"Girl," Alya put her arms around her tearing friend, "what's the matter?"

Marinette simply sniffed and wiped her tears which proved futile as more cascaded down her face. Alya leant away from her slightly to look up at Luka, "what happened?"

Luka looked disappointed, his lips pursed before he spoke in a hushed tone to Alya. "I asked her how she was and if she was free on Saturday to catch a film, and," he gestured to the sobbing girl he was consoling, "this was her reaction, I didn't mean to upset her," he finished quietly.

"I'm sure it's something else Luka," Alya soothed, hoping to comfort the obviously hurting young man. Marinette's head nodded into Alya, "yeah this is something else Luka." the reporter confirmed as she stroked Marinette's hair in a comforting manner, "do you want to talk about it?" Marinette shrugged into Alya, as the reporter took over from Luka.

Marinette let out another silent sob, unable to formulate words of an apology to the well meaning gentleman, causing Alya to glance around and look for an exit route. Going into the school was not an ideal option, as everyone would be craning to see what was happening. However, the approaching blonde, who Alya surmised had something to do with this, was coming toward them at a fast pace. No doubt he was only concerned for the girl, but Alya thought it would be best to put a bit of distance between the two.

He had been on a date the night before, and it was very likely that there would have been some publication featuring the romance blossoming between the model and Miss Tsurugi floating around that morning on social media.

"I'll take her inside Luka and let you know what's happening."

"Thank you Alya." Luka replied softly, whilst looking at the raven haired beauty's back as they stepped away from him.

Alya ushered Marinette in through the doors, just as Adrien and Nino reached where they had been standing with Luka. The aspiring journalist shot Nino a 'don't follow us' glare, and her understanding boyfriend halted Adrien from rushing in after them.

"Bro," he placed a gentle but firm hand on Adrien's shoulder, "leave it to Alya, she'll figure out what's going on."

Adrien struggled with his impulses internally. Part of him wanted to run after Marinette, another part of him wanted to ask Luka what he was playing at. It seemed however, that the musician himself was having a similar inclination.

"You know Adrien," Luka stepped closer to him, "I wish you weren't so blind to what is in front of you." The older male sighed heavily and looked downcast dejectedly, "it might put us all out of our misery."

Adrien looked incredulously at Luka, "how on earth did you come to that conclusion?" Nino shifted uncomfortably next to the two young men, wondering if he should stop the tension from rising. "This isn't to do with me, she likes you! Kagami told me this morning."

Both Luka and Nino looked surprised with disbelief at the blonde, while the other students, lingering on the steps, filed into the education establishment.

"I don't know where Kagami got that idea from Adrien." Luka failed to make eye contact with the model, "but I can assure you, all she sees me as is a friend to her."

The wistful gaze Luka shot to the door confused Adrien greatly. "I don't understand." He looked to his cap wearing friend who smiled apologetically and shook his head.

Luka became thoughtful, "why would Kagami tell you that, specifically this morning?"

Adrien reached for his nape, "she, erm, wanted Mari to confess her feelings to me this morning," he shrugged uncomfortably, "kinda sprung it on me last minute."

Nino snorted with surprise, "your girlfriend wanted another to tell you how much she cares about you?"

"Yeah."

"Why exactly?" Nino asked with disbelief, his eyebrows obviously raised under his cap, mouth slightly agape. "She's your girlfriend, that's kinda harsh on Mari dude."

Adrien screwed up his eyes with a slight grimace, "she's not my girlfriend Nino, and she was trying to do the right thing," he was hoping that Nino would see that Kagami was not as cold as people thought. "She explained everything to me this morning, I, she," Adrien searched for the right words while Nino and Luka watched. "She could see that I like Mari, and wanted to bring us together."

Both Nino and Luka listened to Adrien's explanation. Their troubled expressions morphing into awe at the selfless act Kagami had carried out. Adrien continued to run through the events of the meeting.

"Mari didn't come," he sighed sadly, "she apparently has feelings for another-"

Luka cut him off.

"Was Kagami certain about your feelings for Marinette?"

"Yes."

"So there's no chance that Marinette didn't meet with you because she thought Kagami could have been wrong?"

Adrien's mouth gaped "I, I don't know?"

Nino added his thoughts to the conversation. "It's likely dude," he shrugged matter of factly, "according to Alya, she has tried to tell you before but something always goes wrong-"

"Wait, you knew?" Adrien felt hurt that Nino had not enlightened him with this information.

Luka confirmed, "everyone knows man." The bitterness in his tone was slight, and Adrien felt guilty about his obliviousness on the matter. "She's always liked you and was trying to move on, I was hoping New York could have given her clarity but…" the musician trailed off, the disappointment he was feeling was clearly evident on his face.

"Yeah, that's what Kagami said," Adrien replied weakly. "But she seems to think that Mari likes you now."

"She doesn't, not in that way." Luka's smile did not reach his eyes as he placed a supportive hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Unless you actually speak to her though, you will never know Adrien."

The blonde gulped while Nino hummed in agreement with Luka. "Maybe wait until she's calmed down a bit though bro."

"Yeah."

Adrien knew he needed to speak to Marinette. The hope that it was him she wanted had been restored with what Luka and Nino had told him.

The young man was kicking himself for his stupidity. If he had properly thought about it sooner, he would have come to the blatantly obvious conclusion much earlier. Saving Kagami from being put in an awful situation, preventing Luka from being dragged through it too, and allowing him to act on his feelings before this had happened. He could have even asked Ladybug about her feelings regarding him divulging his identity to Marinette earlier. That way, there would be no more secrets and everything would be out in the open.

"I have to get to work guys," Luka addressed them, "don't mess it up Adrien, she's a special girl and deserves to be happy."

The resigned smile resting on Luka's face reminded Adrien so much of Kagami that morning. How was he so lucky to have two selfless people putting their own wants aside to encourage him to put his and Marinette's happiness first? He was humbled by their actions.

"Thank you Luka."

The two friends waved off the clearly gutted musician as they headed into the school. Adrien was debating going to see Marinette at that moment. Nino could see his friend pondering his next actions internally, and decided to give him the encouragement he needed.

"Dude," Nino kindly placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder as they walked through the busy corridor. "I know from experience that neither of you will get any work done until this is sorted." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "how about we find the girls and see if she's calmed down now?"

We're almost at the end of whatever this fic has turned into, and I purromise fluff in abundance when they finally slot into place!

Thank you for reading, and for the reviews, follows and faves. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts and reactions to my work.

Take it easy =)

Lady Rhi X