Chat Out of the Bag?

Chapter 5

The bakery where Marinette lived smelled delicious. Her parents brought croissants fresh from the oven to the group. Everyone was in the living room going over the project and Lucia set up her things in a corner so the big kids could get work done. She had a little tea set and Marinette got her little snacks for her dolls. What the older kids didn't realize was that Plagg was hiding in one of the dolls and sneaking food off his plate.

"I wish I had a baby sister," cooed Rose as she watched Lucia serve her dolls some tea.

The group was taking a short break from their project. Lucia brought over her tea cups to everyone. They didn't have real tea in them just water but everyone pretended it was fancy tea for Lucia's sake.

While everyone was distracted, Plagg went upstairs to Marinette's room to find Tikki.

"I missed you, Sugarcube!"

The red and black kwami huffed at his comment, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Aww, are you saying you didn't miss me?"

Tikki rolled her eyes and hugged her other half.

"So I have something important to tell you but you have to promise not to get mad at me."

"Plagg...."

Plagg gave her the cute kitty look and she relented.

"So Lucia saw me last night and before you get mad, she thinks I'm a house fairy and doesn't know her brother is a superhero," he said quickly so he wouldn't get chided.

"I don't think Master Fu will get upset since she doesn't know everything but you have to be more careful, Plagg."

The black kwami promised to be more careful in the future but that didn't make Tikki any less worried.

Somehow Plagg convinced Tikki to sneak downstairs with him. The kwami went into Lucia's stuffed animals when the humans weren't looking. While they were gone, Lucia somehow got more snacks for her tea party. The Dupain-Cheng's were probably responsible for the new cookies and pastries on her tea party set.

She put a cheese slice on the plate next to the stuffed animal Plagg was hiding in. The older children were working on their project again so he quickly grabbed the cheese and pushed a cookie over to where Tikki was hiding.

Plagg did the shushing motion to Lucia when she saw Tikki. She zipped her lip and watched as Tikki took a small bite of the cookie.

Lucia knew house fairies were real. One lived in her house and now she found one in Marinette's house. To her, it made perfect sense because the fairy loved sweets so she blessed the bakery with her magic. The food was yummy enough to be made with magic.

The older kids finished the outline for the project just as Adrien's phone rang. "Sorry guys, looks like I was booked for a last minute interview."

Lucia looked up from her tea party when she heard her brother's phone. She sighed when she heard he had an interview. She gathered up her toys and put the stuffed animal that held Tikki near a cabinet so she could phase out of the toy.

The Dupain-Chengs packed up the goodies that Lucia was using for her tea party and gave them to the Agreste children so they can have something to snack on for the interview.

Lucia hugged Marinette and Rose goodbye and followed her brother to their limo.

"I wish we didn't have to leave. I like Marinette's house," said Lucia.

"I wish we didn't have to leave either," replied Adrian.

Lucia was left backstage at the TV studio while her brother was getting prepped by the makeup artists for his interview.

Lucia didn't like being surrounded by so many strangers so she entertained herself by going through the clothes rack in the dressing room. She found a boa and wrapped it around her as she continued to explore.

"I am about to go on stage if you want to watch from the sidelines," said Adrien.

She shook her head and pointed at a floppy hat that was on a high shelf.

"Sorry, that's too high even for me to reach." He kissed the top of her head and told her he would be right back as soon as the interview was over.

Adrien regretted leaving Lucia alone in the dressing room. He considered leaving Plagg with her but knowing his luck, an akuma would appear and he wouldn't have his kwami with him. 

The interview went over fairly well. The questions weren't anything he hadn't answered in some sort of fashion before. The only curve ball that was thrown at him was when the interviewer asked about the little girl that had come in with him. Adrien answered truthfully that she was his little sister but said he would like to protect her privacy since she was so young. The interviewer was considerate and did not ask any more questions regarding Lucia.

When the interview was over, Adrien found his sister wearing the floppy hat, a boa, and oversize sunglasses. He took a quick photo before he announced his presence.

"How did you get the hat? Did someone get it down for you?"

"It's a secret! If I told you it wouldn't be a secret."

Adrien decided not to question her logic. She asked for a piggyback ride and there was no way he could say no to her big green eyes. He carried her to the car and let her play some games on his phone.

When they got home their father wasn't at dinner. Adrien was used to it by now but Lucia was not. She kept looking over to where their father would normally sit like he would magically appear.

Adrien was disheartened that their father didn't appear to make an effort to see them. He didn't even last a week to spend dinner time with them.

They spent that night in his room again.
As he watched her sleep, Adrien vowed that he would be the best big brother to Lucia to make up for their father. She deserved to know that she was loved.
For once he wished he didn't have to go to school so he could see her off to her first day tomorrow. Hopefully, she will have a good first day.