I was really craving DJWifi fics and couldn't find any so I decided to just write one. I love the love square as much as the next person, but give these guys some love too!
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"Today's test was rough, uh?"
"Uh-uh."
Nino's gaze went from the Seine river to Alya's thumbs firing away on her cell phone, her face focused on the tiny screen.
"Did you know Revenge of the Space Zombies 2 comes out next week?" the boy commented as he scooted closer to his girlfriend on the wooden bench.
"Uh-uh."
Tempted by her bare neck, Nino delicately pushed Alya's hair behind her shoulder, while she remained occupied with her device, completely oblivious to her boyfriend's lips running up her neck. The young man furrowed his brow when the attempt to steal her attention away from her blog failed.
"So, what do you want to do tonight?" he tried.
"Uh-uh."
Nino let out a loud sigh and pulled away. Alya finally lowered her phone and turned to him.
"What is it?" The annoyed tone of her voice did not help soothe Nino's mood.
"You're not even listening to me! Put your damn phone down!"
"Sorry!" She set the device down next to her. "I've just been replying to comments on my last blog entry. There's like a million to go through!" Relieved to see a smile return to the boy's face, she moved closer, pecking his cheek. "What were you saying?"
"I was saying, what do you want to do tonight?"
"Well we could-" Alya was interrupted by the notification tone of her phone. Her eyes quickly glanced to her phone, then back at Nino. "We could go to this café I've been meaning-" One more notification cut her off. She tried to ignore it and continue talking. "I've been meaning to try. I hear they make a really good-" Then there were two more tones. The girl's entire being was urging her to check her phone at that point. There it was, right next to her, calling to her. All notifications for her. She fought back the intense desire to say 'Let me just get this...'
Nino hung his head back with an exasperated sigh.
"Go ahead. I know you're dying to..."
"Thanks!"
Alya literally dove for her phone and quickly got through the password-protected lockscreen and started punching in more letters with an excited "No way!" escaping her lips as she read whatever it was she was seeing.
Nino stared at her with bored eyes, his cheek resting in his hand. He lost to a phone. Harsh.
######
The early September wind was warm that evening. That new hip café that had just opened was right around the corner and Nino was opened to all opportunities to see Alya outside of school settings. The girl had promised not to touch her phone at all, but Nino could see its shape plainly in the back pocket of her jeans (not that he made a habit of staring at that general area of her body, mind you). Well, he had his phone on him too, so it was only fair she could at least carry hers. For emergencies and whatnot.
Tonight there were having an actual date, with no blogs or interviews coming in between them, and Nino could maybe get the make-out session he had been hoping for all day. It was going to be a nice little evening between the two of them.
Right, it was just him and Alya...and a crowd of screaming people coming right their way?
Plumes of smoke in the distance caught Alya's attention while Nino stopped one man from the wave of citizens that passed them.
"What's happening, dude?"
"I don't know, some kind of new monster? If you live around here, you should know by now."
The man had a point. A new akuma attack? What else was new. And if there was an akuma, then Ladybug and Chat Noir couldn't be very far behind. And if these too were nearby, then Alya was...
Nino looked around. He made a 360 rotation. He called. The street was now deserted.
Yep, Alya had ditched him.
One date. One date with no Ladyblog-related disturbance was all he had asked...
"God, why did I pick the technology-inclined crazy fangirl!"
The boy's aggravated groan echoed in the empty alley as he ran towards the sounds of battle growing closer. Yes, he was pissed his girlfriend walked out on him (not the first time, either), but he still had to make sure she remained safe. Alya had a very bad habit of putting herself in danger by getting ridiculously close to the action just for the sake of a good filming angle.
He turned a final corner before what could only be described as giant teeth planted in the ground came into view. Above the clean pearly whites, an akuma dressed in a smock and wielding a giant tooth drill fended off against Chat Noir's baton and Ladybug's yo-yo.
"This is what happens to kids who eat too much candy!"
Nino somehow recognized his akumatized dentist and made a mental note to call in for an overdue appointment. Although that drill and the terrifying sound it made were a downright deterrent to go. Maybe he'd wait...
Hiding behind a giant tooth, Alya filmed Ladybug's prowess with her usual thrilled expression and sparkles in her eyes and completely missed Nino running up to her. He put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to have her turn to him, but when in Ladybug-mode, Alya was in completely different universe where she could not see nor hear anything that was not red with polka dots.
"Babe, you're too close. Let's at least get back a little. That dude looks like bad news, have you seen that drill?"
