Alya was just about ready to scream watching Adrien and Marinette's hopeless, oblivious, desperate dance around each other. Like, even more than usual. Alya loved them, Marinette and Adrien both, she did. But if there was one thing about them that was just infuriating it was how they both had the audacity to look at each other like that and not notice.

I mean at least before it didn't look like Adrien was hopelessly in love with her, Alya thought, now it's just ridiculous. Ugh, but I am not going to be the one to tell Mari that he's Chat Noir until he's ready to. God knows why he's waiting in the first place, but he deserves the chance to do it when he's ready. I only told her back then because it wasn't confirmed and he was acting all for telling her anyway. But if that's any indication, I could probably tell her anyway and she just wouldn't believe me. The length these two go to to keep each other at arm's length, it's disgusting.

Alya did not take notes in class that day. Partly because she didn't feel like it, partly because Marinette was actually paying attention, so she could just copy her notes like Marinette had done hers so many times, and partly because watching Adrien instead was just so entertaining. Being at a diagonal from him gave her the lucky break of being able to see at least part of his face, and she spent a good amount of the class period just trying to hold in her laughter as he made faces at his paper (on which Alya had noticed he had taken about as many notes as she had).

For a while, he was just frowning, knitting his eyebrows together and staring intently at the desk, but he'd intersperse little displays of other emotion as he thought. Like how his cheeks would get just a little bit pink before he'd close his eyes and shake his head quickly, and how he'd raise the eyebrow Alya could actually see just slightly and tilt his head like a half nod.

Alya really wanted to know exactly what was going through his head but, as it turned out, she got a pretty good hint about halfway through class when he leaned back and sighed, clearly still not paying much attention to the teacher. He made the same face he had been for a while, squinting just barely at the desk with his brow furrowed and lips tight together, but then, almost in a blink, he relaxed, letting a soft smile grace his lips as he seemed to consider something else. He tilted his head and turned it slightly, but didn't seem to notice as he continued in his own thoughts. The smile fell as quickly as it came and then, a few moments later, he turned to look at her.

That in itself was nothing suspicious. Alya gave him a smile, knowing full well that it wasn't a comforting one as he paused and bit his lip. It was when he looked at Marinette, however, that Alya wanted to melt, punch him in the face, and slam her head into her desk all at once.

Because the moment his eyes landed on her he just dissolved into the sweetest, most hopeless smile Alya had ever seen. His eyes lit up like the sun over a wide, beautiful field of wildflowers, He looked at her like she was the only thing in the world and it actually made Alya want to punch something because Marinette was too busy taking notes to look up and see her crush being so obvious about his adoration for her. He was almost as obviously and helplessly in love as Marinette was and Alya would have liked nothing more in that moment than to call him out on it but she knew that wouldn't help either of them. That's strange, though, I thought they agreed to just be friends. Is that just because Chat's a hero and isn't telling his identity yet or was it just an executive decision on Mari's part because she felt guilty or something since she likes him. I swear to god if the "just friends" thing wasn't mutual on his side I'm going to murder them both this is ridiculous.

When Adrien suddenly looked shocked, his expression morphing to worry and nerves, Alya knew something was up. Either this is new, and he just realized Marinette is literally the light of his life, or he just realized something else. If it's something else, that might not be a good reaction. Judging by the red on Adrien's cheeks, Alya wanted to say it was the first option, but she wasn't quite convinced. Adrien had been thoughtful all day, and there was no chance Alya would miss his looks at Marinette when they had walked into the classroom. There's no doubt that this is a recent development, or he just realized recently at least, but I don't think that's what that was. I think he's been thinking about it all day. So what was it?

Alya frowned, tapping her pen on her cheek. Maybe Nino can get something out of him, I'll ask later. First comes first though, and first is my bestie. I want her to tell me what happened in that classroom one more time.

Adrien had continued to get only more and more anxious as class went on. Whatever he thought of must really bother him. Still, watching his increasing agitation and inability to sit still was more productive than trying to follow the second half of a lecture, so Alya just kept spying. I can't say I'm surprised that he fell for Marinette, I do wish it wasn't so quickly after discovering the soulmate thing. Mari isn't one for the metaphysical woohoo, even if she does trust that Chat is her soulmate in some sense. She'll think he's just being dumb and pretending because that's how he's "supposed" to feel.

