Until We Meet Again

Chapter 7: Alya and Nino

Adrien’s POV

I grabbed the key card from my wallet and unlocked the door to my hotel room. Alya, Nino, and I had gotten a large hotel room with two rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and a large living room.

I walked in, to see Nino and Alya on the couch watching a movie on Netflix, Alya draped across Nino’s lap. Nino turned his head and nodded upwards in greeting.

Alya tilted her head backwards, until it was basically upside down, “Adrien! You’re back! Did you have a good time with your friend?”

I walked into the living room, and sat in the armchair next to the sofa. “I did, it was quite pleasant. We were able to talk about a lot of things we hadn’t discussed before they left Paris. I was very pleased with how things ended. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other now.”

“Adrien Agreste. You are the vaguest person I have ever met.” Alya stated, chuckling softly.

A soft ping could be heard from Alya’s phone. She sat up, and looked at the notification, and all of a sudden, her face became stoic.

“Are you all right, love?” I asked Alya, causing Nino to look up at her phone.

“Oh.” Nino whispered softly.

“Rose just texted me a picture. All of us are in it. Including Marinette. She says it was taken three years ago today, and it was making her nostalgic. She thought I might want to see it. It’s crazy to think that no one has heard from her for so long. It has been more than a year and a half now. I still remember the day she called me. April 23rd. That moment is etched into my mind permanently. She sounded like she was on the verge of a full on breakdown. I wonder sometimes, if I hired a private investigator, if they would be able to find her. Is she lost to me forever? Do you think she wants to be found?”

I knew I would be hurting her by not telling her. I felt like such an ass, but I had promised Marinette that I wouldn’t say anything. How could I possibly break a promise that I’ve made to the love of my life. Even if she had no clue it was me, her boyfriend, that made the promise, I could not lose her trust. I would have to lie straight to their faces now. No more trying to come up with any number of excuses so I wouldn’t really be lying. It was time to lie to my best friends.

“Alya, I truly hate to hurt you, but don’t you think if she wanted to be found, she would’ve left some sort of sign to help you find her? Her family left nothing behind to indicate where they were going. I understand how you feel, I would love to find her and bring her back to Paris, but honestly, any trail there might have been has gone cold by now. I fear that the only way we might get her back is if she herself comes to find us.” That hurt. I felt a pit forming in my stomach as the words flooded from my mouth.

“That’s it! Her family!” Alya exclaimed excitedly.

“What are you going on about, dear?” Nino spoke for the first time.

“The bakery. It hasn’t been sold, it’s just sat there, empty. That means that her family must still own the building. There might be a clue somewhere inside. We need to break in. We’ll do it when we get back in two weeks.”

Nino’s eyes bulged, and if I was completely honest, so did mine. Alya was always coming up with these rather cheeky ideas. What did she have planned now?

“How are we possibly going to break into the building? It’s all closed up.” I asked, truly confused about how we would do that.

"I was thinking we go in through the top." Alya said with a smirk.

Of course I knew what she meant now. I'd done that as Chat Noir, except I had been invited then. I now needed to feign confusion. I couldn't give up my secret just yet, but I couldn't stop Alya from doing it. I would have to let this play out.