Chapter Text
“…Tikki.”
“Um… yes?”
“Did you—did you just summon a person into my room?”
Tikki peered up at Marinette, then shifted her gaze to the teenage boy sitting on Marinette’s floor, who was currently rubbing his head as if to alleviate a headache.
“W-well…” Tikki placed a paw to her chin thoughtfully. “If you mean summon as in brought him here, then no. I created him.”
Marinette threw her hands up. “THAT DOESN’T MAKE THIS BETTER.”
Just as Tikki went to respond, there was a knock at Marinette’s trapdoor, followed by a, “Marinette, is everything okay up there? We thought we heard a noise!”
Marinette’s face paled. She glanced at the male on the floor, then the trapdoor, then Tikki.
Tikki grinned sheepishly and shrugged.
Marinette knew that she had to calm down. She had to breathe. Freaking out wasn’t going to help her. She needed to think, and she started by inhaling deeply.
Then, there were footsteps; a sign that Tom and Sabine were actually coming upstairs.
In an instant, all of Marinette’s calm left her.
Just as she began to let out a consistent scream, she grabbed the male’s wrist, pulling him up from the floor and having him stand over by her mannequin. She turned, skipping steps as she ran up to her bed in a blind panic. As quickly as she could, she pulled off her blanket and descended back down the stairs.
Still mid-scream, she threw her blanket over the male’s head. Tikki finally caught on, flying over and gripping the top of the blanket to hold it in place. It just barely left her creation completely covered from the front.
Just then, the trapdoor opened, Marinette cutting her scream off with a squeak as Tom and Sabine poked their heads in.
“Is—” Tom looked around, bewildered and certainly having heard Marinette’s scream. “Is everything alright?”
“Um, yeah!” Marinette replied unconvincingly. “Just—this—” She glanced at the concealed boy next to her, then gestured to him. “This new outfit I’m working on!”
She internally screamed that she’d just drawn attention to the thing that she wasn’t trying to draw attention to.
“T-turns out that it’s a little sensitive to the light right now! I mean—I was so scared that it was going to get damaged, but I covered it up in time, see?”
Her parents stared blankly at her. Marinette’s cheeks were starting to hurt from her forced smile.
After what felt like forever, Tom and Sabine let out a relieved chuckle.
“Thank goodness,” Sabine said. “I thought something was wrong!”
“Me too!” Tom smiled. “Good to see that you’re working hard, Marinette! Do you want me to bring you anything later to help—”
“No!” Marinette interjected, waving her hands at him. Realizing her outburst, she cleared her throat and corrected, “I mean, no, I just—I need time to be… alone. Just me. Alone. With this outfit. Me and this outfit I made, together with no one—besides me—in this room.”
Tom and Sabine nodded obliviously, then gave a wave before heading back down the stairs. They then closed the trapdoor behind them, which shut with a satisfying ‘click.’
Marinette immediately felt her legs turn to jelly. She sank to the floor, letting out a heavy sigh as she laid down on her back. She didn’t know if she should be grateful or not that she was so frantic normally that her parents actually believed that.
At the very least, they were gone and seemed convinced in leaving her be, so that was something, she supposed.
Marinette idly looked up at the teenage boy, who was still covered by the blanket. “Tikki, you can let go now.”
“Oh!”
Tikki released the blanket, letting the fabric slip off the boy’s head and fall to the floor. The boy himself seemed unphased by the experience, though the blanket had ruffled his hair just slightly.
Marinette just now realized what she’d put him through. “Um—I’m sorry.”
He turned, eyeing her as she continued to lay tiredly on the floor.
She continued, “I didn’t mean to scare you… if that’s what I did, anyway. I-I mean, and even if I didn’t, I know that wasn’t really a great first impression.”
He didn’t respond at first, and Marinette vaguely wondered if Tikki had actually given this guy the ability to speak. How were they going to communicate then? Marinette could only guess that this was her responsibility now, so was she going to have to learn sign language? She made crazy hand gestures all the time, so what if she accidentally made a sign that told him to reveal her as Ladybug to everyone, and then—
The male gave her a smile, bending down and offering his hand to her. “Don’t worry about it, Marinette. It didn’t bother me at all.”
Marinette blinked. She stared at him, then to the hand he’d held out to her.
Slowly, she raised her hand and set it in his. His grip was firm, but gentle, and he steadily pulled her into a sitting position.
The first thing Marinette noticed was how warm he was. She didn’t know if it was natural body heat or if Tikki’s creation energy had something to do with it, but there was something inherently warm about him.
The second thing she noticed, following that, was that he was freaking cute.
“Music Note is outside the school,” Alya said, finger on her earpiece as she poked her head out of the school doors. Luka was there, idly waiting for Marinette as always. “I repeat; Music Note is outside the school.”
“Got it,” Nino replied through his own earpiece, even though he was standing on the opposite side of the school doors from Alya.