Which… I guess I should just double check to make sure that's not what's happening, but that look was screaming "in love" so much that I'm not particularly worried. He is a model though. Can't trust anyone when it comes to my best friend, sorry Adrien. Well, it's not like I wouldn't have grilled him anyway, let's be real.

Alya plotted ways she could get the answers she needed, even actually using that paper on her desk though not for its intended purpose, for the rest of the class period, still keeping a close eye on Adrien.

By the time the teacher released them, Adrien was practically already out the door. Where he was off to, Alya had no idea, but she intended to let him get away with that. For now. No doubt he had some idea to handle whatever was bothering him, that occurred to him so suddenly, but Alya had no way of figuring out what that was aside from lying in wait and placing Nino to spy for her. Not that Nino would tell her if it was particularly personal, but that was okay. She wanted information, but she didn't want to upset him, especially Adrien. She was still a professional and professionals had to have some respect for personal boundaries. This is for Mari though, so heck if I'm not going to pull out all the stops.

Nino huffed when Adrien booked it out of the room, but sighed and collected his own things. He said his goodbyes to Marinette and Alya and left. Knowing that he was busy after school, Alya decided she'd just text him later to see if he knew anything rather than stopping him. Instead, she turned to her best friend and acted as if absolutely nothing was up whatsoever. Can't get her hopes up until I know what that was. He looked almost terrified. If liking Marinette scares him that much… or that could be because of the "let's stay friends" thing. Hmm, yeah, no I need more information before telling Marinette. Remember the Chloe-Ladybug incident, Alya. Though there is something I can still work on. "Marinette, tell me again what happened last Friday."

Marinette groaned. "Again, Alya? I've told you like a thousand times!"

"Humor me."

With a flat look as they rose and left the classroom, Marinette lowered her voice, walking close to Alya so she could hear without being eavesdropped on. "I met with Chat, it was super awkward. I told him I wanted to be just friends and he told me he wanted to become my friend as Chat before telling me who he is. That's all there is to it."

Alya's gut told her that wasn't all there was to it, but Alya had learned to listen to her gut only with a grain of salt and lots of supporting evidence. "Did he tell you why he wanted to be your friend as Chat? That's a little strange."

Marinette blinked. "He said… uh, he said that he acts a little differently when he's not Chat." Well that's not exactly wrong. "And he said that I act differently around him, too. He said he wanted us to be friends before 'identity shenanigans mess with things', whatever that means."

Of course. Alya made a mental note to review Adrien's behavior one more time even as she formulated her hypothesis. Mari's a mess with Adrien. He didn't seem like he knew she had a crush on him, so he must have assumed something to explain her. Whatever it is, he felt it was big enough that it might make things difficult if she knew who he is. So he's just scared. Aww, cutie. Still, that doesn't explain his spazzing in the classroom, or how he fell so deep. That doesn't sound exactly like a romantic conversation. Unless… "Have you seen him since then?" she asked Marinette a little bit more formally than she meant to. Interview mode, I guess.

Marinette's steps faltered. "I- n- yes, yeah, okay, yeah I did. He came by my balcony a couple times."

"A couple times?!" Alya exclaimed in disbelief. "And you haven't told me?!"

"There's not much to tell!" Marinette grabbed Alya's hand, and Alya knew it was a gesture to calm her down. How much did I miss? How long were these conversations? How likely is it that Chat Noir fell head over heels in love with Marinette while they were "totally platonically" hanging out in the moonlight on a balcony in Paris? The answer is way too high. The cat fell in love with Ladybug during the first akuma they fought. He falls quickly. Two visits is plenty of time, especially for a hopeless romantic like Adrien.

Alya's phone buzzed, but she ignored it. This was too important. "What do you mean there's not much to tell? That's two entire conversations!"

"More like one!" Marinette squeezed Alya's hand. "The first time was really awkward and we didn't say much except a few bad jokes and… I mean I guess it ended okay, we just kind of got comfortable around each other."

"What did you say? When did this happen?"

"Saturday night." Marinette looked at Alya guiltily. With good reason, five whole days and I don't even hear about this?! "Really it wasn't a big deal. We just kind of sat there."

"What about the second time then?"

"That was just last night. We talked, had hot chocolate. It was…" Marinette made a face, clearly not sure she wanted to say the word she was going to say, "nice."

"Nice," Alya repeated. "How nice, exactly?" Her phone buzzed again, but she ignored it.

"It was friendly! We talked, like friends."

