Chapter Text
Adrien was never nervous for a photo shoot. Never in his life had he ever been nervous or anxious or scared of going through a photoshoot, unless you didn't count the very first one.
The angles, the cameras, the lights... They all loved him; to the point where even his slightest movements were for the benefit of the overall picture.
Adrien Agreste had a natural modelling body, that much he knew. Stress and nervousness just didn't reach him when it came time to model.
Except for right now.
"Adrien. Let it go. Your hair looks fine!"
Adrien huffed for the fifth time during that span of thirty minutes.
"Fine isn't good enough! I can't have a single hair out of place."
"If it was that easy, then they would have recognized you long ago! One stray hair isn't going to connect you to Chat Noir."
Adrien sighed once more as his cowlick in the back refused once more to obey the flow of his natural hairline, no matter how much gel or hairspray he would use. He knew that by bad experience...
He had to go to the Ladyblog shoot at Marinette's in an hour and he was so nervous he was sweating bullets. The shoot itself would take place in the park outside of the Dupain-Cheng bakery, which made him really happy since Marinette said she'd provide lunch, and Adrien would straight up kill for another chance to have one of those quiches.
He was told he could chose what articles he'd wear but eventually the girls might ask him to wear Chat Noir clothing from the line Marinette worked so hard on. He knew that if Marinette were to ask him, he couldn't refuse her; that's what made him nervous.
"What are you so afraid of anyways? It's not like you haven't done this a thousand times before." Plagg asked casually gulping down a wedge of camembert down his throat with a satisfied 'gulp' sound.
"There will be Chat Noir hoodies and hats Plagg. What if they decide to stick a bell on my collar and make me wear cat ears? I'll be recognized for sure."
Plagg made a 'Harumf' sound before rolling on his stomach and flying to hover in front of Adrien's face, mere inches away.
"Then say no." He said simply.
Adrien rolled his eyes. "Saying no isn't that easy Plagg. Not to Marinette..." Adrien looked to the side to avoid Plagg's snickering cheeky expression. He really hoped Plagg couldn't see his light blush, but knowing how close the little Kwami was to his face he knew he could see it clear as day.
"Why? Because you like her? I thought you only had a heart for Ladybug?"
Adrien pouted and turned his face back to stare at Plagg.
"It's not that! It's just that Marinette never says no to me, so I shouldn't say no to her. It's just manners."
Plagg gave a silent 'uh-huh' before he made a beeline for Adrien's coat pocket saying "You're going to be late." as he zoomed by.
Adrien nodded as he took his bag and swung it up on his shoulder.
Adrien zipped up his spring jacket and threw on his blue scarf. Winter had only just ended and he would hate to catch a cold on his way to Marinette's during the last months of school. Everyday was essential to studying in order to pass the finals, or so he was told. Adrien wasn't too worried about the finals but Marinette Alya and Nino were all starting to feel the pressure.
'I should probably start thinking about attending study sessions...' He thought as he walked out of his room and went down the stairs into his mansion's foyer.
He walked right past his Father's studio and through the front doors with a small push.
For the size that they were, the doors were honestly not that heavy. Adrien could blame his training as Chat but he honestly never had an issue opening the massive doors on his own. Nino thought that there was maybe a secret dna encrypted heaviness to them, that they registered Adrien's thumb prints and made the doors lighter for him, and no matter how many times Adrien kept telling him that that kind of technology was impossible, Nino still refused to hear it. Adrien snickered as he remembered Nino's indignant expression, as he did almost everyday since Nino expressed his frustrations.
Adrien waved to the Gorilla who was ready to go in the car that would bring him to the Bakery. Adrien really wanted to walk there but he knew that it wasn't that far and refusing to take the Gorilla would only make his father furious.
So he slid into the car and listened to the hum of the engine start and the car pulled him away.
//--//--//--//--//
Meanwhile in the Dupain-Cheng bakery Alya was at the front lines busting out some major damage control.
Marinette was in the middle of pulling her hair out when Alya first walked in, insisting that she was going to make a fool of herself or that Adrien wouldn't like the clothes, or that the world just wasn't ready for her style to hit the markets.
To which Alya just took in the scene for a moment, laughed for a good minute and then got to work with getting Mainette back into one piece.
