Note: OMG! Thank you all for the comments and the support! I can not believe that this many people are interested in something I am writing. You all motivate me to write more and fast. Thank you for all the Reviews! I try to respond to everyone as quickly as possible. I Think you are all wonderful people and I hope you enjoy the story. Please continue to comment below. What do you think is going to do you all think of the end of this. How many feels did you have while reading this!

Chapter 5

"I didn't know you cared that much about me."

Alya didn't expect to have picked up on such a subtle hint. Adrien's words echoed through her head. Her heart began to pound as if she had started to sprint. Memories began to buzz through her head, and tiny details began to line up; blonde hair, acid green eyes, athletic build, and that depressing look of desperation.

"Adrien, are you Chat Noir?"

"Yes" the blonde breathed into the brunette's hair.

Alya froze in place. She could not believe what she had heard and realized. This whole time chat in the water had been Adrien Agreste, supermodel extraordinaire. He had been in her class sitting only a few feet from the reporter the entire time. She wanted to scream, but a chilling sensation kept her from doing so.

She was in a very public place. She and her friend, who had just confessed he was the superhero that had hired her in the first place, were in a very public area. Very wrong place to reveal one's true identity.

Adrien began to shake. Alya knew she had to do something. Her personal self was not the right person for the scenario, nor was the reporter side that she constantly kept of float. A memory flashed through her head. The time one of her younger sister's fell while they were at a playground. Alya's parents were at work, and had left her in charge of the twins. As the oldest of three, she was in charge in all scenarios. This included when one of the young girls fell off the monkey bars and dislocated her shoulder. Both girls had begun to panic, but the older sibling had taken charge. She kept both girls calm as she called for an ambulance and their mother. Alya knew at that moment she needed to be the parent in this scenario. Feeling Adrien's trembles sparked the same emotional response she had when her sister fell. Alya took a deep breath and put on her stern mother persona.

"Adrien pull yourself together." Her tone was stern. She pushed the young man away from her. "We are at a party loaded with people. You will not lose your composure here and now. Do I make myself clear?"

He stood up straight and wiped his eyes dry. "Yo- you're right," his voice was shaking.

"Listen to me Agreste," she said grabbing his chin and tilting her eyes to look directly into her own. "You are going to put on a smile. You are going to stay calm. And you are going to act cool." He nodded his head in agreement. Alya's hand remained on his chin. "You and I are going to walk down these stairs happy, and calm. We are going to walk out into the hallway to towards the elevator. You will remain calm and composed that whole time until we are in my apartment, both sitting on the couch. Is that clear?"

"Yes,"

"Then stand up straight and let's go."

Adrien checked his posture, and Alya locked her arm with his. They both smiled at each other and began to walk down the stairs. Each step was longer and work he was wrong then I had been traveling up the staircase previously. She could feel the model trembling and Tim towards the rail. He obliged and grabbed on to the Golden railing as they slowly made their way down. She could feel him back-and-forth between her and his. She only hope that he could not feel her pussy at the same strain or level.

When the pair reach the final step of the long staircase, the model let out a scattered sigh. Alya was quick to tighten her grip and stop the escaping air from his mouth.

"Not yet," she reminded sternly. Their eyes met. She watched him take a breath in, and it filled his eyes with a glossy coding.

They needed to move faster, she thought. She nudged him to move along told him through the giant oak door that led to this night's exciting beginning. Though the hallway was long they made it to the elevator in record time. The reporter to have a tight grasp on the blonde. This was proven needed when he began to shake when the elevator doors closed.

"Not yet. Remember what I told you."

He drew another shaky breath and repositioned himself shifting his weight left and right. The elevator ride continue to slowly downward. Every floor button day dinged as the pair hopped down the floor by floor until reaching the third floor. The doors open and the duo exited out into an empty hallway. They practically ran to the apartment door. Alya reaching into her bag for her keys.

"Remember, I said you had to make it to the couch." She glanced up from her clutch with her keys in hand. A lone tear traced the curves of Adrien's face. Alya quickly shoved the key in the door and opened it. Adrien walked passed her as she pulled the key out of the door and quickly slammed it shut.

Both of Alya's hand were pressed against the door. Mom mode had shut off. Alya did not have to worry about other people entering the apartment. She kept her eyes shut tight, to try and fight the tears away. This was too much. Why Adrien? Why did that poor guy have to be Chat Noir? Could this guy not catch a break? She took a breath, kicked off her shoes, and locked the hatch on the door.

Alya turned around to see Adrien curled up in a ball against the pillar between the kitchen and living area. Slows tears escaped her brown eyes as she walked over. How much pain was he in? She sat down beside him. She rested her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm… sorry… I didn't… make it… to the couch." Sniffles interrupted his sentences.

"That's alright." She stroked Adrien's shoulder. "I can't believe it's you." She began to cry with her friend. She pulled him into a hug, and shaky arms welcomed the connection.