"The more you repeat the word 'friend', the more it sounds like more was going on."

"Well there wasn't! I'm emphasizing it because I know you're going straight there and we agreed, Alya. Chat and I agreed we're just friends!"

Alya narrowed her eyes, suspicious. "Did he agree? Or did you tell him?"

"Oh my god, Alya!"

"What? I was just- ugh, hold on." Frustrated, Alya looked at her phone, which had begun vibrating to say she had a call. Who calls now, god. I'll get back to you when my best friend isn't- oh. Adrien? With a cautious look at Marinette, Alya answered the call. "Adrien, what's up?"

His voice came out sounding just a little too desperate. "Alya, finally, listen I really need to talk to you."

"And you couldn't wait until I replied to your texts?"

"No! Uh, I mean, it's important!"

"I could tell. Talk to me, handsome. What's bothering you?" Marinette was giving her a wide-eyed look, silently asking what was going on. Alya just shook her head and smiled, holding a finger to her lips.

"Okay so I was thinking about Marinette and I still don't really know what to do to get her to talk to me and I couldn't help but think of the possibility that- well actually, you know what? We should probably talk in person. When can you meet me?"

Alya let her face show her surprise at Adrien's slurry of words. He hardly even stopped for breath as he talked. Sheesh, it must have gotten under his skin big time. She decided quickly that teasing him about his opening statement, "I was thinking about Marinette", was probably not the best move for him or her waiting best friend right next to her, so instead she just responded as calmly as possible. "Look Adrien, you can't just tell me that and not tell me what's going on."

"I will, just come talk to me I really need your help with this! Can you come over? Dad's not home and Natalie won't mind as long as we keep out of her way."

"Yeah, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Let me tell my mom first."

"Thank you so much Alya, you're a life saver."

"Can you at least give me a hint to this big scoop before we meet up?"

There was a long silence as Alya waited. "I… I think I'm Agamemnon."

Alya, for once, had absolutely nothing to say to that. "…I'm sorry?"

"I said I think I'm Agamemnon!" Adrien's voice was clearly distressed, but the words meant next to nothing to Alya.

Like… from the Iliad? "That might actually be one of the most unhelpful things you have ever said to me." Alya waited another moment, and another, then pulled her phone from her ear and checked the screen with disgust. "He hung up!"

Marinette was quick to jump on the questions when it wasn't her who had to answer, apparently. "What did he say?"

But I'll forgive you because you're in love. "He said he thinks he's Agamemnon."

Alya watched Marinette pause her next breath, furrow her brow, and allow her mouth to hang open slightly. "What?"

"Heck if I know. Look, girl, I have to go talk to him, he sounded kind of freaked, but you're definitely telling me all about last night's hook-up with your soulmate."

Marinette went satisfyingly red. "It was not a 'hook-up'! I told you, we just talked!"

Alya laughed. "And you'll tell me more. Soon though. Tonight?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Fine. No later, girl. See you."

"Bye." Marinette said it almost like a question as Alya hurried away from her.

Well, one scoop lost, another gained. I can talk to Marinette any time, but this is perfect to get the details out of Adrien. Plus, he did sound upset, so I have to see if I can calm him down before worrying about all these shenanigans.

Alya texted Adrien when she found herself standing at his front gate. It took all of about two seconds after getting the "delivered" notification for Adrien to come rocketing out the front door. Good god, the dude is seriously distressed about this. "Alya, thank you so much for coming. You're the actual best."

"I know." Alya nonchalantly followed Adrien back inside, keeping herself calm and professional. Her own panicking over Adrien's behavior would only stress him out more, and making sure he was okay was the number one priority. She didn't say any more until the two had slipped into Adrien's room, not far from the entrance actually, but since it was such a big room it felt like a fair distance. Even crossing the large entrance hall, Alya saw no other person in the house but them. When the door was safely shut behind them, Alya immediately turned on Adrien. "So what's wrong? You okay, bud?"

He brushed past her to go and collapse on his couch, and Alya followed suit, reclining gracefully and keeping focused. Adrien ran his hands through his hair. "Not really? I was just thinking about Marinette and I couldn't figure out why she still can't talk to me!"

"And this is news to you?"

"I just have to be sure, Alya. Did I do something? How can I make it up to her? I want to be her friend but she just hates my guts and I don't even really know why!"

Everything in Alya's mind came to a screeching halt immediately. "Wait, wait, hold on, what was that? You think she hates you?"

