This is a late submission for ForeverDaydreamer for the lovebugs-and-snakecharmers secret admirer exchange. I was asked to pinch-hit, and I'm glad I could get this one out for her.
The prompt was Jealous Chat Noir/Protective Viperion where Luka KNOWS.
Marinette and Adrien were standing just outside the doors of their school discussing getting together for their history group project when Juleka and Rose exited the door behind them. Juleka nudged Marinette as she passed, and Marinette glanced up. She followed Juleka's gaze to the bottom of the stairs, and her whole face lit up. After a hasty goodbye to Adrien and a promise to text some dates that worked, she turned and galloped down the stairs, practically throwing herself at Luka.
He laughed as he caught her, brushing her hair back from her forehead and dropping a soft kiss there. Something odd bubbled inside of Adrien. He didn't understand the feeling. He liked Luka and didn't think the older boy had the capacity to harm anyone, but he felt the need to protect Marinette from him. He shrugged his shoulders as he saw his bodyguard pull up in front of the school to take him to Chinese lessons.
Completely oblivious to her friend's internal debate, Marinette slipped her hand into Luka's, smiling up at him, as they headed towards the Liberty. Marinette was happy. While she and Luka had been getting closer over the past few months, they'd only been dating for a few weeks, and she loved just getting to spend time with him. Even if it was just hanging out and doing homework together.
Marinette was curled up on Luka's bed, reading a novel for her French Literature class, while Luka sat, idly running his fingers through her hair as he went over notes for his chemistry test later that week. They had music playing in the background because they wouldn't be them without some kind of music. The day was peaceful and the late afternoon sun streaming through the portholes had a soporific effect on Marinette, especially combined with Luka's rhythmic stroking of her hair.
The screams that shattered the stillness of the afternoon had Marinette jolting upright, scattering Luka's notes and dropping her book on the ground. Eyes round she stared at Luka, her mind racing to find an excuse to leave. Rose and Juleka ran down from the deck, plastering themselves to the portholes facing the shore. Luka walked to join them, turning his back on Marinette, keeping the others' attention focused outside of the room.
Marinette took advantage of the distraction and slipped from the room, racing from the boat to transform in a nearby alley. Ladybug swung to a higher vantage point to observe the situation. It was then that she saw the streets littered with shimmering pillars of light.
She saw the white blast a couple of blocks over, and the couple who had been trying to escape became twin sparkling pillars. She saw a dark shape detach from the shadows behind where the akuma was, and she made her way to rendezvous with Chat Noir.
"Hello there Bugaboo, you are looking lovely today."
Sighing Ladybug rolled her eyes at her partner. "Don't call me Bugaboo. What have we got?"
Chat filled her in on what he had seen, and Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm. When a green rubber snake dropped into her hand she looked around but nothing jumped out at her. Chat took one look at it and sighed. "Viperion? Again?"
Ladybug shrugged. Her Lucky Charm HAD been suggesting Viperion quite a bit recently, and she wasn't sure if that was because of how useful Second Chance was, or because Tikki was biased towards Luka. "Maybe we should talk later about making him a more permanent member."
Chat nodded and told her to go, silently stewing over the fact that his partner was turning to someone else for help. He shook his head. Maybe this was why he didn't like seeing Luka with Marinette, he was unsettled by how much Ladybug was relying on Viperion.
He shook off his funk when he saw the pair approaching. Ladybug was racing towards him with Viperion hot on her heels. He gave them a quick update and the three of them went after the akuma. It only took one reset of the timeline, and the akuma was defeated.
The three separated to recharge their kwamis, then met up on a prearranged rooftop. When Chat arrived, he just stared at the way Ladybug was looking at Viperion. Viperion had his hand on her shoulder, almost unconsciously, and they were deep in conversation.
On silent feet, Chat slipped towards them, casually draping an arm across Ladybug's shoulders. A microscopic shake of her head and Ladybug stepped away from both boys, her expression turning professional.
"Chat Noir, Viperion, I asked you to meet me because I wanted to talk to you guys about something. Five times in the past three weeks, Lucky Charm has led me to recruit Viperion. I feel that it wouldn't be too big of a leap to allow him to keep the miraculous full time. At least for now."
She paused and looked between the young men standing by her side. "I've talked with Tikki, and she agrees with me, but what do you think?"
Even though she'd mentioned it before, seeing how cozy they looked just now, Chat flinched back. "What about you and me against the world, Milady?"
