"You were sure able to wrap that up quickly, My Lady, no loose ends with that akuma, huh?"
"Really, Adrien?" Ladybug asked, crossing her arms at the blond as he flashed her a smirk.
He leaned up against the wall, and despite being in his civilian form he only radiated the flirtatious attitude of Chat Noir. His smirk grew as she rolled her eyes, her earrings beeping to remind her that she only had a few minutes before she turned back. There would have once been a time where she would have bolted, but the boy in front of her was well aware of who she was.
"Well, it was howdy my idea for an akuma to show up right then," Adrien replied, while Ladybug let out a groan. The cowboy akuma they had just faced had been a difficult one– being able to use telekinesis to guide multiple lassos in their fight– but it had opened up the opportunity for so many perfect puns.
"Okay, that one was horrible," She said, taking a step towards him. "Never make a pun like that again, please."
They were close enough as it was, hidden away in the tiny alleyway they had ducked into to detransform, so a single step forward put Ladybug and Adrien only a nose apart. There was a scowl on her face, but the humorous gleam in her eyes said otherwise. He wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her close so the remaining gap between them vanished.
Her arms slunk around his shoulders as he brought her into a kiss, the two of them pressing up against each other as their lips touched. A warm feeling filled Adrien's chest, no matter how many times he kissed Marinette he always felt like he was flying when he was with her. The world around them seemed to vanish as they held each other, just the two of them whisked away in the moment.
Neither of them noticed Alya standing at the entrance of the alleyway, watching as her best friend's boyfriend kissed Ladybug.
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Adrien knew he was in trouble the moment he saw Alya's glare.
Alya was a good friend– strong, confidence, and always supportive– but anyone that knew her knew that she wasn't a person to cross. She didn't even need to say a word, her icy gaze locking on him the moment he walked up the steps to the school. A friendly wave did nothing to lessen the stiffness in her posture, a scowl forming as he raised his hand.
"Adrien!" Marinette cried the moment she saw him, a smile spreading over his girlfriend's face. Alya put a hand on her shoulder before she could bolt towards him, glaring daggers at him from behind Marinette. He smiled at them, confused at the rage on his friend's face.
"Hey girls," He replied, keeping his expression even as he reached them. He leaned forward, placing a kiss on Marinette's cheek, which caused Alya to stiffen up even more. "Where's Nino? It's not like him to be late."
"He's already inside, he needed to talk to the teacher," Marinette said, and before she could return his kiss Marinette was tugged back to Alya's side.
"Is everything okay, Alya?" Adrien asked, frowning at her slightly. She flashed him a disgusted look, as if he had just crawled out of the sewers, and she simply pulled Marinette closer to her.
"Let's get to class," She said coolly, turning sharply on a heel and dragging Marinette inside the school. He stood there for a moment, confused, before jogging to catch up to them. For the first time Marinette seemed to notice Alya's strange behavior, glancing between her and Adrien.
"Um... is everything okay?" Adrien asked once more.
"No," Alya snarled. "I'll deal with you later, Agreste– just stay away from Marinette."
"What happened–?" Marinette began, stumbling to try to keep pace with her friend, but before she could say anything else the bell rang.
Confusion was racing through Adrien as they headed to class, one step behind the two girls the whole way. Nino was already at their shared desk as they entered, who was given a friendly hello from Alya as they sat down at their desk. Adrien carefully took his seat, looking back at them, and was instantly grateful that Alya wasn't sitting directly behind him.
'What's up with her?' Adrien mouthed at Marinette, who shrugged, looking at her friend in concern. Alya had been staring down at her phone, but jerked her head up at the movement. She gave Marinette a gentle smile, putting an arm around her, before once again glowering at Adrien with burning eyes. It wasn't hard to get the message, slowly turning around to face the front of the room as the teacher started the lesson.
Not that he was paying attention to the lesson. Instead Adrien was reviewing every moment he had spent with Alya since yesterday, trying to figure out why she could be so mad at him. She had seemed completely fine both at school and when they had hung out with the group after school. Then the akuma attacked had happened, and he hadn't seen her the rest of the day. Clearly this was about Marinette. Had he said something to Mari that Alya had interrupted as rude? He couldn't think of anything.
"Nino, any idea on why your girlfriend wants to kill me?" Adrien whispered to Nino as the teacher wrote something up on the board.
"I was going to ask you what you did, dude," He muttered back. "She got all fed up this morning when I mentioned she should wait out front for you with Mari."
Great. He was on Alya's bad side and he had no idea why.
--------------
Two steps. That's as far as he got when the lunch bell rang– Alya grabbing his shoulder before he could go any farther. He tensed up, feeling her nails digging into him, her rage clearly having not gone down since school had started. Adrien gulped, before turning around to look death in her hazel eyes.
"We need to talk," She said, bitterness filling her tone as she glowered at him. Adrien had Gabriel Agreste as a father, and he had thought he was more than familiar with expression that came from the phrase 'if looks could kill'– but as he looked Alya in the eyes he was convinced that he had used up all of his nine lives.
"Alya, I don't know what's wrong, but–"
"Listen here Agreste, this is the only chance you're getting," Alya tugged him in close, hissing in his ear. "Either you come with me and explain exactly why you'd do this to Marinette, or I'll tell her what you did myself."
"I don't know what you're talking about–" He began, mind reeling, but before he could say another word she dragged him out of the room. A few people glanced at them, but with everyone heading to lunch they were mostly unnoticed.
She shoved him into an empty classroom, not even fazed as he stumbled, needing to catch himself on a desk before he fell to the ground. He rose with a grunt, shooting her a frustrated glare. "What was that for–!"
"Don't even bother," She snapped. "I'm giving you one chance to admit what you did last night."
"Our double date? We all went to dinner, and then there was the akuma attack–"
"And after the akuma attack?" She spat, and he stared up at her blankly. He and Marinette had ran off during the attack so they could transform, and after that they had headed home, they hadn't seen Alya after that, nothing had happened!
"We went home–"
"Listen Agreste, I take my job as the Ladyblogger seriously," Alya began, crossing her arms. "I follow Ladybug during the attacks so I can report on it, and I follow her after the akuma's defeated in hopes I can talk to her. But when I followed her last night I found she was talking to someone else– and they were doing more than just talking."
