FINALLY
I kinda fell into an unmotivated abyss of not writing sooooo
Sorry for taking so long.
But hey, at least that's the next to last chapter! xD
Enjoy~

*1 month later*

Nino was panicking. He knew he had parked the blue blazer right on the backrest of his chair but now that he looked for it he couldn't find it.

Though, despite his panic, he had to keep calm. He couldn't sweat now, he had just come from the shower and already put on his good jeans and white shirt with V-Neck. It was his only one.

No, he couldn't just make the clothes dirty that he had chosen so carefully.

And panicking wouldn't help him either now. He had to keep a cool head, breathe through and-

"MOOOOOOOOOOM!"

His mother's surprised yelp from downstairs almost startled himself after his shout, then her worried, hasty words carried up the stairs.

"Nino?! Are you alright?"

He sighed and pinched his nose. Do not stress out over this, keep calm, keep it together.

"Yes. I'm fine.", he replied, "Uhm, mom, do you know where my blazer is?"

A moment of silence already answered his question and he rolled his eyes, calling down the staircase that he had probably found them and walking back into his living room. In the Lahiffe household the doors were always open and the kids always up to something, that was the number one rule.

His suspicions turned out to be true as he laid eyes on his little nephew wearing the oversized blazer, trying to look tall and elegant with his seven years of age, tapping around and holding a plastic plate he probably had found somewhere as if it was a tablet. Nino smirked, quickly pulling out his phone and snapping a photo before making himself noticeable.

"Having fun, Chris?"

The boy looked up to his uncle and laughed, showing off his missing tooth with his grin.

"Uncle Nino! I waf djusht practifing to be like you fomeday!"

Nino chuckled and gently lifted the blazer off the boy's shoulders, patting it down to get the dust off, then he threw it over his shoulder and messed up Chris' hair.

"And you're doing great, I'm sure you'll be the perfect fill in once I leave here. But I still need my blazer."

The boy followed him back to the bathroom, hanging on his leg as Nino grabbed his perfume and sprayed a bit on his neck.

"If that pfor your date today, uncle Nino?", he curiously asked while holding on to his jeans, closely eyeing Nino as he styled his hair. Soon, the boy stood up and tried to do the same.

"Yes.", he chuckled and reached down to help Chris style his hair with a little bit styling gel that he had left over, making them stand up like his and the boy's eyes shine, "Escort me downstairs, champ? Can't have anything come my way before the date even starts."

Chris giggled and jumped of excitement, tenderly touching his styled hair as if it was a prized possession now.

"I can be your bodthyguard now?", he cheered, already dashing out to stand straight, "Dis way, gentleman Nino!"

He laughed, following his little nephew down the first flight of stairs, checking his phone again and patting on his pocket to be sure to have keys and wallet with him. Alya hadn't texted anything else so the date was still on and Nino felt himself getting nervous.

"Do you need a bit of money, dear?", the voice of his mother suddenly ripped him from his stupor, making him stop right behind Chris and glance into his parent's apartment.

"No mom, I got enough, thank you!"

She looked up and down on him and stepped closer, fixing the collar of his blazer before nodding, softly placing a hand on his cheek.

"You look handsome.", she patted his cheek, "And don't you underestimate her. Another waiter can always carry a cola and it may not hit her this time."

Nino laughed and cupped his mother's hand with his, shaking his head.

"Don't worry, mom. I think I'll be better than the guy she wanted to get away from last time."

"You better be!", she scolded, then she pulled him down to her to kiss his other cheek, smirking, "Don't worry. The two of you will have a wonderful evening."

He felt Chris pulling on his jeans but a quick glance to the clock told him he still had time so he hugged his mother and leant back, catching her gaze.

"Mom, I wanna take her there. I-… I don't know her for too long yet but I-… I think it's just right."

She held his gaze for a bit, then Amélie slowly nodded, a smile forming on her lips.

"If you think so, do so. You might be right. But you know what this means to you."

He nodded, giving into Chris' pulling and stepping away.

"Yes, I know. I just think it's right. It's a feeling."

"Then it's right.", his mother nodded, waving him, "Don't let her wait, go already!"

He smiled brightly and waved as well, following Chris down the stairs.

When he arrived in front of her house she was already standing outside, wearing a beautiful summer dress as she waited in the sun for him. The days lately had been getting a little chilly again but it was still warm enough to easily wear summer clothes.

She smiled as he pulled over, leaning out of his window and winking at her.

"I doubt you'd want cola all over that.", he commented as she came closer, entering his car on the passenger's side before bopping his nose and closing the door again.

"Well then you better behave, Lahiffe. All the waiters of the world are on my side and have colas ready."

He laughed as he started driving again, leaning back to get the shadow over his eyes again so he could see enough.

"That they certainly should be. On your side, I mean! Because who could even resist your beauty?"

She giggled at that, lightly slapping his shoulder as she shook her head.

"Charmer. Anyways, where are we going?"

Nino just smirked at that, glancing over to her while propping one of his arms up on the door.

"I thought about maybe a drive through, so you wouldn't get the idea of bribing someone to save yourself from me."

Alya laughed once again, her laughter sounding like bells in his ears. He blushed immediately, trying not to think about that.

"Oh, believe me, if I wanted to I'd find a way out. I doubt I'll want to get away from you, though."

