It took a week. A week in which he also realized she hadn’t given him a second clue. A week in which his curiosity twisted his stomach every time Adrien saw Marinette at school. He observed her closely looking for some hints as to who her crush might be. He registered her interactions with every boy and girl she happened to talk to in his presence. Nothing. He got exactly zero traces. Either she must have been really good at hiding her feelings, or he wasn’t lucky enough to witness her interactions with her crush.
After that week he quietly accepted his defeat and came next rainfall Chat Noir was out again, leaping over the rooftops and looking for the familiar combo of pink boots, black umbrella and dark pigtails.
‘Well, well, well,’ Marinette drawled as she saw him dropping in front of her, and carefully avoiding the puddles. ‘Isn’t that my favorite feline hero!’ she greeted and he couldn’t help sticking his chest out a bit, proud that she considered him a favorite of hers.
‘Evening, Princess,’ he shot her a two finger salute. ‘I believe you owe me two clues tonight,’ he all but purred leaning in to wiggle his brows at her.
‘Two clues? Oh, no, Chat. The deal was one clue at a time,’ she chided, shaking her head. ‘You have to be patient.’
‘Oh, I am extremely patient, believe me,’ he shot back. ‘But last time you didn’t give me a clue after I found you. That’s cheating.’
‘Moi? Cheating?’ she gasped in mock hurt. ‘Most certainly not!’
‘In that case, two clues, please?’ he stuck out two clawed fingers in a V gesture.
‘Hmmm, any suggestions for today?’ Marinette knitted her brows, as she considered her answer. ‘Last time you were very helpful.’
Chat thought about his little investigation. It would allow him to narrow down his research at school, if he knew some more substantial details. ‘Is your crush a boy or a girl?’ he asked, trying to override his embarrassment with feline bravado.
‘You just got yourself some points for not giving into stereotypes, well done,’ she winked. ‘And my crush is a boy.’
‘Yes!’ he exclaimed earning a quizzical frown from the girl. He was just happy he could eliminate some potential candidates, but on second thought, he probably shouldn’t let her know that he was working on figuring out her secret also outside of his mask. ‘I m-mean… thank you.’
‘There’s nothing to thank me for,’ she shrugged. ‘Or were you afraid my crush might be Ladybug?’
Chat snorted, but deep down he actually felt relieved. Marinette would be very tough competition if she happened to set her eyes on his spotted partner. ‘Yeah, I was afraid that might be the case.’
This came out wrong again. For the second time Marinette eyed him suspiciously, but she quickly shook it off. ‘And the second clue?’ she prompted.
There were many things he wanted to know, but once again he decided to make his investigation easier and check if his strategy of watching her as a civilian wasn’t a waste of time. But he didn’t want to alert her as to the extent of his nosiness, so instead of asking if they were in the same school or even class, he went with a more vague, ‘Do you see him often?’
The girl considered his question, while delicate blush brushed her cheeks. ‘I’d say that yes,’ she replied with a timid smile. ‘I see him practically every day.’
‘Hmmmm,’ he hummed.
‘Hmmmm?’ she parroted. ‘Are you trying to figure out who he is now?’ she asked, amused.
‘Who, me?’ He rubbed his neck. ‘Pfffft, I’m just a curious cat, is all.’
‘A curious cat indeed,’ she replied. ‘You know what they say about curiosity and cats?’
‘Are you saying that your crush is dangerous?’ He crossed his arms in front of his chest. ‘Because I seriously doubt he could threaten me.’
‘And why would you want to compete with him?’ she mimicked his stance.
‘Who says anything about competing?’
‘Well, you just preemptively stated you’re better than him,’ Marinette pointed out.
‘I most certainly did not!’ Chat spluttered. ‘The saying goes that curiosity killed the cat. I can’t see any danger though. The only thing that might kill me here is a cold I might catch while looking for you in this weather. And my comment simply referred to that.’
Marinette looked as if she was holding back a laugh. ‘Maybe you should start taking an umbrella with you then?’ she asked.
‘Can’t parkour with an umbrella, Princess,’ he countered. ‘Anyway, this cat needs to run. Thank you for the clues,’ he bowed.
‘See you next rainfall,’ she giggled.
Those two clues got Adrien only so far. He could exclude the girls, but there were plenty of boys Marinette saw every day. How to make sure he wouldn’t miss the right one? After some consideration, he decided to spend more time in Marinette’s company. It didn’t took much to convince Nino to join the girls for breaks and lunch. The boy was even relieved he didn’t need to choose between his bud and his girlfriend. And that left Adrien with a perfect and inconspicuous opportunity to spy investigate observe.
