Chapter Text
Plagg, out of all the kwamis, was quite simple. He liked only a few things, wasn’t too picky on where he slept, and the perfect way to win his favor was through his favorite cheese: Camembert. Or at least, he thought of himself as simple. Many of his past holders would often go to the guardians and complain about the lack of information from him — something the guardians would simply shrug off and respond with ‘One must only receive information from their kwamis, it is not our place to intervene.’
He liked that, almost as much as he hated most of his previous holders. They were selfish, or cruel, or vain, or anything that would oppose his spirit and his natural way of being. That being said, of course, Plagg did have quite a few holders (a handful really) that he had bonded pretty far with — and who had managed to bond with his Miraculous at that. A feat that was legendary amongst the guardians and holders alike. A holder that managed to bond with either Plagg or Tikki became one that would be remembered forever, just like Joan or Alexander.
But bonding was a difficult process, full of gross emotions and vulnerability that neither really enjoyed sharing. Plagg knew that Tikki enjoyed putting up a false positive facade in front of her holders; while he, instead, liked to put up a sarcastic front that only the most loving and caring of people could see through. A front that one Adrien Agreste had seen through months ago.
Plagg was going to tell him. He was! The boy had received a Kwagatama and had been wearing it for the past few months— he had even allowed Plagg to ask for better bedding and given him a small little hat. That said, when Plagg felt the bond of the Miraculous snap into place one night after defeating a really tough akuma, he knew that he probably should have mentioned it way before Adrien had reached this point. But then again, Plagg liked picking on the boy and causing chaos, it was his nature after all, and so he was simply going to wait until Adrien started asking questions. Besides, Tikki had even told him that she didn’t want to tell her chosen yet in fear of losing the girl — a ridiculous, utterly ridiculous thought—and if Tikki hadn’t told her chosen, he wasn’t about to tell Adrien.
Poor Adrien, on the other hand, was about to experience a whole new side of the Miraculous, and what magic really feels like when one accepts it fully. How fun .
It was 5 am on a peaceful Monday morning when the first trait broke through the Miraculous barrier and settled itself within Adrien’s soul.
It was 7 am on that very same Monday when Adrien woke up, stretched and began kneading his comforter. And about five minutes later, Plagg looked over and snickered at his actions.
“What, Plagg?” Adrien asked curiously, giving out a big yawn as his hands still worked on the comforter.
“Oh, nothing, nothing. Just, uh, be careful not to fall asleep today in class, kid. I know how tired you must be.” Plagg grinned widely as Adrien finally stopped his motion and began to get ready for the day.
“Oooookay.”
“No, trust me kid, you really want to be careful today. Just let me know if you knead something.” Puns, Plagg decided to himself, were much more fun when his chosen had no idea that they were being used.
“Alright Plagg, you don’t have to worry about that.” And with that, Adrien was ready and walked down the stairs to breakfast.
Breakfast was, thankfully, quiet. Nathalie didn’t even show up through it to remind him of his very, very busy schedule. Maybe she felt guilty for all the work he had coming up for the new Fall line. Or maybe she was really busy trying to convince Gabriel that “No, you don’t need to akumatize a baby for the 50th time.”
But Adrien didn’t need to know that. No, all he needed was to focus on staying awake and not collapsing into a dreamless nap, a cat-nap one might say.
With twenty minutes spent not collapsing into his breakfast, and ten minutes stumbling into the car, Adrien was finally on his way to school. And unlike how school days normally are—this day was going to be interesting. Well, as interesting as following a boy suffering from lack of sleep and magical side-effects would be, that is.
Adrien wasn't as clueless as Plagg may have thought. He knew the minute the kwami emphasized the word ‘need’ in his sentence that something was going to happen at school. The only issue? He had no idea what Plagg had planned on doing, and the kwami of chaos and destruction surprisingly liked to keep his plans to himself. So of course, of course, when he finally got to school—greeted Nino, Alya and Marinette (who was actually on time for once!)—he couldn’t pay attention. At all.
During class—the time when all students find themselves struggling to stay awake—Adrien fights to keep his head up and his attention to the front, especially when the sun starts to shine through the window. As it reaches further and further into the classroom Adrien fights even more to not succumb to his exhaustion and the peaceful rays of his new number one enemy.
“Alright class, let’s take a ten minute break before we start a new subject.” Ms. Bustier says cheerfully and almost everyone groans in relief.
