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“Thanks for letting me in Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” Alya waved as she made her way up to Marinette’s bedroom. “I just have to tell Mari the news about Ladybug!”
A quite laugh followed her up the stairs. With a heave Alya pushed open the door to Marinette’s bedroom and shouted. “Mari I have the best news to tell you!”
She paused halfway up the ladder. That was weird. Mari’s mom said she should be right up here but her lights were off. She wasn’t asleep was she?
“Mari?” Alya made her way up the ladder to her bed and found it perfectly made. “Where in the world could she be? It’s almost 1:00 in the morning…”
A sudden thump above her had her diving for the beam to the left of Mari’s bed. She’d hidden there before to surprise her friend; it was a precarious perch but it worked.
“Chat, are you alright?”
Alya froze. Chat Noir? Here? She sucked in a harsh breath.
“Yeah…just misjudged the distance.”
“How did you do that? You’ve only been making that same jump for years.”
“Just a little distracted by your beauty M’Lady.”
“Chat…”
Alya’s heart tried it’s best to explode out of her chest. This couldn’t be real. Was this really happening? Chat Noir and Ladybug were outside Marinette’s bedroom!
She crouched on the beam and grabbed her phone just as the window above Mari’s bed opened and in dropped Chat Noir and Ladybug. Forget the video she managed to get of Ladybug this morning. What she was about to record was so much better. She practically vibrated from her restrained squeal. Her blog was really going to explode now!
Chat extended his staff and made his way towards Ladybug’s window and promptly smacked into it. A jar ran up his body to remind him that he’d just about had his ass handed to him today and if Ladybug hadn’t been there it might have been worse. Thank God today was Friday. There was no way he’d be able to do any of his Senior work with his brain this stupid.
“Chat, are you alright?” Ladybug asked after he didn’t move for a few moments.
“Yeah,” he answered fighting the need to rub the painful ache in his back. “Just misjudged the distance.”
Ladybug raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head. He could see how tired she was but she never once missed a step. It was as impressive as it was frustrating. Even exhausted she was graceful but once the mask was off she had two left feet. His lady was one hell of a woman.
“How did you do that? You’ve only been making that same jump for years.”
He frowned at her before his addled mind attempted a reply. “Just distracted by your beauty M’Lady.”
A tiny smiled quirked the corner of her mouth. Only a few years ago that comment would have made her frown and push him away. Instead it just amused her and now she found it endearing. He returned her smile in kind and opened the window before jumping down onto her bed.
The soft plushy fabric sent the tingle of sleep running up his whole body. He would have fallen backwards into the pillows if he knew it wouldn’t have hurt.
“Sit on the bed Chat, I’ll get the first aid kit.”
Chat sat where he was hearing the beep that used to freak him out but now was only just a reminder that instead of calling him Chat, Ladybug was about to call him Adrien. It was easier that way. If they never used their real names during battle than it would never be accidental that their real names would slip out. Besides, it felt a little weird to call her Marinette when she was doing all her Ladybug duties.
He folded his legs and rested he chin in a hand. Ladybug flipped on the light by her desk illuminating the area below in a soft light. His night vision faded away and colors replaced the solitary green. He watched her make her way to the closet where she kept the medical supplies and felt the bed below him fight with his eye lids. Gradually, his vision blurred and his sturdy head rest discovered a bit of wobble.
Ladybug rummaged in her closet feeling the need to shake her head to keep her eye lids open. They felt like weights had been attached to them and she found herself searching blindly with her hands. When she almost fell asleep in the closet she deiced that maybe she’d fix both of them up tomorrow when she could actually see what the crap she was doing.
She made her way up the ladder stumbling a bit as she went. Chat’s mouth hung open and his cheek was pushed up against his eye. She smiled at him before she caught sight of her fluffy pillows. She shuffled over to the edge of her bed her toe catching a discarded shirt. With a slight stumbled she turned and unhooked herself before falling backwards into her soft covers. She was asleep before she even hit the pillows.
