The Shirt

Alya knew it was late. But she had to tell Marinette the big news. She had just got a new lead on Ladybug's identity. Apparently she was a designer. Alya was certain that bit of information would interest Marinette the most.

She was almost at the bakery when she saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks. Two people stood on the balcony. Alya could make Marinette out easily enough but she couldn't quite see who the other person was. She could go only as far as to assume it was a boy.

What's Marinette doing with a boy on her roof at this time of night? Why had she never mentioned him before? Wait is he shirtless!?

Her train of thought was interrupted when the pair on the balcony leaned together for a kiss. Before Alya could properly process this information, the boy was bathed in a bright green light. When her vision returned Alya let out a strangled gasp. For in the place of the boy (who was just kissing her best friend) was Chat Noir!?

As the cat-themed hero jumped out of sight, Alya bolted to the bakery. Since her friend's parents were already in bed there was no one to stop her from bursting into the room upstairs. Marinette, who was coming down the stairs at the time, jumped at the sudden noise. Almost losing her footing, and stumbling down the rest of the steps. She stood there for a few moments, staring at her best friend with a bewildered expression. They stood there in silence gaping at each other, until the situation started sinking in. Suddenly Marinette's cheeks flushed bright red as she started tugging at her oversized t-shirt, trying to cover the fact that she wasn't wearing any pants. Quickly coming to her senses, Alya rounded on the girl. "WHAT THE HELL GIRL?!" She yelled, glaring daggers at her friend. "CHAT NOIR WAS HERE?! WHEN WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME YOU WERE SNOGGING A SUPERHERO!"

"Shhh, keep it down Alya!." Marinette said in a harsh whisper. "I don't want my parents to hear."

"OH HO HO, REALLY? I DON'T SUPPO-" She stopped mid sentence as her gaze drifted down to her bottom half. The lack of pants quite obvious. "Oh my god…" Alya said, her voice lowered somewhat, and her tone almost unbelieving. "You weren't just kissing him were you?"

"Alya, I-I can explain." Marinette stuttered, her eyes pleading.

"I'm listening." Alya muttered as she slouched down onto the nearest seat. Feeling more than bit overwhelmed.

As Marinette started talking, Alya couldn't help but loose focus. The shirt Marinette was wearing was definitely not hers. It looked like a boys shirt. Could it be Chat Noir's?

OMG, Mari knows Chat Noir's identity.

The revelation hit her suddenly but Alya just shook her head, too exhausted to bring up anything else. Instead she contented herself by continuing to study the shirt. For some reason she found it quite familiar. But where had she seen it before?

Alya leaped out of her seat. Realisation hitting her like a train. "Mari," She said quietly, her voice coming across oddly wheezy. "Isn't that Adrien's shirt?"

Marinette froze, eyes wide and her cheeks darkening to a prominent shade of scarlet. She spluttered out a few incoherent words, excuses no doubt, until Alya interrupted. "That means…" She trailed off, the idea solidifying itself in her mind. "ADRIEN IS CHAT NOIR!"

Resigned Marinette dropped her head in defeat. Slowly nodding but hating that she was giving away her partner's secret. "I need to make a phone call." She mumbled, walking away from her friend, leaving her dumbstruck. She was about to press call when Alya came back to her senses and stopped her. "Are you calling Adrien?" She questioned. Marinette just nodded. "Then I want to hear what you two are saying." She declared, then as an after though she added quietly. "It's the least you could do, considering how much you've lied to me." Marinette could feel the guilt settling in the pit of her stomach. Without saying a word, she put the phone on speaker and waited for her boyfriend to pick up.

"Hey there purrr-incess." He answered, you could just hear the smirk in his voice. "To what do I owe the paw-leasure?" Any other time Marinette would have rolled her eyes and groaned at such a comment, but given the situation she simply said, "Hey kitty."

"Is everything alright?" He asked, tone suddenly turning serious. There was a pause on her end. The silence stretching long enough for Adrien to start worrying. "Alya's here." She said at last, choosing her words with care. "You're on speaker."

"Wh-what?" Adrien stammered, unable to continue his train of thought when Alya interjected loudly. "ADRIEN! YOUR CHAT NOIR AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME!"

"How did she find out!" Adrien gasped, directing his words at his girlfriend.

"Well ummm," Marinette began, her voice shaking slightly due to her nerves. "She was on he-her way to the bakery when she saw us on the balcony… and then she came in and saw me in your shirt." Adrien sat riveted in his seat, gaping like a fish, his eyes as wide as saucers. If only she hadn't looked so damn cute in his shirt. He wouldn't have left it with her and they wouldn't be in this mess. "D-do you think we should tell her the other half?" He said nervously, if Alya knew about him being Chat Noir, they might as well tell her about Ladybug. "I-I guess you're r-r-right." She replied, her nerves rivaling his own. "I'll meet you later, bye." With that she hung up the phone and turned to Alya. "What other half?" She asked, "What haven't you told me?" Marinette walked to the middle of the room.

"Sorry I never told you." She said quietly. "Tikki, spot on." The room was filled with a soft pink glow, forcing Alya to shield her eyes. She opened them to find Ladybug standing in front of her. Uncharacteristically shy and trying to avoid her gaze. "It was you this whole time?" Alya blurted. "Sorry, you're probably disappointed." The spotted heroine said fidgeting slightly under the blogger's gaze. "Girl are you kidding me! This is AMAZING!" Suddenly Ladybug was engulfed in a hug. "I can't believe I never figured it out. With you or Adrien. Ladybug chuckled. "Yeah, we both felt like that at first." Stepping back, she sighed, relieved her friend had taken it so well. "I told Adrien I'd meet up with him once we worked everything out." She explained to Alya. "He's probably worried sick, the poor cat, I need to let him know everything turned out fine."

"Yeah yeah of course." Alya said, stepping over to the trap door. "Bye Mari."

"Bye Alya." With a wave she made her way towards the balcony. "Wait!" Alya said, before she had gone too far. "I-I just wanted to let you know that I won't tell anyone, and, I'm glad it was you." Ladybug's smile was radiant as she looked back at her best friend. "Thanks." With that said, she threw her yo-yo up and zipped out of sight.

Alya stood there for a second composing herself. Before heading downstairs. This was a lot to take in.