Chapter Text
It was no surprise that Alya was impatient.
Her hard-working nature and determination were a prime in all of her projects, which explains the rapid growth of her blog. One of her greatest achievements in her opinion. The Ladyblog was only getting larger with each passing day and as much trouble that hobby had brought her, she found it to be a constant in her life. A way of helping, bit by bit, the parisian population by bringing awareness of their "unique" problem and entertaining her fans with funny yet interesting stories and speculations. The blog was, of course, dedicated to her idols, Ladybug and Chat Noir. Two heroes that never hesitated to jump into action, restoring the peace after a particularly destructive akuma; and you can bet Alya would always be there, on the sidelines, ready to capture the immaculate duo's dynamic for her Ladyblog.
She couldn't count the amount of long nights spent on editing said videos, the awkward run-ins with the akumatized villains whenever she got too close and the amount of scolding’s from the superheroes, her boyfriend and her family because of the danger that came with her job.
Still, she wouldn't trade it for the world.
Knowing how much work and time her blog brings, you'd expect her to be a little more patient. But that wasn't the case. Alya never considered herself a composed and uncomplaining person, as a matter of fact she liked complaining about mundane things all the time. Sure, she was insistent and resourceful with her works but simple things like waiting for the coffee machine to fill her cup, watching a slow loading screen or standing on the school steps, waiting around for her friends to avoid looking like a loner around all the animated groups, were things that made her lose all patience.
Alya was almost always the first to arrive out of the four. Because of her little sisters, her mom would wake her up in the early hours of the morning with the ruckus of preparing the troublemakers for kindergarten. And so, Alya would be forced out of bed and, with nothing else left to do, she would leave for school as well, lingering on the way there as much as she could.
Once in front of the busy school yard, she'd engage in a few conversations with her other classmates out of politeness but not without glancing over her shoulder for good-measure, in case one of them arrived. Which rarely happened.
Adrien's schedule varied from day to day so no one had an exact idea when the model would arrive to school. Sometimes the boy lost his first period altogether because of a late photoshoot or an unexpected event while other times he arrived ten minutes before class, enough time to enter the classroom and prepare his schoolwork while maintaining an easy-going discussion.
Nino, her boyfriend, was an early riser but the distance from his house and the school was a long one and his program depended on the bus, so there was no telling when he would get here.
And Marinette . . . Marinette would arrive precisely at a time where she could be deemed fashionably late. How'd she manage to miss the first five minutes of class when her house was in a walking distance from the school was beyond Alya. Her best friend was known for her ridiculous excuses before tossing her bag on the seat next to Alya and flopping down breathlessly.
Alya sighed. Another day left alone before the bell rung. As she was about to take a seat on one cemented part of the building's structure, she almost dropped her phone when she saw the familiar figure approach her. Marinette was waving at her with a smile from the sidewalk, fully awake and not breathing heavily from running.
"Hey, Alya!" she greeted as if this was their usual routine and not some episodic event Alya knew would most likely never happen again.
"Girl - You're here?" she said shocked, without greeting her back.
Marinette laughed. "At school?" she asked with a lopsided smile. "The place where you see me every other day of the week. I'd hope so. We've been doing this for months."
"I mean you're early." Alya explained, seriously. "You're never early. Not half an hour early."
Marinette just laughed again. "You're funny, Alya."
Alya didn't find the humor behind it and continued to look at the awake girl beside her.
Marinette picked up on her wary expression and resumed for only a tiny smile. "Is it so weird that I woke up early today? I took your advice. Had an early night and decided not to keep you waiting for once."
"It's not just weird. It's unbelievable!" Alya bit back, not unkindly.
Marinette frowned however, and took a seat next to her. "I know. I haven't been a good friend. We never see each other much these days and it's my fault. I just -" she let the sentence hang between them uneasily. "You wait for us every morning. That's really considerate and I wish someone would do that for you too."