He just looked hopelessly up at her. "Of course, what else would it be?"

Oh my actual god, this is the most ridiculous situation I never even thought of. Honestly, I think I'm even more concerned if this kid jumps straight to "she hates me" without even having a reason why she would. That is not a good mentality. Alya shook her head. But I can't tell him about her crush, and I don't have any other way of explaining her to him, so I have to just work with him given this assumption. "Okay," she said, "why would you think that?"

"Because she gets all red around me! She gets red and she can't talk straight and what else is that if not rage?"

Briefly resisting the urge to throw herself out the window just to avoid the sheer wrong-ness, Alya remained perfectly still. "And what are you planning on doing about it?"

He threw his arms up in defeat. "I don't know! That's why I needed to talk to you! What can I do?"

Alya looked at him carefully. This was Chat Noir, but she really doubted that would help him much just yet. Alya still needed to confirm the actual extent of the relationship between Marinette and Adrien's superhero side, and then she was still at a fifty-fifty chance of her either becoming hopeless around Chat, or hopelessly awkward (since that's apparently the last Alya was able to hear about it) around Adrien. Neither were good options. "Tell me about the Agamemnon thing. What was that about?"

Adrien groaned loudly, throwing his head back and covering his face with his hands. "I just… Uh… Alya please tell me I didn't like, accidentally steal away Marinette's crush. I have no idea how I'd even fix that and I've been trying to figure it out all day but I can't. It was… Agamemnon stole Briseis from Achilles, I'm scared that I stole whoever Marinette has a crush on."

He knows Marinette has a crush on someone and it's still not connecting, good god what is even happening here? "No, Adrien, you did not steal away Marinette's crush," she deadpanned.

"Oh thank god." He pressed a hand to his chest and muttered, obviously not for her to hear, with a little grin that was just too good for the world and made Alya want to punch him in his perfect little face. "I can still be Patroclus."

Oh my fucking god. Marinette's not the one here that's full of rage. That's me. I'm the rage. "I can be Patroclus", frick, heck, what the name of all that is good and bright, honestly Adrien you're so in love it's angering. It took all of Alya's self-control to retain her composure, but this was for Adrien and Marinette, she'd be the best gosh darn friend in existence no matter how much she wanted to wring both their necks. "Yes Adrien, you can still be Patroclus."

He immediately jumped and flushed a deep red when Alya said that. "Oh my god, you heard that?"

"I did," she said with a grin, "what are you going to do, lover boy?"

"Nothing! I mean, there's nothing I can do, but I don't want her to stay mad at me! Why is she mad at me?"

Alya almost wanted to laugh. These dorks are actually going to kill me, I swear. "Look Patroclus, try and think really hard about all the times you've talked to her. Was there ever a time when she didn't seem to dislike you?"

Adrien bit his lip, looking away and squinting. "Yeah, actually. When we were training for the Mecha Strike tournament and when I translated for her uncle."

"Any similarities between those two times that could give you a hint?"

"Well…" Adrien shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Both times it was just us two. No other kids were around except Chloe for a little bit when I was translating." That's interesting. I usually try not to leave them alone for Marinette's sake, but she does tend to do well under pressure. Maybe she really can handle it better if she's stuck with him. "But I don't want her to just talk to me because there's no other choice."

"I wouldn't worry about that."

"I have to! I don't want to make her uncomfortable." He hugged himself for a moment before jolting straight again. "Wait, rewind. Did you say I can be Patroclus?"

"I did."

"You think I have a chance with Marinette?"

"I think you have a very good chance with Marinette."

"But she hates me!"

"Adrien, look. I'm Marinette's best friend. Trust me, you definitely have a chance."

Adrien made a weird, pained face. "But what if she just wants to be friends?"

"Then you either respect that or I'll be Hector."

She was sure he got a least a shade paler when he looked, wide-eyed, at her. "Ah, of course. I didn't mean… Right. Nevermind."

I do wish he'd just tell her who he is already, but this way… maybe it is for the best. If he can somehow get her to stop being so weird around him then their relationship would definitely be the better for it. "Look, I'll put in a good word for you, but you have to do the work yourself. You have to keep talking to her. See if you can get her alone sometimes, have lunch with her a few times, but keep it chill, don't go overboard or you'll freak her out. Work up to it."

