When Nino's phone rang at nine in the morning on a Saturday, he mentally prayed that for the sake of the person on the other end, it was an emergency because otherwise, someone was going to die.

"Hello?" He slurred, glaring at the light peeking between his blackout curtains as he tried to get comfortable enough to fall asleep again.

"Nino, it's Alya. Are you free today?"

Groaning, he switched the phone to the other ear as he sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes as he tried to mentally check his calendar.

"Alya. It's nine in the morning. On a Saturday."

"Yeah? Are you free or not?"

"Uh, I promised to help maman get groceries, but after that I'll be free. Why?"

"Good, I think we need to talk. Meet me at the park by the school at noon?"

Noticing how she was talking faster than usual and letting her words slip together, he immediately agreed, looking at his phone with concern as she quickly hung up.

"Looks like I have a phone call of my own to make."

Marinette had been working on one of her newer designs, a dress inspired by Alya's eyes when her phone rang, the loud ringtone startling her enough for her to nearly stab herself with the needle on the sewing machine. Jerking her hands back, she scrambled for the phone, accepting the call and holding it to her ear without checking who it was.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Marinette, are you doing anything today?"

"Uh, I don't think so? I was just going to work on a few designs. Why?"

"I just have something important I think I need to talk to you about today. Can you meet me at the park near your house at about eleven?"

"Sure, I can be there. Are you okay though, Nino? You sound nervous."

"It's nothing, just meet me at noon!"

Before she had the chance to even think about responding, the click of him hanging up rang in her ears, surprising her into pulling the phone away from her ear with a gasp. As she stared down at the phone, a thought came to mind, and before she could talk herself out of it, she was typing up a quick text and sending it out.

Croissant Queen: Hey, are you free later today?

Croissant Queen: like, ten-ish later?

Blinking at the twinkling chime coming from beside him, Adrien quickly paused his game and grabbed the phone, quickly shooting off a reply text.

Hot Stuff: i can be

Hot Stuff: what's up?

Croissant Queen: i just think i need to talk to you

Croissant Queen: can you meet me at the park by my house?

Hot Stuff: yeah of course. are you okay?

Croissant Queen: i'm fine, i just need to talk to you later and it's not really a text conversation

Croissant Queen: it's not bad or anything! it's just kinda personal. i'll talk to you about it when i see you later though, so don't worry

"'Don't worry' she says, like that makes it better," Adrien muttered, flicking through his text conversations and pulling a slightly older conversation up, "What could she possibly have to talk to me about that's so personal?"

Sunshine Child: can i talk to you about something?

Raising an eyebrow at the text, Alya unlocked her phone and hurriedly typed up a reply, mildly worried on why Adrien would be texting her instead of Nino.

Ladyblogger: sure, what's up?

Sunshine Child: marinette just texted me and asked me to meet up with her later to talk

Sunshine Child: she said it was personal but told me not to worry

Sunshine Child: i just wanted to know if you had any idea what it could be about?

Pausing, Alya tried to think back on her recent conversations with Marinette to see if she could think of any reason the girl would find it so important to talk to Adrien today of all days. The only thing that came to mind was that maybe Marinette had finally worked up the courage to confess to the model, but Alya was pretty sure that wasn't the case.

Ladyblogger: i have no idea, but gimme a few to text her and try to figure it out

Immediately backing out of her messages with Adrien, she opened her texts to Marinette and fired one off, completely disregarding the Ladyblog article she had been working on.

LB's GF: hey marinette, did you text adrien asking him to meet you later?

There was a row of blinking dots, but the reply came quickly.

Mare Bear: yeah, i needed to talk to him, why?

LB's GF: about what? he just texted me cause he's worried over what you wanna talk to him about

Mare Bear: it's nothing

Mare Bear: i mostly just wanted to talk to him cause nino called me and wanted to talk to me and he sounded really nervous

LB's GF: wait wait wait

LB's GF: nino called and asked you to meet him later today?

Mare Bear: yeah, at around noon at the park near my house

It took a moment of thinking, but as Alya stared down at the phone in her hands, the gears in her head started turning. She had called Nino and asked to meet up at noon at the park, wanting to confess to him her feelings for the three of them and what to do. Then, Nino had called Marinette, asking her to meet him at the same time and place that she herself had originally asked him. Of course, then Marinette texts Adrien with the same 'meet me at the park at noon to talk', and it ends where it begins when Adrien texts her out of concern.

