Sneak a Peek

Sometimes you have to break the rules

*Author's note*

Look at what you guys made me do!

It was supposed to be a one shot!

I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who left me reviews and kudos and for following me and my little fic! Oh my gosh! It's been months and I am still, to this day, getting email notifications about "so-and-so favorited Sneak a Peek" or "so-and-so left a review."

I seriously canNOT with you guys! Thank you so much for the love and support!

And most of all, thank you for giving me the drive to keep writing!

Xoxo,

Bunnie

Chapter 2

Marinette was perched uncomfortably on top of one of the school toilets, her feet drawn up and her face buried in her knees. She was thankful for the dimly lit room and the solitude of the small stall. The echoing drip-drip of a leaky sink almost had a hypnotizing effect on her as she fought to slow her frenzied thoughts.

Although Marinette had asked Tikki the night before if Adrien really was Chat Noir, the red Kwami had stubbornly refused to give away any information. She had explained to Marinette that The Code prevented her from revealing who the identities were, even if the Miraculous owners knew themselves.

"It could be a trick," she had explained. "Eons ago, a copy of an Owner told their Kwami that they knew who the other users were. That Kwami, deceived into believing it was their true Owner, unwittingly exposed the Owners of the other Miraculouses, resulting in a horrible tragedy! We can't let that happen again! So, The Code was created."

But here sat Marinette now, in full panic mode, on top of a gross public toilet.

She had seen his ring.

The ring.

Chat Noir's ring.

The disguised Black Cat Miraculous.

Subconsciously, Marinette tugged gently on her earlobe, toying with her own Miraculous.

Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder, close to her ear, making whispered conversations easy without being overheard.

"Calm down, Marinette." She soothed quietly, patting her hand. "It's not what you think."

"What do you mean, it's not what I think?" Marinette whispered back, frustration clear in her voice. "I thought you said you couldn't tell me if it was Adrien or not."

Tikki sighed, trying to remain patient with her friend. "No, I'm not," She said quietly. "I'm just trying to help you see reason."

Marinette didn't have a response to that. Reason? Sense? Logic? All of those qualities had flown out the window when she decided to break the stupid rules and peek at her partner's stupid shoes in that stupid container. She had tried all night to convince herself that anyone could have those shoes, they were Gabriel brand shoes after all. Those were a really popular style and brand, especially with teenagers. She was further relieved when, while walking to school that morning, she had seen several of her classmates with the exact same shoes. But the turning point was that ring. How could he have that ring?

"Listen, Marinette," Tikki urged, "What exactly makes you think Adrien is Chat Noir?"

"I already told you," Marinette whined, smushing her forehead into her knees petulantly. "First, I saw his shoes. They were Gabriel shoes and I know I've seen Adrien wear them before. Plus, we is obviously modeling them in those posters."

"Mmhmm…" Tikki said. "But practically everyone wears those exact sneakers."

Marinette groaned again, raising her head from her knees. "I know, Tikki! But what about his ring? You can't deny that was Chat's ring!"

Tikki shook her head sympathetically, "Marinette, I can't tell you whether it was or it wasn't."

"Yeah, yeah," she replied dejectedly. "The stupid Code. I know."

The two fell into silence again.

Tikki tried soothing Marinette by playing with her hair, braiding the strands into small plaits.

Marinette closed her eyes, enjoying the tiny intermittent tugs. She quietly hmm-ed to herself in thought, strumming her fingers against her crossed arms. To try and calm her frayed nerves, she pulled out her cell phone and began to lazily scroll through social media. It was clear Alya hadn't been paying attention in their class (the class that Marinette was supposed to be in) as her profile picture had changed and she had added a new folder, Moi et Mec, featuring photos of her and Nino. Marinette smiled at their goofy cuteness and began leaving the obligatory "best friend likes" on all of the photos.

"You skipped one," Tikki said pointedly, as she peeked at the phone from behind a curtain of braids.

"Wait," Marinette said softly. "Tikki, look at this!"

She tapped the screen and spread her fingers to zoom in on the image of Alya and Nino, his hand draped over her shoulder.

"Mmhmm," Tikki said confused. "They look happy…"

"No," Marinette said quickly, attempting to zoom in further. "Ugh, stupid phone won't zoom." She held the phone up to Tikki's face for a closer look. "Look at his hand!"

On the ring finger of his right hand was a shiny, silver ring, identical to the disguised Black Cat Miraculous.

Marinette's eyes widened in pointed confusion as she maintained eye contact with Tikki.

