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“And me...I am Ladybug…”
Alya gazed at Marinette, taking in the sight of the broken girl. Alya expected herself to believe that it was a joke or a lie, but, looking at Marinette, her confession seemed like the most truthful thing her best friend had said in months. It all made perfect sense; every time Marinette would break away during akuma attacks, her always being MIA and tired...her pushing others away without apparent reason…
Alya reached forward, wrapping Marinette in her arms to hold her tightly. Marinette returned the hug, embracing Alya as if the connection was all that was keeping her tethered to the world. Alya wanted to ask questions, to stumble through her realizations. Marinette is Ladybug, the superheroine who trusted her with a miraculous and helped her break free of Hawkmoth’s control. Ladybug was Marinette, the girl who was far stronger than Alya ever realized, the girl who helped without question and who gave without being given.
Alya looked around the room, and she saw kwamis peering out at the two from different hiding spots. How many are there? Ladybug said she’s the guardian now, so Marinette has been responsible for all of them? By herself? Alya’s heart sank at the thought. Just trying to imagine what all Marinette has kept hidden weighs heavy on Alya; she can’t even begin to comprehend how Marinette has felt actually keeping these secrets from everyone.
Marinette began shaking in Alya’s arms, and the blogger could hear quiet sniffles. Marinette was crying. How many times had she already cried that day? How many times had she stopped herself from increasing that number? Not even Marinette was completely aware of those answers.
“I’ve always been afraid, Alya.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ever since I first got the miraculous, I’ve had so many doubts about myself and whether I can handle being Ladybug. There was even a point where I tried quitting.”
“You did?” Alya asked, leaning her head back to try and see Marinette’s face.
“Yeah. I tried to give the earrings to you. You were so brave and resilient without falter. You were like the picture-perfect hero that I thought everyone deserved...but then you got trapped behind that car before you could notice the earrings I put in your bag.”
Alya’s memories flashed back to the beginning, when Ladybug wasn’t showing up, and Marinette tried to make sure Alya took her bag with her for no reason. Except there was a reason; Marinette needed her, but Alya wasn’t seeing everything; she only looked ahead to chase after information. She could’ve become Ladybug in that moment? No, that feels wrong.
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re an amazing Ladybug. You see all sides of the picture, and you know how to utilize that information. And there’s not a sane person on this planet who can say that you’re not strong in more ways than one. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing, Marinette,” Alya replied softly, lifting her hand up to cradle the back of Marinette’s head.
Marinette didn’t respond to that verbally. Instead, she leaned further into the hug, lifting her head up to rest on Alya’s shoulder. She lets out a tired sigh as her shaking slowly ceases. Alya looked back to the kwamis, who slowly approached to embrace Marinette as well. She recognized Trixx and somewhat remembered Wayzz, but the others were new. Were they the only ones who had been able to comfort Marinette since she became the guardian?
The desire to have her questions answered sizzled out when she looked back to Marinette, who was gazing at her from the corner of her eye. Her eyes were red and puffy, still wet from tears already fallen. Alya wanted to assure Marinette that everything would be okay, but it would be a hollow promise as long as she didn’t know how to help.
“I’ve got you,” she said instead, as that was something she knew how to do.
And that’s what Marinette needed to hear in that moment. While she had needed to have the back of Paris for so long, Alya had her back. She really, truly had her back, and Marinette felt relief at that that she hadn’t known in so long.
The two stayed there for a long time, holding each other quietly. Marinette would murmur whatever she wanted to confess, ranging from how she felt and reacted to certain things to explaining things at her pace on her terms. And Alya listened quietly, never pushing Marinette to elaborate when she didn’t understand.
They talked until there was nothing more to say, and then they stayed there, side-by-side. And that made perfect sense.