Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug

Sleep Deprived

"I failed." Marinette slumped over her desk. "This is it for me, Alya. You go to the next grade without me. Let me suffer here until I die."

"I'm sure you did fine," Alya said lightly, checking her phone and patting Marinette's head.

"I'm going to get a big fat zero on my essay." Ms. Bustier tucked the assignments in her briefcase and Marinette groaned. "I'm done for. My parents will never forgive me."

"It can't be that bad."

"It can! I practically wrote the entire thing last night."

Alya's easy smile became a frown. "You haven't been sleeping these last few days," Alya noted. "I'm really starting to worry about you."

"I don't need sleep," insisted Marinette. "I need to pass my classes."

"You have weird priorities."

"I'm just being realistic. I can't keep doing this."

Alya's mouth curved back up into a playful smile. "Do you want me to ask Adrien to tutor you?"

Instead of flushing, Marinette became more sour. "I don't really want him to see me look like an idiot."

"He's kind of already has, girl. Multiple times this year."

Marinette groaned loudly. Alya started packing up their things with a smile fixed in place.

"Is there a problem, ladies?" asked Nino, leaning over to their desks.

"Marinette's having some problems with her in some work. But honestly, her lack of sleep is what really gets me."

"My man Adrien is the same. He's been so dead on his feet these days; says his dad is overbooking him for photo shoots. The old man isn't taking it easy at all."

"These kids work too hard," sighed Alya.

"I'm right here," mumbled Marinette as she shakily got to her feet. She had a firm grip on the desk to lessen how wobbly she appeared.

"I know." Alya slung Marinette's bag over her shoulder and grabbed her best friend's hand. "Now, let's get you home."

Nino bid them farewell, and the two friends slowly walked home.

The next day, it was Adrien who seemed in need of care. Adrien was the golden child; he always had been since he arrived at their school. He seemed to have all the answers to all the questions and he was (almost never) late for classes. So when Nino realized that his friend was just as sleep deprived as Marinette, he was filled with the need to do something.

Truthfully, Nino felt like he was a good friend. He understood that in a way, he was setting precedent for what good friends were like and he vowed to himself to be the best possible friend to Adrien that he could be. Which was why, when Adrien started to space out in class, he was torn between letting him get the sleep he needed, and making sure Mrs. Bustier didn't chew him out in front of their whole class.

He took it upon himself, therefore, to pay rapt attention and answer as many questions as possible so she wouldn't have a chance to capitalize on Adrien's lack of coherence. It was exhausting and, thankfully, for every question he didn't know, he could hear Alya speaking up just behind his head.

When he turned around to look at her, he was rewarded with a thumbs up and a grin. Somehow, it gave him enough energy to make it through the period.

It was a Friday after all, and that meant Adrien would have the chance to finish up any outstanding homework and get some well needed sleep. He waved goodbye to Adrien as he got into the family limo and hoped that Adrien would be alright.

If Alya and Nino thought that their friends' sleep deprived bodies would fix themselves over the weekend, then they were sorely mistaken. Marinette and Adrien trudged into class that morning and flopped onto their desks in synchronized exhaustion.

"Rough weekend, guys?" asked Alya.

Marinette groaned and Adrien opened his eyes. "You could say that."

"Are your parents running you ragged or what?"

"I'm overbooked for shoots," admitted Adrien, "and I've been getting nightmares recently."

"Marinette? How about you?"

"Helping out in the bakery," she mumbled, "insomnia, homework backlogs. You name it; I have the problem."

"Sucks, girl," Nino looked up at Alya.

"Yeah," she said, returning the stare. There was something else in her eyes that made Nino curious. "It sucks. I'm sure it'll get better soon guys."

"Yeah." Nino turned back to both friends. "I mean, this can't possibly last another week, right?"

That next Monday was bright and Ms. Mendeliev had it slotted as a pop quiz for their period. Alya had been working away at the questions diligently when she head a mumble to her right. She tried not to look over too obviously, and waited until their teacher had looked away before sneaking a glance at Marinette. Her friend's head was dipped low. Her bangs brushed the edges if the test as if in hesitant focus. But Alya could see that Marinette wasn't opening her eyes and that her breath was coming out in sleepy puffs.

