Hi everyone, I was watching one of the new episodes recently, Gang of Secrets, and I felt like writing this.
It obviously contains spoilers for Gang of Secrets and, I know it sounds strange, but bear with me here, it will make sense, it contains spoilers for the first season of Umbrella Academy, so if you haven't seen it yet...then what are you doing here anyway? Go watch it, it's great. That's it from me, have fun reading.
As always, I am not a native speaker and translate it from German as good as I manage to.
Disclaimer: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir doesn't belong to me and of course I don't make any money with it.
Thank you, Alya
"I am Ladybug" Marinette said, so quite Alya nearly missed it. Her voice sounded so weak, so small, so uncertain, like she was admitting she had done something incredible terrible. Then everything made sense.
Marinette was always running late, was always telling more and more mind-blogging excuses to doing so. Marinette was constantly canceling meetups with her friends. Marinette disappeared when ever an Akuma appeared. Marinette lied more times than should be possible for someone like her.
Marinette had chosen her to wear the Fox Miraculous because she knew she could trust her. The same goes for Nino. Ladybug had spoken to Alya not even half an hour earlier like she knew her, really knew her, not as a journalist who had interviewed her a few times or an occasional comrade-in-arms, no, like a friend. Marinette was Ladybug.
Alya had often read comics about superheroes. Sometimes it occurred that superheroes had to reveal their secret identities to their close friends. She herself had always thought they shouldn't have kept it a secret in the first place. If Matt Murdock had told Foggy from the start that he was Daredevil, they probably wouldn't have fought. If Peter Parker had told Harry Osborn that he was Spiderman and that he hadn't killed his father, then he probably would never have tried to kill Spiderman. With honesty everything would be much easier, there would be less conflict. It took her becoming Rena Rouge to finally understood how stupid those thoughts really were.
A superhero was not only responsible for themselves, no, other people, a lot of people, were dependent on them and Ladybug probably had it much more difficult than others. She was the only one who could cleanse an Akuma, should something happen to her, then Paris would have a serious problem and even if she probably didn't think that way herself, Ladybug was more important than everyone else. And Marinette was Ladybug, her tender, nice, clumsy best friend who wore pink and loved designing clothes and couldn't speak to the boy she had a crush on without stammering, was Ladybug.
If Alya had heard these words before she first became Rena Rouge, she would probably have been angry, then the chances would have been very high she would have accused Marinette of not trusting her. The young blogger wasn't particularly proud of it, but she probably would have reacted that way, at least before she knew what it meant to be a superhero. But she wasn't like that anymore, she had already made that realization. So, the only correct answer to that admission had been to smile and hug Marinette. Marinette shivered a little when Alya held her.
"Oh, girl" said Alya gently and petted her head, as she sometimes did with her little sisters when they were sad or afraid.
"I just cant take it anymore" Marinette sobbed in Alyas shirt "it's just too much. I tried to do it on my own, but...but...I can't talk to anyone, not about this. When all of you came today and asked me what's wrong with me...as Chat kept asking me if everything was okay...but I couldn't just say that I was just...just...I can't be with anyone, talk to anyone. We...Luca and I broke up because he accused me of hiding something from him and he was right, but I couldn't tell him that I had to leave again and again because an Akuma is there and I have to protect the city. And it would probably be the same with Adrien, even if I managed to ever tell him what I feel. I can't be with anyone while I'm Ladybug. I can't even be with my friends because I would have to lie to you too. I just simply can't take it anymore! I can't even talk to Chat about it because I've decided not to share my secret with anyone, not even with him. He is my partner, I would trust him with my life, I have already trusted him with my life several times, but I cannot trust him with my secret because otherwise something terrible will happen. And back than, back than it was easier, Master Fu was still there, and I could at least talk to him, but he gave me the responsibility for the Miraculous and lost his memory. He always said I shouldn't reveal my true identity to anyone, but I just can't take it anymore, it's too much. I…I..." she broke off with a pitiful sob and kept on crying, Alya could feel her trembling against her own body.
"Oh, Marinette" the blogger sighed deeply and just continued to pet her hair. She only understood half of what her friend had said. But that wasn't important, not now. She had questions, thousands, millions of them, but that didn't matter either. She could ask them later, once Marinette had calmed down and realized what she had done. She will probably be furious once she realized that she had just broken her own rules.
