For wonderfulwizardofthozz, my beautiful fanfiction wife.
Computers, Heroes and the Benefits of Bad Hair Days
"So, does anyone want a new computer? Brand new, free of charge?"
Alya, Nino and Marinette all turned to Adrien in surprise. Their group study session at the library had just taken a definite, off-topic turn.
Alya, who was happy for the distraction, replied with, "Why are you trying to give away a computer?"
Adrien awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "My Father gave me three when I only needed one."
"Why three, though?" Marinette asked.
"He heard me make a joke about my current one and he's been trying to be a better dad lately, so bought me three."
Nino eyed him. "I was there for that joke, so I know that's not the full story. Tell them what you said."
Adrien sighed and then in an over-dramatic voice, said, "'Oh no! My numerous computers won't play this one game! Oh, the humanity!'" He dropped the fake voice and continued. "Father took that to mean I need three more. All I really needed was a working disc drive, but Father is the definition of overkill, so now I've got two spares, if anyone wants one."
Marinette laughed. "Well, thanks for the offer, but my computer is working fine. What were you trying to play, though?"
"The Sims."
Alya raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I haven't played that in years!"
Nino nodded sagely. "With The Sims, you either play for a binge of 48 hours, or not at all."
They all murmured in agreement.
Alya did, in fact, need a new computer. Her current one wasn't keeping up with all the work she needed to do for school and the Ladyblog. But she wasn't about to voice that. Getting a brand new computer for free? That was too much.
Nino apparently had no qualms about speaking up where Alya remained silent. "Babe, didn't you say you needed a new computer?"
Marinette, the traitor, backed him up. "Yeah, I remember you telling me that you needed it for the Ladyblog."
"Yeah, but I'm not just gonna take one of Adrien's computers."
"Why not?" The model asked. "I'm not using them."
"It's too much!"
Adrien shook his head. "It really isn't."
Stupid rich models and their stupid rich families. Stupid rich sunshine child, just trying to give away a presumably stupidly awesome computer…Stupid.
"I'm not—"
"Alya, just take the computer," Marinette cut off her protest. "You know you need it."
"But—"
"Besides," Nino put in, "Paris needs the Ladyblog to be in top working order. You're our number one source of akuma-related info. You're like an unofficial member of Team Miraculous." For a moment, Nino's eyes drifted from Alya. He glanced at Marinette and Adrien and then returned his attention back on his girlfriend. "These guys will agree with me. Ladybug and Chat Noir love you."
There was a silence before Marinette and Adrien rushed to back up what Nino said. "Yes! They love you!"
Nino gestured at them. "See? Case closed. Take the computer."
"But—"
"If you do me a favour, would that make you more inclined to take it?" Adrien asked. "Like payment? You do something for me, I give you a computer?"
Alya gave him a dubious look. "Something tells me that whatever it is, it's not gonna be equal to getting a new computer."
He waved away her scepticism. "Pfft! Of course it is."
"Alright, then what do you need me to do?"
"I need you to watch Boku no Hero Academia with me."
Silence reigned between them all.
"Three…two…one," Marinette counted down in a staged whisper.
"That doesn't equal a computer!" Alya exclaimed, right on cue.
"It does to me," Adrien responded. "I got Mari and Nino into anime, that makes you my next victim."
"Nino binged watch Naruto with you and then he acted weird for days."
Her three friends exchanged glances and Nino rushed to defend himself. "Hey! Naruto was just…full on, that's all…Hard to wrap to my head around."
Alya remained unconvinced. "It's just an anime."
"An earth-shattering, totally surprising anime."
"In any case," Marinette injected. "You should watch it. You'll like it."
Adrien nodded. "Princess is right. I reckon you'll love it. It's about superheroes."
Alya had to admit, that immediately drew her interest.
As if sensing her resolve breaking, Adrien leaned in and whispered in a singsong, goading voice. "Superheroes."
She sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine. I'll watch it and I'll take the computer. Thank you, Adrien."
