Adrien felt as though his legs felt as heavy as lead. He'd made a new resolve, and he refused to back down from this now that he was here. He wasn't a quitter, and today wasn't the day he was about to get started.

Glancing towards the direction of Liberty, he faltered involuntarily in his step. Perhaps this whole plan of his was unnecessary. Even Plagg had told him to stop being so dramatic, or so to quote, "Stop being such a drama queen, all you're doing is stripping your chances of being able to pull the rug under their feet." And despite knowing that sometimes playing the strings from the background was a way to assure his success, this wasn't about that. He couldn't just do that when it was about his friends.

He groaned as his body refused to take another step. He could do this, this wasn't even that big of a deal, right? Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he locked eyes with his bodyguard, who only nodded and gave him a thumbs-up as encouragement. Biting his lip, he started to turn his body, suddenly not feeling so sure about doing this. His body turned frigid as a male voice reached his ears, a very familiar voice.

"Adrien? What are you doing here?" His body turned towards the source of the voice without him wanting it to. Well, might as well go through with it if life apparently wanted him to just go through this. "Did you want to practice with the group? We hadn't been planning on having a practice today, but I could call the rest of the group here if you want, I'm sure they'd be happy to play with you."

"No, it's okay, Luka. It's nothing like that, thanks for the offer though." Taking a step forward, he reached the slightly taller teen. Since meeting the gap had gotten smaller, and now Luka barely towered over him.

"Okay, let's go in then, there's no one else on the boat besides me, and I'm sure we'd appreciate the privacy. Tossing a glance over Adrien's shoulder, Luka turned around as he walked towards his home. Forcing a small smile on his face, Adrien tossed a glance towards his bodyguard, assuring him that he'd be okay and to stay there.

Following behind Luka, he situated himself on the sofa inside the cabin as Luka disappeared behind the bar. Adrien observed the familiar area, hoping that after this he would be welcome to refuge here from his father. Turning his gaze towards the bar area, he saw as Luka brought over two glasses of water, gingerly taking it from him as he approached the blond.

"Thanks." With a nod, Luka sat down a few feet away from him, before turning to face him. His whole stance was relaxed and calm.

"I think I know why you're here, I'm no psychic but I always believed it was just but a matter of time." Adrien gulped at the implications in his words, he couldn't have known, Adrien had just figured it out not too long ago.

"Luka, I don't think you truly know, that's why I'm here. I think you should know, as friends, it's only fair that I let you know." Luka leaned back at his words, looking at Adrien expectantly so that he'd continue talking.

"I like, not that's not correct, I'm in love with Marinette. I know she's with you, that's why I'm telling you this because I want to be with her. I think it's only fair that you know that I'll try all I can to get her to like me. And I know that could affect our friendship, it's only normal that it would. I'm not expecting for it to stay intact, I'm not that foolish." He stopped himself before he continued blabbering, hoping that Luka would say something, anything.

"Adrien, I… can't hold it against you. Marinette is an amazing girl and feelings," Luka faltered as he looked for the words he wanted to say, "are something you can't control. I won't hate you for it."

Adrien felt the tension leave his body as Luka's words, a small genuine smile gracing his lips. "But I'm not letting go of her just like that, I'll have her until she tires of me until she stops wanting me." Adrien couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness at his words, which deepened as his eyes landed on Luka. He had never seen such a sad look on the teen, and it left him feeling like he was experiencing something that wasn't for his eyes.

It was as though Luka had resigned himself to losing Marinette in the future. If it was true, Adrien considered it madness that he'd go through such lengths. But, hadn't he done the same thing time and time again? Who was he to judge someone on madness?

"I understand, I don't expect anything else. I wouldn't let go of her either if it were my decision to take." Standing up, he threw a smile towards Luka. "Thanks for letting me talk with you." He walked towards the exit, not waiting for Luka to walk him out.

Walking towards the car, he let himself in without a word. Leaning his head against the window, he ignored the pain that shot through his head every time his head banged against the cold surface. How were actors able to do this without showing that doing this high-key hurt?