"Oh, no, now she is crying" suddenly a dozen small beings in all possible colors flew from all possible directions. Half of them looked like they were about to start crying themselves. Kwamis, they were Kwamis just like Trixx. Alya found her own partner among them, and he was one of those who wasn't crying. He just grinned broadly and held out a paw to the blogger, if he had fingers, then he would probably show her a thumbs up.
"I didn't know how much this all is affecting you" one of them, a red one with black dots, flew straight towards Marinette, tiny arms folded ruefully in front of her. Colorful bubbles came out of her mouth a few times and Alya decided not to mention it now, maybe she will later "if I had known, I would have advised you to tell someone about it a long time ago"
"It's OK, Tikki" Marinette moved away from Alya and wiped her face with her sleeve "It's not your fault. Is it very bad that Alya knows it now?"
"No" the Kwami, Tikki, shook her tiny head indulgently "it was bound to happen sooner or later, of course I would have advised you to tell Chat Noir first. We always advise our chosen to keep their identities a secret for some time, in case something unforeseen happens. It is very important that the two of you trust each other completely when the time comes. But in your case, I guess it was better to tell a friend first"
"Are you mad?" Marinette asked anxiously, and it took a few moments for Alya to realize that her friend was talking to her and not Tikki.
"Why should I be mad?" Alya asked confused.
"I lied to you" Marinette finally admitted, as if it were the worst crime she could imagine, probably it was.
"Oh, girl, I'm not angry" Alya laughed and her friend knitted her eyebrows in confusion "hey it was the right thing to do, you are Ladybug, you can't just tell everyone you know that it's you" she shrugged and wasn't the thought just ridiculous? "I didn't tell you that I am Rena Rouge" she winked conspiratorially, hoping to ease the mood a little.
"But I did know" Marinette sighed deeply. No, not an easy mood then. Maybe she should try some of Chat's puns? She knew Marinette found them hilarious, but always pretended not to like them.
"But I didn't know you knew" Alya countered "When you told me you were afraid, I would be angry with you for not telling me the day we met" the girl continued gently "But I'm not angry, you have been through a lot and taken so much on you. But I'm glad you told me now"
"But…" Marinette started and broke off.
"And don't worry, nobody will find out from me, not even Nino" she promised resolutely, knowing that she would take this secret with her to the grave should it be necessary.
"Thank you" Marinette sighed deeply and so, so relieved, as if she had carried the whole globe on her shoulders just a few moments ago and was finally able to put it down "I always thought it was necessary to not tell anyone, not even Chat, but it all just got too much"
"So, Chat really doesn't know?" Alya asked skeptically. She had always assumed he would know, just as she would know his identity. It would just make so much more sense. The two of them always denied it whenever a reporter asked them about it, but Alya always thought they were lying. It sounded so stressful to work so closely together and not really know each other. How did they even communicate? Did they just go when they saw an Akuma and simply hoped the other would notice as well?
"No" Marinette shook her head "He will probably be very mad when he learns that I told someone else before I told him" she buried her face in her hands "oh, damn it, what have I done? Now everything will be different, and it wasn't worth it. Someone will find out and Chat will be mad at me and we couldn't be partners anymore and Hawkmoth would win and then Paris will perish, and everyone will know it's my fault and everyone will hate me, Adrien will hate me too and then we won't get married, and we won't have three kids and a hamster"
"That escalated quickly," Alya sighed deeply. You could always trust Marinette to eventually come down to Adrien, their three children and their hamster, no matter what she was stressing out about "you could just tell Chat now, you told me after all. I don't think he will be mad at you, he loves you, I think you would have to do a lot more than tell your secret someone else before him to make him mad at you"
"I can't" Marinette sighed deeply "it's complicated" then she took a deep breath and told Alya about Chat Blanc "I can't tell him, it could all lead to this again" she finally ended and the blogger could see how much she wanted to do it anyway, just tell him everything now that she'd told someone.
"So we have to find a way to prevent Chat Noir from ever being akumatized and going all White Violine" said Alya in thoughts.
"White Violine?" Marinette asked confused.