It was a wild guess, and one Alya wasn't even sure she should let her mind follow, but what if they all were calling and texting to talk about the exact same thing?

She had called Nino because he was someone she knew she could trust, and his coolheadedness was definitely something she could use as she tried to sort through and figure out her feelings. Nino then might have contacted Marinette, having known her longer than anybody else and knowing exactly how trustworthy she was when it came to secrets. Marinette, though Alya was her best friend, would reach out to Adrien for help, taking into account how easily the boy was able to logically sort through any problems while making any negative outcome seem miniscule. While Adrien, oblivious as he is, would simply reach out to her due to her being the closest to Marinette and him being concerned.

Closing her eyes, Alya took a deep breath and thought. She knew she was ready to take a risk today by confessing to Nino, but now she had to think over whether or not she was ready to tell them all. There was a large risk there, but there was also a chance for an even larger reward. The thought of being able to kiss, cuddle, hug, and go on dates with all three of them made her stomach explode into butterflies and her face flush.

She opened her eyes and pressed her fingers to the keys, ready to type up her response. She's Alya freaking Césaire, and while she's no Ladybug, she considers herself close enough. She's chased down akumas for the chance at a great story, helped Ladybug and Chat Noir in the fight against Santa Claws, and was even kidnapped by an akuma, staying calm all the while. If she couldn't even muster enough course to confess to her crushes, was she really worthy of running the Ladyblog?

LB's GF: can we actually all meet up at your place? i think I need to talk to all 3 of you

Mare Bear: sure, I'll get some snacks together. want me to text the other two and let them know?

LB's GF: please. I'll see you later

Pushing her phone aside, Alya scrubbed at her face, anxiety sitting heavy in her chest as she started second guessing herself. It was one thing to tell yourself that you were going to confess to your three crushes, but it was an entirely different thing to actually do it, and now Alya found herself wondering if she was actually ready. Of course, she had already arranged for them all to meet, and she didn't exactly have an excuse if she decided to bail so without further ado, she stood up, grabbed her stuff, and left.

Alya had thought it had been stressful and awkward enough just thinking about talking to the other three, but sitting in front of them with the silence hanging over them, she realized it was actually much worse.

When they had all shown up close to half an hour early, Marinette had waved them up to her bedroom with a plate of treats pushed into each of their hands. They had all settled in a circle on the pillows and blankets tossed in a pile in the middle of the room, and then the heavy silence had settled over them all. None of them looked up from their laps as they nibbled at their cookies and pastries, the quiet chewing being the only audible noise aside from the low hum of customers coming from the bakery beneath them.

As the minutes ticked by, Alya found herself more and more anxious until finally, she snapped.

Turning to Nino, she watched as he tensed slightly, Marinette and Adrien both turning to look at her.

"Nino," she started, watching as his eyes just barely managed to meet hers before darting away again, "I called and asked you to meet up with me because you're always so calm when I'm stressing over something, and you give the best advice I've ever heard, although don't tell my mom that."

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, gathered as much of her confidence as she could, and opened them to begin talking.

"Marinette, I fell in love with you on the first day of school. I thought you were cute when I first saw you, and I knew I had to step in when I saw how resigned you were to Chloe's bullying, but I really fell for you when you split your macaron, shared it with me, and smiled. Your whole face lit up and you were so beautiful in that moment that all I knew was I wanted to see that smile as many times as you'll let me."

Ignoring the way Marinette's eyes had blown wide and her jaw had dropped, Alya turned to Nino.

"Nino, I fell for you that day Ladybug locked us together at the zoo. I know I came off as annoyed at you at first, but I was really just upset over missing the chance to film the akuma battle. You seemed so nervous though, and once we started talking a little more, I realized how great you really are. When we were walking to Marinette's and you told me that joke, I turned to look at you while I was still bent over trying to catch my breath and you were smiling at me. I don't think it was even a smile really meant for me, but you looked so calm and happy in that moment, especially with the light highlighting the gold in your eyes, and I knew that I was a goner."

Ignoring the anxiety building in her chest now that she'd started her confessions, she turned to Adrien, so focused on what she had to say that she didn't notice the bright red flush painted across all of their cheeks.