Adrien, also standing nearby, then chimed into his earpiece, “Where’s Polka Dot?”
Alya glanced up at the classroom door, seeing that Marinette had just exited. “She’s on the move. Initiate Operation: Lost Dot. Sunshine, Record Scratch, go!”
Adrien and Nino nodded, then separated, with Nino heading towards Luka and Adrien heading towards Marinette.
Adrien wore a friendly smile, Marinette stopping awkwardly in place as he stood in front of her. “Hey, Marinette!”
Marnette squeaked, fumbling for a moment due to being surprised. However, she was strangely composed as she managed, “Hi, Adrien!”
“You wanna go for a walk with me?” he asked immediately.
She raised a curious brow. “A… walk?”
“Yeah! Just… a walk around Paris!” Adrien explained, though now nervous as Marinette hadn’t agreed as quickly as Alya had said she would.
“Is that… allowed?” Marinette tilted her head, concerned. “Won’t your dad be mad if you’re just taking a walk somewhere?”
Absolutely, but this is for the sake of the mission! Adrien thought with courage. “It’s okay! I–uh–have a place I’m going anyway!”
“Um… I mean, I don’t see why not,” she said. Looking back at the school’s exit, she added, “Let me just tell Luka fi–”
Adrien flinched, then stepped in front of her gaze. “It’s fine! I already let him know!”
“Really?”
“Really!” he replied, moving quickly to wrap a reassuring arm around Marinette.
As he led her to the school doors, Nino had already engaged Luka in a conversation, Luka occasionally nodding at whatever Nino was saying. As Nino caught sight of Adrien, he subtly stepped around Luka, getting Luka to stare in the exact opposite direction of Adrien.
Steathfully, Adrien took Marinette forward, about to step down the stairs with her.
Luka straightened slightly, suddenly seemed more aware of his surroundings. Adrien stiffened and, in a panic, threw himself over the side of the stairway along with a very confused Marinette, both of them crashing onto the grassy ground below.
Alya bit her lower lip, looking out at Luka as he glanced briefly in her direction. She waved awkwardly, and Luka frowned before Nino gained his attention again.
Adrien pulled Marinette up from the ground, muttering an apology about “seeing a fly,” then took her off onto the sidewalk and away from Luka.
Alya watched the two go, then pulled out her phone to track Adrien’s location, courtesy of Adrien’s earpiece.
“So!” Nino said to Luka, a bit calmer now that Adrien and Marinette were out of sight. “You’ve been here a while, yeah? Have you remembered anything about your past yet?”
“Ah–” Luka smiled weakly. “No, not yet.”
Alya pouted, hissing into her earpiece, “Liar! He’s an alien! Either that, or he was kidnapped by aliens for a bunch of freaky experiments and then they erased his memory!” She paused, then pulled out her notepad and started scribbling. “Actually, that’s another solid possibility.”
As students continued walking out of the school, Alix approached and peeked over at Alya’s notes. “What are you doing?”
“Extraterrestrial research,” Alya answered without missing a beat.
Alix blinked, opening her mouth to say something but immediately closing it. Then, she simply walked away. “Cool.”
Alya couldn’t tell if that had been genuine or sarcastic, but her priorities were elsewhere anyway. As she looked back at Nino, she noticed how he seemed to be struggling to come up with more conversational topics. When he glanced at her for help, Alya simply showed him her phone, indicating that Adrien hadn’t gotten very far away yet.
“Uh.” Nino cleared his throat, then looked back at Luka. “So, what kind of music do you like?”
Luka hummed, gazing up at the sky as he tried to think. “…Passionate music.”
“Passionate?” Nino echoed. “Like, rock music?”
Luka shook his head, giving Nino a smile. “Music made by passionate people; people who love doing what they do.”
Alya clenched her teeth. Luka was smooth; too smooth.
Just as she went back to her notes, Alya glanced at her tracker to see that Adrien seemed to have stopped.
“Newshound to Sunshine, why aren’t you moving?” she asked into her earpiece.
Adrien replied in a hushed tone so as to not alert Marinette of their mission, “Cars passing by. Will move as soon as they’re gone.”
Meanwhile, Nino was still chatting with Luka. “Ah, gotcha. Sooo, what about your–” He flicked his gaze to Alya, then back to Luka. “–favorite hero?”
“Ladybug,” Luka answered immediately.
“Oh, wow,” Nino said, a little surprised at how quick Luka responded. “So, what do you–”
Something about their conversation must’ve reminded Luka of something, as he suddenly looked back at the double doors to the school.
Alya pretended not to notice him even despite the way she stiffened.
Luka stared for another few seconds, waiting, then looked in the direction that Adrien and Marinette had gone.
Nino gaped in disbelief. No way.
