Yes. Wtf.
I mean, this is kinda just relief writing for me.
Just, like, throwing off all the salt and pain and ideas and kinda also the angst that I wanna experiment with and brewing it up in one OneShot.
There's no concept to this, no anything, just pure pain.
Kinda born from the fact that I was salty about Nino being forgotten in the show and he doesn't even have parents so I just created this little orphan!AU and let my angst guide the whole thing.
Tears, man, tears.
Enjoy a good cry~
The flames crackled and screamed as Nino pulled his hands back to cover his face. Or maybe he screamed, he couldn't tell.
The debris falling from above ignited another cloud of dust and sent him falling backwards at the explosion of heat, making him stumble and fall.
A table and two chairs against which he fell came down with him and he felt the edge of a chair slamming in his face. Moments after the aching sensation passed he felt something warm and smeary running down his temple, sticking to the fine hairs on his skin and mixing with the dust and ash clinging to him.
His hands were red and burning. They felt swollen as he pushed against the ground to get himself up again, the desperate desire to get out of here fueling his muscles, even if they groaned at each movement.
He clenched his teeth and fought himself to his knees, crawling over to the blocked and burning doorframe to get a glimpse through the fallen debris. A bigger hole had opened up now, bigger than before, but as he pushed his head through and tried to pull his shoulder with him as well he felt he'd get stuck if he continued.
With a frustrated and pained sigh, he leant back again, sitting down on his folded legs. The flames behind him ate and licked on the tables and chairs of the classroom, inching closer and closer to him. The door was long gone and instead, a big pile of debris blocked it. It only left a small hole that wasn't captured by flames yet, but he was still imprisoned.
He wouldn't get out. He knew he couldn't. There was just no way of moving that heavy stuff, except if Chat Noir came to use cataclysm.
But he wouldn't.
Nobody had ever come after Nino in the past. Never had anyone ever turned once to ask where he was.
So he would die here. No matter how loudly he screamed or how desperately he ripped and pushed on the debris, he wouldn't be able to get out in time.
He sighed once again, feeling the heat from all sides getting closer. He'd die here. Slowly and painfully.
The flames crackled and seemed to laugh at him as he pulled his legs out from beneath him, sitting on the floor to rest his head between his knees. Nobody would come for him.
Nobody would even care. Nino who?
He snorted humorlessly as he felt the heat in the classroom rising. He was in one of the higher levels so jumping would be his certain death. The door was blocked and he had no way of escaping. There was just no way for him to leave here.
The orphanage wouldn't ask. He was registered, sure, but so many children didn't come back. So many children died or ran away or fled to family members who lived far away. He wouldn't be missed. Nobody would ever adopt him since he was too old already. All the babies and kids up to the age of 7, at most, sure. They stayed a few days or months until they found new parents. He was one of the oldest ones by now.
He'd have to go through life without an own family – and it seemed like that life would end here now. He sighed once again, moving a bit away from where the heat became to unbearable but not starting another try to break out.
He had thought he had found a bit of family in the Dupain-Chengs. He knew them since Marinette had been born. They had actually been the ones considering to adopt him but the bakery had been too new and Marinette too young then. Plus, well, he didn't want to be a burden to them. He knew it would cost a lot to adopt him and they'd have to go through a lot of papers to be able to take him home. So he had declined to be adopted by them.
But he had always been welcomed in their home.
When he had met Alya it had all changed. Sure, the crush on Marinette had been undeniable but as soon as he had finally opened up to the new girl – and she to him – they had clicked.
It had been refreshing to have someone, namely Adrien and Alya, who didn't know he was an orphan. They had treated him as one of their own, a normal person. A normal boy.
And it had been especially nice to have Alya's family around. He had been to her home a few times, eating dinner with them and all. It had felt so good. As if the Césaires had become his family right then. And he guessed he had began hoping he could join their family.
Not necessarily as a son or brother, though.
Nino snorted, shaking his head as he got up once more, the doorframe with the debris getting blurry in front of his eyes. He angrily wiped his tears away and weakly pushed against the biggest cement block that blocked the door. It had come off a wall, apparently.
The boy sniffled and leant to the side to peak through another, smaller hole. He could still see some students running out of the school, even if it was already burning and cracking after the Akuma had set it on fire. They had apparently fought their way out finally.
