Marinette got an earful from her parents. After Ladybug had "dropped her off" on her balcony, she'd descended into the living room where her parents were waiting anxiously. The bakery, like many shops in Paris, had remained closed for the day, and her parents had had nothing to do since they woke up except wait. They were angry at her for disappearing without a word and she apologized over and over. They were confused as to how she'd become friends with the heroes of Paris and why she'd never said anything to them. They were annoyed how the heroes had swept her away without so much as considering them until hours later. Mostly they were relieved to have her back.

If ever the heroes decided they needed her "help" again, she was absolutely to inform them as soon as possible. No buts.

"That's not why they took me," Marinette grumbled. She'd known that Ladybug's excuse would only go so far and it left a lot of questions unanswered. There was also a risk that Alya would tell Marinette what she'd done for Ladybug and Chat Noir and her parents would overhear. "There was a chance Volpina might have had it out for me so they decided to keep me safe. I only was helping yesterday because I insisted they give me something to do."

Her parents were horrified. "What do you mean?!" Sabine demanded.

"Why would an akuma be after you?"

It should've disturbed her how easily she could deceive her parents but, honestly, after nearly two years of being a hero, it just didn't.

Marinette looked away guiltily. "You can't tell anyone, okay? It could be very bad. But I, uh, I know who Volpina is. Papa…do you remember last year when we told you about that girl who lied about Adrien?"

Adrien, by pure coincidence, had come up with a similar cover story on his way home.

He de-transformed in his bathroom and motioned for Plagg to keep quiet just in case someone was in his room. Good thing, too, because when he emerged from the bathroom, his father was sitting on his couch. Adrien was shocked for all of three seconds before Gabriel turned around and his blood ran cold. Oh, he was in trouble. Bye-bye freedom, bye-bye secret identity, bye-bye everything.

"You're safe," Gabriel said simply.

He stood up and walked around the couch towards Adrien and pulled him into a firm hug, the likes of which he hadn't received since the incident with Jackady. It took Adrien several seconds before he could think clearly enough to respond. He was just getting all sorts of affection today. Gabriel pulled back quickly and Adrien tried not to mourn the loss of the brief paternal warmth.

Now the anger would come. Now the scolding, the chastising, and the questions Adrien hoped he was prepared for. His father was calm. It almost scared him more than it would have if he'd been livid.

"Père…"

"I'm glad you're safe," Gabriel told him. "And I know you couldn't have possibly been on your own all this time or have gotten back in on your own, so do you mind explaining to me where you've been since yesterday afternoon?"

"I…Volpina. Ladybug and Chat Noir were afraid she'd come after me since she did last time. Before they even went to confront her at the Louvre they decided to get me some place safe. I'm sorry, they didn't give me time to even leave a note. I don't even know what happened to my phone. I'm so sorry."

Gabriel gave him a long, hard stare. Adrien swallowed nervously and it took all his willpower not to shrink back. "And you came out of the bathroom, why…?"

"Chat Noir just dropped me off."

His father hummed. "I see. Well. Next time the heroes of Paris decide to put you in their witness protection program, tell them that they need to have the courtesy of informing Nathalie or your bodyguard. You have a schedule, akuma or no akuma, and you at least need to give Nathalie a chance to reschedule your commitments if necessary."

Adrien was neither impressed nor amused by his father's priorities. Honestly, if he'd known Volpina wasn't going down that easily, he would have left a note or something.

"Also, your phone." Gabriel produced Adrien's cell phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to him. "It was found on the floor by your bed. See to it that it remains on you as well next time."

He bit back a sigh. "Yes, Père."

"Good. Make sure you eat lunch. I can't imagine they fed you while they were running around Paris."

As if to prove his father's point, Adrien's stomach rumbled.

As anticipated, things did not simply blow over. The mayor held a press conference that very same day to confirm the reports that Volpina had been defeated. He also 'regretfully' informed the citizens of Paris that her identity remained unknown at that time due. Finally, requested Ladybug and Chat Noir's presence as soon as possible.

Before the broadcast was even over, Ladybug received a text from Chat Noir. It was a photoshopped French Grumpy Cat with the caption: 'Non."

The next morning when her parents weren't looking, Marinette tossed Lila's necklace into the oven and shut the door.

A few hours later, the Ladyblog updated with a new post from Alya. She was requesting another interview with them about some interesting information she'd learned yesterday and Marinette sighed. That honestly had taken longer than she'd thought. She sent Chat Noir a text about the post and promised to take care of it before she transformed and went to visit her best friend.

"I know who Volpina is," Alya said without preamble.

"Wow. Not wasting any time are you?" Ladybug shook her head. "It was the schools, wasn't it?"

Alya nodded. "The collège where I went, but also where Adrien and Lila went, then Adrien's lycée, and Lila's lycée. Considering how she looks and the timing of each of her appearances, it just made sense."

