Lightning99

Day 1:

Nino Says It

The first time Adrien heard the word, it was late on Saturday evening, and he was visiting Nino's house.

Well, not the first time. The first time he heard it was through the pristine marble walls of his family's mansion-sized jail when his father momentarily discarded his composure one time. A few times. It was rare, but he had heard it before, in the background. Oddly, it was more frequent on days when Ladybug and Chat Noir had defeated a particularly indomitable-seeming akumatization.

He had never heard it up close, however. Neither he, Nathalie, nor the Gorilla had ever been in the room when Gabriel Agreste had exploded and exhibited an emotion that wasn't that of a stern, scornful statue – his usual deadpan that made him look done with the world. The only ones Adrien knew to be on the receiving end of the word were his father's best friends: his mannequins.

This time, however, it was different because Nino shouted the word while sitting right beside him.

They were in Nino's bedroom when it happened, a room about a third the size of his own, fit with a crammed shelf of films beside a desk with a PC in one corner, a long single bed just beneath the window in another, and a TV on the soft blue carpet opposite. Film posters covered the colourful walls, from superheroes to musicals and romances. The scent of jasmine from the rest of the house slipped under his door.

They were sat on a couple of beanbags in front of the TV and had been playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III – as they often did when they hung out. Adrien had won – as he often did when they hung out – then Nino, his face reddened and teeth clenched, had groaned, flopped back in his beanbag, and unleashed the word with absolute nonchalance.

Adrien had flinched when the expletive met his ears, inching backwards in his beanbag, his smooth blonde locks swishing like in his commercials as his head snapped toward Nino. Unlike in his commercials, however, his expression held none of the angelic, grinning charm he exuded when acting. He gaped at Nino instead, his green eyes aghast, his famous, shining complexion paled by the horror nudging up his chest.

For some reason, he didn't want to sit still anymore. His very core twisted and coiled around itself, tugging every which way, and his heart was suddenly palpitating. The only way he could describe it was feeling uncomfortable in his body, similar to how he had felt the first few times he snuck out of his room to be Chat Noir. But as soon as he had become Chat Noir, donned that mask, that persona, the discomfort had vanished, replaced by a rush of thrill.

There was no accompanying thrill this time. There was only the strange discomfort that made Adrien scold his ears for having heard the word. But he had heard it, and there was no Second Chance. Ladybug couldn't restore his blissful ignorance or eradicate that strange discomfort with her Miraculous Ladybug.

That was how he rested for a good few moments. Nino continued talking around him, muttering something about doing better that time, but it was background noise to Adrien's internal panic.

Eventually, probably due to his lack of response, Nino glanced at Adrien. He frowned, probably because of the baby-like manner in which his lips opened and closed.

"You alright, dude?" Nino asked, realigning his red hat, nudging up his round glasses over his amber eyes.

"Y-You…" Adrien tried, but his racing mind was a formidable foe, coherence as hard to catch as a leaf in a hurricane.

"What's up? 'You been possessed by Marinette or somethin'?"

"Wh-What?"

"Your stuttering."

Adrien shrugged.

Nino face-palmed.

"Forget it. Seriously, you good?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah. Just…" Adrien shook his head, "a little surprised is all."

"For real? Well, I have been practisin'," Nino said, grinning pridefully, needlessly realigning his hat.

"No, not the game. It's what you said."

Nino's expression flipped to looking distraught. "That I lose to my little brother? Come on, man! He plays it more than me."

Adrien laughed.

"Before that."

"Before that? What did I say?"

"You know…" Adrien shifted his eyes side-to-side, scouting for any onlookers, any obsessed fans glued to the outside of Nino's windows. Nobody was there. Of course, nobody was there. Why would they be?

He felt he had to be cautious anyway. Nobody was allowed to hear Gabriel Agreste's perfect son engaging in such heinous conversation, and it didn't matter that the likeliest person to overhear him whispering from Nino's room was a ghost.

"The… swear."

Nino squinted at him. "Uhh, what?"

"Nino!" Adrien whined, pleading with his eyes.

"The swear?" Nino muttered. Thankfully, after some contemplation, his brows rose knowingly. "Oooh, you mean–"

"Don't say it!" Adrien cried, stopping him just as the word was slithering from his lips.

Adrien didn't know why Nino started laughing or why he continued laughing for three or four minutes, pounding the carpet with his fist throughout. He was sure he had said something hilarious by mistake, referenced some inside joke he wasn't privy to. That was the only explanation.