Turns out it wasn't that hard to get her to believe that her clothes were fantastic because, in all honesty, they really were.
As she witnessed Marinette's confidence and drive slowly build up again as the designer added fuel to her own machine, Alya took the time to truly appreciate her friends.
Her best friend was the best thing that ever happened to the Ladyblog, she dedicated so much time and effort to recreating Ladybug's spots on the most comfortable looking hoodie Alya had ever seen, she also had a black hoodie that she fashioned after Chat Noir complete with ears sown onto the hood and a small bell (without the bead inside to avoid unnecessary noise) and a bright green paw print on the back. Marinette also made various hat accessories that ranged from beanies to scarves. Well, they had bought bulk tons of red and black bare hoodies, basic bare hats and accessories that Marinette personalized with Ladyblog buttons and logos and spots and ears to achieve the desired look.
Adrien was among the first to offer up his talents and name for the Ladyblog, having tried to steal Ladybug's number one fan title from Alya multiple times. Alya was very grateful to Adrien for volunteering, it saved her the effort to having to ask (and he came with the good Agreste name which was a bonus in the business world.) He even made a joke that he'd wear anything unless there were feathers, Marinette almost had a heart attack right then and there.
The company Nino managed to strike a deal with printed the Ladyblog logo onto t-shirts, baseball caps, snap bracelets, socks and pins. Even though Nino couldn't be there for the shoot, seeing as he was the personal assistant of a prominent DJ at Kidsplus, that didn't mean she didn't receive encouraging messages that reminded her that he was still full of support to give.
Alya truly felt blessed.
And she was so ready to put on some of her merch. She had been eyeing that damn bomber jacket for a week now.
The back of the jacket was black , including the shoulders, which mimicked Chat's shoulder guards and the front of the jacket was red with Ladybug's signature spots (all in the right places.) What made the jacket so special was the lettering on the sleeve - an elegantly written "Restez Connecté!" in white, which had Alya positively buzzing at the idea of finally putting it on.
The jacket was bound to be a top seller, in fact they anticipated that the jacket would be the first thing to sell out entirely and thus Alya made the executive decision to start the Hero Fund. The Hero Fund was a way for Paris to show their support for their heroes, to chip in for all the potential shifts or school days that the heroes behind the masks had to miss due to Akuma. A portion of the sales from the bomber jackets went directly to the Hero Fund, which would then be dropped off to Ladybug and Chat Noir any chance Alya had; the idea had been Alya's and for some reason that caused Marinette to nearly cry.
"Alya I can't wait for you to try these things, I've worked so hard I swear I've pricked all of my fingers at least a dozen times."
Alya laughed as she grabbed both of her best friend's shoulders. "Marinette, I can't thank you enough for this. But I insist you sign them! Even if it's just on the tag on the inside!"
Marinette sighed with a smile and conceded. "I'll think about it."
Alya didn't have time to rejoice in her minor victory since they both heard Tom's voice from downstairs announcing that Adrien had just arrived.
"Like a bandaid!" She sung as she dragged Marinette down the stairs at breakneck speeds. It wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for Alya to be over excited over something but when it happens, it really happens and that causes an insurmountable surge of energy that Alya needs to use almost just as instantly. It's this fuel that pushes her to be the best Lady blogger in Paris. (Besides they had already taken down all the Agreste magazine clippings off her walls the moment Marinette jumped on the panic train, so there was nothing left to do other than greet the model.)
So in record time, Marinette and Alya found themselves in the centre of the Bakery where stood the bashful prince himself. Alya could easily detect the slight nervous atmosphere but for all she knew it could be Marinette's doing.
Sabine was being a dear, showing them their lunch for the afternoon and offered to pack some sweets and some drinks, while mostly directing said sweets towards a particular boy they knew was hungry.
"Merci Sab and Tom! Lunch smells absolutely fantastic!" Alya thanked as she took the basket from them with little side hugs to give to each. Tom just chuckled as he hugged Alya, saying: "It's the least we could do to show our support for Paris' leading Lady blogger!"
Alya smiled brightly and proudly as she nodded. "And the Ladyblog is very grateful for your support." She said in her journalisticvoice.
Alya just knew that Marinette's parents would be the first to lend a hand. They were like everyone's second set of parents sometimes.
