Deceiver: Something I put together after an episode of Miraculous Ladybug that came out of nowhere. S2E8 spoilers!

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One job, Plagg

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"You know," Adrien flinched while surfing the websites, yet he didn't turn to his kwami as he spoke. Even without looking, he could tell the little black thing was smirking deviously at his direction. "Ladybug suuure have a pretty face."

It took every amount of self-restraints in him for Adrien to not strangle him. It had been a week since the Dark Owl fiasco, also a week since he and Ladybug detransformed in front of each other.

They didn't see who the other was of course. As tempting as it was, Adrien was very loyal to his beloved Lady. If she didn't want their identities to be revealed to each other, then he wouldn't utter any protest. Eyes closed, they remained silent as their kwami recharged. And for that one fleeting second, Ladybug's hand touched his. Not as Ladybug and Chat Noir, but as herself and Adrien Agreste. Adrien swore he would never wash his hand ever again.

Of course, there was the down side. Their kwamis saw each other and know who was who. Adrien recalled Plagg gasping, but someone – either Ladybug or her kwami, shushed him. The sight of Ladybug's beauty without the mask must had shocked Plagg, which was understandable.

But it was not a good reason for Plagg to tease Adrien about it in his every single waking moment!

It had been a week already! Plagg should just drop it. Like that time when he was teasing him on spitting out horrible words at his Lady on Valentine's Day. And that time when he was teasing him about just finding out about the kiss they shared without his knowledge (to this day, Adrien was still crying on the inside for missing their first kiss). After at a day or less, Plagg would usual drop his mischievous antics and go back to feasting on his camembert.

But this time? The kwami would not stop. Always commenting on how beautiful Ladybug was without the mask, how such a pretty face could be so talented and righteous, and how no wonder Adrien was head over heels for her, even claiming he loved her with or without the mask.

"Too bad you can't see it!"

"Plagg!"

The black cat kwami just laughed away, rolling about in the air as he ignored Adrien's scowl. The blond was so sure if he ignored Plagg long enough, he would just drop it. And he was pretty sure he was close to that happening too.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Plagg grinned at him. "Aw, c'mon, kid. No need to be jealous."

"I am not jealous!"

"That's what you keep telling yourself," his grin became wider. "Face it kid, give it another year or two, it will happen. But for now," he flew up to Adrien's face, "you just need to take it from me that Ladybug is a very pretty girl."

"I don't need you to tell me for me to know it," Adrien huffed, turning away from Plagg in favour for falling onto his bed and stuffing his face against the pillow. He was going to try ignoring the kwami again.

Watching his owner lie there, looking more like he was in defeat, Plagg grinned more. "I don't see why this is such a problem," he piped up. "You always waxed romantic poems about how beautiful and amazing your Ladybug is," he snickered. "What's the difference when it's me talking about it now?"

"Shut up, Plagg," Adrien mumbled against the pillow, not moving.

"Wow! Language!" he gave a mocking gasp. "Could it be you're actually jealous someone admires Ladybug's beauty?"

"I'm not jealous!"

"But she is as beautiful and talent as you think!" Plagg went on, ignoring Adrien's screams against the pillow. "Both as Ladybug and as a civilian! I honestly didn't know she could be! After all, she's always a stutterbug whenever she talks to you!"

Silence. "What?"

Adrien lifted his face off the pillow to stare at Plagg with questioning eyes. It took a moment for the kwami to realise what he just said. A paw came up to shut his mouth, yet Adrien could see the panic Plagg was currently having.

"I'm hungry I need more camembert bye!"

Before Plagg could fly out of sight, Adrien swiftly jumped up and caught the little bugger in mid-air. There was no way Plagg was going to get himself out of this easily. He knew it from how Adrien glared at him.

"What do you mean 'she's always a stutterbug'!?" He repeated the words perfectly, a good reminder on what Plagg said. "Ladybug never stuttered in front of me!"

"Kid…Adrien. Pal." Plagg tried to dissuade his owner but it was not going to happen.

"Ladybug never stuttered in front of me!" He repeated again, his green eyes darting about as he tried to think. "Unless…" Adrien's eyes widened in realisation. "You know who she is in real life!?"

Plagg could only offer a weak grin. "Um…maybe?"

"Maybe? Maybe!?" Adrien shook his kwami back and forth. "First you saw how my Lady looks and flaunt about how beautiful she is, and now you tell me you actually know her!? …That I actually know and talked to her!?"

"A-Adrien…can't…breathe!"

"Who is she!?" the shaking stopped, with Plagg seeing the room spin round and round before he was jerked back to attention. "Plagg!"

"C-C'mon, kid!" Adrien growled at him. "You know Ladybug doesn't want you to know who she is! After all, she will be mad! And hate you for it! She might end up running away if you tell her! No wait, forget that last part. Um…what else is there?"

As Plagg tried to dig out more excuses for Adrien to just forget his little slip up, the boy's mind was already going a thousand miles a minute. Due to Plagg's constantly teasing him about Ladybug's beauty the entire week, it had been bugging Adrien nonstop. And now knowing she was someone he actually knew? He couldn't stop himself from thinking about it. Instead, he found himself trying to figure out who Ladybug was.

As his mind immediately tried to figure who Ladybug was. Plagg watched in horror as the pieces, including the ones he didn't mention, started to fall into place. Beautiful and talented. Confident and brave. Stutter whenever around him as Adrien. He and Plagg knew her. The only girl he knew who ever stuttered around him, shyly too, was…

"Oh my God…" Plagg was dropped to the floor with a thud.

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The next day at school, everyone was watching how Adrien chased after Marinette across the school ground. Nino was confused as ever and Alya just enjoyed filming her best friend getting this flustered over her crush chasing after her. And there was Chloe in the background, stunned by her own anger at how Marinette was getting Adrien's attention when she was running away from him!

They wouldn't get it. But what happened was that Adrien approached Marinette, scaring her for a second before he asked her a question when they were alone. A question that made her blinked up at him, mouth slacking opened before she dashed off and scream some gibberish that might had been 'I'm sorry gotta go bye!'

As Adrien gave chase, Plagg just prayed once things calmed down, Tikki wouldn't kill him for letting the cat out of the bag. It was an accident after all!

But Tikki just shook her little head. You had one job, Plagg, she huffed silently as she was juggled about in Marinette's purse as the girl ran. One. Job.