#alyadrinette

Marinette waved her hand dismissively. “It’s been three years. What are the chances he is going to suddenly fall in love with me now?” She took a drink of her cafe au lait, savoring the warm milky taste. It was spring, but still slightly cold as they sat outside the cafe, so warm drinks were appreciated.

“I think they’re very high. Anyone would fall in love with you.” Alya bit into her own pastry with finality. She was so confident in her convictions. Even when they were ridiculous, like now.

“Mmhmm, whatever you say.” Marinette mumbled over the rim of her mug. She wished she had Alya’s confidence in this. She had liked Adrien for so long with no development that she felt like it was hopeless at this point.

“Come on. Let’s overanalyze everything he said and did.” Alya weedled her with such a cute grin it was hard to resist. “I’ll tell you about how Chat came to visit me again last night.”

“He did?” Marinette ignored the way her heart jumped slightly at the sound of Chat’s name. Yet another thing she had thoroughly repressed. “Did you get that smooch?”

Alya laughed and the familiar warmth filled Marinette’s chest. She loved Alya’s laugh. “No, but I told him that I would kiss him if he wanted me to.”

“Seriously?” Marinette shook her head, grinning at Alya’s bluntness. “What did he say?”

Alya’s smile faded slightly. “He ran out the window as fast as he could.”

“That ass!” She furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance. She was going to have to have a talk with him. Who in their right mind would ever give up the chance to kiss Alya?

“It’s okay!” Alya assured her with a laugh. “I kind of sprung it on him really suddenly. I think he was just flustered. He’s actually pretty shy.”

She snorted. Chat was not normally shy. But she had always suspected he was better at dishing it out than taking it, especially when it came to flirting. “So what’s actually going on with you two.”

“Nothing yet.” Alya blushed, her brown skin taking on a pretty reddish tint. “But I think I want something to happen?”

“Ohhh!” Marinette grinned, nudging her best friend. “If I know you, you’re going to make it happen.” If Marinette’s laugh was slightly forced, she was sure Alya didn’t notice.

“Girl, you know it.” Alya laughed and waved her hand dismissively, but Marinette could tell her blush had deepened. She must really like Chat.

The conversation moved on, but the background feeling of discomfort stayed with her until the two girls parted ways.

She just wasn’t sure how the idea of Alya and Chat getting together made her feel.  She was torn between feeling happy for her two best friends for finding each other and this other feeling. It wasn’t jealousy. It wasn’t like she wanted Chat to not date Alya and date her instead. But it was similar. It was that aching feeling that she remembered getting when she was younger and her friends would make plans without her. Even if they didn’t have bad intention, it never felt good to feel left out. But that was silly. It wasn’t like she could be a part of their relationship. She was probably just worried about them both being too busy for her or something normal like that. Because it wasn’t like she wanted to date either Alya or Chat. She liked Adrien.

She was still trying to convince herself of that hours later as she struggled with her homework.

“Maybe you like them too?” Tikki suggested, after hours of listening to her chosen complain.  

“That’s ridiculous.” Marinette shook her head emphatically. “I can’t like multiple people. I like Adrien.”

Tikki sighed, tired of arguing the obvious. Marinette had been in denial of her feelings for Alya for years, no matter how many times Tikki encouraged her to consider what was right in front of her. Marinette was still young and didn’t understand that love could manifest in many ways, sometimes with multiple people.

“Maybe I should visit Adrien?” Marinette suggested, suddenly animated.

“Tomorrow?” Tikki smiled. “That’s like a wonderful idea!”

“No, tonight.” Marinette got up and started pacing excitedly. “If Chat can do it, why can’t I?”

“I guess there is no reason not to. . .” Tikki was hesitant, knowing this could end poorly.

“Great!” Marinette’s smile was too wide to be entirely natural as she bounced on her heels. “Spots on!”

In the few minute that it took to get to Adrien’s house, Ladybug was starting to have doubts. What if he wasn’t home? Would it be weird for her to just knock on his window? Maybe she should go back.

