Work Text:
Rena Rouge smiled as she saw Nino in the crowd after the akuma was finished with. She bumped fists with Ladybug and Chat Noir, then excused herself for a moment. Nino had separated himself from the crowd, weaving through people as his eyes darted from place to place. Rena wondered what was going through his mind, but shook it off. She was there to mess with him, anyway.
She jumped down from a rooftop, landing in front of him. He startled, but quickly regained composure. “You’re pretty cute, you know,” she drawled. Rena smirked when he blushed.
“Uh, I’m taken!” He told her quickly, putting his hands up.
“Is that so?” He nodded insistently. She made a point of looking him up and down. “They must be a lucky person.”
Nino scoffed quietly, shaking his head. His eyes turned soft as a small smile played at his lips, “No, I’m the one that’s lucky.” Rena’s heart flooded with affection and she found herself smiling, too. It was then that she finally noticed he was fiddling with his bracelets like he always did when he was anxious. “Actually, I was just looking for her. Have you seen a girl a little shorter than I am? She has glasses, golden eyes, reddish-brown hair. She’s the Ladyblogger actually.” Nino sighed, glancing around again. “I’m really worried about her. She’s always near akuma battles, and I haven’t seen her this time.”
Rena Rouge’s heart warmed. Nino was worried about her. It was a little ironic, really, because she was right in front of him. Maybe the quantum masking really was powerful. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I’m sure she’ll turn up soon.” She gave him a small smile, then left.
Nino still couldn’t find Alya. After searching the area near the akuma fight for ten minutes, he headed back to the school, where he had left his things. As he entered the locker room, he found Alya, grabbing the last of her things from her locker. Relief flooded through him at the sight of her.
“Alya!” He called.
She turned around, flashing him a bright smile. His heart stuttered at the way the sun filtered through the windows and through her hair, catching her eyes and leaving them glowing. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
She looked up at him, confused. “What’s up?”
“I was worried about you. I didn’t see you after the akuma fight.” He gently brushed a stray hair from her face.
“Oh, I was trying to see if I could get Rena Rogue an interview. I never seem to be able to get to her,” she explained. “But I’m fine, see?”
He smiled, “Yeah.”
She gave him a quick kiss to the lips, leaving him with a dopey smile as she walked toward the door. “Marinette said her parents want some taste-testers for a new recipe. Are you coming?”
The offer of getting to spend time with his friends and try a new—and surely delicious— pastry was something he couldn’t possibly refuse. He gathered his things quickly, and caught up with Alya, lacing his fingers through hers. “Lead the way.”
A while later, after the reveal…
Alya sighed happily as she cuddled up to Nino, popcorn between them and a movie playing on the TV screen. It was nice to have such quiet moments between them, especially because it was hard to do so with the twins around. Even at Nino’s house it was hard when Chris would come to interrupt their time. She loved her sisters and she loved Nino’s brother, but it was also nice to have some time alone.
Abruptly, Nino sat up, pausing the movie. Alya looked up at him, an eyebrow quirked. “You knew,” he said, gasping. “You knew I was dating you and tried flirting with me as a superhero when I didn’t know who you were!”
Oh. That. Alya laughed, “I wanted to mess with you and see what would happen. I figured out who you were right away, and I wanted to know if the same thing would happen.”
She shrugged innocently as Nino shook his head, chuckling. “I can’t believe that happened. Talk about identity shenanigans.” He then resumed the movie, relaxing again as he held Alya close to his side.