Adrien wasn't sure why he jumped up the moment Chloe announced that Nathanael had a crush on Marinette. Was it jealousy or was he just in shock? It was weird finding out that someone who liked you was liked by someone else in a way he couldn't explain. Once Nathanael was sent to the principal's office he strained to hear what Marinette and Alya were whispering about but the whole class was buzzing so that was impossible. Mme. Mendeleiv shushed everyone and class resumed as usual but Adrien couldn't focus for the rest of the lesson. His thoughts were a confused jumble.
Later, in the library, Adrien overheard a snippet of conversation between Chloe, Sabrina, and Marinette. He was really glad he hadn't been put in that project group! Things seemed pretty heated. Chloe started screaming and he looked up in alarm. Was that…a flying hair dryer?
Adrien quickly found a secluded place to transform and came back to see Chloe screaming and Ladybug coming out of nowhere and jumping on the hair dryer. "Run and hide!" she commanded.
His heart thumped in his chest—she'd really gotten here fast—and he tried to play it cool. "I got wind that you were being blown away by a hairy situation."
She glared at him. "Fewer puns, more action!"
They managed to stop the hair dryer and ran after the newest akumatized villain. "Well, that guy looks pretty sketchy!"
He drew a wall and the two superheroes slammed into it, giving him time to get away. "Where'd he go?" Ladybug demanded.
"I don't know, but he sure has a way of illustrating his point," Chat Noir said with a grin. Ladybug just looked at him and groaned. Yep. Business as usual.
Once they safely moved Chloe back to her father's hotel, Ladybug was acting even more annoyed than usual but her annoyance wasn't directed at him this time.
"Looks like somebody's got a fan," Chat Noir teased after Ladybug unsuccessfully tried to dodge getting her picture taken for the second time.
"Yeah, great," she said flatly, looking as steamed as he'd ever seen her.
"So what's the deal? Why are you acting so weird? Come on, you gotta admit that having this girl worship you is pretty awesome," he tried reasoning. They both had their fair share of fans. What made this time different? Unless…was it possible that Ladybug actually knew Chloe? She did tend to put people off. He remembered how people treated him when he first came to school because the only thing people knew about him was that he was Chloe's friend.
Ladybug wasn't listening to him. She was looking at one of the drawings of Marinette that Nathanael had drawn, only Chloe had added a mustache. "Ugh, seriously? I'm over this! Let's go!" She marched out onto the balcony, expecting her partner to follow. What had gotten into her? Ladybug cared about protecting everyone.
"Are you kidding me? And what if the Evillustrator attacks her again?" he asked incredulously. Chloe had her faults—more than he cared to admit since he always found himself in the uncomfortable position of defending her—but she was still his oldest friend and he wasn't about to let her get hurt.
"Fine! You stay! Later!" She mounted the railing as if ready to take off and Chat Noir was baffled.
"What do you mean?"
She glared at him. "I mean, you're the one who wants to protect her, but you don't need me. So, later!" With that, she swung away, leaving him more confused than ever as Chloe cooed in her wake.
"Ahhh! Ladybug! Text me, okay?"
Chat Noir was slightly annoyed that Chloe was fangirling so hard over Ladybug but didn't seem to care one bit about him. Well, Chat Noir him. She seemed to care too much about Adrien. More than he was comfortable with—Chloe was practically a sister. He sulked a little staring after the spot on the balcony where Ladybug had swung away as Chloe jabbered on about something he tuned out.
Unfortunately, he could only tune Chloe's voice out for so long. "Ohhh... Sabrina is so selfish! Making me do this project by myself?! Ugh, my brain hurts... Huh? Hey! Cat Noir, Are you any good at particle physics?"
He couldn't help but brag a little. It was his favorite subject. "Oh, this cat's got particle physics in the bag," he assured her. He was meeting with Nino and Alya the next day to work on the project and he was really looking forward to it.
"Ah! Great!" She pulled his arm and shoved the project notes at him. "Sit, kitty! Now, make it sound purrfect for my presentation. See what I did? I made a cat joke! Ah! I can be funny." She seemed so pleased with herself as she began flicking through a magazine.