No. She was already too close. And if Chat could visit Alya, then she could visit Adrien. It was only fair.

She landed resultly on his windowsill, peering inside. His back was to the window, working on his computer, headphones in his ears, the book they had been working on in Literature open on his desk.

Determined, she knocked.

He didn’t react and she cursed the inventor of headphones. She tried again.

Still nothing.

She tried waving her arms, hoping he would see her in the reflection of his computer screen.

No such luck.

Damn Adrien and his studious nature!

Ladybug sighed. Maybe this was a sign that his was a bad idea. Why was she even here? To prove to herself that she liked Adrien? That was dumb, of course she liked him. One look at the back of his blond head was enough to remind her of that. Seeing him made her see happy.

And yeah, seeing Alya also made her feel happy but that was . . . different. Probably. Definitely.

As she was pondering, Adrien spun around in his chair, stretching.  He made eye contact with her mid-yawn and jumped out of his feet, rushing towards the window.

“Ladybug!” He opened the window quickly, a nervous grin on his face. “Come in! What are you doing here?”

Her heart was pounding in her chest. “I can’t stay.” She knew that would be a bad idea. “I’m just checking in on you because . . . that akuma targeted you.”

Adrien’s face scrunched up in confusion. “There hasn’t been an akuma after me for a few months at least.”

Damn, had it been that long? “I know, it’s just that you have been targeted a high number of times and I decided to make sure you’re still doing okay. We have to make sure you feel safe and all that.” Ladybug was proud of her quick thinking. It was not exactly a lie. She was worried about him.

Adrien smiled. Her heart clenched at the happiness in his expression. He was just so attractive! “Thank you so much. I always feel safe with you and Chat around.”

The sincerity in his voice made her blush and she knew she had to get out of there before she did something stupid. “G-great. That is great. We want you safe. Gotta go.” She grabbed her yoyo to make a hasty retreat.

“Wait!”

She looked back before she jumped. Adrien was leaning out of the window. “Thank you for visiting.”

“No problem. I’d do this for any citizen. It’s my job.” Giving him an awkward pat on the head, she tried not to linger over how soft his hair would be to feel with her bare hands. She jumped away before she embarrassed herself further.

Ladybug waited until she was a few blocks away before she stopped to take a breath. She couldn’t stop grinning. The whole visit was a stupid wonderful mess and she was so glad she decided to do it. There was no doubt of her crush on Adrien.

As she swung through the city back home, she hesitated near Alya’s house. She could visit her too. The temptation filled her, but she resisted. Alya already had one superhero visiting her. He might be visiting her right now. Three’s a crowd, after all.

“Oh. Sounds great.” Adrien stood in a moment of uncomfortable silence, almost as if he wanted to say something else. Before she could ask him what was wrong, the teacher arrived and called the class to order.

Alya sighed as the teacher started speaking. Marinette was late, again. What was she going to do with that girl? She couldn’t help but smile fondly as she began to take careful notes.

She had long since stopped denying that she was in love with Marinette. It was pointless to deny when her heart nearly jumped out of her chest every time she even looked at her. She had fallen for her the moment she broke that macaron in half all the way back in college, and every day she fell further in love. She loved Marinette so much it hurt, but she wasn’t going to do anything about it.

Nino hadn’t understood. He thought her love for Marinette meant that she didn’t love about him. He didn’t understand why she didn’t just tell her how she felt. She couldn’t explain it and he couldn’t deal with that. One of the hardest things was telling Marinette why she and Nino had broken up without mentioning the real reason. Marinette had been angry at Nino for weeks, despite how many times Alya told her it had been mutual.

Marinette didn’t show up until halfway through the class. Alya had to suppress a laugh as she tried to sneak in without the teacher seeing. She was hopeless.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” The teacher said firmly, not even turning away from the blackboard. “You are late again.”

Marinette sighed and hung her head. “Sorry. I slept in again.”

The teacher sighed and shook her head. “Just. . . take your seat.”

