Nino sighed, tugging his smartphone out of his pocket. He immediately turned its camera away from his face, wheeling himself in a circle for a panoramic view. This would be havoc on his battery, but the video call itself would be worth it.

"So what do you think?" the voice on the other end of the line asked.

Green eyes and blonde hair popped into the frame as Nino turned the phone back to himself.

"Honestly, dude? This place is perfect. I mean, I hate to give Chloe Bourgeois credit - ever. But it seems like her real estate contacts are solid, at least."

"See?" Adrien just snorted. "I told you. Chloe really does know her stuff."

Swiping the winter hat off his head, Nino shrugged out of his now damp coat, settling both neatly on the rack at the door. "I mean, even the outside shots would be great." The place was picturesque enough in good light, but it also had enough trees and brush cover for the eerier scenes already taking shape in his mind.

"The place is warm enough?" Concern was clear in his friend's voice.

A frown crossed Nino's lips, as he shuffled over to a window near the door, placing his hand beside the glass pane. "I mean, it is a bit drafty here in the main hall, but its a solid shelter from the winter chill outside. You can hear the wind whistling just a little, though."

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, I know sometimes those big, old houses really have issues. I think this was the place that had been empty for the past few months, right? With all the lights out and the house probably boarded up for months... I'm sure the utilities haven't been up and running for long enough yet."

"It's fine, really." Nino confirmed. Even with the cold, the grin on his face had hardly faded. He ascended the staircase, absorbing all the little details: the intricately carved railings; one eerily creaking step that could be used to great effect; the balcony at the top that leaned over the whole entry hall, which would make for an amazing shot. "I mean...maybe we'll need to bundle up on a really cold day. But there are worse things."

"I'm pretty sure this listing had a fireplace, too." Adrien beamed back at him. "So, you want to go ahead with it?"

"I dunno, dude." Nino grumbled. "There's no way I'm going to be able to pay you back. I mean, the music gigs are going well… but those aren't every night."

"Of course they aren't - otherwise, you wouldn't have had time to write this script." Adrien sighed heavily. "Look, if you're worried about the money, don't. My father's had mine in trust for so long that it isn't going to be a hardship. I don't see the point of even having that much unless I can do something good with it."

Nino held the phone away from himself again, showing Adrien bits of the details of his walkthrough. He didn't dare hold it up to his face. Not with the tears already welling in his eyes.

Honestly,it had been enough that Adrien read through the draft script between photoshoots and university courses, and had been sold on the idea.

His offer of financial backing - frankly - was insane.

It was too good an offer to refuse. He'd have the work to add to his resume, and he could do the editing once they both headed back to Paris.

"Just... I dunno. Give me production credit or something."

Nino chuckled warmly. "I mean, that's a given. Why don't you come out here and join me for the shoot? You deserve to enjoy at least one holiday with friends. And it gives you the excuse that you need to check out your investment."

"I - That would be awesome!" Adrien gaped. "I mean, I've got to wrap up my finals… and I'll have to get Nathalie to adjust my shoot schedule a little…"

Nino smiled softly, shaking his head as Adrien rambled on. He leaned against the rail and slipped his cell phone camera over the edge to frame out a test shot. The rail creaked a little under his weight, but still felt remarkably solid for something that had to be quite old.

"Woah! Is that from the balcony?"

Nino smiled. "Yep. Just trying to see what special equipment this might take."

It seemed like everything was suddenly - finally - coming together. Mylene's acting troupe would be coming in once he'd finalized the location. He had a friend in a band who would help with setting up the shots since they had a lot of the camera and lighting equipment he lacked.

It felt like everything was in order.

"Did you ever figure out what to do about the costumes?"

Nino groaned aloud. He was hoping that Adrien had forgotten about all that. "Not really…"

"Do you still think you want modern costumes?"

Glaring back at the phone, Nino sighed. "You sent me here intentionally, didn't you?"

Adrien's smile was guileless. "I don't know what you mean… Chloe sent you these places."

"Uh huh." Nino rolled his eyes, peeking into the first bedroom on the second floor. It was just as ornate as the entryway. "Don't think I don't remember what we talked about when you read the script the first time."

"...And?" Adrien could be far too much like an overeager puppy after a bone.

He felt a chill as he continued down the west wing, creating gooseflesh up his arm. So the upstairs still had a bit of a draft - it just added ambiance.

Nino shook his head. "And, you're probably right. As much as I wanted to keep the storyline modern overall, this place has such an awesome old style charm. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that fact."

When he looked back at the phone, Adrien had his eyes narrowed. "I'm hearing a 'but' here…"

"Of course you are," Nino grumbled. "There was no way I'd be able to figure out the costumes without your help. But you are already paying far too much as it is…"

Mischief danced in Adrien's green eyes. "And, like you said, this is an investment."

"Adrien…" Nino sighed, peering into the second room. "I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?"

"Nope!" Adrien smirked. "I've got an idea on how to help with that. You just focus on checking out the place, and send me a text when you're done, so I can close on the rental agreement."

"Will do." Nino reassured.

Adrien beamed. "This is all going to be awesome. You'll see."

Smiling, Nino hung up to finish his cursory tour of the second bedroom and quickly popped into the third. He would only need to do shoots in one of the rooms. The rest would be allocated to putting up everyone else who would gather to help with the filming. He'd still need to take a proper count, but with everyone cleaning up after themselves, they could avoid maid services until they needed to clean up and turn the keys back over to the rental office.

His eyes pored over the mirrors and paintings that lined the walls at regular intervals. A smattering of faces - a handful of sober-looking older men, and one stunning young woman with auburn curls - peered back from canvases and were interspersed between scenic views of all seasons.

With very little difference, most of the rooms looked like carbon copies of one another- they had just slight variations on a color theme. Underneath slightly dusty sheets, the rooms were stately with only hints of the old finished wood unveiled.

At least that's what he'd thought before he'd opened the handle on the fourth room. This room was actually a little larger than the others, but oddly felt a little cozier for it. The walls were a cheery yellow, and there was a bit of light peeking through the soft red fall of curtains.

A well-worn chair sat in the corner, and he noted this room had its own fireplace, which would really help to pull the lingering chill out of the air. This room, in particular, seemed to be quite cold.

Nino smiled, rubbing his arms slightly as he stepped over to the window. It was securely closed and latched, and it looked to be solidly sealed. However, he noticed that the wood here was splintered, and it seemed a bit older compared to the windows downstairs. He peered out onto the new fallen snow dusting the hills and trees nearby. A little bit of wildlife was the only hint of disruption to the backyard of the house.

The stately rooms were nice… but this one?

This one felt like home.

Nino dropped into the chair, picking up his phone resolutely and typing off two words to Adrien that would seal his fate.

Go ahead.

Author's Notes: Thanks to Kellarhi for the beta read! 3

This is a setup chapter for me to make some mostly DjWifi + side pair Love Square ficlets. I will mostly be using the DjWifi December prompts, although it will have aspects of both (as well as some of the other tagged pairings to a far lesser extent).

Very much inspired here by niyes-lahiffe and her Ghost!Alya AU Anon. I flailed about it at the time, but Real Life(TM) got in my way a bit before I could put a bit of polish on this.