Notes: Thank you all so much for your support and kind words! I'm going to be trying my hardest to adjust certain plotlines from the canon series, but to reiterate here: this is an imagining of how the Love Square will become canon come S4. I'm taking on a Steven Universe style of writing in which you have smaller chapters loop around to create a big storyline. Enjoy this chapter!
Marinette was uncharacteristically on time for school. With Tikki safely tucked away in her purse, the guardian began her short trek to school, fully feeling her exhaustion from earlier than morning settle into her bones.
"Marinette, you're gonna have a great day today!" Tikki chirped happily.
Marinette smiled weakly down at her kwami and patted her head, silently thanking the little god for her encouragement. Had it not been for Tikki always helping Marinette and cheering her on, she had no idea where she'd be today.
Losing Fu had been hard for Marinette, but she couldn't even imagine not having Tikki around in her life anymore.
Sure, her role as the new guardian wasn't something that she'd asked for, but if it was going to keep her loved ones and little kwamis like Tikki safe, then that was the sacrifice that she was more than willing to make.
If Master Fu could do it, then so can I! Marinette told herself.
Most of her classmates were already gathered in the gym by the time Marinette had arrived. She spotted Alya in the corner of the room, seated next to Nino, but it already seemed like the redhead had seen Marinette.
In the blink of an eye, Alya was off her feet and across the gym, Nino quickly following his girlfriend.
"Marinette!" Alya greeted, wrapping her best friend up in a fierce hug, "You're here!"
Marinette laughed and returned the hug, squeezing Alya tightly, "I said I'd be here, Al! I told you I'd help you redesign and Ladyblog, remember?"
"I know, I know!" Alya replied, hugging Marinette closer, "I…I just got worried! You haven't been able to sleep very well the past few days."
Marinette released Alya, peering up at her the girl. She sent Alya a tired smile, "Al, I'm okay. It's just stress. I'm sure it'll go away soon enough, but for now, I'm gonna need you to make sure I don't crash in the middle of Miss Bustier's class. She could very well give me detention at this point."
Amused, Alya shook her head and threw her arm around Marinette's shoulders, "Of course, girl. I'll kick you if you start to snore."
Marinette chuckled, "I appreciate that."
Next to Tikki, Alya had been one of Marinette's biggest sources of comfort. She'd rounded up their friends when Marinette told her the news of Adrien and Kagami, rushing over to Marinette's house with snacks and movies in record time.
Marinette's sleeping problems were just another issue her best friend jumped in to help her with, tearing through pages and pages of reports on alleviating sleeping issues. Marinette suspected that her friend would be ready to start a blog on the topic at any point now.
"Where'd Nino go?" Marinette asked, "I thought I saw him headed towards here when you came up to me."
Alya glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes, "He'll catch up soon enough, don't you worry."
The girl twisted Marinette away from the gym towards the classroom, determination apparent on her fierce features. Normally that only meant one thing.
"Hey, Alya! Marinette!"
Adrien had been particularly friendly with Marinette in the recent weeks, more than he usually was. The young model had jogged to catch up with the two friends. Marinette didn't need to check to see that Kagami was tailing him closely with Nino.
Kagami wrapped her arms around Adrien's arms, regarding Marinette quietly. Adrien didn't seem to notice the gesture, his green eyes trained on Marinette, waiting for a response. Alya squeezed Marinette gently.
"Morning," Marinette replied, "What's going on?"
"Adrien and I were going to stop by your place during lunch," Kagami explained slowly, "We just wanted to ask if you have any recommendations?"
If Kagami was trying to communicate anything to Marinette, Marinette wasn't understanding. This recent development in her day to day life wasn't something she had time to actually deal with, thanks to Hawkmoth. It took Marinette a few seconds to consider Kagami's question before moving to open her mouth.
"Well, I—"
"—the menu changes every day," Alya interrupted smoothly, "So, it's probably better to ask Marinette's parents. Do you even know what's on the menu today?"
"I wasn't really checking this morning," Marinette admitted, "Sorry guys…"
"Oh, it's okay, Marinette!" Adrien replied, smiling widely at the girl, "Maybe one day, we can all check it out? Together?"
Once upon a time, Marinette would have been far too excited to accept the offer. She would have stuttered out an answer before crying to Alya about how excited she was. Whether or not she'd speak properly with Adrien was something else completely; Marinette simply would have been happy to spend time with the boy.
Her chest gave a dull squeeze, but she willed herself to ignore it.
She couldn't afford to deal with it.
She wasn't equipped to handle it.
She was grateful when Luka walked up to their group, his guitar in tow. Marinette could very clearly remember the melody Luka had written for her, its beautiful notes lulling her to sleep. She felt her cheeks heat up when Luka shot Marinette a warm smile, momentarily allowing the girl to forget herself.
"Hey, Marinette," Luka greeted.
"Hi," she breathed.
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to grab something to eat around lunch?" he asked, "There's this really cool spot I wanted to show you."
"I'd really like that…" Marinette replied shyly.
Distantly, Marinette could sense Alya shaking with excitement, her arms still protectively wrapped around Marinette's shoulders.
"Great!" Luka said, "Can I walk you to class?"
Marinette didn't even need to give her answer, as Alya was already pushing the girl forward towards Juleka's brother.
"Of course, you can!" Alya replied, "Go ahead, Marinette! We'll catch up!"
Marinette shot Alya a look before walking back across the gym with Luka, their swinging arms just barely grazing each other.
Alya squealed, throwing her arms around Nino and jumping up and down in excitement. Nino shook his head at his girlfriend's silly antics.
"Alya—"
"He's such a nice guy, Nino!" Alya said, "Marinette's been having a bad few nights, and I just want someone to help her take her mind off things. She hasn't told me this yet, but did you know what Luka wrote a song for her? A song!" she sighed happily.
She let a joyous squeal before taking off in the direction of Rose and Juleka, more than ready to share the good news.
Nino beamed at his girlfriend before turning towards Adrien and Kagami, who had yet to say anything since Luka's arrival.
"I'm glad she finally noticed that boy," Kagami commented, "You could tell how much he liked her when we visited the band. Right, Adrien?"
Nino looked at Adrien, finding his best friend staring off in the direction Luka and Marinette walked. His normally crystal-clear green eyes were so expressive, but this look was the first that Nino hadn't seen on his friend.
If Nino didn't know any better, he'd say that Adrien looked almost concerned. About what, he could not say. Nino was willing to bet money that not even Adrien could sort out what he was currently feeling.
But the look was pretty clear on his face.
"Adrien?" Kagami asked again.
Adrien snapped out of his trance, and smiled gently down at Kagami, "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"I was saying it's good that Luka and Marinette are getting closer," she repeated.
Nino didn't know if Adrien was aware of this, but he could whenever his best friend was lying about being happy. The boy had done it so often when talking about his father that Nino had the expression committed to memory, so he'd know when to tell Adrien to tell the truth.
"Oh yeah," Adrien agreed, "…they seem good together."
Nino wasn't sure if it was his place to say something this time around. All he knew was that Adrien wasn't being honest.