His music was famous. Adrien Agreste, on the other hand, was not.
It had started out as a hobby, writing poetry in an attempt to woo a girl. Soon enough, after he met his musical buddy, Nino, he changed to song lyrics.
And he never stopped writing them.
He was a mediocre singer at best and only played piano, but between Nino and Nino's contacts, Adrien's lyrics were soon picked up. Next thing he knew, he was writing the most popular love songs on the radio.
Even though he never experienced love himself.
Hearing his love songs at everything from school dances to weddings, yet never having danced with a woman he even had a crush on. It was hilarious.
And pathetic.
Mostly pathetic.
But hey, he made people happy and he loved what he did. So was he really all that pathetic?
Then came the day that he was asked to star in a music video for one of his songs. It was a surprise, but the artist who bought his lyrics (several songs, actually) said he wanted to give credit to the guy writing them. Adrien said yes.
"Is there a certain girl we should get to play your counterpart?"
Adrien almost said no. Because there wasn't. Except, he gave an answer.
"If you could get Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"
It was a silly crush. An insanely silly one. But she was cute and a good actress and always very sweet in her interviews and loved charity work and all in all, Adrien liked her.
Not that she'd say yes because she was so insanely popular not to mention the star of the most popular superhero show on tv.
So imagine his surprise when she agreed.
"They said I'd be staring with the guy who writes the lyrics," she said. "And then when I found out you wrote all my favorite love songs, I really couldn't say no."
If he could string two words together, he would. But he was so blown away that all he could manage was a dopey smile.
Never once did she get frustrated that he kept messing up. Instead, she gave him acting pointers and tips and when they were finished, she shot him a smile and congratulated him for a job well done.
"Do you want to get ice cream or something?"
How that was the first phrase he managed to string together correctly and without stuttering, he didn't know. Because he basically just asked her out.
She was stunned for a moment, but with a grin, she nodded.
He was a mess throughout the date. Flustered, was the best word for it. That, mixed with the fact he was a little starstruck made for an interesting time. But she was so patient. So amazingly sweet.
Adrien had to wonder what he did to end up on a date/not-date with this girl.
And then she asked him about the inspiration of the songs. "There has to be a girl behind a couple of those," she said. "They're so real and moving."
"Actually, there's none."
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that this." With his spoon, he motioned to the ice cream and to them. "Is the closest thing to a date I've ever been on."
Her eyes widened, and her spoon dropped from her lips back into the cup of ice cream. "Really?"
He nodded.
Her smile was sweet. "Then you must have had a happy family, then."
He shook his head. "My mom walked out on my dad when I was a teen, and my dad was really distant after that. Would you believe me if I said everything I know is from movies and love songs?"
She shook her head.
"Well, it's the truth."
"That's shocking," she said. "I never would have guessed."
He shrugged. "Frankly, I wouldn't have, either."
She chuckled. "So, that being said, is this little date of ours going to help you write songs with further accuracy?"
His brow furrowed. "T-this date?"
Her grin was wide and somewhat mischievous. "You didn't think this wasn't a date, did you? Or do you make a habit of asking girls out to ice cream just as friends?"
He could feel his cheeks turn a blazing red.
And paired with her laugh and twinkling eyes and smile filled with mirth…
What did he get himself into?
A/N: I am very much Adrien in this. I've never been on a date. Never had any experience with romance. My family is full of no-so-healthy relationships. Yet, I write romance and seem to be very successful at it even though everything I learned is from fanfictions, books, and the Hallmark Movie channel. Irony.