Alya’s mouth dropped open as well as Luka began walking in that direction. Nino looked up at her frantically, to which Alya could only gesture for Nino to stop Luka.
Nino chased after Luka. As he got in front of him, he walked backwards to face him. “So, Ladybug, huh? What do you like about her?”
“She’s amazing,” Luka answered, though no longer looking at Nino. He was staring straight ahead, like he was the man on a mission.
Alya put a hand to her earpiece. “Sunshine, go. Music Note’s on the move.”
She watched her tracker, hearing Adrien hurriedly ask Marinette about racing him. Marinette let out a surprised response, but the click of her flats followed, and Alya could see the tracking icon representing Adrien moving quickly across the map on her phone.
Luka straightened, then passed by Nino as he broke into a run. Nino called after him, giving chase, but Luka wasn’t listening.
“Oh, for the love of–” Alya put her things away, then hurried down the stairs and chased after Luka as well.
The problem was that Luka was fast, unnaturally so. He zipped across the sidewalk, and one look at the phone’s map told Alya that he was heading in the correct direction. No matter how many twists and turns Adrien seemed to take, Luka was somehow following, and it wasn’t long before Alya and Nino lost sight of him.
Alya mentally debated on sacrificing Adrien for the greater good, but decided better of it and spoke into her earpiece, “Sunshine, abort the mission. Music Note is gaining on you. We lost him.”
Adrien yelped. “Oh no. He’s going to break me.”
Alya watched her phone as Adrien’s tracking icon suddenly paused, and she could only presume that Adrien had ducked into an alley. Footsteps and Marinette’s voice soon followed, sounding out of breath as she asked Adrien what he was doing. Adrien frantically hushed her.
“Marinette!” Luka’s voice resounded, quite a distance away from Alya and Nino but just audible enough to hear.
“Luka?”
Even when they were still running, it took both Alya and Nino a bit of time to reach where Luka and Marinette were. The two were occupied with talking to each other, Luka even leaning close to Marinette to pluck a blade of grass from her hair. The brief distraction allowed Adrien to “subtly” slip out of the alley, joining Alya and Nino as if he’d come along with them.
Marinette smiled a bit, but hunched over, taking a moment to breathe. “Ugh, anyway, I’m mostly okay, just worn out. I might be able to make it back to the bakery if we walk though.”
“Are you sure?” Luka asked, his hands reaching towards Marinette but not touching her. “I could carry you.”
“No, you–” Marinette paused, clearly hesitating, but glanced at him anyway. “You would? It wouldn’t be a bother?”
Alya was so offended by the way Marinette’s eyes sparkled at his offer, along with the way Luka smiled at her and assured her that carrying her was never a bother. Alya had seen him do it multiple times, but she was stunned yet again by how Luka picked up Marinette so effortlessly and walked passed the three of them like they didn’t even exist.
Nino waited until the Luka and Marinette were completely gone, then glanced at Alya. “Please don’t break your phone.”
Snapped back to reality, Alya looked at Nino and Adrien, then threw her hands in the air. “THIS GUY!”
“Hey, sugarcube!”
Marinette initially jumped at the sudden voice, her first instinct being to chuck Tikki across the room and throw a blanket over Luka’s head.
Then, she realized who the voice belonged to, and also that she hadn’t had to hide Luka for a long time now.
“Hi, Plagg,” Tikki said, entirely unamused by his presence.
“H-hey, Plagg,” Marinette greeted as she froze in her chair, awkwardly raised on her knees with one arm towards Tikki and the other one towards the fabric on the table. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” Plagg claimed with a casual shrug. “Just thought I’d come and see Tikki’s new kid.”
“Plagg.” Tikki sighed and shook her head. “He’s not my kid.”
Marinette interjected, lowering her arms to the back of the chair. “But, Tikki, you sometimes call him your b—”
“Marinette!” Tikki hissed, sounding utterly betrayed. If her skin wasn’t already red, her embarrassment would’ve been obvious.
Plagg grinned, his tail swishing with amusement. “So? Aren’t you gonna introduce me then?”
“Ah, right!” Marinette said, scrambling to get off her chair. She walked over to Luka, then gestured to him politely. “Plagg, this is Luka… just Luka.”
“Hey, nothing wrong with a single word name.” Plagg laid back while he floated, as if sitting on a lawn chair. “That just makes it cool. I should know.”
Marinette smiled, then turned to Luka while gesturing to Plagg. “Luka, this is Plagg, Chat Noir’s kwami.”
Luka glanced at Marinette as she talked, then looked at Plagg with a polite smile. “Hey.”
“Hey to you too,” Plagg greeted, raising a paw. “Good kid y’got, Tikki, unfortunately.”
Tikki straightened on alert. “Don’t you dare try to defile him,” she warned. “I’ll never forgive you.”
“I wasn’t even thinking about it until you brought it up.”
“I do not believe that whatsoever.”