Alya was grinning as Marinette sat down beside her. “You dork. I thought you said you were going to try to go to sleep at a reasonable time.” She elbowed her affectionately.

Marinette laughed tiredly. “Yeah, well, I tried to but I had a lot on my mind last night.”

“Oh?” Alya smiled slyly. “Anything to do with a certain blond that you’re going to the movies with tonight?”

“What?” It took a moment for understanding to dawn on Marinette’s face. “Alya, you didn’t!”

The teacher turned around and glared.

“You bet I did, babe.” Alya whispered after the teacher turned her attention back to the board. “You are going to text him the deets later.”

“How? How much did you have to harass him until he agreed?” Marinette asked, suspiciously.

“Not at all!” Alya held her hand over her chest in mock offense. “No, really. He actually asked if you were doing anything after school. I think all our hard work is starting to pay off.”

The smile that spread across Marinette’s lips reminded Alya very suddenly of the reason she was suppressing her feelings. Marinette was so happy at the thought of being with Adrien. Alya was going to do anything in her power to protect that happiness.

Alya couldn’t concentrate on her homework. Marinette hadn’t texted her yet. The movie should have ended 20 minutes ago. Where was her text? Maybe she was off making out with him right now? Maybe he insulted her and ran away and she was crying now? Oh, she was going to kill him. How dare he make Marinette cry!

She took a deep breath, calming herself before she got too carried away with her imagined scenario. Most likely they were just having a good time and she didn’t have a chance to text her yet.

But maybe she would send a text to check up on her. . .

Hey girl, how’d it go?

She put her phone down. She was going to focus on her work. Not on obsessing over Marinette again.

When the phone buzzed a moment later, she grabbed it without even thinking.

It went great! The movie was really good.

I am sure it was, but are you smooching?

lol, no. Hes going to walk me home though.

Alya smiled at her phone. She was so glad it went well. The ache in her chest was happiness. Definitely. She was so happy for Marinette. Her happiness was the most important thing.

She ignored the voice that said she sounded like she was convincing herself and typed in her response.

Ohhhhh! Get a smooch girl!

Haha, not likely. You are more likely to get a smooch from what you’ve said. Kiss the cat!

Alya rolled her eyes. Marinette thought it was so amusing that she had been hanging out with Chat Noir. She also was insistent that Alya had a crush on him. Which. . . might not be false.

Lol I don’t even know if he is visiting tonight. He usually comes around now if he is going to.

I am sure he wouldn’t be able to stay away from your hotness.

Alya’s heart pounded in her chest. It was always so hard when she said things like that.

Whatever. Focus on getting your own smooch, not my potential one!

Yes ma’am.

Alya leaned back in her chair, frowning. Why did she do this to herself? She wanted Marinette to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her, but did she have to torture herself like this? It was so hard to always be talking about romance but not being able to mention the name at the forefront of her mind.

A visit from Chat Noir would be welcome right now. At least she could take her mind of Marinette for a little bit. The way he pined after Ladybug was almost as bad as the way she pined after Marinette. But he probably had a better chance with her.

Alya was pretty sure Marinette was bi, like she was. They had never exactly talked about it but Marinette made some comments. She was definitely not straight. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking? Besides, even if their sexualities matched up, that didn’t mean that she actually had any chance with her. She was so into Adrien. Alya didn’t feel jealous of that, exactly, at least not in the way most people seemed to feel jealous. She didn’t mind Marinette’s love for Adrien, she just also wanted to be loved by Marinette. She could smooch Adrien all she wanted, as long as she smooched her too. She didn’t know why that was so hard for some people to understand.

She sighed, giving up on her work for now. The homework would have to wait. She needed to clear her head. Flopping down on her bed, she scrolled mindlessly through her social media feed on her phone. She was barely paying attention to it, but it was enough to keep her mind off of her hopeless love life.

A tap on her window caused her to look up from her internet daze. Chat grinned at her through the glass and her heart gave a little jolt.

“I thought you weren’t coming tonight,” she said, giving him her trademark wide smile. “You usually come earlier.”