Her impact jolted Chat awake and he wiped the small amount of drool from his cheek. He blinked hard feeling the sting of sleep deprivation attack his eyes. He took notice of Ladybug, her mouth was just barely opened and one arm above her head. She looked so comfy.
Chat flopped forward his head resting on her stomach.
“Ouch,” Ladybug grunted.
“Sorry,” mutter Chat as he readjusted his head to a slightly lower spot and wrapping his arms around her. “Better?”
“M-hm.”
“Good.”
Alya couldn’t believe her eyes. She was too excited to see Ladybug and Chat doing the things that couples do to realize that there was no reason they would decide to fall asleep in Mari’s bed. The small thought in the back of her head that tried to make the connection was whisked away under her star struck gaze.
She heard a frantic beak and suddenly, Chat and Ladybug’s suits began to dissolve. Ladybug’s start at her toes and made her way up to her knees but Alya could care less about that. Chat’s mask disappeared like pixles and suddenly there was Adrien. Adrien was freaken Chat Noir! Pieces of an ignored puzzle suddenly slammed together so harshly Alya had to bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She was about to find out who Ladybug was as well and-
Alya’s fast slammed into her mouth so fast she had to bit her fingers and hold her breathe until her need to scream uncontrollably dissipated enough she could think again. She missed the two little figures that fluttered down to sleep on the pillows next to Mari’s head. It all made sense! Everything! All of it!
Adrien and Marinette would disappear and miss class and whenever one of the Akuma’s attacked the school she never saw those two in the same place as Chat and Ladybug. It explained why Mari’s behavior around Adrien changed. She had more confidence and she even flirted with him.
Alya took her fist out of her mouth and nearly fell from her perch. How in the world could she never connect the dots? Marinette always had her hair the exact same way so did Ladybug. Once she saw it she felt like an idiot for never noticing. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was getting Nino over here right now.
She took a picture of the two sleeping and sent it to Nino. “Get your ass over here,” was all she sent.
Alya stole as quietly as she could to the trap door and opened it. Nino appeared and before she could say anything Alya put a finger to his lips. She waved him inside.
She was about to reveal the biggest secret of her life to Nino and she was so excited. She grabbed the pillow off of Mari’s couch and gave it to him. Nino looked at her quizzically before taking the pillow. Again she warned him to be quite and showed him the video she took.
Nino’s face took on several forms. First was disbelief. Then excitement. The pillow suddenly covered his mouth and a tiny scream emanated from the pillow. His eyes bore into Alya’s. She grinned a knowing grin at him and pointed at the bed. She quickly typed something on her phone and held it up for Nino to read.
She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Nino’s excitement and need to quite had led him to bury his teeth in the pillow.
“Let’s go ask them some questions.”
Quietly and with more care than the two had ever managed in their lives they went up the ladder and stood at the foot of the bed. They waited a moment while Alya took some pictures to embarrass Mari with later.
Alya gave Nino a shove on his arm and he broke the silence.
“Dude, wake up!”
Both were a little stunned at the lack of reaction so Nino tried again.
“Dude!”
Adrien shifted and a blurry eye struggled open.
“I don’t think he can see us…” Nino muttered.
“Try harder then,” Alya urged.
“Adrien, wake up!”
The cloudy half opened eye made a tired journey to Nino’s face before closing. Adrien rubbed his face against Marinette’s stomach before turning away from them. “Five more minutes,” he slurred.
“Oh heck no,” Alya quipped. “You two have been keeping this secret since Sophomore year. It is time to spill.”
Adrien didn’t respond.
Nino sighed in frustration and shook his best friends shoulder. “I need answers man!”
“Nino I’m tired, just let us sleep.”
Suddenly Adrien stiffened.
He was just so tired. Why couldn’t they understand that? He’d been fighting Akuma since before school and now they wanted him to talk?
“Nino I’m tired. Just let us sleep.”
