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The music screeched to a halt as Marinette tripped over Nino’s foot for the fourth time.
She groaned in disgust as she readjusted her grip in Nino’s hand, determined to get this right since she couldn’t make a fool of herself in front of so many people later that night.
“Hey, girl, relax. You’re supposed to let Nino lead, remember?” Alya called out as she reset the music again and played the song from the beginning.
“Right, I know. Sorry, Nino,” she said, sending her friend a sheepish smile.
“No problem, Mari. We’ll keep trying until we get it right. I know we can do this.” He pulled her a little closer since he figured the distance between them wasn’t helping. He knew Alya wouldn’t mind though he wondered if a certain blond would if he’d been there.
When the song began again, Marinette allowed Nino to start them off, but she soon took over without meaning to, causing them to stumble again.
“Oh, it’s hopeless. I’m sorry, Nino. Maybe we shouldn’t do this after all. You’re better off going with Alya.”
“Kinda hard to dance with a sprained ankle, girl. Besides, we all know you wouldn’t be leading if Adrien were your partner. I swear you two are beyond graceful together. You’d think you two were made for each other or something,” Alya teased.
Marinette felt her cheeks redden at the implications. While she’d love nothing more than to have Adrien as her boyfriend, she doubted he felt the same way. Though, as she considered the past couple of weeks, she didn’t know how Adrien felt. He’d been hanging around her more, finding small ways to be near her, and almost touching her whenever he thought she wouldn’t mind. Then, she recalled the few kisses he’d given. Granted, they’d been on the cheek, but her heart didn’t seem to note the difference as it skipped each time he did.
Alya brought Marinette out of her musings as she exclaimed over the time, spurring Marinette and Nino into action. Nino excused himself to run home and change for the dance competition that night at the school while Marinette turned toward her closet to pull out the dress she’d made.
After she pulled the dress over her head and settled the skirt around her knees, she settled at her small vanity and allowed Alya to work her magic.
“Thanks for letting me borrow your boyfriend again, Alya. I wish you were competing with us instead of sitting this one out. You’d win for sure.”
“Don’t worry, girl. I plan on recording the entire event from the bleachers. Besides, there’s no way I’m not wearing the dress you designed for me tonight. I gotta show off my Marinette original.”
Marinette turned to hug her friend close before settling back to the business at hand.
Soon, the ladies were ready to go with Tikki safely tucked away in the small clutch matching her dress.
At the dance, they walk down the small red carpet, stopping at the small photo area for some fun photos before they proceeded to the main room where the main event was being held.
“Hey, Mari, Alya, wait up,” Adrien called out, dashing up to him. He puffed a little as he caught up with them.
“Adrien, I thought your father needed you tonight,” Marinette said as she stared at the vision of him in a tuxedo with a tie and handkerchief matching his green eyes.
“He changed his mind at the last minute, saying the shoot could wait. Something about some mixup with the outfits. I stopped listening after he said I could come.” He sent them a smile as he took in their dresses, a slight blush tinging his cheeks as he saw the color of Marinette’s, which matched his tuxedo to perfection.
Marinette’s cheeks reddened to match his as she floundered at what to say.
Luckily, Alya didn’t have that problem, saying, “Well, glad you could make it, Agreste. Mari was never going to win with Nino as her partner.”
“We weren’t that bad,” Marinette argued.
“Oh, girl, you were terrible. You know it. Besides, with Sunshine here, I get my boyfriend back and the dance will have a decent DJ tonight. Everything is perfect.” With that, Alya pulled Adrien closer to Marinette and shooed them toward the check-in table.
Adrien glanced down at Marinette, whispering, “I’d like to dance with you if you’re sure about it. I’m sure we can win this. Don’t you think?”
A teasing glint entered her eyes as she returned his gaze as she said, “Very confident, aren’t you? Well, let’s see what you can do, Agreste.”
She picked up their numbers and pinned his to the back of his jacket while he returned the favor for her. He had to admit he’d miss seeing so much of her skin with the paper covering it, but maybe he’d have better luck once they’d won the competition.
They moved toward the floor as the announcer walked on the stage to greet them and get the competition started.
The music began with a lively tune and they danced along, grinning foolishly as they moved to the music. While Adrien appeared slightly awkward with the freestyle, Marinette kept him smiling as she mirrored his movements and tossed in a few of her own.
When the song soon slowed into a romantic one, Marinette moved closer to Adrien and placed her hands in their proper places. He moved them through the steps, Marinette allowing him to lead as if she trusted him to take her where they needed to go. Soon, they were gliding in a small area and causing quite the stir as they proved how graceful and sync they were as a team.
Judges walked around the dance floor and tapped out various couples.
Marinette kept them in her periphery though her gaze remained focused on Adrien as he smiled down at her, leading her through the song with ease and flair. She reacted to his silent communications as if they’d done this for years, smiling in return as they completed a complex spin and dip combo. She distantly heard the applause for them as she realized how close they’d gotten.
The song came to an end.
Adrien pulled her back to her feet and blushed as his gaze dropped down to her lips, wondering how they’d feel against his own. He froze for the briefest moment of time, unsure how he’d gone from enjoying the dance with Marinette to wanting to kiss her.
“Dance, Agreste.”
He looked up and saw Marinette’s determined concern as she moved along to the new song being played and followed suit before the judges could tap them out.
“What’s going on?” She asked as she moved closer to him, keeping her voice low so as not to embarrass him.
His cheeks reddened as he admitted, “Just thinking about kissing.”
“Anyone in particular?”
“Yeah, you.”
She paused before sending him a smirk.
“You help me win this, Agreste, and I’ll let you kiss me as long as you want.”
He matched her smirk, adding a wink as he tossed back his reply. “Then, I guess you better keep up, Dupain-Cheng.”
At the end of the night, they walked away with the gold trophy and prize money.
Outside the bakery, Adrien got his kiss, and what a kiss it was, too!