"Adrien, falling for you was almost so ridiculous I wanted to scream. You're literally the class pretty boy and while I'm sure most of the people at school have a crush on you, I promised myself the day I met you not to be one of them. Of course, that meant literally nothing once I got to know you. Watching you reach out to people who had been akumatized to make sure they were okay, even though you didn't have to, and always helping others with homework or anything else. I didn't fully realize until we had that Mecha Strike Tournament and you gave your chance to play to Marinette. I saw how excited you were to play, but you gave up the opportunity to do something that would make you happy to someone else because you knew how happy it'd make them. I love how selfless and kind you are, which is a large part of why I fell for you, but I also want to be able to show you that it's okay to be a little selfish sometimes. I feel like you give so much of yourself up for other people, and I really want you to know that you don't have to."

When she's done speaking, she drops her eyes to her hands resting in her lap, watching as they tug at a loose string dangling from the hem of her jeans. A large part of her is glad she's finally managed to confess, but there's still a small, anxious part of her that she can feel clawing at the back of her mind telling her she should've just stayed quiet.

"I'm not expecting anything from any of you," she started, blinking back the hot tears she could feel blooming in the back of her eyes, "But I'm tired of hiding it from you, and I thought I should be honest and tell you."

"I fell for Adrien first." Nino whispered, causing all of their eyes to snap towards him, though his eyes were glued to his lap so he didn't notice, "You walked into class on the second day and I wanted to scream. It was your smile that really did it for me. I'm not going to lie, you're pretty as anything else, but your smile just lights up the world around you. I was worried at first when you came in with Chloe, but when I saw how you reacted to the gum incident, I think I took advantage of the situation to get close to you, because as sure as I was that you were romantically unattainable, I knew I wanted to be as close to you as you'd let me."

Adrien's face is so red at this point that Alya finds herself wondering if there's any blood left in any other part of his body, but Nino starts talking again before she can dwell on it much longer.

"I fell for you Marinette the day Sabrina's father was akumatized into Rogercop. You'd become so much happier and confident after you and Alya became friends, and even when you tripped and spilled food all over yourself, you just laughed it off. Of course, then Chloe was accusing you of stealing her bracelet and I know the Marinette from before would've just let them search her bag, but you stood up to not only Chloe, but the Mayor of Paris and refused. You kinda reminded me of Ladybug right then, standing up to the Mayor the way she stood up to Hawkmoth that first day. I was so happy for you, and I was so proud that you had come so far after everything with Chloe, and before I knew it, I had fallen for you."

Marinette's now avoiding looking at any of them, turned to the side as both hands fiddle with one of her pigtails. Alya's chest feels tight with the thought of what Nino's going to say next, and she closes her eyes when he continues again.

"I already know you're going to think I'm copying you," He joked, pulling his hat down from his head and running a hand through the short curls that had been hiding underneath. "But I fell for you that day at the zoo. We were walking to Marinette's and talking about Mr. GarbageAgreste, and I remember I told the lamest joke and you just lit up. The sun brought out the red in your hair and the gold in your eyes, and I could feel my heart cartwheeling in my chest when you laughed. I knew I was screwed then, but I think I was okay with it as long as I got to hear that laugh or see that smile again."

Alya could feel her face heating as she brought her hands up to scrub at her cheeks, hoping that they weren't nearly as red as they felt. When she opens her eyes, Nino's still staring at his lap, Adrien's face is a brighter red than Ladybug's suit, and Marinette looks like she's trying to gear herself up for something, with her eyebrows scrunched together and her lips turned down into the cutest pout Alya's ever seen. As soon as her mouth opens to ask if the girl is okay, she's cut off.

"I fell for Alya first!" She squeaks out, hand still fumbling with her pigtail as Alya's jaw drops, "It was the first day of school and you were so nice to me. You didn't even know me, and you still stepped in and defended me. I remember I tried to apologize and you just brushed it off and started trying to encourage me instead. You didn't even know my name, or anything about me, and you still jumped in to help me, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Being friends with you has changed my life, and the more we hung out, the more I fell for you until I couldn't even try to imagine my life without you in it."

Alya's sure that her face matches Adrien's at this point, but Marinette continues talking before she can try to say something.