She averted her eyes just as Ms. Mendeliev looked over again and adjusted her glasses. She could wait until Mrs. Mendeliev caught Marinette or she could take it upon herself to wake Marinette and risk getting caught. Either way, it seemed like there was no real chance at getting through this unnoticed.

Alya took a breath. Well, better get this over with.. Once their teacher was looking away again, she tapped Marinette's shoes from under the desk. When her friend didn't respond, she tapped harder and Marinette let out a squeak of conscious surprise. Mrs. Mendeliev was upon them in an instant, her bright eyes glowering at them from behind thin glasses.

"What was that?" she snapped. "That better not have been cheating."

Marinette scrambled for her fallen pencil while Alya's quick mind conjured up a lie.

"Um, Marinette was having an 'ah-ha' moment, Mrs. Mendeliev, that's all. No cheating involved."

The teacher glowered at the pair of them. "Well, no more of that then. Keep the genius between you and the paper. Alright, Marinette?"

"Yes, ma'am."

They carried on quietly, but Alya's mind was made up. It didn't matter if another week would make a difference. Her friend was exhausted, and Alya was going to help her friend, no matter what.

"Nino, can I talk to you?"

Adrien and Nino exchanged curious looks as he got up from his seat. "Um, sure." He followed Alya just out of the classroom and could see both Marinette and Adrien watching them worriedly from the other side of the windows. "So what's up? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you're fine." Alya paused and eyed him. "What makes you think you did something wrong?"

"I dunno, but you calling me out in the middle of the class break kind of freaked me out. That normally means I did something."

"This isn't about what you did. It's about what we're going to do."

"We?"

"Yup."

"And what exactly are we going to be doing?"

"Well, you know how Marinette and Adrien haven't been getting much sleep?"

"Yeah."

"I think that we should try to get them to rest somehow. They're clearly burned out and I hate seeing them like this. Are you in?"

"I don't really want to interfere," Nino said hesitantly, but Alya gave him a pointed look at he sighed, "but you're right. They need sleep. How can I help?

"First, we need to make a plan."

"Sure," said Nino, "but it's study period right now. We can't plan much of anything with them right here."

"I guess."

"I mean, we could just tell them that we want to help. Maybe we can arrange something with them to-"

"No way. The moment that we let them know we're trying to help, they'll worm their way out of it. But if we have everything planned out in advance and set it into motion, it'll be too late to refuse."

"Alya," said Nino slowly, "I'm not good at keeping secrets. I mean, think about the cage we were trapped in a month ago. I almost told Marinette how we-"

"Okay, I got it," she said quickly, her cheeks going dark at the memory and his followed suit. "How about you don't keep it a secret. You can just be...mostly honest."

"Mostly honest?"

"Yeah. Let Adrien know that you and I are working on a project. Tell him that we can show it to him when we're done but not before then. And you can't tell him more than that otherwise you're going to spill the beans."

"But Alya-"

"Nino," she said, putting a hand on either shoulder. "You can tell him anything you want except for the fact that we're trying to get him to take a nice, long, rest. That goes for Marinette too."

"Right."

"Here. Just..." she moved back, "we'll meet after school. I'll be at the cafe just down the street. We can discuss our plans in full there. Alright?

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Great." Alya brightened. "I've got to get back to Marinette before she thinks my washroom break is suspicious. I'll see you later."

He waved her off, breathing a sigh of relief as she disappeared around the hall. When he returned to his study table, he practically slumped into his chair. The weight of the secret was already beginning to affect him. Adrien looked at him curiously.

"Everything okay, buddy?"

"Kind of."

"What did Alya want?" asked Kim. "Did you have news for her blog or something?"

The mere mention of the Ladyblog perked Adrien up but Nino shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that."

"What was it then?"

"I bet she asked him to go out after school." Nino's head snapped up to gape at Alix who just grinned at his reaction. "So that's a yes," she drawled.

"I-yeah." Nino ran a hand over his face. "Yeah, it is."

"Very nice, Nino," said Kim, slapping him on the back with more force than necessary. "You've got game."

Nino laughed weakly."We're just hanging out," he said, "no big deal."