Alya blinked. She knew her best-friend had a heart of gold but she hadn't guessed Marinette had been feeling guilty and certainly not on her account. Her own guilt began to rise as she remembered how much she complained about the tiny things that bothered her. She knew she had a tendency of teasing Marinette for always being so preoccupied with Adrien and her convoluted plans to ask him out that she never took the time to focus on her friends. But that was an exaggeration and it was never meant to bring her down. Alya loved her friend, weird quirks and all.
"You are taking my jokes way too seriously!" Alya told her, lightly, hoping to clear the tense air. "Marinette, you are not a bad friend. I know how busy you get with your designs and your parents, but that doesn't mean you don't make time for your friends. We are all busy these days." she said, picking her up and linking their arms. "Me with my blog, Nino with his music and Adrien with being an oblivious blonde. That boy works overtime to miss all the signs you throw at him." Marinette let out a small laugh and Alya smiled, knowing her friend was going to be okay.
"Let’s talk about something else.” Alya changed the subject, and dragged her friend up the stairs. “Any new designs lately?"
"Not really." Marinette responded quickly. Alya regarded her with a weird look but the girl just shrugged. "How's the Ladyblog doing? I saw your post of Ladybug and Chat Noir's patrol last night. I think you may be right. They looked very cozy." she teased in a foreign tone. Alya stopped and Marinette looked back.
"Since when do you ship them?" Alya asked, incredulously. "You made it pretty clear last time I brought it up that Ladybug and Chat Noir have a 'strict professional' relationship.’" She made her point by quoting it with her fingers. "You were pretty stubborn about it. Might have been the first time you didn't agree with Adrien about something."
Alya remembered the conversation with a small amount of pride. Marinette hadn't backed down in front of Adrien, even if Alya had no clue why she was so sure the two superheroes couldn't be together.
"People can change their opinion." she offered, impassively. She tugged on Alya's arm and they resumed walking. "You made great points last time and it made me rethink the way I saw them. You were right. They're perfect for each other." she said matter-of-factly.
"Who are you and what did you do to Marinette?" Alya joked, half-heartedly.
Marinette stayed silent for some time. "I'm okay – I just had an epiphany recently."
"Epiphany?" Alya echoed back.
"Yeah. Think of it as the new and improved Marinette Dupain-Cheng." she said proudly, earning a giggle from Alya.
Without wanting to, Alya remarked that Marinette was more prone to listening this morning than talking. She kept dismissing her questions and shifted the attention away, bringing up memories of the two of them. Alya smiled, thinking this must have been Marinette's way of making up the loss of time, even if in Alya's opinion, nothing was wrong .
Or at least that’s what she thought she was doing.
Nino had never been one to have trouble waking up early. He enjoyed it. It wasn't anything interesting but the clear, light and fresh air, almost strictly reserved for mornings while the music blasted in his headphones was something he yearned for everyday. It was a peaceful inducing action. Some people did yoga, others meditate but Nino found his happy place whenever he took a walk in the dim lit sky. That's why he was never bothered by the long way to school, he had been doing it since first grade. His parents would walk alongside him and they would play silly games to keep themselves entertained. The bus station could only take him so far but he didn't mind the long walk.
He glanced left and right before crossing the road to the other side. This part of town was his favorite. Until now the sidewalk was crowded by hurried commuters, all way too busy to glance at him while the sky was rudely covered by the buildings surrounding them. The shops on the other side of the road were opening, customers walking in and out like flashes of color. Now, the sidewalk was almost deserted and next to him he could see and feel the breeze passing through the branches of green trees. He passed the opening to the well recognizable park but the hedges continued while the trees threw a protective shade onto him.
Nino hummed along his new cover. He was proud of this one but still felt like something was missing. He closed his eyes, hoping that would help him hear better. With the music flowing in his ears and the light breeze brushing his nose he almost forgot where he was.
Almost.
He sighed. Still nothing.
Oh well, he thought and opened his eyes once more. Once his eyes adjusted with the sudden light, Nino came to a halt at the sight before him.
A girl dressed in pink jeans, her white flower-embroidered shirt covered by a black blazer was gripping her head with a hand as if slightly dizzy.