Adrien, having already endured sunbeams and teenage tiredness, pulls off his jacket, folds it up and lays his head down to take a quick power nap. Nino, in all his wisdom, decides not to bother Adrien and turns around to talk with Alya about the latest update to Super Penguino. As they do this, the rest of the class also begins to talk amongst themselves and allow Adrien a few moments of calm.
All except Marinette, having been drawing in her sketchbook ever since Ms. Bustier had left, looking up to examine the world around her for some inspiration. Her eyes land on the sleeping boy in front of her—and for a moment she’s a little shocked that he had taken off his jacket. Mainly because he never does, even in the summer!
She scans him then, and sees a slight shiver traveling along his shoulders.
‘Oh, he must be freezing!’ Marinette thinks to herself, and smiles slightly. ‘I’ll lend him my jacket, that should help.’
Her jacket falls gently on his shoulders—the girl having taken it off while she was thinking about it. Adrien responds then, relaxing even more, and Marinette finds herself happy at helping the boy.
If she had been listening closely, or was in Nino’s spot, Marinette would have heard a gentle rumbling echoing from Adrien’s chest—which caused his shoulders to shake. Instead, no one really heard it, well no one except Plagg of course. He was chuckling softly in the bag and was excited to brag to Tikki about how far his chosen and he/the Miraculous had bonded already.
A few minutes pass, and Ms. Bustier walks into the room and claps her hands together. Nino turns from his conversation with Alya at that, and gently shakes Adrien awake.
The blonde boy grumbles softly and rubs his face into his jacket in an attempt to avoid having to wake up. His best friend tries again, with a soft “Wake up, dude. C’mon, Ms. Bustier is about to start”
Another soft grumble and Adrien lifts his head slowly, grabbing the jacket from around his shoulders and gripping it in his hands. A squeak from behind him goes ignored as his hands start to move back and forth in a kneading motion. Nino coughs a bit, and Adrien fully wakes up.
“Wuh, huh? Nino did I miss anything?” He looks over to his best friend, still kneading at the jacket in his hands.
“No dude, but, uh, what are you doing?”
“I’m— shoot, uh stretching?” Adrien answers quickly, pushing the jacket out of his reach.
It takes a while for his brain to register that the jacket he had in his hands is not, in fact, his own. When he does, he turns quickly in his chair, a blush decorating his face.
“Uh, sorry Marinette, thanks for handing me your jacket. Here you go!” He turns back swiftly, and directs his attention to Ms. Bustier.
Alya leans over to Marinette, a questioning look on her face. “What was that?”
“I have no clue.”
She smiles at her friend, noticing the faint blush on her cheeks. “Did you find that cute?”
“Oh heck yeah.” Marinette whispers back, clutching her jacket to her chest, the pink in her cheeks intensifying.
Thankfully for Adrien, the rest of the day goes by normally. He struggles still to stay awake, but finds himself grateful that both Chloe and Lila were out sick. Who knows how they would react to him messing with Marinette’s jacket.
It isn’t until he arrives home when he finds himself experiencing another issue—suddenly itching behind his right ear. The itching grows around his head and down his body, and he quickly rushes to his room to ask his kwami about it. He has a feeling that Plagg may know the exact explanation.
As the door slams, Adrien throws his bag down on the ground and begins his quest to stop the itching.
"PLAGG!” Adrien calls out to him while scratching himself. “What is happening to me?"
Plagg snickered before quickly moving out of Adrien's reach. "Seems like you and the Miraculous have finally bonded."
A stunned silence—and then a confused look befalls Adrien’s face. Plagg sighs and hovers closer to his face.
"Look kid, I don't know how to really say this, but well, to put it simply… you may start to notice some, uh, cat-like tendencies occurring outside of the suit." Plagg flies farther away from Adrien at that, a contemplative look on his face.
Another long period of silence and then a quiet, almost imperceivable, "Huh?"
Plagg waves a dismissive paw at his confusion and smiles at him. "It won't be too bad. A purr here, a bit of hissing there, nothing too bad."
Adrien breathes a sigh of relief before noticing Plagg's widening smile. He feels his stomach begin to drop as the kwami opens his mouth to speak.
"Nah, as long as you don't have another fully bonded Miraculous user, the traits will stay mild. If there is another one, however…oh wait." With that, the kwami flies off in retreat, with Adrien hot on his tail.
"Plagg, what does that mean? PLAGG GET BACK HERE! PLAGG, WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE'S ANOTHER USER? PLAGG!"