Slowly, his exhausted mind put the pieces together. With a sharp intake of breath his eyes shot open to gaze at Mari’s sleeping face.
N…Nino?
He jerked upright green eyes staring wide at them. Oh no…oh no, oh no, oh no. There was nothing he could say. He had been caught red handed sleeping on his girlfriend and now he couldn’t deny it. Aw hell.
“Marinette!” Alya yelled loud enough that Adrien winced.
Mari snorted once and say up in bed. “Uh, what?”
“Girl, you have some talking to do.”
“Huh?” Mari looked towards Adrien wanting him to explain why her best friend had woken them up when suddenly it dawned on her.
“Alya it’s not-“
“Don’t try that with me, Ladybug.”
Both Adrien and Marinette looked like they’d just bit hit in the stomach.
“H-how…” stuttered Mari.
Alya stuck her hands firmly on her hips. “I watched you come in through the window. You were both so tired you didn’t notice me at all.”
“Dude,” Nino sounded hurt. “How could you not tell me?”
“I…uh…” Adrien rubbed the back of his head. “I wanted to tell you, Nino, I really did but I was worried if you knew, then Hawkmoth would hurt you to get to me.”
“What no, no that,” Nino grumped. “Why didn’t you tell me you were dating Marinette?”
Mari blinked. “That’s what you’re upset about?”
“Of course girl! We get the whole secret identity thing but how could you not tell me you finally got Adrien when you’d been drooling all over him forever?”
Mari and Adrien blushed furiously. It had been such a shock and joy to find out who the other person was that when it happened the only people they could really talk to was each other.
“I’m sorry Alya but I was just-“
Adrien grabbed her hand. “We were just worried. It took a lot to show each other. We weren’t ready to do it again for a while.”
Alya narrowed her eyes as Nino took his hat off his head and vigorously rubbed his head.
“How long?” she asked.
Mari’s mouth clicked shut so fast Adrien her head teeth crash together.
“Well?”
“Two…” squeaked out Adrien.
Nino placed his hat back on his head. “Two? Two what? You’ve been dating for two months?”
Mari’s face went so red her blushed extended down to her chest. Adrien felt like his face was going to explode from the head that pooled there. They looked at each other before Adrien decided that the fabric was suddenly very interesting. Mari buried her face in her free hand.
“No…” Alya breathed.
“Two years?” Nino practically screamed.
“Shh, you’ll wake up my parents,” hissed Mari.
“Oh no, nu-uh. You don’t get to say anything unless asked by a direct question. We are going to have a long, long talk.”
Adrien felt the burn in his eyes return with a vengeance. “But…sleep.”
“You lost your right to that when you lied to me!” Alya snapped.
It took a long time but the story had finally been collected. Alya and Nino stared at them with rapture as Adrien was able to choke out how he had found out who Ladybug was. It had not been ideal in the slightest. Mari had been hurt causing her Miraculous to fade in the middle of battle. Mari placed a supporting hand on his shoulder knowing he still blamed himself for it.
They moved on to happier times and how they had talked about telling other people but then thought that they might link their relationship to that of Ladybug and Chat Noir. They couldn’t let their identities be known. Hawkmoth couldn’t even be aware of their relationship or he’d use them against each other.
As they explained their reasoning Alya and Nino’s anger left and they felt bad that they had forced them to tell everything.
“I’m glad I can tell you know though,” Mari said. “It was getting hard that I couldn’t tell my best friend anything.”
Adrien nodded his head in agreement before a yawn spilt his face in two. They talked until Alya and Nino started answering each other questions as puzzles to the picture kept filling in the empty spaces. They babbled on becoming increasingly excited until they noticed that Marinette and Adrien had fallen asleep against each other.
Mari had slumped against his shoulder while Adrien had collapsed against the headboard mouth slightly open. With the fighting they had done today, no wonder they were tired.
Alya smiled before leading Nino down to the living room. They could ask their questions later, for now, her best friend had finally caught him.