Neko Atsume. It was all anyone would talk about when Adrien was at school. At first, he didn't see the appeal. It was just an app. It was a virtual game with a bunch of virtual cats. Half of the people playing the game probably weren't even taking care of their real pets at home. Dogs that could have used an extra walk were neglected. They had cats that would have been over the moon with a longer belly rub. Fish that probably needed their tanks cleaned. No. He wouldn't trust his classmates with real pets, but it seemed virtual pets were just fine as long as they weren't the tomagachi variety. It wasn't until he heard Marinette and Alya giggling over a cat that visited Marinette.

"You named him Chat Noir?" Alya laughed.

"Stop it. He's my baby!" Marinette whined.

The young women were painfully unaware that Adrien was now listening in a little more intently. Marinette named one of the cats after him? That was sweet of her. She never really struck him as a fan of Chat Noir. The one time he was helping her for Ladybug, she seemed kind of annoyed with him. What he had with Marinette when he was Chat Noir was competitive. They strove to outdo one another, prove they were the better opponent and strategist. It was fun. Chat liked spending time with Marinette and she seemed to share the sentiment.

"The game is totally going to be bogged down with a million black cats named Chat Noir, you know," Alya pointed out.

"Yeah but… it's different!" Marinette protested.

"How so?"

Yes, how so? He wanted to prompt. What made it different that Marinette had named the little black cat after him? It definitely improved Adrien's mood to know she at least thought of his super hero alter ego. He just wanted to know what she thought of him as Chat. It oddly meant a lot to him to have her opinion. So he sat still, with waited breath, hoping that Nino wouldn't come in and ruin the moment or point out that he was eavesdropping on the girls. It would be so embarrassing if they figured that out.

"Well, I've met Chat."

"Mari, do you like Chat?"

Marinette was nearly tomato red. Adrien could almost imagine the heat her skin was giving off as she flushed with embarrassment. She was particularly good at blushing, often becoming too shy to even talk to him, which was disappointing because she was really interesting. He wanted to get to know her better, but when she would either pass out upon seeing him or flee like he had the plague it made it difficult. He blamed most of it on Plagg. It had to be the smell of the cheese that he had to carry around for the little beast. The smell might have scared her away because he was just some dumb smelly boy.

"N-No! It's not like that! He saved me…" Marinette said, loudly at first but growing softer, "I think he's really great but I can't exactly say it to him. It'll go to his head."

Ouch. Marinette was much like his Lady was. They both knew how to cut him to the core with a single comment.