If my brain could chill for like three seconds and stop giving me fic ideas, I'd really appreciate it.

Precipice

It was Alya's opinion that Chloé Bourgeois should take classes on how to be an actual decent human being. Alas, despite getting numerous signatures on the petition supporting the idea, it never happened and Chloé continued to remain as The Worst Person Ever™.

It was also Alya's opinion that Marinette had to have the patience of a saint to deal with Chloé and her antics for so long. It was a miracle she hadn't been akumatised yet. The Mayor's daughter had only gotten worse ever since Marinette and Adrien had started dating. She treated Marinette like dirt (when Adrien wasn't around, of course) and had even roped Lila into her attempts to make Marinette miserable (as well as Sabrina but that was a given; Sabrina always followed Chloé's lead).

Lila and Chloé had decided that Marinette was clearly unsuited to be Adrien's girlfriend and were set on doing everything they could to split the pair up. Unfortunately for them, Marinette and Adrien were very much in love and wouldn't be separated so easily.

(They also had Alya, Nino and the rest of their class backing them up, so Chloé's and Lila's attempts to break up the pair were always unsuccessful).

That didn't mean the two mean-spirited and jealous girls didn't try though. Really, they were quite persistent (much to everyone's chagrin). That said, Alya wasn't entirely sure what they would do if Marinette and Adrien did break up (which had about the same probability as pigs flying or Hawkmoth suddenly deciding to not be a major dick and stop terrorising Paris). Even if Adrien was single, Chloé and Lila would still have to fight each other for Adrien's affections. Alya just figured they had an 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' type thing going on at the moment and they figured that trying to win Adrien from each other was a future-them problem. They had to get Marinette out of the way first and kept failing spectacularly.

But as thick-skinned and tolerant as Marinette was, Alya knew that eventually their cruel words and actions had to break through the girl's armour.

Which is what happened that day.

Marinette clearly hadn't had a good day. She'd come to class late and consequently got in trouble, forgot her homework, got in trouble for that, bombed a quiz they had and tripped down the stairs. Her day seemed to go from bad to worse and there was little Alya could do to improve her best friend's mood. Even Adrien, who was the physical embodiment of sunshine itself and whose presence was normally a sure-fire to cheer Marinette up, couldn't do much to raise the designer's spirits.

So Alya took it upon herself to drag the rest of the gang out for something to eat after their disastrous school day ended, intending on cheering everyone up or die trying (because, like her, Adrien and Nino were feeling bad because that Marinette was feeling bad). They'd made their way to a cute café a few blocks from the school and Alya was pleased to see the smile return to her best friend's face as Mari sat snuggled against Adrien and nibbled on a chocolate chip cookie.

(They weren't as good as the Dupain-Cheng's cookies, but Alya was of the mind that nothing was as good as the Dupain-Cheng's cookies).

As she sat beside Nino and listened to her boyfriend rave about a remix of a Jagged Stone song he'd made, Alya couldn't help but study the pair sitting across from them. For all intents and purposes, it seemed like Marinette and Adrien began dating overnight. One minute Mari could barely talk to Adrien, the next she was bopping him on the nose, smirking at him and – sometimes Alya still couldn't believe it – rolling her eyes at him.

Adrien, for his part, had gone from the reserved, polite, Adrien Agreste to someone more resembling a normal teenager. He cracked more jokes, punned – why did he have to like puns? There was only so many Alya could take – and generally seemed more relaxed around them. Sometimes the boy could even be described as smooth, with the flirty lines he came out with (Alya still wasn't entirely sure how Marinette didn't self-destruct when Adrien got flirtatious). Surprisingly smooth lines aside, for the most part the model could honestly be described as a nerd and lit up like a kid on Christmas whenever one of his interests was brought up.

Nino told her that Adrien had always been like that (although he admitted the smooth-talking was new), it was just that after getting to know Alya and Marinette better, he let his real self shine through the mask he wore as Gabriel Agreste's perfect son.

Alya was quite proud to know that she was one of the few people that Adrien could be his true self around. However, while she was good friends with the model and Nino was still undoubtedly his best friend, what Marinette and Adrien had was different. They just clicked and it was only a matter of time after their strange, sudden friendship – with the smirks and the puns and the nose bops – that the two began to date.

She still wasn't entirely sure what sparked the change between the two and Marinette had never given her a straight answer, despite Alya's constant grilling. But the two were happy and Alya could live with not having all the answers (for once), knowing that 'Adrienette' had finally become an item.

(She was also pretty happy to win the betting pool that was about the pair, but that was neither here nor there.)

