"Hello."

The word hung between them like an unexpected invitation to an event that you hadn't heard about and yet now desperately wanted to attend. Adrien couldn't help but notice the way her face blossomed with joy, the corners of her almond shaped eyes crinkling in well-worn patterns of happiness, as one hand came up to gently brush the fringe of her bangs out of view.

"Hello." He stared, enraptured, as her delicate pink lips and flash of tongue rolled around the greeting. He had been around beautiful women before, his job was based upon this necessity, but none of them have ever pulled his attention like the one in front of him.

Her hair was mussed up, cow licks curled flatteringly around her heart shaped face, with flour dusted lightly over her left cheek and small handprints barely distinguishable against the lavender of her apron- it was all together a heart wrenchingly adorable look, but Adrien knew that he was already getting ahead of himself.

"If it's not too- too forward, may I ask your name?" The man coughed out awkwardly. What was happening to him? He's talked to pretty women before… he is the lead model for one of the most popular fashion brands in Paris… he can have a normal conversation.

The bluenette's face flushed pink and his heart thumped painfully at being the cause of her pleased and embarrassed expression. The sudden whirring of the coffee machine at the back of the store made him jump.

"Ah," the woman hummed having been broken out of thought by the same noise, "my- my name is Marinette."

Marinette- what a beautiful name- Adrien held out one of his perfectly manicured hands. "My name is Adrien; it's nice to meet you Marinette." The word tasted better on his tongue than even the illusive coffee that he had had in his past visit and he already wanted to say it again.

Her small palm met his, a little more rough and dried out from handling dough all day, but warm and comfortable none the less.

"The pleasure is all mine, Adrien. Would you like to sit down?" Her voice was like the tinkling of wind chimes in a cool summer breeze and he was powerless against the gentle smile playing across those alluring lips. A choked sound of acceptance escaped his throat while he nodded his head- that was the first time that he heard her giggle and it shot straight into his woefully neglected heart, filling it and expanding it in a way that hadn't happened since his mother had left.

After he had taken residence of the empty arm chair across from her, only a small coffee table separating them, Adrien fiddled nervously with the hem of his jacket while his gaze darted shyly between his expensive leather shoes and the amused grin of his new companion.

What was he supposed to do now? Due to his crammed schedule, the only person that he had spent any semblance of time just hanging out with was Nino… and Nino never looked at him the way that Marinette was. Shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the butterflies clawing at the lining of his stomach, Adrien wracked his mind for what to say.

"So," he started intelligently, "What are you, um, reading?" What was wrong with him? Why was his tongue tied in a knot? He wasn't very good at this… whatever it was he was trying to do.

Marinette seemed flustered as the question registered in her brain- first, her expression scrunched into confusion before igniting into a spectacle of surprise and understanding- then, her hands flared to life around her while she fumbled with the aged pages of the still open book upon her lap- finally, she ducked her head behind the gently rumpled cover before shyly peering back over the top leaving only her eyes exposed. Honestly, Adrien forgot that he was supposed to be reading the title of the book because he was so consumed with the adorable lifting of her eyebrows as she tried to gauge his reaction.

He couldn't help but let loose a fond chuckle over her antics. They sure were a pair, weren't they? Easily flustered, shooting glances at one another, dancing around the awkwardness of first meetings… and yet, he felt a comfortableness with her that he hadn't had in years. His heart was already yearning to learn more about her and, despite knowing her for all of 10 minutes, he was eager to stick with it.

"Would you like something to drink?" He asked, suddenly remembering what had drawn him back towards the shop in the first place. "My treat."

He must have said something funny, because the next moment the tension broke and Marinette was laughing and clutching her sides. Adrien joined in after a few seconds, his low chuckles mixing pleasantly with her own tinkling peels of joy, and he felt a heady sense of rightness in the world. Finally, the girl before him calmed down enough to speak.

"No- no one's ever offered to buy me something here before, so I thank you, and a drink sounds wonderful at the moment, but I'm afraid they'll be on the house." She grinned that sly, crooked smile at him once more before standing up and offering him a hand. "One of the perks of being the owner here."

Oh. Oh! This was Mari… Adrien was slammed with the realization that he was incredibly dense. No wonder Nino had been pressuring him to meet the owner- the woman in front of him was beautiful and charming and kind and there was a hint of an underlying sass when she grinned at him like that, which only drove his heart into a frantic sprint against his ribcage and egged on his curiosity to an insane degree.

He took her offered hand and groaned dramatically when she helped pull him vertical. "So you're Mari- my friend has been mentioning you to me for weeks now. I'm glad to finally put a face with the name, especially one as pretty as yours." Adrien flashed her his patented model grin and winked at the girl who was rapidly flushing red.

"A friend, huh? Whose been going around trying to get attractive men into my store for me? I'll have to send them a thank you note." Marinette replied, her words a direct contradiction to the embarrassment painted across her skin.

