Miraculous Tales: Just A Friend?

Trying to Find You

      The next day, Marinette wanted to see how Adrien would react to anything. She kept her eye on Adrien. She wanted to learn more, to see if he really could be Cat Noir. She calmed herself down as much as possible and decided to talk to him as a friend only, since she's always better composed that way. His back was facing her, so she tapped his shoulder. "H-hey Adrien!" she called.

      He jumped and turned around. "M-Marinette! What- no! Um, Nice to see you!" he said back.

      Marinette blushed. "Erm, I just wanted to ask if you were free after school today? I wanted to talk," she said. This is the perfect way to learn more! And spend time with Adrien...

      Adrien grinned. "Yes!" he cried.

      Marinette smiled back. "O-okay. At the park."

      After school, Marinette and Adrien walked to the park to talk. "S-so Adrien, who do you prefer? Cat Noir or Ladybug?" Marinette asked.

      Adrien thought for a moment and replied, "I'd say Ladybug. Y-you?"

      Marinette answered, to see how he'd react. "That's easy. Cat Noir. He's amazing. He's smart, kind, and I know I can always trust and count on him. He's funny too," she said. She exaggerated to see how Adrien would react. When she finished talking Adrien gasped, blushing fiercely. He looked up, into her eyes. She watched his emerald eyes sparkle, before he turned away.

      He looked back, and said, "W-wow. You really like him... Don't you?"

      She pulled herself out of her trance and responded. "Yeah!" she exclaimed with a giggle. She smiled happily. Adrien let out a soft sigh, smiling.

      They spent most of the day together, and Marinette noticed a few things. Every time Adrien got nervous, he would rub his neck or take a deep breath. His smile was very similar to that of her Kitty. The whole time, he seemed so happy, but also a bit nervous, maybe even paranoid. When he was walking her home, he kept looking over his shoulder. She was lucky he did. They were walking calmly, when Adrien glanced over his shoulder. A small round rock, maybe thrown by kid, or ran over by a car, was shooting right towards Marinette. He quickly tackled her, and landed on top of her. She grinned. He blushed, as he used his arms to push up. Marinette quietly whispered, "W-what happened?" Adrien stayed there for a while, until he shook his head and stood up. He helped her up and explained what he saw. "Th-thank you, Adrien" she exclaimed.

      A smile- almost a smirk, appeared. He ran a hand through his hair and said, "It's fine. No prob, Purr- um, M-Marinette!"

      Adrien walked Marinette home, and struggled to stay calm. He wasn't nervous unless she surprised him, or he did something odd, but he had trouble staying in his Adrien persona. He wanted to make her laugh, to show off, and to flirt a little. His main way to send a joke across was a cat pun, but as Adrien, he couldn't do that. He kept walking with her, and as they turned, a small rock flew at them. He glanced over his shoulder and saw it. He tackled her to get her out of the way. He didn't want her getting hurt. Pushing himself up, he blushed. She whispered, "W-what happened?" He stayed there for a moment, looking into her eyes. He shook his head, stood, and helped her up. He explained what happened. She thanked him.

      He suddenly felt nervous. I gotta stay calm... He did something he never though he'd do. He started acting like a very certain cat. With a boost of confidence, he got into that mindset. An unintentional smirk spread across his face. "It's fine," he said with a brave tone of voice. He ran his hand through his hair. "No prob, Purr- um, M-Marinette!" he finished, loosing his confidence.

      He knew he messed up. No prob?! Purr-incess?! What was I thinking? While Adrien beat himself up in his head, Marinette was confused. Since when does Adrien talk like that? Once they both got over their confusion and disorientation, they continued. Adrien bit his lip, so that he wouldn't say anything to give away his identity. They walked for a few minutes, not a word spoken. The silence was unbearable, so Adrien finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

      Marinette looked towards him. "About what?" she asked.

      "I'm sorry I was acting weird," Adrien replied.

      Marinette cocked her head and quickly said, "Weird? No, it was fine. Perfectly fine! You're perfect! No- uh, yes?" She stopped herself from saying more.

      Adrien smiled and simply said, "Thank you." Marinette built up some courage, and held his hand. She heard him gasp, but he left his hand there. Adrien felt an odd rumbling in his chest, but Marinette didn't seem to notice. They kept walking as though this was their plan all along.

      Soon they got to Marinette's house. "Th-thank you, Adrien!" Marinette said.

     He blushed and said, "N-No problem." Once she let go of his hand, Adrien left, the odd feeling still there. Nobody seemed to notice other than Plagg, who burst out laughing once they got to his house. "What are you laughing about?" Adrien asked.

      Plagg stopped laughing and said, "Your reaction! You felt it, right?"

      Adrien thought about his question and chose his words carefully. "Well... I had an odd feeling in my chest."

      Plagg bit back more laughter, and said, "You've been in your superhero form too much recently." Adrien was confused.

      "What are you talking about? As Cat Noir? What does that have to do with... Anything?" he asked, slowly realizing what he meant. He started feeling it when Marinette held his hand. Then he felt an odd, soft rumble in his chest. "Plagg, You don't mean...? There's no way I was, right?" he asked. Plagg nodded his head with a smirk on his face. "Purring?! Really?! No way. I won't believe it. I refuse." Adrien slammed his hand on the desk and sat on the chair.

     Plagg flew in a circle. "Whatever."

      Marinette was on the floor, writing in her diary. Today, I asked Adrien to go to the park with me, and he said yes! We went and talked, and I found something! He might be Cat Noir! I hope he doesn't know about me. If he did, he would tell me though. Right? Anyway, I was almost hit in the head with a rock! I don't know who did it, but he saved me! He really did! Then, I built up some guts, and I held his hand! We held hands all the way back to my house! For real! It was amazing! I can't stop thinking about it, but I'm gonna go do some sewing. Bye!

      Marinette walked over to her sketchbook, and decided to work on her Cat Noir themed jacket. It was getting colder, so she got to work right away. Tikki watched quietly, and helped every now and then. It took a while. Marinette sewed a signature to the inside of the hood, and she was done. She was planning on wearing it tomorrow. In fact, she was going to wear a Cat Noir themed outfit. The hoodie wouldn't match her normal style. She got everything together and was ready for tomorrow.