They all spoke for a while more before the distinct silhouette of the photographer appeared, it was the same man who usually took pictures for the college. That was all thanks to Adrien; he had asked the man fifteen times, unofficially, if he would do the honours of taking the very first pictures of a budding new online merch launch for the Ladyblog. The photographer gave in eventually and once he saw what the clothes they would model looked like, it was a piece of cake.
The concept Alya had in mind was that the only "professional picture" would be the one announcing the collection, and the header of the page. All other pictures would be taken in Marinette's room and taken by one of them, much like most of the Ladyblog's content was shot by an "amateur". It was to promote the idea of young businesses being owned and maintained by young people.
Not that Marinette was going to become a sweatshop owner or anything, no. They had taken advice from various YouTube personalities about managing their merchandise and Alya found that their method was easier, well easier than turning Marinette's room into a production zone.
There was no way anyone would have adopted the sweatshop idea. However the downside of their chosen method was that Marinette had to make most of the first samples as well as the few first orders and send over the official versions of all articles (as well as the procedures required to reach the desired look) in time for mass production.
It just so happened that the daughter of the company's leadership was akumatized and so they felt like they owed Ladybug and Chat Noir. Ladybug insisted that they didn't need to be rewarded or anything like that at the time so when the word got out for sponsors for the Ladyblog Online Store, well the company jumped on it.
Alya decided to split the initial profits with Marinette, as well as offer discounts to past Akuma victims and to their immediate families as well as "manufacturable discounts" to be distributed to the people involved with the store (which included but not limited to Nino, Sabine, Tom, Marinette and Adrien.)
Alya was practically buzzing when Marinette handed her the bomber jacket, she had to resist the urge to let her grabby hands show.
Once the jacket was in her hands, she quickly flipped it over and marvelled at the details and quality.
The jacket had the Ladyblog logo on the left collarbone, small pockets on the sleeves and another two which mimicked the same ones Chat had on his suit.
The jacket was a perfect blend of both Ladybug and Chat Noir, and the added "Restez Connecté!" stitched onto the right sleeve was a great touch.
Alya barely had time to stop drooling before she quickly swung the jacket around and put her arms through the sleeves. The jacket wasn't heavy, but it didn't feel cheap either. The quality would suggest that it was water proof, which pleased her greatly.
How was she supposed to capture footage in the rain if her official merch wouldn't keep her warm and dry? Of course such quality came with a price, a price Alya was more than willing to pay - which she nearly fell out of her chair due to excitement when she got the receipt in her inbox.
Alya couldn't stop her giant smile, and as she looked over her shoulder she laughed even harder once she noticed Adrien was having the same issue.
The poor boy had small tears in his eyes as he hugged himself while wearing the Ladybug t-shirt. The shirt seemed to hug him in all the right places, ending right above his belt. He wore the other estimated biggest seller, the shirt everyone expected the Ladyblog to sell and another contributor to the Hero Fund.
Heck, the only thing that made that shirt different from all the shirts on etsy or eBay was the Ladyblog logo and the "Restez Connecté" tagline that was written on the seam inside of the shirt.
Marinette handed Adrien the LB beanie with a blush, he tried to calm his heart eyes as he held the hat in his hands and Alya smiled brightly when Marinette handed her the SnapBack, which had a black pallet and a red cap with black spots.
They were ready. The photographer smiled as he directed Alya and Adrien into the starting positions.
Alya was ready and she smiled devilishly when she noticed Marinette's blush.
No matter how hard she tried to convince herself that she wasn't going to tease Marinette about Adrien that day, it didn't mean she couldn't get Adrien to get his moves on to sell Chat Noir stuff...
//--//--//--//
Alya woke up the next day in such a good mood. The photo shoot had gone swimmingly, and the merchandise photo shoot went even better.
Adrien did exactly what she had hoped, he had flexed in an air that was so very Chat Noir and even kissed Marinette's knuckles (without needing Alya to prompt him). Alya chuckled as she sent the pictures she had taken over to Nino that very day at around twelve at night. Adrien had the rest and he promised he'd send them as soon as he was able.
Alya rolled out of bed and didn't think twice about what she'd wear that day, her hand falling on the increasingly familiar fabric of her bomber jacket. It didn't matter that the temperature was slowly rising, she would wear that jacket for as long as she could before the weather would absolutely forbid it.