Alya felt someone what guilty for crying. She wasn't crying because she was upset that her friend had been one of the crime fighting heroes that she had longed to identify. In a way she felt some relief knowing that Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person. She no longer had to split her concerns amongst two friend. She did get to combine her worries for both friends at one though, and the overpowering feeling of two different people's problems merging into one was too great. Plus, seeing Adrien cry was the saddest, and most depressing things she had personally ever witnessed.

Tears filled the apartment for almost half an hour. Alya had stopped crying after ten minutes. Adrien had years of repressed tears to set free. Like a good friend, Alya sat and waited. She stroked his arm. Petted his hair, repeated cliché comforting phrases in his ears. He eventually ran out of tears to cry.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." he finally spoke.

"It's fine. Did you plan on revealing yourself to me, tonight?" She had to ask. She wanted to know if this was all part of her work for Chat Noir, or if she had broken down a barrier with Adrien.

"It was not my intention. It's just, you said such kind things. I didn't think we had a friendship for that kind of level."

"You've needed someone to talk to for a long time, Adrien." A small squeaky voice called out. A flash of black and green shot out of Adrien. A tiny black cat with green eyes appeared floating in front of the models face.

"Isn't' that what I have you for, Plagg?" Adrien said. The ghost of a grin resting on his face.

Alya stared at the black floating cat. "What.. Or who is that?"

Adrien flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry Alya. This is Plagg. He's my Kwami and the reason I can turn into Chat Noir."

Plagg flew over to Alya's face. "Nice to meet you." He stuck out his paw to shake.

Alya pinched his paw between thumb and index finger and lightly shook Plaggs hand. "Nice to meet you too, Plagg."

The black fairy god smiled. "Now that formalities are out of the way, can I have some Camembert please?"

Alya blinked. "Knock yourself out. There are like three wheels in the fridge for some reason."

"Oh boy!" The black cat flew straight through the refrigerator. Within seconds loud chewing noises came from the inside.

"I put the cheese there," Adrien shared. "This apartment is kind of my home away from home. I come here whenever I throw a party, or whenever I just want to not be surrounded by people telling me what needs to be done."

"So I am staying in your home away from home?" Alya asked innocently.

"Kind of. Nothing has really ever felt like home since my mother disappeared. The only thing that ever came close was, well… Ladybug."

Alya could understand Chat Noir's need for his partner. Adrien had lost his mother. He lost his father both emotionally, and physically when he was revealed to be Hawkmoth. Then he lost the person he could always count on. He had nowhere and no one to turn to. He must have been keeping all these feelings bottled up for the last three years.

"Does anyone else know who you are?" the reporter asked hesitantly.

"No. You are the first person to find out."

"Well, I'm happy to be your first." She smiled hinting at a joke.

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"There we go. There is the friend I know. I don't mean to be making assumptions, but I am going to assume that you have been holding back a lot more than just your identity for the past three years. I want to discuss them with you. However I think right now you need to take some time to chill. I'm assuming that other room is where you usually stay. I think you should go shower, clean up, and come back out here when you feel ready to answer some questions. If I am going to find Ladybug I am going to need details. That means I may pry. I need you in a state of mind where you can tell me if we are going too far or not. So go shower. I have some sweats you can borrow, and I know I have a t least one of Nino's shirts I kept from when we were dating..."

"I already keep some spare cloth here," Adrien interrupted. "Though, I am curious as to why you have hung onto Nino's clothes for so long."

Alya's face flushed. "We both need to go get cleaned up, then we can share our most personal secrets."

A genuine smiled crept across Adrien's face. "Thank you, Alya. I'm really lucky to have a friend like you." The model got to his feet and helped his friend rise as well.

"Don't sweat it. Besides you have done plenty of things for me. Go get cleaned up. I'm going to shower as well. I will meet you out here, but don't feel obligated to be quick. If you want to just go to bed too, just let me know. I will be out here when you are ready." He nodded and, alya watched him disappear behind the bedroom door.

_oOo_

Alya had expected to be cleaned up before Adrien. She honestly expected Adrien to remain inside his room and to not emerge until morning. Along with showering and changing into her pajamas, Alya brought out to the couch a blanket, pillow, and her computer. She had promised Adrien she would be out here when he wanted talk. So she was prepared to spend her night out in the living area,

The now relaxed Alya, curled up on the couch and made herself comfortable. She flipped open her laptop and went to the Ladyblog hoping someone would have responded with sighting.

There were no sightings of Ladybug posted.

The reporter sighed. She wondered if anyone was still looking at the ancient blog. Three years on the internet with no new content made her blog more of an artifact than a source of super hero news. She closed her laptop and placed it on the floor.

"Hey, Ali… Ayla… whatever your name is." A squeaky voice came from the kitchen. "Come here." Plagg sat on the black counter in the kitchen holding a piece of camembert cheese.

Alya stood up and looked towards the kitchen. With all the black in the apartment, the only way Alya was able to find the small kwami was by the green of his eyes. When she spotted the small creature, she moved over to the counter. "It's Alya. What's up Plagg?"

"I need to know if you think you are going to be able to find Ladybug." His tiny paws folded and he floated up to her eyes.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to find her."

