#i haven’t decided my full outfit yet but it’s my first ren faire so i’m excited! i’m going to the ohio one

[froqpi-art]

sorry no art this week~ just this flower hat i made for ren faire 🌷

[kir-kerr]

Ren Fair Advantage

Chapter 4:

Summary: Ren Fair AU. Marinette and Alya are belly dancers at a Renaissance Fair. Adrien and Nino were one day pass holders that’ll now do anything, even wear brightly colored tights, to stick around as long as they can.

Chp 1, Chp 2, Chp 3

“Say it.”

“Not happening, bro.”

“C’moooon, say it. You know I’ll keep bugging you til you do.” “A’right. A’right! …I guess the gnarly onslaught of men in tights was sorta definitely worth it.” Adrien grinned from his spot on the floor at his buddy’s grudging admission. “How do those words you’re eating taste, dude?” Nino didn’t move his gaze from the ceiling and continued tossing his hat in the air and catching it. The grin that twitched at his lips was twinged with a slight grimace at the insufferable smugness in his best friend’s voice. “About as salty as I feel sayin’ them.” The blond chortled softly before going back to the task at hand. The two were back in their hotel room after their surprisingly eventful day at the faire. Adrien was spending this downtime sat on the floor, digging through his suitcase in an attempt to find the perfect outfit for the following day. A fact Nino had already teased the model about. To which Adrien retorted that it was his job to make himself look good.

And if things went his way, he’d be seeing someone tomorrow that he wanted to look his best for.

Nino’s face was set in deep concentration as the two sat in comfortable silence for a good few minutes. Finally he paused in his idle hat tossing and spoke what was currently consuming his thoughts.

“Hey, bro?”

“Yeah?”

Nino pursed his lips and his dark brows furrowed before he finally came out with it.

“We really sticking around this place for a week or whatever… just on the off chance we might get to hook up with a couple of hotties we just met?”

Adrien paused in his attempts at finding a matching shirt for the pants he’d decided on, and considered what his friend was saying. After a heavy pause he turned and fixed his buddy with a questioning gaze.

“I dunno… are we? You are the one who told those ‘hotties’ we’d be staying that long. I told you we’d only stay one day unless you wanted to stick around a while more.”

Adrien turned back to his mess of a suitcase and kept his tone even and casual, but kept his back turned to keep his knowing smirk hidden from his ‘conflicted’ friend.

“So? You wanna stay here and hang out with some seriously cool beauties? Or do you wanna head back to Paris in the morning and go back to hanging around club girls?”

Nino frowned deeply at the beige paint of the ceiling but finally gave an amused snort and continued tossing his hat about.

“None of those drunk party chicks have anything on these babes’ moves.” he stated finally.

That had Adrien laughing. The blond chucked a balled up take out wrapper at his friend’s head and laughed harder when Nino threw it back at him after an indignant sputter. The two fell back into their companionable silence as they finally went back to their previous activities. It was a full fifteen minutes before Adrien spoke again.

“And who knows, maybe you’ll actually have stuff in common with Alya. Ya know, aside from both of you thinking she’s hot.”

Nino scoffed in good humor and gave an undeniably smitten grin to the ceiling.

“Oho, let’s hope not. I dunno if I could keep my cool if that girl is a rockin’ person as well as being that hot. If she is I might never wanna leave.”

The tawny male finally lolled his head against the soft comforter to look at his friend from his spot at the foot of the bed, his bare feet propped on the downy pillows at the top. He considered the back of Adrien’s head with a cheeky grin as he prepared to turn this conversation towards the other reason they were staying.

“But, I gotta feeling that wouldn’t be so bad for you, would it, Romeo? You’ve never really been the vacation fling type. So what’s goin’ on in that bleach blond head of yours? You got big plans for you ‘n’ miss dressmaker?”

Adrien’s face turned just as smitten as his friend’s. But he made sure he was still facing away from the DJ so he couldn’t see the irrepressible gooey grin.

