Under Suspicion

Dear Reader!
This fan fiction was written for the January 2020 Miraculous Fanfiction Exchange of the "Miraculous Fanfictions" discord server.
Every writer was free to drop a line for the theme/pairing/situation he/she is longing to read. Afterwards, the identifying names were cut off and each of the participants chose an anonymous prompt. This was mine:
     Pairings: DJWIFI
     Genres: Fantasy, Drama
     Prompts: Reveal, Fluff, trying to figure out Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities.
     Anti-prompts: Lukanette
     Adult Content: No
Today, on January 26th, the writing partners were revealed. Mine was ArtistKankles - I hope you like it!
As English is not my mother tongue, I'd be grateful if you all let me know if something sounds weird.
- Thank you and have fun!

Lysi

***

The night was cut by the crumpling noise of paper and made Nino raise from his bed. Well, currently it was not his bed, he realized as his head smashed against the sidewall of Alya's bed. A stifled moaning escaped his mouth. The alarm clock showed something clearly past midnight as far as he could tell without his glasses. He squinted. The red numbers glowed in front of him, tinting the pillow with red reflections. It was empty, which meant Alya was still awake. He rolled sideways, somehow managing to get on his feet.
     »Oh man, still?!«, he muttered, gazing to the writing desk, where Alya sat.
     His girlfriend seemed to be deep in thoughts – the only answer he got was the clicker-di-clack of the keyboard while her fingers were typing.
     He ruffled through his hair and managed to put on his glasses. The first thing he saw clearly on her monitor was the red and black of his girlfriend's Ladyblog. He hung his head and wished it wasn't so.
     »Alya«, he moaned, »Don't you think it's bedtime?«
     Her fingers paused, but she still stirred on that monitor in front of her.
     »Yep. Just one moment ...«, she replied.
     »‚One moment'? That are exactly the same words you used last time.« He streched himself and stumbled forward.
     Mayhaps it wasn't his fault, but Alya's – he somehow stepped right onto Cat Noir's ears.
     »Yowtch! Not that cat man again. Could it not have been the turtle? Shells are way more smoother!«
     Well, at least this brought Alya back into the scene.
     »Cat man? What are you talking about, Nino?« She turned round on her wheel chair, her eyebrows twitching as she saw him limping around.
     Nino pressed his lips hard together to prevent himself from cursing some – well, not so nice words. He knew better. Ella and Etta should be fallen asleep long ago, but if there was the slightest chance of eavesdropping some nice little curses, they definitely would.
     Alya's eyes met that annoying plastic toy on the ground.
     »Uh, no! Don't tell me you tripped on his head – not again!«
     Ninos face twisted in pain. »Did he ever tell you he's got sharp ears?!«
     Alya made a tsking noise. »Poor boy.«
     Nino picked the toy from the ground and discarded it onto the desk. He wasn't sure if she meant him or that toy thing.
     »Nice feeling, when the pain fades«, he stated with a grim look on his face. He peered over Alya's shoulder and looked up the time at the taskbar. »It's really late, little fox. Won't you come to bed?«
He planted a soft kiss on her cheek and patted his girlfriend's shoulders.
     »Hmmm.« Alya leaned back, her fingers capturing his neckband, robbing a kiss from him that he was willing to give. »It's just that one thing I'm missing!«, she suddenly said, putting her attention back on the screen.
     Nino sighed. »Promise me, not now. Please. We want to go out to the zoo, tomorrow – and you're still bound to your computer. Honey, please, you won't get to know who's under that dotted mask, unless she's in the mood to tell us.«
     Alya suddenly squealed in horror. »His ear! It's broken!« Her fingers grabbed the toy Cat Noir whose left ear was missing.
     »Oh. I – I'm sorry«, was all that Nino could say. »I didn't see it was lying there.« He was starting to feel really bad.
     »Wait! That's it! Nino, you're a rock star!« She whirled around and kissed him hard on his lips.
     »O-kay?« Nino took a small step backwards, putting his hands on her shoulder for some distance. He searched for a hint in her eyes, but all he could tell was that it had something to do with Ladybug. Her eyes were glistening with that usual green sparkle of madness when it came to theories.
     »What if ...«
     »Please, I beg you, Alya«, he murmured. »Come to bed.«
     »What if I change target?«
     »What?« That question left him confused. »You sound a bit like Adrien. All that chattering about targets and -«
     »Oh, I'll figure it out – sooner or later. But mayhaps I shouldn't invest too much time into Ladybug's secret identity.«
     »Mh-hm.« He gave her an approving nod.
     She tipped herself on the lip with her forefinger – an unmistakable sign that she was up to something.
     »Ladybug seems to be way too clever. Unless her partner. He will hand out her secret identity on a silver platter!«
     »Will you put on your villainous smirk, now? - Bedtime, now! You're starting to act like a second Hawk Moth. Want me to get akumatized by your tangled thoughts?! No?« Nino crossed his arms. »Come on, girl.«
He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was still a bit undecisive, but finally she gave in.