"Yeah, hilarious," he said sarcastically when his staff rang. Ladybug. "You can't just fly out of here and then decide to make cat calls, Ladybug!"
She sighed. "I'm sorry, that wasn't cool. But you can leave Chloé. I need you to protect this girl instead." He was shocked to find a picture of Marinette show up on his screen. "Her name is Marinette. Really cute, isn't she? The Evillustrator is in love with her, and promised not to harm Chloé as long as Marinette comes to his birthday party. While he's distracted, I want you to take him down." Chloe had just dinged his bell. He was acutely uncomfortable. Only Ladybug was allowed to do that.
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm going on... a very important secret mission. I'll catch up with you later. Can you handle this alone?"
Awkward as he felt around Marinette these days, anything was better than doing Chloe's homework. "Ha! Please! It'll be a cinch!" He ended the call and turned to Chloe. You're out of danger, uh, so I'll see ya! Later!" He jumped out the window and headed straight to Marinette's, using the directions Ladybug gave him. He'd never been to her house before.
He was surprised to find how close her house was to his. He could walk there, easily! Why couldn't Nino live that close? It'd be so much easier to sneak out to hang with him that way. He couldn't imagine hanging out one-on-one with Marinette. She still couldn't stop stammering around him and knowing it was because she liked him made it so much more awkward.
He jumped into a nearby alley and saw Sabrina yelling at Marinette. Girl just couldn't catch a break today, could she? He popped up where Sabrina had stood the moment she left, startling Marinette. Since she didn't know who he was, this was his chance to see how she acted around other people. He had to admit, he was curious. She did seem to be really popular. "Whoo-hoo! I thought I was going to have to save you from that girl's claws. Get it? Claws? Hey, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Chat Noir."
She looked at him like he was crazy. "Uh, yeah... I know! You kinda save the day all the time and stuff...I'm Marinette! So... What are you doing here?"
"Well, that birthday boy date of yours is bad news. But don't worry. You'll be safe with me," he said confidently. Ladybug was counting on him. That aside, Marinette was still his friend—sort of—and he didn't want to see her hurt even if things were kind of weird right now.
"That puts my mind at ease," she said dryly. Was that sarcasm?
"But I am going to need a little help," he continued as if it wasn't. "Care to assist a superhero?" He preened a bit, showing off. He couldn't help it. It was so much more fun being Chat Noir than it was being Adrien. It's not like Marinette knew that he—Adrien—was showing off for her. That could be a disaster.
"What about Ladybug? Aren't you a duo?"
"She's busy with something tonight, so...You get to be my Ladybug." He cringed internally when he said that. No one could replace Ladybug. What they had was special, even if she didn't realize it yet. They were connected in a way no one else could be—they had saved each other's lives countless times and no one else knew what it was like having to hide a secret identity.
She struck a pose and he was pretty sure she was teasing him. This was so far from the Marinette he knew. He…kind of liked it. "Me and Chat Noir? Fighting crime together? Amaazing! What do I do?"
"Just get that drawing pencil away from him, little lady," he said with a wink before jumping away. He tried and failed not to think of how much more interesting Marinette was when she wasn't bumbling in front of him. He couldn't think about that now. He had to protect her; that was his job.
A few hours later, he was patrolling the area the date was supposed to take place when he spotted the Evillustrator getting cozy with Marinette on a boat. He was surprisingly unsettled seeing them sit so close. Was this an extension of the weird realization of this morning?
"I...actually draw a little too, I'm not as good as you are, of course," he heard Marinette say.
"I'm sure you're a wonderful artist," Evillustrator said earnestly.
"Well, can I draw you something special for your birthday?" Marinette asked, batting her lashes at him. He had to be ready, it was almost his cue.
"That would be amazing," Evillustrator breathed before glancing up and noticing Chat Noir. Drat! "Marinette, give me my pencil back. I need to draw something, now!"
Marinette didn't hesitate. "No, I'm keeping it! Chat Noir! Now!" He extended his staff to block the suddenly outraged akumatized villain.
