#hello to the couple dozen new followers i just got! if youre expecting more pics of me prepare to be disappointed lol | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miraculoussideblog · 7 years

Text

Operation Lovebirds Chapter 3

@insanitysbloomings‘ (aka @insanitysscribblings) birthday fic continues...

Summary: Fed up with her friends refusing to confess their feeling for each other, Alya enlist the help of Nino to bring them together. The plan? Fake a relationship. What could possibly go wrong? (hint: everything)

Chapters: [1] [2] [You are Here]

[AO3]

Chapter Three: The Crack

Nino fiddled with his bowtie several times before tossing it to the side. Adrien was out doing Lord knows what, so he was on his own with his attire. Nino sighed and changed out of his button down and opted for a plain dark blue t-shirt and grey blazer with his skinny jeans. He may not be a model, but he could clean up nice.

“Why are you putting so much effort into this?” He asked his reflection.

“We’ve got to treat this like a real date,” Alya insisted.

The two went back at Nino’s house after the disaster of a picnic and planned their next move. They officially announced on social media their relationship hashtagging it DJWifi (which was better than #LadyBubble.) Now they had to be “on” all the time, which meant more hand holding and flirting, much to Nino’s dismay. His feelings for Alya were not backing down anytime soon and he knew this would blow up in their faces.

“We have to keep them off our scent. They’ll know something's up if we keep asking them on double dates.”

“Why can’t we just say we’re going out and then don’t.”

“Because, if I’m not posting pics and live blogging every minute of it, nobody will believe this relationship is real.”

“So we’re going on a real fake date?”

“Exactly.”

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

Nino checked the clock. He needed to pick up Alya soon. She, like always, tried to micromanage every minute of their “date,” but Nino insisted if they were going out on their own they’d do it his way. His plan was no plan and that was the best plan.

After one final check in the mirror and a dab of cologne, Nino said goodbye to his family and walked over to Alya’s place to pick her up. He couldn’t tell if he was nervous or excited to spend alone time with Alya. Yes, they’ve been alone together dozens of times over the past three years. But something about this time was different. He wasn’t a boy anymore, they weren’t joking around and squabbling over getting Adrienette together, they were just two people enjoying each other’s company.

Nino smiled as he reached Alya’s apartment. He straightened his jacket and with a deep breath pressed the buzzer. “Hello,” a gruff voice said on the other end.

“Hey O-man, it’s Nino, I’m here to pick up Alya.”

The door opened, Alya’s father, Otis, standing as tall as the door frame, glared down at Nino. He silently stepped to the side to let Nino pass and closed the door behind him. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the couch.

The tension in the air grew thick. Normally Otis wasn’t like this with Nino, but with Operation Lovebirds in motion, no one could know what they were up to.

Nino sat on the couch, Otis sat across from him without breaking eye contact. “Where’s--”

“What are your intentions with my daughter?” Otis crossed his arms over his chest. His face remained stern and furious.

Oh shit, he was dead serious.

“Nothing...no...I mean yes, I like your daughter.” he could barely form a coherent sentence. “We--”

“Relax Dad.” Alya entered the living room. Today she wore black jeans and a bright pink ruffled blouse. Her hair was pulled back by a black headband with a pink rose. He looked stunning. “We’ll be fine, Nino let’s go. We won’t be out too late.” She grabbed Nino’s arm and dragged him away from her father’s clutches.

Before Nino could reach the door, Otis’ large hand landed on his shoulder. “If you break my little girl’s heart again, I’ll feed you to my panther,” he whispered.

Again? Alya broke his.

“Got it,” he nodded before Alya pulled him out of his grasp.

The two made it outside of her safely. Nino glanced up one more time to see Otis staring at him from the balcony, sending shivers down his spine.

Alya gently took his hand, giving him a reassuring pat. “What’s the plan?

“I don’t know,” Nino shrugged. “Let’s see where the day takes us.”

The two strolled hand in hand down the streets of Paris, stopping at little shops here and there. Adrien and Marinette not being around watching their every move somehow made Nino more relaxed with Alya. They actually looked like a real couple.

“Let’s stop in here.” Nino pointed to the comic book shop. A sign outside the store read “Everything in the store buy one get one half off.”

“Oh my gosh,” Alya pulled three books from the shelves. “Majestia volumes one, two and three. I have all the comics on my phone, but holding the book is so surreal.” Her fingers traced over the cover of volume one. The light in her eyes as she flipped through the pages was entrancing. Nino couldn’t help but gaze at her in wonder.

She glanced at the price sticker and frowned. “I can only afford the two with the sale.” She hesitantly but back volume three. “Maybe next time.”

Seeing Alya happy, warmed his heart. He couldn’t bare to see her upset. Nino grabbed volume three back off the shelves. “I’ll get this for you, my treat.”

“Nino, don’t.” She tried to grab the book from his hand, but he held it high above his head. “Seriously, you don’t have to buy it for me.”

“I know I don’t have to.” Nino’s eyes locked with her’s. “I want to.”

Alya jumped once more time, reaching as high as she could to grab the book, but it was no use. “Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll pay you back one way or another.”

Nino’s lips curled into a slight smile. She was not going to give up easily. “Whatever you say.” He lowered the book down. “Do you want to check out or look around some more.”