“Please, my hair is all natural and you know it. And this may shock you, buddy, but… I don’t really have a plan.”

His mind wandered back to the events of that day, and Adrien couldn’t help the small cringe that crept between his broad shoulders. He didn’t feel like he’d made the smoothest of first impressions on the belly-dancing beauty. The ice cream incident was the happy accident that led to his first meeting her. But being covered in gooey vanilla ice cream and cinnamon crust bits like a sticky toddler who didn’t know how to eat his frozen treat… Was about as far from smooth as he could get. He thanked every star in the sky that at least he hadn’t met her by spilling the treat on her instead.

Yeah, definitely be thankful for the small things.

Like the fact that he wasn’t literally drooling all over himself during the girls’ snake dance like he most assuredly was in his head. And he prayed that in that brief moment when their eyes met during the performance that he wasn’t gawking like an idiot…. But, he was pretty sure he was. And after the short, but amazing time chatting with girls after the show, they’d shared an awkward piece of silence because the guys didn’t want to go yet, but didn’t want to come across too pushy and ask to hang out with girls a while longer. Needless to say, the goodbye was about as smooth as the first meeting.

Adrien shook off the embarrassed regret the crawled up his back and finally turned to offer his friend an awkward smile.

“Besides trying to be less of an idiot in front of her than I was today, that is.”

Nino gave an exaggerated solemn nod from where his head dangled over the side of the bed and the sight caused a short chortle to escape Adrien’s lips. The DJ pointed a finger at his friend and waggled it meaningfully as he pointed out.

“Hey, ‘least she’s seeing what a goob you are from the get-go. Can’t hide behind the Agreste shield of money and connections now.” Something else occurred to Nino as he spoke and it caused him to grin cheekily. “And bro, you met her at a Ren Faire. So, she’ll probably dig what a nerd you are.”

Adrien laughed but still threw the take-out paper ball at his friend’s face once more. “Shut up, dude. You know I don’t use the rich kid angle if I can help it.”

Light blond lashes shaded Adrien’s eyes as his gaze turned downcast and he considered his friend’s words. A smile slowly curled wide as he realized how right Nino’s observation was. Adrien had gone his whole life with girls taking an interest in only his looks and family prestige, only to have them scoff and dismiss his interests if he ever decided to open up even a little bit to any potential love interest.

But, Marinette didn’t even know his last name yet. She knew he was a model, but that wasn’t something she knew right off the bat either. He wouldn’t have to put up any professional fronts for the sake of preserving his family’s good name. He’d have to win her over with nothing but his natural charm, and… admittedly quirky personality. And Marinette’s blatantly alternative interests both intrigued the model, and like his friend said, probably worked in his favor.

But, a clean slate like this excited him more than anything.

Adrien let a soft chuckle shake his shoulders before he shrugged at his buddy. “Guess I’ll just have to get to know her better and find out if you’re right, huh?”

Nino righted himself so he was laying on his stomach and supporting his body with his forearms, that teasing grin still in place on his face.

“Sounds like you do have a plan after all, bro.”

Adrien snorted “If you call ‘not looking like a doofus and hopefully getting to know her’ a plan…”

“Hey bro, nobody said a plan needs to be super complicated.”

The blond’s lips curled into a positively cheshire-like grin before he turned back to his suitcase to continue the task at hand.

“Then I guess I have a plan, then.”

“Come on, Marinette! Please?”

The dressmaker in question groaned from her spot atop the step ladder in her clothing packed shoppe. She fixed the petite blonde pleading to her with a reprimanding pout.

“Rose, for the last time I’m not taking the morning off! It’s the weekend rush, and I’d feel terrible leaving you to fend against the crowds by yourself.”

The young stall owner turned back to the display she was working on and pausing briefly before she tacked on a half-promise she hoped would get her concerned partner off her back, “Maybe I’ll take tomorrow morning off. It’s a Monday so it won’t be that busy, okay?”

