This chapter is a little long. It's got some angst, some fluff, and of course, comedy.
There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot be fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life. In love, no one can harm anyone else; we are each responsible for our own feelings and cannot blame someone else for what we feel. It hurt when Lucy lost each of the various men she fell in love with. Now, though, she is convinced that no one loses anyone because no one owns anyone. That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.
Lucy sat watching Marinette interact with Luka next to Alya, Alix, and Mylene. They, along with a handful of others had come to Juleka and Luka's houseboat while Kitty Selection practiced some tunes.
"I get a feeling Marinette likes Luka a lot." Alix points out. Alya smirks
"At least she can have a normal conversation with him without getting all blahblah blahblah blahblah blahblah!" Jokes Alya.
Mylene gave a soft smile and a knowing look. "I guess you mean not like when she's with Adrien."
"And at least Luka gets to go out whenever he wants." Alix comments, earning a small nod from the girls.
Alya sends a careful glance at Lucy who is softly smiling at the pair across the room. She bites her lip and her knee begins to bounce lightly at the build-in desire she was having to ask Lucy about her own love life. After Marinette had come to them about how Adrien had confessed having feelings for Lucy, the girls had decided to keep an eye out to see if there was any hint of Lucy reciprocating those feelings, or if there had been any change in Lucy and Adrien's relationship. So far everything has remained normal.
Lucy seemed otherwise oblivious to the information Marinette and the other girls had. The only person they had been worried might spill the beans was Marinette. Lying wasn't her strong suit, regardless of if everyone let her lame excuses slide. At first that had been difficult for the pigtailed girl.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Lucy asked as she glanced upward from the library table to find Marinette watching her with curious eyes. Marinette jumped slightly at being caught and was nudged in the side by Alya who gave her a 'cool it' look.
"Oh! I uh, sorry I just...was spacing out...!" Marinette explained, earning a raised eyebrow from Lucy.
"It's okay. Happens to the best of us. Thinking about anything in particular?"
"You," Marinette said honestly before she was able to catch herself. "I mean Adrien! You and Adrien-uh, I mean- Adrien and you together! Not together-together! Because you're so close!"
Lucy's arched brow cast downwards as did her lip.
"Marinette...is there something you want to talk about?" Marinette gave a nervous smile and waved her hands around quickly in dismissal.
"No! No, I just..." She sighed, gathering herself. Lucy watched her carefully, waiting for her to continue her thought process. "It's so easy for you to talk to Adrien. It's easy for everyone really...I just wish I had that ability." Lucy let out a small sigh of her own and reached out, placing her hand on top of Marinette's across the table.
"Darlin, you can't talk to Adrien because you overrate his existence. You're so worried about making a fool of yourself in front of him that your words get jumbled, but do you want to know a secret?" Lucy asked, earning a small nod from Marinette. Lucy gave her a soft smile.
"He's just a guy." She told her simply. "He's just a guy and he already thinks you're great. I would know because as you have mentioned I actually do talk to him. He's told me on more than one occasion what a good friend you are, and I know-" Lucy continues, seeing the pout on Marinette's face at the term 'friend'. "I know, you're like ohh but no, I want to be more than a friend, boo hoo." She said, balling her fists and bringing them to her eyes before putting them down and leering at Marinette.
"But you need to set that aside for a moment. Open your eyes to the reality that you are an important person in his life. That means something. And what it means is that even though it may not be the exact way you want yet, Adrien sees you Marinette. You don't need to try so hard."
Easier said than done of course. Marinette seemed to find some comfort in Lucy's words, and after that didn't seem to slip up anymore about the secret she was carrying. However, it didn't cure Marinette's inability to talk to Adrien though. Lucy's phone chiming distracted Alya from her thoughts. She watched Lucy check her phone, giving it a soft smile before she got up from her spot on the couch and headed up the stairs behind them.
OoOoOoOo
Above deck, Lucy jogged her way to the bridge connecting the boathouse to the mainland. She brought her hand up waved at the boy with sandy blonde hair that approached the boat after getting off his bike.
"Shiver me timbers and welcome aboard matey!" She shouted. Jacob soluted her from the sidewalk and Lucy took a moment to take in his attire. Most days when they conversed was when she stopped by for Adrien's fencing practices, and thus Jacob was always dressed in his fencing gear. Today he wore a loose dark blue button-up shirt that was rolled up to his elbows and tucked into his tan khaki tan pants that came to just below his knees and dark brown ankle boots.
"You know, you kinda look like someone who would work on a pirate ship," Lucy told him to which Jacob smiled.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment."
"It is one."
Adrien and Kagami pulled up as Jacob made his way across the bridge meeting Lucy. Kagami raised an eyebrow as Adrien waved off his driver/ bodyguard.
"What is Evans doing here?" She asked, gaining Adrien's attention. His eyebrows knitted together as he watched the two interact. Lucy seemed to notice him and Kagami below and a look of surprise crossed her features but was quickly replaced with a welcoming smile as she waved at them causing Jacob to turn around and give a small wave as well.
OoOoOoOoO
Below deck, Alya and the others were still watching Luka and Marinette with pleased expressions. All of them hoping that perhaps Marinette would let herself be open to the idea of a new potential love interest. Lucy and Jacob made their way down with Adrien and Kagami not far behind.
"They're so cute together," Mylene commented to which Alix and Alya agreed.
"So true."
"Sure are."
"Omg, like totally." A male voice spoke in his best female impersonation. The girls all turned their heads to see Lucy standing beside a tall, tan boy with a rugged haircut. She swatted his arm with the back of her hand and rolled her eyes.
