Adrien got out of his car, trying his best to school his face into a smile. So he hadn't seen his dad in almost a month. That was fine. He was busy. Adrien knew this. He had been hoping for a congratulations about his recent accomplishment in fencing, but really, he hadn't needed it that much. He shouldn't be so disappointed at the brief congratulations Nathalie passed onto him at lunch. It was second hand, yeah, but at least his dad said something. That was… good.

Adrien could feel himself finally lose the battle against his own emotions, the frown overtaking his face. He kept it as small as possible, avoiding eye contact as he took his seat in class. He could practically feel the force of Nino's curious gaze, but he just shook his head and mouthed "Later" before turning back, reaching down to his bag to retrieve a pencil and, more importantly, keep Nino from pinning him down with that questioning look. If Adrien could just get through this class, he would be fine again. This event would be pushed away, and he'd be able to blow it all off without admitting to anyone the kind of pathetic reason he was down in the first place.

This plan was ruined soundly as Nino slid a note over to Adrien, practically sliding it under his hand. He couldn't ignore it, so he glanced down.

Hey, what's up?

Adrien didn't reply for a little bit, paying attention to the teacher carefully. But he could still feel Nino watching him, so as soon as the teacher looked away, he scribbled a reply.

Nothing much.

He slid the paper back to Nino without looking away from the teacher, and hoped that was the end of the conversation. He almost believed it was, and he eventually fell back into the lesson the teacher was lecturing on. But another swift tap on his hand and the piece of paper was back in front of him. The writing was messy and a lot of things were crossed out, but the eventual leftover message was simple.

Dude, you looked upset.

Was it your dad?

The last line was hastily scribbled, farther down the page, as if a last minute addition. Adrien snuck a glance to the side, and Nino was staring steadfastly forward, a slight frown on his face. He felt himself softening a little, feeling bad for making his friend worry. Still, he could see the teacher giving him a suspicious glance, so he didn't reply right away. When he did, he kept it short. Just in case the teacher confiscated it.

Yeah.

Nino looked at him for a while, but didn't pass the note back. Adrien suspected it wasn't the end of the conversation.

He was proven right when Nino immediately joined him as class ended. It wasn't much different from usual, but with the determined look on Nino's face, Adrien knew Nino meant business.

"You don't have anything right now, right?" Nino asked as they walked out of the classroom.

"I was going to get my homework done before my next-"

"Great! You're coming home with me. We can do homework."

Adrien stopped, the car already in sight. "I guess I could tell them to go…" he said, gesturing to the waiting vehicle.

Nino shook his head. "Nah. We can arrive at my house in style." Adrien reached out to stop him, but it was too late. Nino was already in the car, speaking to the driver. "Hey dude, can you take us to my house instead? Adrien and I are gonna work on homework together."

As Nino gave his address and directions, Adrien quietly got into the car. He knew that his father already didn't like Nino, and this was just going to make it worse. But the driver complied, albeit with a somewhat baffled look. Adrien could feel some anxiety building at the thought of his father finding out about this, but one glance to Nino's laid back smile helped to dispel that. Well, his father couldn't think any worse of the boy, probably. It would be fine.

The next hour was relatively peaceful, arriving to Nino's house and immediately holing up in his room. Adrien was expecting Nino to ask about the note right away, but evidently he actually intended to get work done, as he was on the floor with his homework spread around him in record time. Adrien followed suit, silently a little glad, because he really did need to do his work and he didn't have many other times when he could do it. They worked in peaceful silence, sharing jokes or comments every so often. Finally, Adrien couldn't keep his curiosity down.

"Aren't you going to ask me about the note?" he asked, setting his pencil down.

"Huh? Oh, you didn't seem like you wanted to talk about it. So… I didn't wanna ask." Nino shrugged, tilting his head slightly. "Did you… want to talk about it?"

Adrien looked down, blushing slightly. He shouldn't have brought it up. "No, not really."

"Okay."

And then Nino got back to work. Adrien watched him for a few seconds, and then looked down to his own paper. He picked up his pencil again, tracing the lines on the page with his eyes. The subject was dropped, but he didn't feel any relief. Shaking his head, he got back to work. He managed to write a whole sentence before giving up on it, dropping his pencil again. Nino seemed to notice, glancing up. But he didn't say anything, instead just waiting for Adrien to speak.

"I mean, it's kind of… petty," Adrien started, still staring down at his notebook.

"I doubt it, man." Adrien heard a rustling, and glanced up in time to see Nino pushing their schoolbooks to the side and scooting closer. "What happened?"

"You know that fencing tournament I was in over the weekend?"

"Oh yeah! You totally owned in that. I was so disappointed I couldn't come to all the rounds."

"Well, I did pretty well in it. And there was a lot of tough competition this time. So I guess I was hoping for something from my dad, especially since I haven't seen him around lately. Just a good job or something." Adrien looked away, his problem seeming trivial as he says it out loud. "And he did tell me, but… through Nathalie. So I was just disappointed this afternoon. Not a big deal!" He tried to laugh it off, but his attention was pulled back to Nino by a hand on his arm.

"That sucks. Really sucks. It is a big deal, you know! And if you're not going to be upset about it, I will." Nino's frown seemed to indicate he meant it, his entire face scrunching up with his emotion.

With the permission from his friend to feel bad, he slumped down even more, even as he smirked at Nino's expression. The smile slowly turned into a frown, and he sighed. "It's almost been a month since I've seen him in person."

"A month? Adrien, how is your dad a person? If I was your dad, I couldn't go a month without seeing you! I don't even want to go a month without seeing you now! And I'm not your dad!" Nino's indignant (and nonsensical) protests made another smile slip onto Adrien's face, but it was a bittersweet smile. Nino's frown deepened as he watched this expression cross his friend's face, and he reached out and pulled Adrien into a hug without really thinking.

Adrien laughed a little, the sound muffled against the front of Nino's shirt, where his head had been ungracefully shoved and was now trapped. He adjusted his position to make himself a little more comfortable, but otherwise let himself be trapped in the embrace.

"I want to fight your dad," Nino announced.

"Don't fight my dad, Nino," Adrien replied, face still pressed against Nino.

Nino's only response was to pull Adrien even closer, and Adrien could feel a fluttering in his chest. He was so lucky to have friends that cared this much. He responded by wrapping his own arms around Nino, settling into the embrace.

They stayed like that for a while, Nino running his hands through Adrien's hair and Adrien trying not to fall asleep and drool on his friend. That would really ruin the moment. But all good things must come to an end, and Adrien realized that he would have to leave soon.

"Nino."

"Shhh, no."

Adrien rolled his eyes, trying to sit up only to be pushed back down. "Nino, I have to go."

"Dude, why?"

"It's not like I want to," Adrien grumbled, and at that Nino finally let go. Adrien didn't sit up quite yet, turning his head to muffle his next words. "But thank you. Always."

Adrien could feel a slight pressure on the top of his head, and it's not until the pressure is pulling away that he realized it was lips. He sat up, slightly dazed. His friend's face was smiling brightly and definitely blushing a little.

"Duh. I'll always be here for you."

Adrien could feel his own face mirroring Nino's, a smile brighter than any today since lunch. The two just stared at each other for a few moments before Nino finally spoke.

"Didn't you have to go?"

"Oh. Yeah. Yes. I'll just-" Adrien stumbled to his feet, collecting his stuff and heading for the door. He turned at the doorway, looking back at Nino. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Nino grinned again. Adrien was starting to love that expression. "Of course!"