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"Have I ever told you how amazing you are, Marinette?"
"You're just saying that because I gave you cookies," she giggled with pinkish cheeks. The two were having a study session in the park with their best friends, and for some reasons, Nino and Alya ditched them for a lunch date. "Aren't you the amazing one, Adrien? Not only you're an A-lister French celebrity, you're also an exemplary student with straight As on all of our subjects."
"That A-lister status is due to my name" he retorted, wiping the crumbs that fell on his shirt. "And that A-marks are just the result of my hard work and dedication as a student."
"You're not the only hardworking and dedicated student in Francois Dupont - hey, don't laugh at me!" she swatted his arm when he snorted indignantly. "We can't be nearly as perfect as you when it comes to solving a mathematical equation. Something that even a genius like Max can't answer."
"You know that I'm not perfect." he crossed his arms with a pout.
She pursed a smile. "I know."
The moment she realized that Adrien Agreste was not the perfect guy she once placed on the pedestal was the day he became her best friend. That the blond model she once worshipped was actually a pun-loving, nerdy and socially-awkward dork.
"Isn't that makes you more amazing, Marinette?" he poked her cheeks teasingly. "You might have some issues on solving molarity, but you can easily compute how many milliliters of water require a pound of flour without using a conversion table."
"That's because I live in a bakery."
"But they're a different unit system," he pointed out, then bit another cookie. "Our head chef who worked in a Michelin star restaurant before had to convert Imperial to Metric using a calculator for measuring things up."
"But that's - "
"Most of all, who in the world can eyeball two and a half cups of sugar without oversweetening the cookies? Look at the evidence!" he proclaimed while raising a half-consumed cookie in the air.
Onlookers glanced at their way with confounded stares.
"Oh, shut up, Adrien," she covered her blushing face with her hands out of embarrassment; the tips of her red ears left unhidden. "You know that I'm not admirable as others might think."
"I don't know," he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "You're pretty admirable since the day I met you."
Marinette choked her spit.
"And you're an amazing designer too!" the blond went on. "You make your own clothes; you even designed Jagged Stone's signature glasses and CD jackets."
"I'm still struggling with things, you know that. I often get artist's block and receive harsh criticism on my commissions from time to time."
"That's because they don't know how to appreciate good art."
She shook her head with a smile. "How I wish I could get the same optimism as yours, Adrien."
"Why," he tilted his head in question. "Is there someone who needs to have their necks snapped?"
"Stop it, silly Adrien." she chuckled. Stop making me fall harder for you.
"But I am your silly Adrien," he patted his chest proudly. "And you're my Marinette who's too good for the world."
"You're not making this easy, aren't you?" she deadpanned.
"You're precious to me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he confessed with a grin. "You're a best friend one could ever have."