She could still smell the distinct aroma of the quiches they had for lunch that day. Alya could only smile wider.
Alya was genuinely excited for the day before her. She was going to go full "marketer" on everyone she met and she was going to show off the official merch for her blog. She was going to take her first steps as the the official (praised and endorsed by) Ladybug and Chat Noir Online Store, heck she already had a waiting list for all of her classmates!
It was bound to be a fantastic day!
Alya rearranged her collar, took her phone and her charger and walked out of her room with determination.
//--//--//--//
Her day was, arguably, both awful and fantastic.
It was amazing since Ladybug herself permitted a selfie with Alya and Chat which was bound to go on the front page of her blog. She even commented on the craftsmanship of her bomber jacket, which Alya wasted no time praising Marinette for.
But the day was awful for the same reason, there had been three akumas. Alya was hungry, exhausted, had a few bruises throughout the day that were cured by the miraculous Ladybug -- but that didn't mean that she wouldn't be sore the next day. Alya had missed an entire day of school, couldn't even spare a moment to catch up with Nino and let him know every single detail on the events that happened at the Bakery photo shoot and she generally felt like shit about the whole thing.
She had promised Nino. And even if he didn't ever hold it against her she still felt shitty down to her core for breaking her word.
'Just one more clip!' She told herself again and again. One more clip became five, five became ten, ten became twenty and next thing she knew she had taken the entire day to run around following Ladybug and Chat Noir.
Case and point: Alya felt like she was the worst girlfriend possible.
She sighed harshly as she uploaded the last video, crumbled on the park bench in the downtown Paris core. Rubbing the bridge of her nose as she looked at the upload bar fill in slowly. She was thankful Paris had installed a few charging stations, since her phone was near death at least twice through out the day.
She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear the cars honking all around her. She whipped her head up at the last possible second to see a small car flip on the sidewalk and start slipping towards her. She felt all of her adrenaline rush through her veins as her eyes bulged open and a scream was chocked out of her lungs.
She felt something grab the back of her jacket and tug upwards and the next thing she knew she was airborne and the scent of leather and something else invaded all of her senses.
Befuddled she looked around, mainly following her nose to the source of the smell, her eyes catching a few Parisians clapping in applause.
She heard grunting and huffing as she and her saviour landed on the roof of the adjacent building in record time.
All the evidence pointed to one person.
"Well Miss Césaire, you might be in the headlines tomorrow after all." Alya smiled and turned to face the cat. His grin was iconic and she had a close up view!! He dipped his head towards her as he set her down. "/Chat Noir saves Paris' number one Ladyblogger./"
Alya laughed at the bow Chat performed shortly after her feet touched the roof, safe and sound.
"I thank you Chat Noir." She replied honestly. "Being squished would have been a terrible way to end the day." She thanked him while rubbing the dust off of her jacket, glad to see that Chat's claws didn't manage to breach her new jacket (although she wouldn't have complained, considering that major injuries or death were her other alternatives.)
Chat smiled as he flicked the small bell on the jacket's zipper, "I like this addition, but it's not as big as mine, though." He added with a grin, pushing his chest out like a preening bird.
Alya simply laughed and took a quick picture once he allowed it. Her phone could never have too many pictures of their heroes, at least both she and Chloé agreed on that.
It wasn't long before Chat's ring started beeping, he bid her farewell once he dropped her down in the streets and gave her his signature two finger salute.
Now Alya tried to mind her own business, she truly did, but there was a voice in the back of her mind that kept pushing. She knew it was wrong but her gut was still screaming that she should still try to figure out who Chat Noir and Ladybug were. Not for the blog but rather to satisfy her insatiable thirst for mysteries. But Marinette, Adrien and Nino convinced her that she should let it go, nothing good ever comes out of forcing someone to out themselves.
So when she saw Chat Noir rush into an alley and was soon tailed by that other nosy reporter that she knew worked for the tabloids follow him she felt a flare of anger surge through her bones. She followed the mystery for personal reasons, to help hone her craft and skills. He did it for money and wanted to exploit them.
Alya may not know who Chat Noir was but he had just saved her life, as he always did when she was in danger. In fact she could count on her fingers how many times he and Ladybug had saved her that very same day.