"Marinette! You're working with him? I'm so stupid...I actually thought you liked me! But you're really just like Chloé. Teasing me, mocking me, leading me on!"
She stamped her foot in anger and gestured wildly. "Come on! Seriously? Why is everybody comparing me to Chloé tonight?"
Evillustrator took advantage of the situation and kicked at Chat Noir's staff, retrieving his pencil, and drawing a box that trapped him with Marinette. The villain continued, "And I'm taking back my promise! Chloé's gonna get a little lesson she'll never forget!" He drew a hole in the boat before leaping away.
"We've been painted into a corner! Literally!" Chat Noir yelped. What now? Why did Ladybug have to be busy tonight? She was the one good with things like this.
"Chat Noir, your stick! Extend it!" Marinette instructed.
He gaped at her only a moment. Why didn't he think of that? "Great idea!"
"Yeah…I'm a genius," she said in that same semi-sarcastic tone from before. He grabbed her around the waist and extended the staff, safely landing off the sinking boat.
As much as he'd like to discuss said genius—she really was full of surprises—he needed to find Chloe and prayed that Ladybug was done with whatever had held her up. "Gotta go. A superhero's work is never done. Damsels in distress, ladies in waiting...I've got a lot more saving to do. You can thank me later." He jumped away before Marinette could say anything else that would tempt him to stay and talk to her. His friend needed help.
When he arrived at the hotel, Ladybug was already there. "Well, well, look what the cat dragged in."
She shot him a look. "No cat dragged me anywhere, Chat Noir. I flew in all on my own." So independent. Sigh.
"So what was this secret mission?" He really could have used her help earlier but he suspected her absence had something to do with her secret identity. What did Ladybug get up to when she wasn't Ladybug? How did she spend her free time? What had been so important tonight that she couldn't get out of it?
She rolled her eyes. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." He should have known better than to hope. Ladybug was super tight-lipped when it came to identities. He didn't know a thing about her beyond personality traits he'd witnessed firsthand.
The Evillustrator jumped back into the conversation then, startling Chat Noir, which was stupid considering it was the whole reason he was there in the first place. He couldn't afford to get distracted in battle! He refocused himself and despite nearly falling to his death (how embarrassing) they ultimately succeeded, pounding it as Nathanael reappeared on the floor.
After everything that happened, Adrien really wanted to know what Marinette thought of him—Chat Noir him. She'd acted so differently! She seemed…cool. Like someone he'd want to get to know. But would that even be possible with her massive crush on him? He ended up doing something dumb but effective: asking Marinette what she thought of Chat Noir the next day at school.
"Hey!" he called from behind her locker. She jumped about a foot and screamed. Stupid, he shouldn't have snuck up on her like that. "I heard about your adventures with Chat Noir yesterday! Were you scared?" She sure didn't seem scared. She seemed almost like…Ladybug. Now where did that idea come from? Bashful Marinette was nothing like Ladybug. But she was so different yesterday…
"Me, scared? Pfft, it was a dream. I mean, you're a dream. I mean, in your dreams! Huh? Oh, this is a nightmare..." Her face turned bright red and he held back a laugh for her sake. He got her meaning. Really though, how could a crush reduce the confident, funny girl from yesterday into this?
"Okay... So, what do you think about Chat Noir? Was he awesome?" He held his breath. The moment of truth.
"I mean, sure! Yeah, but not as awesome as you, of course. Because, who could be? You're the most awesome of awesome," Marinette blathered.
His brain nearly stopped working with that declaration. She thought he was awesome. Both sides of him. He wasn't sure whether this was wonderful or terrible. How could he inevitably turn Marinette down when she was the only person to like both sides of him? Would it really be so terrible to give her a chance? Ladybug wasn't changing her mind any time soon, much as he tried to kid himself.
He tried playing it cool, shrugged, and patted her shoulder as he left. WHY DID HE JUST DO THAT WHEN HE WAS FREAKING OUT. Curse his shoulder-touching habit. He really needed to work on that. He probably just gave the most mixed signal in the history of mixed signals. He was socially hopeless. Thanks, Father, he thought bitterly. If he'd grown up around actual children, he wouldn't end up in situations like this.