Reviews of the last chapter of "Girls' Night Out":

To Guest: I assume your review on yesterday's "Patrol Log" was actually for "Girls"? They definitely need to get to the Lancer and find out what happened – she really was an innocent pawn in there. As far as Cerna and Deaconess, we'll have to see what happens; same with the Crusader weapons. So far 3 of them have appeared and been used; I wonder how many more there are…

It was after midnight, almost one in the morning, when Nino finally stumbled up the stairs to his and Alya's new apartment, stifling a yawn and blinking the sleep out of his eyes. The hallway was deathly silent, the ceiling lights only offering enough illumination for him to see where he was going. Finding the correct door, he fumbled to get his key in the lock, glaring at it in annoyance when the key stuck. "Stupid new building," he grumbled, glaring at the lock in annoyance. This was one of the newer apartment buildings, one of the city's many building projects greenlit in the month after the Tarasque's defeat, and it seemed that every day they found another problem to report to maintenance.

Nino groaned quietly, looking up and down the hallway, trying to be as quiet as he could. They had only moved in here two days ago, and they still hadn't actually met any of the neighbors… but coming home after midnight would not be the best time to meet anyone! He rubbed his forehead, trying to push away the slight headache starting to form thanks to hours of staring at Adrien's enormous TV screen, even more than the single glass of wine he'd had. And yet, it had been a fun night, despite the headache. When Alya had decided on having a bachelorette party for Marinette tonight, Adrien had invited a bunch of the other guys – Max, Kim, Nath, and Marc – over to play video games and eat pizza. Mama Agreste had gone to stay with the Dupain-Chengs for the night, so they'd had that wing of the Mansion practically to themselves. Max had brought over a demo for a new Super Akuma Battle expansion for them to test out, and they had spent hours experimenting with it. They hadn't realized the time until almost midnight.

The door stuck a little as Nino pushed it open, and he held his breath, hoping the noise hadn't woken anyone. Stepping inside and closing the door after him, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness in the living room and kitchen. Wayzz rose out of his pocket to hover next to Nino's head, little more than a faint outline in his peripheral vision. However, as Nino stood in the doorway, he became aware of a thin sliver of light coming through the crack under the bathroom door. Listening quietly, he heard water running, along with some splashes and a muffled curse.

"Well, I guess Alya's home," he muttered to Wayzz, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"You could say that," a high-pitched squeak responded from the direction of the kitchen, as Trixx floated out, away from the fridge. He tossed a blueberry in Nino's direction, which Wayzz snatched out of midair.

"How did it go?" asked Nino.

Trixx let out a chuckle, shaking his head, and popped a couple berries into his mouth. "You should ask her."

"We will give the two of you some space," Wayzz assured him, shooting Trixx a pointed look.

Trixx sighed, folding his arms. "Oh, fine." He smirked. "Why do you have to spoil all the fun?"

As the two Kwamis floated back toward the kitchen, Nino frowned and quietly made his way down the hall toward the bathroom. He probably shouldn't interrupt her while she was showering – especially not if the party hadn't gone as well as she wanted it to. He could just get ready for bed and wait for her to get done; they could talk then. But he didn't hear the shower, so maybe that meant she was done?

"Oh, goddamn it," Alya grumbled as he passed, her voice slightly muffled by the door. "Damn that goddamn Bee…"

Nino paused, leaning against the wall next to the door. He paused for a moment, and water splashed once more. Letting out a breath, he knocked on the bathroom door. "Babe?"

The splashing stopped. "Yeah?"

"You okay in there?"

She sighed heavily. "Yeah… I'm fine."

He paused, furrowing his brows, and glanced back and forth between the bedroom door and bathroom door. "Okay. I'll, um, I'll wait in the room for you."

"Yeah."

He took a couple steps toward the bedroom, but froze as she sighed again, heavier.

"Can you come in here?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Whatever you need, babe." Softly, he opened the bathroom door and paused. Alya lay in the bathtub, filled up to her neck, bubbles covering only about half of the water. Her clothes from the day were piled in a heap on the far side of the room, her glasses on the counter by the sink. He stood dumbly in the doorway, staring down at her, until she arched an eyebrow at him. Finally, he cleared his throat and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. Sitting down on the edge of the toilet, he leaned forward. "Everything okay, babe?"

She frowned, looking down into the water, and shook her head. "I don't know."

"The party went that badly?"

She let out a bark of laughter. "Not that," she answered. "That went great. We went to see the movie, we ate, then a few of us went for a run around the city. All in all, I thought it was going pretty well… up until Killer Bee and her friends showed up."

Nino's eyes widened, and he dropped to his knees next to the tub, placing a hand on her shoulder and examining her carefully. "Are you hurt?"

She gave him a deadpan look. "I'm fine," she told him. "A few bruises maybe, but nothing too bad – especially after the Miraculous Ladybug. Although my hair…"

Nino cocked his head, looking up from her face to her hair. "What's wrong with it?"

"Don't you smell the cheese in it?"

Nino stared at her in confusion. "What kind of party did you have?"

"Killer Bee has a new friend who can shoot dairy products from her hands," Alya informed him curtly. "Long story."

