djbubbles | IC Inbox (The Wake)

Good. That's....that's good. [At least he didn't suffer long.]

[But it doesn't take him long to arrive, landing a few feet away and he looks...uncertain. Even more so than the first day of school, when he had the model act. Now he just stood there, ears folded back, tail twitching, fiddling with the baton and seeming just...small.]

[Nino sees Chat and was gonna pick up the case but he notices Chat's actions. Instead he'll just run up and try to pull him into a hug. Treating him no different than if he were in his normal form.

The baton case can wait.]

[Chat doesn't fight him, breath hitching at the sudden contact. For a few moments, he's still.]

[Then he hugs back, tight like he's afraid Nino will vanish, though careful of his stength.] I'm...so, so sorry.

[For a while, Nino wondered if he should let go. Adrien usually never rejected hugs and honestly he wouldn't blame him if he didn't wanna be touchy-feely. Luckily it doesn't seem to be the case.]

I know. It'll be okay.

I hate November. [Murmured against his shoulder.]

...we should talk somewhere more private. [Though he was reluctant to let go.]

At least there's Christmas to look forward to.

[Which still feels weird to Nino since it was Christmas when he first awakened.]

Yeah we should.

[Though he's not in a hurry to let go either. He'll give him all the time he needs.]

[CONSIDERING HOW HIS LAST TWO DECEMBERS WENT....]

At least there's that. Maybe I'll surprise father with another party.

[It takes him another minute to finally pull away. He thought for a moment and...held out a hand.] I thunk I have a place we can go.

[He doesn't know (or remember) that.]

That sounds like a great idea.

[He nods.]

Just a sec.

[He walks over to grab the baton case and then comes back with it. He moves it under an arm and accepts his hand with the other.]

[Chat pulls him close, making sure his hold was secure before pulling off his other baton and extending it to move up in the air.]

Let's see, from here it should be...there. [And shifts his weight to head on down to a building several blocks away.] Absolutely do not tell Alya about this.

[And in a fluid motion, he retracts the baton to a shorter length and shifts his hold on Nino to keep his feet from hitting the rooftop, taking the full impact himself. Then carefully set Nino down.] Or Ladybug for that matter, I want to surprise her.

[He holds on as best he can and then lets go once they reach the rooftop. He offers up the baton case.]

Don't worry, I won't tell either of them. Or my lady for that matter. ...If she even still exists.

[That would be a bummer if whoever was his Ladybug doesn't remember the storm. Sure he would have to let go of his crush since he's dating Alya, but she was still his partner.]

She most likely does. She felt solid, anyway, and was more life like than the usual constructs. I don't think Nautilus can just create someone that real from nothing.

I mean, for the Academy storm, father and I thought mother was alive, but all direct communication and all that happened around that week, not during.

[He moves over to the edge of the roof and down a ladder to the top of a fire escape. Where there is a window that seems to be blocked off by a piece of furniture, with just enough space to get a hand through. Which, with enhanced strength like Chat, is enough leverage to actually push it to the side and let's him climb inside.]

[It's a pretty average room, just another empty building, but there is plenty of stuff inside. A couch with a lot of blankets and pillows nearby, a TV and DVD player, the bookcase which had been blocking the window with various books, disc cases, and managa. There was a table with various bits of medical supplies, snacks, and a map of Nautilus pinned to the wall.]

Since Nautilus has some curve balls for us, I thought it'd be good for Ladybug and I to have a kind of safe house when the TARDIS isn't an option. Also good for hang outs since I'm finally making progress on charming her. The only way to this floor without breaking through the ceiling downstairs is that window, so. Sort of secure.

[Also a good place for him if he has to do another Endos running around like an idiot scenario.]

Yeah she felt real to me too. A shame neither of us know who she was, but maybe that might be the best.

Oh man that's rather cruel. [He can't imagine how much that must have hurt post-storm. He would have been devastated in his shoes.

Nino follows with the case in his arm still and gets inside. He looks around the room. Not a bad place.]

Yeah that's a good idea.

[Wait a sec.]

Charming her? Are you and your Ladybug dating?

She might say something. It's not like she has the Miraculous, she's not in any danger outing herself.