"Whatever you say, man."

"How about we just study and not talk about this anymore?" he offered quickly, trying to avoid the look on Adrien's face; a look that wondered why Nino hadn't talked about this connection with Alya before.

Adrien was suspicious. Perhaps Adrien thought that he was actually dating Alya and was simply neglecting to tell him; or that he was hiding the relationship from him. That would be worse.

By the time the day ended, Nino was anxious to get out of school and into the cafe. Hiding this from Adrien was eating him alive and it'd only been a few hours. He practically burst into the cafe, jolting Alya where she sat by the window.

"Hello to you too," she said, settling back into her seat and waiting for Nino to calm down. "Is everything okay?"

"I told him the 'almost truth' and I still feel guilty. Is there any way to make it stop?"

"Nino, you and I both know that helping Adrien and Marinette get their well deserved rest is the best thing we can do for them right?"

"Yeah."

"And we both know that they're too nice and self-sacrificing to take care of themselves, correct?"

"Yeah."

"So we've got to help them out somehow, Nino. There has to be something we can do."

Nino sighed. "Why do I get myself roped into these things?"

"Because you're a good friend working for a good cause," said Alya. "Now, let's get to it, shall we?"

He nodded, this time with more resolve, and they set to work.

They spent a few solid hours brain storming ideas before Nino insisted they stop. "You've got to get home to eat with your family, right?"

Alya blinked up from the page full of rough plans and diagrams. A bit of blue pen ink stained the side of her hand which hovered over the small doodle of Marinette in the upper corner. "I- yes, I do. You remember that?"

"Dinner with your family is like a tradition for you. You've been like that since you transferred here."

She grinned. "I guess you're right." Alya punched his shoulder affectionately. "Look at you, being all active."

"Thanks. I mean, we're friends, right? It's something I can notice about my friend."

"Yeah, of course." Alya stretched and slipped the plans into her open back. "I guess we ought to head home."

"I'll walk you," Nino offered, standing up and paying for the eclair he'd purchased as a snack.

"You know, you don't have to," said Alya, coming to stand beside him. "I mean that."

"No worries." Nino pulled his own bag on and held the door. "Shall we?"

"Since when did you get so smooth?" she asked laughingly. She pat his cheek as she passed.

"I've always been like this."

"I beg to differ. Remember Marinette?"

He flushed hard; the cool evening air doing nothing for him as they walked down long Parisian streets. They talked, idly, about school, their families, and the newest facts on the Ladyblog. That particular topic had Alya the most animated. She seemed to glow when she mentioned the multiple theories she had about Ladybug's identity, or her anticipation of the next villain location. Alya literally glowed when they passed the park and the evening sun set her hair into a pleasant blaze . It was like watching the actual sunset bloom in front of his eyes.

It was breathtaking.

They slowed down when they got to the base of her apartment complex.

"Thanks for walking me back," she was saying, the light making her hair a dying ember. It cradled her face just right, and in that moment Nino thought Alya might just be the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. Her dedication, her passion and her unending loyalty to their friends was amazing. He wanted to be as good a friend to Adrien, if not better.

She was stunning.

"You're awesome," Nino said instead, "you know that right?"

"I, um, thanks." Looking at her was a little blinding, so he wasn't sure if he truly saw the colour painting her cheeks. "You're pretty awesome yourself."

"Nah. You're the really cool one. All the stuff you want to do to help Marinette and Adrien? I know they'd appreciate it."

"Hey, don't see yourself short." She punched his shoulder lightly and gave a soft smile. "You're amazing in your own way. Besides, we're working together. If I'm awesome for doing this, then so are you."

"Thanks, Alya."

Alya pushed her glasses up a bit. "Now, I'm headed up. Walk safe, okay?"

"Yup," he said, mouth still dry as she pulled away. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course," she said laughingly. "We've got to finish the plan."

"Right." They bid each other goodnight and Nino could only pull himself away after staring at her closed door for a few extra seconds.

Man, he had it bad.

"Man, you have it bad," said Adrien as Nino sat back down at his desk.

"What are you talking about?" said Nino. "If anyone has it bad, you do. You're sleep deprived, over worked, and a full time student. You seriously need a nap."