"Ladies and gents, I present to you, Jacob Evans." Jacob then gave a small 'hey' and went over to shake each of their hands before taking a seat on the couch. "Also," Lucy added. "You'll never guess who strolled up right behind him." She hitched her thumb backward and the girls gasped at the sight of Adrien and Kagami.
"Adrien! Kagami!" Alya said in surprise.
"Your father left you out?!" Alix questions.
"We're officially at fencing practice right now," Adrien explains but then looks to Kagami. "But - Oh, no, Kagami. Isn't this the wrong address?"
Kagami smiled mischievously "Oh, dear, I think you're right." Making the two laugh.
"Wait you guys do practice outside of the school?" Jacob asked to which Kagami sent him a superior look.
"That's what it takes when your parents expect you to be the best of the best at every activity they put you in."
Jacob made a face that showed he clearly found the idea unappealing. "Yeah...you clearly share that sentiment considering you skipped out on your practice to be here."
Kagami gave an eye roll and Adrien waved toward Marinette and Luka. Marinette quickly pulled away from Luka, who had been showing her some strings on the guitar, and grabbed a tray of juice, bringing it to the newest arrivals.
"Hi, Adrien. It's cool you couldn't come alone. Oh-I mean, you came with someone. Heh, Hey Kagamoo- Ah, Kamoogi- Uh Kagami...
"Nice to see you too, Marinette." Kagami greeted without missing a beat. "Have you come to watch your boyfriend rehearse?"
Though Luka was unfazed by Kagami's comment, almost everyone else seemed to grow tense at it. Lucy raised her eyebrows and puckered her lips while Jacob looked around the room and let out a whistle.
"I'm new here, and have no idea what is going on but MAN did it get awkward in here. Wow! Somebody catch me up." Lucy patted his knee and before Marinette could answer the sound of shouting came from above causing the teens all to make their way up top. Above deck
"I will NOT be your second choice!"
"But you've always been my muse, please!"
"You know, Kagami might be one to something." Alya teased Marinette as they followed the others.
"Luka? You know he's just a friend." Marinette tells her to which Lucy shakes her head beside Jacob behind them.
"Umhm, that's why you hesitated."
OoOoOoOo
Above deck, Juleka and Luka's mother stood arguing with none other than Jagged Stone who sat at a piano on top of his tour bus.
"You know perfectly well you were my first choice. You're the only one, Nanarky." Jagged argued. Juleka and Luka looked at one another in confusion over the nickname.
"Nanarky?"
"You can't fool me, pirate." Anarka shot back. "I bet you threw your guitarist overboard again!"
"No, I swear, I didn't. She sailed away from me, she left me in the lurch. Look how perfect we were together. Come back and play with me, Nanarky." He told her while blowing a small kiss at her.
"Jagged and our mom?" The siblings said in sync. Anarka's eyes softened a little at the man as if her mind had taken her back to better days before her gaze drifted to her children and she remembered why she had left the band in the first place.
"We're not co-captains anymore. I sail alone now, skipper." She said, turning her back on the rock star.
Jacob leaned toward Lucy, making her look at him. "It's like American TV, yeah?"
Adrien frowned as he watched the way Jacob and Lucy whispered to one another. Was it not a few days ago that she had openly told Chat she loved him? Was he that easy for her to replace? He was doing it again. Jumping to conclusions. But he had seen the pair interacting on and off for the past couple of weeks. She hadn't mentioned anything about it, but Adrien couldn't help but take note of how close Jacob would stand near her when he wasn't fencing. The fact that Lucy seemed unbothered by his closeness only irritated him more. He had been worried about Luka, though now it seems the blue-haired boy had his sights on Marinette, Adrien felt that fear begin to ease. Lucy's ex, he only heard about on occasion, and when she brought him up it was usually to share something annoying that he had done. Now, there was Jacob.
The guy had a rugged look to him. From the haircut to the piercings, to the mischievous look in his eye. Adrien hardly spoke to the guy, but when he and Lucy started to talk more, Adrien did make a mental note to size him up. Rather it was in conversation or in a match, Jacob held overall nonchalant confidence. At first, it had reminded Adrien of Nikolas. Another boy who Adrien had limited interaction with thus could only go off the small amount of time he had spent with him. Flirtatious, laid back, confident. Both these boys seemed to share these traits. Adrien had wondered what she saw in the two knuckleheads until he realized that those traits also reminded him of...well...Chat. Perhaps Lucy had a type after all?
Perhaps that was the problem he found himself in. In the back of Adrien's mind, he always figured, if Lucy could fall in love with Chat, then getting her to fall in love with Adrien would be easy peasy. She had said so herself that anyone who loved him as Chat would have to essentially love Adrien too. But what neither of them took into account was the fact that Adrien and Chat's overall personality was very different. Lucy had admitted to him a while back that he reminded her of Chat in the sense that their core was very similar, but what if the core wasn't enough? What if Lucy was attracted to rugged, flirty, confident, funny guys?
What the hell was he supposed to do then?
He couldn't act as he did as Chat for a number of reasons. People would take note of it, not just Lucy, and even if she by some chance was the only one, she would definitely question it. A part of Adrien thinks he wouldn't care. He hoped she would one day just put the pieces together. He hadn't seen her get confused lately. With that being said, maybe she had completely let go of the thought of him and Chat being one and the same. Adrien was sure every broken heart has screamed at one time or another: Why can't you see who I truly am? The answer, at least in his case was simple. Because he couldn't let her see.