Her friends cheered.
"Welcome to the ranks of being anime trash," Nino said.
"I'm not there yet," Alya argued.
Marinette grinned and gave her boyfriend a fond look. "Give Adrien time."
The model in question beamed at them. "Turning the world into weeaboos, one friend at a time."
Marinette fist bumped him. "Bien joué!"
Alya watched their interaction with a fond smile. Really, if she'd known that the trick to getting the two of them together was anime, she would have made Marinette watch it months ago. The two hadn't given her the full details about how they realised that they liked each other and actually did something about it. But Alya was content with not knowing, if they meant she could see them happy and in love like they were.
"I'm not sure I'll reach weeboo status," she said. "I'm interested, sure, but I'm not gonna get obsessed."
Adrien's expression was a mixture of excitement and smug confidence. "We'll see, Alya. We'll see."
Nino leant over to whisper to Marinette. "Twenty bucks says she'll be hooked after five episodes."
Her best friend shook her head and Alya was about to thank her when Marinette said, "Suckers bet. She'll be hooked in three."
Alya huffed. Traitors.
"You know, you didn't have to help me set it up. I could have done it myself."
Adrien looked up from where he was plugging numerous cords into the back of the computer he gave her. "And miss precious Boku no Hero binge watching time? Alya, please, remember who you're talking to."
She laughed. "Nerd."
He turned back to his task. "You say that like it's new information."
Alya thought about it. "Well, it kind of is. Until you and Mari got together, I never knew you were quite this…" She paused, trying to figure out how to finish her sentence.
"Nerdy?" Adrien suggested with a wry smile.
"For lack of a better word, yes."
"It's not something I really advertise," he said as he connected the keyboard. "I suppose it's because I don't really know how to."
"What do you mean?"
He turned to face her and gave a little, helpless shrug. "I never went to school before coming to Françoise Dupont. I don't really know how to interact with people my age and I suppose I'm still learning how to. But at home, I was always taught to be quiet, to speak when spoken to and liking stuff like anime was frowned upon. It's taken a while to learn that it's okay to actually show what I like and that I don't always have to be perfect. You, Nino and Mari help a lot with that."
Adrien turned back to his task and Alya figured that the conversation was closed. Still, she couldn't help but say, "You don't need to be perfect. Not for us. You're perfect the way you are. You're enough."
He paused in the act of plugging in the computers speakers. It was a short little moment. A pause of surprise, like he wasn't expecting to hear what she said. He was quiet for a second, before he said a heartfelt, "Thanks, Alya."
Adrien didn't turn to look at her when he said it, and Alya respected that. She figured the conversation had gotten a little too hard for him, and she gave him a moment to collect himself. Instead, she sent a text to Marinette.
Alya: Sunshine needs to be protected at all costs.
Marinette: Why? What happened?
Alya: Conversation just got a little too personal. He was talking about home and I said he was enough for you, me and Nino. I think he needs to hear that more often.
Marinette: Is he okay?
Alya: Yeah, I'm not pushing him. I've just left him to continue putting the computer together. I think he needed to be distracted, you know?
Do you think Ladybug and Chat Noir would beat Gabriel up for us?
He deserves it after putting Adrien through so much.
Marinette: I'm not sure about Chat Noir, but I'm sure Ladybug would have a few choice words to say to him.
Alya: She'd totally beat him up, right?
Marinette: Superheroes are not supposed to beat up civilians.
Alya: That was not a no. Come on, she totally would.
Marinette: … Maybe.
Alya: I'm taking that as you agreeing with me. I'm gonna ask Ladybug the next time I see her.
Marinette: Alya! You can't just ask a superhero to beat someone up!
Alya glanced up to see Adrien starting to boot up the computer.
Alya: Sorry, can't talk. Sunshine has finished putting the computer together. It's anime time.
Marinette: You're just using that as an excuse to get out of promising not to get Ladybug and Chat Noir to beat up Adrien's Dad.
