for you; anything

When she was 15, Chat Noir and Ladybug appeared in Paris. They were the biggest scoop around and Alya had a thing for superheroes. Marinette called her unreasonable and Nino said she was crazy. She started her blog and gained fame faster than she could even blink.

Throughout collège, Alya continued to study Ladybug and Chat Noir. She pointed out their quirks and analyzed their partnership. Chat focused on distraction and destruction like the black cat he was. Ladybug was more rational and her powers related to good luck and restoring creation.

They fought the akumas, embodiments of anger and sadness and despair. Hawk Moth, the super villain in the story, sent an akuma to darken the heart of a person whenever they experienced sad or angry emotions. Ladybug and Chat Noir always defeated the akuma and each battle ended with the two exchanged a fist bump before they fled over the rooftops of Paris.

Naturally, since they were superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir each had a secret identity to hide. As the blogger behind the largest portion of Ladybug's fans, Alya was always pushing herself to try and find out these illusive secret identities. She had gathered some clues, but never recovered any concrete evidence.

Akuma attacks were sporadic and rather unpredictable, but it was safe to say that Chloé had caused at least a third of all the akumatizations. So many people had been possessed at this point, but Alya always found it interesting that so many people in her school and specifically her class had been victims. At this point Adrien and Marinette were the only two in the class who had yet to be akumatized.

Three years passed relatively quickly and Alya found herself no closer to discovering the identities of her idols as she was when she started. She and her friends were in their last year of school and they'd be spreading across the country and quite possibly the world after this year. Alya had received several offers from different places due to her impeccable work on the Ladyblog.

There were only two months of school left and everyone was starting to feel the senior year hype. Kim and Alix's constant competition never even slowed as the end approached. Chloé and Sabrina kept mostly to themselves, but anyone could tell that they too were excited. Her other classmates, besides Nino, were harder to read.

Nino was pumped for the end of the year. He had never been a huge fan of school, but looking to his future, his internship at the radio looked like it was going to take him places, especially with all the online attention that his mixing had been getting later. He and Adrien had even discussed moving in together.

Adrien had been an enigma throughout school, but he was becoming more open. His father had loosened his grip on Adrien's life, allowing the boy to make more friends, do less modeling and just generally chill. He was heading to Sorbonne the next year to do Engineering. Alya had always noticed that there was something about Adrien that he was hiding, and even with the teen's newfound freedom, he was still keeping something close to his chest.

Marinette was oblivious to this fact of course. She'd been in love with him for too long. On the subject of Alya's closest friend, of all the people to do the opposite of Adrien, Marinette was not the one that Alya would have predicted. She had withdrawn from lots of social interaction and Alya understood that part of it was the pressure to get into her dream school. Fortunately, Marinette would still drag herself to outings with her friend, for which Alya was eternally grateful.

Despite the normality that came with her normal life, Alya still had her hands full running the Ladyblog. There had been a lot of akumas lately. It was kind of like Hawk Moth was making a final push to defeat the heroes. His plans were always foiled, but Alya could see, through careful examination of footage she captured, that Ladybug and Chat Noir were getting exhausted. (The nagging part of Alya's brain noticed the exhaustion that caused Marinette and Adrien to drag their feet at school).

One particular akuma brought both denial and confusion forth in Alya's head. It had been during class. The akuma, Silencer, smashed open the window of the classroom and shot a bright light at Ms. Mendeleiev. He then proceeded to tell the students to run in the voice of their physics teacher. Ms. Mendeleiev herself had been unable to make a sound, and Marinette instantly whispered to Alya that the akuma was stealing voices.

Their classroom erupted in chaos and Alya found herself hiding under a staircase with Nino just minutes later. There was no sign of Marinette or Adrien, which was worrying, but they focused on staying quiet to avoid detection. The akuma was currently pacing the walkway above them antagonizing the yet to arrive Ladybug and Chat Noir in the voices of Ms. Mendeleiev, Rose, Juleka, Kim and Max. The four classmates had been struck by the akuma before they could flee and had their voices stolen. Besides Silencer, the building was silent.

