Nino knows
Summary: This is a short one-shot based off a personal headcanon that during the events of Jackady Nino figured out Ladybug and Chat Noir's secret identities.
AN/ Hi! This is my first published fic on this site and I'm writing this while I'm supposed to be revising the day before my history exam (Whoops). This is a short fic based entirely around the idea that Nino is more observant than Adrien thinks and noticed that Adrien's many disappearances were a little too convenient. I hope you enjoy it!
[Edit as of 9|11|19: The ending has since been expanded a little since I first published this and chapter two is coming.]
Nino had had a trying day. When he woke up that morning he thought all that would happen was that he'd ace The Challenge, get Marinette to actually talk to Adrien without turning into a stuttering mess and be home quickly to celebrate his victory with his three friends. Unfortunately for him, Hawkmoth had other ideas. As he and Ladybug fled the studio in search of Adrien, Nino reflected on everything that had gone wrong that morning. First of all, Alya had phoned him to say she was busy with a babysitting job and would be able to be at the studio with him, and then Marinette got grounded and was unable to turn up. The only thing that could make this day worse for him was if Adrien got himself put under the control of the card-wielding akuma and tried to kill him. The one plus to this disaster of a morning was that he had another chance to see the superheroes of Paris in action.
He knew Adrien would be kicking himself when he realised he'd missed his darling Ladybug yet again, but he decided he owed it to his best friend to tell him what kind of a person Ladybug seemed to be. When the two of them ran into Chat Noir he was surprised at the lack of worried Adrien showed when he told him about Adrien's absence. Before he rushed off down a staircase, Chat had said he was sure Adrien was either already one of the akuma's soldiers or fine, options which to Nino seemed mutually exclusive. Chat had reacted like this the last time Adrien went missing, during Horrificateur's attack, and Nino began to wonder whether Chat knew something about Adrien. Why was he always so sure that Adrien was fine? He always seemed worried by the disappearance of Nino's other classmates, so why was he so blasé about Adrien? Did he have something against him?
Nino was snapped out of his thought by the reappearance of Adrien—and then immediately grew suspicious as he saw Adrien emerging from the corridor ahead of them. Adrien was almost never present during akuma attacks, and on the rare occurrences that he did show up, it was always immediately after Chat made an excuse to leave. Come to think of it, Marinette was the same: always rushing off at the first sign of an akuma and showing up seconds after the superheroes left, always claiming to have hid in an empty room or been possessed. That thought made his eyes widen in surprise. Glancing behind him, he saw Ladybug staring wistfully at Adrien and growing flustered when she asked him if he was alright, much like Marinette did in class, at lunch, or any other time she was near him—though perhaps without quite so much stammering.
Nino shook his head and hurried after Ladybug and Adrien. Now was not the time to be panicking over his two friends possibly being the crime-fighting duo that his third friend had spent the whole year obsessing over. He could freak out later, when he didn't have to race a murderous supervillain to his best friend's house to prevent him from harming Adrien's father, and—
Hang on. If Marinette was Ladybug, then that meant it was Marinette Adrien was hopelessly in love with, writing sappy poetry over and if Adri—
Oh my God, thought Nino. If Adrien is Chat Noir, then it's been Adrien running around Paris in a skin-tight leather cat suit, flirting outrageously and telling terrible cat puns. Oh my God.
Nino glanced at Adrien, who was running at full speed after towards the Agreste mansion. He was easily keeping up with Ladybug; they were both running much faster than the average Parisian 15 year-old and Nino was having a hard time keeping up. Adrien had a look of single-minded determination on his face, a look which Nino had rarely seen on Adrien, but saw on Chat Noir in Alya's video footage nearly every second day. The trio raced through the gates and into the large entrance hall to find the man himself waiting at the top of the stairs for them. Gabriel sent Adrien and Nino upstairs while Ladybug stayed in the hall to talk to him. As they followed Nathalie through the mansion, Nino couldn't help wondering what it must be like to live in such a grand, cold house.
Finally they arrived at Adrien's vast bedroom, when Adrien immediately rushed into the shower. If Nino had only suspected that something was up, then this was conclusive proof. Through the locked door he could hear Adrien telling something (or someone) to "transform" him and saw a bright green light shine through the crack beneath the door before he heard the window swing open and someone jump through it. In Nino's mind, there was no other explanation: Adrien was Chat Noir.
Seconds later, shutters closed over every window in the room and likely every opening in the house. Nino realised he wasn't going to be going anywhere and made himself comfortable, only for Ladybug and Nathalie to burst in, tell him it wasn't safe and ask where Adrien was. Nino covered for his friend, of course, repeating Adrien's shower excuse and relaxed when he heard the quiet thud of Adrien landing in the bathroom. He ran back downstairs with Nathalie and had to cover for Adrien with his father, telling him that he was upstairs with Ladybug (which wasn't even a lie) before the hoard of possessed citizens stormed the house and captured Gabriel.
With Ladybug and Chat Noir chasing after Jackady and no immediate danger, Nathalie told Nino to go home and stay safe while she cleared up the mansion. They parted ways and Nino spent the remainder of the day looking over old footage on the Ladyblog and thinking of all the teasing he would subject Adrien to—but not just yet. If Adrien didn't want anyone to know he was Chat Noir, then there was a reason for it and Nino didn't want to potentially hurt Adrien by finding out too soon. Perhaps when there was a lull in akumas—then would be a safe time. And who knows? Perhaps he'd even help Adrien seduce Marinette! Well, okay. Not seduce. The kid's only 15, after all. But befriend, certainly and perhaps he could even set them up. Oh! Maybe he could lock the two of them in a cage until their transformations ran out! Then they'd both know without realising he knew! Except Marinette was still too shy, he knew, and the chances were she'd faint or scream and definitely run away before Adrien could explain himself.
No, that would never work. He resolved to speak with Alya. She knew Marinette far better than he did. She had always been good at predicting how people would react to unusual news, a quality which made her such a great reporter. There was only one problem: Alya was a reporter. A reporter who had been trying to find out Ladybug's identity since they first appeared. If he told her, how could he tell if she'd keep the secret? Even if she agreed not to publish, there was still a chance she'd give it away by acting conspicuous.
After many hours and several half-formed plans, he came to a decision.
AN/ [Edit 9|11|16] This is the updated version of the first chapter, with an expanded ending that fits better with the upcoming chapter two. I know I haven't done anything with this for nearly six months, but in my defence I've been really busy with schoolwork and the occasional panic attack (though I'm okay now, no worries). Anyway, I've actually started work on chapter two and have a vague idea of where this fic will go, so the only problem now is my motivation.
Thank you so much to everyone who favourited/followed this, you've no idea how much it means to me.
If you don't mind a little shameless self-promotion, I've written a short, depressing oneshot about Chat. If you're interested, please check it out; you'll make my day.
-Light out