Alya ran to school, in her nicest casual outfit, feeling feverish. The night before, her mother and her had sat down and talked. Apparently, she had suspected that she was Rena ever since the disappearances. She just had to know for sure. "I know I can't keep you out of danger. It's your job to keep everyone else out of danger. I just worry." She had said. For once, Alya wasn't late. She just wanted to get out of the house. Her whole family knew now, and it was awkward at home. That's what had Alya feeling feverish... her mother had screamed at the top of her lungs when they had gotten home, informing the whole family that their daughter and sister was Paris's famed superhero.

"I'm screwed."

"Yeah you are." Trixx said from her bag. "Six people found out about your identity this month, and you think that you can just go around as Rouge all the time. It's only six people out of two million. Get a grip."

"More like seven billion. The whole world watches out for our city. People even come to witness the action from every country."

"Kit..." Trixx sighed. "Oop, there's your boy. Go get um' gurl." Trixx smirked.

"Ugh. Trixx." She groaned. A second later, she felt warm, strong arms wrap around her waist. "Luka!" She squealed and laughed.

"How's my beautiful vixen doing today?" Alya blushed and responded, throwing every flirtatious bone out in her body.

"Titillated now that you're here." She purred. His face turned red when she circled around him, breathing on his neck.

"I-I don't want to rush into things, but... I-uh... d-d-do you maybe want to be my, uh..." he trailed off, staring into her bright amber eyes.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you over the stuttering."

"Doyouwanttobemygirlfriend?!" He shouted out, closing his eyes, scared for her reaction. She laughed at his cute shyness.

"I have no idea what that was, but if you were ever to ask me to be yours, I would happily say ye-" Luka kissed her on the lips, not allowing her to finish her sentence. They fell deeper into each other's gaze, intensifying the kiss. People were gaping, and Lila was fuming. They broke apart, gasping for air.

"So, is it a yes?"

"What a yes?" Alya asked, feigning innocence.

"You know what I mean!" He said fake punching her arm, laughing.

"What do you think?"

"I would like it to be a yes." He said sheepishly, rubbing his neck.

"Your wish, is my command." She said, dramatically bowing to him. She smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him to their classroom. "How do you feel about titles?" She asked once they sat down.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, are you okay with me calling you my boyfriend, or, do you just prefer to not do that stuff?" He looked at her strange before kissing her hand, which he was still holding.

"Do you want to call me your boyfriend?"

"I-I well, yeah." She said sheepishly, a bright red covering her face.

"Well, that settles it. You're my girlfriend, I'm your boyfriend. Anyone who thinks otherwise, or tries to change that, can go suck my-"

"Alright, I get it." Alya interrupted. "No one's going to come between us." Luka knew that wasn't true. He knew eventually, Nino would come between them. He loved Alya, almost as much as he had loved Marinette. Love just didn't ever seem to be on his side. After a couple of minutes of staring into each other's eyes, Luka cleared his throat.

"So... what happened when you went home?"

"Ugh," She responded, leaning back in her chair. "My mom screamed. My whole family now knows."

"Sheesh."

"Yeah. Not only that, but she started fawning over me, making sure I didn't get myself killed. It was so dumb."

"That sounds really sweet."

"Kinda... it was weird."

"Do they know I know?"

"Yeah, my mom kinda read my diary. I wrote about you finding out in there. That was the last time I wrote in my diary. I misplaced it. Apparently, I left it in the laundry room, and my mom found it." The bell rang, and the horde of teenagers came into the room. Alya leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder, still holding his hand. Lila and Sabrina glared at them, going to gossip in the corner. Chloe came up to them, leaned on the desk, and started talking to her.

"Are you two an item?"

"A... what?" Luka laughed.

"You know, a couple?"

"Oh, yeah. He asked me this morning. He kept stumbling over his words, and blushing a lot." Alya found it surprisingly easy to talk to her. They talked for a while, before Mrs. Bustier walked in.

"Hey Alya," Chloe said as she started to pull back to her seat. "Are you busy during lunch? I thought maybe we could hang out?" Alya blinked. Chloe really was changing.

"I have to work my new lunch shift at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but if you don't mind hanging out there, sure!"

"Great! See you during lunch." Chloe practically skipped back to her seat. Luka had a strange look on his face as he leaned closer to Alya.

"What's got her in such a good mood? She's never been this happy, and I've never seen her talk to you like that."

"It's new, but I like it. She's changed, and she wants to be friends with me. I'm giving it a shot."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know." She said, rubbing her head under his chin. "I won't."

∞∞∞∞∞

Noon rolled around faster than Alya could imagine, and before she knew it, she was walking to the Dupain-Cheng bakery with Chloe. "When did you get a job here?" Chloe said when they were at the door.

"I recently got a lunch shift this past month. I've been working here for about two years now." Chloe looked at her in awe.

"My daddy won't let me get a job until I'm in college. He says getting a job while I'm still a child would be unnecessary and embarrassing."

"W-what? Why?"

"Since I don't have a full education yet, I wouldn't be able to get a job at any "high end" place." She said, bending her fingers into quotation marks. "I wouldn't mind getting any job. Heck, I'd even go and work at a McDonalds in America." Alya gave her an odd look. "They're in bad condition, and give really bad pay."

"Oh."

"My father just doesn't understand. You've been working here two years?"

