A/N : Hi folks, I haven't completed this story and while I usually don't publish until I'm done the entire story, I really have a soft spot for this one. I enjoyed writing it and making the cover art.
Plus with all the inactivity you've had, I think you deserve some of my better work! Please Enjoy! :)
Also, On my Author Page in Works in Progress, it is originally titled "Adrien's Rival"
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"Yo Adrien, how busy are you this weekend?" Nino asked as he caught Adrien just leaving the school.
"Actually there's a little lull so I'm pretty free. Why? What's up?" Adrien replied, curious.
It was obvious Nino wanted to hang, but what exactly did he want to do?
Adrien could tell by his friend's choice of words that Nino had something special in mind.
Nino's extra big grin confirmed the blond's suspicions.
"Would you be down to join some guys from class and me to play a game of paintball?" The DJ offered.
Adrien couldn't help but smile wickedly.
That sounded like so much fun!
He pitied the other team.
Paintball wasn't something he'd personally played before, but he had a feeling he'd be a natural.
He did save Paris on the daily anyway.
"Seriously? I would love to!" Adrien exclaimed as he bumped fists with Nino.
"Yeah okay man, just remember this is all for fun," Nino added before he turned away from Adrien, going back to Alya and Marinette.
Adrien frowned. What a weird thing to say. Of course it was just for fun.
He pondered what Nino meant but couldn't decipher the secondary meaning.
Sunday morning rolled around and Adrien found himself getting out of his car and searching for the building Nino gave him an address for.
Nino and the other guys were waiting in the lobby. He wasn't surprised to see Kim or Ivan but he was kind of shocked to see Nathaniel and Max.
Nino saw his gaze and laughed as he walked over to greet Adrien.
The DJ was wearing an old thick royal blue sweater, Nathaniel in dark grey, Kim in red, Ivan in dark brown an Max in neon green.
"I know what you're thinking but Max is a great strategist and Nathaniel actually has a lot of aggression that he likes to get out in paintball," Nino explained.
Adrien quirked a brow. He could believe the first part but the second...
Well.
Adrien glanced at the shy and reserved looking Nathaniel.
He'd have to see it to believe it.
Nino rolled his eyes at Adrien's disbelief, deciding to instead tease his friend.
"Hope that isn't an Agreste original," Nino said as he tugged on a white sleeve of Adrien's sweater.
Adrien snorted.
"It is but it's so old that Father would probably shoot me if he saw me wearing it for anything else. I was probably supposed to donate it or throw it out awhile ago," Adrien chuckled.
Adrien didn't mind the fact that it was going to get covered in paint. He thought it was cool, and if it stained then it was a souvenir.
He loved sweaters, especially the comfy ones and if he got to wear them from a past collection then he tended to keep them.
Besides they were good for things like this.
The guys made their way to the counter and paid, receiving paint balls, guns, clips to carry into battle, and helmets or masks.
Kim only went with a mask because that was how real men played.
Max unsurprisingly went fully covered and so did Nino and Adrien.
Ivan wore a black helmet while Nathaniel also choose a mask.
Nino helped Adrien put on a vest.
"So how are we doing this? Trading off Max and switching up teams every few rounds?" Adrien asked as Nino slid on his own vest.
Nino frowned.
"No actually - "
"Well look what the cat dragged in," A snide voice interrupted. Adrien looked over to see a 5 member team in all matching camouflage gear appear.
Adrien's eyes narrowed at the speaker, a bean pole slightly taller than him, maybe even a year or two older.
"Hey man we're just here to have fun," Nino muttered.
The guy strode up to Nino and glared down at him.
"Oh no, you're here to try and beat us like you do every month. It's a ritual now," he remarked, hands flung to either side of him, "Or a loosing streak."
The other members of his team laughed at his comment.
Adrien clenched his teeth to avoid saying something unpleasant.
"Enough." A voice commanded.
Adrien could see through beam pole's mask and noticed his eyes widen as he stepped back to his team.
"Yes sir," the guy said submissively, face going from smug to blank in three seconds flat.
"You're always getting us into trouble with your talk. Yet who has to cover your butt?" It continued. The team parted as a short guy in a baggy traditional military camo strode to face Adrien and his friends.
Adrien frowned. This guy had a voice changer in his helmet. It was calibrated really well, Adrien's cat senses barely able to pick it up.
He sounded like a guy well past puberty but he could be 9 for all Adrien knew.
Shrimp carried himself with a sort of calm dignity. He didn't even look at bean pole who shriveled at his scolding.
"You sir." he muttered in response.
"That's right, we're here to have fun, now remember that," the Shrimp said impassively.
He turned to Nino and stuck out a hand.
"Good to see you again Team Wild Gun," Shrimp greeted warmly.
Nino clasped his gloved hand with his own and gave it a firm shake.
From the way his eyes crinkled Adrien could tell he was smiling.
"You too team captain of the competition team," Nino replied.
Adrien's jaw dropped.
Some members on Shrimp's team had to be triple his size. Yet he was team captain? He certainly seemed to run a tight ship and had his team mate's respect.
