Akumas have become a regular occurrence in Paris and by this point no one is even surprised when they happen anymore. Everyone knows the drill when it comes to akumas. Get inside and let Ladybug and Chat Noir handle it. Most people tend to stick to that rule.
Alya Césaire was not one of those people.
Every time an akuma attacks she has to get close enough to get a decent scoop for the ladyblog even if it means getting a few bruises every now and then. Yes she ends up with amazing footage each time but some people don't agree with how she is going about it.
One of those people is Nino Lahiffe.
Each time Alya was about to run towards the akuma to get footage for the ladyblog he always tried to convince her to not get too close. Most of the time she doesn't listen and when she nearly gets hit it makes Nino vomit in his mouth. It scares him to death just thinking that she could die out there if she isn't careful, Ladybug and Chat Noir won't always be able to save her and the thought that this would probably come true one day made him feel even worse.
When Alya returns Nino always gives her a bone crushing hug. Alya thinks he is just being silly but she doesn't realise how much pain she is causing Nino each time to see his girlfriend running out into a potential death trap.
The next akuma attack happened during their lunch break. Alya, Nino, Adrien and Marinette were sitting outside Collège Françoise-Dupont chatting about nothing in particular when screams rang out through the streets. Nino knew Alya was going to try getting too close again and this time he was determined to stop her.
He reached out for her wrist and stopped her from going any further.
"Dude for the love of god don't get too close." Alya turned around to face him, smiling gently, trying to reassure the terrified DJ.
"Nino you know I'll be fine. I've never been hurt before and even if I do get too close I know that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be there to help"
"But what if they aren't?" Alya froze. She saw the clear worry on her boyfriend's face and it broke her heart. She could see how much he cared and how he didn't want to lose her.
She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye.
"Nino I know you don't want to lose you and I don't want to lose you either. I'll be careful. I promise you I will come out un-harmed. Okay?"
Nino gave Alya the biggest hug he could, fearing that if he let go she would disappear.
"Okay" He let go and smiled weakly at her.
"I trust you"
Alya smiled back at him and turned to leave. Once she was gone Nino instantly got out his phone and watched footage of the fight, making sure to keep a close eye on Alya. She wasn't hard to pick out.
The fight went on for what seemed like ages when all of a sudden the akuma sent out an attack towards Ladybug but it missed her and went straight for Alya. She was too slow to react and he could see that Ladybug was shouting at Alya while trying to get to her.
Ladybug was too slow.
Once Nino saw his girlfriend get hit back against a brick wall with unbelievable force he instantly dropped his phone and ran to the scene.
His mind was going at bout one hundred miles per hour, filling up with questions like 'will she make it?' and 'why did I let her go?'
Nino skidded round the last corner before his girlfriend came into view. Chat Noir was kneeling beside her while Ladybug was trying to finish off the akuma.
Nino ran over as fact as his legs would let him, hoping with every ounce of luck he had that Alya would be fine and they could move on and forget that all this happened.
Chat seemed to hear Nino coming since he turned around to face him. He seemed to have been upset himself. Did Chat know Alya maybe? Nino shook his head knowing that it would be unlikely that he did. He probably just felt bad that a civilian was injured and he couldn't stop it from happening.
Nino fell down to the ground and took Alya into his own arms. Tears were cascading down his face as he took in the sight of his girlfriend. She had a cut on her forehead which had a trail of blood coming from it dripping onto the ground in a neat line. Her skin was extremely pale, making her seem dead.
Staring in disbelief Nino buried his head onto her chest, sobbing uncontrollably. Chat was there as support, rubbing circles onto Nino's back. His gesture was appreciated though it only made Nino cry harder.
Suddenly from underneath him Nino felt Alya's body shift. A weary smile made its way onto his face as he choked on his sobs. Alya let out a pained groan and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Nino with a small smile.
Nino gently pulled her up and hugged her tightly, being weary of her current state.
"Y-you promised you wouldn't get hurt. W-why did you get so close?" Nino was barely able to form a sentence as Alya reached up to cup his cheek.
"I guess my luck expired at the wrong time." Alya let out a bleak laugh as she lowered her hand from Nino's cheek. He grabbed her hand in his own as he saw her eyes drift shut.
"Alya please stay with me. I don't want to lose you, not now" One of Nino's tears landed on Alya's face and slowly fell into the puddle of blood next to Alya's head.
"Stay strong for me Nino, Okay?" Alya asked weakly.
"That's a promise I can keep for you" Nino let out a halfhearted laugh.
He felt Alya's body go limb and he began to cry even more. He placed Alya back onto the ground and sat up. Chat placed his arm around Nino's shoulders and pulled him in for a hug. They spent a good five minutes sitting on the street before they both heard Ladybug shout "Miraculous ladybug!" as her cure began to take place. Both Nino and Chat looked back at Alya hoping that the cure would work on Alya but after the ladybugs disappeared they could see no change in Alya's state.
Ladybug rushed over to the scene and saw both Nino and Chat by Alya's body. She could tell from where she was that Alya was dead and there was no saving her. Crouching down next to the boys and placing a shaking hand on Nino's shoulder she let out a small whimper. They all sat like this until a paramedic came over and took Alya's body. This only distressed them all, mainly Nino, more. The reality of her death was finally sinking in.
Both Ladybugs and Chat Noirs miraculous beeped, signalizing that they had to go. Chat waved his hand to Ladybug telling her to go and that he would take care of Nino who was quite clearly distressed (I mean who wouldn't be after their boyfriend/girlfriend died?)
Chat helped Nino stand up, not saying a word and began to help him back to his home. When they arrived at the Lahiffe residents, Nino's parents were already waiting outside the door. They took Nino in a tight embrace and whispered words of reassurance to their distressed child. Nino's father looked up at Chat who was just standing there watching the scene unfold.
"Thank you son for comforting him. We saw it on the news" Chat offered the man a small smile.
"It was no problem sir, I understand what it is like to lose someone you love." The man did not push on what the cat themed superhero had mean but merely smiled back.
Chat gave Nino one last hug before leaving to go home before he transformed back.
That night Nino couldn't sleep, the images of Alya's death too fresh in his mind. It was about four am when Nino finally fell asleep, a sleep only to be plagued with nightmares. Because of this he only got about two hours of sleep.
When he woke up he felt ill. The nightmares had been all too real. He asked his mum if he could have the day off and she instantly obliged. Nino spent the rest of that day trying to sleep but failing miserably. By the time school would've ended Nino had ultimately given up on trying to sleep and decided to just lay in bed listening to music.
He didn't hear the quiet knock at his bedroom door so he was surprised to see Adrien walk in. Nino took his headphones off and sat up. Adrien sat next to him on the side of his bed. They spent a good minute of just staring at each other before the blond wrapped Nino in a massive hug. Nino melted into the hug and began shaking while Adrien sat there comforting him. He was so lucky to have Adrien as a friend.
Nino pulled back from the hug tem minutes later and looked away from Adrien who gently put a hand on his shoulder.
"We're going to get through this, you're not alone. Alya wouldn't have wanted us to stop our lives because of this." Nino looked up at his friend and gave a small smile which the blond returned.
From that moment on Nino knew that he would be able to continue even if his girlfriend wasn't there to experience it with him.