Chapter Text
“I’m gonna get a picture of them kissing one day, even if it kills me!” Alya muttered, scrolling through her Ladynoir feed on the Ladyblog. She had pulled her phone out the moment that Madame Bustier left the classroom.
Adrien, sitting only a few seats ahead, smiled at the frustrated blogger’s remark. Since Nino was out sick, he found himself eavesdropping a bit of their conversation. He would join in, but Adrien was aware that his presence somehow made Marinette uncomfortable, so he left the girls to their own conversation.
The topic of Ladynoir conjured images of his Lady’s brilliant blue eyes, and her shiny hair and---
“Alya, for the last time, it’s not like that!” Marinette’s sharp remark of disagreement cut through his daydream, and Adrien frowned. “They are not, and will never be, a couple.”
“Girl, stop denying the inevitable.” Alya said, shaking her head at Marinette’s familiar criticism. “He’s clearly in love with her.”
Adrien smiled from his seat in front of them once again, glad that Alya was setting the record straight. He was a bit irritated that Marinette was so adamant about their relationship being platonic. What did she know about the duo?
Marinette snorted at her friend’s response, rolling her eyes.
“Please.” Marinette said. “I love Chat, really, he’s a great partner to Ladybug and person, but he is just such a flirt! It may seem like he has serious feelings for her, but that’s just the way he acts around everyone!”
Adrien’s irritation grew. This was downright slander!
“Mari, you are so wrong!” Alya cried in protest.
Marinette shook her head, lips pursed.
“Here, I’ll prove it.” Marinette said, looking around at her classmates. The two girls had not noticed it, but most of their peers had started eavesdropping on their argument about Chat Noir’s love life.
“Hey, girls, you’ve all interacted with Chat Noir, right?” Marinette called. Adrien was surprised how confident Marinette could be at times.
The girls all nodded, Chloé adding, “I hang out with both Chat Noir and Ladybug all the time!”
Marinette held back an eye roll.
“Well then, you all can attest that he’ll flirt with any girl that he sees.” Marinette crossed her arms across her chest smugly, but the girls all just looked at her oddly.
“Actually, he’s just courteous. Nothing flirty about him, around me, at least,” Mylène explained, smiling over at Ivan. Most of the other girls made sounds of agreement.
Marinette shook her head incredulously, not quite believing the information.
“Oh please,” she said. “Whenever I run into Chat Noir, he calls me ‘Princess’ and jokes that he’s my knight. He even tries to kiss my hand. He’s a ridiculous flirt! It can’t just be me that he acts like this around,”
Marinette now seemed a little bit uncertain, and her classmates studied her with a new interest. Adrien didn’t dare turn around; his face, he was sure, was bright red. He hadn’t really noticed that he only acted that way around his Lady and Marinette. Adrien couldn’t quite explain why he felt compelled to flirt with Marinette in the first place as Chat, but it became a bit of a pattern.
“Maybe Chat Noir just has a thing for you,” Juleka suggested. The classmates started murmuring amongst themselves at this interesting new development.
Adrien felt like he was going to explode.
“Ha!” Marinette exclaimed awkwardly, completely flustered and now bright pink. “There’s no way… I’m sure he flirts with a bunch of other girls who are not in this classroom, um…”
Alya looked at Marinette curiously. “If a superhero was crushing on me, I’d be a lot more excited,”
“But he’s not!” Marinette said, trying to backtrack. “You said he only loves Ladybug, right?” she concluded weakly.
“You may have convinced me otherwise,” Alya said with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “What should we call your ship? Chatinette? Marichat?”
“Alya!” Marinette nearly screamed. She looked so out of her element, and then Marinette rested her head on her desk. Alya patted her head fondly, but Marinette just groaned.
“I like Marichat,” Rose said. “It sounds cute!”
“Why is this happening to me…” Marinette whined. “and in front of him,” Adrien thought he heard her mumble, but he had no idea who she could be referring to. Little did Marinette know that although he was better at hiding it, Adrien felt equally embarrassed.
“It’s odd though,” Alya mused. “Only paying special attention to Ladybug and Marinette.”
Marinette perked up again, but Adrien noticed a more clear sign of discomfort.
Suddenly, Alya grabbed Marinette’s face and her eyes widened. Marinette looked as if she wanted to flee the country.
“Blue eyes, dark hair, cute as a button,” Alya listed off. “It all makes sense. How could I not notice it sooner!”
“Alya,” Marinette said, her voice even. “Before you say anything---”
“Chat Noir has a type!” Alya concluded triumphantly.
Marinette seemed embarrassed, but for some reason that Adrien couldn’t figure out, immensely relieved.
Several classmates tittered in agreement, but it was interrupted when Madame Bustier reentered the room.
“Did something interesting happen?” Madame Bustier asked as she surveyed the unruly students.
“Nope!” Marinette said immediately as she pointedly ignored her smirking classmates.
As Madame Bustier resumed the lesson, a red-faced Adrien couldn’t help thinking: was Marinette his type?
That line of questioning led to a follow up: What was Marinette’s type?
Adrien felt determined to find out.