He longingly looked after them, knowing screaming would be useless over the crackling fire and roaring instability of the building. His arm fit through the hole so he slipped it through, to feel at least a little cool air on his fingers. Leaning on his elbow he looked outside through the metal grid that had fallen from the roof, the tears now flowing freely as he watched some kids running up the stairs to catch their friends who came stumbling out. They were safe.
They would never know an orphan boy died up here. They would never know.
A gentle breeze that had been playing around his fingers reminded him once more where he was. The rough stone, the towering flames and the cracking wood of the chairs and tables behind him. The steadiness of the blockage and the scorching heat of the metal surfaces.
He knew there was no way out.
Until suddenly, he saw a flash of orange down at the foot of the stairs. A flash of fierce determination.
He watched the small figure of Alya outside the school, just barely in his vision, as she approached what looked like their classmates. A small blonde turned, Rose. They began talking, both with big gestures, as a few classmates joined in. Alya finally turned away, yelled something, and ran up the stairs – right into the school.
Nino's eyes widened as he saw her stopping in the schoolyard, looking around and stopping the last few fleeing students to talk to them briefly.
No. She couldn't just run in here. It was too dangerous! What was she searching for anyway?! She had an Akuma to catch and stay safer than being inside a burning and collapsing building.
He was about to yell for her to leave as he saw he motioning a taller person than her with her hand above her head. Then she motioned a cap and he understood. She searched for him. She was here for him.
He gulped and quickly pulled his arm into the heating up classroom again, fleeing to the side to get out of her field of view. If she saw him now she would come up here and he certainly didn't want that. He didn't want her to come up here. He would have to say goodbye and she would have to be in danger.
As much as he wanted to see her one last time, he couldn't bear putting her in that kind of danger, especially if Ladybug and Chat Noir weren't around. He clenched his teeth and pressed himself against the wall next to the doorframe, his eyes searching wildly for another hideout that wasn't on fire.
Maybe on the other side of the door… But would he be able to get there? There was definitely more room than on this side. Especially with the flames that began licking on his pants. He cursed and jumped away, only to freeze immediately. A voice yelled his name. And it came closer.
"Nino?! NINO!"
He heard footsteps pounding on the metal stairs that led up to the classroom he was in. Moments later, Alya's fiery hair appeared. And their eyes locked through the debris. She took the last few steps to stand on his level and he immediately pushed against the debris blocking the door again, trying to reach through. Seeing her like this made him forget where they were or in which situation he was. He just wanted to see her, possibly one last time.
"Alya!"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she kicked a burning piece of wood away, quickly grasping his hand in hers as she leant against the pile.
"Nino…", she whispered, one of her hands staying with his to interlace their fingers, the other reaching up to the metal grid that was stuck between a few pieces of immovable stone and served them as a window. He wanted to warn her as she laid her palm on the metal but she already shrugged back at the heated-up surface. His face contorted in pain as he sobbed dryly.
"I'm so sorry, Alya… I can't get out. I tried."
She looked at him so heartbrokenly, so sadly that he sobbed once more.
"There's gotta be a way. I-… I'll get Chat, he'll use cataclysm. I-… I'll get Ladybug, she'll get this all away. O-Or I could-"
"It's of no use, Alya.", he sharply interrupted her, gently brushing over her knuckles with his thumb, then his voice got softer, "It's of no use. I tried. It's too heavy and Ladybug and Chat Noir are busy."
Alya sobbed as well now, her hand in his clenching.
"There-… There's gotta be a way… Y-You can't-… I can't let you go… I just can't, okay?! I-… I'll get you out!"
She let go of his hand and he stumbled back as she climbed on top of the pile, pressing her back against the metal grid to push the concrete block away with her feet. He shook his head and surged forward again, coming up behind her as the heated metal began burning through her shirt.
"No, no, Alya! Alya, don't please, just leave it there!"
She angrily shook her head and continued, not caring about him trying to push her away.
"You-… You gotta get out-… I-… I can't leave you here!"
With a scream she fell forward, her back smoldering from the burned marks of the grid. He clenched his teeth as she laid on her back for a second, then rolled over and tried to get up to her knees.
"Alya-… Alya, you have to leave… It's too dangerous for you here… Please, Alya…"
"Not-… When you're-…", she breathed through and got to her feet, her face contorted in pain, "... Still here… Nino…"
He shook his head and reached through the hole again, feeling her taking his hand once again.
"I know. I know it's hard. But I'll come back with the Lucky Charm. Promise."