Adrien stared blankly at Nino throughout his fit, a tinge of red appearing on his face because being so unashamedly laughed at was rather demoralising, if he was honest. At least it was a friend.

When he calmed down, Nino was panting, and he had overturned his beanbag.

"You done?" Adrien asked as Nino weakly climbed onto his beanbag, his limbs rubbery, wiping his eyes dry.

"Dude, you're so sheltered!" Nino said, and he started laughing again.

This time, Adrien grabbed a nearby pillow and hurled it at Nino. He struck him in the face, knocking his hat off, revealing his short, dark-brown hair beneath.

"Hey!" Nino complained. He forgot about his laughing fit to put his hat back on.

"I'm not that sheltered."

"You sure? Why'd you get so uptight about the word, then? It's not even that bad."

"Wha–! Of course, it is!"

"How do you figure?"

"It's something Nathalie taught me never to say," Adrien answered. It was true. The first time his father had screamed it at the mannequins when he was younger – or himself, Adrien didn't know how self-deprecating he was in private – he had asked Nathalie what it meant, the curious kid he had been. She had told him to forget it and never repeat it. In her words, 'it will ruin your public image'. She seemed to say that a lot.

"You really are sheltered, Adrien. It's not as bad as Nathalie made it seem," Nino said. "Loads of people say it. Ivan, Kim, Alya – even Chloé has said it before. Man, that was a fun day."

"Seriously?" Adrien asked, imagining just what situation would have caused Chloé to say such a thing. Though, given her attitude, it wasn't too farfetched.

When Nino nodded, Adrien groaned and slumped forwards, face-planting a fortuitously-placed pillow.

"It's not that bad?"

"Nope! As my mum says, 'if it's not aimed at anyone, what does it matter if we say it?' That's how she convinced my dad not to blow up at me for sayin' it the first time. There are things you never say, but there are loads of worse words. My parents have said–"

Nino proceeded to oh-so-eloquently recite his parents' extensive vocabulary in a way that proved he had memorised it. He was like a toddler wielding a sharpened knife, the haphazardous, innocent slashing inadvertently slicing open the protective bubble Adrien's father had so meticulously crafted around him. Suddenly, the world felt so much different.

Adrien blocked out Nino by suffocating himself with the pillow and muttering incoherently. He didn't know if he could handle hearing something worse than the initial word today. The way his heart and mind teamed up to ensure he felt uncomfortable was already hard enough.

The more Nino listed, the more he started laughing again, and the more Adrien supposed it wasn't entirely unrealistic that Nino's family was so comfortable uttering those demonic words. He had only met them a few times, but if Nino was any indication, they were one laid-back, liberal family. Little seemed to phase or perturb them, so it was only fitting that a couple of words weren't a bother to their free consciences.

He, on the other hand, may as well have stepped into hell. Being Gabriel Agreste's son was like living in purgatory, teetering either side depending on his behaviour. And hearing so many swear words, even muffled, tipped him towards the devil's realm.

Nino eventually ripped the pillow away from him after he finished reciting his lovely list.

"So, wait, you're 14, and you've never said it?"

Adrien shook his head.

"Well, you're not gettin' away with that for much longer. I'm makin' it my goal to make sure you say it."

"I dunno…"

"You don't have a choice in this."

"Please don't, Nino," Adrien whined.

"Too late. I guarantee you'll say it by the end of next week."

Adrien groaned and returned his face to the pillow. He seriously debated keeping it there until he ascended to an existence more benevolent than his current one. Nino was one persistent guy, so he was in trouble, especially if his father or Nathalie heard about it.

And when he heard a quiet, cheeky snicker from the inside of his shirt, his dread only worsened.

Hi!

Welcome come to my story, Say It, and thank you for reading the first intro chapter!

Basically, this story is going to be my fun little take on what has happened/will definitely not happen in the series but would be entertaining to see. In my opinion, at least. I've seen so many fan-made comics and stories that it honestly makes me wish some of them were canon.

I'm pretty new to the fandom, but this idea hit me all of a sudden and I just had to start writing it. The story is nearly finished, as in I've written everything and I'm just editing it now, so the uploading of it should be pretty consistent. I'm thinking weekly, since it's not going to be extremely long, but I don't know, I may post more frequently.

For anyone that has come here from Who I Am, this is the reason I haven't uploaded in a little while (not that I'm ever really consistent but...). I realised I was only writing that story, and wanted to branch out a bit. So sorry about that!

But yeah, that's enough from me!

I hope you enjoy!