Viperion gave Chat a cautious look, but Ladybug sighed. "More and more often we need extra hands. Viperion has capable ones. His power is incredibly useful, and he's good in a fight, but the way that he thinks… calm, logical, and just a step out of sync with the rest of us." She glanced at Viperion's face, and hurriedly rambled on, fully facing Viperion. "Not in a bad way. That's not what I mean, just that you see things the rest of us don't, you understand things that we don't."
Viperion smiled at her, flushed and rambling as she was, and then glanced at Chat, who's smile appeared extremely strained. "I am always here for you, Ladybug. Whatever the two of you need." His smile swept from Ladybug to include Chat Noir as well. "You guys are partners, and I don't want to mess up your dynamic, but if it makes your lives easier, then I would be happy to join you."
Ladybug smiled warmly at Viperion, and he offered her a gentle smile in return, then turned to Chat, quietly waiting for his answer. Other than not wanting to share Ladybug with anyone, Chat couldn't think of a single reason why Viperion shouldn't join them, and a whole list of reasons that he should, he nodded, reluctantly. "I agree, Viperion, you are a valuable member of the team."
The smile Ladybug turned on the pair of them was radiant. She looked almost giddy as she clapped her hands, and Chat smiled back at her until he noticed the soft look that Viperion was giving her, too. "Well, Milady, it looks like we have another person to split patrols with. Shall we switch off who we go out with, or all three together?"
Looking at him, thoughtfully, Ladybug tilted her head, her eyes scanning the pair of them. "I think at least the first patrol should be the three of us. If people spot us, they'll know that nobody is hurt, sick or incapacitated in any way, and after that, we can pair up in different ways for patrol."
Both boys nodded at her logic. "So, normal time tomorrow?" Ladybug nodded and turned to Viperion. "The rooftop of the LaPierre Building opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral. 10 pm."
Once they were all in agreement, they split off in their opposite directions. When Luka arrived back at the Liberty, Marinette was sitting on his bed, talking with Juleka and Rose. Juleka shot him a questioning look, but he just shook his head at her, taking a seat next to Marinette on the bed.
Marinette idly traced her fingers over his hands and wrists as they talked, her fingers coming back to trace the new silver band around his wrist. He smiled down at her, and nuzzling her hair, he whispered words for her alone. "Thank you for trusting me."
Her eyes snapped to his, wide and blue. His finger traced a mask around her eyes and then tapped her earring, not speaking, and not breaking eye contact. She saw the knowledge deep in his eyes and sighed. "Of course I trust you."
She leaned over, kissing him tenderly. When Marinette pulled back, her eyes fluttered open to meet his. "How…?"
"You can't hide your heart, Marinette. Your soul sings the same tune no matter what you wear."
Sighing, Marinette leaned back in to kiss Luka, and they melted into each other.
The next night, Chat was the first to arrive on the rooftop, one he had decorated for a long-ago date to which Ladybug had never arrived. Viperion arrived not long after, offering a half-smile and a hand on Chat's shoulder. "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. You guys are true heroes, and anything I can do to help I will."
Soon they heard a familiar zip, and Ladybug landed on the roof next to them. She offered a bright smile to both boys that softened slightly as she looked at Viperion. He smiled in response, while Chat stepped forward to kiss her hand. Viperion's smile tightened, but he didn't say anything as Ladybug pulled her hand back, and suggested they start patrol. As the three of them prowled the city, swapping stories and catching Viperion up to speed on how they made their presence known, Chat couldn't help but notice the little looks that Ladybug kept throwing Viperion's way.
He tried to ignore them, thinking that she was offering encouragement to their newest full-time teammate, but when he said something too softly for even Chat's sensitive hearing to pick up, and Ladybug blushed, he felt jealousy seething in his belly.
As they wrapped up patrol, Ladybug suggested a schedule. They keep their regular three patrols a week, but pair off differently each time, so one patrol would be the normal Chat and Bug team, one she would pair off with Viperion, and the third would have Chat and Viperion out together. The boys quickly agreed that this sounded logical, and the three went their separate ways.
The next several patrols went smoothly, and Adrien's life settled into a comfortable rhythm. He wasn't a fan of the way Ladybug would glance at Viperion, but knowing that Luka was happily dating Marinette, it didn't bother him too much. He vaguely wondered if Luka was the oblivious 'other boy' that Ladybug loved.
