Now that Adrien had finally arrived, the group settled onto the blanket that would have been the perfect size for four people but was woefully small for eight. Marinette thanked whatever god there was that Nino’s mom always cooked more than requested.

Adrien started fussing over Nino’s injuries almost immediately, lowering himself to sit next to his best friend. Before Marinette could claim the spot on Adrien’s other side, Félix set himself down, glaring at her, and pulled Bridgette down on his other side. With a sigh, Marinette resigned herself to sitting next to Bridgette instead. Thankfully, Marinette saw Mme. Sancoeur and the Gorilla migrate to a nearby picnic table to watch on from afar. “Are you going to introduce us to your friends, Marinette?” her cousin asked, smiling sweetly, and Marinette more than appreciated the prompt.

“Ah, yes! This is Nino Lahiffe and Alya Césaire. Nino, Alya, this is my cousin, Bridgette, and Adrien’s brother, Félix.”

Bridgette’s smile brightened and she turned to address them. “So you’re Marinette and Adrien’s classmates, right?”

Nino nodded. “Mari and I have been in the same class since maternelle! We went to a maternelle that catered to kids whose parents were immigrants, and a lot of us decided to all go to the same collège and lycée to stay together.”

“I never knew that,” Alya complained, finally sitting down next to Marinette, close enough that their shoulders brushed.

Marinette shrugged. “It’s not really that big of a deal, to be honest. He’s exaggerating; it was just us two and Kim that decided to stay together.” She reached for the container Nino brought along and pulled the still-hot dishes from it, biting back a moan at the delicious smell that met her nose. “God, Nino, your mom’s lamb smells amazing.”

Nino laughed. “She’ll be glad to hear it. She always says you never come over enough, by the way.” Then he grinned and his words took on a teasing lilt. “She misses having an Alpha to rearrange her furniture for her.”

“Do you help Nino’s mom a lot?” Adrien asked, reaching into the cooler bag he brought and handing her a bottle of water, just as she’d requested.

Marinette shook her head. “Not as much as he makes it out to sound. When I presented, she asked me to move some stuff in her house to make me feel better about the additional strength I got. Whenever I went over to visit after that she would find some new way to arrange the furniture in her living room to give me something to do.” As she spoke, she watched Adrien pass the rest of the group their drinks, mixing up Alya and Nino’s on purpose to get a rise out of them.

“I constantly had bruises on my shins because I kept bumping into the furniture!” Nino whined, popping his can of Pepsi open with a very satisfying hiss.

Alya tipped her head back and laughed. “Oh, poor baby.”

“I was, like, twelve. It hurt.”

Hoping to stifle an argument before it broke out, Marinette grabbed a plate and served herself a skewer of lamb. “Hey, Nino, where’s the hummus?” she asked, passing the dish to Bridgette. Thoroughly distracted, Nino began to dig through his cinch sack searching for his mom’s homemade hummus.

After the group realized how delicious Nino’s mom’s cooking was, they practically inhaled the food, making quick work of the meal portion of the afternoon. Throughout their meal, though, Adrien kept nudging Marinette’s foot with his own, and she smiled at the contact, even if it earned her a few glares from Félix.

Finally, dishes packed away and scraps and empty drink bottles and cans thrown in their respective bins, Nino proposed a game of Escargot.

Alya immediately shot that down, saying, “We don’t even have chalk.”

“How about a regular game of tag?” Marinette suggested.

Nino groaned, making an X with his arms. “You’d have an unfair advantage, Mari.”

“Hide and seek?” Adrien said.

“Only if you or Mari never get to seek,” Alya said. “Otherwise your noses would give each other away every time.”

Adrien quickly shook his head. “Oh, no, not me! My nose still gets confused with scents.” Then, sheepishly, he continued, “It’s a little overwhelming, to be honest. I can’t wait to get myself trained so I can sort through all the smells.”

Marinette knew he was thinking of the previous night, and she had to choke back a giggle, disguising it as clearing her throat. She playfully nudged his foot and said, “I’m sure Félix would be willing to help you while he’s in Paris.”

Félix jumped like he’d been shocked and turned mistrusting eyes on Marinette. “Well,” he said icily, “you’ve been an Alpha longer than I have. I’m sure you have much more experience than me.”

Marinette, eyebrow arched, got the distinct feeling Félix was insulting her. She bit back a retort so colorful it would have made a sailor blush. Adrien wouldn’t want you to fight, she told herself, clenching her fists in her lap. Don’t rise to the bait. You’re a fucking superhero, you’re better than this. So, instead, she said, “I just thought you and Adrien could use the time to catch up! It’s been so long since you’ve seen each other, after all, and since Adrien will be at school most of the day during the week I felt like you could use some alone time.”

Adrien started beaming at her, and Marinette made a mental note to ask later if he was excited about spending time with Félix or that she had remained civil. “That sounds great, Marinette!” he chirped. Turning to Félix, he said, “Doesn’t that sound great?”

