Chapter Text
“Marinette? Is that...Are you really her?”
She froze on the spot, her back still facing the cloud of dust and debris from the recent fight, and the person just beyond it.
“You’re Ladybug?” the voice repeated.
Marinette turned slowly, rattled and shaken and afraid. She knew who was asking. In a million years, she never dreamed that the first person to stumble upon her civilian form, out of all the people in Paris, was someone she knew.
It hit too close to home. But she spoke with a measured steadiness that she didn’t think she possessed at that moment. “Yes. I’m Ladybug.”
The dust settled and he approached her, snapping himself from shock with enough urgency to offer a reassuring smile.
And that was how Nino found out.
“Pleeeaase Marinette?”
“Nino…” she shook her head at him. “I don’t know...”
“Just this once I promise!” he spun around in her desk chair to face her fully.
When he stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, she lost it. “Fine! Fine, as long as you wipe that look off your face oh my god.” Marinette ran a hand down her face in defeat. “I guess it’d be hypocritical to deny you. Lord knows I transform selfishly enough on my own.”
Nino beamed at her, launching himself from the chair and slapping his hands down on her shoulders. “Thank you! You’re the best, you know that? I can’t wait to see Alya’s reaction when I tell her I actually got an actual interview with the actual Ladybug!”
“Well, you’re not actually going to tell her that it’s actually me, right?” she said, mocking his diction.
“I wouldn’t actually do that, Marinette,” Nino laughed. “We both know how relentless she’d be if she found out that it was her best friend behind that mask all along.”
He paused to raise his eyebrow at her. “Anyway, you’re helping me with my big crush here, so I’ve gotta help you with yours sometime in return.”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to help me with that. I’ve got it handled.”
Nino scoffed. “Mari, what you’ve got is the opposite of ‘handled.’ Accept my help - I know Adrien better than pretty much anyone, and I know he’s got the biggest crush on Ladybug. Luckily, a certain someone just happens to be La-”
“Nino,” she cut him off. “You know I can’t tell him.”
“Well duh, but that doesn’t make you any less Ladybug.”
Marinette cocked her head in confusion.
“Look at it this way: there’d be no Ladybug without you. And you’re Marinette. Your personality is so distinct - you’re obviously very brave, and loyal, and confident. Honestly, I’m not sure how everyone still hasn’t discovered that you’re a spandex-wearing-roof-hopper in your free time with how similar you are. But hey, that’s just my opinion.” He added that last bit after a particularly pointed glare from Marinette.
She wanted to tell him that no, there’d definitely be ‘a Ladybug’ without her; Tikki could always find another person to put on that suit and save the city. But she remembered from late night conversations with her kwami that it takes certain skill, a special kind of person, a loving heart to actually fill the role the way it’s supposed to be filled. And she knew that each Ladybug was different. She knew that the Ladybug who was an aspiring designer, the one who was a meticulous planner, the girl on whom Adrien Agreste had a massive crush, the Ladybug that was simply Marinette was different from the rest.
Marinette knew what Nino had meant by his sentiment, so she took it in stride. “Thanks, Nino.”
They’d definitely gotten closer as friends these past weeks. He’d started stopping by her place after school; first he just wanted to ask questions, but he eventually realized how much he genuinely liked her company. Marinette could say the same about Nino. It was a friendship that screamed I-have-a-crush-on-your-best-friend-so-we-could-definitely-help-each-other-out-and-you’re-also-super-chill-so-we-should-hang-more.
Symbiosis at its finest.
“So,” Marinette rubbed her hands together. “When should we start recording that interview?”
Somewhere between all the after school hang outs Nino had found himself in the middle of an akuma battle.
He was standing at a street corner with Alya as miscellaneous debris soared over his head. He could make out the flash of red from Ladybug’s suit as she zipped past on her yo-yo. It’d be a great opportunity for filming, he thought, if he wasn’t so preoccupied with shielding himself from flying rubble. Alya seemed to have no such concern; she had her phone out and was faithfully filming the whole thing.
He’d pull them out of there if he could, but he thought Alya might murder him.
A Lucky Charm, Cataclysm, and Miraculous Cleansing Light soon followed and the fight was over. Nino looked over to Alya, about to prompt her to leave. But she was gone.
There’s only one place she would have gone.
Where had Ladybug gone off to again?
He went in the direction that he thought he had seen her leave,and thank god he was right. Nino knew that Alya would follow her hero anywhere - he saw red above and a tangle of curls tailing from the ground. He could tell that Ladybug didn’t know that she was being followed: she made no moves to conceal either herself or the route toward her destination, her home .
So he shouted.
“Hey Alya! Alya there you are!”
Nino saw Ladybug falter and look back.
As Alya turned to briefly yell her dissent at Nino, Ladybug took the opportunity to duck behind a building.
Alya faced front once more and let out a frustrated cry. “I lost her! Nino! Did you see where she went?” She asked frantically.
“Uh, she went that way!” he pointed in the direction directly opposite of where Ladybug was hiding. “I saw her go over there!”
“Thanks, Nino, you’re a lifesaver!” Alya called back as she ran.
“You know, you need a manager or something.”
“And what, Nino, you wanna be my manager?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, as if it was something glaringly obvious.
Marinette smacked her hand to her head for what felt like the thousandth time, and conceded almost immediately. There was really no point in arguing with him anymore if she was just going to give in anyway. “Whatever. But you can’t, like, tell people that you’re my manager because that’d raise some eyebrows.”
“Great! So this is your first photo shoot, right?”