"I've got no time, Nino, you know that."

"Dude, what I know is that you're probably thinking you're too handsome for a little beauty sleep but you need rest. Please. Have you talked to your dad about laying off the shoots for a little? Even a day would be enough."

"He's like an immovable rock. A statue."

"Is that a 'yes, he won't budge' or a 'he would never budge so I never bother'?"

"The second one."

"Ah, I see." Nino paused before a thought occurred to him; a clever, crafty thought. "Dude, who designs your schedule?"

Adrien sighed and rubbed at his already dark eyes. "Natalie. She tries to balance school and work together, but father has really been cracking down recently."

"Doesn't she give you free time slots?"

"Yeah, a few hours here and there."

"But not enough time for a nap."

"I can't afford to sleep, Nino. I've got a lot to do," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sort of like a duty."

"As great as that is, your duty is killing you slowly, my guy." Nino clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Even just one solid nap would do you good."

"Forget about me," said Adrien, "What about you? If you're not with me, then you're with Alya. What's going on there?"

"Nothing big, I swear," said Nino. "Alix said Alya asked me out, but she's really only talked to me about the Ladyblog and, like Marinette."

"Marinette?" Adrien's eyebrows shot up. "So you still-"

"No, no, of course not," Nino said hurriedly. Adrien seemed to relax immensely at that knowledge, but Nino didn't call him out on it. "It's just something Alya and I have been working on."

"And you can't tell your best friend about it?"

"I will. Tomorrow."

"Nino," said Adrien seriously, "if you're in trouble, I can always help-"

"It's about needing sleep," Nino blurted out, instantly hating that he couldn't keep his word to Alya.

"Sleep?" Adrien frowned at that. "Are you feeling alright?"

"No, no, it's Marinette. She's been dead on her feet, you know?" he babbled, the truth spilling from his lips with horrific ease. "Alya and I are trying to figure out a good playlist to help put her to sleep since she's been so exhausted, you know?"

"Oh! Is that what this is about?" In an instant, Adrien was beaming. "Why didn't you say so? I'd love to help out, if that's okay. Marinette's so good at helping everyone else that it'd be nice to do something for her."

Nino bobbed his head. "Yup. I agree. 100%."

"Nice. So what's the plan?"

"The plan?"

"The plan to help her sleep."

"Worry about yourself, dude," said Nino as kindly as he could. He could already imagine Alya, with her gorgeous hair and firey temper, reaching out to choke him for spilling his guts to Adrien. "You could use a little TLC yourself."

"I'm fine, Nino," dismissed Adrien. "But Marinette? What were you guys planning for her?"

Nino swallowed hard. "Um, Alya didn't really want other people to-"

"I can help," said Adrien insistently. "She's been off lately, and if there's anything I can do to help a friend, I want to do it."

"I'm a little surprised you noticed considering how checked out you've been."

Adrien coloured a little. "I can notice these things," said Adrien. "I'm not in such bad shape anyway. I'm worried."

Nino sighed and adjusted his hat anxiously. Alya was going to kill him for what he was about to do.

The first thing Alya did when entering the classroom was approach him. Her goal was no longer the seat behind him, and instead she stalked up to his seat. The classroom was always lit with natural sunlight, and the way it brightened up her complexion was fantastic. It was nothing like the glow of the sunset against her brown skin, but she was illuminated in a similar nature. She was wearing the exact same thing she wore every day, but it still looked good. And damn it all, Adrien was right; Nino was absolutely gone for this girl. The only problem was that this girl looked like an angel, a vengeful angel that was about to wipe him off the face of the planet for breaking one of the only rules that she had put in place.

"Nino Lahiffe, prepare to die."

"Alya, come on-"

"Don't you 'Alya' me," Alya snaps, the flat of her hands slapping against the desk. "Today we're supposed to get them that extra sleep we've been discussing all week and then you went and told Adrien."

"Alya, he was really worried. And he wanted to help! I couldn't exactly say no!"

Alya softened a little at that and ran a hand over her tired face. "Why are all my friends pushovers? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Sorry," sighed Nino. "I really tried! He seemed so adamant on helping Marinette. But I didn't tell him that we were trying to help him too. So isn't that a good thing?"