Alya was pleased to see that everyone's spirits had lifted, improved by good food, drinks and company. It was only when Adrien excused himself to go to the bathroom that Chloé and Lila decided to make themselves known and continue their usual 'Make Marinette Feel Miserable' routine.

"What do we have here?" Chloé drawled as she and Lila approached their table (Sabrina was, thankfully, not with them).

"Mari-trash and her two goofy sides kicks?" Lila sneered.

Marinette, Alya and Nino all glared at them but it was Mari who spoke up first. "What do you want?" She snapped.

"The same as always," Chloé replied. "For you to stay away from my Adrikins."

"He's not yours," Marinette shot back, "and nothing you can say or do is going to break us up so could you just stop it already?"

"You don't deserve him," Lila said.

"And you do?!" Alya demanded, determined to get into the conversation and back up her best friend. "Ever since you transferred to our school you've done nothing but lie and –"

"Oh, put a sock in it you over-opinionated, journalist wannabe," Lila interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Alya opened her mouth to let out an indignant retort, but Nino beat her to it. "Don't talk to her like that!" He snapped, glowering at Lila. "I honestly don't know what your problem is. Mari's been nothing but kind to you since you came to our school but you've done nothing but try and make her feel miserable. And now you're starting on Alya just for backing up Marinette?! Back off, dude!"

Chloé scoffed, "How about you try sounding older than a ten-year-old, dude."

Alya scowled and clenched her fists, "Don't talk to Nino like that! And how about you leave us alone so we can have a meal in peace?"

"Fine, we'll leave when Marinette gives up my Adrikins!"

"He's not yours," Marinette repeated.

"Well, he's not yours," Chloé responded. "You think you deserve him? You're nothing but a baker's daughter –"

"Don't bring my parents into this!"

"You've got nothing to offer him. You think you're good enough for the son of Gabriel Agreste? You're lower class and you're just dragging him down with you."

Alya was horrified to see uncertainty show on her best friend's face. "No," Marinette said. "No, I –"

"You're nothing," Lila put in. "Nothing but a little wannabe fashion designer. I bet you're only with Adrien to get to his Father."

"I would never!" Marinette exclaimed, uncertainty being taken over by indignant fury. "I love him! I don't care who his Father is!"

"And like you're any better?" Alya spat at the pair of them. "You don't care who Adrien is a person. You only care about Adrien Agreste, the famous fashion model."

"I'm his best friend!" Chloé said.

"You've got a funny way of showing it," Nino interjected. "I'm his real best friend."

They were starting to attract the attention of customers around them. Alya was certain that any minute now, a staff member would come over and ask them to leave. The blogger almost welcomed the idea, at least that way they'd be able to get away from Chloé and Lila (presuming the pair would leave them alone when they were all presumably kicked out).

Lila huffed, seeming impatient. "This conversation is going nowhere. Marinette, look, the sooner you realise that you're nobody special, you'll amount to nothing special and you're unworthy of Adrien, the better it will be for everyone."

Silence reigned and Marinette glared. Tears were welling in the designer's eyes and Alya thought she was doing a fine job of controlling her emotions. Mari hadn't snapped and begun full on screaming at her two tormentors, which was an impressive feat in itself.

Alya thought Marinette was doing well until she saw the akuma flying towards her best friend.

"Marinette!" Alya cried, lunging to her feet, Nino doing the same beside her. Even Chloé and Lila took a step back as the butterfly landed on one of Marinette's earrings, turning it an ugly purple colour.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked as he walked back up to the table. "What are you – Marinette!"

Adrien had clearly noticed the akumatised earring as well, but instead of just standing there in mortification, he ran forward, grabbed Marinette's arm and pulled her to her feet. Without even saying a word to anyone else, he ran out of the café, his girlfriend in tow.

Alya stared after them in shock. What just – what just happened?!

As devoted as he was to Marinette, Adrien had just run off with an akuma victim. That was – that was not good.

"Adrien! Marinette!" She cried, getting over her surprise and running after them; Nino was on her heels.

They found the two in a deserted alleyway by the café. They lost Chloé and Lila back at the café, but Alya didn't care. Her thoughts were encompassed with Marinette and Adrien. To Alya's surprise, her best friend hadn't been completely akumatised yet. Had that ever happened? To the best of Alya's knowledge and going by her own experience, there was just a voice speaking to you and then … nothing. She hadn't heard of people fighting off Hawkmoth's influence.

Although, if anyone was going to fight him off, of course it would be her girl.