"Vanya Hargreeves, Umbrella Academie?" the blogger continued, then sighed deeply when she realized her best friend had no idea what she was talking about "you really should read more superhero comics. But it doesn't matter now. Wouldn't it be easier to fend off Akumas from him when you know who he is? Besides, we cannot assume that it will end like this this time around. You've already changed the other timeline; it's been months since then. Have you heard about the butterfly effect? " she then asked.
"Butterfly Effect?" Marinette tilted her head a little. Her tears had run dry in the meantime, the conversation actually seemed to take her mind off. A victory for Alya, the girl thought triumphantly.
"Chaos theory. It's based on the fact that the flapping of butterfly wings can trigger a hurricane on the other side of the world. It's very often used in connection with time travel, it basically says that if you change even the smallest thing in the past, it can have dire consequences in the future. Since months have passed since your time travel, the timeline that you prevented should no longer be able to exist and therefore also not Chat Blanc. Also, the trigger wouldn't be the same. You said that you think that Chat found out about your identity because Adrien saw Ladybug putting a present from you in his room and passed it on...which I find very strange, then more people would know and I don't think Sunshine would tell anyone anyway, he is not the type. This time, however, you would tell Chat yourself, the event is different and in theory it shouldn't lead to the same result"
"I am confused" Marinette admitted meekly and sounded like herself again, not like the little pile of misery that had been crying in Alya's shirt just a few minutes ago.
"Besides, even if you never tell him who you are, it still doesn't guarantee that he will never be akumatized. Imagine the following scenario: you don't tell him, he finds out that you told me today, you argue and he gets akumatized. No matter what you do, it might or might not come to that. Wouldn't it be easier to prevent this if you could communicate properly with each other?" Alya shrugged.
"I have to think about it" Marinette finally said after a while, her brow furrowed as if she were thinking hard about everything. At least she didn't say no right away.
"Whatever you decide will be the right thing to do" grinned Alya broadly "After all, you are Ladybug and Ladybug is always right" she couldn't help but say.
Now that Marinette had calmed down, the blogger could finally afford to let the information she had learned a few minutes ago into her brain, realize what it meant and feel the scream creep up her throat, which she had to swallow with difficulty. She was ready to jump in the air and scream and dance.
She knew Ladybug, she was friends with Ladybug, no, not only that, she was Ladybug's best friend. Why did that sound so familiar to her? She suddenly wondered, but the thought slipped away as her brain continued to be relentlessly pumped with endorphins.
"I hope it will" Marinette sight deeply "thank you, Alya, I really needed it, it was good to be able to finally let it all out and since Bannyx didn't show up, the world won't be destroyed this time around" she added a little nervously, oh yes, Bannyx, Alix from the future who owned a Miraculous and could time travel. So they really could assume that nothing terrible would happen, otherwise she would have prevented it. One more point for Alya's own theory "but now, I'm sorry to have to say it, but I need some time for myself now, I have a lot to think about, a lot will change now and…" she broke off and bit her lower lip. Alya could understand the broad hint and immediately got to her feet.
"No problem, I have to tell the others that you're feeling a little better anyway, otherwise they'll come back and I'll probably have to scream into my pillow for an hour or something. But I'm really glad you told me, and you can always rely on Rena Rouge, in and out of mask" she walked to the trapdoor "text me when you have made up your mind"
"I will" Marinette smiled "oh, there is one more thing" she added hastily "since you now know, I would like to ask you for something. This one interview on the Ladyblog, the one that says Lila is supposed to be Ladybug's best friend, could you please delete it, it's not really true, you know?" this sentence came like a clap of thunder. Of course, Marinette couldn't stand Lila, then how could she be Ladybug's best friend? It didn't make sense.
"She sounded so convincing!" Alya called out in her own defense. Lila had sounded very convincing, but in the end, it was probably something that Alya had wanted to hear. It should at least have become clear to her when she first became Rena Rouge.
Ladybug took the secret identity thing very seriously; she had told her that at the time. She wouldn't be so carefree and just tell a friend who she was, and she certainly wouldn't let that friend reveal that in an interview. She had to break down to tell her real best friend. But Lila's words had sounded so beautiful, a direct line to Ladybug, someone who knew the girl behind the mask. But the real girl behind the mask wasn't so carefree and so irresponsible. It was Marinette and she didn't like Lila.