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he sat on her bed. “Sorry about that. I was out at the movies with a friend.”

Alya blinked. Somehow she never really thought much about Chat’s regular life and friends, except for the fact that he apparently didn’t get along with his father. “Nice! That sounds fun.”

Surprisingly, Chat sighed. “Yeah, it was great.” He didn’t sound terribly enthusiastic.

“Was it?” Alya raised an eyebrow.

“It really was!” he insisted. “It’s just that another friend was supposed to come and she couldn’t make it. The friend I was with was great, and I had a great time with her, but I was really looking forward to spending some time with the other friend.”  He shrugged, looking down guiltily.

Interesting. “Is the friend who didn’t show someone you have a crush on?” Talking about someone else’s love problems was really just what she needed right then.

“No!” He held his hands up defensively and then slumped. “Okay, maybe.” He sighed. “Is it weird to like Ladybug and also this other girl?”

“Dude, not at all.” She put a reassuring arm around him. “I have like, so many crushes at the same time, it is ridiculous. Like, you can like this other girl and still like Ladybug, totally.”

He smiled, seeming relieved. “Really?”

She laughed. “Yeah, like I can totally like someone else and still want to give you a giant smooch if you wanted me to.”

He stiffened and she worried that she had gone too far. It was true, but she was mainly just teasing him.

“You’d kiss me?” he asked hesitantly.

“In a hot second if you wanted me to.” She laughed, trying to ignore the way her heart beat quicken. As she actually imagined kissing him, she wasn’t so sure that her teasing was a good idea.

He shifted awkwardly. “Uh, it’s pretty late. I have some stuff to do pretty early tomorrow. I should go.”

“Oh.” Alya frowned. Dammit, she had really messed up. She thought he would be okay with that sort of joking. Maybe it hit too close for him too.

“Yeah.” He sounded nervous. “See you tomorrow, maybe?”

“Yeah.”

He hugged her and all she could focus on was his hot breath on her cheek. Damn, she wanted to kiss him so bad.

After what seemed like an eternity, he let her go.

“See you.” He waved and was gone, out the window and into the night.

She looked really great today too. The weather was getting hotter and she was dressed for it in a tight t-shirt and shorts. They really accentuated her curves as she walked by his desk, and he had quickly looked away. He had to keep Alya from seeing his face was burning, and to prevent himself from gawking.

He had always been aware that Alya was a very attractive girl. Her full curves, flowing curls, and wide smile made her undeniably beautiful. He knew this when she had been dating Nino, and he knew this now...but now it was different. Now he saw that she was hot.

He was familiar with attractive women. He was a model, and he had spent his youth surrounded by some of the most beautiful women in the world. He wasn’t going to act all pure and pretend he never noticed any to them sexually. He did. They were extremely sexy women, and they knew it, but none of them had affected him the way Ladybug did. Ladybug had completely defined his sexual awakening. Maybe it was because of his romantic feelings for her, but he found everything she did to be so sexy that he could barely handle it. There had been days when he had to duck out of patrol early because he was too aroused by the way she would move, laugh, and talk.

He was used to having that sort of reaction to Ladybug, but reacting that way to Alya was new...new and a little distressing.

He shook his head. It was just because she said she would have sex with him. It was just a normal reaction. Nothing to worry about.

“Hey, Adrien.” Alya said, tapping him on the head with a pencil.

He turned around so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. “Hruh?” he said, unintelligibly.

“Wanna join us for lunch? Or are you busy?” She asked.

“No! I mean, yes! I’m not busy.” He blushed. “Lunch would be great.”

Alya giggled and nudged Marinette. Adrien turned away in embarrassment.

“You okay, dude?” Nino asked. “You seem a little tense.”

Just realizing how hot your ex girlfriend is. No big deal. He pushed aside that though. Nino and Alya’s relationship ended on good terms, and they hung out all the time, but he was not sure if that was the most appropriate thing to say.

“I’m fine,” he said, swallowing his conflicted feelings. “I’m, uh, just hungry.”

