Chapter Text
Alya couldn’t breathe. Fear and anger racked her soul and she was at a loss. How could she have not known?
Marinette was Ladybug.
But honestly, the fact that her best friend had kept this a secret from her didn’t bother her. What bothered her was the idea that her best friend was putting herself in danger daily and there was nothing Alya could do to stop her. Sure, it's not like Alya doesn’t run after akumas for her blog, and sure she was Rena Rouge, but it's not the same thing! Alya is never in the thick of things, she always keeps a safe distance, but not Ladybug. Ladybug and Chat Noir are constantly put in harm's way defending the city and there is no way Alya would be able to live if something terrible happened to her bestie. She had to do something before it was too late!
That is how she found herself pacing in her bedroom with Nino and Adrien sitting on her bed staring at her. Alya muttered to herself trying to collect her thoughts as the boys watched her pace as if watching a tennis match.
Sunday afternoon was usually a busy day for both boys, with family commitments and trying to get ahead of assignments for the week, so Alya was surprised when both boys were able to drop everything and hurry to her house when she called. It may have had something to do with the phrases she dropped with “mortal danger” and “life altering”. She stopped pacing and turned to face the boys, her balled fists hanging to the side, determination filling her eyes as she decided to tell the boys the secret that had been eating her alive for the past 2 days.
“Marinette is Ladybug.” Now Alya had prepared herself for their reactions as best she could. She prepared for shocked horror, downright refusal to believe, and then the realization that no one else but Marinette could possibly be Ladybug and their eventual acceptance. None of these were the reaction she got.
Nino and Adrien turned to look at each other with bewildered looks upon their faces before bursting out laughing. Alya stood with her arms crossed, staring at the two boys, as they rolled with laughter, tears streaming down their cheeks, faces turning bright red.
“I don’t see what's so funny,” she said angrily.
“Mari,” Nino gasped, still laughing, “as Ladybug.” A fresh wave of laughter settled over the boys. Adrien tried to catch his breath as Alya began to fume.
“Marinette is not Ladybug,” Adrien was finally able to say, with a smile still on his face. Nino was still laughing.
“Yes, she is!”
“Listen,” Adrien said, trying to calm down the anxious girl. “Marinette is amazing. She is talented, brave, and beautiful. She is probably the nicest person I know and always willing to help anyone in need.” Adrien said, trying to convince Alya, but something nagging him in the back of his mind at the same time. “But that doesn’t make her Ladybug.”
“But,” Alya began.
“It makes complete sense that you would think she was Ladybug,” Adrien said with a shrug, almost wishfully. “But I’ve seen Marinette and Ladybug together. They are not the same person.”
“But,” Alya tried again.
“Yeah, Alys. You are barking up the wrong tree again.” Nino said, still laughing. “Remember when you thought Chloe was Ladybug?”
“That was different,” she began again, but the boys were not letting her say her piece.
“Could you imagine?” Nino giggling, his earlier laughter had calmed down. “Marinette, twirling the yoyo and somehow not getting it tangled with her feet? She can’t even walk down stairs without tripping, do you really think she can swing from building to building?”
“I SAW HER TRANSFORM!” Alya shouted, causing Nino and Adrien to freeze and stare at her dumbfoundedly.
“You saw..” Nino said slowly.
“Yes! I saw her transform! Marinette is Ladybug!:” Alya threw her hands in the air hoping the boys would finally understand.
“When?” asked Adrien, meekly, as though the rug had been pulled out from underneath him and he was trying to withhold his grip on reality. Ayla sat down, cross legged, on the rug in front of her friends.
“Friday night, after the akuma attack,” she said with a shrug. “I ran to the bakery to show her the awesome footage of the fight that I had managed to get. Well when I got there, I ran straight to her room and pushed open her trap door without knocking. At first, I thought she wasn’t there, which was really weird because her parents had let me go to her room, but then I saw Ladybug jump through her skylight before dropping her transformation.” Alya looked away from her friends before continuing. “I was frozen in place, holding my breath waiting for her to catch me but she was distracted. There was blood running down her arm and she was talking to some little red thing that I assume was her Kwami.” Alya had assumed it was her Kwami from her own experience with Trixx, a bond had been formed in the short time they had been together and Alya missed her every day.
“Then what did you do?” Nino asked in disbelief.
“I closed the trap door and ran home. I don’t think she noticed me.” Alya stood up and started pacing again. “But that’s just it! She didn’t notice me because she was too busy cleaning the bleeding gash in her arm! We have to stop her!”