The captain's gaze slide over to Adrien who found himself looking at black tinted plastic that he couldn't see past.
Huh. Guy liked his privacy.
"New member?" The captain questioned curiously.
Nino nodded.
"Good, we can play full teams then," Shrimp barked, "See you on the field."
The guy turned on his heels, baggy army print pants crinkling as he went while his dark black combat boots echoed through the room with every step he took.
Bean pole scowled at Adrien and his friends as the rest of the team followed their captain.
He stomped over to Adrien and poked him in the chest.
"One extra player won't make any difference," he hissed before he spun around and ran after his team.
Adrien looked at Nino. He needed some answers.
"Competition team?" He asked.
Nino smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry Dude, this place has their own team they send to competitions, in exchange they give the entire team a free membership here. Unlimited balls, no fee for gear rental, I mean heck they have their own uniforms and masks and stuff," Nino explained.
Adrien was thoughtful, so some of them thought they were better than others.
Adrien snorted thinking of bean pole. Wouldn't he like to reveal that he was Adrien Agreste?
His mind then wandered to the player with the all black helmet.
Shrimp the team captain.
"Shrimp seems nice," Adrien said.
Nino looked at him in confusion before he realized who he meant.
"Oh yeah. They call him Sniper. He's pretty cool and chill but on the field he's insane! Rumor has it he's our age and I can see it with the way he acts...but he is pretty shrimpy," Nino gushed.
Adrien hummed, this guy seemed to impress Nino, he wondered how he'd hold up to Chat Noir's skills.
"How good is he Nino?" Adrien prodded.
He had to know.
His competitive streak was beginning to flare.
Adrien the newbie at Paintball had something to prove.
"Honestly, he's probably secretly Chat Noir, if he's not I would put my money on him in a fight. I watch any tournament they have here or stream from their other competitions," Nino admitted.
Kim walked over and rolled his eyes.
"Nino you're our team captain! Stop man crushing on the enemy!" Kim lectured.
The guys got a good laugh out of that one as Nino sputtered defensively.
The loud speakers blared to life signaling the current round was over.
Adrien watched the doors to the arena open revealing a group who looked severely beaten.
"Why do we always choose to try and beat the comp team again?" Ivan muttered under his breath.
"Because we like a challenge?" Nathan supplied.
Adrien caught Nino's eye again. He was looking for context.
"Adrien, every Sunday, all Sunday, the competition team is officially at the disposal of the public to challenge. They're literally slotted for this time," Max provided.
Adrien thanked him as he watched Nino get pumped up, even Nathaniel was grinning like a madman.
Adrien almost felt nervous. What if he let them down?
He didn't want the bean pole to win, to be able to gloat over them.
Once again Max seemed to notice his distress and tried to reassure him.
"Adrien it's all for fun, besides, we've never beaten the Comp Team before."
Adrien's winced.
Was the comp team really that good?
To be fair they did have Nathaniel and Max...
Adrien tried to examine the layout of the field through the observation glass as teams gathered despite the fact that only cleaning staff were on the field.
"Aw yeah, another Wild Gun VS A Team battle!" A couple of other teenage boys remarked.
Adrien blinked.
Were Nino and his classmates really that good?
Adrien eyed them warily. So much he didn't know...
He was treading in unknown territory.
Just then the speaker came on announcing it was the next team's turn.
"Alright Adrien, game plan is hang back a little and watch us play. Max will talk strategy with you. Don't worry about getting hit, we have three round to play," Kim said.
Adrien pursed his lips. The captain of the other team said they'd play with all their players, and Max already didn't do the front lines really.
"What about that extra member?" Adrien pointed out.
"Don't worry about it, we've got it," Nathaniel reassured.
Nino snickered and Adrien scowled at him, he felt like they were keeping some big sort of secret from him.
Nino just clapped Adrien on the back.
"Look Dude, some of us are so good we've been offered a spot on the comp team," he revealed.
Adrien's brows knit together in confusion. If they were that good then how come they'd never won?
Adrien opened his mouth to ask only to get his question answered by Ivan.
"Because Sniper is one really good player. He's not only a master strategist, but he's got some crazy athletic skill," Ivan said.
Adrien raised a finger, ready to ask more questions when the warning horn blared, encouraging players to move from the locker room to the waiting section of the field.
The first thing he noticed was how big it was!
The next. How dim the lighting was. A bonus for his enhanced vision.
Tires, barrels, haystacks and even a few abandoned cars were scattered about.
But what amazed Adrien was the net work of almost treehouse like huts and bridges a level above them.
This was one savage course! It definitely looked like an elite battle field.
Max nudged him with his shoulder.
"Over there, we camp while the other split up. Nino, Kim and Nathaniel move forward while Ivan covers from up across from us in the other hut. You could potentially be the first forward, or flank in the back," Max whispered as he pointed to a spot.
"We move positions from there and then if necessary we run around behind our line between the upper level and the floor depending on if they come for us up top," Max continued.
Adrien frowned.
"Do you always do it like this?" He asked.
Max laughed.
"No, this is just this month's strategy, we like to mix it up."