"Hey, Luka?"

Juleka stepped into the living room, holding a stack of paper awkwardly in her hands. Luka looked up from his guitar and smiled.

"What's up?"

"Well... uh... you see..."

Juleka didn't usually mumble when she talked to her brother, but what she was about to say wasn't exactly normal conversation.

"Can you... take... help... Alya... homework?"

Luka strummed a steady beat on his guitar.

"Take a breath and try again, if you want."

Juleka felt even more nervous as he smiled patiently at her.

"Uhh... Alya was supposed to take Marinette... notes, but she Uhh... can't so she asked me to do it."

"Alright."

His eyes had widened at the mention of Marinette's name, and Juleka felt a rush of confidence.

"T-The problem is that I promised mom I'd go to the store which is on the complete other s-side of town. So... could you take Marinette her homework instead?"

There was a moment in which they both stared at one another. Then Luka strummed a few strong chords and stood up with a smile.

"If it helps you out, of course I can. Should I go now?"

"Uhh, yeah... I guess."

"Alright then. Where were you suppose to meet her?"

Juleka was a bit surprised by the ease with which Luka took the papers from her hands.

"Her house: The bakery by my school."

"Ah, alright. I'll see you later!"

Juleka watched him leave on his bike before pulling out her phone and shooting a message to the group chat Alya had created that morning.

He just left.

And so, Luka was on his way to Marinette's house. Which was definitely because he loved his little sister, and definitely not because Alya had created a chance to give fate a little shove.

And it was because Juleka loved her brother as much as he loved her, and definitely not because Alya was determined that everything should go perfectly, that she soon found herself sitting at an outdoor table across the street from the Dupain-Cheng's bakery in an over-large hat beside Rose, Alix, Alya, and Mylene.

"Alright ladies, so here's what we know:" Alya began impressively. "Luka entered Marinette's place at exactly 4:06, bearing a pile of 'school notes' that Marinette 'forgot to bring home.'"

"But Alya," Rose said, raising her hand. "Marinette didn't forget her notes."

"Yes, we know, Rose." Alya informed her patiently. "But Luka doesn't know that."

"Ohhhh," Rose said with a smile, "I'm still confused."

"I'm confused too, Alya." Alix crossed her arms. "Why are we even here? I thought we were just trying to get Luka to go see Marinette. Mission accomplished!"

"In theory, yes." Alya pushed her glasses further up her nose. "But this reporter stumbled across a few details today which may destroy everything we've worked for."

The tension at the table thickened.

"Adrien plans to pick up a croissant on his way home from his photo shoot."

"Oh no!" Rose squeaked, "If Marinette sees him then she'll completely lose focus!"

"Big problem." Juleka summarized.

"Yes, that is why we are here." Alya stayed with certainty. "We have to keep Adrien from interrupting them."

"Are we sure we even need to worry about that, though?" Mylene said thoughtfully, "I mean... Luka and Marinette are upstairs, and Adrien is just popping in at the bakery."

"Yeah," Alix agreed, "there's no reason they'd cross paths."

"Oh, girls use your heads!" Alya cried, "We all know what Marinette's parents are like! The moment they see Adrien, they'll start talking, and it would take a miracle for them to not mention Luka just went upstairs!"

"Even if they do, so what?" Alix said with a yawn, "Adrien doesn't have a crush on Marinette, so why would it matter?"

"It matters because he might get curious!" Rose exclaimed, "Adrien may not see Marinette the way she sees him, but he still cares about her!"

"Luka and Adrien know each other too." Juleka added quietly.

"Ahh, and they haven't seen each other in a while." Mylene said, finally understanding. "Adrien might want to pop in and say 'Hi!'"

"Alright, Alright, I get it." Alix conceded. "What's your plan? Do we kidnap him? Steal his car? Stage an akuma attack so Ladybug comes and picks him up?"

"No." Alya said, "Marinette's not putting this together. We're doing this my way."

Adrien stepped out of the car and smiled up at the sign above his head. He always loved coming here. It was so warm and friendly, as opposed to the cold emptiness of his own house. On top of that, they sold great pastries, a treat Adrien could only convince the gorilla to let him make a stop for every once in a while.

He took the few steps towards the door, and pulled on the handle.

"Oh, hey Adrien!"

Adrien turned and saw Alix coming up the street on her roller skates. He let go of the handle, and let the door swing closed again.

*A few minutes earlier*

Alya looked terrifyingly serious.

"Juleka, you take these binoculars and head for the roof of that building next door. You will be our eyes in the sky. The moment Adrien pulls up, you signal Alix so she can delay him long enough for Mylene and I to get in position."

"Hey Alix, what's up?" Adrien sent his friend a kind smile.

