Thief | Lukadrien

Part 11 - Accidental Reveal

After defeating Sandboy, I snuck back into my bedroom via the window.

"Plagg, claws in," I said, but nothing happened. I looked at my hand. Where was my ring? And why was my suit red?

"Tikki, spots off," I tried again. The ladybug kwami spiralled out of my earrings and landed on my palm.

"Oh, shoot," I whispered. "I'm so sorry! I forgot about the swap."

"It's okay, Adrien! You can switch back after the next akuma attack."

I blinked. "You're not going to yell at me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Uh... no reason. Plagg just likes to take every opportunity to lecture me."

Tikki giggled. "Well, Plagg does show his affection through violence."

"Yeah," I laughed. "Oh, I'll bet you're hungry. All I've got is Camembert, is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine! I'm not picky."

I handed her a wedge of cheese, and carried her over to the coffee table to finish it. She was a much more graceful eater than Plagg.

"Goodnight, Adrien!" Tikki said as I climbed into bed.

I smiled, a little uncomfortable with all this positive energy. "Goodnight."

...

I groaned loudly as my alarm went off Monday morning. I definitely didn't get enough sleep.

"It's time to get ready for school!" Tikki announced immediately.

I pressed a pillow to my face. As much as I wanted to attend, I didn't think I had the energy.

"Go take a shower, and don't forget to brush your teeth!" Tikki said.

"Plagg may be a nuisance, but he's never this bossy," I grumbled, getting out of bed.

Tikki giggled. I was really starting to dislike that sound.

"Come on, it's important to get an education! High school will help you achieve your dream career."

"I don't have a dream career," I said, my mouth full of toothpaste. "And by the way, not everyone needs to attend school to do great in life."

"Fair enough, but education is a luxury which you should be taking full advantage of."

Welp, I couldn't argue with that.

I finished up in the bathroom and got dressed. At breakfast, I snuck a few biscuits into my backpack for Tikki. After eating, my bodyguard drove me off to school.

"Hey, what's up, dude?" Nino asked once I sat down in class. "How was your date on Friday?"

"It was great," I said with a nervous chuckle, my hand on my neck.

Alya slammed her hands on her desk and leaned over between me and Nino. "Sunshine Agreste Boy went on a date?!"

"Sunshine Agreste Boy? Where did that come from?"

"Who's the lucky lady? Or guy. Or person. I don't make assumptions."

"Well, you kind of do, since you're a reporter and all," Nino pointed out. "That's kind of your job."

"It was with a guy," I said quietly.

Alya squealed. "Yes!! Another bisexual! We're slowly taking over the class."

"You... you're bi, too?"

"Uh, duh," she said, gesturing to her outfit. "So anyway. You gonna tell me who you went out with?"

Before I could answer, Marinette stumbled through the door. She could barely keep her eyes open as she took her seat.

"Woah, Mari, you okay?" Alya asked.

"Yeah, just didn't sleep great last night."

"Sandboy affected you too, huh?" Nino asked.

"Yep."

"Was it the same nightmare you had last time?" Alya asked.

Marinette shook her head.

"Really? Does that mean you're over you-know-who?"

"Probably," she yawned, then rested her head on her desk. "Wake me up when Mlle. Bustier starts attendance."

With her arms acting as her pillow, Marinette's right hand was close to the edge of her table. On her fourth finger was a very familiar ring. My gaze shifted to the side of her head, where the earrings she always wore were missing.

My eyes widened.

Holy sh*t.

I poked Marinette. Her head shot up.

"M'Lady?" I whispered. Nino and Alya were talking, so there's no way they could hear me.

Marinette looked at the ring, then at my ears.

"Cat," she gulped. "Hey Alya, can you and Adrien switch seats for the day?"

"Sure thing, girl!"

I rushed over to sit beside Marinette just as Mlle. Bustier started her lesson. We were both breathing very shallowly as we tried to think of what to say to each other.

"I can't believe I never figured it out," I said, taking off the earrings and sliding them over to my partner. Marinette did the same with the ring.

"Me neither."

"But... we're not supposed to know each others' identities."

She sighed. "Right."

"So, what now? What do we do?"

"I'll have to give up my miraculous."

"Huh? No! You can't!"

"Master Fu would probably take it away anyway if he knew about my mistake. Which I still haven't told him about yet."

"Superheroes make mistakes all the time. As long as it was an accident, I don't think Master Fu would make you give up your powers."

She buried her head in her hands. "We don't know that."

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be okay, Mari. I'll help you figure this out."