Adrien was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost missed Marinette trying to convince Jagged Stone that he would make a good lead guitarist.
" I'm sure you know Adrien Agreste. He's the cutest - uh - the greatest model - I mean, musician in the world!"
Lucy and the others shook their heads at Marinette. Scratching the back of his neck, the blonde boy gave Marinette an awkward smile.
"Actually, I'm more of a pianist."
Jagged squinted at the teens and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, okay, you sure? How 'bout that young dude with the awesome T-shirt? Don't you think he's better equipped for the job?"
"Of course! You're right, Jagged!" Marinette shouted, giving the others a bit of hope. "Luka can let Adrien borrow his guitar, can't you, Luka?"
Jacob leans into Lucy once more. "Wait, I'm confused. Isn't Luka the guitarist in the band we were here to listen to?" Lucy crossed her arms and watched Marinette in mild annoyance. "Yes. Yes, he is."
Luka being the kind soul that he is and took off his guitar and handed it to Adrien. "If you like, Marinette..." Luka looks to Adrien and gives a small smile. "Put it to good use, Adrien."
Adrien looks past Luka to Lucy who is shaking her head at the scene. Maybe this could be an opportunity to let out his inner cool guy. Look out, it's Adrien Agreste, the bad boy guitarist for Jagged Stone. " I'll do my best. Thanks."
Suddenly. but perhaps not so surprisingly, an angry female voice rang out. She looks like a skeleton from a Día de Los Muertos festival with light gray skin, violetish black hair that half covers right eye and face which is also tied into a low ponytail, black eyeshadow, deep blue-violet lipstick, and two black musical notes shaped eyebrows and two more musical notes that are on both sides of her cheeks and hands. Her nose is painted with very dark cornflower blue skin paint, and her eyes have dark purple sclerae, moderate amber irises, and small, round black pupils. She wears a black Traje/Mariachi jacket with pointed shoulders and gold bones details on the chuffs, underneath a yellow t-shirt with swan-necked collar and a logo that is a white circle with black outline and a musical note on the top, and 3 black bones on the right, left and bottom on her chest and neck. She also wears black pants with gold long bone designs on side of the legs, and gold high heel shoes that are connected to them as well as a black star-shaped guitar case on her back.
"So you fire me, and now you want to replace me with what? A school-kid?" She shouts, referring to Adrien. Jagged stone looks up in surprise.
"Vivica? Is that you?"
"There ain't no more Vivica!" The villain shouted. "There's only Desperada now." She says, pulling out a trumpet from her magical guitar case. "If I can't be your guitarist anymore, I'm gonna make sure NOBODY can!"
"Well that's a bit dramatic," Jacob muttered to which Lucy replied. "It always is."
"Ah-hah! You ship rat!" Anarka pointed to Jagged stone accusingly. "I knew you were lying. Vivica didn't leave you. You dropped her just like you would drop me before-"
"What? You were thinking of replacing me with HER?" Desperada interrupts, earning a groan from Jagged stone.
"Hey! I'm a much better guitarist than you, and I was his first choice." Anarka said smugly. Lucy winced. Maybe now wasn't the time.
"In that case, you'll be my first choice too!" Desperada told Anarak while aiming her trumpet gun at her. Desperada fired at Anarka, making the woman disappear and turn into a sticker on the back of her guitar case. Kagami, never one to back down from a fight ran for a nearby mic stand and attempted to strike Desperada, but the musical villain was faster and quickly turned Kagami into a sticker as well.
"A dumb plan, and yet" Jacob spoke. He held up his balled fist. "Respect."
"Time to go!" Lucy said, grabbing the boy by the arm and dashing. Around them, others also tried to make a run for it, but most were caught by Desperada's quick shots. Looking around there only seemed to be one way out. "Sink or swim!" Lucy shouted at Jacob before diving off the edge of the ship and into the water below.
"Cannonball!" Jacob shouted before following quickly after Lucy who was already swimming away. The two got out of the water and quickly bolted away, seeing Ladybug begin to fight Desperada. As they made it to a walled area. Lucy practically slammed into Luka who quickly caught her in his arms before she could fall over.
"Lucy! Are you alright?" Luka asked, getting a nod from the blonde girl.
"You're soaked," Adrien observed aloud, making Jacob smirk.
"That's what he said." Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes playfully before swatting Jacob on the arm.
"Shut up." She told him. Adrien's eyes shifted between the two and his lips twitch, fighting off a frown.
"Where is Chat Noir?" Luka asked, watching Ladybug fight Desperada.
"He might not make it in time," Adrien spoke.
"Ye have little faith Adrien," Lucy told him. "Being fashionably late is part of Chat Noirs charm." To that, he smiled.
"Then we must help Ladybug in the meanwhile," Luka announced, asking for his guitar back from Adrien, who graciously handed it over. Luka gets out from behind the wall and plays his guitar, a soft melody reaches Desperada who glares in his direction.
"Another new guitarist?!" She grabs two small trumpet guns out of her case, firing at Ladybug and Luka at the same time but Ladybug gains the upper hand, wrapping her yo-yo around Desperada and tossing her to a nearby bridge before then using her yo-yo to destroy the said bridge, buying them all time to escape. Ladybug lead them all into the sewer and after running down a few yards down, stopped to both scold and thank Luka for trying to distract Desperada.
"You can count on us whenever you need help," Luka told Ladybug, strumming his guitar. The group smiled at him and Jacob nodded in approval.