“Well, yeah,” she pondered. “I mean I’ve been in the news before and lots of people take my picture all the time but this is my first professional thing so...yeah.”
“Nice! And it’s for Gabriel Agreste’s new line, inspired by Ladybug and Chat Noir, which is perfect because you know Adrien’s gonna be there.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve been told,” Marinette squeezed her eyes shut. “Stop bringing it up or you know I’m gonna get really worked up and not be able to function at all.”
“...you’re right. Sorry.”
“Just,” she started. “I kinda wish Chat would be there. I know he said modeling’s not his thing, but him being there would really soothe my nerves, y’know?”
“Yeah I feel ya Mari. Which I also don’t really understand, by the way. You say he’s a cocky guy, right? A bit on the overly confident side, very flirty, always down for PR?”
“Well, kind of, I guess…” Marinette said hesitantly. She was definitely allowed to talk smack about Chat, but hearing it come from someone else was just odd. She got this weird urge to defend her partner, but she couldn’t really bash Nino for it because he’s just repeating what she said, after all.
“Then why is he turning down the shoot?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Personal reasons, other obligations. He was probably just saying that to sound suave even in dissent.”
“Hm. Whatever the case, I’ll be there for you. Can’t let Adrien frighten Ladybug, of all people,” Nino laughed.
Marinette pushed him off the desk chair.
Alya was there.
Ladybug and Nino had decided to walk into the building separately so as to not raise any suspicions on set. Nino had arrived first and was standing at Adrien’s side when the heroine walked in. He immediately caught her eye and sent a frantic glance Alya’s way.
The effect was immediate. Ladybug’s eyes became several sizes wider and her hands twitched at her side. Knowing that she absolutely could not mess up this shoot with her nerves, she made straight for the refreshments table for some water.
As she gulped down the bottle, she tried to ease her mind. Alya was her best friend, and she obviously meant no harm. And she was, quite possibly, Ladybug’s biggest fan, so there’s no real reason that she wouldn’t be there.
Except.
Except there’s no way she could have known about the shoot. It was kept on the down low, and the only ones who knew about it were Ladybug herself (and, by extension, Nino), the crew, and Adrien.
Adrien . Had he told her? He knew that Alya loved everything that had to do with Ladybug, so maybe he’d asked her to come.
But why wouldn’t she have told Marinette about it? Her best friend? Especially if Adrien was involved. Alya was the ultimate wingman when it came to Adrien, so it also didn’t really make sense for her to not have told Marinette about a shoot in which both Ladybug and Adrien would be starring.
Not to say that Marinette was too heartbroken over being uninformed about something that had to do with Adrien. Alya was really under no obligation to tell her anything of the sort.
It was just...unlike her. Alya never missed a chance to blabber on about Ladybug, and she always kept Marinette in the loop about Adrien. So for her to have kept this from Marinette was concerning to say the least.
Marinette’s mind immediately jumped to conclusions: Alya was actually dating Adrien but didn’t want Marinette to know and become upset. Alya found out Ladybug’s identity and decided to reveal it to Adrien while they were shooting so that he’d ask her out. Alya and Adrien had…
She really needed to stop thinking about it.
Before she knew it, Marinette had finished off the water bottle.
Chat Noir had been running on the ground when he was tackled.
His transformation was coming to an end and he really could not deal with this right now.
He rolled himself over to see his assailant. Alya. He knew she was a big Ladybug fan, but he had been unsure if this admiration extended to Chat Noir until then.
“W-what are you doing? I’ve gotta -” he was interrupted by the last few beeps of his ring.
“Wait, no, I’d like to ask you a few questions!”
“Could this maybe wait for another time? I’d be happy to -”
“Aw c’mon! I was just running after Ladybug, see, and my friend distracted me and I lost her but then he told me to come this way and I found you so pleeeeaaase? I went to all this trouble and -”
“I really can’t,” Chat said, his voice wavering dangerously. His transformation was definitely ending and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He tried to make a break for it; he was stuck in an alley with Alya practically on top of him. If he could just hop onto that dumpster there, he could reach the roof, and then -
But she caught his wrist.
And his transformation fell.
“Adrien?”
Their friendship was newly rebuilt upon a mutual adoration for Ladybug.
More than anything, it was business.
Alya, in particular, wanted to unmask the heroine. Her investigative nature and obsession over Ladybug proved to be vicious; she’d agree not to publish Chat Noir’s true identity if he would help her find Ladybug’s true identity.
Adrien had agreed, outwardly on the grounds that he’d wanted to keep his identity well-hidden. But in all honesty, he had doubted Alya’s sincerity. He didn’t think she’d actually tell the world his secret identity once she found out that it was him, of all people. They’d been friends, and he was unsure if she’d actually go so far as to expose him to the world in spite of her enthusiastic front.
So he took up the guise of fear and self-preservation to hide a motive which lined up remarkably well with Alya’s own. He wanted to know who Ladybug was. Holding him back was his partner-in-crime-fighting herself. She’d wanted to keep their identities a secret. And he respected that.
Or, at least, he thought he had.
Adrien was caught in the middle of an internal battle in which his selfish and selfless sides recklessly butted heads. He found himself sitting on a fence: behind him sat a safety net, something he could easily fall back on and have everything remain the same.
But in front of him.
Oh, in front of him lied something dangerous, something exciting. Twists and turns and new adventures, tumultuous and troublesome and terrifying.
When Chat Noir finds himself on a fence, he’d sooner launch himself headfirst into danger than play it safe.