Lock Me Up (Miraculous 1930's AU)

Beginner's Luck

"I've got beginner's luck 

There never was such a smile 

Or such eyes of blue."

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:
Adrien and Marinette took off, now criminals on the run. They traveled all night to get as far away as possible and arrived at a motel outside Cincinnati. While bringing their belongings inside, Chat and Ladybug bumped into each other, and the contents of Marinette's bag spilled. Just as Adrien began to think Ladybug's eyes look familiar, one of her fallen belongings caught his eye...

Meanwhile, Alya has gotten the 5 chances to prove her article, based on women and titled The Lady, is worth staying in the newspaper.  

Philidelphia, Pennsylvania. November 1, 1930. 1:24 PM

When Alya got wind that, for the first time in forever, a woman was out robbing banks, and apparently shooting people, she was elated. (A strange thing to be elated about, I know.)

Once again she was speed-walking down the sidewalk, heels clicking away, eager to share her thoughts with her new boss. However, her plans were stunted when she heard a male voice calling her name. She hit the breaks on her stilettos, bold hair flying as she whipped around in attention. In front of her stood a slightly familiar face, with thick-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. In one hand he was holding what appeared to be a saxophone case, and the tan flat cap that sat on his head appeared to be a bit big, as he had to hold it up with his thumb to make sure it didn't hinder his view of the girl in front of him. 

"I-I'm so sorry to bother you," the young man began, clearly a bit flustered, "I know you're probably busy right now but I just had- I didn't get the chance before, um..." He set his case down before taking the cap off his head, ringing it in his hands out of nervousness. "It's Nino." 

As much as she wanted to understand what was going on, as she- to be frank- found the scene cute, Alya was quite confused. 

"Err... pardon?" Alya drawled, hoping she wasn't appearing too rude. 

"When I bumped into you on the sidewalk last time," the boy stated, not quite meeting Alya's gaze. "I never got to introduce myself. I'm Nino, Nino Lahiffe." 

Alya's eyes widened a bit as the lightbulb went off in her head with realization. "Oh!" She exclaimed, looking happy at the recognition much to Nino's relief.  "I'm Alya, but you obviously already knew that. Alya Cesaire." 

"Well Ms. Cesaire," Nino grinned, slightly dipping his upper half in a bow, "it's a pleasure." 

"Likewise," Alya grinned, right before panic struck her features, giving Nino a sense of deja-vu. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I've really got to run! Duty calls!" 

As she turns around, Nino speaks up, making sure to speak in time before she dashed again. "I sincerely hope I get the opportunity to be in your company again in the future." 

Alya threw a genuine smile over her shoulder that made Nino's heart race. 

"I would really like that." 

* 7 Minutes Later *

"I'm telling you, sir, this is it,"  Alya expresses, smacking her notes down on the desk in front of her portly boss. The man takes the papers in his stout fingers and quickly skims the information they hold before peering over his spectacles at the young lady standing confidently before him. His look was less-than-impressed. 

"You're telling me, Miss Cesaire, that you want to empower women through... criminals?" Her boss huffs, dropping the papers back to the mahogany. "Now is certainly not the time for jokes." 

"I'm not  joking," Alya stresses, stopping to give a sharp exhale and think. She drops her hands from their place on her hips. "Look, I know it seems kinda bad, but please just let me explain?" 

The aged man paused before giving a curt nod, allowing her to continue. 

"Obviously, crime is bad," Alya begins, "and I am not trying to condone crime. If this were any other case, if women going out and robbing banks was normal, I would never consider writing this article. But-"  Alya adds, eyes filling with determination the more she talks, "they don't. This isn't about crime being good, it's about proving that women can do what men do, too. The stereotypes that women are weak and helpless need to be broken, right now more than ever. This girl... this "Ladybug" is breaking those stereotypes quite well, and I think it needs to be acknowledged. Try and get some positive out of an overall negative, y'know?" 

Her boss leans back in his chair, letting out a sigh through his nose. "Your skills of persuasion are uncanny, Miss Cesaire, and I admire that. It's a favored quality among writers. This idea of yours..." he draws his mouth tight, bushy grey mustache almost hiding it completely. "I suppose could work. Maybe." 

Alya blinks once, twice. "Does this mean my proposal is approved?" 

"Mm," The man affirms, staring at the fish that swam in its small bowl situated on his desk. "You are given permission to work in the field, trail this story if you must. Just make it clear that this newspaper does not approve of armed robbery, Miss Cesaire." 

Alya grinned so widely her mouth was on the verge of tearing. "Thank-you, sir. Thank-you."

Guess it's time to start packing. 

Cincinnati, Ohio. November 1, 1930. 5:37 AM

Adrien couldn't believe the object he was looking at was really there, seemingly more likely to be a mirage. 

It felt like someone had shoved a freshly picked apple down Adrien's throat. 

Actually, it kinda felt like that time when Adrien refused to try camembert, but Plagg forced the stinky glob down, afterward reprimanding the poor boy for not being more grateful, as it "came from my private stock!"

Anyways.

Time seemed to freeze, and everything but the small object on the ground seemed to tune out. Although partially covered by a handkerchief, Adrien would recognize the blue and yellow trinket anywhere. 

After all, he was the one that made it.  

Chat seemed to be dazed, slightly reaching towards the object with a shaky hand before letting his arm go limp, dropping it into his lap. "H-how... how did you get that?"

"Huh?" Ladybug uttered, staring into Chat's eyes with a look of pure confusion. "This?" She queried, pulling the red string of the object to fully expose it, hanging delicately off her fingertips. "This is just a little trinket a good friend of mine gave me, I seriously doubt..." Ladybug's words trailed off as she watched Chat dig a gloved hand into his pocket, pulling out a similar object decked in colors of pink and green instead. Bright green eyes swimming with emotions bore deeply into hers, and the transformation of her face as she began to understand was clear as day as the color drained from her face. Her jaw hung slack, looking as though she'd just seen a ghost. 

"A-Adrien?"

***

Extremely short and kinda unedited chapter left on a terrible cliff hanger, but... I'm back? 

Please don't hurt me.