More like thirsty.  He groaned internally. That was bad, even for him.

Alya laughed. “Well, it’s a good thing we’re going to lunch, isn’t it?” Her laugh was so open and earnest, unreserved. She was always so unrestrained, unlike him. He admired that about her.

They chose their regular cafe, just a couple of block away from the school. Back in college they ate at Marinette’s bakery a lot, but the lycee was slightly further away so they had branched out to a few cafes. Adrien was always glad when he could hang out with them at lunch.

Today, however, he wasn’t sure if he made the right choice in joining them. Alya walked ahead with Marinette, chatting about what club they wanted to go to for Alya’s upcoming birthday, her full hips swinging while she walked. She didn’t normally walk with such a seductive motion, her behind hypnotizing him with every step, did she? It must be the heels. Alya didn’t normally wear heels after all. Even just small wedges like the ones she wore today would create an exaggerated hip motion. Anyone would look good like that.

“So, what do you think?” Nino asked.

“Huh?” Adrien turned to see Nino looking at him expectantly.

“I said ‘what did you think of the track I sent you last night?’. You just said that you listened to it.” Nino was almost laughing.

Adrien vaguely remembered nodding at something Nino had said, “Uh. . .”

He hadn’t actually had time to listen to the track Nino had sent him. His stomach twisted nervously. He was being a bad friend.

Nino punched him lightly on the shoulder. “It’s fine, dude. You were clearly distracted.”

Adrien blushed. “I wasn’t been too obvious was I?”

Alya glanced back. “What are you boys talking about?”

Nino laughed and responded before Adrien could stop him. “Just how lovely our lady friends are.”

Marinette giggled nervously and Alya flipped her hair, striking an exaggerated pose. “Of course. That is a topic that clearly needs to be discussed more.”

She blew them each a kiss.

Adrien felt his heart skip a beat.

The cafe was more crowded than usual, but they were still able to find a comfy table by the window.

The topic on everyone’s lips was Alya’s upcoming birthday. She was finally turning 18 like the rest of them, and they had plans to go to a classy nightclub. The club they had in mind was one that Alya had been wanting to go to for a while, but it had a strict age limit.

“Should we go to dinner before?” Alya asked eagerly.

“Sure, anywhere you want to go?” Adrien had already made sure that he was free that night, so he wanted to make sure he could spend as much time with Alya as he could -- with all of his friends... because they were his friends.

“I don’t know,” she scrunched up her face, “There are too many good places to eat.”

“What about that new Lebanese place you mentioned you wanted to go to?” Marinette suggested.

“That might be good,” Alya mused. Just then the waiter came with their food. “I’m not sure if I want to try somewhere new or go to an old favorite, you know?”

Nino swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “Shouldn’t we go somewhere near the club? So we don’t have to walk very far?”

“Good point.” Alya took a sip of her cafe au lait and Adrien couldn’t help but watch her lips as they parted to let the liquid through. Damn, he needed to stop being creepy. Alya was just a friend. He should save the creepy pining for Ladybug. “The Lebanese place is pretty far away.”

“Isn’t the place we went to with Alix and Kim nearby? The one with the really good pasta?” Marinette suggested, attempting to stab the grape in her salad with a fork.

“You mean the one they almost got us kicked out of?” Alya laughed. “I’m not sure if I am ready to show my face there again.”

Adrien grinned at that. Alya had made almost as big of a scene as their classmates in her attempt to get them to simmer down. She always made her opinions known, that’s for sure. “What about that trendy tapas place? You mentioned wanting to go there and it’s in the area.”

“That place is like, ridiculously expensive.” she said, dipping her bread into her soup.

Adrien grinned. “You forget, I’m stupidly rich and love treating my friends on their birthdays.” He winked. He was always a little embarrassed when he channeled Chat in his daily life, but it was frequently hard to not flirt with Alya, even before this freight train of attraction hit him.

“That is true.” She laughed and bit off a hunk of bread.