It was her partner’s turn to pout, this ‘compromise’ did not satisfy the pink-clad blonde in the least. She knew how her friend was. While her work ethic was admirable, as was her concern for everyone’s well-being, more often than not it was hazardous to her health and Rose knew her partner would find a way to not take that break for one reason or another.  

Rose may be sweet and kind to anyone and everyone she meets, but she knew when somebody needed some tough love. And Marinette was seriously overdue.

“Marinette, I’m worried! You haven’t even come to any of the nightly staff get-togethers since the first night! If you don’t take even a few hours off I’m afraid you’re gonna pass out during work! Or even totally conk out during a performance!”

The pixie-esc girl clasped her hands together and pulled the best puppy dog look she could manage, which was easy enough with her large baby blue eyes.

“Just for a few hours? I can take care of the shoppe for that long on my own. And if things get too crazy Jule is just across the way and you know she’ll help out if I really need her!”

Marinette turned back towards her concerned friend and nibbled at her lip in deep consideration. Rose did have a point.

Their mutual friend Juleka worked with her father at a metal working booth just on the other side of the dirt road all the shops were located on. Juleka herself worked in making unique jewelry pieces sometimes out of refurbished knick-knacks, mirrors, and watches. While her father worked in classic blacksmith style next to the booth as a small show for the tourists, making knives and short swords that were purely for costume use only.

Juleka and Rose were nearly inseparable when neither were working, and even visited each other when one was still in the middle of their shift. And when both were on the job they’d share silly faces, warm smiles and a wave or two whenever they caught each others’ eye from across the way.

There was no doubt Juleka would watch out for the petite blonde while Marinette was away from the shop.

But still…

“…I promise I’ll take the whole morning off tomorrow okay? I’ll sleep in and everything! Deal?”

Marinette couldn’t risk taking even a few hours off on the last day of the weekend when all the tourists who only came for a three-day weekend trip bought any last minute items they absolutely ‘had to have’ before leaving. She offered her dear friend a sympathetic grin and hoped Rose would accept this compromise. Even if keeping her word of taking a whole morning off may be hard for the go-getter to keep.

Though she lamented the fact that after working together for so long Marinette had become immune to Rose’s persuasive puppy eyes, the blonde blew out her lips in reluctant acceptance to this scenario. She finally offered a teasing grin to the dark haired workaholic and waggled a sparkly pink manicured finger in Marinette’s direction.

“You sleep in just about every day anyway. Even when you’re not taking time off, sweetie.”

Marinette was relieved that the topic was dropped but still offered a wincing grin at the tiny blonde’s chastising.

“Hey, I’ve gotten better! I’ve only been a few minutes late the past few days instead of like the hour and a half I was late the first day of the faire. I’d call that progress!”

The two shoppe workers shared a friendly giggle before they both went back to their work of getting the displays ready before the faire opened for the day. But even as dainty hands smoothed out any stray wrinkles from a cotton over-skirt, Rose was still scheming in her mind some way to get her friend to take a breather this very day. And she came up with an extremely obvious solution.

She’d have to get Alya involved in this well-meaning plot.

Even for such method actors as all the faire workers were, forgoing technology completely while on the job was nearly impossible for some. Especially one such as Alya. Though she always had a valid excuse for why she’d be backstage at one of the troupe’s performances, in full belly-dancer attire, tip-tapping on her phone nonstop. As the editor of the faire’s website, and also the admin of a popular travel blog as her main source of income, Alya was always updating one of her sites at most points of the day. Even if seeing someone in full costume wear a very modern set of horn rimmed glasses, fully immersed in something on her glowing touchscreen phone may look pretty funny to any tourists wandering by, any faire workers who knew Alya were quite used to the sight.

So it wasn’t odd to anyone that Alya was currently frowning at her phone, a few scant minutes before her next dance performance. However, she was not on one of her websites at this moment. Instead she was currently reading the string of texts sent to her by her dear friend’s co-worker Rose. And what she read, of course, was very concerning to the protective young woman.