"Lila can really sound very convincing" Marinette sight deeply "listen, I'm not mad, she is very good at talking and telling people the things they want to hear. Everyone had fallen for her lies; I probably would have too if I hadn't been Ladybug. If she had said she was Chat's best friend, I would probably have believed her and gave him a lecture for no reason" she laughed softly "but now you know she's lying, and it would be better if this interview disappeared. It was very dangerous for her to tell such a lie in the first place; Hawkmoth might have targeted her to get to me"
"You are right, but he hasn't. Why?" Alya knitted her eyebrows. In fact, Hawkmoth did many things that didn't make sense. He never tried to attack any of the Miraculous holders whose identities he already knew. She herself was among them after Chloe's last escapade. Just like Nino and all the other friends of hers. It would have made sense to attack them, to try to find out what they knew. But he never did. It didn't make sense. Hawkmoth was either the worst super villain of all time or he had a different agenda.
"We, Chat and I, have been suspecting for a while that she wants to be akumatized herself. We have no evidence, but she's been akumatized three times and the last time was when Hawkmoth needed exactly her, her as Volpina. Do you remember that akumatized version of Ladybug?" Marinette then asked and Alya nodded. Yes, that terrible news show where an akumatized Ladybug killed Chat Noir with its own Cataclysm. She had been very relieved to find out it was just an illusion "after she finished her act, her akumatization was simply resolved, we did not fight Volpina a second time. She did what he wanted and then just disappeared. She did not report on her akumatization as she should. That's the only reason I can think of"
"All right, I'll take the interview out, there is no place for fake news on the Ladyblog" Alya finally nodded. She wasn't sure that she herself actually believed that Lila was secretly working for Hawkmoth, it sounded more like Marinette really wanted it to be true. But still, she didn't want to spread false information.
"Thanks" Marinette smiled.
"Text me when you have any news" Alya waved goodbye and finally opened the trapdoor.
It was a terrible idea, Marinette thought as she stood on the roof, all suit-up and her heart fluttering in fear, waiting for Chat Noir. Today she had come half an hour earlier to her patrol on purpose, to put herself together and find the words she was going to say. Usually, her partner was the first one to come, for someone who seemed so boisterous and carefree he was amazingly on time. But today she came first and had to wait and wait and wonder if she had made the right decision. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to come earlier after all, because then she wouldn't have had so much time to brood and be unsure.
Alya was right about everything she had said. There was little point in hiding it from Chat now. It would be easier to work together and protect one another from Akumas. It would be easier to make sure she never had to see Chat Blanc's mad eyes ever again - when Alya had been gone she googled Umbrella Academy and White Violin and it was true, it was very reminiscent of Chat Blanc. They would be able to protect each other from Akumas.
She also needed her partner, now more than ever. She had repressed it for a very long time, telling herself she had to stick to the rules, to keep her secret. But it had been a lie, a lie she had told herself. She needed someone in her life to talk to, someone who understood and knew her. If she hadn't followed that damn rule, she wouldn't have broken down. She could have talked to her partner about everything, and he would have understood her.
What would have happened if Alya hadn't been the one in the room, but someone else? What if she broke down in front of someone else and told all these things? No, no, she could no longer afford to break down, she could no longer afford not to talk and ignore her problems. What would happen if something happened to her and she could no longer be the guardian? Someone needed to know about the box and, if necessary, protect it.
No, Alya was right, it was time to stop being scared and tell him and Bannyx hadn't shown up, that meant everything would be fine - or she was in a timeline, where everything would go wrong and that had to be prevented...time travel gave her a headache.
"It's really cattastic to meet you here, Mylady" his familiar voice ripped Ladybug out of her thoughts, and she whirled around. Chat Noir stood a few steps behind her, his staff leaning casually on his shoulders "What's wrong?" he then asked alarmed and the usual mischief left his face and made room for the worry and she wanted it back, she wanted it to be funny and carefree, not serious, she did not want serious.
"I think we will have to skip patrol tonight, Kitty" she sighed deeply and tiredly, she was so incredibly tired of the lies and the excuses and the sleepless night she had wondered what to do in. She went to the edge of the roof where she had been waiting for him today and sat on the edge, dangling her feet over the abyss. It was amazing how little fear of heights she had now. Before she became Ladybug, she probably would never have sat down like that, but today she wouldn't mind jumping down and catching herself with her yo-yo.
