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Viperion nodded along, listening to Ladybug’s elaborate plan using his second chance to find out Chat Noir’s identity she promised with little risk. It seemed unnecessary, seeing as he already knew it, but more relevant, he was already looking for an opportunity to let the other hero know that he knew, “I can ask him directly if you’d like-- it would be way less dangerous--”
Ladybug shook her head, “No, he won’t tell anyone else,” she justified, as if it actually mattered if Chat Noir said anything, “It should be simple enough--” she shrugged, pulling out her yo-yo, ready to call the other hero. Ideally, Luka wanted to tell Ladybug that he knew she was Marinette, allowing them to get closer, but with this new ultimatum, that he had to admit, he did consider, it seemed inevitable. To tell her was a direct benefit for himself, which didn’t seem fitting for this time. He sighed, loud enough to pull her attention up, “What, is there something wrong?”
How could he say this without revealing everyone’s identities in the process, “I don’t want to have to witness you having to go through finding it out just to have you forgetting it again.”
“Do you really think I’ll have a bad reaction? It’s just Chat Noir--”
Yes, yes, yes of course she would. The past weeks alone knowing the information was driving him insane, and the idea of having to watch Marinette realize the boy she was constantly pushing away was the same boy she was trying so desperately to get close to was just a little too much for him. He knew it was bound to happen eventually, but to witness it as few times as possible was preferable. “No, that’s not it--” this didn’t feel right, essentially tricking him into revealing it, even if he wasn’t going to remember.
Ladybug waited a moment for him to continue before holding the yo-yo to her ear, “Hey, Chat Noir-- no don’t worry-- I need you to meet me on the top of the Eiffel Tower in five minutes, we need to talk--” she hung up to look back at Viperion, “Alright--” she smiled, adjusting the earbud, as she turned towards the ladder, “So I’ll let you know once I get up there so we can sync our clocks together--”
He hesitated before grabbing her wrist, immediately getting her to stop, looking back at him, “Ladybug, please. I understand a lot of your plans seem a bit complicated in the moment, and I’ve learned to trust them, to trust you, but for this, I need you to trust me.”
She turned to face him, “What are you proposing? He’s already on his way--”
“You don’t need to be involved at all. It’s an unnecessary risk for all of us, for you ,” especially knowing how off the tracks she would go around Adrien, to witness this terrible square of attraction she’d been in for the past year. “It’s unnecessary to keep him in the dark about this too, and I know you don’t think he’ll tell me, but I really think he might. I need to try at least. Please trust me.”
Ladybug pressed her lips together, “Chat Noir really only listens to me-- last time I wasn’t there for a fight it really upset him--” he offered a slight smile, causing her to sigh, “Okay-- yeah, fine, sure-- but if it doesn’t work out you need to tell me so we can figure out another way for him to find out--”
Viperion nodded, holding his hand to his chest, “Ladybug, I promise. I’m just thinking of the simplest way to go about this.”
She hesitated, nodding slowly as she pulled out her yo-yo again to text the other, “I hope you can pull this off-- you should go now to meet him--” she smiled before quickly explaining where and when to meet her to return his miraculous and then meet up with Master Su-Han to convey the information he discovered.
Climbing the tower was easy enough, finding their typical meeting point towards the top, sighing as he looked around, “Sass, scales rest,” Luka said, bracing his hands on the railing to look out over the city as his kwami appeared next to him, “You think I’m crazy for this idea too, don’t you?”
His kwami nodded, “Using second chance in such a way does definitely have its risks-- but if I may ask-- if you already know Chat Noir’s identity, why not just tell Master Su-Han directly?”
Luka shrugged, leaning over to look directly down the tower, “I can’t let Ladybug know I lied to her about knowing their identities, and just offering that information would be a dead give-away.” He hated the situation he found himself in, not just stuck between star-crossed lovers and being the only person to see the issues in their entirety, but because there was not a single person he could tell. Now knowing potential danger in the future was likely, based on what Ladybug had mentioned, it made him all the more cautious to not let Marinette figure him out.
Of the two, Adrien definitely needed someone more than she did. Luka couldn’t deny he noticed the blond’s definitely less than optimistic approach the past few weeks, not even allowed to band rehearsals the past month due to his father’s tight control. He liked to think he knew Adrien pretty well, having been in the same band and pretty good friends in general, as well as the non-stop admiration from Marinette, but connecting him to his hero identity easily taught him the most.