Alya knew Marinette worked herself too hard, either for herself or for anyone who needed help. She was a little too selfless for her own health sometimes. And after receiving information from Rose that their dear over-worked friend had tactfully avoided yet another well deserved break, Alya knew it was time to do a little intervening.

The fiery blogger peered over at the girl in question who was currently helping a fellow dancer with their flowery headpiece. Alya knew that simply dragging the workaholic off for a break wouldn’t actually make her relax. Without a good excuse to relax for an extended period, (aside from her friends’ insistence that she needed it), Marinette would make an excuse to go back to work one way or another.

So the usual direct approach Alya preferred wouldn’t work in this case. She’d have to go the more sneaky underhanded route and find something to distract her friend long enough that she can properly de-stress, hopefully for the extent of the afternoon if Alya could help it.

Alya was still trying to develop some kind of plan as she proceeded to switch out her glasses for her slightly irritating contacts for the performance that was to start in just a few minutes. As she blinked the watery tears from her eyes that came from placing tiny pieces of plastic on her eyes, her blurred vision adjusted just in time to see a certain pair of tourists coming down the hill towards the performing space. Her wide eyes blinked rapidly as the cogs of her brain began to turn into overtime, and a wicked smile curled at her full lips.

She just found the ‘something’ that could possibly distract her dear friend for more than just a few minutes. And that something was a someone. A someone with blond hair and a dazzling smile.

It came as no surprise to Alya that just like during yesterday’s performance, the charming model boy had his eyes glued solely on Marinette the entire show. If Alya was less versed in the different ways men stared at attractive women, she’d think the model was being creepy with his razor focused attention. However, Adrien wasn’t looking at the bare-midriff Marinette with hungry or lecherous eyes, but rather he stared at her with awe and pure reverence at the pale beauty’s sensual dancing.

Alya prided herself on her strong intuition and good judge of character, and she was pretty dang sure this boy was just as repressed and pure hearted as the girl he was obviously taken with. And it just strengthened Alya’s resolve to be the ultimate wing-woman and get her friend to let loose and hook up with the cute guy. And as soon as the show ended, Alya wasn’t going to let her friend run off back to her stall before getting another chance to talk to said cute guy.

Like the true conniving woman she was, Alya purposely took longer than usual to gather her things after the show ended. With a sly flick of the wrist, Alya managed to tangle one of the chains connected to her bindi in a lock of her hair and whined to Marinette to help her de-tangle the accessory before the workaholic got a chance to run off. And that small task took just long enough for a familiar duo to round the corner of the billowing stage backdrop and tentatively approach the girls with wide friendly grins.

Alya managed to hide her sly smirk before she exclaimed in an over-exaggeratedly bubbly tone, “Well, look who it is~! Not satisfied with just one performance, gentlemen?”

The sneaky woman bit back an amused snort as she saw her friend visibly tense before turning to see who her friend, who was never this perky, was addressing. The need to laugh only grew as Alya saw both repressed young adults straighten completely upright upon locking eyes. It only lasted a moment before they both relaxed into polite smiles to mask their obvious awkwardness around one another.

It was actually the lanky DJ who finally spoke first, but not before playfully jabbing his friend in the ribs in an attempt to bring the blond back down to earth from what ever la la land just looking at the belly-dancing young woman had sent him.

“Well, with a show like that, you ladies just keep the audience beggin’ for more every time. Right, dude?”

The blond jolted from his extended eye contact with Marinette, which had honestly been making the young woman he was staring at a little self conscious and uncomfortable. A hand immediately came up to rub at the nape of his neck in justified embarrassment at his open gawking and the young man had to clear his throat before speaking.

“You guys are pretty spellbinding when you dance, makes it pretty hard to look away.”

Alya caught that flattered blush dusting her friend’s freckled cheeks and the adorable exchange was almost too sweet to handle. Mirroring the tawny male’s previous actions, Alya elbowed her friend to remind her to talk as well.

“A-ah, well… Thank you. We all try our best. I’m glad you guys enjoyed it… Again.”