Marinette had the pleasure of watching a familiar, pained expression cross Félix’s face. She knew that look well; when faced with Adrien’s puppy dog eyes (a term she would never again be able to connect to Adrien with a straight face now that she knew he ran around Paris in a leather catsuit), no one but M. Agreste could resist. “Of course it does,” he finally said.

No one spoke for just the right amount of time for the silence to become awkward when Alya spoke up again. “So, basically, there are no good old childhood games we can play because of how unfair Mari is physically. Good to know.”

Marinette pouted at her friend’s teasing. “It’s not my fault!”

Before Alya could fire back, Nino’s phone released a shrill tone, startling everyone. He fumbled for it in his pocket and swiped it open. “Shit,” he muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien asked, leaning into his shoulder to read the text.

“The new speakers I ordered just got delivered to the apartment. Mom can’t lift something that heavy and Dad’s still at work, so I need to head home.” Groaning, he hefted himself off the blanket.

Marinette handed him the insulated bag, dish firmly in place, from where she still sat. “Sure you don’t need help?” she teased.

“Hardy har,” Nino deadpanned back. “I think I got it.”

Adrien stood up. “My father wants us back at the house soon, anyway. We can give you a lift back to your place.”

“Thanks, man.” Nino and Adrien shared a quick fistbump.

Adrien looked back to Marinette, and she felt her heart stutter a little at the way he smiled at her. “I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Soon,” she agreed.

Marinette exchanged quick goodbyes with Bridgette before everyone minus herself and Alya loaded into M. Agreste’s car and drove away. When the car finally turned a corner and left their field of vision, Alya bumped her shoulder against Marinette’s. “I don’t know about you,” she said, “but I don’t really feel like going home yet. Wanna do a little window shopping?”

“Yes,” Marinette quickly agreed.

Alya and Marinette made their way to a nearby shopping district known for its low prices. “So,” Alya said after Marinette bought a couple balls of yarn and a new set of needles from a fabric store, “you gonna give me any details about your conversation with Adrien?”

“Which one?” Marinette asked.

Alya shrugged. “Both. Either. Any details at all would be delicious.”

Marinette laughed. “How did you live before you had me to gossip with?”

“Stop dodging the question. Details. Now.”

She sighed. “Fine.” She led Alya to a nearby bench. “Well, to start with, M. Agreste wants me to Bond with Adrien during his next heat.”

“You’re kidding.”

Mari cut Alya a sharp glance. “Do you want me to tell you what happened or do you want me to Google why foxes scream?”

Alya blushed. “The first one.”

“Then stop interrupting me.”

So Alya sat quietly and listened as Mari recounted everything from the initial encounter with M. Agreste to her and Chat’s talk on top of the tower.

The first thing Alya said after was “So his brother’s a dick?”

Marinette groaned and tilted her face up to the sky. “Way to miss the point, Alya.”

“All I’m saying is, your biggest problem sounds like his asshole brother. His dad respects you, he’s loved you for years, and your cousin seems like she’ll wear Félix down. Just win him over with your charm, wit, and your parents’ baked goods and you’ll be solid!”

“I hope so,” Marinette whined. She was about to continue ranting, but a buzz in her pocket made her pause. She pulled her phone out and saw, to her surprise, a text message from Master Fu.

[Master Fu: Good afternoon, Ladybug. If it would not be too great of an inconvenience, could you please invite Chat Noir and Maligne Rouge to meet at my parlor at midnight tonight? I would like to speak with the three of you regarding my choice of successor.]

Marinette quickly showed the text to Alya, who nodded furiously in agreement. She then quickly sent a text to Adrien, who replied promptly and affirmitavely.

[Marinette: Of course, Master Fu. We’ll come right over after our patrol tonight.]

[Master Fu: Thank you very much. I will have tea and some sweets waiting for you when you arrive.]

Marinette sighed and stood, wincing when she heard her joints pop. “Well, we better get home soon so we can rest up for tonight.”

Alya made a mournful noise, eyeballing the shops behind her, but agreed.

Patrol that night was nothing too special, aside from the way Ladybug and Chat kept making moon-eyes at each other when they first met up. After years and years of doing things like this, it was easy to fall into muscle memory and just do their jobs. Maligne being around actually made patrol easier, since they could divide the city into three sections instead of two.

They released their transformations when they got back on the ground. They’d all dressed appropriately; since Marinette was the only legal adult out of the three of them, Alya and Adrien had to be careful. Even if there wasn’t an imposed curfew, police officers usually sent underaged kids back home if they found them out this late at night. Thus, they were both wearing hoodies to cover their faces. Marinette made sure to exude as much of her Alpha pheromones as she could, just to make sure no one tried to mess with them while they moved through the streets to Master Fu’s parlor.

The door was unlocked, so Marinette let them in. As soon as the door closed behind them, Alya and Adrien took their hoods down, out of respect, and they all toed their shoes off and made their way into the apartment overhead.