Frowning, he shifted around behind her, sticking his nose in her hair. He took a huge sniff before pressing a kiss to the corner of her jaw, just below her ear. She hummed, leaning into him. "I don't smell anything bad," he told her. "Just you."

She folded her arms. "Well I smell it…" she muttered. "But maybe it just feels like it should still be there."

With an affectionate sigh, Nino picked up her shampoo bottle and held it out to her in a question. She shrugged but nodded, and he squirted some onto her head. Slowly he started to run his fingers through her hair, working the shampoo in as she leaned forward to give him better access. She hummed in contentment. "So what was so bad about it all?" he asked softly. "I'd've thought that a chance to beat on Killer Bee would be the highlight of the party!"

She let out a breath. "Under any other circumstances, it probably would have been," she agreed. "But not this time."

"Because of the Cheese Head?"

Alya shook her head. "Not her – though getting buried in camembert didn't exactly help matters." She leaned forward, and Nino slid his hands down through her hair, working in the shampoo all the way down to the tips. "It's the Lancer."

Nino paused, leaned back, and stared at her in confusion. "Aurore? What's wrong with her?"

"You mean other than the fact that Killer Bee knows who she is because the Lynchpin must've given her the lance so we could recruit her and she could give them information about us?" Alya retorted, turning on him with an eyebrow raised.

Nino blinked. "I–" His eyes widened and he glanced at the door. "Oh, shit."

Alya gave him a look. "Yeah."

"She – she knows a lot now," Nino reminded her nervously.

"I know." Alya's eyes widened. She jerked her head back, and he started running his fingers through her hair again. Her eyes slowly closed, and she let out a heavy sigh. "She could do a lot of damage if she told the Lynchpin – who Ladybug and Cat Noir are, where our headquarters is, who we are, how we patrol…"

"Do you–" He cleared his throat. "Do you think she told them anything?"

She shrugged. "I mean, at a minimum, she said she revealed the sting earlier this week." She frowned. "I don't know… I hope not, but…" she threw her arms up helplessly, splashing water on Nino. "I guess we can't know for sure."

"This is Aurore we're talking about, though," Nino reminded her. "We know her."

Alya nodded in agreement. "Marinette said the same thing. I can buy that she didn't know what she was doing… but she still could've said something unintentionally."

"Good thing we have our watches."

She hummed. "I really don't want it to come to that."

"I don't, either." Nino's hands wandered to her shoulders and arms, and he kissed her ear. "You know I'll do anything to protect you, right?"

She leaned into him. "I know. But I don't exactly like the idea of you getting hurt, either."

He nodded. "You know, Max also has those new drones…" he mused. Alya raised an eyebrow. "He showed us a plan for a new type of stealth drone tonight," Nino explained. "This one can follow you around, and you'd never know it's there. He planned to use it for watching suspects, but we can probably use it to keep an eye on those that Lynchpin might know about."

"Maybe," she agreed doubtfully. "But I don't like the idea of having a drone following us around all the time."

He raised an eyebrow. "I definitely prefer you being followed by a drone over you getting abducted because Killer Bee knows who you are," he pointed out.

"Even if that means Max or Turing is watching us on our dates?"

Nino frowned. "I mean, as long as it's just out there…" he began.

Alya gave him a dirty look. "No."

"We might not have much of a choice."

With a sigh, Alya sat back in the tub, submerging her hair entirely. She pulled her head out a moment later twisted her hair around, sniffing the ends. Leaning into Nino's shoulder, she frowned. "I still smell it," she complained.

"Sorry."

Alya wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "It's not your fault," she whispered, kissing him on the cheek. "I could probably just sit in here all night washing my hair, and I'd still smell camembert."

Nino snorted. "Welcome to my world, hanging with Adrien so much!"

She glared at him in annoyance. "Ha, ha," she retorted drily. "Let's see you get literally drowned in the stuff and see if you can joke about it then."

He blinked. "That sounds absolutely horrifying."

"Believe me, however bad you think it is, the reality is far worse."

He hugged her tightly from the side, burying his face in her hair. She patted his arm as they cuddled together, her in the tub and him kneeling next to it. "Your hair smells nice," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek.

"You flatter," she murmured back, pressing her lips to his neck. She shivered, pulling away from him and looking down into the now-clear soapy water. "This water is getting cold," she complained, frowning.

Nino hummed. "What do you want now?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'll finish up here," she decided. "I'll meet you in the bedroom; just give me a couple minutes."

He pressed a kiss to her lips and stood up. "I'll be waiting."

As Nino changed and ready for bed, he looked around their small bedroom at the secondhand dressers and vanity, the pictures of them and their friends arranged across the wall. The two Kwami pillows on the nightstands were still empty; Wayzz and Trixx had to still be out in the kitchen. The apartment wasn't much, but it was theirs – his and Alya's. In a way, it still didn't feel real: they had been together for almost four years, and though they had talked about taking this step, it had always felt distant, something that would never happen. But now…

Five minutes later, Alya slipped into the bedroom, crossing to the bed and lying down next to him. He smiled tenderly, resting his hand on her hip, and wrapped her in his arms. "Hi." She raised an eyebrow. "So how tired are you?"

Nino grinned. No matter what, the two of them were a team. And he would do whatever he could to keep her safe.