"Marinette?" he muttered to himself but the girl didn't look like she recognized him as she kept her gaze on the concrete. Nino was not expecting to meet anyone on this path at this hour, especially his always late, in a rush friend. The girl before him dropped to the ground which finally set Nino running towards her.
"Oh man, Marinette are you alright?" he asked, worryingly getting to his knees to pick her up. "Are you hurt? What are you doing here?"
Questions overflowed him but she didn't seem to hear him and her gaze was unfocused.
"Mari — Dudette?" he tried to reach her again.
"Sorry." she replied with a frown.
"C'mon," he told her and putting her arm around his shoulders he helped her to a nearby bench where she crashed almost immediately. "Can you hear me?" he asked her and this made her eyes snap towards him.
"Nino?" she groaned. "I — ugh! Where- where am -? " She clenched her head once more. He released a small breath. At least she did recognize him.
"You fell. Do you remember?" he asked, troubled.
Had she suffered a concussion? She was standing when he had found her but she could have hurt her head and kept walking randomly. She was in a side of the city she normally didn't frequent, which was concerning. Nino wasn't even sure she hadn't been hurt elsewhere. He was buzzing with worry but tried not to show it. If he panicked than he might make everything worse.
"I- I know that,” she replied, gaining some control. "It's just that I feel like my head is splitting in half." she told him, her hand growing white from gripping the bench so tightly.
"What are you doing here?" he asked again, noticing the backpack. "This is the opposite side of town, nowhere near the school. I've never seen you in this part of town before."
"I...I was delivering — no, that's not right. I came here — I was meeting..." she sighed. "I don't even remember. This stupid headache is messing with my brain." Her voice was strained as another pang of pain struck her. Nino watched helplessly as the poor girl rested the back of her head on the cold wood of the bench.
"Does it hurt anywhere else?" he asked.
"Don't think so," she mumbled. "I couldn't tell either way."
"Let me help you with this." he told her and clumsily helped to remove her backpack. She tried muttering a 'thanks' but couldn't quite muster the energy needed as she closed her eyes. They remained in silence for a while.
Nino tapped his feet agitated, wondering what to do now. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. No one prepared him for this. He gazed at the few cars passing by to relax himself. He sighed as a great black car stopped at a traffic light. He couldn't loose his head now. Marinette needed a steady friend, not a stressed-out Nino. He glanced at her from the prolonged silence. Her eyes were still closed. Nino would have thought she had fallen asleep if it weren't for the pained expression she held.
"Dudette, we have to get you some help." he finally agreed on saying. Marinette didn't answer so he continued. "I think we can find a hospital somewhere around here," he looked around as if a hospital would magically appear all of sudden. He took out his phone searching for the nearest hospital and luckily found one not too far away.
"No . . . " she finally spoke but her eyes were still painfully shut. "No, I — I don't need a hospital. I'm fine." she said but he wasn't convinced.
As if sensing his disbelief, she added "Nino, people don't go to the hospital every time they get a headache. It will pass, but I won't if I miss another class. Miss Bustier will have my head if I am late again. We have to get to school before we both get in trouble." She turned to him and tried to reassure him with a smile but it just made her wince in pain again. "Besides, there are people who actually need medical attention."
"You need medical attention!" Nino argued.
"What I need — " another hiss " — is an aspirin."
"But — "
"I'm fine! I am going straight to bed after if it makes you feel better, but now let's go!" She gripped the side of the bench in a horrible attempt to stand up but only achieved to crash back down as her knees buckled under the pressure of her weight.
Watching the scenery by-pass him from the comfort of his car made Adrien restless.
He knew others would have been grateful for a personal driver that could get them on time and with little trouble. Nino mentioned more than once how great it must be to have a car designed specifically to drive him around, but Adrien had never felt the greatness of it all.
It wasn't like he had control over their next destination. He would just have to wait for further notice from Gorilla, his bodyguard, and see where he ended up next. An unannounced photoshoot, a business dinner with a bunch of snobby rich people, a fencing class or back to his lonesome house.
