Author's note: Hey guys sorry I have not updated in a while. As a custodian for a central Texas school district, let me say the start of school this year has sucked. We had to learn new cleaning protocols for covid on top of all the other new protocols. And to put it simply I have not had the time or energy to write as much. I still plan to finish this story, but it might take a little longer than I had originally planned. Thank you all who have stuck with me I hope I make it worth the wait.
Rena Rouge jumped behind a nearby building, she dubble checked her surroundings before letting her transformation drop.
The moment the fox themed suit completely disappeared Trixx popped out of the foxtail nekless. Alya reflexively caught the little orange and white kwami and cupped her in her hands.
"Trixx are you okay?" Alya asked concerned, she had never had her kwami react like that after a de-transformation.
"Foooood! Give me food!" Trixx wined dramatically.
Alya blinked and just stared for a moment before something kick started in her brain. Alya got out a piece of beef jerky, then had to quickly draw back her fingers as Trixx greedily snached it up and devoured it the moment she saw the food.
"Dude, you better slow down. If you eat any faster you will give yourself the hiccups." A familiar voice said. Alya and Trixx turned to see Nino approaching them.
"Kwamis can't get the hiccups." Trixx retorted throwing the last bite in her mouth and swallowing it whole, before flying into Alya's purse.
Alya looked at her purse then shook her head mystified. "If it weren't for the fact that I'm not supposed to tell anyone I know about them, I could probably make at least three books on the uniqueness of the divine creatures known as kwamis." Alya said slightly dramatically.
Nino chuckled. "Well you could always label them as fantasy fiction, or make it into some sort of fairy tale. I imagine you could make a fortune off of just one book." He teased playfully.
"Yeah, except it would be just my luck that Hawkmoth collects such stories as a hobby or something. I mean seriously some of the akumas that guy sends..." Alya trailed off shaking her head.
Nino chuckled. "Dude, I can totally see it. Hawkmoth, the notorious villain and terror of Paris; is really just a fairy tale nerd." He said.
"Or perhaps is actually the Wizard of Oz." Alya replied laughing. They weren't sure how long they stood there laughing at the image in their heads, but both snapped out of it when their phones dinged.
When they saw the message was from Marinette asking to regroup at the food court, both of their backs straightened as the memory of her being attacked replaced the silly image of Hawkmoth.
"How long do you think Lila has had it out for Marinette?" Nino asked, guilt evident in his voice.
Alya swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Probably for as long as Marinette has had it out for Lila." She responded feeling kinda like an idiot for not listening to her BFF.
Nino nodded then gave his girlfriend a smile. " Well before we go check on her I have a present I acquired for you while you were busy being Rena Rouge without me." He said giving Alya a knowing look.
Alya cringed internally as she remembered her promise not to tell Nino that Trixx is a birthday gift. And now she needs to come up with a reason as to why she did not tell Nino she had her miraculously for the day.
"Sorry Nino, I uh. I only have Trixx until tonight so that I can make an interview with Rena Rouge. Ladybug thinks that it should help protect my identity and pulled some strings to make it happen. I uh, just got so excited about getting it underway that I did not think to tell you until we were not alone." Alya explained trying to stay as close to the truth as possible.
Nino smiled kindly. " Chill dude, I figured there was a reason you did not tell me about this sooner, given your inability to keep information to yourself." He said with a teasing look.
"Hey, I can keep information to myself if I need to." Alya stated firmly as if offended by that statement, but Nino could see the small relived smile she was trying not to show.
"But you very rarely want to. And I think my first statement about a birthday gift totally went over your head." Nino stated factually, amusement written all over his face.
Comprehension crossed over Alya as she looked at her boyfriend with her mouth open like she wanted to say something but did not know what. Nino's smile got bigger as he pulled out his phone and sent the video recording to his girlfriends phone.
Alya's phone beeped, and she very quickly pulled it out to see what unexpected birthday gift Nino had for her. She hit play on the video recording and felt as if she was going to explode from excitement as she realized he recorded most of the fight. She finally got a video recording of herself in battle for her blog!
"Oh my gosh! Nino! Thank You!" She said throwing her arms around said boy, practically crushing him in her hug. Tears of joy leaking from her eyes, despite her attempts to stop them.
Nino held her for several minutes before he spoke. "Okay, okay, I'm glad I could make you happy. And as much as I would love to stand here all day with you, I think Marinette might get worried. So what do you say we go show her your new blog video?" He asked and Alya nodded in his shoulder before detaching herself from him.
