The New Guardian

La Vie en Rose

Previously: "Please don't look at me like that, Tikki! I know I messed up." I roll back over and look across the floor to avoid her stare. Before she can even speak, I gasp and get up. I crawl across the floor praying that I'm seeing things. I make my way over to where Chat was standing when I changed and saw the small, orange blob. It was a Miraculous- more specifically the fox one. A Miraculous that he had seen before and would certainly recognize if he saw it.

I must not have grabbed this one when I knocked over the box. Did he see it?

~This chapter is written in Adrien/Chat POV~

I jump on Marinette's roof and wait momentarily while I catch my breathe. I don't have time to wait. I leap across buildings, chasing my shadow over the rooftops as the sun sets in the Paris sky. I come through my window and transform back into my civilian self. 

"Mind telling me what that was about, kid?" Plagg says sarcastically, flying towards my mini fridge for cheese.

I lay across my bed dreamily, "Isn't she lovely, Plagg. I've spent years chasing Ladybug and I finally find her-she's been in front of me the whole time!"

"What are you talking about?" I can hear the alarm in his voice and I know he's trying to convince me I'm wrong. 

"Marinette is Ladybug! I saw the fox miraculous in her room today. Ladybug is the new guardian and that's the only way Marinette would have that. I know she isn't the Rena Rouge and there's no chance Ladybug would've given a miraculous to Marinette when there isn't an akuma. She's already Multimouse anyways!"

"Uh, if she's already Multimouse, how do you expect her to be Ladybug?"

"Well, during our last fight Ladybug combined two miraculous. It would only make sense that because you were found in our school, she wanted to draw attention away from herself and combined them! That's probably where she learned she could do that. God, she's so smart."

Plagg flies over to me and sits down on the pillow beside me, eating his chunk of cheese whole. "Well," he pauses obviously struggling with what he's about to say, "you finally figured it out."

"Wait, what? You knew? How long have you known!?"

"I've known for a few years, but in case you forgot, I can't tell you who she is. Even if I wanted to I'm bound with the inability to even tell you a holders name. It just comes out as bubbles if I try and I do not  want to taste bubbles instead of my delicious Camembert. That's why I always tried to push you towards her, but you never listen and now you're in a huge mess."

"A huge mess? How is this a mess? Marinette clearly has feelings for me! We kissed! On purpose! And to top it off, she's the girl of my dreams, the love of my life! How could you say this is a mess, Plagg?"

"Adrien, she kissed Chat  not you. She's been in love with you for as long as you've been in love with Ladybug but you never noticed. She's moved on from Adrien to Chat, she just doesn't know you're both. And she can't know! You have to keep your identity a secret! This is a huge mess, and to top it off, Adrien moved on to Kagami!"

Kagami. Shit, I forgot about her in the moment. I feel terrible about this. I know we aren't dating but I still feel dirty talking to another girl. I would never intentionally hurt a friend especially someone so close to me. I have to tell her I don't feel the same anymore, I have to be with Marinette. 

"I can't be with her anymore, Plagg. I'm in love with Marinette. I'm going to tell her the next time I see her, which should be tomorrow afternoon at fencing. Then as Chat, I'll tell Marinette that I can't see her either because I'm still in love with Ladybug. Sounds like a good plan right?"

"Sounds like you're just going to have two girls that mean a lot to you very upset. I'd wait on telling Marinette, you can't risk them being distressed at the same time. Kagami has already caused a few akumas after being rejected by you, we don't need another considering Marinette is gonna come right after. We have to keep her from being agitated as much as possible, we'd have to no way of stopping her if she was akumatized." Plagg leans back, saying with worry, "You have to be careful."

"You're right, I'll be as gentle as I can with Kagami. It shouldn't be that bad though, right? We weren't even dating. We're great friends! It should be fine. Same with Marinette, she's really cool about things and I've never really seen her get that upset. All Chat and her did was kiss, oh, and I can go visit her bakery as Adrien! I could ask her out then! This is perfect!" I assert as I fist pump.

"Kid, Kagami has had a crush on you for so long. She's probably gonna take it pretty hard and it won't help to find out you dumped her for her friend. And don't forget, you're not the only one who tried to move on with someone else. Chat wasn't the only boy Marinette had as an option."

It feels like my whole world is crashing back down. My arms fall back to my sides and I pile back onto my bed. That's right, Luka. I throw my head back and cover my face with my hands as I groan. I thought this was gonna be easy, after all these years I couldn't just have a simple way, huh? He's a pretty nice guy. Maybe I can talk to him, after all she was kissing me tonight and not him. Maybe she forgot about him like I did Kagami? God, that makes me sound terrible.

"Huge mess, right?" Plagg says mockingly, interrupting my thoughts.

"Enormous mess, but I have to stay optimistic. She's the girl I love and I can't lose her again. I've neglected her love for years without knowing it."

"You really love her, huh."

"Of course I do, she's my partner. She's also my best friend. She's smart, creative, unique, gorgeous, and clever. She's painfully kind and would do anything for anyone. She's so caring and sweet. She can bake, she designs such beautiful things, she's the top of the class, she's class president and she's the savior of Paris! How could I not be in love with her, how could I have missed her for so long. She's perfect, Plagg. And have you seen her eyes? They're the most stunning turquoise I've ever seen. I-"

"Okay, okay, kid! I get it, she's the girl of your dreams, yada-yada. That's great and all, but can you get me some more cheese so I can go to bed. You know I can't sleep on an empty stomach." Plagg flies over to the mini fridge again waiting by the empty cheese container with a smug look on his face. I roll my eyes in defeat and climb out of bed, ignoring him to go to the kitchen. I sneak through the house to grab the cheese, then successfully sneak back to my room undetected. 

"Here, you big brat," I say tossing the cheese onto the table in front of the TV. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready for bed." I turn to see Plagg already watching TV and eating his cheese, and I can tell he's not listening. 

I exit the shower and begin to brush my teeth when I see my face in the mirror. Right, the bruise. I reach up and touch my face. Ouch! Well, at least Marinette gave me some makeup to cover it tomorrow. God, she's so thoughtful. I can't wait to see her.

I walk to my bed to find Plagg curled up on my pillow. I hate to admit how cute he looks. I climb in bed next to him, silently wishing it was Marinette instead. Only a few more hours until I can see her again. With that, I fall into a deep sleep, dreaming about M'lady.