Alya: Can't hear you. Anime time.
Marinette: WE ARE TEXTING.
Alya: Can't hear yooou~
Marinette: …. Fine, but this conversation isn't over. Enjoy your anime sesh. Give Adrien my love.
Adrien sat on the lounge beside her. "So, are you ready for some Boku no Hero Academia? Also known as 'My Hero Academia.' Or, 'an awesome show that you will love and thank Adrien forever for showing it to you.'"
Alya put the phone down. "You're a dork, but yes. Also, Mari sends her love."
She nearly cooed at the totally besotted look that came on Adrien's face when she mentioned Marinette. "You really love her, don't you?" She asked as the first episode began to play.
Adrien smiled, and that was an answer enough. "Yeah," he said, "I really do."
Alya felt a rush of happiness for her two friends. "Good, because she loves you too."
Adrien's smiled only widened. "You know that Nino feels the same about you, righ—oh my god."
Alya frowned at the sudden, mortified expression on Adrien's face. "What's wrong?"
"I tried to set Nino up with Marinette," he muttered, far too low for Alya to hear him.
She paused the episode. "Pardon?"
"I tried to set Nino up with Marinette."
"Come again?"
He turned and grabbed her by the shoulders, looking horrified. "I tried to set Nino up with Marinette!"
Alya blinked, processing what he said. "Oh," she laughed. "Yeah, I tried to do the same."
"You tried to set Marinette up with Nino?!"
She shook her head. "No, I tried to set Marinette up with you. I was hiding in the bushes at the zoo, telling Marinette what to say, but you weren't there."
"That's because I was hiding in the bushes, telling Nino what to say!"
Alya laughed. "Yeah, Nino told me about that when you and Mari got together. Calm down, you nerd, Nino and Mari aren't a thing."
Adrien let go of her shoulders and slowly slumped back into his seat. "I know, but can you imagine? Our partners with someone else?"
She found it funny that Adrien never called Marinette his 'girlfriend.' Instead, she was always his 'partner,' and it was something that Marinette did as well. Alya supposed it just showed how permanent their relationship was. They weren't just simply boyfriend and girlfriend, they were something more than that.
"Thankfully that didn't happen. Also, I can't believe you thought I'd try and make Nino and Mari a thing. I've been sailing the SS Adrienette since our second day of school, thank you very much. That's almost as long as I've been shipping Ladynoir."
Adrien smirked. "Adrienette and Ladynoir, huh?"
"You know it! I deserve a 'Best Friend of the Year Award' for all the scheming I did to get you and Marinette together."
He eyed her suspiciously. "What sort of scheming?"
"Nothing you can prove."
"You scare me sometimes, you know that?"
"I'm proud of that."
"Of course you are."
"But can we agree that Ladynoir are, like, the ultimate power couple?"
Adrien nodded. "Oh, for sure!"
"I mean, I was practically screaming for Ladybug to realise how much Chat Noir loves her."
"I know, right?!"
"Wow, I didn't know you shipped them that much."
"Ladybug and Chat Noir are, like, my life."
Alya was delighted. "Adrien! You gotta tell me these things! You're my new shipping buddy because Marinette's hopeless. She was adamant that Ladybug and Chat Noir would never be a thing until really recently, then she started changing her tune. That was before I got proof of Ladynoir, though."
Adrien looked highly amused. "Was she really?"
"Yeah, but then I got her to agree that if she was gonna go for any celebrity, she'd do Chat Noir."
He choked. "She said what?"
Alya laughed. "Relax, she's not actually gonna go bang Chat Noir. It's just one of those 'free celebrity pass' things." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Although, I suppose you are a celebrity. Actual model, Adrien Agreste, and all that."
Adrien turned a brilliant red colour.
Alya studied his reaction and cooed at him. "Awww, are you embarrassed?"
"Please, stop."
"Or maybe you're jealous? Don't want to envision Marinette making out with the most famous cat in Paris?"