"I fell for Adrien on the second day of school. I was so angry when I saw you putting the gum on my desk, especially with everything that had happened with Chloe, so I snapped at you and then ignored you. Even after that though, you still came up to me after school to apologize. You seemed so vulnerable and open that I wasn't sure what to do, but then you were handing me your umbrella. When I took it and it closed on me, I was so embarrassed, but then you started laughing and I figured I'd do anything, no matter how embarrassing to hear you laugh like that again. The more time I spent around you, the more I learned, and I loved it all. You're so unbelievably kind, especially with how your father treats you, and so much smarter and hardworking than anyone I've ever met. Every moment I've gotten to spend with you has been a blessing, and I need you to know that I love you. That we all love you."

Adrien looks like if anyone else says anything nice about him, he'll explode, with tears brimming at the edges of his eyes and cheeks still a shade of red Alya didn't think was physically possible before today.

"I think falling for Nino was the one I least expected," she muttered, face immediately paling once she registered what she said, hands flailing about as she talked, "Not in a bad way or anything! I had just known you for so much longer than Alya or Adrien, although I guess I didn't actuallyknow you. It was that day at the zoo when I realized. When you showed up, you were so awkward and fumbling that I couldn't help but relate. As awkward as you were though, you were still so sweet and kind. When you told me you had a crush on Alya was when it hit me, and when you two showed up at the bakery together, I was upset at the thought that I had lost my chance with either of you, but you looked so happy that I thought it'd be better to just leave it alone."

If any of them had thought the previous silences were awkward, they realized now that they were nothing compared to the silence that hung over them once Marinette was done confessing. None of them looked directly at Adrien, but they could see him fidgeting with his pant leg out of the corner of their eyes. While the previous silences lasted a minute at the longest, the current one hun over them for nearly seven before Adrien finally spoke up.

"I didn't even realize they were crushes until recently," He mutters, refusing to look up from his lap as his hands move to play with the hem of his shirt, "I fell for Nino first though. I saw how you looked at Chloe that first day, and I remember being so glad that you decided to give me a chance instead of just dismissing me as her friend. You became my best friend so fast, and I felt like we'd been friends for years with how you always seemed so tuned into how I was feeling and how supportive you always were. I'm sure it sounds wrong, but I think it was the Bubbler incident that really brought it on. You being akumatized was horrible and I'm still so sorry it happened, but I think my crush started when I realized that you had been akumatized because you were upset for me. I remember trying to apologize afterwards too, and you just brushed it off and told me you were glad that I had tried to enjoy the party."

Everyone stays still, almost as if moving will disrupt Adrien's thoughts and cause him to stop talking. It takes him a few minutes to think of what he's going to say, brow furrowed as he glares down at his lap, but he manages to keep talking a moment later.

"I fell for Alya when Pharaoh was akumatized. I'd kinda looked up to you for a while, especially with how passionate you are about what you care about, but watching you livestream so nonchalantly as he carried you off and talked about sacrificing you blew my mind. You seemed more excited than anything at the chance to be that close to the action, even with all the risks, and you didn't seem affected at all once it was over. I think I realized then that I wasn't as close to you as I wanted to be, but I was still so glad to have someone so fiery and passionate about what they care about in my life, and I think part of me wanted me to be something you were passionate in caring about."

There's a pause as he takes a deep breath, but he manages to continue with his speech mere seconds later.

"I know you and I didn't get off at the best start Marinette, but I remember being so excited when I showed up for school the next day and you started talking to me. I was so glad that you had given me a chance, but I don't think I really fell for you until the derby hat competition. I knew that the chances of you copying Chloe instead of vice versa were low, but I was so nervous at how you'd handle the accusation, especially with my father there. You were so confident and calm though when you proved that the design was one hundred percent yours, and when he'd told you that you'd won, your face lit up so much I was worried that your cheeks had to hurt from how wide you were smiling. I think in that moment, I realized how happy I was to be one of the people you considered a friend, and I was so excited to wear your hat, even as it sent me into that sneezing fit. I'm pretty sure I was sneezing for at least two days after the photoshoot, but it was so worth it to see you smile when you saw the pictures and got to really see how much your hard work paid off."