"Alright, have it your way, I'm gay for you now." Luka raised his eyebrows at Jacob while Adrien and Ladybug's jaws dropped slightly at his words. Lucy slapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter while using her other one to grip Jacob's shirt and shake him slightly.
"Staaapppp," Lucy said, her voice gargled like some kind of Smeagol/ Yazma impression.
Jacob grinned and shrugged while raising his hands.
"Hey, I don't make the rules. Besides, you gotta admit, this." he said making a triangular motion between himself, Luka, and Lucy. "could be something magical. I can feel it. I know you can too, let's explore it."
Adrien couldn't believe what he was hearing. He of course knew bisexual people existed, but had yet to actually meet one who spoke so openly about it. Not that he thought anyone should have to hide their sexuality, but he supposed it just wasn't a topic that came up around him much. He had also heard of people who were into polyamorous relationships but he definitely had never met someone who openly admitted to being into that either. He eyed Lucy, trying to gauge her reaction. Attempting to see if that was something she would even consider. Before too much thought could be put into it though, Luka spoke up.
"Flattered. But my heart only beats for one and that's Marinette."
Although no eyes were on her, Ladybug flushed under her mask at Luka's open affection.
Jacob squinted at Luka. "You mean the pigtails girl who detached herself from you like you had the plague when Blondie over here," He said jerking his thumb at Adrien. "And his ninja girlfriend Kagami strolled in?" Jacob grimaced slightly while turning away from him. "Okay, if it makes you happy."
Cat got your tongue? Leave a message?
The three teens turned their attention to Ladybug who had attempted to contact Chat Noir, ignoring the initial irritation she felt towards Jacob at that moment, with no luck. Summoning her lucky charm, a gong presented itself, confusing everyone but Ladybug. She then asked for Luka's guitar and told them all to hide, making everyone runoff. The group found a locker room, probably intended for city workers who maintenance things down there, and quickly rushed inside.
"I think it will be a little tight for more than one person to be in a locker, so we should all have our own," Adrien suggested. Jacob opened a locker and pulled Lucy by the hand inside with him.
"I don't mind the squeeze." He spoke suggestively. Lucy's eyes widened, an embarrassed laugh leaving her lips.
"Jacob!"
"Shhh," He told her, placing a finger to her lips. "We're hiding." With that, he reached out and slammed the locker shut on the both of them making Adrien glare at the locker door. A hand on his shoulder gained Adrien's attention, seeing Luka giving him an understanding look.
"There isn't time." Adrien sighed and nodded, opening a locker for Luka, gesturing for him to get inside. Luka got in and offered Adrien a small assuring smile. "See you later." Closing Luka's locker, Adrien moved to another one across the room and opened it.
"You're exhausting."
"You haven't seen anything yet."
Adrien's eyebrow twitched as he slammed the locker he was pretending to hide in a little harder than he probably intended before slipping out the door and back into the main sewer line. Once out there, Plagg made his appearance.
"Well, she sure moved on fast." Plagg poked with a smirk while meeting Adrien's annoyed eyes. "How about a little nap while we wait for Ladybug to come back?"
"No, it's time for Chat Noir to make his entrance."
After transforming, Chat went to find Ladybug, only for her to come crashing on top of him as he went climbing up the ladder.
"We must stop running into each other like this, M'lady." Chat joke, getting up from the ground. "Let's take care of this guitarist and her seriously bad music. Uh, you lookin' for something, M'lady?" He asks, seeing Ladybug on the ground frantically searching for something. Ladybug then gives a sigh of relief as she presents a miraculous box to Chat Noir.
"Phew, yeah. I need to find Adrien Agreste." She told him, causing the Catlike hero to look at her in surprise.
"You want to give him a miraculous?"
"You're not supposed to know, but, yeah!" Ladybug confirmed. "He's the perfect guy for this mission." Chat hesitated for a moment before giving Ladybug a confident smile.
"You know, you can trust me and my incredible nose. If Adrien is down here, I'll find him for you." Chat quickly lead Ladybug around the corner to the locker room he and the others had gone to hide in, going to the locker Adrien was supposed to have been hiding in.
"Your incredible nose failed you this time." Ladybug teased at the sight of the empty locker. The other three teens popped out of their lockers.
"Ladybug? Did you guys defeat Desperada already?" Luka asks. Ladybug ignored Luka as she blinks at a squeezed together Jacob and Lucy, the pair struggling to get out of the locker.
"That has to be a record time, which is good because it was getting a little cramped in there." Lucy jaked as she managed to break free. Jacob stumbled out behind her with a grin.
"It wasn't so bad."
Chat Noir looked at the pair with an unamused expression while Ladybug tried to compute what exactly she was seeing, her mind naturally racing with assumptions. Upon noticing Chat's heated gaze, Lucy cleared her throat and took a step away from Jacob who didn't seem to think much about her change in distance.
"Where is Adrien?" Luka then asked, causing the other teens to look past the heroes and notice that Adrien was in fact not in the room with them.
"Uh, er, no we haven't defeated her yet." Ladybug answered in a slight delay. "We came here looking for Adrien actually."
"Um, maybe he took off and hid somewhere else. Let's split up and find him!" Chat suggested hitching his thumb at the door.
"Why are you looking for Adrien?" Lucy asked only for her confusion to turn into one of surprise. "You want to give him a miraculous don't you! Wait- no, I know you can't tell me. Sorry, it's just a surprise. Go on! Go save the day and find him."