"Hey, what is it?" he asked gently and sat down next to her. He always knew what she needed, when she needed it, he joked, when she needed it, he could be serious.
"It's hard, you know?" Ladybug sighed deeply and let her gaze wander over the city, which was just getting ready to go to sleep "being a superhero, but you know that as well as I do. I couldn't take it anymore" she finally looked up at him "I kept saying we couldn't tell anyone our secret identity, but I did. I told my best friend yesterday. I am sorry" she eventually admitted. Something crossed his face for a tiny moment, maybe it was confusion, maybe it was disapproval or disappointment or even anger, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.
"I really hope it's not Lila" Chat Noir finally said, and she couldn't help but laugh a hysterical laugh, it stung her throat and brought tears to her eyes.
"No, it certainly is not Lila" Ladybug shook her head "she won't tell anyone, I trust her almost as much as I trust you" she continued, almost expecting him to ask her if she trusts him so much why she told Alya and not him. But he didn't say it, of course he didn't.
"If you trust her then so do I" Chat said eventually.
"It was good to tell her, you know. To finally let it all out and talk about it. Some things have happened in my personal life and I just couldn't hold out anymore. And then there is the responsibility of being the guardian as well. I am sometimes afraid to enter my own room because I don't know if it has been destroyed by a horde of wild Kwamis. They fly around and touch everything, turn on my computer, randomly call people from my phone!" she added a little frustrated and gestured hard to make her point. She loved the Kwamis, but it had been so much easier as it has been just Tikki.
"You are lucky, Plagg isn't there as well" he snorted and probably he was right, she remembered what his Kwami was like "I had to set up a cheese safe for him in my room" he laughed, and she couldn't help but join in. How did he explain the cheese safe to his parents? "But really, Boogaboo, you don't need to justify yourself to me" he then went on gently and she didn't even mind when he called her Boogaboo again "if that's what you needed, if it makes you feel better, then it's good that you did it"
"You are not mad at me?" she asked and even in her own ears her voice sounded incredibly small and fragile "I should have told you first, a long time ago, but it was just too much and she was there"
"Hey, I am not mad" Chat sighed deeply, and she could see it on him, maybe he wasn't really mad, but he was disappointed. She would probably have felt the same if she'd found out he'd told someone else before her.
"We talked a lot that day" finally Ladybug decided to let this topic rest, he won't admit that he was disappointed and they would just go around in circles "she advised me to tell you too" she turned her gaze from him back to the city, but she could still see his eyes flashing hopefully "she said it would be easier for us to communicate and keep Akumas away from each other if we knew. It's a miracle anyway that neither of us has ever been akumatized" she finally lied, she could, would definitely not tell him about Chat Blanc, no, everything, but not that. It was enough that she told Alya.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, you are not obligated to" he said gently and yet she could hear how much he wanted it.
"But that's it, I want to" Ladybug looked up at him again "she's right about all she had said, we can't go on like this, especially not since Hawkmoth is now wearing the Peacock Miraculous too. Especially not, since I am the guardian now. Should something happen to me, then I want to know that there is someone who will protect the rest of the Miraculous, but you won't be able to do so if you don't know who I am" she took a deep breath and continued speaking, hoping her voice would sound steady "I think it's time we gave up our secret, at least to each other. I also need my partner outside of the mask and if you are okay with that, then I would love to do it today"
"Are you sure?" Chat asked and his voice sounded so hopeful, hopeful, hopeful, as if it was something he had wanted all his life and no longer thought he would ever get. It was probably so.
"Yes, Kitty, I am" she couldn't help but smile softly and all her fears evaporated, after all it was just Chat, just her brave, kind kitty "We should have done it a long time ago"
"Of course, I am OK with this" he spoke softly and a radiant, oh so radiant smile spread across his lips and she knew, had the certainty that it was the right thing to do. They both closed their eyes, they didn't have to, but they did anyway. Then they both said at the same time, their voices woven into a single one as they did so:
"Detransformer moi" Marinette could immediately feel the magic sweeping over her, taking her suit and mask with it. Cold wind blew in her face and she shivered. She didn't dare to open her eyes. There would be no going back if she did. She will not forget what she will see today and she was afraid Bannyx would show up at any moment and stop them and give them a lecture.
"Oh, come on!" she heard Plagg exclaim in frustration from somewhere to her right "Just open your eyes!"