As they walked to the food court Alya watched the video a few times. Its not as good as some of her videos but close enough. She emailed a copy to herself so she could do some editing later then posted.
Nino just smiled, keeping one hand on her back to guide her safely to the food court. Otherwise she probably would have walked right into a pole or something a few times already.
This was one of the rare occasions where Marinette was actually waiting for Alya and Nino, as opposed to the other way around. She stood by the entrance of the food court when she spotted her two best friends heading in her direction.
Nino gave a relieved smile as he guided Alya (who was glued to her phone again) towards the food court. The moment Marinette spotted them she began moving in their direction to meet them.
Before Nino could say anything or Alya even notice she was there, Marinette gave her BFF a big hug. Alya was startled at first until she saw who it was that just grabbed her in a death grip. She repayed the hug slightly confused given the circumstances, but relieved never the less.
"I'm glad you're okay, when I only saw Nino helping me get away from Volpina; I worried you might have gone to do something stupid." Marinette said as she pulled out of the hug.
"Nothing more stupid than I normally do." Alya replied nervously.
"Alya finally got a scoup with Rena Rouge." Nino said as the girls pulled apart. Coming to his girlfriends aid.
That seemed to really surprise Marinette. Her eyebrows shot up into her hair line as she looked at Alya. "Really!?" She asked.
Alya nodded excitedly and began to pull her phone out, but Nino stopped her. "How about we get some food, and sit down first?" He suggested which both girls nodded to.
After some deliberation they decided on Wendy's for lunch. Nino ordered a regular burger meal with a chocolate frosty. Alya got the 10 piece chicken nugget meal also with a chocolate frosty. Marinette ordered a Parmesan Caesar Chicken Salad with a vanilla frosty.
They chose an empty table in the back of the food court. An uncomfortable silence settled over them as they began to eat.
Alya and Nino both kept trying to decide whether or not they should apologize now or later.
"So... You managed to record today's Akuma attack?" Marinette asked trying to break the tension between them.
Alya nodded and pulled out her phone and opened the posting on her blog before sliding her phone over to Marinette.
Marinette hit play, and watched the recording. She knew her friend's work enough to know that Alya was not the one to record the attack. Explaining how she had managed to do so in the first place.
Still Marinette played along. "That's amazing Alya, I'm so glad you finally got a recording with Rena Rouge in it." She said excitedly as she slid Alya's phone back to her.
"I know right, its about time!" Alya replied happily. She put her phone away, and began to take a drink of the tea.
Marinette smiled then became slightly hesitant. "Hey Alya? Would you mind posting a thank you on your blog for me. I think I owe Rena one after today." She asked with full sincerity.
This startled Alya and she ended up inhaling her drink instead of swallowing it.
"Oh my gosh are you okay?" Marinette asked standing up as her friend started coughing. Nino began patting her on the back.
Alya nodded as she coughed. "Yeah (cough cough) sorry I just (cough) swallowed wrong." She said as she finished clearing her lungs of all liquid.
"You sure dude?" Nino asked concerned, which Alya nodded to again.
"Yes, I'm fine. I was just surprised by Marinette's request." She replied her voice a little strained from the coughing. Alya could not help but feel a strange mix of humbleness and guilt from her best friends words.
"Why?" Marinette asked genuinely confused. She has had many people express their gratitude for Ladybug to her before without realizing that she is Ladybug. (Not that she doesn't know Alya is Rena Rouge, but that's beside the point.)
Alya did not know how to reply to that. She could not tell her BFF that she was Rena Rouge and that she was thanking her after being the cause of the attack in the first place. The fact that Lila had gone out of her way to threaten and attack Marinette after Alya had texted that the 3 of them were going to the mall...
"I think Alya is just surprised that you managed to come up with an extra scoup for today's Akuma, before her." Nino said teasingly coming to his girlfriends rescue.
Comprehension crossed Alya face momentarily before she began playing into Nino's exscue. "Yeah, I mean it did not even dawn on me that you are the number one eye witness to today's attack. Would you be willing to just add the thank you into an interview for my blog?" She asked suddenly very excited. She definitely owed Nino one.
Marinette smiled. "I would love to Alya." She replied kindly.
"Well than dudes I think once we finish up eating we can hit a few more stores. Then about a half hour before we originally had planned to leave head over to the fountain and do the interview." Nino suggested.
"I think that sounds great!" Marinette replied dipping one of her fries into her frosty.
No one in the group noticed two little kwamis slipping away. One orange and one red.