"Okay. Okay, I can do that." Adrien nodded, seeming only slightly more sure of his course of action. "Will she really go for that though? Why would she agree to go anywhere with me?"

"She's nice, and believe it or not she really wants to be your friend too."

"She does?!" His eyes positively shone as he turned fully towards Alya. "Really? She wants to be my friend too?"

Well, more than that, but yeah. "Of course!"

Adrien did the awkward thing that he did sometimes, going in for a hug but seeming to reconsider at the last moment and hesitating with his arms held out. Alya rolled her eyes and granted him his hug. "Ahh, thank you so much, Alya!"

She chuckled at him. "Alright, alright." Pulling away, she examined his face. Good, he seems better. "Feeling better now, Patroclus?"

"Oh, much. Really, thank you. I have no idea what I would have done without you."

"Good, then now you can tell me what's going on. When did this start? Since when did you have a crush on Marinette?"

"I don't ha- I don't know?" Adrien grimaced. "Honestly it's a recent thing."

"Recent? How recent?"

"Like…" He sifted again, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Sort of very recent? But also I guess not? I don't even really know how to explain it but…" With a huff, he leaned back into the couch, letting his head fall back so he was facing the ceiling. "I realized it really recently but I don't know I guess I've always been kind of willing to."

"Oh really?" Alya smirked at him. When would he have fallen for her? Marinette said the balcony thing was awkward but… of course. "So… is this like, last night kind of recent?"

Adrien jolted upright again in his seat. "Uh… pfft, no. What would even cause that last night? It's not like we talked." Alya just coughed pointedly and raised her eyebrows at him. "You figured it out." He sighed and let his shoulders slump. "How did you figure it out?"

"You gave Marinette some big clues, Chat Noir. Just because she didn't notice doesn't mean I didn't. Being a model, overbearing dad, but then you basically confirmed it by letting me know you went to the same school as us." Adrien just smiled sheepishly. "So what happened last night?! You absolutely have to tell me. I want all the details."

"Okay, okay." Adrien wring his hands together, sighed, and leaned back again, getting more casual this time and turning to face her, bringing one leg up, bent, onto the sofa and throwing one arm over the back. "So she invited me over because she was making hot chocolate."

"She invited you over?"

He blinked. "Yeah. Why?"

Okay Marinette, we really need to work on your communication skills. These are the things I need to know. Why did she invite Chat over when she was the one being hesitant? I mean she can hesitate as much as she wants, it's important, but what the heck, Mari? "No reason, continue, please."

Adrien gave her an uncertain smile but didn't ask more. "Well I got there and we sat on her balcony and we talked. It was mostly just casual stuff; you know? Getting to know each other."

"Like what? What exactly happened?"

"Well it started kind of awkward, so Marinette got us playing a weird sort of game. It's… not really a game, but just I'd ask a question, she'd answer, then she'd ask and I'd answer, and we just went back and forth. It wasn't exceptionally interesting."

"It was interesting enough to get you madly in love with her."

Adrien turned red again. "I wouldn't say that."

"Dude, you want to be her Patroclus."

"Th-" Adrien froze. "Yeah, okay, that's fair. But it's just a dumb metaphor!"

"Mhmm, so why don't you just tell me what these thoroughly uninteresting questions were, huh?"

"Just normal stuff! We asked each other our favorite colors, hobbies, that kind of thing."

Alya narrowed her eyes, she knew there was something else. "And?"

"Well… then I asked her about Ladybug and me." Oh my god. Well, I know Marinette's position on them. She's a total Chat Noir fangirl. Subtle though. She tries to act indifferent, but she almost always leaps to his defense. "And then things got… a little more personal."

"What? Ooh, that sounds interesting. Tell me."

"There's not much I can say! Really!" He held his hands up like a shield between them as she leaned close. "I can't exactly quote the conversation word for word."

"Give me the major talking points."

He thought it over for a minute before answering. "Well we talked about me a bit, and she really surprised me. I was honestly kind of scared because she seems to really like me as Chat Noir? But she hates me as Adrien so I don't know how telling her who I am is going to affect things."

"I can see how that might be scary." Especially if you think she hates you. Even with the crush though, I still think it'd be better to get through the flailing first. I know that's just Marinette but if she can act like a human when she's alone with him in her room while they play video games together, she can hold a conversation. And I'm not letting her mess up whatever she has with Chat Noir. That'd ruin the entire relationship for Adrien since being Chat is the only time he can really talk to her.

