Operation Second Chance

Ladybug had always been so careful about keeping her identity a secret from everyone, even those closest to her, but with such a big secret, she was bound to make a mistake sooner or later. When she did, it was an undeniable one. She took out her civilian phone, just for a moment while she was transformed.

We may never know why. Maybe she thought no one was looking. Maybe it was fate. But in the alley she hopped over, Luka caught just enough of a glimpse to recognize the phone as Marinette's. From that point forward, nothing would ever be the same again.

    It had been two weeks since Luka had discovered that Marinette was Ladybug, but he never would've guessed Chat Noir's identity if he hadn't been paying such close attention to Adrien. He just wanted to see Marinette happy, so he was trying to use his new knowledge to get Marinette and Adrien together somehow. Mari didn't know that Luka was aware of her identity, but she did notice that he kept leading the villains in the same direction when she gave him the snake miraculous.

    Luka knew that Marinette's only problem with Adrien was her lack of confidence, but she seemed so put together as Ladybug, that he suspected her alter ego would have no trouble talking to the boy of her dreams.

    He had tried to get closer to Adrien following his discovery, spending much more time at the school under the guise of looking after his sister. Luka had seen all the pictures of Ladybug on his phone one day, and deduced he must at least be a fan of hers.

    One day after school, he decided to follow Adrien when he was meeting up in the park with his friends, but before they could arrive, there was an akuma attack. Adrien wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings, and Luka saw him transform.

    In that moment, everything clicked into place for Luka. The reason Marinette hadn't grasped his attention yet was because he was in love with her other identity! It made Luka's job a whole lot easier though, since all he had to do was get them to reveal their identities to each other.

    Luka was snapped out of his train of thought when Ladybug swung down and offered him the miraculous of the snake.

    The battle with the akuma went by relatively quickly, and Luka didn't even have to use his power. Before Ladybug could ask for it back, an idea popped into his head. He could give Marinette the moment with Adrien she had always dreamed of, and if she made it awkward, he could undo it and try again. And with that, Operation Second Chance was born.