It's been a good week since Viperion had officially joined the miraculous team. He has proven to be a great help to the original duo. He was the perfect addition to Paris' superhero team. Ladybug was glad to see his dedication towards the hero life. However, as Marinette, she noticed that Luka was becoming more and more distant with her. It upset her to see Luka become more secretive with her.
Currently, Marinette was laying in her bed trying to fall asleep. But the thoughts of Luka getting distant with her kept her awake.
"Marinette, you should be sleeping now, you have school in the morning," Tikki exclaimed.
"I know Tikki, but I can't stop thinking about Luka. He's becoming distant with me. I know it's most likely because of him being Viperion, but I'm still worried that he'll just stop talking to me." She explained.
"So, what are you going to do?" Tikki asked.
"I don't know..." Marinette dragged off.
She then rolled out of her bed, put on her flats, and walked to her balcony to get some fresh air. Marinette leaned on the railings and took a deep breath in and a heavy exhale out. Suddenly she heard a thud behind her. She turned around to see...
"Viperion?!"
The snake was perched on top of her roof's chimney.
"Bonsoir." He said softly.
"I'm sorry if I startled you. You just seemed a little... upset." He then jumped down to the railing and sat.
"Marinette, right?" He asked. Marinette nodded. She then thought of a way to carry on the conversation.
"Umm, if you don't mind me asking, aren't you suppose to be doing some superhero stuff or something?" She asked with a smile. Viperion returned her smile.
"I was on patrol. Then I saw a pretty girl staring out towards the city looking like she needed some cheering up." He explained.
Marinette smiled knowing he was talking about her. Viperion then jumped off the railing and stood beside Marinette.
"So, what's got you so upset?" He asked softly.
Marinette knew that Luka was Viperion. But she also could tell that he was suspicious about her. He was on her trail of being Ladybug, so she tried to take him off her scent.
"My friend. I'm starting to worry about him." She said.
"He's been getting... distant with me. I don't know why."
She looked over to Viperion to see that he was chewing on the side of his cheek.
"He knows I'm talking about him," Marinette thought to herself.
"W-Well, maybe he's really busy." He tried to make an excuse.
"Yeah, maybe. I mean he is the leader of a band. So..." She sighed.
Marinette's face then twisted in sadness.
"What's his name?" Viperion asked, trying to cover his tracks.
"Luka."
Viperion started to chew on the side of his cheek more and more.
"I-I'm sure there's a good reason why he's been so distant." He stuttered.
"I hope you're right," Marinette said quietly, acting in the form of sadness.
"Sorry..." Viperion whispered sadly.
Marinette looked up at Viperion.
"He can't tell I'm acting."
"Why are you sorry?" Marinette asked, still trying to keep up her charade.
Viperion's eyes widened. He then started to sweat.
"Uh, I-I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry that your friend is being distant." Viperion said with a shaky voice.
Marinette than gave him a sad smile.
"It's okay. It's not like you did it." Marinette said jokingly. She knew that it was most likely guilting Luka to the bone, but she needed to do something to throw him off her trail. It seemed like it worked as Viperion looked down with a slightly saddened face.
"But enough about me, what about you? How have you been doing? With all the superhero stuff there must be something to share." Marinette said with a glint of wonder in her eyes. She was attempting to make Viperion feel better after she so rudely guilted him off her trail.
Viperion looked at Marinette and smiled.
"Well, surprisingly I got over the "stressful" part of being a superhero. Saving Paris is something, but there's surprisingly not much to say. It's just the same thing over and over again. Save Paris and the akumatized victim and that's it. Sure, there's still that thought of "you have to get everything right, otherwise everyone suffers" but I have faith in my teammates." Viperion explains.
"That and you can turn back the clock to fix everything if something goes wrong." Marinette joked. Both laughed at her small comment.
"Yeah, I can also do that," Viperion said while laughing.
The two kept laughing until they both sighed to catch their breath.
"It must be nice though..." Marinette dragged.
"Hmm?" Viperion hummed in question.
"Flying around through the town. Looking at the city below you. Must be a nice view." Marinette said with a smile.
Viperion then smiled back and faced her.
"Well, if you want I could take you for a ride. We could tour the city. I could take you to the Eiffel Tower, go stargazing. Whatever you want." Viperion said while jumping back on the rail.
Although Marinette was used to swinging around Paris as Ladybug, she still hasn't gotten used to the feeling of going around as herself. But the idea of going around the city with Luka... Viperion... excited her.
"Umm, sure. But is it safe?" She asked.
"Yeah, do you trust me?" He asked with a smile.
Marinette looked up at Viperion with a shocked face.
"What?" She asked confused.
"Do you trust me?" He asked again, extending out his hand towards her.
Marinette smiled.
"Yes..." She then grabbed Viperion's hand.
Viperion then pulled her close to his chest and picked her up bridal style. Marinette gasped out of surprise and by instinct she wrapped her hands around his neck for security. When she looked up she saw how close her face was to Viperion's. Both blushed.
Viperion smiled.
"Hold on tight." He said sweetly.
Marinette held onto Viperion tighter. Soon the two were on their way.
Viperion started leaping from building to building, making sure Marinette was secure in his arms. Marinette kept her eyes open to see the view of the city below them. It was a sight. The rushing cars, the decorative lights, the smells of the late-night deserts, the people walking. It all looked so beautiful from her eyes. Eventually, Viperion and Marinette landed on the platform of the Eiffel Tower.
"How was the ride?" Viperion asked as he placed Marinette back on her feet.
"It was amazing!" Marinette said with a smile.
"You're lucky. You get to see the city like that all the time. It's amazing." She said while walking to look over the rail.
"I can't count how many people have had their first kiss in the tower. But to be fair though, it is pretty romantic up here."
Marinette was looking down at the city below to see the sight. She sighed in amazement. Viperion followed her and leaned against the railing and looked.
"Yeah, it is a pretty nice sight." He said softly.
Viperion looked over to Marinette to see her with a slightly sad face again.
"You thinking about that boy again?" Viperion asked with a slight blush.
"Yeah. I wish I could tell him... No, nevermind." Marinette stopped herself.
"What? Tell him what?!" Viperion asked with slight excitement.
Marinette sighed. She couldn't tell Viperion. If she did she would be confessing to Luka's alter ego. She wanted to confess to Luka himself.
"It doesn't matter. I still need to think of what to say anyways." She excused herself.
Viperion had a slight face of disappointment.
"Dammit..." Viperion thought to himself. He was so close.
Then he started to think again.
"Wait, Marinette didn't tell me. And it doesn't look like she recognizes me. Maybe she's not Ladybug after all..."
"Viperion, can you bring me home now, please? I have school tomorrow and it's late." Marinette asked kindly. Viperion then looked at his bracelet for the time and saw that it was late. 11:45 pm. He also needed to be sleeping now since he also had to go to school.
Viperion nodded his head and picked up Marinette again, taking her home. When they landed on Marinette's roof they bid each other goodnight and went on their way.
As Viperion was going home he was lost in his thoughts.
"Marinette didn't say anything about me as Luka. I guess she doesn't know who I am under the mask. And if she doesn't know... then she can't be Ladybug. Okay, that settles it then. I was wrong."
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