Marinette and Alya collapsed onto the benches in the change room. Breathing heavily, Alya wiped her face with a towel as she chuckled.
"Is it just me, or is Alix and Kim's competitiveness starting to rub off onto everyone else in the class?"
Marinette joined in her laughter. "I don't know, but that was one full on game of basketball. Even Ms Bustier seemed surprised. I can't believe we lost though."
"Maybe because Kim had Adrien on his team." Alya mused. "I had no idea that sunshine boy was so athletic. I thought it was just posing for his photoshoots."
"You've seen him fence before. It doesn't surprise me that he's multitalented." Marinette's eyes glazed over and a dopey smile spread across her face.
"And I suppose you crashing into him and falling together into a heap was a total accident too." Alya smirked, elbowing her best friend in the ribs.
"It was an accident!" Marinette defended herself. "You know I would never do that on purpose."
"Hmm." Alya hummed unconvinced. "Not that Adrien seemed to mind though." She teased as she stood up to pack her gym bag.
Most of the other girls had already started making their way out of the change room for lunch except for Rose and Juleka who were still getting changed. Marinette changed her shirt for a fresh one and re-tied her pigtails, smiling to herself. Adrien had been such a sweetheart when she had crashed into him (definitely not on purpose), making sure she was okay and helping her up. Perhaps it had been her imagination, but she was sure he had held her arm longer than was necessary.
As she zipped up her bag, a large crash came from outside making the room shake. Marinette and Alya gave each other a knowing look just as the akuma alert signaled on their phones.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom." Marinette said, putting her bag with Tikki over head and across her shoulder.
"I'll go look for the boys." Alya replied, conscious of the other girls still in the room who were also concerned at the noise. Making sure Trixx was in her fanny pack, Alya threw a few extra grapes into the bag as the room shook again. A few of the lockers wobbled dangerously, teetering on the edge of crashing over.
Once Marinette was out of the room, Alya grabbed both Rose and Juleka. "You girls better find a place to hide, it's not safe to stay in here." She said, pulling them out of the room as lockers started crashing behind them.
"I know a good place to hide." Rose said, taking Juleka by the hand. "Come with us Alya."
"No you go on ahead. I need to find Nino."
Alya waited as Rose and Juleka disappeared around the corner. Taking out her phone, she was about to call Nino when another violent crash shook the ground, bringing her to her knees. This time parts the walls had begun to collapse and Alya barely managed to scurry out of the way of the falling debris. This akuma was really bad and Alya wanted to make sure her and Nino would be ready in case Marinette needed them, if she could only find him.
Coughing from the dust cloud and desperately trying to scramble over the wreckage littering the courtyard, Alya found her way to the boys' change rooms.
"Nino! Nino, are you here?" She called out as she frantically looked around. Kim emerged from the other side with an injured Max slung over his shoulder.
"Is anyone else back there?" She asked him. Kim shook his head. "We were the only ones still here, but I think Nino and Adrien went to the science room. Something about Nino leaving his notes in there."
Alya helped Kim with Max through the doorway and climbed over the fallen parts of the school towards the Science toom. As she entered the room, she could hear a muffled cough. "Nino, can you hear me?"
"Alya…" A choked voice called out. Alya stopped in her tracks. That wasn't Nino's voice.
"Adrien?" She called back.
"Over here." Adrien coughed out. Alya pushed her way towards where she heard the voice and had to hold back her gasp at the sight of an unconscious Nino next to a barely conscious Adrien who was trapped under a fallen slab of concrete. Adrien's breathing was labored and clearly he had significant injuries.
"Adrien." She called, grabbing his arm. "Adrien, listen to me, everything is going to be okay. Ladybug and Chat Noir will come and the Miraculous Ladybugs will fix everything. You and Nino will be fine."
"No…." He said, barely above a whisper. "Not this time…Rena."
Alya froze, her eyes widening behind her glasses.
"But how…?"
"Nino told me."
"He what?"
Adrien grabbed her hand. "Don't be mad at him, it's a long story and he doesn't know I'm Chat Noir." He took a shaking breath. "Right now, I'm grateful he did tell me because I need you to protect m'lady for me."
Alya's breath caught in her throat. "What did you call her?" She watched, mouth gaping as Adrien let go of her hand to slide off the ring on his finger and held it out to her.