A sudden thud had Alya gripping Nino's hand tightly. The akuma had jumped the railing and stood in front of them, looking in the opposite direction. Alya fumbled to get her phone out with her free hand. She opened her blog and pulled up a live stream. Just as she pressed the record button on her phone, it let out a sharp beeping noise. Alya and Nino both inhaled sharply, praying that the akuma hadn't heard.

Unfortunately, Silencer wasn't that unobservant. He turned towards them and seeing who it was, he smirked. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Miss Ladyblogger!" He sneered, using Rose's usually sweet voice. Nino's hand rested itself on her knee as they stared down the akuma. Silencer switched into Kim's voice, taking advantage of their discomfort. "You seem to be well acquainted with Ladybug so maybe using your voice will finally get her to come out."

Alya's eyes squeezed shut. She heard the akuma fire and felt Nino's arms wrap around her tightly. He cried out, and then fell silent. Alya's eyes snapped open and saw that her friend had shielded her from the akuma's attack. Nino locked eyes with her and touched his throat in a panic.

"Well," his voice drawled. "That wasn't what I was expecting." Silencer crossed his arms and looked down at the two teens. Nino opened his mouth and no sound came out and dread sank through Alya. He'd taken the hit for her. "Oh well," the akuma sneered, still using Nino's voice, "one more shot will do it."

He took aim at Alya one more time, but before he could fire this time, a yoyo wrapped around his wrist and pulled his shot off line. Ladybug was standing on the walkway looking absolutely livid. "No one touches her." She warned darkly.

The heroine hurtled over the railing and launched herself at Silencer. The akuma took aim at her, intending on stealing her voice too, but Ladybug dodged the first attack. Alya tried to crawl forwards to get a better view, but Nino still had his arms around her. She glanced at the now silent boy and he loosened his grip, but didn't let her go. Alya readjusted herself, but didn't move away. Nino was rather warm and the position was actually not uncomfortable. Plus, she was a little touched that he took the attack for her.

Chat Noir appeared shortly after Ladybug did and threw himself into the fray. Silencer wasn't letting up at all and seemed to enjoy toying with the heroes. As Chat blocked one of his attacks, Silencer charged his beam again. He aimed it at Chat, but his eyes slid to the right of the hero at the last second to where Alya and Nino were sitting. Ladybug watched helplessly from several feet away.

"No!" She screamed out desperately, eyes locking with Alya. Alya was surprised at the sheer amount of panic that flickered in Ladybug's eyes. Chat Noir obviously heard the desperation in his partner's voice, so he did the unthinkable.

The hero crashed to the ground, choking on air and the villain laughed in his voice. "How pathetic you are with your innocent little friends. This is so much easier than I expected!"

"Chat!" Ladybug called out as she sprinted over and helped her partner. The male superhero frowned and tried to speak, but only a slight wheeze came out.

Alya's head was swimming. Two people had taken hits for her in the last ten minutes and from the look in Ladybug's eye, she knew that the female superhero probably would have taken the hit too. The blue eyes of her idol were startlingly familiar and Alya pushed down the overwhelming thought that swamped her brain, but it still echoed. Marinette is Ladybug.

Ladybug was furious now. Silencer just crossed his arm and smirked at the heroine. She called her Lucky Charm and a hand mirror dropped into her hands. Chat Noir launched himself at the akuma to be a distraction, despite his now-muteness. Alya watched, partly through the screen of her recording phone, as Ladybug baited Silencer into firing at her and then used the mirror to reflect it back at him. The akuma fell silent and was stunned. They destroyed the vest he wore and purified the akuma.

When Ladybug called her Miraculous Cure, Nino's arms retracted from around Alya's waist. She turned away from the heroes to try and make sure he was all right. "Nino, are you okay?"

He coughed. "Yeah, my throat hurts, but I'm fine."

Alya smiled weakly. "That's good." She shifted out of his personal space a little. "Thanks for taking that hit, but promise you won't do it again."