So with a surge of anger and journalistic rage she pushed forwards and let the nastiest words come out of her mouth,
"Hé le putain! Tu penses faire quoi avec ton petit mognion d'une caméra!? Prendre des photos embrouillé, complètement innutiles et ridicule!" She grinned once she recognized him, that one in particular was a proud one. So the slightest insults really ruffled his feathers.
The reporter turned on his heels and shot Alya the meanest glare he could (probably) which wasn't very deterring.
"Excuse you! My work is nothing other than the best in Paris! At least I get a pay check for being out here and I'll have you know that my biggest bonus" he said as he pointed to the alley, "is not getting away!"
Some bystanders gasped at the words that left the man's mouth. Either because he outted himself as garbage or they knew that Alya Césaire wasn't to be crossed.
'Is that how you see them...' She seethed silently, cracking her neck from side to side.
Alya squared her sights on him in a glare that would have made Chloé back up a few steps. No one messes with Alya or her city's heroes. In three strides she blocked the photographer's shot, walking right into the cameras sights as the flash of both Chat and the camera went off.
Chat didn't have anywhere to go really, so he was at their mercy. You could imagine his panic when the tabloid man cornered him. He had thought of scaling the walls, in order to hop into a window or something but he, of course he did, picked the worst alley way in existence as there was nothing but dumpsters and dead ends. Not a single window on the brick wall was found. He was weak in the knees when he saw Alya literally take the shot for him, both relieved and scared of the outcome of what was about to happen.
Alya proceeded to have a shouting match with the tabloid man which permitted some time for Plagg to seriously start munching his Camembert.
However it wasn't enough time.
The tabloid man started getting rowdy and was trying to push past Alya, almost managed to trip her, which caused her upper body to twist sideways - which gave her the clearest view of who was standing where Chat Noir should be standing!
She only had a brief glance but she knew who she saw. And that was enough to fight dirty to protect him.
As Alya swung back around, she lined up a punch and knocked the photographer's camera right out of his hands. He yelped and proceeded to yell much louder, claiming to have been assaulted and that he would press charges. Alya made a show of opening her arms wide and directing his attention to the amassing crowd around them, all of which had their phones out and were booing the man. Alya was a beloved blogger after all so it was easy to see who the crowd was going to support.
"Take a look around yourself asshole! I acted out of self defence!"
He took a step forward and was so close to Alya that she could feel his breath huffing on her skin, but she faced down akumas before -- this man didn't scare her. So when he approached her too closely she put out her hand and stopped his advance.
"Self defence? I don't think so! This is sabotage."
She laughed heartily, as if he told the joke of the century. "This is harassment" she spat. "Let me tell you this one more time, imbécile! They are our heroes and they don't deserve to be blackmailed by the likes of you!"
Now Alya needed to put credit where credit was due, the man knew he had lost the battle, there were too many witnesses and the tabloids already got enough flak due to their paparazzi reputation already. So when the man slunk back to whatever hole he crawled out of Alya stood proudly, waving to cameras and phones of the four or five invested bystanders that saw the entire ordeal.
Before Alya could do anything else she felt someone pick her up and next thing she knew she was airborne, with a certain snickering cat claiming she had claws almost as sharp as his own.
"Oh my god Adrien." She snickered, and took another picture for good measure. At least the cat was a little bashful in the picture.
---//---
He thought he was a goner. He was ready to apologize profusely to Ladybug and everyone else that he had been lying to all of them. His only thought was how he let everyone down.
But then an angel in the skin of Alya Césaire arrived, glorious punching skills and all.
Adrien had been exhausted due to the day's akuma heavy presence, three akumas was highly uncommon. He was surprised the blogger stuck around for the whole time.
'Well if you already skipped the morning you might as well skip the afternoon.' He supposed as he continued to vault through Paris behind his Lady.
That was at noon. It felt like such a long time ago compared to the time it was presently, which was very late. And boy was he hungry.
He landed on a random roof somewhere and put down an overexcited Alya down softly before rubbing his face in relief.
He was so close to have been exposed.
Well... exposed to the world.
Alya had started excitedly jumbling words together around him, stuff like "oh now it all makes sense! The lateness, your bladder problem, your crush on Ladybug!!"
He felt the need to intersect that particular exclamation.
"I don't just have a crush on my Lady, Alya."
