she managed to get through most of that conversation without looking like a fool, despite her rough start. Adrien seemed like he genuinely enjoyed her company, and even though he had to leave early, it didn't seem like he wanted to. She thought back to the way he smiled at her and she could feel herself melting inside. And now they had future plans to meet at her house…

Marinette spent three hours that night removing photos of Adrien from her room, waiting to see what pick up line the blonde boy would message her next.

AN: Here it is, the final chapter! I've never been good at endings so let me know what you think? It will help me in the future! Thank you thank you to everyone who favorite, followed, reviewed, or read this fic