Dabble in Drabbles 21: Oh.
As per the request of Aurora077 and 21nagarcia, this one's for you two lovelies. :D
(And I had actually written it out before, but forgot to post it. XD)
Summary: Alya discovered Ladybug's civilian identity and all she could say was…oh. (And who knew Adrien was Chat Noir as well?!)
Disclaimer (which I totally forgot): I own not any of Miraculous Ladybug, except the plots of these fics. If I did, I'd fill in Chat Noir's every sentence with cat puns. :P
It just had to be Alya discovering his superhero identity that was the icing in his cake of bad luck. Chat Noir froze as he heard a gasp of shock behind him. Slowly he turned around and met the hazel eyes of hers.
He had accidentally transformed into Chat Noir.
In front of Alya.
What she said next wasn't what he expected though.
"Oh hell no. No way. Nu – uh. Nope!"
"Alya! Calm down!"
"How can I calm down when my classmate-" She was about to say that Marinette's crush was a superhero and was crushing on Ladybug, stopped in time and finished with, "-is a superhero?!"
"Alya, please! You can't tell anyone!" Chat Noir pleaded, and then jumped as screams filled the air. "Swear it! You can't put this into Ladyblog!"
"But-"
"I trust you Alya."
And with that, Chat Noir bounded away to save Paris once more, leaving a girl reporter in distraught.
How was this going to work?!
"Oh."
It was unintelligible for a reporter to say something like that. But at the moment, that was the only word that had popped up in her head as she watched Ladybug ranting about why it was dangerous-for-a-cilivian-to-film-a-dangerous-battle-so-closely-and-are-you-listening-to-me-Alya?
Alya gaped at her, her jaw slack. Ladybug was fuming at the young reporter. It barely came out like a whisper.
"You're Marinette."
Okay, now rewind to an hour ago.
There was another attack, and of course, Alya had to be there to get the scoop of the famous superhero duo in action. Jumping over a fallen motorcycle, Alya skidded towards a tree just a few meters away from the heat of the battle.
"I'm here, live in front of Notre Dame, filming the latest battle between Ladybug and an sponge-looking akuma. Seems like someone had forgotten to take a bath today." Alya snickered as she continued filming, narrating the battle as it went on.
Suddenly, a car flipped over and started falling towards Alya. Her eyes widened as the vehicle's shadow cast over her.
"ALYA!"
A silver baton shot out, ramming the car out of the way just as a yo-yo wrapped around the reporter's waist and flew her away from the radius of the battle and on the safety of a rooftop.
Only when Ladybug made sure that Alya was safe, no broken bones, eyeglasses still intact, did she finally explode her pent-up feelings.
"ALYA WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"
The young girl winced as she tightened the grip on her phone. Ladybug's cheeks were red, her eyes wide with anger and worry. Alya had faced Marinette's line of anger before (albeit more directed at Chloé) but being scolded by a superhero was a whole entire experience.
"I'm sorry…?" Alya said sheepishly.
"Sorry is not going to cut it, Alya!" Ladybug snapped. She paced back and forth across the balcony, arms waving around in distress. "You've done this too many times! I've lost count how many times Chat Noir and I have to save you from danger just because you were filming for your Ladyblog!"
"But then how can I get a scoop if I won't be able to film from a near enough-" Alya started.
"YOU WERE ALMOST SACRIFICED ONCE!" Ladybug screeched. "And I don't know if the Miraculous can send people back from the dead and I don't plan on knowing!"
"But you're a superhero. You've always protected me."
"But what if I wasn't there?! What if Chat Noir or I won't be there to save you?!"
"But-"
"I CAN'T LOSE YOU!" Ladybug shouted.
Alya froze. That passion, that tone of voice, those big blue eyes…
"Oh."
Ladybug glared at her. "Oh? This is not an 'OH' situation Alya! This is a situation where you have to stop filming because your life is more important than some 3 minute video and – are you even listening to me?"
Alya gaped at her, her jaw slack. Ladybug was fuming at the young reporter. It barely came out like a whisper.
"You're Marinette."
BOOM! CRASH!
"Ladybug! A little help here!" Chat voice drifted off from below as he fended off the akuma villain.
Ladybug, however, vaguely registered her partner's cry for help as she stared the girl in front of her. "What did you call me?"
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng." Alya chanted, enunciating each and every syllable. "You're Ladybug."
Ladybug swallowed. "I-"
"Ladybug!" Chat Noir jumped on top of the roof and immediately regretted it as two pairs of eyes glared at him. "Uh, did I interrupt something important?"
Alya flickered between the two superheroes as her discovery whirled in chaos inside her. "She-"
"Alya!" Ladybug squeaked. Her eyes snapped to Ladybug's blue eyes that were totally Marinette's - how could she call herself a reporter when the person behind the mask was just sitting beside her in class all along?!
Ladybug whipped out her yo-yo and said, "We'll continue this conversation later."
"But-"
"Stay."
Alya crossed her arms and pouted, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Chat gave her an apologetic smile as the two superheroes jumped over the building and onto the akuma villain.
Ohhhh boy.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng had plenty of explaining to do.
"Okay, girl, spill." Alya said.
Marinette fidgeted nervously in the middle of her room. If Ladybug didn't deny that she wasn't Marinette, Alya would never have suspected anything. But now that she knew, it was like a fog had cleared over her eyes.