Adrien blush even darker.
"Oh my god, you are! That is precious!"
"Alya, please."
"No way, this is great. I need to document this for your wedding." She grabbed her phone and started recording. "Actual ball of sunshine, Adrien Agreste, ready to take on Chat Noir for moving in on his girlfriend."
Despite the teasing and his embarrassment, Adrien laughed. "When did I say I was gonna take on Chat Noir?"
"Just then."
"I'm pretty sure that was you."
"Nope, all you."
"You know, for a reporter you're pretty good at bending the truth."
"That's what reporters are good at—" Alya cut herself off as a scream shouted from outside.
She rushed to the window to see chaos reigning in the Parisian streets. "It's an akuma! I've got to…" she began as she turned back around to face Adrien, only to falter at the sight of an empty room. The sound of hurried, retreating footsteps was the only indication where her friend had gone. "Hey, wait! Adrien!"
Alya took off after him, but it was a credit to his athletic ability that she couldn't keep up with him. "Adrien, wait!" She called, as she saw him about to rush out of her building and into the commotion.
He reluctantly paused and looked over his shoulder. "It's too dangerous. Stay inside!" Without another word, he disappeared out in the akuma-induced mayhem.
Alya stared after him, incredulous. He tells her it's too dangerous, and then charges off into it himself?! Plus, who did he think he was talking to? She was the creator of the Ladyblog! She was known for rushing headfirst into akuma fights and getting the best footage.
Lack of her own self-preservation tendencies aside, what was Adrien thinking?! Alya was the one who took stupid risks out of their friend group, not him! What if he hurt himself? She'd have to tell the others, Marinette would be a mess, Nino would create a thousand 'get well soon' playlists and Gabriel probably wouldn't let Adrien out of the house ever again.
"Stupid son of a fashion designing bitch," she muttered and chased after him.
Alya had her phone out and recording as she raced through the streets. She wasn't livestreaming, as her first priority was finding Adrien, not filming. (That said, she updated the Ladyblog about the attack as she ran.)
Where in the world was he?! It was like he disappeared!
"Adrien! Where are—holy shit!"
The akuma appeared out of nowhere: a woman with pale skin, scissors in both hands and wow, that was a lot of hair. In a very Doctor Octopus-like fashion, the akuma's exceedingly long, brown hair acted like legs and carried her along. Strands also snagged civilians and send them flying, picked up and threw cars, or generally created chaos.
"Where is Chloé Bourgeois?!" The akuma raged. "You think my hair is so bad?! Well, I am the Hairdresser and I'll show you what a real bad hair day looks like!"
Alya groaned. "Are you kidding me?!"
So this was Chloé's fault. Again.
Forget sending Ladybug and Chat Noir to beat up Gabriel Agreste, she was going to sic them on Chloé. This was getting ridiculous. How many akumas' had she caused now?
The Hairdresser locked eyes with her. Welp, there was nothing else for it.
She raised her phone, making sure it was still recording. "Hey, Miss Hairdresser, care for an interview? And I don't know what exactly Chloé did, and I'm sure your anger is well-founded—like, real well-founded—but you know that whatever Hawkmoth told you is a load of bull, right?"
The akuma snarled at her.
"Also, have you seen my friend Adrien anywhere?"
She was stalling, keeping the akuma occupied until Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived. Which she hoped was really soon because oh my god the hair is reaching for her—
"Heads up!" A familiar voice cried.
A silver baton slammed into the Hairdresser's head and seconds later, Chat Noir landed protectively in front of her.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Ladyblogger," he said. "That was cutting it a bit close, don't you think?"
A beat. "Did you just—?"
He smirked.
Oh, he totally did. Of course Chat Noir would know hair dressing puns.
"Chat Noir!" The Hairdresser cried. "Give me your miraculous!"
He pretended to consider it. "What will you give me in return?"
The akuma clearly wasn't expecting that. "What?"
