Cross-posted on ao3.

Chapter One

"Yo, dude, what happened to you?"

Alya glanced up from her phone, watching as Adrien walked up the steps of the school, not even responding to Nino. His steps were slow, and while he was heading in their direction he wasn't looking straight at them. The model looked like he usually did– perfectly dressed with perfectly done hair, but the expression on his face was one that she rarely saw on him.

A big cheesy grin.

"Hello guys!" Adrien chirped happily once he reached them, beaming. "Wonderful day, isn't it?"

"Um... are you okay?" Alya asked, raising an eyebrow. It was quite rare for Adrien to show his silly side, needing to play the role of perfect-model-son. Seeing him openly happy was a good thing, but it was new. Adrien looked at her, then let out a blissful sigh. "You look like a lovesick puppy."

"I am a lovesick kitty," He said, a far off look in his green eyes, and his grin only grew.

Nino and Alya exchanged glances, before smiling themselves. Seeing Adrien like this was wonderful, much more heartwarming than the small smiles and laughs he usually gave, and better than the small glimpses of his silly self they only got on occasion. Alya glanced down the street, wondering where Marinette was. Well, not wondering, she was late like she usually was. But Alya knew that Marinette would love to see Adrien like this, the boy not trying to hide his true self for once.

"Did something happen?" She asked, taking a step towards the model, the reporter in her jumping straight to asking questions.

"Yes, the most wonderful thing happened. Yesterday was the best day ever," He grinned at them. "It wasn't a dream, right? No, it wasn't, it happened. Oh gosh, it actually happened!"

"Did your dad finally eat dinner with you?"

"Were you able to get a full day off without a fight?"

Adrien's grin somehow grew even more. "Nope. I got a girlfriend."

Alya froze up as she heard this, eyes widening slightly. For a second she didn't know what to do, nor how to react. This was a good thing, and she knew it. Seeing Adrien like this and knowing he had someone special was only something to be celebrated. He was her friend, and she was happy for him. At the same time though she knew what this news would mean for her best friend, who had deep feelings for this boy.

"What? Dude, that's awesome– congrats!" Nino cried.

"That's... wow– that's wonderful, Adrien," Alya said, quickly putting a smile on her face when she noticed the two boys looking at her. "What happened, give me all the deets!"

She really was happy for Adrien, but at the same time she couldn't help but look down the street, now worried for Marinette to arrive. The girl would be crushed... even if she'd be nothing but supportive for Adrien.

"Well, I've had feelings for her for the longest time," Adrien said, that dreamy look returning to his eyes. "I thought she didn't like me back, there was always this other boy she was talking about..." He let out a small giggle. "Turns out that boy was me."

Giggling. Adrien Agreste was giggling.

She really hoped that Marinette would take this well, maybe use this as a chance to move on to someone else. She did have feelings for Luka, and he felt the same, so maybe with Adrien out of the picture she'd be ready to confront those feelings.

"It happened all so quickly," Adrien continued. "One moment it was just us, then suddenly she was there and she was telling me that I was the one she had been in love with... and everything just happened from there. She kissed me, she actually kissed me, and this time she truly meant it!"

"You've kissed before?" Nino asked, surprised.

"From what I've been told, yes."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Adrikins!" A loud voice cried, and instantly Alya stiffened up as a certain blonde made her way towards their small group. Adrien smiled, raising a hand to say hello, but she could see the trace of nervousness in his gaze. Chloe threw herself into Adrien's arms, who gave her a brief hug before carefully pulling back. Sabrina was behind Chloe, lingering back a ways.

Chloe wasn't as bad as she used to be, Alya would give her that much. She didn't go out of her way to insult people, though she wasn't afraid to give them sass either. She treated Sabrina much better, though she still seemed to be Chloe's errand girl. She didn't call her father the moment things didn't go her way, though she still did throw her father's name around.

One thing that hadn't changed was Chloe's feelings for Adrien though.

"Hey Chlo," Adrien said, smiling, though it wasn't the grin he had before. "What's up?"

"I couldn't help but hear something about kissing," She said, trying to step closer to him once more. "And I was just wondering who was spreading such rumors about you– you know I can put a stop to those with just a snap."

"There's no rumors," He said, hesitating for a moment. "I'm just talking about my girlfriend, that's all."

Chloe froze, blinking once. "...Girlfriend. Since when?"

"Since last night."

"You... you have a girlfriend?"

"That is correct."

Alya braced herself, ready for the blonde to blow up. For a high pitched shriek to fill the air and for the denial to begin. There would be protesting and whoever had ended up with Adrien would have to face the monster that was about to be unleashed. Chloe stood there for a moment, blue eyes flashing as she took in a deep breath.

"Does she make you happy?" Chloe asked.

"What?!"

Alya wasn't the only one who had cried out in that moment– Nino and Sabrina's shocked voices filling the air as well. Chloe flashed them an annoyed look, before turning back to Adrien, who seemed just as surprised by this question. He blinked once, staring down at his childhood friend.

"Of course she does. I've been in love with her for a long time now."

"You weren't forced into this? By your father or anyone else?" Chloe checked.

"No, she's the girl of my dreams," He hesitated. "You're... you're okay with that?"

Chloe snorted. "It's no secret that I like you, Adrikins, but I do want you to be happy. I don't like this girl, whoever she is, but as long as you're happy there's not much for me to do, is there?"

Adrien's smile grew. "Thank you, Chlo."

"'Thank you'?" Alya snapped. "She just said she hated your girlfriend!"

