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Alya hated how she and Nino ended up behind a trash can at the back of an empty alley while an akuma was attacking somewhere in Paris. She needed a new footage to her blog, goddamit! However, her boyfriend (she wasn't quite used to the term) wasn't planning on letting her go. It was dangerous, he said with a frown before pulling her to that place. Hiding. What kind of journalist was she if she missed Ladybug and Chat Noir's appearances? Hell, she needed to have a talk with Nino.
Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face him. The boy didn't look surprised by her expression, just shrugged.
"You're not the most careful person, you know. I just can't let you risk your life like that."
His voice was so soft that Alya almost gave up on arguing. Almost. But Nino didn't understand how important her job was! Yes, she almost got herself killed in plenty situations, but hey, it was a low price to pay to get closer to Paris superheroes.
Before she could reply, a loud noise came from the entry of the alley. Alya pulled her body and Nino's deeper in their spot in case it was an akuma, and tried not to make any noise.
Biting her lip, she moved again, just to see the own Ladybug looking around in the alley, as searching for something and not noticing Nino and Alya's presence.
Shit, Alya thought. Ladybug was about to transform back?
No, she wasn't. Alya didn't have time to move before Chat Noir arrived a few seconds later. He landed besides Ladybug and without a word, pinned her against the wall and kissed her senseless.
Luckily for Alya, Nino reacted faster than her and covered her mouth before she could make any sound that could give them away.
The reality of the situation came crashing down in the Ladyblogger's head.
Ladynoir was canon.
And it was supposed to be a secret.
Alya would never imagine. In front of the cameras, Ladybug just pushed away any flirtation and rolled her eyes just like she always did.
However, the way they were kissing was passionate. Both heroes seemed to be aching for contact, getting as closer as they could, their hands just traveling around each other's bodies. Alya could swear she hear a moaning coming from Ladybug's lips.
The girl was afraid. Although she would love to put that big scoop on her blog, she was aware of the boundaries. Ladybug and Chat Noir were real people who deserved their privacy. She wasn't supposed to see that, and she wanted to leave before things could get more intense. It was the right thing to do.
On the other hand, she and Nino couldn't leave without being noticed. And being noticed would mean that Ladybug and Chat Noir would probably hate her. Alya could have stepped out in the moment Ladybug landed there, but no, she hid. She betrayed the heroes trust and witnessed something she wasn't supposed to. Of course she would apologize, but nothing could guarantee that they would forgive her. They had every right and reason not to.
She even brought Nino into that mess. It was her fault that he felt the urge to pull her to that alley. So yeah, she was kinda screwed.
Was it worth it? She could just pretend that she didn't see anything. Nino would go along with her, she was sure of that.
But then she saw Chat grab Ladybug's legs and lift her in a way that made her look down on him – without breaking the making out session not even for a while -, and Alya knew she couldn't just stay there and watch that.
She locked eyes with Nino, trying to make him understand her decision. And she made like she was going to stand up.
Before she could leave the hiding spot, though, she heard a song that made her froze.
Yeah.
She fucked up really bad.
Oh god, she really fucked everything up.
A beep.
From Chat's ring.
Nino tensed. All of his expression screamed "what the fuck do we do?", although he was probably just thinking "shit shit shit shit", just like his girlfriend. Alya wasn't feeling her legs. They wouldn't be able to leave now. Definitely not.
Going back to an old line of though, she could just stay there and keep the knowledge to herself. She was going to see whoever Chat was when he wasn't Chat Noir, but it could be a good thing. She could mislead curious people on her blog, she could mislead Hawkmoth. She would help Chat Noir in the shadows. She could even forget about Ladynoir, once there were more important things to worry about. It wasn't like she would have to deal with him in civilian life anyway, right?
Wrong.
Wrong.
Oh boy, she was so wrong.
A green light flashed around the boy, and then on Chat's place was Adrien Agreste.
Alya's mind went blank.
Adrien Agreste.
Chat Noir.
There was that time when she mentioned to Marinette that they looked alike, but it made as much sense as Chloe being Ladybug!