Once she heard him speak she turned to him, eyes wide with a smile that quickly invaded half of her features. It was refreshing to see her so psyched and happy over something.
But then again he had to make sure that he was safe.
He walked over to her, put both his hands on her shoulders and tried to stop his smile I order for his game-face to show.
It didn't work.
He was so relieved he finally had someone to talk to, someone to confide in! Someone who knew almost everything he tried to hide and yet could only jump and smile at how pleased she was. Alya had been someone who Adrien had lied to multiple times on a daily basis due to his nightly leather-bound activities. He only hoped that his Lady would have a similar reaction once she would know as well.
Adrien swallowed the urge to just grab and hug the blogger before him, and started to push words out.
"Alya, listen to me... I need you to swear that you won't tell anyone." Alya nodded a little glum, she knew of course that she wouldn't sell him out but he needed her word for something like this. "You have my word Adrien. I won't tell a soul."
Chat smiled and gave her a slight nod. "Then I can answer any questions you have-" he raised his hands as she audibly squealed. "but not now. First I need to tell Ladybug I've been compromised then we need to get our French homework." Chat had a moment of realization as he snapped his fingers. "I can tell Nathalie I was with you after school!"
Alya smiled as she crossed her arms. "Not even a half hour since I discover who hides in plain sight wearing magical cat leather and he is already using me as an alibi." She tilted her head to the side, almost teasing, "I know I need to condone liars, as a person with morals and as the best friend of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, but I'd gladly cover for you by any means necessary."
"Thank you Alya. You don't know how much this means to me." Chat smiled while unconsciously grabbing his baton and raising it to his sights. Alya shrugged and claimed that it was the least she could do.
"Alright... now to tell Ladybug..." he whispered.
There was a major difference of atmosphere as Chat came to realize that he had to tell his partner that he essentially failed.
He didn't notice he had been starring at his staff for more than a few seconds until a warm hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality, he lifted his gaze and met Alya's. She had a kind smile, almost as if she was trying to tell him that everything would be alright.
He hoped she was right. He sighed and before he could put it off, flicked his baton open and called his Lady.
There was the expected rings, as was usual since there was no guarantee his Lady was transformed, but it was worth a try. In retrospect Chat should have really told Alya that he had to ease Ladybug into the idea that he was exposed but at the sight of Alya positively buzzing and -- oh dear she's not going to last long if Ladybug actually answ--
There she was, blue eyes readying his features like an open book. He supposed he didn't look like his usual self at that moment considering how concerned she looked after but a second of contact with him.
"Chat, what's the issue?" She asked, her concern warming his heart.
"My lady you won't be happy with this." He said, with an apologetic frown. 'Please don't be mad please don't be mad' He repeated in his mind over and over.
"Chat... What happened?"
He took one look at Alya and
"Someone... Knows."
Ladybug's eyes opened wide at the sound of Alya's whooping. He knew that she recognized the voice that had exploded but decided to turn his staff towards Alya anyways.
It seemed that in that moment Alya came to a very sudden and very important realization, as she had paused in her jumping momentarily and her hands shot towards her pocket where her phone was.
"I need to call Nino! He's going to freak!" She practically screamed out as she brought the phone to her ear.
Ladybug blurted some words out quickly before she hung up, which was alright with Chat. They had patrol that night so he'd be able to explain everything that happened then.
"'What's clicking good looking?' Babe I think Adrien is running off on you." Alya chastised with a smile, which in turn made Chat smile.
He couldn't help but feel warm inside, warm and welcomed. Because he finally had someone to talk to.
He could finally prove that he was the ultimate Ladybug fan.
In retrospect he always thought he would be more afraid at the concept of being compromised. The idea always held some fear, as it was an unknown circumstance of uncontrolled variables with undetermined side effects that was bound to happen -- and with his luck he knew it was only a matter of time.
So to hear Alya firmly tell Nino that under no circumstance was she going to reveal who Chat Noir was, well...
Adrien couldn't help but tear up a little. He had always hoped that his identity would be revealed to Ladybug first, then accidents would happen but given the situation he found himself in he couldnt find it in him to complain.
After all, he had the most dedicated blogger in all of Paris protect all of his personas.
Chat always had Ladybug, Adrien always had Nino. But Adrien and Chat? They'd always have Alya.