Chapter 1

There's a park in the 21st arrondissement of Paris, full of sunshine on this mid February day. Currently it is also full of laughter, the source of which is a couple seated on a bench. A girl and a boy, chatting happily. You can tell they are enjoying each other's company. The boy's hair is pale blonde, and his green eyes lit up when he looks at the girl. Her hair bring to your mind the sight of the night sky. If you could look into her eyes, you would see they're the color of bluebell. But you can't see them, because she's looking at her feet, still not entirely at ease with this situation.

They've been chatting for some time, but now the girl pulls a notebook out of her backpack and begins to note something down, while the boy is looking over her shoulder and throws in a sentence from time to time. It looks like fun was not entirely the purpose of their presence here. When the note is completed, the boy takes the notebook to read it thru. Well, it seems everything they needed is there, so they start to collect their things, far slower than necessary. It's clear they have to leave, but they're reluctant to part.

Suddenly the boy's phone starts to ring, so he excuses himself and picks it up. Well, looks like now he's in a hurry, probably took too much time to chatter. He's still standing beside the girl, awkward, not knowing what would be the most appropriate way of saying goodbye. There's a sheepish grin on the girl's face as she also has no idea what to do now. Finally they head out in opposite directions. They do not turn to look at each other, but believe me, each one is smiling so wide, that if it wasn't for their ears, the tops of their heads would probably fall off.

Well, this cute scene was a consequence of a homework assignment. Though simple in itself, the assignment led to very peculiar results. But let us go back a little, to know how exactly the boy and the girl got to that bench, to chatter and smile, and to reluctance to part.

You've probably figured out by now, that the girl and the boy were in fact Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste, two students of Collège Françoise Dupont. Earlier that day they were teamed together by their teacher, Miss Bustier, for some collective work. Their whole class was divided into pairs, a boy and a girl in each team if possible. Despite the general awkwardness hanging in the air the teacher said it would be fun or at least educational. She was the only one to find it amusing, though.

Each pair was assigned a different topic to work on. Apparently there were no limits of awkwardness for Miss Bustier, as all those topics where somehow related to Valentine's day, that was just a few days away. This raised the levels of embarrassment beyond the rooftop. Thus that day the school was full of reddened, troubled teenagers.

Marinette and Adrien were no exception. From the moment they were paired together Marinette couldn't utter a single word without stuttering. This got Adrien to wonder, if he would have to do all the talking by himself, as his classmate was clearly blocked. It didn't help, that what they were assigned to discuss and recap was on lines of 'Perception of Valentine's gifts – possible points of view'.

For Marinette this was a personal disaster. She literally couldn't speak without stutter, and couldn't believe herself. After all she had plenty of conversations with Adrien in the past, when she managed to get over the initial embarrassment and behave naturally. But this time the embarrassment didn't seem to pass. Whatever the reason she was desperately trying to get a grip on herself, and failing spectacularly.

At the same time Adrien tried to manage the situation. He liked Marinette and was aware that sometimes she acted strangely when he was around, but never to this extend. Now he just wanted her to feel comfortable enough so they could get to their task.

As it was pleasantly warm, he suggested they'd go to the park. Marinette was grateful for this idea. On the way she picked some croissants, freshly baked, as her parents' bakery was just round the corner. By the time they sat on the bench, she regained some control over her speech, and they were able to get to work.

They both felt awkward about the topic, at first their discussion was on general lines of how stereotypically everyone thinks that Valentine's Day is a perfect opportunity to confess one's love or to show affection, and how the gifts are there to deliver the message. It took some time, but somehow the mid February sun managed to melt the ice and their discussion became more personal.

Suddenly Adrien realized, they were talking real opinions, not some small talk crap. To his surprise he decided to share with Marinette his real views on Valentine's day. Things he had hitherto never confessed to anyone. He told her all about the plenitude of cards and gifts that he received every February the 14th. How strange it felt to be the subject of so much attention from girls he barely knew or in fact didn't know at all. How uncomfortable it was that just because he modeled for his father's brand people claimed they loved him. Of course it was all very nice but sadly unwanted affection.

And what surprised him even more, was that while he was talking he actually listened to himself. He remembered a person who probably felt exactly the same as he was. Unfortunately it was the person that was the subject of his affection. Now he started to recall how as Chat Noir he acted towards Ladybug on numerous occasions and felt ashamed at the thought that his flirtatious behavior might have felt like something more than nuisance.

Marinette felt strangely at ease because of his confession. She thought she would feel bad, as the year before she was among those girls who sent Adrien a Valentine's card (albeit she forgot to sign it), but to her astonishment she didn't feel bad at all. Maybe it was because she did know him in real life, not just from fashion magazines and she knew that her untold affection towards him had a deeper source.

Now encouraged by Adrien's confession Marinette decided to share something too, hoping it would get some weight of her troubled heart. She was careful as not to reveal, that she was actually talking about herself. She told him about a girl from their school, and how she wanted to let her crush to know how she felt, and how she couldn't find the courage to do so, and how she failed time after time. Her hearth rose because Adrien listened and nodded his head in apprehension.

But her story got her to think of someone who could feel exactly like her. Unfortunately it was the person whose affection she constantly rejected. Now she started to recall how as Ladybug she acted towards Chat Noir and felt ashamed at the thought that she might have unwittingly crushed his heart.

As you might imagine, sharing things like that is quite an icebreaker. Marinette and Adrien, both in a thoughtful mood, started to chatter more freely about other things. They took some notes to sum up their discussion, or at least those bits they decided the teacher would be expecting. They didn't even notice how fast the time had passed.

In the end it turned out Miss Bustier was right. Marinette and Adrien spent a wonderful afternoon together. The assignment indeed was fun, as they opened up and felt more comfortable in each other's company. It was also very educational, as each one received a new point of view on expressing affection, not only on Valentine's day. What was even more interesting, was that in both cases the recipient and the broadcaster were the same person. In fact what they needed to hear was their own thoughts.

And you will probably be glad to know, that while they were both heading home, they couldn't stop thinking about the people they might have unconsciously hurt because of their ignorance. They both decided it was time to make up for those mistakes.