The red Kwami, however, looked nonplussed. "Yes, and?" she said simply, as she disappeared once again behind the forest of braids.

Marinette reached up to gently grab her friend, only to have her hair painfully tugged in response.

"Ouch!" she cried.

Tikki continued her ministrations on Marinette's hair. "Sorry," she said, only slightly concerned. "Let me finish your hair first!"

"But Tikki!" Marinette cried exasperated. "His ring! What about the ring?"

"It's just a knockoff," Tikki said cheerfully. "As a matter of fact, I bet Adrien's is a knockoff too."

"A knockoff?" Marinette responded incredulously, looking back at the offending photo.

She was aware of the themed merchandise, of course. She saw commercials for miniature Ladybug and Chat Noir action figures almost as much as she saw Adrien fragrance commercials. She saw clothing inspired by their costumes in several store windows and had even seen some disturbing lingerie.

'C'mon guys!' she had thought in embarrassment. 'I'm only fourteen!'

The longer she stared at the image of Nino and Alya, she began to remember a commercial that her friends had mentioned. It had been really goofy, apparently, featuring a city crowded with adults all wearing Miraculous inspired jewelry and randomly transforming to fight evil.

"A knockoff…" Marinette repeated under her breath, relief blossoming in her chest. "I think you're right, Tikki. It must be a knockoff!"

Tikki floated out from behind Marinette's now fully braided pigtails and rolled her eyes at her friend. Smiling, she said, "I told you! We all know Nino is a huge Chat Noir fan, so it makes sense he would have the ring."

Marinette nodded, following Tikki's logic. "Right," she said smiling. "And he probably got one for Adrien since they're best friends."

"Exactly!" the Kwami nodded happily. "It's actually kind of cute, when you think about it." She added bringing a paw to her chin thoughtfully. "It's like friendship rings."

Marinette giggled, feeling a lot better thanks to her friend. "Phew!" She sighed loudly, the sound echoing slightly in the empty bathroom. "Thanks, Tikki! I don't know what I was thinking."

Tikki and her laughed together for a minute.

"I mean, Adrien's Chat Noir?" Marinette giggled. "No way. Adrien's so sweet and quiet and funny. Chat's just... "

'What is Chat exactly?' she thought.

"Chat's just Chat," she finished with a shrug. "Yeah he's a great partner, but he's a giant goofball! Nothing like Adrien!"

Tikki smiled kindly. "I think you got your hopes up," she teased.

Marinette pretended to swat Tikki away. "Oh shush!" Although she couldn't stop her imagination from running wild with ideas of late night rendezvous with the gorgeous Adrien. She could pretend to lose her footing and he could catch her in his arms. They could sit atop the Eiffel Tower, swinging their feet in the breeze. They could go to school, spend time with friends, get lunch, all while slyly sharing their secret with only each other.

"Hmmm," she sighed again, a small smile playing on her lips. "If only," she said quietly.

Tikki laughed. "If he was Chat Noir, you wouldn't be able to hold a conversation long enough to fight an Akuma."

"Hah hah," Marinette said wryly. "Very funny!" She hugged her tiny friend and began to unweave her hair.

"Hey!" Tikki whined. "I thought it looked good like that."

"I know, Tikki. But I can't exactly go back to class with a new hairstyle." Marinette smirked. "I need to look like I'm sick, not trying new fashion trends."

Tikki giggled and the two of them began untangling Marinette's hair. Tikki continued to tease Marinette about Adrien as they worked. The red Kwami zipped into the small pink bag as Marinette made her way back to class, feeling a lot lighter than she had all day.

To be continued...

*End note*

Tikki… you sneaky sneaky Kwami…

Next up:
How's Adrien handling this new information? We last saw him shocked and confused by a flash of familiar pink shoes. Will Plagg be just as sly as Tikki or is he less likely to follow The Code?

Bunnie's Note:
I just want to say that I do not speak French at all (save for a few simple words). So I'll avoid trying to say anything remotely French in my fic. But for Alya's picture folder (Moi et Mec), I referenced this website: blog/french/french-slang-argot/

It lists popular French slang so I thought it wouldn't hurt to try something simple from there.

I hope you guys don't mind a few words every now and then and I'll try to remember to include a link to show where I got it from (and to pass off some of the blame if it's incorrect).

Please, don't forget to review! I'd love to hear what you think; the good, bad, and ugly!

°˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Xoxo,

Bunnie

P.S. I'm on Ao3 and Tumblr! (same username: BunniElyse)