He could almost feel the questioning glance from his bodyguard, but he didn't want to talk about anything right now, he was sure he'd receive a snark remark from Plagg once they arrived home and he just wanted to be happily dramatic right now.

The drive home was uneventful for the most part, besides the slight red mark that he now adorned on his forehead. He could practically hear Plagg snickering under his shirt at his holders' state.

He walked up the stairs, ready to head to his room to rest before going on a run.

"Adrien." The voice boomed in the wide room, creating an echo in the open area. Pursing his lips, he tried to force a smile before turning around.

"Father." He didn't even want to know what his father could possibly want from him at the moment, it never truly spelled anything good for the teen. Looking down at where his father stood in the foyer, he rolled his shoulders as his father didn't make a move.

"Follow me into my office." Without another word, he turned around, knowing that the blond teen would follow without question. Following behind his father, Adrien felt the tension rise in his body, his legs didn't want to move as fluidly as he wished to. Closing the door behind him, he moved to face his father, keeping close to the door in case he was dismissed promptly.

Keeping silent until he was addressed, he observed his father as the graying man worked on his computer. Why had he called him if he was going to ignore him?

"I've been hearing many things lately." He threw a side glance that felt slightly disapproving, "How are things going with the Tsurugi family's daughter? I've yet to hear much about her, considering she's your first girlfriend."

There were few reasons Adrien could imagine the reason as to why his father would bring this up now. 1) His father knew he had broken up with Kagami; 2) He had a charged question behind his other question; 3) He had something planned between Adrien and Kagami.

It had honestly surprised Adrien that his father hadn't taken notice of the magazines that had been speculating over the Tsurugi family's only daughter third akumatization. He was sure that some of the ones that were putting the blond teen in a questioning light, surely his father would worry about his image, or more like his brands' image.

"Don't you know?" Icy blue eyes landed on him, making a slight shiver rake through his whole body.

"Don't know what, son?" Gulping as he straightened his posture, he tried to ease the tension building upon his shoulders.

"We broke up." A sigh could be heard from the center of the room as he brought his hand to rub at his eyes.

"I thought you would have gotten over whatever childish reason you guys had broken up, have you not learned to set aside your pride when it comes to the best interests of the company?" The cool voice held an annoyed tinge, the slight furrowing of his father's brows the only physical indication that he wasn't just a statue of his father.

"What do you mean?" Adrien wasn't prone to being reckless, no, he was prone to doing all he could to keep a certain farse up. But he could feel his patience wearing thin at his father's antics.

"I had many plans that involved you, my son and heir to the Agreste brand, and the Tsurugi family. As you already know, our two families are already involved in business together, it only seems natural if we join forces in more than one way. Although you've single-handedly decided to throw away my plans."

"Fathe-"

"But I'm sure you'll fix this mess right away, and make do with ," His father gestured towards his screen, "after all, you've already made a mess of your image as the golden boy of Paris. Surely, you'd do such a small thing for your father." Adrien grit his teeth at his father's words, did he think he wished he could take a lot of things back? Maybe if he had been straightforward from the beginning he could've saved Kagami and himself from so much pain, but he wasn't about to let his father subject them to more pain than this.

"I'm not doing that, father. We broke up for a reason, we don't plan on getting back together." He was sweating cold, he could feel droplets roll down his back as he held his father's stare.

"And what makes you think I'll just let you choose that for yourself? and I agreed although she was quite enraged after hearing the news of her daughter's third akumatization. Haven't all of them been caused by you somehow?" He stared at his father with wide eyes, how could he?

His throat constricted under the pressure of being in his father's presence when he decided to be like this. "Father, that's not true at all. Besides Kagami wouldn't want this."

"Are you sure, Adrien? She… might have been hurt, but feelings are a fickle thing, and I'm sure she's a smart lady. I don't doubt for a second that she'll be able to see eye to eye with her mother and me." His father clearly didn't know Kagami well enough. She was prideful but loyal to a fault. She'd never agree to such an archaic way of thinking.

