Adrien was mesmerized. Marinette was skating like a pro. She jumped and twirled, effortlessly gliding through intricate spins and steps. Landing from a jump, she made another tight spin and skated around the outside of the rink, dodging the beginner skaters she quickly gained speed. Then, lifting up one skate-clad leg behind her and above her head, she grabbed it with both arms and contorted herself into a shape only very flexible people could make. After holding that pose for a few moments, she disappeared into the mass of people. From the other side of the rink from where he was standing, she appeared. As she approached the center of the rink, she crouched and spun. One leg was out to the side and, as the spin continued, slowly rose until, in the end, she was back to her leg above her head. She held the pose until the spinning slowed. She dropped it and raised her hands above her head in a victory position. The bystanders were silent, awed by her display, until one person started to applaud her impromptu performance. One by one, the sound of the man-made thunder rose.

“Your mouth is open, Adrien.”

He turned to the voice and self-consciously touched his jaw before he realized that Alya was kidding. The redhead winked at him and giggled as she skated back to Nino.

“Is something wrong?”

This time, the voice startled him. Forgetting he was in ice skates, he jumped and his legs immediately slid out from under him. “Ow,” he muttered. Looking up, he met the very amused expression of his lady.

“I thought cats were light on their feet?” she questioned and tried not to laugh.

“Very funny, Mari,” he stared at her, his head slightly tilted. “Say, Marinette?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have a band-aid? I scraped my knee when I fell for you when you walked by.”

A light blush covered her cheeks even as she rolled her eyes. “That line doesn’t even fit the situation!”

“I had to try,” he shrugged.

Marinette sighed as she looked at the completely unapologetic boy in front of her. An idea forming in her mind, she skated back a few steps.

“Mari?” Adrien asked curiously.

In one smooth motion, she swept forward, crouching, and picked him up princess-style and made a swift turn so they wouldn’t hit the wall.

“Marinette! W-what are you doing?” he squealed, his face turning red as they passed the curious and staring crowd.

“You said you need a band-aid,” she started with a self-satisfied smirk, “so I’m bringing you to the lockers so I can get one.”

“I-I-I could’ve walked there by m-myself,” he stuttered, wishing he could fall into a hole just so everyone would stop looking at them

“But I would never let an injured civilian go unattended,” she replied sweetly. “Here.”

Feeling them slow to a stop, he cautiously peeked out of her shoulder and let himself be lifted to the ground. “Thank you, M’lady,” he attempted to bow but only made himself fall again. Marinette instantly burst into laughter. He half-heartedly glared at her until the peals of laughter quieted into small bursts of giggles.

“I hate you.”

“You love me,” she cheerfully countered and offered a hand.

“..What?” he suspiciously stared at the innocent hand.

“I’ll teach you!”

“Hmm,” hesitantly, he grabbed the proffered hand, half expecting her to let go mid-way through. She didn’t. “I thank thee, m’lady,” knowing the consequences of bowing, he settled for a simple grin.

“Stop it,” she lightly laughed. “Now, take my hands,” she put her hands in front of her, palms facing up.

“Ookay?” he was curious, but trustingly placed his hands on hers. “Now what?”

“Now,” she took a half-step back, “you take one step forward and glide.”

“Wait!” he pulled on her hands to stop her, “c-can’t I use the rails?”

“Aww, is my kitty cat scared?” Marinette cooed.

“N-no,” he muttered, indignant. “Let’s go!” he looked down at his feet and took a step forward. Grinning at her successful taunt, Marinette swayed back with his forward motion.

“1,2,3, 1,2,3” Marinette calmly hummed as if it were a dance, although it didn’t feel like one to Adrien. Nonetheless, he found the repetition soothing and slowly but steadily moved faster.

“Good. Now look at me instead of your feet.” Marinette praised. He was worried about tripping but followed her instructions anyway. Marinette smiled at him and continued her counting. Adrien found himself counting along as he looked into her warm blue eyes. He knew that looking away would make him lose his balance and fall so he decided to admire her instead. He hadn’t known what to expect when they discovered each other’s identity but was happy that she had lost her shyness around him and that they could do these kinds of things.

“And there you go!” Marinette exclaimed, bringing Adrien back to the world of the living. Looking down, he realized that Marinette was no longer holding his hands and, instead, was hovering underneath them.

“I-I’m skating!” he grinned in delight. Marinette giggled and stepped away so he can have his fun. Adrien skated around the rink. He was always a fast learner and got the hang of it once he had successfully done it. He circled the wide arena before coming to a stop in front of Marinette. “I did it!”

“Good job.” Marinette ruffled his head. He was adorable in his childlike giddiness. “Now, let’s teach you how to do a spin."

“”Oh...um,” he stared at her, terrified. “No, thank you!” he turned and skated off, not wanting to gain even more bruises from falling.

Marinette laughed at his antics and followed. The chase was on.