"But do you think you can." Plagg questioned again.

"If you're asking if I think it is still possible to find Ladybug, than yes. I cannot say yes or no, because I don't know. I'm not going to lie."

"Good. I need to make sure that you are not going to lead him on. This kid has been through way too much."

Alya's eyes glossed over with concern. "How is he doing, Plagg? How is he mentally?"

The cat's ears lowered. "He's not ok. He is stressed, and feels abandoned. I've worked with stray cats before, but this one may be the saddest one I have had to work with. I'm glad to know that someone aside from me cares for my kitten."

"It's not fair what happened to Adrien. I am going to help him."

"I know you are. This is why I am going to let you in on a few kwami secrets. I am only going to say this once. You may never repeat this to anyone, including Adrien. . I am only supposed to share this with my Miraculous wielder, but I can't lose this kitten in this way, so I will be rebelling by what I tell you. "

Alya nodded her head. "I won't tell a soul."

"Alright. As a kwami, I grant powers. The power I grant Chat Noir's is the power of destruction. Chat Noir is whoever is the wielder of the Miraculous, ring. This ring is only half a great power. The other half of this power is the Ladybug Miraculous, a pair of earrings. When combined these two miraculous create the ultimate power. This means that I am only half of my full possible power. I can sense ladybugs kwami. I cannot tell you exact distances, but I know when they are near and far. Right now, I know she is not too far away and that she is in that direction." His tiny paw pointed towards the Eiffel tower.

"So you are saying she is still hear in Paris?" Alya asked with hushed excitement.

"I believe so. Knowing that do you think you can find Ladybug, now?"

"To you, I say a yes."

"Good. Don't give Adrien that answer. Just in case things don't end well, I don't want him too hopeful." Plagg hung his head. "I just can't have another kitten sink that low."

The reporter understood. "I'm going to be realistic with him. Speaking of realistic would, you be able to check and see if he is coming out of his room soon?"

"I can go check." The kwami sped through the wall and zoomed straight into Adrien's room. Once that cat had left, Alya walked back to the couch to sit down. She closed her eyes. She would open them when she heard the door open.

_oOo_

Alya felt the weight of the couch shift. She opened her eyes to see Chat Noir sitting at her feet. He was fidgety. His hands looking for a place to rest. They started clasped together, then one on each thigh, each hand went free form for a moment, and finally the joined and stayed center in his lap.

"Hi Chat Noir," she said sitting up.

"Hi," he responded.

"Are you, ready to talk?" Alya looked at her phone screen to check the time; two in the morning.

Chat noir nodded his head.

"Any reason you are Chat Noir instead of Adrien?"

"It's easier. As Adrien, I don't really know how to talk about any of this."

Alya put her reporter hat on. Sometimes getting good information was less about formal questioning and more about how to lead a conversation. It was clear Adrien was uncomfortable. He was emotional, and had to keep all his concerns locked away for years. Alya had had practice with working with people like this as a reporter. Trauma victims, children, and even the mentally unstable were a few people that needed to have conversations easier to gather information.

She kept a serious, but comforting look on her face. "I could only imagine how hard it was for Adrien to have to hide so much personal turmoil while having to run a company."

Chat Noir leaned back on the couch. "Yeah. Adrien didn't even want the company."

"They company is doing well though." Alya tried to add in a positive.

Chat smirked. "Yeah. When you are forced into working for an industry, you learn that you are good at faking what you like to just do something right."

"Can I ask you something a bit more personal?"

"Alright."

"Do you blame Gabriel for throwing you into the industry?"

"I blame my dad for a lot of things." Chat Noir's lips pierced. "He's the reason my mom left. He's the reason I am in the fashion industry." Chat Noir stood up, fists clenched. "He's the reason I work have to work over sixty hours a week. He's the reason almost every friend of mine hates each other. He's the reason I can't contact anyone without picking a side. And…" he began to walk towards the windows, "he is the reason I lost my lady."

Chat Noir pushed open a window panel. "I'm sorry, Alya. I can't talk any more about this."

"Wait! Adrien before you go. I need you to do tell me one more thing." The hero's black ears turned towards the reporter before his head followed. Small tears were folding in the corners of his mask.

"I promise you I am going to do everything in my power to find LB, but I need to know everything you know about her in order to do so. i know I wasn't there for everything, so I don't know everything I need to ask. I do know one thing I don't know. What did she say to you before she left you after Hawkmoths arrest?

The acid green eyes stared straight at Alya. The tears in the corners of his eyes had frozen, and the look he gave her stung with disappointment. "She said: Adrien could never forgive me for today."

The cat grabbed his baton from his back, and jumped out of the window; leaving a slightly stunned Alya staring out the open window. She knew Adrien. No wonder he assumed Ladybug must know who she was as well. That was a lot of information.

Alya reached down to grab her laptop from the floor. She opened it up, and froze. She had left her tab for her Ladyblog page up. There was a response to her recent post. The poorly typed message sent shivers down Alya's spine. Tonight was now becoming too much for her.

"i m her" and a ladybug emoji ended the response.