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“Nah, you just don’t get it! It was beyond amazing. He was so cool, diving in there and just stopping them in their tracks.” Nino waved as Adrien entered the room for their afternoon classes, welcoming his friend into the conversation without pausing his story. “I wish you’d seen it, Al. You would have loved it.”
“Ah, I wish I had!” Alya cried, hopping up onto the boys’ bench and swinging her legs. “I’m thinking about starting another blog that’s entirely dedicated to Chat Noir instead of just shoving everything I have on him into that one section of the Ladyblog.” Her hands flew through the air wildly as she talked, and Nino took a step back closer to Adrien to avoid getting hit. “This would’ve been such great content to start with!” she groused.
Adrien placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder to draw his attention. “What are we talking about?”
“Man, what would I even call it?” Alya wondered, ignoring Adrien’s question.
Marinette placed a gentle hand on Alya’s knee, bringing her legs to a stop. “I don’t think anything’s gonna beat the Ladyblog in terms of names.”
“You’re right, crap.” Alya slumped.
“Maybe you should just have him name it?” Marinette suggested, rubbing circles onto the other girl’s skin with the pad of her thumb.
“Who name what?” Adrien stepped further into the conversation, maddeningly trying to understand what his friends were talking about.
Alya flicked her wrist in Adrien’s general direction. “Have Chat Noir name a blog dedicated to him.”
Without thinking, Adrien instinctively responded “Ah yes, the Chatabase.”
“Chatabase?” Marinette questioned, turning her body to fully face her blond friend.
He rubbed at his elbow, and looked at the floor, trying to seem as inconspicuous as possible. “Y’know, like database? Chatabase?”
Marinette scrunched her nose. “That’s awful.”
His face heated as an embarrassed blush creeped up his neck. “It was just the first thing that popped into my head,” he defended.
“Dude, where have you been? I’ve been texting you since yesterday!” Nino jumped in, pulling Adrien’s attention away from the girls. “I saw Chat Noir and it was frickin’ amazing.”
“You saw him? What happened, are you okay?” Adrien hoped he sounded convincingly shocked.
“I’m more than fine,” Nino said leaning back with his elbows against the bench, mocking a casual pose. “And so is that feline.”
Adrien smiled and raised an eyebrow conspiratorially, assuming an over-the-top attitude would hide him from suspicion. “Oh, do tell,” and spare no detail he added mentally.
Alya sent him a sly smirk and a wink, and Adrien hoped he hadn’t exposed his identity or his lingering crush on his best friend.
Nino didn’t seem to notice the exchange and jumped at the chance to retell his story. “I was just walking back home when I saw this group of bullies going after this poor kid. They kept getting up in his face and it was obvious the kid was uncomfortable.”
“They sound like absolute ragamuffins.”
“I was across the street so I couldn’t hear what was being said, but one guy reached out and tugged on the kid’s backpack to pull him back and that’s when Chat Noir swooped in,” Nino continued.
“Swooped in?” Alya asked, phone in hand as she typed the addition into her notes.
“Yeah, like something out of an action film. He bursts in out of nowhere, flying through the air like a maniac, and bats the guy’s hand away with his stick thing--”
“Baton, but continue” Alya interrupted.
“-and they just fuckin’ scatter. It was crazy. He didn’t even have to say anything! He just looked at them and they were gone.”
“That’s incredible,” Marinette praised, as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend.
Alya winked at the group. “And incredibly hot.”
“Alya!” Marinette gasped, leaning away to stare wide-eyed at her girlfriend, her arm slackening.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t think it was hot too!”
“Wha--I neve--why would you sa--I don--no way,” Marinette sputtered.
Alya cut off her rambling “It’s okay, babe. I think he’s hot too.” She marked her statement with a gentle kiss on the cheek. “Everyone does. I bet even Monsieur Sunshine over here thinks he’s hot,” she gestured in Adrien’s general direction with her elbow.
A startled Adrien pointed at himself in confusion.“Me? Am I--I’m Monsieur Sunsh--” Alya, Marinette, and Nino nodded aggressively. “Um…” he glanced at Nino before hastily dropping his eyes to the wooden floor. He dragged his foot along the markings on the ground, toeing along the wood grain. “I don’t know….”
“You don’t know?” Nino asked incredulously. He took a step towards his friend, ducking down to catch his gaze and placed his hands on Adrien’s shoulders. “How could you not know?”
“I just haven’t, y’know like, thought about it. Do...do you think he’s hot?” he asked tentatively.
“I mean, yeah. Of course I do.”
“Of course?”
“Of course! The guy’s got like a perfect face. And he saves Paris! He’s gotta be one hell of a dude.”