"He wanted to help Marinette?" Alya hummed at the thought and eased away from him a bit. "Maybe our girl's not so helpless after all." Nino relaxed in his chair. He had evaded being destroyed by Alya for one more day. "So what exactly did you tell him about our plan?"

"Well I mentioned that you had spoken to her parents to give her the night off, and that you got some tickets to the spa for you guys to use tonight. But since it's meant to be an overnight trip, you want to make sure she gets her rest. So you'll have to get to her room and pack her overnight bag since she probably won't go to some spa without a fight."

Alya smirked at him. "Well, well. Maybe you do pay attention."

"I've been known to do that from time to time," Nino said. He puffed out his chest theatrically and Alya giggled.

"I'm sure. And your plan for Adrien? Hopefully that hasn't been compromised."

"Nah, it should be fine. I already spoke with Natalie about clearing his schedule for the rest of today. After we do all the Marinette stuff, I'll still be able to invite him over for video games and a sleep over. Natalie already has his overnight bag packed and at my place. She's ridiculously efficient."

"That's really impressive. Operation Sleepover is going smoothly. Now, we've just got to make sure they don't slip away from us. Those two are always so busy that it seems almost impossible to track where they are."

"It's like I said before: Adrien needs to be on his toes with his dad breathing down his neck. If he wants to have some fun, he's got to be good at sneaking off."

"Marinette is about as obvious as it gets, but even she still manages to sneak away." Alya shook her head. "I don't understand it. Maybe I'm just not as good at watching her."

"We can't force them to do anything they don't want to do," said Nino, "but, like, they need sleep. So I guess this can be an exception."

"Okay. We'll meet at the front of the college once classes are over, right?"

"Sounds like a plan. I just really want to make sure it'll work," said Nino, and Alya placed a kind hand on her shoulder.

"It will be. We've put a lot of thought into this. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, you're right." Nino smiled up at Alya and for the first time Alya blinked at him as if in a daze.

"Nino? Alya? Everything okay?" Nino glanced around Alya to see Adrien coming into the room and taking his seat nearby.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Right, Alya?"

Alya nodded. "Yup. Everything is fine. You know the plan for this afternoon, right, Adrien?"

"I'm supposed to ask Marinette if we can go over to her place to play video games for a bit since I don't have my photoshoot today."

"Perfect!" Alya moved away from Nino and took her seat at the desks behind them. "Then we're going to get this done and she'll have the greatest nap of her life."

"Hopefully she can catch up on all the 'Z's she's been missing," said Nino with an awkward laugh. He hoped Adrien didn't realize that the sentiment applied to him too.

"I agree," said Adrien before perking up upon Marinette entering the classroom. "Marinette! Hi!"

"Oh! Adrien!" Even when she was exhausted, Marinette managed to be full of embarrassed energy. Her shock at being addressed to directly and promptly by the object of her affections had clearly woken her up. "Hi. Hello. Did you have a great morning? I mean, the day's just begun, so I guess you can't really know, huh?"

"Yeah, it's been fine," said Adrien with a kind smile. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She beamed. "Just great."

Marinette managed to make her way to her seat without too much of a mess, and settled in next to Alya with a dreamy look in her eyes. Nino turned his attention back to Adrien. It was good to know that Marinette wasn't too tired to keep being love struck near Adrien.

"Dude, don't act too chipper. We don't want her suspicious or anything," said Nino.

"I'm chipper all the time," said Adrien, although the insistence in his voice was lost on Nino.

"Not to Marinette first thing in the morning you're not."

Adrien smiled. "Well, I just figure that a little extra energy would help get me through the day."

"And has that ever worked before?"

"Well no," said Adrien sheepishly, "but there's a first for everything."

"You sure are optimistic, bro," said Nino. He watched as Adrien tried to grin but instead used a spare hand to hide his yawn. That same action was echoed approximately seventeen times throughout the course of the day, and by the time that the afternoon sun was upon them, Adrien was capping off with his eighteenth yawn and a groan at Nino's pointed look.

"Stop doing that," hissed Adrien.

