MariChat: Chat Out Of The Bag

An Unexpected Sympathy

The addition of the small Kwami had been of large notice for the humans surrounding it. Marinette was used to seeing Plagg, and as such, didn't really mind so much, but it was weird for her to see a Kwami casually talking to humans, like that had been the norm for centuries. For Alya and Nino however, it was like discovering a brand new fossil. Seeing as how Plagg was roughly over 5000 years old, the analogy wasn't completely inaccurate. The basic functions of what Plagg did to help Adrien transform into Chat Noir were explained immensely briefly, the ancient mystical creature and the blond model telling only what needed to be told. Plagg helped Adrien transform because of magic, and while that sounded like a massively sarcastic joke of an answer, that was genuinely the reason the two beings were able to merge. 

They skimmed as many details as they could. They couldn't let too much information get out. They didn't mention that Adrien's ring was his miraculous, nor did they mention how miraculous items and Kwami interacted. Only that Adrien technically had one, which they couldn't hide, due to Alya knowing about them thanks to her interactions with Ladybug, and that Plagg was needed, along with the same additional lie that Plagg had to will it the transformation in order for it to work. If they wanted to spread this rumour to minimise the chance of someone trying to steal his miraculous and kidnap Plagg, they needed to spread it to everyone. No exceptions. One lie out, and another lie in. 

Alya was scribbling down notes as fast as her fingers were able to move at. She had hit a proverbial gold mine of information regarding how the young superhero duo worked. Adrien answered any questions that she asked, regardless of how silly they may seem, how impractical they might sound, or how personal she got. "Is - Is all this the same for Ladybug?" She asked, looking above her paper as she asked before she immediately returned to note taking. 

"I don't actually know." Adrien lied. He became a bit upset when he realized just how easily he managed to lie to Alya. "I don't even know who she is."  

"Seriously?" 

"No idea who she is. She wanted to keep our identities a secret. Even from one another. She says it's safer that way. Seeing how everyone reacted, she was definitely right." More lies, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He'd be damned before he let Marinette go through this sort of hell.

Past Alya, he could see Marinette speaking with Nino, and she shot him a sympathetic glance. She knew it was going to get far worse than Alya. Adrien didn't even mind explaining all of this to Alya. She at least retained some restrain, and was over-excited due to her vested interest in the Parisian superhero duo. She wasn't some lazy flunky reporter who was looking for a lucky break with the biggest report of the century, she actually gave a damn about what Adrien had to say. She noted it down, word for word, and didn't miss out a single scrap of information.

It was people who were going to miss out information deliberately to get more attention that annoyed him. Using him for their own ends. He put up with it with his father because he felt like he had no other choice. Marinette had convinced him otherwise. Just another reason why he loved her so much.

"Actually, Alya, I was sorta hoping you could help me out." Adrien said, remembering what he had wanted to ask her.

"Sure thing! What do you need?" Alya asked, stopping her note taking for a moment to give Adrien her full undivided attention. A reporter wouldn't have done that. A friend would have. Just that simple gesture told Adrien everything he needed to know about alya. She prioritized her friendship with him more than she did her Ladyblog.

"Well... I have a plan to get the media to calm down on me by doing a few interviews. Give them what they want, and eventually they'll just buzz off. I'm only gonna be doing a couple, but uh..." Scratching the back of his head, Adrien continued. "Well... How many people follow your Ladyblog?"