What the actual fuck?
How could they be the same person?
How didn't she see that coming?
She knew how, of course, and Nino's thoughts were going through a similar path. Even though they were best friends, Nino didn't notice that Adrien was Chat fucking Noir because while Adrien was quiet and polite, and a kind of gentleman, Chat Noir was loud and cocky, and was sucking Ladybug's neck.
And it was the girl's sigh that brought Nino and Alya back to the alley. Ladybug didn't seem to be bothered about Chat's transformation. She didn't show any reaction towards her partner being such a figure.
For the first time ever, Alya didn't bother to look at Ladybug. She still had her eyes on Adrien. She could barely see his face, but somehow she knew he had a Cheshire Cat smile plastered on his face. An expression that didn't match the guy who was sitting in front of her for almost three years. It was really difficult to put the boys together – no wonder she didn't do that earlier.
Nothing could be more confusing than that.
Bullshit.
The following beep was almost inaudible. She wouldn't have noticed the situation if it wasn't for Nino. He grabbed her arm and mouthed "we have to close our eyes". Yeah. They could have done that before her mind haven't been exploded. How didn't they think about that before?
She was thinking so fast that when a pink light invaded the corner of her eye, Alya glanced at the heroes by reflex. Just for a second. At the exact time Ladybugs's transformation faded.
Alya wished she had closed her eyes.
With her back against the alley's wall and her legs wrapped around Adrien Agreste's waist, and with a smirk that wasn't typical of her shy personality, was Marinette.
As in Marinette Dupain Cheng.
As in her best friend.
And she thought Adrien's alter ego was going to be the biggest shock? Bullshit.
Honestly? Alya would probably have screamed. She would probably have grabbed Marinette by her shoulders and screamed in her face until she ran out of words or her voice cracked – whatever comes first. Whenever she daydreamed about finding out about Ladybug's identity, things were so much more... poetic. Alya wasn't a dreamer like Marinette – HA – but she thought it would be something big. It wasn't supposed to happen that way.
She couldn't even sense Nino by her side while she stared at Marinette and Adrien, who were teasing each other about something.
She thought Marinette wasn't able to form a coherent sentence in front of Adrien, and there she was, not only talking, but teasing him.
If Alya wasn't in shock, she would probably feel betrayed. Hurt. Not good enough. She would think that Marinette was laughing of her attempts to discover Ladybug's true identity when she was by her side.
But Alya was in shock, so the only thing she feel herself doing was stare.
Marinette came back to the ground, smiling at Adrien when she did so.
"Oh god, finally", the boy said. Alya could tell he was smirking. "This is the first time that I'm glad an akuma attacked. I don't know if I can hold it any longer, Mari."
"Same", she rolled her eyes. "But we have to."
"Can't we come up with an excuse?", Adrien asked. Alya was recovering and she started getting what they were talking about.
"Uh, yeah. What excuse would be good enough to going from "not a coherent word" to "okay, let's just kiss and grab hands in front of everyone"?" Alya could tell that Marinette intended to sound ironic, but the girl blushed furiously at the moment the words left her mouth. Yep. She was still Marinette.
"Is that what you have in mind, My Lady?", Adrien leaned towards her.
"My point is..." Marinette's expression was so Ladybug that, if Alya hadn't seen the transformation, she would have figured out at that moment. "We can just go to class and say that we are dating. Everyone will get suspicious"
"The girl is right, Adrien" ok. That was weird. A black cat. Talking. And flying. Nino whispered "what the fuck?" and Alya jumped. She almost forgot the boy was there. Who could blame her? But that floating thing... "You know how everyone will start making questions and..." Alya freeze at the moment the creature's eyes focused on her and widened. "Hell."
Adrien and Marinette's eyes followed the sight of the thing and they finally saw her and Nino. To Alya, it was like the alley itself was holding its breath while the pair of heroes processed what was happening there. Adrien's eyes widened. Marinette tensed and her expression was the most serious thing Alya ever saw. Marinette was mad.
The only thing that crossed Alya's mind was a brief "fuck".