He shrugged it off, along with the weird feeling that he got whenever he saw Luka and Marinette together. Adrien had never seen his friend happier, and she had no trouble talking with him now. Smiling, he half turned in his seat, catching a glimpse of Marinette's profile as she talked animatedly with Alya.
That evening, he was watching the sunset from his window, when he saw a familiar pair of figures running across the rooftops a few blocks away. He hadn't heard any screaming, and they didn't appear to be hurrying off anywhere, but it was still early for patrol, so he called on his transformation, and followed them out into the evening.
His sensitive ears picked up Ladybug's laughter, and Viperion's soft chuckle, although he couldn't make out any words. They were stopped on a roof near where the three of them had met up that first day Viperion got to keep his miraculous, and Chat stealthily approached, staying low on the slightly higher roof of the building next door, guilt twisting in his gut for eavesdropping, but at the same time he couldn't pull himself away.
Ladybug had one hand on Viperion's bicep, and he was smiling down at her, tucking her hair behind her ear in a gesture that was entirely too intimate for partners. He crept closer, keeping to the shadows as he observed them, drawn in, unable to turn away, although part of him desperately wished to be anywhere else. Ladybug was saying something to Viperion, laughing and brushing the hair off his face in a gesture much the same as Viperion's of a few moments earlier.
Unable to hear their conversation over the blood pounding in his head, Chat stepped out of the shadows and cleared his throat. Immediately protective, Viperion stepped in front of Ladybug, tucking her completely behind him, even as she put out her hands to soothe any ruffled temperments.
Chat's gaze bounced back and forth between Viperion and Ladybug, where she'd taken a step out from behind Viperion, and now looked guiltily at her partner. It settled on Viperion with a look of distaste, yet Viperion met his gaze, unashamed.
Turning towards Ladybug, Chat tried to reason with her. "I'm sorry. I didn't intentionally follow you. I saw you out running early, and I was afraid it was an akuma. I wasn't trying to intrude, but there is something I need to tell you." He broke off to shoot a look at Viperion. "He has a girlfriend."
Viperion ducked his head, and Ladybug blushed but continued to meet Chat's eyes. "I know, Chat." She said softly.
Chat shook his head. "No, I mean, I know who he is under the mask."
"So do I, Chat. I gave him the miraculous."
"Milady, you don't understand. He's dating a good friend of mine. I don't want to see either of you hurt."
"A good friend of…" She broke off and stared, wide-eyed at Viperion for a moment, before looking back at Chat.
"Her name." He ground out, as he looked at the stunned face of Ladybug, and the carefully blank face of Viperion. "Is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's one of the kindest people I've ever met, and I'm sorry, but I can't let you hurt her." He glared at Viperion, taken aback when the older boy started to chuckle softly and shake his head.
Ladybug turned her body towards him and placed her hand on his chest. After a long look at her, Viperion asked, "Are you sure?" She nodded and turned back towards Chat Noir.
"Thank you Chat." She smiled at the boy as he frowned at her, unsure of what exactly was happening. It means a lot that you would watch out for me like this." She hesitated and took a deep breath. "Both sides of me."
Chat looked stunned for a minute, and then looked closely at Ladybug. All he could see was the face of his friend Marinette staring back at him. The girl he'd spent almost a year brushing aside was, in fact, the girl he was brushing her aside for. As he stared, he saw Ladybug slip her hand into Viperion's, and smile sweetly up at him, before turning back to face Chat.
"This wasn't how I intended to tell you or cause you any grief. I found out that Viperion knew, had known, in fact, long before I offered him a miraculous the first time. I've doubled the burden on you, now, having to keep the secret of both my identity and yours. I'm sorry." Chat just stood there staring at her, in shock as Ladybug gave him a brief hug before swinging off into the now-dark evening.
Adrien stood on the steps of the school talking to Marinette as she waited for Luka to arrive. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Thank you for trusting me last night." At her puzzled look, he added, "I will always look out for all of you."
Her eyes grew round, realizing what he'd just admitted to her, the unspoken words 'Chat Noir' hanging in the air between them. She hugged him fiercely, before touching his cheek, and smiling up at him. "Thank you. Partners?"
He nodded, a sad smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "You and me against the world."
Marinette waved and headed down the stairs towards Luka, who met Adrien's gaze and gave him an enigmatic smile. His arm slid around Marinette's shoulders, as she slipped hers around his waist, popping up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
Adrien watched them go, finally understanding the feeling that had been coiling in his belly as he watched them. He was glad that his partner had found someone that made her truly happy, he just wished it could have been him.