Chapter Text
Sometime last year, in a deserted panther cage in Paris:
"So lemme get this straight: you're in love with Marinette?"
"Yeah. Wait, why are you laughing?"
"I – ha. I'm sorry. I'm in love with Marinette."
" What? "
"Yeah. And I hate to break it to you, but you ain't got a chance in hell."
"Ugh, no kidding . You're her bff! How can I even compete?"
"No, Nino, listen, it's not like that. I mean, thanks for the vote of confidence, but no."
"What do you mean, then?"
"Neither of us has a chance in hell, because Marinette is in love with Adrien."
"... Dude. Are you serious?"
"Yup."
"Adrien. Aw, man . Adrien! Why does it have to be him?"
"Because he's a literal ray of sunshine?"
"No, Alya, you don't understand. Adrien was helping me, remember? Bro has no idea. He... I mean, she's not even on his radar."
"Oh my gosh. Oh no."
...
"This sucks ."
"I'm sorry, Nino."
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry, too."
--
"Welp, we failed."
Nino barely has time to remove his laptop from his lap before Alya’s head lands on it.
"Hey! I'm polishing up some beats here!"
Alya opens one eye and smirks in a way that makes Nino's face heat up a little. "That's what he said."
"That's not – okay first of all, gross, and second, what would you have done if you'd just landed on my laptop and broken it with your thick skull? Huh?"
"My skull is thick to protect my incredible brain, so thank you, and to answer your question, I trust your reflexes when it comes to your precious beats." She sighs dramatically, closing her eyes. "Anyway, you should have known I'd do this. We failed, Nino. We failed Operation New York."
Nino manages to save his work and manoeuver his laptop around Alya and back into his bag, before having his usual small panic over where he should put his hands. His right hand could rest on the small bit of bench next to him, or even on Alya's hair if he's feeling adventurous, but his left? She's lying on her back with her neck, chest and shoulders taking up all the available space. Putting his left hand down at all is pretty much out of the question.
"We didn't fail," he says, throwing his elbow over the back of the bench and mentally congratulating himself for managing to make it look casual. "They slow danced. In mid-air!"
"Yep," Alya says. "And then the akuma happened, and that dumb thing where he said bye and she just – ugh . Nothing's changed, Nino! They're back to being awkward, pining dorks." She sighs again, turning her head to look over at where Adrien and Marinette are having a conversation from opposite ends of a bench across the courtyard. Marinette is gesticulating wildly, which, to be fair, may be why they've subconciously put so much distance between them. Her face is a pretty shade of pink, her grin just a tad manic, and Adrien is watching her with that adoring smile he always gets around her. Alya has an entire folder of photographic evidence of this smile, but when presented with it, Adrien – to Alya and Nino's horror – remarked that everyone gets that look around Marinette, "including you guys," and Alya put the folder away and never mentioned it again.
Goddamnit. Why can't Adrien be observant about what matters .
"That could've been me slow dancing in the moonlight with her," Alya mutters, still pouting in their direction.
"Me, you mean," Nino corrects her. "It was my hotdog. I could've been slow dancing with Marinette."
"In mid-air? You would have had a heart attack."
"Hey, I resent that."
"Because you know I'm right. You'd cling to her and panic, and then she'd panic too while clinging to you and - oh god that would have been adorable. Okay, I ship it, you win this round."
"I do?" Nino grins down at her. "Thanks. That scenario barely has any public humiliation in it."
"What can I say? The only thing better than one clumsy, panicky dork is two clumsy, panicky dorks."
"Clinging to each other in mid-air."
"Screaming for help over the sound of that song. Which you hate."
"I hate it so much," Nino snickers.
They share a laugh, like a bubble of warmth between them. It's not even bittersweet any more. That day in the panther cage dashed all of Nino's hopes with Marinette, but he gained a companion in his misery, and Alya's friendship definitely makes up for it.
"You should tell her," he says suddenly, watching Alya watch Marinette with a longing he remembers only too well.