Nino straightened his glasses. "No promises," he said. Alya hoped he was joking, but there was a seriousness to him that told her he was being completely serious.

Alya's cheeks burned a little and she turned back to Ladybug and Chat Noir. She emerged slowly from under the staircase and watched the heroes closely. Chat Noir's voice was hoarse too, and Ladybug was ratting him out.

"You have to stop throwing yourself in danger like that chaton!" She snapped.

Her partner folded his arms. "You would have done it yourself had I not!" He retorted sharply. When Ladybug didn't reply, he continued, "I think it's better me than you since we need your Lucky Charm. Plus," he winked, "we both know I'd do anything for you milady."

Ladybug folded her arms and pursed her lips. She didn't argue with Chat's observation that she would have taken the hit herself. Her eyes slid to Alya over Chat Noir's shoulder. The reporter watched her cautiously, holding her phone to record footage for the Ladyblog. Ladybug didn't seem like she was going to break the eye contact anytime soon, but her earrings beeped, high and loud. Chat Noir laid a hand on Ladybug's arm and the heroine snapped back into focus.

"Thanks chaton," she said finally. Chat Noir grinned and then their Miraculouses beeped in unison. Alya watched as Chat Noir offered his lady a hand up and propelled them up to the upper levels of the school where they disappeared from her sight.

Nino approached her and glanced up towards the glass ceiling, the sunlight casting a glare through his glasses. "It's never a day here unless there's an akuma attack."

Alya spared him an amused glance. She turned away to hide the blush that crept up onto her cheeks and hid her gaze quickly into her phone to post on her blog. Nino didn't say anything for a couple of seconds, but then he called out to Adrien. His voice still sounded a little hoarse, but Adrien heard him. Alya looked up and saw the model running down the stairs from the upper floor.

"Everything alright with you two? I camped out in the upstairs bathroom to avoid it all, but I missed the fight." Adrien asked. To Alya's surprise, his voice was also strained like it had been stolen.

Nino asked the question burning at the tip of her tongue. "Dude, he got your voice too?"

Adrien flinched. Nino wasn't really paying super close attention, so he missed it, but Alya caught it. "Yeah, it was a catastrophe." Adrien said, trying to cover the admission of it.

The gears in Alya's head instantly started spinning. The pun was definitely subtle, but she caught it nonetheless. The bad cat pun combined with his mysterious absence during the battle and him having had his voice stolen, made Alya super suspicious. She pushed down the thought. It was as crazy as her previous musing, so she let it go, but still her brain screamed at her: Adrien is Chat Noir.

Later that evening she was sitting in front of her computer, half finished English essay minimized in the corner of her screen. She was staring at a high definition photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir, scrutinizing both superheroes. She was desperately trying to deny the epiphany that had accompanied the akuma that afternoon, but she was failing.

There was just so much evidence that supported both theories. They even looked the same for crying out loud! Alya let her head drop to her desk with an irritated groan. She loved Marinette dearly and Adrien was a close friend too, but she felt a little foolish. She ran a blog about Ladybug and Chat Noir and Mari and Adrien were some of her closer confidants!

The one thing that contradicted her theory was that Marinette was a horrible liar and a total klutz. Also, Adrien's life was confined to a rigid structure. With those points she felt pretty sure that it was impossible, but she knew that she was probably wrong. She lifted her head and minimized her window. She needed to put this out of her mind right now.

Two weeks later and Alya was hanging out in the park with Nino. Marinette and Adrien were supposed to come, but they both had reasons to cancel. At the very moment, Alya was wearing Nino's headphones listening to one of his new mixes. It was bouncy and light, but it had a very addicting beat.

She pulled the headphones off and passed them back to him. "It's really good. I like it."

Nino grinned. "It's inspired by Ladybug and Chat Noir!" He exclaimed happily. "And," he continued a little shyly, "I was wondering if you'd like to debut it on your blog?"

Alya smiled widely. "Nino, I'd be honoured. The Ladyblog will definitely debut your track with all credits to the awesome DJ Nino."

