Alya is underrated. That is all.

~BH


Goodbye

After many heated "discussions" between Nino and Alya, and Marinette and Adrien's voice of reason, Alya had decided to take the opportunity. Having planned her surprise goodbye party for the evening, Chat Noir and Ladybug decided to patrol the city beforehand, hoping that they wouldn't find anything that would threaten Alya's last night in France.

"I'm going to miss Alya so much" Ladybug said to no one in particular, leaning on Chat Noir as they sat on a rooftop near her house. Chat Noir snaked her arm around her, giving her a squeeze as she looked on the verge of tears.

"Come on," He told her, the two of them silhouetted against the evening sky. "Let it all out now, and then later we can all just celebrate her, yeah? You've put so much effort into this party, I'm sure you want it to be purr-fect."

Ladybug groaned, but couldn't help but smile.

"You're right." She admitted. "Besides, she's under enough stress as it is with Nino getting worked up about it."

"Hey, I'd feel the same if you went to a country miles and miles away for an undetermined length of time"

"I can't leave Paris, they need me!"

"That's not the point and you know it."

"I guess you're right."

Chat Noir grinned at her. "This is a wonderful day. You've told me I'm right TWICE in the space of about five minutes, and our day together is far from over!"

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile as he leaned in for a kiss. She shuffled into his lap, deepening the kiss, and he couldn't help but wish that they didn't have to leave to go to a party, worries forgotten.


"I'll have just one drink Mari, you know I have a flight tomorrow." Alya insisted as Marinette led her to the bar by her bakery.

"You know your flight isn't until the afternoon, and you know you never have just one drink." Marinette laughed, opening the door for her friend.

"SURPRISE!"

A crowd of people were in the well lit bar, with Adrien and Nino at the forefront. Adrien made no secret in checking his girlfriend out and Nino had decided to put his doubts at the back of his mind for tonight after seeing the look of pure joy on Alya's face.

"You little minx!" Alya laughed at her friend, before smiling at everyone. "Did you organise this?"

"You deserve the best of sendoffs, for the best Ladyblogger in Paris!" Marinette cheered, raising her phone in some sort of toast. Adrien and Nino followed suit, and slowly the rest followed suit, fumbling for their own phones. Marinette smiled as she spotted Chloe's yellow phone in the crowd, and more of her classmates from school.

"To Alya!" Nino yelled, looking her straight in the eye.

The party was in full swing before the four friends knew it. Nino had decided to join them instead of taking his usual position as DJ and that seemed to make Alya happiest, even though she was having a whole party celebrated in their honour. Drinks were poured, cake was eaten and many of their other friends from school came to chat to them and offer their congratulations to Alya. Gifts were given: Nathaniel had made a poster depicting Alya as the superhero Ladyblogger, wearing an outfit that was incomparable to her akuma form that he knew she would probably rather forget. Ivan and Mylene gave her some pin badges they'd made themselves of Ladybug and Chat Noir, which Marinette and Adrien found quite bizarre when they knew they were staring at themselves. Even Chloe gave Alya a free VIP suite in her father's hotel for her and Nino, which resulted in Adrien smirking at an intrigued Nino for the rest of the night.

Not long after Chloe left they found themselves face to face with Lila. Adrien and Nino didn't really know where they stood with her after the incidents from before, and despite Marinette's attempts at a truce, they weren't entirely sure that she had been forgiven. Marinette was sure that she had only really invited her tonight so she wouldn't be the only one left out, and not because she particularly wanted to deep down.

"Congratulations, Alya." Lila said, smiling what seemed to be a genuine smile, but Marinette couldn't help but judge her slightly. "Maybe you'll be just as close with these American superheroes as you seem to be with Ladybug and Chat Noir." She shrugged, sipping her wine casually.

"I'm sure it'll all be professional, like I try to be here." Alya replied with a smile of her own. "We'll just see how it goes."

"I'm sure you will." Lila left before any awkward silence could loom over the group, but they were left with a sense of confusion as to whether the whole interaction was genuine or not. They shrugged it off, laughing nervously as she moved into the crowd, disappearing like she seemed to have done in school over the past few months.

After a few hours of dancing the DJ stood aside to let Marinette, Adrien and Nino take the stage.

"I would like to say some words about my best friend." Marinette started, tapping her wine glass as if she was about to start another toast.

"They're not getting married, Jesus!" Chloe called out, and Marinette had the good grace to laugh.

"Maybe they will after tonight!" Adrien couldn't help but chime in, earning himself a glare from Nino and a nudge in the ribs from his girlfriend.