....it was. But there was a lot of cruelty in that storm.

[Chat moves the bookcase back, just in case and holds out a hand for the case.]

[Though going a bit red at the question.] ...in a word? No. Ladybug likes someone else.

BUT she's isn't making much progress with this guy. [And he brightens up, looking hopeful.] And she does care about me, she is attracted to me, so I have a shot to win her heart. We actually have a date planned, since, we can here. No public freaking out because we're hanging out in a restaurant. The only person we actually have to worry about is Alya.

Well I don't plan on outing myself. In case I need to become Chat again.

[He can't help but grin at that blushing.] Wow that's pretty lucky. If I weren't already dating Alya, I would be kinda jealous.

As you should be. My Lady is the best. [He clasps his hands together and sighs blissfully.] Really, it made all the stress with Endos worth it because I finally got to confess without chickening out and she admitted she returned some of my feelings and actually let me know I have a chance.

[There's a few seconds where his lovestruck haze keeps him from really processing the first bit.]

[But then it does.]

Wait. In case of what now.

I would argue my Lady is the best, but we would be here all day.

In case I need to be Chat again. I remember how to bend it back and I can be your back-up Chat or at least provide a good distraction.

[He still had quite a few fake memories still around and not just the one about Plagg. Mostly from his fights with Akumas.]

[There is a long, long, long time where Chat just stares at Nino, face blank.]

.....

You do realize you could die, right?

Especially when it comes to Akumas, like the very core of my job is to take the hit if someone has to.

Yeah I know. You come back here after a week even if that were to happen. I may not have formal training, but I know how to fight now.

[Believe him, he knows the risks.]

.....

[Chat breathes deep. He lets it out.]

Okay, I'm. Shelving that for right now. Just. Things. Things first, discuss things first before. That.

[Rubs at his face and. Okay. Okay. Prioritize, cover key points, get. Somewhere.]

Okay. First point. The Doctor, just Ten, and Rose know, the Doctor got one of my memories during a psychic storm, Rose figured out from the ensuing freak out. Spark knows because the suit does nothing to alter the smell of an open wound. Leia knows because she figured out secret tutor Chat during the Academy storm and put two and two together.

Those are the four who definitely know and are safe to talk to about it. There's a couple of people who probably know or at least suspect, but they are leaving it alone.

Ladybug does not know. She does not want to know. I am going to have to tell her you know.

[He'll accept that since it's not a hard no.]

Got it.

Just like with me and my Lady. I remember she didn't want to know either. Your lady should know sooner than later. You two are partners after all.

If I had known during Dark Cupid, I would have immediately ratted her out.

Same. I can see why both Ladybugs don't wanna know 'cause that's a risk.

[It made sense, even if he did wish he knew.]

Yeah. [He sighed. Stupid safety.]

[He flopped down in the couch.]

....when combined, the ladybug and black cat Miraculous can grant ultimate power. Able to grant any wish.

[He's staring at the ceiling.] Balance is important. Everything between Ladybug and I is about maintaining a perfect balance, stepping in where the other needs it. I doubt that wish is free.

But Renard didn't care to think beyond the prize. It was a way to bring them back. It was worth being evil to get it. He believed it was worth sacrificing his soul.

I agree, there's gotta be a catch to it.

[And certainly not worth whatever Papillion truly wants. Nino shakes his head at the last part.]

Just as I thought. I could tell he was desperate but I wasn't sure if it was because he went crazy or got impatient.

[Since that was something he never attempted before that point.]

Garfield was in on it. Adrien found the Miraculous shortly before Renard appeared. Several months later, Garfield found out, and they'd been switching ever since.

When father just appeared from our perspective, it was a shock. Didn't trust it. But Garfield came up with the idea of us both jumping Ladybug at once since we didn't need the Miraculous to transform, and it'd catch her off enough for us to hopefully get at least one earring.

We knew how to get Ladybug. We were waiting to somehow lose father again. And I....I decided that I wasn't going to let it happen. You were new, I could win if I just stopped caring about the consequences, we could get them quickly, make sure we didn't lose him, and maybe figure out how to get her.

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