Chloe rolled her eyes, walking away, and there was no denying there was a stiffness in her walk, Sabrina hurrying after her. Adrien watched her for a moment, before smiling softly at Alya. "That was the closest thing to her approval I'd get."

"You don't need your friend's approval on who you date."

"Chloe is my oldest friend, and knowing she's going to respect my decision and not interfere... is important to me. That coming from Chloe is the same as your congratulations to me," He smiled softly. "She can be hard to read, but she really can be nice if you give her a chance."

'Chloe' and 'nice' didn't belong in the same sentence, if you asked Alya. But if Chloe's reaction to all of this had been good, at least good for something coming from her, then maybe Marinette's reaction would be a good one as well. Sad, but hopefully a willingness to move on and be happy for their friend.

"She's a lot better than she used to be," Alya finally concluded.

"Chloe treats her dudes pretty well, even if she can be rude to the rest of the dudes in class," Nino offered.

Adrien shook his head. "If that's you guys attempting to get along with Chloe, then I'll take it."

"Oh, look guys, Mari's here!" Nino said, eyes lighting up. "Looks like she's not late today. Cutting it close though."

Adrien and Alya turned to see their friend charging towards the school, clearly having ran the whole way here. The bell was going to ring in a few minutes, so it wasn't the closest she had been, but clearly she had been frantic to get here. She raced up the stairs, panting as she reached them, at last coming to a stop. Marinette had her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Sorry– slept in– was up late–!" Marinette panted, while Alya's gaze flickered between her and Adrien nervously. That huge smile had returned to Adrien's face, clearly excited to tell her of his news. Alya didn't even have time to give Marinette a warning to brace herself, she'd have to take this information point blank.

"Princess!" Adrien cried, hurrying towards Marinette the moment she looked up, his arms going to her waist as he picked her up and spun her about.

Alya could only stare.

"Adrien, put me down," Marinette said as Adrien held her in his arms, which put Marinette a head above him, their bodies pressed close as she looked down at him.

"But My Lady looked so tired," Adrien said, a sly grin on his face, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

Alya gawked at the girl who looked just like Marinette– because there was no way that this was Marinette. Her Mari would have fainted by now from being held by Adrien in such a way, not to mention the nicknames. This girl was definitely blushing, but didn't look moments away from passing out, and she most certainly wasn't a stuttering mess.

Adrien did lower Marinette to the ground, though his hands remained on her waist. She didn't even look flustered at the close contact, and the next thing Alya knew Marinette was being pulled into a kiss. On the lips. By Adrien Agreste. Marinette was kissing Adrien! Eyes closed, both leaning into it as they embraced. Mari had to go up on her tiptoes to reach him, and his hands had moved to her back, keeping her close.

When they broke away they were both staring at each other, and Marinette babbled out a few sounds. Her face was bright red, and finally Alya caught a glimpse of her best friend, only then for Marinette to scowl and step away from Adrien. She crossed her arms, glaring up at the boy she would have given the world for.

"What part of 'let's take this slowly' did you not understand?" She asked, and Adrien smirked.

"I just missed my wonderful girlfriend," He said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"G-girlfriend?" Alya finally managed to sputter out, as if the kissing hadn't given it away, but the mere word sent the reporter's world spiralling. "Marinette? She's the girlfriend you were talking about? But when... how... I...?"

Now she was the one stumbling over her words.

"It hasn't even been one day and you're already declaring this to everyone?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow at Adrien.

"The most beautiful girl on earth agreed to be my girlfriend– what else was there to do?" Adrien asked, and Marinette rolled her eyes, though there was a fondness in those eyes.

"You're such a tomcat."

"You love me~"

"Still hard to believe you're such a dork."

"The dork you love~"

Marinette smiled. "Yes kitty, I love you."

"So Mari's the lucky girl, that's awesome, dude!" Nino said, grinning.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?" Alya cried, and everyone around them fell silent. She probably had the whole school's attention on her, but she didn't care. "Since when– how did you two– I've been trying to set you two up for ages and it just happens over night?"

"Yep!" Adrien said, hand on Marinette's waist as he pulled her close. "We confessed last night."

"You confessed to Adrien and you didn't tell me you were going to?" Alya asked, spinning around to face Marinette. She smiled uncertainly, shifting.

"Um, I wasn't planning on it, he confessed and things just happened from there..."

"You were hanging out with Adrien and you didn't call me freaking out beforehand? Who are you and what have you done with Mari!"

"We weren't planning on that either, we kind of just... er– met up? Last night?" Marinette offered uncertainly, looking at Adrien, as if hoping he'd have a better excuse. Alya crossed her arms, taking a step towards her best friend.

"I want answers, girl! How are you next to Adrien and not having a panic attack?"

"Because he's my boyfriend."

"How are you dating him and being so calm about it?"

"Because I found out the boy I liked is just really a dork."

"Hey!" Adrien cried, and Marinette grinned at him.

"I want answers!" Alya demanded. "I need to know exactly what happened and–"

She was cut off as the bell rang, signalling that it was time for them to get inside. Both Adrien and Marinette gave her a sheepish grin, quickly saying something on how they needed to get to class. Then hand in hand they hurried inside, leaving their confused best friends behind. Nino glanced at them, then at Alya.

"Well, they finally got together. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Alya glowered at the door they had just vanished into, before grabbing Nino's hand and dragging him towards the school. "Yes, it is– and I'm happy for them. But there's something more going on here, they've changed too much too quickly. We're going to get to the bottom of this, there's no way they've become that close in just one night. No way."

"Is there anyway I can get out of this investigation?"

"Nice try, but you're going to help me figure out what's going on."