"Idiot," she muttered. "She was practically daring someone to figure it out. But I can count on one hand the number of people who would've been able to make the connection."

Alya nodded to herself. "Adrien, Marinette, myself, Nino…"

"Adrien and Marinette already knew."

She gawked. "They did?!"

Ladybug nodded. "Lila's lies began this mess. Has either one of them ever told you that she tried to turn him against Marinette?"

"Marinette did once…but she never mentioned Volpina…" Alya trailed off, expression unsure.

"Out of respect, probably," Ladybug said. "And then, of course, Volpina went after Adrien last autumn. If he didn't know before that, he certainly did then."

"Why haven't any of you gone to the police? They want to know who she is."

Ladybug shook her head sadly. "What good would it do? Lila is a horrible person but she does not deserve what they would do to her. She hates me. The only thing I can do at this point to be the better person is to save her from being a scapegoat."

Alya cocked her head to the side. "Why does she hate you? Or, I mean, why do you have such a grudge against her? There seems to be some strong mutual dislike."

"Noticed that, did you?" She closed her eyes. "…The day that Lila tried to turn Adrien on Marinette, I overheard their conversation. She told him she was one of us. A Miraculous user. But I knew she was lying. …I was hasty. Cruel, even. I yelled at her in front of him." Opening her eyes, she was met with Alya's expression of shock. "I was willing to let her other lies stand. I assumed the truth would reveal itself. …But claiming a mantle she had no right to…" She clenched her fists and shook her head. "It's insulting."

"Maybe she didn't consider that?" Alya suggested timidly.

"I don't care. I…" Ladybug trailed off for a moment, considering. She'd always wanted to tell Alya the truth but she'd promised Tikki she never would and it…honestly felt wrong to do so. Best friend or not, Alya was an outsider and how could she justify showing her but not her own partner? Ladybug sighed. "This isn't for fun. This isn't a gig. It's my duty. I'll always be Ladybug and I mean until the day I die. Chat Noir is exactly the same. We can take our masks off but we can never escape it."

"But…you're just superheroes. I don't understand. People pretend to be superheroes all the time."

Ladybug shook her head. "A long time ago, humans really messed up. They got greedy and nearly destroyed everything. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and all the others like us exist to undo the mistakes of the past. We all were given the choice and we all willingly devoted our lives to this. Whatever else we may do, our duties as heroes will always have to come first. And then…Lila," she hissed, "decided to pretend to be one of us to deceive a poor, lonely boy who idolized us. She reduced us to a ploy and who knows what it would've done to him in the end?!"

She was fuming by the time she was finished, hands clenched into fists. Power radiated from her, causing Alya's hairs to stand on end.

Up until that very moment, Alya had always considered Chat Noir to be the dangerous one of the two. He was a dark, imposing figure. With his feline features, dark suit, and those wicked expressions he would make in battle, every part of him screamed that he was a force to be reckoned with. Ladybug, in contrast, was smooth and gentle, light where he was dark, healing, and unwaveringly good.

Ladybug was dangerous. Not dark, but dangerous. And she had been grievously insulted.

"I'm sorry," Alya apologized even though she had done nothing wrong herself. "I didn't know…"

"No," Ladybug sighed, deflating. "No one does. …I should go."

She turned away from her friend and walked towards the window.

"You're never going to take the mask off, are you?" Alya asked behind her. "You're never going to show us who you are, even after you defeat Papillon."

Ladybug paused and glanced over her shoulder. She shook her head. "Never. Our identities are what keep us safe."

"What would happen if…?"

"…We'd probably be killed."

Alya let out a horrified gasp and the slap of her hand against her mouth reverberated throughout the room. Ladybug sighed quietly. A moment passed in silence.

"Then I'll stop," her best friend decided aloud.

Ladybug's jaw dropped and she whipped around. Alya loved puzzling over the latest Ladybug theories, it was one of her favorite things to do. She even dragged Marinette into it sometimes. She'd known Alya would stop one day, either because she grew bored of it or because Ladybug had moved on, but she'd never expected her to simply just quit. To give up one of her favorite hobbies willingly and without being asked.

"I'm not deleting my blog," she went on quickly. "If I did it would scare a lot of people and I think we both know it's useful. But the identity theories page will go. Tonight. I promise."

"You can't ever say why," Ladybug warned. "Nothing I told you can ever leave this room. If Papillon thinks you know anything about our secrets, he might come after you. Your family could get hurt."

Alya furrowed her brow and nodded. For all she complained about her siblings, she would fight an akuma herself it kept them safe.

"And no matter what you may hear…keep Lila's secret as well."

NON.

As always, feel free to come chat on tumblr. My url is wintermoth! If you want to, feel free to tag anything about this fic with "ML Guardians AU"