324,881 times.

The photo of LadyNoir being canon had been downloaded/rebloged/very least liked 324,881 times.

Make that 324,954 times!

And they just got into the elevator!

"Think they'll be okay?" Nino asked, leaning his back against the wall of the elevator.

"Of course they will be! They are Ladybug and Chat Noir! If they would just get over themselves I have photographic proof of them being perfect together!" Alya brought her phone up, showing Nino the photo again.

Nino barely glanced at the picture before he looked past it at her. "Are you sure? I mean, they both looked really freaked out after that kiss."

"No," Alya admitted. She looked at the Ladyblog; 325,146. She stepped back, leaning against the opposite wall to him, gently knocking her head against the wall. "Leave it to them to suck all the fun out of this."

The elevator slid down three floors.

"Do you think that's why Ladybug always says they're not a couple?" Nino asked.

Alya blinked. "What?"

"That she's got, you know, like a boyfriend in real life."

Alya leveled a look at him. "Nino, this is real life."

"You know what I mean. In like her non-Ladybug life she's got someone."

Alya stared.

All of those times that Ladybug flipped out over people insisting she was with Chat Noir. People pushing and pressuring them to kiss or admit it or showing the two proof of how they were 'soulmates'.

"Holy shit."

Ladybug had a boyfriend in civilian life.

"How did I miss that?"

"Well, Ladybug is a pretty private. Makes sense for her to want to keep it on the down low, y'know."

"Of course, she's a professional. Then what about Chat? He's always flirting with her and…you know!" Alya winked twice and nudged the air with her elbow.

Nino shrugged. "Maybe he's just some giant flirt, some guys just can't turn it off, you know?"

Alya raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's tots true! There was this one guy at a gig I was DJing and he had such bedroom eyes, I mean-"

"Nino, should I be concerned?"

"What, no! I'm just saying: Chat's natural default is 'flirt'. The whole reason they're, like, not a couple is because he's trying to respect her boundaries."

"And cause he knows she has a boyfriend," Alya looked at her phone. She pulled up the picture. Alya had a picture that at one point Nadia Chamack was akumatized for on the Ladyblog. And she had put it on there practically as soon as she took it. After all, the best back up against Marinette was to immediately post important Ladybug news to the Ladyblog.

326,465.

It was officially way, way, WAY too late to take the post down.

Ladybug was never going to trust her again.

"Um, speaking of boundaries?" Nino asked as the elevator opened.

Alya looked up from her phone to see Nino giving her an embarrassed smile. The phantom of his hand up her-

She screwed her eyes shut as she stepped out of the elevator. "Don't remind me, or I might just be Akumatized again."

Alya never imagined that she would be turned into a supervillain twice.

Well three times if you counted Heroes' Day.

"Does Heroes' Day count against us?"

"Uh, maybe, but shouldn't we like focus on what we should say to everyone?"

"The truth," Alya said, "We snuck away to play Super Penguino and then we got caught."

"But what about-?"

"We snuck away to play Super Penguino and then we got caught."

"Got it."

Madame Bustier waved them over to the bus. "I'm glad to see you are alright, but I hope you two are ready to apologize to the cla-"

"I NEED TO TALK TO YOU NOW!"

And Alya was hit by a bus the size and shape of Marinette.