The blond chuckled softly and fixed the fidgety dressmaker with a gentle smile and earnest gaze.

“You’re welcome. I can tell you guys have a lot of fun dancing. And it shows that you put a lot of effort into your performance, too.”

Something about the honesty in the young man’s tone and how that honesty shone in his brilliant green eyes as well made Marinette’s heart clench for a moment before fluttering pleasantly. Like a butterfly that had been swiftly trapped in someone’s tight grip only to be released just as quickly. When she smiled again it was quirked awkwardly as she let loose a slightly nervous giggle.

“Yeah… it’s so fun that it makes all that hard work not… Uh, seem so hard! I guess.”

As this rather slow and oddly innocent exchange between two grown adults was kinda adorable to watch, both of the onlooking friends realized this conversation was going nowhere productive fast. The two supportive wing-people shared a knowing look, surprising each other that it seemed they were on the same page in this scenario, and they themselves had to snap out of an impromptu mutual ogling. Alya was the first to take initiative and clear her throat loudly to insert her presence back into this conversation before addressing both men at once.

“So have you two gotten to see all of the faire yet? I know there’s a whole lot of ground to cover.”

It was Adrien who responded, “Oh, not yet. We’ve been to a couple shops and saw a few shows but, heh, I have to admit even with a map it’s easy to get lost around here.”

Nino added on in agreement, “Yeah, this place is a serious labyrinth. All the buildings look pretty much the same,” his golden eyes flicked over to meet Alya’s with a meaningful look.

“Pretty easy to get lost if you don’t know your way around, ya know?”

The curvier of the two girls cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at Nino’s subtle hinting. Alya was definitely intrigued that this laidback DJ seemed to be on the same wavelength as herself, and she had a feeling she was about to have a fair amount of time investigating how that could be.

Grasping the slightly dazed Marinette from behind by both arms, Alya nudged her forward a step and gave her confused friend a meaningful smile as she spoke.

“Well you know, nobody knows this place better than my girl here. She’s been coming to this faire since she was in medieval diapers.”

Marinette’s entire face became panicked as she finally realized her conniving friend’s scheme. She was discreetly mouthing ‘No!’ multiple times even as Alya continued on in her devious plan.

“We were going to take the afternoon off anyway, so if you two need a couple of gorgeous tour guides… I’m sure Marinette and I could show you guys around the faire for a while~.”

Marinette’s frantic silent pleas increased at the decision her dear friend had just made for her, and she was fully intent on correcting this statement and politely telling the two males that she was actually desperately needed back at her shoppe.

But any negative correction died on her lips as she turned back to the two men and caught the full force of the blond male’s dazzling smile that managed to reach his eyes that were blown wide in pure boyish hope. It was only made worse at the adorably earnest way Adrien tilted his head towards her as he spoke in such a humble manner.

“I’d hate to put you guys out if you’re on your break. You ladies deserve every second you can get off and ya know, I’d hate to impose. Even if that does sound like the coolest afternoon pretty much ever.”

As if the unfairly adorable face Adrien was making wasn’t enough, something about the way he spoke, and even his wording made the unrelentingly helpful aspect of Marinette’s personality switch on immediately. And it was that part of her brain that took over and made her blurt out-

“You’re not imposing! We were going to wander around during our break anyway! A-and you know, the more the merrier… And stuff, right? We’d be more than happy to give you guys the grand tour i-if you really want!”

Unbeknownst to the blue eyed beauty, the other three people in this small group were simultaneously fist pumping in their minds at her admission. But on the outside they all simply shared brilliant smiles before Adrien took it upon himself to reply to Marinette’s invitation.

“Great! Uh, I mean, as long as it’s cool with you we’d be honored to tag along and learn more about this place!”

Marinette released a shaky yet relieved breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and bobbed her head in agreement.

“It’s definitely cool with me.”

Adrien was right back to smiling boyishly, “Cool.”