"Well, that leads me to my main point, actually." Marinette smiled sweetly. "Alya deserves the best. She's hardworking, she's selfless and she's passionate. She has put her heart and soul into her Ladyblog since the beginning, and it makes me so happy that she is getting what looks like an incredible opportunity. I, and I'm sure I'm speaking for Adrien and Nino too, will support her every step of the way just like she has done for us."

She paused, surprised at her own confidence but even more surprised at the tears that were forming in her best friend's eyes.

"Anyway, that is not the real reason I'm up here. It turns out that it isn't just us that have faith in Alya, and due to pulling some strings of my own I've managed to give you a special message from some special people."

Doubting her technology skills, she handed a USB to the DJ who plugged it into his computer, projecting a video onto the screen behind him.

"Hi! Ladybug and Chat Noir here!" They waved from the screen. Alya gasped, and Marinette felt Adrien reach for her hand.

"We just wanted to say thank you to Alya for providing entertainment and being such a reliable source for the citizens of Paris, even if you seem to be hellbent on finding out identities!" Ladybug winked, and Marinette noticed for the first time how intensely Chat Noir was looking at her superhero alias on screen.

"Yeah, what my lady said!" Agreed Chat Noir, stretching while putting an arm around Ladybug, a gesture that made the audience laugh in exasperation. "All the best in America, and we hope you don't replace us with new favourite superheroes!" They waved goodbye again before the video ended, Chat Noir giving his trademark salute and Ladybug blowing a kiss to a now shamelessly crying Alya.

"Thank you." Alya almost whispered, as Marinette ran towards her to engulf her in another hug.

"And now, I'm going to see if I can top that." Nino spoke up, gaining the attention of the crowd. "As you all know, I've been starting to move on from sets to creating my own music, and I have just finished my first song, which I am going to debut here tonight. This is inspired by, and dedicated to, my Alya."

Soft music started to play and people started to pair up. Alya didn't hesitate to join Nino, and Marinette smiled as they started having a whispered conversation that ended in a very long kiss.

"They seem to have made up then." Adrien commented to her in hushed tones as they danced, almost millimetres away from each others lips.

"Nino still isn't entirely happy." Marinette whispered, wondering how Adrien was managing to close the gap between them even further when they were already so close. "He wants her to be happy though, and they can handle this."

"I'm sure they can." Adrien smiled, thinking fondly of his two friends, and also how it will be nice to not have someone chasing their identities for a while.

"I'm sure they will after tonight too, Alya's been talking about how she's wanted them to have some kind of romantic getaway for ages, and Chloe has basically handed it to them on a plate." She said, running her hands down his back. Adrien felt as if she had the power of electricity instead of the Lucky Charm as she trailed her fingers down his body, resting on his waist.

"Maybe we will too." Adrien muttered, so quietly that Marinette barely caught what he was saying.

"Are you saying what I think I'm hearing?" She chuckled, trying not to laugh too much when she saw how nervous he looked.

"We don't have to, but Chloe gave me a room too. Something about 'It's been long enough but don't make too much of a racket'. I mean we don't have to do it or anything we can just chill and watch tv or maybe cuddle like there'snopressureIhonestlydon'tmind-"

"That sounds perfect." Marinette whispered, in a voice that made him almost buckle.

"We'll just see how it goes."


The next day Nino, Adrien and Marinette all went with Alya to the airport. An emotional goodbye from her parents and sisters couldn't hide the pure happiness that she seemed to harbour from the previous night, and all four teenagers kept exchanging almost sheepish glances. The taxi driver gave them a funny look when they all got out of the car, but they took no heed as Nino tried to help Alya carry her bags.

"I don't want to drag it out." Alya insisted, looking at each of them. "I'll message as soon as I land, I promise."

"And you'll call me" Nino replied, as Alya rolled her eyes, pulling him in for a hug.

"Of course I will." She said, eventually releasing him and hugging Adrien. "Catch you later our fancy prince model human"

"See you later our fiery child tamer writer person" He laughed, trying not to cry himself as Marinette burst into tears.

"Oh, Mari", Alya hugged her fiercely as they slowly rocked back and forth. "You look after our boys, okay?"

She nodded, laughing and marvelling at the fact that they had gotten this far in their lives, barely into adulthood, with boyfriends and commitments they hadn't fathomed at the beginning of school.

After several "one more" kisses between Alya and Nino, many exchanged promises and a group hug that felt like it lasted for half a century, Alya turned around and walked into the airport, bags in one hand, her phone in the other.

"I miss her already." Marinette almost sobbed as Nino and Adrien both put an arm around her, staring vacantly at the door that Alya had left them through.