He straightened his glasses and grinned at her again. Alya felt a little fuzzy inside and felt a redness creep up her cheeks. It was funny, she'd been encouraging Marinette to act on her crush on Adrien for three years, but she had never even tried to decipher her own feelings for Nino.

Before she could say anything else, the tree nearest to them started shaking rapidly. Vines exploded from the trunk of the tree and lashing out in all directions. Alya hit the ground and grabbed Nino's arm, pulling him down too, to avoid the oncoming plants. He ended up half on top 0f her and looked down at her awkwardly.

He quickly scrambled off, red in the cheeks, and they looked around the park for the inevitable akuma. They spotted her quickly. It was a young woman wearing a dress entirely woven out of vines and flowers with a flower crown. She was scowling fiercely as she was carried by a wave of plants and she looked around the courtyard. A pair of younger schoolgirls cowered behind a bench near Alya and Nino. The akuma spotted them almost immediately.

"Shallow girls with no respect for nature! I am Flora! Let's see how you like the roses that a boy picks for you now!" The akuma glided over to the girls. She waved her hand at the girls and they were instantly ensnared in prickly rose bushes.

Having dealt with the schoolgirls, Flora turned her attention to Alya and Nino, the only other two in the park. Alya had fumbled her phone out and posted the video she took to the Ladyblog. Nino scrambled to his feet, pulling Alya up with him. The akuma studied them briefly. Nino stepped backwards to move away from her and his foot sunk into the earth of a patch of dirt growing some bushes.

"You disrespect nature! You'll pay for that!" The akuma screeched.

Nino's eyes widened and he instantly moved his foot. "What did I do?" He asked Alya, panicked with wide eyes. Alya could only shake her head lightly and grab his arm, pulling him out of the way of Flora's first attack.

The akuma readied another shot from her wand made of roses. Suddenly, Chat Noir landed in front of the duo. He was glaring at the akuma with a fierceness in his eyes that was a little startling. Ladybug wasn't far behind her partner, landing at the entrance of the park, yoyo at the ready. Flora didn't fire her shot and studied Chat Noir.

"Kitty cat come to play?" She teased, her voice sharp. "Try some catnip!" She waved her rose at Chat Noir and a barrage of catnip plants shot at him. Chat was instantly on the defensive and dodged the plants. Alya didn't really want to know what would happen if the superhero was struck by a magic catnip plant. She kept her eyes trained on the male hero and noticed that he was twitching even from being in such proximity to it.

Ladybug threw her yoyo at the akuma, but Flora raised a wall of plants to block it. She scowled at the heroes. With a flick of her hand, both heroes were thrown together and they landed in a tangle of vines, ensnaring them. The akuma victim turned her gaze back to Nino and Alya.

"Now that that's dealt with for the moment, we can discuss your punishment! I think perhaps an eternity in a rosebud would do you some good!" She snarled, waving her rose wand.

Right before the shot fired, Nino shoved Alya backwards and out of the range. She heard Chat Noir cry out for Nino and Alya was practically slapped in the face at just how Adrien the shout sounded. There was a flash of pink light and a person-sized rose bud replaced where Alya's friend had been standing.

Alya pressed her hands to the developing petals. She could see Nino's shadow inside and he placed at hand at the same spot as hers. "Nino!" She cried, nails digging into the flower. "What did you do that for you dummy?" She asked desperately.

Across the park, Chat Noir was fuming. Alya's gaze snapped to him when he called his Cataclysm with such a vengeance it made shivers crawl on her spine. The vines containing the heroes melted away and Chat Noir launched himself at the akuma. She tried to shoot more catnip at him, but Alya noticed that Chat Noir was fighting with a wicked fury, like someone had personally attacked him.

Ladybug called her Lucky Charm and joined Chat quickly in beating back the vines of the akuma using the weed killer that she had been given. They quickly managed to grab her flower crown and Chat shredded it with his claws. Ladybug's eyes were cautiously on her partner as she purified the akuma and called her cure.