"Alya Cesaire, this is the Miraculous of the black cat, that grants the power of destruction. Please, take it and keep Ladybug safe for me. Tell her I'm sorry."
Alya looked at the black ring in the palm of her hand. This can't be for real?
"Adrien, I…I don't know if I can do this? I wasn't that great of a Ladybug."
Adrien smiled. He had suspected Alya was Scarabella after he found out she was Rena Rouge. "You can do it Alya." Adrien said, trying to smile and reassure her. He wrapped her hand around the Miraculous. "The Miraculous Ladybugs are the only thing that can help us now. Keep Ladybug safe…keep her…"
"Adrien." Alya gasped, but the blond slumped against the wall unconscious.
Alya looked back at the ring in her hand. Overhead she could hear the akuma and the familiar zip of Ladybug's yo-yo. Gritting her teeth, she slipped the ring onto her finger. In a flash of green light Plagg appeared frantically in front of her.
"Where is he?" The Cat Kwami asked. "Where's my kid?"
"There." Alya pointed. "Unconscious next to my boyfriend."
Plagg darted over to his chosen, touching a paw to Adrien's cheek. "He's not doing too good." Plagg noted. He took a moment to himself before turning back to Alya. "So the kid gave you his ring, what are we waiting for?"
Alya looked down at her bag to see a less than impressed Trixx staring back at her. "You didn't have enough of your fill as Ladybug, now you want to be Chat Noir too?" The fox Kwami said sourly.
"I don't think I have much of a choice Trixx." Alya exclaimed, protecting her head against more falling debris. "Marinette can't handle this akuma on her own."
"And Ladybug needs a Chat Noir." Plagg added. "But that doesn't mean Rena Furtive can't be there too."
Alya looked at Plagg with wide eyes. "You mean…? But I've never merged Miraculous before."
"Well that's easy." Trixx jumped in, waving a paw around. "All you have to do is say Trixx, Plagg unify."
"Can we get moving and help my Kitten here?" Plagg was zipping from side to side, flicking his tail around impatiently. "If anything happens to Pigtails, we're all cooked!"
Alya let out a long breath. "Alright, alright. I can do this." She said, waving her hands around and trying to pump herself up. "Okay, Trixx, Plagg unify!"
Once her transformation was complete, Alya looked over herself. Her hair and tail was the same volume as she had as Rena, only with black at the top and fading into silver at the ends. Her ears were now more cat-like, and her black suit was trimmed in silver. Rena noted she still had her flute which was black and silver to match her outfit.
Rena crouched down next to her unconscious boyfriend and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. "You hang in there, you hear me Nino? You hang on." She whispered. "I love you."
Exiting from the Science room, there wasn't much of the school still standing. The phone on her flute began to ring and she braced herself to answer it, holding the receiver to her ear.
"Chat, where are you?" Ladybug's voice came, clearly exhausted and frustrated.
"Ah, Chat's kind of unavailable right now?"
There was a momentary pause. "Rena?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Maybe more like Rena Noir." She said with a nervous chuckle.
"Rena what? Where's Chat?" Frustration was now replaced by confusion.
"He's unconscious with Nino. The wall collapsed on them in the Science room, and Chat was pinned down."
There was a soft gasp down the other end of the phone. "You mean Chat goes to our school? You know who he is? Wait, don't answer that right now, just get up here and help me first. This akuma is going crazy."
The phone hung up and Alya knew Marinette would be freaking out over this. Heck she was still trying to get her head around it. She could only imagine how much more Marinette would lose it when she figured out it's Adrien under that catsuit, well the usual catsuit anyway.
Tucking her flute behind her, Rena Noir made her way to the rooftop where Ladybug was. The akuma was large, loud and highly destructive. At this point, Rena didn't even care what their akumatization was about, she just wanted to get this over with and get Plagg back to his rightful owner.
Ladybug had just called her lucky charm and was contemplating her next move when Rena joined her.
"Any ideas bestie?" She asked crouching down next to her. Ladybug looked her up and down.
"It was smart of you to merge the miraculous, I'm going to need an illusion as well as a cataclysm. Think you can handle that?" Ladybug said with a smirk.
"You know I can, girl." Rena replied. "Just tell me what you need."