"Give them time, Plagg" Tikki stepped in "It's a really grand step for both of them"
"Come on, Sugarcube, the are just…!" she could almost see Plagg rolling his eyes.
"On three?" she heard Chat ask, she had assumed he had opened his eyes long ago, as much as he wanted to know who she was. What would he think when he saw Marinette? She had spoken to him so many times that it would probably seem like a double lie to him when he finally found out.
"One" the girl pushed her thoughts aside and began to count "two…three" she finally opened her eyes. She blinked briefly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. Then she saw Adrien sitting in front of her, looking as stunned as she felt.
It couldn't be, she almost looked around to make sure they were really alone on the roof. But they were, Adrien was Chat Noir, that perfect boy she had so much trouble talking to, was her joking partner who used puns and flirted with her and whom she...she didn't remember how many times had rejected.
It couldn't be, they were so different, she couldn't imagine Adrien using bad puns, but she could imagine Adrien doing anything to protect others. It made sense why they'd both been in New York and Shanghai, why she'd never seen him and Chat at the same time. How it could happen that their love had caused Chat Blanc.
It was as if she had looked at two halves of the same painting, both of them were pretty and she had liked them, but she had never seen the whole picture. Now the two parts of the painting had come together, and she loved it even more than she could have loved them individually. They were whole.
Adrien was the first of the two to react and Marinette didn't know how long they'd been sitting there staring at each other as if they had just met for the first time. He laughed and she frowned in confusion. He didn't laugh for long and it sounded almost hysterical, as if he didn't want to laugh, but couldn't help it.
"This whole time you were right before my eyes" he finally said softly, shaking his head as if resenting himself.
Marinette would have expected her heart to leap wildly in her chest if Adrien ever spoke to her so gently. She would have expected to melt like ice in the scorching sunshine. But she didn't. It was as if she had found her center with this revelation, one that she had hoped to achieve with Luca and yet had never managed to. Chat often spoke to her so gently when she needed it and Adrien was Chat so she didn't have to melt away or stutter or twist words. She could be herself and he could be himself.
"Well, secret identities are there to be, you know, a secret, not to know it right away" Marinette finally replied, and he had to laugh again and this time it wasn't hysterical anymore. She had never heard Adrien laugh like that before, honestly and not forced. Happy.
"I am glad it's you" he spoke then "this whole thing about having a crush on Chat Noir was…?"
"You had seen Ladybug land on my balcony, I didn't know how else to explain why Marinette was suddenly there and my parents exaggerated" she explained.
"And Mulitmous?"
"Illusions from the Fox Misraculous"
"And that one time on the rooftop was…"
"I had completely forgotten and was looking forward to meeting my friends, well, you, but you weren't there because…"
"…I prepared the meet-up with you and your secret mission while Evillustrator was…"
"…playing bait as Marinette"
"That's enough, get it, you were both dump!" called Plagg when Adrien was about to continue.
"Plagg!" Tikki put her tiny arms reproachfully on her hips.
"What? I am right!" Plagg snorted, offended, and they all laughed.
"I am glad it's you as well" she said softly and it was true, now that she knew it, she couldn't even imagine someone else could wear the ring.
"And the friend you told it was Alya, right?" Adrien asked and he sounded alarmed all of a sudden "You told her that she can't post that on the Ladyblog, right? I mean, she's a great friend and we can trust her, but she can be very...fierce at times about things like that"
"She won't tell anyone" Marinette shook her head, knowing it was truth. Alya could indeed throw herself headlong into a story, but she now knew what it meant to be a superhero and would not spread it "she is Rena Rouge"
"That makes sense" Adrien nodded "and let me guess, Nino is Carapace? I've always had the feeling that something was going on between the two of them"
"Yeah and Alya had known it from the start" she grinned broadly.
"That suits her, if you had been so good friends at the beginning, then she would probably have seen through all of this from the start" Adrien sighed deeply, and he was right. It was probably her luck that she had met Alya on the day she had also become Ladybug. Otherwise, she would have a problem, or she would have none and Alya would have advised her from the start to tell Chat. Then she wouldn't have spent over a year crushing over a perfect boy she couldn't talk to.
"Do you realize that we friendzoned each other?" Marinette chuckled softly. It was true, they had, and it sounded like a bad soup opera with stupid teenagers who had no idea that they were in love with each other.