Plagg snorted.
Marinette looked between the two, then to Luka, slowly piecing something together. “Wait—” She pointed at Plagg. “How did you know that Tikki created Luka anyway?”
“It was obvious,” Plagg said casually. “Him showing up out of nowhere, no one coming to take him back with any proof, going with you whenever an akuma attacks…” He paused for dramatic effect. “Throwing that akuma over a building was probably the big giveaway though.”
Marinette blushed, immediately at Luka’s defense. “He was just trying to protect me.”
Luka, meanwhile, stiffened. “Does anyone else know?”
Plagg straightened, ears perked, then busted out into laughter. Luka blinked, utterly confused as to what was so funny.
Once Plagg had calmed himself down, he flew over to Luka and gave him a pat on the head. “See, that’s how I know you’re brand new.” He waved a paw dismissively. “Of course no one else knows! People are dumb!”
Marinette placed a thoughtful hand to her face, immediately reminded of her friends and their “efforts” to discover the “truth” about Luka. “Ah, that’s true…”
Plagg zipped in front of Marinette with a lazy smile. “And speaking of people, you got any cheesy goods for me?”
“Oh!” Marinette gasped. “That’s right, you flew all the way here!“
She raised a finger to instruct Plagg to wait, then hurried over to her trapdoor. Luka’s eyes kept watch of her until the trapdoor shut behind her.
Tikki, meanwhile, rolled her eyes, mumbling to herself about how things “always came back to cheese” with Plagg.
“…So, what happened?” Plagg asked, a noticeable shift in his voice.
Tikki raised a brow, then glanced over to him, seeing that the smile had left his face. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb with me, sugarcube. You don’t just make someone out of thin air for nothing.” He paused, adding thoughtfully, “I mean, that’d be hilarious, but you wouldn’t do it.”
“Ah…” Tikki fell silent, a look of shame passing over her face.
Plagg rolled his eyes, turning his attention to Luka. “So? What’d she make you for?”
Luka frowned, then lowered his gaze to the floor. “Marinette…”
Plagg’s ear twitched. “Hm? What about her?”
“She didn’t have anyone to support her,” Luka explained sadly. “Tikki didn’t have a choice, so she made me.”
“Luka!” Tikki whispered, trying to sound harsh and failing. She cleared her throat, adding sheepishly, “W-well, it’s taken care of now, so don’t worry about it.”
Plagg paused, then turned to Tikki with a smirk. “Of course it’s taken care of, now that I’m here! We’re a family now, sugarcube!”
“Wha—” Tikki’s face went blank as she realized what he was implying. “Plagg, absolutely n--”
Plagg scoffed. “We both know that you can’t handle a kid on your own! Heck, you made this kid because you couldn’t handle the kid you already had!”
If anyone else had said that, Tikki might’ve been hurt and shamed by the comment.
Since it was Plagg though, she just glared at him. “I can handle him just fi—”
Plagg ignored her, resting an elbow on Luka’s shoulder and leaning into him. “Look, Luka, me and Tikki? We’re the top tier miraculouses, so that means she has to share.”
“That’s not what that means at all—”
“And that makes both of us your parents, got it?” Plagg asked with a grin. “So you can just call me ‘Dad’.”
Tikki was about to make some very unsavory comments at him, but was interrupted by the trapdoor opening back up. Luka smiled as Marinette came back into the room, holding a small loaf of cheesy bread in her hands.
Plagg was already salivating.
“Will this d—” Marinette went to lift the bread up to show it off, only to see that it was no longer in her hand.
She turned, seeing Plagg taking a massive bite out of the bread itself. Immediately, he let out a happy hum, ears arching back in delight. He leaned back, doing a slow and lazy backflip in the air as he chewed.
“Do you like it?” Marinette asked with a knowing smile.
“‘Mazin’. Th’nks, ‘Nette,” Plagg said in the midst of eating the bread, though no one could tell if “Nette” was a genuine nickname or if the first half of Marinette’s name was suffocated by Plagg’s eating. “Y’ve definitely got my blessin’.”
“B-blessing?” Marinette blinked, confused. She glanced back at Luka, who looked just as puzzled as she did.
Plagg shoved the last piece of bread in his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, then sighed blissfully. After taking a minute to savor the taste in his mouth, he raised his head and put his paws on his hips. “Anyway, this was fun. Let’s do it again sometime!”
“Oh!” Marinette smiled, presuming that Plagg had to get back to his holder soon. “Okay. Bye, Plagg!”
Ignoring Tikki’s comments about “eating and running,” Plagg flew over to the window. Just before phasing through it, he stopped himself and looked back, as if he’d forgotten something.
With a wink, he exclaimed, “See you later, Luka!” before leaving through the window.
Luka raised a casual hand. “Bye, Dad.”
“LUKA, NO!” Tikki yelled in horror.