He nodded. "It's terrifying. After that I found out she had a crush on someone, but she didn't seem to want to tell me who so I tried not to push it. And then we talked a little about how I act different when I'm not being Chat and… uh… and then she…" His cheeks regained their pink tint. Oh, something juicy happened then. "Well we were joking around a little and she got up to put the mugs from the hot chocolate away and when she picked up my mug she, uh, never mind."

"Adrien Agreste, you cannot leave me hanging like this!" Alya actually grabbed the boy by his shoulders and leaned in. "You tell me right now what she did. Did she say anything?"

"I- I really can't! It's a kitty's promise. Kitty to kitty, we promised. I probably shouldn't have even said anything I did."

Kitty to kitty, what the heck, what? "What are you saying? What do you mean, man? What do you mean by 'kitty to kitty'?"

His face actually turned as red as Marinette did on a fairly regular basis and Alya knew she caught him. "It was just a joke! She told me her birthday was in August and I realized she's a Leo so I decided to tease her a little bit!"

"That does not justify the blush on your face, Patroclus."

He bit his lip while Alya stared him down. After a few long moments he sighed again. "Okay, fine, but Marinette can't know I told you this."

"What would I say, I talked to Chat Noir? Don't forget, you aren't supposed to know any of this either."

"Right. So… I told her about how I was quieter as Adrien, and she made a comment about me being quiet making her think of me hunting a mouse or something, so I said that I wasn't going to pounce on a mouse but that- uh…" He looked away quickly as he spat out the last of his sentence. "I said that I wasn't going to pounce on a mouse, but I might pounce on another kitty."

Alya calmly raised an eyebrow. "Meaning her?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "Meaning her. Anyway, she picked up my mug but when she was right next to me she said that she'd have to defend herself and that, and I quote, 'kitty to kitty, you're not the only one with claws'."

"Good god, she said that?!"

"I know, I was surprised too!" He ducked his head and muttered one other thing in addition, and only after Alya had to ask for him to repeat himself twice over did he finally raise his head again, still tucked low with his shoulders raised, and say, "And she flicked my bell."

That was when Alya lost it. Adrien actually had to rush over and clamp his hand over her mouth to muffle the scream that came out. "She flicked your bell?! Marinette did this?!"

"I know!"

He covered his face in his hands while Alya steadied herself. She watched him for a moment as she did so. "Did you like it?"

He glared at her, making her chuckle. "This entire conversation is completely confidential."

"Naturally."

"I liked it way more than I should have. I'm awful, oh my god." Alya cackled as he ducked back into his hands, as if anything outside of them would just disappear. After Alya calmed down again though, he carefully peeked through his fingers. "But that wasn't when I realized I liked her. It was just after that, actually. She gave me this smirk and, ugh, Alya it was the best thing. And have you ever been on her balcony at night? It's beautiful and way too romantic for her to seriously not expect me to fall in love I mean, come on."

"My understanding is that you recommended the balcony, Patroclus," Alya said.

"Yes, but she could have picked another place!"

Alya scooted over and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, rubbing his arm gently. "It's okay, man, basically everyone has fallen for her at some point. It was only a matter of time, really."

"It's totally unfair is what it is. I didn't- okay I did ask but I didn't intend to have a romantic balcony scene like freaking Romeo or something. And, Alya, this is right after she told me she just wanted to be friends, I'm so screwed."

"You'll be fine," Alya said confidently. The only reason she said that is because she has a crush on the you that you think she hates anyway. Dummy. "Tell me more about how awesome my best friend is."

"That's a terrible idea. She doesn't like me, I should be trying to get over her."

"Dude, you're literally her soulmate!"

"Platonic soulmate! She made that clear!"

"Actually, from what Nino told me, the only thing she made clear is that she didn't feel comfortable rushing into a relationship. Didn't she say that you could think about that after you were already friends?"

Adrien paused at that, thinking. "She… did, didn't she?"

"Exactly. You just need to be patient. Keep working at her as Adrien. Keep getting comfortable with her as Chat. I'll be there for her outburst when she realizes she likes you."

"You really think that'll happen?" he asked with a doubtful glance.

"I'm sure of it." In fact, I'll probably get an outburst by tomorrow, knowing her. Though it'll be over Adrien. When will she fall for Chat, I wonder? Or will he reveal himself first? This is honestly way too fun for me. But they make it so easy.