“Oh, m’lady--” he heard Chat Noir’s sing-songy voice before he landed on the railing, nearly freezing when he saw the other, “Luka, what-- I was told to meet Ladybug--” he glance around as he jumped down, eyes widening when he looked back at him, “Are you--”
It took a moment before Luka realized what he was actually implying, “Oh-- no, no, no-- Chat, no, I’m not Ladybug. I’d look a bit more like me when transformed--”
“Yeah, no, of course you’re not--” he mumbled, quickly looking away, his cheeks definitely flushed under his mask. Did he actually consider-- he didn’t even seem offended by the idea-- “Did she call you here too?” he asked, pulling out his staff to read the message she’d sent, nodding, “Oh-- okay.”
He nodded, “I’m here for her, last minute change in plans,” he shrugged, “Sorry to disappoint--”
Chat smiled, leaning against the railing next to him, “No, no, not a disappointment in the slightest-- I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you,” this was a surprise, was he already planning on telling him? “So what’s up?”
“Well since we were unable to reach you all day, and therefore called on more heroes than necessary, Master Su-Han came and told Ladybug she needs to know who you are, but she can’t know due to safety precautions. She came up with this plan with second chance and having you tell her and then I hear to go back and then tell him,” Chat nodded, following along, “She wanted you to tell her and I would hear through an earpiece,” he tapped his ear, “Then I’d use second chance, you’d both forget, and I’d tell Master Su-Han, then continue on our own ways, but it felt like a way to trick you, even if you wouldn’t remember,” he paused, looking over at him, “I wanted to tell you the truth.”
The other hero hesitated before laughing, “Well, that is your thing, isn’t it?”
Luka smiled, looking back over the city. It was his thing, “Yeah, I could see that.”
He nodded, hopping onto the railing to join him, “I really-- thanks,” he shook his head, “I feel like there’s so much going on with Ladybug and all the other heroes that I’m just not allowed to know about. I get that with Ladybug as the Guardian, it’s different, but I just didn’t realize how different it would be,” he looked back at him, waiting for him to continue.
“Did you want to tell me something?”
Chat Noir inhaled sharply, as if not expecting the attention to swing back to him as he sat up, “Oh yeah-- this wasn’t entirely the way I was planning on doing this, but better now than never--” he bit his lip as he tapped his claws against the metal, “I spent a long time thinking about who to tell, and each line of logic led to you. I wanted to tell you I’m Chat Noir, but you can clearly see that-- so I guess I’m now telling you that you already know me? I’m the reason you have the snake miraculous,” he said quietly, barely glancing at him, waiting to see if he pieced it together, “Which was why I couldn’t be Aspik and Chat Noir at the same time-- I’m Adrien Agreste,” Luka smiled, looking back over the city, “Oh no, what?”
“You painting me as a truthful person is really something else,” he exhaled slowly before glancing back at him, “Because the next part is when I tell you I already knew who you are.”
His mouth opened slightly, and Luka could easily pinpoint the various stages of confusion and straight up denial before he shook his head, “No, you didn’t,” he couldn’t look away, the city of lights reflecting in his nearly glowing eyes, “ How .”
“Back when we were fighting Wishmaker-- one of the second chances you got hit--” he nodded, following along, “And in turn, Shadowmoth also found out, so we had to try again. I wanted to tell you, but I don’t know-- might’ve been a slight denial for a bit.”
Chat exhaled slowly, “So I guess it’s out there,” he paused, looking down at his hands as Luka watched him, knowing he was definitely going to ask something else, “What-- what was my dream?”
“Oh,” he pressed his lips together, he wasn’t planning on telling him, but he couldn’t really see how it would benefit him in any way, “It doesn’t matter.”
“Luka, please--” Chat turned towards him, his hand reaching over to rest on his knee, his cat ears dropping, “I don’t know who I am or what I want, and maybe my childhood dream could provide just the smallest bit of guidance?” he offered a smile as Luka just watched him, “I get Shadowmoth couldn’t find out, but-- since you saw anyway, you’ve gotta remember what it was-- it was something silly right? I just can’t remember--”
Exhaling, he spoke quietly, “It was whatever your parents wanted you to be.”
He stared at him a moment before laughing, “No, come on, scales--”
“I know you’re asking because you want an answer. Adrien, I saw how upset you were at the Expo. I saw how defeated you were fighting Wishmaker. I saw how willing you were to give up just for the slightest bit of help to figure out who you are. But I promise that’s exactly what happened-- you transformed into yourself and announced that.”
The hero hesitated, “I...don’t have a childhood dream…” he mumbled, thinking hard, “That’s pretty messed up. I just thought I forgot and deep down there was something ,” he sighed, “Figures.”