Ladybug nodded. "Right, just stay here and-"
"Why is it surprising that Ladybug would wanna give Adrien a miraculous?" Chat interrupted, stepping closer to Lucy whose eyes widened a little. "Don't think he's got the stuff to be a holder?"
"What?! No, that's not what I meant at all!" Lucy responded affronted.
"Then what-?"
"Chat, we don't have time for this, we need to find Adrien!" Ladybug urged, pulling her cat companion by the arm. "The rest of you go back into hiding. We'll have this handled soon."
The three teens shrugged at one another and made their way back into the lockers. As Luka closed his, Lucy opened another and made an after-you gesture to Jacob who gave a small curtsy and stepped into the locker. Lucy closed the locker behind him and smirked as he pouted through the slots.
"And here I was hoping to turn you into a possible human shield." Jacob joked only for Lucy to roll her eyes and getting into her own locker.
OoOoo
Chat Noir and Ladybug spit up in the search for Adrien. Chat quickly rounded a corner and called Claws In, changing back into his civilian form. Plagg appeared in front of him looking unimpressed. Although Kwamis couldn't communicate with their owners while they were in their hero form, the Kwamis could hear and see what was going on around them.
"This is my chance to prove how cool Adrien can be Plagg!" Adrien told his Kwami. "I'll show up. save the day, and save Lucy. She'll be super impressed." He went on clasping his hand together and mimicking a female voice.
"Oh Adrien, you're so bad-ass, I never knew you had such a tough guy side."
"Pssh, it's nothing. I'm just doing what anyone else would do if given the opportunity to stop a supervillain." He spoke nonchalantly while flexing his biceps before going back to his clasped hand stance.
"Don't be so modest! I know I joke and call you princess all the time, but your a regular prince charming and my personal hero!"
"I'll always be here to keep you safe Lucy. I'd never let anything happen to you. I love you."
"Oh Adrien! I love you too! How could I have been so blind!"
Adrien wraps his arms around himself and faces away from Plagg while making smooch sounds. Plagg scowls at his owner in annoyance."
If you asked me, this whole idea is worse than cheese in a can." The Kwami spoke but Adrien was unfazed.
"Well, Ladybug thinks I'm the perfect guy for this mission."
"You can't be Chat Noir and another superhero at the same time!" Plagg argued. Though, he supposed it was only a half-truth. "Which means that you're not the perfect guy for this mission."
"The lucky charm told her I am." Adrien shot back. Plagg frowned at him.
"That's not how it works. Why am I bothering? You're not even listening."
"This is my chance to get Lucy to see me in a different light. I don't care what costume comes with it, I have to try. Ladybug chose me! It all has to mean something." Adrien told him before running off to find Ladybug.
Around the corner, he spotted her calling out his name. He poked his head out and responded, running over to her. Ladybug asked if he was okay, seemingly worried about his well-being considering her wasn't hiding with all of his friends. Adrien explains he simply split because he figured that hiding all together wasn't the best idea. Ladybug smiled.
"I need you."
"Me?" Adrien asks in fake surprise. Ladybug holds out a miraculous box for Adrien to take.
"Adrien Agreste, here's the Miraculous of the Snake, which grants the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good." Adrien carefully takes the box into his hands. "Once we defeat the supervillain, you will return the Miraculous to me. Can I love - Uh, trust you?"
Adrien doesn't notice her slip up but accepts the miraculous and the terms that come with it. "Yes, Ladybug." Opening the box, a glow appears and a snake-like Kwami shows itself.
"Amazing!" Adrien says with a smile as the Kwami introduces itself.
"Greetings. My name is Sass, and I'll be your Kwami."
"But what am I supposed to do?" Adrien asks, pretending to be clueless.
"All you have to say is... Sass, scales slither." Adrien opens the box and takes out the Snake Miraculous. Plagg quietly gives Adrien a gesture not to do it in the distance but Adrien puts on the Snake Miraculous anyway.
"Sass, scales slither!"
It is said that a person's hero outfit is formed by what the holder desires it to be. Adrien supposed he took the snake look a bit too literally as he transformed. His eyes have vivid green irises and golden scleras very similar to his eyes as Chat Noir. He wears a green, and brilliant opal skin-tight suit with yellow accents that cover his entire head except for where his nose, mouth, and chin are. He wields a lyre as his Miraculous tool, which is located on his back when not in use while the Snake Miraculous stays on his left wrist. Ladybug attempts to call Chat once again, only to get his voicemail.
"Chat! I found Adrien. We're gonna go after Desperada. Meet us under Trocadéro square fast!"
"I hope I don't disappoint you, Ladybug."
"I know you won't. You're perfect. Uh, perfectly capable of defeating Desperada! We need all the odds in our favor. Desperada is a fearsome opponent." Ladybug calls for her Lucky Charm, getting a saddle in return.
"I would have preferred a horseshoe for my first mission." Adrien joked and surprisingly earned a giggle from Ladybug.
"I love your sense of humor!"
"Really? Thanks!" Though he was in fact happy she liked the joke, he made jokes like that all the time as Chat and his partner never seemed to find them funny. It was strange.
"If anything goes wrong, the second chance allows you to go back in time to the exact moment you activated it."
Adrien set his bracelet and nodded at Ladybug.
"We now have five minutes. Within this time range, you can go back in time as many times as you want. But after that, when the head of the snake goes back in place, you'll detransform. Still no Chat... Come to think of it, we're okay without him. Now that we have your power, you and I are gonna make an awesome team."
