Sibling Duo

Chapter 13 - That Wasn't Long

Lady Chat leaped from her window , using her black costume as camouflage, and jumped up to her roof. She was surprised to see Little Bug there, his back turned away from her.  The cat sat down beside him quietly. A little bit of company would be well appreciated. Besides it would be easier to fight akumas if the two could at least become friends. This would be a good place to start. Their legs dangled over the edge of the roof. The crisp evening wind blowing their hair elegantly as they looked out over their beloved city.

"Rough night for you too?" Little Bug questioned breaking the silence. His fingers fiddled in his lap with a single blade of grass. A little habit he often did when he was distressed or in deep thought. 

"I guess you could say that." Emma sighed trying to sound cheerful. She looked down at her empty hands to pick at the shingles in the roof, but thought better and looked ahead instead. She adjusted her position and pulled her left knee to her chest allowing her short skirt to bunch and expose more of her kelly green leggings. Little Bug watched her, her mannerisms oddly familiar. The same ran through Chat's mind. Where else had she seen those desperate eyes and wavy blue hair? They watched each other for a moment.

"I hope you don't find ne attractive the way you look at me like that." Lady Chat blurted as she turned away to gaze across the city at the rising moon. Little Bug snapped from his thoughts.

"Oh gosh no. Your just familiar from somewhere. I just don't know where." the teen clarified. 

"There's a girl I really like at school anyway." The boy continued. Lady Chat turned her head back to Little Bug, her left arm draped over her bent knee.

"Oh?" A cute teasing tone of curiosity escaped from her lips. Little Bug quickly turned away to avoid from her seeing his blush at his mind raced of thoughts of this girl.

"Yeah, I'm just scared to tell her. I'm afraid of the answer I'll recieve." Bug confessed. There was a stillness as they thought. 

"I guess I just don't want to be friendzoned." He added. Upon hearing this, Chat parted her lips to speak,  but instead licked her lips as she thought to rephrase her sentence.

"My father told me once, that sometimes a person is really good at burying their feelings. He said he used to do it to my mother all the time when they were in high school. One line in particular had stood out over all the rest." The heroine recalled trying to find a way to cheer her partner up.

"Something like, 'She's...."

"Just a friend." The two finished in unison. Immediately it clicked.

"Emma!?" Little Bug shot back in shock.

"Hugo!?" Lady Chat was just as surprised as he was. Had they really just figured out each other's identity!? They had hardly been around each other at all as heros, but now it all made sense.

"I didn't expect to figure it out that fast." Hugo explained astonished by the past five seconds.

"Me either. I guess we're bot as oblivious as mom and dad. Everytime they talk about their teenage lives I cringe. All the signs for them were there." Emma explained as she straightened up.

"Seriously. Speaking of mom and dad. We should probably tell them what just happened." Hugo suggested not sure if it was the right thing to do.

"I guess. Afterall we are still new at this. We could use their help. At least now that we know we can get help from both of them." Emma thought. 

"Yeah. Come on." The two jumped from the roof and ducked back through Hugo's bedroom window. Once secured in his room they detransformed. Plagg flew out of the ring and allowed gravity to drop him down into Emma's cupped hands. 

"I need cheese!" The cat whimpered tiredly.

"Plagg, I didn't even use cataclysm. Your fine." Emma scolded the feline as she pulled a little piece of cheese from the back pocket of her light pink shorts. Tiki fluttered off around Hugo, before he opened his shirt pocket to her. She joyfully dashed inside and made herself comfortable. Hugo's pajamas were definetly more comfortable then Marinette's purse ever was, but Tiki hadn't complained. The siblings made their way down the stairs toward the dining room. Adrien sat at the table, clearly stressed as Marinette stood beside him comfortingly. Emma and Hugo stepped into the light of the dining room and stopped under the arched doorway.

"Mom, dad? We have a situation." Emma stuttered as she and Hugo both looked down nervously. Adrien lifted his face from his palms and looked toward his children.  Upon seeing their worry he gazed over to Marinette, who had also returned her worried expression back to her husband. They looked back at their children with worried smiles as theh beckoned them to sit down at the table.

"Emma and I know each other's identities." Hugo explained. Marinette and Adrien's expressions immediately changed to surprise. Their jaws dropping and their eyes expanding.

"What!?" They shrieked. Emma and Hugo's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as their eyes dropped to the floor.

"It wasn't on purpose. I swear. We were only talking and we just found out." Emma blurted trying to defend their innocence. 

"Well, that didn't take long af all." Adrien remarked as he looked up at Marinette. 

"I mean, there could be a benefit to them knowing." Mari said trying to think positively as she outstretched her gand, palm up, towards the teens.  The four could only stare at each other now, no one knew what to say. This was going to be a long night.