Alya hadn't seen Marinette in a few days, which would have been more concerning if she hadn't been talking to Nino who had been talking to Adrien about just how much fun the two of them had been having all weekend. Alya was Marinette's best friend back in the days when she first discovered Danny Phantom, so she was fully aware of just how engrossed Marinette could get in the show.

Usually, Marinette came home during the week, but when Alya got a call on Monday afternoon and Marinette spoke quickly, mentioning a hamster and Adrien and 'Beware,' she was pretty certain her best friend was okay. The official 'announcement' of Beware Agreste was sent to most of Marinette's friends and her parents that evening, and Alya was almost certain she wouldn't see her best friend for another few days because she would have to be dragged away, kicking and screaming, from the hamster.

Alya offered to bring Marinette some clean clothes after a few days and Marinette accepted. She described a few specific pieces and where exactly they could be found between her dresser or closet. Alya and Nino both went over on Wednesday after they were finished with their classes to see their friends (and meet their god-hamster).

Alya was surprised by the fact that it had been months of her knowing Adrien and this was the first time that she had ever gone to his apartment. It didn't necessarily matter that this was the first time she'd been there, but she was still surprised. Marinette had been dating Adrien for what… 8 months at that point and this was the first time Alya was seeing where he lived.

Nino knew exactly where to go and led Alya over to an elevator when they got into the building. They rode it all the way to the top floor and Nino led Alya down the hallway to the last door. He knocked loudly and Marinette answered the door with a bright smile on her face while Adrien held Beware, sitting on the couch.

They looked like the image of domestic bliss and Alya silently wondered if people ever thought the same thing about her and Nino. Nino went inside before she did and he immediately went over to meet Beware, who was gently placed into his hands. Marinette, though, took the bag of clothing from Alya's hands and went into the guest room to put the bag there.

When Marinette came back into the living room, Alya was sitting next to Nino, giving Beware a few gentle pets. Marinette sat down next to Adrien and had her hand on his leg. Alya was surprised she'd never noticed just how tactile her friends' relationship was before that point as she watched them be in almost constant physical contact.

Alya raised an eyebrow and her jaw dropped. "Woah, you two, when's the wedding?" She pointed to her left ring finger as she nodded toward the same spot on Marinette's hand that was clad in a ring that she had never seen before. Her eyes bugged out when she saw that Adrien was also wearing a ring on his ring finger. "Holy shit, are you two already married?"

Adrien and Marinette's eyes widened in surprise and Adrien looked at his own hands, wondering what would lead Alya to that conclusion. When he had been doing a lab earlier, he moved his ring to his left ring finger instead of his right and, matched with Marinette's sudden ring, he did have to admit that being married wasn't the most unreasonable conclusion.

"We aren't engaged," Marinette assured. She looked at Adrien and her eyes were still big. She held up her hand and wiggled her ring finger at him. "This wasn't a proposal, right? This was just supposed to be a 'girlfriend's not a girlfriend until you give her a class ring' thing, right?"

Adrien held up his hands defensively. "I didn't mean to propose if I did," he assured her. "I also just forgot to move my ring back onto the right hand after class today." He moved his ring back onto his right hand, not wanting anyone to be uncomfortable about it accidentally looking like a wedding band.

He mentally added that he planned to do something much more extravagant when he proposed, but he figured it wasn't the time to tell Marinette that, not in front of their friends when they hadn't actually had a serious talk about marriage yet. "Just like Marinette said, a girlfriend's not a girlfriend until you give her a class ring."

"So what has Marinette been to you for the last 8 months? Just a very good friend?" Alya's question was meant to be a joke, but Marinette and Adrien didn't see a need to lie to her now that they actually were dating.

"Well, yeah," Marinette admitted with a blush on her face. She and Adrien explained the fact that they had been fake dating since the beginning, the fact that Marinette had fallen for Adrien around when she accidentally set him up on a date with Carapace. That fact caused both Adrien and Nino to blush and Adrien was the only one who didn't know why Nino blushed.

Adrien explained that he had been falling for Marinette since the beginning of their fake relationship. Marinette mentioned that she knew she needed to tell Adrien the truth after they had gotten trapped in the Box Ghost's box together. She was happy to share that that was why they watched Danny Phantom.

Marinette told Alya about the fact that Adrien had recreated their 'first date picnic' to be their real first date after the Heroes Day Gala. She talked about the fact that that was when he gave her the 'class ring equivalent' and they specifically avoided mentioning that their recreated first date took place on top of the Eiffel Tower.

Marinette also talked about the picnic that Adrien set up for the two of them on the roof of his apartment building, but that was really just something that she wanted to mention because she wanted to talk about how wonderful her boyfriend is. It didn't have anything to do with the fakeness of their relationship.

"There's no way you two were pretending to date this whole time," Alya announced confidently. "We saw you kiss on Adrien's birthday!" She immediately regretted her words and tried to shut her mouth as quickly as she could before she said anything more incriminating.

Adrien was extremely aware of the fact that before the Heroes Day Gala, he had only kissed Marinette one time. That time was yes, on his birthday. It was also yes, in front of people, but it was not in front of Alya or Nino. He pursed his lips and spent a brief while considering Alya's statement.

Marinette suddenly stood from her spot next to him. "Who wants something to drink?" she offered, hoping to distract Adrien from the revelation that she was certain he was having. She went over to the cabinet and grabbed out a glass for each of them, deliberately not looking at Adrien as she filled all four of them with water.

He followed her into the kitchen a short while later, walking away from their friends and their hamster, all sitting in the living room, getting to know each other and watching the discoveries unfold in front of them.

"Princess," Adrien began, reaching out to grab Marinette's hand that was thankfully not holding any of the glasses at that point. "My beloved. Light of my life. Did you, or did you not set me up on a date with Nino for my birthday?"

"I might have kind of set you up on a little bit of a date with Nino for your birthday," she responded shyly. "I was going to tell you… eventually," she added after another moment, expecting to have to defend herself. She wasn't expecting the laughter that began bubbling out of Adrien.

He wrapped his arms around his girlfriend as he laughed. "You're ridiculous," he informed her, placing a loving kiss on the top of her head. "Ridiculous, and sweet, and amazing, and my absolute favorite person on this planet." He kissed her temple gently. "Please, next time, don't set me up on a date with someone else."

"Deal," she agreed, leaning her face up to meet him in one more soft kiss.