Rena couldn't deny the chance to actually use a cataclysm was something she had always wondered about. Like her time being Scarabella and throwing the Miraculous Ladybugs to fix everything, there was something tantalizingly alluring about being able to destroy something with just the touch of a finger. The temptation to abuse power like that must have been great, but she understood why someone like Adrien would be chosen as the black cat holder.
Once the fight was over and the Miraculous Ladybug's were thrown, Rena and Ladybug found a quiet rooftop where they could detransform and feed their kwami's. Plagg was less than impressed with being offered grapes, accepting instead some of Tikki's macaron.
School was all but over, so Alya messaged Nino to say she was fine and that she would need to talk to him later. She also had a text from Adrien.
Adrien: If LB doesn't want me having my ring back, I understand. Tell Plagg I'm sorry.
"I got a message from Chat Noir." Alya said tentatively. Marinette didn't react at first, watching Tikki eat her macaron.
"It's Adrien…isn't it?" Marinette asked quietly, not looking at Alya.
"How did you figure it out?"
Marinette let out a mirthless chuckle, looking up at the blue sky. "It wasn't that hard. You said Chat was with Nino. Who else could it have been? I saw Adrien and Nino heading into the Science room when I ran to the bathroom. Practically all the other guys in our class already have a Miraculous. When I think about it now, who else could it have been?"
Alya looked back down at the message on her phone before showing it to her best friend. "Are you going to give him the Miraculous back?"
"You better Pigtails." The grumpy black Kwami interjected. "My kid doesn't deserve to lose his Miraculous for getting trapped."
"Calm down Plagg." Marinette said, trying to placetate the destructive being. "I would never do that to him. Even if he wasn't Adrien, I would never replace our Chat Noir."
"And now that you do know it's Adrien?" Alya prompted. Marinette bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself.
"I don't know." She said honestly. "I've been rejecting Chat for so long. It's going to take a while for me to get used to this."
Alya placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder, the kwami's floating near by them. "Just tell him." She said softly.
"What? Tell him my identity? Oh Alya I don't know about that…"
"Don't be ridiculous, girl. Adrien would be over the moon to find out you're Ladybug."
Marinette closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's too dangerous Alya. It isn't safe for us to know each other's identities. Besides, Adrien might be disappointed to find out I'm Ladybug."
Alya started getting frustrated. She could see her two favourite ships merging into one, and Marinette had to go and get all filled with self-doubt with herself. "You're wrong, but I guess you'll just have to figure that out for yourself. What do you want me to tell Adrien? Do you want me to take the ring back to him myself?"
Marinette shook her head and held out her hand. "No, I should do it. I need to talk to him." Alya placed the ring in Marinette's hand and Plagg and Tikki went into her purse. "Text him back and tell him to leave his window open. I'll come by later tonight. By the way, how did Adrien know to give the ring to you?"
Alya rolled her eyes. "Apparently Nino had an urge to tell his best friend that we are superheroes. Don't worry, Adrien never said he was Chat Noir. I think I'll be having a few choice words with a certain turtle tonight."
~~~~~
It was still just light when Ladybug swung her way across the rooftops of Paris towards the Agreste mansion. Her heart was thumping at a million miles and hour. She'd had a complete freak out with the kwami's in her room, all of them telling her that it would be alright. Many Ladybug's and Chat Noir's had revealed themselves before, and it wasn't the end of the world (well, except that one time that Plagg started a Volcanic eruption and caused the Grand Canyon to appear, but he assured her that wasn't going to happen this time.)
Landing opposite the Agreste Manor, Ladybug could see Adrien at his computer, probably doing that day's homework. She took in a deep breath before swinging across the road and landing on Adrien's window sill.
Adrien twisted around in his chair to be greeted with the sight of his Lady at his window, the brilliant colours of orange and red from the sunset illuminated behind her. He sucked in a breath before remembering himself and walking over to her.
"Welcome to my humble abode m'lady." He said with a dramatic bow before holding his hand out to her. Ladybug was frozen at first. Seeing her Chat in the Adrien in front of her had sent her mind into a temporary short circuit.
Adrien furrowed his eyebrows worriedly. "Won't you come in?" He prompted.
"Oh..y-yes…of c-course." She stuttered as she took his hand and slid her feet to the floor. She practically held her breath as Adrien guided her with a hand to her waist.
"Come, sit." He said, indicating to the couch. "I wasn't sure what you'd like so I ordered up a jug of water and a platter."
