The Order Of The Mistress'

Chapter 3- The Unfair Turtle and Fox

(Happens before chapter 1)

"Babe?" Nino whispers in Alya's ear.

"Shush, babe. Let me watch," Alya looks at her boyfriend for a second, then her eyes are on the big screen again.

"But, babe, there's an Akuma attack."

"And?" Alya emotionlessly asks, a little annoyed at the continued interruption.

"Shouldn't we go and help Ladydude?" Nino frowns.

"No," Nino frowns deeper at the young blogger's answer.

"Won't LB be mad?" Nino questions again.

"Babe, I love you so much, but you're asking too much. Ladybug has Honey Bee and Chat Noir, they can survive without us one time."

"But should they have to? I'm the-" his voice lowered to a whisper, "-what if they need protecting and I'm not there?"

"She'll understand that we have had a date, so that's the reason we couldn't make it. Besides, you haven't used Shelter to protect us in a while, she'll be fine." Alya shrugs. Her gaze is still on the screen.

"You... Have a point," Nino quietly says, resting his head on Alya's shoulders.

"This is ridiculous! How are they even journalists?!" Alya glares, disgusted, at her phone.

"What's the matter, babe?" Nino looks at his girlfriend's phone.

"The Akuma attack! Nobody has footage, four neighborhoods were evacuated and nobody, not even one journalist, could take even one photo! What kind of journalists are they?!" Alya frowns.

"Maybe we should have gone to help?" Nino shrugs.

"You're being absurd! They have taken care of the Akuma attack. It is over! The Miraculous Cure was cast." Alya flicked her hand through the air like it's not a big deal. "But these journalists! Ugh... If I was there-..."

"... You would be Rena Rouge," Nino interrupts his girlfriend's rant.

"No! Well, maybe yes," Alya looks down, thinking that she wouldn't have been able to record the fight, too.

"Let's check on Ladydude. Wayzz, Shell On!" Nino transforms when he's sure there's nobody around. Finding the messaging app on his magical device. "We have a voice message from Ladydude," Nino informs, turning on the volume. Then he clicks on the voice message and Ladybug immediately greets them.

"Hi, Carapace! I won't be able to patrol-" A mature voice speaks. "... A-ah, yes, mom, it hurts, stop-p! No!" In the background, there's another voice. There's a hiss from it. Then the first one speaks again. "Carapace , I won't patrol for a week-" A cry of pain is the next thing on the voice message. Surely, it's from the person in the back. "Talk with Cat about the new schedule. Thank you and I'm sorry!"

"Did she really...-" Alya is the first one to speak, already getting angry at the sheer idea about having more on her workload. She was in school, she had homework and babysitting and her blog! What about her blog? She couldn't be a hero and record, didn't Ladybug ever think about how she affected others?

"-... Leave us because she's too lazy to do her duties? Yes, she did. How can someone so egocentric can be the savior of Paris?!" Carapace is the definition of furious, face screwed up into a scowl. He had responsibilities other than saving people, he had his music, he had to babysit his younger brother, he had a relationship to keep up! Ladydude didn't even think about all the responsibilities he had to deal with, all she cared about was shoving her responsibilities off on others!

"Nino, breathe! This is not the first time we meet someone selfish. Remember Marinette the one time when she refused to babysit our siblings? See? This is not the first time we have to deal with people like that. We will talk with Ladybug when she comes back."

"But she-..."

"I know her actions are so unfair, but we can't do anything. We will refuse to share her duty with Honey Bee and Chat Noir, and everything will be alright," Alya softly speaks, cupping Nino's cheeks.

"Okay. You should go, right?" Nino asks, detransforming. Alya nods and kisses her boyfriend for goodbye. He hugs her tightly and then leaves. Alya stays two, maybe three, minutes in front of the main door, staring after Nino even long after he left her line of sight.

"Ah, Trixx," Alya opens her bag and looks at the kwami. The fox seems a little distanced from her, but she doesn't pay too much attention. "I love that boy!" The young blogger walks into her apartment, smiling happily.