(Sorry this took so long, I don't even have a fun story to go with an excuse for not getting the update done sooner. Just block combined with this taking a slightly different turn from my plan complicated things and mentally I just wasn't ready to deal with that. But hey, you're here for Lukadrien, not for me, so I'll hush, and you'll (maybe) enjoy.)
Passing Papers - Chapter 7.
A Lukadrien fanfic by InfamamousAmooogle.
If it weren't for being pulled aside by a stern-faced Ladybug giving him the snake miraculous during today's akuma attack, Luka probably would've stayed staring blankly at the note from Adrien that Chat had delivered - how does Adrien even have Chat Noir in his contacts? Is that a rich person thing, because Luka certainly wasn't aware of that - but that only left a new burden on his plate.
That day was very strange, to say the least.
It started with witnessing what would be later dubbed by Ladyblog users as "the most intense Ladynoir argument to date", but from the perspective of Luka's hero alter-ego they were both just stressed out and lacking proper communication. Goes to show how reliable even the most reputable news sources can be when they only have an outsider's perspective.
Also he could have sworn Chat Noir kept looking at him during the mission, and that's without second chance taken into consideration.
There's no way Chat knew his identity, right? Because he gathered from the argument he was forced to endure overhearing, that the superhero duo took their secret identities very seriously, and the fact Luka had only received the snake from Ladybug instead of the both of them suggested that it extended into the temporary heroes too.
"Just please tell me your little romance stunt didn't give away your identity", Ladybug practically yelled upon landing in a nearby alleyway once the akuma was dealt with.
Luka could've sworn he saw Chat subtly recoil, "of course not! I know how important this is, and we promised, didn't we? If I hadn't made it clear enough yet, you're the first person I'd want to know my identity anyway!"
Ladybug's voice lowered in dynamic enough for Luka's and probably Chat's ears to hear, "maybe so, Chaton, but how can you guarantee you didn't give it away?"
"Oh please, I'm careful! Don't you trust me?"
"I'm just worried about your safety! Can you blame me?! In case you forgot the stakes we're fighting on a day to day basis, the slightest mistake or afterthought could have consequences bigger than us! You can't expect me to not be at least a little bit over-worried!"
"That doesn't mean you can go around pretending I don't know how to look after myself or look over my shoulder like I have no sense!"
"That's not what I said!"
The "intense fight" only turned Chat more nervous and Ladybug more stressed, until eventually after going in circles she snapped at Luka to just keep his miraculous.
Luka pretends he and Chat Noir didn't meet each other's concerned gaze at that moment, and pretends he wasn't hit by a tidal wave of familiarity. He pretends a certain blond his age didn't cross his mind either. Both the blonds Luka were acting very strangely, and wondered how he'd heard nobody else pick up on that.
He has decided it's perhaps a good idea to take his mind off the too-strong sense of familiarity in Chat Noir's eyes by dealing with the blond matter at hand.
Taking the blue letter from the bedside table drawer he'd stuffed it in when Ladybug arrived, Luka's eyes drifted across the paper, trying not to let his internal monologue read it in Adrien's voice, knowing full well that would turn his critical thinking to mush.
Despite all the grief and hurt Adrien had unintentionally caused him recently, Luka can't help but smile seeing his name in the boy's handwriting at the bottom of the page. It's close to hearing it leave his lips, he thinks, but there won't be anything quite like it. His face becomes unreadable as he makes his way across the page, not being too sure how to feel about the situation. Yet he can't help but pause near the end as his eyes land on… perhaps a confession of some sorts.
"I'd love to talk soon
And for the record, you're the kind one, and I look up to you a lot."
"He so doesn't hate me", Luka muses with pursed lips, "that's good to know."
He sets the note aside, fully aware of the awakened warmth in his chest. Not to get too optimistic, of course; Luka tries to remind himself that Adrien is, after all, the most good-natured person in all of Paris so it only makes sense he'd be kind to everyone. But that doesn't mean he can't be given the benefit of the doubt - right? Why wouldn't he be sincere in his words? Is Adrien anything but sincere? Surely it can't all be a publicity act? Before Luka allows himself to get lost in that thought process, he forces any thoughts of Adrien aside, trying to quell the throbbing in his chest by trying to unpick Chat Noir's very strange behaviour that day.
But it hasn't just been this day. No
Chat Noir's behaviour shifted when Luka made things awkward with Adrien, and while the two events shouldn't be at all related, they do seem that way; Obvious facts like that Luka would be foolish to ignore. Foolish he is not.
Luka knows a superhero's identity is none of his business, but natural curiosity couldn't help but be piqued by pairing Chat's odd behaviour and pairing it with Adrien's questionable decision-making of late.
Sass, who has been watching Luka silently ever since they returned home, finally speaks up as they notice Luka's lip begin to bleed.
"Ssomething troubling you, Luka? If it's about the Guardian's decission for you to keep me by your side, the decision may have been sudden, but she is senssible. That's why she'ss the Guardian. .. Unless it's something else that'ss the matter?"
Luka ducks his head to avoid Sass's too-knowing stare as he grabs a notepad.
"No, it's not that, but it was strange too. It's nothing major, so you don't have to worry, there are just people in my life acting a little … strange."
"If you ssay, but remember, even close friends need their secrets. The burden of having the snake's power is knowing too much, you have that in your life, so be careful where you dig; Knowledge has consequences too, not just actions."
Luka gives an acknowledging nod as he makes a timeline of every strange event since his confession, listing any connections he finds and what they could mean trying not to hang too much onto the memories that still sting. The answer Luka was hoping not to find stared him in the face; Adrien and Chat Noir's actions related far too much to be coincidental. That means there are two plausible meanings behind this, either they're close friends who confide in eachother, or the alternative.
Could they be one in the same?
The possibilities swirl in his head, connections he shouldn't be making, tempting him with their forbidden nature.
He'd originally been bitter at the thought Adrien had been so cowardly as to delegate his apologies to someone else, a superhero no less, and perhaps even after this possible revelation he still is.
He can't lie though, it made a lot of things make a lot more sense.