"Doing what?" asked Nino. They were half-way through Madame Bustier's lesson on classic literature of the twentieth century and no amount of Adrien's golden boy charm was helping him pay attention. They had their heads bowed down over a worksheet and Ms. Bustier continued to speak, but Adrien's bright eyes glared at his friend.

"Staring at me. Every time I yawn, you're staring at me."

"Every time we're together, you're yawning. And you won't take my advice to take a nap so what else am I supposed to do?"

"How does staring at me help?" asked Adrien.

"Um, I can shame you into sleeping. Hopefully."

Adrien snorted quietly. "That makes no sense, Nino."

"Neither does your lack of sleep, dude," Nino shot back, "so I guess we're stuck."

"Nino, quit giving Adrien a hard time." Nino looked away from his worksheet to raise an eyebrow at Alya. "I mean," she continued, "he's too tired to think straight."

Nino and Alya shared a quiet laugh, and Adrien looked between the both of them with a betrayed expression. "Have you guys always been this devious?"

"I don't know about Nino, but I certainly have," said Alya with a sly smile.

"Ms. Cesaire," said Ms. Bustier suddenly, "I should hope that the boys aren't bothering you too much with their words when you all should be completing the worksheets in front of you?"

"No, they aren't bothering me at all," said Alya politely.

"Adrien?"

"I'm finished my worksheet, Ms. Bustier," said Adrien, standing up and handing the page to her. "May I go to the washroom?"

"Of course, Adrien." Adrien left the classroom, stifling another yawn and the accompanying sigh as he walked through the open door.

"Is anyone else finished?" When she got no answer, she continued speaking, finishing up her lesson, undeterred by Adrien's absence. She didn't seem to notice Marinette nodding off in her seat; it was either that, or Ms. Bustier was pointedly ignoring it. It was a Friday afternoon after all. Class was almost finished when Ms. Bustier sent Nino to fetch Adrien from the washroom, as he was taking far too long to return.

When Nino and Adrien stepped back into class, the hair around Adrien's face were flat and wet. Alya tried to withhold a laugh and waited until Ms. Bustier dismissed them before making any comments.

"Geez, Adrien, sleepy much?"

"I'm fine," said Adrien. "I'm just a little tired."

"Dude, you're always doing a million and one things," noted Nino.

"One thing at a time," said Adrien as he packed his bag and slung it around his shoulders. "Shall we go?"

"Go?" Adrien's voice seemed to have pulled Marinette out of her drowsy state and Alya grinned at her friend affectionately.

"Yeah, girl. You and I are going to hang out tonight, remember?"

"Right, right, yeah." Her eyes flickered up to Adrien's nervously. Nino quietly kicked himself for not seeing through this kind of behaviour earlier. " And you guys?"

"We're just walking you back to your place. I was thinking about getting some sweets from the bakery as well. Also, I don;t have a photo shoot so we were talking about maybe playing some video games before you hang out with Alya." The smile he gave her was blinding, even by Nino's standards. "Is that alright?"

"Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. You guys can come."

"Great. Lead the way." Marinette scrambled to pack her things before realizing that Alya had taken care of most of it. Alya patted Marinette's head kindly. Nino adjusted his hat and stayed next to Alya as the four of them left the classroom.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" he said softly.

"Why wouldn't it? Marinette wouldn't say no to anything Adrien asked." Nino and Alya shared a knowing look.

"True," said Nino. "I just really want it to work."

"It will," said Alya. Nino's hand brushed against her as they walked, clearly by chance. Nino tried not to overthink it, as their hands bumped gently as they walked towards Marinette's family bakery.

Marinette led them upstairs, trying to avoid the cooing of her parents, who were very much aware of the plan. Just as they began the ascent up the stairs, Marinette's father gave Nino and Alya a thumbs up. Feeling optimistic, the four friends continued to head upstairs.

"It's so strange having you all up here," said Marinette conversationally.

"Yeah. I haven't been here since I was in kindergarten!" said Nino.

"Wait, you've been to Marinette's house?" said Adrien. "You never told me that." Alya gave him a particular look as well but Nino couldn't decipher it.