“We promise we love you for more than your money.” Marinette said with joking reassurance.

“Maybe you do!” Alya said, mouth still full of bread. She nudged Marinette, who blushed.

“Hey, at least I can buy my friends somehow.” Adrien used to be more insecure about people only liking him for his money and fame, but three years with Nino as his best friend got rid of that idea.

Alya’s eyes lit up with an idea and Adrien’s heart sped up, hoping she would share the devious workings of her brain. She downed the rest of her cafe au lait, chugging it it for several seconds before the cup was empty. “Oh, look at this.” She looked at her cup in feigned surprise. “I guess I have to get another drink. Nino, come with me.” She grabbed Nino by the arm, dragging him away from the table.

“God dammit, Alya.” Marinette muttered, stabbing her salad violently.  

“Why did she leave?” Adrien asked, trying to prevent an awkward silence from falling over the table. He was pretty used to Alya’s flighty behavior but it bothered him a little. Maybe because she dragged Nino along? Were they getting back together? Nino never told him why they broke up in the first place. But no, Nino was just telling him about someone that he met on his DJ gig that he wanted to ask out. And it was stupid to feel jealous when she was just his friend.

Marinette sighed. “She’s just . . . being Alya. Don’t worry about it.”

He laughed. Alya  was  quite a character. “She a good friend though, for all her eccentricities.”

Marinette smile was warm and she blushed. “Yeah, she’s pretty great.”

The silence stretched between them but Adrien felt less anxious than he normally did. Maybe it was just relief that he was wasn’t being overwhelmed with sexual (romantic?) interest. Marinette was definitely just a friend and friends were good and safe and didn’t surprise you.

“Have you been working on any new designs?” he asked. Marinette was always less awkward when she was talking about fashion. And he was always willing to listen because she was really, really talented.

“Well. . .” She looked around quickly and pulled out her sketchbook. “I’m working on a present for Alya. It is mostly done but here’s the design.” She flipped to a sketch of a dress. “I have the basic form made, I just need to make the straps and do a little detailing on the .”

He could tell that the dress would be  stunning  on Alya. It was tight and short and he felt himself growing warm imaging her in it. “It’s . . . sexy.”

Marinette blushed. “Uh, yeah, well, Alya’s the one who’ll be wearing it so yeah.” She flipped to another page, one that showed several designs for small purses. “This is something else I’m working on. I’ve been wanting to replace my purse for a while now.”

“I thought you used to ship us,” he whined. “Now you want to take her away?”

“I mean, yeah, but that was before I knew just how much of a dork you were,” she poked his nose, laughing.

“I am so hurt,” he was grinning, which seemed to contradict his statement. “I think my dorkiness just makes me more attractive.”

That was definitely true. She never really paid Chat much mind during the past three years until he started to hang out with her. He just had this way of growing on you.

Sometimes literally. She thought as he draped himself over her.

“Promise you won’t seduce Ladybug away from me?” he pleaded dramatically.

“Well, I can’t steal her away since, last I checked, you two aren’t together.”

“Low blow, Alya,” he shook his head. “It’s true, but still.”

“How about this: we share her. That way we both get to smooch the lovely Lady, and  I  get to finally live out my superhero sandwich fantasy.”

Chat made a choking noise and nearly jumped off of her.

“Your superhero sandwich fantasy?”

She laughed. Making people this flustered was so much fun. It was the same with Marinette. “Yup, threesome fantasy with superheroes. I’ve fantasized about it forever. It’d be so hot.”

“Oh,” Chat was blushing. ‘I, uh, I see.”

Alya giggled.

“Wow. I thought you were supposed to be all suave and stuff.  You can’t even take a little suggestion of a threesome without turning into a tomato.”

“I’m not embarrassed!” he insisted, his red face and nervous posture contradicting his words.

“Sure, you’re totally composed.” she patted him on the head condescendingly.

“I’m suave!” he said, pouting.

“Of course you are,” she sat down next to him on the bed and pet his hair. It was really soft.

“You’re the worst,” he said, settling back onto her lap.