Alya turns her head to frown up at him. "What are you talking about?"
"You should tell her you’re in love with her."
Alya's eyes widen with surprise before narrowing in a frown. "Why would you suggest that? She's in love with Adrien, and I'm pretty much over it now."
Nino raises an eyebrow. "Are you really? Because I see you looking at her."
Alya scoffs. "And you don't? Nino, half our class has a crush on Marinette. Maybe for us it got a bit more serious than that at one point, but we – well, I'm past that now. Aren't you?"
Her voice is casual, but there's an intensity to the way she looks at him, waiting for an answer.
"I am," Nino says honestly. "I mean, sure, it hurt like hell when she turned me down, but that's also what gave me a chance to get over it. Nowadays, I look at them," he gestures towards the awkward pair, "and I don't even feel sad any more. Mostly I feel hopeful for them. Or frustrated," he adds with a lopsided smile, before growing serious again. "It just seems as though sometimes you're so invested in them getting together because it'd be a form of closure for you. Whereas you could have that closure if you just told her how you feel. Besides, she might say yes. You are the person she's the most comfortable with."
The intensity in Alya's eyes turns painful the instant before she turns her head to look away again. Adrien and Marinette have been joined by Max, Kim, and Alix. Kim is carrying Alix on one shoulder and trying to convince a reluctant Marinette to climb up on the other one.
"Easy for you to say," Alya murmurs. "You didn't risk losing your best friend when you confessed to her. Imagine having a crush on Adrien, would you tell him?"
Nino blinks, his eyes flicking over to where Adrien is sliding over to Marinette's side of the bench in an attempt to dissuade Kim in his flexing endeavours. He snorts.
"Dude would hug me and say he loves me too."
"Ugh, you're right, he would. You guys could probably get engaged and he'd think you meant it just as friends."
"Right. But Als, I see you changing the subject."
"I'm moving on from the subject. I can't risk losing my best friend over a dumb crush."
"You know it's more than that. Besides, Marinette would never abandon you."
Alya flips over with a huff, turning her back on the courtyard to curl into Nino's stomach, arms hugging herself. His hand moves down to her shoulder, his thumb rubbing little circles into her soft plaid sleeve almost without thinking about it.
"I don't want things to change," she murmurs. "Let me have this, Nino. It's fine."
The body heat he can feel through his t-shirt stirs pale butterflies in his stomach, but Nino ignores them. The vulnerability in her voice is more important; like a missing beat, a space he yearns to fill. Thankfully, a year and a half of bonding over shared heartbreak has taught him a thing or two. He gives her shoulder one last squeeze and fiddles with his headphones for a minute, before gently pulling the hair back from Alya's ear.
"Wanna hear something cool?"
A twitch at the corner of her lips is his only warning before she flips onto her back again so he can place the headphones around her ears. As he moves his hands away, she catches one and presses it to her forehead. Nino's fingers move on their own, smoothing the frizzy auburn curls back from her hairline. He misses the music in his ears, but she needs it more. For now, the careful rhythmic movement of his fingers against her soft skin is enough to calm his mind until the bell rings.
--
"So, are they dating yet, or...?"
Marinette and Adrien meet Alix's question with identical puzzled frowns. She glances pointedly at Alya and Nino's bench across the courtyard.
Marinette bursts out laughing. "Oh, no. They're 'just friends'." The air quotes she makes around the latter phrase are so big, she feels one of her shoulder blades click.
Adrien frowns down at her from his new position on Kim's right bicep. "Yeah, they are just friends. Aren't they?"
Marinette's eye twitches as she smiles up at him, a little too brightly. "Yep! Good friends," she echoes, her voice so chipper it's almost painful. "Very good friends who go everywhere together and protect each other from akumas and make playlists for each other and argue like an old married couple and are basically attached at the hip."