"Dude, what's there to tell?" said Nino as he and Marinette exchanged a smile. "Our girl Marinette has a sweet place, but we both liked the park way too much to chill here."

"Very true," said Marinette with a laugh. "We spent more time outside than inside when we were younger. That's changed a lot!" Adrien face took on a look of curiousity and dismay, a look that was starting to get very familiar to Nino.

"We had a few other kids hang with us too, though," said Nino, feeling the need to assure Adrien that other children were involved as well. "Nathaniel was here a couple times. So was Rose."

"Those were some good times," said Marinette. She must have noticed Adrien's expression because she managed to add, "But I know we'll have some good times too with you, Adrien."

"Thanks," Adrien said, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. Marinette opened the door and the filtered into her living room. It looked unchanged from when Nino had seen it as a young child. The photo on the shelf by the door had been updated, and in the lower levels, he caught sight a thick book that Nino was sure was full of childhood photos.

"So, video games?" Marinette walked over to her television and bent down to take out the gaming console. Nino took a step forward to join her but felt Alya pull him back.

"You two get started," said Alya, "I've just got to ask Nino about something?"

"You do?" Alya glared at him. "I mean yes, of course, we have something we need to talk about. In private. Away from, uh, other people."

"We're going up to your room for a really quick chat, Marinette, is that okay?"

"Um," she pressed her lips together, eyes wide.

"It'll be okay. We'll be quick. You guys can play while we wait."

"I wanted to play too," said Nino, crestfallen.

Alya rolled her eyes and began to pull him away from their friends.

"We'll wait for you, Nino," said Adrien good-naturedly. He yawned, but even Nino's sleepy friend managed to slip on a sly smirk. "Take all the time you guys need."

Nino turned to Alya, unsure about how he felt about being pulled away from the two friends they had agreed to help for the evening. "What's the deal?" he managed.

"Nino," said Alya seriously, "do you remember what I said in that cage?"

"You always bring that up," groaned Nino. "Don't we have more pressing matters?"

"Look, this counts. We spent hours alone together in that cage, and we got to know each other better, right?"

"Yeah," said Nino. "What's your point?"

"My point is that maybe Adrien and Marinette need something similar."

"Alya, come on. They need to sleep."

"I know, but hear me out." She placed a hand on his arm. "Me and Marinette were going to do the over night spa since she'll be able to relax and get pampered. She'd probably fall asleep during the whole process, which would be fine since she needs it. But that isn't until later anyway. I know you and Adrien were just going to play a couple games with us and then go do your sleepover too, but maybe," Alya said, "we should let them do their thing until it's time for us to split up for the night."

Nino groaned. "How are we supposed to do that, Alya? It's not like we can set them up and leave them here alone."

"But we could, though," said Alya. "They'd be preoccupied with the video game, and we could say we're going downstairs for cookies. Then we could just, you know, not come back."

Nino breathed in deeply, already knowing that his resolve was cracking. Her hand on his skin was distracting, and he knew just as well as she did that Adrien and Marinette would be able to bond more than they had before. Still... "Don't you think that would look weird?"

"Nino," said Alya very seriously, her eyes seeming far larger than he remembered, "do you think we look weird together?"

"Um..."

"Nino."

"Is this a trick question?"

"Nino, Marinette and Adrien have been seeing us hanging out every chance we get for the last week or so. Do you really think either of them are going to find it strange that we're going downstairs for some cookies together?"

Nino blinked. "You know," he said, shoulders coming down as he sighed, "this deception thing is really starting to get to me. I feel like we just keeping lying to our friends."

"Who says this has to be deception?" said Alya, slipping her hand in Nino's and beginning to pull Nino towards the trap door. "They'll take it well," Alya said with a grin.

"Or, you know, maybe not," said Nino.

"It's for their own good. They enjoy spending time with each other," said Alya, "they just don't get to do it as often.

"I guess," said Nino as he walked down the steps but he stopped when he caught sight of their friends on the couch.

Nino wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting. They'd left their friends on the couch in front of a video game. Marinette and Adrien could have talked while they waited for Nino to return or simply start playing anyway. He expected that Adrien would be talking to Marinette about something and that Marinette would be blushing away, embarrassed by one slip up or another.

