Part 4

My ring beeped in warning as the world turned back to normal around us. Ladybug slipped her yo-yo back around her waist and put a hand on her hip.

"You better split before you change back," she said.

I walked up to her, bowed, and kissed her hand. When I stood up again, she touched the spot on my arm where I had been cut. A small drop of blood slid out from beneath the skin and ran down my leather suit, dropping with a small splash onto the sidewalk.

I looked up at Ladybug, who had a strange look on her face.

"You okay, Ladybug?"

"What? Oh yeah, sure, I'm… Great. It's just… I was watching a movie earlier, and, well… Blood just isn't really my thing…" She trailed off, shaking her head in embarrassment.

My ring beeped again, nearing its last pad.

I wrapped Ladybug into a tight hug, "I'll be okay, Mi'lady." I assured her. "Cat's always have a way of bouncing back."

"Good, Kitty." Ladybug let go of me, then unhooked her yo-yo from her hip to spring off into the night.

I was able to duck out of the sight of passing civilians just as I changed back. Slipping Plagg a piece of cheese, I quietly rounded the corner of the building and slipped back into the now busy streets of Paris. The first thing I needed to do was find Alya, to be sure that she wouldn't tell a soul about me.

She found me first. I was just beginning to debate on whether I should try to see if she had headed back to Marinette's house when Alya suddenly ran me over in the street, knocking me to the ground.

"Oh, there you are! I've been looking all over for you..." Alya grabbed my injured arm roughly and dragged me across the street, out of sight from the civilians. When she let go I hugged my arm tightly, whimpering from the pain.

"Ouch, Alya, be careful."

"Man, how did that happen? Here, one sec," Alya reached into her pocket to retrieve a white rectangular box. The box had a large red cross painted on one side of it and the words "First Aide" printed at the bottom. She popped the box open, pulling out some alcohol wipes and gauze.

I prepared myself for the sting as Alya wiped up the cut on my arm and bandaged it up for me.

"Wow, thanks," I whispered.

"Now, you better start explaining yourself, Mr. Agreste." Alya crossed her arms, phone in hand like always.

"I can't really explain," I laughed nervously, "I mean, I'm Chat Noir, that's all there is to it."

"How does Plagg fit into this?"

"Um… well…"

"Oh my gosh, Nino would freak if he found out about this."

"You can't tell him-"

"And Marinette would lose her mind. Chloe though, man I wonder what she would do if she knew you were Chat Noir. Probably build a solid gold shrine." Alya laughed at her own joke. Terror started rising up into my throat, and my panic must have shown on my face because Alya quickly said, "Oh, don't worry I'm not going to tell anyone. I may be proud, but I'm no snitch."

I rubbed the back of my neck worriedly, "Uh, good. No one can know. Ladybug doesn't even know who I really am."

"Really?" Alya found a bench and sat down next to it. I sat down next to her uneasily.

"Yeah, it's really important that no one finds out. You finding out about me, wasn't supposed to happen. I don't really know what this could mean for Chat Noir's future."

Alya shoved her phone into her bag and rubbed her hands together.

"You really don't know who Ladybug is?" She asked.

"Not a clue," I leaned my head back to look up at the stars, the same starts Marinette and I had been looking at only an hour before. They still shone bright, brighter than I could ever remember seeing them. One of the stars above me seemed to wink at me, twinkling in the darkness.

"I do," Alya said. That caught my attention. I sat up abruptly, nearly knocking Alya off her side of the bench.

"You know who Ladybug is? She never told me that she told anyone."

"It was an accident that I found out, you can't tell her that I told you that I know who she is."

"Alya, do you…" I cut myself off, thinking for a moment. If Ladybug wanted to tell me who she really was, she would tell me when she was ready. It wasn't okay for me to ask Alya about something so big. "Actually, never mind. If you can keep Ladybug's secret, I can trust you to keep mine too." I stood up tensely and started walking towards the street. I sent a quick text to my driver, letting him know where I was, then turned back to Alya.

Alya crossed her legs and gave me a small nod, "Your secret is safe with me."

That reminded me of something. About a week ago, I had found some fabric in my father's shop and stole it from him with Plagg's help. It wasn't much, but it was enough for what I needed it for.

"Hey Alya," I started, "do you think you could give Marinette something for me? I was going to give it to her tonight but with the akuma attack… I just didn't have time." I pulled out a small pink box from my shirt and handed it to Alya.

"Sure, Adrien. I'm sleeping over at her place tonight, I'll give it to her when I get back."

Suddenly, a car came peeling around the corner, stopping right in front of me. My bodyguard got out of the car and opened my door for me.

I turned back to Alya, "Thanks, I'll see you at school."

"See you at school Adrien." Alya waved goodbye as I got into the car and headed home.

Hello fellow Miraculousers! I've got a bonus chapter on the way :) I will post it soon!