Alya eased herself off the desk, disentangling her waist from Marinette’s arm. “He’s always helping people, even outside akuma attacks. That’s why I’ve got an entire section of the Ladyblog dedicated to him.” She tucked her phone into her school bag, giving her friends her full attention. “People were sending in so many pictures of him helping children, showing up at hospitals and nursing homes, randomly participating in snowball fights. There’s no way he’s not an absolute sweetheart.”
“Even Mari’s said nice things about him, and she’s super critical of the superheros,” Nino reminded the group.
Marinette’s laugh was a little too high pitched to be normal, but it evened out when Alya’s hip knocked into her own. “Yeah, he can definitely be over-the-top, but that time I worked with him when Nathaniel was akumatized, he was really driven and hardworking.” She took a moment to think back on the event before adding “Even if he’s also ridiculous,” with a small smile.
“Ridiculously attractive” Alya mumbled just loud enough for her three friends to hear.
Adrien ducked his head bashfully. “Wow, you guys make him sound...great?” he peaked up from behind blond fringe to gauge their reactions.
“Definitely, he’s the total package,” Nino deadpanned.
“Package?”
“He’s got everything,” Alya rephrased.
“He’s smart, thoughtful, charming,” Nino listed, ignoring Marinette’s emphatic scoff, “and pretty damn good-looking.” Adrien could feel his neck start to heat. “And he has the same sense of humor as you, bro. All puns, all the time.” Nino scratched behind his ear in contemplation. “Whoa, how haven’t we thought of this before? You’d totally be best buds.”
“I bet Alya could get you a meeting,” Marinette thought aloud, tapping a finger to her chin.
“Especially after she starts the Chatabase,” Nino pointed out.
“I’m still not calling it the Chatabase, oh my god,” Alya exasperated. “But, yeah! That’d be awesome! I’m sure I could set something up.”
Adrien scratched the back of his head anxiously. “Heh...yeah that’d be so cool...I really want to do that but you all know how my schedule is...”
“C’mon, man, you can rework some things.” Nino emphasized his words with a gentle pat on his friend’s bicep. “I promise you, it’ll be totally worth it. Once you meet him, you’ll understand. He’s, like, crazy amazing.”
Marinette flipped her bangs out of her eyes to stare hard at her gushing friend.“Wow, Nino, you sure are pushing hard for this.”
“Sounds like someone wants the future beau to meet his bestie,” Alya simpered.
Nino laughed awkwardly. “I mean, I won’t deny it.”
“Really? You’re...interested in Chat Noir?” Adrien asked skeptically, afraid to let himself hope.
Marinette shot the blond a sharp look. “Of course he is, where have you been?”
“Our sunshine child is a bit oblivious, apparently.”
“Give him a break, guys.” Nino defended, arms crossing over his chest as he looked down on the girls over the top of his glasses in his best librarian imitation. They snickered at his theatrics and he turned his attention back to Adrien. “I basically came out as bisexual to the entire class by saying I’d date the shit out of Chat Noir a while ago,” he clarified.
Adrien’s mouth went slack and he stood still, staring for a moment. “Wow, I feel like that’s something I’d remember,” he said when he could finally find his voice.
“You were probably out that day,” Alya supplied offhandedly.
Adrien’s eyebrows pulled together as his forehead scrunched in frustration. He had never hated photoshoots during school more than he did at that moment.
“I can tell you’re thinking like crazy.” Nino slung an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. “Don’t sweat it, bro. Now you know,” he shrugged, tugging Adrien closer against him. “The guy’s insanely attractive and just a genuinely cool dude, how could I not be interested in him?”
Adrien looked down and away, knowing a blush was making it’s way from his chest to his ears. He spoke slowly, precisely pronouncing each word so his voice wouldn’t waver. “I guess, when you put it like that--”
A crash followed by several car alarms simultaneously blaring stopped his words in their track.
Adrien was so grateful for the distraction.
“Perfect, I really wasn’t interested in that history exam anyway,” Alya said, reaching into her bag and pulling out her phone before latching onto Marinette’s hand as she took a step towards the classroom door.
“Yeah,” Marinette forced a giggle, Alya’s momentum tugging her forward. “I’m all for skipping that today.” Marinette took a small step away from Alya, reaching the hand not linked with her girlfriend’s down to unclasp her pink purse. “But I uh think I left something in my locker so I’m gonna go uh y’know...get...it.”
Alya frowned, but stopped walking toward the door. “Do you want me to wait for you?” she asked, practically vibrating from the need to run out the door and film.
Marinette shook her head vigorously. “Ah, no! You should totally go ahead, I’ll see you when you get back,” she smiled fleetingly.