"Do you think that because we're young we're clueless?" He held the off-hand comment that he'd met his mother at his age, it was too fresh of a wound even for him.

"I don't think, I know." The older man said coolly, a certain annoying sense of superiority that permeated in the interaction.

"How little do you think of us? I'm not going to let it happen, whatever plan you concocted in that head of yours." Bringing his hands behind him, the older man approached the blond.

"Don't you want to hear what I had planned? I've yet to tell you my plan, perhaps you should grow up and listen to me before refusing like a child throwing a tantrum." But Adrien knew his father enough to know that it didn't spell anything good for him.

"See? If you'd just stay quiet you could've heard what I was about to say," turning around to head towards his computer, "the next social gala, Ms. Tsurugi and you will announce your relationship publicly, to clean up all the mess that you made, and officially announce a cooperation between the two families in an engagement."

"You can't do-" His father threw a stern stare, making him shut up in an instant.

"You will be engaged for a few years, considering you can't marry yet. Consider this me being nice, I'm letting you marry someone you consider a friend." With that, his father dismissed him with a motion of his hand, but he paid no mind to it.

"You can't do this. I refuse it, I'm sure Kagami will too." His father answered without taking his eyes from the screen in front of him.

"Mrs. Tsurugi and I have taken measures to assure you will go through with it." He stared wide-eyed at his father. What had they planned?

"What have you done?"

"Nothing that truly matters, just making sure you two will be on your best behavior. Now, stop standing there, go practice your piano."

Adrien turned around, holding himself back as the urge to slam the door shut teased at his forefront. Nothing good would come out of acting like that though, he knew better.

He made his way to the room in silence, not wanting to make a scene in the middle of the house. How proper of him, his mind sneered.

The moment he closed his door Plagg flew out of his shirt, "Just when we thought things were over with the Ice Queen."

"Plagg, don't call her that, she's my friend. And things are over, no matter what father says. I'll make sure of it."

Plagg flew to his cheese cabinet, before speaking again. "What are you going to do? It sounded like your father had something up his sleeve."

"Doesn't matter what he wants or has up his sleeve, I love Marinette. I want to be with her." Plagg threw him a worried glance, before stuffing his face with half a wheel of camembert.

"Jeez, why did I get stuck with the lovesick one?" A small smile graced his lips before he glanced at Adrien, "So?"

"You know me, Plagg." Plugging his phone into his stereo, he chose the song he should be practicing, before facing the kwami, "Claws on!" Climbing out his window, he grinned at the prospect of seeing Marinette, but not before going out on a run to let out his frustration.

The wind has harsh against his face, the whipping air lashing out against his skin. His legs confidently landing as he jumped and ran across the Parisian rooftops, waving when civilians would call out to him. He wasn't exactly in the mood to be friendly, but he couldn't find it in himself to be moody against others.

It wasn't until his legs and arms were complaining from having supported him throughout his run that he decide it was time to visit Marinette. He didn't even have to think about it too much before his body was automatically making its way in the direction of her house.

It should be illegal to miss this much someone you saw practically every day, but here he was waiting for the evening hours to fall so he could spend time in that little world the two created when they were together. It made him want to have that forever.

He reached her balcony with relative ease, his steps heavier as to alarm her of his presence. It didn't take long for a pair of blue pigtails to appear, a smile quirking at her lips. "I've been waiting for you, many people saw you running around since a while ago, thought you were coming straight to here." Marinette moved out of the way to let him in, standing in front of him as he landed on her bed.

"I wanted to, but I had some thinking to do, had to run off some frustration out." Clasping her hands behind her back she leaned forward just a tad.

"Want to talk about it? I'm all ears." He shook his head, a sad smile on his face as he looked up at the girl that now appeared in every one of his dreams.

"It's part of my personal life, I don't want to burden you with that, plus uhh-"

"Secret identity, it's okay. I understand." She grabbed his hand, pulling him to get out of her bed, "Come on, I planned something because I thought you were going to visit."