Marinette took a deep slow breath and said, "Tikki, you can come out."
A red bug-like thingy flew out of Marinette's purse and floated in front of Alya. Its big doe eyes looked up at her and said, "Nice to finally meet you! I'm Tikki, Ladybug's kwami!"
Alya blinked. Of course she wouldn't freak out. She was a reporter and reporters always have to keep their cool. "Kwami? What's that?"
"I am the one who transforms Marinette into Ladybug." Tikki explained.
"Let me guess, it's got something to do with the 'miraculous' that the Hawk Moth guy is always after," Alya's eye flickered over to Marinette, "in her earrings. Once you use the Lucky Charm, you de-transform in a few minutes."
Marinette stared at her. "How do you know so much?"
"I can see things most people don't notice." Alya tapped her glasses with a smirk. But then she shook her head. "Yet, I never figured out that Ladybug was my best friend all this time!"
Marinette bit her lip as she looked guiltily on the ground. "Sorry…"
"Sorry? What do you mean sorry?"
"I'm sorry Ladybug is just… me." Marinette shrugged. "Clumsy, awkward, boring."
"Not to mention a nervous wreck that can't speak a full sentence to her crush, but can sass and flirt all day with Chat Noir," Alya ticked off, "who beats akuma villains for breakfast, can totally rock a spandex suit, and is the hero of justice."
Marinette blushed as she protested, "I don't flirt with Chat Noir!"
"Yes and the sky is falling." Alya rolled her eyes. The young reporter put her hands on her best friend's shoulders and said warmly, "Marinette, I'm glad Ladybug is you."
The young designer looked away. "But-"
"I won't reveal your identity." Marinette's eyes shot back at her. Alya held Marinette's hand and looped her pinky with hers. "Pinky promise!"
It was like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. She no longer had to hide anything from her best friend. Marinette let out a soft laugh however, when Alya said, "Although, as your best friend, I should get an exclusive interview from Ladybug!"
"Okay!" Marinette agreed. But then she narrowed her eyebrows and said seriously, "And as your best friend, I want you to stay away from the akuma battles."
"What?!" Alya took a step back. "Aw come on, Marinette! I need it for my Ladyblog! And you know it's a blog dedicated to you!"
"But I don't want it if that means I have to be scared when my best friend is constantly putting herself in danger!" Marinette said. "You can't be in the middle of a battle!"
Alya frowned. "Fine, then let's compromise. I'll film from a reasonable distance away from the fights."
"But if I think it's too dangerous, you have to go home." Marinette said stubbornly. "Superhero orders."
"Darn you, putting the superhero move on me." Alya grumbled. They exchanged glances and shook hands. "Deal."
Grins split their faces.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe I'm best friends with a superhero!" Alya squealed as she wrapped her arms around Marinette and spun her around. "Can you believe it?! I can't believe it!"
"I can believe it! I'm your superhero best friend!" Marinette laughed.
"You've totally got to show me your transformation! How does it feel like being pursued by your superhero partner, who I think is pretty slick by the way, and yet still love Adrien? Do you even know Chat Noir under the mask? Does he know you?" Alya gushed. Questions were unstoppable now and Marinette was pretty sure it would go on until beyond midnight.
"I've got so much to share, but first, I wanna eat something." Marinette said.
Alya nodded and with a skip of her step, both the girls bounded down towards the kitchen to get a platter of snacks, a long night of talking ahead of them.
A few days had passed, and another akuma attack had wrecked Paris once more. This time, it went on a little longer than normal due to Chat Noir being corrupted once again and forced into submission to fight Ladybug because he had jumped in front of her, and in the way of the akuma's attack.
When Alya went to question Adrien about it later, he just gave her a funny look. "Why not? She's my partner. I'd never let her get hurt."
"But what if she was the one to fall under the control of the akuma villain?" Alya asked. "What would you do?"
Just then, a horn beeped, signaling Adrien that his ride was here. Adrien gave her a small wave as he walked away. "See you tomorrow, Alya."
And thus, he left, never answering her question.
Of course, later that day, she repeated the question to Marinette. The superhero's eyes widened a fraction, and a melancholic smile grew on her face. "I will never be corrupted."
"Why?" Alya frowned. "Why would you let Chat Noir take the fall for you?"
"I don't let Chat take the fall for me." Marinette corrected. "He jumps in the way of danger, and I hate it."
"But you don't look like you're stopping him." Alya pointed out. "Do you hate him or something?"
"Quite the opposite, actually." Marinette laughed. "I love Chat Noir."
"I thought you liked Adrien." Alya said in confusion. Marinette nodded. "Then how can you love Chat as well?"
Marinette smiled.
"I love you, Alya."
"Oh."
There are different kinds of love out there, not only romantic. So no, Marinette does not love Chat Noir or Alya in the same sense of love she has for Adrien. That is another one entirely. I might or might not diverge into that.
Anyway, thank you for reading! I'm going to start backwards with answering your prompts (although I can't do all of them, I will try to fit one or two prompts in a fic, and you guys are full of wonderful ideas!), so see you all around!
Thank you all for reading! And reviewing! And for the faves and follows! (and omigosh 100+ in all of them?! You are all awesome!)
See ya'll next time!