Luka knew this was just the tip of the iceberg of Adrien’s problems, “It doesn’t matter what you wanted to be. My dad wanted to be a crocodile, and ended up as a rock star--” this got a slight smile from the other, shaking his head, “I understand how that could provide some kind of guidance, especially if you feel so lost in the sea of possibilities, but you’ve still got a beautiful and powerful melody playing inside of you that means so much more than any type of childhood fantasy--” he leaned closer, pressing his hand against his chest, startling the other as he watched him, “It seems like everything is overwhelming and happening all at once, but it’s really not,” Luka watched him a moment before smiling, slowly pulling his hand back, “I wanted to tell you so you can have someone to talk to.”
The hero studied him a moment before dropping his gaze, “Plagg, claws in,” he mumbled, sitting up as he transformed back, his kwami appearing beside him as he glanced at him, smiling nervously, “Yep, it’s me--”
Luka exhaled a laugh, placing his hand on his shoulder, “You’re really doing a fantastic job, Adrien. You absolutely don’t hear it enough--” he said quietly before the blond looked at him, “It’s fine to be overwhelmed and lost, but I am more than willing to help be there for you in whatever way you need.”
“Can I just...get some stuff out?” Luka nodded encouragingly, dropping his hand to give him the space as he sighed, as if debating where to begin, “I don’t know who I am. I don’t even feel like me as Adrien because I’m constantly worried about disappointing my father and letting him down because he holds me to such a high standard. Like, I’m scared of his reactions,” he said softly, shaking his head as tears filled his eyes, “Even at school there was the idea that since I was Chloe’s friend that made me automatically bad, so I thought being Chat Noir was when I was really happy, but Kagami said I was just being goofy and that wasn’t the real me-- so maybe I’m a mix of them? But maybe I’m none of them?” He looked over at him, his cheeks wet, “How do you have it all together? How do you already know who you are? When am I going to figure it all out?”
Definitely not planning on assisting an identity crisis, he shrugged, tapping his fingers together, “There’s really no rush,” he offered as the blond wiped his face, looking quickly down at their feet, “It seems scary, absolutely, but there’s nothing wrong with wandering aimlessly. All great songs start off as vague ideas and all instruments start off as completely unrecognizable material,” he watched him shake his head, “It’s okay to still be in the hypothetical stage.”
Adrien sighed, tears still falling as he ran his hands through his hair, “Everything was so good and everything has been changing-- I was so happy at first getting to help people and spend time with Ladybug and be whoever I wanted without the expectations of anything--” his hand went to his mouth, holding back a sob, “I can’t even give up on the slightest bit of hope I have that Ladybug might actually love me back one day--”
To say Adrien was dealing with a lot was a bit of an understatement. He was dealing with so much, and entirely alone through it all. Luka couldn’t fathom how much longer he would’ve been able to hold it all in had he not reached out now.
He reached over to take his other hand as he continued looking down, tears dripping onto his lap, staining his jeans, “It was supposed to be me and her-- just the two of us against the world, but fight after fight it’s just been her calling other heroes, and I’m just-- I’m not even used sometimes-- her being Guardian wasn’t supposed to change things between us, but she’s so much more important and I’m just...so easily replaceable.”
Luka would’ve admitted weeks ago he definitely had a soft spot for the cat, but upon connecting his identity, it evolved into so much more. The praise he spent hours hearing Marinette spew had painted this picture of the blond that didn’t line up with what he’d experienced, and the connection to his hero identity helped him see Adrien Agreste for the person he really was. Luka had nothing short of absolute admiration for him.
“I’m sorry--” Adrien sniffled, shaking his head, “I don’t know where all this came from--”
He smiled softly, shifting closer to the other, “You’ve been alone with your secrets and pain for so long, it only makes sense. I was surprised you didn’t tell anyone sooner, it’s honestly amazing you’ve kept to yourself for so long,” he adjusted his hand to interlace their fingers, “I was so used to hearing your melody muffled by expectations and sadness that I didn’t even consider the melody was the same one in front of me this whole time,” he said, squeezing his hand in reassurance, “I promise you you’re not replaceable, Adrien.”
The blond scoffed, “Ladybug has definitely proven that I am.”
“Now you know that’s not true,” he shook his head, clearly not believing his claim, “At the very least, it’s been proven she needs at least nine other heroes to fully replace you, and that’s just not worth it--”
It took Adrien a moment before laughing, nudging his shoulder against his, “Thanks--”
“You want to know how we stopped the akuma today? Since we didn’t have your cataclysm, I had to use second chance to try to figure out the four digit pin,” he looked at him, fascinated by the idea, “I started at 0000 and thankfully it was only 0099 but imagine if it was like 8920 or something-- I would’ve spent weeks having to keep guessing--”
“Hey, when I used the snake miraculous I did use it 25,914 times and still managed to fail, so even that was more successful than I was--” he joked, Luka beyond thankful to see him smiling again as he wiped his face of his remaining tears, “But thanks, I knew I could trust you.”