"Not much, just rolling through." Alix said, almost casually. "You here to buy something?"

"Yeah, I just got done modeling for today. I'm starving."

"Ah, that's nice." Alix said, watching as the back of Alya's shoe disappeared around the corner. "Well, I'll see you on Monday then."

"Alright, bye, Alix!"

Adrien stepped inside, and savored the wonderful scent of baked goods that surrounded him. He walked right up to the counter.

"Ah, hello Adrien!" Sabine greeted him warmly, "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hello Mrs. Dupain-Cheng."

"What can I do for you this afternoon?"

Adrien savored the way she looked at him for just a moment.

"One croissant, please."

"Ohh, your in luck: Tom just took those out of the oven. It should still be warm."

Adrien's smile broadened.

"Here, try a cookie too." Sabine added, handing Adrien his croissant in a bag and a perfectly browned cookie wrapped in a napkin. "Marinette made them this morning."

"Then they have to be good." Adrien said, looking down at the treat with a chuckle as he passed his money to the petite woman.

"Yes, Marinette is quite good at making cookies." Sabine gushed. "She's been making them every few days for a while now. I don't know what she does with them all!"

A slight tap hit Adrien's chest, reminding him of a promise he had made a few minutes before.

"Oh, do you have any of those cheese danishes you had last time?"

Sabine took on a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm, I thought we had another one left... Oh dear, I think I sent the last one up the stairs with Luka."

"Luka?"

Adrien manage to curb his complete shock into minor curiosity.

"Oh yes, Marinette's friend with the blue hair. He stopped by to—"

"Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" Alya shouted as she ran in through the door. "Mylene fell and hurt her knee. Can you help us?"

"Oh my!" Sabine said, "Of course dear!"

*A few minutes earlier*

Alya handed Rose a small, black earpiece.

"This will connect you to the microphone I have hidden inside the bakery. If Marinette's mom starts talking about Luka, you signal me, and I'll run in. Got it?"

Adrien followed Sabine and Alya outside, where Mylene was sitting curled up on the side-walk.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Mylene dear, what happened?"

Sabine crouched down beside Mylene, and tried to get a look at the girl's knee.

"Do you have an... ice pack?" Mylene asked weakly.

"Of course, dear. I'll be right back."

The moment Sabine disappeared inside, Alya rounded on Adrien.

"You should probably be getting home, right?"

Adrien shook his head.

"It can wait. She might need to go to the hospital, and if so we can take her. It'll be fastest."

Sabine stepped out with an ice pack and applied it to Mylene's knee.

"There. How does that feel?"

"All better!" Mylene said, suddenly standing up. She had ceased to say 'ow' since Adrien mentioned a hospital. "Thank you, Mrs. Sabine. You truly are a miracle worker!"

"Oh, alright dear... are you sure?"

"Yes, she's sure!" Alya assured her with a suspiciously large smile. "I'll take her home now, so she doesn't stress it. Bye Adrien! Bye Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!"

Alya took a few slow steps backwards as she watched Adrien thank Sabine again and head to his car. The gorilla opened the door, Adrien placed one foot in, Alya smiled in relief, and then—

Ding-a-Ling

Marinette and Luka stepped outside. They were talking so intently they didn't notice everyone standing outside at first, Adrien however, was not so conveniently distracted.

"Oh, hello Marinette. Luka."

Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of his voice, and if it wasn't for Luka quickly catching her, she may have landed flat on the pavement.

"Scared! You Adrien me! Bah! I mean... Adrien! You scared me!"

Alya groaned in defeat. Her perfect plan was all for nothing. One more minute, and things would have been perfect, but no. Marinette and Luka just had to walk straight into the one person they were trying to keep them away from.

Alya braced herself for Marinette to stumble and blush her way through the next few seconds. But instead of Marinette's unsolicited babbling, her ears were met by a very different sound: A deep and genuine chuckle.

"Lukaaa." Marinette said with a very heavy blush, "Don't laugh."

"How can I help it?" Luka took Marinette's chin gently into his hand. "It's one of the things I love about you."

"Stop it." Marinette said, moving her chin out of his reach, but there was no denying the smile on her face.

"Heading out, Adrien?" Luka asked him naturally. "It's been a while. I'm glad I got to see you."

"Y-yeah..." Adrien seemed to blink himself out of some sort of haze as he tore his eyes away from Marinette. "Good to see you too."

A grunt from his body guard motivated Adrien to get in the car and very soon, he was driven away. However, it took several moments for Alya to catch up with what had just occurred.

"Alya," Marinette called, "What brings you and Mylene here?"

"Oh... we were just... uh... walking." Alya began to slowly back away. "We're... walking buddies... as of today."