"Friends who lie on each others' laps and stroke each others' hair." Alix smirks, tugging on half of Kim's hair so that he turns towards the other bench, accompanying the movement with machine noises. Adrien, astonishingly, manages to keep his balance. Marinette is grateful for his sacrifice. She would certainly have fallen off "The Kimobile" by now.
Adrien frowns. "Okay, so you're saying... what? Nino and Alya are dating and keeping it a secret from everyone? Why?"
Max shakes his head. "It's slightly more complicated than that. Given their body language, it is highly probable that they are both attracted to each other, but neither one seems to be acting on it."
"So like mutual pining," Adrien mutters, nodding (and Marinette's mind automatically files away the fact that Adrien knows about fanfic tropes). "I guess... but no, Nino would have told me."
"Not necessarily," Max counters. "For him to tell you, he would have to first become aware of those feelings himself, and be troubled by them to some extent.."
"Maybe he's in complete denial, while Alya's just too shy to make a move," Alix chimes in, grinning down at Marinette.
"Hm, my bet would be on Alya for denial," Max says, and Marinette reluctantly agrees. “Nino seems aware, but content with the status quo.”
"I think you're all reading too much into this," says Adrien. "Besides, last I heard, Nino still had a crush on -" his mouth snaps shut before he can finish his sentence, glancing nervously down at Marinette and away again.
Marinette lets out a nervous laugh. "Oh, no, no we talked about that a while back, and um. It's fine. He's fine. Over it completely."
"Right." Adrien tugs nervously at the hair on the back of his head with his free hand, casting about for a change of subject. "Anyway, I still think they're just friends. I've seen those selfies you take at sleepovers, Marinette, and you guys do that kind of stuff all the time."
"Adrien, bro," Kim says, interrupting his machine noises. " I didn't even know Ondine was into me until she got akumatized over it, and she says she made it really obvious. So like, there's no shame in you not seeing it when you're not even involved."
Everyone stops to stare at Kim for a second after this uncharacteristically perceptive insight..
"Yeah, Adrien, it's okay to be oblivious," Alix chirps, grinning. "We love you anyway."
"Hey! I'm not oblivious!"
"Oh, you are. Right, Marinette?"
"Marinette, tell Alix I'm not oblivious!"
"Please don't involve me in this," Marinette begs faintly.
"It's okay, bro. Just embrace it."
"I'm – woah! Uh, can I get down now?"
Alix pulls on Kim's hair, and he squats down so that Adrien can slip off his shoulder. Marinette just has time to see Alix send her a wink before Kim stands back up just a split-second too fast, causing Adrien to stumble face-first into Marinette's lap.
"Sorry!" he says, jumping back immediately. "I didn't – I – uh -"
"It's fine! You can lie in my lap – I mean! It was an accident! I think." Marinette glares up at Alix.
"See, you guys seem awfully flustered about doing the same thing as those two," Alix says, as Adrien carefully takes a seat a respectful distance from Marinette.
Adrien shakes his head, his cheeks slightly pinker than usual. "That's different. It was an accident. Marinette and I are just as close as they are, and it's completely platonic. Right, Marinette?"
Marinette plasters a smile on her face, hoping he can’t tell she’s dying inside. "I think we're close in a different way," she says.
"Not that different," Max remarks, and Marinette gapes at him in betrayal.
"Nah, Marinette's right," Kim chimes in, surprising her. "Alya and Nino are all over each other all the time."
"So are you and Alix!" Adrien points out.
"She's aroace," Kim says, jerking his thumb at the tiny girl still sitting on his left shoulder. With Alix’s hands still in his hair, it is unclear whether the thumb jerk was directed by her or of Kim's own initiative.
"Yeah, I'm immune to all that stuff," Alix confirms.
Adrien's frown deepens, considering. He presses his lips together in what is frankly an adorable pout. Then, without warning, he scoots right over to Marinette and throws both arms around her shoulders.
Marinette freezes.
"Alloromantic people can be physically close without it being romantic," he says. "Marinette and I hug each other all the time."