Alya’s eyes were wide, darting from side-to-side, frantically searching for any sign of discomfort in her girlfriend’s crystalline gaze. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” Marinette squeezed Alya’s hand in reassurance. “Be safe, okay?”
Alya’s lips lifted in a soft smile and she rubbed her thumb along the back of the hand she held in her own. “I always am.”
Marinette took a step forward and pecked her girlfriend on the lips lightly before they both ran out the door in opposite directions.
“I guess that leaves us as the only sane ones.” Nino remarked, rocking back on his heels.
“I wouldn’t say that…” Adrien said distractedly as he gripped his bag tightly, desperately wondering how to leave without raising suspicion.
Nino shrugged. “They’re both running off on their own when there’s a lunatic with superpowers destroying the city. Doesn’t seem like the best plan.”
“Well you know Alya, always right in the action.”
Nino leaned his hip against the side of the bench he usually sat in. “I don’t know why everyone doesn’t just find a place to chill and enjoy the time off from class.”
Adrien bounced on the balls of his feet, tightening his grip on his bag until his knuckles turned white, growing antsier by the second. “Ha, you’ve definitely got it all figured out.” He tilted his head to peek out the window, hoping to glimpse the attack and start forming a plan.
Nino opened his mouth to speak but became distracted by his friend’s obvious distress.
“Are you alright, man? You seem...jumpy.”
Adrien froze mid bounce. “Yeah, uh, I just, um,” he forced himself to relax his shoulders and bend his knees slightly. “I have this thing that I really need to get home for. So I guess I’m gonna be one of the insane ones,” he said, chuckling nervously.
“You’re gonna go home...now?” Nino asked in disbelief.
Adrien’s heart pounded harder by the second. “Yeah, I’m just gonna go outside and run home. Don’t want Nathalie to worry about me and all.” He took a step towards the door.
Nino fought the urge to shake sense into his friend. “Why don’t you just call her? Won’t she be more upset when she finds out you ran home during an attack?”
“Nah, it’ll be totally,” he took another step “fine. Definitely, totally fine.”
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea…”
With another small step, Adrien was almost at the door. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be home in no time.”
Before Nino could offer another word of worry, Adrien leaped out the room and into the hallway, rushing down the stairs and into a small alcove to transform.
Nino stood in the classroom, paralyzed by shock for moment, before shaking himself awake and running after him.
“Adrien?! Dude, where’d you go?” he called out, expecting the silence he got in response.
Cursing under his breath for only having friends with the lowest caliber for self preservation imaginable, he descended the stairs and burst past the school doors, sprinting in the direction of Adrien’s mansion.
He could hear the unison drawl of the akuma’s victims as they carried out the villain’s will mindlessly. He hid behind overturned benches and cars, pushed up from giant roots sprouting up all over the ground and tangled in vines, hoping to remain unseen.
“Adrien?” he whisper yelled, peaking out from behind an uprooted street sign and searching for his friend.
He darted across the street, pausing only to check the area for a blond head and bright orange sneakers.
He chanced another “Adrien?” in a louder voice.
Instead of the anticipated silence, a rustling in the bush behind him caused his jaw to clench and his shoulders to stiffen. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise and brush the collar of his shirt, the prickling sensation sending a shudder down his spine.
He turned around and cautiously called out to his friend again, stepping slowly towards the bush, goosebump mountains peaking on his skin.
His heart rate increased and his breathing shallowed as he reached out a hand to brush away the top layer of leaves cloaking the inner branches.
As his hand first made contact with the waxy texture, a tingle filtered through his fingertips and a vine slithered up his palm, wrapping around his wrist and twisting up his arm. He let out a gasp that quickly became a scream as the creature pulled on him.
Nino dug his heels into the ground, wrenching his arm from side to side. The vine only tightened its grasp and continued to creep up to his shoulder.
Nino blindly threw his free arm behind him, hoping his momentum would dislodge his body from the attacking plant or that his hand could latch onto something sturdy that he could use to pull himself away.
He was met with empty air. His knees bent and calves screamed as he dug his feet deeper into the ground, toes pulling up from the force.
His shoes lost traction as he pulled against the vine with as much strength as he could muster. His shirt pulled down, exposing his aching shoulder as he gained a centimeter away from the villain, a small victory.
Letting out a distressed groan, Nino hurled his body weight away from bush, throwing out his untangled arm once again.
His elbow banged against a solid object, sending a throb through his arm, making his bones itch.
He grit his teeth and twisted his arm, wrapping it around the object and pulling.
A sharp intake of breath caught his ears, and Nino reflexively looked over his shoulder to see what he’d latched onto.