"Well, the miraculous is pretty important. What do I get in exchange? A haircut?" Chat flicked his hair. "I don't really think I need one, do you? I mean, look at these beautiful golden tresses. I put a lot of effort into this." He turned to grin at Alya over his shoulder. "Because I'm worth it."
Standing in front of an enraged akuma wasn't an ideal place to laugh, but Alya couldn't help it. A giggle escaped her, and that was clearly the Wrong Move™, because the akuma growled and lunged at them.
There was a familiar zipping sound and suddenly a yoyo was wrapping itself around the Hairdresser, pinning its hair and arms to its sides.
"Time to go!" Chat grabbed Alya with one arm and extending his staff with the other. Within moments, they were up on the roof of a nearby building and looking down as Ladybug swooped in and delivered a hard kick to the Hairdressers head.
"Boom headshot," Chat said.
"Ouch, and right where you hit her, too," Alya observed.
"Mmm," he hummed in agreement, before getting back to business. "I need to go help my Lady. Stay here!" Without even waiting to hear her response, he jumped back into the fray.
From her vantage point, Alya had a good view of the fight. Unfortunately, Chat's Cataclysm was ineffective, and Ladybug's Lucky Charm (a giant water gun) had yet to prove useful.
"CHAT NOIR!" Ladybug cried, as her partner was caught by a tendril of hair. Chat couldn't escape and Ladybug couldn't get to him in time. Alya could only watch in horror as Chat was lifted into the air, and then slammed into the roof she stood on with a sickening crunch.
"CHAT!" She and Ladybug shouted in alarm.
Alya rushed to his side. He was lying face down on the ground, his right arm and leg twisted in the wrong direction. Blood was pouring from a gash in his head.
"Chat Noir! Oh my goodness, Chat Noir! Are you okay?!" She babbled as gently turned him over; the urgency of her tone at odds with the slow pace in which she moved him.
The superhero looked awful: bruised, battered, bleeding and his arm and leg were clearly broken. Despite his injuries, he was still conscious and looking blearily at her. "Alya," he began.
Well, he knew her name. That was good, right?
"It hurts," he finished.
That much was obvious. Alya could tell it hurt just by looking at him. And then as if to prove how much Chat Noir disregarded his own well-being, the idiot tried to sit up.
"Whoa," she said, pushing him back down, "just lay down. You're not up for sitting right now."
"I need to see. I need—I need to help my Lady."
"Your arm and leg are broken; you're not going anywhere."
He just stared at her.
"I also think you might have a concussion," she went on.
There was a beat of silence, and then Chat let out a creative set of swear words. Alya didn't even blame him; that shit looked like it hurt.
Was she still recording this? Chat Noir probably didn't want Paris to see him in such a state. Vowing to look over the footage later, she turned off her camera and put her phone away.
Chat's face was pulled into a grimace and it looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. That was bad, right? Concussed people weren't supposed to go to sleep, right?
"Chat!" She said urgently. "Stay awake! Uh…tell me about your day!" It was an average topic, but it would keep him talking. More importantly, it would keep him awake.
"My day has been nice," he replied.
Alya looked from his battered body, to where Ladybug was still battling the akuma. She turned back to him. "What about this day is nice?"
An explosion occurred in the background. A beat passed. "Overall, it's nice," Chat amended.
"Okay, why was it nice? What did you do?"
"Hung out…with you."
Alya raised her eyebrows. Chat considered this hanging out?
"Uh, yeah, I guess we did."
Beep! Beep! Beep! Chimed his miraculous.
Alya froze. Any minute now, she'd see who was under the mask. As much as she was dying to know who the protectors of Paris were, she knew the heroes valued their privacy.
"I won't look," she told him. "I won't see who you are, I promise. And if I somehow do, I swear that I won't put it on the Ladyblog. Hell, I'll even point evidence away from you."
Chat gave a weak smile; it was more a grimace of pain than a grin. "You know, for a reporter you're pretty good at bending the truth."