Adrien was mildly offended by Ladybug's words and how easy it was for her to disregard Chat Noir like that. He was her partner from the beginning, and yet it was always so easy for her to hand out Miraculous like it was candy. To Chat, Ladybug was irreplaceable. Not just as a Miraculous but as a person. He might not know who Ladybug was under her mask but what he did know was that he wouldn't want her to be anyone else. It sometimes felt as though Ladybug did not share the same sentiments about himself. Regardless the pair climbed up the ladder leading to the street in hopes of taking down Desperada. However, almost immediately into the attempt, Ladybug gets hit causing Adrien to reset time.
"We now have five minutes-"
"Before I transform back, I know." Adrien interrupted. Ladybug frowned.
"Did we not make it?"
"No, but I used my power of second chance. No time to wait for Cat Noir - we're fine without him. You'll see, we're gonna make an awesome team - Aspik and Ladybug."
"Aspik? Wow!" Ladybug seemed to gush. "You've only just started being a superhero and you already seem to have all of this down."
"Guess you made the right choice, Ladybug," Aspik said sheepishly.
OoOoOoOooO
As it turns out. Ladybug had not made the right choice. Every single attempt to keep Ladybug safe went up in flames no matter what he tried to do to stop it. Aspik was determined to make this work and tried for literal months reaching over twenty thousand attempts.
"Okay, we now have-"
"Five minutes, yeah I know."
"Oh! We've done this before, well lets-"
"Hold that thought," Aspik said, jogging back around the corner to the locker room, Ladybug following in utter confusion. Aspik whipped open Lucy's locker, startling the girl. Her eyes widened at the sight of him as he took her by the wrists and pulled her out.
"Lucy," He spoke. "It's me, Adrien." Lucy's wide-eyed look narrowed.
"Uh, yeah, Ladybug and Chat Noir kinda spilled the beans on that one. However, you do know the point of a secret identity is to keep it a secret right?"
Luka and Jacob stuck their heads out of their lockers and looked at Aspik and Lucy with raised eyebrows before looking at one another and then to Ladybug who held her hands up in both confusion and frustration.
"Yeah, I know," Aspik replied. "Here is the thing. I apparently have no idea what I am doing. I have tried over and over and over, to save Ladybug. To save Paris, to save you, and I can't do it. I fail every time. I'm out of ideas. I wanted you to be able to see the hero I could be and I...It doesn't make any sense, I should be able to do this. Ladybug chose me." His shoulders slumped and his head hung low against hers. Lucy's eyes softened as she brought a hand up to his cheek.
"Oh Adrien," She said softly. "Of course not. No one is chosen. Not ever. Not in the real world. You chose to lie to your father and come to the boathouse. You chose to help your friends find safety. You chose to accept the Miraculous that was presented to you. You chose to try everything you could to help Ladybug! And you have chosen not to go home when you might have, if only you abandoned your friends. You are not a chosen one, Adrien. Ladybug did not choose you-you chose yourself. You could have had a simple fencing practice with Kagami and never been in this mess to begin with, never worried yourself with Jagged Stone or Desperada, had to try over and over again to find a way to fix everything and keep Ladybug safe. But you didn't. You chose. You chose it all. Being a hero doesn't mean you're invincible. It just means that you're brave enough to stand up and do what's needed."
"Wow." Jacob complemented beside Luka and Ladybug. "She is like...really good at that. " Luka nodded with a smile while Ladybug let out a small sigh.
"Yeah, it's kind of her thing to be the upliftment queen. Adrien! I mean, Aspik- I, ugh well I guess it doesn't matter now. Are you done because we really have to-"
"Yeah." Aspik cut her off. "I know what to do now." He spoke smiling at Lucy. "By the way," He then said stepping back from her and lifting his wrist. "I'm also Chat Noir and am hopelessly in love with you."
Everyone's eyes became saucers at Adrien's words and Lucy's jaw slacked.
"I beg your pardon?" She asked as the three other teens across the room shared a unison,
"OH FUC-"
"Second Chance!"
oOoOOOoOo
"We now have five minutes. Within this time range, you can go back in time as many times as you want -"
"Sass, scales rest." Adrien detransforms and catches Sass in his hands.
"But..." Ladybug looks at him confused.
"It didn't work. I'm so sorry. I wasn't the right choice for you after all." Adrien explained to her. Ladybug shook her head.
"No! You have to be the right snake. I guess I must've done something wrong."
"No," Adrien corrected. "You didn't do anything wrong. I did, by accepting this. I tried, I really did but this Miraculous isn't for me.
"How many times?" Ladybug asked, to which Adrien gave her a small frown,
"I've been trying for months. It was the 25,913th time."
"But... who could possibly wear this Miraculous beside to you?" As if on cue, Luka came running around the corner.
"Ladybug? Oh, I see you found Adrien. I'm glad, I was worried." Adrien smiled, yes, this was what was needed.
"Brave? Determined? Caring? Why don't you give him the Miraculous?"
Ladybug didn't understand what exactly went wrong. She had been so sure Adrien would make the right fit. However, as she looked at Luka it all seemed to make sense that he would in fact make a great miraculous holder.
"Thank you for saving my life so many times, Adrien." She says, kissing him on the cheek.
"I'll go and hide. I'm sure you guys will succeed, Ladybug." Adrien told her before running off. Luka raised an eyebrow at Ladybug.
"Did I miss something?"
OoOoOoOoOoO
Around the corner, Plagg met up with Adrien.