That said, it looked like Marinette was struggling and it pained Alya to see her in such as state. As she and Nino ran over to the pair, the blogger could see that Marinette was sitting on the ground, leaned up against the wall of the alley and had her head clutched in her hands. Her expression was stricken and Adrien didn't look much better. He was crouched in front of Marinette, his hands grasping her shoulders and Alya could tell that the both of them were shaking.

"Bug," he said to his girlfriend and Alya frowned at the unfamiliar nickname. "Bug, you've gotta fight it off. Fight him off."

Was it possible to talk someone down from an akuma attack? Alya didn't know, but what she did know was that they needed Ladybug and Chat Noir, pronto. She took her phone out to upload a post to Ladyblog and alert the heroes to the problem, when Adrien turned to her.

"Put the phone away, Alya," he said sharply.

She blinked at him. Adrien had never used that tone with her before. "Adrien, what-"

"Dude!" Nino put in, his tone reproachful.

"We need Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Alya argued. "They can help!"

"They already know," he replied, turning back to Marinette.

"Bro, what are you talking about? You guys just left the café, how can they already know?"

Adrien ignored Nino and stared at Marinette. "Bug, you've gotta fight him off. Don't listen to him. You're better than him, you've always been better than him. We're better than him. Don't – don't make me fight you. Please. I can't hurt you."

Alya frowned. What was he talking about?!

"Dude, let us –" Nino began, but was cut off by a moan from Marientte.

"He's in my head!" She groaned, her eyes screwed shut like she was in pain.

Before they could respond, the bag that was ever-present on Marinette's hip popped opened and a quick, pink blur flew out of it. It stopped and floated between Marinette and Adrien. When it wasn't moving Alya could get a proper look at it, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was. A mouse? A cockroach? A mouseroach?

"Marinette!" It cried in a feminine and clearly concerned voice.

Alya and Nino blinked at it in surprise. A mouseroach that could talk and was on first name basis was Marinette? What in the world was going on?! A theory began to form in Alya's mind but it couldn't be true. There's no possible way it could be true.

…. Could it?

"Tikki, why is this happening?" Adrien asked the creature, not fazed by it in the slightest. "I thought we were immune."

The apparently-called Tikki creature shook her head, "No, you're not immune. You and Marinette are just quite optimistic and patient."

A black blur flew out of Adrien's pocket. Like Tikki, it was small but this one was particularly cat-like, giving more strength to the theory that was forming in Alya's brain. She and Nino just stared at it dumbly as the new creature said, "Although, you have the patience of a saint, kid, to put up with your old man."

"Plagg, not helping," Tikki scolded.

"You know what she needs to do," Plagg replied, unconcerned by Tikki's reprimand.

The little mouseroach creature nodded and flew up so she was level with Mari's line of sight. "Marinette," she said, "you need to say the words. I can help you, but you need to say it."

Marinette shook her head, "No, he'll know."

"But if he's in your head, Buginette, he already –" Adrien began, but cut himself off as Marinette shook her head again.

Alya gaped at them. Buginette. She knew that nickname. How many videos on her blog did she have of Chat Noir calling his partner that very thing?

"It can't be," she whispered, realisation dawning on her.

"What?!" Nino asked, clearly not grasping the situation quite as fast as her.

"My Lady, please!" Adrien begged and that just cinched it for her. Alya definitely knew that nickname. "My Lady, please. My job is to protect you; I can't fight you. I can't hurt you. I love you, please, don't make me do it. Just say the words!"

"What is going on?!" Nino cried, completely lost.

Marinette groaned, "Chat…"

Adrien clung to her even more desperately than he already was, "I'm right here, Bug. I'm right here."

Even with her realisation, it was still a bit of a slap in the face to have the two of them acknowledge each other as such so blatantly. Marinette and Adrien, Ladybug and Chat Noir. They'd been right in front of her all along.

And suddenly everything just seemed to make sense.

Distantly, Alya knew that she should probably be a little hurt that they didn't trust her or Nino with their secret. But she also knew that it was for their own protection and that any superhero worth their salt didn't give their secret identity away. However, when faced with a potentially akumatised Marinette and a frantic Adrien, all thoughts of how hurt she was faded into nothing. All the mattered was making sure her best friend was okay and out of Hawkmoth's clutches.

"What the fuuuuuuuck?" Nino breathed out, gaping at the pair of them and finally piecing it together. "Dude!"

"What do we do?" Alya asked.

"There's nothing you can do," the Plagg creature answered.

"But-"

"Only Ladybug can purify akumas and she can only do that if she says the words," Plagg finished with a pointed look at Marinette.