Marinette interacted with plenty of boys, smiling warmingly at every person who approached her, offering advice, encouragement or praise. It was a pleasure to witness her in action, sending everyone on their way in a better mood. No wonder people were drawn to her. She had both charisma and charm, necessary in a leader, but matched with her kind heart, they made her shine like a star.
Still, she treated everyone the same. No playing favorites, no suspicious behavior. He must have been missing something.
‘Tell me something more about your crush,’ Chat asked next time he found her in the rain.
‘He’s sensitive,’ Marinette replied.
Nathaniel? Nathaniel was sensitive. He was the artistic type, and Marinette was always supportive of him. But it was known that Nath used to have a crush on her, so if she reciprocated his feelings why weren’t they a couple? No. It couldn’t have been Nathaniel.
‘Is your crush good at sports?’
‘Yes, most definitely.’
So Kim? But Kim was dating Ondine and Marinette definitely rooted for them. And before that, when the jock was interested in Chloe, their pigtailed classmate supported him. It couldn’t have been Kim.
‘He’s smart.’
Max? Max was the smartest of them all, and he shared gaming interest with Marinette. She was always friendly towards him, and even risked a detention when he had brought Markov to school for the first time. But she never actively sought his company. Max spent more time with Kim and Alix. Nah. It couldn’t have been him.
‘He’s kind.’
Nino. Nino was a very kind person. They knew each other for ages and he also used to have a crush on Marinette. But just one look at the girl as she watched Alya and Nino together dispelled his suspicions. There was so much happiness in Marinette’s eyes at the sight of that couple, without a hint of jealousy, that it left no doubts. It couldn’t have been Nino.
‘He has a talent for music.’
Maybe Ivan? But from what Adrien had heard Marinette was trying to help Ivan confess to Mylene even before Ladybug’s assistance. Nah, not Ivan then.
Luka? Marinette always enjoyed his company. He was a fan of Jagged, just like her. And as Adrien had spotted, he was definitely impressed with Marinette. She didn’t act different around him, but she was pleased with his compliments. Hmmm, maybe this was the right track.
‘How does he look?’ Chat finally gathered the courage to ask for a more substantial clue.
Marinette frowned, and he instantly felt guilty. He knew her better than to think she was after looks. Besides, she never mentioned physical appearance, only personality traits. That was more important.
‘He is handsome,’ she said reluctantly, ‘but that’s the only detail about his looks I’m willing to share. For all I know you could be stalking me outside of the suit, and apparently I’m quite obvious around him, so knowing how he looks you’d guess right away.’
Only later at home did Adrien realize she unconsciously had given him two clues that night. As to the handsome part - as far as Adrien was concerned beauty was a very relative and personal thing. Every guy he had so far considered was handsome. That could have been basically anyone. But she admitted that she had been acting different around her crush. How could that be, if Adrien hadn’t noticed? There was one possibility he hitherto hadn’t thought about - Marinette might have been seeing her mysterious boy outside of school. At the bakery, or even before her rainy walks. Maybe that was the reason she was so happy while getting wet? Somehow instead of feeling excited at this new conclusion Adrien felt a heavy weight setting in the pit of his stomach. Why was this making him so nervous?
‘Does your crush know about your feelings?’ Chat figured this would be the least invasive way of checking, if she had been seeing the boy before her walks.
Yet instead of confirming, Marinette dropped her gaze to her pink boots and shook her head sadly. ‘I’m too shy to talk to him about this,’ she confessed. ‘So no, he doesn’t know.’
Shy? He always thought Marinette was a very brave girl, and the few times he had witnessed her facing a difficult or dangerous situation, she always kept her cool. It was hard to imagine her not having the courage to do anything. But maybe her crush’s presence made her tongue-tied, like he sometimes felt as Adrien when encountering Ladybug?
Still, he felt a bit sorry for her. Somewhere out there was that oblivious boy, who got the heart of a wonderful girl, and instead of making her happy, he hadn’t noticed what was right in front of him. What a fool, Adrien thought. How that boy could not see someone as amazing as Marinette?
He decided he needed to find that idiot and knock some sense into him. Marinette deserved to be treated like a Princess. She deserved to be adored, loved and cherished. So he, or rather Chat, would not rest until she got who she wanted.