Chat Noir’s luminous eyes cut through the haze of fear clouding Nino’s thoughts. He gratefully tightened his hold on the superhero’s waist, fingers spread wide as his hand clutched the blond’s hip.
Chat gripped Nino’s bicep and wrapped an arm around his stomach, just under his ribs. He pulled the boy into his chest and fought against the vine with an intensity he rarely deemed necessary for akuma attacks.
Nino tried to hold in a grunt as the vine held onto him, not tightening, but not releasing its coil.
Chat could feel sweat collecting over the top of his mask, sticking locks of hair to his face and dribbling down his nose. His teeth tore at his lower lip and his eyes darted around the area, searching for anything to break the plant’s hold.
From the very top of the bush, another vine burst through a layer of leaves, launching itself straight for Nino and Chat.
In a fit of unthinking desperation, Chat released his right hand from around Nino’s middle and hastily yelled “Cataclysm!”
The call of his power didn’t come with its usual dangerous thrill warming his body. Instead, it shot like ice through his system, shocking him into action.
He flung his arm out in front of Nino, destroying the vine and tugging his friend away before it had even completely disintegrated to ash. They broke apart, each trying to regain their balance.
Nino stumbled backwards, distancing himself from the bush without looking where he was going.
“We need to get somewhere safe.”
Nino only nodded.
Chat took his hand and began to run, pulling Nino hard enough his cap almost flew off his head.
They bounced through the park, zig-zagging around the destroyed land and avoiding any ominous shrubbery. They crossed into the street, changing directions whenever a nearby shriek was heard.
Chat Noir was on the last legs of his transformation when he stopped them.
Chat dropped Nino’s hand, doing one last visual check of the location before beginning to walk away. “I think you should be safe here. For now, at least.”
He didn’t get very far before he heard Nino scream, “Chat!”
He turned around to see a tree barreling after him.
Nino ran to Chat Noir, grabbing his arm, and rushing them away from another akuma creation.
Chat shook himself out of his daze and took the lead again, darting around buildings as the tree continued to chase them, lobbing branches at their heads.
Chat knew he only had seconds left before his transformation dropped.
He ducked into an alleyway, hoping he was fast enough to disappear out of the sight of the akuma’s most recent minion.
His transformation melted away as he continued farther into the space between two buildings, trying to distance himself from the street, angry that the akuma had forced him into this position.
He had almost forgotten about Nino, who had only detached from his arm as they rounded the corner into the alley.
“Adrien?” he said, equal parts wonder and disbelief.
Adrien was paralyzed. He couldn’t do anything more. His biggest secret just exploded right in front of his best friend, and now he could no longer hide.
“I’m exhausted, are we done yet?” Plagg’s voice startled Adrien enough to move.
“Uh, no.” He absentmindedly dug a small wheel of cheese out of his bag and offered it to his kwami. “We’ve still got a lot to do.”
“Can you make it quick? I’ve got a nap to catch up on.”
Nino stared critically at the cat creature, trying to convince himself he hadn’t gone insane.
After a moment of tense silence while the kwami inhaled his cheese, Adrien called back his transformation and was encased in vibrant green light without any of his usual personal flare.
“Stay...stay here, please?” Chat said, rubbing the back of his neck. “We need to talk and I just--I just need to finish this and then I’ll come back and find you.”
Nino nodded in understanding and watched Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste, jump back into the fight.
He sat down, lucid enough to figure the ground would make the seat of his pants absolutely disgusting, but not armed with the will to care.
He took off his hat to scratch his fingers along his hair, thoughts racing as he tried to calm his pounding heart.
He sat there in silence, counting his breaths to tide himself over as he waited for Chat’s return.
Chat Noir wasn’t gone for long, tumbling back into the alley and detransforming as soon as he saw Nino.
When their eyes connected, Nino pushed himself back up onto his feet. They stood in awkward silence for only a moment before Nino took pity on his friend and opened his mouth.
“So you’re...you’re Chat Noir.”
Adrien searched Nino’s warm, golden eyes, trying to gauge his reaction.
Nino held himself still, not divulging his emotions. He needed this, the oral confirmation. And he couldn’t sway Adrien’s confession.
Adrien’s eyes darted to the side in defeat and he let out a sigh. “Yes.” He straightened his shoulders. “I am.”
“Interesting.”
“Is that...all you have to say?”
“No.”
Adrien swallowed thickly, closing his eyes and inhaling through his nose. He tried to appreciate those final moments before he’d know for a fact that their relationship would be forever changed.
“Then what do you need to say?”
His question was met with silence long enough he felt the urge to peek open an eyelid.