He knew it was a lie. As much as she knew about Ladybug she probably knew as well. And there had been deaths before, that couldn't be reversed with the Lucky Charm. He interlaced their fingers once more and felt tears welling up in his eyes again.
"I'm sorry, Alya, but it's too late."
She lowered her head and he sighed, lightly touching her cheek through the metal grid that parted them, careful not to touch the hot surface.
Only then she looked up again, her skin slipping from his touch. Her determined eyes met his.
"I'm sure Kim won't resist a good bet."
His eyes grew as she turned away, aiming for the stairs. He slammed a fist against the metal grid, not caring how much it hurt.
"What?! Alya, Alya no! Don't do that! It's too dangerous, you'll get everyone killed! Alya!"
She didn't listen to him as she already stormed down the stairs, her burnt shirt and her wild hair being the last thing he saw of her.
"ALYA! ALYA, STAY AWAY!", he screamed but once again, the flames were too loud and she was already on her way down and out of the school. He stared after her as she vanished down the stairs, his breaths coming out in ragged puffs. It was getting relatively hard to breathe in here, even if the classroom was relatively big, allowing the smoke to collect on top and him to survive a little longer. He coughed as he sank back, hoping desperately that the other would keep Alya outside of the school. She couldn't get them to come back here, not now. She would lead them all into grave danger and he certainly didn't want that.
Not for the unloved orphan kid. He didn't want anyone to die for him.
With a deep sigh that ended in breathless sobs he let himself fall to the floor, taking his head in his hands. This couldn't be reality. It just couldn't.
He screamed out before sagging into himself, slowly falling to the side, curled up, to clasp his head tightly.
He didn't want this. He just wanted it to stop. In the distance he heard the Akuma roar and he didn't want it. He wanted this to end, he wanted this to be a bad dream. Just a dream. Please, just make it stop, make it stop!
Until he heard a voice calling his name again. Her voice. Immediately, everything was forgotten and he scrambled to his feet, watching Alya running up the stairs closely followed by Kim and Ivan. They both were covered in soot and dirt as well so Nino figured they must've gotten out not too long ago.
How she had managed to get Ivan to help was a mystery to him but he figured that there was more of a hero in that boy than in most of their classmates, even if he was shy and silent.
Nino immediately grasped Alya's hand again as she arrived at the blocked door, tempted to try and reach through the metal grid as well to touch her as much as possible. She squeezed his fingers and got close enough to the heated-up grid not to burn herself but to enable him to carefully brush over her cheek again.
"We'll get you out, Nino. Promise, we'll get you out.", she whispered, her eyes confidently shining through the tears.
With that she waved the two other boys closer, letting go of his hand to grab the end of the big concrete block that laid across the doorframe.
"If we managed to move this thing we can push the metal aside and he'll be able to get out!", she called and Kim grabbed the other end above his head while Ivan made himself ready to pull in the middle, "And-… One! Two! Three! PULL!"
Nino did his best to force his hands through the holes of the metal grid to push against the stone as well, even if he felt the heat burning on his skin. But no matter how hard they pushed and pulled and tried to roll the concrete beam away, nothing moved. It was of no use. This thing was way too heavy and they couldn't even give it the slightest push.
The building cracked and Kim was the first to let go, looking up with fear in his eyes. Ivan followed him as the crackling of the flames got louder because a part of the roof fell off and past them into the schoolyard. Nino heard something rumbling, then a loud growl. He pulled his hands back, clenching his teeth at the pain, then he kneeled down where Alya still tried to push against the block. Through a hole of the width of maybe his arm he watched her ignoring a loud crash from down the hall pretty near them, her face getting redder the more she pressed against the concrete.
"Alya… Alya it's of no use. You have to leave."
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she stubbornly shook her head, still keeping her eyes squinted close.
"No! NO! I won't let you die! I won't-… I won't leave you…", a sob broke her voice and she sagged over the stone, sobbing loudly as another crash sounded, near them. He reached through the hole and brushed over her shoulder, pressing his lips together as she softly hissed when he accidently touched her burns.
"Alya you have to go. The building won't hold together for much longer. You have to go."
Her sobbing only got more heartbreaking as she looked up, her eyes finding his as they both got to their feet and she could see him through the metal grid.
"I can't leave you, Nino. I just can't. I-… I just met you and-… W-We haven't even been together for most of the year… You can't leave me now…"
He chuckled humorlessly, not caring about his burns or injuries as he pushed his hands through the grid, gently cupping her face as the metal burned the skin on his lower arms. He would die anyway and he felt numb.