"I-I wouldn't say all the time," Marinette squeaks as Max and Alix bite their lips trying not to laugh.
"Well, we can if you want to," Adrien insists, settling his chin on her shoulder so that their cheeks are touching. "I wouldn't mind, because we're friends , and friends can do that."
"Oh come on, that's just hugging," Alix says, enjoying herself far too much for Marinette's liking. "You and Nino hug all the time. And isn't there, like, a cheek kiss in your secret handshake?"
Adrien promptly kisses Marinette's cheek before smooshing it into his own, glaring defiantly at Alix. "Since when is cheek kissing in any way romantic in this country?" he demands, apparently oblivious to the way Marinette's cheek burns against his.
"Depends on the execution," Marinette says faintly, making a valiant effort not to evaporate on the spot.
Ha. Spot. Which reminds her of the first time she turned Chat Noir down for real, and the fleeting kiss he left on her cheek, which tingled on her skin for hours afterwards, and why is she even thinking about Chat right now?
She tries to send a glare towards Alix, but it probably looks more pleading than threatening. Alix responds with a shit-eating grin before appearing to sober up.
"Well yeah, that's my point, cheek kisses are too casual to count," she says, nodding sagely. "Not like lying with your head in someone's lap, listening to music they probably made just for you."
"Marinette, can I -"
"UHH HEY ISN'T IT TIME FOR CLASS ALREADY?"
--
It was not time for class already. By the time the bell rings, Alix has managed to goad Adrien into lying in Marinette’s lap (she couldn’t say no to those eyes), letting Marinette lie in his lap (which was actually really calming once he started stroking her hair), and tickling her, which ended abruptly when she kneed him in the stomach by accident. Marinette feels so bad about this that she insists on taking Adrien to the infirmary, pulling his arm over her shoulders reflexively, the way she usually does with injured civilians. This puts them – once again – in very close proximity.
"I'm really fine, Mari- woah, you're strong!"
Marinette laughs nervously, setting him back down on his feet. "Hauling flour sacks around will do that," she says, trying to ignore the admiring look he's sending her from mere centimeters away.
"Seriously?" Kim interrupts. "Hey Marinette, are your parents taking interns? I bet that'd make a killer workout."
"You should ask her when she's not trying to take Adrien to the nurse," Max advises, and the three move off.
The nurse assures them both that Adrien will be fine, although he does give him a note so he can skip fencing practice that evening. The pair arrive in class five minutes after the bell, but luckily, Mlle Bustier is also late.
"Hey, Marinette."
The way Alya says it sends a shiver down Marinette's spine, like she's a mouse about to be caught by a fox and possibly eaten.
"Alya," she replies, eyeing her friend warily as she sits down.
"Wanna tell me what's going on between you and Sunshine today? He was all over you!"
Marinette's eyes blow wide. The audacity!
Alya misinterprets this. "Oh my gosh, did it start over the weekend? Have you been holding out on me, girl?" She flashes her teeth in a grin.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Marinette hisses. "All of this is your fault!"
Alya blinks, her grin fading a little. "What?"
"You heard me! We were doing fine until Alix asked if you guys were dating yet and I had to tell them you were still tiptoeing around each other like -"
"Woah woah, hang on a second," Alya holds up her hands and opens her mouth to spout some version of the usual "we're just friends" spiel, but Madame Bustier has arrived, and calls for them all to settle down.
Marinette is not surprised when she feels something nudge beneath her elbow. She opens the note to find Alya's usual round scribble.
You mean Nino and me? Girl, we've talked about this. You know we're just friends.
Predictable. Marinette rolls her eyes and sends a pointed glare at Alya, but Alya simply raises an eyebrow.
Then explain why you thought there was something going on between Adrien and me, when all he was doing was imitating you two ?
Alya studies the note for a long minute, frowning, before sending it back again.
Why would he do that?