From over their friends’ shoulders Alya and Nino shared knowing grins as they echoed in unison,

“Cool.”

“Step lively, gentlemen! We’ve got a lot of ground to cover if you want to see all of the very best our fine faire has to offer~.” Alya crowed dramatically as she sashayed ahead of the other three, her multicolored skirts swishing with every movement.

Nino’s eyes tracked every one of those movements, the small smirk on his face betraying his new discovery that he liked the way she walked. Even in those heavy skirts Alya strutted a diva on a mission, confident and sensual yet purposeful with every step. Her body language just screamed ‘Yeah, I look good but don’t you dare get in my way’. Nino had a bit of a weak spot for ladies who took charge in general, and the confidence oozing off the fiery belly dancer was seriously ticking a good number of his boxes.

A fond giggle bubbled out of the petite girl who was still walking alongside Nino and his blond friend. “Alya! It’s not much of a tour if you’re just rushing ahead of the people you’re guiding.” Marinette chastised with a teasing smile.

The speed-walking friend in question finally stopped and turned to face the rest of the group, setting her hands squarely on her round hips as she proceeded to sass Marinette in return.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you guys are slow as little turtles.”

As the three finally joined Alya where she’d stopped the spectacled young woman playful smirk broadened into an excitable smile. The sight made a certain DJ’s heart clench and just ticked another box for him. The fiery dancer jutted her thumb in the direction just behind her to make her point.

“Besides, I figure the best place to start the tour at was Brawldily Harm show! And the thing starts in like 15 minutes, so we better hurry!”

Even though Marinette was standing between the two, she was shorter than two males enough so that they could share a confused look over her head. Nino was the one to speak what they were both thinking.

“Uuuuh, Brawl-didy what now?”

Nino had to hold back a knowing smirk as the blue eyed girl giggled again, and the sound made Adrien’s face melt into a smitten little grin as his attention shifted back to her.

“Brawldily Harm! It’s a performance troop that do these comedy/action skits! They pretty much just crack jokes and do a bunch of sword-fighting. It’s a great show!” Marinette explained with an elated smile. She fixed her friend with a chastising yet playful look and gestured to her with her hands. It seemed talking with her hands was something she and Adrien had in common, Nino noted.

“But, we really don’t have to rush to get there in time. Pirate’s Cove is just up the hill. We’ll probably still get there with like, five minutes to spare!”

Though no sooner did Marinette point this out did that timid streak of hers make another appearance. She shifted her attention back and forth between the two guys on either side of her bashfully before settling her gaze on Adrien.

“Um, that is, as long as that sounds okay to you guys, o-of course.”

The young seamstress had gotten so caught up bantering with her friend like she always did, that she had seemingly forgotten why they were heading there in first place. And more importantly, who it was they were taking around. Don’t think the DJ didn’t notice how she answered his question without a second thought or hesitation, but once she started talking to Adrien her awkwardness made a comeback. The definite switch in behavior was a good sign that a hookup between the girl and Nino’s best bud was clearly possible.

Nino shrugged his shoulders casually but maintained a crooked friendly smile as he replied, “Sounds like a totally killer time to me. How ‘bout you, bro?” he directed his question pointedly at his currently distracted friend, pulling him from the mini gooey eyed staring contest he’d been having with the pretty shop owner.

A bright boyish smile split across both cheeks as Adrien gave an affirming nod. “Hey! Anything with swords and jokes sounds like an awesome time to me!”

The beaded shawl Alya had donned for a modest covering swished softly as she raised her arm with a flourish.

“Well then, what are we waiting for sword fans? Let’s get a move on!”

This time around Alya walked with the group, and with no small amount of satisfaction on his part, walked right alongside Nino in their little line up. His satisfaction grew even greater when the voluptuous young woman put her hand on his arm and promptly yoinked him back a pace or two away from the other couple. Nino gave a soft yelp as Alya yanked him backwards but he recovered quick enough to fix her with a questioning raise of his brow and a small smirk.

“Hey, if you wanted to get me alone all you had to do was ask.”