"There's no other way, Alya… I love you so much…", a forced smile stretched his dry lips and he felt a tear, which was probably the thousandth, falling, "I'm sorry but there's no other way…"
She tried shaking her head again but he caressed her cheek and made her look into his eyes, firmly holding her gaze.
"Alya, you have to go. Now. The building is going down. I'll come back with the Lucky Charm, I promise.", he brushed one of her countless tears away, the wetness of the salty drop lingering on his thumb.
"Nino, please…", she began but he just huffed.
"You all have to go now.", he insisted, pulling his hands back and nodding at Kim and Ivan who desperately fought with staying here, "Please take Alya with you."
The girl immediately clenched her teeth, grabbing his retreating hands and holding him there. Nino sighed and was about to say something but she didn't care.
"Nino, I will not let you go. You will get out of here. Chat Noir will show up and he will free you and I will not leave your side. I won't! I-… Get this in your head, I'll stay here!"
All Nino could do was snorting. He squeezed her hands before prying his fingers out of her grasp, his eyes locked on her attempt to hold him. He had always had the stronger hands.
"Alya, you have a family. You have little sisters that look up to you and a big sister that's proud of you. You have a loving mother and an amazing father. You have so many friends, both from Martinique and Paris. You have the Ladyblog and a future. You know what you wanna be and where you wanna stand in life.", he smiled softly as he managed to pull his hands back completely, looking up to meet her gaze, "You don't belong with the dead. You're worth living for and to the fullest. You shouldn't stay here."
She sobbed and tried reaching through the grid for him but he took a small step back, causing her to let out a frustrated, aching breath.
"What about your family, your dreams?! You have a gift for music, you want to be a DJ! Where's that all gone?! NINO!"
He chuckled, shrugging slowly as he slowly felt his lungs burning because of the smoke that reached him now. He threw a gaze at the flames behind him, as if to look his death into the face, then he buried his hands in his pockets.
"I don't have a family, Alya. I never told you, I'm sorry, but it felt so good not to be the orphan boy for once.", her expression fell and he had to look away not to let even more burning tears roll down his cheeks, "It was nice to pretend I had a family when sitting in your room, hearing your siblings play and your mother and father banter in the kitchen. It was nice forgetting not to have to come back to a house full of little children who think their parents dumped them there because they don't love them. It was nice not having to do my homework with a handful of people in my age who're all working like I am. It was-… Just nice. And I'm content. But I never had a great future like you do."
He coughed, pulling his shirt up in front of mouth and nose to filter a little bit of air.
"Nino, I-…"
"Go to your family, Alya. Go back to them. Go shine, beautiful."
She flinched at the nickname he had given her shortly after they had become a couple, furiously wiping her eyes not to let more tears fall.
"I won't leave you. I-… I won't let you die."
Another big crash sounded, in the room right next to him. Everyone's eyes jumped to a big part of debris falling from the wall, smashing the windows and breaking the floor they were standing on. The ground rumbled and Kim, who had stood the closest flailed, fighting for his balance before jumping backwards, being caught by Ivan. Alya grabbed the concrete block they had tried to move and steadied herself while Nino caught Ivan's gaze. He nodded and the boy understood.
With a swift movement he nudged Kim and grabbed one of Alya's arms, the other boy quickly understanding and grabbing the other. Alya immediately began trying to rip her arms out of their grasp but they firmly held her between them.
"I'm so sorry, Nino…", Kim choked while Ivan pressed his lips together, not wanting to say anything. Nino smiled softly, leaning against the metal grid to look after them.
"It's okay. I'll be okay. You two go. Take-… Take care of Alya…"
"NO! NINO, PLEASE, PLEASE! I LOVE YOU, NINO, I CAN'T LEAVE YOU! NINO!"
Kim turned away, his eyes filled with tears as he began pulling the fighting girl backwards. Nino held Ivan's gaze for a little longer, then the boy followed Kim's example and began dragging Alya to the stairs.
"I love you, too, Alya… I'll always love you…", he whispered, catching her gaze one last time.
"NINO PLEA-", another, way louder, crash let them all yelp and as they looked up they saw the roof breaking into itself, being consumed by flames.