Adrien thinks you guys are just good friends, and Alix thought it would be fun to play devil's advocate by asking whether LYING IN YOUR FRIEND'S LAP WITH HIS HEADPHONES ON was really platonic behaviour.
Alya stifles a snort, and then they have to pretend to pay attention for a moment as Madame Bustier hands out worksheets.
Wait, so that means Adrien will do anything to you that Nino and I do to each other, just to prove it's not romantic behaviour?
Marinette's head snaps up to stare at her friend in mounting horror. Alya's grin is positively wolfish.
"Alya, no!" Marinette hisses.
Alya simply grins wider.
--
"You want us to what now?"
"Just go along with it. I paw -mise this is gonna work better than Operation New York."
"Dude, why you gotta use Chat Noir puns to win me over?"
"They're your one weakness."
"I'll have you know I have many weaknesses, and none of them will convince me to -"
"I'll babysit Chris on Saturday so you can watch that US livestream."
"...It's in Australia but DEAL."
Alya and Nino are eating at the school canteen, having watched Adrien walk Marinette to the school gates with one arm around her shoulders, before being picked up by his chauffeur. Marinette waved him off, breathed a visible sigh of relief, and slipped away home for lunch – probably to avoid Alya's teasing.
Alya, who has already scarfed down most of her food, doesn't seem to mind. It gives her time to strategize. Her plan is simple: all they have to do is act like a couple, convince Alix to keep teasing Adrien, and see how long it takes for Adrien to realize his feelings for Marinette, or realize that they're messing with him, or both. It'll be fun, Alya says. Nino has doubts.
"How are we going to convince Alix to do this?"
"Are you kidding? Have you met Alix? She's all over this," Alya says, pointing at her phone and sending a gleeful grin to Alix and Kim across the canteen. Alix responds with a grin of her own, and Kim winks and shoots finger guns at them.
Nino sighs, returning to the subject at hand.
"Okay, we need some ground rules," he says around a mouthful of chicken, ready for Alya to whine and call him a party pooper. He's surprised when she nods and takes out a pencil and her reporter pad instead.
"No kissing on the lips," she says, pretending to ignore Nino's sudden, vibrant blush.
"Right." Nino sputters, barely managing not to choke on his food. "And uh, no, um, no uh, t-touching, like – um -"
"No inappropriate touching," Alya interrupts, a corner of her mouth quirking up as her hazel eyes sparkle with mirth. She's gotten him to agree to her plan, and is being merciful, but Nino knows she's going to tease him about this later.
She turns her attention to her notepad and nibbles on the end of her pencil. Nino drags his eyes away from her mouth, to his plate, and keeps them there like his sanity depends on it. Which it might.
This is a bad idea, he thinks with sudden, terrible clarity. I have a crush on Alya. Why am I going along with this? It’ll mess me up and then I’ll end up doing something weird and she’ll freak out and -
Nino has known about crush on Alya for a while now. He stopped denying it to himself the day Anansi kidnapped her, when Ladybug lent him the turtle miraculous for the first time.
This is a horrible idea.
He opens his mouth to say as much (minus "because I'm attracted to you" part, he's not that much of an idiot), but Alya speaks first.
"I don't think we really need to go over the top," she says, her mouth curling into a scheming smile that stirs the butterflies in his stomach. "We can just act the way we normally do, but more . More hugs, more cheek kisses, more sharing music and food and clothes -"
Nino’s doubts ease a little. That doesn't sound so hard.
"More of you stealing from me, then," he points out, raising an eyebrow.
"Right!" Alya says brightly, her smile completely unabashed, and he groans into his hands. "Aw c'mon, Nino," she continues. "Who would eat the pickles in your burger if I didn't? Huh? Who?"
"Adrien will literally eat anything I give him without stealing all my chips and half my burger."
"I don't sense much enthusiasm, my dude, and I need you on board for this! C'mon, don't you want your little bro-drien to spread his tiny baby chicken wings?"
"Is this you saying you want some of my chicken?"