"Come on, my Lady," Adrien coaxed, "I'll say them with you."

Marinette hesitated.

"Girl, please say them," Alya entreated, desperate for her friend to be okay.

"You gotta help yourself, Marinette!" Nino said.

"Please," Adrien repeated, looking close to tears.

There was a beat and then Marinette nodded. Adrien let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he murmured. "I'll say them with you. It'll be okay, I'm right here."

With that, the pair looked at the floating creatures.

"Tikki…"

"Plagg…"

"Transformez moi."

Alya was expecting it, really, she was. But still, seeing two of her closest friends turn into her two favourite superheroes was awe inspiring. Part of her wished she could record her friends being engulfed in pink and green light and turning into the heroes of Paris, but she wouldn't. Alya would take the secret of their identities to the grave and she knew Nino would too.

As soon as they were transformed, the little, floating butterfly was pushed out of Ladybug's earrings – her miraculous, Alya distantly corrected herself – and began to fly away. Ladybug shakily stood to her feet, Chat Noir at her side and helping her.

"Get back here," she told the akuma, her voice weak but determined, "you're done harming others. I'm freeing you from evil." She swung her yoyo and caught it with a, "Gotcha!" Part of Alya couldn't believe she was seeing Ladybug's akuma purification so close! Alya couldn't believe anything that had happened in the last five minutes. Well, she could, but a part of her was still mind blown about it all.

Ladybug released the now-purified akuma with her usual, "Bye-bye, little butterfly." It was weaker and less victorious-sounding than normal, but Alya was still glad to hear it.

She watched as their transformations fell away, leaving Marinette and Adrien in the superheroes place. Instantly, Marinette flung herself into her partner's arms. "Adrien!" She cried. "That was awful! He was my head! He was so persuasive; it was so hard not to give up my miraculous!"

Adrien hugged her close to him for a moment before pulling back to look at Marinette worriedly, "Does he know your identity?"

Marinette shrugged helplessly, "I don't know! He just wanted our miraculouses. It was so hard to not reach up and take them off. God, Adrien, what if he knows?!"

Adrien hugged her again, "Shhh," he murmured to her, "it's okay. It's gonna be okay, Princess, we'll get through this. We're an unbeatable team, remember?"

"I'll say!" Alya put in, determined to cheer up her best friend. "You guys are amazing!"

"Yeah!" Nino agreed, nodding. "You two are awesome. Like – you're Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Their two best friends looked guilty and rushed to apologise for keeping the secret from them, but Alya and her boyfriend waved away their apologies.

"We know why you did it," the blogger said. "I was to protect us; we can't fault you for that."

"Yeah, dudes! You guys are heroes."

"Only you two dorks would apologise for that," Alya smiled at them. "But what are these two little creatures?" She asked, looking at the two bug and cat looking things. "Tikki and Plagg, was it?"

"That's right!" Tikki beamed at her and Nino. "I'm Tikki, a kwami, I help Marinette turn into Ladybug. It's very nice to meet you, Alya, Nino."

"And I'm Plagg," the cat-like one introduced himself. "I turn the kid into Chat Noir. Do you have any camembert?"

Alya frowned at it in confusion – why would she have cheese? – but Nino let oh an "Ooooh!" of understanding. "Bro! Is this why you always smell like gross cheese?"

Adrien sighed, "Unfortunately."

"Sacrilege!" Plagg cried. "Camembert is not gross! It is a god amongst cheeses."

Adrien just rolled his eyes in fond exasperation.

"Chaton, he was in my head," Marinette repeated, catching everyone attention. Despite the situation, Alya couldn't help but smile at the nickname. How adorable were those two? "He was in my head, but I was in his."

All thoughts of how cute her two friends were fled from Alya's mind. Marinette had been in Hawkmoth's mind?! Alya couldn't remember anything like happening to her when she'd been akumtised. Was this a special thing that happened to miraculous holders?

Adrien had yet to actually let go of Marinette, but he asked, "My Lady, what are you saying?"

Marinette took a deep breath and Alya held hers. The blogger felt like they were balancing on a precipice. Whatever her best friend was going to say next would be monumental, Alya just knew it.

"I know who Hawkmoth is."

A/N:

So this idea came to me yesterday - well, the idea of Adrien begging Marinette to not to make him fight her came to me yesterday - and I clearly have no self control with this fandom and I had to write it.

It's a oneshot, but I left it open ended for if I ever want to continue it in the future (and let's be real, that will probably end up happening).

Please let me know what you thought in the reviews!

Much love,

Leisey.