Ladybug looked at the platter of fruit, cheese and nuts with the water jug and two glasses on a tray. There was even a little vase with a pink rose in it. He really was so thoughtful.
"Won't they wonder why you asked for two glasses?" She asked. Adrien shook his head, his blond locks bouncing in the sunset.
"I grabbed an extra glass from the kitchen earlier, after Alya texted me you were coming."
Adrien picked up the jug and began to pour out the water. Ladybug noticed that his hand was shaking as he did. It hadn't occurred to her that he might be nervous about this meeting too. Placing the glass in front of her, Adrien gave her a shy smile, picking up a slice of rockmelon. The room was quiet except for the humm of the traffic outside.
"So…" Marinette began, playing with one of her pigtails. "Is your father at home?" Why did that sound so weird? She scolded herself. Stop acting weird. Yes this is Adrien, but he is also her Chat Noir.
"Ah, no." Adrien replied. "He and Nathalie were going to an event tonight. I was supposed to study with Nino, but he said he had to go and see Alya. Something about damage control."
"He did break the rules." Ladybug noted and she saw Adrien visibly cringe. "He shouldn't have revealed his identity to you, or Alya's."
"I guess I broke the rules too." He said sadly. "I suppose you came to tell me I can't have my Miraculous back." A small gasp left his lips when he felt her hand on his.
"No Adrien." She said emphatically. "You are my Chat Noir, and you deserve to stay that way. Yes this was unexpected, and yes, Nino shouldn't have done what he did either, but…" she smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "But if you hadn't thought quickly and given your ring to Alya, today might have turned out very differently. You risked giving up Plagg to make sure I would be safe, and I learned today that perhaps not knowing our identities might not be as safe as I once thought."
She looked away from him, trying to conceal a tear that had begun to spring to her eye. "If something had happened, if I hadn't been able to fix everything…you and Nino would have…would have…"
"Hey." Adrien said softly, gently turning her face towards him. "Everything is alright now. Sometimes things just work themselves out, and today was one of those days. I'll always do what needs to be done to protect you…you have my promise."
He gently rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear that had trickled down. Ladybug took her yo-yo from her hip and opened it, retrieving the Cat Miraculous. She took Adrien's hand, placing the ring in his palm and wrapping his hand around it.
"And I promise never to take you for granted, mon Chaton." She said, smiling sweetly at him.
Adrien put his ring back on and Plagg appeared in a flash of green. "Finally." He said looking back at Ladybug. "Take your time, there's no rush really, it's not like I'm starving or anything."
"I missed you too Plagg." Adrien said, scratching the Cat Kwami under the chin. "Go and help yourself."
"Oh by the way Spots, anytime you're ready I'd like to talk to Tikki." Plagg added cheekily before darting off.
Adrien noted that Ladybug had started to shift uncomfortably in her seat. He rested his hand in hers and gave her a warm smile.
"It's alright m'lady, if you're not ready to tell me who you are, you don't have to. All this is an unexpected situation and I understand."
Adrien was surprised when Ladybug suddenly got up and walked over to his windows, looking out towards what was left of the sunset. "It's not that. The truth is Adrien, I'm a little nervous to tell you who I am."
Adrien stood up and walked up behind her. "You don't have to be." He assured her.
"I know, but you see we already know each other, outside of the masks and, well, I might not be all that you were hoping for."
Adrien placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly turned her to face him. Hooking his finger under her chin, he lifted her face up towards his. "And you could be everything I've always wanted." He said, barely above a whisper.
"But…how can you be so certain?" She asked, a tremble in her voice.
"Drop your transformation and I will be." He replied, his lips ghosting hers. He had switched from the nervous and unsure Adrien, into the smooth and suave Chat Noir she knew so well, and her heart beat faster.
"Spots off." She murmured as his lips claimed hers, their eyes closed against the light of her detransformation and their lips moving in perfect sync against one another.
When they parted Marinette looked up nervously to see a smiling Adrien looking back at her. "Hi." He said, holding her face in his hands and resting his forehead against hers.
"Hi." Marinette replied breathlessly. "You're not disappointed?"
Adrien leaned back to look at her, still cradling her face. "How could I be when I was hoping it was you."
And when the two of them turned up at school the next day walking hand in hand, Alya smiled knowing that the cat had finally caught the girl.
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