"That's what report—" she cut herself off as she recognised the familiar sentence.
Wide eyed, she stared at him. At the blonde hair, the green cat eyes, his build. Little hints she never noticed were starting to click together and create a full picture. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before.
"… Adrien?"
Chat—Adrien—nodded, giving a hiss of pain at the movement. "Hey…Alya."
Everything made sense. Why Adrien had a strange case of disappearing all the time, why he was constantly late, why he had an avid interest in the superheroes of Paris…
Holy shit.
Alya clenched her fists. "Adrien, if—"
"Miraculous Ladybug!" Came a cry from the street below them.
A swarm of ladybugs flew around the city, setting everything to rights. They covered Chat Noir and within moments, he was healed. It was liked he'd never been hurt in the first place. Secure in the knowledge that what she was about to do wouldn't aggravate his injuries further, she furiously grabbed him by the collar and hurled him into a sitting position.
"Adrien Agreste," her voice low and promising pain. "I swear, if my best friend isn't under Ladybug's mask, then the injuries you just had will have nothing on what I do to you."
"Whoa, Alya, okay, just hold on a second…"
"You have until the count of three."
"I can't just tell you who Ladybug is."
"One."
"Alya."
"Two."
"Alya!"
"Three!"
"Alya, what are you doing?" Ladybug spoke up from behind her.
She and Chat turned to see the superheroine of Paris staring at them in confusion.
"Hey, Buginette," Chat said, "looks like the cat's out of the bag."
Alya had yet to let go of Chat Noir, but she spoke to Ladybug. "Girl, that better be you under there, because I know it's him, and if it's not you, then Sunshine here is in for it."
Ladybug held up her hands placatingly. "It's me, I promise. Chat hasn't done anything wrong. Thank you, but can you please let him go?"
Relieved, Alya let go of the superhero in her clutches. "Oh, thank god. Sunshine, don't scare me like that!"
He gaped at her. "Don't scare you?! I told you earlier that you're scary, but that was downright terrifying!"
Before they could go any further, Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses beeped in unison.
"Let's get out of here," Ladybug said.
"Back to mine," Alya put in. "You guys owe me some answers."
When they were safely back in her room and the transformations were dropped, Alya gave Adrien a big hug. "I'm glad you're okay. It looked pretty bad earlier."
He stiffened in surprised, but hugged her back. "So you no longer want to hurt me?"
"I didn't think you were the type to cheat on someone, but I had to protect my best friend." She turned to Marinette. "Who was keeping a giant-ass secret from me."
Marinette looked apologetic. "It was for your own protection."
"And we were going to tell you soon," Adrien added.
"Really?"
They nodded. "Yeah."
"Why?"
"Nino found out," Marinette elaborated, gesturing at Adrien. "Because this one couldn't keep his mouth shut. Or more correctly, didn't realise he was talking to Nino as Adrien while he was transformed."
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. "In my defense, I was really tired that day."
Alya laughed. "You dork." Then, delighted, she hugged the two of them to her. "Ahh, I can't believe this! This is the best thing ever! I want all the deets! Starting with those two little things," she said, nodding towards the two pink and black creatures that were floating by Marinette and Adrien's shoulders.
"We'll tell you everything," Marinette promised. "Nino's right, you are the unofficial member of Team Miraculous."
"On one condition," Adrien said.
She was up for anything. "Yeah?"
"You have to watch Boku no Hero Academia with us afterwards."
Alya beamed at them. "Deal!"
Bonus:
Marinette was correct in her assumption that Alya would be hooked in three episodes.
Alya was disappointed Marinette and Adrien wouldn't go beat up Gabriel and Chloé.
Adrien was just happy to have someone to ship Tododeku with.
I hope you all liked this fic! It started from me being unable to play The Sims on any of my computers and then my fanfiction wife being like, "Imagine Adrien saying that and then Gabriel buys him like three computers," and then it morphed into this.
Please let me know what you thought in the reviews!
Much love,
Leisey.