"I'm glad to hear that you'd rather choose to dump the cola on me yourself than bribe someone. Wouldn't want you to lose the twenty bucks."

She rolled her eyes and once again smacked his shoulder, though this time her hand stayed on him, softly brushing over the material of his blazer.

"You'd like that, Lahiffe. Now, for real, where are you taking us?"

He shrugged, coming to a halt on a red light and looking over to her, catching her gaze.

"I heard of that place in the city center somewhere, it's new and it's supposedly really good. I think it's a Greek restaurant. You up for it?"

She smiled warmly, her hand brushing down his arm to lightly touch his hand before settling on her own lap again, nodding.

"Yeah, sure. I'd like to go."

The light turned green and he concentrated on getting going before changing the topic, already grinning as he did.

"Sooo… How's it going with Adrien and Marinette? I heard you organized a kinda set up meeting for them with a few friends of yours?"

Alya snorted at that, nodding while she crossed her legs, getting a bit more comfortable. He noticed how her dress rode up her thigh just a little, according to the position of her hands deliberately.

"Oh, yeah. You had to work, sadly, so I thought why not be actually able to concentrate without you being around to distract me and make them meet. And oh boy, it was an instant tension. Like, I have genuinely never seen two people falling in love so quickly."

"Are you sure?", he teased and she rolled her eyes again, shaking her head.

"They were definitely the fastest, I'm not lying. I so saw it in their eyes."

Nino chuckled, focusing on getting the right turn before answering again, his eyes fixed on the street.

"So you think they could become something more?"

She shrugged, leaning back with a small smile on her lips.

"I mean, wouldn't that be cool? We could go on double dates! For now, they've just met each other but maybe they'll really give it a shot. Who knows yet."

Nino's heart did a little jump as he heard her talking so casually about them dating, especially since this was technically their first date. They had seen each other more often after that stormy night but had pretty much kept it friendly until Nino hadn't been able to keep it in anymore, finally asking her out to an official first date just two days ago.

Her saying yes had made him so incredibly giddy and happy that he had spent the entire day before planning his outfit and the location, carefully considering everything and practicing to sound as chill as possible. Yet, with her beside him, he didn't find it to be as hard as he had anticipated to be relaxed. She had that kinda effect on him.

Before he knew it he already pulled up beside the restaurant, parking on one of the visitor parking lots. As soon as the car was turned off he jumped out, running around it but Alya had already stood up and just closed the car door so he just offered his arm, smiling brightly.

She giggled, throwing her gorgeously styled brown-reddish hair back over her shoulder before taking his arm, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

Much to his embarrassment he blushed deeply, even though small kisses on the cheek or on the forehead had become a habit for them pretty quickly after the night of the storm. Something had just clicked then and since then body contact with him had become very important to Alya, probably because she trusted him to stay with her after he had decided to stay when she had been scared.

So, normally it didn't leave him as flustered when she had given him a little kiss over the past month but now, with the concept of a date around it, he couldn't help but feel the red, burning blush spread on his cheeks.

And her giggle determined that she had seen it. Oh man.

Well, anyway, this date would go perfectly. He had already saved a table for two and he had tested it beforehand, deciding that this food was delicious and she'd like it and maybe, at the end of the day, if she was up for it, he could bring her to the tree house.

This was something he had honestly been waiting for the past few days already. The tree house meant a lot to him, he had gone there everyday as a child and it had been his safe place. None of his bullies had ever found him there so this had always been important to him.

It wasn't that he expected her to feel or think anything of it when taking her there. And it especially wasn't to get her to pity him or anything. It was just so important to him that he wanted to share it with her, that was all.

"Hello, monsieur?", a voice suddenly ripped him out of his thoughts and a friendly waitress looked up to him.

"Hm? Sorry, yeah?", he replied quickly, trying his best to keep his racing heart as Alya giggled.

"Did you have a reservation?", she asked and he nodded in response.

"Uhm, yes. A table for two under the name Lahiffe?"

The waitress nodded with a bright smile and led them to the back where, in a little more quiet and secluded corner, a table for two was prepared. He thanked the waitress and pulled the chair out for Alya to sit down, earning a smirk and a dry comment on his nature as a waiter himself. He chuckled and sat down himself, glancing at Alya across the table.

"So…", she drawled, "You saved a table, eh?"

He couldn't fight the blush as he nodded and reached over the table, turning his palm up to give her the choice of taking his hand. She did, with a question in her eyes that he aimed to answer.

"I, yeah, I did… Because, well, this is the first official date. I just wanted to be sure everything was going smoothly."

She smirked and brushed over his palm, her gaze turning soft as she began playing with his fingers.

"You're adorable, Nino. A dork, definitely, but an adorable one."

He laughed as he began chasing her fingers before both settled for linking them, interlacing them. Alya's eyes met his and she smiled, lightly squeezing his hand as she nodded at him, her gaze speaking a thousand words.

"You did good, Lahiffe. I like it here. And I bet the food's delicio-", she interrupted herself as he covered a small laughter with a cough, "… You already went here to be sure it tasted good, am I right?"

The laughter broke past the fake cough and he leant back, then playfully shot her a desperate gaze.

"I ate bell peppers for you, Alya! You know I despise these things!"

He wouldn't ever forget the most honest and loudest laughter he was lucky enough to witness at that moment.