"Ah! At last, you've come to your senses." Adrien smiled at his Kwami.
"Well, I had a little help. I chose to be Aspik for all the wrong reasons and in the end, I don't think Lucy was nearly as impressed as I hoped she would be."
"I guess you'll have to make it up to her as Chat Noir." Plagg retorted gaining a determined nod from Adrien.
"You're right Plagg, Claws out!"
OoOoOoOoO
After everything was back to normal, everyone found themselves back on the boathouse listening to the band play, as well as Luka and Juleka's mother and Desperada herself, now known to be Vivica. Apparently Jagged had in fact fired her. She had eaten Jagged's cereal and his pet crocodiles milk. Something that wasn't necessarily worth being fired over. Jagged apologized and told Vivica that if she wished to come back to be in his band she was welcome to, as well as expressed his respect for Anarka to not. The past was the past.
While Jacob bopped to the tunes being played, Lucy went to go grab something to drink, passing by Kagami along the way. Kagami looked Lucy up and down and Lucy raised an eyebrow at her.
"Is there a problem Kags?"
"What are you doing?" Kagami responded with narrow eyes.
"Getting a drink?" Lucy told her, holding up the soda can.
Kagami rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I mean with that boy. Evans."
Lucy glanced towards Jacob and shrugged. "Hanging out."
"Hanging out?"
"Kagami-"
"Are you dating?"
"Wha- I ...eh, no." Lucy stuttered, gathering her thoughts. "We're just..."
"Hanging out," Kagami repeated flatly.
"Yeah." Kagami, whose arms had been crossed, drummed her finger on her forearm impatiently.
"What about Adrien?"
"What about him?"
Kagami shrugged as she bit the inside of her cheek. "Thought maybe if you were looking for someone to "hang out with"," She said with air quotes. "that maybe you'd want to do it with him."
Lucy squinted at Kagami. "Are we on the same page here? Are we talking about the same kind of hanging out?"
"You mean you're sleeping with him right?" Kagami said forwardly, making Lucy's eyes widen and grab the Asian girl by the shoulders leading her farther from the ears of others.
"Say it louder for the people in the back why don't ya!?"
"Is that not what you meant?"
"Sorta, but, eh, not exactly!"
"Are you embarrassed for people to find out you have a, what are the kids calling it these days? Fuck buddy?"
"Kagami!" Lucy whispered harshly while Kagami continued to look at her with a passive expression. "No, I am not embarrassed by him, but it's not like that exactly and I don't feel the need to broadcast my business to everyone around me."
"So you don't want to have sex with Adrien?" Kagami asked making Lucy continue to look at her flabbergasted.
"WHA-? No! I- Why are you asking me that?! Do you wanna have sex with Adrien?!" Lucy shot back. A flush rose to Kagami's cheeks as the brown-eyed girl shifted her gaze away from Lucy and brought it to the floor, the corner of her lips twitch ever so slightly upward.
"Oh," Lucy spoke and Kagami shot her eyes back up and glared at her.
"This isn't about me." A devilish smirk found its way on Lucy's face.
"Isn't it though?" More heat seemed to creep its way up Kagami's neck and into her face as she recrossed her arms and lifted her chin, attempting a more confident look.
"All, I am saying is I am sure Adrien would make a most excellent lover. Far more so than that wise-cracking boy, Evans. His fencing form is always too casual and borderline lazy. I can only assume it reflects his form in other aspects of life as well."
Kagami turned on her heel and strutted her way over to Marinette and Alya, leaving Lucy to chuckle slightly to herself. Kagami was a very direct person in most cases and Lucy respected her for it, but that didn't mean she was immune to embarrassment like everyone else. The conversation they had was an odd one and Lucy didn't understand why Kagami would inquire about the possibility of her and Adrien...hanging out. Still, her eyes made their way over to Adrien who was playing away on the piano. She scraped over his form and watched his fingers dance along the top of the keys, and raised an eyebrow tilting her head from side to side slightly. Perhaps Kagami wasn't too far off in her assumption. The two teens' eyes met and Adrien felt his chest tighten at the unfamiliar look Lucy was giving him, causing the boy to stumble in his keys for just a moment. Clearing his throat, he brought his attention back to playing and when he glanced back over, Lucy had made her way back to sit next to Jacob.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Chat Noir tapped on Lucy's window that night with nervousness bubbling inside of him. Lucy opened her curtain, shooting him a soft smile and letting him inside.
"Good evening Chat Noir." She spoke, settling back onto her bed. She sat with her legs crisis across and her back straight, her hands clasped neatly in her lap.
"Hello, Lucy." He responded. "How are you today?"
"Just dandy."
Chat shifted over to her desk and sat down in her chair, spinning right and left slightly with the tips of his boots. His eyes wondered some of the papers laid out on it. Mostly doodles and conception art.
"Ask." Her voice rang out. Chat turned to her.
"Hm?"
"Ask."
"It's not my business." He spoke, fiddling with his thumbs. Lucy let out a breath from her nose and nodded.
"It's not." She confirmed. "But it's going to eat at you until you do."
"Is he you're boyfriend?" Chat then asked, his eyes cast down to his hands.
"No."
"Do you want him to be?"
There was a slight pause before she answered again. "No."
"Then what is he?"
Lucy bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes now being the ones to look down at her hands.
"I need to distance myself from you. Romantically speaking." Lucy told him. "And I thought I could do that on my own. I was wrong. Obviously."
Chat nodded. "Okay...well...why him? Why not someone you know really well. Someone you trust, someone like-
"Adrien Agreste?" Chat froze at the name. Yes, why not Adrien Agreste?