"Friendzoned?" Adrien tilted his head a little and she remembered how little he sometimes knew about social interactions. It wasn't as bad now as it had been at the beginning, but they were still there, the years that he had spent all alone.
"That's when you tell someone you think they are just a good friend" she explained, her cheeks burning from what she was suggesting. But it was so easy to talk to him now that she knew he was her partner that she probably wouldn't mind just telling him she loved him.
"That's a thing?" he knitted his eyebrows in confusion "but wouldn't that mean you are frindzoning almost everyone you deal with?"
"This only works if the other person likes you, I mean really, really likes you" she giggled and the words slipped so easily from her tongue, so easily, as if all she had ever done in her life was talking to him "the boy I told you about back then, the one I like..."
"Luca" he cut her off and sounded almost disappointed "I am not that obvious"
"That's exactly what you are, kid!" Plagg called in frustration and they both winced. They had forgotten their Kwamis were still there.
"Plagg" Tikki pulled him back reproachfully and gave her chosen an encouraging smile.
"It wasn't Luca" Marinette sighed deeply and looked down at the city so she had not to look at him. Her cheeks burned hot and she could hear her own heart pounding wildly in her ears "that was you, that was always you. I turned you down because I was in love with you. Always, ever since we met, ever since you gave me the umbrella. I collected posters with you, I tried to talk to you, but I couldn't, all that came out was a disjointed pulp of words that didn't make sense, you must have thought I was terribly stupid and you were very nice to me anyway, always, and then I just gave up and tried it with Luca, but it didn't work out because I couldn't tell him the truth and…" she broke off when his arm wrapped warmly around her shoulders and it was as if that gesture alone had already said everything it had to say.
"I love you" he simply said and he didn't have to say more, it was enough. He was enough, she was enough. She didn't know what it meant. Were they together now? Should they kiss? Did it even matter? They sat on this roof for a long time, talking about things they should talk about and nothing. They hadn't kissed, but it didn't matter either. It was one o'clock in the morning when Marinette finally snuck back to her room, a happy smile on her face. That night she fell asleep, unconcerned as it should be. She wasn't alone anymore. She had her partner, her center.
Marinette was late, but Alya was used to it by now. She was already sitting in her seat, her cell phone in her hands and the app open, every Akuma alarm was reported with, but there was no alarm today, the girl stated relieved when she plugged her cell phone back in.
What excuse will Marinette have today for being late? Well, it wasn't an Akuma. Her friend had written her yesterday at one o'clock in the morning that she had told Chat Noir everything and that it went well. She had woken Alya with it - it was no wonder she was late today when she went to bed so late - but she wasn't angry, it had been something very important after all. The door opened and Nino strolled in.
"Morning, babe" he leaned over to her and they kissed briefly before he collapsed onto the seat in front of her. Adrien wasn't there either, Alya saw. Maybe the two of them would run into each other in the hallway? She was almost tempted to get up and look out so she wouldn't miss this, but she didn't. Marinette had just purred her heart out the day before yesterday, she deserved two days Alya wouldn't sneak up on her and watch her unsuccessful attempts at flirting in, but she couldn't give her more, it was far too amusing to just stop.
It was only five minutes before the lesson started when Marinette finally walked in and she wasn't alone. Her entire class watched the spectacle with confused eyebrows knit in disbelief.
Adrien held the door open for her with an almost mockingly gallant bow, a mischievous grin on his lips. Marinette rolled her eyes and stepped through, no stumbling, no stuttering, but Alya could see it even from her seat, uncharacteristicall mischief dancing in her eyes. He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek, but she caught his nose between two fingers and stopped him.
"Not a chance, Kitty" she then said, waited a little and leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Did she just call him 'Kitty'?" Nino turned to Alya in disbelief, eyes wide, as if he had just seen Hawkmoth doing a handstand "and then kissed him? When did this happen?"
"I am as clueless as you are?" Alya replied just as stunned. What exactly had she missed?
"Hmm, I think I missed it. It would be purrfect if you could repeat it, Buginette" replied Adrien and leaned over to her again, but she avoided him and ran to her seat, giggling.
"Did Adrien just made a cat-pun?" asked Nino further. Yes, he did, Alya thought, amazed. Marinette had called him Kitty and he called her Buginette and then he made cat-puns.