"What did you have planned?" His only answer was a smirk as she dived into the basket that she had somehow hidden while still being right in front of him.

"What's in there?" Marinette shrugged as she climbed the stairs up to her loft.

"You'll find out once you take me somewhere we can be alone." The words made his heart skip a beat before he remembered that he was only her friend and that she had a boyfriend. "What are you waiting for? Do you think I can just do it myself? I'm no superhero." He watched as she disappeared through the door, following quickly after her.

Grabbing her by the waist, he looked down at her with a smile, taking in all the little freckles and how bright her eyes looked with the twinkle lights reflecting against her blue eyes. "I don't think this is the safest way, Chat."

"Oh, you're right. Let me just," He put his right arm under her knee, grabbing the small basket with his left hand that held had her back leaned on it. After balancing her and the basket successfully, he took off running across the rooftops, swiftly jumping with practiced ease.

He wanted to take her to the Eiffel tower, he really did, but the romantic environment near the tower would just dampen his moods the moment he'd remember the situation.

He set her down on a quiet rooftop, one he knew didn't have any tenants inside. Taking the basket out of his hand, she turned around so that the contents were out of his field of view.

"What are you plotting over there?" He tried to sneak a peek, but she turned her body before he could even see its shadow.

"Wait a minute, I'm looking for something." He heard her searching in the basket, before standing up straight, object in hand.

"Got it!" As she turned around, he caught sight of what seemed like a bottle, one that seemed a lot like a bottle of champagne. He saw them often enough in those uptight galas his father was so adamant Adrien attended despite him never going.

"Marinette, I don't think that's wise." She turned her head sideways, before shrugging.

"It was on a gift basket for my parents, and they gave it to me because they were out on an event. They won't miss it." Adrien knew better than this, he was sure Marinette knew better than this, but being here like this with her. She was willing to share this moment with him. She trusted him. It meant everything to him.

"Oh fuck it." Grabbing the bottle, he opened it the way he often saw adults do at those parties, before popping it, carefully taking the cork out so that it wouldn't pop and potentially hurt someone.

"Why didn't it pop? I wanted to see it pop." He laughed at her pout as he gave her the bottle back.

"It's not safe to pop it, besides you conserve the bubbles this way." He took the glasses that he could now see that they were next to the basket, before carefully serving for the two of them. "What are we making a toast for?"

"For life, for happiness, for our friendship." He smiled at her words, couldn't have put it any better.

"What about your relationship?" Was he a masochist? Perhaps, but all he wanted to hear was what she would say at this moment, right here and now.

"Isn't it just the two of us right now?" And suddenly he felt stupid for even asking.

"You're right. Let's make a toast then." Lifting their glasses so that they'd clink softly, before sipping the drink lightly. He downed the drink, letting the liquid coat his throat. This was not proper drinking etiquette, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Weird, this doesn't taste like I thought it would, it tastes fruity." He laughed as she took the bottle from where she had laid it on the basket. He stood behind her, laying his head on top of her shoulder so that he could read the label with her, gauging her reaction.

"That's because it's sparkling juice, Princess." He laughed as she turned to glare at him, finally realizing that he'd known all along that it wasn't truly champagne. He'd drink it enough times at those galas to recognize one from the other, but it was too fun to see his princess act this way. It was something he wished only he could see.

Y'all, I'm starting to believe that I might just have really bad luck, or shall I say "estoy sala'". Literally the day I was going to publish this chapter my laptop decided to so kindly crash, and I lost the WHOLE chapter. I had no way of recovering it, I tried everything. The chapter just disappeared as though it never existed *cries*

I tried re-writing it, but I'm just not as satisfied with this chapter as the other one. But I guess we'll never see that one ㅠ-ㅠ

Have you guys been able to watch the new episodes? I haven't seen them but bcs of *spoilers* I know what happens for the most part. I'm just surprised the writers decided to just do away with the relationships so quickly, like man I really thought they were going to last longer than just one episode. Also, patrols are canon now, so I'm a tad happier now.

Let me know what you guys think!

PSA: Don't drink if you're underage.