The rosebud containing Nino disappeared and the schoolgirls were freed from the rosebushes. Chat Noir ran over and helped Nino up before Alya could even move. Ladybug followed her partner, a little cautious. Nino had a baffled expression on at Chat Noir's concern. Alya studied the hero.

Whatever doubt she had had before was gone. The concern that Chat had shown for Nino was so Adrien and it just made sense. It made sense that the second his best friend was put in serious danger, he would freak out. It reminded Alya of the way Ladybug had reacted when Silencer had put her in danger.

There was no doubt now. Adrien and Marinette were the superheroes of Paris. Marinette was Ladybug and Adrien was Chat Noir. And, oh god, Adrien had been flirting with Mari from behind a mask for three years. She was going to flip. But, it wasn't her secret to tell.

Chat Noir's miraculous beeped and Ladybug's beeped too. The heroes took one last glance at Nino and Alya before they sprinted off in opposite directions to find somewhere to detransform. Nino was studying her intently when she refocused on him. She scolded him for saving her again and tried desperately to ignore the fluttery feeling in her gut.

Eight days after the incident with Flora, Marinette phoned Alya in a panic.

"Alya, I have no idea what to do!" Marinette practically screeched.

Alya rubbed her forehead and sunk into her chair. "What happened Mari?"

"It's Adrien! He's-" Marinette cut off suddenly like she realized she was crossing a line. "Um you know Al," her voice came out tinnier and squeakier in her panic, "it's really nothing. I'm just gonna hang up now."

"Wait Mari! Is this about Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Alya asked, almost reflexively.

Marinette fell silent for a moment before she giggled nervously. "Of course it's not!"

"Marinette, don't lie to me. I know." Alya said firmly.

She could practically hear her friend crumple on the other side of the phone. "How?" She whispered.

Alya pressed a finger to her lips as a small smile curved them. "There were lots of clues, but lately you were so concerned for me and the same for him with Nino. That was just the last piece of the puzzle. You were never as subtle as you'd hoped."

"Alya, I'm so sorry," Marinette gushed suddenly.

"No Mari, I completely understand. Don't apologize for keeping me safe. It's all good." She leaned back in her chair, switching the phone from one ear to the other. "Now explain to me this whole thing between you and Adrien."

Marinette let out a deep breath and explained everything. It was during their patrol and Chat Noir had just come out and asked if she was Marinette. Being Marinette, she had recoiled in shock and almost fallen off the roof. Chat had then grinned widely and explained that it made his life so much easier since he was in love with both sides of her. Marinette then said that he dropped his transformation then and there, revealing himself as Adrien Agreste. Marinette had then apparently fled in a panic and reflexively called Alya for advice.

The blogger almost burst into laughter at the hilarity of the whole situation. "Mari, call your chaton and tell him you love him. I know you love Adrien and with how Ladybug's been acting lately, I know she's falling for Chat Noir."

Marinette said nothing for a moment before she quietly squeaked out that she'd tell him next time she saw him. Just before she hung up, Marinette said, "Thank you Alya, for knowing but never telling."

"Of course Mari, I'd do anything for you."

The French-Chinese girl had hung up the phone and left Alya in the silence of her room.

There was a relative amount of peace in Paris until it came to June and time for graduation. Marinette, despite her promises, had not confessed to Chat Noir and had resolved to take some time to sort out her feelings. Adrien supported this whole-heartedly and they stayed close friends. There had been no akuma attacks all week and Marinette was trying to channel her Ladybug luck so that there wouldn't be one at the ceremony.

Unfortunately, not even she was that lucky.

Missile Launcher was incredibly destructive. He had been a missile engineer who was furious at the mayor of Paris cancelling a missile exposition because of Chloé's graduation. He had already destroyed the stage and practically everything else in the park near the school.

Alya and Nino were trying to evacuate the park along with all the other grads and their parents while Ladybug and Chat Noir tried to distract Missile Launcher and minimize the damage. They were almost at the entrance to the park when Ladybug crash-landed just in front of them. Alya rushed forwards and pulled Marinette to her feet, eyes locking with her best friend.