"Well, now it is, but stop trying to distract me. Don't you think it'd be cool if Adrien and Marinette got closer, even just as friends? No more awkwardness! Wouldn't that be great? And this thing they're doing -"
"He's doing. Marinette's a victim here. Is this even ethical?"
"Marinette is fine with it, believe me," Alya assures him. "She was blushing and smiling at the back of his head all morning, when she thought I wasn't looking."
Nino didn't notice that, which is surprising. Despite sitting in front of her, he usually notices most of Marinette's mood changes - an old reflex from when he was in love with her. It helps that she's adorably indiscreet about them. Maybe he’s even more over her than he thought.
Maybe you’ve been paying more attention to the other girl sitting behind you, a voice whispers in the back of his mind.
He chooses to ignore it. "So… the usual, only more?"
"Yes."
Nino sighs, resigned. "Look, I'm not against it. I just don't really get what you expect me to do more of."
"Then do what you do best, hon," Alya says, snapping her notepad shut and leaning over the table to kiss him on the forehead. "Follow my lead."
"I resent that," he mutters, hoping she doesn't see him blush.
--
Marinette skids into Mme Mendeliev's lab just after the final bell and freezes in front of her stool. Smiling at her from Alya's usual seat next to hers is Adrien.
She glances towards the table in front. Alya sends her a smirk and a wave over her shoulder.
"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, is there a problem?" Madame Mendeliev enquires.
"Non, Madame!" Marinette sits, fumbling to get her materials out of her bag, and mentally swearing vengeance on her best friend.
Adrien shares his textbook with her (Marinette has forgotten hers), which draws them closer to one another. Marinette sees Alya and Nino sharing, too, and wonders if they somehow conspired to make her forget her textbook. She narrows her eyes at her friends' backs. They're leaning towards each other, whispering and shooting the odd glance back at her. They are definitely up to something.
Mme Mendeliev being one of their stricter teachers, though, they have to keep it subtle. As the class goes on, Marinette notices little gestures, mostly initiated by Alya: her hand on Nino's arm, or wrist, or shoulder, her head leaning close to his as they read. Nino doesn't move away, but he doesn't seem to be initiating any of the gestures either, which leads Marinette to conclude that Alya has dragged him into this somewhat unwillingly – until she notices how red his ears are.
Marinette nudges Adrien with her elbow, completely forgetting her nerves around him.
"Look!" she hisses, pointing her pen towards their friends.
Adrien frowns. "What?"
"Nino is blushing! "
Adrien's frown vanishes as his eyebrows vanish beneath his fringe.
"Oh my gosh, you're right!"
"I told you!" Marinette squeals as quietly as she can, before catching Mme Mendeliev's disapproving eye and putting her head back down over her worksheet.
Ten minutes later, they're in the middle of a relatively boring experiment involving copper and calcium samples in water. Adrien keeps an eye on the timer while Marinette peers through the test tubes towards their friends.
"Is Alya... flirting?" Adrien asks her.
"Yup," Marinette grumbles.
Adrien looks puzzled. "Isn't that a good thing?"
"She's not doing it for the right reason."
"She isn't?" Adrien looks more confused than ever.
Marinette sighs, opens her mouth to explain, and hesitates. If she tells Adrien why Alya is flirting with Nino, not only could it discredit the idea that they're meant to be together, it would also mean telling Adrien that Alya and Nino are trying to get them together.
"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng and Monsieur Agreste, I hope you have memorized your times."
Mme Mendeliev's voice makes Marinette jump, nearly knocking over the test tubes (Adrien saves them), and she realizes with dismay that two of their samples have dissolved without them noticing.
"I was! Just! About, to, writethemdown!" Marinette stammers.
Mme Mendeliev scowls, but moves on. She appears to be in a good mood today.
