In Love, Always

Chapter 13

Adrien's perspective:

Adrien paced around his room.

This seemed to become a recurring thing.

His heart was still racing, his heartbeats mimicking the sound of her footsteps. Adrien shuddered.

His mind was whirling, repeating and replaying the secret he had uncovered.

Adrien couldn't believe it. The coincidence was too good to be true. There was no way...

And yet... He had seen it with his own two eyes.

...

Alya was Rena Rouge. Alya, his classmate, his friend.

Adrien had recognized her apartment as soon as she and Ladybug got there. He had thought, Oh, Rena lives in the same building as Alya. But as he saw the pair climb into her window, his heart practically stopped. It had taken him a minute to comprehend.

Now that he knew, Adrien didn't know how he hadn't known before. They talked alike, acted similar, and hell they even looked alike. God, He was dumb.

One thing was certain. Ladybug knew Rena Rouge's identity. Adrien remembered thinking about it as he watched Ladybug climb from Alya's window alone. Chat finding out had been mere chance, but somehow, Ladybug got to know before he did.

...

Chat really didn't know how to feel about that.

There was the whole matter of getting a new miraculous and there was only one person that could be. Adrien had never met Master Fu, but Plagg talked about him once in a while and Ladybug referenced him sometimes. If it wasn't Fu, Adrien had no idea where it could've come from, so he committed to that idea.

Adrien was hurt. Not only did Ladybug go and get a new partner to add to the team (right after he confessed to her, no less) but she had done so without his permission or even knowledge. Also, why her? Why should Ladybug get to know who their new teammate was? Adrien wasn't usually one to complain, especially about Ladybug, but he had to draw the line somewhere, right?

Has she forgotten that we are partners? That it's Ladybug and Chat Noir, not just Ladybug?

Adrien tried to forget about that for a second. It was concerning, yes, but Adrien had more immediate problems to deal with right now.

God he was such an idiot. What kind of plan...

Course it didn't work, it was Ladybug you dumb...

Funny part was... Chat had been convinced that it would work. Following Ladybug had seemed like a stellar idea. And it had almost worked. Almost. But, Ladybug was Ladybug. Nobody could really ever pull a fast one on her.

But now he had to try again...

Chat had left Ladybug when she had entered the Louvre. If he had pursued any farther, he knew he would've gotten beat up.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid. Adrien wished he hadn't been so obvious. With his powers and suit, it should've been easy for him to remain quiet and hidden. He had been more reckless than anything, shaken up after learning Rena Rouge's true identity and amped up from the chase.

It had been terrifying, Ladybug constantly spinning around trying to catch him. Terrifying and... exhilarating. Something about being on the run and hiding in the shadows... Adrien couldn't describe how he felt then. Like... for the first time ever, he was using his powers and gifts to do what they were meant to do. Like for the longest time he had been charging out into the open when he should've just crept along the ground, remaining hidden until his prey was right in front of him. And then he would-