"Yeah. It probably wasn't the best, seeing as how I was taking on a lot at a time, but it is well worth it." They were silent as they walked in the door, and as Alya clocked in with the new machine. Since Marinette's disappearance, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng had allowed others to come and work in their shop and home.

"This is Marinette's house?"

"Y-yeah. Well, it hasn't been in a while, but yeah." Alya hated working here now. She loved seeing the Dupain-Cheng's, they were her second family... but being in the building on the corner reminded her way too much of her best friend. She felt bad for Tom and Sabine. They lived here, and were reminded with every breath. Tom walked into the shop with a loaf of bread in his large hands.

"Alya! Welcome back. How's your mother?"

"She... she's better from last night. Thank you for helping her when I couldn't."

"She did for us." Tom and Sabine had gone to comfort Marlena in her darkest hour, when Alya had not returned home after her de-akumatization. "So," he said, clapping his hands together. "Who'd you bring today?" Chloe seemed to shy away from the giant man.

"Chloe Bourgeois." Tom would have spit his water out if he had any.

"Bourgeois?"

"Sir..." Chloe began. "I-I'm sorry."

"What for? You haven't done anything to me."

"But I have. Maybe indirectly, but I've still done things. Things I'm not proud of in the slightest. I've threatened you in the past, I've chastised you... but most of all... I hurt Marinette. I hurt her a lot." Tom's gaze never became heated. He never once looked angry, not at all. In fact, he was crying. They were both happy and sad tears as Chloe went on about what she'd done, and how sorry she was. "I was jealous of her. I wanted what she had: talent, beauty, loving friends and family. I'm sorry I put her through so much. I'm sorry I put you through so much. I realize now that I want to change. A-and I'm working on it. I'm trying to be a better person, for Marinette, for Adrien, for Nino... for me, and for all of Paris." Everyone in the room had tears in their eyes, especially when Tom came forward and hugged Chloe.

"It's okay. It's okay." They cried, and for once in the Dupain-Cheng household, Alya felt awkward. She had tears in her eyes, but wasn't full on sobbing. She began working the counter as Tom led Chloe upstairs, as she said she wanted to apologize to her as well. Alya rung up customers quick as a flash. Her mathematical skills had intensified over the past two years of working at the bakery, and she could add, multiply, subtract, and divide with ease. Chloe had come back from upstairs after about ten minutes, and they ate together, Alya serving customers when they came. Lunch hour was generally pretty busy. Alya's shift was forty-five minutes long, giving her fifteen minutes to get back to school. After those forty-five minutes, Tom came down to see her off. Alya told Chloe she'd meet her back at the school.

"Mr. Dupain." Alya said, hurriedly cleaning up her workspace. "I-I-I know you don't let anyone in there, but... I-I really need to-" Alya broke down in tears. "I need to feel her presence, to know that she's still here. I need t-to breath in her smell, and be surrounded by her belongings." Alya cried as Tom nodded, also with tears in his eyes. He led her up the stairs in the back just as he had to Chloe.

"You can go up." Alya looked across the room, seeing Sabine curled up on the couch crying. Today was a crying day, Alya concluded. Every day was a crying day. Alya climbed up the stairs and pushed the trapdoor to Mari's room open. She was immediately overwhelmed by the setting she found herself in. The smell of Marinette's vanilla perfume lingered in every inch of the place, and her pink furniture were so comforting. Alya walked up to her bed, laying her hand on the post. There was no dust at all. Sabine must have cleaned it daily. Alya did notice that her bed was slightly messed up. Part of her assumed that it was left like that, but the other part of her knew that was done by her parents. She began crying. Pictures of her, Adrien, Marinette, and Nino adorned her walls. Her tears became hotter and spewed faster from her half-closed eyes. She looked around the room, stroking her arms as she sobbed.

"Oh Marinette." She choked out. She cried for ten minutes straight it seemed, before she felt warm arms around her.

"It's okay dear... I miss her too." Sabine held her tightly, crying along with her. "I miss her too..."

∞∞∞∞∞

Alya stared up at the sky from Marinette's balcony, stargazing. The year she had become Rena for good, Marinette had made it a tradition to stargaze every Friday. Alya had transformed into Rena Rouge to get up there. The Dupain-Cheng's had locked her balcony access window. She had since de-transformed, and was on the floor. Trixx was laying on top of her hair, munching on a huge strawberry. "I love the silent hour of night, for blissful dreams may then arise, revealing to my charmed sight what may not bless my waking eyes." Alya quoted breathlessly.

"What's that even from?"

"No idea."

"That can't be your own doing. It sounds too thought out and intelligent."

"Thanks." She replied sarcastically. She was silent for a while, gazing at the stars with such valor, Trixx became frightened.

"Okay kit?"

"What? Oh... yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Marinette was taken the same day Ladybug was..." she trailed off.

"Kit."

"Is she Ladybug?"

"Alya."

"Is she?!" They sat in silence as Trixx contemplated what to say.

"It is by the law of the miraculous that we not speak of such mat-"

"Trixx..." Alya was whispering, a nice change from the screaming that usually would have followed the buildup. Trixx looked over to see Alya with tears in her eyes, still laying on her back, her head tilted towards her small kwami. "I need to know..." Trixx sighed. Was she really about to do this?

"Yes." Alya sat up and looked at her kwami. "Marinette is Ladybug."