“Nino?”
The brunet raised his eyebrows to show he was listening.
“What are you...can you tell me what you’re thinking?”
Nino scrunched his eyes and raised a hand to his forehead, rubbing between his brows. “I’m thinking that I can’t believe you let me go on about how attractive you are. You suck.”
They made eye contact, Nino’s narrowed and miffed, Adrien’s wide and disbelieving.
They stood their ground for a moment, tension heavy in the air weighing down on their shoulders.
The first sound that sprung out of Adrien was a small squeak, like a kitten vying for attention. It opened the door for a mess of sound to tumble out into the space between them, bouncing around the small alley and filling up the air around them.
Adrien’s laugh danced through the quickly approaching twilight, prickling at Nino’s ears and begging him to join. His chuckles rocked his body, coaxing the stagnant air to vibrate around them, teasing Nino’s lips into a smile.
The smile grew wider as a low rumbling in Nino’s chest hopped up into his throat, and forced its way out of his mouth as a titter. It escalated into a full fledged laugh, one that jostled him off balance enough to fall into his friend.
They leaned into each other, toppling off balance and falling to the ground in a heap of limbs and dying giggles.
When their laughter finally subsided and they were still tangled together, Nino decided he needed to voice the fear he’d developed since discovering Adrien’s secret.
“Is this...are we going to be weird now?” he asked, looking up to the sky to avoid questioning green eyes.
“Why would we be weird?”
“I mean, I flatout said I wanted to date you. Isn’t that weird?”
“No, it’s not weird,” Adrien assured somewhat timidly. He pinched his eyes closed again, taking a deep breath to find the courage to finish his thought.“Especially if I may also perhaps be interested in dating you as well.” His eyelids fluttered back open.
Nino’s gaze immediately dropped from the sky in search of Adrien’s.
They stared at each other and let silence descend upon them, shrouding the pair from the outside world of noisy cars and loud talking and babies crying and heels clacking against the Parisian streets. They existed in their own reality, a bubble of quiet protection.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Nino asked.
“Desperately.”
Their lips touched with a gentle pressure, a flower petal resting on a still lake. Sparks danced where their skin touched, urging Nino to place a hand on Adrien’s cheek, fingerpads painting along his jaw.
The kiss stretched into a thousand tiny moments all carefully stitched together, wiping away the time they wasted apart.
When it was over, Adrien leaned his forehead against Nino’s, taking soft breaths of shared air.
They stayed wrapped together in fragile silence until the night sky was littered with faint stars.
“Adrien?” Nino asked quietly, reluctant to destroy the world they’d created for themselves.
“Yes?”
“You know how you swore you came up with Chatabase off the top of your head?”
Adrien winced “I did say that.”
“How much of a lie was that?”
“...very much a lie.”
“I knew it.” Nino rubbed his nose along Adrien’s temple. “You must’ve been thinking about that for months.”
Adrien made a muffled noise in the back of his throat, hiding his reddening face in Nino’s shoulder.
“Oh man, worse than that?” Nino teased and Adrien could clearly hear the smile in his voice.
The noncommittal noise Adrien released as he buried himself farther into Nino’s side was better than any verbal confirmation Adrien could have given him.
“Dude, how bad are we talking?”
Adrien remained silent.
“Come on, you can tell me,” Nino coaxed as he rubbed Adrien’s shoulder comfortingly. “Please?”
“...since like the day after Alya came out with the Ladyblog.”
Nino stopped his comforting.“That’s totally embarrassing.”
“Shut up.”
He began rubbing Adrien’s shoulder again, pulling the blond closer into his side. “But I’ll have you know that I’ve been crushing on you since like your first day of school, which is definitely more embarrassing.”
“Really?” Adrien beamed. “Then why Chat Noir? And why didn’t...why didn’t you ever say anything?” his voice dropped off at the end of his sentence.
“Why didn’t you?” Nino flipped the question.
“Fair enough.”
“But that Chat Noir thing...” Nino turned his head to stare into his eyes. “Adrien was always interested in friendship. I didn’t even know if you wanted more. And somehow...it just made a flirty superhero seem more attainable, I guess.” Nino laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. “I wanted to be there for you the way you needed, and you made it seem like you just needed friendship.” Nino ran a hand through Adrien’s tangled hair.
Adrien smiled. “I really love having you as my friend.”
“Likewise,” Nino laughed.
“But I think I’m also gonna really love having you as my boyfriend,” Adrien winked.
“Mmm, jury’s still out on that one. I’m gonna need some purrsuading.”
Adrien grasped the back of Nino’s neck and leaned in towards his lips, stating his case the best way he knew how.