Miraculous Ladybug: Short Stories

The Tortoise Hero and the Blog Girl (Part 2)

"Oooooh, and those eyes!" Alya laid face-down on her bed with her cell phone sitting in front of her on speaker. Marinette was listening quietly on the other line as Alya enthusiastically described her adventures with Tortue Jade from earlier that day. Not only did the boy save her life, but her Ladyblog views had also gone up drastically ever since he told the media that he would only be interviewed by Alya. "Mari, is it weird that I feel like I know him from somewhere else?" She couldn't help but recall the dark hair and hazel eyes that she admired at the park. She just knew that she had seen them somewhere else before.

Marinette giggled. "Alya, there's more than two million people in Paris altogether. It's definitely a possibility that he can remind you of at least one other person." Of course, Marinette herself had considered Alya's question before about Chat Noir. Sometimes, she wondered if maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir did know each other without their masks on. With such a large population, though, surely there was no chance of that...right?

"Girl, I know that!" Alya sarcastically yelled at Marinette for stating such a obvious fact. "Do you...do you think that it's possible that I actually know the person that is underneath that mask?" Alya had her suspicions about Tortue Jade's true identity. She wasn't willing to tell Marinette, though, just in case her assumptions were wrong. Plus, she doubted that he wanted others to know, anyway. Why else would he wear a mask?

"Well, logically speaking, there's about a..." There was a pause on the other phone line as Marinette quickly looked around her bedroom for a calculator. Alya heard her punch in various numbers before speaking again, "0.000083 percent chance of you knowing him personally. So, yeah. I guess there is a possibility of you actually knowing him!" Marinette giggled alongside Tikki, who remained as quiet as she possibly could. 

"You're such a pain, you know that?" Alya playfully rolled her eyes as she heard her best friend agree with her on the other line. The two girls might have aggravated each other from time to time, but nothing would ever be able to separate them. After their laughter came to a brief stop, Alya heard some type of noise that came from outside her bedroom window. Of course, her curiosity kicked it. "Hey, Mari? I gotta go."

Marinette, completely oblivious to Alya's true intentions, noticed that it was getting quite late. She figured that her best friend was just becoming sleepy. "Okay, Alya! I'll see you tomor-" The eager Alya hung up the phone before Marinette could finish her sentence.

Alya walked over to her window to peer outside of it, seeing a sort of dark figure standing down on the street below her. She opened up the window in order to get a closer look at the person below. "Well, if it isn't my hero, Michaelangelo."

"I find myself to be totally more like Leo." The dark-haired boy jumped up from the street to lay across the fairly large window sill.

Alya shrugged her shoulders. "If you say so." Leaning over her window, Alya directly faced the boy. "Now, is there an actual reason for you stopping by...or did you just miss me?"

Tortue Jade smirked as he sat up a bit. "Hmm...I think I'm gonna go with the second one."

Alya's eyes were widened slightly with surprise. Not only did she not expect for such an answer from him, but she also didn't expect for him to be so calm and nonchalant about it. "I have to admit: I never took you as a flirt."

"Only for you, girl." Tortue Jade pointed both of his index fingers and thumbs at her, making a "gun" sort of shape. With it, he winked dramatically at her. Of course, Alya couldn't help but giggle. His idea of flirting was so simple and childish that it was actually pretty cute.

With a smile, Alya lowered her voice to guarantee that only the boy would be able to hear her. "This is new for you, Nino. I kinda like it."

Tortue Jade crossed his arms over his chest as he allowed for a huge grin to show. "Thanks!" It took him a moment to realize what had actually just happened. "Wait. Wh-what?!" With his eyes as wide as can be, the boy took in a deep breath to relax. His voice was shaky and nervous, but he attempted to play it off as nothing. "Like, I don't know what you're talking about."

"As if!" Alya's snicker was so loud that it wouldn't have been surprising if she had woken up the entire city. Before she continued to talk, she glanced around to make sure no one else could hear the two. "Nino, you don't need that mask to impress me." She leaned in much closer to him, the boy gulping nervously in the process. "I happen to already like you without it."

✶ALTERNATE ENDING✶

"As if!" Alya's snicker was so loud that it wouldn't have been surprising if she had woken up the entire city. Before she continued to talk, she glanced around to make sure no one else could hear the two. "Nino, you don't need that mask to impress me." She leaned in much closer to him, the boy gulping nervously in the process. "I happen to already like you without it."

"No, seriously. I have no idea what you're getting at." The mysterious boy sighed heavily, "I know it might seem selfish, but I don't really want someone else to receive credit for what I've done. Listen, I know that I'm not supposed to reveal my identity, but..." Tortue Jade allowed himself to detransform, revealing a familiar face. "It's me, Theo Barbeau. We've gone to the same school for awhile and I've never really had the confidence to ask you out in person..."

Alya stood motionless as she blinked over and over again, trying to comprehend everything. Once she realized the full extent to the current situation, she bit her bottom lip nervously. "Well, this is awkward."