The girl kept filming and shooed her interlocutor away with a hand gesture in his general direction. Growing more uneasy and impatient, he looked up at the two heroes who were still engaging the aptly named Mr. Cavity. The boy had to admit they were quite a sight and him too enjoyed watching their battles from a front seat. Although nobody could measure up to her in terms of Ladybug obsession (well there possibly was Chat Noir, but that was a different story), Nino also thought Ladybug was beyond awesome. Who didn't? However, Ladybug and Chat Noir each had told them in the past to stay away or they'd be in danger. Nino was simply trying to respect their wishes, and avoid getting stabbed, maimed, crushed or whatever else the villain of the day had in store.
Alya was a different story. She had no fear. She would rush headfirst into danger with no regards to her own safety. Some might have called it brave, but some might have called it having a death wish. If she could get a scoop, whether it was for the school blog or her Ladyblog, she was there. If heroes were out defending citizens, she was there. If villains threatened the peace, she was there. Her drive to seek the truth and report everything at all costs was endearing, Nino had to admit, but it was also infuriating sometimes.
Chat Noir was hit by a giant tooth and crashed to the ground.
"Looks like you're lacking calcium!" Mr. Cavity cackled.
The cat smashed the tooth with a single strike of his weapon and flashed the akuma a shining smile.
"Oh no, I have a saucer of milk every morning!"
Irritated, the evil dentist raised his enormous drill and prepared to go after Ladybug when he caught sight of the two bystanders. He suddenly changed his course and aimed directly for Alya and Nino.
"Oh wow, I can't believe this!" the girl actually smiled, phone still in hand.
"Get back!" Her boyfriend pulled her wrist but Alya's feet remained cemented on the floor. "Alya, come on!" Nino pleaded, voice heavy with urgency. "I'm sure you're not that desperate for a free dental appointment!"
Ladybug gasped as she finally noticed her two friends had been there the whole time. The bag of bubble gum she had just invoked with her Lucky Charm was flung at the akuma's feet just before Alya's entire face got drilled. The akuma stepped and tripped on the round candy, face-planting as you'd expect to see in a cartoon. Chat Noir used the opportunity to steal Mr. Cavity's drill and hurled it towards his partner who smashed it on the concrete, releasing the black butterfly inside.
While Ladybug purified it and restored the damage made to the area, Chat Noir checked on the couple.
"You two okay? Why didn't you escape?"
Nino huffed, a hand to his chest. That had been a close one! "That's what I'd like to know!" he retorted with a look in Alya's direction.
"We're fine!" the girl waved in a dismissive manner. "There was never a doubt in my mind that Ladybug would save us!"
"True as that may be," Ladybug started as she approached the group, "I don't want to risk there being a time when I don't make it in time."
"I can't believe I'm being scolded by Ladybug!" the fangirl beamed.
"We're really sorry, LB." Nino bowed his head in apology, almost embarrassed by his girlfriend.
A beep sounded the deadline for the heroes' transformation. Alya stepped closer as the two prepared to run off.
"Before you go, anything to add to your fans?"
Chat Noir grinned at the camera and gave a peace sign.
"Always remember to brush your teeth, kids!"
"And stay out of trouble," Ladybug added with notably less enthusiasm than her colleague.
And with that, the two saviors zoomed away. Once their silhouettes disappeared in the sunset, Alya finally put down her phone. The regular sounds of the city slowly came back and the world resumed its normal life, if only until the next attack. Nino took his girlfriend's hand.
"That was close...Well, shall we resume our initial plan now?" With all the action, he had almost forgotten their goal had been to try that new café.
Alya stole her hand back and pressed it against her other one in front of her in a praying manner.
"Sorry! I really need to go edit that footage and upload it on my blog! Do you mind if we push this back to another time? Thousands of fans are waiting for this!"
Nino looked at her pleading eyes and suppressed his disappointment.
"Sure, whatever..."
"Oh thanks!"
She gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran off in the direction of her home. Now all alone, Nino let out a nervous laugh.
Ditched again. Twice in the same evening!
#####
At least six sighs escaped Nino's lips as he silently made his way back home. He did not even feel like listening to music. That's how you knew he was upset.
Once home, he took off his shoes with a low hey to his mother.
"Back already? I thought you were going out with Alya?" the curious woman asked.
"Yeah, that's what I thought too."
Back in his room, lied in bed, staring at the blank ceiling. That evening had not been how he had expected it. None of the previous evenings had been. Was he considering reconsidering his relationship with his girlfriend? After all, it had been spurred from a single afternoon spent together. What if it was shallow and not meant to be?
How did it even happen in the first place? He had never especially paid attention to the new girl in the class until she became good friends with Marinette. Even then, she was only Marinette's friend in his head for a while before she became Alya. He'd had a crush on Marinette for several months, after all. Who knows what would have happened if Alya and him had not been stuck in a cage at the zoo together while Ladybug fought the bad guy. Maybe he'd still be after Marinette today. What if them getting together had been just a fluke?