"I wasn't going to name anyone specific." He told her. "But...sure. Why not someone like Adrien? You guys seem close. Not that I am super amped at the idea of you being with...someone else...he seems like a nice guy."
"He is a nice guy," Lucy told Chat. "But he isn't an option."
"Why not?" Chat asked, and he had to force himself to try and not sound too offended on his own behalf.
Lucy let out a small chuckle. "A lot of reasons actually."
A million questions were swirling around in Chat's head at once. A lot of reasons? A lot of reasons?! Like what?! She detested the idea of dating him that much that she had a list of reasons not to!?
"Well, he seems like good potential boyfriend material to me." Chat spoke nonchalantly.
"Maybe you should date him then." Lucy joked but Chat just sent her an annoyed glance.
"Adrien is one of my favorite people," Lucy told Chat, whose eyes softened at her confession. "He puts all he has into everything he does. His activities, his relationships, even the small amount of time he spent with a Miraculous."
"It wasn't enough." Chat admitted, still a little stung by the fact that he had not been able to use the snake Miraculous well enough to do anything good with it.
"Don't do that," Lucy said sharply while pointing a finger at Chat. "You didn't see him Chat. He was so bummed at the thought of letting Ladybug down and not being the hero she expected him to be today. But Chat," She paused, running her tongue over her lips. "He is my hero every day."
Chat Noir's eyes widened slightly. "He is?"
"Besides you of course." She said, smiling softly. "But yeah. Adrien is always there when I need him, even when I don't realize I do. You ever hear that term, not all heroes wear capes?"
Chat gave a small smile. "Yes."
"Well, that phrase applies perfectly. Being a hero doesn't mean you're invincible. It just means that you're brave enough to stand up and do what's needed. No costume nessiccary. Maybe the Miraculous he was given didn't fit him right." She said with a shrug. "Maybe another one would fit him better. After all, anyone could wear the Chat Miraculous, but there would still only be one Chat Noir."
Chat grinned at Lucy, her words stoking his ego more than she would ever understand.
"Adrien deserves so much out of this life, really, he does. That includes someone who can love him with the same everything that he gives them." Lucy told him. "And that person isn't me." She then admitted, causing Chat to frown a little.
"Jacob," She continued. "is a distraction. A handsome, funny, borderline crazy distraction."
"Does he know that?"
"He does," Lucy confirmed with a nod. "Because I told him so. You know me Chat, I've never been one to beat around the bush." Chat let out a breath-like laugh and nodded. "I told him I wasn't looking for anything serious and he told me he wasn't a very serious guy so it works perfectly. We are just two people who have a common desire to just get through the day and have chosen to do so together. And I need you to be okay with that." She finished. Chat brought his leg up and rested his chin on his knee.
"I don't know if I will ever like the idea of you being with someone who isn't me honestly."
"Liking and accepting are two different animals, my dear." Chat understood. After all, how could he try and deny her the ability to heal? Lucy had said how Adrien deserved someone who could give him their all and as much as he wanted that to be her, he understood why she wasn't yet. She didn't deny Adrien being a possibly good boyfriend, she didn't say ew no he's like a brother to me. She said he was one of her favorite people. Lucy didn't want him to be her rebound. It was sad how he had somehow done this to himself, but her sentiment was sweet. Lucy may have had a list of reasons she couldn't attempt a romantic relationship with Adrien, but not finding him to be a good potential partner was clearly not on the list. This in its own way gave Adrien hope for the future.
"I can accept that."
"Great, now that that's out of the way," Lucy patted her bed. "How was your day?"
And just like that, things almost felt normal again. After Chat said his goodbye Lucy rested her head on her folded arms in her window sill and looked out at the city lights in the distance pondering on the events of the day. Her ears perked at the sound of a small thump against the metal railing of her neighbor's balcony. There, perched on the edge, looking at her with what she could only describe as curious eyes, was a chunky cat. It had one green eye and one blue eye. It was kinda fluffy looking, mostly black fur with white going from under its chin down under its belly. As well as white paws.
"Well, hello there." Lucy greeted and the cat tilted its head before letting out a small meow. It jumped from its spot down to the small balcony space outside of Lucy's window. Lucy stuck her hand out and the cat sniffed her fingers and rub its head into her hand. She smiled and brought her fingers under its chin, giving a scratch and checking for a tag. Feeling a small metal circle, Lucy pulled it outward and read the only thing on it.
"Lulu." Lucy's eyes widened at the name before smiling. "Small world." Lulu moved past Lucy's hand and wandered into her bedroom, her feet hitting the floor with a small thud. She trotted around the room before hopping onto Lucy's bed and making herself comfortable.
"Hey now, don't you have your own home," Lucy said, her stands going to her hips. The cat merely meowed at her before its eyes shut.
"Well, maybe just for tonight." She then said, petting the cat once more before turning off the light and climbing into bed herself.
Here you go, everyone! Chapter 47! It always takes me way longer to get these out than I plan, Hopefully, I'll be able to rectify that in the future. I am even thinking about doing a Halloween special type of thing. I will be out of town the week of Halloween so I doubt I will do it then but if I could right before my trip that would be kinda fun but I make no promises haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember to like, heart, vote, or whatever depending on where you are reading this, and leave a comment and let me know how you are feeling and thinking. Reading them always encourages and inspires me to write more as I do love the feedback.
As always, I will see you in the next chapter! Bye bye!