“Stop her?” asked Nino. “Why would we stop her even if we could? She’s Ladybug! That is so cool! Oh my god, I wonder if she will introduce me to Chat Noir!” Nino was so excited that he didn’t see the slight smirk appear on Adrien’s face, who had, surprisingly, remained quiet during this conversation.
“We don’t have time for your man crush right now, Nino! This is serious! Marinette is going to get hurt. She already has!” Alya exclaimed. She felt panic rise into her chest again,
“Alya, I don’t get why you are so upset. We’ve been watching Ladybug for years and everything always turns out fine,” said Nino, as he stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Besides, she has Chat Noir to protect her too.”
“How are we going to be able to watch another akuma attack and not think of teenie tiny little Marinette being the one thrown around?” argued Alya. “And as for Chat Noir, did you ever think that maybe we know him too?” Neither one noticed an uncomfortable look pass over Adrien’s face. “What if he gets hurt trying to protect her? They are both too young to be superheroes!”
“Marinette is strong and brave, like Adrien said,” Nino said, gesturing towards his friend. “She has been Ladybug for 3 years. Even if you could stop her, who would protect Paris from Hawk Moth?”
“Honestly, that is someone else’s problem,” said Alya confidently. “I have three ideas on how to stop Marinette, for her own protection and you guys are going to help me.”
Nino looked at his girlfriend and hesitated. He certainly didn’t agree with her assessment of the situation, thinking that Marinette was probably the best person in Paris to be Ladybug and she was obviously chosen for a reason. On the other hand, he knew that arguing with his girlfriend would most certainly lead to him spending the next few weeks alone with only his right hand for company. He looked at Adrien who still looked in shock although a small smirk had cropped up on his face. “Alright, Alys. What are your ideas?”
“Ok first up, how about we out her?” Alya said confidently as looks of horror crossed Adrien and Nino’s faces. “If everyone knows who she is, she can’t be Ladybug anymore.”
“Are you insane?” growled Adrien.
“Yeah, wouldn’t that put her in more danger?” asked Nino. “You know from like, Hawk Moth?”
Alya waved her hand dismissively, “We can protect her, hide her out between our houses.”
“No.” both boys answered together.
“Ok, then how about we just tell her parents?”
“Oh yeah, that will be a fun conversation,” said Nino, sarcastically. “Ummm, hi Mr. Dupan, Mrs. Cheng. Turns out Marinette is a superhero and has been sneaking out and running around Paris night and day and is probably having a secret affair with Chat Noir….”
“Nino!” Adrien shouted. “She is not having an affair with Char Noir!”
“Jealous much?” Nino laughed. “Are you really telling me that you don’t think there is something going on there? Dude, intense situations need intense relief. Wouldn’t you hit that if you were in her situation?” Alya laughed at her boyfriend's words, as Adrien turned a shade of red Ladybug would be jealous of.
“Babe, not everyone feels the way about Chat Noir as you do,” Alya laughed before nudging Adrien with her elbow. “Chat Noir is on Nino’s freebie list.”
Nino through his hands in the air, “All I am saying is that I wouldn’t be surprised if there were kittens in Marinette’s future.”
“Anyway, changing the subject, if we decide that we don’t want to talk to her parents and we don’t want to tell the world she is Ladybug, then there really is only one option left.”
“What’s that?” asked Adrien, looking down at his hands as the blush finally faded from his face.
“We hold an intervention,” said Alya. “Tell her we know, we love her, and we want her to stop.”
“Do we really want her to stop though?”
“I thought we have been over this!” Alya was frustrated with the lack of response from her friends. “We have to protect her!”
“I know you want to protect her, but it really isn’t our place.” said Nino. Anger flashed in Alya’s eyes and Nino swallowed. He needed to stand up for his friend no matter what it cost him. “I say we talk to her, tell her we are there for her and are concerned, but will support her anyway we can.” Adrien nodded in agreement. Alya sighed and rested her head in her hands.
“Fine,” she agreed. “But if I see one hint that she is scared and wants out, I will find a way to make her quit.” The boys nodded in agreement before getting up to leave the apartment. Alya noticed a funny look on Adrien’s face as he headed to the door. She placed a hand on Nino’s arm to hold him back. She nodded towards Adrien and gave her boyfriend a questioning look. Nino smiled.
“Ah, Babe, that’s just the look of a man who just realized that the two halves of his heart belong to only one girl.”