Alya was so stubborn. Reckless, single-minded and frustrating, too. Not to add persistent and relentless. And how was it possible for someone to be both selfless and selfish? One second she could stand up for you and destroy anyone who tried to get in your way, the next she could abandon you to your fate and run off to do her own thing.
Nino grit his teeth as images of Alya and her phone flashed in his mind. Maybe they were not compatible in the end.
That girl was aggravating with her unfolding will and her selfishness. Her shining smile and her annoying rash attitude and obstinateness. And those dazzling eyes and her irritating tendency for danger, her arrogance and her sense of humor and her carelessness, her courage, forgetfulness and hard work. And her beauty and charm, and her diligence and amazing confidence and her soft lips and...and...
Oh who was he kidding? He was madly in love with her!
Mad about her, but also currently mad at her. But despite the neglect, he couldn't help being smitten with the girl. Alya was perfect!
No wait. He took that back.
Alya was anything but perfect! And that's what was perfect about her. She had a few flaws. Okay, she had a lot of flaws, but so did he and honestly who didn't? She still made his heart beat faster despite it all.
When Adrien had tried to set him and Marinette up, stuttering was the only thing he had been able to gush out. He who usually was confident and honest, had surprised himself by sweating bullets and even lying to Marinette to cover his embarrassment. The boy had not been himself.
Once he was trapped with Alya for a whole afternoon, there had been awkward silences and petty small talk at first, the girl being nervous after overhearing he had romantic feelings for her (that had only been a lie for so long). However, the conversation quickly started to flow once the ice was broken.
They had talked about the misunderstanding and laughed when they had realized that both Adrien and Alya had been communicating with their respective timid friend through earphones. Then, Marinette liking Adrien had accidentally slipped out and Nino mentally slapped himself in the forehead for not seeing the signs earlier. It all made sense then. He had refused to feel sorry for himself and instead decided they were a good pair and he'd root for them.
The two captives had continued to chat, about music (they only had Jagged Stone in common), about movies (they were both into Revenge of the Space Zombies), about school (ugh Chloé was so annoying), about their siblings (she had two mischievous younger sisters and he had one serious older brother) and many other subjects. They had so much in common and speaking to Alya had been so simple and effortless, like they'd known each other for years. She had been supportive about the whole Marinette likes someone else thing, but he soon had discovering he wasn't upset about it at all.
He was discovering an amazing girl. During an enthusiastic conversation about Android vs iOS, his hand accidentally had found its way on top of hers and neither had made an effort to pull away. They had simply clicked. So much that there was almost a pang of disappointment when a confused zoo keeper finally let them out.
The next day, they were officially low-key dating.
Shaking the months-old memories away, Nino finally sprung up to his feet and to his computer. He clicked his bookmark for the Ladyblog and admired his girlfriend's life work.
Every appearance of Ladybug was thoroughly documented. Videos were attached to most of the entries and Alya was still beating herself up for the very few Ladybug sightings she had been unable to film. Nino praised himself for his video-editing skills but Alya surpassed him in this department. Every piece of 1080x720 HD footage was neatly cut, edited and assembled.
Nino had been delighted that time when she had asked him if she could use one of his mixes as background music for her Best of Ladybug Battlescompilation. His music remixes had a decent amount of views on Youtube but his popularity soared after Alya plugged him and he was so grateful for that. He spent evenings painstakingly remixing popular songs and dreaming of the day he'd be hired to DJ a celeb party. Maybe a party in Ladybug's honor? Music was everything to him, after all.
Just like how Alya's blog was everything to her.
Nino hung his head back on his computer chair and gave himself a spin when it hit him. Alya's feelings for reporting and blogging were the same as his were for music and remixes. The difference only being she spent more time on her hobby than him. News were everywhere, after all.
The boy's mood mellowed down and he even found himself feeling sorry for not being more understanding of the young reporter. Duty came before love. Although he was still upset he didn't get to see his girlfriend. What could he do to allow Alya to work on her hobby but have her spend time with him at the same time?
How could he compete with Ladybug?
At that moment, the Ladyblog updated with an article and footage from today's akuma attack. He quickly skimmed through it, the battle still very fresh in his head. Nino saw himself very briefly in the video. It was at the moment when he had pulled on Alya's wrist and she had slightly turned towards him, capturing him in the process.
That's when the young man had an idea. If Alya would spend more time with her blog than with him, the logical solution was to make sure he'd be on the blog.
And there was only one way to do that.
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This is my first real ML fic. English is not my first language and I'm more of an artist than a writer, but writing is a really zen activity! I appreciate any and all feedback!
The next chapter will be up soon.