She turned away and began leading him past the rows of bookshelves and towards the café, Adrien followed her slightly dazed- she thought he was attractive… of course, most people did, but there was something about the gleam in her eye that made his throat go dry at the compliment.

"Alya!" She suddenly cried once she had stepped into the back room. "You can't just make out with your boyfriend back here if there are no customers!"

Adrien's head jerked up to see the woman who had helped him when he first came into the store disentangling herself from a very familiar person.

"Nino?" Last he had heard, Alya had finally given his friend her number, but he wasn't prepared to see the two of them locked together in such a compromising position anytime soon. "What, uh, what's up man?"

"Adrien! You finally made it back; and you met Mari!" The dark skinned man awkwardly moved towards the two still standing in the doorway and offered up his knuckles for their customary greeting which Adrien returned eagerly. "Your dad give you the night off?"

The blonde winced at the reminder of his father. "Eh," he coughed an uncomfortable twist settling in his stomach, "not exactly… I only have about half an hour until I need to be back. Some club thing I'm 'expected' to be at tonight. Really, I just wanted to grab some coffee before being forced to attend it."

"Man that sucks. I wish you had more time to stay and hangout, but at least you could make it out here beforehand." Nino turned to Mari whose face was scrunched up in confusion.

"Wait… you two know each other?" She turned back towards Adrien. "Is he the one who's been telling you about me?"

The two guys laughed it off as Alya sent a sly smirk towards Nino. "Yeah, well, he's the one who wouldn't shut up about the amazing coffee and macaroons you offer here. I figured that he should meet the woman behind the scenes is all."

The bluenette blushed a bit more, her face relaxing into a fond smile, before halfheartedly cuffing Nino on the shoulder and heading behind the counter to start fixing a drink.

"C'mon, it's really not that special. While we're all here I might as well make something for everyone." She glanced up at the other three adults. "What would you all like?"

Immediately Nino recited a complex specialty drink, a wicked gleam in his eye and Alya sighed exasperatedly. "I'll make yours, Romeo, I know you're only trying to mess with Marinette anyway… so what will you actually have?"

A loud laugh burst forth from the other man before he corrected his request into a simpler drink. Adrien watched as expert hands went about the task of making not only his friend's drink, but also one that he assumed was for herself. Marinette cleared her throat softly to gather his attention.

"What would you like, Adrien? If you only have a little while before you need to be back…?" God, he wished he didn't have to go to that birthday party tonight- he'd much rather stay here and get to know Marinette a little bit better. Her vibrant blue eyes were trained onto his and he flushed from the attention before saying he'd like to have the dark roast again.

Small hands moved in a gentle, practiced rhythm and he watched transfixed as her body moved around the small space. In what felt like no time at all, she was marking something onto the side of his cup and handing it over to him.

He couldn't look away as her lips curled up into a delicate smile before she came around the other side of the counter again holding her own cup of steaming coffee. "How soon do you have to leave?"

Nino and Alya were making eyes at one another once more over the counter that separated them while they sipped on their individual drinks as Adrien shook back the sleeve of his jacket to check the time. Shoot; he'd have to leave now and hurry back in order to beat whoever was delivering his outfit for the night.

Sighing, he responded. "Right now, I suppose." His shoulders hunched into a posture that his father would scold him for.

"Do you want me to walk you out?" She was already sliding past him into the doorway as she spoke and he had no intention of turning her down. With a nod, they both began a relatively quiet walk back into the front of the store. The hum of light chatter and flipping pages mingled with the thump of their shoes and Adrien wondered when the next time he would see her would be.

"Are you here every night?" He inquired in the most nonchalant voice that he could muster. "I'd like to see you again when I find some more free time." Embarrassment be dammed; the supermodel couldn't remember a time that he felt this instant of a connection to anyone and he wasn't willing to let it slip by without any effort on his part.

"Considering I live right upstairs, I'd say that's a good bet." Her eyes were crinkled in that joyous way once more. "I'm sure you'll find a way to reach me if you want to set up more concrete plans, though." She held out her empty hand once the heavy front door swept to a close behind them. "It was really nice meeting you tonight, Adrien."

A bit more stunned by the way her hair shone in the light from her store windows and the shadows that danced playfully around her eyes in the dim light of evening, Adrien once more slipped his hand over hers. "It was nice to meet you too; hopefully I'll be seeing you around sooner rather than later."

The pair shared gentle goodbyes, the interaction feeling like a dream slipping away into the night air, and then Adrien rushed his way home. He retraced his escape route back through the kitchen exit, up the servant's stairs, and into his room as quickly as possible without being seen. It wasn't until he was sitting at his desk, heaving a sigh of relief at managing his coffee run, that he saw a series of numbers hand written on the back of his coffee cup.

With an entirely besotted sigh, Adrien realized that Marinette had given him her phone number.