Marinette was about to thank her, when they both heard Chat's cry of despair. Missile Launcher had taken aim at Marinette and the defenseless citizens around her. Chat Noir had frozen several feet from the akuma, mid swing. Ladybug rose to her feet and usher the civilians behind her. Missile Launcher just smirked at the heroes.

"Say goodbye!" He boomed. He loaded a rocket into his gun and prepared to fire it.

The sound of pain and anger that tore out of Chat Noir's chest made Alya's head swim. He screamed in fury and tackled the akuma. He had perfect timing and instead of launching the missile towards Ladybug, Chat Noir changed the target and it blasted him towards a brick wall. He hit it and disappeared underneath debris as the wall collapsed.

Marinette screamed.

Alya's ears starting ringing and everything was moving in slow motion. Adrien had tackled an akuma and taken the force of a missile that blasted him into a wall, which buried him in rubble. She and Nino and a couple of their classmates raced to the wall. Ladybug was already there, digging through bricks to search for her partner.

Missile Launcher hadn't gotten up from where Chat tackled him and he looked very morally conflicted. They took advantage of this to dig through debris to find Chat Noir. Nino found him first and they all worked together to pull him out of the wall. He was barely conscious, eyes fluttering open and closed. Ladybug pulled him into her lap, murmured to him with tears glittering in his eyes.

Chat, Adrien, Alya reminded herself, lifted a hand and placed it on Marinette's cheek. "Milady, don't cry. I'm alright." He wheezed.

"Tu es très stupid Chat Noir! What were you thinking?"

"I had to save you." He said firmly.

Alya backed away a little and the others followed her example. It felt like they were intruding on a personal moment.

"I'd do anything for you," Adrien said softly, brushing his thumb over her lips.

Marinette blinked back more tears. "Je t'aime chaton. Wait here. I have an akuma to deal with."

She stood and stormed back towards Missile Launcher. He stood, now over his moral confliction and faced her. Ladybug's face was like stone. She whipped her yoyo out and twirled it. Her gaze was as sharp as knives. "You're finished." She hissed. "You ruined my graduation. You targeted my friends. You tried to hurt innocent people. You hurt my partner. You hurt the boy I love." With each sentence, she attacked with her yoyo.

Alya had never seen a more impressive defeat by Ladybug. When she purified the akuma and called her Miraculous Cure, Chat Noir exhaled in relief. All the damage repaired itself and the stage redecorated. The visible cuts on Chat healed instantly and he pushed himself up. Taking in the ease the action was done with, Alya knew that he was fully healed.

Ladybug practically sprinted back across the park and threw herself into Chat. They embraced and it felt like a very private moment. Nino placed a hand on Alya's arm and pulled her away. Everyone else was moving away to give the two heroes space too. Nino and Alya walked to the other side of the park and sat down on a bench.

"That was really intense." Nino said softly.

Alya studied him. He had been worried about losing Chat Noir, hero of Paris. She didn't want to know what Nino would have looked like if he knew that Chat Noir was his best friend. "Yeah, it was." She settled for instead.

Her hand was resting on the bench between them and Alya noticed that Nino was staring at it. Heat blossomed in her cheeks at the realization that he was probably wondering what she would do if he held it. She didn't say anything for a moment, but when she realized that he wasn't going to say anything, she spoke up.

"Chat Noir would do anything for her." She said.

"Yeah."

"And for me?" Alya asked, studying his face.

Nino's cheeks flushed and he dragged his eyes up to meet hers. "Well I don't know about him, but for you, I'd do anything."

Alya just smiled. She pushed up the floppy sleeves of her grad gown and finally took the stupid boy's hand. "My hero," she quipped softly.

Author's Note: Well I've fallen into a hole. I'm such DJWifi trash now. I just love them. Also Adrienette/LadyNoir because it's ML and what's an ML fic without the love square.

So for those of you who don't know, I'm at 94 followers on Tumblr! It doesn't seem like that much, but it would be amazing if you guys would get me to 100! I'm nicolewrites over there so please go check me out!~

This story ended up being longer than I expected, but oh well. It's cute.

- Nicole