Instead, Marinette and Adrien were sitting next to one another, their heads bent in close.

"No way," whispered Alya as they approached. The closer they got, Nino could see that Marinette and Adrien's heads weren't just huddled close to one another. No, it was much better than that. Marinette rested against Adrien's shoulder while Adrien's head lolled in Marinette's direction, his blonde hair brushing the top of controllers were still on coffee table and the game remained on the loading screen, but Adrien and Marinette were lost in the sweet space of their dreams. "No way."

"I want to say I'm surprised," said Nino, "but I'm really not. They've been exhausted."

"And to fall asleep now? Together?" Alya's eyes gleamed. "It's so cute!"

"It is pretty cute," admitted Nino.

Next to him, Alya pulled out her phone and snapped some photos of their sleeping friends. "She'll thank me for these tomorrow," said Alya, returning to Nino's side and showing him some of the pictures she'd captured. "Yup, Marinette will definitely want me to save these."

Alya cooed when Marinette's brow furrowed, her head shifting slightly as Adrien's body sleepily accommodated the shift so that she was closer than before. His head rested against Marinette's and their hands bumped against each other in their sleep before Adrien's pinky hooked itself around one of her thin fingers. Alya took another picture and Nino tried not to roll his eyes. He thought his two friends close and sleeping on the sofa together was just as cute as Alya did, but he was sure that Alya was more excited than any of them at the development.

"Look at them, Nino," said Alya. "Oh my goodness, Marinette is actually going to flip when she wakes up."

"In a good way," added Nino helpfully and Alya grin was sly.

"Oh, in a very good way." She slipped her phone in her pocket before leaving to grab a blanket from Marinette's room. When Alya returned, she and Nino set to tucking their friends in. They leaned back to admire their handiwork and exchanged a soft high-five.

"What a way to end the day," said Nino as he and Alya left their friends and shut the door on their way out. "I can't believe they would just pass out like that, especially Adrien."

"I mean, they were both crazy tired. I guess they were bound to pass out at the first chance at relaxation they got."

"Yeah," said Nino as they walked down the flight of stairs that led back to the bakery. Alya was quiet at his side, saying nothing until they got to bakery door. "We should probably tell Marinette's parents that they're sleeping upstairs.

"Probably," said Alya. Nino took a step forward but was pulled back sharply by Alya's firm grip around his wrist.

Nino blinked at her, surprised by her actions, but was more surprised by the flush covering her cheeks. "Alya?"

"I just wanted to say something."

"Wow," said Nino, "you're rarely ever flustered. Must be pretty important," he said with a smile. She shifted nervously in a way that reminded him so much of Marinette he had to laugh. "What's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight."

"But Adrien and Marinette are already getting the sleep that they need," he said confused. "I'm hoping we don't have to plan a whole evening just to get those two to sleep."

"I'm sure this will be enough to get them through until classes start again," said Alya, "but I didn't want to meet up for that."

"You didn't? I-" Nino stopped, his mouth going dry as her intention dawned on him. He blushed as well. "Are you sure?"

"Nino," Alya said, "do you want to go out on a date or not?"

"Of course I do!" he protested. "I just didn't think you did."

"Well, I do." She took a breath then looked into his eyes, her confident smile back on her face at seeing his embarrassment. "So, is that a yes?"

"Sure," he said, "but Adrien and Marinette. they-"

"Will wake up and spend a calm evening together. We'll be back eventually. I still want my sleepover and I'm sure Adrien's would want to spend time with you. You are his best friend, after all."

Nino smiled and twisted his arm so that his hand was in Alya's grip instead. "We'll be back."

"We will." She squeezed his hand. "We'll just tell her parents what's going on right now, and then we'll be on our way."

"At least we can tell them the truth," sighed Nino. "Finally."

"Yeah," said Alya with a wry grin. "I can just say we're hanging out because I'm dating you, not just to hatch an elaborate plan to get our friends to sleep."

"We're dating now?"

"We've got to up our game," said Alya playfully. "I'm sure Adrien and Marinette won't be far behind after they wake-up."

"Well then, shall we go?"

"We shall," said Alya, her smile still brighter than the sun. "Let's go."