His flirtatious comment was met with rolling eyes from Alya. The belly dancer waggled a finger back and forth as a playful smirk played at her lips.

“Easy there, disk jockey. Get too hot for me and you’ll fog up your glasses.”

The sassy comeback earned a chuckle from the lanky male.

“Wouldn’t want that, then I wouldn’t be able to see how good you look in your glasses.”

This line actually seemed to hit the mark as Alya’s smile quirked in surprise and she subconsciously reached up to adjust said glasses.

“Alright, Mr. Smooth. Maybe we can talk eyewear another time. Right now I have bigger things on my mind.”

Ninos’ grin widened triumphantly at his flirtation success and he crossed his arms confidently as he leaned in closer to the fiery girl.

“Oh yeah? And what might that be?”

Alya’s own smile turned sly as she leaned closer as well. Nino’s heartbeat picked up the closer she got. He couldn’t believe this was going so well already! And just when Alya got a good six inches away from his face…. she squished his cheeks between her forefinger and thumb as she cupped the surprised boy’s chin and forced his head to turn and face the couple in front of them.

“Getting my super repressed bestie and your smitten lil model friend to hookup before you two head back to Paris.”

That sharp turn in their flirtatious conversation left Nino blinking stupidly at his own best friend’s back. His cheeks were still squished between Alya’s fingers so his reply was slightly muffled.

“Seriously?”

Alya turned his head back to facing her, her eyes looking as fiery as her hair “Yes, seriously! What, do you think she’s not good enough for him or something?”

Okay, this was so not where he thought this conversation was headed but he’ll roll with it.

Nino placed a hand on the girl’s wrist and pried himself free so he could stand up fully once more. He held up the hand that wasn’t currently holding Alya’s wrist in a gesture of surrender.

“Whoa-ho-ho, easy there, hot stuff. I want my man Adrien to hook up with your girl as much as you do.”

His gaze shifted back to his best friend. From what he could see the blonde was still wearing those lovesick puppy dog eyes as the fair skinned dancer pointed out multiple interesting attractions as they walked. Nino shook his head fondly and let go of Alya’s wrist so he could cross his arms at the sight.

“And if Marinette’s even half as bad as he is, I got a feeling those two’ll need all the helpful pushes they can get.”

Alya looked the DJ over with a new found intrigue. After all, a guy who’s willing to put his focus on making sure his friend is happy above flirting with a hot girl was hard to come by. But having a partner in matchmaking helping on the other side was even harder to come by. And these newly discovered attributes just gained the tawny male major kudos in Alya’s book. After another moment taken to look the guy over as she gathered her thoughts, she finally gave him triumphant smile and held out her hand as if to strike a deal.

“Good! Then what do you say we do a little team up? After all, the more hands there are the easier it is to give a little push.”

Nino raised a single dark brow as he considered the driven woman’s hand. His eyes flitted between her hand, her determined expression and finally the back of his best friend’s head as he continued to walk farther ahead of them with the pretty blue-eyed dancer. A sly smirk of his own played at his lips as he finally reached forward to take the offered hand in his own. He couldn’t help but notice how his long nimble fingers nearly engulfed the dancer’s entire dainty hand as they proceeded to shake on their new little deal.

“Oh, I’d team up with you any day. Plus, anything to help out my bro.”

Alya rolled her eyes with a small chuckle at the flirtation but went right back to being completely excited. It was about time she finally got her friend to unwind and leave her sewing station for a while.

“Good to hear, ‘cause I’m gonna need all the deets on your boy over there. I figure if we swap intel and know what makes our friends’ crushes go all gooey, then we can make sure to drop just the right advise to get these two crazy kids all up on each other before the end of the week!”

The two spectacled adults turn their attention the the potential couple in question just in time to see the two share a little laugh at something the two matchmakers couldn’t quite hear from where they stood. The darker skinned pair shared equally confident grins as Nino gave a little chuckle of his own.

“Sounds like we got a plan then.”