It couldn't be...no, that was just impossible...that was ridiculous, it couldn't...what were the chances? It wasn't a comic where such coincidences could happen. It was utterly impossible and yet she had all the clues before her eyes. Adrien was Chat Noir, she realized, and she could almost feel her brain starting to smoke. She had thought that after Marinette's confession nothing could shock her anymore.
"Thank you, Alya" Adrien beamed at her as he sat down in his seat. She had called him sunshine before, but today he looked really happy. She could not suppress a hysterical laugh when the scope of what she had done became apparent to her and, above all, its irony.
She pressed her hands to her mouth and buried her face in her arms, which she laid on her table. She sobbed loudly as the laughter fought its way up and brought tears to her eyes. It was ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous and yet it seemed to be true.
"Are you crying?" she heard her friends all asking worriedly almost at the same time.
"No" Alya sobbed and couldn't take it anymore and laughed out loud "this is crazy, just crazy, it's a dream and I'll wake up soon" she finally raised her head.
"I would have warned you if I had known you would react this way" Marinette leaned down a little, her eyebrows drawn together.
"And how exactly should I react?" Alya whispered back to her friend "you can't just show up here and call him 'Kitty' in front of everyone"
"Did I say it out loud?" Marinette clapped her hand over her mouth and her cheeks glowed.
"Yes, you did!" Alya cried out loud "you can't dump that bomb at me and expect me not to react!"
"I am confused" Nino said to the group and she had to laugh again. Yes, her boyfriend was clueless, completely clueless and maybe they should tell him too, even if he was very cute while being clueless. It would be way too complicated to keep this secret, that giant cat with a ladybug on its nose, to themselves. But they are certainly not doing that in the middle of the classroom where all people can hear them.
"Yeah, it went so; we where on our way to the classroom and then…" Adrien started and broke off again "then we have…"
"You can't lie, 'Kitty'" Alya sight deeply "I can't believe, that…" she bit her tongue hard to stop talking. Not here and not now, but it just sounded painful. How could these two have lied to them all for so long? They were awful, just awful. How were they not seeing it?
"What's going on?" Madame Bustier entered the room and saved them all from this misery. Class began and yet Alya could see most of her classmates staring at Marinette and Adrien. Especially Chloé stood out with her angry look, as if she had been cheated out of something. What, no more Adrikins for you? Alya thought almost satisfied. Adrien was just too nice to tell her he wasn't interested.
Whenever they had the opportunity, the two girls had spoken softly to each other. Marinette had told Alya everything that had happened yesterday, and they had both decided to tell Nino. It would be too difficult and unjust as well. It would have been one thing if only the two girls had known, but if three out of four shared a secret it just wouldn't work.
They did it right after class, at Marinette's home, and Nino picked it up easier than anyone in their group. He'd just shrugged and said it would only make sense. Then he discovered Wayzz among the Kwamis and spent the rest of the day catching up with him.
Then the Akuma alarm went off and since they were all there anyway, Marinette had decided to take Rena Rouge and Carapace with them. Alya would have expected her dynamic in battle to change now that they all knew. But it weren't, they were a better team than they ever were. As if they were made to fight together.
Has it always been like that with Ladybug and Chat Noir? This familiarity that now existed between all of them? Was that even important? After the fight, Marinette collected their Miraculous' again, but it was different because now Alya knew where to find it. Sometimes it was necessary to feel so bad that you had no choice but to confide in someone to make it better and she was happy to be part of it. Bannyx had never come, and that was probably better that way.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. I know it would never go like that on the show, the thing should have three more seasons, if not more, and the makers will never break the love square and stuff. So we just have to use fanfictions and such. I basically let Alya say what I was thinking myself. It's illogical of them to keep this a secret from each other, but they will because it's the premise of the show and all.
Oh yeah, Alya is a nerd, she will definitely know what the chaos theory is and all. And she'll probably know Umbrella Academy, even if she's technically too young for it. White Violin and Chat Blanc are really similar, he even blew up the moon, I'm pretty sure it was an allusion and couldn't help but address it, it was just too good for that. And I just couldn't help bashing a little on the whole Lila-Situation, it just had to be.
As always, any kind of criticism is more than welcome and very gratefully received.