"RUN!", Nino yelled, jumping back as he just so saw the three of them scrambling down the stairs. A big pile of burning metal, glass and stone crashed down in front of the door and cut Nino's view completely, filling the room with a thick cloud of smoke and dust. He coughed and covered his face from the wave of heat that washed over him.
The flames began closing in faster so as soon as he had cleared his view he got to his knees again, seeing no sign of daylight anymore. The windows were clouded by thick, black smoke and the door was completely blocked now. All he saw was the seething heat of the flames licking on his surroundings and the blackness of the smoke and dust.
He coughed again, his eyes burning and tearing up even more as he blinked against the clouded air. His clothes heated up with the room, the flames no beginning to eat at his hair, his clothes and his shoes. Soon, the pain corrupted his mind. He had tried fleeing from the flames but they had caught him, beginning to devour him. He had thought he would fall unconscious first but apparently the room was big enough for the smoke to spread so that he would burn alive.
The agony flashing through his body with every single second caused him to go crazy and his body to move erratically in pain.
Suddenly, something else sounded over the roaring flames and crackling fire. Something human.
He had heard it before, he realized. He had most likely just not thought it would come back to him any time in his life so he had forgot.
He heard screams. But not for help, not to shout for anybody.
No, he heard himself. His screams, echoing back from the thick air, being muffled but oh so clear in his memories. Screams of pain, of agony and incredible despair. Screams of death.
His parents.
He had heard that before. His parents had sounded like that. He didn't know from where he knew that since the employees running the orphanage had always told him they had found him on their doorstep, dirty and crying, without a note, no nothing but a name, scribbled on his forehead with a marker.
Nino.
He didn't know who had written this name on a baby's forehead, just a year old. He didn't know if it even had been meant as a name or if it was his name.
But now the memories of a newborn resurfaced. He heard his screams, his pain, his agony, but all he could listen to was something similar, something he had heard long before he had been able to think.
He heard them. He saw the blurry golden eyes of his father, the fearful face of his mother, framed by brown hair. He saw them, he heard them, as they tried saving the baby. There was suddenly something cold, firm arms that carried him far away from the blazing orange and red death that had eaten his parents.
It wasn't that he remembered, really. It was more the feeling of having experienced this before.
The blurry faces of his parents suddenly vanished and left him alone in his writhing pain, before he saw another face. It wasn't blurry or scared.
Alya.
He drew in a desperate breath of the boiling air as he saw her. She smiled.
With a weak movement, a shaky hand, he reached out, only to feel the biting heat of flames licking on his fingers and around his palm.
Alya.
And with that he breathed out. Never to breathe in again.
She had thought leaving him was the worst part. She had thought leaving him behind to die would break her heart and crush her soul. She thought seeing his face for the last time, framed by the flames raging behind him, would be the ultimate pain she'd have to go through.
And it was, honestly. Seeing him scared and hurt while being dragged away, that sure did something to her. But she could've never anticipated what came next.
She barely remembered Ivan and Kim dragging her down the first few stairs. She had seen his face the last time when he had ripped his arms up, trying to shield himself from the impact of the big pile of burning debris that came falling down right in front of his room.
All she remembered was Ivan's fingers digging into her arm while Kim linked his arm around hers, pulling her away. But when the debris had come to a stop and the flames had roared up before quieting down a little again, just when they were in the middle of the stairs, it had begun.
Ivan and Kim where still trying to run as they heard it. Even through the blocked door and the walls and over the crackling fire they heard him.
His screams sent a chilling feeling down their spines and Alya remembered losing all her tension to shock when Ivan and Kim stopped walking, the eerie sound of Nino's cries and screams echoing through the yard in a horrible contrast to the fire and the cracking building.
Though, it had quickly changed. The boys had started walking again, faster than before, as Nino started screaming words. Alya couldn't hear everything due to the rushing blood in her ears but she heard enough with just two words.
He screamed for his parents. Mother and father. He screamed for a family, for his family.
They arrived on the yard and his screaming still didn't stop. Kim and Ivan stared straight ahead, eager to get to the stairs leading out of the school as quickly as possible, as his cries changed to a name.
Her name.
She heard her name through the school crystal clear. She heard him screaming for her.
No, not for her. She heard him pleading. Her name.
He didn't want her to come back. But he wanted to be with her.
Just when they exited the school through the front doors that had been ripped out of their joints at the first explosion, Alya fainted.
Note: It's not beta'd because I didn't want to. It feels kinda weird editing something that I wrote down with these emotions. So I left it raw.