He turned away from the window with a frown. He slightly envied his friends. Having the liberty to walk to school at his own pace, independently choosing what to wear for the day or how early he should get up, maybe stopping for a cup of coffee on the way, interacting with strangers on a bus and laughing with his classmates while waiting for the bell to ring. He smiled envisioning Nino walking towards them with a goofy smile as Alya finished making an inside joke that left Marinette flustered. How he wished for more time with the three of them, as well as his lady.
Ah, Ladybug…, he sighed. Still, despite her usual rejections, he wouldn't trade her friendship for the world. Adrien knew that just friendly meetings with his lady would be enough for him. Sure, he yearned for her affection but there are just so many rejections he could take. He made peace with it. His heart might never let her go but he hoped in time, his love would subside to a brotherly kind. He wasn't really looking for a relationship in the meantime. Adrien only wanted his friends close and Ladybug was one of them.
If only he could introduce her to his friends (she'd love them, he was sure of it), maybe learn a bit about the people she trusted, they could go to the park for small picnics or watch a movie at the cinema.
But that would require knowing each other's identities.
Even with just the two of them, his lady would never agree to a casual outing. They're superheroes, they're not supposed to abuse their power for personal gain, she'd say if she could hear him. She was right. Adrien knew that but it didn't make it any less painful. He spun to the window once more, dejected. No use dreaming for something out of his reach. As long as Hawkmoth continues to terrorize Paris, Ladybug will choose to keep their identities a secret and as long as his father is in control, he won't be allowed more time with his friends. He told himself to suck it up and be glad for what he does have.
The change outside kept his thoughts at bay. Adrien was no longer surrounded by the city but evergreen botanical gardens. The tree's shade was reflecting on his face as he felt the car coming to a stop. Probably a traffic light.
With the absence of movement, Adrien began searching the landscape. Along the bushes stood out different patches of color. Benches were spread out evenly on the sidewalk, according any passers a place to rest after a long walk. He observed only one of them was occupied at this time. A girl and a boy. Adrien watched as the girl clutched her hands around her head, obviously distressed. He thought absent-mindedly why was she upset. He distinguished two schoolbags beside the boy when he moved closer to her. They didn't look any older than him. Maybe the reason they were so troubled had to do with school.
While the girl had resumed to rest her head on the bench, the boy wearing a red cap pulled out his phone from a back pocket and, while still talking to the girl, began scanning around helplessly. Adrien almost jumped from his seat when the boy turned just enough for him to catch sight of his face. He pressed his face closer to the window in disbelief but Adrien was sure of it. The boy was Nino, his best friend, and by the looks of it he was concerned. Adrien moved his attention to the girl who finally raised her head from the bench and his heart dropped at the pain with which Marinette tried to reassure him. He moved to open the car door that instant, however his body was tossed back onto his seat at the sudden motion of the vehicle.
"W-wait —!" he told his bodyguard but the car continued to advance leaving the silhouettes of Marinette and Nino long behind. Adrien wanted back. Marinette wasn't looking good and Nino looked very worried. It meant what he saw was probably way worse up close. "We have to go back!" he told Gorilla, reaching his head back for the two despite knowing full well he couldn't see them anymore. "My friends were there. They need my help. Go back, please?" he pleaded slightly but Gorilla only gave a guilty grunt in return.
Adrien plopped back in his seat defeated. His brain went into overdrive. What happened? Was she okay — scratch that - of course she wasn't okay! Was she sick? Or was it an akuma? How did Nino find her? Are they gonna make it to school? How could he help? Did Alya knew anything?
Before coming to the intelligent conclusion of just calling Nino and asking what had happened the car pulled up, signaling his arrival at school. Gorilla opened his car door more gently than usual, allowing Adrien to step out of the car while clutching his bag out for him. Adrien might have showed his appreciation if it weren't for the precedent incident. He grabbed the bag from his awaiting hand, moving to retrieve his phone when two arms wrapped around him, squeezing him so tightly and so suddenly Adrien almost lost all balance.