Riposte 2

A Lesson

Adrien got to the tournament extra extra early. He wanted to make sure that everything was ready for Marinette's lesson as soon as she arrived. That way they would have plenty of time together.

Adrien picked out some sabres for them to practice with and brought them over to one the fencing pistes. When he glanced up, his heart caught in his chest. Marinette looked incredible in her uniform, just like he thought she would. That body of hers was amazing.

"I remembered everything, right?" she asked, refering to the uniform.

"Yeah, you're perfect... I mean, it's perfect" he said, his face blushing.

She glanced down at the floor. "Kay, uh... okay. Well, where do we start?"

"Um... why don't we try a couple of lunges and parrys, and see where you're at?" he suggested.

She nodded and got into place.

"So you attack first, then I'll attack, and we'll keep alternating for a few conversations" Adrien said, lowering his mask.

She nodded again and lowered her own mask. Then she lunged.

For a few minutes they took turns attacking and defending.

Adrien had a huge smile on his face when they were done and he lifted up his mask. "Wow, that was great!" he gushed.

"You... you really think so?" Marinette asked, lifting hers up too.

"Definitely. You have a lot of raw talent, and your reflexes are even better than last year. You just need to work on your form a little bit. But besides that, you're really good. I can't believe that you've never had formal lessons before."

"Oh, uh..." Marinette stammered at the compliments. "Th... thank you Adrien, that's kind of you to say."

He kept smiling at her. "There's no doubt in my mind that you're going to make the team."

She looked down, blushing furiously.

"So let's work on your form a little" Adrien said, putting his sabre down and moving closer to her. "One thing I noticed is that you bend your back leg too much when you lunge. It should be nice and straight."

Marinette practiced a lunge. "Like this?" she asked.

"Yes, much better" he said, smiling.

She kept practicing a few more. Adrien watched her as other students and guests started making their way into the hall.

"You're a real quick learner" he said, impressed by her improvement.

She smiled shyly, looking down.

Adrien moved right beside her. "May I?" he asked, reaching his hand up towards hers. She turned her head to look at him, then nodded.

They were so close to each other. Her eyes looked even more blue than usual. He wanted to keep staring, but Marinette turned her head back.

Adrien slowly placed his hand on top of hers. Ugh, why did they have to wear these gloves? He turned her wrist slightly outwards. "This will help you maintain a better grip" he explained softly.

She turned her head to look at him again.

For a moment they were caught in each other's eyes. That is, until they were interrupted.

"Hey guys."

Marinette flinched and swung her head around at the noise. "Oh, hey Luka" she said, exhaling. She lowered the sabre down, causing Adrien to release her hand.