“Let’s check out, I’m getting kind of hungry.” Alya headed towards the cash register, Nino followed. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something shiny on a display. While Alya was occupied Nino scanned the display until he found what he was looking for. He glanced over at Alya, talking to the cashier about her second favorite superhero and smiled. Maybe this would workout.

“Why are we here?” Alya crossed her arms over her chest. After the two ate lunch at a nearby diner, Nino took Alya to their final destination. She thought he’d take her somewhere special like the park or near the Eiffel Tower, she didn’t expect for him to bring her to the place where she fell for him.

“I like the zoo,” he shrugged. “It brings back good memories.”

“For you maybe, I remember getting chased by a herd of animals and getting locked in a cage with your all afternoon while my father almost ate Ladybug. Just too many bad memories.”

Nino paused, pushed his glasses into place and smiled. “Well then, I guess we’ll just have to make new ones.” He held out his hand; Alya rolled her eyes and took it.

“I’ve been here several times you know that right,” she said as the two viewed the animals. “There’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“I’ve been to the Eiffel tower several times since I was a baby and I never get tired of it. You of all people should know it’s not always about where you go, it’s about the company you keep.”

“When did you become so wise?” Alya smirked.

“Who knows,” he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Maybe I’ve been this way all along and you’ve been too preoccupied blogging and shipping our friends to notice.”

“Shut up,” she stuck out her tongue. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her father’s favorite panther, LadyNoir (named after Paris’ favorite superheroes). “Let’s say hi to Lady.” She dragged him over to the cage. Nino stiffened at the sight of the large cat. “Bringing back bad memories?”

“Something like that,” he muttered.

Alya and Nino spent the rest of the afternoon viewing the the animals. Occasionally Nino would turn on music and narrate the animal’s actions. Alya hadn’t had this much fun with Nino in ages. He was right, it was about the company she kept. Nino was good company. A great friend. Whatever weird thing happened between them during their picnic last week must have been a fluke. This is how it should be.

“By the way.” Nino dug in his pocket. “I have something for you.” He pulled out a small plastic bag and dropped the content into Alya’s palm. Inside was a gold colored chain with a pendent shaped like Majestica’s logo.

For the first time in her life, Alya was speechless.

This was too much. Getting her the book was one thing, she planned to pay him back in full when she could, but jewelry brought their fake relationship to a whole new level. Maybe that was his plan, provide physical proof of their relationship to Marinette and Adrien, that had to be it. Nino was two steps ahead of her. Right?

“Do you mind” He took the chain from her palm. Alya lifted her hair off her shoulders,

“This is great,” Alya tried to fake enthusiasm. “Let’s get a pic, Marinette is going to love it. #bestboyfriendever #DJWifi.”

“No,” Nino stepped in closer, taking her phone out of her hand. “No social media, no hashtags, no Operation Lovebirds. Right now it’s about you and me.” Nino’s lowered his head and brushed his lips lightly against her’s.

Alya froze for a second, trying to process what was happening. Her brain screamed ABORT! ABORT! But her heart pounded against her ribcage and before she knew it, she wrapped her arms around Nino, pulling him closer to kiss him back. She breathed in the earthy scent of his cologne, how could she not notice his scent before? It was nice, relaxing and not too overpowering. His lips were soft and warm, and tasted slightly of mint. Nino broke away for air first. “Let’s do this,” Nino’s forehead touched hers. “for real. Alya, we can make this work.”

Every thought in Alya’s head came to a screeching halt. This was not part of the plan. Kissing was clearly against the rules. She couldn’t let herself fall for him again, and at the zoo of all places.

“No,” she whispered. Alya felt the tears welling up, she broke away from his hold. “We can’t.

“Why not?”

“Because…because it’s not part of the plan.”

“Screw the plan.” A silence hung in the air between them. For the first time in their years of friendship, she saw Nino truly angry. “This isn’t about Adrien or Marinette, it’s about you and me. You’re the one who asked me to pretend to date you. You’re the one who came over to my place to make plans and spend hours with me. This whole date was your idea. Why?”

“You’re the only person I trusted not to fall in love with me. When we decided to be friends, I thought that was the end of it.”

“You’re the one who decided we worked better as friends.”

“Because clearly you were still into Marinette.”

“I was fifteen and confused. I didn’t love Marinette. What I felt for her at the time was only a small fraction of what I felt for you. I thought time and time again I proved that to you. I’ve been in love with you for years. Are you so wrapped up in other people’s lives you couldn’t see what was right in front of you.”

“I don’t care whether or not you liked Marinette. You broke my heart, Nino. I wanted you to fight for me, to tell me I was being dumb for breaking up with you. But no, you shrugged it off like nothing happened. And I realized, that’s just how you are. You’re a yes man. You never push back, and half the time I jump into situations without thinking things through. If it happened once, it could happen again. I can’t put myself through that again, Nino. Not with you. I’m sorry.”

Alya sprinted away as fast as she could, tears streaming from her eyes. Everything was falling apart. She should have kept her heart locked up tight.

“What about phase six?” Nino called out from the distance.

“THERE IS NO PHASE SIX!”

#miraculous ladybug #djwifi #ml fic #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #adrinette #insanitysscribblings

27 notes · View notes