“I know,” she scratched his scalp, and he made a content noise. It wasn’t quite a purr, but it was as close as human vocal cords could come. This boy was a serious cuddler, even worse than Marinette. She had given him a casual hug the first time he visited, and he took that as an excuse to basically lounge in her lap. She definitely didn’t discourage this, as she really didn’t  mind  having an attractive boy cuddling up against her.

“You can make up for it if you show me the footage from the battle,” Chat suggested, looking up at her with an exaggerated pout.

“Oh, I see why you’re here. You just want early access to the Ladyblog posts,” she said as she ruffled his hair.

He shrugged, grinning under his mop of hair.

“What can I say? I have a connection so I’m going to use it.”

Ayla pushed him off her lap, moving back to her desk to get her computer.

“You were there. Why do you need to watch video of it?”

“I was too busy fighting. I don’t get to properly admire my Lady when she expects me to, you know, fight.”

“True.”

She brought the laptop back to the bed and settled it onto her lap.

“I haven’t finished editing it, but I got some good stuff.”

“Lemme see,” he said as pushed his way into her space.

“Give me a second,” she said, laughing at his insistence.

She knew she would act just the same if she worked so closely with someone like Ladybug. Plus, she was far too familiar with the feeling of being in love with someone who just saw you as a friend.

She pressed play on the video editor, and it played the footage so far. Alya watched Chat’s face as it played. She’d watched the video several times already, so watching his reaction was much more interesting.

He watched with rapt attention, a soft smile on his face. When it got to a shot she was particularly proud of, he melted against her. “She’s so wonderful. Look at the way she did that. Have you ever seen someone so strong and smart and beautiful?”

Alya laughed. There was something so sweet about the way he looked when he talked about her.

“She’s pretty great.”

There was only one girl she knew who was on Ladybug’s level, and just thinking about her made Alya blush.

Chat sigh dreamily, head on her shoulder.

The video turned to an action shot of Chat himself knocking the akuma out of the way. “You’re pretty cool yourself,” she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes.

“I mean, I don’t get in her way too much. That’s really my main strength.”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short,” she said, running her hands through his hair again.

“Thanks.”

He turned his face away, but she could tell he was blushing. Poor boy couldn’t even take a compliment.

A knock on the door caused them both to jump.

“Don’t stay up too late, dear,” the voice of Alya’s mother said, from the other side of the door.

“I’ll go to sleep soon Maman. Just finishing up some things,” she called out, softly pushing Chat off of her.

“Okay, I just don’t want you to be too tired,” Marlena’s voice came, and they stood still until her footsteps faded away.

“I should probably get going,” Chat said apologetically once the hallway was silent again.

“Yeah,” Alya agreed, laughing nervously.

She wasn’t sure how she would have explained the situation if her mom had decided to open the door to check on her. “I’d rather not explain why I’m laying on my bed with a superhero.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. “Yeah, that’d be awkward,” he hesitated before adding, “I’m sorry if I am, like, too touchy or anything. I don’t usually get like that normally, but when I’m Chat I just can’t help myself.”

Alya laughed and gave him a quick hug. “Don’t worry about it. My friend, Marinette, is way worse.”

He smiled, relieved, and returned the hug. Alya thought he was really nice to hug, and she couldn’t help but admire the muscles in his back. He was slight but very fit. She really had a hard time understanding why Ladybug had ignored his interest all these years.

He pulled away with a grin and jumped up to the windowsill. When he was about to leap out, he turned back to her. “I’ll visit again, beautiful girl.”

He laughed and took her hand, bringing it to his lips for a soft kiss. Then he was gone, out into the night.

Alya smiled as she shut the window. Chat was an interesting guy, that was for sure. His visits had definitely added a nice amount of excitement to her evenings. She wasn’t sure why he chose to start visiting her regularly, but she certainly wasn’t complaining that a cute superhero wanted to spend his spare time hanging out in her room. It was always nice to talk with someone who as big of a fan of Ladybug as she was.