Luka nodded, watching him stare back. Adrien Agreste was one of the most fascinating people he’d come to know and to want to know better. To pretend to be so many people and be so unsure of his true self lured Luka to him like a siren song, connecting him to Chat Noir quickly shifting his vague admiration to absolute awe, desperate to learn more. The blond smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners, making Luka laugh under his breath, beyond thankful his tears had dried. Neither of them were willing to look away first, as if both were equally fascinated by the other.
Adrien eventually cleared his throat, letting go of his hand, “Well, I should get going-- I’m supposed to be showering right now--” he said quickly, swinging his legs back over to stand up as he joined him. There was no way he didn’t feel at least a bit of what Luka just did.
“Adrien, Chat Noir, whenever, however, I’ll always be here for you,” he smiled, pulling him into a hug, the blond reciprocating without hesitation, “You don’t have to do it all alone anymore.”
“You’re the first person who’s really seen and heard me--” he mumbled, muffled against his arm as Luka hugged him the slightest bit tighter, “How do you know me so well?”
“I just listened to your melody,” he said quietly, feeling the other pull back. Luka watched him in their close proximity, his eyes wide as he stared back, definitely, if anything, leaning the slightest bit closer. There was something specifically so fascinating about the other, something he always knew was there, but had only recently begun appreciating. To enjoy and bask in his melody entirely interrupted. A slight smile flickered across Adrien’s lips and the next thing he knew they were pressed against his, the briefest of kisses before just barely pulling back, almost unsure of his next move. Luka could feel his breath against his until he pulled back, as if suddenly realizing what he did.
“Oh-- I’m sorry--” he said, panicked as his hand quickly covered his mouth, “You and Marinette-- I’m sorry-- I don’t know-- you were just here and my brain turned off for a moment--” Luka couldn’t care less about his reasoning, taking his face in his hands to kiss him again, his lips so soft and as sweet as he expected, feeling the blond nearly melt under his touch, his hands reaching for him to keep him close.
They both pulled back, watching each other, almost in disbelief they just experienced the same thing, Luka dropping his hands as he hesitantly offering a smile, “But yeah-- the Liberty is always open if you want to just hang out-- invitation for you as Chat Noir or Adrien, no need to use rehearsal as an excuse--” Adrien laughed under his breath, nodding, “And I hope you’re able to make it to rehearsal this week-- it’s been pretty lonely without you, plus the keys really balance out the sound--”
Adrien smiled as he continued to nod, “Yeah, don’t fret , I’ll be there--” he joked, stepping back to transform, “Plagg, claws out--” he smiled as he transformed, his cat ears easily giving away his general enjoyment of the situation as he tilted his head, “Thank you. For telling the truth, and then trusting me, and--” he hesitated, as if speaking their action aloud would somehow make it more real, “Thanks for listening, really-- we should maybe talk about-- later of course--”
“Oh, yeah--” he smiled softly, “Of course-- don’t worry about it. I’d do it again.”
He laughed, “Reassuring. Catch you later--” he waved, jumping off the tower, leaving him alone.
Luka sighed, his hand going to his lips in disbelief, he wasn’t one to just kiss people on a whim, but something felt so different with Adrien. He noticed Sass appeared beside him, not even looking at his holder, “Yeah, I know-- I didn’t want to complicate it and not use second chance, and I managed to complicate it worse than I even thought possible.”
“On the contrary, you’ve provided him with someone to turn to. Someone safe he can trust,” his kwami reassured, “He was already trusting you enough to tell you his identity, and now you’re both on the same page. You telling him was the best thing you could’ve done in the long run,” Sass hesitated as Luka sighed again, running his hands through his hair, “Seems like you’re also providing a distraction from Ladybug--”
“Not quite what I was aiming for,” he shook his head, checking the time as Sass shrugged, “Well, we’ve still got time to kill. Could I interest you in some music making?” Luka offered, earning an amused affirmation. Although far from what Luka initially planned, he couldn’t deny his absolute admiration for the other ever since discovering his identity, making his joking crush on Chat Noir from the previous year a genuine possibility. He couldn’t even pretend to regret kissing him either; he’d arguably do it again if presented the option. He knew he shouldn’t get between Marinette and Adrien, it was bad news to try to change the inevitable, but he did it for him, and, who was he kidding, of course he would do it again.
It was reassuring to know with their new connection, Adrien could actually vocalize his issues and work through the things upsetting him. At least with this, Luka would be able to make sure he didn’t have to suffer alone, to help him endure whatever misfortunes the future held.