The Tracking Device

Chapter 3 - Eavesdropping

Chapter 3 - Eavesdropping

Plagg had objected. And objected again. He had refused to cooperate, and closed his ears shut with his paws, pretending that this gesture would sabotage the transformation. He had begged Adrien to change his mind, and then blackmailed that he was going to talk to Sugarcube and have Ladybug take away his ring. But Adrien wasn't going to be fooled. He was sick and tired of being kept in the dark and wanted to finally do something to discover the truth.

And this time, he was so close to the truth! He had found what he was almost 100% sure was the miracle box in Marinette's drawer! There were only two reasons why the box could possibly be there, and one of them sounded so absurd that it only really left one. Because it was impossible that Ladybug had given the miracle box to Marinette to keep, no matter how good a friend Marinette could be to her. No. The responsibility of holding all those kwamis, the danger she would put Marinette in, would surely have discouraged her. Then... there was only one possibility left.

Marinette was Ladybug. And if that was the case, he would have hit the jackpot. He would be delighted. And terrified at the same time... but delighted, mostly. And he couldn't take the smile off his face, the more he thought about it. The more he compared the two girls in his head. The more he compared his own feelings about the two girls. The more he analysed just how amazing Marinette was, and what an idiot he could have been to not realise it. He had even nicknamed her his 'everyday Ladybug'! And yet, the thought that she could be his Lady had never crossed his mind. Until now.

He had to make sure. Hence, completely ignoring Plagg's pleas to stop and reconsider, as soon as he'd finished his dinner and had locked himself in his room, he called his transformation and jumped out of the window.

The sun was slowly setting and the sky was showing a magnificent display of clouds with golden and silver lining, coloured in shades of crimson, indigo and dark blue. It was breathtaking, so Chat Noir stopped at the top of a roof almost next door to Marinette's house and watched the sky slowly turning into darkness before continuing quietly towards the balcony. He wasn't in a rush, after all, he had all the time in the world tonight.

Once again, he landed on a chimney nearby and then moved softly to the top of Marinette's railings and then on the floor of the balcony, making sure that he landed so quietly that Marinette wouldn't hear him. And again, he waited for a minute, holding his breath and watching the skylight door with a sheepish look; but Marinette didn't show her face. He breathed out.

Today there was a slight difference from the previous day he'd eavesdropped. The skylight door was slightly open, which meant that he could actually hear what was happening in the room. He cautiously gave a peek inside and saw that Marinette was sitting on her bed in her pyjamas, talking to Alya, who was sitting at the side of the bed, still dressed. He breathed - he hadn't heard them mentioning anything about a sleepover tonight, but had Alya been in her pyjamas then he may not have been able to do what he was planning to do. It was hard enough to sneak in a room having to worry only about one girl sleeping. Two would have been a clear sign that he should turn tail and not do this.

"So you're telling me that he was here playing videogames with you all lunch break... and you didn't do or said anything to him? Just played?" Alya was saying.

Whoops. They were talking about him. Maybe he should come back another night.

Marinette sighed. "What exactly should I have said to him, Alya? You know that I get all tongue tied in front of him! Even if he's with Kagami now, and I know he's not single any more, I still can't get my nerves together and talk to him properly!"

He what! He gasped so loudly that he was surprised that the girls hadn't heard him. Why did everyone always assume things about him? He wasn't in a relationship with Kagami! She was a good friend. He had thought about maybe starting something a bit more... romantic with her, but when she had tried to kiss him, he had felt something really wrong inside and hadn't been able to get back to the right frame of mind. They were only friends! He pouted grudgingly and folded his arms on his chest.