Adrien lets out a low, nervous chuckle, stopping the timer and suggesting likely guesses. Marinette can't help but return his smile as she writes them down. Getting in trouble in class is usually embarrassing at best, but getting in trouble with Adrien is almost fun. They pay attention for the rest of the experiment, but once it is over and their teacher is dictating, Adrien pushes a note towards Marinette.
Sorry I forgot the timer. Should I be worried for Nino? ^^
Marinette bites her lip, wondering exactly what to tell him. In the end, she decides on the truth – some of it, at least. It would be much easier to write it down, after all.
You know how they like to tease us two about being a couple? Well, Alya saw you imitating them this morning, and decided to try and take advantage of it, with Nino's cooperation. Just so she could tease us, of course.
She watches out of the corner of her eye as Adrien's brow creases with worry.
Should I tell her to stop? I was only doing those things to prove a point anyway.
Marinette has almost finished reading the note when Adrien pulls it back, only to return it with a scribbled addendum:
Sorry, by the way. I didn't ask permission, and I wasn't thinking. I won't do it again.
Marinette's heart sinks a little, and she hurriedly replies.
That's okay. I like your hugs, just not when they're to prove a point. Which was wrong, by the way :P
That earns her a smile.
So, should we put a stop to this? I don't want Nino to get his heart broken :'(
Alya would never purposely lead Nino on, and she's definitely noticed him blushing. She's just using teasing us as an excuse to get closer to him.
Are you sure? :o
Positive. Just wait – I bet she pretends not to realize you're not copying them any more for as long as she can. Unless Nino points it out first.
Adrien doesn't reply, and Marinette thinks the conversation is over. For the next few minutes, she tries to catch up on the lesson. When another note lands on her tablet, she jumps, startled.
Or unless we keep copying them. >:3
Marinette's eyes bulge, and she stares sidelong at Adrien. He seemed to be focused on his notes, but a smirk plays on his lips, and the side glance he shoots back at her is twinkling with mischief. With his hair falling over his eyes as he leans over his tablet, he almost looks like Chat Noir.
Chat Noir, again? What is with me today?
She bites her lip. A few weeks ago, she would have quailed. A few weeks before that, she would have jumped at the chance. Now, she hesitates, caught between both of these urges.
The idea is tempting simply from a revenge perspective. It's almost irresistable to the meddler in her. But as she glances between Adrien and the infuriating non-couple sitting in front of them, she wonders how long she'll be able to survive copying them without imploding. And as amazing as it would be to be able to snuggle up to Adrien, something inside her rebels against the idea: it feels too calculated. She wants him to hug her because he wants to, not to get Alya and Nino together. Even though she knows Adrien is a tactile person and would probably enjoy it. Besides, part of her feels as though she'd be secretly taking advantage of him.
She glances back at their friends. Nino is whispering something in Alya's ear, and she giggles quietly against his shoulder. They look so good together, she thinks for the millionth time. But Nino is shy, and Alya can be surprisingly reserved about certain subjects, including her love life. And yet, it looks like all they’d need would be a tiny push in the right direction.
She scribbles a question.
Are you sure you'd be okay with that? We'd practically be attached at the hip. People might start rumours. And I know you don't like it when people are too clingy, she adds, thinking of Adrien's usual reaction to Chloe and Lila.
Adrien's eyes soften as he reads the note. When Marinette sees his reply, her heart fluttering, the last of her common sense flies out the window.
You're not clingy, Marinette. I love your hugs. And I'm used to rumours. As long as you're okay with it, of course.
Marinette smiles nervously at him. He beams back, and Marinette feels that rare, giddy excitement she always feels when they collaborate on some scheme: outrunning his fans, hiding from his bodyguard with Kagami, sneaking up to a rooftop party with their friends. It's not the same as losing herself in his summer-green eyes or replaying every compliment he’s ever paid her over and over in her head. It’s different, because she's not focusing on him in these moments. Instead, they're standing together, looking in the same crazy direction, and that feeling – the one that almost reminds her of rooftop races with her partner – doesn't feel like falling. It feels like flying.