It's quiet again, but this time the silence seems more tired than heavy, the air filled with the confessions that had spilled from each of them. Nobody seems willing to look up from their lap until the quiet tapping of Adrien's fingers drumming against the floor starts. He only gets through about three taps before Nino's reaching over and grabbing his hand, interlacing their fingers and rubbing his thumb in circles against the back of his knuckles. Looking up from her lap, Alya notices Marinette's hands fidgeting in her lap and without thinking, she's reaching out to grab it. Marinette pauses for a second, but then she's squeezing Alya's hand gently and reaching her opposite hand to hold Adrien's free one. Taking the hint, Alya reaches her free hand out and grabs Nino's, squeezing it with a small smile when he turns to look at her.

Alya can feel her hands starting to sweat the longer they sit there in silence, but she's so elated that she's even managed to make it this far that she can't really find it in herself to care. Surprisingly, it's Adrien who speaks up a few minutes later, voice hesitant but strong.

"So, where do we go from here?"

They all turn to look at him, cogs turning in their heads as they all try to think beyond their sweaty hands and the odd circle they've sat themselves in. Unsurprisingly this time, it's Alya who starts the conversation.

"Well, I think it depends on where we want to go from here." She starts, letting her thumb rub over Nino's knuckles as she tries to think, "You now know that I love each of you, romantically in case it wasn't obvious, and I think it's also fairly obvious that we all feel the same way. I don't want to force anyone into anything, so you're more than welcome to say no, but what if we all tried dating each other?"

"How do you mean?" Marinette asks, brow furrowed as she looks up, Nino and Adrien looking as confused as she does.

"I mean, we all date each other. Like, Marinette is my girlfriend and Adrien and Nino are my boyfriends, and vice versa for you guys. If I want to go on a date with Nino one day, Adrien the next, and Marinette the day after, it's fine and if I want to kiss and cuddle any of you, as long as it's okay with the person I'm trying to kiss or cuddle, it's not cheating since we're all together."

The other three seem to be thinking about it, but within seconds, a bright smile stretches across Adrien's lips. Nino and Marinette seem slightly more hesitant, but only in the sense that it seems slightly too good to be true.

"That honestly sounds kind of wonderful," Marinette starts, looking up to make eye contact with Alya, "but are we sure it'd even work out?"

"Of course we aren't, but nobody is ever 100% sure any relationship will work. It's a risk, but it's a risk I'm willing to take if it means I get a chance to love you all the way I want to."

Even though it's not aimed at him, Adrien's face flares bright red, and Nino laughs before cooing at where Adrien's trying to bury his face in his lap.

"Aww Alya, look what you did to the poor guy. He's so red he looks like he might explode." Nino coos with a smile as he pokes at Adrien's blushing cheek.

"If just saying that turned him this red, I'd be able to have a lot of fun with him if we were all dating."

"I wanna try it," Adrien mutters from where his face is buried in his jeans, bring the whole room to a stop."I love you all, and if this is something that's actually possible, I'd really want to date you all."

"I do too." Marinette speaks up from where she's been sitting quietly on the sidelines. "I'm a little worried about it, but like you said, there's no guarantee any relationship will work out, but this is a relationship I want to at least try for."

Turning towards Nino, Alya could barely hold back her grin as he simply smiled and nodded at her.

"I didn't really think it was a possibility to date all three of you, and I felt really guilty over not being able to choose who I love more, but I'd really like it if we were all together"
Flailing her arms for a second, Alya quickly pulled the three of them in for a hug, smiling as she felt them all relax and hug back.

When she pulled back from the hug moments later, her heart jumped in her chest at the sight of the other three, cheeks red and small smiles decorating their lips.

"Now!" She clapped, startling the other three as she stood and made her way to the small closet full of spare blankets she knew Marinette had. "I'm emotionally exhausted as crap, so how about we build a blanket fort, pick a movie, and then cuddle and nap?"

"Only if the movie is Princess Bride!" Adrien cheered, getting up to help Alya with the blankets, Nino and Marinette right behind him.

"Adrien, I literally watched the Princess Bride with you last night." Nino groaned, earning an eye roll and muttered comment from the blond.

It took almost an hour before they were all settled down in their messy blanket fort, Princess Bride playing on Alya's laptop despite Nino's objections. They were all cuddled close, more in a pile than anything, but they were comfortable and happy, and before the man in black and Inigo began to duel, they were all asleep.